A/N: So, I guess I've been really inspired. This is yet another sequel. Once I started writing about them, I began imagining a whole life for Cedric and Sofia and I thought it might be fun to follow them into a settled relationship.
I think I'm playing a long game. There's a lot of set up happening in this story for something much longer I have planned down the road. So that's why I set the story up as a kind of 'Citrusy Oreo', lemons in the beginning and end and some plot in the middle. (Am I the only one who loves the cookie part of the Oreo better than the filling? I'm weird like that!)
SO… this is essentially the third story in what is now a series. It's not completely essential to read the other two, but it might make more sense to read "How to Make a Birthday Perfect" and "The First Rule of Being a Princess" first.
Also I have to shout out Jessibelle811. Her awesome story "Intoxication" is total inspiration to me. Every new chapter makes me want to write something even half as good!
Disclaimer: Sofia is 18, Cedric is 34 and I don't own them or anyone else. I just enjoy embarrassing poor Baileywick!
.o~O*O~o.
Cedric was cold.
Half asleep he reached out, blindly searching for soft, sleek, warm curves to snuggle with.
But his hands found nothing.
Opening his eyes he discovered the other half of the bed empty, the sheets cold.
Sofia wasn't there.
It was amazing how quickly one could get used to something. He'd slept alone in this drafty tower, in this cold bed for fifteen years. In all that time he'd never questioned or considered it should be anything other than that.
Then they'd admitted what was between them.
And suddenly his bed had become an oasis, a world onto itself, always warm, always inviting, filled with the joy she brought into it.
Whether they were indulging in hedonistic nights devoted to pleasuring each other till the sun came up, whispering in the dark about everything and nothing, or just holding each other as they slept, ten short months was all it took for him to become utterly unused to being cold or alone in this bed.
A muffled sound caught his attention and he turned, noticing the bedroom door had been left open and a soft light was emanating from his workshop.
Rising from the bed, he made his way through the room and up the stairs, heedless of the fact he was naked.
The workshop was illuminated by the light of a single candle.
He found Sofia standing over his workbench casting a spell from the book in front of her, his Sorcerer's robe the only thing between her skin and the chill of the damp room.
Sofia finished the spell and a beautiful, luminescent butterfly flitted around the room for a few seconds before exploding into shards of brilliant multi-colored light, which floated momentarily, than ceased to exist.
Coming up behind her, he wrapped one arm around her waist, pulling her back flush against his front.
She came willingly, allowing him to sweep back her hair and pull on the robe until one shoulder was bare.
Cedric leaned forward, burying his face in her neck, kissing and nipping at the graceful column of her throat.
Sofia's head fell back against his chest and the movement caused the loosened robe to shift again exposing one of her breasts.
Cedric watched, fascinated, as her nipple hardened in the cold air. He brought his other arm up around her then, his hand clasping her covered shoulder, the warm softness of that bare breast searing the tattoo on his forearm.
"I woke up and you were gone." He whispered as he licked the shell of her ear.
Sofia sighed softly, one of her hands coming up to tangle in the strands of hair at the base of his neck, holding his mouth to her as she turned her head, giving him more access.
"I couldn't sleep. I woke up hours ago. I tried to fall back but I just kept tossing and turning, and you looked so peaceful I was afraid I'd disturb you. I thought I would just come out here and practice. The early bird gets the worm and all. I'm sorry I woke you."
Sofia sucked in an excited breath as Cedric gripped the fabric of her covered shoulder and forced it down leaving her topless, the heavy material bunched into the bends of her arms.
"You didn't wake me," he replied, taking her chin between his fingers and tilting her head so he could taste the hollow of her throat. His hands moving to tease her nipples. "I got cold. It seems I am unable to sleep without your light warming me."
She smiled at that, and twisted her neck as far she could, using the hand tangled in his hair to force his mouth to hers. They kissed, eyes locked on each other as ever.
"You have nothing to worry about Dearest. You're ready. I wouldn't let you do this if you weren't." He said when they broke apart.
She nodded.
"I know that. I just… I can't help feeling like I have something extra to prove. Everyone else will have graduated from one magical academy or another. They'll look at me and think I'm only there because the King commanded you to let me play at being a sorceress." She sounded distraught, as if there could be nothing worse.
Cedric held her than, shelving his desire so he could comfort her. He knew he was witnessing one of her vary rare moments of self-doubt.
Sofia was a confident woman.
She was intimidatingly intelligent, well educated, talented, and exquisitely beautiful. There wasn't a great deal that could make her feel insecure. But from the moment she'd become a princess she'd lived in fear of being branded an imposter.
She feared then others would think she was masquerading as a Princess because she'd been born a peasant. And she feared now the Masters would think she was masquerading as a Sorceress because she was a Princess.
Kissing the top of her head and laying his cheek against the soft curls, he moved his hands from her chest to hold her arms, squeezing them in reassurance.
"Let them underestimate you if they're foolish enough to do so. It will make your triumph all the sweeter when you prove you're more talented than the whole lot of academy brats there.
And you are Sofia, don't ever doubt that. You're more gifted than anyone I've ever met. One day you'll be more powerful than even the Masters who stand in judgment of you today."
She smiled at that and Cedric could see tears glistening at the corners of her eyes. The hand holding his neck tightened and she turned a bit in his arms so she could face him.
"You always tell me I'm your light in the darkness, banishing the shadows, making you stronger and more confident. But do you ever realize you do the same for me all the time.
I wouldn't even be taking my Masters test today if you hadn't come to me all those years ago and told me you believed I had the talent to be a real Sorcerer. And I probably would have given up a hundred times over if you weren't by my side encouraging me to try again, reminding me that mistakes are a part learning, that failing doesn't make you a failure.
Do you know how much I owe you? Do you even understand how grateful I am every day that you'd put up with me when I know how you hate suffering fools?"
Cedric wanted to tell her he'd never, for even a single second, thought of her as a fool. But he was speechless. No one had ever said something like that to him before. The very idea that someone's life was richer, better off because he was in it. It was… unimaginable to him.
Sofia laughed after a moment, a teary smile lighting her beautiful face.
"I just broke you didn't I?"
Cedric snorted at that, grateful she'd understood how overcome he was and given him an out.
"You had better hope not," he quipped sarcastically. "Otherwise you'll have no excuse to come up here and spend time in these opulent accommodations of mine!"
Sofia laughed again, bigger and brighter.
"You found me out. All this time I've just been trying to sneak my way into a better set of rooms." Just then a cold draft sent a shiver through her half exposed body. "Dear GOD how can it be so COLD in here. It's nearly June!"
She beamed up at him, feeling better, and cold, and astonished to be so cold; and he smiled right back as he turned her again so her back was pressed to his front.
His arms came back around her.
"I could warm you up," he offered, nuzzling the shell of her ear.
"How long do we have before we have to leave?" She asked, her hands coming up to rest over his.
"About an hour and half," he answered.
"Mmm, I think you've hit on an excellent way to kill two birds with one stone. You can keep me warm and take my mind off of my jitters." She gripped his hands then, putting them back over her still exposed breasts.
"I wouldn't let Wormwood hear you use that expression," He laughed softly as he began kissing her neck again. One of his hands creeping down to her waist to part his robe where it stubbornly managed to remain mostly closed.
A soft peel of laughter escaped her mouth only to turn into a gasp as Cedric's hand reached between her legs.
He brushed the soft curls there and her head fell back, lulling on his shoulder.
"You're magnificent. Don't ever let yourself believe otherwise." He whispered, as three of his fingers entered her and his thumb made sure, firm circles around her nub.
Time never seemed to work normally when they came together this way. To the two of them it seemed as though everything slowed, as though each moment was its own tiny eternity. And yet elsewhere it seemed time sped up. They'd lost whole nights in each other's arms without noticing the passing of the hours.
It was that way now as Sofia broke apart in his arms. Her voice calling his name, her back arching with the suddenness of her release, her trembling legs threating to give out on her.
Turning Cedric used one arm to sweep everything off of the worktable, sending books and note papers crashing to the floor.
The other lifted her onto the now empty table.
Without a word, he took her thighs in his hands and pulled her to the edge.
Planting her palms on the table, Sofia leaned back, her arms supporting her as she wrapped her legs around him.
In one deep thrust and Cedric was buried so far inside her, he could feel her everywhere.
As he began moving he grabbed the belt to his robe. With one firm tug the sash gave and the heavy fabric fell away from Sofia's body, revealing all of her.
"Harder! Please love, I need more of you." she whispered as she shook her hands free of the sleeves and sat upright, wrapping her arms around his neck, twisting her fingers into his hair.
One of Cedric's hands knotted into the hair at the base of her neck, the other cupped her face, slanting his mouth over hers. He alternated between caressing her mouth with his tongue and whispering how much he loved her against the satin of her lips. All the while doing exactly as his princess had bid him.
Lengthening his strokes, he pulled almost all the way out of her tight heat only to come crashing back. Making her whimper with every recession and moan with every return.
The single candle that lit the room had burned down to almost nothing when Sofia ripped her mouth from his, letting out a strangled cry as she fell over the edge into spectacular release.
Her muscles clenched him like a vice and there was no fighting it. Thrusting one last time, he followed her over the edge, his own cry mingling with the echo of hers.
"WHAT IS GOING ON IN HERE?!"
Cedric's head snapped up, as Sofia let out a horrified gasp.
Pulling her flush against his chest and lifting one of her thighs high on his hip, Cedric tried to shield the most private parts of Sofia's body from view.
Still, there was one hopeful moment when he thought he might simply be hallucinating the sight of Baileywick standing in the doorway.
"Just what do think you're doing with the Princess?"
No such luck.
The steward's question infuriated him in its audacious stupidity.
"Unless you've finally gone daft, I think that's fairly obvious. The better question, is what the hell are you doing in here?"
Baileywick just stood there, staring at them for what seemed like forever.
Cedric watched him go from the pale shock of someone sickened to see the sight before him, to beet red and filled with rage.
"I knocked…several times! I came to tell you the coach has arrived to take you to the Hall of Masters." The steward finally spoke, spitting his words at Cedric. "I was about to leave since no one answered and then you both screamed. I thought someone was hurt."
Baileywick turned his attention to Sofia then, attempting, in vain, to see her face which she'd hidden in the hollow of Cedric's throat.
"Princess Sofia has Cedric hurt you? Do you need help? Shall I call the guards?"
Being essentially 'part of the family' Baileywick had made no secret of his vehement disapproval of their engagement. But Cedric still found himself shocked the man apparently hated him so much, he would intimate he'd just walked in on rape.
Apparently it was the last straw for Sofia as well.
Lifting her head from his chest, she sighed deeply and pinned the steward with a look that managed to be hurt, and disappointed, and angry all at once.
"No Baileywick, I'm clearly not hurt. What you heard was the sound of me ENJOYING the man I'm marrying in two months! Do I look as though I need an army to help me with that?"
If Baileywick had been shocked before, there were no words to describe the steward's face at Sofia's vulgar statement. It was safe to say the sweetest Princess in the castle had never spoken to him like that before.
With one last enraged look at their entwined nakedness, Baileywick turned on his heel, slamming the workshop door behind him.
They were quiet for long minutes, still holding each other, trying to calm their nerves.
Finally Cedric broke the silence.
"How in Hades Hell did he even get in here? I locked the door last night before we went to bed."
Sofia let out a little groan, and burrowed her head back into the hollow of his throat. Her voice was muffled by his chest when she enlightened him.
"When I came out this morning, all the candles in the room had burned down to nubs. I didn't want to wake you by riffling through the bedside drawer to get a new one, and I remembered the one outside the door was basically unused. I guess I forgot to turn the lock when I walked back in."
She lifted her head slightly, taking a peak to see if he was mad. But honestly he couldn't have cared less. They had nothing to be ashamed of.
"He's probably on his way to tell your father right now." Cedric sneered.
Sofia snorted at that.
"Do you think he'll be more or less angry when he finds out Dad already knows?"
That broke the damn and they both started laughing. The adrenaline running through them causing them to continue until their sides ached and they were both near hysterical.