A/N: This will consist of two one shot stories (Prologues of a sort) that take place before the events of my Ongoing Multi-Chapter story "I'd Send a Blackbird to Steal Your Heart" they take place a year and a half and 6 months before the story proper. The events of these are mentioned in Ch. 8 and Ch. 9 of the Multi-chapter, so you may want to read that before these if you haven't. (Please do!)
 I was inspired to write these since my Birthday is the 30th and I thought that'd it be fun to have a couple of cutsey stories, since the tone of my Multi-chapter is getting bleak.

This Chapter is dedicated as a Birthday gift to the wonderful, Prisoner of the Mind. Not only is she awesome because she shares an August Birthday, but she has written some amazing Fics herself ("The Best of Intentions" "Jealousy" and "The Ties That Bind") Check them out, they're wonderful!
Happy Birthday, my dear! Thanks for all the support you've given me.

Age:20- Roses

It was a cool and crisp September day in Enchancia. Summer had gone when the heat died down and autumn reached for her golden crown and that hue along with brilliant reds and oranges were beginning to appear about the foliage. There would be so many festivities taking place in the following weeks. The Harvest Festival and then on it's heels would come Halloween, and soon enough Wassailia. Cedric knew he would be busy all too soon dealing with decorating for these events with whatever desires King Roland II or one of the children might have and he dreaded it. He was busy enough with keeping a full stock of potions or attending to the oh, so "very important needs" of one of the members of the royal family. The last few weeks had proved to be almost leisurely in comparison and he wished that the feeling could last. But it could not. In fact, he was well aware that today was yet another day that would require him to leave the sanctity of his tower. It was Princess Sofia's Twentieth Birthday and he was invariably to perform a magic show at her party.

He shook his head. Why the girl would want him performing at all was a mystery to him. She was well past the age of such things and It wasn't as if she didn't already know these tricks herself, the Princess practically spent all of her free time in his workshop anyway, learning this or that trick. She was so consumed with the wonder of magic. It was so… irritatingly charming. Although, to her credit, he had to admit, she was quite the talented little Sorceress. If not too ambitious for her own good at times. But he did take a bit of pride in the accomplishments of his apprentice. Although he'd never tell her that. Not very often at least.

He thought back to the party, he was loathe to admit it but of anyone in the castle if he had to perform some silly parlour tricks he was glad it was for Sofia, who would treat them as if they were some grand display of magic and then she would invariably say: "Mr. Cedric is the greatest Sorcerer in all the world, isn't he?" he shook his head at the thought and sighed. Suddenly a strange idea came to his head, perhaps by asking him to perform a magic show, it was her way of wanting to include him in some capacity to celebrate with her. Yes, that was something Sofia would do. He tried to be touched instead of annoyed, but annoyance seemed to be winning, and for that, he felt guilty.

He felt guilty too, for the fact he had no gift to give her this year. He wasn't the best in these type of things. In the past he would perform a simple spell he knew she would enjoy or more often than not make her fly cakes since he knew she liked them. When she turned Seventeen and had officially started her apprenticeship, he had crafted her a wand to use, but what was he to do now? Normally, he wouldn't let it bother him except for the fact she was constantly giving him gifts for his Birthday or Wasallia or in the last year or so, any little occasion. It was touching, but left him feeling obliged to reciprocate the gesture and he was stymied as to what the girl could possibly want when she already had everything.

He glanced over at his shelf and there sat the Wand case she'd made him so many years ago, along with other little trinkets from over the years, and in a box, the gift she had given him for his last birthday, a new bowtie. She had made it herself. It resembled the one he normally wore, being the same shade of yellow, but made of a much better quality silk, most likely from Wei-ling, and it wasn't just solid, it had a design of darker gold damask almost imperceptible among the silk and black thread where she had hemmed the sides. It was a lovely and thoughtful gift, because he knew she had noticed the one he always wore had grown rather shabby over the years. Still, he couldn't bring himself to wear it and he wasn't sure why. He made a mental note that perhaps he should wear it tonight at her party, it might please her. Serve as a sort gift like gesture? And then he berated himself, what kind of a gift was that?!

"I'm not being a very good friend, to her, am I?" he questioned aloud. Wormwood who was in the corner squaked at him in reply and though the Sorcerer couldn't understand the bird, he thought perhaps he knew what he meant. "Friend? You're not supposed to be her friend. What kind of a friend would contrive to steal her amulet and overthrow her father for the first few years of their "friendship? The Amulet is what you want. She's simply a means to an end." and it was true after all these years, he did still want the Amulet of Avalor. Didn't he? Well, maybe it wasn't as important as it had once been. After all, he did keep putting it off, and even if some desire to wield its powers remained. Well, now was not the time. He would get it. Eventually. But for now his thoughts shifted back to Sofia and the fact it was her birthday and he had to perform a magic show and he had no gift for her. He was actually surprised that he hadn't seen her so far today. That was a good thing. It would give him time to plan out something for her.

Then Suddenly, as if she had read his thoughts, he heard her familiar knock and her singsong voice call out to him:

"Ohhhh Mr. Cedric, are you there?!"
He sighed. So much for that. He quickly sat down and feigned looking at a spellbook.
"Yes. Come in, Princess." he called back.

Sofia trotted in, smiling, her blue eyes bright with excitement.

"Hello Mr. Cedric,What are you upto today?" She inquired in a cheerful voice.
"Reading. As you can see." he replied in a very irritated tone.

The girls smile started to falter a bit and the bright look in her eyes was momentarily replaced by one of hurt. Cedric instantly regretted being harsh with her. It was her birthday, after all.

"But uh, that can wait of course.. is there something you wanted, Princess Sofia?" he asked giving her a flat smile.
She looked away from him. She was different somehow. Suddenly diffident and uncertain.
"Are you sure I won't be bothering you?" the shift in her mood puzzled him. This wasn't the Sofia he knew, who was always so cheerful and confident. This didn't suit her at all.
"When do you ever bother me?" he asked teasingly hoping that it bring her back to their familiar banter. She smiled at him, but the look in her eyes was still strange.

"Well, you know what today is, right?"
"Today? Why I do believe it's Sunday, isn't' it?" he'd looked away from her, but held his gaze out of the corner of his eye to see how she would react.
She stared at him, mouth slightly agape but with a brow quirked, As though she were uncertain if he were being sarcastic or if he'd truly forgotten.
He turned to face her. "Of course, I know what today is. Happy Birthday, Sofia." he said giving her a genuine smile. She returned the gesture and looked relieved.
"You didn't really think I'd forgotten, did you?"
"Well, no, but I do know how busy you get and sometimes you do forget things. Even if you don't mean to."
He shrugged his shoulders. She was right of course. He was horrible with dates and he did forget birthdays and other events quite frequently.
"Well, it's hard to forget what today is, know you have a magic show to perform." it came out a little more annoyed than he meant it to.

Sofia looked away, suddenly shy again and began twisting at her hair.
"Oh, yes. I really hope you aren't too annoyed by that. I'd actually wanted to invite you as my guest, but I didn't know if that would be too… awkward for you? I didn't want you to feel awkward and I know my friends can probably be overwhelming." she let out a false little laugh and continued. "But I really do want you to be there and I thought you'd be more comfortable if you were doing magic. Besides, everyone is so excited to see your show. My friends all love your magic tricks!"
"Sofia, your friends are now in their twenties, I don't think they're particularly enthralled by magic shows anymore."
"Are you crazy?! They love you, Mr. Cedric! We all do. They'll be so excited to see you. Vivian and Kari have asked about you. But, I understand if you don't want to…"
Cedric sighed. "Of course I want to, Princess. It'll be my pleasure."
She smiled brightly and he returned the gesture, although it was a bit more subdued. He didn't believe her, of course. He doubted the young royals had any desire to see magic tricks that had entertained them as children. It was a pity things had to change sometimes. He suddenly realized she said she wanted him there and not just as entertainment.
"You really want me to be there, do you?" he asked. Not meaning to say it aloud.
"Of course I do! You're one of my favorite people, after all!" she said brightly, placing a hand on his shoulder.

He felt an odd sensation in his chest. Not unfamiliar, but not typical either. It was something he only seemed to feel when he was around Sofia. "Th-thank you, Princess."
"Always!"
"Is that all?"
"All?"
"I mean, you didn't just come to ask me if I remembered your birthday, did you?"
"Oh, no, I'm sorry! I got sidetracked with our conversation. I actually Did have something I meant to ask you."
"And just what might that be?" he drawled.

"Well… um… it's silly." she started twisting at her hair again, looking shy. It was maddening.

"Sofia, just tell me, won't you? I'm sure you've asked me worse." he said in a playful tone.

"Well, there are some roses blooming in the garden. The last of the Summer blossoms. I was wondering if you would come look at them with me?"

That was an odd request. He had little interest in flowers, unless he was using them for a potion or a spell. Yes, he could appreciate their loveliness, but he wasn't sure if he wanted to make an impromptu trip outside the solitude of his Tower to look at something he'd seen before.

"Oh, I don't know, Princess. I have an awful lot to plan before your party tonight and I'm sure you have things to do as well. Why not ask one of the twins?"

She looked crestfallen. "Oh, well because, you see, I really wanted you to go with me."

"Why in Merlin's name would you want that?"
"Well, because… um... " she looked oddly flustered.

"Just… please, Mr. Cedric… You can consider it my birthday gift!"

He thought for a moment… well, this got him out of one problem. He thought about it for a moment or two. And glanced at Sofia, she looked at him imploringly with those large blue eyes and he knew he had no choice, because she wouldn't stop til she got her way.
"Ugh… Alright, fine! … let's get this over with!"
The girl gave a delighted squeal "Ooh, Thank you, Mr. Cedric! You won't regret this!"
"I'm not so sure about that…"
"Let's go!" and Sofia grabbed him by the hand and pulled him to his feet, barely giving him time to grab his wand, before leading him out of the tower doors and down the steps completely ignoring his protests.

Gift or not, what had he gotten himself into?

Cedric was relieved to find the weather nice and cool, and the sky to be slightly overcast. At Least he didn't have to worry about the rays of the sun beating down on him. Sofia was walking by his side talking about the flowers. He listened politely, but was getting a bit annoyed. For Sofia's sake he tried not to make it too evident.

"Amber gave me a book about the Language of the flowers! Did you know that they all have a certain meaning?!"
"Yes, I'd heard that." he replied evenly.

"I think it's mostly for lovers," she blushed slightly as she said this, "But I thought it was interesting. For instance, do you see the Carnations over there?" He nodded.
"Well, the carnation in general means 'Fascination, or Divine love', but different colors or patterns mean other things. For example, Pink means, 'I'll Never forget you' and Red means 'My Heart aches for you or admiration', but a Yellow carnation means 'You Have disappointed me or rejection!'
"Oh?" he was completely uninterested.

"Mhm! Amber was saying that it would be so dreadful to accidentally give someone the wrong flower, or one that meant something contrary to what you wanted to say…."

Cedric frowned. Her talk of flowers brought back an unpleasant memory from his younger years. The memory of a golden haired young woman sitting amongst a group of her friends, and he , young , clumsy and shy, had come up to them, shyly handing her a small bouquet of Marigolds. She had been very polite and smiled as she accepted the bouquet, but her smile was forced and there seemed to be a level of gauchetiere in the whole situation . He recalled the look of pity in her eyes and the sound of her friends laughter as he walked away. It was something he'd repressed and the sudden flash of remembrance, brought on a great deal of anxiety and he started to get irritated.
"You sound just like her, you know!" He snapped.

Sofia looked up at him, taken aback by the sudden display of emotion.
"Sound just like whom?" she questioned.

"Princess... Amber."

"Is that such a bad thing?" she asked

"It is when all you do is prattle on about meaningless, vapid topics! I'd be much more impressed if you could tell me their healing properties, since that's actually something you're studying." he started to rant until he saw the expression Sofia wore on her face, one of concern and what may have been hurt and annoyance. He instantly regretted his outburst.

"Carnations have numerous healing and medicinal qualities. They're used as an alleviant for seasickness, they can also be brewed into a tea or an infusion to help alleviate stress and nervousness, as well as help cure some coronary disorders." she recited mechanically. She then looked at him and with an edge to her voice said : "Perhaps, we should pick some for you to brew, before you have one?"

Cedric swallowed. Instantly feeling guilty and slightly embarrassed.
"Right. Well, I suppose I deserved that last bit." he admitted.

She nodded, still annoyed and now frowning.
He studied Sofia who continued to frown. He'd upset her.
"I told you this was a bad idea!" he exclaimed. "I don't know why you insisted I come out anyway!"
"I just wanted to spend time with you!" the girl cried.
Cedric quirked a brow at her. What an odd thing for her to have said.
"S-spend time with me? What in the world are you talking about?! Why would you want to do that? You see me practically every day!"
"That's not what- I just- Oh, nevermind! If you want to go back to your tower, then you should!"
"Well, I just might!" he declared. He was very tempted to do just that. What was wrong with that girl. He was all set to go back, until he looked at her. She was really quite upset. She walked past him, head lowered and shoulders drooping, obviously sulking. And he knew he couldn't leave her in this state. Not on her birthday. Not when she'd said she wanted to spend time with him. Merlin knows why.

He sighed heavily and internally kicked himself for caring, as he walked over to where she stood.
She was looking at Marigolds. Of course she was.

"Ghastly, little things aren't they?" he asked in a bored tone.

She looked up, seemingly surprised he was still there. She gave him a small smile.
"Oh, I don't think so. Why would you say that?"
He shrugged in reply. He couldn't very well talk about that topic with her, even if she was his best friend. Somethings needed to stay in the past.
"What do they mean?"
"I thought you didn't care."
"Well, I'm asking now! Are you going to tell me or must I ask Princess Amber to loan me her book?" he drawled, hoping to bring some humor back once again. That had the desired effect and she giggled.
"Well, they can stand for passion and creativity. Sometimes they are used in love charms. The book says they can also represent, Grief, Cruelty and jealousy, but that's when they're used in combination with spells, so of course you knew that already."
"Yes, I suppose I must have known that… but, I guess I'd forgotten... ." he frowned, yes, so very fitting for him. Cruelty, grief and jealousy. How he wished somethings could be forgotten.

He stood there deep in thought.
"Mr. Cedric, are you alright?" he looked down at her and nodded.
He watched as she quickly stooped and plucked one of the golden flowers:
"Marigolds are also an antidote for the sharp tongue and they help promote cheery conversations." she recited, as she offered the flower to him, with a pointed look.

He accepted it, slightly amused by the exchange.
"I suppose you're suggesting I pick them all the time then, are you?" he smirked.

Sofia smiled "It might help." She paused for a minute and frowned again.

"If you really want to go back to your tower, you can. I shouldn't have made you come out."
Cedric groaned internally, the girl was playing on his sympathies. He wasn't sure if it was intentional or not. Somehow at the moment, he didn't think it was. She had that air of diffidence again. He couldn't bring himself to leave her just yet, and he really didn't understand why. He supposed it was because she was his friend, she'd do no less for him. In fact, she'd do much more. The part of him that longed to go back to his tower, screamed in protest, but he ignored it.
"I can't do that yet… you said there was a flower you wanted to show me. What was it?"
She beamed at him. "Do you mean that?!"
"Yes, yes, just show me, before I change my mind!"
She took him by the hand, and led him in the direction she wanted to go, as per usual.
"It's the roses. They're up this way." they walked in silence, but Sofia seemed oddly contented and somehow it must have been contagious, because perhaps he suddenly felt a bit of contentment too. Not that he'd ever admit it, because then she'd want to go out to the garden and look at roses all the time and he wasn't going to do that.

"Did you ever pick any flowers for anyone?" The brunette queried.

Oh Merlin, why must she keep harping on this subject? Either she hadn't picked up on the fact that it had caused his initial distress, or she was doing it on purpose to irk him. As sweet as Sofia could be, he was often convinced she purposely did some things just to annoy him. Such as, mispronouncing his name when she was a child. He looked down at her again, ready to say something sarcastic, but she was smiling up at him and still holding his hand. "It's her birthday, Cedric, she's your friend, she doesn't know." he repeated silently to himself. He forced a smile.

"Well, Mummy was always terribly fond of Zinnia's. I remember picking those for her when I was a lad. What do they mean?" he asked trying to be kind.

"Do you really want to know?" she teased.

"No. That's why I asked, because I have no desire to know what so ever."

"Well, do you remember what color? Different colors mean different things."

"I recall her being particularly fond of the Magenta ones."
"Magenta Zinnia's mean: "Lasting Affection."
"Ah. Well, how very apropos then."
"I didn't realize Mrs. Winifred liked Zinnia's. I shall have to bring her a bouquet next time we go to Mystic Meadows."

He smiled at the girls thoughtfulness. "That's very kind of you, Princess. I'm sure she would be touched by the gesture."
"Well, of course! Mrs. Winifred has always been so kind to me and everyone loves to get flowers!"

He wanted to say that he highly doubted that that was true, but before he could speak, Sofia pulled him to a halt.
"Here they are!" she announced.
Before them were dozens of rose bushes.
"So… this is what you wanted to show me?" he was thoroughly unimpressed.
"No, silly, there's a particular bush of them, come on!"

and she led him further still to a bush of lavender roses. Come to think of it, she did favor that color, didn't she?
"Aren't they lovely!" he looked at the joy in the girls blue eyes, the way her darkened brown hair shone shades of red in the sunlight, and her sweet smile and thought:
"They look all the more lovelier with you standing beside them." He eyes went wide with sudden confusion and shock. Neptunes Nettles! Where had that come from?! What a strange thought! He didn't really think that, did he? Well, perhaps she was lovely, but so were the roses, so was the sky, so were lots of things… He opted to ignore the strange thought had ever even entered his mind.

"Mr. Cedric?"
"What?! Oh, yes, lovely!"
"I'm almost tempted to pick them, but I can't bring myself to do it."
"Why not?"
"Because they'll die and I'd hate to kill them. I'd want them to remain like this always. To preserve this memory."
Cedric wanted to point out that whether she picked them or not, they would die, but he bit his tongue, not wanting to upset her again and then have to deal with a pouting princess. He said nothing for a while, and they continued their walk through the rose garden. But he couldn't help but study her for a moment when they stopped again, and he absently reached down to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
He'd surprised himself again, why had he done that? And why was she looking at him so strangely? She looked almost joyful, but there was something else there. Something he couldn't put his finger on. She'd looked at him like this a number of times ever since that rabbit of hers died. It was all very disconcerting.

She smiled at him and then looking away, she asked:
"What did you do that for?"
He didn't know what to say… "B-because you're hair was a mess and it was bothering me!" he snipped. Yes, that must have been the reason why. Honestly, why even ask him something so ridiculous?!
"Oh…" she sounded disappointed. What in Merlin's name, was she disappointed about?!

They walked along in silence a bit longer and he was bothered by it. Why wasn't she talking his ear off? He needed to find something to talk about. The lavender roses seemed to be a good as subject as any, it was a distraction anyway.
"What do they mean?"
"Hmm? What does what mean?" She asked distractedly.

"Those lavender roses, you were just fawning over. You said that flowers all have a certain meaning, what's there's?!" Honestly,she could be so infuriating.

"Oh! Um, Lavender roses, mean 'Enchantment'."
"Well… I suppose that's very fitting, for a Sorceress in training, then isn't it?"
"Yes, I suppose it would be." Silence fell again.

"Mr. Cedric, can I ask you something?"
"It depends on what it is."
"Well, I just wanted to know, how you feel about-"
But he would never know what she was meant to ask, because just then Princess Amber camping running up to them.
"Oh, Sofia, where have you been?!I've been looking everywhere for you! We need you in the kitchen now, there's an issue with the cake!"
"Oh Amber, I'm sure it's fine, I was-"
"No, you need to come, right Now!" She pulled Sofia along and Cedric watched as the Brunette Princess shot a pleading look in his direction, but he simply shrugged in reply.
"You'd better get that taken care of Princess Sofia." he said, looking for an excuse to retreat back to his tower.
"Yes, I guess you're right. Bye, Mr. Cedric…" she seemed to want to linger there, but Amber pulled her along.
"Oh come on Sofia, it's just Cedric, you'll see him later!" And he watched Sofia wave as she was pulled out of sight.

He breathed a sigh of relief. Finally he could get back to his beloved workshop. That whole walk had been strange. He felt sufficiently overwhelmed. He needed to relax until that ridiculous party tonight. Yes, to his workshop he would go!

He suddenly found himself standing in front of the Lavender rose bushes. She had been terribly taken with those. It was something she wanted… Oh, he shouldn't. It was a ridiculous idea. She'd be furious if he killed them. What had she said? "I'd want them to remain like this always. To preserve this memory." To preserve… Oh Poseidon's Pumpkins, he knew a spell.
He sighed. At Least he'd have a gift for her now. Shaking his head at himself in disgust, he used a cutting spell with his wand to remove six of them. They had dangerously sharp thorns. He'd have to remove those, lest she hurt herself. Well, six was sufficient… or wasn't there usually a dozen roses in a bouquet? He glanced around. There, opposite to him, stood a white rose bush. Well, she favored white too and he did recall that color meaning innocence or something of that sort. Yes, Enchantment and innocence, those fit her. He used a spell to cut off six of those with his wand and quickly used a transport spell to return to his workshop so that no one would see him with the roses. The things he did for that girl...

Cedric walked down the corridors of the castle to Sofia's bedchambers. It had taken several hours, but he'd achieved the desired spell and he now held a perfectly preserved, time frozen bouquet of flowers. He had tied them with a cast off black ribbon that at one point had probably been used on a scroll.

He'd decided it would be better to give these to her before her party out of view from prying eyes. He was starting to regret the decision to even give them to her, though. Whether she liked them or not, he felt it was somehow insignificant and all too sentimental for his tastes. He'd only done it to silence that feeling of guilt that had been gnawing at him. No other reason.

In his own opinion, he thought he'd done a nice job. Yes, he was rather pleased with the results. But he thought back to the memory from his youth, of the golden haired girl and the marigolds, he started to question himself again. That look of pity in her hazel eyes had haunted him to this day, and he somehow couldn't bear the thought of seeing that look in Sofia's eyes. It helped to tell himself that this obviously was a completely different scenario, and deep down he knew Sofia would accept the gift with her usual exuberance. Still, he was tempted to turn back and end this farce of giving her a birthday gift altogether, but when he looked up again he was at her door.
He sighed, took a deep breath and knocked.
She hadn't even answered and he already regretted it. But then she appeared dressed in a blue gown that matched her eyes. She seemed very surprised.
"Mr. Cedric! What are you doing here?!"
He couldn't think of anything to say. He was suddenly that boorish, clumsy young man again. Who was he kidding? Now he was a boorish, clumsy, old man.
"I uh- Here!" he unceremoniously thrust the bouquet into her hands. She looked up at him in confusion.
"The roses… but-"
"Don't worry, I used a preservation potion and a time freezing spell. The flowers are frozen like that, for- well, forever really. So, yes, you can preserve that memory that you wanted. For whatever reason, and You don't have to worry about killing them." he was blasé in his description and he was feeling foolish for the effort, but there was a small part of him who was eager to see her reaction. She looked to the roses and back at him a few times, until a broad smile broke out across her face! She threw her arms around him in an excited embrace. He should have expected that, but he tensed up none the less.
"Oh, Mr. Cedric! Thank you, thank you, thank you! I love them so much! You have no idea how much this means to me! I shall keep them always!" Cedric felt his heart melt a bit and smiled, as he awkwardly returned her embrace.
"It's nothing really." he said dismissively, but he was so relieved she liked them.
"Well, I'd better go. I still have things to do and it seems that you have to finish getting ready."
"Oh, alright. I'll see you tonight, then?"
"Yes. I'll be there with bells on. He deadpanned as he began to depart.
"Oh, Mr. Cedric?!" he turned to see what she wanted, a bit confused.
"Yes, Princess?"
"This is my favorite gift!"
"Sofia, you haven't received anyone else's yet, why would you say that?"
"Because they're from you!" she laughed, her brilliant blue eyes beaming at him, until she turned and closed the door behind her.

Cedric just shook his head and then chuckled to himself in amusement as he headed towards his tower. She had been acting so strangely affectionate toward him ever since her pet rabbit had died, and he wasn't sure why, but at that moment, she was happy and he was pleased to have had a part in it. Perhaps, he could enjoy himself just a little tonight after all.