Cedric's journey

by Impactaddiction

This is a companion piece to FlappyJax's six part Cedfia story. Some events have been changed and it is told from Cedric's perspective. I would recommend reading the FlappyJax stories first.

This is a companion piece based on the six part story written by FlappyJax. I changed a few events around and the premise is from Cedric's point of view, which I thought would be really cool because Cedric is awesome! Anyway, Sofia is 18 and Cedric is 28 in this story. Enjoy!

DREAMS

It was the day before the wedding of King Zandar of Tangu to the lovely princess Amber. The entire castle was buzzing with excitement and all of the castle staff were frantically trying to get everything ready for the big day.

Cedric sat alone in his workshop, grateful to be hidden away from all of the noise and chaos in the castle. The only thing that he had to prepare for was a small magic show to entertain the wedding guests before the cake cutting ceremony. Performing for large crowds no longer made him nervous; in fact he much preferred it to the humiliating magic shows that he had been asked to perform for the children when they were younger.

"Thank heavens those days are over", Cedric thought. His raven Wormwood cawed softly from his perch above Cedric's workbench. Just as Cedric had picked up a vial of a purplish liquid, there was a loud knock on his door, which caused him to jump and subsequently break the vial.

Mr. Cedric?

"Come in Princess Sofia" Cedric replied in an irritated tone as he attempted to clean the purple liquid from his workbench.

His irritation was short-lived as the beautiful princess happily danced into the room, immediately filling it with sunlight. She was beaming from her excitement for the upcoming wedding and helping her sister prepare. She wore a simple pink gown that Cedric could not help but notice matched the blush of her cheek almost perfectly. The radiance of her blue eyes were matched only by the sparkling purple amulet that hung around her neck. The amulet of Avalor danced in front of Cedric's gaze in an almost taunting fashion. He had spent years trying to obtain it and yet his need to possess its power had lost its importance in the past couple of years.

It was common for the princess to frequent the confines of the sorcerer's workshop. Cedric would often teach Sofia some new spell or she would assist him with his potions and tidy up the place.

"I was just coming to see if you needed any help preparing spell for tomorrow?" Sofia was trying to hide her laughter at Cedric's feigned frustration at her presence.

"Actually, Princess I haven't fully decided which spell I am to perform, so your help is actually unnecessary", Cedric was attempting to be coy, but the princess was unscathed.

"Oh, well maybe I can help you choose one". Sofia smiled and approached the workbench with the sort of upbeat optimism that usually caused the sorcerer to roll his eyes.

"If you say so, I was thinking about showering the guests with golden sparkles as the cake was presented to the wedding party", Cedric pointed to a page in one of his spell books. Sofia couldn't help but notice that the particular page that he was showing her had a large amount of scorch marks on it. Setting the wedding guests on fire would more than likely cause Princess Amber to have a heart attack and send everyone to the infirmary.

"I'm not sure about the sparkles, but I like the idea of showering the guests with something pretty".

"I'll shower them with the cake" Cedric couldn't resist a smirk.

"Oh, that's much better" Sofia giggled.

Cedric set aside his spell book for the time being and turned his attention upon the smiling princess instead.

"Are you finished with all of your preparations? Cedric raised an eyebrow, trying to get his mind on something other than his upcoming magic show.

"Pretty much", replied the princess. "There isn't so much for me to do since Princess Hildegard is Amber's maid of honor".

"Does that upset you?"

"Not really, I'm not a big fan of the large parties that Hildegard and Amber like to throw, besides it gives me more time to spend with my favorite sorcerer". Sofia playfully leaned her head on Cedric's shoulder making his heart race a little bit.

He walked over to his potions cabinet and began searching for something.

"Is there anything else that I can assist you with Princess Sofia?"

"No, why?"

"Because whenever you start flattering me, it means that you want something" Cedric's mouth twitched, trying not to smile.

Sofia's eyes widened slightly, but she responded with an over-dramatic attempt at pretending to be hurt by his words.

"Fine, I guess that I will just leave you to your work. You'll never see me here again" Sofia held the back of her palm to her forehead that reminded Cedric of the many times that Princess Amber made the same gesture for one dramatic reason or another.

"Well, I wouldn't want to upset the princess the day before her sister's wedding. I suppose I'll just have to allow your visits for a while longer". Cedric did his best to match Sofia's dramatic tone. This caused the two of them to start laughing at the others ridiculous remarks.

In truth Cedric really looked forward to Sofia's visits. They were his favorite time of the day when he could sit and talk to her and teach her his spells. She was truly the only friend that he had besides Wormwood and their friendship gave him the courage to be a better sorcerer, and a better person.

There was another knock on the door.

"Come in" Cedric called through their laughter.

Bailywick walked into the room with his usual air of sophistication and bemusement.

"Princess Sofia, you are needed in the banquet hall".

Sofia calmed her expression and followed Bailywick to the door.

"I'll see you tomorrow Mr. Cedric, and don't worry, whatever you decide to do will sensational!" With that, she left the workshop.

Cedric couldn't help but smile at her words. She had always had faith in him; even when he truly was a bumbling fool with a wand. Even when he had a hard time believing it himself, she had always made him feel like he was "Cedric the sensational".

With that, he turned back to his potion cabinet and picked up another vial, this time filled with pink liquid. "Perfect" he thought as he swirled the vials contents in his hand.

The next day was simply a blur. The ceremony took place in the afternoon and the reception went on into the evening. Cedric found it hard to focus on anything around him. He was too preoccupied with his magic show to pay much attention to the wedding party. He did however catch a glimpse of Sofia as she made her way into the banquet hall arm in arm with Prince Desmond as he escorted her to the royal family's table.

She looked so beautiful in her golden satin bridesmaids dress that matched Amber's wedding décor.

When it was time for Cedric to make his grand entrance, he made himself appear in the middle of the banquet hall in a cloud of smoke and….no one seemed to notice. This was not the reception that Cedric was hoping for and it caused his nerves to well up in his stomach. He glanced around hoping for a sign that someone had noticed him. The only person in the room that was not immersed in conversation was, in fact, Princess Sofia. She had seemed to notice what was going on and graciously came to his rescue.

She tapped her champagne glass with her spoon and the tiny ring commanded the attention of the wedding guests.

"Thank you all for you attention" Sofia raised her glass. Now that Cedric was closer to her, he could truly appreciate her beauty this evening. She was no longer the little girl that was worried about her sorcery test. She had grown into a confident, poised, intelligent young lady that could effortlessly steal the hearts of everyone that she meets.

"Now we have a very special treat for you all. Let me introduce our very own royal sorcerer, Cedric the Sensational!"

Cedric could feel the color drain from his face. He cleared his throat in an effort to maintain his composer. Sofia gave him a smile with her usual air of confidence in him, which made him blush. He closed his eyes and held his wand into the air. He cleared his throat again and exclaimed "Mohit Flora," as pink flower petals erupted by the ceiling and began to float down, Cedric waved his wand again and the petals danced above the guests. The petals began to form hearts and other romantic symbols. The crowd gave their awes of approval, while Cedric concentrated hard on the petals. There was always the concern of the occasional mishap, which seemed to happen most when Cedric's nerves got the better of him.

Trumpets blasted to announce the arrival of the wedding cake and was Cedric's que for dismissal. He lowered his wand and attempted to leave the reception as unnoticed as when he had arrived. "Better to end things on top before I make a mistake", he thought.

Cedric walked through the castle that seemed completely deserted except for the occasional staff member that had had too much wine. Cedric was relieved to reach the dark and quiet of his workshop. The night, he thought, was at least a success on his part. He couldn't help but wish that he had at least had an opportunity to ask Sofia for one dance, but for now a successful magic show will have to do.

The next day, the castle was blissfully quiet. Amber and Zandar had left on their honeymoon, Prince James was escorting Princess Jun back to Wei-Ling and King Roland and Queen Miranda were spending time out of the country. Cedric, exhausted from the last week's activities, was still in bed.

Before he knew it he was awakened by the cawing of Wormwood from the corner of his room.

"What are you squawking about…Princess Sofia?!

Cedric's eyes snapped open and he sat straight up in his bed. Princess Sofia was standing, terrified, in his bedroom. Neither one of them could move for what seemed like an eternity. Until, Sofia broke the silence.

"Hi" she said, red faced as she gave him an awkward wave.

"Wh-What are you doing here?" he said. She started to glance down and he remembered that he wasn't wearing a shirt. He quickly covered himself with his blanket.

"I, well, uh," Sofia stammered. "I'll just be going". With that she turned and ran out of his room and up the stairs that lead to his workshop. He didn't move until he heard the workshop door close behind her.

"What just happened?" Cedric thought out loud. He looked to Wormwood who seemed pleased at himself for causing the Princess embarrassment. Cedric quickly got out of bed and put on his robe. The last thing that he needed was another member of the royal family to find him in his shorts. Still not fully awake, Cedric pondered what on earth would bring Sofia into his private chambers. His heart was racing and he was getting light-headed.

"She'll be back" he thought. It was unlike Princess Sofia to cause something of an uproar and ignore the problem for long. He should expect to see her in a few hours when she had come up with some grand idea to smooth the problem over. Despite the awkwardness of the situation, He couldn't help but smile at the fact that he knew the Princess so well.

Why though, had Sofia come into his personal chambers? She had never done such a thing before. Why didn't she just leave when she saw that he was asleep? How long had she been standing there anyway?

Cedric's mind was reeling with these questions, but he decided that it was best to just wait until Sofia had explained herself properly. There was no use in making wild assumptions about the Princess; not if he ever wanted her to continue her visits to the workshop.

Cedric climbed the stairs and started clambering in one of his cupboards for his tea kettle. Once he had t brewing, he began to aimlessly thumb through a few spell books. It wasn't long before he came across a spell that not only interested him, but may also entice Sofia to want to return to the sorcerer's workshop so that they could maintain their friendship.

"Let's see", Cedric read through the spell and saw that it required the use of two mirrors. They could not be magically obtained, so he had to think of where he could obtain them without anyone noticing. "I'm sure that there must be a few spares in the attic". Cedric quickly began to exit his workshop, when he ran face-to-face into Princess Sofia. She must have just arrived because her hand was still poised as if just about to knock on his workshop door.

"Princess, uh, Sofia," Cedric said taken aback.

"Mr. Cedric! I was just coming to see you."

You-you were?" he asked.

"Yeah, I wanted to apologize for earlier." She smiled and gestured to a basket that Cedric had only just noticed that she was carrying. "I had a picnic lunch made for us. I'm really sorry about earlier, I uh, shouldn't have just let myself in like that."

Cedric seemed to have lost track of time while he was studying that spell. He wasn't expecting a visit from Sofia so soon. Besides, he wanted to get those mirrors.

"Oh, uh it's alright. But, I don't really have time for a picnic," he said. She looked back at him and frowned.

"Oh, are you really sure? You've been working so hard, Mr. Cedric, I thought you could use a break."

Cedric glanced down at the basket and then into her shimmering blue eyes. He could tell that she had put some real thought into her gesture. He let out an exaggerated sigh and shrugged.

"Oh, all right. You would only find another reason to pester me. Besides I was on my way to get lunch anyway…" he trailed off and crossed his arms.

"Great!" Sofia grabbed his hand and led him back down the steps. The warmth of her touch made Cedric's chest tighten slightly. As they reached the bottom of the stairs, Sofia released her grasp and smiled at him.

"I thought we could eat in my secret garden" she beamed. Cedric, unable to vocalize anything more, simply shrugged his shoulders in agreement.

Sofia lead the way through the castle and out to the garden. Cedric remembered the first time that he had been dragged to this location, when Princess Sofia was throwing her first tea party at the castle. He was required to stand in place with a yellow ribbon tied around his head, unamused.

Suddenly, Sofia started laughing and Cedric couldn't help but wonder if she was reliving the same memory.

"What is so funny?" he demanded.

"Oh, nothing…" she said.

When they had reached the garden, Sofia began spreading out a blanket and preparing their lunch. Unsure of what to do in this situation and wishing that he could continue his work in the tower, Cedric fumbled with his wand until Sofia beckoned him to their picnic.

"Come sit down next to me," she said

"Alright…" he sat down and grabbed one of the sandwiches that Sofia had placed on the blanket.

"So, about earlier," Sofia started.

Caught off guard by her change of subject, Cedric choked on his sandwich. He coughed and sputtered so Sofia handed him a goblet of water.

"Are you alright?" Cedric drank some water and nodded. He was hoping to avoid the topic of the morning's events for a little longer, but supposed that they should just get it over with. He cleared his throat a few times and then said, "You were, um, saying?"

"Oh, right. Earlier, I wanted to tell you how great you were last night". She smiled up at him, cheeks slightly blushing.

Cedric shrugged and turned from her gaze. "I thought you'd like the flower show," he said.

"When are you going to teach me that spell? It was fantastic!"

Cedric felt a bit relieved that she would ask such a question. Whatever had happened this morning was at least not enough to keep her from spending time with him.

"I suppose I could teach it to you sometime…when I'm not busy." His mind went back to his spell book.

"That would be great," she said. Sofia reached into the basket and pulled out two slices of leftover wedding cake. "I thought you'd like some of the cake."

"Old cake?" he sneered at it. "Sounds great, but I really need to get back to work."

"Okay," she said, sounding defeated.

"Actually," he mused. "I could probably use some help, if you aren't terribly busy with your royal duties." He gave a little smirk in her direction. He wasn't one for such frilly things like picnics in the garden, but he knew that she couldn't resist an afternoon of helping him with spells.

"You want me to help you?" Sofia perked up at once.

"You have helped me plenty of times," he pointed out. "Besides, you would have come to see what I was working on anyway."

Sofia gathered the remnants of their picnic and followed Cedric out of the garden.

"True," Sofia smiled and nudged him as they walked. Cedric smiled down at her, but then cleared his throat and looked away.

When they had reached the castle, Sofia left to return her basket to the kitchens, while Cedric ran to the attic to fetch the mirrors. After he had gathered two large mirrors that were hidden in a corner of the attic stacked high with mirrors and portraits, he placed them to the side of his workbench so that they would be ready for his spell.

Sofia entered the workshop and immediately began assisting Cedric with whatever ingredients that he needed for the potion that he had brewing in the cauldron on his workbench.

"So what will the potion do?" she asked as she handed him a vial of griffin feathers.

His eyes lit up as he explained, "When I pour this potion on those two mirrors," he gestured to the ones he had gathered from the attic. "It will enchant them into portals that I can travel through. I go in one, and come out of the other." Cedric twirled his wand grinning at Sofia.

She was the only person that made him feel like a truly accomplished sorcerer.

"That sounds like it would be really handy," Sofia said, watching Cedric with a look of amazement and admiration.

"Hand me those matches," he said pointing to a small box on cabinet. She handed them over and seemed to linger for a second.

"What else can I do?" she asked.

"Hold on." Cedric lit one of the matches and started a small fire under the cauldron. He tossed the feathers into the concoction and took a step back, watching eagerly. The potion bubbled and started to smoke, then it turned from a dull grey to black.

"Is it supposed to do that?" Sofia asked.

"No…" He started to step towards the cauldron, but it began to bubble and hiss like a tea kettle. "Oh, Merlin's mushrooms!" Cedric quickly turned around and grabbed Sofia's arm. He pulled her down to the floor with him and he attempted to shield her from the explosion. Just as he had raised his arm to cover her, a hot black tar-like substance coated everything in the room.

Wormwood angrily cawed at the couple on the floor as he retreated to the balcony and out of harm's way.

"Are you alright Princess Sofia?" Cedric asked timidly from the floor. The air was still slightly smoky and some of the tar had gotten on his hands, causing them to burn.

"I think so," she winced at the small spatters that he hadn't protected her from.

Just as Cedric attempted to remove his robe that was now covered in tar, Sofia let out a painful cry.

"Oh, no!" she cried.

"What's wrong?" Cedric finally removed the robe and turned to face her.

"My amulet," she held it out for him to see. His eyes widened slightly. The magnificent purple jewel was covered in the sticky substance. "I can't get it off!"

"Don't worry Princess," Cedric grabbed a small bucket from under the bench and filled it with water. He waved his wand over it and the water turned a bright sparkling blue. He then attempted something that he had tried countless times over the years. "I'll, uh, you'll need to give me your amulet." He said the words slowly, and held out his hand.

Sofia frowned, and after a few moments of hesitation, she unclasped her amulet from her neck and handed it to the sorcerer's outstretched hand. Cedric held the amulet in his hand for a moment.

"I've got it," he thought." After all of these years, the amulet of Avalor is finally in my hand". He gazed down at the jewel and his brow furrowed. The only thing that he could see in the amulet's reflection was Sofia standing behind him, grasping at the spot on her chest where the amulet usually hung. After a moment's hesitation, he knew he couldn't do it. There was really no point anymore. He could not bear to hurt her. He could have the entire kingdom in his grasp, but it would mean nothing to him if he lost the only person in this world that meant so much to him. With that, he plunged the amulet into the water.

The amulet came out of the water as clean and radiant as it had been moments before the potion had exploded. Cedric held it out to Sofia with an almost pained expression that had little to do with the tar.

"T-t-take it." He stuttered, and looked away. Sofia grabbed it and clasped it back around her neck. Cedric covered his eyes and groaned.

"Are you okay, Mr. Cedric?" she asked.

"You should probably go…so I can clean this place up. "He spoke through his hands, still unable to look at her.

"Alright," she said slowly. Sofia reached over and grabbed his hand. Cedric looked at her, eyebrows raised. She leaned in and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you Mr. Cedric!" With that and a little wave of her hand, she left the workshop. Cedric touched his cheek where she had kissed him. "Totally worth it," he thought and waved back at her.

Cedric then turned to the task of cleaning up the mess, but he suddenly felt more light-hearted than he had a minute ago.

After the mess had been taken care of, Cedric spent the remainder of the day perfecting his transportation potion. After realizing that he accidently added the mote's moss twice on the first attempt, he finally created an exquisite potion.

"Now, I just need to pour a few drops on each of the mirrors, say the incantation and the mirrors should work," Cedric exclaimed to Wormwood who was resting on top of a book case just in case the potion exploded again.

"One...two…three," Cedric poured the potion on the mirrors' glass. The mirrors shimmered for a moment and then Cedric noticed that he could no longer see his own reflection in them. Instead, he could only see the workshop behind them.

"Well, let's give it a go Wormy." Cedric waved his wand over one of the mirrors and muttered the spell. The mirror's surface appeared to ripple for a moment and then Cedric was able to walk through it…right into the side of his workbench.

"Ow, ugh I must remember to put those in a more open area," he said massaging his knee. "At least they work. I have to show Sofia!"

With that Cedric picked up one of the mirrors and headed down the stairs towards Sofia's room. He was so excited to show the Princess that he had accomplished such a spell, that he had not realized how late in the evening it had become. Dinner had already been served and everyone was getting ready for bed.

Just as Cedric had reached Sofia's foyer to her bedroom, he stumbled and he and the mirror slammed into Sofia's bedroom door.

"Merlin's Mushrooms!"

"Cedric? Is that you?" Sofia asked as she peeked out of her door. She Gasped and opened the door wider as she saw him struggle with the heavy mirror.

"I finished the spell," Cedric muffled from behind the mirror. "I thought I could show you."

"That's great Mr. Cedric! Come on in."

Sofia didn't seem to mind that he was doing this just as she was getting ready for bed. She reached out and helped him carry the mirror inside and propped it against her bedroom wall. Cedric could tell that she was impressed. Instead of seeing the Princess' reflection in the mirror, all they could see was the inside of Cedric's workshop. Cedric was leaning on his knees trying to catch his breath and ignore the throbbing in his shoulder from running into the door.

"Well, you-"Cedric looked up at her and stopped. "You're wearing a nightgown. I'm so sorry Princess. I'll come back later!" Cedric straightened himself up and began reaching for the mirror again.

"No! It's okay. Show me the spell, I want to see how it works." Sofia placed her hand on his shoulder to keep him from pulling the mirror away.

"Oh, alright then." Cedric's voice cracked. He pulled out a wand and waved it at the mirror. The image started to ripple just as before.

"Now, if I step through, I'll be in my workshop." He demonstrated by walking into the image and then he turned back around to proudly smile at her. He started to ask her if she was impressed, but she only smiled and shook her head, pointing to her ears.

"Of course," He thought. She can't hear me through the mirror. Wormwood started squawking as if to laugh at the bumbling sorcerer. "Everyone's a critic," Cedric hissed at the bird before returning to Sofia through the mirror.

"There, you see. It works." He stood in front of her rocking back on his heels, quite pleased with himself.

"It's amazing! Can I try?" she asked.

"Oh, well I don't see why not." Cedric waved his wand again in front of the mirror. "Go on, step through."

Cedric watched as Princess Sophia walked gracefully through the mirror and stood amazed in his workshop. He realized that he had yet to show her how to work the spell and followed after her through the mirror.

"I just realized that you couldn't go back through without me." Cedric smirked.

"Without you? "Sofia repeated.

"You don't know the spell," Cedric held up his wand and tilted his head slightly. It was unlike Sofia to seem as absent-minded as he usually was. She seemed to be looking between him and the mirror, but didn't seem to be listening.

"Are you feeling alright Princess Sofia?"

Sofia was peering at the image of her bedroom through the mirror. She looked a little forlorn, which distressed Cedric. She would usually be dancing around and celebrating this wonderful display of magic, which she was always so fond of. Cedric grabbed her hand out of concerned, which immediately made his heart beat faster than usual.

Sofia turned to him looking very troubled. "What's wrong Sofia?" Cedric looked deeply concerned for her. Finally she blurted out "You said my name."

"Wh-What?" Cedric, now very confused, let go of her hand and raised his eyebrows at the Princess.

"This morning," She continued. "When you were sleeping, you said my name."

Cedric took a few steps back from the Princess. He was not expecting that. I racked his brain for a moment. Was he dreaming about her? He could barely remember which spells to cast much less what happened in the few hours of sleep that he managed to get at night. His face turned bright red none-the-less.

"Were you dreaming about me?" Sofia continued. This had obviously been bothering her all day. Cedric was so taken aback that he had forgotten how to form words. Finally, He managed to blurt out "I don't know!"

Sofia seemed frustrated at the lack of answers that she was getting from him. Cedric looked like he wanted to crawl under a rock and never come out.

"Why are you asking me this?" Cedric countered. "All I said was your name. We see each other every day. It doesn't mean anything!"

"I just thought…" Sofia trailed off, obviously hurt. Her eyes began to well up with tears. She turned away from him and began to walk back towards the mirror.

"I'm glad your spell works," She said softly.

This was not how Cedric was hoping the evening would turn out. If only she knew how much she meant to him. The thought that his words had caused her such pain was stabbing at his insides like hot knives. He walked over to her and grabbed her hand again. She turned to face him with tears streaming down her cheeks, getting lost in her long brown curls. He wiped the tears away.

Without giving it a second thought, without thinking at all, Cedric leaned over and kissed Sofia softly on the lips. In that moment, nothing else existed. Cedric could no longer see the contents of his messy workshop or hear Wormwood's objective cawing. All that he knew was her. Sofia gazed up at him with her beautiful sapphire eyes and smiled.

Cedric smiled down at her for what seemed like an eternity, before all fear and reality seemed to hit him all at once. Cedric stepped away from Sofia so fast that he actually fell backwards onto the floor.

"Pp-Princess Sofia, I am so s-sorry. Please forgive me I should never have…" Completely terrified Cedric looked at Sofia as though she were about to throw him in the dungeons at any moment. Seeing that he may have a heart attack should he not calm down, Sofia ran to his side trying to put him at ease.

"Cedric, calm down! It's okay…Cedric!" Whether she thought him too endearing to resist or whether it was to shut him up, he never knew, but at that moment Sofia grabbed ahold of the front of Cedric's robes and began kissing him.

When she had finally pulled away from him, Cedric clambered to his feet and tried to calmly assess the situation.

"We shouldn't be doing this," he muttered.

"Why?" Sofia said almost too matter-of-factly.

"B-Because, Sofia you are a Princess, I am your royal sorcerer and it is improper for us to be doing these things." Cedric looked up at her with fear and contemplation in his eyes.

"There is no rule that says who I am or am not allowed to marry…or court," she added quickly. "Besides, it's not like my mother was a royal when she married the King."

"The King!" Cedric looked pale. "Your parents will have me killed!"

"You don't know that Cedric." Sofia was trying not to laugh at his panic stricken expression.

"It's a good guess," Cedric replied. Sofia walked over to Cedric and wrapped her arms around his neck. He could no longer resist looking into her eyes again. There was a strange comfort in her arms that somehow put his mind at ease.

"I will talk to my parents. They will see what an amazing man you truly are and how good you are for me. I'll convince them, until then, we can keep this a secret if you like?"

"What makes you so sure that I am good enough for you?" Cedric was wondering that very thing himself.

"Because you're sensational." She smiled at him and kissed him once more.

They kissed and embraced each other until Sofia finally said "good night." Cedric showed her how to perform the mirror transport spell and gave her one of his spare wands. He advised that she move her mirror to her closet and cover it with a spare bedsheet. They agreed to spend the next afternoon together under the guise that he was teaching her magic. They gave each other one last embrace and Cedric watched as Sofia walked through the mirror and back into her bedroom.

Cedric moved his mirror from the workshop, down to his private quarters and covered it with a piece of black cloth. It had been a long day, but he had to admit that it had been the best day of his life thus far.

Secrets

The next morning, Cedric stood on the front steps of the castle with Sofia and Bailywick, ready to welcome back the King and Queen from their trip. It was hard for Cedric and Sofia to resist sneaking glances at one another. Bailywick seemed too concerned with his pocket watch to notice.

King Roland and Queen Miranda arrived in their winged coach, immediately followed by the greetings and questions about their trip from the trio. After the King and queen had embraced their daughter and greeted their staff, they left to unpack and get settled from their trip. Bailywick immediately began making lunch orders while Cedric tried to discretely signal to Sofia that he was heading to his workshop.

She seemed to catch his gaze and eagerly followed him through the castle to his workshop.

"Are you still sure this is all going to work?" Cedric said quietly.

"Of course!" Sofia replied, a bit louder.

Cedric shushed her and glanced around to see if anyone was watching them. She smiled up at him with a raised eyebrow.

"I was just making sure," he said.

"I'll see you right after lunch, "she told him.

"I'm looking forward to it," he smiled back at her.

"Cedric?" Bailywick called, causing Cedric to jump.

"Y-yes?" Cedric replied, taking a step away from the Princess.

"I hope that you are not pestering Princess Sofia, It's almost time for lunch." The steward glanced down at his watch again.

"Don't worry Bailywick, Mr. Cedric never pesters me; I'm too busy pestering him." Sofia answered with her usual charm that brought a smile to both Cedric and Bailywick as the steward turned and headed for the banquet hall.

"Do you think that he heard us talking?" Cedric whispered.

Sofia turned to him with a smirk. "Relax, it's not like we were planning our wedding or anything." Cedric shot her a look, making Sofia giggle. "I'll see you after lunch." With that she glanced around for onlookers and once the coast was clear, gave Cedric a kiss on the cheek, causing him to stumble backwards.

"Does she have to be so irritatingly charming?" Cedric thought as he headed up to his workshop to prepare for their afternoon visit. He wanted to do something for her, but what? Cedric noticed that whenever Prince James began courting a young maiden, he would typically bring them flowers. Of, course if Sofia walked through the castle with a bouquet of flowers in her hands, it may arouse questions.

"Perhaps something a little more magical." Cedric said to himself as he turned the pages in one of his spell books. Sofia had asked him to teach her that rose petal charm that he had performed at Amber's wedding. He thought maybe he could make a potion to give her instead. He carefully mixed the ingredients needed for the potion and just as he was ready to fill a glass vial full, there was a loud knock on the workshop door.

"Come in," Cedric groaned, at least grateful that he didn't drop the vial again. Sofia stepped into the room which immediately brought a smile to the sorcerer's face. "Oh, it's you," he said as he filled the vial with pink liquid.

"Who else would it be?" Sofia asked, glancing at the vial's contents.

"People are always knocking on my door for things, my dear Princess. Though none of them are quite so beautiful." Cedric turned to see the Princess' face turn bright pink.

"What's in the vial?" She pointed to the bottle in Cedric's hand.

"I made this for you," he said quietly, and handed her the little pink potion.

"Oooh, what does it do?" She asked, examining the vial's content closely.

"It's a small version of the petal spell. Just pour out the contents and rose petals will appear." Cedric fiddled with his wand as he said this.

"Oh, thank you so much. I love it." She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him. "But, are you just trying to get out of teaching me the spell?" She asked, smiling up at him playfully.

"Maybe at least for a little while." He leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. He loved the feeling of her arms around him. He had spent so much time feeling nervous for one reason or another over the past week, and the moments that he got to spend with her made him feel like he had no care in the world.

He pulled away from her and inquired, "Unless that's really what you want to do right now?"

"Not really," she said. Sofia let out a sigh. "So, I spoke to my parents."

Cedric could feel the color drain from his face. His chest suddenly felt tight. "You did?"

"Yes, I'm actually a little worried now…" she trailed off, pulling away from him. She walked over and placed her potion on a table next to the door. The thought that Sofia was worried about the situation only spurred Cedric's concerns about her parent's reactions. "You are?" he asked nervously. Cedric glanced around the room and noticed the portrait that his parents had given him to "keep an eye on him."

He grabbed Sofia by the hand and led her out of the portraits gaze and down the stairs to his bedroom. When they had arrived Cedric removed his sorcerer's robe and draped it over a chair. He then waved his wand to clear off a smell chaise that had quite a few spell books stacked on it. They both sat down and faced each other.

"When we sat down for lunch, James came in." Sofia started.

"He is back already?" Cedric asked. It was unlike James to spend anything less than a few days at a time with Princess Jun.

"Yes, because Princess Jun broke off their courtship." She bit her lip.

"That's unfortunate." Cedric didn't like where this was going.

"Well, then he told us why she did." Sofia looked troubled.

"I'm guessing this is where things get complicated." Cedric replied as he tucked a loose curl behind Sofia's ear.

"She left him to be with their royal sorcerer." She finally blurted out.

"Oh," he said stunned. What are the odds? Cedric's face became very sullen. "I'm guessing your parents had some…choice words to say about that?"

"Well, Dad did." She admitted. "But, that wasn't the worse part."

Cedric's heart suddenly felt very heavy. He could feel every hope that he had start to fly out of the window.

"I told you that this was a bad idea," Cedric stood up, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Cedric," she grabbed his hand. He did not want to let her go.

"I suppose we could just keep it a secret." He leaned against the armrest of the chair Sofia had been sitting in.

"You know that won't work; not forever." She reached over and fluffed his gray bangs out of his face. He grimaced at her, but didn't stop her either.

"What else did your father say?" Cedric continued, preparing for more bad news.

"He wanted to replace you as my magic teacher, but I told him no." Sofia added quickly seeing the fear in Cedric's face. He pulled away from her and began to nervously pace the room.

"Maybe we can show him how wrong he is about you?" Sofia continued. "Maybe there is some big display of power we can show him to prove how great you are."

Cedric stopped pacing but, turned to face the stone wall. "I could make the whole castle float in the air and he still wouldn't think I was good enough for you."

"Well," Sofia walked over to him. "I think that you are an amazing sorcerer," she said defiantly. "And I told him that. This isn't the dark ages, Cedric he can't just decide who I am to be with." Cedric seemed too upset to be listening to her fully.

"I cannot ask you to go against your father's wishes for me," he said softly, looking down at his feet.

Sofia held his face in her hands so that he could face her. "You don't have to. I will change their opinion of you." She gave him a peck on the tip of his nose and added, "whether they like it or not."

They spent the remainder of their afternoon together trying to come up with ways to tell her parents. They both agreed to wait a bit longer, since the news would no doubt hit a sore spot with Prince James. Then, Sofia would talk to her mother first.

She had been sitting on his lap while he read to her from an old magical history book when the workshop door opened. Sofia leapt up and looked at Cedric with wide eyes. Cedric felt panicked.

"Cedric, is Sofia with you?" It was Bailywick, sounding suspicious. They both knew how improper it would be for them to be seen down here alone together.

"No, no she went up to her room a while ago!" Cedric called up, leading Sofia to a small corner of the room where he kept his mirror hidden. He tugged the black cloth off of it and waved his wand so that Sofia could walk through. They exchanged one last kiss and she stepped through the mirror and into her closet. Cedric covered his mirror again with the cloth and ran up the stairs to deal with Bailywick.

"Cedric, what is going on? Why are you out of breath?" Bailywick held the rim of his glasses as he examined Cedric closely.

"I was just…" Cedric glanced around. "Looking for this potion!" He reached over and grabbed the vial that Sofia had left on the table. "I was wondering where that had got to. Thank you Bailywick, you've been most helpful." As he spoke he ushered Bailywick out of the workshop to the staircase. Before Bailywick could inquire any further, Cedric closed the workshop door.

After letting out a sigh of relief, Cedric placed the potion back on the table and glanced around his workshop again. His eyes fell on the portrait. At once, Cedric decided that he no longer felt the need to have his parent's gaze following him around the workshop; especially when Sofia was here. He pulled the portrait off of the wall and placed it behind the workbench.

Wormwood flew down from his perch to rest on Cedric's finger. "I guess things are finally turning around for us Wormy." Cedric stroked the raven's feathers. Wormwood let out a soft caw, but allowed his master to continue petting him.

It wasn't before long that there was another knock on the workshop door. Once again Bailywick's voice called out from behind it. "Cedric, the King has requested your presence in the banquet hall."

"The King?!" Cedric leapt up so fast that it caused Wormwood squawk as he flew back to his perch. Cedric opened the door to an annoyed Bailywick and followed the castle steward to the banquet hall. Nervously fidgeting with his wand as they walked. Did Bailywick hear them? Did they decide to replace him as Sofia's magic teacher? Dis King Roland want his head on a silver platter?

When Cedric and Bailywick had reached the banquet hall, Cedric could feel his heart beating somewhere near the base of his throat.

"Y-you summoned me, your majesty?" Cedric bowed at the king and glanced at Sofia cautiously.

"I did." King Rolland smiled at him and motioned to Sofia. "Sofia will be having a special guest tomorrow for breakfast. Since she is so fond of your magic tricks, I thought that you could entertain them with a magic show." The king smiled at Sofia, who awkwardly smiled at Cedric. Cedric, not knowing how to react, had a death grip on his wand.

"S-special guest?" Cedric's voice cracked as he started feel hot around his collar.

"Dad is trying to set Sofia up with the son of one of his old friends," Prince James interjected, rolling his eyes.

Suddenly, there was a loud "crack" as Cedric's grip caused his wand to break in half. Cedric looked down at his broken wand and said quietly, "of course, your majesty." He bowed at the royal family and then turned to leave the banquet hall, without looking at Sofia.

Cedric's head was reeling. "A Prince?" he thought. Did she know? Was she toying with him? No, she wouldn't do that. One thing is certain, it won't be long before they've set Sofia up with some irresistibly charming royal that will sweep her off of her feet and out of his life forever.

Maybe they could make a run for it, Cedric thought wildly as he walked back into his workshop. The king would search for them. Cedric thought for a moment. "Demetri!" he exclaimed.

Demetri was the leader of a gang of thieves that Cedric had once hired to help him steal the amulet from Sofia. Cedric walked down the stairs and back into his bedroom, pacing. It was getting late, Cedric started getting ready for bed when he was startled by a voice.

"Cedric?" Sofia said softly. He jumped and looked at her. He didn't even seem to remember that he wasn't wearing a shirt and rushed over to her.

"We could leave the kingdom, and-"he started to unveil his plan, but Sofia shushed him.

"He just wants me to meet the Prince, afterwards I'll just tell them both that I am not interested." She touched his cheek. He almost resented the fact that she was so calm.

"Oh? And what if you find him too handsome and charming?" Cedric accused, but he didn't pull away from her.

Sofia's lip twitched in a smile. "Don't you know by now, that handsome and charming just isn't my type?" she teased.

"Funny." He said, scowling at her.

"Don't worry Cedric, I find you very attractive. Cedric was suddenly aware of his lack of attire and a shirt over himself.

"James and Vivian were having a great time at dinner, so once this little introduction is over, I'll talk to my mother about us." Sofia said firmly.

"Are you sure that's wise?" he said, placing his hands gently on her hips. The thought that he could have lost her only made him want her more.

"No, but if my father is going to start setting me up on blind dates, we don't have much choice." Sofia traced a spot on his arm with her finger, making his grip on her tighten.

"I hate to say this, my dear, but you should go." Cedric said breathily

"Why?" she asked. Her gaze was intoxicating. He wanted to be lost in those eyes forever. Instead of answering her, he held her closely and kissed her. It was sincere and soft, so much so that he could tell that she was beginning to weaken. Sofia gently pulled away from him, knowing that she needed to leave before things escalated. She turned around and retrieved the potion that he had set out for her, and made her way back to the mirror. She turned to look at him and smiled before waving her wand and stepping through the mirror.

Cedric watched her for a moment before covering the mirror with the cloth again. It was difficult for him to get to sleep that night. His mind was so full of thoughts about Sofia, and what they were going to do about her parents, and what he was going to do about that prince. After a rather mischievous grin ran across his face, Cedric fell asleep.

Cedric woke the next morning, dressed in appropriate robes for entertaining guests, and headed down to the banquet hall. Just as he had reached the bottom of the stairs to the tower, he could hear unfamiliar voices coming from the hallway outside.

A young man wearing a bright blue jacket, with curly black hair was being ushered by a rather portly man that was fussing over him like he was a prized gem.

"Your highness, please behave yourself." The man pleaded.

"Oh, please Geoffrey of course I will. With my good looks and charm, I'll have Princess Sofia in the palm of my hand before breakfast is over," the Prince arrogantly exclaimed as he made his way to the banquet hall. Cedric then could hear Bailywick meet them.

"Excuse me your majesty, I am to inform you that your breakfast with Princess Sofia will be held in the gardens."

"Thank you sir," the Prince replied and Cedric listened as the footsteps died away before entering the hall.

"We'll just see about that!" Cedric snapped as he made his way to the side entrance to the gardens. He found the Prince and King Roland greeting one another by the swan fountain, where a small white table and chairs were set. Cedric stood behind a large topiary to the side of the garden, hidden from view. Within moments, Princess Sofia and Bailywick entered the garden.

Sofia was wearing a lovely black gown. He knew that she did this to revolt the Prince, or at least the thought made Cedric smile when he saw her. The king and Bailywick left the couple to their breakfast and Cedric listened carefully to what was being said between them.

The Prince introduced himself as Prince Maximus and held out Sofia's chair for her. His very presence made Cedric annoyed. Sofia twirled her fork and stared at her plate, seemingly unsure of what to say. Prince Maximus was staring at her, not touching his breakfast.

"Aren't you hungry?" Sofia asked, trying to make conversation.

"Not really," Maximus replied. "You're quite beautiful, you know. Though, I'm not sure that black is your color." He smirked across the table.

"Oh, um, thanks?" Sofia said, as she started looking around the garden.

"When we are married," Maximus continued, "I'll buy you plenty of colorful dresses to wear. Something that will brighten your pretty face."

Cedric glared at him through the topiary.

"Married?" Sofia squeaked. "Don't you think that's jumping ahead a little bit? I mean we only just met?" Sofia frowned.

He shrugged, "If you say so."

Cedric pointed his wand at Maximus. It was time to put a stop to "Prince Arrogant," he thought.

Just as Maximus picked up a glass of juice to drink, Cedric flicked his wand and the juice ran all over the front of the Prince's shirt. He gasped and attempted to dry his shirt with a napkin.

"Are you okay?" Sofia asked, trying to maintain her composure. Cedric quietly laughed to himself.

"Not really," Maximus sniffed. He picked up his chair and set it closer to hers, which only irritated Cedric further. "But, let's move on from that. Tell me about yourself," he said smugly.

"Oh, well I like sorcery a lot. And when I was in school, I raced in the flying derby, which was a ton of fun," Sofia politely smiled.

"That's not very lady-like, but," he leaned closer to her, "It's very intriguing." He started to put hi arm around her, causing Cedric to flick his wand again, making Maximus fall out of his chair and onto the table, bringing down their breakfast with him.

"Are you alright?" Sofia gasped, reaching to help him up.

"Not sure what's wrong with these chairs," he dusted himself off. Cedric, pleased with himself, watched as Sofia righted the fallen chair and placed it further from her own.

Prince Maximus shrugged, "I wasn't hungry anyway."

"I can ask to have more brought to us," Sofia offered, as she righted the table as well.

"No need." Prince Maximus took her hands in his and smirked at her. Sofia tried to pull away, but he held her tighter and stepped closer. Sofia stepped back again, and when Maximus stepped to follow her, he slipped and fell backwards, finally releasing her. Sofia covered her mouth to keep from laughing and finally caught a glimpse of Cedric chuckling and twirling his wand triumphantly.

Seeing that he had been caught, Cedric moved to join them. Sofia helped Prince Maximus stand, and upon seeing Cedric, he sighed.

"This is your royal sorcerer?" he asked, looking down his nose at Cedric. This made the sorcerer tense up.

"He happens to be the most talented sorcerer in the whole world," Sofia said, crossing her arms.

"I am known as Cedric the sensational," he said evenly. He waved his wand at the mess and it disappeared. The table and chairs were still there, but the chairs had been set much further apart.

"Now that the mess is taken care of, I've been asked to perform for you." Cedric set a bag of potions down on the table. Cedric tried to maintain an air of professionalism, but found it hard due to the haughtiness of the Prince beside him.

"Fine," Prince Maximus grabbed his chair and set it right next to Sofia's again. Cedric narrowed his eyes, but began digging through his bag.

"Princess, do you really like these parlor tricks?" Prince Maximus asked her.

Before she could reply, Cedric pulled out a potion. "I could turn one of you invisible," he offered cheerfully to Maximus.

"Pass," Prince Maximus made a show of yawning. Cedric dropped the potion back into the bag and went back to scowling. "I could turn you into a worm and then step on you!" Cedric thought angrily to himself. After a few moments, he held out his wand.

"Sofia, why don't we take a walk? Show me the gardens." Prince Maximus took her arm and led her past Cedric. Sofia frowned and Cedric was ready to break the Prince's arms.

"I can give you a quick tour, I guess." She replied. She looked back at Cedric, who was obviously not pleased with this decision. He watched from afar as Sofia pointed out the entrance to the hedge maze.

"Now that we are alone again," Prince Maximus said, putting his arm back around her.

"Stop it," Sofia said firmly, shrugging off his arm. "I should probably tell you that I am not interested in you like that." She stopped walking and crossed her arms. Cedric began muttering angrily as he watched the Prince waved away her rejection.

"Not interested in me? Prince Maximus laughed at her. "That hardly matters, when we get married we can combine all our lands."

"Well, it matters to me. Let me show you back to your carriage." Sofia turned on her heel and started walking back towards the fountain. Cedric ducked behind a hedge to avoid her gaze.

"Oh, please Princess, why are you being so coy?" Maximus grabbed her hand again, but wouldn't let it go when she pulled away.

"Let me go!" she shouted.

"You aren't even giving me a chance," he snapped at her. Sofia kicked the Prince in the shin, causing him to yelp and fall to the ground.

Sofia rubbed her wrist where he had grabbed her. She began storming back to the fountain, when the Prince grabbed her from behind, even harder than before. Sofia yelped.

"How dare you kick me?!" he growled at her.

Before Sofia could cry out or kick him again, Cedric ran from his hiding place and pointed his wand at the Prince. "Ignis Ardebit!" and a small flame erupted from his wand and ignited the Prince's damp vest. Maximus gasped and stepped back, trying to pat out the fire. Cedric was furious beyond recognition, he raised his wand again.

"Don't Cedric!" Sofia placed her hands on his chest to hold him back. He looked from her and back to the Prince, who had finally gotten the fire out.

"What is going on here?!" King Roland demanded. He was walking toward the trio with Bailywick at his side.

"He set me on fire!" Prince Maximus glared at Cedric, pointing his finger at him.

"And I'll be happy to do it again!" Cedric hissed as he raised his wand again.

"Cedric, what do you think you are doing?" Roland demanded.

"It's not his fault, Dad," Sofia began, but the Prince interrupted her.

"Your daughter assaulted me!"

"What?" Now King Roland was really confused. Bailywick gasped and pointed to the red mark on Sofia's arm. "Did he do that to you?" Bailywick lifted her arm gingerly and began to check her for anymore marks.

"Yes, he was saying some very rude things to me, and he kept grabbing and pawing at me, even after I told him to stop," she said. Cedric glared down at the Prince.

"You need to leave now!" King Roland demanded to Prince Maximus.

"My father will hear about this!" Prince Maximus stomped his foot and sauntered towards the stables, where his carriage would be.

"Yes, he will." King Roland confirmed, causing the Prince to flinch. Once he was out of sight, King Roland's shoulders fell, "I'm so sorry Sofia, I had no idea that he was so cruel." He looked back to Cedric, who was still fuming over the whole ordeal.

"Thank you Cedric, for protecting her." The King smiled at him.

Cedric's eyes widened, "y-you're welcome, your majesty." Cedric bowed.

"Do you need any tending for this Princess Sofia?" Bailywick asked, concerned.

"No thank you Bailywick, I'll be fine." Sofia rubbed her arm as she glanced at Cedric. "I kicked him harder than he grabbed me."

"That's my girl." King Roland smiled. "Cedric?" The sorcerer had been attempting to slink away and jerked when the King said his name.

"Yes?" Cedric cleared his throat. "Sire?"

"Can you see Sofia safely back inside? I want to be sure Prince Maximus leaves." With that King Roland began marching towards the stables. Bailywick followed, either to keep the King from throttling the Prince or to assist him in doing so.

"Thank you Cedric," Sofia beamed up at him. They were alone. Cedric started to smile at her, but then began to scowl.

"What were you thinking? Going off alone with that…that…"

"I thought it would make him leave faster," Sofia said. "And I know how you hate putting on little magic shows. Besides, it's a good thing you continued to spy on me." She arched her eyebrows.

"I wasn't spying, I was, watching…" He trailed off.

"Either way," Sofia continued, "I'm glad you were close by. He was a real buffoon." Sofia tucked her arm around his, making him blush and glance around nervously.

"Dad said to escort me," she pointed out.

"Not in so many words," Cedric replied.

"Close enough," Sofia began to lead Cedric back to the castle.

"I hated seeing you with him," he said quietly.

"Well, I'm with you now," she said hugging his arm. Cedric smiled down at her. Sofia smiled up at him and beamed "my hero." She then took the opportunity to sneak a quick kiss. Cedric was too preoccupied with scolding her afterwards, that he didn't notice the shadowed figure that was watching them.

They agreed that Sofia should go ahead and talk to Queen Miranda, so as to prevent any more uncomfortable situations like the one with Prince Maximus. Sofia asked the nearest maid, Charlotte, where Queen Miranda was. Charlotte said that she was likely in the banquet hall with Prince James.

"Do you want to come with me?" Sofia asked Cedric.

"Not really," he said. "But I will." He let her take his hand. Cedric was already feeling the panic rise up in him. He tried his best to stay calm for Sofia. He didn't want her to go through this alone. Besides, given that he had just proven that he would protect her, he may be in good graces with King Roland.

When they arrived at the banquet hall, Cedric let out a long sigh…it was empty.

"I wonder where they went." Sofia said, looking around.

Cedric let go of her hand to check the kitchens. He came across the inventor girl, Gwen, and inquired about the Queen.

"Oh, she's in the throne room with King Roland and Prince James. Oh, and they're with your father I believe. Goodwyn right?" she smiled at him.

Cedric's heart stopped. The kitchen suddenly came in and out of focus and there was a strange ringing in his ears.

"Y-yes that's right. Th-th-thank you." Cedric closed the door and walked back towards Sofia.

"They're in the throne room." He said weakly.

"Let's go," she said, turning to head that way.

"With my father," Cedric added in a low voice. Sofia stopped and turned to him.

"Why do you think Mr. Goodwyn is here?" Sofia asked, but Cedric only shrugged. He thought that he was going to faint.

"Well, then we can tell them all at the same time," Sofia smiled, trying to give him confidence. But, Cedric just shook his head.

"He won't like it," Cedric said simply.

"Why?"

"For the same reason why your parents won't like it. He won't think I'm good enough." He scowled.

"But, ever since we visited your parents at Mystic Meadows, he had seemed much less critical of you." She reasoned.

"Yes, well, this is a little different. Maybe we should wait a few more days…" Cedric rubbed his hands together nervously.

"Don't worry so much Cedric, I will all be okay." She started walking towards the throne room and Cedric timidly followed.

"I wanted to tell you," Cedric cleared his throat, trying to get his mind on something else. "That you look lovely in that dress, by the way." After a moment he added, "I probably won't have the chance after your parents throw me in the dungeon."

Sofia laughed, she couldn't help it.

"You're overreacting." She smiled at him.

"I hope so," Cedric said, biting his lip.

They finally reached the throne room, and everyone seemed to be there. Bailywick was standing close by looking shocked. The royal family was standing in the center of the room talking wildly with Goodwyn the great. When Sofia and Cedric entered, Goodwyn broke away from them and began marching towards Cedric, looking red and angry.

"How could you?!" Goodwyn yelled at Cedric as he reached over and grabbed the wand at Cedric's side. "I thought that you had put that nonsense behind you!"

"What are you talking about?" Cedric looked confused.

"Don't play dumb with me boy, you're still after her amulet!" Goodwyn accused.

"My amulet?" It was Sofia's turn to be confused.

"I saw you two outside," Goodwyn crossed his arms. "When Cedric moved

The enchanted portrait I gave him, I just knew something was wrong." He was speaking to the room now. "Princess Sofia, he is trying to steal your amulet. He has some delusion about using its power to take over the kingdom."

"What?" Sofia looked dumbfounded. "That's ridiculous!"

"Goodwyn says that Cedric has been after your amulet for years, Sofia." King Roland spoke firmly.

"That's not true." Sofia pleaded. She looked at Cedric, who was frozen in place. "That's not true, is it Cedric?"

Cedric had been staring wide-eyed at his father. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. His own father had just thrown him to the wolves. He broke his gaze to look at Sofia. She was almost begging him wither eyes to denounce the whole affair. To prove that he was a better person than everyone thought that he was. Cedric knew that there was no point in lying. He knew that King Roland would take the word of Goodwyn the great over Cedric the bumbling fool in a heartbeat.

Cedric looked down at his feet. "No, I am no longer trying to steal the Amulet of Avalor." He said defeated.

"So, you admit it? You admit that you were attempting to steal my daughter's amulet to take over the kingdom?" King Roland called, motioning to the guards behind him.

Cedric looked up at Sofia. He could see that her heart was breaking. He had spent so many years trying to betray her, and now he must pay for his crimes.

"It's true."

"No!" Sofia cried out. "He said that he wasn't trying to get it anymore!"

"Sofia," Queen Miranda said softly, trying to console her daughter.

"Guards, seize him!" King Roland commanded, pointing at Cedric, who was staring at the ground again. "Take that traitor to the dungeons until I decide what to do with him."

The guards began marching toward Cedric, who flinched.

"No! He wasn't after my amulet and I can prove it!" Sofia shouted. Everyone was looking at her now, even Cedric.

"How?" Goodwyn asked, skeptically.

Sofia lifted her chin defiantly. "The other day when I was in the workshop, I handed him my amulet, and he gave it right back to me!"

"You took off your amulet?" King Roland inquired.

"It was damaged with this black tar-like stuff. I gave it to Cedric so that he could clean it for me. He cleaned it off and handed it right back to me. He could have taken it, but he didn't!" Sofia finished.

"Is that true Cedric?" Goodwyn asked, turning to his son.

"It, it is." Cedric answered, looking at Sofia. He couldn't understand why she was still trying to help him.

"But he had still planned to take it, and try to overthrow me." King Roland glared at Cedric causing him to wince. "Guards, take him away!"

Cedric struggled for a moment as the guards grabbed his arms and began to drag him out of the throne room. Cedric looked at Sofia one last time.

"I'm sorry Princess Sofia," he said softly. Then he was gone.

The guards dragged Cedric down to the dungeons and threw him in an empty cell. They held him down and placed heavy chain shackles on each of his wrists. One of the guards agreed to stand watch, while the others returned to the throne room. Cedric kneeled on the cold stone floor of his cell. He saw now that this is where he had belonged all along. He never deserved to spend his days with the Princess that he had tried so often to steal from. The small barred window towards the ceiling of his ceiling of his cell, told him that it was getting late.

Cedric sat down and leaned against the cell wall. He could not escape the image of Sofia from his mind. She was standing there in front of her family, trying to convince them that he was not a monster, but she was wrong. He is a monster. Because only a monster could hurt someone that they cared about so deeply. Whatever King Roland decided would be done with him, he knew that he deserved it.

Choices

Night had fallen, and one of the guards, lit a few lamps in the dungeon. Shadows danced upon the floor, but were unnoticed by the cell's only occupant. Cedric sat in the shadows of his cell. He had been there for hours with nothing to keep him company except a castle guard that was not prone to having conversations with criminals in his custody, and Cedric's own thoughts about how he came to be here.

He could barely see the stars through the window above him. He imagined that Sofia was back in her bedroom smashing everything in his possession that reminded her of their time together, or else crying herself to sleep. Maybe both.

Yes, what he had planned to do was treacherous and unforgivable, but the greatest crime that Cedric had committed was breaking Sofia's heart and he knew that. It was this honest truth that would haunt him in this cell; however long he would be here.

There was a strange noise that caught Cedric's attention. It was coming from the window above him. He lifted his head just enough to see Wormwood perched upon the barred window. He seemed to be struggling to squeeze through the bars, but he had managed. He fluttered down to Cedric making as little noise as possible. At least not enough to arouse the attention of the guard. He had a small piece of paper tied to his leg.

Cedric gently untied the paper from the raven's leg and held it up to the dim light in his cell. It was a hastily written note from Sofia, telling him that she was coming down there to straighten everything out. Cedric let out a long sigh. He crumpled up the note and tucked it away in his robe. He wished that he could tell her not to come. He couldn't understand why she even wanted to see him again. He hated knowing that she would force him to break her heart again. To look her in the eye and deliver the painful truth.

He heard a small thump from the entrance of the dungeon. Wormwood began to peck at the shadows on the ground. "Oh Wormy, you shouldn't be here." Cedric reached down and smoothed the raven's feathers.

"Cedric," Sofia's voice rang out at the door of his cell. He could not see her, so he assumed that she has used one of his invisibility potions to get past the guards.

"Princess Sofia, you should not be here either." Cedric said flatly.

"Why?" her voice called to him.

"Why did I want to steal your amulet?" he asked, not really wanting to answer her.

"Yes," she answered.

"Because I am no good," he lowered his head into his arms and didn't say another word. The shackles on his hands clinked together softly.

"Tell me why," her voice rang out again. Her footsteps shuffled closer to the bars in his door.

Cedric could not bring himself to say anymore.

"Cedric!" she pleaded, "say something."

He remained silent, still unable to look at her.

"If you won't tell me why, then I'll tell you why," Sofia became furious at him. "You wanted power because you wanted to be respected. Because, your father, my father, everyone put you down. They never recognized your accomplishments, and I know how much that bothers you."

Cedric finally stood up and walked over to her. Her image was just coming into focus as the invisibility potion was wearing off. He wrapped his hands around the bars in the door, scowling at her.

"I am a villain, Princess Sofia. I can't even count the number of times I tried to trick you into handing over that amulet." His eyes were narrowed and he could tell that his expression frightened her a little.

"Well, let me tell you something else." She countered. "I see the man behind the villain that you are pretending to be, and I already handed the amulet over to you once, remember? You gave it back to me Cedric. Whoever you thought you were when you were planning on stealing my amulet is not the kind of person that would give it back to me."

Cedric looked away, shoulders slumped. Her words were tearing into him like knives. The fact that even now, she could see past the darkness and find the good in him.

"I forgive you, Cedric," she said, reaching out for his hands and unlocking the shackles with the keys from the now sleeping guard. The chains fell to the ground and Cedric absently rubbed the spots where they hung from his wrists.

"What are you doing?" he asked finally, not knowing what else he could say to her.

"What does it look like?" Sofia countered. "Here." She handed him another vial of invisibility potion. "We're leaving the kingdom. Do you want to stop at your workshop for anything?"

"We? Sofia, you shouldn't be doing this. I can't let you." Cedric placed his hand on her arm as she attempted to unlock the cell door.

"Try to stop me," She said. His lip twitched. He wished that time could stop for a moment so that he could tell her how sorry he was for all of this and how grateful he was for her kindness and mercy.

"Now come on. We don't have a lot of time." Sofia continued.

Sofia and Cedric made their way back to Cedric's workshop, being very cautious as they walked. Everyone seemed to be getting ready for bed, so the hallways were deserted. When they had reached the empty workshop, Cedric noticed that there was something different about Sofia's appearance.

"What happened to your amulet?" he asked, seeing that it no longer hung around her neck.

"I'm leaving it behind." Sofia replied carefully.

"Why?" Cedric asked, turning to gather supplies.

"Because it will show my parents that you are not after my amulet." She swallowed before adding "this time."

Cedric froze. Her words burned him, but he had that coming. He continued to add magical ingredients to his pack. "I should go alone." He said.

She started throwing some of his robes in the pack and responded, "I told you that I would make them approve of you, and this seems to be the only way. I can't make them listen to me, so I'll just have to show them." Her voice cracked.

"Sofia," he turned to her," I don't want you to give up your family and your amulet for me." He grabbed her by the waist and pulled her close to him. She placed her hands on his chest.

"I'll get them all back when their doubt in you, in us, is gone." She pointed out.

"What if they never accept us? Are you really sure that you want to leave all of this behind? And, after everything that I've done…" He wanted her to understand what she was getting into. This was not the life that she deserved. He wanted so much better for her.

"Yes, Cedric, I love you." She was blinking away tears. In that moment, every doubt that Cedric had about himself, about her parents' acceptance, about their lives together, melted away. Whatever happens from this point forward, they were in it together. They embraced each other and shared a passionate kiss. Cedric made himself a vow, that he would never hurt her again.

They used the invisibility potions, and left the castle without incident. Wormwood followed them, flying high and acting as a sort of look out. They traveled on foot, since it was the best way to keep out of sight. Cedric stopped as soon as they had reached the edge of the village.

"It might be best for us to go through the woods. If we head west, we should be in a neighboring kingdom by morning. We'll have to keep moving. King Roland will likely send the royal guard to search for us. They'll only find us if we stop for too long," he grabbed Sofia's hand and led her around the outskirts of the village.

They kept moving, until the sun started to rise. They were deep in the woods, and it was safe enough to stop for a rest.

"Where should we go first?" Sofia asked, looking up at him.

"I've been thinking," he replied. "There is a travelling band of thieves that we could probably meet up with."

He sat down next to a tree, realizing that in their haste, neither one of them had packed food. Sofia started to look uneasy.

"Thieves?" she asked.

"Yes, they're not so bad though. They abide by a lot of codes of honor." Cedric tried to put her at ease with the situation. He knew that the thought of a Princess traveling around with a bunch of thieves and a confessed traitor, was not how she wanted to spend their time together.

"How do you know about them?" she raised an eyebrow to him.

"I may have, sought out they're services once, long ago. They would most likely welcome a sorcerer into their group. If they didn't recognize you, I'll tell them that you're my apprentice." Cedric said carefully." I can use a locater spell!" He rummaged through his pack searching for a spell book. "We can use it to lead us right to them."

Sofia walked over to him and stopped him from searching through his bag any longer. She placed her hand on his chest and gently eased him back so that he was leaning against the tree again. She curled up next to him, leaning her head on his chest. Finally, feeling how tired he was, he held Sofia close to him. He swept the hair away from her face and kissed her forehead. She looked up at him and sat up beside him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and began toying with his hair.

They kissed slowly and sweetly at first, but then they became desperate. After some time, Sofia suddenly pulled away from him, eyes wide. Cedric was catching his breath. He looked at her as she seemed to want to say something, but kept stopping herself.

"I'm not going to pressure you," he said finally. Sofia smiled at him before she surveyed the woods around her.

"We should probably keep going, can you cast your locater spell?"

"Yes I can," he replied reaching for his pack again. "But, would you like to try it?" He asked and watched as Sofia grinned.

"Is there time to teach me?" she asked eagerly.

"It's a simple enough spell." He pulled out a book that he had grabbed at the last minute, and turned the pages until he found the spell. He showed her how to stand and helped her pronounce the words. When he was done, he stood back and let her attempt it. She messed up the first few times, but he encouraged her to keep trying. Finally, she succeeded and a tiny fluttering purple butterfly made of smoke appeared.

"Now, just tell it what you want to locate, and we'll follow it." Cedric smiled and looked at the butterfly. "That's funny. When I do it, it turns into a black raven."

"Really?" Sofia smiled, looking up at Wormwood, who was looking down at them from the trees.

"Tell it you want to find the thief Demetri. He'll be with his men," Cedric continued.

She did as he directed and the butterfly danced in a circle before flying towards the east. The walked until they couldn't walk anymore. The sun was already starting to set and they had nothing but water from a nearby stream. The small butterfly that was leading them, continued relentlessly, and when they stopped, it kept going.

"What are we going to do?" Sofia groaned, watching the butterfly disappear into the trees ahead of them.

"You can conjure another after we get some sleep," Cedric said slowly, yawning. He stumbled and fell, but then just sat down.

"I can't believe we've been through all these woods and haven't seen a single edible berry." Sofia sat down. Cedric remembered that Sofia had been an active member of the Buttercups.

"I wish I could conjure some, but I don't have what I need." Cedric crawled over to her slowly. "We should try to get some sleep. We can try to find food when we wake up." He yawned and lied down on the grass next to her. Sofia yawned and leaned back, resting next to him.

Cedric woke up suddenly when he heard a rustling noise coming from the woods around them. He opened his eyes and saw that Sofia had woken up too, she was reaching for his hand. It was dark, Cedric wondered how long they had been asleep.

There was another rustle and Cedric stood up. Sofia stood next to him, as Cedric took out his wand.

"We're not alone," he told her.

"That's very observant, Cedric." A voice in the darkness said. Behind some trees was a flicker of orange light and a man stepped out holding a small lantern. Cedric grabbed Sofia's hand, they were completely surrounded by hooded figures holding torches or lanterns.

Cedric relaxed, "So, you saw the butterfly?" he said, looking up at the man in front of him. He was tall and lean, his face was darkened by a brown goatee and weathered by exposure.

"Who are they?" Sofia asked, tightening her grip on Cedric's hand.

"You brought someone with you this time?" The man stepped closer.

"Let me introduce you, Demetri, this is-"Cedric started to speak, but Demetri cut him off with a wave of his hand.

"I know who she is." Demetri took Sofia's hand and kissed her politely on the wrist. He then looked up and smirked at Cedric, who crossed his arms in response, looking agitated. "It's an honor your majesty," Demetri continued.

Cedric was hoping that they somehow would not recognize her. Sofia curtsied to Demetri. "Pleased to meet you," she said.

"Yes, well we were wondering if you would be willing to let us travel with you for a time," Cedric said, carefully watching Demetri.

"Ah, yes, word has spread about your…situation," Demetri said simply. He was staring at Sofia which seemed to make her uncomfortable.

"That was fast." Cedric placed an arm around Sofia's waist.

"So will you let us travel with you, sir?" Sofia asked as she leaned against Cedric.

Demetri seemed amused at the notion of being called "sir."

"I don't know," Demetri said, trying not to smirk. "There are a lot of people out there searching for you two."

Cedric raised an eyebrow. "Aren't there a lot of people out there searching for you, as well?" he pointed out.

"Well, it has been a long time since we've had the company of such," Demetri reached out and took Sofia's hand to kiss again. "A lovely lady." Sofia laughed awkwardly.

"That's enough," Cedric pulled Sofia's hand away from Demetri's grip, glowering. Demetri grinned and winked at her. Sofia blushed and looked at her feet. Cedric was getting increasingly irritated.

"Well," Demetri stood straighter and laughed. "I bet you're both starving, follow me." Then he turned to the hooded figures that surrounded them, "good news men!" his voice boomed. "We've got a couple new traveling partners!" The men answered with a cheerful "huzzah!" Cedric placed his arm back around Sofia and they followed the men through the woods.

They followed Demetri and his men back to their camp. Wormwood kept his distance from the thieves, but followed them from the sky. Cedric stayed unusually close to Sofia. They reached the camp and were welcomed by a few more of Demetri's men and the smell of cooking meat.

Demetri stood in the middle of the camp and commanded everyone's attention. He then wedged himself between Cedric and Sofia and placed an arm around both of their shoulders. "Do you lot remember Cedric the sorcerer?" Demetri shouted. The men jeered and laughed, Demetri seemed to take that as a yes. Cedric grimaced, clearly unamused.

"And this lovely maiden is Princess Sofia." This announcement caused a lot of excitement. The men howled and whistled.

"I think just Sofia is sufficient, considering the circumstances," Sofia said nervously. The men raised their mugs and glasses, shouting an echo of her name.

"Just Sofia, then! Let's welcome them in proper outlaw style!" Demetri's words were greeted by more cheering. Finally, he released Cedric and Sofia from his grip. They were led to the fire and plates of food were thrust at them, along with goblets of wine. The men took turns introducing themselves as Cedric and Sofia gratefully devoured what was in front of them. The night was filled with food, wine and laughter. Cedric, tried to keep his wits about him, but even he managed to entertain with a few magic tricks, which the men enjoyed immensely.

Wormwood would even swoop down occasionally to take a few bites from Cedric's plate. This would cause a lot of laughter from the men who noticed this. Eventually, Sofia closed her eyes and leaned against Cedric, though he was unsure if she was really sleeping. Demetri sat down next to Cedric, nudging him slightly.

"Couldn't steal her amulet, so you settled for her heart eh?" he said before bursting into laughter.

Cedric sighed, "Something like that, I suppose," Cedric said quietly.

"How long do you think you two can elude capture? Word is, the King is furious and has the entire royal guard out searching for you." Demetri continued with a more serious tone. He poured more wine into his and Cedric's glasses. Cedric placed his arm around Sofia.

"I don't know. Sofia thinks that they will eventually change their minds…" he trailed off.

"You're wanted for kidnapping and treason mate. Not so sure that is going to happen." Demetri pointed out.

"So, they're saying I k-kidnapped her?" Cedric's voice cracked. He was steadily losing hope that King Roland would change his attitude towards him. He looked down at Sofia resting against him. How long would it be before the strain of being away from her family would be too much for her?

"Well, I knew when we saw you both sleeping on the ground, that that was clearly not the case." Demetri's voice was slightly slurred. He laughed easily and gave Cedric's shoulder a slight shake.

"Obviously" Cedric snapped.

"So? How long do you think you can stay on the run?" Demetri was unfazed.

"I don't know." Cedric was clearly annoyed. Sofia stirred and slipped off of his shoulder slightly. He caught her in his arm easily. She gasped and opened her eyes.

"Was I asleep?" she feigned.

Cedric's lip twitched as he looked at her. "Maybe."

"We should get some sleep," Demetri gave Cedric another hard pat on the shoulder and stood. "I had John set up a spare tent for you both. I assume you don't mind sharing?" Demetri asked.

Cedric felt his chest tighten. He looked down at Sofia, who had started to blush.

Demetri pointed to a small black tent and Cedric and Sofia went to check it out. Demetri had assured them that someone would be kept on watch so if anyone stumbled on the camp, they would know about it.

Cedric waited until they were safely inside the tent to groan, "This may have been a bad idea."

"Sharing a tent?" Sofia asked surprised.

"No, joining up with them." There were two small cots. Cedric sat on one.

"We don't have to stay, but it was nice to finally eat something and they seem like nice enough people." Sofia smiled and stretched.

"You weren't sleeping, were you?" Cedric accused. Sofia let out a sigh.

"How did you know?" she asked. Cedric gave her a look. They had spent enough time together for him to know when she was eavesdropping.

"Your parents think that I stole you away in the night." He said. The small tent was only lit by a small lantern. Sofia seemed to be amused by his words.

"It's not funny, Sofia. I'm not sure that your plan is going to work," he told her gently, taking off his robe.

"It will work, Cedric. I know it will. Maybe they haven't found the note yet." He looked confused. "I left them a note with my amulet, telling them that I loved you and that you weren't after my amulet."

Cedric was skeptical. He doubted that no one would notice the amulet of Avalor sitting on the bed of a Princess that the entire royal guard was searching the kingdom for.

"Maybe they didn't search my room very well." Sofia said twirling at a strand of her hair.

"You might have to go back…alone," Cedric said solemnly.

"Do you want me to go?" Sofia could not hide the hurt in her voice.

"No, but that is part of the problem." He held her hands in his. "I want you to stay with me, even if we can never go back. But, you don't deserve this Sofia." Cedric lay down on his cot, exhausted. Sofia walked over to him and knelt down beside his cot.

"You worry too much," she leaned over and sweetly kissed him. All of his concerns melted away as he drifted off to sleep.

Travels

Cedric and Sofia traveled with Demetri's group to Corinthia, where Demetri had one of his many hideouts. Corinthia seemed like a very ornate kingdom. Every building had gilded edges and there were a great amount of shops and cafés. The men broke off into a few smaller groups so that they wouldn't arouse suspicion. Cedric and Sofia stayed with Demetri and John and followed them through the winding alleyways to an inconspicuous looking door. Demetri walked through it first to make sure that the coast was clear, then he ushered the other three inside. The building must have been abandoned for quite some time, but Cedric thought, it beats sleeping in a tent.

Demetri directed Cedric and Sofia to a small room towards the back of the building. "Make yourselves comfortable," he smiled as he bowed out of the room. Cedric laid his pack down on a dusty cabinet by the door. Sofia was attempting to clean off the bed, which was covered with a fair amount of dust as well.

"I'll be right back,"Cedric said as he followed Demetri out of the room. A few more groups of the men were beginning to arrive at the hideout. Demetri commanded the attention of the new arrivals and all of the men gathered to hear what the leader had planned.

"Alright men, we have information that King Magnus is paying a visit to King Orwell (Clio's father) and he will no doubt be carrying his weight in gold." Demetri grinned. The men all seemed excited by this news. Cedric listened carefully. "So," Demetri continued," We will need to create a diversion as soon as his carriage reaches the main alley. Finney, that's where you and Jasper pull the old, beggar trick." The men nodded in agreeance. "Then, we need Cedric to pour his invisibility potion on Sofia and John-"Demetri added, but Cedric interrupted him.

"Not Sofia!" Cedric exclaimed. The other men were shocked that he had interrupted Demetri, even more so that he was denying him something. Many of them were suddenly preoccupied with their feet.

"I don't think you understand the gravity of the situation sorcerer." Demetri spoke evenly to Cedric, trying not to be offended.

"I will do anything you need, Demetri, but please leave Sofia out of this." Cedric said, trying to ease the tension in the room.

"We have a code Cedric," Demetri continued, patiently. "Everyone does their fair share and everyone reaps the benefits. If you and the girl are going to be traveling with us, you are expected to help."

"What do I need to do?" Sofia walked into the room. She seemed determined.

"After Cedric gives you and John the potion, you are to steal a small chest that Magnus keeps secured to the back of the carriage." Demetri instructed her, still looking at Cedric.

"When will King Magnus be arriving?" Sofia continued. Demetri addressed his men again.

"He is due to arrive before nightfall, so rest up, men, for tonight we work." Demetri finished as the men gave a cheer. He clapped a hand on Cedric's shoulder and gave him an understanding nod, then stood up to get settled.

Cedric walked over to Sofia and led her back into their room.

"What are you doing?" He scowled at her.

"Cedric, he's right. If we are going to be here, then we need to do our share." Sofia finished, looking as though she was trying to convince herself as much as him. Cedric placed his arms around her, holding her close.

"I just don't want you to get hurt," He said in a low voice. Sofia embraced him.

"Just promise me something," She looked up at him.

"Anything."

"We'll only steal when we have to. When we really need something." She implored him. He held her chin in his fingers.

"I promise, my dear." He said with all of the sincerity he could muster.

It was getting late in the day. Sofia was going over her role in the plan, while Cedric was lost in thought watching her pace the room. Anything could happen tonight. He may never get another chance.

"Sofia," he said finally, making her stop in her tracks. He walked over to her nervously, but he had to tell her, before it was too late. He held her hands and looked into her eyes.

"Just in case something goes wrong tonight-"Cedric began.

"Nothing will go wrong," Sofia told him, trying to encourage him.

"In case it does, and I never get the chance…" Cedric trailed off. Sofia looked up at him. Her gaze was making his heart race and he felt a tightness in his throat. "I want to tell you something. You see, I, well for a long time now… Which you probably already know." He cleared his throat. "But, maybe you didn't. What I mean is, before we go out there, I want you to know that I-"Cedric was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"It's time to go you two," Demetri called from the doorway. Sofia looked at Cedric and kissed him softly on his cheek. Then she walked towards the door. Cedric followed her. He knew she knew. He just couldn't get the words out. He only hoped that he wouldn't regret it.

As the sun was threatening to set, the group of men and Sofia left the hideout and made their way to the first main alley in the village. John kept an eye out for King Magnus's carriage and informed the group when it was a short distance from their vantage point. Finney and Jasper headed towards the carriage's path and Cedric gave one last hopeful look to Sofia before pouring the invisibility potion on her and John.

The carriage stopped just short of hitting the two men, who were acting as beggars, pleading for what little scraps the King could spare. Cedric hid from view, wanting to make sure that everything went accordingly. The carriage driver was shouting at the two men to move, as Cedric watched Sofia and John's footprints make their way to the back of the carriage, where a small gilded chest was tied, just as Demetri had said. As John and Sofia struggled to untie the ropes holding the chest, King Magnus flung open the door to the carriage and started climbing out to see what all the fuss was about.

On his way he tripped over what must have been John, because Cedric heard a yelp of pain that didn't come from the King.

"What is this?" King Magnus roared, getting ready to pummel who or whatever had tripped him. He edged closer and closer to where John's voice had cried. Cedric got his wand at the ready. Just then, a large rock seemed to fly out of nowhere and hit King Magnus on the head. The King fell to his knees in pain, giving the invisible duo enough time to get the chest and run. The two beggars absentmindedly slinked away during the commotion and Cedric left to find Sofia at the meeting place.

When everyone had reached the hideout undetected, the invisibility potion was wearing off of Sofia and John, who was telling Demetri what had happened and how Sofia had saved his life. Cedric walked over to Sofia, who was still holding the chest. She looked relieved to see him, but he could tell that she had been shaken up. Cedric grabbed the chest and then thrust it angrily into Demetri's hands.

"You are never sending her out there again!" Cedric fumed. Demetri held the chest and smiled politely down at Cedric.

"Look Cedric, your girl showed a lot of guts out there; a heck of a lot more than some of this lot have. As far as I'm concerned, she has proven herself. If she doesn't want to go, I am not going to make her." Demetri turned to the men. "Three cheers for our hero!" The men rang out "huzzah Sofia huzzah!"

Cedric turned to walk back to her. "Hold on their Cedric!" Cedric turned on his heel to face Demetri, who had pulled a small pouch out of the chest. "Your share," and he threw the pouch filled with coins to Cedric, who caught it and thanked Demetri.

Cedric walked back to Sofia and lead her back to their room, while the men began to celebrate. When they were safely inside, Cedric embraced her tightly. He could feel his heart in his throat and was trying to fight back tears.

"I am so sorry Sofia," he said quietly.

Sofia pulled away to look at him. "There is nothing to be sorry for Cedric. Everything is okay!"

"But it almost wasn't." He pointed out. "I love you Sofia, I don't ever want to lose you."

Sofia's mouth fell open slightly, then she smiled and embraced him. He wasn't nervous. He didn't stammer. He just held her. He loved her with everything that he had. He would do anything for her. He would die for her. He was glad that she finally knew how he felt, but it wasn't enough. He wanted the world to know that she was his and he belonged to her. He smiled to himself.

"I love you too, Cedric," she leaned in to kiss him. Their kisses were passionate and they held each other close for what felt like an eternity. Sofia reminded him that they could not let things escalate, especially with a band of rowdy thieves celebrating in the next room.

For the next year Cedric and Sofia traveled around the world with Demetri and his men. Every once in a while they would receive news of King Roland's search for the traitor who kidnapped the princess, causing the couple to worry about their chances to return to Enchancia. But, they never lost hope that one day they could return home.

The band had stopped in Tangu. Night had fallen and Sofia was running a quick errand in the marketplace so, Cedric was taking advantage of her absence to work on a project. He now had a trunk full of spell books and magical ingredients that he had acquired for one reason or another, while helping Demetri. He pulled out one of the books at the bottom of the trunk, and a small pouch hidden in an empty potion bottle.

He flipped through the pages in the spell book until he found what he was looking for. He opened the pouch and a small silver ring fell onto the bed. He picked up the ring and examined it for a moment. He waved his wand over it and said the incantation from the spell book. The ring glowed a magnificent blue and began to spin rapidly in the air. Cedric ducked for cover just in time for the ring to explode into a cloud of blue dust in the air. Cedric groaned. Another ring down. He would need to find a replacement tomorrow.

Cedric heard the men in the other room laughing and the grunts of frogs. He had taught Sofia how to turn people into frogs if ever any of the men gave her a hard time. He quickly threw the pouch and the spell book back in the trunk and picked up another random spell book and lay on the bed as if he had been reading the whole time.

"Did you steal that?" Sofia asked closing the door behind her.

"Yes," he told her honestly. He knew that she hated when he did that, but he couldn't lie to her. He didn't look at her, but remained focused on the spell book, trying to maintain his composure.

"Any new spells?" she asked.

"Not really, but it will be useful." He finally looked up at her just as she removed her robe. Under the deep grey robe she wore a simple dark purple dress he had bought for her. He was staring at her and she smiled.

"I can leave if you like. I would hate to interrupt your studies," she teased.

"What studies?" He tossed the book onto the floor and reached out for her. Sofia giggled and went to him, wrapping her arms around his neck. They kissed and laughed at themselves. Sofia lay on the bed next to him.

"I gave all of our money away to a poor boy I met in the alley." She told him.

"Why stop there?" Cedric feigned a scowl.

"I didn't, I've adopted him," she said playfully. "Congratulations Cedric, you're a father!" She laughed and Cedric's scowl turned into a smile.

"I think Demetri is giving me extra shares to compensate for your obsessive generosity," he said, rolling his eyes.

"Good," Sofia cuddled against him and sighed.

"Sofia?" he asked, rubbing small circles on her arm.

"Yes?" Sofia purred at him.

"Could you hand me back that book?" he smiled at her. She groaned and leaned over to toss it at him, laughing.

The next morning Demetri announced that they were moving out. Sofia wrestled the spell book away from Cedric and began to thumb through it, while Demetri gave the men instructions. Seeing that he wasn't needed, Cedric left to run a few errands. He donned a simple cap that Sofia had given him to keep his "eye-catching" hair concealed from view.

Cedric made his way through the Tangu marketplace, looking for a replacement ring. He finally came across a small booth where a woman was selling jewelry. He inquired about rings that could possess magic properties…without damaging them. The woman showed him a simple ring that was made out of the same kind of crystal that mystics use for fortune telling. He handed the woman a gold coin from his pouch and just as he was putting the ring in his pocket, he looked up to see Sofia walking towards him.

Cedric quickly walked towards her, ushering her away from the booth.

"Sofia! Is anything wrong?" he asked, draping an arm around her and laughing nervously.

"Why do you always asking me that?" she said, glancing backwards.

"I-I don't know." Cedric replied, trying to panic.

"What were you looking at?" Sofia asked curiously.

"Oh, nothing in particular, just killing time while I wait for Demetri to need me." He spoke quickly and then attempted to change the subject. "Did you see anything interesting?"

"I see something now!" she said alarmed. "We need to go!"

Cedric didn't argue. They turned and began to make their way back through the crowd in the marketplace.

"Did someone see me?" he hissed.

"No, me, at least I think," she said, pulling him quickly into a discreet alley. "It was the boy I gave money to last night. He was walking a large man straight at us!"

"This is bad." Cedric pulled a small mirror out of his robe and was using it to see around the corner. Sofia reached to take the mirror when a loud thump sounded next to them, causing them both to jump. The large man had found them. Cedric reached for his wand but the man raised a hand to stop him.

"Queen Amber wants to talk to you," he said to Sofia, "alone," he added pointedly to Cedric.

"I don't think so!" Cedric tried to push her behind him, but she stopped him.

"Cedric, it's alright. I have a feeling we're not going to outrun him, and casting magic will attract too much attention. Besides, you're not a guard are you?" she asked the man.

"No your highness, I am not," he confirmed.

"Tell her that I can meet her in the alley at the end of the shops after dark." Sofia instructed. The man gave a nod and left them.

"Good, you got rid of him." Cedric took her arm. "How did she know you were here?"

"How would I know?" Sofia replied. "But, she didn't send out her royal guard to track us down, and he wasn't that interested in you at all. That has to be a good sign."

"Or, she could be plotting to take you back to your family," he said slowly. "Alone," he added. Sofia shrugged.

"I have to find out, Cedric." She grabbed ahold of his shirt and buried her face into his chest. Cedric leaned against the wall and let her silently cry while they stood hidden in the shadows. He knew how much she missed her family.

"Then we'll go." He said after Sofia began to settle down.

"I'm supposed to go alone," she reminded him.

"I'll stay hidden, she won't see me." He insisted. Sofia nodded, realizing that it was pointless to argue with him. Cedric walked her back to the hideout, now concerned about the night's activities.

Sofia paced the room wildly. Everything was packed up and the men had left. They agreed to meet out on the road, but didn't want to be nearby in case Cedric and Sofia were taken into custody. Cedric was watching her, looking understandably tense himself.

"She wasn't there that day when everything happened, so maybe she doesn't have any of Dad's bias," Sofia thought out loud. "But then again, that means that she might have only heard the rumors." She kicked an empty bucket and sat down, exasperated.

"We won't know until you go see her." Cedric reminded her. "It's almost dark my love, not much longer now." He surveyed the empty space. It was earie. Except for himself and Sofia, there was no trace of anyone else ever being there.

"I miss them so much, Cedric," Sofia added quietly, burying her face in her knees.

"I know," he said, moving to sit beside her and comfort her.

"Why can't they admit they were wrong and take the price off your head?" She looked up at him, but he was staring at his feet. His arm was wrapped around her and pulling her close. He wished that he had time to finish her ring before they had to leave. They sat there for a moment before it was time to go.

When they were out in the street, they separated. Cedric stuck to the shadows, watching Sofia carefully. There was another young woman cloaked at the end of the alley, standing alone. Sofia approached her and there was little doubt of who it was. Blonde hair, well-coordinated outfit. It was Queen Amber alright.

"Oh, Sofia it's been such a long time," she cooed.

"I know, I missed you so much!" The sisters embraced one another before Sofia checked that Amber was indeed alone.

"I heard a rumor that you might be here, so I hired that man to find you. Don't worry," she grabbed Sofia's hands. "No one else knows."

"Thank you Amber." Sofia said, obviously relieved.

Cedric stood there listening as the sisters recounted everything that had happened over the past year. Amber recounted all of the rumors that were going around about them and how the King was still sure that Cedric had taken Sofia captive. Suddenly one topic of conversation got Cedric's attention.

"So did you both get married already?" Amber asked excitedly.

"Wh-what? No. I mean, no." Sofia looked surprised.

"I thought for sure you would have eloped," Amber pouted. "Well, I have a gift for you anyway." She handed Sofia a scrap of paper with an address on it. "You can write to me there, and I can write you back. Only you and I will ever know, because if Daddy ever finds out, he'll be relentless."

As the ladies continued talking about the family, Cedric deemed it safe to emerge from his hiding place, leading to an unexpected squeal and tight hug from Amber. He gave a panicked look to Sofia, which only made her giggle.

After a while they finally said their goodbyes. With rumors of Sofia and Cedric being in Tangu, it would seem suspicious if Amber was found missing as well. It wouldn't take long for the King and Queen to make the connections. Amber promised to try and smooth things over with them. Until then, Sofia could write to Amber and receive news of her family. Sofia and Cedric made their way to Demetri's meeting place. He could tell that Sofia was overjoyed.

"And then she said-"Sofia started, but Cedric stopped her.

"I was there for that."

"Oh, well did you hear what she said about-"

"I was listening the whole time, Sofia." Cedric chuckled and took her hand. "It's good to see you so happy."

"It's good to feel so happy," she paused. "Not that I haven't been happy. With you. I mean, I just really missed my family." Sofia squeezed his hand. Cedric smiled and shook his head.

"I always had a hard time believing your master plan, but maybe it will work after all, and we can return." He smiled, but felt a little sad. At least there was hope that Sofia would get to see her family again, but Cedric had no interest in mending things with his father.

"Do you ever think about getting in touch with your mom and dad?" Sofia asked. She had a knack for reading his mind. Her question made him tense up. His jaw tightened.

"Maybe just your mother?" Sofia continued nervously.

"Maybe," Cedric said tightly. He really didn't want to talk about it.

"Did Demetri tell you where we are heading next?" she asked, trying to change the subject.

"No, but it doesn't really matter." He shrugged. "Do you ever get tired of this?"

"Of what?" Sofia asked, somewhat alarmed.

"Moving every few days, sleeping in a tent or abandoned building, scraping by…"he trailed off.

"Well, sure, "she replied. "But we don't have a lot of options right now."

"I know, I was just thinking out loud, forget it." Cedric looked up at the moon as they walked in silence. In the distance, they could see the discreet campsite where they would be spending the night. Demetri had already set up their small tent, but now they were given one slightly larger cot to share. Cedric left Sofia at the tent, claiming that he needed to check up on something with Demetri.

When he had gone a great enough distance from the tent, he found a hidden location to work on his ring for Sofia. He pulled the crystal ring out of his pocket and held it in front of him. He looked up at the night sky and cleared his mind, then waved his wand and muttered the incantation. Once again, the ring rose into the air in front of him, but instead of spinning around, it glittered and sparkled and suddenly, Cedric was surrounded by stars. "Finally!" Cedric exclaimed. He picked up the ring and walked back to the tent, feeling excited and rather pleased with himself.

His feelings were depleted however, when he entered the tent and found Sofia laying on the cot, crying to herself. Cedric removed his robe and crawled in next to her and held her close.

"I'm sorry I've been crying so much lately," Sofia finally said, wiping away a few tears. He leaned up on his elbow and she rolled over on her back to look at the top of the tent. She reached for his wand, which he always kept nearby, and cast a small enchantment so that she could see the stars and moon through the top of the tent. He knew that she did this to relax.

"You don't have to apologize," he said finally. Sofia turned to look at him.

"I just, you're suffering too, and you are always the one comforting me," she smiled at him.

"You wouldn't be so upset if it wasn't for me." Cedric said. "Maybe if I had given up on stealing your amulet sooner, or kept my distance from you."

"I'm glad you didn't," Sofia replied. "When did you decide to stop trying to steal my amulet?" Sofia asked curiously.

"Probably when you handed it over that day," Cedric said thoughtfully.

"What?" Sofia leaned up. She was smiling, but he could tell she was shocked.

"I mean, I'm not sure when exactly. I think after a while it just became an excuse to spend time with you. Actually, I had mostly forgotten about getting it, until that day." He closed his eyes, and Sofia watched him anxiously." I just asked you to hand it over. It didn't even really occur to me what I had said until I said it. I tried so many times," he paused and started laughing." To get you to just hand it over to me, if only for a moment, and you never did. But then that day, you actually gave it to me, and for a moment I realized, I had done it! I had finally managed to get my hands on the amulet of Avalor. But I realized that I didn't want it anymore. I didn't want to take it, because I knew how it would hurt you."

"You scoundrel," Sofia rolled over and pinned him, grinning mischievously. Cedric blushed, gazing at her, but then he smirked and grabbed her arms.

"I would be if you'd let me be." He kissed her. "But you are sunshine and I can't hide in the shadows when you continually chase after me."

Sofia laughed at him. "You're ridiculous!"

Cedric leaned close to her and whispered in her ear.

"I am not ridiculous, but I am in love with you."

Cedric woke up early the next morning. The sun was barely visible through the canvas in the tent. He looked over at Sofia. He started thinking about their future together. He knew that they could not spend the rest of their lives on the run from King Roland. There had to be a way to set things right. Sofia stirred in her sleep. He could not get over how beautiful she was. She opened her eyes.

"I see you're awake," he said, making her startle.

"I am," she confirmed, rolling around to give him a kiss.

Cedric leaned up. "I had better see what there is to do around camp," he said hesitantly, pulling on his robe. He left Sofia to get dressed privately and stepped out of the tent to talk to Demetri. Just as he reached the middle of the camp, Demetri approached him looking worried.

"Glad to see you all fared well last night," Demetri said politely.

"Yes," Cedric yawned. "What can I do to help today?"

"There's been news from Enchancia," Demetri interrupted.

"What's wrong now?" Cedric asked slightly dismayed.

"It's under a curse." Demetri said flatly.

"What?" Cedric's eyes widened.

"We just got word this morning." He stared at Cedric for a moment. "What do you want to do?"

Cedric thought for a moment. He knew what would likely be causing the curse, and he knew what that would mean. Demetri seemed to read Cedric's expression and clapped a hand on his shoulder.

"You and your lady are welcome here anytime, my friend. I'll have John pack you some provisions. Good luck mate." Cedric thanked him for everything and then turned to give Sofia the news. He walked into the tent looking pale and grabbed her hands.

"Enchancia is under a curse," he blurted out.

"How?" Sofia asked, confused.

"How do you think?" he said slowly. He was biting his lip and watching her carefully.

"The amulet!" she gasped. "Are you sure?"

"Very," he gulped." The news is spreading like wildfire."

"Cedric, we need to go there. No one knows more about that amulet than us." Sofia sat down looking quite overwhelmed.

"I figured you would say that, grab your pack and let's start walking. It will take us a day or two to reach the castle." Sofia nodded and grabbed her pack. Cedric grabbed his as he gave a final glance to his trunk of spell books. There would be no way for them to bring it with them.

"Are you sure you want to go back?" Sofia asked, looking at him. "I can go alone."

"You know I won't let you go by yourself," Cedric replied firmly. "Who knows what we'll be faced with once we get there."

Sofia nodded, biting her lip. "Did you tell Demetri?"

"Yes, he says we are welcome back any time," he frowned and stepped out of the tent.

They started walking. Cedric conjured a locator spell to show them the way. It was a tiny black raven, reminiscent of Wormwood, who held back as he often did now. He didn't seem to like how close Cedric and Sofia had become.

"I wonder if Clover knows what happened to the amulet. He was the last one to see it that I know of. Of course, I won't be able to ask him," Sofia thought out loud.

"Whoever has your amulet will no doubt be easy to find. I wouldn't worry about that." Cedric said, concerned. "It's breaking the curse, we'll need to worry about."

"Is that what you were planning to do?" she asked.

"No," Cedric answered. "It can be broken up into a series of powerful magical ingredients that can be used to create very powerful spells." He hated admitting these things to her, but there was no point in hiding them anymore.

"So, then do you think someone tried to use the amulet for evil and it cursed the whole kingdom?" Sofia continued.

"Sounds like it," Cedric focused on the raven.

"Oh, I can't believe I left it out in the open like that!" She said angrily.

"It isn't your fault, if it wasn't for me, you wouldn't have had to give it up in the first place," he stated simply.

"It isn't yours either," Sofia countered. "We'll break the curse and set everything right. Then Dad will have to drop the charges on you." She grabbed his hand.

They walked until they had to stop to eat. This time, they had brought food, having learned their lesson from the last time. They pushed on again until night fall. This time they would be sleeping under the stars for real, and be close to the village. They could learn more news there in the morning, hopefully.

When they woke up Sofia groaned.

"I didn't miss this," she said honestly.

"And you thought the cot was uncomfortable," Cedric grumbled, handing her some bread.

"How much further to the village?" Sofia asked, biting into the bread.

"Not far at all," Cedric replied as he packed up the remainder of their provisions. "It's strange not worrying about being seen now," he said, looking out at the trees.

"Yeah, but also exciting. I wish we knew more about the curse." She said.

"Someone in the village might be able to tell us more." Cedric said.

"A lot of people have been after the amulet," Sofia continued. "Do you think it might have been one of them?"

"I'm not sure. If they knew about the amulet, they would have known how to avoid getting cursed." He shrugged. "We'll find out soon enough."

They reached the edge of the woods overlooking the village. The sight made Sofia gasp and Cedric's jaw dropped. The fields were dead and brown and the village looked completely abandoned. Shops and houses were boarded up, and there was not a soul in sight.

"What happened?" Sofia cried.

As they walked further, they could see the castle in the distance. It was resting in the shadow of a dark and menacing storm cloud that hung above it.

"The curse I expect," Cedric said coldly. He couldn't help but wonder if the kingdom would have had the same fate if he had stolen the amulet all those years ago. "The villagers must have sought refuge somewhere else." He took her hand and led her past the boarded shops and houses.

"This is horrible, Cedric." Sofia whimpered. Her hands were starting to shake.

"It is," he agreed simply.

"There it is." Sofia pointed to the pathway that led to the entrance of the castle. The dark cloud above them clashed with thunder and lightning, but no rain. Sofia started to walk, but Cedric stopped her.

"I want you to know, that no matter what happens, I love you." He looked hard at her. She sighed happily and smiled up at him.

"I love you too, no matter what." Another clash of thunder made them both jump, and they began walking the path towards the castle. Cedric retrieved his wand and held it at the ready, Sofia did the same.

Once inside the castle, the couple thought that it too had been abandoned. Sofia called out, and a voice rang back from the throne room. Cedric and Sofia ran inside, still clutching their wands. King Roland was sitting on his throne…alone. He looked aged and miserable. The amulet hung around his neck.

"Dad!" Sofia cried out as she ran to him.

"Sofia? Is that really you? You've come back?" The King looked like he hasn't slept since the night that Cedric and Sofia ran away.

"Of course I did! We heard about the curse," she said looking from his face to the amulet.

"Ah yes, the curse. I should have known it would be the only thing that would bring you home…" King Roland trailed off weakly.

"No, it wasn't Dad." Sofia said, her voice catching in her throat. She turned around to look at Cedric, who was still holding his wand.

Cursed

"What's going on Dad?" Sofia asked.

"It didn't happen all at once. When I found your amulet, I decided to hold on to it, until you returned. But, every day you were gone I became more and more angry and worried." King Roland looked directly at Cedric, causing the sorcerer to wince slightly. "It wasn't until a few months ago that I even noticed the changes around here. They just kept getting worse and worse."

"The amulet cursed you, because you did something wrong, Dad," Sofia told him, looking around for a sign of anyone else.

King Roland suddenly looked cross. "I haven't done anything wrong!" he said stubbornly.

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

"Of course I did, Sofia. But you're not thinking clearly." King Roland stood and called for Constable Miles.

Sofia looked back at Cedric, who seemed to be fidgeting with his wand. He was unsure if striking her father with magic, even in defense, would put him in good graces with Sofia. He tried thinking of an alternative.

"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 again. "If the amulet cursed you, then you did something wrong, Dad. If you want to restore the kingdom, you need to trust us. No one knows more about the amulet than Cedric and me."

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 murmured 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. The King stood and walked towards them. Cedric started to tense up.

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

"He loves me," Sofia said simply. "And I love him."

"He's bewitched you, Sofia!" King Roland was losing steam. He looked tired. Cedric had had enough.

"I have done no such thing, sire." He finally spoke up. King Roland took a step towards him.

"I don't believe you." The King snapped back at Cedric.

"Eclipso Fatto!" Cedric cried as he waved his wand at the King. The tiny clasp holding the amulet in place snapped open, and the amulet left the King and landed in Cedric's open palm. King Roland looked satisfied.

"Do you see Sofia?" She looked from her father to Cedric.

"Cedric?" she asked, confused.

"I had figured out a way to steal this amulet a long time ago, but by that time, it no longer held interest to me. I do not want the amulet, your highness." Cedric handed the amulet to Sofia, who was beaming. "I only want to be with your daughter."

There was no doubt in his mind. Sofia was the only thing in his life worth fighting for, and when he looked at her with so much love for him in her eyes, he knew that he had made the right choice. King Roland didn't look quite as pleased.

"Sofia?" Queen Miranda's voice called from the entrance to the throne room. Upon seeing her daughter, she ran inside with arms outstretched, holding Sofia in a tight embrace.

"I missed you so much, mom," Sofia said, still keeping an eye on her father and Cedric. The two were staring each other down. Queen Miranda decided to break it up.

"Roland, our daughter is back home. I think that it's time we let this thing go. It's obvious that Cedric hasn't been holding her against her will." Miranda said firmly. She placed a hand on her husband's shoulder. He seemed to be powerless against her reason.

"It would appear that he did not in fact kidnap her," King Roland agreed. His shoulders slumped and he looked defeated. "You can release the guards now Sofia."

Sofia waved her wand at the frozen men and they instantly came back to life, looking from Cedric to the King, confused. Prince James ran into the room. He had apparently been watching from the hall.

"Sofia! You're back!" He ran over to hug his sister. He then looked at Cedric and clapped him hard on the shoulder. Cedric wondered if he had developed a callous from all of the times Demetri had done that in the past year.

Sofia suggested that everyone sit in the banquet room to talk and the group followed suite.

"So I have to ask," Miranda started. "Did you two…?" She trailed off making Cedric uncomfortable.

"Get married?" she finished. Cedric let out a sigh of relief.

"No," Sofia answered. "Amber asked me the same thing."

"When did you see Amber?" James interjected.

"A couple of days ago." Sofia answered sweetly.

Sofia the told everyone about their travels. King Roland seemed displeased with hearing that they were with a band of thieves, but dismissed it when he learned how they had protected his daughter. Bailywick was called and asked to send a message to Queen Amber, informing her of her sister's return to the castle. Bailywick looked from Sofia to Cedric and for the first time since he's known him, Cedric saw that Bailywick was speechless.

"How did you get out of your room?" James asked Sofia. Cedric was relieved that they haven't found the mirror in her closet.

"Magic," Sofia replied honestly.

"How did you get out of the castle?" Queen Miranda inquired.

"Invisibility potion," Cedric answered this time. He was looking at his hands, which were resting on top of the table.

King Roland groaned slightly." Maybe you can explain what your intentions were with my daughter's amulet." He said firmly.

"I think I just wanted to be respected." Cedric said slowly. "And I thought I could get it with the power of the amulet. But…things…changed…" He trailed off. "Anyway, I have no intentions of stealing your daughter's amulet, or taking over the kingdom, as I have proved before. You have nothing to worry about from me, your majesty." Cedric looked at the King, who raised his eyebrows.

"I'm not so sure about that," King Roland continued. "However, I will remove the charges against you."

"And…" Queen Miranda added.

"And, you may resume your post a royal sorcerer." Roland finished, nodding to his wife. Cedric was shocked, but bowed graciously, thanking the King.

"That doesn't solve the situation of," King Roland pointed to Cedric and Sofia. "This," he finished.

Cedric cleared his throat and stood up. Everyone else at the table was taken aback by this, including Sofia. He pulled back her chair for her and took her hand to stand with him. She looked worried. Cedric, still holding her hand, got down on one knee and pulled the enchanted ring from his pocket. No one in the room made a sound.

"Princess Sofia?" He looked into her eyes. As far as he was concerned, they were the only people in that room. He felt her hand tremble in his. "Will you marry me?" He held up the tiny black ring.

"What?" Sofia said, causing his confidence to deflate. Her eyes widened. "No, no wait!" She stammered. Cedric's jaw dropped. He could feel his heart fall to the floor. "I mean, Yes!" Sofia clarified. "Yes, I will marry you!" she started laughing. She threw her arms around him. "I didn't understand at first, I'm so sorry. I meant yes!" she said "I'm just so surprised!" Sofia pulled away, preparing to kiss him, but thet were interrupted by Queen Miranda.

"Surprise is an understatement!" Miranda said excitedly. "I thought this might happen one day." She clasped her hands together.

"You did?" King Roland asked her, looking shocked.

"Amber is going to be so mad that she missed this," Prince James added shaking Cedric's hand before turning to Sofia. "When you do tell her about it, you should probably leave out the part where you said no." he laughed as he hugged his sister again. Cedric was beaming at her. She looked so happy, and he couldn't help but notice that her amulet started to glow and the storm outside began to cease.

After everyone had settled down, Queen Miranda suggested that everyone get some sleep. They could talk more in the morning. James gave Cedric's hand another shake and Queen Miranda, not being able to resist any longer, wrapped him in a tight hug. King Roland waited for his wife, and glared at Cedric before leaving the banquet hall. Sofia walked over to Cedric and held his hands. She gazed up at him and smiled.

"Don't worry my love, everything will be okay." She seemed so sure.

Cedric didn't want to think of King Roland anymore. He focused instead on the beautiful woman in front of him. She was his at last. For the past year he had cursed every moment that he had wasted trying to steal her amulet, but he had to admit that it was all worth it, just for this moment. He wasn't afraid anymore. He knew that together, they could do anything. She always had a gift for giving him that kind of confidence.

"Princess Sofia!"

Bailywick stood in the entrance to the banquet hall. Cedric and Sofia jumped.

"Pardon me ma'am, but I must insist that we get you out of those rags and ready for bed. Cedric, you will find that you have some clean robes waiting for you in your workshop," he finished curtly, raising an eyebrow at the two of them.

"Nice to see you too, Bailywick." Cedric replied, clearly annoyed.

Sofia gave Cedric one last understanding smile and then walked toward the door. She stopped and gave Bailywick a welcomed hug and he followed her down the hall to her room. Cedric turned and headed for his tower. He walked up the familiar staircase and retrieved the key from the gargoyles toe. The workshop was roughly the way that he left it. There were still a few things strewn about from his hurried packing the night that they left. There was a soft caw at the window.

"Wormy!" Cedric watched as the raven flew in from the window and came to rest on his perch about the workbench. "I'm glad to be home too, my friend. It's been a long day."

Cedric suddenly remembered something. He hadn't shown Sofia about the ring! He knew that he couldn't risk walking through the hallways with Bailywick on patrol. He ran down the stairs to his bedroom and pulled the black cloth off of the mirror that still sat propped up against the wall. He waved his wand and stepped through the glass, only to collide with something on the other side. Before he knew it, Cedric was falling to the floor, with trinkets in Sofia's closet falling around him.

The closet door opened and Sofia stood above him. Her mouth was twitching, trying to conceal her laughter.

"Hello, Sofia," he waved pathetically.

"What are you doing here?" she whispered, helping him to his feet.

"I wanted to show you something," Cedric whispered excitedly. He took her hand and held out his wand, waiving a small circle around the ring. There was a rush of air and then the entire surface of the closet was covered with the night sky.

"Oh, this is amazing!" Sofia turned around, watching the twinkling white lights that represented stars.

"In all the excitement, I forgot to show you. Do you like it?" Cedric asked waving his wand, making the stars vanish. "You can conjure it up anytime you like." Cedric showed her the spell and the two of them stood in silence.

"Things are different now, aren't they?" Cedric said quietly, but he smiled at her.

"It'll be so strange sleeping in that bed alone, after so many nights in a cramped cot, next to you." Sofia replied, smiling back.

"It will only be for a little while longer. Once we're married..." He pulled her close to him. Sofia put her hands on his chest. "But for now, I should go," Cedric finished, still looking down at her.

"Yeah," Sofia relied softly.

He leaned down and kissed her. She put her arms around his neck and he began to walk her backwards, until her back was against the wall. Cedric pulled away, looking down at her. He reached up and lovingly traced her jawline, then let his fingers trail down her neck, making her shudder. His heart was racing. Sofia placed one of her hands on his chest.

"I should go," he repeated. Sofia mumbled in agreement. One of his hands rested on the wall beside her head, the other was sliding down from her shoulder to her hand, which had rested over his heart. He gave her one final kiss before pushing off of the wall and walking back towards the mirror.

"I'll see you tomorrow, my dear," he smirked at her over his shoulder. After he returned to his room, he took one last look back at her. She was still smiling at him as she replaced the sheet over her mirror.

The next morning Cedric awoke to a rather disturbing site. He looked out of the balcony in his workshop and saw that everything was still dead. The storm clouds had disappeared but every plant and blade of grass was brown and shriveled as far as he could see. He turned to his workbench and picked up one of his old spell books. After finding the spell that he wanted, he returned to the balcony and conjured a few rain clouds, hoping that maybe that would help.

The clouds rained over the dried grass, but nothing seemed to be changing. There was a knock on the workshop door and Cedric announced that it was open. Sofia stepped inside and joined him on the balcony.

"Everything is still dead," she muttered, looking concerned.

Cedric nodded. "We need to figure out how to break this curse. I've tried some spells, but nothing has worked. The amulet is just too powerful," he added sadly.

"I thought that the amulet cursed Dad because he wasn't listening to us before, but he's listening to us now. The cloud is gone. It's just not enough." Sofia leaned her head on Cedric's shoulder, looking out at the destruction.

"I've read everything I have on the amulet and I haven't come across anything like this." His heart was heavy.

"What should we do?" Sofia sounded worried.

"I wish I knew my dear." Cedric sighed and put his arm around her.

Sofia was summoned to join her family for lunch and, to Cedric's surprise, he was asked to attend as well.

"Well, you're not just the royal sorcerer anymore," Bailywick told Cedric. "I suppose you'll be part of the family soon."

"Oh, right." Cedric said, blinking. He looked at Sofia who only smiled.

"Prince Cedric," she said, her face twitching from attempting not to laugh. Cedric went pale.

"That isn't how it works, Sofia. Don't ever call me that again." He covered his eyes and began to exit the workshop. Sofia laughed and skipped after him. She took hold of his arm and he escorted her down the staircase.

"That does seem strange, doesn't it," she continued.

Cedric groaned in agreement. "We still have that curse to worry about," he said solemnly.

"True," Sofia agreed. "Maybe talking to my father more will clear up some things. It took a long time for the curse to take effect, so maybe it takes longer to reverse."

"We both know that nothing to do with that amulet is that easy." Cedric said firmly.

Sofia sighed. "Maybe, just once, it could be."

Cedric chuckled, starting to relax.

"I wonder if you'll get a crown, once we're married," she teased, feigning curiosity.

"Must you?" Cedric winced, scowling at her.

"I'm sorry, it's just fun to watch you squirm." Sofia replied, quite pleased with her ability to rile him up.

"I like watching you squirm, as well," Cedric replied, keeping his voice low. Sofia started to blush and shot him a look. Then she covered her mouth and started to giggle.

They continued to tease each other until they reached the banquet hall. The rest of the royal family was there and they all looked up at the couple as they walked in. Queen Amber and King Zandar had arrived early this morning and Amber seemed giddy at seeing them together.

"Oh, how sweet!" Amber gushed, grabbing for Zandar's hand. He smiled at his wife and nudged Prince James with his elbow.

"Come, sit." Queen Miranda motioned for them both to take the two open seats. Cedric began to bow, but the Queen continued, "that isn't necessary, Cedric. Please relax." King Roland cleared his throat.

"So, did you discuss the dates?" Amber asked, eyeing Sofia curiously.

"Oh, no. Not really," Sofia replied.

"Dates?" Cedric asked, looking to Sofia for clarification.

"Actually, Amber, we want to take care of the curse, before we start planning." Sofia continued. Cedric still looked confused. "The wedding." She finished.

"Oh, well, yes. The, er wedding." Cedric cleared his throat. He could feel his face getting hot. James and Zandar shook their heads. "Yes, ending the curse should come first."

"Sofia!" Amber pouted. "How can you put poor Cedric's love on hold?"

"Uh, it's quite alright, Queen Amber. I don't mind." Cedric interjected.

"Of course you mind!" Amber told him. "Sofia he minds!" Zandar was trying to shush his wife, but she was having none of it.

"I just don't understand." King Roland exclaimed." Why hasn't the curse been lifted yet?" Amber momentarily dropped the argument.

"I'm not sure, Dad. I mean, I thought that it was caused before you didn't listen to us, but now you have, so, I don't know." Sofia said delicately. "Is there anything that you might have done that would be…curse-worthy?"

"I don't think so." Roland said tightly. Sofia frowned.

"Maybe it will just take some time," Cedric answered. He didn't really believe that, but he didn't want things to get heated again.

"Maybe. So, you're postponing the wedding until the kingdom is back to normal?" King Roland seemed to perk up slightly.

Sofia looked at Cedric, who nodded in agreement, keeping an eye on Amber. "Yes, we are," she answered.

"Oh, fine. It'll just give us more time to plan." Amber had found her silver lining. "And don't think that you can get out of letting me help you plan it, either," she raised an eyebrow at Sofia.

"I wouldn't dream of it, Amber." Sofia smiled at her sister. Some things never change.

Sofia and Cedric excused themselves after eating. They headed back to Cedric's workshop. He was raking brain, trying to think of something that he may have missed regarding the curse.

"I think I have a plan." Sofia said as they reached the workshop.

"You do?" Cedric asked, perking up. "Of course, you always do." He grinned at her, arching an eyebrow slightly. He sat down in a chair and watched her pace the room.

"I think I need to get Dad alone and just talk to him. Maybe that will help." Sofia said slowly. "But, I don't know what to say."

"Do you think he'll reveal something if it's just the two of you?" Cedric looked at her, worriedly.

She shook her head. "I don't know, but things are not the same between him and me and I think we should work that out." Sofia looked at her feet.

Cedric could tell that she was nervous. She was always the one calming him down, it was time that he encouraged her as well.

"He's your father Sofia, I'm sure that you can talk to him about anything. Maybe your conversation will bring something to light that we can use to break the curse." He smiled at her, reaching out for her hands.

"That's just what I needed to hear." She smiled at him and then turned to leave. Before she reached the door, she quickly turned back and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. Cedric smiled and began to rub the spot where she had kissed. She leaned up and whispered in his ear. "Thank you Prince Cedric."

Cedric pushed back in his chair and fell out of it, landing hard on the floor. The chair landed on its side and skidded across the floor.

"Stop saying that!" Cedric yelped angrily.

"Okay, okay." Sofia laughed." I'll let you know how it goes. "I'm going to try to talk to him now."

Cedric got up and righted the chair, nursing his arm. He went to the balcony and watched as Sofia walked from the castle towards the gardens. Thinking that she may need him in case things went south, he quickly followed her.

Just as Sofia was about to reach the swan fountain, he was met by Queen Miranda. "Cedric." She greeted cheerfully. "If you're looking for Sofia, she's speaking to Rolly at the moment."

"Oh, y-yes, um, thank you, your majesty." Cedric said, nervously. He turned to head back to his tower, but was stopped by a hand on his shoulder.

"I wanted to thank you for bringing Sofia back to us, Cedric, and for keeping her safe." Miranda spoke kindly to him.

Cedric turned to face her. "I assure you, my Queen, I would never have let any harm came to her."

"I knew you wouldn't, and I know that after all of this mess is sorted out, that you'll be a wonderful husband to Sofia," she smiled.

"Thank you, my Queen, I only wish that the King felt the same way." Cedric said in a slightly defeated tone.

"I'm sure that he does. He's just afraid." Miranda said with an understanding smile. Cedric was shocked. He had never known King Roland to be afraid of anything. Much less someone like…well, Cedric.

"Why would the King be afraid of…me?" Cedric asked her.

"He wasn't afraid of you, dear. He was just afraid of Sofia getting hurt. It's just a part of being a parent. You always want to know that your children are doing the right thing and when they're grown up, like Sofia, they start making decisions for themselves and that can be scary. No matter how old they get, you always want to keep your children safe."

Cedric considered her words for a moment. They made a lot of sense. Maybe they had just been looking at things the wrong way.

"I…understand, my Queen," Cedric replied. "I suppose that we all just misunderstood each other."

Just then, King Roland and Sofia walked up from the garden. Cedric and Miranda stood to meet them.

"Cedric." King Roland called out to the sorcerer. He walked up to Cedric and had a strange expression on his face. "Cedric, I may have-"He began, but Miranda cleared her throat. "Okay, I made a mistake in not trusting you. You have proven how much you truly care about Sofia and I should never have doubted you or her. It took a lot of guts, confronting me last night. From now on, you have my respect." King Roland held out his hand to Cedric.

Cedric looked down at the King's outstretch hand. All these years, he had waited to be respected by King Roland. He had always thought that he needed the amulet's power to make it happen, but that wasn't it at all. It was Sofia.

"Thank you, your highness," Cedric nervously took the King's hand and shook it. At that moment there was a wave that soured across the kingdom from the point where Roland and Cedric stood. Everywhere the magical wave passed, things came to life again. The plants, the river, the grass; it all became lush and green again. The curse was finally broken.

"You did it!" Sofia cried cheerfully.

"Oh, Rolly, I knew you could do it!" Miranda gushed at her husband and held him in a tight embrace. Sofia ran to Cedric and they held each other tight.

The rest of the family and the castle staff rushed out to see what had happened. The entire kingdom began to cry and cheer. Amber ran to the four by the fountain, in tears.

"Oh, Sofia this is so wonderful!" She held her sister's hands.

"Why Amber?" Sofia said, startled at her sister's reaction.

"Because now we can start planning your wedding!" Amber cried happily. Even Cedric couldn't help but

"You were right," she exclaimed.

"About what Sofia?" Miranda asked, her arm still around her husband.

"Everything is going to change." Sofia smiled happily.

"So it has, my dear," Cedric put his arm around her. He looked at King Roland, who smiled and gave him a nod. "So it has."

The Wedding.

The next morning, King Zandar informed everyone that he must return to Tangu to take care of an urgent matter. Amber decided to stay behind and help Sofia plan the wedding. Cedric had little trouble handing over all of the wedding planning to Sofia and Amber, while he retreated to the peace and quiet of the workshop. Upon arrival, he found a book on charms and spells for special occasions and enjoyed the solitude…which was short lived.

Cedric had decided to try a potion that would send lights floating in the air like fireflies. Just as he started gently pouring a few drops of dragon tears into the cauldron, Sofia unexpectedly barged into the room. Cedric jumped, causing him to drop the vial into the cauldron which quickly erupted. Sofia couldn't suppress her laughter when he turned around. His face was covered in black soot and his hair was standing on end.

"Hello, Sofia." He said a little annoyed.

She grabbed a clean cloth from a cabinet nearby and helped Cedric wipe the soot from his face.

"I hope that you're not hear to ask my opinion on napkin colors, because I assure you I don't have one," he said, smoothing his hair down again.

"No, I actually have something else to ask you." Sofia said tentatively.

"Oh?" Cedric dumped out the contents of the cauldron and attempted to start again.

"It's about the guest list," she blurted out. Cedric immediately grimaced.

"I don't want to talk about it," he said firmly.

"We have to talk about it Cedric, they're your parents." Sofia pointed out.

"Sofia, my father probably wouldn't come, even if I did ask him to," Cedric said. "Besides it would only cause my parents to fight. He shrugged his shoulders. We can just send them an announcement after it's over and done with."

"You can't mean that." Sofia said, frowning.

"I do mean it." Cedric scowled. "My father has always criticized everything I do. The last thing that I want is him leaning over my shoulder, telling me I'm saying the vows wrong!" He stopped what he was doing and turned to sit in a nearby chair, fumbling with his wand. He let out a sigh. "He didn't even talk to me after he saw us together that day. He just assumed that I was only trying to get your amulet again, not that I was actually in love with you." Cedric let out a cold chuckle. "That's probably what he'll think about this whole affair. It's all just an extravagant ploy to take over the kingdom." Cedric frowned and dropped his head.

"Maybe if we just talked to him, we can make him understand," Sofia replied gently. Cedric only shook his head.

"I don't need to talk to him, Sofia." He said finally. "Besides, he isn't exactly trying to get ahold of me either." Cedric returned to his work. "Maybe we'll just send my Mum an invitation," he said quietly, moving some ingredients around. "Or something," his voice had become melancholy.

Sofia walked over to him and wrapped his arms around him, resting her head on his shoulders. Her comfort was welcomed, be it wasn't enough to change his mind. She told Cedric that she was going back downstairs to work on the wedding plans with Amber and Cedric went back to work.

His mind was reeling with their conversation. Of course, he had always imagined that both of his parents would be there when he got married. He still thoroughly resented his father for all of the pain that he had caused. His mother, of course is innocent of the matter and shouldn't be punished for the crimes of her husband. But, he knew that this would cause a rift between them and that wouldn't help things either. Maybe, he thought, he was too hard on Sofia. After all, she was just trying to help. That was just like her.

Cedric left the workshop and walked downstairs to talk to her. He walked into the sitting room only to find that there was nobody there. He tried the throne room and the banquet hall, but still couldn't find them. Finally, he checked the kitchens as he had before, and found Bailywick and Queen Miranda deciding on table settings.

"Oh, excuse me your highness, I was looking for Sofia." Cedric inquired.

"Oh, she and Amber had to run an errand," Miranda replied politely.

"Errand?" Cedric was puzzled.

"They were heading to Mystic Meadows, to see your-"Bailywick began, but Cedric didn't stay long enough for him to finish.

In a rage, Cedric stormed out of the castle and headed towards the stables. "Excuse me!" Cedric called to the coachman.

"Oh, yes sir?" The coachman answered.

"Take me to Mystic Meadows if you don't mind." Cedric said firmly.

"Not at all sir, I just took Princess Sofia and Queen Amber there a moment ago." He said cheerily.

Cedric grunted and crossed his arms as the coach pulled away at flew towards the retirement community. He couldn't believe that she would go behind his back, Cedric fumed the entire trip. Upon arrival, Cedric asked the coachman to wait for their return and headed straight for his parent's cottage. Cedric could hear Sofia and his father arguing behind the door. No one seemed to even notice when he entered.

"I know that you and Cedric don't have the greatest relationship, Mr. Goodwyn and that makes things hard, but do you really want to miss his wedding?" Sofia was trying desperately to talk some sense into the old sorcerer.

"Of course not," Goodwyn started to say more, but stopped himself. Then he spoke in a lower voice. "He won't want to speak to me anyway…" He said finally.

"He's right about that, Sofia." Cedric finally made his presence known. Sofia jumped, obviously surprised to see him. Goodwyn was wide-eyed and sat awestruck in an armchair in front of Sofia." I can't believe you came here without telling me!" Cedric scowled at Sofia.

"Cedric?" A voice called from the kitchen. Before Cedric could respond, his mother had rushed him and wrapped her arms tightly around him. He relaxed slightly and hugged her back.

"Yes, I'm here," he said softly to her.

"Ceddy, what's this I hear about you not wanting us to come to your wedding?" Winnifred pulled back and scolded him, her hands on her hips.

"On the contrary, I would be more than happy if you would come," Cedric replied. "Just you," he added looking over his mother's shoulder to his father who seemed stung by his words.

"Cedric, if you had told me what was going on with you and the Princess, I wouldn't have had to go to the king." Goodwyn reasoned with him.

"Oh? When would you have liked me to discuss my love life with you, Father? When I was in the dungeon or when Sofia and I were on the run for a year?" Cedric replied, harshly. Goodwyn looked stunned at Cedric's words.

"I thought that the King would just send you back to me." Goodwyn explained.

"I was charged with treason, Father, he wasn't just going to fire me." Cedric continued.

"Tea?" Queen Amber floated around the room dispensing tea and offering a tray of cookies in an obvious attempt to break the tension. She was ignored by the two sorcerers and Sofia looked as though she had failed miserably.

"You have always assumed the worst about me," Cedric said. Sofia could hear the hurt in his voice.

"I don't assume the worst, Cedric. I expect the best." Goodwyn replied. "You were after that amulet for years. I couldn't just stand by and watch you make such a horrible mistake."

"Does she look like a mistake to you?" Cedric barked, pointing to Sofia. He could tell that she was touched by his words, but he was still too angry to notice much. Goodwyn looked from Sofia to Cedric and seemed to come to a conclusion and let out a sigh.

"You're right Cedric." Goodwyn said finally. "I can see that I was wrong and I should have spoken to you first and I am truly sorry." He looked back to Sofia. "To both of you."

"You're forgiven," Sofia beamed, clasping her hands together. Cedric glowered at her.

"Sofia, I need to talk to you…alone!" Cedric grabbed her hand and led her outside.

"Cedric, I-"

"How could you come here behind my back?" Cedric asked. "And then just forgive him like that? You realize that we could have spent the last year with your family at the castle, if it weren't for him? Don't you remember how badly you missed them?"

"I don't regret our time on the run, Cedric." Sofia responded, firmly. "I got a chance to see the world and to get to know you. It wasn't easy, but I wouldn't go back and change anything."

"I've made a lot of effort to be honest with you, Sofia." Cedric closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Ever since, well, before."

"I know that." She said softly. "But, I never lied to you."

"You came here without telling me," he said.

"Yes, because it was the only way. I know you act like you don't care about whether or not your parents are there at our wedding, Cedric, but I also know you and I know that if you didn't at least extend an invitation, you will regret it forever." Sofia gazed up at him.

Cedric let her words sink in for a moment. He also thought back to what Queen Miranda had said to him by the swan fountain. Knowing that he was clearly defeated.

"I just can't be mad at you. Not when you're trying so hard to do something so…" He thought it over for a minute and then smiled. "You."

"So, can you forgive your father?" Sofia asked, returning the smile.

"If you can, then I suppose I can as well." He shrugged.

They walked back inside. Amber was sitting between Goodwyn and Winnifred who were currently giving each other very serious stares.

"Oh, good you're back!" Amber stood and walked to stand beside her sister.

"Alright Father, I forgive you," Cedric said, stiffly. "And you're both invited to the wedding. The invitations will be out soon and-"

"Oh, Ceddy-kins!" Winnifred rushed over to embrace her son again and then hugged Sofia as well. "I can't wait!" She turned to Sofia. "I'm so glad you'll be my new daughter-in-law dear. You're so good for him!"

"I'm glad too, Mrs. Winnifred." Sofia said, trying to catch her breath. Cedric looked at his father. For the first time in what felt like a century, he looked genuinely proud of his son. Everyone said their goodbyes and Cedric followed the ladies to the waiting coach. Cedric had almost wished that he used a vanishing charm instead, because the entire trip back was filled with Amber's wedding suggestions.

Sofia had suggested to make stars the theme and thought that it would be nice to have the ceremony at sunset in the observatory. Cedric happily agreed to that idea. Once they had arrived back at the castle, Amber dragged Sofia back to the sitting room while Cedric bowed out and returned to his workshop.

It had been another exhausting morning, but he couldn't help but feel relieved. Sofia's plan actually worked. She had saved his life, gotten King Roland to accept them, and even mended things with his own father. She really is the best thing that has ever happened to him. Even though he had no interest in planning the wedding, he couldn't hide his excitement for his marriage.

That evening, Queen Amber regaled everyone with the wedding plans, while King Roland and Prince James did what they could to comfort Cedric. He was thankful for the support. Everyone went to bed a little early to prepare for all of the festivities the next day.

Cedric said good night to Wormwood and headed down the stairs of his workshop to his bedroom. He looked around at the room, cluttered with spell books, robes, and empty spare vials. He began to get undressed and get ready for bed, when he heard a small sound behind him. He turned to see Sofia standing in front of the enchanted mirror. Upon seeing him undressing, she had dropped her wand and it rolled across the floor.

"You really shouldn't be blushing so badly my dear, we'll be married soon." He told her.

She looked so beautiful. She was wearing a lovely purple gown with a black sash around her waist. Her hair fell in ringlets that framed her face. Her blue eyes enhanced by the pink blush of her cheeks. He walked over to her. He kissed her softly, running his fingers through her hair. She placed her hands on his chest and he pulled her closer to him. She closed her eyes and began to kiss him passionately and he started to gently pull at the ties to her dress. He had gotten used to her patiently stopping him from taking things too far, but for some reason, things were different now. He wanted to tell her that she was his her, that he would do anything for her. That he would die for her, but all that he could say was that he loved her as they made their way to the small bed in the corner.

The next morning, everyone was rushing around the castle, getting everything ready. Bailywick was instructing the staff on which decorations went in the observatory and which ones went in the banquet hall. Cedric was tearing his bedroom apart trying to find a pair of robes without stains or scorch marks. He was wondering if he had time to get a new pair made from the seamstress, but was hastily denied because the day would be spent working on Sofia's gown. Just as he had trudged back to his workshop in the hopes of mending one of his slightly less acceptable robes, there was a knock on his door.

"Cedric, are you down there?" Bailywick called from behind the door. Cedric, mumbled incoherently from under a pile of robes and Bailywick walked down the stairs.

"Cedric?" Bailywick examined the room, obviously disturbed by it.

"Yes, what is it now Bailywick? Cedric said, frustrated.

"I came to give you these." Bailywick handed Cedric a neatly folded stack of clothes that he had been carrying. Cedric accepted the stack, completely shocked. "What are these?" Cedric asked.

"These Cedric, are your robes for the wedding. I assumed that you might not have anything suitable for the occasion, so I had Madame Collette make these for you yesterday." Bailywick replied politely.

Cedric was taken aback by the steward's generosity. "Thank you Bailywick," he stammered.

"You're welcome Cedric." Bailywick bowed and turned to leave.

"Bailywick!" Cedric stopped him. Bailywick turned back to face him. Cedric set down the clothes and walked over to Bailywick. "I was, uh, wondering if you could help me with something."

Bailywick raised an eyebrow. He was obviously busy preparing for the wedding, but seeing the desperate look in the sorcerer's face, he smiled and nodded. "Of course, Cedric. What can I help you with?"

Cedric looked around at his bedroom and thought about the workshop upstairs. He knew that they were not exactly fit for a princess to live in.

"I want to do something for Sofia." Cedric then explained all of the ideas that he had to remodel his tower so that he could make a nice home for Sofia. Bailywick pleasantly smiled throughout Cedric's conversation.

"That sounds like an excellent idea Cedric. I'll bring the plans to King Rolland and we can start after you and Princess Sofia leave for your honeymoon." Bailywick replied pleasantly.

"Thank you Bailywick." Cedric bowed to the castle steward. Bailywick was obviously touched by this gesture and once again turned to leave.

Cedric then turned to examine the clothes that Bailywick had left. He looked up the stairs and saw that the sun was starting to get low. It was almost time to walk down the stairs and through the castle and up to the observatory. Cedric's heart started to race.

A few hours later, Cedric was standing in the observatory. He was wearing a fine regal-looking dress shirt and robe fit for a Prince. The observatory was decorated with brilliant purple and blue roses with tiny silver stars. His parents were dressed in impressive robes and his mother was already close to tears with excitement. Bailywick walked through the door to the observatory and signaled to the royal musicians to begin playing.

Bailywick then opened the doors and first Queen Miranda escorted by Prince James made their way down the aisle. Then, Queen Amber and King Zandar followed. After they had taken their placed on either side of the aisle, the musicians changed their tune to a different song. It was lovely and romantic. Cedric suddenly found it hard to breathe. Everyone stood and anxiously anticipated the bride's arrival.

There she was, being escorted by King Rolland who proudly walked his daughter down the aisle. She looked so amazing in her gown. It was delicate and regal, with a fine purple trim, that was just, her. She looked so happy. Cedric couldn't hold in his joy any longer. He knew there was a sappy smile on his face, but he didn't care. When they had reached the end of the aisle, King Roland gave Sofia's hand to Cedric and took his place next to his wife.

The ceremony went perfectly. The couple exchanged vows and rings, then finished with a sweet kiss. Everyone cheered for the couple and followed them to the banquet hall for the reception. The entire evening was a blur. After the excitement had died down, Cedric led Sofia to the gardens for some air. He was never one for large groups anyway. He loved the way that Sofia looked in the moonlight.

"How are you this evening, my dear?" Cedric gazed at his lovely wife.

Sofia smiled and kissed her husband softly on the cheek. "I couldn't be happier."

Cedric then, reached into the inside pocket of his robe and pulled out a vial of a golden looking liquid. Sofia raised an eyebrow. Cedric pulled the stopper out of the vial and the golden potion floated out of the vial and became tiny golden lights that floated above them. He then grabbed her hand and danced with her around the swan fountain.

"Oh, Cedric this is beautiful." Sofia smiled lovingly up at him.

"There is nothing on this earth, Sofia that is more beautiful than you." Cedric whispered in her ear. "And whether we are living in the finest palace in all of the kingdoms or sleeping in a cramped cot in the middle of the woods, I promise that I will always love you, Sofia."

"Remember, Cedric, a broken promise can never be sewn back together." Sofia teased, remembering the first time that they had met.

"How irritatingly charming." Cedric smiled and lovingly kissed his new bride, anxiously awaiting their new life together.

The End.