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Chapter Text

Business was booming for Miranda’s shoe shop ever since the King had become a regular customer. It definitely helped that Miranda owned what was pretty much the only shoe shop in Dunwiddie and that the seasons were changing, but Sofia liked to think the King was the only reason for the sudden increase in sales.

Sofia was polishing more shoes than ever these past few weeks and it was exactly what she was doing as she watched her mom walk through the door. The young girl was on her sixth pair of her after school polish session when her mother walked in sporting a wide grin.

Sofia’s mother, Miranda, had been spending more and more time at the castle for each delivery she made. Sometimes Sofia went with her, it was always the highlight of her week. The King was always so nice to her, and her mom was always just a little happier around him, like a fresh breeze in the summer heat. Sofia thinks that they may even like each other. Of course no one has proven her suspicions but she loves to imagine her mom having a fairy tale happy ending.

“Sofia, could you help me get the kitchen prepped to make some stew? It’s almost dinner time!” Miranda instructed her daughter as she set her bag down by the door.

Sofia finished up the shoe she had been working on and then quickly went off to wash her hands. While Miranda cut up some vegetables, Sofia filled the pot up with water and let it boil. They got to work, as Miranda put vegetables in the pot, Sofia stirred while standing on her stool until Miranda was ready to take over.

“Sweetheart, could you set the table?” Miranda asked her daughter and continued, “I have some important news to tell you while we eat.”

Sofia hurried to get the table ready for the stew her mother was beginning to pour into bowls for them to eat. She wondered what news her mom had to tell her was.

When Sofia finished setting the table she sat down but couldn’t quite manage to sit still, too excited for what her mother had to share. When Miranda sat down across from her, the girl was practically bouncing out of her seat.

“How was your day at school?” her mother asked, smiling at her daughter’s antics.

“Good but you have to tell me your news mom, you just have to!” Sofia said, unable to keep waiting for any longer.

“Well Sofia, you know how I’ve been seeing the King more often now?” she asked.

“Mhm?”

“Well, as you’ve probably noticed I’ve been spending more and more time at the castle these past few months. It started when we first went to deliver his shoes but then he needed another pair, which I took when you were at Ruby’s house if you remember. Then he ordered some more for the prince and princess and each time I was there he would treat me to something nice like jiggly wiggly pudding. And we liked spending all that time together, so after he was done buying all the shoes he needed, he invited me to join him in the castle.”

“Really?” Sofia asked excitedly, her mother had just admitted to having an invitation to the castle! By the King himself! And it wasn’t even business related!

“Yes, he took me on a picnic date in the gardens. And we’ve actually done this a few times now-”

“You went on dates with the King of Enchancia?!” Sofia asked excitedly. How had her mother been able to keep such a big secret from her? That was surely impossible.

“Yes and we’ve been really enjoying them. So much so that he asked me a big question today and I wanted to share that answer with you,” Miranda said, nervous but excited for Sofia’s reaction.

“What is it?” Sofia asked in anticipation as her mother got up from her seat to crouch next to her, pulling her hands into her own.

“He asked me to marry him!” Miranda exclaimed. Although Sofia had thought that the two had feelings for each other, she never would have considered that the King would marry her mom!

It’s been just the two of them for a few years now, leaning on each other while grieving the loss of her father. This would be a big change from what she was used to. And going from a villager to a royal? How was she ever going to make that work?

“Oh Mom, that’s amazing,” Sofia said. She was happy for her mother but her worries had already started clouding her brain.

“Oh, I’m so glad you think so!” her mother exclaimed while pulling her into a hug. “I wanted to make sure you were okay with it first so I told him I’d love to but I needed to check with you before giving a final answer. It will be a big change but I know it’ll work out.”

Sofia hoped she was right.

–

Sofia laid in bed next to the window staring up at the night sky. She couldn’t sleep, worries clouding her mind. She turned towards her mother, who was sleeping on the other side of the room, a ghost of a smile on her face.

Sofia was happy for her mother. She put on a brave face for Sofia everyday after her father died but she still heard her mom crying at night sometimes when she thought her daughter was asleep.

So Sofia was ecstatic that her mom had someone to love again, someone to be her rock when things got tough. But Sofia was also scared that it meant they were forgetting her dad.

Birk Balthazar, the sailor. The one who taught her how to feel the ocean breeze and let it guide her to wherever she wanted to go. The one who took her on adventures and as many sailing trips as she wanted. The one who would jump off the boat for a late night swim and pull her into the water to float with him and stare at the night sky. Birk Balthazar, her dad, whom she missed dearly even with his memory fading away.

She was young when it happened. Five years old when he was lost at sea leaving her and her mother behind. It had just been the two of them ever since.

It was a horribly difficult time, Sofia found herself crying anytime even the slightest thing reminded her of the person she missed most. But her friends were there through it all.

Even though they didn’t fully understand what Sofia was going through, they tried their best to cheer her up every chance they got. Sofia loved them dearly, like sisters, but moving away to the palace? How often would they get to see each other? What if they stopped being friends? What was Sofia supposed to do then? New family, new life, a fading father and no friends?

Sofia didn’t think she could take all this change even if it did make her mother happy.

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.

Chapter Text

Sofia eventually completely came around to the idea of the marriage, which was good considering she was currently in a royal gown in the Enchancian castle waiting for the wedding ceremony to start later that day.

She looked over to the already royal children, Amber and James. The three of them had just finished being prepared by the castle staff and were waiting in the throne room for their parents to start the wedding portrait.

She wanted to talk to them, since she didn’t get much of a chance to before and they were going to be her siblings after all. She wanted to make a good impression on them.

She looked over and caught their eyes as they were whispering to each other. James smiled at her, to which she smiled back. Amber though, she glared and looked away, fanning herself.

Sofia frowned at the reaction but didn’t have much time to dwell on it as her mom walked into the throne room with the King and royal painter.

“Mom!” Sofia called out as she ran over to give her a hug after being separated from her due to wedding preparations all day. “You look so pretty!”

“Thank you Sofia!” she replied. “Did you have fun with Amber and James?”

Sofia glanced over at the royal children, who were talking to their dad and said, strained, “Sure.”

“Alright! Couple in the back, heir to the throne in the middle with his siblings flanked at his side nearest to her respective parent,” the painter instructed.

Sofia moved to her place in front of her mom and next to James. Her mom put her hand on her shoulder as James gave her a warm smile. She tried to catch Amber’s eyes but the princess was pointedly avoiding her gaze.

As she stood for the portrait, she thought about what it would be like to have siblings. It’s been just her and her mom for so long, she wasn’t sure she’d get used to having two more kids around. It would be even worse if they didn’t accept her and Amber’s antics made her worry about that possibility even more.

–

Once they finished, they headed towards the castle gardens where the ceremony was being held. James was handed the rings on a pillow while Sofia and Amber made their way over to their thrones with the Grand Queen.

“This is so exciting!” Sofia squealed to Amber who only responded with an eye roll.

As they got to their thrones the Grand Queen didn’t sit but Amber did so Sofia followed suit. She sat down on James's throne, assuming it was okay since he was busy and she had preferred to sit next to her new sister instead of on the other side of the platform. However, the glare Amber shot at her quickly made her decide otherwise and she chose to stand next to her new grandmother instead, who smiled at her.

“By the power vested in me by King Roland the second, I pronounce you, husband and wife!” Baileywick announced. James handed the newly wed couple their rings and Sofia and the Grand Queen both clapped along with the guests. When the young girl looked back at Amber, she was surprised to see she had her arms crossed with little enthusiasm on her face.

—

As the guests started celebrating the marriage, She tried to talk to Amber, again, but to no avail. She only received the response of “Nothing!” and a giggle when Sofia had asked her and her friends what they found so funny.

She was sure they were laughing at her since the group seemed to find it especially amusing every time she tripped over her feet but she tried not to let it bother her.

The only people on the guest list were royalty, other than her and her mother of course, so Sofia decided to sit alone under a tree, picking at grass and people watching as she ate a cupcake. She wished her friends were there because they always made parties more fun and they never made fun of others…and then she wouldn’t be all alone in a place she didn’t fit in.

As she sat she felt someone come up behind her. It was her mom.

Sofia always thought that her mother was the prettiest person she knew but today she was especially blown away. Miranda was glowing in her beige-pink gown and silvery-gold tiara. But Sofia always thought she was prettier when she smiled, which wasn’t happening at the moment.

“Sofia?” her mother asked, concerned. “What are you doing here all alone?”

“These cupcakes are so good, mom! Have you tried one yet?” Sofia asked, trying to avoid being questioned further. Her mother raised an eyebrow drawing a sheepish grin from the girl.

Miranda took a seat next to her daughter under the tree and put an arm around the girl’s shoulders. Sofia took a deep breath before saying sadly,

“No one likes me here mom.”

“And what makes you say that?”

“Well I keep trying to talk to Amber but she never even wants to look at me! And then she laughed at me with all her friends.”

“And what about any of the other princesses?”

“They’re all friends with Amber mom. They’re just going to laugh too.”

“And what about James and the other princes?”

“James has been nicer to me than Amber but what if he doesn’t want to speak with me too?”

“Well you won’t know until you try,” Miranda encouraged with a smile. “And Sofia, remember how you were when I told you about the marriage? Amber’s going through a big change too, she’ll come around.”

“But mom I wasn’t mean to anyone, she is!”

“Sometimes people deal with change differently. It doesn’t excuse her for being rude but maybe just keep an open mind and be the bigger person okay? Now go talk to James!” Miranda exclaimed while getting up and pulling her up with her.

—

After trying to follow her mom around but getting shooed away, Sofia walked around the gardens until she found James playing dazzleball with a group of other princes.

“Hey James!” Sofia called out. He turned to her voice as someone threw him the dazzleball, which had turned from a frisbee to a soccer ball and hit him in the head. When he fell down from the force of the throw Sofia ran over to help him up.

“I’m sorry!” she exclaimed, worried.

“It’s okay,” James assured her as he took her hand with laughter in his eyes. “Zandar, watch where you’re throwing next time!”

“Sorry, James! But you were the one not paying attention!” the prince who threw the dazzleball, Zandar, yelled.

“So what’re you doing here Sofia?” her step-brother asked.

“Oh uh I just wanted to see if I could play,” Sofia said hesitantly, “but you guys don’t look like you need another player so I can go.” As Sofia started backing away, James assured her,

“No, we could use another player. Maya said she wanted to play, let’s go get her!” He kicked the ball back to the other princes before grabbing her hand. They ran off to where all the other guests were still mingling.

“Maya, come play dazzleball! We have another player!” James called out.

“Sofia right?“ Maya asked when she came over to them. When Sofia nodded she continued, “You are my saviour! I’ve been itching to run around all day!”

The three quickly made their way back to the group playing dazzleball. Sofia joined James’s team while Maya joined the opposing side where her brother was.

It was difficult playing in a gown but once Sofia took off her uncomfortable princess pumps, she was flying.

The opposing team had scored a goal off of their entrance, knocking the long standing tie as Sofia was informed and her team was determined to tie the score up once again.

After a few failed plays, Zandar threw the football to James and as he ran up the field Sofia ran even further up, keeping herself open as Maya’s team closed in on him. James quickly passed the now soccer ball to Sofia who shot it straight into the back of the net. Her team laughed and cheered in celebration.

“Nice kick, Sofia,” James remarked, holding his hand up for a high five.

“Thanks!” she exclaimed, returning the high five, smiling from ear to ear.

“Children! It’s time to eat!” King Roland called out.

“Aww!” the kids all shouted, upset their game needed to be finished early, especially since things had just gotten exciting again.

“Good game, Sofia,” Maya said, coming up behind her with her brother in tow as she put her shoes back on. “This is my brother, Khalid,” she introduced.

“You had some great moves, Sofia!” he complimented.

“Thanks! It’s nice to meet you!” She exclaimed standing up straight, genuinely excited to make new friends.

Sofia still didn’t completely feel like she belonged, especially since her step-sister was still pretending she didn’t exist, but when she caught her mother’s smile as she headed for the food, she couldn’t help but think that maybe things would work out.

Chapter Text

Sofia stood in front of her class at the end of the school day next to her teacher Ms.Candoo, who had a comforting hand placed upon her shoulder.

“Everyone! What do we have to say to Sofia?” her teacher asked the class.

“We’ll miss you Sofia!” her peers all shouted back.

Tears found their way to Sofia’s eyes, she wasn’t sure how she was going to start over. New friends at a new school? She was going to miss her classmates so much.

Ms. Candoo removed her hand from the girl’s shoulder and made her way over to her desk which was just off to the side from where they were standing. Her teacher picked up a large piece of paper and presented it to her,

“Sofia, the class made you a going away card! We all signed it to let you know how much you mean to us.”

“And so you have something to remember us by!” a boy interrupted.

“Well she’s not going to forget about us,” Jade said, slightly annoyed but mostly amused at such an absurd comment.

Sofia winced at her classmate’s assumption but took the card made by her classmates into her hands, gratefully.

“Thanks everyone! I’m going to miss you all too,” she said sadly. Starting with her best friends, slowly, one by one each of her classmates went to the front of the room to join in for a big group hug, sending Sofia off to her new royal life.

–

“So this is it?” Jade asked. The three friends were standing in Sofia and Miranda’s empty room, staring at the floor.

Her best friends had come over to wish her a final goodbye before she moved to the castle in the morning but in all their previous times coming over to play or sleep over, they’d never seen the room so bare. It made everything feel more real.

“I guess so,” Sofia said, closing her eyes, trying to prevent the tears from leaking out.

“We’re really gonna miss you Sofia,” Ruby whispered. Sofia looked down in response, afraid of the likely chance of sobs instead of words coming out of her mouth.

Her friends—who knew her so well—both wrapped their arms around her. They held her so tightly and warmly that she felt completely safe to let her tears out. When they finally pulled away from each other, Sofia was able to see the tears streaking down their own faces.

“I’m really going to miss you guys too,” Sofia finally said.

”But you’ll come visit? Right?” Ruby asked. They all already knew the answer,

“Whenever I can,” she said, pulling them in for one final embrace.

Suddenly they heard a knock on the open door. Her mom smiled at the three friends and informed,

“Ruby. Jade. Your parents are here to take you home.”

“Now?” Ruby whined.

“You two will tomorrow though, right?” Sofia asked before her friends could follow her mother.

“Of course, Sofia,” they both reassured her as the three shared one final hug as villagers.

–

Sofia turned to wave at her two best friends who were running after the royal coach that was separating them.

“Good luck Sofia!” Ruby shouted.

“Don’t forget about us!” Jade followed, joking around.

“Bye Ruby! Bye Jade!”

“Bye Sofia!” Jade yelled back.

The two girls continued running and waving, wishing her a good move until the coach got too fast for the girls on foot and the three of them faded out of each other's views.

–

Sofia felt overwhelmed the second the royal carriage made it onto the castle grounds. There were so many people in fancy clothing, cheering and clapping. Quite loudly too.

It was weird being in such a big spotlight. It made her feel a little isolated, despite the crowds around. This was nothing like the crowds in Dunwiddie where she could at least match many of their faces to past customers.

However, she was pretty excited when a dove set a tiara on her head. It was beautiful and probably infinitely more expensive than anything she’d ever owned before.

She tried to smile but one question kept interrupting her moment. Would her dad be proud of her? With these doubts taking form once more, standing in the center of this kind of attention wasn’t remaining very appealing.

When the presentation of her tiara was complete, she and her mom made their way up the castle steps to greet the royal family who were at the top.

“Your Majesty,” Sofia greeted with a giggle and a curtsy with her mom following afterwards. She watched her mom and the King exchange greetings, feeling the sweet love come out of every word in their interaction. She was glad to see her so mother happy.

As the newly wed couple stepped away, Sofia made her way towards her new siblings.

“Hey there!” she greeted.

“Good marrow, Sofia,” James said.

“Great marrow, Prince James!” she exclaimed in response before turning to her sister,

“Princess Amber, I’m so excited we’re sisters!”

“Step-sisters,” Amber corrected, causing Sofia’s smile to quickly drop from her face.

She quickly plastered on a new one as her mother turned to face them and she kept it up when one of the castle staff introduced them to the crowd once more.

Why didn’t Amber seem excited about them being sisters? Sofia had thought for sure she’d gotten over whatever had her so miserable at the wedding but maybe she was wrong to think so. Sofia tried not to dwell on it too much, after all, there were rose petals raining from the sky! What could possibly be bad about her new home and family?

–

Heavy gowns? Uncomfortable shoes? Sofia was not at all prepared for these parts of being a princess.

There were so many things to learn like who to curtsy to and how to wave. Even now, she was staring at a bunch of utensils that were all barely different from one another, yet somehow they each had a different purpose?

“Sofia,” the King called to get the young girl’s attention.

The startled girl, accidentally dropped all the utensils she was trying to understand. “Yes, your majesty?” she replied, nervously.

Roland then went on a whole spiel about her calling him dad, which she tried not to cringe at. It nearly distracted her from the dancing she would be expected to do and the amount of noble and royal attention she would get at her first royal ball.

How would she possibly fit in with all those eyes staring at her, picking apart her every move? What if all the guests laughed at her? What if they all decided she would never belong?

Her first dinner as an official princess was plagued with these thoughts, leaving a sour taste in her mouth. She hadn’t realized this princess thing would be so hard.

–

Where was her mom’s room? She’d been shown around the palace earlier that day but couldn’t seem to find where her mom would be staying when all she was looking for was a hug in this scary big castle.

She ran through the halls surrounded by mirrors which seemed to taunt her. Who was she kidding? She wasn’t ready to be a princess, she thought as she gave up, sinking to the floor.

“Sofia?” she heard as a light emerged from the door behind her.

“Oh, mom!” Sofia exclaimed in distress, hugging her mom. Miranda guided Sofia to the couch inside her room and shut the door behind them.

“What’s the matter, sweetheart?”

“I don’t want a royal ball,” she confessed, removing her new tiara for added measure. The weight on her head had suddenly felt unbearable considering everything that came alongside the head wear.

"Oh, Sofia. I've never known you to turn down a party, especially one thrown just for you."

"But I don't know anything about being a princess! And I don't know how to dance! I'm going to trip and everyone's going to laugh at me!"

"You'll do fine. And besides, no one ever laughs at a princess." When Sofia looked at her unsure, Miranda continued, "Come here, Sofia. Just try the best you can. And if it's not good enough for all those stuffy dukes and duchesses, then that's their problem."

"Sofia, I have something for you. Consider it a welcome gift," Roland said as he appeared into view. Had he been standing there for their whole conversation?

"It's beautiful," she breathed when he showed her a silver necklace with a deep purple jewel dangling from the chain.

"It's a very special amulet, so you must promise to never take it off. That way, you'll never lose it," he explained as he clasped the purple jewelled necklace around her neck.

"I promise," Sofia proudly confirmed.

"Now, you best run off to bed. You'll need the rest since you have princess school in the morning. Royal prep will teach you everything you'd need to know for the royal ball, which I'm very much looking forward to."

Sofia smiled at her new step-father before hugging her mom one last time once he'd walked off.

Maybe her mom marrying King Roland wouldn't be so bad, she thought as she hummed her way down the castle halls back to her room.

–

School went horribly.

After her night time pep talk with her mom and step-dad, she'd felt a little better about her whole royal situation. Until she ended up at her new princess school.

Maya and Khalid weren’t in any of her classes and James and Amber had played a prank on her in front of all the students which had left her soaked for the rest of the day.

When she thought she'd feel out of place amongst all the other royals, she didn't expect to be their laughing stock after being thrown into a fancy fountain.

The only good thing was that the goalkeeper for Khalid’s team at the wedding, Zandar, had been kind to her. When she first walked into class, he'd helped her pick up her books after she dropped them while Amber laughed. He also helped her out of the fountain when both her step-siblings tricked her into getting thrown in.

But one kind kid didn't exactly do much to quench her royal ball related fears. Now everyone had seen how badly she didn’t belong and she very clearly understood they didn’t want her to in the first place. How was she supposed to dance in front of older nobles and royals who know everything about how to act when kids her own age were able to pick out what was wrong with her so quickly?

She felt so alone. There was no one to truly understand what she was going through. And the fact that her mom seems to have completely forgotten her dad? It made everything so much worse. Maybe royal life just wasn’t for her at all.