Call of the Wild
Summary: Something has caused Sofia to transform into a werewolf, and she has to rely on Cedric to figure out the reason for her transformation before she's stuck in the form forever. *Requested by Mr. Shortman92*
Disclaimer: I don't own anything. The idea belongs to Mr. Shortman92.
A/N: Here's the final chapter! Also, great news! :D One of my awesome readers inspired me for a story that should be released July 4. And trust me, the irony of this particular day is not lost on me, especially based on the content. Lol. And it's going to be a fun one to write! :D With that said, hope you enjoy the resolution of this story!
Note: There is a bit of violence in this chapter, so I wanted to give you all a heads up if that makes you uncomfortable or squeamish. It's a necessary form of violence (that is SO weird to type, lol), but yeah. Lol.
Chapter List:
1: Hypertrichosis
2: Animal Instincts
3: A Montage of Solutions
4: Humanly Possible
*Story*
Chapter 4: Humanly Possible
The following evening, Cedric (with the Amulet of Avalor dangling from his neck) and Sofia (currently in her werewolf form and conscious for a change) were both frustrated with the lack of results. At this point, they'd exhausted every non-violent option to break the curse placed on the princess, and yet nothing was working.
"Is there anything we haven't tried yet?" she asked Cedric, who seemed a bit hesitant to answer.
"Um, n-no," he replied unconvincingly, tugging on his robe sleeves as he sat next to her on the staircase inside the workshop. Technically, he'd read about one particular method, but he absolutely refused to do something as barbaric as driving nails through the center of the girl's front paws when she was transformed. There was no way he was going to do that.
There actually was one final violent yet quick method that he'd come across, but he was still on the fence about it due to the very nature of it. It was unlikely to cause any severe or lasting damage, since injuries sustained in the werewolf form would vanish once she reverted to her normal state, but it was merely a theory that didn't hold enough water for him; he didn't want to risk hurting Sofia, only for that method to fail just like the others had.
The princess's eyes narrowed as she noticed her friend peering intensely at one section of Wolves Among Us. She had a feeling that he wasn't telling her everything. "What are you looking at?" she asked curiously, and she was surprised when he relented with a heavy sigh and slid the book over to her.
"There's one method that's been calling to me, so to speak, but I'm afraid it will cause more harm than good. I don't want to cause you anymore pain…"
Sofia frowned as she scanned the words on the page.
"Striking a werewolf on the head or in the face with any metal object will break the curse, unless the werewolf in question has already killed something or someone. In that case, a silver blade is the only hope."
She glanced up at her friend and asked, "So, what are you waiting for? Let's try it."
Frowning at the unexpected response, Cedric shook his head. "Are you mad, Sofia? You could get hurt!"
"Mr. Cedric, every time I transform, my bones break and reshape themselves. Nothing could hurt worse than that." She shut the book with her paw and pushed it back over toward him. "So stop whining about it and hit me already."
The sorcerer's mouth dropped. He was shocked by her outburst and was seriously starting to wonder what had gotten into her. She actually wanted to do this?
In hindsight, Sofia was truly afraid of trying the violent method, but she wanted, more than anything, to be freed from the wretched curse. She wanted her life back, and at this point, she'd do just about anything, even if it hurt, to get it—even if that meant antagonizing her closest friend for it to happen. She smirked tauntingly, something he hadn't been expecting. "What's wrong, Mr. Cedric? Are you scared?"
"Um, yes!" he retorted honestly, shaking his head. "I don't want to hurt you, Sofia. I thought I'd made that clear." He waved one hand as she growled in frustration. "And you can taunt me and make fun of me all you like, but nothing you say will make me hit you."
"Hmph." She huffed and looked away, still irked that he refused to comply. "I guess you don't care about me at all then, because if you did, you'd do everything possible to help me."
Something about that statement snapped something inside the sorcerer. He calmly stood up from his seat on the stairs and walked over to his desk, grabbing a metal candelabra and gripping it firmly, staring at it intensely. He glanced behind him, noting that Sofia seemed like she was still distracted and annoyed, so he chose then to briskly approach her. Before she could react, he struck her in the face, hard enough to dislocate her jaw.
Cedric stared, horrified, as he saw the girl's jaw instantly reset itself, and it appeared that Sofia was possibly beginning to turn back to normal. He hadn't actually expected that to work. Even more, he had only seen Sofia's transformation into the werewolf form; they were both asleep whenever she reverted to her human form.
Broken from his trance, Cedric noticed little patches of bare skin beginning to appear through the fur on her arms and legs, so he quickly removed his robe and wrapped it around his friend, turning and waiting for the transformation to finish.
Sofia was grateful for his consideration. She finished changing back to her human form and tightly secured the robe around herself. She smiled and reached out, tapping him on the shoulder. "Mr. Cedric?"
The sorcerer slowly turned back to her, only to be greeted with a brisk hug. He returned it momentarily before shuffling her back, gently caressing her cheek where the candelabra had hit her. "Are you all right?"
"You actually hit me," she murmured, a bit surprised. "…Really hard!" Apparently, she was still trying to process that.
"I'm so sorry!" he apologized, horrified. "I—" Sofia began giggling, which confused him even more. Maybe he'd hit her a little too hard? "Sofia, are you all right?"
She grinned at him, though it was a little difficult at the moment. "I'm more than all right, Mr. Cedric. It's all thanks to you." She beamed and threw her arms around his neck again, sighing happily as he gently held her. "I'm so sorry for anything I said earlier, especially if it hurt your feelings. I didn't mean those things at all. I was only trying to figure out how to break the curse."
He patted her back gently. "I'm sorry I hit you… Did it hurt?"
She leaned back and rubbed her jaw. "It's a little sore… And I'm kind of starting to get a headache." She smiled calmly at him when she noted that he seemed to be getting a little concerned. She grasped his hands. "I'm sure it's nothing one of your potions can't fix, right?"
Cedric nodded. "I do have a potion that can help with that sort of pain, yes. And I think it's best if I conjure you some pajamas and send you back to your room at last."
"At last?" She scoffed, folding her arms. "Mr. Cedric, are you trying to get rid of me?"
"Of course not, but it's been a few days now, and I'm sure your family is concerned."
She sighed and smiled patiently. "Mr. Cedric, it's late. They're not going to know any difference. And I'm still sort of achy and tired, and that last transformation was really draining, and I don't know if I can even make it to my room right now; so if it's okay with you, can I just stay on my cot one more night? Please? I would actually feel safer with you, just to make sure I'm really cured."
Well, Cedric wasn't expecting that… He nodded, giving in. "Very well. But tomorrow, you'll be sleeping in your own bed."
Sofia nodded. "Okay!"
Cedric conjured the princess a set of pajamas and took back his robe, slipping it on and tying it together. Then he retrieved a pain potion from his pantry, handing it to her and waiting for her to drink it. That done, he took the amulet from around his neck and placed it back around hers, smiling softly. "I believe this belongs to you, my dear."
The princess giggled. "Thanks for taking care of it for me. And thanks for taking care of me. I know it wasn't easy…" She held out her hands and grasped his as he pulled her to her feet.
"You've certainly got that right. And now, my dear girl, I think it's time you get some rest."
She shook her head, confusing him momentarily. "I think it's time we both get some rest." She held up one hand as she saw that he was about to argue against her. "Mr. Cedric, you can clean up the workshop tomorrow. Trust me, the mess isn't going anywhere. It kind of doesn't have little legs to make it run off." She giggled as he gave her a sarcastic smirk.
"Rather cheeky for a princess, aren't you?"
"You know you love me," she joked, hugging him again.
"I do…" He smiled as she looked up at him.
"I love you too, Mr. Cedric." An involuntary yawn escaped her, prompting Cedric to begin guiding her back to her makeshift cot for the evening. "Thanks again for everything," she told him as she settled down, pulling the covers around her.
"Anything for you, Sofia." He cupped her cheek affectionately one last time with a soft smile before stepping out to change into his pajamas. He returned, now wearing a dark purple set of a button-down shirt and matching pants, and got into his own bed, pulling the heavy covers over himself.
"Good night, Mr. Cedric," the princess called from her cot.
He smiled and closed his eyes. "Good night, Sofia. Sleep well."
And she did, finally. And Sofia did indeed return to her own room the following night, because at last the curse was finally lifted. While she wasn't opposed to spending more time with her mentor, he insisted that she return to her own familiar surroundings and get back to her everyday activities, so she did; things eventually returned to normal for the two friends after that, though Cedric made Sofia promise not to fall asleep near the window during a full moon again. Needless to say, she more than agreed. After all, being a werewolf for a few days was more than enough to last her for a lifetime.
The end