Sorry for the delay, I had a bit of writers block with this chapter. The ending is a bit messy lol.

I hope you enjoy!

Sofia finished tying a bow around her dress and spun in the mirror. Her pink and white dress was gorgeous, the silver tiara on her head sparkling in the light. Her hair was curled softly and her makeup looked smooth and natural, simple colors making her eyes pop. Sofia felt like a dream. She hoped Hugo would like it.

It was finally the night of the Debut Ball. Royals from all across the land, including a lot of kids from school, were coming to celebrate Sofia and welcome her into the royal family. Unknown to most people attending, Hugo would also be proposing to Sofia tonight during her formal welcome speeches that her father and mother would be giving. Sofia felt nervous, even though she knew it was coming.

Due to etiquette rules of formal proposals in the royal culture, Hugo and Sofia wouldn't be able to talk to each other or interact until after Hugo proposed in front of the court and all their friends and family. Sofia was dreading that, in the few weeks since they had met in that school hallway, she hated being apart from him. This was her first ball and she had been hoping to have him for support. She was a strong and independent princess, but he made her feel safe and loved. He never got mad or annoyed if she didn't know certain royal rules and always answered her questions with patience and love. He always encouraged her to do things when others didn't, like when she joined in a football game at school during lunch. Everyone told her that it wasn't ladylike, But Hugo just grinned and proudly told her "Go kick their asses!" He cheered loudly every time she kicked the ball through the goal.

Sofia shook herself out of her thoughts and gave herself a once over, deciding she was ready to go. She left her room and started down the hall to the stairs.
As she passed a room, she heard soft crying. She had no idea what room this was. Sofia stopped with a frown and gently pushed the door open. The bedroom that she found herself in was fancy and full of expensive pillows and paintings. Sitting in the middle of the room in a heap was Amber, half dressed and clutching her dress with tears running down her face.

Sofia frowned, "Amber? What's wrong?" She asked gently.

Amber whirled around, looking surprised, "Oh! Sofia! It's nothing."

Sofia walked closer and knelt next to her, "It doesn't look like nothing." She offered her a handkerchief

Amber sighed and reluctantly took it, "Why do you care?" She asked unhappily.

Sofia looked slightly offended, "You're upset! Talking to someone might make it better or maybe I can even help!"

Amber sighed, "I doubt it, everything is going wrong. I ripped my dress, I lost the tiara that matches the dress, and my hair is a mess"

Sofia smiled, "I can help! I have a tiara that will match and I can sew! I'll be right back!"

Sofia jumped up and ran out of the room. Amber looked bewildered, what was she doing? Sofia ran back in with a tiara and a mini sewing kit.

A little while later, Amber was brushing her hair as Sofia finished mending the tear in her dress.

Sofia set down her needle with a smile. "There!"

Amber looked down and gasped, "You can't even tell that I ripped it! Oh thank you Sofia!" She then paused and looked down sadly.

Sofia frowned and gently touched her shoulder, "Now what's wrong?" She asked.

Amber sniffed, "I've been so horrid to you since you got here. I was jealous of you making friends and getting to marry such a good prince like Hugo, not that Zander is not a great prince. I was trying so hard not to like you but then you went and did this for me. Why did you help me after everything I did?" She asked

Sofia smiled weakly, "While you might have not been the nicest, having a new family can be a hard adjustment. I also know it must be hard to see me be with the prince you had once hoped to marry. I helped you because we are step sisters, we have to stick together."

Amber smiled and hugged Sofia tightly, "Sisters. We are sisters Sofia. I was a fool to ever deny that."Sofia grinned and hugged her back just as tightly.

They pulled apart and Amber brushed her dress off. "Now. We had better hurry and find Daddy. We have a ball to enjoy and you have a prince to avoid." Sofia sighed at that and Amber giggled, knowing how annoying it was. And with that the sisters hurried off to the ballroom.

Sofia soon found herself standing outside the grand doors. She knew her entire family and school was inside waiting to see and judge her. She fidgeted with her dress as she heard the trumpets blare and the herald announce "Presenting, Princess Sofia!"

The doors were flung open and Sofia entered the ballroom to cheers and fanfare. Her stomach churned as she looked at the vast amount of people in the room. As she made her way down the stairs, she saw Hugo in the crowd. He was standing with his family, and his mouth was dropped in shock, staring at her in awe. He couldn't believe how amazing she looked, if angels were real he knew they would look like Sofia. Axel and Cora were snickering at his reaction as King Garrick just smiled watching how his son reacted to his future bride. Sofia's smile became a little bigger at Hugo's reaction as she finished her descent in to the ballroom and took her father's hand for the first dance.

"You look beautiful Sofia." King Roland said with a big smile.

Sofia smiled back at him, "Thank you Dad."

The music started and they began to whirl around the room, Sofia had discovered that while she wasn't the best at it, she loved to dance. Her mother was soon spinning around the dance floor with James. Amber was stood at the edge of the dance floor, watching them with a weak smile.

Sofia pulled her father over to her and offered her her hand. Amber looked surprised, but happily took one of Sofia's hands and one of her father's. Soon the three of them were laughing and spinning around the floor before nearly running into James and Queen Miranda. The family of five all joined hands and spun around the room, enjoying each other's company.

All too soon the song ended. Sofia and James broke away to dance together and Amber started to walk off the dance floor when someone tapped her on the shoulder. She turned and was shocked to see Prince Hugo. "Would you care for a dance, Princess Amber?" He asked bowing to her. She curtsied and accepted his outstretched hand. They started to spin about the dance floor.

"I'm sure you'd much rather be dancing with Sofia." Amber commented.

Hugo glanced over at Sofia and James as they laughed at something ridiculous James had said. Amber could clearly see love in Hugo's eyes as he watched his soon to be fiancée. "Perhaps, but I can't just yet. You're one of my best friends so I don't mind dancing with you." He replied.

"I'll be your sister soon." Amber commented.

Hugo chuckled, "Great." He said sarcastically, "I get you and James as younger siblings. Definitely not the way I thought we'd be family." An awkward silence fell over them after he said that.

"Why didn't you ask my father to marry me?" Amber questioned.

Hugo sighed, "I really thought I was going to. But when Zander told James and I that he had asked, I was faced with the reality of Royal life. Your father could either make you a Queen by marrying Zander or a lowly princess by marrying me. I ended up realizing finally that I see you as more of a little sister anyway." He smiled weakly before glancing at Sofia, "I think it worked out for the best." He commented.

Amber smiled, "It's clear how much you care about her. However, I'll warn you now, if you hurt her, James and I will murder you."

Hugo chuckled, "Trust me. James already gave me a talk. I could never hurt Sofia. I think she'd murder me before you got the chance to anyway."

Amber giggled, "I'm starting to think so too."

As the song ended they broke apart, Zander walking over to them to steal Amber back for a dance. Hugo bowed to her, "Thank you for the dance Princess Amber." She curtsied to him before he walked away.

Hugo walked over to the edge of the crowd, sitting at one of the tables set out, watching as Sofia danced with James still. He couldn't believe how incredible she looked tonight, he couldn't wait to be able to hold and kiss her later. He found that he couldn't take his eyes off of her until King Roland appeared next to him.

"She looks beautiful tonight, doesn't she?" King Roland commented as he sat next to the young man.

Hugo smiled, "She always looks beautiful your majesty, just especially so tonight."

Kimg Roland chuckled, "An excellent point Prince Hugo. How have you been getting along with her?"

Hugo thought for a moment about the last few weeks together, "She definitely isn't like the other princesses. She cares more about her policy classes then the fashion classes. She also seems interested in sports and is just all around a fascinating person to talk to." He explained to his future father-in-law.

King Roland nodded, "Her commoner life makes her a breathe of fresh air in this courtly world?" He questioned. Hugo nodded in affirmation. Roland chuckled, "I feel the same way about her mother. Queen Miranda always surprises me with how extraordinary she is."

Hugo smiled as he glanced over at his princess. "I always was afraid of the arranged marriages that royals had to endure. I thought I'd end up with someone I couldn't stand but that definitely isn't the case. I got very lucky." With those words, he glanced over at Zander who looked incredibly bored as he listened to Amber and Hildegard talk.

King Roland followed his gaze and sighed, "Even I'll admit, Amber can be hard to listen to in large doses." Hugo chuckled at that. King Roland smiled before standing up, "I'm about to start the speeches. Yours will be the last." Hugo nodded, a pit starting to form in his stomach. His hand made its way to his pocket where a small velvet box was hidden.

King Roland walked onto a makeshift stage at the front of the ballroom. His family soon joined him. Sofia gazed out at all of the people in the room, scanning for Hugo, but she couldn't find him before her attention was pulled away as her father started his speech. "Welcome to the Kingdom of Enchancia. I am honored to host all of you today in welcoming one of our newest royals, my daughter, Princess Sofia!" Roland spoke in a loud, clear voice. At these words, the room filled with cheers and applause. Sofia dipped into a low curtsy and waved to the room filled with people. King Roland continued his speech as Hugo shuffled his way through the crowd, getting many raised eyebrows at his audacity to move during the King's speech.

"No respect." One queen mumbled under her breath. Her friends nodded in agreement. Hugo ignored this and continued to push forward to the stage, his eyes locked on Sofia. He still couldn't believe how beautiful she looked.

Suddenly, King Chad from the land of Jasper, the same king who disrespected Hugo and James at the flying derby match, grabbed his arm roughly, hissing to the boy, "Have you no shame? Prince Hugo, this is not the time to be running around creating trouble! This is disrespectful to the new princess!" Hugo tried to shake the man's grip off respectfully but the king just held him tighter.

King Roland had now finished his speech and Queen Miranda was starting hers, saying, "The welcome my daughter and I have been shown has been tremendous. The people of this court and surrounding kingdoms have show support and kindness in this new time for our family and I thank you for that."

Hugo hissed at King Chad, "I know what I'm doing! Now let me go before you make a fool of yourself."

The king just glared at him and didn't budge. Hugo huffed and then using barely any of his strength, easily slipped from the King's grasp. He pushed through the crowd as Queen Miranda finished her speech.

King Chad was about to follow the prince when a hand on his shoulder stopped him. The King turned to see Prince Axel staring at him. "I'd advise you leave my little brother alone. He might be a pain in the ass but you'll see in just a moment what a fool you are for stopping him and I hope you're embarrassed by it."

Just then, as Queen Miranda finished her speech, King Roland walked forward. "As we close out our speeches for the evening. We have one more person who would like to address the crowd and Princess Sofia."

Hugo walked up the stairs onto the stage, feeling the eyes of everyone in the room on him, but he only had eyes for Sofia, who was finally in front of him for the first time all evening. Hugo shook King Roland's hand and then James' before turning to the crowd. "It's no secret that royals have arranged marriages. I knew from a young age that my fate would be no different. Most royals fall in love after their wedding day. I am lucky enough to fall in love before that day." Murmurs fell through the crowd as Hugo turned to Sofia, who had not been expecting that from him. Her eyes were wet with emotion and a huge smile was breaking across her face.

Hugo grinned at her and took the velvet box out of the pockets of his dress pants. He took Sofia's hand, squeezing it gently. "I love you." He mumbled to her before increasing his volume for the formal proposal, "Sofia. From the moment my father told me about you, I was captivated. Then after meeting you, I was trapped. It's only been a couple of weeks, but I feel as though I wasn't truly happy without you by my side. So I'm ready here in front of your family, the kingdom, and God to pledge my love to you." Sofia really was fully of crying now as Hugo sank to one knee and opened the box. Inside sat a simple silver ring with a clear, gorgeous diamond. The setting for was simple but elegant. Somehow it was exactly Sofia's style.

Hugo cleared his throat and squeezed Sofia's hand as he finally asked her the question everyone was waiting for, "Princess Sofia, will you marry me?" Everyone waited with baited breath for Sofia's response.

Sofia managed to stop crying long enough to say, just loud enough for Hugo to hear, "Y-yes!" And then she flung herself into his arms, hugging him tightly.
"That's a yes!" King Roland exclaimed. The room filled with cheers of congratulations as Hugo stood up, pulling Sofia up with him. He slid the ring onto her finger before kissing her cheek gently. Their first public kiss had to be on their wedding day so as much as Hugo wanted to kiss his new fiancée, he couldn't.

They soon were surrounded by people congratulating them and soon were pulled apart to talk to different people. Sofia quickly started to feel a little overwhelmed. As she was as turned from person to person with congratulations and talks of weddings and children she wanted more and more to just leave.

Suddenly, as she was talking to the queen who had called Hugo disrespectful, a pair of hands appeared on her shoulders. She turned slightly to see Hugo smiling at her, "I hate to interrupt," Hugo said with a sly smile, "But I need to steal Princess Sofia away." Sofia hurriedly apologized to the queen as Hugo led her off. Without a word to her, he pulled her through the ballroom and outside into the night, making excuses to everyone they passed. They went down a set of stone stairs. He didn't stop before they got to the garden where he collapsed onto a stone wall. "That was a lot." He said, running a hand through his hair. Sofia nodded in agreement and sat next to him.

He glanced over at her, studying her. "You look incredible by the way." He commented.

Sofia looked over at him and smiled, "Thank you. You don't look half bad yourself."

Hugo grinned and wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her closer. Sofia leaned her head in his shoulder. "I've been wanting to be near you all night" She admitted.

Hugo smiled, kissing the top of her head, "Oh trust me, I've felt the same way. Watching you dance with other people was torture. I just wanted to pull you close and dance with you all night."

Sofia's cheeks tinted pink slightly and turned to face him, "I hate being apart from you. It feels like a part of me is missing." Hugo grinned, leaned forward and kissed her. She seemed a little shocked at first but soon kissed him back. Hugo tightened his grip on her and she placed her hand on his cheek as they kissed under the moonlight.

Suddenly a wolf whistle broke them from their kiss. Hugo whirled around to see his brother and sister-in-law leaning over a banister, laughing at them.

"Oi! Leave us alone will you!" He yelled up at them.

"Sue me for wanting to congratulate my little brother and soon to be sister!" Axel said, putting his hand to his chest in mock sadness.

"We are a little busy if you don't mind!" Sofia called up to them, making Hugo sputter and blush.

Cora broke out laughing, "Well excuse us Princess! We will leave you to it!" She pulled her husband away as he continued to fake cry at his brother.

The tips of Hugo's ears were bright red and he turned to his fiancée, a little embarrassed still, "We're too busy huh?" He teased.

Sofia giggled and pulled him in for another kiss, enjoying having him close to her.

After they finished kissing, and the buzz of their brand new engagement had worn down slightly, Hugo and Sofia made their way back inside. Their hands were tightly clasped together. They didn't want to be separated for another minute of this ball. They made their way over to their families, who were standing up in a circle talking.

Axel grinned as they approached, "Finally finished making out?" He teased them.

Hugo turned bright red and hissed at his brother, "Axel! Stop!" With a glance at his future father-in-law. King Roland looked a little concerned, but Queen Miranda just chuckled. Amber and James were giggling at the look on Hugo's face. Cleo and Zander were trying to be respectful to their future in-laws, but they too were smiling at Sofia and Hugo. Sofia just grinned cheekily and kissed her fiancé on the cheek.

King Garrick cleared his throat and looked across at everyone. "I just want to say a few words quickly. Sofia, Hugo, Congratulations first of all. Watching you two together, reminds me of my wife and I when we were your age. So young and in love. Hugo, I'm so proud of the man you have become and I cannot wait to see what you are going to do. And to the rest of you, for the longest time it was just Axel, Hugo, and I. Cora joined our family but her family never really clicked with us. I feel that this union has made us one big, happy family," He smiled at everyone, "And that includes you two as well." He said as he turned to Cleo and Zander who grinned happily, "So I just wanted to say, here is to our new family!"

"Hear hear!" King Roland said, "A fine statement King Garrick!" Queen Miranda nodded in agreement.

Axel was about to say something when an explosion rocked the castle. Screams filled the ball room as cannon balls suddenly broke through the glass windows. The ceiling tiles began to crumble and a chandelier came crashing down onto a group of people. Glass flew across the room, cutting many royals. Hugo winced as his suit was cut open and his back began to bleed from the glass, but he automatically moved in front of Sofia to shield her from the glass. More cannon balls flew through the windows, exploding and killing members of the crowd.

"Everyone out!" King Roland yelled.

Sofia seemed frozen in horror at the scene of death and violence in front of her. Hugo grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the ballroom, "Come on!" He yelled, snapping her out of her daze.

Everyone fled the ball room as the royal guards rushed past them to fight back. King Garrick lead as many people as he could out of the ballroom. King Roland made sure that every single member of his family was heading to the safe room, including the in-laws. Zander's parents and his younger sister followed them. Cleo's family couldn't be bothered to attend the ball but James had a firm hand on Cleo's shoulder, guiding her towards safety. A few friends from school came as well, including Hildegard, Khaldoun, Vivian, and Desmond.

Soon everyone was in the safe room and King Roland shut the door. Baileywick, who had come with them along with a few members of the staff and royal guard, lit candles on the wall, revealing the safe room.

The safe room was a large long stone hallway. It was lined with cots that had storage underneath them, holding food, water, candles, medicine, and anything else the royal family might need. The safe room could sleep around 20 people, much less then the amount of people in the room, but Baileywick was already ordering maids to make some makeshift beds and break out extra blankets and pillows. When the family went to the safe room, royal policy was to spend at least 12 hours after the fighting stopped in there for safety.

Amber was crying hysterically in Zander's arms. Cleo had buried her face in James's chest, his arms locked protectively around her. Everyone was freaked out. Even the normally stoic Hildegard was tense and scared.

"Okay, what the hell was that?" Cora demanded as she tried to calm the young prince Desmond who was hyperventilating next to her. Axel was leaning against the wall, trying to calm himself down .

King Roland ran a hand through his hair. "An attack of some sorts." He replied.

"Who would want to attack us?" Sofia wondered aloud. She was busy helping one of the maids dig through a box of medical supplies. Many people had cuts from the glass and a few more had serious injuries.

King Garrick frowned, "Enchancia has no enemies. No one could have know that Hugo was proposing so that wouldn't have been the cause. I simply cannot imagine who could have done this." He thought out loud.

Another explosion rocked the castle. Sofia winced at the noise but grabbed a bottle of vodka and some bandages before walking over to Cleo. Neither had said anything, but James was holding a handkerchief to her arm, trying to slow the blood flow of her injuries. Some glass was impaled in her left arm, just above the elbow. Sofia peeled his handkerchief away, "This is going to sting." She warned before poring some of the alcohol on Cleo's cut. Cleo visibly winced and James kissed her forehead, trying to comfort her.

With one of the maids help, Sofia removed the glass and stitched the cut up. She was careful to clean the wound and gently wrapped it in cloth bandages. Sofia watched the cut for a few moments to make sure it wasn't bleeding still before moving onto Desmond's snapped finger.

Hugo watched in amazement as Sofia moved gracefully around the room, helping those with injuries and covering cuts. Hugo was trying to listen to his father and King Roland talking about possible attackers, but the beauty and grace of his fiancée healing others was very distracting.

"How did you learn to do all this?" Amber asked her sister, seemingly watching her as Hugo was.

Sofia smiled gently as she wrapped a cut up that was on the leg of one of the royal guards. "Dunnwiddie had a lot of fights. You learn to patch your friends up pretty quickly. Also one of our neighbors was an army medic, he taught me a lot when I was little." She replied. Everyone seemed impressed with the young princess as she patched everyone up. Soon everyone settled down to wait out the explosions.

A few hours later, most of the fighting had worn down, the 12 hour count down had begun. As it was now the middle of the night, most of the royals were asleep. King Roland and King Garrick were sitting in a corner with a candle and notebook, trying to plan for a recovery.

Sofia was sat up in her cot, wrapped in a blanket and lost in thought. The horrors she had witnessed that night were not going to go away any time soon. She seemed to be far away, she didn't even notice the young prince approach her until he sat next to her on the cot.

Sofia jumped slightly but turned to see her fiancé's concerned face looking at her.

"Are you alright?" Hugo whispered to her.

She nodded and leaned into him, his arms went around her and he held her gently. "Just trying to process what happened." She mumbled

Hugo sighed, he reached up and started playing with her hair as he talked. "I just want to know who would do something like this. I hate the idea of someone coming after you and your family."

Sofia just nodded, she was starting to feel sleepy. Hugo's warm presence was comforting to her and it seemed to calm her down and make her stop overthinking. She closed her eyes as the events of the day washed over her. She soon fell asleep in Hugo's arms.

Ack! I had no idea how to end this one!

I've started on chapter 5 so it hopefully won't be more than a eek before I update!