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Chapter 2 - Sophie

Sophie couldn't help but groan.

Ro was seriously the last thing she needed.

She really didn't want the sassy ogre princess to start commenting on how horrible and out of sorts she looked. It would only add to her stress and make her feel worse.

Sophie threw the blankets over her head the second Ro made eye contact with her as if that would somehow make her invisible. But she heard stomping coming her way and was about to yell at Ro to go away when the sheets were ripped away and she was staring face to face with Keefe's bodyguard.

Ro's choppy pigtails were dyed a bright electric blue to match the colour of her nails, and her chest plate was lined with daggers which didn't exactly make Sophie very safe. Ro stared at her with a devilish grin and simply said, "Fill me in."

Sophie didn't have much of a choice, so she told Ro about what had happened over the last weeks. She explained the nightmares keeping her awake, her sulking and crying, Keefe's letter and still not knowing what his ability was, the visits from her friends, her single chat with Mr. Forkle... and that was about it. There wasn't exactly much to tell.

Ro listened the whole time, sharpening her nails with a dagger. Her expression softened a tiny bit with detail, and when Sophie was finished Ro reached out and wrapped her arms around her.

"Umm.... what are you doing?" Sophie squeaked, tensing up. Ro wasn't exactly the cuddly type. For all she knew she could have some weird amoeba crawling all over her back right now. Sandor didn't seem thrilled by the idea either, tightening the grip on his sword.

"I'm hugging you, what do you think?" Ro pulled away. "You realize ogres can be friendly when we want to be, right?"

"I..."

Ro let out an exasperated sigh. "Anyway, that's not the point. The reason I'm here is to get you out of your funk so we can go searching for your one and only Lord Hunkyhair."

"I'm not moving," Sophie mumbled.

"I agree with Miss Foster," Sandor added. "She is in no shape to get out of bed."

"I figured that might happen, so how about this. You get up and help me track him down, or I sneak some real nasty bacteria in your next meal."

Sandor drew his sword and marched over to Ro, "None of that will be happening."

Ro barely even glanced at the five-foot-long blade. "You goblins think you're so great, but in reality, tiny microbes are a thousand times more deadly than any weapon."

"I could finish you off right now." Sandor snarled.

Ro smirked. "Wanna bet, Gigantor?"

"Alright enough! You guys seriously aren't helping," Sophie interrupted, rubbing her temples. "Ro, I'm not going anywhere. And Sandor, you can watch Edaline cook so there's no risk. Deal?"

Ro said "No," at the same time Sandor said, "Yes."

The princess rolled her eyes. "Alright, even though I have no idea why you want to stay trapped in this sparkle overload, you need to clean up Blondie, you look horrible."

"I agree," said a voice from her doorway.

Sophie looked over to see Flori walk in. "Although you're upset, you should at least get dressed," said the little gnome. "This is not the brave moonlark I know."

"I don't feel very brave right now," Sophie muttered. She knew Flori and Ro were right, but she didn't want to admit it. Staying in bed sounded a lot easier.