Chapter Four

Cedric was already in the Great Hall nursing a cup of tea when Amber walked in, the clicking of her heels echoing with crisp steps.

"All black today, Your Majesty?"

Amber waited for a servant to rush up and pull out her chair before she sat down at the head of the table. She gave Cedric an inquisitive glance.

"My sister was killed yesterday, Cedric. I'm in mourning."

"I'm so sorry for your loss, Your Majesty." He avoided looking Amber in the eye, staring at her eyebrows, instead. Looking directly into her eyes tended to make him feel like he was inviting a feral cat inside to shred his soul to pieces. He broke away, picking up his cup of tea and savoring the flavor for precious, short moments.

"Comfort me!" the Queen shouted, slamming her palm down against the table before hugging her arms around herself and starting to weep, tears immediately wetting her cheeks. Cedric didn't flinch at her outburst. He put down his teacup and pushed back calmly from the table. He moved to stand beside Amber and put a hand on her shoulder. Amber threw herself out of her chair and into Cedric. He held her woodenly as she snaked her arms up around his neck and let him support her as she wept into his shoulder.

"I thought she would be different. She had been away so she didn't see and if she didn't see she didn't know. I had kept it all away but she was just like them just like they said she would be. She sounded just like him. She made them kill her and I couldn't watch."

Amber nuzzled her head against his neck, laying desperate kisses against his skin. Cedric took a step backward and Amber immediately pursued him, fighting to find her way into his arms again.

"Please, please Cedric. Please hold me. You're the only one. You're the only one who knows who knew who knows me who hurts. Please, please, please, please, Cedric." she begged nonsensically, barely catching her breath between sobs. Cedric grabbed Amber's forearms and kept a firm distance between them.

"Amber." His voice was patient but warning. Amber stiffened immediately. She reared back and tried to beat her hands against Cedric's chest. His grip held strong. Her arms didn't move an inch towards him.

"I will tell," she growled at him, her demeanor sliding from desperation to manipulation with the ease of familiarity. She stepped as close to him as his grip on her arms allowed. "I will tell her what you did. Cedric and then she'll never come back home. She will hate you and leave you and never love you again."

"You always seem to forget the bit you had to play in all this, Amber." Cedric said with a light laugh before his face mellowed with security. "Sofia's gone. You'll never be able to tell her anything again. You have no hold on me any longer."

Cedric dropped her arms and gave her one last lingering glare. He turned his back on her, walking silently to the doors. He made it several paces forward before Amber released a shrill scream of rage and Cedric heard the sound of a dagger ripping from its sheath. She came running recklessly at him. Cedric turned and drew his wand in a fluid motion. With a murmur and a slice through the air, Amber was suddenly frozen in place. The wild rage in her eye was a terrible thing to behold, unmoving the way it was. Cedric turned to the two servants cowering in a corner.

"LEAVE," he bellowed. Desperate for an order they wanted to follow, the servants fled.

Once the doors were shut again, Cedric approached Amber and brought his hand to her neck. He looped a finger under the chain that rested there and drew it towards him until a key revealed itself from where she had nestled it in her bosom. He tugged the chain sharply and it snapped against her spine. Cedric took the key and pocketed it, dropping the chain carelessly to the ground. He peeled back Amber's fingers from the hilt of the dagger until it was free and took it in hand. He knelt to the floor and waved his wand over the dagger until it stood up on its own. He straightened and circled the dagger, eyeing its position compared to where Amber was frozen in place. Satisfied with the arrangement, he came back to stand in front of Amber, bending his knees slightly so he could stare into her savage eyes.

"I want you to know that I tried. I really, truly, tried to heal your malady. But something is broken in you that magic can't touch. I have watched your insanity grow and made excuses for your actions for too long. It's going to be over as soon as my spell wears off. It should give you time to make peace with...with whatever it is in your mind that has you held so tightly."

Cedric stepped to the door. His hand on the handle, he paused and spoke loud enough for Amber to hear him.

"I wish it wasn't like this. I...I wish I wasn't so gutless, that I could end this for you more...directly. I-I'm sorry, Your Majesty. May your suffering be less than what you've inflicted on others."

And then he was gone, leaving Amber to her bloody fate.

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A/N: This is the first chance I've had to sit down and write for two days. I had to finish sewing my daughter's Halloween costume during my free time which meant no writing time (booooo).

Also, everyone seems surprisingly cool with the fact that Cedric basically drugged Sofia at the end of last chapter. Hopefully you're not missing the less-than-good behavior going on in this chapter. It's gonna get worse before it gets better, if it gets better at all…;)