AN: Consider that every single relationship Crystal has is transactional. It's based solely on the money he has. How many people talk to him just see how he's doing and to offer him true friendship? Probably not many. Maybe Jerry but even he's an employee. If Crystal didn't pay him, would he still be there? If he didn't pay Suki, would she still be there? Even his own daughter only sees the gifts he gives her.
Part 4
Cedric was up long before Sofia was. He summoned up one of her clean gowns and laid it out for her. Normally, the castle steward, Baileywick, would do this but he wasn't here. Under most circumstances, he'd have been offended at doing such tasks but Sofia deserved it as she would never ask it of him.
He went through the entire suite at a quick pace, making sure everything was spic and span. His final spell conjured a massive breakfast feast on the dining table, including a Keep Fresh and Hot charm.
Needing a break, he picked up a long rectangular wand. He recalled seeing the gorilla point it at the flat black box on the wall. He mimicked what he saw and it turned on. "Hot News! I'm Linda LeBon and have I got some Hot News today? Mr. Jimmy Crystal has entered into a contract with newcomer Buster Moon and his new protégé, a mysterious young child from a strange land named Sofia." He smiled proudly.
He went back to the bedroom to find Clover helping Sofia get ready for the day as he usually did. "Good morning, Princess. I hope you slept well."
She nodded. "I did, thank you. I hope you did too. This place is so strange. This strange box by my bed made a ringing sound and when I picked it up, Miss Lane's voice asked me the same thing. It must be magical."
Cedric nodded. "Or their version of it."
After helping Sofia, Clover eyed the clothes he'd taken off the night before and the shoes. "Do I really need to put this back on? Rabbits don't wear clothes."
Sofia smiled at her friend. "Don't worry, I'll help you. Like you always help me." She was glad for the opportunity to do it. Once he was ready, they went out to the common room together.
They went out to the common room together. Sofia smiled when she saw the splendid feast.
"Oh, looks like room service has been here," Gunter announced his presence as he joined them. They heard the others slowly coming out too.
Sofia shook her head. "Nope. Mr. Cedric made breakfast for everyone.
The sorcerer's chest puffed up with her pride in him. "Only the best for my princess."
"Well, thank you, Mr. Cedric," Rosita said with a grateful gaze. She saw Clover. "Oh, sweetheart, don't you have any other clothes?" She asked with a maternal tone.
He shrugged. "I've never had any clothes before. Cedric's hocus pocus gave me this. Animals don't wear clothes in the EverRealm. Unless it's Wonderland but that's only if you work for the Queen of Hearts like my Uncle Aloysius."
She smiled gently. "Well, we'll just have to fix that. Once we have a free moment, we'll take you shopping," the mother pig promised.
The doorbell rang, prompting Cedric to answer it. "Hello, Mr. Jerry, am I correct?"
The cat nodded. "Mr. Crystal would like Miss. Sofia to join him and his family for breakfast."
The princess gasped. "Really? That's so kind. I suppose I'll see you guys in a bit," she said.
Cedric nodded. "Shall I go with you, Princess?"
Sofia shook her head. "I appreciate the offer, Mr. Cedric but I'll be alright." She left with Jerry.
Ash looked at the closed door. "So I guess Mr. Crystal has a soft spot for kids. He should have invited you too, Mr. Moon."
Buster shrugged. "Oh well. We have too much work to do anyway. Besides, it's probably just because she's a princess."
The porcupine rolled her eyes. "Whatever. She's turning this into the Sofia Show. This is our show."
Rosita patted her shoulder. "It is our show, Ash. Sofia just helped us with a really good idea."
She sighed. "She gave us the most generic idea you can think of. Yet, Crystal and even Moon seem to be hanging on her every word! We should be telling him about Gunter's space idea."
Cedric hung on the edge of things, listening to the porcupine's jealous rant. "Well, if you don't want our help, the three of us could just go home and leave you to deal with Crystal on your own, I mean, he just adored your first suggestion, right?" He sneered at them. He would have no problem leaving the ungrateful guitarist. Some stories were just meant to have bad endings.
Buster shook his head. "No, please. Ash, I know fairytales aren't your favorite stories but they do have mass appeal. Give her a chance. She's not going to make you wear pink, I promise."
The elephant smiled. "I like her. She's so nice."
Ash sighed. She was the only one with reservations, she realized. This little girl was stealing their thunder and making the show about her and they didn't seem to care.
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Sofia marveled at the carriage waiting outside the hotel for her. "Oh my. What an amazing carriage. Where are the horses?"
Jerry cocked an eyebrow. "If you asked a horse here to pull anything, they'd get very offended. It's an automobile, a limousine to be exact. It's propelled by an engine. And check this out…" he pushed a button on a small console and a paper cup was picked up by the gadget and put under a hole where a brown liquid was squirted out. "Hot chocolate?" He held out the cup.
"Ohhhh! It's like magic!" She sipped. "Mmm, yum. Thank you. So, you're one of Mr. Crystal's friends?"
He shook his head. "Oh I wish he considered me a friend. He's absolutely the best. I'm just one of his assistants."
Sofia smiled. "If you consider him a friend, then that's what matters. Our castle steward, Baileywick, is one of my dad's best friends."
The cat brightened up. "I just wish it was that easy. Crystal doesn't really consider anyone a friend but you're very sweet. It's okay. I'm happy just being able to serve him."
The princess turned to look out the window at the amazing new world unfolding before her. Finally, the limo pulled up to the two story manor house near the shore. "Oh, that's a great view. I love the ocean. I have a friend, Oona, she's a mermaid and every summer we visit Merroway Cove where she lives."
Jerry couldn't understand why Suki didn't like this little girl. She was so pleasant and nice. She didn't once berate him on the way to the mansion. She even thanked him for the chocolate drink. "This way." He led her inside.
The white wolf was sitting at the head a long table, tippy-tapping on his golden box. To his right, a younger, gray wolf sat eating a plate of french toast. "Good morning, Princess. Sit here," he pointed at the seat to his left. "I trust you slept well."
Sofia smiled. "I slept very well, thank you. How are you doing this morning?" She sat. She smiled at the wolf across from her. "Hi. I'm Princess Sofia."
The teenager squealed. "I'm Porsha. I'm so excited to meet a real princess. I begged Daddy to invite you to breakfast."
"I didn't know he had a daughter. It's so nice to meet you, Porsha." She helped herself to a piece of French toast and an apple. "How old are you?"
"I just turned 17 in March. What's it like being a princess?"
Sofia noticed that most of the conversation was between her and Porsha. Crystal was very focused on his golden box. Finally, after several minutes of conversation, she asked, "What is that little box?"
He looked up while Porsha became noticeably quiet. "It's my cellular phone. It lets me stay in constant contact with the staff at Crystal Entertainment."
She nodded. "So it's kind of like my Enchantlet." She held up her wrist where the purple bracelet sat. "It lets me talk to anyone else who has one." She snapped her wrist and the thin purple rope whipped out and formed a circle in the air. "Hey Crysta!" A brunette woman with blue wings and a deep tan appeared in the circle, making Crystal drop his phone in shock.
"Hey Sofia, how's my best trainee doing?" the fairy asked. "Where are you at?"
"I'm in Faunalia, in Mundania. I'm helping Mr. Crystal and the New Moon Theatre put on a show," she explained.
"Wow Sofia! That's exciting. It's rare that anyone from the EverRealm goes to Mundania," Crysta said with pride. "Oh, I gotta go. The Isle of Mermaids needs a protector right away. Good luck."
The rope untwined and went back into the bracelet and Sofia turned to the Crystals. "Wow!" Porsha said, impressed. "How do you get an Enchantlet?"
"I got it by climbing a tall mountain on the Isle of Forever Frost in the Mystic Isles, where all the magic in our world comes from. I had to make friends with a family of arcticondors and wrangle a baranga. It was my first training task to be a Protector," Sofia exclaimed.
"Oh that is so neat. And what's that?" Porsha pointed at the pink gem around her neck.
Sofia smiled and held the gem. "It's my amulet. When I first came to the castle, after my mom married my dad, he gave me this to welcome me into the family. He made me promise to never take it off. And watch this." She looked directly into Crystal's eyes and said, "I wish to be a wolf." With a small puff of smoke, she became a small, purple-furred wolf still wearing her purple dress. She didn't like showing off so much magic but he had yet to retrieve his phone. "I wish to be myself again." Another poof and she was back to normal.
"Oh Daddy! She's so adorable. Can we keep her?" Porsha squealed.
Crystal laughed and shook his head. "Of course not. That is a fascinating trinket though. I wonder if I could mass produce it. Without the magic, of course, but it would make a good souvenir for the customers."
The princess smiled. "As long as I got to keep mine, that would be great."
Crystal picked up his phone. "Just let me…" A light flashed and Sofia had to hide her eyes. He turned the phone so she could see.
She gasped. "Hey, that's like the spell Mrs. Witch used to save pictures of Lucinda during her Cauldronation Day."
"It's called photography. My phone has a built-in camera that I can use to take photographs or even record videos," he explained.
Sofia ate, letting him explain the device he was so attached to. It got him engaging in conversation.
At the end of the meal, he looked at Porsha. "Why don't you take your new friend up to your room. We'll be going to the theater soon. She will need to help Mr. Moon with the new show."
Porsha nodded. "Okay, Daddy." She led Sofia up the grand staircase and into her room. "This is my room."
Sofia smiled and looked around. She saw a frame sitting on her dresser. She looked closely. "Awww, is this you as a baby? You were so cute!"
Porsha laughed. "Yep. That's me, my dad and my mom."
"Your mom? I haven't gotten to meet her yet…" Sofia bit her lip.
The wolf nodded. "She died when I was a baby. That's the only picture I have of her."
"Oh, I'm sorry… My first dad was a sailor. He was lost at sea," she shared her own personal tragedy. "And your dad never married again?"
Porsha shook her head. "Jerry once told me that my mom is the only one my father truly loved. After she died, he built all these walls around himself. Like his phone and his job. He won't even let me get too close but I know he loves me. But we don't have much time together. He works so hard."
That was it. That explained so much and she knew why she couldn't shake the feeling that her dad really should be here. Her mom too and Amber and James.
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A short time later, she was racing back to the theater where Mr. Moon was just meeting with the design crew, only to tell them that he didn't have anything quite yet.
"Sofia, great, you're back. You need to tell us about your home so the designers can build the sets," Buster said.
Sofia thought about her answer. "I have a better idea. How about I go get you some books about our castle and our kingdom. There'll be pictures you can use." She suggested.
"If you can, that would be great. Does that work for you, Mason?" Buster asked the walrus,
He nodded. "Yes. I'll come back in a few hours." He and the rest of the crew left.
Sofia smiled. "Thanks. Clover, I need you to stay and help Mr. Moon, okay?" She hugged him, whispering. "Try to keep them out of trouble until I get back."
Clover nodded. "I'll do my best, Sof." He wasn't about to tell her about the conversation that happened after she left.
She went over to Cedric, who was leaning against the wall. "We have to get my mom and dad. They need to be here."
"As you wish, Princess Sofia," he found a broom closet and pointed his wand. "Portillo! After you, Princess…"
Sofia looked back at Buster. "I'll be back as fast as I can, I promise." She and Cedric went through the door.
AN: Sofia has left for Enchancia and only Clover remains to try and keep Buster was doing something dumb, like lie about knowing a legendary rockstar.