Chapter 3: The Summer Solstice

"The dreams are real."

She watched the little girl slip from the rock, falling sideways into the stream, just as she had in her dream.

"Oh no!"

Sofia rushed toward the girl, but the current was moving swift, and the girl was being swept along with it. She had to save this girl, NOW. Sofia held out her wand, and without a second thought raised it up, pointed at the drowning child and chanted "Arresto!" to halt the water's movement, followed quickly by "Flotillus Hoverati!" Sparks flew from the wand, and a great magical air current burst forth, blowing a hole in the water and wrapping the girl in a swirling vortex of wind. The child was slowly lifted up out of the water, and Sofia adeptly maneuvered the air current over to the edge of the riverbank, depositing the sopping wet girl in the grass.

"Hey there, are you okay?"

The child coughed, then gazed up at Sofia. This girl was perhaps 7 years old, had green eyes, pale skin and silky golden hair. The child stared at Sofia, stunned at all that had just transpired. The girl finally caught her breath, "Who are you?"

"Oh, well I'm Sofia. Who are you?"

"I'm Princess Anne, of Salzenburg." That sounded oddly familiar to Sofia, but she'd investigate later.

"Well hello Anne, it's nice to meet you. Why are you all alone here? It's dangerous to be playing in a river flowing this fast."

The girls eyes dropped down to her soaked clothing, "I'm sorry."

"Oh, it's okay. Here, stand up and I'll dry you off, alright?"

The girl smiled, in a familiar sort of way, but Sofia couldn't place it. She chanted the "Parcheto" spell and the moisture wicked away from the little princess and back into the river.

"Now that's better." Sofia smiled warmly at the girl, and she returned the sentiment.

Just then Sofia heard a voice, "Anne, Anne!" A unicorn came bounding out from behind the trees, nuzzling up to princess Anne. The girl reached out to stroke the unicorns muzzle, comforting the poor beast. "Oh Shimmer, I'm sorry. But look, I'm okay, this lady saved me."

The unicorn turned it's head toward Sofia, "I wish I could thank you for saving my Princess", and tears began to pour down the unicorns face.

Sofia smiled brightly, "You just did." Wait, the unicorn was crying. "I don't suppose… this is going to sound really awkward but my friend is brewing a potion that I kind-of ruined.." Sofia gestured down to the yellow smatterings all over her dress "and I need more unicorn tears to remake it. I don't suppose I could maybe… bottle the ones on your cheek?"

The horse neighed in affirmation, and Sofia conjured a bottle quickly to capture the precious liquid. Princess Anne just stared at Sofia.

"Thank you for saving me, sorceress."

"Anytime Princess Anne." And with that Sofia was wrapped in the twinkling light and deposited back into her secret garden.

She knew what ingredients they needed, and what was completely used. Now that she had the unicorn tears, the rest was fairly easy to obtain, if time consuming. She raced around the rest of the evening gathering materials. It was long after dinner when she had acquired all the necessary ingredients, and hurriedly sped up to Cedric's workshop.

She stepped inside cautiously. The explosion from earlier hadn't been cleaned, and Cedric was nowhere to be found. She searched around a bit before Wormwood entered through the open window.

"Really Princess Sofia you shouldn't be in here. He's extremely upset."

"Wormwood I got the unicorn tears, we can remake the potion."

Wormwood gave her a sideways glance. "Sofia, Cedric's been awake for days planning this. You know he's not exactly at his best when performing and there will be thousands of people there watching him fail. He's passed out on his bed from the stress of it all."

"Oh Wormwood he WON'T fail, I'm going to make sure of it!"

Sofia walked quietly down the stairs and peered into Cedric's bedroom. He kept the place neat, well neat for a bachelor. He was indeed asleep on the bed, fully dressed in different robes than earlier and in what looked to be a horribly uncomfortable position, but he was asleep. A pile of yellow stained garments lay in the laundry basket off in the far corner of the room. She drew her wand and gracefully lifted him from the bed, pulling out the sheets and flipping him ever so slowly over to rest in it comfortably. She then covered him with the blankets and walked over to where he was now resting peacefully. She whispered to him, "Good night my handsome sorcerer" as she bent down and hovered above his face, debating whether she should do what she'd been dreaming of for years now. If she was gentle, gentler than a fly, maybe she could get away with it. She closed her eyes and closed the distance between them, lightly touching her lips to his. He didn't rouse, and she proceeded back up the stairs. Newly motivated by the taste of him, Sofia worked tirelessly through the night. Wormwood did his best to ignore her as she brewed the potion and cleaned the splattered yellow mess throughout the workshop. As day broke the potion finally set up correctly. She bottled it carefully, and turned to Cedric's desk searching for a pen and paper.

Cedric,

I am truly sorry that I was distracted earlier. Something

did happen to me, but we can talk about it after the Solstice.

I know how stressful this must be for you, but I also know,

without a doubt, that you will be amazing.

I got the unicorn tears, and I made the potion, but I'm pretty

tired now so I'm going to my room to sleep.

Please don't be mad at me anymore. I want to see you

perform this magic at the summer solstice

celebration so much, please let me be there with you.

Please.

I'm sorry.

-Sofia

She wrapped the note around the bottle, and snuck back downstairs to where Cedric lay sleeping. She set the potion on the empty nightstand near his head, and crept back out of the room. It was time for sleep, however long it lasted.

Thankfully the night brought no new dreams of princesses or amulets. Sofia awoke groggy around midday. All this staying up late had messed up her internal clock. "Well, today's the day, hooray?" She glanced down to see a note written on parchment from Cedric's workshop sitting on top of her bed sheets.

Sofia,

I never imagined you would go off and make a

unicorn cry, for me. Thank you. I'm supposed to

be your mentor and all this while you're the one

saving my neck. I wouldn't dream of ignoring you

at the solstice celebration. I need your strength.

I'll be waiting for you this afternoon at the coaches.

-Cedric

A smile burst out of Sofia's face and joyous laughter rang out through the upstairs hallway. It was already past lunch, and her tummy began to rumble loudly. Sofia noticed a neatly prepared sandwich sitting on her dresser. The lettuce had been removed, and bits of its remains trailed off the plate.

"Clover."

She looked around the dresser toward the floor. "Sorry Sofia, I was hungry."

She gobbled down the rest of her sandwich and noted it was sorely lacking in taste. "Cedric must have conjured it." To which Clover nodded in affirmation. "You think the guy could putt a little more 'umph' into it, you know what I mean."

Sofia shrugged, "Oh Clover! I'll see you later tonight, okay?". Her rabbit nodded contentedly. She walked over to her closet to retrieve the dress specially designed for today. It was blue and black and came about her shoulders as her normal dresses did, but she had personally sewn extra silver strands onto the bottom and up the skirt. She'd spent hours meticulously replicating constellations visible in the summer sky, so that now her dress and matching cape looked like a mini replica of the night. Sofia retrieved her wand from the nightstand and spoke the enchantment to make them glimmer like the stars. Once thoroughly fastened in, she bolted down the stairs toward the front door. Her family was gathering on the front step, but there was no sign of Cedric.

Miranda spotted Sofia first, "Hi there Sofia. My you were up late last night, weren't you?"

"Good morning, I mean afternoon. Yes, I was up late helping Cedric, but everything should be okay now. Have you seen him? I want to make sure he didn't forget his potions."

"Why no I haven't dear."

Amber turned to look at Sofia, and a look of anger mixed with jealousy gathered on her face. "Sofia, where did you get that dress."

"Oh hi Amber, it's just one of my dresses, but I sewed on the stars." Amber let a quick "hmph" escape her lips before walking down the steps.

Miranda turned to Sofia, "Oh don't worry Sofia, Amber's just been excited about the dress she was going to wear. I'm sure she isn't really upset."

"Okay Mom."

James came up to Sofia, his eyes were wide open as if he'd just seen something remarkable. "Wow Sof- you look amazing today."

"Thanks James."

James reached out and touched her dress, lifting the fabric off her leg ever so slightly to inspect the stitchery, running his fingers slowly over the fabric. Sofia was extremely confused, Amber was usually the one with the eye for fine stitchery, not James. He seemed truly impressed. "Did you do this yourself Sofia?"

"Well yeah, you know I sew things from time to time. Hey, knock it off James, you'll mess up the enchantment!" Sofia batted his hand away from her dress and it fell back against her leg.

"Sorry Sof." There was an awkward pause and James began to rub his arm strangely. "You know you don't have to."

"I don't have to what James?"

"You don't have to sew if you don't want to. We're royals after all, if you told me that's what you've been up to the last few weeks I could have had the seamstress sew it for you. Then you could have come with me to those parties you missed." James stood back up and shot Sofia a half smile as he extended his hand out to escort her to the coach. The coachman began to usher everyone toward their waiting ride, but Sofia hesitated, raising her hands up to wave James off. Roland called out to Sofia, "Come on Sofia, we don't want to be late."

"Uh, Dad, I was going to wait for Cedric. He's the star of the show, after all." She glanced around frantically, and finally saw her sorcerer emerge from the castle. He was dressed in a black formal robe that stretched almost down to the floor. Underneath he wore his signature purple shirt, but had replaced the typical yellow ribbon with a black one instead.

"See Dad, there he is. I'll go with Cedric, see you guys there!"

After a very grumpy huff from James the family boarded the coach took off, leaving Cedric and Sofia alone on the front steps. Sofia took several steps over to him, "Hi there. You dressed for the Solstice?"

He looked up at her, almost embarrassed. "Why yes, I believe the occasion called for it. What are you wearing Princess?… I mean Sofia."

She giggled, which made him smile briefly. "Do you like it, I did a lot of it myself! I even enchanted the stars to make them shine."

"It's very nice, but where did you learn how to do that?"

Sofia looked down at the marble steps. Hmph, she was caught. She was never supposed to do magic without him there to ensure nothing backfired, and he hadn't taught her the spell.

"Oops."

"You went and did magic without me, and on a spell you'd had no instruction on no less. You could have been hurt." Cedric was clearly agitated.

"I'm sorry, but I wanted it to be a surprise, and it was a pretty innocuous spell."

"That's not the point and you know it." He sighed deeply. "Well, it's done. Just don't do it again, okay? I don't want you getting hurt." He touched her cheek briefly but just as quickly removed the offending finger, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "I'm responsible for you and your magic. The King would have my head served to him on a platter with cheese and your brother would eat it."

"Okay, no more spells today without your say-so!" Sofia reached out and grabbed his arm, tugging at it to free the hand from the pocket. "But I do have my wand just in case you say-so." With that she smiled up at him, and he returned the gesture.

"Let's go!"

The summer solstice celebration was always held on the same mystic isle, not far of from the island on which Royal Prep and Hexley Hall were located. It was a non-kingdom affiliated land that was inhabited only once a year for this very joyous occasion. Royals from almost every corner of the continent and sorcerers from near and far came to celebrate the beginning of a new year. This year Enchancia was due to perform a spell of dazzling wonder, and King Roland had called on Cedric to recreate the aurora borealis. Cedric's magic had improved over the years, with large doses of help and encouragement from Sofia. She didn't mind helping out though, she'd do anything for her sorcerer.

The ceremony was always held in a large valley. At the very center was a stone formation. The rocks were easily double the height of the tallest man, with intricate carvings dug into their sides. Royals gathered outside this stone ring in great booths, and beyond the thick crowds of royalty hundreds if not thousands of commoners mingled in a massive crowd. It would be unnerving to even the most seasoned sorcerer. Sofia remembered back to last year's solstice celebration. Goodwin and Winnifred has bestowed a great honor on Sofia and allowed her join them in the Sorcerers circle, even though she wasn't really a sorceress. At one point, Goodwin told the tale from when he was the chosen sorcerer to usher in the New Year. It had been almost two decades, but he recalled it as the most harrowing experience of his life. As they approached the circular stone formation where Cedric was to perform the magic she saw her sorcerer waver. Several dozen wizards were already gathered inside the stone circle. She watched as the telltale signs of his nervousness began to show. She walked a bit faster and stopped directly in his way, forcing him to halt as well.

"Hey, look at me." She tried to coax his gaze up to her face, but his eyes remained fixed at her feet. "Cedric, don't worry. It will be great, I promise. I know you can do this, I KNOW it." With that, his head finally turned upward toward her face, his eyes settling on the giant smile she wore to encourage him. He gave a half-smirk and reached out for her hand, clasping it and squeezing tightly.

"Thank you."

They continued onward for just a bit, and then Cedric yanked her backward. "Wait, you can't go in there this time. Father and Mummy aren't here yet, and Royals aren't allowed past the stones."

"But Cedric, I'm kind of your apprentice so—"

"Not officially Sofia, none of the other sorcerers would accept it."

"But how can I help you if I'm all the way up where Mom and Dad are?"

"Uh, I don't know but—I'm already nervous, don't make me worry about you too."

Sofia thought about it for a moment. "What if I take off my tiara? My dress looks like a sorcerer would wear it, it's even enchanted. No one will suspect, I don't even recognize any of those sorcerers."

He stood firm in her path, shaking his head from side to side. Sofia realized worrying about her was the last thing he needed to be doing, even if it would ruin her solstice experience and she'd be hard pressed to help him from this distance. She looked up at the large stones in circular formation and an idea came to her.

"Alright Cedric, alright. I really want to go but if you say I can't then I guess I won't do it." She watched him nervously exhale. "But I still want to help you, so how about this. I'm going to climb this rock, and I'll be sitting on top of it. If you get nervous just look at me and it'll be alright."

He looked at her sheepishly through his bangs with nervousness still wracked upon his face.

"Hey there Cedric the Sensational. You know I'm here right, and I'll always be here. No matter what happens, you will ALWAYS be Cedric the Sensational to me. Always. You can do this, never doubt that okay."

He turned to look at her. She could see he was terrified, but somehow he managed a response.

"Okay."

"I mean it Cedric, when you get on top of that rock in the center I'll be right up there. You look at me and no one else, okay. No distractions. Imagine it's just me and you in your workshop. I'll be right here, and everything will be okay."

He nodded, and then the low melodic chant of the wizards began. The last ray of sun had disappeared behind the mountain. It was time.

Cedric slowly walked toward the giant stone in the center of the ring and ascended the small stone steps that were cut into it's side, finally standing atop it. Sofia climbed the giant stone pillar nearest to her and took up position, too busy trying not to fall to notice her amulet had begun twinkling again. Cedric paused on top of the rock, nervously wringing his hands together, but finally looked out at her. Sofia mustered everything ounce of encouragement she could give him, big eager eyes and a giant smile, she clasped her hands and brought them up to her neck, hoping that he would be okay. Cedric's eyes lingered on her. He then smiled and closed his eyes. From one pocket he drew the bottle of borealis light, from the other the potion Sofia had brewed that morning. He opened both bottles and tossed them high into the air. Swiftly, he pulled his family wand from his robes and aimed high, chanting the spell that would combine the two with a rare amount of authority in his voice,

"Coalescencio!"

Light burst forth from his wand, uniting the contents of the two bottles in a fantastic explosion of light and color that streaked across the skies. The crowd erupted in cheers and adulation. He had done it! It was breathtaking to behold.

Sofia stopped to look up at the amazing feat for a while. When she looked down again Cedric was gone. There was a large group of sorcerers around the far side of the central stone. Sofia sat upon the rock, examining the crowd. Apparently everyone wanted Cedric's attention after that display. Sofia climbed down from the rock pillar, waiting for her sorcerer to emerge. She was so proud of him, and maybe now everyone would see what an amazing conjurer he really was. Looking down at the crowd Sofia caught a brief glimpse of Cedric through the bodies. There was a young sorceress standing entirely too close for comfort, grabbing onto his arm and laughing at something he'd said.

Sofia stiffened. Just who did this sorceress think she was, grabbing all over him like that? Ignoring the prohibition on her entrance Sofia stormed toward the crowd and forced her way through. She bumped into a rather average sized wizard hard, catching his attention. "Oh, sorry Miss." He turned around to face her, "Oh well if it isn't Princess Sofia, what are you doing here Lovely." It was Greylock from Rudistan.

"Oh Hi Greylock, I was looking for Cedric."

The offensive young sorceress who had been clinging to Cedric appeared before them, a look of condescension smeared across her face. "Oh Greylock, I'm sorry but I must have misheard you. Did you say she was a Princess?"

"Oh, um, yes I did Lily. This is Princess Sofia."

The sorceress turned toward Sofia, she appeared to be just a bit older than Sofia was. Perhaps 25. Her red curly hair was tied into an updo and decorated with magical charms. She wore a green robe that clung to her body in a provocative way. Sofia had an instant dislike of this 'Lily' as this sorceress turned back to address her. "I suppose anyone could guess by that fancy party dress you're wearing that you were a Princess." Sofia watched a smug grin spread across the sorceresses face. "Well now, Princess, I'm sure you must be aware that only sorcerers are allowed in here. Now run along back up to the cheap seats."

By now several other wizards had begun to listen to the conversation, and Sofia remembered Cedric's pleas from earlier not to worry him. Dejected, she muttered, "Alright." And left the stone circle and her sorcerer behind. Again her amulet twinkled purple light, but Sofia was too upset to notice.