Les Misérables

Summary: After studying about the dark past of surrounding kingdoms, Tanya asks Cedric and Sofia if any other kingdom ever had the same level of darkness. This leads to a very unexpected story, filled with despair, hope, severed and forged bonds, and preventable demise. Read Me a Story format! (Takes place 5 years after my season 5 stories)

Disclaimer: I don't own Sofia the First. I own Corban and some other OCs mentioned here. MarionetteJ2X owns Tanya and Nana.

Chapter 6: Hidden Angel

Many people had seen "the child with the golden hair" before, but few knew who she was. One little boy had once called her an "angel" when he had seen her, because to him, she seemed so ethereal amongst the dim and dark setting of the inn where she lived. She wore a soft white dress that was something akin to rags now, especially since the family with whom she lived didn't care to dress her in more suitable clothing. Still, she never complained and simply did as she was told, which was often sweeping the steps of the inn or tending to the back garden. Anything not to be indoors with them…

Her name was Amber, and she was a ward of the Wilkinsons: innkeeper Nigel and his wife Cordelia. She'd lived with them since she was much younger, and though she vaguely remembered her birth mother, her memories were dwindling day by day. However, she did recall the love Lorelei had blanketed her with, especially when that was about all she had to provide. Amber was ten years old now: young enough to be especially useful due to her high energy as a child, but old enough to know that she was being exploited by people who would never truly care for her.

Amber silently swept inside the inn while Nigel and Cordelia, ever the lavish and boisterous yet very odd couple, cackled about anything and everything, especially instances where they had outsmarted their own guests. They were known for plundering in their guests' items and stealing valuables without anyone knowing. Amber knew it was wrong, but what could she possibly do? She watched as the couple sloppily kissed each other while evidently getting even more physical up against a wall, though (thankfully) Cordelia's heavy skirts hid anything from the girl's eyes.

"Ooh, Nigel!" Cordelia cooed, grinning wickedly at her husband as she threw her arms around his neck. "I love it when you take me in the open!"

"Where is he taking you, Mama?"

The couple paused almost immediately after hearing another voice—younger and more innocent. They turned, seeing their daughter, Sofia, standing there, her large blue eyes wide and clearly confused.

"Sofia!" Nigel gasped, trying to appear nonchalant while also struggling to hold his trousers in a less conspicuous state. "Why are you not at school?"

"It's Saturday, Papa…" She tilted her head, her arms folding. "Mama doesn't look very comfortable."

"Oh, little love, I assure you, I am," Cordelia tittered, subtly nudging her husband, who groaned in response. "Be a dear and run along. Your father and I were in the middle of a discussion."

She blinked, shrugging. "If you say so."

Amber watched the other girl walk away, the auburn-haired girl scarcely looking her way as she did. While the married couple was often cruel to Amber, even starving or berating her when she didn't do their bidding, Sofia wasn't like them. They had tried to urge the girl to be just as awful to Amber, but Sofia would often ask why. She didn't like being mean to people who had never done anything wrong to her. While Amber appreciated this, she found herself caring enough about Sofia that she didn't want any harm to befall her, and so she would sometimes whisper that it was all right if she had to be mean to her…

Still, Sofia was a good person. She always had been. So how she had been born into such a terrible family, Amber would never understand. She just hoped that goodness would carry over into adulthood, and maybe someday they could even be friends.

The money Lorelei had sent the innkeeper for Amber's care never actually got spent on Amber herself. The couple would shower Sofia with new clothing and treasures, while Amber often went without most of her life. Nigel and Cordelia had even bought expensive wines and food, throwing lavish and loud parties at least a few times a month, just to keep up their social status amongst the other Zodians. It wasn't uncommon during those days and in that climate to try to blend in with the wealthy, even though the Wilkinsons were far from it. But it was amazing what a little charisma could suggest.

Many evenings, while Amber was lying in her bed with a few blankets huddled around her, she would stare out the window at the waning moon and fading stars. She would often dream of reuniting with her mother, who always greeted her so warmly and lovingly in those dreams. She would hold her, kiss her forehead, and tell her stories of happier times. She would get her a new dress—one that fit and wasn't a few sizes too big like her other clothing—and new shoes, even. She would never go hungry, be thirsty, or feel tired or sad. She would finally know what peace was…

Amber gasped as she accidentally bumped into a bucket of clean water, which spilled across the parlor. "Oh, no!"

Cordelia, finally satiated and "properly" dressed, snarled at the little girl and took her arm, yanking her toward her. "You little simpleton! Look what you've done!" She practically threw her toward the door, even rolling her eyes as the young girl whimpered and tried to nurse her clearly hurt arm. "Go fetch some water from the well. Now!" She shoved the empty bucket into her arms and pushed her out the door, locking it behind her. She turned when she heard the bell to the inn ding, and she grinned at her husband. "Showtime, love!"

Nigel practically giggled as he straightened his clothing. "Let's get 'em."

Amber sighed as she trudged along the path away from the inn. Though she hated the dark and the spooky sounds of the forest behind the lodging, it was still a more welcoming environment than the inside of her so-called home. She stumbled a bit as she walked, her bare feet getting scratched as she encountered tree roots and other unpleasantries along the ground. She hadn't even made it to the well when she heard the rattling of a carriage nearby. Turning, she frowned, watching as the carriage stopped at a distance, and a tall man exited from within.

"Excuse me, is your name Amber, by any chance?" Roland asked as he stepped more into the light flickering in the sconces on the side of the carriage.

"How do you know my name?" the girl asked, cowering back a bit, clutching the bucket in her small hands.

"It's all right. My name is Roland. I'm a friend of your mother's." Roland wished he had worded that differently, especially as he saw the girl's eyes light up. One, he'd hardly call himself Lorelei's friend, though he wished beyond anything that he could have been a friend to her. Maybe then she would still be alive… And two, the hopeful and expectant expression the girl had taken on really broke his heart. After all, when she discovered that her mother was gone… "Or I was, anyway… Um, would you like to come with me? I think we should talk."

Amber had never been told not to speak with strangers, as her "guardians" didn't really guard her, nor did they ever actually meet a stranger themselves. So, just going by her own judgment, she figured she could at least hear the man out. He knew her name, after all. That had to be a good sign… "Sure."

Roland spent several minutes detailing the story of Lorelei's life, leaving out the more grotesque details, of course. By the end, he admitted that he'd made the dying Lorelei a promise to find Amber, pay off her mother's debts, and care for her himself.

The little girl didn't cry when she heard of her mother's death. After all, she didn't exactly have a deep connection with her, as much as she would have loved that. Instead, she seemed relieved. "So… I'm going home with you now? Instead of living with Master Nigel and Madame Cordelia?"

They hadn't even let her call them something familiar, had they? The sheer loneliness the girl must have felt all those years was incredible. Still, Roland simply nodded, a soft smile on his lips as the carriage slowed to a halt near the inn. "If that's what you want."

Amber finally smiled, gratitude evident on her face. "I would love that…"

"Absolutely not!" Cordelia practically screeched after Roland had returned Amber and explained the situation. "She's like a family member to us! You can't just bloody waltz in, offer to pay for her 'freedom,' and expect us to take this sitting down. We promised Lorelei we'd look after the little tot, and that's what we're doing."

"You call this taking care of her? Then why don't her clothes fit? Why doesn't she wear shoes? Why did she tell me she hadn't eaten in two days?"

Nigel glared at Amber, who shrunk away behind Roland. "We left you food on your bed! You said you didn't want it!"

"A child should be eating with her family, not left to eat cold gruel alone," Roland argued, squaring up with the older man. "I will pay off Lorelei's debts, and I will adopt Amber as my own. Name your price."

The older man scoffed, folding his arms. "You can't afford it."

Roland smirked, removing a few bags of silver from the inner lining of his coat pocket. "Try me." Seeing the stunned expression on Nigel's face, he tossed the bags to the man, watching as he fumbled but caught them all the same. "We'll be leaving now. Amber." He looked down, taking the girl's hand. "Come, little one. I'll take you to your new home."

As the couple argued about how to spend the money and Roland left with Amber, Sofia stood in the shadows, watching the other girl leave. Her eyes were filled with unshed tears. To her, it wasn't fair that Amber got to get away from this horrible place. Her parents only showered her with gifts—not with love. By the looks of it, Amber would get the one thing Sofia had always secretly but desperately craved: unconditional love and stability from someone who cared.

Sofia's family might have grown slightly wealthier that evening, thanks to Roland's more than generous "adoption fee," but in Sofia's eyes, Amber was the richer one now. She had something money couldn't buy: freedom, and someone who had given it to her without wanting a thing in return…

To be continued…

Next Chapter: Zodian Upheaval