Hugfia: The One That Got Away

Chapter 20

A/N: Apologies, this chapter and the following chapters are taking longer because I was dissatisfied with the ideas and I'm trying to rewrite them. 

Desmond knelt down beside Sofia and said gently, "We might still be able to save him,"

Sofia, looked up, eyes wide.

"In the Kingdom of Corona, there's a rare species of flower called the Sun Drop, which has magical healing properties. It can heal any disease and can even restore life."

A/N: This is the magical golden flower from Tangled. For the purposes of this story, let's just assume more of these exist.

"But there's no magic!" said Amber.

Desmond rummaged in his bag for a book. "If we can restore the magic quickly, then we can do it."

He found the book he was looking for and started flipping through the pages. "Someone needs to unplug the Fountain of Magic, which can be found at the border crossroads between Enchancia, Freezenburg, Kryevka and a few other kingdoms. Although it's a fountain for magic, it also serves as the water source for a river that used to lead to a waterfall. Since it is plugged, the river bed will likely be dried up by now."

"However," he continued, "There's a catch. To unplug the fountain requires a huge amount of magic. Therefore, only someone with magical abilities can do it, and it uses up so much of their magic they'll never be able to use it ever again-"

"I'll do it", Sofia cut in. She'd sacrifice her magic in a heartbeat if it meant getting Hugo back.

Seeing her determination, Desmond nodded. "Okay, you unplug the fountain of magic and the rest of us will go look for the Sun Drop flower,"

"We can use the bamboo gliders to get there faster," suggested James. "I saw them in the storage room where we found the cannon."

"Good idea," said Sofia. 

As the rest got ready to leave, Desmond drew a map and explained the rest of the instructions to Sofia. Then everyone boarded the bamboo kites and set off. Sofia headed southward to the border crossroads and Amber, Desmond, James and Hildegard headed West toward the Kingdom of Corona. 

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Just as Desmond described, the fountain was in the middle of a dried up riverbank. It led to a rocky cliff, which most likely used to be a waterfall before the fountain was plugged.

She landed the glider in the nearby grass and headed towards the fountain. It was majestic, with 5-tiers of white marble covered in carvings of the magical creatures of the Ever Realm. At the top, where water should have spouted from, was a giant black plug.

As Sofia got closer to the fountain, she felt an increasing intensity beneath her beneath the soles of her feet. It was a faint rumbling, a growing pressure, causing the fountain itself to tremble. It was almost as if the fountain was waiting to burst. 

"Here goes nothing" said Sofia, reaching up toward the plug.

"Step away from the fountain this instant," said a harsh voice behind her.