Chapter Text
The morning before she left for school Miranda told her not to tell anyone the news because the King wanted to make the big announcement himself.
This meant she couldn’t even tell her best friends in the whole world, who were currently sitting next to her during the last class of the week. So here Sofia was, not having made a peep all day, trying to ignore the worried looks on Ruby and Jade’s faces. She was never this quiet but she was scared that if she opened her mouth to talk she would either release a big confidential royal secret or burst into tears.
As they were let out for the weekend, Sofia hurried out in an attempt to get home before her friends could talk to her about the day.
Unfortunately her friends knew her too well and caught up before she could get away.
“Sofia are you okay?” Ruby asked in a worried tone. “You haven’t been yourself all day.”
“Yeah and you didn’t even join in on dazzleball at lunch!” Jade added.
“Of course I’m okay, never better!” Sofia exclaimed, adorning a fake smile on her face.
Her friends gave her an identical look which indicated to her that she could never fool either of them.
“Do you want to hang out this weekend maybe?” Ruby asked.
“I can’t, my mom needs help at the shop,” Sofia said, grateful for an excuse. “But I'll see you two on Monday?” she asked, holding her hands out for a hand clap.
“Okay, but we’ll be waiting for you to tell us what’s going on because something is definitely up,” Jade said with Ruby nodding along, both joining her for their hand clap.
“I’ll see you too on Monday!” Sofia called out as they separated, continuing her way back home.
–
Saturday night, the King made a big announcement that set her mother’s words into stone. King Roland ll has been engaged to the Dunwiddie cobbler, Miranda Cordova.
Once the news hit the village the next morning, customers started pouring in giving Miranda their congratulations and blessings. Many placed orders, worrying about where they were going to get their shoes once she was living in the castle.
Sofia had triple the shoes to polish as a result, her mom seemed to be working at double the speed to try and get everything done. It seemed like every villager had ordered at least a pair!
While Sofia was polishing after a quick lunch break, she heard Mrs. Hanshaw talking to her mother at the front door. She put the shoes she was working on down to peek around her mom, looking to see if her friend, Ruby, was outside the shop too.
“Sofia!” Ruby and Jade called out at the same time. “We came to tell you how excited we are for you! You’re going to be a princess!” Jade exclaimed, as the two walked into the shop and away from the moms at the door. The smile Sofia wore from unexpectedly seeing both of her best friends, dropped.
“Sofia what’s wrong?” Ruby asked, worried. “This is a dream come true! You should be happy!”
“A lot’s going to change though,” Sofia said, hugging herself.
“Uh, that change is going from a cottage shoe shop to a castle! Who wouldn't want that?” Jade questioned her friend.
“I guess I’m more worried about leaving school and you guys. What if we won’t be friends anymore once I leave?”
Sofia’s friends shared a look before bursting out laughing.
“Won’t be friends, hah! As if!” Jade exclaimed, putting an arm around Sofia’s shoulders.
“Yeah, you don’t have to worry about that Sofia. We’ll always be friends,” Ruby added, also putting her arms around her two best friends for a group hug.
“And don’t worry about school, you’re going to an even better and fancier school! Like Princess Amber and Prince James. You can always visit the village and see our other friends and we still have our Buttercup troupe so it’ll be like you’ve never left!” Jade reassured her.
“Thanks girls,” Sofia smiled at her friends, grateful for their reassurances and promises to stick by her side.
“Come on Sofia, you need a break,” Ruby stated.
“Let’s go skip stones at the river by our school!” Jade suggested.
Her two friends each grabbed a hand and pulled her back outside. Away from their moms, the shop and her royally large worries.
–
Her talk with her friends had helped. Sofia felt good knowing that they’d always be there for her even if she wasn’t with them everyday. However, she still felt a little down about the engagement.
She was worried about a lot of things like would the kids at her new school like her? Would her new family? If she could talk to her dad would he be upset with them for moving on? Forgetting?
The last part was what got her the most. She didn’t want to ruin her mom’s excitement so she never brought it up but every day she was sitting at the dinner table with an unknowingly gloomier and gloomier face.
“Sofia what’s wrong?” her mom asked as they sat for dinner a few months into the wedding preparations.
“Nothing,” the girl replied, stirring the stew in her bowl.
“Sofia, I know my daughter. You don’t need to lie, what's wrong?” her mother’s tone is even more worried than before.
“I don't know how to tell you without making you sad.”
“Well Sofia, if something is bothering you I want to know, no matter what you think my reaction will be.”
Sofia took a deep breath before revealing, “It’s about the wedding.”
“What about it?” Miranda asked, her gentle smile wavering.
“I feel like we’re forgetting dad and I hate it. I hate that I can’t even remember him properly and that we barely have time to think about him with the shop and since the King proposed we haven't really been talking about him at all,” tears sprung in Sofia’s eyes, “I feel like we're replacing him mom.”
“Oh Sofia,” her mom said as she got up from her seat to kneel down to her daughter’s eye level and pull her into a gentle hug. The girl sniffed as tears started leaking from her eyes and onto her mother’s shoulder.
“We’re not replacing your father sweetie and I’m so so sorry I made you feel like we were forgetting him,” Miranda said, choking up. “Birk was my first love and my daughter’s father, he will forever have a very special place in my heart.”
“But I’m still forgetting him mom, I’m scared I’ll forget him even more after the wedding,” Sofia sniffed.
“Sofia, you were so young the last time you saw him. As you grow up his memory will fade and that’s normal and not your fault. I won’t get mad and I know that neither would he,” Miranda said, cupping her daughter’s cheeks with her hands. “But Sofia, he will always be in your heart, we will always keep his hat and ship in a bottle and I’ll always tell you stories of him. I’m so sorry with how busy we’ve been, I've clearly been lacking on that front but you will never really forget your father Sofia. I promise.”
“How can you be so sure mom?”
“Sofia, we’ve been through this,” Miranda said, wiping her daughter’s tears away with a gentle smile.
Sofia rolled her eyes playfully, “Mother knows best,” she said with a little giggle.
“And for the record Sofia, the King misses his wife too and even though his kids never knew the Queen, he completely understands what you’re dealing with. Neither of us are replacing our first loves, we’re just finding more love.” When Sofia looked at her confused she continued, “Think of it this way, you’re going to have two dads. The one who was there when you were born and taught you your first words and another will be there to step in and help you out when the first one can’t be there anymore. We need double the effort to raise such a sweet child like you Sofia,” Miranda said while tickling the girl to hear a laugh and cheer her up.
“I guess I get it now.”
“Good because I’m hungry,” Miranda said standing up to return to her seat. “Do you want to hear a story about your dad from when you were a baby?”
Sofia nodded and Miranda began telling her about the first time Brik came home from a trip and how excited baby Sofia had been, giggling and squealing when she finally saw him again and almost falling out of Miranda’s arms in excitement.
Sofia hoped that one day, her new dad would get that same kind of excitement out of her too.