As always, this takes place in A/U where Sofia and Cedric are both adults (see previous stories)

Cover art by: JessDeaton on DeviantArt (she does commissions for a modest fee, check her out!)

I only have one more in mind after this one... (did I say that before?) then not sure what's next. Thanks for all your kind reviews :) without them I might not have written this far. Especially with such a controversial pairing, I'd probably have figured I was being weird and stopped after Dreams or Secrets.

I went ahead and uploaded this early, I'll still post ch 2 tomorrow whenever I get a chance. It's all written so expect regular updates.

1.

Sofia couldn't believe what she was seeing. Her father was wearing the amulet and had done something bad enough to cause a curse. But what? She looked to Cedric, but he was pale and nervous.

"What's going on, Dad?" Sofia asked, ignoring the lump in her throat. If he had known all this time… why had he kept the price on Cedric's head?

"It didn't happen all at once. When I found your amulet I decided to hold on to it. Every day I got more and more worried and angry." he looked directly at Cedric then, causing the sorcerer to wince. "It wasn't until a few months ago that I even noticed the changes around here. And then they just got worse."

"The Amulet cursed you because you did something bad," Sofia told him, looking around for any sign of her mother.

"I haven't done anything wrong." Her father said stubbornly.

"Didn't you read my note?" Sofia asked, taking a tentative step closer to her dad.

"Of course I did. But, you're not thinking clearly." King Roland stood, and called for Constable Miles. Sofia looked back at Cedric who was fiddling with his wand.

"If you're thinking of imprisoning Cedric again I won't allow it!" Sofia shouted. She pulled out her wand and held it at the ready. "If the amulet cursed you, then you did something wrong, Dad. If you want to restore the kingdom you need to trust me. No one knows more about the amulet than me and Cedric."

The guards entered the room with the portly constable. They took one look at Cedric and headed over to him, but Sofia was too fast. A quick word and flick of her wand and the men were frozen in place, temporarily. Cedric moved to stand by her side, and murmur a quick thanks.

"Sofia!" King Roland shouted, slamming his fist on the arm of his throne. "Why can't you see what he's doing to you? It's a trick."

"No it's not." Sofia said defiantly. Her father would have no choice but to listen to her this time. Something he should have done over a year ago. The king stood and walked towards them, she could sense Cedric tensing. Her father had always made him nervous, even now.

"How do you know, Sofia? How can you truly be sure? He waited years to get the amulet, do you really think leaving it behind you, with the intention of returning to it, would cause him to reveal himself?" Her father hissed, even though he spoke to her he was glaring at Cedric.

"He loves me," she said, but it sounded pathetic. "And I love him." She felt like such a child using it as justification, but it was the truth. She believed in this truth so strongly that she was willing to stand up to her father and anyone else who questioned it. She had been willing to leave the kingdom, go on the run as a criminal, and abandon her amulet. She felt as if they had proven their feelings for each other.

"He's bewitched you." Her father was losing steam, he looked so tired.

"I have done no such thing, Sire." Cedric finally spoke up, she was impressed that his voice didn't crack or tremble.

"I don't believe you." King Roland snapped back at him.

"Eclipso Fatto," Cedric said, waving his hand and pointing it at the Amulet. The tiny clasp that held the necklace together broke and it flew into Cedric's waiting hand. Sofia was shocked, but her Father just looked triumphant.

"See, Sofia?" The king said. Sofia looked from him to Cedric.

"Cedric?" she asked, wondering what he was doing. She didn't think for a moment that he was actually stealing her amulet, but was also shocked by how easy it had been to take it from her father. But then it made sense. She smiled as he explained to her father.

"I figured out a way to steal the amulet long ago, but by that time it no longer held interest to me. I do not want the amulet." Cedric sniffed, handing the necklace to Sofia. "I only want to be with your daughter." He said, causing Sofia to blush. King Roland didn't look too pleased with this declaration. But there it was, Cedric had chosen her. Of course, he had chosen her long before but now it was for her father's benefit. The amulet glowed ever so slightly, but nothing seemed to change yet.

"Sofia?" her mother's voice grabbed Sofia's attention. Queen Miranda rushed towards her daughter, arms outstretched. She paid no mind to Cedric or King Roland and pulled Sofia into a tight embrace. "Oh, Sofia," her mother said over and over.

"I missed you mom," Sofia said, keeping an eye on her father and Cedric. The two were staring each other down, causing a lot of tension. When Queen Miranda realized what was going on, she sighed heavily.

"Rollie, our daughter is back. I think we can end this charade. Clearly, Cedric didn't kidnap her." The queen put her hands on her hips and frowned at King Roland until he sighed.

"It would appear that he did not kidnap her," he agreed. His shoulders slumped and he looked defeated. "You can free the guards now, Sofia." He told her.

"Okay," Sofia said brightly before undoing the spell. The men stumbled forward, looking from Cedric to the king, but not moving.

"Tell us everything!" Prince James said, he had been watching from the hall. He walked forward and slapped a hand onto Cedric's shoulder, gripping it tightly. "What did you guys do all year?" Cedric squeaked slightly, and looked to Sofia for help, but she just smiled. "Were you kind to my sister, Cedric?" he asked.

"Very kind," Sofia offered in his defense. "We traveled a lot." She didn't think telling them about their time with the thieves was wise, at least not right now.

"You two didn't…" Queen Miranda trailed off, pointing at them.

"What?" Sofia asked.

"Elope?" King Roland crossed his arms, still looking quite displeased.

"oh, no! That's actually what Amber thought too," Sofia chuckled.

"You've seen Amber?" Her mother said excitedly.

"Yes, just the other day." Sofia smiled, Amber would be so pleased to hear that she was home. She gave her father a curious glance, but he seemed to be staring down Cedric again. Then something clicked, and she realized what might have caused the curse. "But we need to end this curse," she said. "And I'm starting to think I might know how." The amulet probably cursed him because he had been so unwilling to trust her, and by extension Cedric. He had believed the words of Goodwin without hearing there side of the story. Goodwin hadn't known the whole story either, the men had made disastrous assumptions. So then all there was to do was to get her father to trust them, and believe that Cedric's intentions towards her were pure. Though she wasn't sure how to do that, yet.