(( Author's Note, PLEASE READ: I just happened to notice a short while ago that one of the background characters in Frozen, an old woman who goes to Hans for a cloak at about 49:40 in the movie, looks EXACTLY like Cedric, whilst his own parents don't look very much like him at all. ( Here's a pic for reference: post/97658556071/im-so-convinced-this-woman-is-cedrics )This fic is a 'what if' - What if Cedric was adopted, and that woman from Arendelle was his biological mother?
ALSO, -please- note- I am aware that it has been stated that in canon, Cedric is in his late thirties. I cannot abide by that, personally, with the future Cedfia pairing, and there's all kinds of other changes to canon too. So, this fic is strictly an AU, and in it, Cedric is only a twenty-something when he and Sofia meet, rather than 30-something in canon, and all the future Princess Elena canon to come is out the window entirely.
Hope you enjoy, and if so, please review! ))
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO
It had not been a secret for very long between Cedric and his parents that he was adopted. It was no secret to anyone else either, but no one ever asked. The only person who ever did ask about it, in fact, was Cedric himself. He was a clever child, and had inquired as young as five, "Mommy, Daddy - Why don't I look like you?"
Winifred the Wise had told him the truth, but she did so gently and with few unnecessary details. She knew just how much the child was prepared to handle. "That's because I didn't give birth to you, my sweet Ceddykins. Another woman did. But she couldn't keep you safe and provided for, so she asked us to raise you instead. And so we did. We've raised you as if you were truly our own. But..." Her small smile wavered, "If you should want to meet your real mother-"
Wise though she was, emotions got the best of Winifred in that moment, and she mispoke. She hadn't meant to say it quite like that, but Cedric, her clever little boy, quickly interrupted her with a tight hug. "I don't want to meet her, I don't need to! YOU are my real mother!"
Mother and Child had cried in each other's arms, while Father watched somberly nearby.
Many years had passed since the day of that revelation. At the command of the King, Cedric and a few other wizards from near and far were making preparations to aid the kingdom of Arendelle after a recent magical incident. Apparenty their new queen had been discovered to be a powerful ice sorceress, and had accidentally frozen her entire kingdom for a few days after an emotional outburst at her coronation.
Cedric couldn't help but roll his eyes when he heard about it - He was SO glad he was raised in one of the few protected magical kingdoms on Earth. It was downright scary to think that in many other places, magical people were persecuted for what they were. It had formerly been the case with Arendelle, which for many years had been an area controlled by militant Christian Kings. But with the emergence of the magical ice Queen Elsa, a treaty had been proposed between the other hidden magical kingdoms and Arendelle.
From then on, Arendelle and its people had agreed to become one of the secret magic-safe kingdoms on Earth. Queen Elsa had gratefully accepted the wizards who were being sent to establish a new academy there, and the secret magical citizens of Arendelle, of which there were more than a handful, were going to be taught how to use their powers without having to hide them in fear anymore.
Cedric wasn't going to be teaching at the yet-to-be-built academy, though, he was still very much employed under the kingdom of Enchancia. His orders from the king was to aid Arendelle as a healer, as a few of the weak and elderly had come down with bad colds, and some even with cases of magical winter-induced pneumonia. Of course King Roland had insisted, they couldn't not offer to help with some magical hot cocoa or some enchanted chicken soup.
The day before he was supposed to begin traveling to Arendelle, Cedric was visiting his parents at their home in Mystic Meadows at Winifred's invitation, soaking in his mother's affection and munching on her magical tasties as usual, while his father droned on about what specifics of the spells he ought to remember once he got to Arendelle.
But Winifred soon put a stop to Goodwin's good-natured but misplaced advice-giving. The last thing their son needed before such a big mission was his father's hen-pecking. "Enough of that, Goodwin, dear. I think there's something more important we ought to be speaking to Cedric about right now, don't you?"
Goodwin blinked in recognition of the matter. "Oh, yes indeed..."
Winifred sat down next to her son and took his hand, patting it as she went on. "I know it's been quite a while since we last talked about this Cedric, but I think you really ought to know a few things before you leave..."
Cedric stared at his mother apprehensively. He could already feel that this subject was not to be a lighter one. He listened patiently as she went on, "Do you remember, son, when you were young, and I told you that I was not your birth-mother?"
Her son couldn't help but recoil a bit at the uncomfortable reminder. "Yes..." He answered quietly.
Winifred nodded, "Well... There's a few things about that I think you should know about now. First of all, your birth-mother lives in Arendelle. And I've very recently received word from an acquaintance there that your biological mother is among the very sick. She contracted a bad case of pneumonia and has been much weaker than usual. Cedric, I know you said as a child that you considered me to be your real mother, and you know you always will be, but... Well, this may be your last chance to get to know the woman who brought you into the world. Her name is Sarah Jane Svenson-Hall." She cleared her throught lightly as she added, "Of course, if you truly don't want to, you can ask another magic-user to tend to her... But I thought, since you're going there to treat the sick, and she's among the sick... Well, just do whatever your heart wants most, son."
Cedric made no promises to do one thing or the other. He simply thanked his mother for telling him, and gave her and his father a hug before he left, gratefully taking some of his mummy's wonderful pumpkin-bread with him for the trip.
He was already feeling fairly drained by the time he left, so he groaned freely in suffering as he met none other than the Princess Sofia, who was only just a few years older than the day they met, walking down the opposite side of the road.
"Where do you think you're going?" He inquired sourly and without much actual interest.
"To see your parents!" She chirped back, honest and unashamed. "Your mother asked me to come try her famous pumpkin bread and have tea, and your father is going to show me a few neat spells! Were you just seeing them? How come you look so upset? Did your father say something mean again?"
He puffed out a breath of frustration. "For once, no..."
The caring girl pressed further, but gently, "Well, then why do you look so down? You DO look pretty down right now, Mister Cedric... Is it anything I can help you with?" She offered sweetly.
He slowly shook his head at first, but then after a short pause, he changed his mind and spoke up, "Did... Did you know I was adopted...?" He blurted out, crossing his arms over his chest awkwardly. He normally didn't share such intimate details with anyone, especially not the angelic little royal brat before him, but the information was heavy on his mind at this particular moment, and talking about it seemed the lighten the load.
She blinked openly in surprise. "Why, no, I would have never guessed! I always thought you looked just like your father!"
"Really?" He blinked back at her, almost pleased by that.
"Oh yes! I thought for sure that's where you got that nose of yours from!" He glared weakly at her and she blushed, covering her mouth with a little giggle. "I'm sorry! But that's so interesting, I never knew that about you, Mister Cedric."
"Of course not." He rolled his eyes. "Anyways, mummy just told me that my biological mother just happens to be living in Arendelle, but-"
He was about to go on to say that he wasn't sure he wanted to see the woman after all this time and how she had just given him away as a baby, but the princess interrupted him with a loud, excited gasp, "Oh Cedric, it's so wonderful that she's still alive! You're going to see her when you go to Arendelle, right? I'm sure she'll be happy to see you again!"
The sweet, naive child. Why would she have given him up to begin with if she ever wanted to see him again, he thought. Not to mention, she had never sought him out over the years, either. But he didn't speak his grim thoughts out loud to the optimistic princess. Instead he sighed and shrugged as he replied, "I suppose I should go visit the old gal at least once..."
Sofia's eyes grew worried for him. "Oh, Mister Cedric... I really think you should. Don't you want to tell her what an amazing sorcerer you've grown up to be? I'm sure she'll be so proud to hear about all the things you've done with your life, even if she couldn't be a part of it. Whatever her reasons were..."
...Maybe not so naive after all. Hesitating just once, Cedric patted the child's head as he passed her. "Thank you, Princess Sofia. I'll see you again when I return from my trip."
She smiled broadly and waved to him as he headed down the road, "Bon voyage, Mister Cedric! Good luck with everything!"
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO
Cedric used a few spells to stave off the seasickness while he was on the boat to Arendelle, and barely resisted the urge to kiss the ground when they'd finally landed. However, he was in no hurry to meet the mystery woman he owed his life to. The selfish sorcerer had been invited, along with all the other grand wizards who came along on the trip, to Queen Elsa's castle that night for a feast, and he wasn't about to miss out on a fancy shin-dig.
A traditional banquet was set out, with several kinds of roast meats, hearty steamed vegetables, chocolates and hot chocolate, and something the locals called 'hot glog' which smelled like a hard spiced cider. With his stomach still queasy, he opted to go with just the hot chocolate. It was some -really- good, creamy hot chocolate though, so he had at least three mugs.
But for the most part, his attention was completely on the captivatingly beautiful Ice Queen, Elsa. She addressed the men and women who had come to lend their talents to her country with the utmost respect as she began, "Thank you all so much for coming. I really can't express to you all how much I appreciate your kindness. Some of you are complete strangers who have come to us with open arms, but more than a few others, I have been told, are descended from the people of Arendelle. People who were cast out because others were scared of who and what they were... I never want such a thing to happen again, and I am doubly glad to see those of you who were cast out, back again with us. Magic can do such great or terrible things - Let us work together to make our lives, our kingdoms, and our magic greater for each other, and those who come after us. Cheers, friends! Welcome and welcome back!"
Cedric raised his glass and toasted with the rest of them, looking around. Most of the people in attendance were fair-haired. There were a few dark haired people there like him, but they didn't look much like Cedric, so he doubted he had any brothers or sisters in attendance... Good.
King Roland had set him up with a room at one of the inns, where he slept at night after spending the day making magical recipes for the sick. Still he didn't immediately seek out his kin, until a elderly woman he was treating one day remarked, "As I live and breathe, you look -exactly- like my old neighbor, Sarah Jane Svenson-Hall! Sarah Jane, tall and plain, Svenson-Hall, plain and tall! That's what everybody used to call her, you know!"
He insisted he didn't know who she was speaking of, but her words unnerved him. If what the old woman was saying was true, he apparently took after his mother...
Finally, a few weeks later, morbid curiousity got the better of him, and he asked a few of the locals where he might find the woman in question. They directed him towards a tiny, run-down and rickety shack on the outskirts of town. It was definitely in disrepair, but it was as tidy as one would be able to get it without magic.
He rapped his knuckles on the door, hissing as a splinter stuck into him. He used his wand to magic away the wood chip, then hurried to put his wand back away into his robes as he heard someone approaching the door.
They stopped to cough harshly for a few seconds before they opened it, but when they finally did, both the woman inside of the door and the man outside of it stopped and stood still for a long moment, staring at each other and their mirror-like faces.
Her hair, her eyes, and good lord her NOSE - Everything about her face was, indeed, exactly like his. Hesitantly, he asked her in a quiet voice, "Do you know who I am...?"
She blinked a few times before replying, almost smoothly and with just a hint of sarcasm, "I suppose I'd have to be blind not to."
He nodded slowly, still staring at her face. "...My mother told me about you."
"Did she? I asked her not to." The elderly woman deadpanned.
Cedric hardened his gaze. "Is that so. I suppose that means I'm not welcome here..."
"I didn't say that." He was surprised to see her quickly correct him. She turned and coughed for a moment, her lungs clearly thick with mucus, before beckoning him with one hand to come inside her humble dwelling. "I won't have what few neighbors I have here thinking I'm a rude host. You're kin and you've sought me out. You're welcome here..."
Cedric nodded solemnly and stepped into her shack. The living room and the kitchen and her bedroom seemed to be the same room, he realized with a small shudder, feeling more than a little claustrophobic compared to the extravagant castles that he was used to. "So, you live here by yourself, Ms. Sarah Jane Svenson-Hall...?"
"You can call me Sarah. And the arrangement suites me." She answered briskly, then after a short pause, elaborated, "At this point in my life I'd rather be alone, for the most part... But I know who you are, boy, and I won't turn you away this time. I suppose you came to find out why I did then?"
"No." Cedric answered coolly. "I came here the treat the sick. You just happen to be one of my patients." He reached into a satchel he'd brought with him and pulled out a thermos, in which was some hot chocolate that he'd boiled with healing herbs and infused with magic for an extra immunity boost. He poured some into the cup and handed it to the woman, "I won't ask you to tell me anything you don't want to say. But if you want to say anything, I'll listen."
She glanced down appreciatively at the steaming, sweet-smelling cup, and gratefully accepted it into her hands. Blowing a bit at the steam before she sipped at her, she sighed with some small relief immediately after. "Thank you, boy. I would make us a pot of tea, but my tea kettle and a few other things were stolen from me a while ago. When Arendelle was so suddenly frozen, I was told that they were handing out cloaks and hot food to everyone at the castle, so I hurried to get some. But when I came back, some hooligan had broken into my house. The knave. Couldn't have robbed somebody who had anything worth stealing, and the means to replace it. I suppose I should be grateful they at least left my bedding, or I would already be dead..."
Cedric felt horrible for the poor old woman, and guilty for not seeking her out sooner than he had. He also realized, as he stared at her face and hair, which had only a few sparse wrinkles and no gray strands that he could see - That she was probably actually not -that- old. In fact, she looked to be at least a little younger than his 'real' parents, Goodwin and Winifred. He realized, she must have been rather young when she had him... "It's fine. Drink. I have plenty..."
She sipped at the warm, sweet drink for a moment or two, then walked over to her bed and sat down at one end of it. She patted the other end of the bed, and since there was no other seating in the very small hut, Cedric accepted and sat down next to her.
She drank half of the cup before she began again. "When I was young, I lived in the castle. My whole family did. My Mother and Father served the King and Queen. My mother, her name was Tammy Hall. She and her mother originally came to serve Arendelle from a English nobleman's house. They both had dark hair. My father, Sven Svenson, had very fair, yellow-white hair and his family had been employed with the King already for three generations. He and my mother fell in love there and married, and had three children, all girls with dark hair. I was the oldest. While my parents worked, I went to school until I was of age, and then I began working for the Royal Family myself. But then..."
She swallowed, as if there was something painful blocking her throat. "One day, the King and Queen suddenly banished almost everyone from the palace. Only the two oldest families, the Strand's and the Peterson's, were allowed to stay as the family's personal servants. The rest of us, even the loyal Svenson's, were put out of a job. My proud father Sven Svenson, he went to work with the ice harvesters to put a roof over our head, food on the table, and to keep my sisters in school. But not long after he started, there was an accident... My father slipped and fell on the ice, and cracked his head clean open. He died from the injury, and then after that, I had to find work to help my mother look after me and my sisters..."
Her cup was nearly empty by then, so Cedric carefully poured her some more. Other than that, he simply listened without comment as she went on, "You know, when I was a schoolgirl, the children used to have a rhyme they sang around me - Sarah Jane, tall and plain, Svenson-Hall, plain and tall. I suppose I was a bit taller than most girls when I was young, and my back wasn't hunched over, but I must not have been -too- plain. I managed to get a good job with a well-to-do man's family because he thought I had a pretty face. And one night while working for him, shortly after my mother had gotten ill and died, I was invited to a fun little gathering in the servant's quarters, after one of my master's parties. He had been entertaining some influential guests from places abroad, and their servants got together with us later that night to meet each other..."
Cedric watched her face closely. She hesitated before going on, her voice thick, "I... I was a stupid girl, and I fell in love with some charming young man I'd just met a few days before, who flattered me terribly and made all kinds of tempting promises, but was nowhere to be found shortly after. He had pitch black hair, and he told me his name was William White. But when I looked for him later, everyone told me they'd never heard of anyone with that name..."
She cleared her throat, which led to another round of coughing. She politely turned her head from him to protect him from the germs, but also to hide the shame on her face. "Despite how you came to me, I was still going to try to raise you at first. I was already raising my sisters alone, so I thought I should be able to raise you too... Well, that's what I told myself at first, but I was so very scared, and then when I began to show, people began to be cruel to me because I wasn't married. My master fired me. Luckily a noblewoman with a large family agreed to let us stay if we helped her with her many children, her name was Annabella Ackerman. It was a good fit for a while, and she helped me greatly when I gave birth to you - Which was undoubtedly the greatest ordeal of my life. We both might have died without her help and her warm, safe house - You were born in Winter, you see..."
"Makes sense." Cedric finally mumbled back, deep in thought over all he'd heard so far. So there was little chance of meeting his biological father, if apparently he'd lied about his name. But if that was the case, Cedric was also pretty sure he didn't want to meet that kind of person anyways...
Sarah nodded as she went on once more, "Things were alright the first couple of months, but then... One day... Good heavens, you scared the wits out of me!" She suddely exclaimed, looking up at him with wide eyes. "I came to collect you from your crib, and I found you... Floating on the ceiling! I scream my lungs out, thought the devil had possessed you! The mistress found us, she helped me get you down and explained what you were. No one in either of my families were magical, and I had never seen magic before. It truly frightened me. It was hard enough trying to raise a child out of wedlock, but a magical child was too much for a woman in my position to handle! I cried and cried, so scared for us both. I was sure we would both be killed if they found out about you..."
She wiped her eyes with the corners of her shawl. "But Mistress Annabella, she again saved our lives... She had a friend, a neighbor from childhood. She was magical. She had the power to just appear in one place or another, materialize out of thin air. I remember being so jealous when I found out about her. I wish I could just go anywhere I wanted, whenever I wanted... She and her magical family had moved away when she was young to avoid persecution from those who hated them because they did not understand them, but they stayed in contact with their most loyal and understanding friends. So, my mistress contacted her, and told her about you, and with her help, they found a magical couple who was willing to take you in and care for you..."
"Goodwin and Winifred..." Cedric nodded in understanding. "But... Why did you ask my mother not to tell me about you? Did you never want to see me again, because of what I was?"
She shook her head. "No. I just thought that you probably wouldn't want to see me again, since I couldn't give you any of the things they could. The day I passed you off to them, when I saw you go into Winifred's arms... When I saw her holding you, and looking down at you as if you were her whole world, making you giggle with her silly spells when you almost always cried with me... I knew right away, that you had never truly belonged with me. Winifred was your real mother, not I..."
He took a long, deep breath before he dared to ask, "Your old mistress... Why aren't you still working for her?"
She copied his actions, drawing in a shaky breath before answering, "About a year after I gave you away, Mistress Annabella told me that the family was going to sell their Arendelle property and move back to her girlhood home in Germany. She invited me to come along... But I was scared. Arendelle has always been my home, I'd never been to or known any other place. I wish I had gone, but my younger sisters didn't want to go with me. They both just happened to find wonderful husbands earlier that year and encouraged me to find one as well. They knew a man who had a few children but no longer had a wife, and they convinced me to marry him for the financial stability. My youngest sister Lilian Lynn told me, 'You're not getting any younger, Sarah.' She died trying to give birth to her first child two years later."
"Is your other sister still alive?" Cedric inquired, fighting to keep a straight face and not reveal the sorrow he secretly shared with her.
She had a brief coughing fit before she continued once more, "I'm not sure. Dana May and her husband moved away not long after Lilian died. We used to write for a while, but then she stopped sending letters. My husband may have been destroying them. He didn't stay kind long after the wedding. I was more like a housekeeper to him than a wife. I avoided him as much as I could, and thankfully I never bore him another child. His first handful was tiresome enough. But when he died a few years later, I had no claim to anything of his, and his children that I raised, that I fed and washed and clothed like their personal servant, they kicked me out. The only small kindness they showed me was to give me this little coffin of a shack on the outskirts of town... I was rather scared and lonely at first, but it's not so bad anymore. I never knew the freedom of only having to look after yourself until now, and I have to say, it suites me well at this point in my life..."
"Oh come now." Cedric interrupted her, "You're talking as if you expect to die yourself. You're not that old, and besides that, -I- am Cedric the Sensational! I wouldn't be employed by the King of Enchancia if I couldn't cure a wee cold! Here, have the rest of this cocoa..." He told her, pouring the remainder of the thermos' content into her mug.
"Sensational, are you..." She repeated before taking another sip.
"The Princess of Enchancia herself said that about me!" He bragged, declining to mention that the Princess in question was about seven years old when she said that.
"Well, that is something." She responded calmly. "Good for you. I'm glad you've had a better life there than you would have ever had here. But I'll be honest with you too - I sorely envy you, boy..."
Cedric looked around at the sad state of her drafty abode. "I can't say I don't see why..." He sighed as he got up to his feet again, and placed a hand down on the old woman's shoulder. "...I don't blame you for any of the choices you've made, or the circumstances you had to make them under. As a matter of fact... I've lived a rather enchanted life thanks to what you did for me. I want you to know that, and... I thank you. For everything."
She shook her head shyly and averted her eyes, but she also reached up and lightly patted her hand over his. "T'was nothing, m'boy..." She mumbled back with a thick throat, taking another swallow of his herbal hot cocoa to hide the emotions. When she finished the cup, she handed it back to him, and he screwed it back on to the thermos. "I'm glad you came, and I thank you for the hot drink..." She tried to get through the sentence, but her voice began to crack towards the end. "But perhaps, you should go now..."
He nodded tensely and took his hand back from her shoulder. Without another word, he left her and the claustrophobic little shack behind, and returned to his inn.
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO
A week after that, and a few days before Cedric was scheduled to return home to Enchancia, he put in a formal request to see the queen. He didn't think she would respond at all, but in fact she did so the very next day, summoning him back to the castle. She met him in the foyer along with her sister, Princess Anna, and greeted him, "Good afternood, Sir Cedric. I thank you whole-heartedly for helping my people. Almost everyone you've treated has made a full recovery. You said you had something to ask of me - Please let me know what that is."
So Cedric began to explain, "Your majesty. I am honored by your presence. The reason I asked to see you today is because I have something to tell you, and something to ask you. I was adopted by Goodwin the Great and Winifred the Wise of Enchancia, but I was born here in Arendelle to a woman named Sarah Jane Svenson-Hall. She and her family used to be employed by the castle when she was young, but they were let go along with most of the rest of the staff. Her life has just gotten harder and harder since then, and now she's living alone in an awful, drafty little shack. I never knew her before I came back here to Arendelle, but I can't help but worry about her now. She's not that old, she's just had a difficult life. I'm sure she could get better again soon if she was just given a chance..."
The Queen and her sister looked pitiously upon him, and more than a little guilty too. Princess Anna rushed to assure him, "How awful, Sir Cedric! Of course your mother can come back to the castle, right away!"
Queen Elsa nodded sternly, "Yes, of course. I'm so glad you brought this matter to our attention, Sir Cedric. To be honest Anna and I have been trying our best to seek out all our former staff members and offer them back their employment. We truly feel terrible that our circumstances caused so many others besides ourselves to suffer, but we were so young when our parents decided to isolate the castle for our protection, we didn't know who all of the servants who had been sent away were. Miss Svenson-Hall is more than welcome to come back under our employment - In fact, I must insist that she take a room at the castle right away and continue her healing here until she's made a full recovery."
Cedric bowed low to the royal sisters, deeply grateful. "Thank you, your majesty. I'm immensely relieved to know that the woman who gave me the life I've had, can spend the rest of hers in peace, warmth and comfort..."
Elsa glanced down at her ungloved hands. "That's the least any of us deserves..."
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO
When the day came for Cedric to leave aboard the ship that had taken him to Arendelle, he left for the dock without seeking out any of the people he'd met along the way. But many of them stopped him in the streets as he headed down them with his luggage in a satchel on his back. They shook his hand and slapped him on the back and thanked him wholeheartedly for his help. A few of them even assured him that he had saved their lives.
He modestly denied their praise and ducked away until he finally reached the port. Once there he threw his luggage up to a sailor on board, and then began to board himself.
That was, however, until he spotted a somewhat tall, somewhat plain older lady making her way down the docks, towards him. He stopped and headed back down to the pier, meeting her half-way. "I'm going back home now..." He told her quietly.
"I see that..." Sarah nodded. "The queen and the princess and their whole royal brigade came to fetch me yesterday, and set me up in a beautiful room in the castle. They said you asked them to..."
Cedric shuffled awkwardly from one foot to the other and crossed his arms over his chest. "It was the least I could do. You made sure I was provided for in life. I knew I had to return the favor..."
She swallowed thickly, and then in the next second, she had thrown her arms around him, squeezing him tight while her tears ran down onto his shoulder. "Thank you for taking care of me, my sensational son..."
He returned the embrace, finding it a little awkward at first, not having to bend over to hug somebody. "I won't forget you, mother... And, can I ask you just one more thing before I go?"
She pulled back a bit from the hug, but still hung on to his forearms with her much skinnier hands. "Of course, Cedric."
He held on to her arms in return as he inquired, "I was just wondering, about that. Were you the one who named me Cedric? If so, was there any particular reason you decided to name me that?"
She blinked, the question taking her memory back years. "Oh dear... To be honest, it's not terribly clever, but it was from one of Mistress Annabella's books that I read when I was pregnant with you. 'Ivanhoe', it was called, and 'Cedric' was one of the characters. I probably should have named you something more traditional, but I was a silly young girl..."
He shook his head. "I like my name. Thank you, Sarah..." He returned soulfully to her, and after one more embrace, the both of them, for the second and last time, let each other go.
After that Cedric got on board, and Sarah watched him off from the dock as his ship began to set sail. They smiled and cried and waved to each other until the distance between made them both invisible to each other's eyes.
But never again were they invisible to each other's hearts.
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO
