Sofia and Rafael were once again visiting the former King at his chambers. His health had deteriorated greatly with the news of Miguel`s death. Fortunately, the heartless couple had come with great news to share. Sofia was pregnant!

“Congratulations, dear. You are bringing a new child to the royal family!” said Gustavo II, delighted.

“Thank you, your Majesty.” said Sofia.

“It must have been awful, losing your brother so soon. Focus on the new life ahead.” advised the former King.

“Yes…”

“And you,” Gustavo now turned to Rafael, “be good to your wife! Pregnancy is no easy task.”

“Yes, yes, Father. I will be going now. Much to do.” Rafael answered dismissively and left the room.

“Tsk. do not mind him, my dear. He has an awful personality but is a good fellow.” apologised Gustavo II. Sofia nodded in response. 

“Go long now. Don't want to keep you from your affairs.” 

Once in the solitude of her chambers, Sofia caressed her belly. She was pregnant! She wondered what her child would be like and hoped they took more after her. One great source of her elation was the confirmation that she was not at fault for not conceiving during her marriage with Prince Gabriel. 

*

Another royal ball was being held, this time to celebrate the Queen`s pregnancy. The King and Queen were sitting at their thrones as the nobles presented them with presents.

The first one was Marchioness Isadora Garcia, who apparently was attending alone, without the Marquess or Lady Ana.

“Congratulations, your Majesties.” the masked madam bowed.

“What of the Marquess?” asked King Rafael.

“Rodrigo is with Ana back at our territory, training her to inherit the March. Our oldest, for her part, is at the Oliveira Duchy running her lands. You will have to content with me.” The Marchioness smiled.

The King cleared his throat,“ very well.” Sofia noticed that Rafael seemed visibly uncomfortable with Marchioness Garcia. 

Following the Marchioness, there was the rest of the nobility, none of which Sofia cared to remember. Most of the presents gifted were not meant for a baby, such as jewelry or gilded furniture. The few that were, were overly decorated to the point of impracticality, such as fancy baby gowns unsuited for comfort.

*

Fortunately, the months leading up to the delivery of the new royal were mostly uneventful. There were no more suspicious deaths of people the time travelerer expected to be alive. Sofia spent her time resting at the Palace. In addition to the discomfort of pregnancy, Sofia was also accursed by the loneliness of the lack of Alicia. How she wished her mother would be beside her during this time. But, given Alicia was unaware of their true connection and the fact she blamed Sofia for the death of Miguel, it was unavoidable that Alicia would distance herself from her. Sofia, who took Rafael as the mastermind, blamed him for her fallout with Alicia. So she spent those months scorning him. 

Sofia thought she knew pain when she was hanged, but nothing could have prepared her for childbirth. It was indescribable. Fortunately, she gave birth to a healthy child. After the whole ordeal, once she was well enough, Sofia in her bed, held her baby.

“How wrinkly she is.” the new mother commented, happily.

“What is your Majesty naming the Princess?” asked Sofia`s lady-in-waiting.

“Her name is Alice.” proclaimed the Queen. She had chosen the name herself, not allowing Rafael to be part of it.

Sofia admired her sleeping baby daughter, who took more after her than the father. Her Princess would be the second person Sofia ever loved. She could be forever unable to have a proper relationship with her own mother, but Sofia was determined to love and support her daughter.

“You have nothing to worry about, Alice, my baby. Your mom will be here taking care of you, showering you with love.” whispered Sofia to the sleeping Princess.

*

Another day, Rafael was once again visiting Sofia and their newborn Princess. The mother was in a rocking chair, the baby in her arms. The three were alone in the room as the maids had been dismissed to give the royal family some privacy.

“Have you noticed that birthmark?” asked the King.

“What are you on about?” Complained the Queen.

“There, on her ankle.” pointed Rafael. Sofia looked. Baby Alice indeed had a birthmark on her ankle. And, now that she was seeing it, Sofia found that, when squinting, it somewhat resembled an hourglass.

“It reminds me of the one you have.” commented Rafael.

“What? I have no such birthmark.” said Sofia.

“Yes you do.” Rafael moved closer to whisper in Sofia`s ear. She found it disagreeable, as she was still upset with her husband. Sofia nonetheless allowed his approach, “You have one in your buttcheek.” Sofia was startled by the comment. Rafael stepped back and smiled, “I would know.”

“Oh, you!” Sofia felt flustered at his playfulness. She enjoyed messing around with Rafael but, still blaming him for the end of her friendship with Alicia, she wanted to keep a stern distance from him. Sofia cleared her throat, “If you are done joking around, just go already.”

“If that is what you wish. I will be back at another occasion.” The King went his way, leaving Sofia and the Princess alone in the room.

Sofia spent a few moments in silence holding her baby, but her curiosity got the better of her. Did she truly have the same birthmark? Sofia decided to fetch a hand mirror to check. Normally, she would have called a maid to bring her one, and to take Alice from her arms and to the crib. But, being embarrassed about her need for a mirror, Sofia didn’t want to face anyone at the moment. So, the mother who, just a few days ago had given birth for the first time, stood up from the rocking chair with baby in arms.

Sofia tripped, falling to the floor. The baby princess was flung from her hands. The new mother looked from the ground horrified. How was her daughter? Why was there no crying? Sofia looked, baby Alice was nowhere to be seen. Instead, in front of Sofia, on the floor there was a pile of sand. What was happening? What was all this sand? Where was her daughter?

Sofia searched through the pile, there was nothing but sand. What was the meaning of this? Had her baby turned into a bunch of sand? How was that possible? The desperate mother wailed and trashed around. She clawed at her hair and the sand. The noise was such that soon maids came in to see what was happening. No one could calm down the anguished Queen. Eventually, Sofia fainted from the exertion.

*

When Sofia woke up, she was in her bed. Rafael was sitting at a chair beside her. As Sofia came to and before she could say or ask anything, the angry Rafael was the first to speak. “What have you done?”

“Pardon?” Sofia was confused. “I don't know what you mean but we have to-” 

“MONICA, WHERE IS THE PRINCESS?” interrupted Rafael, shouting.

“She, She-” Sofia was at a loss for words.

“Where are you hiding her?” Pressed the mad King.

“What? Listen Rafael-”

“I let it slide when you took out your brother, but kidnapping the princess and hiding her from me is too much.” warned the distrustful Rafael.

“Why would I hide Alice? She disappeared! We need to find our daughter!” Sofia was so desperate, she didn't have the time or energy to ponder over Rafael, once again, pinning Miguel`s death on her.

The King sighed, “Are you telling me, this is not all just a plot of yours to hold the Princess hostage against me or something, and that, she actually is missing and in potential danger of which you are not guilty of?” asked Rafael.

“Yes! I did not hide Alice.” confirmed Sofia.

“Then, what happened? You were the last to see her.”

“She…” Sofia, once again, did not know what to say. She barely understood it herself, how was she to explain Alice disappeared leaving behind only some sand. Was that even what happened or did she turn into the sand itself? And was this connected with Sofia`s time travel? A mother who is a time traveler and a daughter who turns into sand? It didn't make any sense.

Sofia looked at Rafael, he barely trusted her, how would she explain to him? After pondering over it for a moment, Sofia decided to just come out and tell him. Her priority was to recover her daughter, it was no time to keep secrets, regardless if it would be believed or not. “What I’m about to tell you may be hard to believe, but the situation demands that I be honest. So here it is…” Sofia readied herself and Rafael leaned in on his seat to listen to her story.

“I’m not actually Monica. I took her place when she disappeared.” Confessed Sofia.

“What?! That cannot be! Are you being truthful?” Rafael was in disbelief, “Since when?”

“The one who caught you kissing Lady Ana at the balcony was already me. Some time before, Monica had disappeared in a carriage accident. Everyone mistook me for her and that is how I ended up impersonating Monica.” explained Sofia.

“T-then, who are you?” asked Rafael, distressed, “and how does this tie with my daughter`s disappearance.”

“Well, this will be the difficult part to believe and the one that might connect with what happened to Alice.” Sofia breathed for a moment, bracing herself to reveal her secrets to Rafael. “I, for what it seems, am not an ordinary human being.” 

“Pardon?” Rafael seemed even more confused with his impostor of a wife`s new remark.

“I’m someone who traveled through time.” disclosed Sofia, “that in itself is an extraordinary thing. So, I believe what happened with Alice might be related to me, her mother. Because, she disappeared in the blink of an eye leaving behind just some sand. That is a weird thing to happen.”

Rafeal blinked, staring, in silence, at the actually not Monica. “Do you want me to believe that, not only are you not the real Monica, but you are actually a time traveler or something?”

“I know how it all sounds, but I had to reveal it to you! We must find our daughter and this most likely is critical information.” said Sofia.

Rafael, once again, sighed. “Listen, I don't know if you are lying to me as a part of a bigger plot, or if you are actually delusional. But you clearly are not going to be of any help. So, just rest here and I will search for Alice.” the tired King stood up and made his way to the door.

“Y-you have to believe me! It might be essential in finding her.” beseeched Sofia.

“The Queen needs her rest. She is not to be allowed out of her chambers.” ordered the King to a knight standing guard outside the room. Rafael glanced a final time at Sofia.

“If she is like me, you have to expand your search!” Sofia implored as the door was closed, “she might now be older!”