Chapter 3: The Passing of Time
Ten years. It had been ten years since that fateful day, and Sofia could still remember it like it was yesterday.
She remembered waking up feeling groggy and disoriented to find her animal friends gathered around her. She remembered the panic she felt when she realized exactly why she could no longer understand them. And she remembered frantically searching her room for her missing amulet.
Baileywick walked into the princess's room to find her halfway under her bed. When he asked what she was looking for, Sofia hesitantly admitted her amulet was missing. The steward had insisted that she get dressed and join her family for breakfast while he searched for it himself. Sofia wanted to protest. She didn't want her father to know her amulet was missing. It wasn't that she feared Roland would be angry with her, she knew he wouldn't be. But she was afraid that if Roland knew the precious necklace was missing he might jump to some conclusion. Roland didn't know about Cedric's former plots to steal her amulet, but, given the way he'd been watching the sorcerer since the day Cedric tried to take over the kingdom, Sofia was afraid he might assume the sorcerer stole it. This was something she desperately wanted to avoid. However, she couldn't explain all this to Baileywick, so she reluctantly dressed and went to the dining room, deciding to try to keep as much attention from herself as possible.
At first, the plan worked. No one seemed to notice when the auburn haired girl slipped into her seat at the breakfast table. Amber and James were excitedly discussing their summer plans with their parents. No one noticed Sofia was there until halfway through the meal, when Miranda, after realizing how quiet her younger daughter had been, asked if she was all right. With everyone looking at her, Sofia plastered a smile on her face and assured them that she was fine. But, unfortunately, Amber soon noticed that her sister's ever–present necklace wasn't in its usual place around her neck. For the second time that morning, Sofia admitted her amulet was missing. To her relief, Roland didn't seem to react as badly as she'd feared, but he was lost in thought for the rest of the meal.
After breakfast, Sofia tried to escape back to her room to resume the search for her missing necklace, but Amber stopped her in the hallway and reminded her that they had plans for the day. A carnival had come to Dunwiddie, and the whole royal family had planned go for over a week. So Sofia reluctantly followed her sister outside where they found James waiting on the steps. A few minutes later, Miranda joined them. She told them that Roland had some sudden business to attend to, so he wouldn't be going to the carnival with the family. The kids were a little disappointed at this news, but they understood that a king's work was never really done. The four of them set out for the village.
Sofia did manage to have fun at the carnival, despite an apprehensive feeling that something was wrong. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary in the village, so she tried to shrug it off, thinking she was just uneasy because her amulet was missing. Still, she couldn't fully ignore the feeling. Something bad was happening.
When the royals retuned to the castle late that afternoon, Sofia immediately sought out Baileywick to ask if he had found her amulet. When he answered in the negative, the princess decided to go to the sorcerer's tower to ask Cedric if he could help her find her lost jewel. After all, her friend probably had a spell to track lost items. She hurried up the tower steps, feeling hopeful that things would soon be back to normal. But when she reached the top landing and saw that the workshop door had been broken down, her hope turned to fear for her friend. She rushed into the room and found it in shambles. The floor was covered with broken potion bottles, books and tools. Books had been thrown carelessly from the bookshelves, furniture had been torn apart, and Cedric's potion and ingredient stores had been emptied. Even the portrait of Goodwyn and Winifred had been tossed to the floor. Sofia stared at the mess that was her mentor's workshop in horror before noticing that there were men on the upper level taking books from the higher shelves. She could also hear noises coming from a door she knew led to the sorcerer's private quarters. Panicking and fearing something had happened to Cedric, the young girl turned and bolted down the stairs, intending to tell her father what was happening and get help for her friend.
Sofia ran frantically through the castle and burst into the throne room, startling her family, who were discussing the carnival. She told Roland what she'd just seen in Cedric's workshop. She urged him to get some guards and go with her to help the sorcerer, whom she feared was being held against his will. Miranda and the twins were stunned to hear of something like that happening in the castle. Roland, on the other hand, was very calm.
And then the king surprised everyone in the room by telling them that he'd had Cedric taken away, that the men in his workshop were guards looking for the lost amulet, which he suspected the sorcerer had hidden somewhere in the tower. Horrified, Sofia pleaded with her father to have Cedric brought back. She didn't believe for a minute that her mentor had stolen her amulet. But Roland's answer was a stern no. He refused to listen to Sofia's pleas, saying she was too naïve and forgiving. He told her she needed to grow up and accept that not everyone had goodness in them. Sofia was shocked to hear this. In the time since Roland had become her stepfather, he had never spoken to her so harshly. The final blow came when he said that she would never see her dear friend again. In tears, the princess ran to her room. She eventually cried herself to sleep as her bewildered animal friends looked on.
…
That horrible day was worse than any nightmare the young princess had ever experienced. Her best friend had been arrested for something she was certain he hadn't done, and her father wouldn't listen when she tried to reason with him. She often wondered what she could have done differently. Maybe she should have gone to Cedric instead of going to breakfast. Maybe she should have thought of a good reason to stay home from the carnival. But what if she had gone to Cedric first thing in the morning? What if they hadn't been able to find her amulet, even with the aid of magic? Would Roland still have the sorcerer apprehended? Somehow, Sofia knew the answer was yes. The more she thought of it, the more she realized that Roland had probably been waiting for something like this to happen. He hadn't trusted Cedric since the sorcerer nearly took over the kingdom a few months prior, so he would likely be ready to blame him for anything that went wrong.
The amulet was not found. And no one seemed to realize that Wormwood had disappeared.
Needless to say, the royal family's summer didn't go quite the way any of them had expected. The twins were upset with their father for the way he treated Sofia. But Miranda was furious. She was not only angry because of the way her husband had spoken to her daughter, but she was also upset because he made a royal decision without her. The king and queen had a huge argument that evening, and Miranda moved out of the bedchamber she shared with Roland that very evening, staying in one of the castle's guest rooms for the rest of the summer.
As for Sofia, she stayed in her room for a week, barely eating the food Baileywick brought up for her and not talking to anyone except her animal friends, whom she could no longer understand. When she finally did venture out of her room, it became clear to those who knew her that she was no longer the same girl she had been before Cedric was sent away. She rarely smiled and was no longer the bubbly, cheerful girl who would always greet members of the castle staff when she saw them in the corridors. She assured her mother and siblings that she was fine, but they knew something inside her had been broken. Sofia refused to be in the same room as her stepfather, taking her meals in her room. She stopped calling him Dad–the title she had so lovingly bestowed on him at her debut ball–and started referring to him as Roland whenever she had to speak to him, which wasn't often.
The summer weeks seemed to pass slowly for the royal family. Roland eventually won back most of his family's love. James was the first to forgive his father. The blonde boy had been shocked and angry by the way Roland spoke to Sofia that day, but it wasn't in his nature to stay mad. Soon, the two of them were running through the obstacle course together like nothing had ever happened. Amber, on the other hand, was not so easy to win over. She didn't understand her sister's fascination with Cedric, but she knew how happy Sofia was to be his apprentice and learn magic from him. The blonde princess often mulled over everything that had happened, and she realized that there was no way the sorcerer would steal Sofia's amulet. True, he did try to take over the kingdom, but he wouldn't betray his only friend again, would he? Amber didn't think so. Plus, Amber hated the way her father had told Sofia she needed to accept that not everyone had goodness inside them. Sofia/s ability to see the good in people was one of the things Amber admired about her sister. After all, Sofia had helped her become a better person. Now, because of Roland's harsh words, her sister seemed to have lost that ability, along with everything else that made her Sofia. But, like James, Amber eventually forgave her father, especially after he gifted her with a new tiara. Even Miranda started to miss her husband. She was still furious with him, but she still loved him. After a few months, she moved back to the room she shared with Roland. Only Sofia kept her distance from her stepfather. Deep down, the king knew what he could do to make his younger daughter happy, but the stubborn part of his mind told him that Sofia would soon get over Cedric and focus her attention on other things. Therefore, he never had Cedric released from prison.
When school started again, everyone at Royal Prep knew instantly that the youngest princess of Enchancia had changed over the summer. The once enthusiastic girl was now quiet and distant. She no longer joined conversations with her friends, no matter how hard they tried to include her. It wasn't that she didn't care for the people around her; she just wasn't interested in talking to them. In fact, Sofia slowly started to realize that she was no longer interested in things she had once loved. She left the Flying Derby team and quit the Princess Adventure Club. Her grades started slipping because she couldn't focus on the assignments. The only class that made Sofia truly happy was sorcery. Using magic made her feel close to Cedric, whom she missed horribly. At first, no one at school knew what had brought on such a change in Sofia. It just didn't make sense that the girl, who had always been so eager to try new things, always wanting to prove that princesses could do anything, now kept mostly to herself. Most students assumed something tragic had happened over the summer. Eventually, Amber told the girls' close circle of friends the whole story. They were all sympathetic toward Sofia, which the auburn haired girl appreciated greatly.
When it came time for Sofia and her classmates to choose their secondary schools, Sofia readily announced that she wanted to go to the village school in Dunwiddie with Ruby and Jade. Amber, who had recently learned that she–not James–was the heir to Enchancia's throne, was a little dismayed at her sister's decision, but she understood. Sofia had confided in the older girl that she didn't feel like she could be a princess; that she didn't think she really mattered. Amber assured her that she did matter, even though her relationship with Roland would never be the same. Perhaps a change was what Sofia really needed to be truly happy again.
Graduation came and went. So did the first year anniversary of Cedric's arrest. Sofia still missed the sorcerer terribly. She missed his smile, she missed his sarcastic remarks, and she missed the time they spent together. Her life was just so empty without him.
For the next few years, Sofia went back and forth between the castle and the village. Gradually, she did start to feel happy again. She had loved being a princess, at least for the first few years, but she was born a commoner, so she could easily appreciate how simple life was in Dunwiddie. Ruby and Jade were elated to have their friend going to their school, and Sofia was happy to be with them. The only downside was that the school didn't have a sorcery class. She started wearing her tiara and princess gowns less and less, opting to instead wear simple commoner dresses. She also stopped attending most royal functions, no longer feeling like she belonged among royals and nobles. Queen Elena's coronation was one of the few events she was happy to attend.
When Sofia was sixteen, she decided to relinquish her title as princess and move to the village. Miranda was very sad to see her daughter go, but she knew Sofia was old enough to make her own decisions, so she agreed to let her move in with Ruby and her mother. A year later, after graduating from school, Sofia moved into the building that had been her mother's shoe shop and prepared to become the village seamstress. She had always liked sewing, and her skills had only gotten better over the last few years. When Sofia was nineteen, Amber married Prince Hugo, whom she had been courting for several years. A year later, Roland decided to step down from the throne, making Amber Enchancia's new ruler. To celebrate their retirement, Roland and Miranda set sail on a trip around the world; a journey that would last approximately a year.
And that is where the real story begins…
A/N: First, I apologize for not updaying in quite a few months. I know I've post a lot of stories between the last update and this one, but what can I say? I go wherever the wind takes me. LOL!
This chapter probably isn't what most of you were expecting, but it need to be written. I felt you needed Sofia's side of things. How many of you figured out that she wouldn't be a princess anymore based on some things in the last chapter?
Next chapter we'll see how Sofia's doing all these years later.
Oh, and I'm not sure when the next update will be, but I thank you for being patient.
