Cedric paced back and forth in frustration. His faithful crow, Wormwood, flew in circles over his head. "I don't understand Wormy," Cedric said, "that teleportation spell should have worked. I could have had the amulet in my hands! What went wrong?" Wormwood landed and shrugged his wings. "Oh you're no help right now. I have to rethink this all over again!"

Cedric sat down at his desk with his head in his hands and stared down at the spellbook in front of him. He had followed every step exactly; he couldn't figure out for the life of him what went wrong. Maybe I am just a horrible sorcerer, he thought to himself. A sudden knock on the door interrupted his thoughts. "Whoever you are, please go away," he yelled.

Baileywick's voice called back, "I was just sent over to tell you that you have a visitor is all. I'm leaving now." His footsteps faded.

A visitor? For Cedric? In all his years as the royal sorcerer, he had never had a visitor specifically for him. He stood up, dusted off his robe, and headed out the door. Wormwood flew close behind him. Cedric's curiosity got the best of him and he started running down the hallways; Wormwood had troubles keeping up with his long strides and quick pace. As Cedric ran, he began to wonder who would come visit him. He didn't have a clue. As he was thinking, he wasn't watching where he was going and ran straight into the young princess Sofia. He fell headfirst onto the floor and she went sprawling as well. Wormwood rolled his eyes and landed on a banister nearby. Cedric pulled himself up and look for what tripped him. He eyed Sofia on the floor and rushed over to help her up. "P-P-Princess Sofia! I'm so sorry. I wasn't looking where I was going." He picked her up and brushed off her dress.

"It's okay, Mr. Ceedric! I should have been paying more attention too." She adjusted her silver tiara and checked to make sure her amulet was still in place. "Why were you running anyway?" she asked.

"I was notified that I have someone here to see me," he replied, "no idea who, though."

"Oh!" Sofia exclaimed, "I saw someone in the hallway. She's very pretty!"

"She?" Cedric was shocked. "How old? How tall? Who?"

"I don't know, Mr Ceedric. I didn't ask. Go find out!" she replied and skipped off down the halls.

Cedric sighed. She was 13 now and still couldn't get his name right. He had given up on trying to correct her. He went on down the halls at a slower pace now until he reached the front doors of the castle. There stood a young girl, at least 18, in a long, flowing blue robe. In one hand was a wand and an old carpet bag in the other. Their eyes met and she smiled and walked over to him.

Cedric couldn't help feeling as if he knew this girl from somewhere. She was tall with a nice figure, dark black hair, and dark brown eyes. He felt as if he had met her somewhere or some time before, but she was far too young. She came up to him, placed her wand in her other hand, and took his and shook it.

"Hello, Cedric, the great royal sorcerer of Enchancia! I'm Abigail. I've been sent from the sorcery school, and my mother, to be your apprentice."

Cedric shook Abagail's hand slowly; her hands were small, but well worn from work and wand practice. "Apprentice?" he said as he released her hand, "I don't remember getting a notification about this."

"Oh," Abigail's face turned bright red, "um, I thought I had sent out the notice." She dropped her bag and kneeled down and began digging through it. The clinking of potion bottles, the rustle of papers, and the smell of ink brought back memories to Cedric.

"Oh no." She pulled out a piece of paper from the bag; her face went white. "Oh, no. Oh, no! How on earth did I forget to send this?" She hid her face in her hands. "I'm so sorry," she mumbled from within her hands. "I could have sworn I had sent this! This is a disaster." She lifted her head from her hands; her face was red and her eyes glistened at on the verge of tears.

Cedric was slightly confused, but maybe an apprentice would be useful. He could do all that he couldn't (or had no desire to) do, and would give him more time to find a way to swipe the amulet from the Princess. He held his hand out to Abigail. She looked up at him, wiped away a single tear, and took his hand.

"Even though this is highly unexpected, I think I could use some help around my lai-... I mean, workshop. So, welcome aboard! Follow me. I'll show you wear you'll be staying."

Cedric began walking. Abigail hastened to gather her things and followed. Cedric's long strides were hard to keep up with, but Abigail managed to keep up. Cedric liked her; she was ambitious and had plenty of potential, plus she could be incredibly useful.

Due to Cedric's haste, he once again wasn't looking where he was going and apparently neither was Sofia. Yet again, they collided head on. Cedric tripped and fell flat while Sofia slipped and ran straight into Abigail. Cedric stood up grumpily and dusted himself off. Sofia was already introducing herself to Abigail.

"So, you're Mr. Ceedric's new apprentice! I'm Sofia. Nice to meet you!" she said happily. "I'm sure you'll love working with Mr. Ceedric. He's a great teacher and he's so nice! Watch out for his raven though; he's kinda scary."

"It's Cedric," Cedric sighed, "Seh-drick. Simple, really. Please excuse us, Sofia. Abigail and I are in a hurry."

"Wait just a minute!" Abigail said suddenly. "Sofia, I love your amulet. Is that the Amulet of Avalor? I've heard so many stories about it!"

"Yeah, it is! Mr Ceedric told me about it! Isn't it beautiful?"

Abigail cast a quick glance toward Cedric, then back toward Sofia. "Yes, Princess, it's lovely! Keep it close by, always." She gave a wink to Sofia and stood up, returning to Cedric's side. "Okay, 'Ceedric,' lead on." Cedric sighed and continued walking as Abigail turned and waved to the young Princess as she continued her way down the halls.

Cedric continued to lead her through the long halls of the castle until they reached a large wooden door. Cedric told Abigail to turn around while he got the key. After a moment, the door was unlocked and he led her inside his large workshop. Wormwood flew down from the rafters and landed on Cedric's shoulder closest to Abigail. He glared down at her menacingly. Cedric glanced sideways at Abigail who was sticking her tongue out at Wormwood. The bird looked baffled. "What on earth are you doing?" he questioned.

"Oh!" Abigail blushed and turned away. "I'm sorry, Cedric. I just... I mean... I-I... I don't know." She cleared her throat and looked up at Cedric, "So, where do I get to sleep?"

Cedric hadn't even thought of that. He had no spare rooms anywhere. There was only his room downstairs. However, at the top of the tower there was an attic he rarely ever used. It was old and dusty and possibly full of bats, but it was the only other place. "Follow me, please." he commanded and led her up the spiral staircase toward the attic.

When the reached the top of the staircase, Cedric had to force the stuck door open. The room was round. There was just one window across from the ceiling was low and fairly pointed. The place was nearly empty except for a few boxes, beakers scattered around the place, and plenty of cobwebs. As he stood in the doorway, Abigail pushed past him and stood in the center of the room. She looked enthralled as she spun in joyous circles. "Cedric, this is perfect!" She squealed. "Thank you so much!"

Cedric was confused, but he was glad she was happy enough with it, so he let it be. "I'll let you stay up here to, um... get comfortable or whatever it is you want." He turned and left her to unpack.

As he descended down the stairs, Wormwood flew up and settled on his shoulder, cawing loudly in his ear. "Oh, bug off, Wormy! I need to be able to focus on my latest plan to get Sofia's amulet away from her, and Abagail's the perfect asset. This is exactly what we've needed, Wormy, so let's get to work."

Abigail hastened to unpack as she took out her wand and began to work. She was the most advanced student at the sorcery school, finally able to do just about everything with just the wave of her wand. She moved all the boxes over to one end of the large room, then picked up her bag and placed it by the window. The window was broken in one spot, letting in some fresh air, but it was also covered in dust and spiderwebs. She unlatched it and made an attempt to force it open, but it was stuck shut. She twirled her wand and pointed it directly at the window. Out shot a shining light which struck the window; the window cleared of cobwebs and dust. It flew open, allowing fresh spring air to enter the musky room. She stuck her head out the window and looked down at a wonderful view of a fountain and courtyard blooming with flowers. She smiled and turned back to the dark, dank room.

There was no bed frame, but there was an old mattress laid up against the wall with a box marked "blankets" beside it. Abigail's wand at the ready, she moved the mattress from the dank corner to the other side of the room by the window. She noticed that it had a slightly musty odor, but was otherwise in perfect condition. She then looked within the box of blankets, finding herself a bottom sheet, a thick wool blanket, and an old, rather flat pillow. This pillow is way too flat, she thought to herself. She pointed her wand toward the pillow and closed her eyes; out shot a purple light which caused the pillow to double in size. She placed it at the head of the mattress and knelt down on it to look out the window. The sun was just now setting over the courtyard; the statues and fountain cast their shadows across the stone pathways. She felt at home already, with the place now tidied and filled with the scent of the flowers from down below and the fresh, cool evening air.

It was then that she was hit with the fact that she hadn't eaten since that morning. She was starving, so she decided to change into some new clothes and find something to eat. She dug in her bag, pulled out a pair of black trousers and a white blouse, quickly changed into them, and tossed her hair up into a high ponytail. She ventured down the winding staircase and back into the main shop. Cedric sat at a chair bent over some sort of potion book. Wormwood was also looking at the book with him. Abigail cleared her throat loudly to catch his attention and he glanced over his shoulder at her. "What do you want?" he asked grumpily.

"Well, I'm kind of starving," she replied with hand on her hip.

Cedric stood up from his chair and looked thoughtfully at her. He finally said, "Follow me, then," and went out the door.

Abigail followed behind as quickly as possible as he took her to wherever it was they were going. She was suddenly hit with sweet and savory smells wafting from somewhere close by. Cedric took her around one more corner and there were double doors which lead into a kitchen. He led her inside. She was overcome with the sweet smells of cakes entwined with the savory smells of meats and soups. A large, fairly huffy looking fellow with a mustache approached them. "Cedric," he eyed him, "what do you want?"

"Well, I'm in the kitchen, so I must want to stop and smell the flowers," he replied sarcastically. Abigail smirked at his remark. "I need food for my new apprentice and I, you idiot!"

The chef, who obviously had some disdain for the sorcerer, told him to help himself to whatever was left over from the royal dinner. Cedric took a tray and gathered up two bowls of soup, some bread, a large glass of milk, and a cupcake, then headed out once more. Abigail walked eagerly beside him. Smelling the delicious beef soup just made her hungrier; she could barely take it.

At last they made it back to Cedric's shop. Cedric set the tray down. Abigail took a bowl of soup and a slice of bread. She ate eagerly, but was slow for she wanted to savor each bite. Cedric drank half of the tall glass of milk, then handed the rest to her which she gladly gulped down. Finally, they split the cupcake: chocolate topped with rich vanilla icing. Abigail was full and satisfied now. She stood up from the stool on which she was sitting. Cedric dismissed her to bed and told her that they would begin their work in the morning.

Abigail climbed the stairs to her attic room and dropped down onto her mattress. She covered herself with the blanket. Just one day with Cedric seemed to have gone successfully. She felt total confidence that in the weeks to come, she could do exactly what she had come here to do. Her smile stayed on her face as she slowly fell asleep to the sound of the fountain flowing quietly so far below her window.

Something bothered Cedric as he lay in his bed, something about Abigail. He couldn't figure out what bothered him so much, yet something was eating at his mind viciously. Maybe it was something in her eyes, or the odd sensation like he knew her from somewhere. He covered his face with his hands and groaned. He couldn't stand this. He needed assistance so he could work on his latest idea. He had to keep Abigail around, for now at least. Once his plan could be put in action, he could send her back to the school.

He rolled over onto his side and tried once more to fall asleep, yet his eyes remained open and his mind continued to race. Wormwood was resting peacefully on his perch with his head under his wing. The sight of him made Cedric calm down a bit. Wormwood was Cedric's only real friend he ever had in his life. Throughout his fifteen years of sorcery school, he never really had a friend except one girlfriend in his final year at school. Once Wormwood came into his life, he had someone to talk to who would listen to him. Cedric's fond memories eventually put him to sleep.

A noise from upstairs jolted Cedric awake some hours later. It sounded like someone crying out. It must have been Abigail. Cedric sighed and put on his robe and made his way wearily up the stairs and into the attic. From the open doorway he saw Abigail kneeling on her mattress staring out the open window. Her thin frame was silhouetted by a full moon shining from outside, it appeared as if she was shaking quite violently.

Cedric approached her quietly and she turned as she heard his light footsteps. Her hair was dampened by sweat and her eyes were wide with fear. She looked up at him as he stood over her mattress. "I'm sorry if I woke you." She whispered.

"Yes well, you did. What on earth is wrong?" he asked, with a tinge of annoyance in his voice.

"Nothing, really. I'm very sorry about my screaming. I was hoping I wouldn't do this again now that I'm somewhere new." She still shuddered even now that she pulled the blanket around her arms.

"What do you mean?" Cedric questioned, almost empathetically this time.

Abigail sighed heavily as Cedric sat down next to her on the low mattress. "I tend to have recurring nightmares about," she paused a moment, "about something that happened a long time ago now. At school they had to put me at the end of an empty dorm because I was disturbing everyone else's sleep. No one ever even bothered to ask what was wrong, everyone at school thought, and still thinks I'm mental or something." She hugged her knees to her chest and looked down at the floor.

Cedric wasn't sure what he was supposed to do; should he comfort her somehow, or just leave? Before he could do anything she began talking again.

"I'm about to graduate from school by the summer." She said quietly.

Cedric was shocked, "Graduating? How old are you?"

"Seventeen, I've been in school since I was ten. My mom desperately wanted me to start early so I could 'strive to do great things', as she put it."

"Seventeen?" Cedric sputtered, "and only in school seven years it took me fifteen bloody years to be qualified to graduate!"

"Well mom always said I came from a great line of sorcerers. I've advanced through my courses without any problems, took a bunch of placement tests and now here I am just a few months from graduation, and becoming someone's royal sorcerer."

Cedric sat in silence, marveling at the fact anyone could possibly be that great a sorcerer. He glanced down at her, wrapped in the blanket. He felt somewhat sorry for her, she seemed so lonely. She reminded him of, well, himself. He looked behind him out the window; the sky was getting lighter and the few birds awake were beginning to sing. He was about to get up when he felt Abigail hit his shoulder. She had fallen asleep at last, now he could go to sleep for at least an hour or so. Still he lingered there for a minute, thinking about this girl he met just the previous afternoon, yet already felt somewhat close to. He shook his head clear, he must be overtired. He gently laid Abigail back down then got up and went back downstairs. The sun was just breaking the horizon as he finally made it back to bed and Wormwood was watching him as he laid down.

"She's a strange one, Wormy." he said to the raven, "Strange indeed." He fell asleep almost instantly.