"I want absolutely nothing of it. Make your choice Roland."

King Roland winced at having his daughter call him by his given name.

"You're not serious Sofia," King Roland said softly but none the less, still angrily.

"Rollie, look closely," Queen Miranda said. "She's more serious than she's ever been."

"Yep, she's definitely being serious," James agreed.

King Roland glared at Sofia and Cedric before storming off, leaving behind stunned looks on everyone's faces.

Sofia sighed then sat down by Cedric. She reached her hand over and took his gloved hand. Cedric glanced at Sofia and squeezed her hand.

"You my Dear are dangerously stubborn," Cedric said softly, so only Sofia could hear.

"At least it's really forcing him to pause and think things over," Sofia replied softly.

"But I still think you shouldn't have put your life or relationship with him on the line," Cedric chided. "I do deserve a punishment of some kind."

"No you don't," Sofia insisted.

"Yes I do," Cedric said.

"Let's think about this in a different light," Sofia said. "You grew up belittled and scorned. You were always compared to a famous father. The pressure built and built and today you snapped. What happened today was not a reflection of you as a whole person. Deep down, you're a great man. One of the greatest I've ever known and ever will know."

"And you're my best friend, Princess," Cedric said.

Sofia and Cedric smiled at each other for a short, quiet moment. Unexpectedly, Sofia planted a small kiss on Cedric's temple, an action seen by the others in the room.

"Sofia, why put your life on the line?" Amber asked.

Sofia looked at her sister in surprise. Before she could respond, Sofia noticed the concerned and fearful expressions on the faces of her mother and siblings. It caused her to feel a little guilty. Sofia realized that by giving her father the ultimatum that she had, she was threatening to tear her family apart.

"You know the answer to that," Sofia said. "Cedric is a truly good person but no one wanted to see that, Dad especially. Cedric won't tell me much about what it was like growing up around Dad but the way he stated his opinion has me believing that Dad was a particular menace. If that was and is still true, Cedric and I both are in severe trouble. But if it was true then but not as true now, things may work out in the best way possible for everyone here."

"Sofia, come look me in the eyes."

Sofia looked at her mother, peering into the eyes of the woman who bore her.

"Sofia, look me in the eyes and tell me that what you've said is true," Queen Miranda said. "That you are in love with Cedric and that he is a good man at heart."

"Mom, it is true," Sofia said confidently, holding eye contact. "Cedric is a good man and I do love him. More than anything."

"Then I hope you two know just what you're doing," Queen Miranda said. "Your decision to bear the same punishment as Cedric can and will bring significant consequences. And not just for you."

"I understand Mom," Sofia said.

It went quiet and Sofia continued to sit by Cedric, holding his hand. The silence remained for a few minutes, only to be broken by the sound of footsteps entering the throne room. Three sets of eyes turned to King Roland as he returned to his throne, while two sets of eyes remained ever so subtly on each other. When King Roland sat down in his throne, he was leaning forward with his elbows on the armrests and his hands clasped together, except his thumbs and index fingers which were touching his forehead and chin. It remained silent for another minute and King Roland watched his youngest daughter and the sorcerer interacting with each other through hand holding and subtle glances.

"Rollie?" Queen Miranda asked cautiously.

King Roland glanced at his nervous wife for the briefest moment. It was far from enough for Queen Miranda to be able to tell if her husband was about to show mercy or exercise justice. The look had shown sadness and flickers of conflict. Whatever his decision was about to be, he was clearly second guessing himself.

Sofia felt her heart speeding up and beating very loudly. She was certain Cedric was having a similar reaction to the tense situation. One quick glance over to him and Sofia could see that Cedric's face was abnormally pale. The statement pale as a ghost was an understatement compared to what Sofia saw.

"Alright Cedric," he said, pausing.

Cedric and Sofia looked up. King Roland's expression was unreadable. The pause was held very dramatically, causing the two to fidget ever so slightly.

'Still want to run away from here, Princess?' Cedric wanted to ask his friend.

Sofia found herself starting to slowly reach for her wand. She stopped herself. Panicking would do no good.

"I will reinstate you as royal sorcerer," King Roland said. "But until she graduates from Royal Prep in two weeks, you will have absolutely no interactions with Sofia. And if you ever forget what Sofia did for you, you'll be on the next carriage out of Enchancia."

"Worry not King Roland!" Cedric said confidently. "I will never forget what the princess has done. I am forever in her debt. Thank you."

"Then I believe Sofia you can him his wand back," King Roland said.

"I already have," Sofia replied. "I gave it to him when I let him out of prison."

King Roland looked at his daughter stunned. In that moment, Cedric decided to bow out and head back to his workshop. Sofia quickly ran after him. King Roland went to remind Sofia that she and Cedric weren't supposed to be interacting but a hand on his wrist stopped him right in his tracks.

"Give them this moment Rollie," Queen Miranda said. "They have a long two weeks ahead of them."

With a sigh, King Roland complied.

Outside the throne room, Sofia tossed her arms around Cedric. Cedric turned in the embrace and hugged Sofia back.

"Thank you Princess," Cedric said. "What would I do without you around to help me when I botch things up?"

"Go crazy?" Sofia offered.

"Very funny," Cedric said.

Sofia giggled, before reaching up to coyly straighten Cedric's bow.

"Must you really?" Cedric asked.

"Of course," Sofia said. "It's going to be a while before I can visit you and I got to remind you somehow that I think you ah-mazing Mr. Ceeedric."

"Crazy, beautiful woman that I love dearly," Cedric said. "It's Said-Rick."

With a small giggle, Sofia leaned against Cedric, relishing the feel of his chest against hers.

"Sofia, when the two weeks are up and you have graduated from Royal Prep, may I court you?" Cedric asked softly.

"Of course," Sofia said looking up into Cedric's eyes. "I would love nothing more. We may be forced apart for these next two weeks, but after then, nothing's going to keep us apart."

"I like the sound of that," Cedric said. "Well, I best get up to my tower. Someone did decree that I'm to have no interactions with a certain princess for two weeks."

Cedric kissed Sofia's forehead and she buried her face into his robe. A muffled sound was heard from the young princess.

"What was that Sofia?" Cedric asked.

"I'm going to miss you, a lot," Sofia said.

"Be strong," Cedric said. "In two weeks, there will never be a day where we won't see each other."

Sofia nodded sadly as she let her dear friend disappear from sight. With a sigh, Sofia headed to her room. She had no desire to go rejoin her family in the throne room.

In her room, Sofia noticed a single red rose with a creamy white ribbon tied around it sitting on her pillow. Attached to the ribbon was a simple card. Curiosity aroused, Sofia opened the card and read it.

Love you eternally,

Your faithful sorcerer

Sofia smiled as she smelt the rose. She could sense a magical touch as she recognized a spell that would allow the rose to bloom forever. Maybe just maybe, Sofia realized, the next two weeks wouldn't be so long.