Crystallize

Summary: Both Sofia and Elena get drawn into the amulet when it senses that the princesses are in danger. It's now up to both the Royal Sorcerer of Enchancia and the Royal Wizard of Avalor to figure out what's going on before it's too late.

Disclaimer: I don't own Sofia the First or Elena of Avalor.

A/N: This story is carried over from "Magic Link," so I just wanted to make sure to mention that. This will be a multi-chapter story, and, due to my work schedule, it might be a bit of time before I update. But I intend to try to update once a week or so if at all possible. Things mentioned throughout the chapters are linked together, and I understand that there may be a few questions that arise throughout the chapters, but I assure you that the connections will be made quite clear by the end. That said, I hope you enjoy "Crystallize." :)

Chapter List:

1: Ensnared

2: Like No Other

3: Myth or Magic

4: The Defacto

5: Ever Realm Patrol

6: And Then There Were None

*Story*

Chapter 1: Ensnared

"Come here," Elena whispered to Mateo as she grabbed his arm and pulled him away from the gathered crowd of people in the ballroom (a party for the changing of the seasons). She led him outside to the balcony, the darkness of the night blanketing them from curious onlookers; a few torches did manage to illuminate a bit of the area, which offered some visual for the two of them.

"What's wrong?" Mateo asked in concern as she released him and produced her scepter. His eyes widened slightly when he realized it seemed to be glowing on its own. "Elena?"

"It's been doing this all night, Mateo. And I didn't activate it at all…" She sighed heavily as she glanced back through the windows of the palace, realizing the party continued with or without them. If nothing else, her grandparents could manage the party. "I just don't know what to do," she admitted softly. "Mateo, if I can't learn to control this thing, then I'm going to be causing more harm than good…and…" She paused, biting her lip and making a small sound of discomfort.

The young wizard frowned, bothered more by what she wasn't saying than what she'd already said. "This isn't just about the scepter, is it?" he stated more than asked. "Something else is going on; otherwise, you never would have brought me out here. What's going on, Elena?"

The princess inhaled before sighing heavily as she carefully observed the balcony to make sure they had no onlookers or anything of that sort. Not finding anything out of the ordinary, she returned her attention to her friend. "Have you ever had a sinking feeling, where you know something bad is going to happen, yet you don't really know how to stop it?" She felt a chill go down her spine as she even spoke of her fears, and she held the scepter closer, her hands tightly clutching it. "I know something's wrong, Mateo… Something is after me…and I can't shake the feeling that even Sofia might be in danger too."

"Sofia?"

"We have to warn her, Mateo," Elena insisted with a stern stare. "I won't have someone I consider a friend and a charge, really, being placed in harm's way. If I can get to her first, then maybe we'll stand a fighting chance of stopping…whatever this is."

The wizard gave his friend a skeptical look. "Elena…not that I don't support you and believe what you're saying… But is it really wise to travel to Enchancia solely on a hunch of what could happen?"

The princess frowned before turning and staring out at the kingdom. "I thought you, of all people, would have faith in me…in my intuition. I've kind of been through enough to realize that bad feelings only lead to bad events, Mateo…"

Mateo realized he'd inadvertently upset his friend, and he never did like seeing her so down, so he stepped forward and placed one hand on her shoulder, getting her attention. "I'm sorry… You're right, and I believe you. If you say that you feel something bad is going to happen, then I'm going to listen to you. So what now?"

She smiled thoughtfully before gesturing toward the party. "We get out of here."

He seemed surprised by her suggestion. "What? Without even telling your grandparents? Or my mom? Oh, gosh, my mom would be so mad at me if I left without telling her…" He groaned in frustration.

"Ever heard of a note, Mateo?" She winked as he gave her a dumbfounded look. "Who knows? Maybe it's nothing. Maybe it's something. Honestly, I'd rather do something for the greater good and apologize later than tell them the truth and be guarded 24/7 after Estéban lectures me for an hour. Wouldn't you agree?"

"I guess…" He yelped as she grabbed his hand and dragged him off.

"Glad you see things my way."

After sneaking out of the party with no verbal indication to anyone, both teens packed bags for traveling and wrote notes to their guardians indicating that they had something important to tend to, that they were in no danger, and that they intended to return soon and not to worry.

"Well," Elena laughed incredulously as she and Mateo stood outside the palace gates. "I can't for certain promise we're not in danger…but everything else was true."

"My mom's still gonna kill me," he lamented with a heavy sigh.

"She'll understand after she hears the full story." With that, she climbed into a flying coach, Mateo following behind her. She leaned forward to the driver. "Enchancia, please."

The man seemed a little surprised at the request but nodded all the same. "Yes, Princess." He snapped the reins and they were off.

The ride to Enchancia was long, and due to a storm moving in nearby, it was sort of rough. Mateo couldn't think of any spells to ward off the bad weather, so the coachman simply flew around it as best as he could, which put them a bit farther out of the way than they'd planned. Still, they were already on this journey, so they might as well see it through.

"…Do you think it's crazy for us to be going to see Sofia just based on my bad feeling?" Elena asked uncertainly as she absently twirled one long lock of hair around her fingers. "I mean, it could be nothing…"

Mateo looked at her dubiously. "Elena, I know I made a mention of that earlier, but I meant what I said… Your intuition about these things is usually right, so not listening to it would have been foolish on our part. Besides, I think we've seen enough weird things to know that it's not outside the realm of possibility for some wicked force to be after either you or Sofia."

"Or both of us," she added with a deep sigh, tugging the long section of hair.

The young wizard took her hand, carefully released the locks from her fingers, and comfortingly placed his free hand over hers. "It will be all right," he said confidently, smiling as she stared at him for a moment before returning the smile.

"Gracias, Mateo… I appreciate that you still believe in me, even when I sometimes doubt myself."

He grinned. "What are friends and Royal Wizards for?"

The princess laughed softly.

A few hours later, the flying coach lowered to the pavement outside the Enchancian castle. Noticing that several people seemed to be sort of lurking around, Mateo turned to Elena.

"I know this sounds silly, but maybe we should come up with a disguise or something."

Elena blinked. "Why?"

"Well, I'd rather not raise suspicion or anything when the royal family sees Princess Elena here out of nowhere—especially if they somehow manage to pass the word along to our families that we're here. We'd be back in Avalor before you even realized what was happening."

"Okay, fair point. So what do you suggest?" She made a slight sound of surprise as he grabbed her hand and quickly pulled her from the flying coach and around the side of it where they could be out of sight. He tapped his tamborita once. "K'exik maak," he chanted quietly, watching as the magic flowed from his tamborita and around the both of them.

Mateo's robe turned dark green. His hair changed to a dirty blonde color while his eyes were now deep blue. He glanced toward Elena, who now had shorter black hair braided down her back and green eyes; her dress was a simple white dress accented with hints of turquoise throughout. All in all, they looked less like they belonged in the royal court and more like they were from the village. After all, they were fairly certain that villagers requesting an audience with the Enchancian king happened often enough that no one would suspect them; however, an interview with King Roland was obviously not their ultimate goal.

Mateo managed to hide his tamborita and Elena's scepter inside his robe as they approached the castle gates and passed along their request to seek an audience with the king, as apparently so many others had already done so far. Two more people would likely not make much of a difference, they figured.

As they passed through the gates and into the castle, Mateo and Elena noticed that the security was currently somewhat sparse between the entrance and the throne room.

"You'd think after the Princess Ivy incident, they'd know better," the princess muttered to herself as they walked. Ignoring Mateo's confused response, she grabbed his arm and took off quickly down the castle halls, toward a familiar tower that, even after a year of vacating the amulet, she still recalled quite clearly.

Cedric was currently seated at his desk, attempting to pour a very precise amount of potion from his vial into a concoction he seemed to be mixing. "Just one tiny drop," he murmured, his concentration level high.

*KNOCK-KNOCK-KNOCK*

The sorcerer jumped and nearly dropped the vial but managed to place it carefully onto the table. He was glad he hadn't wasted any of the precious potion, but who on earth could be pounding so urgently on his door? He turned and walked to the door, pulling it open. He frowned in confusion. "May I help you?"

"Cedric, we need your help," Elena said quickly as she gestured. "No time to explain. Bad feelings…"

"Let me rephrase the question," the Royal Sorcerer stated with his hands on his hips. "Who are you?"

"Oh, whoops," Mateo laughed sheepishly before pulling out his tamborita and tapping it twice, reverting their disguises to their normal appearances. He then handed the Scepter of Light back to its rightful owner.

"Mateo? Princess Elena?" Cedric looked behind them and quickly ushered them into his workshop before shutting the door. "Not that I'm not pleased to see the two of you, but what on earth are you doing here?"

"Elena had a bad feeling, Mr. Cedric," Mateo explained calmly as the princess sat on one of his chairs, fidgeting with her scepter. "She's concerned that something terrible is going to happen…that it's watching her and coming after her…" He became serious as he said the next part, knowing it would likely negatively affect the other magic wielder. "…and Sofia."

Cedric frowned. "Sofia? What has she got to do with this?"

"Everything," Elena admitted nervously. "Ever since I made her the owner of the amulet, more negative forces have been after her than any other bearer of the amulet before. With her ability to now take control over it, she's seen as a threat." She clutched her scepter tightly. "And I feel someone is after me because of my scepter. It's more than just a royal staff: it's the Scepter of Light."

The Royal Sorcerer's eyes widened. "The Scepter of Light? I've read about it, but I never dreamed I'd see it up close…" His eyes narrowed as he made the connection. "You're the owner of the Scepter of Light, Princess Elena?"

"I am… No one really realized just how powerful it was until I literally got my hands on it, and now thanks to my residual powers from the amulet—or my own inner powers or whatever—it reacts each time I even touch it. Never mind using commands to activate its own powers."

"Interesting…" Cedric cleared his throat and folded his arms. "So I take it you two are seeking my help?"

"If it's possible," the princess admitted. "I mean, I know you're busy and you're only one person, but if anyone can help us, you can."

He nodded in appreciation before turning and gazing at his line of bookshelves. "I'll see what I can do. There must be answers som—" Another knock fell upon the door, interrupting him from his finishing statement. Cedric just smiled. "Sofia."

"She needs to know too, huh?" Mateo suggested as he glanced toward his friend.

She nodded. "It's no use hiding the truth about this from her. She's a smart girl and will figure it out eventually anyway."

Cedric opened the door and led the girl in.

Sofia began to speak but stopped and gaped at the two people before her. "Elena? Mateo?" She glanced around at all of them and frowned suspiciously. "Are you guys okay? What's going on?"

Elena couldn't help giggling. "Even now, your instincts kick in. I love that." She sighed thoughtfully before explaining yet again everything that had happened up until now: her predictions, her bad feelings, everything. She noticed the younger princess seemed to be listening attentively, mentally keeping notes to review later. It's what she did. Sofia was nothing if not thorough. "I just wanted to make sure we let you in on it. It's not right to leave you out."

The girl smiled at the notion. "Thanks, Elena… I don't know if anything bad is coming after us, but if you want, I can help you guys look into it."

Mateo grinned. "I think it's a good idea."

Cedric frowned when he noticed a strange light coursing from the end of Elena's scepter. "Princess, something is going on with your scepter."

Elena glanced down and noticed it was indeed glowing again. "Oh, not now…"

"Um, guys?" Sofia glanced down at her amulet, which was also glowing a piercing shade of pink. Could the two magical objects be reflecting each other? They weren't sure. She gasped when she suddenly felt a strange sensation. "Wh-What's happening?"

"Sofia!" Cedric reached out to the girl, only to back away and shield his eyes as the light grew stronger.

Elena reached out and wrapped her arms around the girl, in an attempt to protect her charge. Her own light engulfed them both, causing the guys to turn completely to avoid harming their vision anymore. A few moments later, when the light had faded, both magic users turned around and noticed that their princesses had vanished.

"Sofia?!" Cedric called, looking around in panic.

"Elena!" Mateo called, also sounding rather alarmed. "Where are you two?"

Pausing a moment to observe, Cedric's eyes widened. He knelt to the floor and picked up Sofia's amulet, now abandoned by its owner. "Sofia never goes anywhere without her amulet…and Princess Elena is gone too."

Mateo walked over toward him. "Uh, Mr. Cedric… You don't think…?"

He didn't even need to finish his thought as the sorcerer pieced things together, the now less-prominent glowing of the amulet still pulsing from the precious stone. Cedric gasped as realization dawned on him. "They're… They're in the amulet!"

To be continued…