A/N: I had so much fun coming up with silly Sorcerer titles, I'm going to have to find ways to interject them into the story!

Disclaimer: I don't own Cedric and Sofia, or anyone else mentioned. I'm just jealous of Disney!

.o~O*O~o.

Twenty short minutes later they were both dressed and in the carriage.

Looking at Sofia, Cedric could see her jitters were back in force. His efforts to calm her had been spectacularly wrecked by Baileywick, and she sat now twisting her wand and bouncing one of her legs.

He decided to let her do what she had to do. Going before the Masters was a nerve wracking experience, there was no point in asking her to pretend otherwise.

He remembered his own test some sixteen years ago. Given his youthful tendency to fall apart in stressful situations, he considered his performance a near miracle.

Unfortunately, most people just assumed his test had been a formality. No one was going to fail Goodwin the Great's son no matter how badly the boy bungled things.

In fact Cedric had done rather superbly.

His old Master of Spells from Hexly Hall had been head of his board, and knowing the older man believed in him had gone a long way. Looking back he realized that Master Cassius was probably the only other person besides Sofia and his mother to have ever believed in him.

He knew when he walked through the Hall of Aspirations today he would feel his old teacher's absence keenly. It was a shame he'd never get to introduce Sofia to him. Cassius would have adored her.

Shifting his thoughts he looked through the materials Sofia had brought one last time. Making sure everything was accounted for.

Each Apprentice was required to bring a book containing no less than ten original spells and two potions ready to be demonstrated. The Masters would test both potions and ask the Apprentice to preform several of their spells. They might also quiz an Apprentice on subjects ranging from the history of magic, the specific ingredients of any number of potions, the properties of magical herbs and flowers, or ask them to translate phrases from English into the Latinate hybrid language of magic.

Sofia had brought five potions. Her spell book contained eighteen spells, conceived and written by her over the last eight years. She had been fluent in the magical language since the third year of her Apprenticeship, and he had long considered her a walking dictionary when it came to magical ingredients and their properties.

He knew she was leaving The Hall of Masters today with the title of Master Sofia. But he ached a little to see her so unsure about it.

Putting a hand on her bouncing knee, he caught her attention.

"Breathe, Dearest."

She smiled at him, about to say something, but just then the coach broke through the clouds and The Hall of Masters came into view.

It was a magnificent structure.

Hidden atop the Mount of Miracles (the tallest mountain in Enchancia) you could see only the sky above and the clouds below in every direction. The structure itself was vast, made entirely of magically enchanted crystal.

Up here they were above the weather and so from dawn to dusk the sun continually shone down on the fortress, hitting the crystal walls and shattering into the spectrum. It created the illusion the whole structure was one giant, glittering rainbow.

Sofia sucked in a shocked breath at the sight.

The coach landed, joining the receiving line of Apprentices, coming to be judged, and their mentors.

They waited a scant minute or two before it was their turn. An Apprentice of the Hall opened the carriage door for them and Cedric stepped out first, followed by Sofia who was taking in her surroundings with quiet awe.

Seeing her here, he wondered how she, or anyone else, could doubt she belonged.

He'd conjured the robes she wore today, as a good luck present, and she looked every inch a Sorceress.

Her dress was a simple, unpoofy, sky blue silk the exact shade of her eyes. Over it she wore a traditional robe in midnight blue silk, covered in silver moons and golden suns.

She'd left her hair loose and taken off her amulet (believing it wise not to advertise her ownership of such a rare magical bauble in a remote fortress filled with unfamiliar Sorcerers).

Her only adornments were her engagement ring and her own natural beauty.

And still she was the most exquisite, captivating woman there.

They passed through the audience chamber where people where always milling about and through to the Hall of Aspirations, the special wing of the fortress designated for testing aspiring Sorcerers once each year.

They joined the other Masters and their hopefuls waiting by a row of golden doors.

There were six rooms down one side of this corridor. Inside each sat six masters. They would call apprentices in and take anywhere from just a few minutes to sometimes a full hour to assess their worthiness.

There were about a hundred young men and women here today, which meant it would be a long day of waiting around.

When each apprentice emerged from their test everyone in the hall would be informed whether or not they'd passed. But no one would know who won honors until the celebration feast which began at dusk.

There were ten honors in all. Nine new Sorcerer's would receive medals for their performance today and one would receive the highest honor. A crystal wand made of the same beautiful material as the fortress itself, and enchanted for good luck.

When he'd taken his test he'd managed to win a medal. He remembered being so excited about it, until he'd shown it to his father the next day. Instead of being proud, the old man had shaken his head in disappointment, muttering how Goodwin the Great's son should have won the wand.

It had been a shattering moment for eighteen year old Cedric, but he was passed it now.

And he knew however Sofia did he would be proud of her. He had a special gift for he, which he'd been secreting away, for when they returned tonight. Something to show her that, in his eyes, she was already the greatest sorceress in all the known (and unknown) realms.

The clock in the great tower struck six times and as the last stroke echoed each of the doors opened. Six Apprentices of the Hall stepped out, scrolls in their hands.

The first tests were about to begin.

The hall went silent and the young girl standing in front of the first door let her voice ring out, bouncing off the crystalline walls and echoing with an authority belied by her small stature.

"Morris of Friesenburg, Apprentice of Master Marius the Meritorious, come forward if you wish to prove yourself worthy." A gangly young man with sandy hair and an oily complexion, about Sofia's age, pushed through the crowd to stand before the girl with the scroll.

She moved to the side and he entered the room. Following him in, she closed the door behind them.

The other Apprentices of the Hall called out for hopefuls down the line of doors.

When the last Apprentice called out, Cedric felt Sofia go ridged next to him.

"Sofia, Princess of Enchancia, Apprentice of Master Cedric Sorcerer Royal. Come forward if you wish to prove yourself worthy."

As if in a trance, Sofia began to move. Weaving her way through the crowd, she came to stand before the boy who had called her. He bowed low before stepping aside to let her enter the room, then followed her, closing the door behind them.

For all his confidence in her, Cedric felt his own nerves twitching a little.

He wished he was allowed to go with her, for moral support, but only the Apprentice was allowed in the testing room. So no question would arise later that a Master might have somehow helped their student pass. Instead he would just have to get comfortable slouching against the crystal pillar beside him and wait.

He'd only been standing for a few minutes when an unexpected voice called to him from over his shoulder.

"Master Cedric."

Cedric turned, shocked to see a familiar form bow to him. Courtesy and tradition ruled here, so he couldn't do anything but return the bow.

"Master Goodwin." He intoned before righting himself.

Now that courtesy had been satisfied they could address each other as normal.

"Father, I didn't know you'd be here today."

He probably should have guessed though. His father had an unusually large soft spot for his future daughter-in-law.

Cedric still remembered the afternoon they'd gone to Mystic Meadows to tell his parents about their engagement. It had been the same day they'd told Sofia's parents.

The King wanted to send a Royal Proclamation throughout the kingdom, announcing their betrothal as soon as possible, and so he and Sofia had felt it best to tell his parents right away before they found out from a Royal Crier.

Feeling relaxed and happy after the easy, unassuming way he'd been accepted by Sofia's family, Cedric had put his arm around her shoulders as they walked from the coach to the door. She'd returned the gesture, putting her arm around his waist and resting her head on his shoulder.

They were still standing like that when his mother answered the door.

Her initial surprise at seeing them unexpectedly on her doorstep, had given way to a large exhalation, as though some great weight had finally been lifted from her small shoulders.

Then she'd proved it was no accident she'd been given the title 'Winifred the Wise'.

"Oh thank goodness," she'd sighed rather dramatically. "The way you two were going, I feared I wouldn't live long enough to see my grandchildren."

Then she pulled them into a joint hug, kissing both their cheeks before ushering them inside.

By Contrast, when they'd told Goodwin the news he'd just sat there looking stunned for long moments, as if everyone in the world had suddenly gone crazy except himself.

Despite the mending of their relationship, by Sofia's own hands, Cedric had feared for a terrible moment his father was going to pull her down on the couch and try to talk sense into her. Explaining that she was about to make the mistake of her life by marrying his dud of a son, and begging her to reconsider while there was still time to avoid becoming Mrs. Cedric the So-So.

Instead he'd eventually cleared his throat and given them his blessing. But Cedric couldn't get past the notion his father was only happy because he liked Sofia so much. That he wanted her for a daughter badly enough to hold his peace, even though he secretly thought she was having an egregiously large lapse in judgment.

Now his father stood before him, slightly uncomfortable, but here. The way he hadn't been for Cedric all those years ago.

Goodwin coughed uncomfortably, as though he had the awareness to be at least somewhat chastened.

"Oh, well, I was summoned to help with the testing but when I pointed out that my future daughter-in-law was among those being judged, it was decided I should recuse myself from today's goings-on. I thought I would come and wait with you rather than returning to Mystic Meadows."

"That's kind of you Father." Cedric replied, his tone rather more neutral than grateful.

"Is she already inside?" Goodwin asked looking about for Sofia as, since childhood, she was generally always somewhere near Cedric.

"Yes. She was among the first group called."

"I hope things go well for her," but something in his voice seemed to suggest he didn't have much faith.

For some reason, the idea his Father doubted Sofia, broke some long restrained dam in him.

"Are you truly questioning her ability? You have seen what she is capable of! Why must you find fault with everyone and everything around you? Is it not enough you've been using me as punching bag for the last thirty-four years. Must you rain your incessant disapproval down on her now too?"

When Cedric finished, he saw his father had gone pale with shock.

Grabbing Cedric's arm with a force one would not have expected in a man just past seventy, Goodwin shoved Cedric behind the pillar where there was a little more privacy.

"Keep your voice down." Goodwin snapped, before lowering his own. "I'm not doubting her, boy, or you. She's beyond gifted and you've fostered those gifts quite amazingly."

Cedric wondered idly if such effusive praise burned on the way out of his father's mouth, but said nothing.

"I'm worried because of what went on when I recused myself this morning."

Now Goodwin had Cedric's full and un-embittered attention.

"Why? What happened?"

Goodwin looked down at the floor and shook his head slowly, as if he were truly discomfited to say out loud what he knew. But finally there was no help for it.

"Cedric the Master's doubt her ability and her right to be here."

"Because she's royalty." Cedric nodded, they'd been expecting that.

It was a notion he knew Sofia could disprove using only an ounce of her talent.

"No son, because of your personal relationship. I'm sure they're happy to hold any excuse against her. But that is the primary point of their discontent."

Cedric was stunned.

"You can't be serious?"

It wasn't an everyday occurrence, but he was hardly the first Master to have a romantic relationship with or even marry his Apprentice.

"I don't understand?" Was all Cedric could say.

"You see, well. There was talk about how when you marry Sofia you will become a Prince. That's not something that happens among our kind very often, or ever, if memory serves. And well she's so young and beautiful…" His father's voice trailed off.

But the unsaid "and your so much older and not much to look at" was obvious.

"Well… some of the older Masters intimated that they feared Sofia couldn't possibly be very talented. That she must have been … that she was trading her favors for your help passing the test."

Cedric had never felt such blinding rage. Not when the other children at school mocked him for failing to do everything perfectly on the first attempt. Not when his father or the King used to belittle him. Not even when he'd failed, yet again, to steal the Amulet of Avalor.

He had one hazy red moment when he determined to break down the door to the room Sofia was being tested in. He'd throw her over his shoulder, set the room and everyone in it ablaze, and walk away while it burned.

But the feeling of his father's hand on his arm brought him back to reality.

"You won't help her by barging in there. You'll just reinforce the idea she can't stand on her own."

His father was right of course. But it didn't take the awful sting out of the knowledge that people thought Sofia had thrown her body and her crown at him, to bribe him into writing her spells and concocting her potions.

They were mostly silent after that. Goodwin was as good as his word though, and stayed with Cedric while he waited for Sofia.

It was a long wait. The other five doors opened twice in the time they stood there, admitting new hopefuls, while the door to Sofia's room remained locked tight.

Finally, about three hours after she'd gone in, the sixth door opened and the small boy who was playing usher stood waiting for silence.

It fell quickly as everyone was curious to hear how the Master's had judged the Princess Apprentice.

"The Masters of this Hall have made their judgment!"

The boy's voice rang clear and pure through the hall.

"From this day forward Sofia, Princess of Enchancia, shall be known to all who have passed through these halls or ever shall as Master Sofia, Sorceress in her own right! All shall make way."

As they had for the other students who passed, everyone waiting gathered on either side of the door. When Sofia appeared looking drained but triumphant, they threw up cheers, applauding and bowing to her.

Sofia gave them all polite nods and thanked them. She was never anything but unfailingly polite, but it was clear to Cedric she wasn't really paying attention.

Then her eyes locked with his, from across the hall, and a powerful, victorious smile spread across her face. Ignoring everything else she ran to him.

At the sight of her rushing to his arms, his mind fell silent, save for a single thought:

FUCK. THEM. ALL!

He caught her up, and swung her around.

"Cedric I did it, I passed!"

He put her back on her feet after several circles and grabbed her face in his hands, kissing her long and hard.

Let them watch.

Let them judge.

She was his and he loved her more than he loved his own soul. He was prouder of her than he'd ever been of anything or anyone.

They'd given her a trial by fire for it, and she'd showed them all.