Rating: T
Author's Note: Sorry I haven't posted lately. Life and whatnot knocked my off the creative track for a few weeks. I hope to have the ending of Lover Mine out soon, and then concentrating on Intoxication. I thought I'd put out some little bits in the meantime.
Bits and Pieces: Lover Mine Alternate Ending Scenes
(A little bit of explanation to better understand each scene: One of the original endings I considered for Lover Mine was that, once Sofia confesses that she cast the spell creating Cedric's dreams, he gets very upset and angry because he feels his privacy has been violated. In that version, when Sofia mentions that there is a spell to end the dreams, he angrily demands she perform it and stalks away. Later that night, he awoken, not by a dream, but by Baileywick knocking on his door, telling him he must come because Princess Sofia is suffering some illness or injury. Severing the spell (those dire consequences Marla hinted at) caused some detrimental break in Sofia's mind, throwing her into extreme pain. Cedric feels the pain as well and it intensifies the closer he gets to her. Once he sees her suffering, he realizes how much he loves her and sets out to correct what he did. I had planned a scene where he goes to Marla and Lucinda's house where the witch gives him an ingredient list for a potion that will heal Sofia. One of the ingredients he needs is fairy dust.)
Fairy Dust was rare, hard to obtain, and prohibitively expensive. The king would surely pay any amount to obtain it, but Cedric would have to find an apothecary with some in stock first, which would take more time than he cared to waste. He did know someone who kept the rare element on hand at all times, but he really didn't want to ask her.
Using the portrait in his tower to travel to his parent's house, there was another similar portrait connected to Cordelia's home. He poked his head through the magic portal, glancing up and down the gaudy marble hallway.
"Hello?" He called, voice echoing.
Footsteps approached, then Calista popped her head around the corner of a doorway. "Uncle Ceddy?"
He stepped fully through the portrait. "Hello, Calista, can you tell me where your mother is? It's important."
She lead him through a maze of hallways and carpeted parlors before finding Cordelia lounging in a chair, having her nails painted by a servant girl.
"Cedric?" Cordelia's brow raised, openly surprised by her brother's appearance.
"I need Fairy Dust for a potion."
Her featured hardened in annoyance. "So go get some."
"Do not play games with me, Cordelia. I haven't the time. I know you keep a ready supply on hand for your damn beauty regiments. Where is it?"
She stared, assessing his tense posture and forceful tone. "You said you need it for a potion. What potion exactly?"
He rubbed a hand over his tired face knowing he'd never get anywhere with her by making blind demands. As succinctly as possible he relayed the most pertinent facts of Sofia's plight. As she listened, the conjurer shooed the servant away, examining her newly lacquered nails.
"Figures," she drawled, "I should have guessed you'd only debase yourself to me for her."
"Cordelia," he growled, ready to throttle the smug look off her face. "I swear if-"
"Calm down," she sighed, "I'll help you."
The air seemed to deflate from his lungs, along with his anger. "You will?"
"Why, little brother, you wound me. Calista, Honey, back to your studies please." She stood, sauntering out of the room, leaving him to follow.
Calista threw a quick hug around his neck. "I know you can save Sofia, Uncle Ceddy. If anyone can, it's you."
His niece bounded off and he hurried after his sister, fearing he'd be lost in the monstrosity she called a home if he lost sight of her. Her personal chambers were immense, probably able to fit his entire tower inside her spacious bedroom alone. She drew a wand from her sleeve, tapping a perfectly boring looking portrait of a vase of roses. The painting vanished, revealing a hidden cubby. From inside she retrieved an ornate box. "How much to you need?"
He pulled a corked vial from his pocket, handing it to her.
She took it, groaning at the amount of precious dust. "You had better really love this girl."
He sighed heavily. "I do."
She paused in measuring out the glittering powder. "Does she love you back?"
"Yes, she does. Though I can't for the life of me figure out why."
A strange look lit her eyes when she asked, " An bhfuil sé fiú é? (Is it worth it?)"
"So far all I've done is fuck things up. I rejected her advances, broke her heart, and drove her to performing desperate magic that caused a break in her psyche. But, yes, she's worth it. Even if she wants nothing to do with me after this ... tá sí fiú é (she is worth it.)"
Cordelia finished filling the vial, oddly quiet. Her opinion had never mattered much to him, but so thrown out of his element he found himself dreading her disapproval. He accepted the vial from her, corking it carefully. "Do you disapprove? Father does."
Subtle lines etched her mouth as she frowned. "How could I disapprove? You'll marry better than I ever did."
"That's not what I meant."
"I know. The truth is, I'm jealous."
"That'll I could marry better than you did?"
"No," she smiled sadly at him, "That you have someone to love you so much. And I know she does."
(Just a little scene I wrote thinking on Cedric administering the potion to Sofia while he is also suffering from the pain of their broken connection.)
His hand shook and he tried not to spill a drop as he pressed the vial to her mouth. The pain was blinding, leaving him squinting. When the last drop passed her lips, he buried his face into the crook of his arm against the bed, every muscle seizing again the pain that threatened to split his skull in two. He groped blindly with his free hand, finding her fingers and griping them tightly. As great as the pain was, touching her felt good.
(Cedric falls asleep in the chair beside Sofia's bed, waiting for her to recover. He wakes up to this:)
"Cedric."
"Mmm," he grunted, not the least bit inclined to be called into waking.
A feminine giggle tickled his ear. "Cedric," the soft, silky voice called again, this time accompanied by a warm, delicate hand upon his shoulder.
Regretfully, he blinked his eyes open, finding a vision in white surrounded by a gauzy veil of auburn hair. "Sofia?" He mumbled.
She smiled, radiant, but he was hard pressed to see it as her bent over posture afforded him a rather enticing view down the front of her night dress. His eyes roamed her form with indolent grace, realizing belatedly that she was standing before him whole and sound. Without thought he moved his hands to her waist, drawing her down onto his lap. Once there he buried his face in her curls, breathing in her lavender scent. He hugged her so tightly his shoulders ached, but he couldn't seem to press her warm body close enough against his, assuring himself that she was alright. She laughed softly against his hair, twining her arms about his shoulders.
He pressed his lips to the pulse beneath her jaw, feeling weak with relief, marveling that she was in his arms. Her breathy laugh turned into a breathless moan. Encouraged, he etched a trail of kisses up her jaw, over her chin before finally touching her lips. There he paused, taking painstaking care to memorize every contour and detail, stroking his lips across hers with light brushes before growing bolder. She opened to him, tasting his tongue with her own and it was his turn to groan back in his throat.
He sank back against the chair, long legs sprawled before him as she perched sideways on his lap. "These dreams will be the death of me."
She giggled again, all blushing innocence and charm; even when she shifted one of her legs over both of his, straddling him. Her fingers combed through his hair, making his eyes roll back. "Cedric," she whispered between one sweet kiss and another, "This isn't a dream."
Author's note: So those are my alternate scene for Lover Mine. I seriously considered pursuing this ending , but at the end of the day I (obviously) went another direction. I felt I had to force Cedric's anger just a little too much to justify this ending. But I did love the scene between Cedric and Cordelia.