Selena the Selfless

by AquaTurquoise

Cedric recalls to Sofia the story of his cousin, a sorceress who proved that all magic has a good and a bad side to it.

Selena the Selfless

Summary: Cedric recalls to Sofia the story of his cousin, a sorceress who proved that all magic has a good and a bad side to it.

Disclaimer: I am not the owner of this magnificent show.

A/N: My original character in here was named after my favorite singer, Selena Quintanilla Pérez. They may not have much else in common aside from a few personality traits, but I wanted to recognize her in some form. :)

Note: Bolded parts will be for Selena's story. Normal text will be the usual time. There are a few references to my "Juliana the Just" stories, but not so much that you'd be too confused. Long story short: Cedric told Sofia stories about a former classmate named Juliana and her dilemmas she faced.

PS—I didn't have enough patience to wait until the next episode to find out if/how Sofia shared the information about Elena with Cedric, so I decided to make it a mild interlude to the story. So yeah… lol. Anyway, on with the story.

*Story*

The Enchancian family, Cedric, Baileywick, and a few royal guards were currently away on a relaxation/work-related trip. For Roland a trade agreement was still a priority, since he was always looking for open communication possibilities. Baileywick and Cedric were told they could look at this current journey as a break from the usual, but they knew better. Baileywick would still aid the family as necessary, and Cedric…well, with Sofia nearby, he knew he'd most likely be off on a new adventure any minute now.

"Mr. Cedric!"

Perfect timing, as usual… Cedric glanced toward his apprentice from his spot on the boulder he'd found. It was overlooking a ledge that extended toward the ocean. He was far enough away not to fear falling over, yet close enough to have the most beautiful scenic view he'd ever been afforded. "Sofia, careful. Watch your step." He held one hand toward her, and she took it hesitantly as she stepped carefully around the boulder and sat next to him.

"What are you doing here?" she asked curiously. "And so close to the precipice of doom?"

"'Precipice of doom?' Oh, dear girl." He laughed and shook his head. "Are you afraid of heights?"

"Not exactly. I mean, I've flown over land and sea on dragons and jaquins and braved all kinds of dangers, so it's not exactly a fear of heights. I do, however, have a fear of one of us—or both of us—falling from a high place." She whimpered slightly as she moved forward briefly to cast a look over the edge, realizing they were directly over a waterfall. "Oh, great. At least if we fall, it will be into a cascading rush of water."

Cedric snickered at her commentary and stood up, holding out his hand again. He smiled as she took his hand and walked quickly toward him. "Let's go sit somewhere less 'precipice of doom,' shall we?"

She sighed. "You're never going to let me live that one down, huh?"

"You have plenty of leverage, my dear. It's my turn now." He released her hand as they distanced themselves from the ledge and headed toward a campfire Baileywick had started.

They sat around the warm hearth and talked for a while, random discussions of seemingly mundane and typical information, though still interesting in their own right. They finally reached the topic of recent events.

"…and Princess Elena helped save her people," Sofia concluded as she absently held onto her precious amulet. "I hope to be as brave as she is some day."

Cedric chuckled lightly. "You already are, Princess. If Princes Elena manages to do half the things you already have, then she'll be well on her way."

"Yeah, but she had to be selfless in order to do everything she did to save her family, right?" The auburn-haired girl sighed. "It's not easy, is it?"

The sorcerer's face changed to one of contemplation.

"Mr. Cedric?"

"Mm?" He glanced at her and blinked. "Oh, sorry. It's just…something you said reminded me of someone."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "You don't have another Juliana story, do you?"

He laughed softly and shook his head. "Not exactly. No, you said 'selfless' earlier, and it reminded me of my cousin."

Sofia seemed pretty interested suddenly. He never mentioned family members aside from his parents, sister, and Calista, so this was new. "Your cousin?"

"Selena the Selfless… Um, well, it's somewhat difficult to talk about her backstory, because it's both good and bad."

"But…with a name like 'Selena the Selfless,' I would assume she's good, right?"

Cedric shrugged. "Well, yes, of course. However, her circumstances weren't always the best… Let's just say she went through quite a lot in order to get that title."

Sofia was invested already, and she knew it. She didn't know if she'd like the outcome of this story, considering his Juliana the Just tales, but she just had to know. "So are you going to tell me about Selena the Selfless, Mr. Cedric?" She smiled.

"I don't see why not. We still have a while until everyone reunites, I imagine." He pulled out his wand and sent forth a stream of magic, which encircled the fire before them and created a hologram image of a teenaged girl with dark eyes and raven hair tied into a high, full ponytail. Her royal purple robe fastened with a gold pendant that glittered in the light. "Selena's tale begins quite a number of years ago, when we were much younger."

Seventeen-year-old Cedric was twirling his wand around his fingers as he absently stared into the blank pages of his brand new spell book. His mother had encouraged him to begin writing down useful spells for practice, but his mind was drawing a blank at the moment. It's not like he'd never prepared and performed spells before—he had. Granted, he'd messed up a few times in front of the royal family, which gave him a bit of a reputation for being 'clumsy,' but he tried not to think about that.

No, right now, he simply wanted solitude. He did better by himself, away from crowds and prying eyes.

"Cedric?"

He sighed. So much for peace and quiet. He shut his book and looked up, shielding his eyes from the sun as he leaned back against a tree outside of the castle. His eyes widened. "Selena?"

Selena, his eighteen-year-old cousin on his father's side, stood before him with her hands on her hips and a smile on her face. "Long time no see, cousin."

Cedric smiled and stood, welcoming a hug, which was somewhat unusual but not all that unexpected. It was no secret in his family that Selena was by far his favorite cousin, because she never judged him or picked on him, and she always gave him the time of day. "What are you doing here?" he asked curiously as she released her hold on him. "Where are your parents?"

"They are on holiday right now. I'm traveling on my own, actually. I have plans to look into volunteering if possible."

"Volunteering?"

The dark-haired girl nodded. "I want to help children." She frowned and looked down at her feet. "Ever since I lost Lilliana, I've wanted to try to make a difference."

Cedric nodded in understanding. Lilliana, Selena's younger five-year-old sister, had perished from a freak drowning accident a few years ago. Selena had tried to save her, but she wasn't able to, and she blamed herself. She'd sunk into a pretty bad depression the last few years, and while she'd come around a bit recently, she was never quite the same.

"So…that's my story. What have you been doing?"

"I've been attempting to continue my studies without Cordelia messing up my spells," he returned with a roll of his eyes. "You can imagine how well that is going."

Selena chuckled with a mirthful smile as she sat on the ground next to him, beside the tree he seemed to enjoy. "You and your sister may have your differences now, as all siblings do, but I hope you both realize how lucky you are."

Cedric sighed. "We do. She gets on my very last nerve, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't care about the little nuisance."

She grinned. "Cedric…"

"But enough about me. Where are you volunteering if you are working with children?"

"I figured I would begin at the orphanage," she told him. "After all, that's where most children who need the sincerest of help will be, right?"

"I guess so… I'm not exactly a 'children' person. Children ask too many questions, in my opinion."

Selena laughed softly. "Oh, Cedric. You don't know what you're missing."

"Indeed, and I'm not keen on finding out." He smiled wryly at their topic of choice before leading her toward the entrance to the castle. "Anyway, Mummy and Father will be delighted to see you. It's been such a long time since we've had any visitors."

"I thought Cordelia's beau visited recently," she mentioned, blinking.

"Let me rephrase that: it's been such a long time since we've had any interesting visitors." He chuckled as she laughed.

"Oh, Cedric, you had better hope Cordelia doesn't hear you. You know that's all she writes to me about is the love she has for her sorcerer in shining robe." She giggled when he made a face.

"Wonderful. Cordelia has turned into a blithering sap before our very eyes, Selena. What a sad day in Enchancia." He waited as the guards opened the doors before allowing them inside.

The reunion went rather well. Both aunt and uncle were thrilled to see their niece, who was a great deal happier than the last time they'd seen her—for obvious reasons. They even were discussing getting her set up at the orphanage to allow her to work with the children. Selena and Cordelia got along quite well, though the former seemed a bit bored with all the talk of this ever-elusive beau of hers. However, she listened anyway.

Things began taking a rather strange turn one evening after the others had gone to bed. Selena had crept into her uncle's tower workshop and trifled through a few vials and bottles until she found what she needed.

She placed an armful onto the table and sat down, examining each one carefully. She pulled out a small tattered booklet with fading parchment from her pocket and smoothed it out onto the table as she read the directions.

Revive Potion

Two drops of dragon tears

The hair of the lost

Dust of lost time itself

Melted water from a glacier

Crushed feather of a wren

Piece of the lost one's clothing

Mix all ingredients together in the order seen above, waiting one minute between each. Upon completion, recite the name of the one you wish to revive and pour the potion onto a potted orchid, so that he or she may bloom again. Note: the potion only lasts for seven hours and if mishandled may come with a few problematic circumstances, including but not limited to–

Selena blinked and glanced toward the next page, only to see that the rest of the potion had been torn out. She tilted her head in curiosity but shrugged, figuring the 'problematic circumstances' couldn't be all that bad, considering it was one of the most useful and positive potions she had come across.

Sofia twirled a piece of her hair as she listened to Cedric's story. "I have a feeling something is about to go wrong…"

Cedric sighed and nodded. "Perceptive as always… Yes, let's just say that if you come across a potion that has an incomplete formula, it's usually for a good reason. Do not mess with unfinished potions, Sofia."

She giggled. "I know, Mr. Cedric… So what happened?"

Selena disregarded the torn page and slowly assembled her ingredients together. She'd held onto her sister's brush after she'd passed, and she carefully withdrew one solid dark strand from its bristles to add to the concoction. She then unfastened a locket from around her neck and opened it, revealing a picture of her sister on one side and a piece of rose-colored cloth on the other. Selena dropped the cloth into the potion and sighed.

Once the potion was completed, she made a move to pour it onto the orchid as instructed.

The door squeaked open, revealing Cedric standing there and look rather sleepy. He blinked at the sight before him. "Selena?"

"Cedric!" she gasped and dropped the potion, the clay bowl she'd used to create it shattering on the side of the potted plant, some shards slicing through her hand. The potion seeped into her robe instead of the plant. She whimpered at the slimy feel of it and groaned. "Oh, no…" She then noticed that her hand was wounded, so she grabbed a nearby cloth and wrapped it around her injury.

He frowned. "What are you doing this late in my father's workshop? He will—Selena, were you mixing a potion?" He rushed toward her and quickly gathered the remnants of the spill, moving them aside. "Oh, Father won't be happy about this mess. What were you doing anyway?"

Selena couldn't hold it in anymore. She began sobbing. She stumbled forward and landed haphazardly in her cousin's arms, holding him tightly.

Cedric was baffled by her behavior. Selena was normally so level-headed and not nearly as clingy as she was being right now. Not knowing necessarily how to respond to this situation, he hesitantly patted her back. "Um, there, there?"

The sorceress laughed through her tears and looked up at her younger cousin. "I am sorry, Cedric. I know how you are with these situations…and I'm just…slowly losing a sense of who I am anymore."

He frowned, leading her toward the stairs that led to the top window and sitting down with her. "What are you talking about? What is going on?"

"I miss her, Cedric. I thought coming here to work with children would help me heal, but it's not going to do any good. None of them will come close to reminding me of Lilliana. And I admit, I did think a Revive Potion would work, but I did not have access to—"

"Hold on: a Revive Potion? That's what you were making?" He jumped up quickly and turned toward her with a hard stare. "Selena, what were you thinking?"

"Cedric, I…"

"There's a reason that potion is forbidden from being made." He glanced at the table and walked toward it, lifting the forgotten and faded booklet and scanning over it. His eyes widened. "It's incomplete."

"I know…"

"Yet you were going to assemble it anyway?" He looked at her in shock. "Selena, you know as well as I do: if a spell or potion doesn't have a completed explanation, then there's probably a very good reason for it. And don't you know the stories of the Revive Potion?"

She frowned and folded her arms, wincing slightly at the reminder of her hand wound. "I don't care. I want my sister back. I've been everything to everyone: friend, advisor, counselor, daughter, and more. I'm no one's sister anymore, and call it selfish or whatever you may, but she's the only one in the world who fully understood me and accepted me for who I was, and without her, I feel incomplete."

Cedric watched as his cousin stood, her dark eyes now a glittering gold and one side of her jet black hair slowly becoming a striking silver color. He gasped in surprise at the transformation before realizing she still had the potion on her robe, which had evidently soaked through and onto her. And what of her wound on her hand? Oh, no. Oh, this couldn't be good. "Selena?"

Selena's lips twitched into a wry smile. "Siren, if you please."

"Who is Siren?" Sofia asked in interest, blinking.

"You know how people say everyone has a good and a bad side?" Cedric gestured vaguely when his apprentice nodded. "Well, Siren, in a way, was Selena's 'bad' side. Though I hesitate to call her 'bad,' because technically…mm, well, I'd say she was more misled and hurt than anything else. Selena never should have mixed that potion, and doing so led to her mishap of it pouring onto her instead of the orchid."

"What did the ripped page say, Mr. Cedric?"

"We're getting there, my dear." He smiled.

"Selena, are you in there?" Cedric asked in disbelief as he backed away from his cousin. Realizing she was not going to respond to his current inquiries, he gave in. "Siren?"

"Yes, dear cousin?" She hummed almost too happily as she stretched and grabbed her booklet back from him, pocketing it again.

"What have you done to yourself?"

She smiled thoughtfully. "It was an accident really, Cedric… But maybe this accident is one I can accept. Besides, I can feel her with me… My sister is here."

Cedric frowned at her words. "But that is impossible."

"Nothing is impossible with magic, silly cousin." She giggled before pausing, her voice changing in pitch to a much younger tone. "Selena?" She gasped, her voice returning to its normal tonality. "L-Lilliana?"

Cedric was beyond surprised to hear the voice of his younger cousin coming from Selena's body, but he had more pressing matters at the moment. He wielded his wand and aimed it at the girl before him.

Selena froze, realizing Cedric was ready to attack. Or was he? She glared at him. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Selena—"

"Siren!"

"…Selena, you're allowing a manifestation of your sister to overwhelm you, and by doing so and by producing this potion and using it incorrectly, you've opened up pathways you should never dare tread. Do you want to lose your way?"

Selena's eyes flashed back to their normal brown color. "I miss her, Cedric," she whispered. "It hurts so much living without her."

"I can understand that, Selena. I cannot fathom the pain you must be experiencing. Losing a family member is terrible, especially one so young." He lowered his wand a bit. "But no potion, no matter how strong, will ever be able to bring her back. No spells, no wishes, no curses, nothing will be able to replace the pure, original life Lilliana led. And trying to recreate that tarnishes who she was in a way. There has only ever been and can only ever be one Lilliana, and you must let her go."

The teenager before him closed her eyes and released a breath. Her hair changed back to its normal color. The wound on her hand healed itself. And she collapsed to the floor.

"Selena!" Cedric placed his wand back into his sleeve and knelt next to her, feeling for a pulse. He was relieved when he felt one and carefully stood to his feet, picking his cousin up and carrying her toward the door. "I must get help."

A few days passed before Selena finally came around. She awoke to see her aunt, uncle, and cousins lingering around her bedside.

"Oh, my dear girl, you gave us all a fright," Winifred told her with a relieved smile. "Are you feeling better?"

"I guess… What happened?"

"It's a long and complicated story," Goodwyn admitted. "However, I must impress upon you the importance of not creating and using potions without having fully read their purposes and side effects. That Revive Potion of yours is tricky. The fact that you wounded yourself before it spilled onto you opened something of a gateway to a corruptive second personality to form. It's complicated and quite frankly, frightening." He pulled out a tattered piece of parchment, one that matched the missing section of the girl's book. "I had that booklet before it was passed to you for your studies, and I knew how dangerous this potion could be. If mishandled or incorrectly created, the side effects could have included a severe change in personality, corruptive and destructive tendencies, and if powerful enough demise."

"…But if I'd made it correctly and poured it onto the orchid instead?" she asked curiously.

Goodwyn smiled and shook his head. "You'd see what you want to see, Selena. It would likely manifest itself into the image you were trying to obtain. And like the potion said, you would have seven hours with it. But be honest with yourself: would you be completely satisfied with only seven hours? Would it be sufficient enough for the rest of your life?"

Selena blinked before looking down. "…No… I wouldn't be able to let go. You're right, Uncle Goodwyn. I should have known better, really." She glanced up at Cedric. "And you were right too, Cedric. Nothing I try will ever bring Lilliana back. I should just…learn to move on."

The teen sorcerer stuttered a few times before laughing nervously. "W-Well… Yes, but still, you mustn't forget her, of course. She'll always live on…in your heart."

"Aw," Cordelia cooed somewhat sarcastically. "What a delightfully sappy thing to say."

"Shush, Cordelia," Winifred scolded. "Ceddy-kins is right."

The younger girl rolled her eyes. "Of course he is. He's always right."

Selena smiled toward her cousin. "Thank you for helping me…and for believing in me."

Cedric returned her smile. "You're welcome."

"So what happened after that?" Sofia wondered. "How did she get her title?"

"Remember that orphanage I told you about?" Cedric reminded her. "Well, she began working there soon after, and she gave it her all to do what she could for those children. She even adopted twin sisters and raised them as her own. She never married, for she never felt she could give as much attention to a husband as she did to the children. They were her world."

Sofia frowned. "I'm hearing a lot of past tense, Mr. Cedric…"

He shook his head. "Hear me out. Anyway, because she did everything for the good of the orphanage and its children, she earned her title of Selena the Selfless. She worked hard and loved even harder. And now, from what I hear, that still holds true today." He smiled as a relieved look passed over the princess's face. "Yes, Sofia, she survived a Cedric Story."

The girl laughed. "That's unusual."

"Mm. Selena and I haven't exactly kept in contact for the past several years, but from what I am told, her daughters, Chloё and Siobhán, have become very successful sorceresses in training and sometimes tutor students at Hexley Hall. Perhaps one day they will come for a visit. I've only met them once, and that was when they were much younger."

Sofia smiled. "Hmm. I'm glad one of your stories had a happy ending… But there's still one thing I'm confused about."

"And what might that be?" he asked as he stretched his hands toward the fire to warm them.

"What were you doing going into Mr. Goodwyn's workshop that night anyway? Especially since it wasn't yours yet."

Cedric gave her a dubious stare. "…I liked to sneak in there sometimes late at night to practice my spells, all right? Plus, I liked to daydream that one day I'd be in that workshop on my own, as a Royal Sorcerer."

She laughed. "I guess your dream came true then."

The sorcerer smiled thoughtfully as he looked up toward the sky. "Hmm, I suppose you're right."

The end