Sofia's Choice

A Test for a Princess

"Where are we going next?" Amber asks petting Crackle.

"Corinthia, I wonder how Clio is doing with the construction."

"Construction?"

"Prisma ruined a village in Corinthia and the theater, Clio is in charge of putting it back together."

"Oh wow, Prisma did a lot of damage," Amber says as they fly over the kingdom.

"The village is coming along nicely," Sofia says pointing at the houses and shops being built.

"Is that Hurumph?" Amber asks.

"Let us down there please," Sofia says to the coachman.

The coach descends and lands a few feet away from the construction, where there is no damage.

"Sofia," Giz says.

"Hey Giz, I need to borrow Clio."

"Of course," the giant says.

"Amber, why don't you say hi to Hurumph and remind him to be dainty," Sofia suggests.

"Okay, I will be right back," Amber says heading over to the Rompkin.

"Sofia, what is going on?" Clio asks.

"You know how you told me that you wanted to help your kingdom?"

"Yes," Clio says.

"You have the chance not only to protect Corinthia but the whole Ever Realm also," Sofia says.

"You mean I might be able to be a protector?" Clio asks excited.

"If you pass the tests," Amber says walking up to them.

"I am so up for this, I even have the perfect outfit but it's in my room," Clio says.

"Then let's go," Sofia says as they walk over to the coach.

"To the Corinthian castle," Amber says kindly.

The coachman whips the reigns and the horses gallop to the castle.

"What do you think her outfit is?" Amber asks as Clio goes into her closet.

"I  don't know, I just hope it is able to work with what we need to do and something she won't get mad if it is ruined, being a protector can be very dangerous that way."

"What do you think?" Clio asks walking out from behind the dressing curtain.

Clio changed into an outfit almost identical to Sofia's Storybook Keeper outfit but in pink and has a few buttons on the sleeves.

"I love it, are you sure you won't get mad if this gets ripped or muddy? Being a Protector can get pretty dangerous in that way."

"I'm sure," Clio says with no hesitation.

"Let's get going," Amber says as she heads for the door.

"Do you have any snow?" Sofia asks as they follow Amber out of the room.

"Sure, the top of the mountains always have snow."

The princesses walk out of the castle.

"To the mountains," Clio requests when all three princesses are in the coach that belongs to the Corinthian royal family.

The coachman nods and takes them to the mountains.

"Why are we here?" Clio asks.

"It's the first challenge," Amber says.

"What do I have to do?" Clio asks.

"You have to learn how to walk on snow, like this," Sofia says feather walking on the snow.

"How did you walk on the snow without leaving any footprints?" Clio asks astonished.

"It's all about controlling your muscles, keep your head high and don't think about it."

"But don't wake Crackle," Amber adds.

"Okay, I've got this," Clio says starting to walk on the snow and succeeding.

"Great job Clio, make sure that you think about control but don't think about it too much," Sofia says when she sees Clio start to wobble.

"Thanks Sofia," Clio says to her friend.

"Now come back," Sofia tells her friend when she gets to the eighth tree.

Clio turns around and gets better with her balance.

"Great job Clio," Sofia hugs her when she gets back to where Amber is standing.

"And with three minutes to spare," Amber says stopping her watch.

"What's next?"

"The catching test," Amber says looking at the paper and checking the feather walking box.

"Come here Crackle," Sofia calls the dragon who excitedly flies over to the princess.

"So what do I have to do?" Clio asks.

"You have to catch Crackle, but the catch is that she won't come to you if you call her," Sofia says.

"Okay, I can do this," Clio says confident.

"Ready, set, go," Amber announces.

Crackle starts flying above the trees forcing Clio to climb a tree to catch the dragon.

"Make sure you or the trees don't catch fire," Sofia yells as she watches Clio jump from tree to tree.

Crackle starts firing balls of fire toward Clio and with each dodge Clio looks back to make sure that it goes out before hitting a tree.

Clio jumps off a tree branch and lands on her feet after catching Crackle.

"You made it back with 4 minutes left," Amber says looking at her watch.

"And most importantly, nothing caught on fire," Sofia adds.

The three princesses ride back to the castle.