The Limboris Trail

Summary: In a desperate bid to save her brother from a life of silence and witlessness, Ember strikes a perilous deal with the Conjuror's Board. Her mission: to journey to the mystical land of Limboris and seek out the legendary Arbovito, a tree that grants three wishes to those with noble intentions. Ember's path is fraught with danger, but her greatest challenge lies within. After years of living selfishly, she must confront her past and prove she has truly changed. Will she learn the true meaning of selflessness, or will her old ways resurface and doom her twin forever? Jaime's fate hangs in the balance, and for the first time, Ember must put someone else's needs above her own, or risk losing him for good.

Disclaimer: I don't own Sofia the First. I own several OCs, including Angel, Ember, Jaime, Malango the Magnanimous, the sentries Isolde and Elias, and several others. I also own the location of Limboris, and the magical tree called Arbovito.

A/N: As with "Burning Ember," there won't be many author notes. However, I do want to clarify a few things. One, this chapter is something of a parallel to the final chapter of "Burning Ember" (Anew), but it's told from Amber's and Sofia's points of view this time and takes place before the conversation they have with Ember. Consider it a recap of the end of the last story; kind of like a, 'Previously, on such-and such show…' Two, this is going to be quite a different tone compared with the first story. There's a heavy focus on healing and becoming a better version of oneself, but that involves a lot of work and self-reflection, as we'll see. Three, the content here is ambiguous by design. I'm leaving a lot up to my readers as you progress through this story. Some things will be spelled out while others will be left unsaid, and that's the way I intend it to be. Lastly, I don't know if there will be a follow-up story to this one yet. However, if there is, I'll be sure to let you know. As of right now, I have no plans for one. Of course, that never stopped me before! Lol.

A/N 2: There are 13 new songs in this story. As with the previous story, the Song Connection will be displayed at the top of each chapter if there is one. This is a much shorter story as well, with 19 chapters. With that, I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 1: Six Months

The Enchancian castle was bustling with lots of energy as the workers moved along, tending to their daily duties. Things were running as smoothly as always, but there was a bit of urgency to some of the movement. There was an upcoming event where Amber would host a few other queens from around the realm, and they would sign a proclamation of peace and collaboration, with exports and imports being exchanged among the nations. It was a progressive move that made her father very proud, and it was historically significant since very rarely had there been so many queens in charge of their kingdoms at the same time.

Currently, Amber and Sofia were sitting together in a common room, playing with their children, and enjoying some rare time together. Sofia's life with Cedric often had her pulled away on missions or to magical events, while Amber was very busy running a kingdom and settling royal matters. The children, of course, were tutored or schooled as expected, so their lives didn't often align long enough for there to be this sort of downtime. However, they would take what they could get.

"Aw, thanks, sweetie," Amber cooed as her nine-year-old son, Dominic, handed her a drawing. She smiled as she observed it, her fingers tracing the lines that she supposed were supposed to be hair trailing from the circular head of a drawn figure. "Is this me?"

"No, it's Ms. Kiya," he answered honestly, blushing a little bit as his mother smirked at him. "Mom, stop it…" Truth be told, Dominic had a little crush on his young tutor named Kiya. She was 21, in the middle of her own academic studies, and spent a few evenings a week studying with the boy. Over time, he'd developed a bit of a crush on his red-haired tutor, even though she was completely oblivious.

"She's a little old for you right now, son," Amber giggled. "Do like your Aunt Sofia and wait till you're at least 19."

"Amber," Sofia laughed. "Stop that."

The queen looked up when Violet entered, passing her a letter. "What's this?"

"I'm not sure, Queen Amber," Violet responded with a shrug. "I was just told to make sure it got to you. Also, if any of you heard any screamin' earlier, things are fine. Marcie just got her apron stuck in the pasta wheel…again."

"Poor Marcie," Sofia laughed, shaking her head. "She really has the worst luck."

"Thanks, Violet," Amber mumbled as the stewardess nodded and left. She pulled the seal of the envelope loose and removed its contents. She read over the letter enclosed, her eyes narrowing a bit as she did. "It's from the Conjuror's Board, Sofia…" She glanced over at her sister, sighing. "They want to see you and me. Tomorrow."

"Why?"

"Ember." That was all she had to say before both sisters knowingly nodded. A strange quiet fell upon them as they recalled the events of the darker inverse queen, and how they'd almost lost James as a result of her selfishness. She read the full document aloud, frowning as Sofia nodded quietly as she listened. "I'm not sure I want to go, but…"

"If Malango reached out to us, it must be important," the princess suggested.

Amber lowered the letter to her lap and sighed, brushing her hand over her face. Her brother had died at the hands of this woman, and regardless of the strange turn of events six months ago, she hadn't found it in her heart to forgive Ember. Even though James was alive—still living peacefully with his family here, though they were blissfully enjoying a day to themselves in the village—that didn't take away the fact that Ember had caused a near permanent rift between the twins. She'd almost lost him forever, and just knowing that had hardened her resolve a bit.

"You don't have to go, Amber," Sofia told her gently as she reached over, patting her hand. "It's your decision, and I'll respect whatever you think. From what we saw in that letter, it's a request—not an order."

"I'm all right to go, Sofia," the blonde assured her sister. "Part of me is extremely curious what they could possibly want. Another part of me is very nervous…" She bit her lip lightly as she thought of her brother's lifeless form lying in front of her. "I just… With Ember, I feel…"

Sofia moved next to her sister, taking her hands. "Terrified," she answered for her, seeing her nod. "I get it. I know we both lost him, but I also know it's different for you. You've known him your whole life, and he's literally part of you… But he's alive, Amber. Because of…" She trailed off, her eyes unconsciously moving to the window, where she could see some smoke in the distance.

"Yeah… But I almost need to go, Sofia… Maybe this could be some sort of closure for me." She gently squeezed her sister's hands, smiling softly at her as she returned her attention to her. "But thank you. Thanks for always looking out for me."

The younger royal laughed. "It's what I do best."

The following day, the sisters traveled to the Conjuror's Board together and received the overall summary of Ember's past six months there. Suffice it to say, she was in solitary confinement and had been drained of all her dark powers. The removal of her heritage and connections to the royal family of Elyssia still stood, and all family members had ceased any communication with her.

Now in the office of Malango the Magnanimous, who was sitting in his dark chair with his hands folded beneath his chin, the sisters were sitting opposite of him and getting more updates to Ember's situation.

"How is the brother doing?"

"James?" Amber asked, a bit startled.

"No, Queen Amber, sorry. The other brother. Erm, Ember's twin?"

"Jaime," Sofia clarified. "He's under the care of my niece, Calista, and nephew-in-law, Angel. They have been working with him and taking care of him the last several months, but for the most part, he's still unresponsive."

"Hmm." The man nodded, sighing. "Unfortunately, I'm afraid that's likely not going to change. Had he not possessed the level of dark magic he did, I'm quite sure he would have been dead by now. And even more poetic, almost, is how it happened—although Jaime had been involved in his sister's schemes, it's clear that his punishment of impairment is quite suitable."

Sofia frowned, folding her arms. "What do you mean by that, Malango?"

"I simply mean that we didn't have to waste resources imprisoning and feeding him. We also didn't have to worry about him reuniting with his twin, whereby we were certain that they would try to plot some sick form of revenge or what have you. It was kind of you both to take on the burden, actually."

The princess knew Jaime had done terrible things, but she didn't like the way the leader had worded that. However, she managed to keep her thoughts to herself, especially since Amber had spoken up.

"Why did you call us here, Malango?"

"And that is where the…interesting part comes in." He sat back in his seat, loosening his cravat a bit, then folding his hands over his lap. "Recently, I made a rather strange discovery. There is a land called Limboris, which is about a three-day journey from your home in Enchancia by carriage. Have you heard of it, Princess Sofia? It's a rather magical location."

"No," she answered, shaking her head. Of all the magical places she and Cedric had visited, that one had never been on their radar.

"Mm. Well, within this land is a magical tree called Arbovito, which grants a person three wishes, just like a genie might. However, the wishes must be selfless and specific if they are to come true."

Amber frowned, tapping her fingers against her dress. "I don't understand… What does this have to do with Ember, or with us even being here?"

The older man frowned as he turned his gaze toward her. "Ember often has nightmares, screaming and crying out her brother's name in the middle of the night. She's upset many other inmates to the point where we had to move her to isolation for her own safety. A riled up prisoner is a dangerous one, after all. We've tried to magically calm her through potions or silencing spells, but some of our superiors deemed these actions…cruel…rather than helpful. To a degree, I can see where they're coming from, but we have become restricted in how we can manage the nightmares. Inconvenience and annoyance aside, it's not good for her health-wise—her heart, especially." He lifted one hand to scratch the side of his head before lowering it again. "She had apparently spoken to one of my guards about her brother Jaime recently. According to the guard, Ember said she deeply regretted involving him in her schemes. She'd even begun talking to herself, imagining Jaime sitting next to her in her cell, which clearly worried the guard and other caretakers who often see to her. One nurse was even afraid that she would try to hang herself when she found a tightly wound set of bedsheets hidden under her bedframe."

"Oh, wow," Amber breathed, a bit astonished to hear this information. Rarely did anyone wonder what happened to the 'bad guy' after being captured. Ember was heavily misguided, and she had made some extremely stupid and poor decisions, which had led her here. However, she never would have wished death on the other woman… "Did she…?"

"As far as we know, no. She's never attempted such a thing. However, to keep her from harming herself, and honestly, to get her away from the other inmates, I decided to try something a bit unorthodox. I wanted to strike a deal with her: if she, accompanied by a few of my sentries and at least one reliable person from your group, travel to the Arbovito in Limboris with Jaime, and if she somehow successfully wishes for his restoration, I will permit them to share an isolated space together instead of where they currently are. Of course, the area would be protected by the Conjuror's Board, magically enhanced to prevent inhabitants from leaving. But they would have everything they could ever need if they were to be successful."

Sofia tilted her head. "What is this 'isolated space,' Malango? What's it called?"

He chuckled. "I'm afraid that's classified information, Princess. It's for everyone's safety and benefit."

"But why are we here?" Amber queried. "Why were we summoned to do a job that should belong to you? I don't get that part…"

Malango stood, sighing as he stretched and shook his head. "Therein lies the problem. I had attempted to explain this scenario to Ember. When I spoke with her, though, she lunged angrily at me, spitting in my face, and told me she'd kill me if I ever approached her again."

"Oh, but you're willing to let us go in there?" Amber asked in alarm.

"She seems to trust you, Queen Amber. It's the strangest thing… Guards informed me before that she has spoken kindly of the two of you, and I figured perhaps she would respond more positively to you than to me."

"What exactly did you do to make her so upset with you?" Sofia wondered.

The man laughed, though the sound was somewhat dry. "I'm Malango the Magnanimous, Princess Sofia. I'm always making people angry. But I was the one who ordered her magic to be removed, had her searched daily for any dangerous items, and gave her reminders of why she's here. I'm none too kind and gentle with these prisoners, because of all intents and purposes, she's just as dangerous as anyone here. I'm not surprised I got the reaction I did, but my job isn't to be her friend. It's to protect others from her, and perhaps to even save her from herself."

"And you're still willing to let her try this quest," the auburn-haired princess clarified, receiving a nod. "Why?"

"If she were to be successful in this venture, I would gladly remove her from her confines here and place her in a private yet guarded location if it meant keeping the blasted peace in our cells. Just having her gone would likely lift quite the burden that many of our guards have felt these last six months."

The sisters exchanged glances and quietly spoke to each other for a bit before Sofia took charge of the conversation.

"We'll talk to her," she agreed. "But… Only if we have all the details before visiting her. We won't make any false promises to her, and I don't want to say the wrong thing and make things worse."

Malango nodded. "Understandable. Let's go over everything once more so you know exactly what is being offered here…"

To be continued…

Next Chapter: Cold Fire