Here is chapter 2. After this, you are halfway through this story. :( It is so much shorter, I know.

Still, enjoy it while you can! :) It gets very, very interesting at the end of this chapter!


"What do you mean you have to leave?" Sofia demanded when she'd gotten home from school to find a trunkful of magical items being packed.

"It's a Royal Sorcerer's meeting," Cedric replied. "Was called this morning. Some sort of huge disturbance. It's a genuine emergency, or some sort of nonsense."

"Nonsense?" the girl asked.

"If a king or queen called the meeting, it's usually not really a magical emergency. I'll be back, hopefully sooner rather than later. You know if you need anything, I'm a simple thought away."

Sofia walked him to the flying carriage, petting the horses kindly and telling all of them to be careful.

"Of course, Princess," Quartz replied, ruffling her feathers.

"It's alright, Sofia. I'll be back really soon."

She bit her bottom lip, glancing around. Cedric noticed; she'd been doing that since she got home.

"Is something wrong?"

"I just really don't think you should go. I have a really, really bad feeling."

"What kind of bad feeling?"

"Something feels…off. I don't know…"

"Wrong. Something feels wrong," Cedric said after a brief skim through her mind and feelings. Now that he'd felt what she did, he couldn't help but detect the same wrong feeling that had been following him all day. They were both so sensitive with magic that he shook his head as he threw his trunk in the back and said, "It's very important that I go."

"Why?" she asked desperately.

"If we both feel that something is wrong, and we can't tell what is causing it, there must really be something wrong magically. I will keep you informed of what's happening. You know enough magic that you can handle yourself if something bad occurs." She looked unsure so that he placed his hands on her shoulders. "I trust you, Sofia. You're a strong, brave girl. You can handle more than you think. Okay?"

"Okay," she whispered. She embraced him then he got up into the carriage. The coachman hurried out of a side door and bowed slightly.

"Are you ready, sir?"

"I am. Fly quickly. It is an emergency meeting, and everybody needs to get there as soon as possible," Cedric said.

"Yes, sir. Princess, if you would stand back," the man said.

She took several steps away then waved halfheartedly as they took off. She was so nervous, and even James noticed her unease at breakfast the next morning.

"You okay, sis?" he asked, his voice a bit lower than it had been as a child. At seventeen, he had grown just as tall as his father, and he had matured quite a bit since the day he got to be king for a day. He still had his moments, but then again, he was still a boy.

"Just tired," she lied quietly. "I think I'm going to take a walk."

She hurried to the secret spot that Cedric had shown her. It was well-maintained, and Sofia often went there alone when her friend was too busy. She seated herself on a bench she solidified from the small fountain then focused on Cedric. He welcomed her into his mind as he walked into the room full of sorcerers. He was no longer intimidated by other magic users, or most other people, and when everybody turned to see who had entered, he simply inclined his head and seated himself.

"Is everybody here?" he asked Ivan the Incredible, who was sitting beside him.

"Silvia isn't," Ivan replied with his thick accent. "And Trenton isn't coming. There was an incident with a dragon."

"I got here as fast as possible. Who called the meeting?"

"Raymond the Rich," Ivan replied. "Something very big must have happened, because he was going on about something to do with time."

"Time?" Cedric groaned. "Doesn't every sorcerer know not to play with time? There are aging potions and youth spells, but that's dangerous enough! Did somebody go back to ten minutes ago or something?"

"It is much worse than that, Cedric. Something came forward. Several somethings," Raymond said, his deep voice pouring over them like a good drink.

"What?"

"We don't know, but we need to find out."

There was a rustle and somebody came barreling through the hedge to her left, making Sofia scream and come back to her own surroundings. She stared in horror at what she saw.

~Cedric? I think I know what came through.~

~What?~ he asked her in bewilderment.

She stared at the young face, the silver eyes so familiar, yet so foreign and filled with an old fear that she hadn't seen in years. His thin chest was heaving for breath, his gaunt cheeks bright red, and he looked terrified.

~You.~ She said softly.