Sofia the First: Conclusion Catastrophe

Flashback

It was a beautiful day, and the students were entering the building. Sofia crossed paths with Hildegard, but she was still mad at her for saying to her face that Roland wasn't her real father, much less failing to apologize.

"Hello, Sofia," Hildegard grinned.

It seemed like Hildegard had forgotten what happened last week, and Sofia was still angry, so she just ignored Hildegard, much to the latter's shock.

"What's the matter with her?" Hildegard asked.

"You don't remember?" Amber frowned. "You told her right in front of the class that my father wasn't her real father, and you told you to forget you ever said that instead of giving a real apology."

Hildegard was rather embarrassed that Amber still remembered that and that Sofia was still angry. "Well, if it makes you and Sofia feel any better, my daddy scolded me for that and all the trouble I caused on the trip—and I've been grounded for a month," she said.

"Good," Amber said. "I'm sure it'll make Sofia feel better, too."

Sofia was about to enter the building when Hugo caught up to her. After what she dealt with on that field trip, she really needed this.

"Hey, Sofia," Hugo waved.

"Hi, Hugo," Sofia smiled.

"How was the field trip?" Hugo asked.

"Bittersweet," Sofia replied.

"Well, it looks like we won't be hanging around too much this week," Hugo declared. "Miss Fauna is giving my social studies class that assignment today."

"That's fine," Sofia shrugged. "You deserve some time to yourself anyway."

"Thanks," Hugo smiled.

What Sofia and Hugo didn't know was that Amber and Hildegard had been eavesdropping on them.

"What do you know?" Amber smirked. "Hugo won't be spending much time with Sofia this week."

"Which means we can finally get his full attention," Hildegard smiled.

Later, Hugo was in the library, and he was just checking out a few books. He sat down and started to read through one. When he wasn't looking, Amber and Hildegard crept up behind him.

"Hi, Hugo!" Amber and Hildegard screamed.

Hugo was so scared that he fell out of his chair. "Amber! Hildegard!" he growled. "Was that really necessary?"

Mrs. Higgins, the librarian, came and said, "No, it wasn't necessary."

"Sorry, Prince Hugo," Amber and Hildegard chorused.

"We hear you won't be hanging with Sofia anymore," Amber said.

"Not this week at least," Hugo frowned, getting up on his feet. "Miss Fauna gave my social studies class an assignment that's due next week, and I have to work on mine."

As Hugo sat back down, Amber and Hildegard saw the title of one of the library books he'd checked out: The Big Book of Emancipation. This really confused the princesses.

Later, the students were let out for recess, and Amber and Hildegard were still confused.

"What's emancipation?" Hildegard asked.

"I don't know," Amber shrugged. "I've never even heard of that word." Then she and Hildegard saw Sofia playing with the boys. "It must have to do with friendship."

"I wonder if it's a good thing or a bad thing," Hildegard wondered.

"Well, it would depend on what it really means," Amber said. "Maybe we should let Sofia know."

After recess, Amber and Hildegard caught up with Sofia.

"Sofia, did you know that Prince Hugo is getting emancipated?" Hildegard asked.

That last word caught Sofia off guard. "Emancipated?" she asked. "Where did you hear that?"

Amber and Hildegard smirked at Sofia's reaction.

"We saw a book he was reading about emancipation, and we figured that's happening with him," Amber replied.

"But why would Hugo get emancipated?" Sofia frowned. "He's been getting along better with his father, and he has a great relationship with his mother."

Amber and Hildegard went from smug to confused—they had no idea what Sofia meant by that.

"What do his parents have to do with his emancipation?" Amber asked.

Sofia was sure that Amber and Hildegard had no idea what was going on. "Amber, Hildy, do you even know what emancipation is?" she asked.

"Not even a clue," Hildegard admitted.

"When a minor is emancipated, it means they're free from the control of their parents or guardians," Sofia frowned. "If Hugo is getting emancipated from his parents, who knows how this will affect his mental being?"

Amber and Hildegard were horrified—this emancipation thing was even worse than they thought.

"Whoa, this is bad," Amber gulped.

"I have to talk to Hugo and ask what's going on," Sofia said.

"What? Why?" Hildegard asked.

"You came to this conclusion just because you saw a book he was reading on emancipation," Sofia replied. "We don't know what's going on for sure."

"Oh, Sofia, talking to him may not be that necessary," Amber said. "Let's just give him some space—he may not want to talk about it."

"Okay, but let's not mention anything about this to anyone—and I mean anyone," Sofia glared.

"You got it," Amber said.