Sofia held it together impressively well. She held a blank face and nodded. "That tells me what I need to know. Thanks, Mr. Goodwin." And she turned slowly around and walked back to the carriage, staring ahead of her like she'd been blinded.

I sat down next to her and put a hand on her knee, but she didn't respond. Only a word came out of her mouth. "Me?"

I had no idea what to say. If Goodwin the Great were remembering correctly, there was only one cobbler in the village named Miranda who had had a child almost twenty years ago, and that was Sofia's mother. Which could lead to only one conclusion.

She sat limply in the carriage, eyes glassy and unblinking. "Me?"

Internally, part of me felt a spark of frustration. Why would the Library send her on a mission like this, especially now, when Sofia was going through her typical teenage fallout with King Roland? They had been arguing extensively recently, and it was giving Sofia cause to remember that day nine years ago when Hildegarde had told her Roland wasn't her "real" father. This was the worst possible way to find out about her "real" father.

She had always trusted Cedric, and liked him faithfully even when he was an idiot or a failure or when he was unintentionally cruel to her. And remembering how angry Sofia had gotten at him for just saying he hadn't wanted his baby, it made me cringe to think what my poor princess must be feeling now that she knew the baby he had thrown away was none other than herself.

Eventually, Sofia's blue eyes started to leak from the corners, though I couldn't tell whether it was from emotion or because she hadn't blinked in several minutes. But finally her eyes closed and tears spilled all over her cheeks. She leaned against me and cried silently, her body gently rocking with quiet sobs.

"That means..." she sniffled. "That means my mother isn't my real mother either..."

"I mean technically she still carried you and birthed you and everything, right?" I reminded her. "I'd say that makes her your real mom."

A sniff was all that answered me, and I pulled her close so she could cry into my chest. I didn't try to say anything for the rest of the ride home. When we got to the castle, however, she grabbed my arm and pulled me inside, leading me up the stairs.

I didn't need to ask, but I did anyway. "Where are we going?"

"To tell Cedric who he got rid of."

She didn't release her grip on my arm even when we stood in front of the door to his workshop. This time she didn't bother to knock but once, then she was turning the handle and barging straight in.

Cedric was sitting at his desk, poring over a book and something that looked like a set of potion ingredients. He looked up with a start as Sofia marched up to him. "What is the meaning of-?!"

He didn't get to finish his question because Sofia had reared back and, with every ounce of strength she could muster, had slapped him straight across the face. Sofia is an athelete and there is real power in her arms. Cedric hit the ground, hard.

"You selfish son of a bitch," she spat.

"What in god's name is going on-"

"I found out who it was."

"Who what was?"

"That baby? The one you didn't want? I found them."

"And you think that gives you the right to beat me unconscious?" The sorcerer was struggling to get back to his feet, clutching the side of his face Sofia had slapped. "Why, did they grow up to be somebody important or something?"

"Not important to you," she growled.

"You're being awfully dramatic about this, Princess-"

"Because it was me!" She burst out furiously.

All the color drained from Cedric's face. He stared at her incredulously. "You?"

"You threw me away." The look she gave him could melt glass.

"It was you?!" His entire manner changed from one of self-defense to shocked supplication. "My...my child was you? Sofia-"

"You threw me away!"

He tried to grab her hand, as if he could somehow fix this. "Sofia, this changes everything! I could-"

"This changes nothing." She yanked her hand away from him so hard he lost his balance and landed on his knees in front of her again. "You gave up all rights to me when you got rid of me eighteen years ago." She took a step backward, looking down her nose at him. "If you didn't want me then, you cannot have me now."

"Sofia, if I'm your father-"

"No!" She cut him off with tears in her eyes. "My father is King Roland II."

Sofia turned to me and took my hand. "Let's go, Hugo." And she pulled me back through the door, closing it behind us.