Cedric still hadn't moved back into his tower by the time he was walking unassisted despite his wanting to. With no duties to attend to, it'd be all too easy for him to lock himself in there for his year's sabbatical. In the end it was easier to comply than to argue, although he didn't understand why there was such fuss when he could easily sequester himself in the guest room he'd been staying in.

The answer became obvious after a while – the number of faces who saw him and greeted him throughout the day increased. Friendly smiles from staff and royals alike who'd softened their opinion of him since the accident made him hesitant at first, his cynicism assuming they pitied him. He didn't think he'd long for the indifference from his fellow staff, but once both got used to the new arrangement, there was less issue and more or less the same air between them as always, although Cedric held his nose slightly lower nowadays.

"I don't suppose you've thought of anything worthwhile for us to do today?" Wormwood asked as he accompanied Cedric down the corridor to the dining hall for breakfast.

"Aside from Mummy coming over for lunch, not a thing," he yawned into his ungloved hand. He felt a bit awkward without his baggy sorcery robes, but after tripping numerous times on the hem, he thought it best to let his legs remain unobstructed until he was fully recovered – whenever that would be. "Did you have anything in mind?"

"Oh I don't know. After the little get-together I had with the princess' animal cohorts, I'd prefer something quieter."

"That doesn't sound like you, Wormy," Cedric noted.

"I know. I think that girl's goodness is contagious. I felt this nagging need to thank the furball and his feathered friends for their assistance in my recovery. Nothing special mind you, just brought them a small basket of berries I picked near that grove of Whispering Willows on the northern border."

"That's quite a bit out of your way."

"Yes, but well worth those agape faces they made when they tasted the perfection of such berries. I became their god, Cedric," Wormwood ruffled his feathers in pride.

"Oh~? Such a benevolent god you are then," Cedric teased.

"I wasn't being nice!" The raven squawked defensively. "It was a debt to be repaid. That's all."

That got Cedric thinking. "I suppose I should do something for the royal family and my own then, shouldn't I?"

"So long as you don't throw some garish party," Wormwood sneered.

"I was thinking I could get away with simply saying thank you. Gifts aren't exactly my strong suit."

"Yes, how could I forget how eloquent you are," the bird mocked.

Cedric rolled his eyes, internally happy his friend's sarcasm was back to a healthy level, but never quite as pleased when he turned it on him.

Come lunch time, he happily greeted his mother out from her portrait portal and escorted her out to a private table on the castle's rear patio. Winifred's visits were frequent enough that Cedric didn't suspect anything special this time around, which utterly delighted his mother when she got to surprise him with an activity that had the possibility to occupy a majority of his spare time.

"YOU DID WHAT?!" Cedric's voice echoed through the courtyard, immediately drawing Wormwood's attention back to the two as he flew to a nearby tree to eavesdrop.

"Oh calm down, darling. It's only a date," Winifred smiled deviously.

"Mummy, no," Cedric's cheeks turned red and he hid his face in his hands. "Please, not again."

"Now Ceddy, this isn't anything new to you. If you're going to be blowing yourself up and needing constant care, you'd be far happier having a wife tend to you. Mummy isn't going to be around forever, but believe me, I will try."

"No," Cedric repeated, barely able to look at the woman after that revelation. This wasn't the first time his mother had tried to play matchmaker, the last being with Clara the Clairvoyant who said she didn't see a future with him. A humiliating experience, but far from his worst.

"What's one little date?" The sorceress asked. "She's a charming thing. Granddaughter of Beauford the Becoming. You remember Beauford, don't you, dear?"

Cedric heaved a sigh. He wasn't getting out of this. "Yes, Mummy."

"Well he died the other day and so his family was around to collect his things," she began rather apathetically considering Beauford had been her neighbor for over a decade at Mystic Meadows, but such was his mother's nature. "I got to talking with the granddaughter and had her interest when I mentioned my son was the royal sorcerer for all of Enchancia—"

"Mummy, that's—"

"Oh I know dear, but you're not getting any younger and you ought to play the cards you have."

Cedric frowned. For a woman who loved her husband, that didn't seem to be a large factor in finding a wife for her son.

"I don't suppose you've heard much on a Melanie the Melodic?" Winifred asked.

"I can't say I keep track of all the single sorceresses in the kingdom," Cedric said with weak sarcasm.

"From what I can tell she's dutiful, courteous, and certainly ambitious. Not an unfortunate thing to look at either. Please Ceddykins, Mummy went through all this trouble. The least you can do is show up and meet the woman."

Cedric knew he didn't have a choice. Well, he did, but he feared his mother's wrath a lot more than his own humiliation. For what it was worth, the 'date' which felt more like a business meeting than an intent to court, went well. He was nervous of course and extremely uncomfortable. Melanie was rather quiet, but spoke beautifully when addressed. She was a musical magician and songstress, an up and comer since graduating from Hexley Hall's university. She was averagely attractive he supposed, but nothing about her captivated him, likewise for her who agreed this was at least a good way to get their pressuring parents off their backs for a little while. Maybe they'd contact each other again in case of emergency, but both highly doubted the occasion arising.

By the following day, the gossip had made its way around the castle, putting Cedric into one of his usual aloof moods. Sofia was having trouble concentrating on her reading with such an uncomfortable atmosphere and decided to risk aggravating him for the sake of settling her own curiosity over last night's unusual event.

"H-How was your date, Mister Cedric? Was she nice?"

Cedric groaned from his writing desk and hid half his face against his hand. Not Sofia too. Wasn't there anyone who respected his personal life? "Who told you…?"

"Wormwood."

"Him and his big beak…" Cedric cringed and then sighed, figuring Sofia was probably the safest person to divulge any details to. The girl was a good listener and not a gossip. "It wasn't anything special. She was a nice woman, but neither of us were interested in a second date."

"Aw, I'm sorry. Did something bad happen? You seem more cranky than usual."

"My apologies, Princess," he said, lifting his head to rest his chin on his palm. "No, nothing particularly bad happened, I just hate being set up. All courting does is introduce me to another group of people to disappoint."

"…Maybe if you found someone you liked on your own…?" Sofia suggested.

"That has a whole other set of problems."

"You won't find anyone if you don't try," she reminded him.

"I have in the past. I was even married once."

"You were married?!"

"I'm surprised you haven't heard that bit of gossip," he smirked, impressed that he'd manage to completely surprise her for once. "Yes, it was when your father's first wife was pregnant with Princess Amber and Prince James. I was under pressure to have my own heir, a young sorcerer the royal children could grow up with as Cordelia and I had grown up with Duchess Matilda and King Roland, so I rushed into marriage with a woman I'd been courting for a few months. We liked each other well enough, but marriage… marriage was a mistake. So we're both now happily divorced."

"Wh… Why did you marry her if you didn't love her?"

"At the time, I thought I did. Sometimes two people just click like King Roland and your mother, but others take time as they try to come to a decision one way or another. I don't think had we not rushed we'd still be together, but I could have spared her the disappointment of being her husband… I'm only grateful we never had any children given how things turned out, but that being said, I'm probably going to have to hand the family wand down to Calista. Not that I have anything against it, but the father-to-son thing had its special bond, you know? And I can just imagine my own father judging me for being the one who broke tradition."

"I understand, but you can't really hand down a wand to a son that doesn't exist," Sofia smiled kindly and reached over to him from her own chair to pat his shoulder. "I'm sorry, Mister Cedric."

"Don't be sorry, Princess," he said, finally turning his hand to rest on his cheek while his other hand reached out and poked the center of her forehead. "Were I happily married man with kids of my own running around, you and I likely wouldn't be master and apprentice. Speaking of which, you have reading to do before we attempt any potion brewing."

"Yes sir," she smiled, turning back in her chair to finish the chapter of her text book.

Cedric paused for a moment as he glanced over his shoulder at her. If he were married with kids, he wondered if his days would be any different. He wouldn't want to impose himself entirely on his children's lessons, but he did fancy the idea of teaching them – watching the wonder in their eyes when they got a spell right and looked to him for acknowledgement and approval. Maybe he'd missed his calling as a school teacher after all, but with his own children he'd be even better. Unlike his own parents, he'd balance his praise and criticism, encourage but not distract, and above all he'd let them do things on their own no matter what.

Children were one thing, but finding a partner who loved him enough to get to making any was the real challenge. He'd been rather blasé about marriage since his divorce, but it always sat in the back of his mind. He wouldn't mind getting married again, but he was also prepared it might not happen. He was nearly 40, still rather young, but he didn't want to be starting a family late in life, if he even could. A younger woman was a possibility, but not many were in the market for an old, average looking, accident prone sorcerer. The only reason he'd landed a majority of his blind dates were due to his mother dropping his prestigious position into conversation. The chances of him finding 'love' seemed minuscule, very minuscule, but at least with Sofia and Wormwood around, the loneliness rarely had time to set in save the late nights when he couldn't sleep and found himself looking to the other side of his bed like someone ought to be there. It was the only thing he missed from his brief time as a married man.

Author's Note: Given his usual cranky bitterness, imaging Cedric as a divorcee wasn't too difficult. With all the expectations put on him, I could easily see him rushing into a marriage, but ultimately not have it work out. I briefly toyed with the idea of him having a son with his ex-wife since Sofia the First does have the different kind of family setup, but I decided against it given the fact I don't imagine he would have been married long and sex wasn't anything his wife was thrilled about doing (Sorry Cedric).