Sofia

Sofia furrowed her brow as she flipped through the pages of a book on the birds of Enchancia and its surrounding kingdoms. She was sure of it; that little red bird wasn't from Enchancia.

"Where did you come from, little guy?" Sofia asked him gently. He was sitting in a small basket with a blanket to keep him warm, along with a bowl of special water and some seeds and fruits as well. Cedric had told her that when birds get hurt or sick the most important thing was to keep them warm. Sofia was extremely worried about the little bird. He'd spent the entire day sleeping; only opening his eyes occasionally. Sofia had gotten a healing salve from Cedric that had helped with the wound on his head, but Cedric was skeptical as ever that it would accomplish anything. Cedric even said that It would be a miracle if the bird survived the night. It was clear that the poor thing hadn't eaten properly in a while, he was quite thin and his feathers were dull. The only problem was that because she had no idea what type of bird he was, she didn't know what kind of foods he ate. Once, the bird had tried to speak to her again but all he'd managed to say was 'Sofia' before falling asleep again. Sofia hadn't realized that the bird knew her name. He must have heard someone say my name while I was helping him, she reasoned, although something seemed strange about it all. She just couldn't quite put her finger on it...

"Sof, I might have something here." Clover called from the pile of books on the floor. Sofia had brought up every book the castle library had on birds; even though most of them weren't exactly helpful. Some of them covered birds from clear on the other side of the planet, and while she was sure this bird was from far away, she doubted he was from that far away. Clover had been sifting through the books, looking at pictures mostly and getting distracted by any pictures of food.

"What is it Clover?" Sofia asked, she moved to sit next to the bunny. Without magical intervention, Clover should have passed away from old age a few years ago. But with Cedric's help, Sofia had made Clover into a full-fledged animal helper, or 'familiar,' as was the proper term. Animals that are familiars live as long as their human masters do, which is why Wormwood had been Cedric's familiar for almost thirty years before his betrayal. Sofia couldn't even begin to guess how old Merlin's owl Archimedes was. She was no sorcerer, at least, not in the way that Cedric was, but the skills sure came in handy sometimes.

"Look at this pigeon. I might be crazy, but I think it's the same as our little feathered friend there." Clover said, pointing a paw at an illustration of a bird just like the one they had. The only difference was that theirs had green eyes and this one's eyes were yellow.

"The red-billed pigeon.." Sofia read before stopping, "Clover, this bird is native to Avalor- that's on the other side of the world!"

Sofia glanced back at the sleeping bird; there was no mistaking it, he was a perfect match.

"Are you telling me that little guy flew the whole way to Enchancia?" Clover asked, amazed.

"He probably rode on a boat, Clover." Sofia replied, "I don't think anything could fly that far."

"Avalor though. That's pretty crazy. Isn't that where the thing with your amulet happened?" Clover asked.

Sofia nodded, deep in thought. She hadn't thought about Avalor in years. At least, not in any great detail. Despite the obvious connection, she and Elena had never been close. They only talked occasionally in letters, and even then it was usually only when one of them needed something, like when Sofia sent Elena her book from the Secret Library. Sofia had a feeling it was because they had a sort of mutual understanding of how strange their situation had been. Sure, there was the obvious age difference, but that hadn't stopped Sofia from making friends before. No, it was a certain sort of sadness that prevented them from being friends. Not only had Elena been trapped in the amulet for 41 years, but Elena had spent the last two years of her imprisonment watching Sofia's life through the amulet. She knew everything about Sofia's family, her friends, her life, but had never spoken to any of them. Maybe when Elena had been trapped she'd viewed them all as her friends in a melancholy, ghost like way. Elena had probably cheered for Sofia during her derby races, laughed at Jame's jokes, marveled at Amber's parties… It had to be incredibly lonely. Sofia could only imagine it. When she'd been briefly trapped in the amulet it had been so empty inside, so cold. And what about the Wassailia when Dad had gotten lost in the storm? Elena must have been scared for him too- she was the one who sent Princess Aurora to help, but then to not be part of the celebration when everyone was reunited? To not truly be included? For Sofia, Wassailia was one of the most important holidays of the year; it was about being with family and sharing your love for them. Elena would have been forced to watch as Sofia's family celebrated and laughed and lit the candle together, while Elena, at the time at least, would have watched alone with the assumption that her entire family was gone. It was things like that that made it no wonder that they hadn't stayed in touch; it was just too sad for Elena, and too much of a reminder of her 41 years trapped in the amulet, and Sofia understood that better than anyone.

As for Avalor… apart from trade discussions, the last that Sofia had heard from Avalor was two years ago. Elena had issued an international arrest warrant for a pair of evil wizards who had attempted to assassinate her and steal her throne. And one of those wizards was none other than Mateo. It was hard for Sofia to imagine the goofy but kind teenager she'd met during her adventure in Avalor all those years ago as evil. After Sofia left Avalor they hadn't stayed in touch, but she liked to think that he was doing well. But then again, she knew full well that a lot can happen in a few years. She was just glad that his reported appearances never left Avalor and its surrounding kingdoms. She wouldn't want to fight him. But, if they ever did meet… Sofia ran her hand over her enchantlet… she would be obligated to.

"Anyways Sof, I was thinkin' since we know what kinda bird he is now, we should get him comfortable yea? See if there's any Avaloran fruits or whatever in the kitchens. That kinda thing." Clover continued.

"Good idea Clover, let's go see what we've got." Getting to her feet, Sofia opened the door, glancing back at the little bird in the basket; he looked back at her sleepily with strangely familiar green eyes. A chill ran down Sofia's spine as she followed Clover out of the room.

The little bird survived first the evening, and then the night, and was looking much better in the morning then he had been when Sofia checked on him. He was practically devouring the fruit that she and Clover had found for him.

"Aren't you a hungry one?" Sofia said amused as she got herself ready for the day.

"Maybe a little," The bird admitted, speaking to her properly for the first time. He looked up at her anxiously after speaking, as if afraid of what she might do.

"You don't have to be scared." Sofia assured him, "You're safe now. You must have had a real adventure to get here all the way from Avalor."

"You know I'm from Avalor? How do you know I'm from Avalor- is it my accent or?" The bird said in a panic. What is he scared of? Why doesn't he want me to know where he's from? Sofia wondered. She couldn't help but wonder if there was something up with this bird and immediately hated herself for it. He was probably just lost and scared.

"Because of the kind of bird you are, silly." She replied.

"Oh. Right. That.. that probably should have been obvious." The bird said, looking down at himself as if he'd forgotten. Sofia frowned as she watched him move. He didn't move like a bird, and she would know. She'd been friends with Robin and Mia for years. While eating he kept trying to use his wings to hold onto things rather than his beak or his feet.

"How did you get here anyways?" Sofia asked him carefully.

"Oh, I came here on a ship." The little bird said. The longest feather on his right wing had a strange pattern on the inside, like a black lightning bolt. Sofia realized with a jolt that he might be a strangeling.

"A ship?" She said, "Did you mean to get on it or did you get stuck or something?"

"I meant to- actually, Princess Sofia, there's something I need to tell you." The little bird struggled to get out of the basket on his own, trying to pull himself up with his wings rather than his beak, before falling out face forward onto Sofia's desk.

"Ow." He said, Sofia quickly helped him back to his feet.

"What do you need to tell me?" She asked.

"Uh, one moment please. This will make a lot more sense in a second." He said, hopping over to the edge of her desk.

The small bird glided off of the desk and landed in front of her, in a flash of red light and a puff of smoke, the bird was gone, and in its place, kneeling in front of her on one knee was a young man in a filthy coat, supporting himself with a staff that was a black lightning bolt on one end, and a tambourine on the other. His hair was a tangled mess of curls that had all but escaped it's ponytail. The injury on his head was partially healed. His battered hands were barely covered by tattered fingerless gloves. His shoes… his tall boots were once upon a time lovingly well made out of some of the finest leather Sofia had seen, with careful hand stitching on the edges and embossed symbols done in the Avaloran style. They wet the leather and carve or press in flowers and other patterns, Sofia remembered her Mother explaining to her once. Now however, the leather was cracked and broken in places. The boots themselves were coming apart at the sole, one shoe the split was so bad he'd wrapped it with an old belt in a losing bid to get more life out of the boot. These shoes had been through everything their owners had been; and it looked like they'd walked through Hell.

"Princess Sofia of Enchancia; Protector of the Everrealm, Storykeeper of the Secret Library and bearer of the Amulet of Avalor, please, I need your help." The internationally wanted criminal Mateo de Alva begged, looking up at her with a desperate look in his familiar green eyes. Sofia didn't know what to do.