Growing Pains

2

After leaving her amulet with Azurine, Sofia quickly makes her way to the meeting with the other protectors. This would be her first meeting as an official protector now. It was a little exciting despite the situation.

"I'm here!" Sofia announces when she arrived. She joins the group, not sure what to expect. "What's going on?"

"It's Prisma" Protector Orion begins. Sofia feels a sudden panic in her chest, her heart racing quickly at the mention of Prisma, as if she were somehow a threat again.

"She's escaped!?" Sofia exclaims. Despite her panic, she's ready to jump into action. Thankfully, however, this is not the case.

"No, she's still securely locked away, and guarded under careful surveillance" Protector Vega assures.

"Then what-"

"We called this meeting to discuss...what we will do with Prisma" Vega concludes.

"I thought you were going to keep her locked away" Sofia says questioningly.

"We were. Multiple times, that was the goal. To keep her locked away. But time and time again, she outsmarted us, manipulated us, she's escaped far too many times to just be locked away again" Orion explains.

"Maybe we can send her somewhere, someplace she can work to redeem herself" Sofia suggests.

"I dunno Sofia... If it were anybody else, we'd be on board. But... This is Prisma. The most powerful crystal master on the isles, the sneakiest villain we've faced. She almost destroyed the world...we can't be too careful" Chrysta replies.

"Then...did any of you have anything else in mind?" Sofia asks curiously. There's a grim silence between the protectors, as if everyone knows something except for Sofia. But before she could question it, thankfully someone speaks up.

"For her crimes, Prisma is to be executed as punishment" Protector Garish answers. An air of tension fills the room. No one is happy with this, yet it's as if only Sofia could truly comprehend how utterly terrible that is. And yet, they all look down at her with pity, as though she were only naive. As if they knew better than her somehow.

"That won't happen!" Sofia exclaims. Most of the protectors are unphased by the outburst, as if they expected this reaction from the young princess. Though, Chrysta was a bit surprised. Perhaps she expected shock from Sofia, or sadness, or pleading. But still, as always, Sofia stands up courageously and assertively.

"We can't do that, we're protectors! It's our job to keep peace, if we execute Prisma, we'd be no better than her! Worse actually! Because even though she did terrible things, she never took a life!" Sofia loudly proclaims. And yet, the faces of everyone else don't change. It wrenches the girls heart to feel as though no one is listening. She's a protector too, she worked, she fought, she risked her life, she did everything they did, she gave everything she had. She sacrificed, trained, and endured so much. She's just as strong as everyone else in this room. Yet all they see...is a naive little child, or a helpless princess who couldn't possibly understand these things. But no, she's so much more than that. She earned her place here, why hasn't it been enough?