Amethyst Visions

Summary: Sofia has a nightmare about her amulet and asks Cedric for help. Will he regress and take advantage of this opportunity, or will he prove that he really has changed for the better?

Disclaimer: I don't own "Sofia the First" or the lullaby mentioned in here.

A/N: I started working on this without knowing whether I would post it or not. I wasn't satisfied with the results at first. But I worked on it a bit more and decided to post it. And yes, the lullaby mentioned in here is indeed in the new "Cinderella" movie, but I heard this song quite a few years ago and loved it. :) It put me to sleep like no other lullaby I'd ever heard. :D Also, while this is a one-shot, it may lead into something else later. Not sure. We'll see!

"Mm… No, no…" Sofia whimpered in her sleep as she tossed and turned, her pillows and blankets askew from the movements.

Clover watched from his spot on her window seat. He shook his head. She'd had nightmares for the past few nights but always tried to play it off like everything was fine. She was a master of hiding her troubles, because she didn't want to burden others. He sighed and hopped from the window and onto her bed, approaching her carefully. He leaned down toward her ear and whispered, "Sofia! You okay, kid?"

"Ahh!" Sofia sat up and knocked Clover onto the mattress next to her. She looked around frantically, trying to get a leverage on her surroundings. She glanced down at her friend and gave him a guilty smile. "Sorry, Clover," she apologized, righting him into a sitting position. "…I did it again, didn't I?"

"Sofia, when are you going to tell your parents about your nightmares so they can help you?"

She sighed and placed her head into her hands. "They wouldn't understand, Clover. Besides, they don't know about the amulet and its powers, and I can't risk letting them know right now just because of bad dreams."

"Bad dreams? Sofia, last night you threw three pillows at me, screaming, 'Get away before I throw the mace at you!'" Hearing her giggle, he eyed her carefully. "First of all, I don't even want to know where you'd get a mace. And second of all, with you getting so little sleep, it's starting to mess with you during the day."

She leaned back against her pillows as he hopped onto her lap. "What are you talking about, Clover?"

"Kid, you ran into the wall yesterday…twice. And then you put your dress on backwards."

Sofia shrugged with a sigh. "I don't know what to do, Clover. It's not like anyone can actually help me with this, especially if they're not familiar with enchanted items." She ran one hand along his fur before sitting up a little straighter. "Unless…"

Clover blinked as she placed him against one of her pillows and stood. "Did I miss something?"

The princess tied a warm purple robe around her blue nightgown and slipped her feet into some slippers before grabbing a lantern. "I'll be back, Clover. Don't wait up for me." She smiled gently and hurried out of the room, shutting the door behind her.

The bunny rolled his eyes. "Ten carrots says she's gonna bug Cedric about this…" He grinned and lay down, snuggling into the warm covers and falling asleep.

Sofia didn't bother knocking on the door to the workshop at this time of night. She knew Cedric was probably asleep by now, and Wormwood certainly was. The raven practically craved his rest, so she wasn't really worried about waking him up if she stayed rather quiet.

The princess held up the lantern she'd brought with her, looking around the empty room. She made her way to Cedric's bedroom and noticed the door was open for a change. He'd probably been so tired and ready to sleep for once that he'd forgotten about it altogether. That thought alone made her smile to herself.

Cedric was indeed asleep on his bed, and he seemed to be rather content.

Sofia sighed. She wished she could sleep that peacefully again. Maybe if he could help her, then it would be possible. She placed the lantern onto his bedside table and reached forward, shaking Cedric. "Mr. Cedric," she whispered. "Wake up."

"Mm, five more minutes, Mummy," he murmured. "And turn off the sun please…"

Despite herself, Sofia couldn't help giggling at his response. He really was lost to his dream world tonight. She then composed herself and shook him again, a little more forcefully this time. "Mr. Cedric," she said in a stronger voice, making him gasp and sit up before knocking his head against hers. "Ow!"

"Oof!" Cedric muttered something under his breath while rubbing his forehead before he cracked his eyes open and saw Sofia standing before him. "Sofia!" He looked around, wondering when she'd arrived. "What are you doing here?"

"I couldn't sleep," she admitted as she also massaged her head from their slight impact. "I had…some bad dreams again. But they're getting worse, Mr. Cedric."

"Worse?" He was going to make a dismissive comment so he could return to sleep, but seeing the desperation in her eyes, he sighed and sat up more fully. "What's going on?"

"I think something's wrong with my amulet," she confided as she clutched her hands to her precious jewel. "Every time I sleep now, I keep dreaming that some evil entity tries to steal it from me and then…" She bit her lip worriedly before continuing, "I think something is after me, Mr. Cedric…"

He eyed her carefully and gently took her hands, removing them from the amulet. He observed it, realizing it looked pretty stationary right now. He glanced at her. "Has the amulet itself started acting strangely?"

Sofia nodded. "The other night, it got really hot. It was almost unbearable, but I waited it out."

Cedric frowned in concern. "Why didn't you remove it? What if it had burned you?"

"Dad told me to never take it off," she said, a typical answer he'd heard all too often by now.

"I'm pretty sure he didn't literally mean never, Sofia… And he'd especially retract those words if it meant putting his daughter in danger."

"Well, what am I supposed to do? What if something really is wrong with it?"

Cedric sighed once more, running one hand over his face. "I know you always get kind of upset when I suggest this, but if you'd let me take a look at it, maybe I can figure out what's wrong." Seeing her hesitation, he continued, "I'll give it right back. I promise."

She pondered his query. He did really want to help her, but with all the problems she'd had with people trying to steal and even destroy her amulet, it had caused her to question everyone—even her mentor. Of course, Amber's actions hadn't really helped either. But still… "Okay."

The sorcerer faltered for a second before asking, "Really?"

She nodded. "I trust you, Mr. Cedric."

'Oh, no, don't do that to me…' The guilt he felt washing over him, especially when he considered his past actions, was tremendous. Leave it to Sofia.

"I know if anyone can help me, you can." She reached behind her and pulled the necklace off, handing it to her friend.

Cedric had to quickly compose himself as he felt the heavy, cold structure of the amulet against his fingers and gloves. It surprised him how hefty it was. How did Sofia not nearly fall over wearing that thing? Oh, right, he was supposed to be doing something… "Hmm."

Sofia sat on the bed with him and looked at him worriedly. "What's wrong with it, Mr. Cedric?"

"I don't know." He picked up his wand from the bedside table and tapped the amulet, murmuring some unfamiliar words Sofia could barely make out. "When you're dreaming, what do you see?" he asked as he focused on his task.

"I don't know how to explain it," she confessed with a shrug. "It's less about what I see and more about what I hear. I hear all these voices around me, taunting me and telling me to let go of the amulet, that I didn't deserve it in the first place." She lowered her head and picked at the fabric of his comforter, feeling horrible for even letting those words come to reality.

Cedric looked up at her, noticing the shift of her posture. "Sofia," he began, getting her attention. "You can't believe everything you hear, all right?"

Sofia nodded. "I know… It's hard though."

"Believe me, dear girl, I understand." Seeing her smile, he beckoned her over with one hand and moved slightly to the left as she sat next to him. He held the amulet in front of her for both of them to see. "I don't think there's necessarily anything wrong with it. However, maybe it's just reacting to you."

The girl blinked. "What are you saying, Mr. Cedric? I'm…magic or something?"

"Well, I wouldn't say that exactly, but you do practice enough magic to potentially affect whatever kind of properties the amulet actually has. It may be interfering with the amulet itself."

She seemed conflicted before lowering her head. "So…I shouldn't practice magic anymore?"

"Nonsense," Cedric told her as he tilted her head up. He then unfastened the chain and settled the amulet around her neck once more, clasping it back together. "We'll just keep an eye on it, monitor it so you stay safe. In the meantime, I'll come up with something to help you sleep better… Do you still have your dreamcatcher my mother gave you?"

Sofia nodded and yawned, covering her mouth with one hand before sighing. "I just feel like nothing seems to work, Mr. Cedric… I don't know what to do anymore."

Seeing how tired she was, he gently wrapped one arm around her and froze as she leaned against him for comfort. He then relaxed a bit and held his wand to her forehead. "Let's try this for now… Bonumsomno; bonumsomnia…"

Sofia yawned a little again before looking up at her friend. "Will you sing me a song, Mr. Cedric?"

He chuckled. "Now I know the spell is working. You actually want me to sing."

The girl pouted lightly, sighing. "I understand. You don't want me to sleep well, so I'll just stay up all night and talk to you then…" She grinned as he eyed her pointedly. "Did you know that moon is-?" She blinked when he placed a finger over her lips to keep her quiet.

"One song, and you'd better be asleep before I finish." Hearing her giggle, he sighed and rolled his eyes. He searched the confines of his mind for a song his mother used to sing him before finally settling on one. "Well, here goes…" He looked down at the girl and huffed. "Well, don't just stare at me. It will distract me."

Sofia laughed and closed her eyes, resting her head against him again.

Seeing that she'd at least complied, Cedric finally started his song in a soft tone, as though to sooth her into a much-needed rest. "Lavender's blue, dilly, dilly. Lavender's green. When I am king, dilly, dilly, you shall be queen."

The girl smiled upon hearing the song. Her parents used to sing this song to her all the time when she was much younger. She didn't know what Cedric was talking about; he had a good voice, she thought. Her eyes, still closed, felt suddenly heavier, and her breathing began to steady and even out.

"Who told you so, dilly, dilly? Who told you so? T'was my own heart, dilly, dilly, that told me so." Cedric watched her carefully, seeing she'd settled into sleep at last. "Sleep well, Princess." He used his wand and a teleportation spell to send her back to her own room before finally returning to sleep himself.

That night, both got better sleep than they had in a while, and Sofia's dreams were finally pleasant and peaceful…and lavender-hued for some reason.

The end

A/N: Yep, I totally made Sofia's dreams purple. :p Imagine that! And if Cedric sang me to sleep, I think I'd be too excited to sleep. Haha, but Sofia was exhausted, so that was probably a good way to get her to sleep. Who knows? :)

**Responding to reviews from "At First Sight" people**

CedricAmber: Glad you liked the new "AFS" chapter. Lol. I always have fun writing Amber and James together. They feed off each other so well, and they crack me up, especially James. :D I'm glad you like Penny's family too! I'm especially fond of Niles and Reina. Hehe. And yeah, you need to secure that profile so you can write this story! I'd totally be all over that. :p Sounds exciting. Yep, Louisiana… Lived here all my life. :) And I'm weird: I'm one of the only people I know who does NOT like seafood, sports (The Saints and LSU Tigers are big around here), or Mardi Gras. They'd disown me if they could. :p You'd be more than welcome down here though! My Cajun friend would make gumbo or jambalaya, but I'd make some fajitas and brownies. Haha. Oh, and I did comply partially: you've got this brand new Cedric/Sofia-centered story to stare at. :D Princess2Princess will be updated soon. ;) Hang in there!

theblindwriter95, Royal Detective, and Sofia 2015: Thanks, girls! Glad you're enjoying!

LongLiveNiNoKuni: OMG, yes! I was trying SO hard not to picture Slickwell while writing Niles, but it was almost impossible. :P Should have made his hair black or something. Ah, well. Glad I wasn't the only one!

.50: You should go for it if you want! That would be awesome.

Luiz4200: :) Me too. Penny needs a friend just like anyone else.

Thanks to everyone for reading and reviewing! I don't know what I'd do without you all. ~AquaTurquoise