First things first: 153 days until Flashback comes out!!!

Second of all: NO ONE COMMENTED ON WHAT NEW STORY I SHOULD WRITE. Consequently,  I will bring back the offer after this story is completed. (which, to be honest, is a LONG way from now, don't get your clothes in a twist) 

Third of all: the picture above is NOT related to the story in any way, I just found it funny. The video is what I imagine Sophie yelling at the Neverseen sometimes ;)

Fourth of all: I HAVE ANSWERED THE CALL FOR MORE PRINCESS BRIDE REFERENCES!!!! Be on the lookout for those! They will be Miraculous(ly) good. *HINT HINT*

Fifth of all: I do not own the Princess Bride (book or movie)

Sixth of all: there will be a surprise reference to a certain movie that I will reveal in the next chapter. See if you can tell what movie it's from and comment

Last of all: There are 4 Princess Bride quotes/references in this chapter. See if you can spot them all!!

-------------------------------------------------

Previously: 

Keefe watched Tam and Linh talk softly when he heard them mention Sophie's name. He listened, feeling guilty for eavesdropping, but too curious to back away. His jaw dropped open. His cousin was alive?

Keefe stared at the stars. If Sophie was really his long-lost cousin, he was going to do everything to keep her safe. 

------------------------------------------------------

Sophie POV

I woke up to soft snores beside me. I sat up quickly and looked around my tower room. A person was sleeping in a chair, right next to my bed. He had wavy dark brown hair and a red blanket covering him up.

Fitz.

I smiled, and carefully got out of bed, so I wouldn't disturb him. My smile quickly vanished when I remembered that Lord Fintan was coming this morning.

Officially, the first challenge didn't begin until one o'clock in the afternoon, but I knew Fintan liked to suck the life out of me early in the morning. This was so no one would suspect him of enhancing his physical strength, because half of it would wear off by noon. He always arrived at eight o'clock sharp. I was surprised that I still was alive at this point.

I rushed over to my terrace to look at the courtyard sundial. It told me I had about ten minutes to wake everyone up and hide them before my torture began.

Panicking, I raced back inside and closed the curtains, just as Fintan wanted. He didn't want any passerby to look up and see him sucking the energy out of my body.

First, I tried to wake Fitz. He opened his eyes and closed them again. Sighing, I knew I had to use other methods to wake him. I poked his cheek, causing him to stir slightly. No use. I would have to-

As I stared at the wall, thinking of ways to wake him, I hadn't noticed that Fitz had stood up. In doing so, our faces were only centimeters apart. I blushed.

Slowly, he cupped my face with his hand, and I leaned into his touch. Fitz looked at me as if asking permission. I nodded my head. Yes, I want you to kiss me.

Fitz kissed me softly as if I was going to break. Instantly, my heart swelled and heat shot throughout my body, warming every part of me. Suddenly, I remembered why he was awake. Why I was awake. My eyes opened and I broke off.

Fitz frowned. "What's wrong?"

"We have to wake everyone up. Now," I said urgently.

"Why...oh," Fitz said quietly. "I wish I could spare you from this."

"I'll survive," I assured him. I smiled weakly. "I always do."

"I'll wake up Keefe, Tam, and Dex," Fitz looked away. He walked over to their sleeping figures, leaving me to wake up Vertina and Linh.

After everyone was awake, I shoved Keefe, Tam, and Fitz towards my closet.

"Hey, what gives?" Keefe exclaimed.

"Well, you can't exactly be visible when Fintan shows up," I retorted.

Keefe sighed. "Alas."

On the other side of the room, Dex, Linh, and Vertina were scrambling to get under the bed. I smirked at Tam.

"You owe me 20 lusters when this is over, Tam," I grinned.

Tam grunted. "No way, not possible."

"Tell that to the ship leaving the harbor," I said. I tried to shut the door to get the last word, but Fitz stopped me.

"Surely, we can find some other way-" Fitz tried to argue, but I cut him off with a kiss. His eyes went wide with surprise, but he quickly relaxed and returned the kiss. The world vanished again, leaving everyone behind-

"They're kissing again," Keefe interrupted. "Do we have to watch the kissing parts?"

Fitz scowled and Keefe held his hands up in defense. Blushing, I put my hand on Fitz's shoulder.

"Everything will be ok," I told him gently. "No reason to worry."

Fitz looked sad and suddenly hugged me. "I can't lose you too, Sophie."

"I can't either, Fitz," I hugged him back tightly. "I-"

A sharp knock at the door interrupted me.

"Go," I whispered. "I love you."

"I love you too, Sophie," he whispered as he closed the closet door.

As I went to let Fintan inside, I felt my heart break a little. Here I was, complaining about a little pain, when Fitz had lost his whole family, his lands, everything. True, I had no parents, but at least I had Calla when I was younger. And I had never really known my parents. I didn't have a sibling either.

Slowly, I turned the doorknob, trying to put on a brave face. Fintan grinned evilly, causing my stomach to flip nervously.

"Well, well, well," Fintan grabbed my face harshly, his cold gaze burning. "Look what we have here. Robin Hood deserted you, I presume?"

"Robin Hood has more heart than you'll ever have," I spat. "And he would never desert me!"

Fintan gripped my arm, and the familiar, searing pain shot through my skin.

"I suppose you think you're brave, don't you?" Fintan sneered.

"Only...compared...to some," I managed to gasp.

"There's your folly, m'lady. You believe in love," he laughed. "Ah, young love. So innocent, so sweet. Just you wait! He'll find some other girl who's just like you. You'll be heartbroken. And then, you'll be like me."

"I will never be like you! He loves me with all of his heart!" I shouted, as the burning spread to my chest.

"Oh, but that's what you think. You see, Sophie, love blinds us to people's shortcomings. I thought my fiance loved me with all of her heart. But she cheated on me on the night before our wedding. There. Is. No. Such. Thing. As. True. Love!" Fintan screeched. "If you cannot see that, then you deserve suffering and pain!"

"You can't hurt me!" I shouted, somehow still conscious. "Fitz and I are joined by the bonds of love! And you cannot track that, not with a thousand bloodhounds, and you cannot break it, not with a thousand swords. And when I say you are a coward it is only because you are one of the slimiest weaklings ever to walk the Earth!"

"Thank you for telling me Robin Hood's real identity, Sophie. That's enough!" Fintan shouted. And then, he began to suck the energy out of me. I could feel it pouring out of me and into Fintan's fingertips. I screamed in agony as the energy rushed out of me, leaving me empty.

However, as I fought to stay conscious, I realized that he knew that Fitz was Robin Hood. Feeling even weaker at the thought, I scrambled for an idea...I would have to erase Fintan's memory. As Fintan released me from his grip, shuddering from taking so much energy, he crumpled to the ground with me. I placed my fingers on his temples, prayed for a miracle, and plunged into the depths of his mind.

Fintan's mind was like being burned and stabbed at the same time. Flashes of memories darted past me in a dizzying rush. I focused on the memory of about 30 seconds ago. My heart leaped. I could erase the memory and keep Fitz safe!

After an agonizingly slow process, the memory was successfully wiped from his brain. When I pulled out of his mind, I could just make out the outline of Fintan slicing my arm with a knife before he slammed the door behind him. I felt myself vomit something red and sticky before everything went dark.

*******************************

I drifted slowly through the darkness when a shard of light hit me. The shard suddenly grew, until there was nothing but light. Who was I again? A name came to mind. Sophie? That must be my name.

Suddenly, a cacophony of sound hit me, and the memories came in a dizzying rush. I opened my eyes and gasped, finally in the real world. A man with wild gray hair and large goggles stood by my bedside. I yelped - who was this person?

"W-who are you?" I stuttered.

"See? Mostly dead," the man with the goggles said.

"Sophie!" a figure hurtled toward me, crushing me. I tried to move my head to get a better view of who it was but found that I couldn't.

"Why can't I move?" I mumbled. "And who is strangling me?"

Someone snickered, who I figured to be Keefe. Sure enough, it was his voice that explained everything.

"This here is a man named Elwin!" he said, clapping the man with the goggles on the shoulder. "See, you kind of...died. Dex freaked out, and now he's strangling you."

Dex got off of me and moved his face right above mine. "Sophie you scared me, so bad. Don't you ever die on me again!"

A/N: If you know what movie that last line is from, I will be really impressed. And I can say "This is great!" and you will know what I'm talking about. ;) (Hint: the movie was made in 1987)

I smiled weakly. "I'll try, Dex, I'll try. Now, why can't I move?"

A beautiful young woman with wavy brown hair and sparkling teal eyes appeared in my line of sight. She smiled a breathtaking smile and placed a hand on my shoulder.

"If Fitz had let us wait another fifteen minutes before restoring you, your body would have been able to function properly. He insisted that we heal you right away before you became all dead. I reckon it'll take an hour for you to be fully functioning again," she explained. "Oh, and I'm Biana, by the way."

My head swirled in confusion. "So, let me get this straight. I cannot move properly for another hour. And I have to be there for the first challenge. Where is Fitz? Wait...are you...you're Fitz's sister!"

The woman smiled. "That's me! You won't believe how ecstatic he was to see me. See, after I fled our home, Elwin here found me and took me in. In exchange for lodging and food, I served him and helped him as a physician's assistant. And miraculously, I found myself here, with you, and here we are!"

"I'm very happy to see that you're alive," I told her. "But one more thing - when does the first challenge begin?"

"In ten minutes," Dex answered.

"Oh, no. This cannot be happening. I do not believe this. I do not. How am I going to make it through the tournament and do..." I trailed off and looked at Dex, who nodded in understanding.

"You'll just have to stay seated at all times," Biana said.

"Where's Fitz?" I asked.

"He had to go down with Tam for the first challenge, so he wouldn't miss it," Keefe explained. "He also didn't want you waking up to his disguise. Speaking of which, I need to get down there as well. Can you manage?"

"Of course," Vertina answered, her head popping into view. I heard the door open and close, signaling his departure.

"Vertina, you and Linh will have to dress me and stuff," I said.

"Make that Vertina, Linh, and Biana," Biana corrected. "You boys will have to wait in the corridor while we get Sophie ready."
I don't know how they did it, but the three of them somehow dragged me over to the paper screen and dropped me in the chair. They then proceeded to dress me in all the necessary items - corset, petticoats, my dress. Biana did my makeup, which I tried to object to at first, put obliging when she told me I owed her one. Thankfully, it was pretty light. After they helped me into a silky midnight blue gown, they let my hair down and brushed it.

"How much time do we have left?" I asked.

"Two minutes to get you down there and onto the platform where you'll be watching the first challenge," Linh replied.

"We aren't going to make it," I moaned, although I could now successfully raise my right hand.

"Telekinesis?" Vertina suggested.

I tried to nod my head until I realized that I couldn't. "That would work," I said slowly. "Or we could teleport."

"Teleport?" Biana asked. "I didn't know that teleporting was a special ability."

"It wasn't until I manifested," I said. "But I need to be in a free fall. Go grab Dex and Elwin, and drag me over to the railing on my terrace."

"Absolutely not-" Linh looked aghast.

"Just do it," Vertina glared. "We don't have time for this."

Before I knew it, everyone was gathered at the railing, looking at me skeptically.

"Everyone join hands," I instructed.

Dex took my right hand and Biana took my left. Vertina took Biana's free hand, and Linh took Dex's. Elwin said that he would go the 'normal way'.

I took a deep breath and pulled everyone headfirst off the tower.

Everyone screamed and held onto me for dear life. Once we were in the void, I pictured the grassy stretch of land just outside of the jousting arena. I knew my teleporting would cause a commotion, but it was cloudy...maybe they would assume it was thunder? Too late now.

We hurtled out of the void and landed in a heap a few feet away from the entrance. Our only witness was a horse tied to a wooden post. I breathed a sigh of relief. I didn't think anyone could hear us over the noise coming from the arena.

Biana and Dex tried to lift me off the ground, but I used a tiny bit of telekinesis to lift myself an inch off the ground, so I could look like I was walking, and not give anything away. Dex followed me as I floated through the entrance and up the stairs to where I was to sit. Of course, they sat me right next to Prince Brant. Wonderful.

I gently lowered into the chair, Dex standing behind me as my guard. It was then when I noticed an older woman with red hair and blue eyes sitting next to me on my right. With sudden realization, I realized that it was Queen Edaline.

"Good afternoon, your majesty," I bowed my head. Good thing I can control my neck now.

She smiled at me. "I have heard a lot about you, Sophie Foster."

"How do you know about me?" I asked.

"Brant was just telling me that you look so much like...Jolie," she whispered softly.

"I'm very sorry," I told her.

"I heard about your fate, too," the Queen sighed. "I wish it weren't so. This is cruel, treating a woman as if she were a pawn. I've had to experience it myself, I'm afraid. I'm very lucky that Grady swept me up and took me away from what would have been a very bad ordeal."

I watched as Lord Fintan went against a Sir Forkle. Fintan's lance pierced through Sir Forkle's armor, and he fell off his horse. Elwin rushed onto the field and I looked away. That could have been Fitz.

"I think I can get out of it," I said softly. "I have someone helping me."

The Queen nodded her head in approval. "If I can ever be of assistance, let me know. Send someone with a letter, and I will meet you somewhere."

"Thank you," I gushed in disbelief.

"Now that that's settled, Dex dear, how is your mother? I haven't talked to my sister in ages," the Queen turned to face Dex.

Wait, what? Dex's mom was Queen Edaline's sister?

-----------------------------------

All right, before you pummel me, saying "You promised that the first challenge would be in this chapter!" hear me out. 

This was a very long chapter (at it seemed that way as I was writing it). I did not want to add the rest of the first challenge, because I want that part to be in Fitz's perspective. Be patient, my friends. 

Did you spot the surprise reference? Did you find all 4 Princess Bride references/quotes? 

Love ya'll,

 ⤭ Meels 

P.S. Have any of you ever seen A Knight's Tale??