This chapter may contain triggering content. Read at your own risk.

A scream ripped through Sofia's throat as King Roland managed to break down the door and she caught sight of her friend. Cedric laid out on the floor, a peaceful expression on his face as blood seeped from his veins, soaking the sleeves of his robes and dribbling onto the floor. Roland let out a strangled gasp and was at the Sorcerer's side in seconds, scooping Cedric up in his arms and trying to stop the flow of blood. He set Cedric on his desk, taking off his coat and wrapping it tightly around Cedric's bleeding arm.

"What is going on here?!" Winifred screeched as she emerged from her portrait. Goodwin followed close behind, his expression indifferent as he stood behind his wife. Roland II didn't respond, finished tying the coat around Cedric's arm, and picked him up again. He didn't know how to respond. None of them really knew what was going on. Sofia watched with wide eyes as her stepfather rushed out of the room, heading to the castle infirmary. Winifred looked as if she were about to burst into tears any moment and she whirled around to face her husband.

"I told you! I told you saying those things to Cedric would hurt him!" Winifred growled. Goodwin said nothing, walking past her slowly to follow the King. "Aren't you sorry?! Even a little?! You made your own son think he wasn't good enough to live!" Winifred shouted after him, making both the princess and Goodwin face her in shock. Sofia's eyes flickered from Goodwin to Winifred, her head spinning. Was Goodwin really the one to blame for Cedric's actions?!

"Of course I'm sorry love, but what has happened has happened. I cannot take back what I said, even if I wanted to," Goodwin replied quietly. Cedric's mother stared at him in disbelief before shaking her head, storming past him. Goodwin followed close behind, beckoning for Sofia to join them.

"Come along, my dear. You are Cedric's closest friend; he might listen to what you have to say." Sofia obeyed, following the two sorcerers in a dream like state. She remembered the potion Cedric had been about to drink the first time she had come that day. She had been wondering what it was, and now she concluded that it must have been poison. Sofia's eyes began to swim with tears and she had to concentrate entirely on keeping herself from crying. The last thing Cedric needed when he woke up was to see his best friend crying her eyes out over him.

They arrived at the infirmary to see Cedric lying in one of the beds, nurses and maids rushing around him. Cedric was still out cold, his chest barely rising and falling as he breathed. King Roland II was standing over him, a hand to his mouth and his eyes wide with shock. Blood covered the front of his shirt and his sleeves from carrying Cedric all the way to the infirmary. Sofia felt sick at the sight of all that blood. She remembered a lesson in school; Fauna had said if a person lost too much blood, they would die. Sofia stumbled over to Cedric's bed, grabbing one of his pale, cold hands.

"Please don't die, Mr. Ceedric. I know you're sad, and that you want everything to stop hurting, but I love you so much. I need my best friend," she whimpered, her voice soft. The three adults in the room watched her with tearfilled eyes. They didn't think she would understand what was happening since she was so young, but she was obviously more aware than they all thought. Roland put a hand on her shoulder and let her cry, looking as Sofia buried her face in Cedric's chest and sobbed. Goodwin held Winifred close as she cried over their son, but he couldn't bring himself to shed any tears.

"What happened? What made you so sad you wanted to die? Was it something I did? Did dad do something?" Sofia sobbed to her lifeless friend. King Roland's face twisted with grief and Winifred tore away from Goodwin, kneeling by Sofia's side, turning her head to face her and cupping her chin her her hands. She did her best to smile at the crying princess, but her own tears were making it nearly impossible to do so.

"Cedric has been sad for a very long time, Sofia. He did things like this when he was a child. He got better for a little while, but when he became the royal sorcerer, his father and I became harder on him, and he started to feel sad again. Cedric and Goodwin got into a fight today, and Goodwin told Cedric he didn't love him and that he should stop trying to impress him because he would never be good enough to be his son. Cedric believed what his father told him was true. It made him sad like when he was younger, and he tried to end his life. It's not your fault, or the King's fault. He loves you very, very much despite how he acts towards you sometimes, and he wouldn't want you to be sad or to blame yourself for what he did." Sofia hiccuped softly and looked at Goodwin with narrowed eyes, clinging to Winifred and glaring at him. Goodwin looked down at his feet in shame, the hatred in Sofia's gaze burning a hole through him.

"He's your son! Why would you say that to him?!" Sofia asked, her tone laced with horror and anger as she glared at the old sorcerer. Goodwin shifted uncomfortably, tugging at the collar of his robes and trying to come up with a reply. "That's enough, Sofia," Roland said to his stepdaughter quietly, resting a hand on her shoulder. She began to protest and he shook his head firmly. Huffing, Sofia turned away. Her eyes softened as they fell on Cedric and she returned to his bed side.

"Please get better, Mr. Ceedric..."