(( Author's Notes, please read: This fic is set after most of the events of my fic "The Heart is a Battlefield", but before Cedric leaves for Arendelle. It could also be a stand-alone fic, but if anyone's interested, that's where this fic is supposed to be set. ))
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Cedric, the Royal Sorcerer of Enchancia and soon to be Arendelle's Professor of Potions, was taking a contemplative stroll around the castle. He was barely even paying attention to where he was going, though, he was so deep in thought. He had just gotten done telling Princess Sofia not to wait for him while he was away, and that he wasn't good enough for her. He was relieved that she had apparently understood, but he knew he had still hurt her despite his best efforts not to, and that weighed heavily upon his conscience.
He was walking around some rose bushes and tall hedges, when he suddenly came across an odd gated door in the hedge-wall, which caused him to snap out of it and look up. There were multiple padlocks on the gate. How curiously tempting. Obviously he ought not to go in if it's locked, his good inner conscience chimed in, which was usually played by Goodwin when he was younger, but now more often than not, bore Sofia's voice and face instead.
But then his bad mommy dearest chimed in, 'Yes, but they're making it rather ridiculously obvious that something's back there, aren't they? Putting so MANY padlocks on it.' That was also very true, he had to agree. Why, if it had only one padlock or none at all, he might have just continued to pass by it. Maybe. But now he just had to see what was inside...
Naturally, a lock in want of a key is a simple matter for any sorcerer to fix, and after some basic magical tinkering, he had the door opened.
Heading in, he realized that it was a simple enough clearing, with the same assortment of plants as any other normal garden. The only thing that was different was that in the center of this secret garden, there was a well. The body of the well was the same as any other, but it had a strikingly unique face, one that Cedric recognized right away with a gasp.
"Merlin's beard! Is this-?! Can it be?!" Who would have guessed this infamously literal, and infamously vague wishing-well, of which was spoken of in several of his books but had no formal name, only several mentions of the Sun-Face that clearly adorned this well, had been hidden in Enchancia all along! Obviously not Cedric, or else he would have tried to exploit it long, long ago...
Suddenly that eerie face blinked at him, and to his shock, a monotone voice addressed him, the mouth flapping robotically as it spoke, "Give me your riches, and I'll grant you three wishes~"
It truly was that well, the very one! And that meant, he could have any three wishes he wanted, as long as he was very careful about how he worded them...
Of course, the first thought that popped into his mind was the most obvious, the wish he'd had the longest, even if he didn't wish for it anymore - To take over the kingdom. But he had grown and matured since those days, and so he quickly cast that thought aside.
He could save the wishes for later, but if anyone suspected it had been tampered with, the well might be destroyed. 'And besides', Sofia's disembodied voice sounded in his head, 'Perhaps it would be better to make all your wishes, so you won't be tempted to do anything foolish with them later?'
His rarely-endulged good nature went on to suggest that he should try to make wishes to benefit others instead of himself, just as he was sure Sofia would do, if she ever wished for something. But what to wish for...
He sat and thought about it for a while, then reached into his pocket to check for coins. He currently had four, so it was more than enough. "Alright, I'm ready to make my first wish." He informed the strange well, picking up a coin and dangling it over the mouth.
"Go on~" It urged him, interested to know what he would wish for.
Cedric took a deep breath. "I wish for an ornately designed, but otherwise NORMAL sorcerer's hat to appear on my parents doorstep, with a note that says, 'To Father, From Cedric.'"
He dropped the coin, and golden light shone up from the darkness of the well. The magical object then announced, "Your wish has been granted. You have two wishes remaining. Would you like to make another wish?"
He nodded, picking up the second coin and holding it up. "Yes. I wish that a brand new set of non-toxic magical herbs will also appear on my parent's doorstep, with a note that says, 'To Mother, From Cedric.'"
He dropped the coin, and the well again glowed with gold, and reminded him for the last time, "Your wish has been granted. You have one wish remaining. Would you like to make your final wish?"
Cedric waited a long moment before answering, fully gathering his thoughts and taking as much time as he needed. Finally he nodded, and picked up the third coin. Holding the metal disc firmly in between his fingers, he calmed himself completely before speaking, and used every ounce of his awareness to speak perfectly clear. "I wish that Princess Sofia, when she is completely ready, will marry a marvelous man. A man who will do anything to protect her and make her happy, and would never, ever hurt her. Who will cherish and appreciate her until the day he dies..."
Now shaking, he forced his fingertips to part, and let the coin fall. It fell into the well, and the glow blinded him for the third time. "Your final wish has been granted. You have no wishes remaining. Have a nice day~"
Sighing, and trusting that he had done the right thing, Cedric walked away from the well, leaving his fourth and final coin behind without a second thought to it. He locked the gate behind him too, and when he had finally gone, the well tutted after him, "What a shame~ He wasted his last wish! Princess Sofia would have done all that anyways, even if he hadn't wished for it... Oh well~"
Not long after the well said this, one last visitor came to call upon it that day. A older black raven, who picked up the last coin that had been left behind with it's beak, and flew over the well's mouth with the coin before dropping it.
The well asked the bird, "What do you wish for, Wormwood the Raven?"
Ravens don't blush, but Wormwood's feathers ruffled up a bit in some slight embarrassment. "Well, you see, hanging around with that silly sorcerer, I don't get the chance to meet other ravens very often, so, um... Oh - I wish to find a beautiful female raven to be my mate, who genuinely likes me, and doesn't mind that I'm dedicated to a bumbling sorcerer who is about to ship me off to a frozen tundra!"
A purple glow came up from the well this time, and then another raven, with beautiful purple-tinted feathers, appeared on the top of the hedge. She cawed flirtatiously down at Wormwood, "Well, hello~"
He quickly preened his feathers before flying over to her, "Well hello yourself~"
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