As Sofia opened her eyes the next morning she stretched and climbed out of her bed. Pulling on her purple princess dress and shoes she brushed her hair and placed her crown on top of her head. Taking one more look at herself in the mirror she smiled and left the bedroom to go and join her family for breakfast. Entering the dining room Sofia saw that only her Mother Queen Miranda sat at the table. "Good morning Mother where is Dad, James and Amber?" said Sofia as she began to eat the breakfast Baileywick had placed in front of her. Queen Miranda took a sip of her tea before replying "they have all finished their breakfast but I stayed behind because I need to talk to you but eat your breakfast first". Sofia nodded and ate her breakfast and taking a long gulp of orange juice she said "okay now I'm finished". Standing up Queen Miranda walked over to Sofia and sitting beside her she said "before Goodwin the Great and Winifred got married they had a daughter Serena who had inherited an old deep magic from her father. This made her very dangerous to people of Enchancia and after causing a few earthquakes your Grandfather had her banished. Last night she used a sleeping spell on the guards and paid Cedric a visit".
Sofia stood up and with tears in her eyes she asked "is Mr Cedric alright?" Queen Miranda rushed to Sofia and hugging her tight she said "he's fine but why tears for the royal sorcerer?". "Because he's my best friend and I …" said Sofia stopping herself just in time before she revealed her deepest secret. The Queen smiled as she realised what her daughter almost told her. "Why don't you bring the sorcerer his breakfast and I think he could use a friend but be prepared for whatever he tells you?" said Queen Miranda as she ordered Baileywick to bring out an extra breakfast. Upon the arrival of the breakfast Sofia took it and leaving the dining room she headed to Cedric's tower. The Queen waited until she was alone before whispering "never stop loving him Sofia".
Entering the workshop Sofia's face flinched when she realised she hadn't knocked first. Seeing Cedric asleep in his chair she smiled and placing his breakfast on his workbench she found the bottle of whiskey half emptied. Biting her lip she placed her hand on Cedric's shoulder shaking him gently which caused him to wake from his peaceful slumber. Seeing the princess smiling down at him he asked "did you make up with your sister?" Nodding her head Sofia said "yes and I brought you your breakfast". "A royal shouldn't have to bring a sorcerer his breakfast" grumbled Cedric as he looked at his breakfast. "Well I did" said Sofia as she sat on the edge of the workbench.
Cedric's head was pounding due to the effects of drinking half a bottle of whiskey as he began to eat his breakfast. Grabbing a wand Sofia muttered a spell under her breath and two cups of tea appeared on the workbench. Cedric finished his breakfast and taking a cup of tea he sipped it before asking "so what do you need?" "I don't need anything" replied Sofia as she sipped her tea. "Then why did you bring me breakfast and magically conjure two cups of tea if you didn't need anything?" said Cedric somberly. Putting her cup down Sofia placed her hand on his and said "I heard about the intruder last night and I thought that you'd need a friend". Pulling his hand away from hers the sorcerer put down his cup and said "Serena may have broken the king's law and cast a sleeping spell on his guards but she did all that because she needed her brother's help". Surprised by Cedric's statement Sofia asked "I thought you were an only child?". "So did I but your father told me differently last night" replied Cedric quietly as a lump lodged in his throat.
Walking behind him Sofia embraced him in a warm hug and breathed his scent in which she always found intoxicating. Feeling his heart beat faster the princess pulled away and asked "Is there anything I do Mr Cedric". Shaking his head Cedric stood up and said "not unless you can strip my sister of her dangerous powers". "Isn't there a spell for that?" asked Sofia as she petted Wormwood. Cedric thought for a moment before saying "yes but it takes three sorcerers to perform it". Looking at the wall and seeing the portrait of his parents was missing Sofia asked "where's the painting of your parents?". Cedric scratched his head and said "well they came to explain about Serena last night and when they left I put the painting in my bedroom as I just can't look at them right now. They should have at least told me about her". Nodding her head Sofia slipped her arm around Cedric's waist and said "I wish I could make it better for you Cedric". Feeling Cedric's arm slip around her shoulders and pull her in to a hug she relaxed against him resting her head on his shoulder. "Thank you Sofia, you've always been a good friend to me". Pulling away from each other the sorcerer said "come on we have some herbs to pick and potions to make". Smiling Sofia grabbed the basket and followed Cedric into the garden.
The day was spent picking herbs and making potions. They two chatted away to each other building an even greater bond and as night fell Cedric sat down in his chair and said "I think that's it for today, you should go and get some rest before Baileywick comes pounding on my door". "Will you be okay?" asked Sofia as she boldly sat in his lap and gave him a hug. Wrapping his arms around her Cedric returned the hug and replied "yes Sofia I'll be okay". Looking at him the princess said "and no more whiskey". "Yes no more whiskey" said the sorcerer smiling. Sofia smiled widely and giving him a kiss on the cheek she left the workshop and made the journey back to her bedroom. Cedric watched her go before blowing out the candles and heading to his bedroom to get some sleep.
As Sofia entered her bedroom she saw that the window was open. "That's odd. Baileywick usually makes sure my window is closed before I sleep". Changing into her nightgown Sofia suddenly felt eyes watching her. Lighting a candle she looked around the room and then she saw her. A pale skinned woman with black hair and brown eyes standing by the bed. "Who are you?" asked Sofia feeling fear creep into her bones. The woman smiled and replied "I'm Serena". "Oh your Cedric's sister" said Sofia feeling safer. Nodding her head Serena walked closer to the princess and said "I guess he knows the truth now". "Yes but he was very upset that it was kept from him" said Sofia. "You like him?" asked Serena moving a foot closer. Sofia felt her cheeks blush before saying "I love him but I don't know how he feels and I don't know how to tell him or my family". Serena smiled before reaching out and pulling the amulet off from Sofia's neck. Before Sofia could scream for help Serena pulled out a wand and pointed it at her saying "somnus amat primum osculum". Sofia's eyes closed and she fell to the floor in a sleep like death. Smiling at the amulet in her hand Serena leapt out of the window and fled the castle grounds.