Saving Prince James: A James and Sofia Love Story

Set in an alternate universe, James is now 20 and usurped his father as king and conquered every kingdom to create an empire, but he has lived his years as a lonely king with only power and wealth to keep him company. When Cedric summons a banished Sofia, 18, to the castle to secretly save the kingdoms and James, something stirs in James's heart the moment he sees a grown and blossomed Sofia. Can a banished princess save the kingdoms and a ruthless prince find his way into the heart of a princess he once lost?

Chapter 33: The White Dove

Sofia

"Wait, what do you mean we'll deal with the rest?" Sofia asked, confused as to what Lucinda meant and a little afraid at what she could possibly be planning. Lucinda's serious and almost witchy-wicked tone was enough to make Sofia feel like she should be scared at what might happen next.

But Lucinda didn't answer Sofia's question.

Instead, she was staring at Hugo with a grim, faraway look to her eyes. Even the white dove on her shoulder was staring at Hugo. If Sofia didn't know any better, she would say that Lucinda and the white dove looked like they were searching for something in him. Both of their intense gazes were fixed solely on Hugo and nothing else.

What could they possibly be searching for?

"Lucinda," Sofia called to her again. "Lucinda."

That seemed to snap her out of whatever deep thought she was buried in. "Sorry, what?"

"Wha-…" Sofia wanted to ask her why she was staring at Hugo with such an intense look, but chose not to. Her question felt like something she needed to discuss later….

With so much that has happened today, she didn't need another thing to fry her sleep-deprived brain right now. That was a question she can deal with later. Right now, she needed to focus on the fact that The Evil has marked Hugo. "What do you mean by 'deal with the rest'?" she said instead.

"We're going to get rid of the mark on Hugo. We're going to free him," she said bluntly.

"Come again?" James said, incredulously. "You're going to do that right now? Then you can –"

Lucinda held up a hand, stopping James from saying another word. "Hold it there, pretty boy. Before you get your hopes up, no I can't free you like how I plan on freeing crazy boy over there," she said with a nod over at Hugo, who was still foaming at the mouth and staring right at Sofia. The way Hugo was staring at her made her skin crawl. It was a look that only someone who has fallen into pure insanity would have. "The way you are marked by The Evil is different from the way he is marked."

"What? But –" James's expression fell so brokenheartedly that it made Sofia want to comfort him and remind him that there was still another way to break the mark on his heart.

"His is a physical one, yours is not. Your mark is embedded on your heart by a dark curse, Hugo's is embedded on his shoulder by a black diamond."

"Wait, what?" Sofia said. "How –"

"Come," Lucinda ordered as she walked over to the tree where Hugo was leaned against. "I'll show you."

The moment Lucinda made one step towards him, Hugo began to bite at the air around him like some animal. His mouth opened so wide that even his back molars were able to be seen. And Sofia was sure his jaw shouldn't even be able to expand that wide. He was even starting to sweat profusely like he was sitting under the sun on a hot summer's day.

And yet, even snapping at the air, his crazy hazel eyes never left Sofia's….

Oh stars, he looks as crazed as Miss Nettle….

"Uh, I don't think so," James refused as he tightened his arms around Sofia. "Not with him like this."

"Oh, stop being a wuss and get over here," she said as she knelt down beside Hugo. With a snap of her fingers, Hugo's arms were bound behind him and his legs were magically wrapped together. Then she magically sat Hugo up and forced his head aside so that she wouldn't get bitten by him. "You two need to see this."

Sofia exchanged a hesitant look with James, letting him read her like she was an open book. Sofia didn't even try to hide how wary of Hugo she was right now. She knew that James could tell that she didn't want to go near this unhinged version of Hugo.

If the way he was staring at her was any indication of his insanity, who knows what might happen if she stepped anywhere near him….

This fear she felt for Hugo – or this controlled version of him anyway – was something she's never experienced before. Hugo has always been one of her closest friends and she has always felt safe around him. He has always made her feel comfortable and at ease. It was always so easy to talk to him. They would laugh and have fun just being in each other's presence.

But now… this fear and caution she has towards him was something she never thought she'd feel when it came to him. She hated it.

Hugo was – is one of her best friends…. She shouldn't feel like this. Hugo shouldn't be like this. Their lives shouldn't be like this!

This – the mess that everyone's lives have become – was The Evil's fault.

The evil man behind all of this is the reason why everyone's lives are in chaos. Why James has been framed for five years for their father's murder. Why so many innocent lives are taken. Why so many wars and battles were started and ended in bloodshed. Why Hugo is behaving like this rabid animal. Why Sofia and Amber and their mother were forced away from the people they knew and loved. Why their mother has lost her true love.

This is The Evil's fault and Sofia is going to make him pay.

He's going to pay for all of this. Sofia was becoming angry enough that her fury was burying her fear. For every drop of innocent blood and tears that were shed because of this man, I am going to make him pay.

Sofia shouldn't be afraid of Hugo or even The Evil for that fact. She should be angry and upset and filled to the brim with rage. It was this man's fault for every bad thing that has happened in her life.

I am –

James sudden kiss on her forehead brought Sofia back from her upset thoughts. "You don't have to go over there if you don't want to," he whispered, mistaking her bothered expression for distress over having to go near Hugo.

For a moment, Sofia's angry thoughts at The Evil was pushed away and she was lost in James and only James. Sofia wanted to linger there, swallowed in James's arms and to feel his lips on her, but now wasn't the time for that. When things were settled for the day, she knew that she can return to those arms and kiss those lips until her own were numb.

Sofia decided to get over herself and just go near Hugo. It wasn't his fault that he was like this, anyway. He was just being controlled or possessed or brainwashed or something. "No, no –"

"Come on, you guys. I get that people know about you guys now, but now is not the time to get lovey-dovey. This is important," Lucinda snipped, irritated. It was obvious that her patience was wearing thin.

"Sorry, sorry," Sofia apologized to her as she pulled out of James's arms. He didn't seem to like that and tried to pull her back, but Sofia swatted at him because, again, now was not the time for that. Sofia just laced their hands together to settle him and rushed over to the tree where Lucinda and Hugo were.

But James wasn't the only one who was appeased at the moment.

The entire time as Sofia and James made their way over to them, Sofia noticed how less barbaric and crazed Hugo became. His foaming and thrashing and hissing ceased as he watched her walk closer to them, his eyes never leaving hers.

It was as if the closer her presence to him became, the calmer he became.

And Sofia wasn't the only one who noticed.

Lucinda looked back and forth at Sofia and Hugo. "Hm…."

"I don't like the way you're saying 'hm'," James said when they stopped in front of Lucinda and Hugo.

Sofia recognized the curious glint of her eyes and knew exactly what she was going to say next.

"It's a good 'hm'." Lucinda stood up and dusted herself off. "Sofia, can you stand right next to Hugo for me?"

"Now, I really don't like it," James frowned.

And Sofia recognized James's jealous and possessive tone. She felt his hands tighten so hard that she was sure her fingers was starting to lose blood circulation. He obviously didn't like the idea of her next to Hugo any more than she did and was going to make sure that she wasn't going to take a single step towards him.

"Oh, calm down. It's nothing bad. I am just testing something out," Lucinda rolled her eyes at him.

"Testing what out?" James's frown deepened.

"You'll see. Anyway, it's kind of obvious at what I'm testing here," Lucinda rolled her eyes at him again as she walked to Sofia.

Sofia couldn't help but feel like she wanted to roll her eyes at James too. She didn't understand – No. Okay, she did. She understood why he didn't want to let her go and be anywhere near Hugo. But did he really have to be so… so-so-so frustrating right now? He was almost acting like a stubborn child refusing to share his favorite toy. James is sort of stalling their progress to figuring out something crucial about The Evil and his marks on both him and Hugo.

Why was he being so idiotically hardheaded?

She understood what Lucinda was trying to experiment here and she wanted to see the results of it. She even wanted to test it out herself and be of some help in solving the problem in front of them. If her just standing next to Hugo would get them anywhere closer to defeating the evil and fixing everything, then yes, she'll swallow her discomfort and stand next to him. Was that so wrong?

"No, answer me," James narrowed his eyes at her.

"James," Sofia chided.

"What? I am just asking her –"

"No, you're not. You're being kind of rude. Just let me go, I actually want to test this out myself –"

"No, Sofia –"

Lucinda sighed exasperatedly. "Jeez. Alright, you wanna know? When I saw that Hugo calmed down when Sofia got closer to him, I just want to see what will happen if she is right next to him because, if she can calm him long enough, then we might not have to wait for Amber and her guard to arrive. I originally planned to have you and Mr. Guard – I don't know his name – to pin Hugo down as Sofia and I worked on removing the mark on him. But that might not be needed if she can subdue him like this. Now, will you let go of Sofia's hand so she can test out my theory? Or are you just going to act like an upset puppy who lost his toy?"

Sofia wanted to laugh at how Lucinda's puppy reference made James's cheeks turn an adorable shade of pink. To her surprise, the white dove on Lucinda's shoulder began to softly coo like it was laughing at James. Serves him right for being so rude to Lucinda.

"Yeah," Lucinda raised her brow at him challengingly, "I heard what your mom said. Now let go of Sofia."

James gave Lucinda a dirty look as he begrudgingly released Sofia's hand. "I don't like this," he muttered.

"You don't have to, you love-sick puppy," Lucinda said. She turned to Sofia, "can you stand where I was just now?"

"Sure," Sofia agreed. She tentatively stood right next to Hugo.

And to everyone's audible surprise, the foam and froth around Hugo's mouth completely disappeared like magic. There wasn't a single speck of rabid foam or even sweat on him. All physical evidence of his insane meltdown was gone. Even the crazed look of his eyes diminished. His eyes even seemed to have softened to a point where he looked like he was almost back to normal.

Almost.

There was still the factor of how lopsidedly and psychotically he was smiling up at Sofia.

"I don't like that smile on him," James said as the three of them carefully watched Hugo's next move.

In this kind of situation and with Hugo like this, every second was unpredictable and they didn't know what might happen next. He could take a bite out of her leg for all they knew.

But, apparently, Hugo's next move was to scoot closer to Sofia and curl up next to her leg like some attention-deprived kitten. He rested his head against her right leg and smiled contentedly up at her. He was even starting to purr at her as if he was trying to tell her to pet him.

"Okay, now I really don't like that smile on him," James said again. This time, not bothering to hide his jealousy. If they weren't stuck in this situation, Sofia was sure James would have gone off to pout somewhere.

"I don't either, but he's not biting the air like he was when I was near him," Lucinda said. "It seems that even controlled and brainwashed by The Evil, his feelings for Sofia are still strong enough to work passed the dark magic and it's making this crazy version of him act like this."

James actually pouted this time.

To be honest, it was kind of adorable to see him pout. It made the little bits of fear in Sofia's stomach fade just a little.

"Uh… What do I do now?" Sofia cautiously said. The smile on Hugo's face was starting to creep Sofia out. Sofia knew that it wasn't Hugo, but it was still really weird to see that kind of smile on Hugo's normally arrogantly handsome face.

"Nothing," Lucinda instructed as she knelt back down in front of Hugo. "Just keep him this calm while I try to show you guys the mark on him."

Lucinda started to unfasten the few buttons on Hugo's shirt and pulled on the right sleeve of Hugo's shirt until his entire right shoulder was exposed.

All the while, Hugo didn't look like he was even aware of the fact that Lucinda was – in theory – trying to strip him of his shirt. He was too busy scooting closer to Sofia and rubbing his head against her leg. If his arms weren't bound behind him, Sofia was sure that he would be wrapping them around her legs right about now.

At first, when Sofia looked down at Hugo's bare right shoulder, she didn't see anything but unblemished skin. Sofia almost wanted to point out to Lucinda that there was actually nothing there until she saw it slowly form. It was seeping out from under his skin like blood and oil staining a cotton shirt.

Just under where his collarbone connects to his shoulders, a dark, dark – almost black – bruise marked his body. It wasn't the color of a normal red and blue bruise…. It was as black as coal.

And it moved.

A dark bruise that moved like something graceful underneath his skin.

Smoke…. Sofia realized. It moves like smoke….

It swirled and gathered around like the smoke that Sofia and James and Lucinda encountered last night in her tree cabin. Luckily, Sofia didn't see any face in the mark. She didn't know what she would do if she did see a pair of eyes on Hugo's skin….

"Shit…" James cursed.

"I-Is that… the mark…?" Sofia asked partly out of fear and curiosity.

The way the mark moved… it was almost like it was dancing a pattern on Hugo's skin. It swayed left and right with a grace of smoke and air and light. Or maybe like the beautiful fish Sofia remembers feeding when she visited Wei-Ling as a child.

The mark was sort of captivating to watch. It made her almost want to reach out and just touch it.

Her fingers itched with a sudden morbid need to know what the mark feels like… to know if it would burn her if she did just reach out once to touch Hugo's mark… just once….

Sofia didn't even realize that her hand was already moving on its own until Lucinda stopped her with a deadly grip on her wrist.

"Yes," Lucinda solemnly said as she looked Sofia in the eyes. "It is the mark, but you shouldn't touch it. You don't know what it might do to you, Sofia."

"Sorry, I-I-I…. The mark…" Sofia stuttered.

"I know. Just try not to touch it," Lucinda warned.

Sofia wordlessly nodded and wrapped her arms around herself. The mark… it hypnotized me…. It wanted me to touch it for some reason. The Evil wanted me to touch Hugo's mark….

Why?

As if reading her thoughts, Lucinda continued, "it wanted you to touch it, Sofia, so it can get a hold on your amulet. So whatever you do, don't touch it."

"Wait, I remember Sofia saying that this man wants her amulet because he wants to harness its magic to take over the world or something," James said, "but how does Hugo's mark tie into that? How did he even get it and why did The Evil even mark him?"

Lucinda shook her head. "I honestly don't know exactly. I –"

Suddenly, the white dove on Lucinda's shoulder began to chirp.

And it was in Queen Anne's voice.

"I do," the white dove spoke.

What?

"Qu-Queen Anne?" Sofia sputtered, shocked. Her eyes had to do a double take to make sure her brain wasn't imagining things since she hadn't had an ounce of sleep since one o'clock in the morning.

"What?" James looked around, confused.

"Oh, right, I was supposed to tell you guys about that," Lucinda muttered to herself, running a hand through her short black hair.

"Tell us what?" James asked. "And why did Sofia just say my mom's name?"

The white dove hopped from Lucinda's right shoulder to her left and stared right up at Sofia with its small black eyes. "Sofia, listen. I was going to wait until later to tell you this, but I guess now is as good of a time as any," the white dove chirped. "The Evil had Hugo marked since the very beginning. He's been marked since your Welcome Back Ball."

"Wait, Queen Anne, how are you even here? I thought that you couldn't leave the castle grounds because of your curse?" Sofia was confused and happy at the same time. She was glad that Queen Anne managed a way to somewhat free herself, but she was confused as to why she was in the body of a white dove.

And, despite Sofia's many years of talking to animals, hearing Queen Anne's voice come out of the little white dove's body was really mind-boggling.

"Sofia, hold up. Are you talking to my mom right now?" James interjected.

But Sofia ignored him for the moment because she wanted to hear what Queen Anne had to say. "And why are you a dove?"

"I managed to conjure up enough magic to possess this white dove's body and fly over to Lucinda. From there, she let me borrow her magic so I can stay outside of the castle in this body as long as I wish, but only as I remain on her shoulder."

"So, you're free?" Sofia asked.

"Not exactly. My spirit is still trapped back in the castle, but my consciousness is free out here in this dove's body. I am still cursed too… so I still can't tell you a lot of information, but enough to help. This isn't the kind of freedom I would have liked, but it's better than nothing," Queen Anne shrugged her little dove wings.

"Uh-huh…." She didn't know if it was her sleep-deprived brain or what, but she didn't know how to respond to the avalanche of information she just received.

"I know this is a lot to take in –"

"You think?" Sofia let out a tired laugh. "I am running on low sleep here and I just came back from emotionally draining myself from revealing nearly everything to James, Amber, and my mom. And not to mention, my mom's house was on fire. Now, I am hearing that Hugo was marked since my ball and that you're in a dove's body." Sofia rubbed her temples, wanting to soothe away the headache she was starting to get.

So much is happening… in just one day….

"Sorry about that," Lucinda said, raising her hand in an apology. "I was supposed to tell you about Queen Anne when I met up with you guys on the way here, but didn't expect to see Hugo there and when I sensed the dark mark on him, I kind of just forgot about it."

"Can you understand her?" Sofia asked Lucinda.

"Yeah. She's borrowing my magic, so we're kind of connected. I can talk to her like you," Lucinda said as she petted Queen Anne's white head with her forefinger. "She actually surprised me when she appeared at my door a few minutes after you two left. She said that she needed to borrow my magic and find you two. She was actually the one who told me your mom's house was on fire."

Sofia turned to Queen Anne. "Really?"

But just when Queen Anne opened her beak to say something, an outburst from James stopped her. "Will someone tell me what the hell is going on?!" James demanded the three of them.

"Oh, right," Lucinda sighed. "James."

"Sorry," Sofia apologized. "Uh… James, this little white dove here," Sofia pointed at Queen Anne, "is your mother."

"I figured that part out," James said. "Just, why is she a bird exactly?" He looked back and forth from Sofia and Queen Anne.

"Magic," the three of them all stated.

"Uh-huh…" was the only sound James made as he stared at Queen Anne.

Sofia didn't know how long he just stood there, opened mouth and stunned, staring at Sofia and Queen Anne. Silence echoed around them as James looked at them with an expressed of shock and speechlessness.

She didn't know what to make of his shock. Was it good or was it bad? Was he going to freak out or... what?

Sofia wished that he didn't have his reunion with his mother like this. She wanted to him to have it when they didn't have Hugo and The Evil and the impending arrival of Amber to deal with. She wanted to give him a peaceful and private place and time to let him have his moment with Queen Anne. Then later, if Queen Anne would be up for it - which she probably will be - Amber could have her own private moment with her. It would be the reunion James and Amber deserved.

But Sofia could work around this little issue of Queen Anne being in a dove's body. She'll plan it all just differently.

When this is over, when they've freed Hugo and worked through whatever hell today was going to bring, she'll introduce Queen Anne to Amber and her mother. Her mother will love Queen Anne just like Sofia does and Amber and James will be happy. They'll all have tea out in the estate's garden and smile and laugh joyfully.

They will have a proper reunion and things will be great, Sofia just knows it.

"James?" Sofia gently said his name. "Are you okay?"

James seemed to snap out of his shock enough to stammer an awkward response. "Uh-what-how…. My mom?"

"Hi, James," Queen Anne happily peeped.

James looked at Sofia. "All I heard was chirp."

"He can't understand me. Can you translate for me, Sofia?" Queen Anne asked her.

"Sorry, Queen Anne," Lucinda interrupted, "we can't have that right now. We have Hugo to focus on right now."

"Wait, what did she say?" James urged.

He looked so vulnerable and unguarded at that moment that Sofia couldn't help herself and said, "she said 'hi'."

"Sofia," Lucinda scolded. "Now is not the time."

But Sofia didn't pay it any attention because the happy look on James's face was worth Lucinda's reprimand.

"Sorry," Sofia halfheartedly apologized. "Back to Hugo. You said that you can remove the mark on him. How?"

"Right," Lucinda looked humorlessly at Sofia. "I was going to get to that. When I sensed the mark on him, I realized that it was different from James's because Hugo's mark was created by a black diamond. James's mark is purely dark magic."

"So you're saying a black diamond is embedded in Hugo's shoulder?" Sofia said, eyeing the black mark.

"Correct," Lucinda confirmed, standing back up and putting her hands on her hips. "I sensed the diamond in him. It's what this man is using to control Hugo. I don't know the reason as to why he would want to control Hugo like this. Queen Anne had said that Hugo has been marked since Sofia's Welcome Back Ball. Do you happen to know?" Lucinda looked down at Queen Anne.

Queen Anne walked up and down Lucinda shoulder with her tiny dove legs as if she was deep in thought. "I actually found about this earlier this morning," she said, to which Lucinda translated for her. "That's why I flew out to Lucinda and made her find you two. I needed to tell you two about what I learned. The man behind all of this had marked Hugo because he found out that Sofia knew of him and his plans. He wanted to control Hugo as a way to distract Sofia from ever coming close to discovering and destroying his sources."

"That's why Hugo wanted me to forget the mission and run away with him," Sofia gasped.

"That's what I realized too," Queen Anne nodded. "When that backfired, he sent that dragon after you as a way to kill two birds with one stone. Kill you to protect his sources and grab your amulet. But with his first source destroyed, he plans on using Hugo as another source. Since Hugo's feelings for Sofia are as strong as your emotions, James, he wants to amplify them to the max and harness them as a replacement to the one you three destroyed."

Use him as another source? This man plans on manipulating Hugo like he manipulated James? Sofia grew angry again. How many other people has this man been using and manipulating? How many has been abused and killed because of him?

Sofia couldn't comprehend how this man could just exploit people to an extent like this? He was using them as if they were just tools in his grand master plan and discard them when they were beyond their use. He was treating their lives as if they were nothing! Like they were of low value to him!

What more does he plan to do before he gets what he wants? Does he just plan on setting a path of utter destruction to achieve his goal?

"How can we protect Hugo from being used like this?" Sofia asked.

She refuses to allow another person be abused like this. She promised to save and protect everyone, including Hugo, and by Fate's Will she is going to keep that promise. She is not going to let another drop of blood fall because of this menace.

"We get the diamond out of his skin," Lucinda said.

"Yes, but listen," Queen Anne interjected. "There was more to this. He set another black diamond on this property, Sofia. It's the reason why your mother's house is on fire."

No. Now Sofia was more than angry. She was furious.

How dare this man involve her mother!

Sofia separated herself and Amber from their mother for a reason! To protect her! Now he wanted to bring her into this mess and possibly get her hurt?!

Why? Why bring her mother into all of this madness? Her mother has nothing to protect herself from dark magic. She is powerless. Sofia was already inside of the castle, why involve her helpless mother?

I am going to destroy this man! Sofia fumed, digging her nails into her palms to keep herself from displaying her rage.

She wanted to go on a rampage and find this man, tear him into pieces and destroy every part of him. Sofia wanted to see the fear in his eyes the moment he sees her. This was a level of her temper she has never reached before and she was going to fuel it until she is certain this man is defeated and drained of every ounce of magic in his body.

That is what he gets for putting her mother in danger.

Defeating this man was already personal to Sofia since James as at the center of it all, but now it was more. She was going to make sure that justice and retribution was paid for the endangerment of her mother.

"This man –" Sofia seethed through her teeth.

"Don't worry, I found it and contained it." Lucinda waved a hand up and a magically produced a small test-tube topped with a cork. Inside was a small black diamond. "I discovered it when I was fixing up the house. I was going to tell you about this after we dealt with Hugo, but I guess now is good."

"Why did he set the fire?" Sofia asked, too angry to even bother to hide her soon-to-be violent temper right now. Her hands itched to just beat something.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that James tried to reach out and take her hand as a way to calm her down, but she didn't want that right now. She knew his heart was in the right place, but she was too angry. Too furious. Too volatile.

Sofia knew that if she was to take his hand in the state she was in right now, she just might tear his arm off because her hands were more than itching to beat something. It felt a need to rip something apart.

And whatever was near her hands was going to be destroyed.

That was why her hands were clenched into fists right now. It was a way to keep herself from unintentionally harming anyone. So, Sofia pulled her hands away from James's reach and kept them at her sides.

She saw the hurt in his eyes when she sort of rudely brushed his gesture off, but she would rather have that then a physically injured James that she caused.

"He wanted you all out of the castle," Queen Anne said. Sofia could see the worry in her small dove eyes.

"Why?" James asked after Lucinda translated what Queen Anne said.

"He's planning something," Queen Anne chirped. "I don't know what it is, but I felt an insane large amount of dark magic being used and I'm afraid of what it could mean for everyone. He wanted you away from the castle because he knew that if you were there, Sofia, you would have been able to sense the dark magic and try to stop him."

"But I don't know who this man is," Sofia reminded her.

"Yes, but he knew that I was communicating with you and wanted to stop it somehow. He believed that I might lead you to his location even though I am cursed and I can't. So he figured that it would be best to just keep you away as he worked on his grand plans."

Angry panic rose to the back of Sofia's throat. "Then we need to get home right away if he's using dark magic for some master scheme of his. We need to stop him –"

"No." Queen Anne stopped her.

"What? But –"

"Sofia, you don't understand. The amount of dark magic I felt being used in the castle right now is incredibly dangerous and purely evil. If you step one foot inside of the castle, I'm afraid that not even your amulet can protect you. He's going to target you and kill you right on the stop. You can't go back. None of you can."

He has seized the castle…. He's taken our home…. Sofia's heart dropped. It sank to a new low that she has never realized was possible for her to feel. It's like he's become unbeatable….

"So what do we do then?" James ran a frustrated hand through his hair, making a mess of his blonde hair. "We can't just stay here and do nothing. He's taken the castle and is doing who knows what with dark magic. He could be killing the palace staff for all we know."

"First, destroy the sources. We cut him off of his supply. Get this diamond out of Hugo and break the curse on James's heart," Queen Anne said.

"Then what? That can't possibly be all we can do," Sofia's voice shook. A helpless feeling settled in her stomach and threatened to make her vomit.

She hated it. She hated how helpless she felt just because of this man.

This man took her castle and was trying to take her kingdom. How can she just hide away safely at her mother's estate as this maniac plotted to steal everything from her and bring this world into utter chaos just because Queen Anne refused to love him.

"Can we even beat this man now that he's using so much dark magic that it seems like my amulet can even protect me from? What's going to happen now?" Sofia felt like all was starting to be lost to her.

"We can still beat him, Sofia," Queen Anne firmly nodded her little dove head. "You see, there is a silver lining to all of this. Being out here, away from the castle and this man's watching eyes, you will be able to unlock your magic."

"My what?" Sofia said.

"Her what?" James said.

"Your magic, Sofia," Lucinda repeated.

"You mean the powers my amulet has already given me?" Sofia asked. Her powers included the ability to talk to animals, turn into a mermaid, and shrink.

Lucinda shook her head. "Remember when Queen Anne told you to come talk to me about your amulet? Well, when I was flipping through one of my spellbooks one night, I stumbled upon a little history page about your amulet. It turns out that there is more to your amulet than anyone knows."

"What do you mean?" Sofia didn't understand what Lucinda was trying to tell her.

"The saying of your amulet goes, 'with each deed performed, for better or worse,'" Lucinda began, "'a power is granted…'"

"'…a blessing or curse,'" Sofia finished, still bewildered at where this was going.

"Right," Lucinda continued. "And you know that your amulet connects every princess that has ever existed." Sofia nodded. "Well, out of all of the princesses, there are the thirteen that stand highest among them all. The Great Thirteen Princesses."

Of course, Sofia knew of the Great Thirteen Princesses. Nearly every girl in the world did. Hell, Sofia has met them throughout her childhood, especially when she was in a nasty predicament. Each has helped her grow and mature and even shared their own wisdom to her.

Their stories were of folklore and legend. Everyone – men, women, and children – knew the stories of them. Their tales and lessons in each story transcended time and became legends in their own right.

Stories about their heroism and bravery has become something of inspiration to every girl around the world. They were princesses of unwavering love and optimism. Young women with a righteous sense of duty and justice. Their stories of happily ever after and true love became what every young girl wants and dreams of. Their tales of courage and victories in battle against evil and cruelty became stuff of aspiration and inspiration. Classic tales of vicious stepmothers, evil witches and sorcerers, grand adventures, and finding love along the way was known throughout every kingdom, big or small.

The headmistresses of Royal Prep were especially fond of telling stories of their time as godmothers to Princess Aurora, the princess of the Sleeping Beauty legend.

The Great Thirteen Princesses are renowned and regarded as the best of the best. Hell, they are goddesses among the princesses of today and even tomorrow.

"It seems that there is a certain aspect of your amulet that not many past owners have been able to unlock," Lucinda went on. "In my research about your amulet, I found out that your amulet can bestow upon its owner the gifts of all of the Great Thirteen Princesses. If she is worthy."

What?

"What?" Sofia's mind was completely blown.

"Each of the thirteen princesses has a certain affinity, Sofia," Lucinda said. "For example, Snow White's affinity is animals. Ariel's is water. Mulan's is combat. Not many have been able to gain all thirteen affinities, though. But Queen Anne and I think you are worthy since you already have Snow White's affinity of animals and Tiana's gift of changing forms."

"The greatest number of affinities any past princess has ever gained was ten, but I think you can unlock all thirteen, Sofia," Queen Anne said.

No… Way…. Sofia was speechless. This was something she would have never thought would happen to her.

Sure, when she became a princess, she didn't think her father's gift to her would give her powers or even be magical in the first place. But, throughout the years, she's had her fun with the gifts her amulet granted her. She's got to meet new friends, swim with mermaids, and go on adventures in her own backyard.

But she didn't think that her amulet would lead her to this! Gaining magical affinities of the Thirteen Great Princesses! The greatest princesses ever known to man!

And hell, she only has three magical abilities! Well, two… since Lucinda did say that her power to turn into a mermaid and shrink was technically just the ability to change form….. So, she only has two.

What the hell?! Should Sofia be freaking out right now? Because it felt like she should but she just can't seem to be able to voice her mix of excitement and fear and confusion right now….

"You… can't be serious," Sofia mumbled.

"We are." Queen Anne hopped as close to Sofia as she could on Lucinda's shoulder. "Sofia, Lucinda and I realized that if you were to unlock all thirteen affinities, you would be able to defeat this man once and for all. If you are granted all thirteen gifts, he would be no match for you no matter how much dark magic he wields. You'll be able to go back to the castle and face him as if he was no threat. You need to unlock these powers because if you were to go back to the castle in the state you're in right now, with your limited powers, you would end up dead."

Sofia let out a shaky breath and plopped down into the grass right where she was standing. She needed to sit down. Her knees were buckling and her legs were starting to feel like gelatin.

Too Much…. So much has happened in the last twelve hours. Not even twenty-four. Twelve.

It was all just overwhelming. It was putting a tole on Sofia's already fragile emotions and drained brain right now.

And now, it seems like the next twelve was going to unleash a lot more for her.

Sofia wanted to back to bed and just rest for at least an hour before she had to face all of this. It was like the universe and the Fates were both trying to push her to her limits and see what she was made of in one day before she felt like giving up.

The powers of the Great Thirteen Princesses…. Sofia looked down at her hands, examining the lines of her palms. She needed to wrap her head around what she just learned. Is it even possible for me to gain them all?

"How?" Sofia didn't realize she spoke aloud until the words were already hanging in the air. "How do I even gain them? I only got these powers I have now because I was doing good deeds. Do I just go around doing eleven more just to get the rest?"

Queen Anne shook her head. "No. No one actually knows how one can gain all thirteen, but I don't think it has anything to do with good deeds. I think it has more to do with the right time and place and maybe you realizing another truth. It's sort of similar to when your amulet wanted you to realize something before it showed you the way to the first source."

"Oh, come on!" Sofia groaned loudly.

That made Hugo lay his head in her lap and quietly whisper Sofia's name as if he was trying to relieve her of her stress.

But that didn't and it only made James even more jealous than he already was. Sofia could tell that his hands were itching just to grab Hugo off of Sofia and tie him up against the tree.

"Marked or not, I really don't like him," James muttered to himself. He crossed his arms and glared right down at Hugo, who was just smiling like everything was right with the world.

"Another realization? I don't even know what I realized before," Sofia whined, ignoring the two boys.

Lucinda knelt back down so that she was eye level with her. "Well, according to the textbooks, your amulet should have indicated something to show that you realized whatever it was it needed you to realize. Think, in the last few days, has it glowed or sparkled or heated up?"

Sofia tried. She rattled her brain and memories for the last time her amulet acted out of the ordinary. She searched through the files and files of everything she could remember about her amulet, but nothing could stand out to her because she was so damn tired.

With everything that has happened to her today, her brain was overworked and nearly drained because she was running on only a few hours of sleep.

"I can't…" Sofia complained. "I am just too tired to think right now. And with Hugo in my lap, that's not really helping either. I just can't think. Not with the amount of sleep I had in the last twenty-four hours."

"No, Sofia –" Lucinda began.

"Lucinda, she's right," Queen Anne stopped her. "Sofia's has dealt with a lot today and she is possibly overworking herself. We can deal with this tomorrow since she and the others are unable to return back to the castle. Right now, it's best if we work on Hugo."

Oh thank the stars! Sofia cheered, relieved at the chance to give her brain a break.

"Are you sure?" Lucinda asked Queen Anne.

"Yes. Let's just get one problem out of the way and deal with the others one at a time."

"Alright," Lucinda shrugged, "since we can't wait for Amber and the others to arrive, we might as well get started."

"So, back to Hugo then." James said Hugo's name like it was bile on his tongue. "Because the sooner we free him, the sooner he can get his head off of Sofia's lap."

"Well," Lucinda pulled out her silver wand, "this is a good position to work with actually. If he's just lying there, Sofia can keep him calm enough so we can extract the diamond."

"Nope. I don't like this," James objected.

"You don't have to," Lucinda retorted. "You just have to hold down his right shoulder. Sofia pull out a dagger from your amulet," she instructed as she magically produced a golden stone and a vile of pure white liquid.

Sofia did as she was told while James begrudgingly came over and held Hugo down. Hugo didn't even blink an eye at James as he stared happily up at Sofia. He didn't even seem to notice her holding a purple crystal dagger in her hands.

"Good. Now we have to work fast here," Lucinda informed them. "Sofia, on the count of three, you will plunge your knife into Hugo's shoulder and dig that diamond out. Your knife is the only thing strong enough to work past the dark magic and take out the diamond. James, keep him held down just in case he decides to go crazy when Sofia slices him. And I feel like he might. There's going to be blood, so fair warning. When that is done, I am going to pour this purifying liquid into the wound and seal it with this stone. Got it?"

"Wait, how do we keep this from happening again to Hugo?" Sofia asked. She didn't want to deal with another situation like this again.

"Don't worry, I thought of that already. I am going to make a necklace out of this stone later and enchant it with the remaining liquid as a protective stone for him. Sort of like the necklace the Fairies made for Amber." Lucinda smiled and gave Sofia a thumbs up. "Now, ready?"

"As I'll ever be," Sofia sighed.

"I kind of want to be the one to cut into him as payback," James muttered to himself again.

Lucinda rolled her eyes and counted down. "One. Two. Three!"

Sofia took a deep breath and pushed her dagger right into the center of the dark mark.

The moment Sofia's dagger pierced Hugo's flesh, he let out an inhuman roar. His scream bellowed out so loud that it echoed around the entire countryside. Nearby birds flew away in fright and Sofia was sure that her mother was watching somewhere in the house.

His scream was laced with pain and agony and something dark as well. Sofia wanted to stop as she could see the sheer pain in his eyes as he looked up at her.

"Sofia, stop. Please," he begged her, saying his first human words in the last few hours. The desperation in his voice was enough to almost stop Sofia and make her pull her dagger out of his skin.

The blood that spilled out from where she cut into him didn't even faze her. It was the sound of his pain and the way he looked up at her that did.

He was begging her with his eyes and staring at her like she was betraying him in some way. As if he was asking her why she was purposefully hurting him like this.

"Don't listen to him, Sofia," Queen Anne said to her. "It's the mark that is making him say this. It's trying to manipulate you."

Sofia tried to look away from Hugo's eyes and push his screaming out of her head. She jabbed her dagger farther in. Hugo let out another howl of pain.

This time, his scream was so unearthly and loud that some of the butlers came out of the house to see what was happening. They gathered at the front and watched Sofia and the others from a distance.

"Go back inside!" James ordered them all. At the sound of James's kingly tone, no one resisted and they all rushed back inside.

"Sofia, please," Hugo begged again.

His tone was enough to make her want to erase the pain somehow. Or at least ease it in a way to not hurt him as much.

But Sofia didn't know how.

All she could think of was that if being near her was enough to make him smile while still being marked, then what can her touch do for him?

So, Sofia just placed one hand on his cheek and simply whispered, "I'm sorry." She didn't know what else to say because she felt like an apology was what he deserved right now.

He was dragged into this mess because The Evil was after her and her amulet. He was used as a malicious tool against her. It was her fault that he was marked and abused like this. The least she could do was apologize for the pain she caused him and the words she lashed out at him.

For a moment, she saw a familiar light return to his eyes as he stared up at her. "Sofia?" he said. A light that told her that the real Hugo was still inside. Still alive. Still fighting.

Determined to save him, Sofia jammed her dagger farther into his skin until she felt her knife hit against a hard object in Hugo's shoulder.

And dark smoke, similar to the one from Lucinda's tree cottage, erupted from Hugo's open wound.

"You hit it, Sofia!" Lucinda shouted over another one of Hugo's pain-filled cries. "Dig it out!"

With a sharp twist if her dagger, a pea-sized diamond the color of eerie black came popping out. And with it, more smoke.

Hugo's shouting ceased and he laid limply against Sofia, unconscious. Lucinda immediately caught the diamond into a test-tube and corked it.

But the smoke didn't disappear.

It lingered.

And the like the last time, there was two brown eyes appeared in the smoke. It stared down at Sofia and let out a menacing roar of rage as it made a sudden move towards Sofia.

But it couldn't get anywhere near Sofia as an outburst of blinding light shot out from her amulet and charged at the smoke, dispersing it into pieces. A high-piercing cry sounded out from the smoke.

All of the pieces recollected and flew at Sofia once more, but another beam of light from her amulet attacked the smoke.

"Sofia!" Amber's voice called out. Sofia turned and found her sister and the others gathered a short distance away.

When the smoke recollected again, Sofia noticed the smoke's eyes glance at Amber.

No.

"Amber, get inside of the house! Now!" Sofia shouted.

But Amber didn't move. "Sofia, what's going on?!"

"Get in the house!" James yelled at her. But Amber still refused to move. "Edward, pick Amber up and take everyone inside the house!"

Luckily, Edward did as he was told and ushered everyone inside the safety of the house. With everyone safely away, Sofia returned her attention back to the smoke that was still floating above them.

It seems that it had diminished just a bit, that the light from her amulet was erasing it bit by bit. At this rate, it seems that in order to be rid of this smoke, Sofia's amulet is going to need to shoot several more beams of light at it.

But the smoke seems stronger than the last one, fiercer and angrier. Tougher. This one wanted revenge against Sofia and was going to get it one way or another.

Sofia could tell that this one is going to be hard to beat.

"Done!" Lucinda shouted. Sofia looked down to see that Hugo's wound had sealed and all that remained was a slightly harsh red bruising. Hugo was still unconscious in her lap.

Queen Anne yelled at Sofia, "Sofia, send another light beam at the smoke!"

But Sofia didn't know how to control her amulet nor does she even know how to make another beam shoot out. To her luck, her amulet sent another one anyway.

Sofia... Sofia suddenly heard in her head. I'm sorry.

What?

Then, out of the corner of her eye, Sofia saw a flash of white fly up into the smoke just as Sofia's light to directly hit the center of the smoke.

"Queen Anne! No!" Lucinda shouted.

"What is she doing?!" James shouted.

"Her dove body is partly magic, so she's going to sacrifice herself to cause a magical explosion to kill the smoke!" Lucinda screamed with horror. "Queen Anne!"

No. No. No. No.

Sofia felt all color drain from her face as she watched Queen Anne's white dove body burst.

"Queen Anne!" Sofia cried.

But it was too late.

A large explosion of silver and gold and purple light burst. The smoke and its brown evil eyes dissolved away. The smoke's piercing cries faded as it reduced into nothing. White feathers rained down.

Silence.

No one uttered a word. Not even the air around them made a sound.

Tears fell down Sofia's cheeks as she stared up at the blue sky that was dotted with white clouds. The late afternoon light shone through the tree branches and a cool breeze rustled the leaves.

Everything looked as it should be – but it wasn't. Nothing was.

"No..." Sofia cried.

"Sofia..." James's voice croaked.

"No. No. No. No. No." Sofia's eyes stung and her tears fell harder. "Why did she do that? Why did she sacrifice herself?"

James pulled her into his arms, not caring that a still unconscious Hugo was rolled off of her lap and into the grass. He held her tightly just as her heart broke.

"Why? She was supposed to reunite with you after. I was going to introduce her to Amber afterwards. I was going to tell her all the wonderful things about you and Amber. We-we-we-" Sofia's voice broke and she cried into James's chest.

Sofia felt James's shoulders shake and warm tears fall down onto the crook of her neck. He was crying.

"She sacrificed herself because she knew that no amount of light beams from your amulet was going to defeat the smoke. The magic from your amulet wasn't strong enough right now. She did it to protect us." Sofia heard the strain in Lucinda's voice as she tried to talk. She was in tears too. "She sacrificed herself to protect us..."

She shook her head and cried even harder into James as the last of the white feathers fell.


Chapter Thirty-Three! Woo!

Finally! I am back! I am so sorry about how late these are. I actually had to go out and buy a new one because my old one was a piece of crap. Took me a while to transfer my stuff onto my new laptop and whatnot. Again, sorry. Anyway, I can upload once more! As thanks for your patience, I am uploading two chapters and Amber's POV extra.

Anyway, how did you like this chapter? What about Queen Anne? What are your thoughts?

No challenge this week. Just review your thoughts on the two chapters and whatnot because I love reading your reviews.

Read, review, etc.

Thanks :)