Disclaimer: I do not own Sofia the First.
Chapter 10: Queen Miranda's Dying Wish
They were falling; falling through nothing but darkness. Cedric clung onto Sofia as hard as he could, believing that this was the end for both of them. He wanted to cry, not for himself but for Sofia. He knew she had a promising future and she ruined that by her desire to make everything right again. He was ripped from his thoughts when he saw the memory of Sofia's mother laying on her bed getting closer and closer to them. The light of the memory was shining on their skin and the two friends could finally see each other again.
Sofia peered up at Cedric who was looking back at her; they both were afraid of what was going to happen next. Sofia closed her eyes tight and hoped for the best. Suddenly, she felt something under her feet. She popped her eyes open and noticed that her feet were touching the ground. She sighed in relief and turned around to find Cedric who was in a pile of books and trinkets. He stood up, massaging his head and glanced at the woman on the bed.
"Mom," Sofia said, faintly. She started to run up to the bed, but Cedric pulled her back. She stared at him with anger in her eyes; he had never seen her appear so cross.
"Sofia, you can't talk to her. In a few minutes, you, your dad, and Amber are going to walk through the door and they can't see you. It will mess up everything," Cedric said, irritated. He was a bit upset that she went ahead and time traveled even though he told her it was treacherous. However, Sofia still glared at him with eyes full of disgust. "Please, Sofia..." he begged.
"But my mom, why can't I just talk to her before I walk in?" Sofia asked, "Please, Mr. Cedric, I need to talk to her again...I mean, without her disappearing and I just..."
"I said no, Sofia!" Cedric yelled, wishing that he could swallow his words once they came out. He had never been that harsh with her and seeing her step back in fear made him feel even more guilty. "I'm sorry..." he tried again, "It just won't work."
"Okay," Sofia whispered, "we should probably hide so they don't see us."
Cedric nodded, ushering her to a dresser that they hid behind. He felt sorry that she couldn't talk to her mother, however if one of them saw Sofia, it could mess up history forever. He didn't know how things would turn out for Sofia; life could be even worse or maybe better. He didn't know but he didn't want to take any chances.
The door swung open and the sounds of distressed voices echoed the room. Sofia could hear Amber wailing and her father was trying to calm her down. Sofia could hear her fourteen year old self crying as well, but it wasn't as loud as Amber's.
"Mom," Amber cried, "Please don't die. I'll do anything to keep you alive. Just...just...please...don't..." Her cries cut off her ability to talk and she wailed even louder now. Sofia's heart broke at the sound of hearing her sister cry. She turned to Cedric who was listening carefully to everything being said. He looked terrified; Sofia believed that he was just worried that they were going to get caught.
"Amber, dear, don't worry about me," Miranda said, weakly, "Everyone has to go at some point and my time is now. You will be alright, you all will be alright." Sofia winced at hearing her mom so weak; she almost wanted to step out of hiding and go hug her. It was like Cedric read her mind for he quickly gripped her arm.
"You can't do anything, remember?" Cedric murmured, "I know it's hard, but you can't mess anything up."
"No, Miranda, you won't die," Roland II said, making everyone look at him as if he were crazy, "I know a place where we can get you the right medicine." Miranda was about to object to his idea, but he kept going. "The Forest of Evas! You ask for any wish and they will grant it to you." He began dancing for joy, "You will live, my dear!"
"I want to go," fourteen year old Sofia said, raising her wand in the air. Her mother and father both stared at her with disapproving eyes. "Please, I know my magic, thanks to Mr. Cedric. How hard can it be when I know how to do a Protection Spell?"
Amber piped in, "I want to go too! If Sofia is going then I want to help her as well. Besides, daddy, you have a kingdom to run. How can you run a kingdom if you are in the Forest of Evas?" Sofia knew that Amber was extremely talented at being persuasive.
Roland II frowned and said, "I mean, I guess you're right, but be careful. It can be dangerous, especially once you get closer to the medicine part of the forest." He kissed Amber and Sofia on the forehead and was about to kiss Miranda when he saw her looking at him, furiously.
"What are you thinking?" she said, beginning to cough, "Sending are daughters out into a dangerous forest. And yes, the closer to the medicine part of the forest the more dangerous it gets, like really dangerous. No one has made it out of that part alive. No one has even gotten to the medicine before dying. Are you crazy, Rolly?" She was going to say more, but her sickness won over her and she began coughing and wheezing.
"We'll be fine, mom," Amber replied. Even though she was scared that she might die, she still yearned to try. If this was the last chance to save her mother, then she would definitely take the chance.
Miranda glanced at Amber and fourteen year old Sofia, then back at Roland II. "No," she said, "I'm not putting our children through that. The farthest I will ever let them go is miscellaneous wishes section, but that's it."
"Oh, darling, I think they'll be fine. Sofia has her wand and I trust Cedric has taught her well. Besides, Amber's right, I need to run the kingdom and if I left, I know that Baileywick would go insane with all the things he had to do." He chuckled and kissed her softly. "I love you." He left, smiling at his family; the thought of curing his wife overjoyed him.
Miranda waited for a while before speaking. Amber and fourteen year old Sofia watched her carefully while glimpsing at each other. "You are not going to the medicine section of the forest. Go to the miscellaneous wishes section and wish for the emerald your father's always wanted...the Memortime emerald. I will not have you two die for the sake of me."
"But mom, I have a wand and I know sorcery so well, I can save you, I swear," fourteen year old Sofia argued. The pain in her eyes broke her mother's heart. Amber simply stared at her mom in absolute horror; why would she want to die?
"Sofia, no," her mother responded, taking Sofia's hands and squeezing them tight, "I know you two want to save me from my illness but I'd rather die than have you two die." She waited for the two heartbroken girls to respond, but they didn't speak; they were too shocked to say a word. Sofia shook her head violently and opened her mouth, then closed it. There was no arguing with her mother; she was too stubborn.
"I love you, girls," Miranda said, pulling the sisters into an embrace, "This is my dying wish." She kissed them each on the cheek and told them she didn't feel well and needed to rest. The conflicted girls backed away slowly from their mother and departed from the room.
"So, your mother didn't want the medicine?" Cedric asked, but he wasn't sure why because he knew the answer. "...Because she knew you all would die in the forest."
Sofia nodded her head and said, "Yeah. She thought we would die. Amber and I argued about this the entire ride to the Forest of Evas. We said maybe we should go against her will and get the medicine anyway. Then I said I would feel bad that I disobeyed her and she would punish us once she returned to health. I guess we were being really selfish. We were so conflicted."
"Why didn't you ever tell your father that she wanted you to get the Memortime emerald? And why this emerald?" Cedric asked, conflicted himself.
"I guess she wanted him to have one of his favorite emeralds?" Sofia said, unsure of the answer. She wasn't certain why she wanted him to have this one. "Amber and I agreed that we wouldn't tell him. We didn't want him feeling mad at mom. He would still get angry at me though...he would probably tell me that I should have gotten the medicine anyway."
"I don't think he would," Cedric answered, "I think he would know you girls didn't know what to do, especially since it was her dying wish. Wait, why does he take his anger out on you when Princess Amber was in on this too?"
"'Cause I never told him," Sofia said, "After we got the emerald, Amber began freaking out and saying how dad was going to get so upset that we didn't get the medicine. I told her I would take the blame." She closed her eyes, letting the memories engulf her. "I remember when we came home, my mom was already dead but my dad insisted on still using the medicine. Apparently, he tried looking for us in the forest because we were taking too long. He tried asking the trees about bringing her back to life; they gave him that mirror instead...uh, Owlly's Mirror."
Cedric remembered reading Roland II's journal; he recalled this section in the book and how much hope he had in those times.
Sofia continued saying, "So, he went back home and placed all his hope in the medicine. Even though the medicine we were supposed to get was only meant for healing the living, he still desired to try it. It was his last chance. I'll never forget the look he had in his eyes when I told him I didn't have the medicine. He was devastated. What scared me the most was how upset he looked and then it turned to a look of hatred. That was the first time my father punched me."
Cedric tried his best to give her a hug, but it was a little difficult being crammed behind a dresser. He looked at her; sometimes he forgot that she had bruises. That's not what he noticed about her, but when she told him the story, he realized that she had much more bruises then he thought she had.
"Well, now, I'm going to make things right." Sofia said, confidently. Cedric tilted his head like a confused puppy. She thought of the memory of being in the Forest of Evas and blew on the emerald. She held Cedric's hand and before blowing a second time, she stated, "This is my last chance to make things right." Then, she blew and they went traveling through time.
Note: Hi, I'm really tired. So, I started writing this yesterday and I couldn't sleep and I was writing until 5. So, at 5, I try to go to bed but my brain said no. I'm so tired but I can't sleep. My sister wants me to take pictures with her today and I'm gonna look so dead. Haha. I apologize if there are any spelling mistakes or grammar mistakes; I'm spell checking this at 6 and I haven't gotten any sleep like I said. I hope this chapter explains some things. I hope ya'll like it; every time I post a new chapter, I get so worried. Gosh, I just love Sofia the First. I don't care what any one says about me, that shows the best.
Thanks for all your support!