Sofia was transported into the illustration. The scenery before her was dazzling. She found herself on a soft, well-mown lawn, with fragrant snowy white jasmine flowers, lilacs, and glistening ruby red roses. She felt the cold evening breeze running through her hair. Amidst all the anxiety, she felt relief as she inhaled the breeze laced with the sweet scent of jasmine. For a moment, she thought to lie on the soft lawn and watch the sunset, which looked ever so captivating.
But she suddenly remembered the purpose of her being here in the first place. She had to save Hugo. The only problem was, she couldn't find him there. As far as her eyes could see, there wasn't a sign of him. She started panicking. Her heart began throbbing in her chest. "Hugo! Hugo, where are you?" she started hollering, her eyes darting in all directions in an attempt to spot Hugo anywhere in the distance.
Then, she suddenly remembered a similar story of King Mattheo and Queen Vivianne. The king was trapped in a royal painting by the rival King Theodore. When Queen Vivianne learned that the king, in panic, was running through the paintings adorning the walls, she'd rescued him. She cast a spell, which brought her to the exact painting where the king was.
She tried hard to remember the spell. "Liber Animare Hugo!" she shouted, her eyes closed and the wand clutched tightly by her fingers. Once she opened her eyes, she found herself on a plateau, where a few hundred trolls were gathered around someone.
She pushed her way through the crowd, trying to get to the person around whom they were eagerly waiting. The trolls didn't seem to notice her presence. When she reached the other end, she beheld a very familiar face. Hugo. He was seated on an elaborate throne, speaking to one of the trolls who, by the sound of it, had a problem.
"Hugo! What are you doing here?" asked Sofia, her temper rising.
"Sofia! So good to see you! I was solving a problem here," replied Hugo. Then, in an undertone, he said, "Apparently, these trolls think of me as their new king, and I've never felt so happy about that." He added with a wink.
"By the way, what areyou doing here?" he asked.
"Trying to rescue you, ofcourse. But you seem to be enjoying being trapped," she replied, crossing her arms.
"Yes, I am. I love the feeling of being considered a hero by a whole kingdom. Anyways, would you like to be my queen?" he asked as he narrowed his eyes with a smirk.
"Enough with this nonsense, Hugo! We need to be back at your castle. Your mum and dad are betting on me to save you!" Sofia exclaimed.
"That was a very harsh way to reject the offer to be the queen of the trolls," he said, trying to look innocent.
"Whatever. The main purpose I've come here is to save you, whether you like it or not. Now, let's go!" she said, making an attempt to grab his hand.
"Ma'am, yer not supposed to take him away from us. He's 'ar new King." said a troll as he blocked Hugo from Sofia.
"Let me talk to her, Leo." said Hugo politely to the troll.
"As you wish, yer Majesty." the troll replied with a bow.
As the troll cleared the gap between Sofia and Hugo, Sofia stood there crossing her arms, with an angry expression on her face.
"Oh come on, Sof. Let's stay here for a few more hours. Is there any way to inform the castle we won't be back for some more time?" asked Hugo, which made Sofia a bit calm.
Sofia seemed to be doing a lot of thinking. Finally, with a sigh, she said, "Well, since you want to stay here so desperately, there is a spell which will send a message to the King and Queen that we'll be back later."
He became extremely happy. "Then, what are you waiting for? Do the spell! Then, you can listen to the funny cases of these trolls who can't even solve the simplest problems themselves!Andwe'll visit the dragons too, they're very friendly," he said excitedly.
Sofia cast the spell, and reluctantly followed Hugo to her throne, as the trolls' new Queen.
(Thanks for reading! What do you think happens next? Leave a review. See you soon!)