Apart

Summary: When Cedric has to attend a Royal Sorcery Seminar without Sofia and Nana, the girls must find ways to make the week go faster until he gets back home. Meanwhile, Cedric learns more about the Never Realm's uprising... (Plot and cover photo by MarionetteJ2X)

Disclaimer: I own nothing except the Never Realm and a few OCs mentioned here like Sir Finlay and Dante. Nana belongs to MarionetteJ2X. 😊

A/N: All right, everyone! This story leads us into our epic story coming up next (and by "epic," I mean that I've quite literally brought in as many important characters—both canon and OC—as I could before "Heartsong" premiers in December. :D). And I can now tell you the title of that story: "Malum In Se" (which is Latin for "Evil in Itself"). Just you wait. 😉 You have no idea what you're in for. Meanwhile, here's a sweet little piece of fluff for you before the big battle arrives. :D Y'all need fluff as much as these dorks do, so here you go! 😊

Chapter 1: The Royal Sorcerer Seminar

"Sofia, would you hold still?" Amber asked in annoyance as she tried to tighten the other princess's straps into place. "The sooner you let me finish this, the sooner you can get back to Cedric and Nana—who just can't make it without you for twenty minutes." She smiled sarcastically at her sister's reflection in her full-length mirror, snickering as Sofia rolled her eyes.

"It's not just that, Amber," the younger teen argued. "We've got a lot of things to do, and Mr. Cedric told me that he had something important to show me."

"Nothing is more important right now than making sure your bridesmaid dress fits." She finished her adjustments before walking in front of the other girl, smiling and folding her arms, nodding in satisfaction. "I love it. Mom did a great job on these…"

Sofia was now wearing a knee-length white dress with a pink ruffled under layer peeking out the bottom. The dress had one strap that spanned around her left shoulder, and along the top and strap were tiny pink flowers sewn into the fabric. Around her waist in an intricate fashion was a magenta ribbon that had been tied to her right side, dangling just past her hip. Her sandals were flat with white ribbons that tied up her calf. As of right now, there were no other accessories on her, save for her usual ones: her amulet, her GuardoRing, her Enchantlet, and her E.S. Bracelet. "Wow," she breathed as she looked at her reflection. "I look…"

"Beautiful," Amber finished for her, smiling and walking behind her sister, placing her hands on her shoulders.

Sofia laughed. "Thanks, Amber."

"And for the wedding day, I want you to braid your hair. I have a matching bow that will go with the dress. And there will be some yellow flowers around your wrists and just up here." She pointed to the top of Sofia's head near her swooping bangs.

"Okay, sure. But just one question…" She turned around, smirking at Amber. "You realize you're getting married on Wassailia, right? It's kind of going to be cold… It's early December now; it's already cold."

"I've talked to Cordelia, and she said she's going to handle the temperature. We're getting married inside, after all, so it's not like we're going to be trudging through snow or anything." She suddenly looked very far away with a dreamy smile on her face. "Although… That would be nice too…"

Sofia rolled her eyes and snapped her fingers a few times, getting the other princess to come back to her senses. "Focus, Amber. Are we finished?"

"Yes," the future queen responded with a laugh. "I know you want to get out of here. Oh, if you see Calista, tell her Mom has her dress ready too. Did you get to ask Sir Finlay and Gabriella if they'll let Sapphire be in the wedding?"

She nodded. "Yes. They said they'll be here."

"Great! Oh, and one more thing…" Amber smiled mischievously before walking over to her bed and lifting the lid off a box, withdrawing a tiny dress that matched Sofia's, except with two short sleeves. She walked back over to her sister and held up the dress. "For Nana."

Sofia gasped. "Oh, my—that is the cutest thing I have ever seen!" She took the dress from her sister and cuddled it momentarily before smiling. "Thank you, Amber, for letting her be in your wedding. It will mean a lot to Nana. It means a lot to me."

"She's part of our family now, Sofia." Amber winked and nudged her, taking the dress back. "She deserves to be a part of my wedding." She laughed softly as Sofia hugged her, thanking her again. "You're welcome, Sofia."

Cedric glanced up from peering over some documents and smiled as Sofia walked into the workshop. He raised an eyebrow in curiosity as he noticed that she looked a bit disheveled for some reason. "Did you run here or something?"

"N-No," she responded, closing the door behind her and leaning against it, releasing a slow breath. "I just…walked fast." She glared at her partner as he smirked at her. "Amber had me try on my bridesmaid dress, all right? I was scared if I lingered too long, she'd actually make me put on the entire outfit—accessories and all."

"Oh, really?" He sat up and folded his arms. "And, um… How does it look?"

She grinned as she composed herself, walking over to sit across from him. "It's very white…and wedding-y. I look like a walking pastry in it."

At that comment, the sorcerer couldn't help chuckling. "I'm sure you look beautiful in it."

The princess blushed modestly. "Thanks… Amber said I did, so I guess that's two compliments today." She laughed before looking around. "Where's Nana?"

Cedric pointed toward a large red pillow at the base of his staircase leading up to the top window, upon which Nana was lying and was covered with a heavy purple blanket. "She seemed a bit tired, so I put her down for a nap."

"Aww. She's too cute." Sofia giggled.

"You think that's cute?" He stood up and grasped her hand with one hand, placing his finger to his lips with the other hand. "Shh." He carefully led her over to the sleeping girl and gently pulled back the blanket, revealing a sleeping Wormwood as well, tiny snores seeping through his beak every now and again.

"Oh, my gosh…" Sofia snickered as she leaned against him. "He did that on his own?"

"And he tries to act indifferent to her." He gestured vaguely toward the sleeping duo. "The proof is on the pillow, so to speak."

"Looks like it. Oh, you said you had something to show me?" Before he could even respond, there was a knock on his door, so she smiled at him and released his hand. "I'll get it." She walked over and opened the door, blinking at Baileywick standing before them, a solemn look on his face. "Baileywick? What's wrong?"

The steward sighed and turned instantly toward Cedric. "King Roland would like to speak with you, Cedric…"

"Nothing good ever begins with those words," Cedric remarked as he moved toward his door. "Whatever about?"

"I'm not at liberty to say. But he did request to speak with you alone."

Sofia gaped at him. "Alone?" She frowned, placing her hands on her hips. "What's this all about, Baileywick? Mr. Cedric and I are partners. We share everything."

Baileywick smiled apologetically toward the princess. "Not everything, I'm afraid, Princess Sofia…" He looked toward Cedric. "Come on, Cedric. He's waiting for you." He turned and began descending the stairs of the tower.

Cedric cast an apologetic look toward his baffled partner before leaving the workshop, closing the door behind him.

Sofia sighed heavily, wrapping her arms around herself. What could be going on that her father didn't even want her to be a part of it? She didn't have a good feeling about this…

Roland glanced up from his paperwork as Cedric entered the throne room. No one else was even in there, except for Baileywick, who'd simply ushered Cedric inside before leaving. "Close the door, Cedric."

Cedric gulped nervously before doing as he was told. He wasn't quite sure what was going on. Had he done or said something to make the king angry? Did he need advice that no one else could offer and he wanted it to be kept a secret? (Yeah, that one seemed a bit far-fetched, but anything seemed possible these days…) He carefully approached the king before bowing respectfully. "How may I help you, King Roland?" Even though they were technically friends now, he knew when things were friend-related and business-related, and this one seemed somewhere even beyond business.

"I've noticed you and Sofia talking quite a bit lately about the Never Realm." Seeing the sorcerer nod, he placed his paperwork aside before sighing. "I've recently received a message—a summons, more like—about all royal sorcerers being required to attend a conference on the Never Realm. That includes you, Cedric."

He nodded. "Yes, sire. I was unaware of this summons until now."

"So was I." He looked over the side of his throne before withdrawing an envelope, handing it to his friend, who accepted it. "You're to leave tomorrow. It will be a week-long seminar. Apparently, they're going to cover some critical insight into this whole Never Realm thing."

"I'm afraid it's far more urgent than this letter makes it sound, King Roland." Cedric glanced up after he'd finished reading over the summons. "The Never Realm has been rising for quite some time now. As you know, Nana came from one of the cults based there. While her connection to them has been destroyed, along with the cult itself, she still has base ties to the realm. That's why Merlin wanted her to stay with us: so that she would be safe."

"I understand. And don't worry. I'm perfectly fine with the little girl staying here." He smiled thoughtfully for a moment. "Especially since she and Corban seem to have found a friendship with each other."

"Hmm, yes…" Cedric chuckled.

"Not to mention, what it's done for you and Sofia."

The sorcerer blinked, surprised by the other man's words. "W-What do you mean, King Roland?"

Roland smiled. "I didn't think it was possible to bring the two of you closer together, but she's managed that somehow. She's brought out a maturity in Sofia that I wasn't expecting to see for a long time (not that she wasn't already rather mature, of course). And she's brought out a more content and happier side to you as well." He chuckled as Cedric absently fiddled with the letter, shoving it back into the envelope. "She just seems to make everyone happier. And I'm glad for that."

Cedric smiled before nodding. "She has. I wasn't sure about being one of her guardians, of course, because… Well, children aren't necessarily always my forte. But having Sofia's help, as well as the rest of you helping, has really been great. So, in a way, I suppose I should be thanking you as well, King Roland."

The king laughed. "You're welcome, then. Oh, speaking of Sofia and Nana… You realize they won't be able to go with you."

He sighed. "I noticed. I dread telling them…"

"I can just hear that guilt-trip now: 'But Mr. Cedric, we do everything together! You could just sneak us into the meeting, right?'" Roland suddenly broke character with his 'Sofia impersonation' before giving his friend a pointed look and saying, "Don't do that, by the way."

Cedric laughed. "Hadn't planned on it, Your Majesty…" He then tucked the letter into his robe. "I suppose I should tell them now, though, because the longer I wait, the more upset they'll be."

Roland just smiled. "It's good to be missed when you're gone, though, isn't it? At least you know how much you mean to them."

He was a bit surprised by the insightful comment, but still he smiled and nodded. "I agree completely, King Roland."

"A week?!"

Cedric rubbed his ears before giving his partner a sympathetic smile. "I'm sorry, Sofia…"

Sofia, who was holding onto Nana (who looked just as astounded as her guardian at the news), frowned in dismay. "But…a week? A week is such a long time."

"Sofia, you went a week here and there without seeing me in the past. Why is now so different?"

"Because we're different." She gestured between the two of them. "We're not the same people we used to be, and you know it." She then nodded toward Nana, whose lip was trembling a bit. "Not to mention, we're both Nana's guardians. She needs both of us."

He smiled patiently. "I understand your disappointment, my dear, but it's only for a week." He chuckled as she shuffled toward him, loosely hugging him as Nana threw her arms around his neck. He gently patted each of their backs, caressing Sofia's hair in the process. "Besides, it will be over before you know it. And you'll have everyone here to help you with Nana and to keep you company."

Sofia sighed and looked up at her friend. "It's not the same, and you know it."

He gently tugged on her ponytail, causing her to laugh softly. "Tell you what. We'll spend the rest of the day together, doing whatever you and Nana want to do. How does that sound?"

The girls exchanged glances, and Nana frowned and nodded firmly, a determined look on her cute face.

Sofia smiled. "Sounds like a plan."

To be continued…

Next chapter: Aboard and Depart

(Note: You'll find out what Cedric wanted to show Sofia by the end of this story. 😉 I promise.)