Cedric's Giant Curse

Chapter 6: The Trouble with Spells

Chapter 6: The Trouble with Spells

Sofia and James scurried down the hall, keeping their eyes peeled for any sign of their sister. They didn't think she could have gone far, leaving the throne room only seconds after she did, but as they walked down the halls they found no trace of her. Sofia started to grow worried for Amber, seeing how upset she was after Cedric yelled at her. She had never seen the blond girl like that before, always so sure of herself and set in her ways. But looking back on the incident, she had seemed unsure of herself, speechless....possibly even scared. It troubled Sofia to see her sister in that state. She knew James and her had to find her to make sure she was alright.

After searching through three different hallways, asking every castle staff member if they had seen her only to get negative responses, Sofia came up with a better plan. "We're never going to find her this way," she pointed out to James. "Maybe we should split up and look for her. You can look through the back half of the castle, I'll look through the front." He nodded his head in agreement.

"On it!" he confirmed. He and Sofia then ran off in opposite directions to look for their sister.

As Sofia ran down hallway after hallway, she peered into every room she came across. But she could not find any trace of the blond princess. Just where could she have gone? To Sofia, it was like she had disappeared. Exhausting her efforts on the bottom level of the castle, she made her way up a marble white winding staircase to the second floor of the castle where the royals' sleeping chambers were. She was slightly out of breath at this point from running around so much. She panted a bit as she strolled down the long hallway, trying to regain some of her energy. She came upon a pair of large white doors that led into a pink decorated bedroom. Her own bedroom. As she opened the door and poked her inside, only to find nobody in there, it suddenly dawned on her where her sister could have gone. Mentally kicking herself for not thinking of the obvious sooner, she hurried back down the hall to another set of white doors not too far from her own room.

Cautiously, she approached the doors, picking up her feet carefully so her heels wouldn't click against the marble floor. With one hand resting gingerly on the door handle, she placed her ear against the wood and listened. She couldn't hear much as the wood was thick, but she thought she could make out a muffled sound like crying. So Amber must be in there, she thought. She hadn't realized she had been holding her breath until she leaned away from the door, exhaling deeply. Hesitantly raising her fist, she rapped her knuckles against the door and waited. The crying from within the room had ceased, but Sofia could no longer hear any other noises from within the room either. She knocked on the door again, a little harder this time.

"Amber?" she called through the thick door. "It's me, Sofia! Can we please talk?" Again, she waited for several moments before the door finally swung slowly open, revealing her sister standing on the other side. Sofia looked her over with concern as she stood in the doorway. Not a single tear shone on her flushed face, but her eyes held the tiniest bit of red in them, betraying her moment of weakness. "Amber, are you alright?" she softly asked her sister, stepping around her to enter the bedroom. It was not unlike her own with its huge canopy bed covered in giant pillows, a large walk-in closet set into one wall, a play area for toys, a makeup vanity, and a wardrobe for storing personal belongings. The only real difference was the color of the room, all the walls having been painted a light blue.

"What do you mean, Sofia? I'm fine." Sofia noticed the strain in her sister's voice, though she tried to cover it up. Sniffing quietly, Amber softly shut the bedroom door and walked across the room to sit on the end of her blue covered bed. Sofia instantly followed, sitting on the edge of the bed next to her. She wrapped an arm around her sister's shoulders in a small embrace.