Chapter 2: Magical Preparations

"We are landing Sofia, I can't do anything while we are riding and you need to get warm NOW."

"ok" was all she could muster. They landed at the little village in front of a small inn. Cedric used magic to force the door open, and grabbed Sofia off the horse carrying her inside. It was the middle of the night, and no one was present, but there were still embers burning in the hearth. He set her down in front of the fireplace and chanted spells to ignite the fire into a heavy blaze. The general commotion woke the innkeepers, as an older gentleman emerged carrying a large wooden stick.

"Ey, we don't want no trouble here so be on yer way."

Cedric turned to face them, "Oh no. No. We don't mean to rob you. I am Cedric, the Royal Sorcerer of Enchancia and this is Princess Sofia. We were traveling and Sofia became too cold to continue. She needs to warm by the fire for a while. Sofia could feel the warmth of the fire relaxing her, the shivers beginning to disappear. The relaxation had its price, though, and she began to drift off to sleep.

She awoke the next morning in a bed with covers drawn over her. The extra layers she had been wearing to keep warm were folded in a pile near the door to this small room she now occupied. There was a fireplace in this room too, which was actively engaged, as well as a washbasin. Light streamed in from the window opposite the door. It was extremely warm and pleasant. She glanced over and saw Cedric on the other side of the bed. He was also covered in blankets, but was still fast asleep. He must have convinced the innkeeper to let them stay the night. Sofia inched closer to him, listening to the quiet wheezing his breathing produced, watching his chest rise and fall slowly. He drooled a little while he slept too, his pillow bore the telltale wet spot underneath his mouth. She couldn't resist it, and kissed his forehead gently so as not to wake him. He was so handsome, so caring and kind, in his way.

She got up out of bed and wandered toward the door. Opening it ever so slowly she peered out into the hallway. Closing the door behind her with a small creak and click she walked down the corridor to the entranceway of the night prior.

"Good morning yer highness."

Sofia jumped a bit as the voice of the older man boomed so early in the morning.

"Oh, hello. My name is Sofia."

"And I be Jim. Me wife Clara be cooking some breakfast, ye want some?"

"Oh yes please!"

Filling her stomach, she made a small plate for Cedric and returned to the room in order to give it to him. She saw him stir a bit when she reentered the room, which was enough to jolt him back to reality. For when he awoke he immediately panicked, tossing blankets off the bed. His eyes shot up looking around the room until they rested on Sofia. "Don't run off in a strange place Sofia!" He then relaxed and slumped back down into his covers.

"I didn't wander off, I got you breakfast, see." She proceeded to show him the plate of goodies the innkeepers wife had made. He went straight for the pancakes.

"I didn't know you liked pancakes Cedric."

"Yes well we don't eat breakfast together often, do we Princ…Sofia."

"Hmm. Maybe we should do that more often then, I don't know if you realize but I make some excellent goldenberry pancakes." She smiled widely at him, and a large grin crossed his face.

"If it's anything like that Apple pie you make I believe it." He chomped down on another bite of pancake, but suddenly his expression changed. His eyes furrowed and nose curled up a bit. "On second thought, maybe that's not the best idea. It's very early and I'm not really a morning person."

There was a bit of an awkward silence, which Cedric broke by munching on more pancakes.

"How far did we get last night Cedric, I don't remember much after the… Oh the aurora, is it still okay?"

Sofia looked over nervously at Cedric's pile of outerwear, resisting every urge to rummage through his belongings.

"It's fine Sofia. We should get going, I don't think your parents are going to be thrilled we've been gone ALL night."

"Oh Cedric I'm sure it's fine."

"No, it's NOT fine. When we take off like this I'm in charge and if your Father or James found out you nearly froze to death on my watch MY body would be the next one in the freezer."

"Hey, I'm NOT a little girl anymore. I'm the one who dragged you out here, if anything I'm responsible for YOU."

Cedric snorted, "What are you talking about, you're still just a child, and I'm responsible for you, and it will be the death of me if I don't bring you home safe and sound."

Sofia crossed her arms and pouted, until she realized that this very act of displeasure did indeed look childish. "Okay okay I'm sorry, I just realized that the only way you could make the northern lights appear at the solstice celebration was to actually have a piece of the real northern lights."

Cedric looked up from the remnants of his breakfast he had been so diligently munching on. "I still don't know what you were thinking. If I uncork that tiny piece and stick it in the sky everyone will laugh at me, the entire kingdom and every sorcerer and sorceress within a hundred miles. Oh Merlin."

Sofia sat down next to him, pulling the cleaned plate away and setting it on the nearest chair. "I thought about that. Why don't you just make a potion that will make the tiny piece bigger and then combine them at the ceremony." Cedric's expression went blank. "I know you can do it Cedric, I've seen you make all kinds of potions that enlarge objects. This would be the same thing, but you're enlarging the effect instead."

Cedric reached over and hugged her, much to Sofia's delight. "Poseidon's pumpkins that's it! You clever girl! I know just the potion to brew. Oh, but it'll take time, and I'll have to collect some rare materials."

The next two weeks were a blur of solstice preparations. Sofia spent a great deal of time helping Cedric collect all the ingredients for his potion. Only one more day to go, and everything was collected, but it was getting very late in the evening.

"I think we should take a break and brew the potion tomorrow, okay Sofia?"

"Uh-huh. I'm soo…. Tired." Yawns were escaping her involuntarily.

Cedric rose from his stool and ushered her off her seat, "Off to bed with you, off."

"I'll see you tomorrow Cedric, okay?"

"Yes yes, tomorrow."

That night another dream came to Sofia. It was more vivid, and terrifying. The pitch-black darkness again, but this time 2 bursts of sunlight. A little girl dressed in flowing robes near a swiftly moving stream. Again, the dream was happening in slow motion. The girl was skipping along the stones that barely surfaced from the steady moving waters, far away from her family. She slipped and fell, unable to resist the current as she was dragged down into the watery depths and out of sight. It was awful, but the dream ended quickly. If this dream also became reality, she was going to need a strategy to save the girl.

All day Sofia was preoccupied by her dream, to the extent that she wasn't entirely focused on Cedric during the preparation of the critical potion.

"Cedric, what spell would you cast to save someone from drowning?"

Cedric just stood there and stared at her, the potion bubbling on the bench top between them. "Really what kind of question is that? We are brewing potions, not going swimming Sofia."

"No really Cedric, is there a spell that can lift someone out of the water?"

She saw Cedric gnash his teeth at the distraction, but he stopped stirring and handed her the ladle. "Stir this, SLOWLY." Once she began stirring he spoke, "It all depends on the situation Sofia. If someone is in a lake you simply lift them out of the water using a hovering spell, if someone is trapped under ice you use a melting spell first, if someone is in rushing water you make the water still and then lift them out, you get the message?"

Sofia thought about it for a minute. The girl in her dreams fell into rushing water. "So that means, if someone fell into a fast moving river, one would need to make the water still using a movement spell… like 'Arresto'? and then… lift them out with a hovering spell.. maybe.. 'Flotillus Hoverati'? Is that right?"
Cedric glanced up from weighing out the dragon's claw shavings to shoot her an irritated look. "Yes that's what I said now wasn't it. Now add exactly 3 of these." He put a vial down next to her right arm full of long black bat eyelashes.

Sofia wasn't sure that she would be sent to help this girl, but if she was at least she had a plan now. She reached down and grabbed a vial near her arm. She started to think, why was she being sent to help these girls in obvious peril? When princesses came to aid her as a child they would simply offer advice, they never actively saved her. Sofia slowly dropped 3 small yellow balls into the potion. Cedric turned toward her as they fell, yelping in horror as they touched the brew.

A huge explosion rang out from the tower that was heard as far away as the gardens. When the smoke cleared Cedric and Sofia were standing there covered in yellow goop, as was the rest of the workshop. The potion was ruined.

"SOFIA, what were you thinking? you needed to add bat eyelashes not poseylocks!"

"I'm so sorry Cedric, I was just…. distracted."

"Well, distracted isn't going to cut it this time, it took me two weeks to collect enough unicorn tears for that potion. Do you know how hard it is to make a unicorn CRY?"

"I do, I really do, I'm so sorry-"

"King Roland wants this, I NEED this for TOMORROW. TRITON'S TURNIPS Sofia, I'll never be able to clean up this mess, let alone remake the potion!"

"I'm so sorry Cedric, I really am."

"OUT."

"But—"

"I said it's time for you to go Sofia, OUT."

"I'll tell Dad, Cedric it WAS all my fault, please—"

"OUT."

"I can clean it, PLEASE let me—"

And with that, Cedric rose and pushed his tearful princess out of the workshop, slamming the door behind her. Sofia felt horrible at having ruined Cedric's hard work, and ran down the stone steps and out of the tower toward the gardens outside, tears streaming from her eyes, still holding her training wand. Around several corners she turned, and caught sight of Amber hosting a tea party with Hildegard and Clio. They would not understand why Sofia would be so upset at angering Cedric. Sofia ducked around a corner so as to not be noticed, and ran down along the rose bushes until she came to the familiar trees obscuring the entrance to her secret garden. Once inside she collapsed by the pond, crying adolescent tears.

She was laying there, miserable and damp from the dew on the ground, when she heard the castle clocks chime 2 o'clock. The twinkling light engulfed her once again. When the light dissipated she was standing along the edge of a river. The very same river from her dream last night. She looked to her left, and saw the little girl skipping along the stones.

"The dreams are real."