Chapter 1

 “Almost done,” Ana whispered as she placed the pearl necklace around Sophia’s neck. Sophia stared at her reflection in the mirror of her mahogany vanity, not knowing what to think. Ana took a step back and started to lace the corset of her best friend’s gown.

Once Ana was done lacing, Sophia took a breath and stepped into her matching gold shoes while using both hands to hold up her skirts. She looked back at her reflection and was satisfied. Sophia wore a long, eighteenth century style gown that was white and gold and matching gold shoes. Her dark hair was swept up and beautifully curled, pinned with a genuine French hair comb that was decorated with tiny diamonds.  

Sophia’s J nose, full lips, and honey brown-almost-amber eyes added to the beauty. Anyone who saw her would think she was gorgeous.

“Are you ready?” Ana asked her.

She nodded and said, “Aren’t I always?”

They both smiled and Sophia straightened her posture and lifted her chin. She was ready. She could do this. Couldn’t she?

Sophia lifter her skirts, walked out of her bedroom and began to descend the stairs to the ballroom. In a little over a minute, she was walking through the ancient oak doors of the ballroom to face the guests that awaited her.

Her pace slowed automatically as she walked in the crowded area. The chatter stopped and everyone—even the few people in the balcony—turned to look at Sophia. Witches, warlocks, goblins, trolls, and creatures of all kinds clapped, welcoming her. She was no longer alone.

“Sophia.” She turned to see her father, warlock and king of the Witch Council, in his long robe and formal outfit. He smiled his rare but happy smile at her. “You now look and act like a princess. Perfetto,” Sophia’s father told her, using the Italian word for perfect.

“Thank you, Father,” Sophia replied with gratitude.

            She was soon pulled away from Ana and her father by the son of someone important on the council whose name she couldn’t recall. “Care to dance?” he asked politely. She just nodded. Sophia let him spin her and guide the dance as she searched her mind for his name.

Raymond McClain, that’s it, she thought as the song playing neared its end. “Thank you for this dance, my lady,” Raymond breathed, bowing to her.

“It was my pleasure, Raymond.” He beamed at her remembering his name but was soon just another face in the crowd.

The night was a blur of dancing, spinning, and talking. Sophia’s mouth hurt—along with her arms—from having to force a smile, hold up her skirts, and dance. She was tired, she knew, but this party was for her and she needed to endure it.

            She always did. But tonight, all of these people were here or her. Sophia was to be crowned princess of the Witch Council tonight and she was happy, of course, but she was worried. Because what she was planning to do was guaranteed to have an unpredictable and most likely upsetting reaction.

“Sophia!” Sophia turned, pulled out of her thoughts, to see her mother in a gorgeous gown with a tall crown placed on her beautiful brown hair. Her mother’s eyes began to tear up as she came to a stop in front of her daughter. She gathered Sophia in a fierce embrace, catching her off guard. After a moment of surprised stiffness, Sophia hugged her mother back, smiling.

“My daughter,” the queen of the Witch Council whispered, letting her admiration leak into her words. “You have grown up to be a gorgeous young woman with a bright future as a princess and student.” Sophia shut her eyes, savoring this moment, as her mother placed a light kiss on her forehead.

“Thank you,” was all she said in response. They stood in their embrace for a few moments longer before they were interrupted by another guest asking to dance.

“Excuse me. I’m sorry to interrupt but I was just wondering if Lady Sophia could spare me a dance,” the boy who asked smiled crookedly. Sophia took him in with just one glance. He wore all black and had pale and pasty skin with black hair that fell across his face, covering one eye. His face was long and slim, along with his nose, and both matched his physic. Other people might think that he was odd looking but Sophia thought the word interesting was more suitable.

Her full analysis had taken only a split second, “It would be my pleasure.” She placed her hand in his and was surprised at how firm his grip was. Sophia had to admit that his dancing was divine. She let herself be twirled and guided by her graceful dance partner’s hands. When the dance ended, she was grinning like a giddy schoolgirl.

Sophia spun once more on her own, welcoming the swirl of her skirts around her legs but when she turned back around, the boy was gone. She’d wanted to ask his name but he was long gone and the crowd was much too big to search through.

“That was quite a dance, no?” the queen teased, placing a hand on Sophia’s right shoulder and her chin on the other so that their cheeks were pressed together.

“Who was that?” Sophia breathed.

Her mother shook her head saying, “I don’t know.”

The noise of the crowd stopped abruptly and Sophia and her mother turned to the cause of the silence. They were both called up to the dais by the King. The three of them stood in front of the thrones of the dais where the rest of the council sat.

“Thank you all for coming,” Sophia’s father bellowed into the microphone, “Tonight is a very special night. As you all know, tonight my daughter, soon-to-be Princess Sophia, is to be crowned as part of the Witch Council.”

Everyone, even the few people who stood in the balcony stared at them. Sophia felt her face flush and she self-consciously smoothed her gown as she stood on the dais awaiting her coronation.

“As King of the Witch and Warlock Council, I pronounce Sophia Elizabeth Bellany Princess of the Witch and Warlock Council,” Her father pronounced. She stood nervously before him, shaking slightly, and stared out at the crowd of witches, warlocks, and the other creatures of her world.

A tiara made of silver and diamond was placed atop Sophia’s head and she was officially the Princess of the Witch Council. Everyone around her exploded in cheers and applause.

They had their full council as of that night.

 

Sophia shook her head at Ana as she tried to calm herself. “Be calm,” Ana had kept saying over and over. Sophia was trying but failing to calm herself.

She’d never lied to her parents before. Technically, she wasn’t lying but she felt that keeping what she was from them was just as bad. “I don’t know if I can go through with this,” she told Ana.

“But you can. You are only sixteen, Sophia, and you need a break. You have to do this,” Ana coaxed soothingly.

Sophia nodded, taking a breath and then nodded again, more confidently this time. “You’re right Ana. I mustn’t let myself down. I must put myself first for once in my life, as you’ve said.”

She snapped her fingers, producing an ink pen and piece of paper with magic. Ana sat next to her friend quietly as Sophia started to write. Her letter read:

Dear Mom and Dad,

By the time you read this, I’ll be long gone. I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you this in person but I know how you would react. You would have tried to make me stay, to keep me there. But I need a break. I’ve gone to the mortal world, staying with distant family. I promise to continue my duties as princess and keep up with my Creatures of the World High (CWH) studies. Tomorrow (well today, considering when you read this) I will be starting normal school in the mortal world. I hope you’ll understand. Please don’t come looking for me, I’ll find you when I need to. I love you both.

                              Sincerely,

                               Sophia

 

Sophia stopped writing and read over her letter. Prefetto, she thought, smiling. “I’m ready,” Sophia whispered to Ana. They both stood and Sophia grabbed her trunks and bags.

“Oh, I almost forgot,” she murmured, placing a timing spell on her letter that would send it to her parents one day after she left. She walked back to her luggage and she and Ana faced each other.

“Well, I guess this is goodbye,” Ana frowned.

“No,” Sophia shook her head, “Never goodbye. I will be back, I promise you. We’re witches, remember. The portal is always open if either of us wants to visit the other.”

Ana nodded, but still looked sad as she lowered her head, letting brown hair fall in her face and wiping away a tear. Sophia gathered her best friend in a long, fierce hug. “I’ll miss you, Ana. Have fun at CWH. Bye, for now anyway,” She told her friend.

“Have a great time, Sophia,” Ana replied.

They swept their arms out simultaneously as if they were cleaning a dirty window and opened a portal in the middle of Sophia’s room. Sophia waved goodbye one last time and stepped through.

The next few seconds were horrible. Sophia was twisted and thrown from mid air out onto hard concrete. The only thing that saved her from breaking a bone was her gown’s skirts that cushioned her when she landed.

Sophia’s stomach lurched as she sat up and she had to hold back vomit as she took in her surroundings. She was sitting on a stone path that led to a small house that was seemingly on a huge farm with a red barn. It was dark outside and Sophia was suddenly scared of what might be lurking in the darkness.

She thought idly, where are my things? Sophia had a second to remember the portal and roll out of the way before her trunks and expensive French bags fell from mid-air, landing next to her.

“Oh,” she breathed lightly, still shocked from the fall. She stood, grabbing her luggage and stalked up the stone path to the house where she knocked on the door.

Someone shouted something like “coming” and soon the door swung open. Behind it was a young-looking woman wearing jeans and a t-shirt with her dirty blonde hair in a messy bun.

“Sophia?” Sophia’s half-mortal aunt asked skeptically. She looked amazed and stood there for a moment before she said, “Come in, come in.”

Sophia stepped through the threshold dragging her things with her and followed her aunt, Lauren, into her living room. She sat on the couch when Lauren gestured for her to. “Sophia,” Lauren started, “You have grown so much since I’ve seen you. You really are a beautiful young lady.”

“Thank you, Aunt Lauren. You look beautiful yourself,” Sophia said, smiling.

“Let me get your bags so I can show you your—,” Lauren started only to be stopped by Sophia.

“I’ll just send those up,” Sophia told her aunt with a wink. She snapped her fingers and luggage hovered and floated up the stairs to the spare room. Lauren cleared her throat in warning, giving Sophia a stern look. “Sorry,” Sophia said apologetically.

“Alright, let’s go up to the guest room,” Lauren sighed.

­­Upstairs and to the left was a short hallway with a bathroom at the end and a bedroom on the left. The bedroom was small and plain with eggshell colored walls, one nightstand, a ceiling light, and next to a small window, a twin sized bed. Sophia sat gingerly on the bed as if the room’s bleakness made it weak and unstable. Her trunks and bags sat in a neat pile next to a door that Sophia assumed led to a closet.

“You start school tomorrow morning, like you requested. You’ll have to be up by five thirty and you’ll have an hour to get ready. You can get up earlier if you like but I can’t promise I’ll be awake,” Lauren told Sophia, leaning against the door frame.

Sophia nodded curtly. She was used to having to get up early for meetings, school, and special Witch Council events but she always had over an hour to get ready in gowns and jewelry like a true princess. She needed time to get used to the idea of going to school. Her stomach churched at the thought.

“Don’t worry, it’ll be fine,” Lauren comforted, reading Sophia’s thoughts. “I’ll show how we non-royal mortals dress in modern day America.”

Sophia smiled at her aunt’s kindness and said goodnight, hoping the morning would go well. Once she heard the soft click of Lauren’s door closing, she changed with magic, not feeling like removing all of her skirts, her corset, her stockings, jewelry and hair pins. She lay down and snuggled under the cozy comforter on the guest bed and fell asleep after a couple frantic thoughts about how the next day would unravel.