Nothing Comes Between Us (Prince James X Oc) |Sofia The First|

Chapter 25

Marlon walked through the halls of the palace in some sort of powerful stance before he saw his mother by the balcony. He had several papers in hand, taking a deep breath as he tried to compose himself. Daphne stared out the view almost longingly, leaning on the marble that acted as her support.

"If you have anything to say, dear, go ahead and say it." She speaks in a cold, quiet tone. "You know well that I hate to wait."

Marlon let out another sigh, finally feeling that push he needed to speak to her. "Mom, it's about the curse. I've spent years trying to find out who did it, and now that you're here, I may have an idea."

There was a gust of wind that passed the two royals by, Daphne clenching her fists as she slowly turned to look at her son. Marlon was ready to face her despite the usual fear and inferior feeling. He was taller than her, yet somehow it always felt like she was looking down on him. Daphne took strong steps towards him despite how thin and brittle her feet were, causing Marlon to reach out his hand to try and support her, only for her to quite harshly slap his hand away.

"Marlon." She spoke softly, but it was clear there was some agitation in her voice. "To the office. Now."

~~~~

James awkwardly sat by Cassandra's bed, trying to keep up a smile as the princess was visibly shaking from an anxious feeling. She had long awoken since the fairies had calmed her injuries, and she tried her best to hide the marks crawling up her arm despite already clearly failing. She let out a soft sign, already giving up trying to conceal it any further.

"I guess you know now, huh?" She frowns and James looks to her. "The reason why I never had my tea party, or why I never invite anyone over, or..." Cassandra bites her lip, knowing James got the point of what she wanted to say.

"So..." James spoke, still confused about the entire situation. "That thing basically activates whenever you feel really happy? Excited?" He rubs the back of his neck, now connecting all the dots himself and realizing this curse of hers has explained a lot of her past actions and mannerisms.

"You saw my mom, right?" Cassandra looks at James, nervously fiddling with a small lock of her hair. "Did you notice her arm?"

"Wait..." James holds a hand to his chin as he tries to recall what she looked like. When he successfully holds an image of her in his head, he clasps his hand.

"Oh yeah, I remember! She had this rad tattoo." James said with his usual light hearted tone, the two staring at each other before James realizes what that was.

"So...that was the curse, too?"

Cassandra nods. "My mom had this curse for a long time, and I got it too when I was born. The bigger it grows, the more it drains your health."

James frowns as he remembers seeing the Queen's weak gestures and consistent coughing. He looked back at Cassandra, realizing how she looked much paler than before. He felt a lump form in his throat, unable to speak due to the rising fear of what he knew might happen to her. Even then, he forced a smile, and it looked genuine. Cassandra raised an eyebrow at him, wondering what would make him so happy before realizing he was making an attempt to lighten the mood.

"We'll get through this together, right?" James said with a grin, holding up his arm as his hand curled up into a fist. Cassandra did the same, lightly bumping their knuckles together like how boys usually do.

"Thank you, James." She spoke softly, being able to smile just as brightly as him.