Hugo and the princesses took the two paintings to the sorcery classroom. Amber picked up a wand, and Hugo and Hildegard held both paintings up carefully.

Amber lifted the wand and recited the spell, "Discitur, Discitorm, now return to your true form!"

Amber flicked the wand at Sofia's real painting, but the painting only looked even muddier.

"Oh, it's even muddier than it already was," Amber fretted. "Let's try fixing my replica."

Amber waved the wand and recited her own magic spell, "Sofia's painting is really like no other, so it really needs all the right colors!"

Amber flicked the wand at the replica, but the spell only inverted the colors. The colors were completely the opposite of each other.

"Oh, it's even worse than it already was," Hildegard said.

"Now what are we going to do?" Clio asked.

"Now we have to tell Sofia the truth," Hugo declared. "You've already done enough damage with your hijinks, Amber. You really need to tell her."

Suddenly, Sofia came in through the door, having heard the conversation, and asked, "Tell me what?"

Hugo and the princess jumped at the sound of Sofia's voice. The princesses were horrified to see her, and they were hoping she didn't catch them.

"Amber, it's time to tell her the truth," Hugo glared.

Amber knew she was already caught, so she showed Sofia her damaged painting. Sofia was horrified to see that her painting was all muddy.

"What happened?" Sofia gasped.

"Oh, Sofia, I got angry and jealous that everyone liked your painting so much, and I was so angry that I knocked over a jar of black paint—and the paint got all over your painting," Amber explained.

"You did?" Sofia asked.

"Yeah, and we tried to wipe the paint off, but the paint on the picture was still wet, so we only made it worse," Amber sighed.

"Amber tried to paint a picture that looked exactly like yours, but it wasn't enough to fool Hugo because it really didn't look like your painting," Clio continued.

"And Amber tried to use magic to fix both these paintings, but it only made it worse," Hugo finished.

"I don't blame you for being mad at me, Sofia—I deserve it," Amber sighed. "I'm sorry."

Sofia was a little unhappy—but it wasn't because Amber ruined her painting. "Don't worry, Amber," she said. "I'm not mad that you ruined my painting."

"You're not?" Amber asked. She was happy that her younger sister had forgiven her—until...

"I'm mad because you tried to trick me," Sofia glared. "Amber, how could you try to fool me into thinking nothing happened to my painting? Why didn't tell me the minute this happened?"

"Because I was afraid of your reaction," Amber admitted.

"Amber, trying to cover up this kind of mistake is running away from your problems," Sofia said. "Remember when James broke the stained-glass window and we tried to hide it from Mom and Dad? We got in trouble not only because James broke a castle rule but also because we were dishonest."

Amber remembered that experience, and she knew that dishonesty can really lead to trouble.

"You're right—I've been a really bad sister," Amber sighed. "I should've told you the truth. I'm really sorry, Sofia."

"It's okay," Sofia smiled. "Just promise me you'll tell me the truth the next time something like this happens."

"I promise," Amber smiled. She hugged her younger sister tightly.

"Well, now that's taken care of, but what about your painting, Sofia?" Clio asked.

"Yeah, it's all tainted," Hugo said.

"Well, I had a lot of fun painting that—I can just paint a new picture," Sofia smiled.

Amber was happy that Sofia had forgiven her, and it was good to know that Sofia was happy to make a new painting for the art show.

Sofia went to the art room, got a clean canvas and started to make a new painting. Pretty soon, her new painting was done.

"Okay, I'm done," Sofia sighed, feeling a little tired.

"You can get cleaned up when we get home, Sofia," Amber said. "You look awfully tired."

"Wow, I think this painting looks better than your first one," Hildegard said.

"I'm sure everyone will love it," Amber smiled.