Guardian Sorcerer

Summary: In the process of returning home from an Ever Realm mission, Sofia and Minimus become stranded in the middle of a strange forest after he injures his wing. Faced with uncertain perils and dangers, her GuardoRing activates for the first time, thus alerting Cedric to her distress. However, there's more to the cryptic dangers than both realize. (Enthusiastically suggested by and requested by MarionetteJ2X)

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

A/N: Mm-kay, so Miss MarrionetteJ2X is on a roll with her suggestions! In fact, I want to profoundly thank her for the outline of this story, not to mention all the beautiful artwork she's done depicting scenes from my stories. They're amazing! Girl, if I ever write a children's book, I'm hiring you as the illustrator! Lol! Also, this story is definitely for those who wanted to see a darker side of things. Not everything is sunshine and rainbows, and Sofia knows that; but when faced with true danger, how will she react? I guess we'll see! Hope you all enjoy!

Note: This story contains references to my story "Dream Team." :)

*Story*

"I think I'm getting the hang of this whole Protector thing," Sofia gushed to Minimus, who was carrying her on his back as they flew through the air, on their way to Enchancia. "It was actually kind of neat helping the dragons out."

Recently, she'd been summoned to a rather familiar location: the Blazing Palisades. The dragons had needed help warding off a new territorial dragon named Sid Scales. It took a lot of reasoning (not to mention a comical yet exhausting medley of confrontational tunes between both sides), but eventually Sofia had managed to help both parties involved. The Blazing Palisades dragons even welcomed Sid Scales to stay, though he opted just to be a visitor. Problem solved.

"I kind of hope all our missions will be similar," she confided to the winged horse, who laughed nervously.

"Don't get your hopes up, Sofia," Minimus suggested with a shake of his head. "It would be a little too easy if that were the case. And they'd never have asked you to be a Protector for such simple tasks. Trust me, Sofia: there's more trouble out there than we realize."

The princess hummed thoughtfully as she gazed up at the darkened sky. "Hey, Minimus? I hate to be a nuisance, but can you fly a little faster? It looks like it's about to storm, and I'm hoping we can get home before then." Not to mention, she was already late for her lessons with Cedric, and she knew how her mentor felt about tardiness.

"I'll sure try." Aiming to please his friend, he pushed himself a bit harder, his wings flapping eagerly against the raging wind. "Ugh, I hate storms. They always come with this annoying wind."

"Be careful. I don't want you getting hurt." She held a little tighter to him, the rush of air stirring past them and throwing them off balance a bit. In fact, they were now spiraling through the air, Sofia clinging tightly to her friend as they were tossed about by the horrid wind. "Minimus!" she yelled in fear, her grip growing tighter around the reins.

"Ahh!" the horse yelped as his wing twisted in a highly uncomfortable direction, a sharp pain radiating throughout his body. "S-Sofia!"

"Minimus!"

They yelled together as the wind sent them plummeting to the earth below, though a quick yank on the reins caused Minimus to straighten up a bit and land somewhat safely on the ground. It didn't take them long to realize that they were in some sort of dark, ominous forest.

"Naturally," Sofia muttered under her breath before turning to her friend as he sucked in air, obviously in pain. "Oh, Minimus, are you all right?" She reached out toward him, only to have him turn slightly.

"It's my wing," he admitted as he attempted to lift it, finding it impossible at this point. "I think it's broken…" He sighed. "I guess we're not getting out of here any time soon… Sorry, Sofia."

She gently stroked his head before sighing. "It's not your fault. I'm sorry you got hurt…" She frowned. "I wonder if there's any way to heal your wing."

"Let's worry about that later," he suggested. "Right now, I'd like to know where we are. Looks like we're a long way from Enchancia." He looked toward her and gasped, causing her to blink at him. "Sofia, you have bruises all over you."

The girl looked at her arms, noticing tiny bruises here and there, even a few minor scratches. But the one that hurt the worst was on her forehead, and she winced as she touched it. "Ow…" She collected herself and put on a brave face for her friend. "I'll be fine, Minimus… You're hurt worse than I am. We need to figure out what to do."

A loud crack of thunder startled both of them, and they gazed skyward only to see the darkening clouds about to burst.

"We need to find shelter," Sofia told him as she took his reins and gently led him forward, careful not to touch his injured wing. She made a sound of dismay as the bottom of the sky fell out, producing a downpour neither was prepared for. "Oh, hurry, Minimus!"

It didn't take long for them to locate a small cave nearby. Sofia guided Minimus in first before scooting in after him, tucking her legs under her dress and rubbing her arms in an attempt to warm up and possibly slink away some of the water. She reached up and wrung out her sopping hair, watching as water poured onto the stone cave floor.

"Sofia," Minimus mumbled as he lowered next to her, striving to find any source of warmth as his teeth chattered. "I'm s-so cold…"

"I know, Minimus… I wish we could make a fire or something. Ugh, why didn't I bring my wand?" She urged him to move even closer to her, and she huddled next to him. "Don't worry, Minimus. I'll protect you."

He couldn't help chuckling at her choice of words. "Appropriate. I'm gonna… I'm just gonna take a little nap, okay?" He yawned and lowered to the cave floor, dismayed at the cold seeping through his hooves even though he knew there was little to do about it.

"Okay." She stroked his mane as the winged horse slept, though her mind was elsewhere while the storm roared outside. 'I hope someone knows we're out here,' she thought somewhat frantically, her heart racing as she realized the real danger they could be in. With Minimus injured, with no wand, with no food or water… She shut her eyes tightly, trying to will away the horrid images that were clouding her mind. "Breathe, Sofia," she told herself, though even when she did, it was a ragged mess. She was scared, though she hated to admit it. "Please…someone help us."

As Sofia's eyes stayed shut, the new GuardoRing nestled on her right hand started glowing lightly, its gradient purple and pink color illuminating the cave momentarily before fading away, though neither the princess nor the horse knew any different.

"Oh, where is she?" Cedric lamented with an exasperated sigh as he paced back and forth in his tower. "She's over an hour late, Wormy!"

"Maybe she has better things to do for a change," Wormwood remarked snidely, though he just snickered when his master threw him an annoyed look. "Relax, Cedric. She's probably just caught up with princess duties or family things. I think you're worrying about nothing."

The sorcerer frowned. He wasn't so sure about that. He glanced down at his wand clenched in his hand and gasped lightly when it started to glow brightly. But this was no ordinary glow; oh, no. This was a gradient glow, specially activated only when Sofia's GuardoRing reached out to him. His heart stopped and his eyes widened. "Sofia… She's in danger."

"How do you know?" the raven asked with his gaze focused now on the situation at hand.

"Just trust me, Wormy. Stay here; I'll be back." With that, he took off running through his door and down the spiral staircase, which only seemed much longer than usual due to the circumstances.

"That's another treaty approved, King Roland," Baileywick announced happily as he rolled up the scroll that the fair-haired king had just signed. "I feel especially good about this one."

"So do I," Roland remarked with a smirk. "They export jiggly wiggly pudding by the pound—and they've created new flavors!"

Miranda rolled her eyes from her position next to him. "Mature in your decision-making as always, Rollie."

"Your Majesties!"

Both the king and queen turned to the entrance to the throne room when they heard Cedric's desperate voice. They watched as the guards allowed him inside, the sorcerer panting from his quick run as he stood haggardly in his spot.

"Cedric, what's wrong?" Miranda asked, sensing the seriousness of his stance.

"I… It's Princess Sofia."

Roland frowned heavily. "What happened?"

"I don't know! It's just… Sh-She's over an hour late for our lessons, and that's not like her. I'm considerably worried for her safety." He wasn't entirely sure if he should let the family in on the GuardoRing yet, because…well, they were still learning to trust him again. While Sofia had gained her trust back pretty quickly, it took the others a bit longer in that respect. Therefore, some things he chose to keep secret.

"Come to think of it," the king muttered with a hand on his chin, "she never did come back from her 'short trip' she said she was taking earlier."

"Not to mention the fact that it's already storming outside," Miranda reminded him, concern etched on her face. "Roland, we have to find Sofia."

"I'll do it, Queen Miranda," Cedric volunteered, even though the king and queen looked like they wanted to object. "Don't worry. I'll find her and bring her back safely. I promise." With nothing more to be said, he turned and rushed out of the room, hoping against all hope that his apprentice was safe and he was just overreacting, though he had a horrible feeling that was far from the truth.

"I hope he finds her," the brunette murmured as she clasped her hands over her heart. "Sofia…"

Roland brushed his hand through her hair and smiled encouragingly as she gazed up at him. "If there's one thing I know about Cedric, despite everything, it's that he cares for Sofia. He'll never give up until he finds her, so even after everything else, I believe he'll do what he says he will."

Miranda nodded gently and looked away. 'Please be okay, Sofia…'

Cedric used his wand to produce a raincoat to protect him from the pounding storm. He stared at his wand, which was glowing dimly right now. The method he'd created for the GuardoRing entailed the following: his wand and her ring were connected; if she faced danger, the ring would activate his wand. A faint glow meant he was farther away from her. The closer he grew to her, the brighter his wand would glow.

"Glow brighter, for Merlin's sake," he snapped at the silent wand as he carried on walking, fighting the storm as best as he could. It didn't take long for his wand to respond and start glowing just a bit brighter, indicating he was going in the right direction. A determined frown set itself on his features. "I'm coming, Sofia."

"I'm hungry," Sofia declared softly as she and Minimus sat awake about an hour later. As if on cue, her stomach responded with a pitiful whine. She blushed and put her hand to it as if to silence it.

"Me, too," Minimus agreed with a sigh. "Wish this cave came stocked with supplies."

The princess glanced outside once before looking back at him. "I'm going to see if there's anything for us to eat."

"What?! Sofia, you can't—"

"I'm not going far, Minimus. Besides, I'm not about to let us starve just because of a little rain."

"It's a storm, Sofia… Big, raging, thunderous storm with lightning."

She smiled at his panicked response before gently brushing one hand over his head. "I won't be gone long. I'm just going a little ways out there and see if there are any berries or something." She stood and brushed off her dress before taking a deep breath and rushing out into the rain.

"Be careful, Sofia," Minimus mumbled sadly.

Instantly, Sofia regretted her decision. The rain pelted her like tiny sharp points attacking her weary body. Her skin was ice cold at this point, and her naturally wavy hair was drenched and plastered against her back. She kept her head tilted down a bit to avoid any contact with the rain on her bruised forehead, and doing so she was able to see that both her GuardoRing and her Enchantlet were now emitting light enough for her to see in the dark forest surrounding her.

"That's a relief at least," she told herself as she moved forward, determined to collect food for Minimus and herself. Not long after, she came across a small bush with what she determined were edible berries. Smiling excitedly, Sofia began picking a few.

Unbeknownst to her, a pair of sinister, glowing red eyes peered at her from the darkness at a distance, the form shadowed by the thick foliage of the forest.

"It's getting brighter," Cedric remarked to himself as he noticed that his wand was, indeed, glowing more strongly now. "I must be getting closer." He was now running as quickly as his tired body would allow him. While he longed to find Sofia, he realized how dark it was getting and knew if he didn't find her soon that she could be in even more danger. "I can't let anything happen to her," he muttered as he approached a strange, twisting sort of forest.

"Hmm… I don't suppose it would be wise to venture in there. Perhaps I should travel around it…"

A desperate yet familiar scream cut through the relative silence, overpowering the sound of the rain and echoing in Cedric's ears, making his blood run cold and sending a chill down his spine. He knew that voice.

"Sofia!" As if reacting on instinct, before he could even process what he was doing, Cedric sprinted off into the forest that he'd recently just denounced. Danger or not, he had to save her.

Sofia ran, panting, trying to weave through and hide behind the larger trees. Earlier while picking berries, she'd noticed that her GuardoRing had started blinking its light back and forth. She'd frozen as she'd sensed another presence nearby; the low growl just behind her had startled her, thus prompting her mad dash into the forest. She hadn't even bothered to look and see what was behind her, and during her rush she'd also dropped her berries, the juice staining her shoes as she ran.

Beads of cold sweat spattered down her face and mingled with the unforgiving rain. She could feel it. Someone or something was right behind her, stalking her and doing so quickly.

Even while running, she was attempting to calm her racing heart. She was a Protector, after all. Whatever was chasing her, she had to be brave and face it. It was her destiny.

As if on cue, the shadowy figure that had indeed been following her leapt from nowhere, shocking the princess in the process and causing her to screech to a halt. Though horrified and nervous, she stood her ground as she faced down the threat.

To say she was confused would be an understatement. Upon closer inspection of the creature, she realized it was in the shape of a large wolf. However, this was no normal wolf that she could reason with like she managed to do with the other animals. No, there was something far more sinister and mysterious about this one. The most frightening thing that shocked her to the core was the austere, pupil-less, glowing red eyes that glared deeply into her very soul. There was nothing magical about it—nothing 'good' magical anyway.

She gasped as the dark wolf tried to pounce on her, but she managed to move out of the way in time. She frowned and concentrated, using her Enchantlet as a lasso to capture and secure the wolf.

To her shock and dismay, the lasso began to disintegrate before her very eyes. With no time to think and little else to help her, she braced herself as she realized the wolf was starting to slowly approach her, baring its sharp teeth and snarling at her. Although she wanted to move and even silently urged her body to do so, she was frozen to her spot, petrified. It's like she shut down completely, even as the wolf drew closer, mere inches away.

Realizing her immediate danger, Sofia managed to break from her body's fearful restraint and attempted to run; however, she was not fast enough, for the wolf pounced on her and knocked her down to the ground, its paws bearing down on her to keep her from moving. Sofia was terrified, realizing this may very well be where she'd meet her end. She closed her eyes as memories of her family, friends, and classmates flooded her mind—and Cedric, of course… Cedric, her mentor and closest friend who'd given her his friendship and time, teaching her magic when he'd never done so for anyone else. Cedric, who'd stepped up and designed new ways to keep her safe, since he knew very well the real danger she had a tendency to get into, ironically enough. Cedric, who—

"He's not here," she whimpered to herself as she felt the wolf's claws slowly beginning to sink into her skin, causing her to gasp sharply. "He can't help me this time…" Tears formed in the corners of her eyes, her mind finally coming to terms with her current reality.

And then, it was like time itself stopped. The wolf snarled and raised one paw from its position against her abdomen and aimed to strike the young girl's face. However, before it made contact, Sofia cried out in desperation, hoping one last time she could get the attention of the one person she'd always trusted and believed in. "MR. CEDRIC!"

As if on cue, Cedric finally burst through his section of the woods and, using his wand, hurled a blast of magic at the menacing wolf, knocking it off of Sofia and causing it to go flying several feet away, seemingly unconscious. He paused to catch his breath before looking toward his apprentice, his dark eyes widening at the sight of her.

She shakily pushed herself into a sitting position, her arms bruised and scratched, her entire body soaked head to toe from the still-pouring rain, her tiara askew in her wet tangle of hair, and her eyes—though dimmer than usual due to her recent experience—slightly more hopeful now as she caught sight of him. "M-Mr. Cedric…?"

"Sofia!" He hurried to her and knelt next to her, gathering the shivering girl in his arms and embracing her gently, so as not to hurt her in her current condition. "Are you all right?" he whispered, though he could easily tell what the answer very well would be.

"I… I've been better," she responded honestly as she looked at him with her tired eyes. "You found me…"

He gently grasped her right hand, his thumb brushing over the GuardoRing as he gave her a gentle smile. "I told you…I'll always be there for you."

The two friends gasped, their moment short lived, as the wolf from before suddenly renewed its strength and started rushing toward them. Since Cedric was still holding the distraught and injured princess, he was not able to immediately use his wand. Seeing no other choice, the sorcerer shielded his friend with his own body, covering Sofia and protecting her from the impending attack.

However, before the wolf could reach them, the Amulet of Avalor activated and began glowing brightly, surrounding the pair in a large pink shield. When the wolf came into contact with the shield, a sparking electrical wave coursed at the animal, causing it to cry out as it began vanishing in a strange black smoke.

Rain continued to pour as the forest grew quiet once more. Cedric peered down at Sofia, who seemed to be just as shocked and confused as he did. "I didn't know your amulet could do that," he remarked, in awe of the precious piece of jewelry.

"Neither did I," she admitted. "So not only is it super powerful, but now it seems to have a mind of its own?"

"Thank Merlin it did." He blinked as his apprentice hissed in pain. He realized what the issue seemed to be as he glanced toward her wounds on her arms, which appeared rather irritated and infected. Using his wand, he performed a healing spell on her, treating the bruises and the cuts as best as he possibly could.

She smiled weakly, so very tired now. "Thank you, Mr. Cedric…"

Cedric merely gathered her into his arms as he knew she wouldn't be able to do much after the recent experience. She seemed so weak now, compared with the strong girl he was used to. It broke his heart a bit, though he couldn't let her know. Instead, he chose to do what she would do: protect her at all costs.

Following her directions, the sorcerer carried his apprentice back toward the cave where Minimus still resided. As they arrived, he attempted to lower Sofia to the ground so that she could walk, but he found that she had clung tighter to him—almost like holding onto the one person she knew would save her. So he didn't see any reason to push it.

"Mr. Cedric, Minimus…" She struggled to get her words out, since she could hardly form coherent thoughts at this point. "Min… Minimus broke his wing during our fall, I think. C-Can you heal him too?"

"Of course." Utilizing his wand yet again, he uttered a healing spell and watched as the horse's wing rearranged the previously shattered areas and soon appeared good as new.

Earning a smile from Minimus, Sofia realized that he was really healed. And this was why she loved magic. Not only was it mystical, mysterious, and fascinating, but it could also do so much good for others if allowed. "Thank you, Mr. Cedric…"

"Come, let's get you warm and dry." Using his wand, he created several sparks on a pile of wood and watched as a roaring fire appeared before them. He sat down against the cave floor and lowered Sofia next to him, frowning as she shivered. He discarded his sopping robe for the time being, allowing it to magically hover beside the fire so it could dry, and soon after he also did the same with his fingerless gloves. Wet leather gloves were hardly worth the struggle, he reasoned. He then reached over to Sofia and gently untangled her hair from the tiara, setting the royal item aside for now. He carefully ran his fingers through her waves until some semblance of normalcy reflected from his efforts.

Sofia sighed in relief as the fire warmed not only her chilled skin but also her soul. She felt renewed. She smiled toward Cedric as he'd finished fixing her hair. "You didn't have to do that," she said softly.

"No, I really did," he stated, a hint of humor in his voice to keep her spirits lifted. "Wet hair is one thing. Tangled wet hair is a nightmare. Just ask Cordelia." He snickered.

Sofia laughed before gazing back at the fire. "Are we going to try to go home?"

A loud crash of thunder and a streak of lightning across the sky seemed to answer that question.

"I believe we may be safer here for the night, my dear," Cedric responded with a little sigh. "Though I'm certain your father is not going to be thrilled that I didn't rush you home immediately despite the storm."

"I'd rather not go back out in that anyway…" She glanced down at the GuardoRing on her finger and smiled. "I guess you were right, Mr. Cedric… When I needed you, you were there for me." She looked up at him with the most appreciative gaze he'd ever seen from her. "You really are the best, Cedric the Sensational."

The sorcerer smiled bashfully and rubbed his arm. "I don't know about all that, but… Well, as I told you, Sofia: you mean a great deal to me. No one else has cared as much about me as you do, save perhaps my mother, and because of your dedication to helping me, it's high time I returned the favor." With that, he produced a few snacks for them (and Minimus), which they thankfully ate as they felt more of their strength returning.

Afterward, Sofia smiled and leaned against her friend, sighing in content as he carefully held her to protect her further. "Who needs a Fairy Godmother when you have a Guardian Sorcerer?"

Cedric chuckled and shushed her gently. "Go to sleep, my dear."

For once, Sofia couldn't argue with that.

As the princess slept, Cedric pondered on the events. That wolf was no ordinary wolf, and he knew it. He felt that Sofia likely knew it too; otherwise, her amulet never would have interfered. No, he was convinced that some wicked force was behind it—perhaps a form of dark magic. Oh, great. Just what they needed right now: dark magic! "I swear, if Grimtrix is behind this," he murmured, trying to keep quiet so Sofia wouldn't stir. He sighed, smiling down at the sleeping girl next to him. "No matter what darkness or troubles we may face, Sofia…I'm on your side. I won't let you down." With that, he used his wand to conjure a heavy blanket and draped it over the both of them as he leaned against the cave wall and she against him, both now lured into the wonderful world of sleep.

Minimus had also fallen asleep by this time, his soft snores echoing off the walls of the cave.

Meanwhile, a sinister chuckle bounced off pure emptiness as glowing red eyes peered through nothingness at the sleeping friends. "Sleep and dream, you fools," the voice taunted with a sneer. "You may have defeated my wolf, but you have no idea what I have in store for you next." A dark laugh cut through the oblique void, filling the space with pure terror.

Sofia gasped and awoke hours later, her blue eyes bleary against the morning stream of sunlight pouring into the cave. …Wait. Sunlight? Cave? She then remembered what happened last night. She turned to Cedric, who was still asleep and…was he snoring? She giggled and shook him gently. "Mr. Cedric!"

"AHH!" Cedric jolted awake, eyes wild and confusion evident on his visage. "Sofia?! What? Where? Who? When? How?"

"Mr. Cedric, please, calm down. Do you remember what happened last night?"

He sighed as he finally came to his senses. "Oh, yes, of course…" He looked up at his floating robe and used his wand to retrieve it, sliding into it again and tying it back together. "How are you feeling this morning?"

"Stronger, I think. I really don't think I could have made it back home last night… I was in pretty bad shape." She smiled and hugged him happily. "Thank you so much for taking care of me, and Minimus, for that matter."

Cedric nodded as he returned her hug. "Any time, Sofia. And I mean that." He grabbed her tiara from the cave floor and reached up, nestling it into her hair again. "There, good as new." He smiled as she giggled. "Come along then. We need to head home before Baileywick sends a search party."

"If he hasn't already," she answered immediately, the truth of those words seeming to dawn on them both at the same time.

They glanced at each other before rushing to get all their stuff gathered. Before long, they were ready to head home, courtesy of a fully-healed Minimus.

Once back at the castle, Sofia was greeted lovingly by her parents and siblings, and even by Baileywick, who had indeed intended to conduct a search party just in case. Roland thanked Cedric profusely for finding the princess and keeping her safe, to which he responded that it was his honor to do so. After that, things seemed to go back to normal…

…Until a few days later, when Sofia and Cedric met up for a discussion he'd requested her to partake in. Evidently, something had occurred to him that had shaken him to his core.

"What's wrong, Mr. Cedric?" Sofia asked in concern as she saw her mentor's perplexed look. "You look…scared."

"I'm afraid it's not quite as simple as that…" He turned toward her. "Sofia, that wolf was not a normal wolf, and I know that you know that." He frowned heavily as she nodded at his assumption. "It is my belief that it was created using dark magic, and I'm even more convinced after watching it disintegrate in the light of your amulet. If that is the case, we need to be on guard at all times…"

"What are you not telling me, Mr. Cedric?" Sofia demanded, her eyes narrowed as she observed her nervous friend.

"It's… It's the way the wolf appeared. Those glowing red eyes and the life-like depiction of danger…there's a term for it, and it's only used by the most malevolent of magic wielders, and the purpose of them is to cause harm to the one they seek."

Her eyes widened. "What is the term, Mr. Cedric?"

His expression became rather serious as he responded, "Umbra Inferno."

The end (and to be continued in "Umbra Inferno")