Anchored to the floor to steady her drifting thoughts, Sofia imagined what could drive someone to rush off in the middle of the night. It was impossible to understand Muet’s motives or any grown-ups’ motives, for that matter. Every encounter in Tropos has felt like a trap, with Sofia at the center of someone else’s conflicts. Her world had become a choose-your-own-adventure where none of the choices were hers. It made Sofia empathize with Muet’s conflicting emotions toward her because they mirrored her feelings in many ways.
“I think Muet cares about me?” Sofia wondered aloud as she replayed their various interactions. She was certain that Muet originally wanted to hurt her and that it had something to do with her hatred of the Royal family. But during their recent conversations, Sofia sensed a genuine shift in Muet’s actions. “She can’t be all bad because she moved me into this room and trusted me enough to leave me without a guard. Even the Sawaan brothers stuck close by when I first got here. And she rescued Plaek when he was a baby, raising him on her own.” She sighed. “I wish I knew what everyone wanted from me.” Sofia walked miles around the tiny new room, randomly running her fingers across the dresser, walls, and the air.
As Sofia plodded through her space, her mind traversed the world, trying to make sense of the truth.
“Then there’s the Queen and, of course, my parents back home.” She flopped down on the bed, her energy worn thin from pacing. “Everyone thinks they’re protecting me, but who can I even trust?” Sofia sighed heavily, overwhelmed by her predicament. She pulled the blanket over her head to help her clear her thoughts.
“Is their way the only way to get things done? The Royal Family or Muet...is only one side, right?”
Hugging one of the small pillows, Sofia fought off the yawns that threatened to stop her train of thought. She wanted to make everyone happy, but she also wanted to be heard and understood. Shouldn’t I have a say in my own life? Sofia tossed and turned in the bed, overwhelmed by the situation.
“I just don’t understand Muet. Something is missing from her side.”
Frustration filled her heart as she failed to come up with a logical explanation. Sofia grabbed the mirror again to check in on Muet. The mirror panned to show her storming a battle camp. Muet stomped into a tent, knocked things over, and continued yelling. Quickly panning away from this commotion, the mirror zoomed away from Muet, eager to show Sofia something else.
The forest images flashed by her at an alarming rate, making Sofia dizzy from the speed and glad she was lying in bed. It eventually slowed down above a small group of soldiers marching toward Muet’s camp. The image made Sofia jump up, almost falling off the bed at three sets of familiar wings. Gold, ivory, and silver. It was the Sawaan brothers! She scanned the group, hoping against hope that one of the travelers was Cara. Without fail, she saw her bestie marching with Lek near the front of the group. For some reason, Cara kept glancing behind them. Sofia’s eyes followed the imaginary gaze, landing on a cage with two shadowy figures inside. Who are they?
As the mirror pulled away again, Sofia realized that Cara and the others were on their way to rescue her. But the image continued zooming out until Sofia saw the short distance separating them from Muet’s battle camp. The two groups were on a direct collision course.
“What are they thinking!?” Sofia shouted. “How on Earth will they fight through an entire battalion of enemy soldiers?”
Sofia put the mirror on the bed and looked around the room. She hoped that some grand plan would pop into her mind so she wouldn’t be a sitting duck. When nothing came to her, Sofia stood and walked across the room to the dresser, opening and closing the drawers to sift through the clothes inside. She saw nothing out of the ordinary, just shirts, pants, socks, and undies with the telltale Mehk patterns along the edges—nothing amazing at all.
When she opened the last drawer, she sat on the floor to examine the contents closer. Piece after piece, Sofia pulled out colorful scarves, blouses, and dresses that reminded her of her closet at the palace. Nearly emptying the drawer of all its contents, Sofia reached for a beautiful gray scarf bundled up tightly at the bottom of the dresser.
She began unraveling the balled-up fabric, pulling out knot after knot and taking special care not to rip the precious silk. The faded scent of jasmine and palm oil seeped out with each untied knot. Once the final one was undone, Sofia gasped at the hidden treasure she found inside. It was a lovely silver necklace with a teardrop-shaped locket. Sofia gently removed her discovery from its hiding place. She held the necklace and placed the locket in her open palm.
The intricate etchings on the locket were identical to the patterns on the pocket mirror Muet gave her. Is it a set? So why are they separated? When she gingerly opened the locket, Sofia froze in shock at the pair of faces staring back at her from inside the precious teardrop. Inside was the image of her birth mother, Queen Fauna, and Muet, dressed in full royal regalia and smiling their brightest smiles.
Both were younger and happier, but the sisterly connection was as clear as night and day. Muet was her aunt, Queen Fauna’s older sister. Something had forced Muet to flee the palace. As Sofia stared at the picture in the locket, the pieces of the puzzle started to click in place—the mournful look on Muet’s face in Sofia’s dreams, the genuine concern as she waved goodbye, and the tearful encounter in the palace gardens. Sofia finally understood Muet’s conflicting motives. Muet is waging war against the family who shunned her.
Sofia looked back at the photo, caressing the image as if to share her understanding and longing. “Muet said her choices were also taken from her long ago because she refused to conform to the rules. She has a Palang, but one that is frowned upon. Could that be the reason they pushed her out?” Sofia closed the locket, unclasped the hook, and put the necklace on.
She knew that Cara was on her way, and by tomorrow morning, Sofia could be safely tucked away in her bed back at the palace. So why was she not excited about being free from Muet? Sofia still questioned everyone’s intentions. But why did she doubt her place in this magical world? Or any world?
Too much had happened over the last few months that Sofia couldn’t keep up with it all. Why must all of this fall on her shoulders? Extreme fatigue wrapped tightly around her body, smothering her like a phaya nak, and Sofia had absolutely no energy to fight it. She had a tough decision to make, and the moment to choose was upon her.
And at that moment, Sofia decided to do nothing. She plopped down in the middle of the room and just waited. She waited for whatever fate would come her way. With nowhere to go and no plan, she retreated into her shell and locked everything out, just like she did back home in Lok Klang.
She wanted nothing to do with anyone. She didn’t want to be the lost princess. She didn’t want to rule over Tropos or Muet’s army. She didn’t want to be forced to choose sides. And she didn’t want to fight a battle that wasn’t hers.
Sofia sat on the floor with her head in her hands, weeping uncontrollably. Everyone knew that life was tough, but she was only twelve. A girl who had been lied to her entire life by those she trusted the most. The weight of the world should not be carried on the shoulders of one so young, yet the magnitude of it all threatened to snuff out the light inside her.