Disclaimer: I do not own Sofia the First.

Chapter 14: Ending the Fight

Things around the castle flipped completely around. Immediately after Sofia and her father had their moment at Cedric's so-called 'execution', Roland II had him released. Wormwood flew to his master and flew around him a few times before landing on his shoulder. Cedric scratched his raven affectionately who cawed happily to receive love. When Cedric was helped off the stake, the crowd cheered to see the man still alive. Cedric's father ran up to him, embracing him tightly while his mother squeezed his cheeks.

The last two weeks had been extremely awkward for Sofia and Roland II. At dinner, Roland II would try to start conversation with Sofia and she would cooperate, of course; however, there was much tension between them and the talk would end quickly. Sofia could tell he was still suffering with grief and it would worry the princess; she didn't want her father to experience any more pain, yet she didn't know how to help him.

Sofia was now able to talk to her siblings, Amber and James, again. The first thing the twins did when they saw their sister was tackle her to the ground with hugs. Recently, they've been trying to catch up on everything; it was hard to tell each other everything that has happened in the past two years. They would spend hours in the castle garden just talking about it. Sofia was overjoyed to hear that Amber began courting with a handsome man named Prince Adam and that James was doing well in the Flying Derby races. All she had to tell them was that her magic lessons with Cedric had been wonderful; she didn't want to tell them about her adventures with Cedric yet.

All in all, things were alright for Sofia and her family, though she wishes that it would be a little bit better. For right now, she was just thrilled to have her father back.

Sofia knocked on the door of Cedric's workshop which resulted in a loud boom and the grumpy sorcerer groaned. He opened the door and looked at the princess in front of him.

"Ah, Sofia, I haven't seen you in weeks!" Cedric exclaimed, gesturing her to come in, "Are you here for magic lessons? We haven't had them in a while."

Sofia could sense that he missed having her company and she couldn't blame him; for two weeks, she didn't show up for lessons or even go to talk to him. As she thought about it, she realized how it was very unlike her to not visit Cedric.

"Oh," Sofia uttered, "I'm sorry, I'm not here for that at the moment, but maybe later today." Cedric nodded his head and went to clean up his failed potion. Sofia frowned; she should apologize for abandoning him for two weeks, especially after all he's done for her. "Mr. Cedric, I'm sorry I haven't been visiting you lately. I guess I got carried away with catching up with my siblings and trying to mend my relationship with my dad."

Cedric looked at her as if she said something wrong and replied, "There's nothing to worry about, my dear, I completely understand. You haven't spoken to them in years and fixing your relationship with your father is way more important than sorcery class."

She wasn't sure if he was being sarcastic with his last remark and he could see that she was confounded, so he said, "I'm serious." Then, he gave her a playful smile. "So, why are you here, then?"

"I'm actually here to thank you," Sofia stated, causing Cedric to gaze up at her with lost eyes, "You helped me get my father back."

Cedric shook his head as he walked up to her and said, "No, Sofia, don't thank me for that. You did that all on your own. I was tied to a post, remember?"

Sofia half-smiled, then went on, "But you were always there for me. You listened to me when I told you about my problems and you were so supportive of me. You protected me when I was in danger and you tried your very best to keep me out of harm's way. When I cried, you consoled me and told me everything was going to be okay. You reassured me that things do get better and that I do mean something to others. You reminded me to never give up even in the hardest situations. You mean so much to me, Mr. Cedric. I don't know how to repay you."

Cedric's heart shattered into a million pieces; he was touched. This was the kindest thing anyone has ever said to him and Sofia has said a lot of nice things. However, this one made a special place in his heart.

He wrapped his arms around her and said, "You don't have to repay me. Friends do things for each other when they care about them, not because they want to have something done for them in return. I care about you and I don't need you to repay me."

Sofia returned his hug, taking in the smell of herbs on his dark purple robe. Then, she saw a glimpse of something shining in the corner of her eye. She released Cedric and took a better look at the object she saw. Owlly's Mirror...why is it in Mr. Cedric's workshop? She wondered to herself. She whipped around to face Cedric to hear an explanation and he was sure going to give her one; however, he didn't seem too pleased to tell her.

"Your father...he tried to step in the mirror a few days ago," Cedric admitted, twiddling his wand around nervously, "I'm not sure if you know this but once you step into the mirror..."

"You can never return," Sofia finished, breathlessly. She was stunned; her father didn't want to live in this world anymore. Was he that desperate for his wife or was guilt eating him up? Sofia didn't know—she was afraid to know; she didn't like to see her father troubled.

Cedric nodded, staring at the ground and said, "Yes, that's right. He...um" he was having a hard time confessing this to her; she was already heartbroken as it is, "He told me to come to his room once I was finished making a potion. So, once I was finished, I went to his room and knocked on his door a few times. He wouldn't answer. I was beginning to worry, so I pushed the door slightly and saw him half-way through the mirror. So I used my wand to get him out and I made the mirror transport to my workshop..."

Sofia looked at Cedric in horror; she couldn't believe what she was hearing. Her poor father...she expected that life would get better for the both of them. Now, she believed that life will always have suffering with it and there's nothing she could do about it.

"Why did he need you anyway?" Sofia asked, yearning to get to the bottom of this situation.

"He wanted to apologize for attempting to burn me on a stake and abusing me," Cedric replied, turning his attention back to his potion and gathered the ingredients to start a new one.

Sofia dropped her eyes and frowned. Her father apologized to Cedric, but not her? He has hurt her for two years and only harmed Cedric for a day or two, yet he doesn't feel the need to apologize to her? Maybe Cedric was wrong...She thought...maybe things do get better but you're still so unhappy about it. She was starting to lose hope in her family once again.

She sighed, shuffling to the door, but Cedric stopped her. "What's wrong?" he asked, feeling as if something was up since she wasn't so joyful; yet again, her father did almost attempt to kill himself. Cedric just wanted to make sure she was okay.

"Nothing," she responded, backing away from the door. She nearly opened up to him about it, but she decided against it. Why worry him even more?

"You sure?" he insisted, but seeing her nod her head made him change the subject, "Do you want to do magic now? I could use some help from my favorite apprentice!"

Sofia grinned at his persuasive words and said, "Yes, let's do some magic!" She slide her wand out of her shirtsleeve and waved her wand in the air.

"Excellent!" Cedric exclaimed, reaching for his wand as well, "So, Sofia, what do you want to start with? I'll let you choose. We could do defense spells or stupid little show tricks. Oh! I can show you how to turn rocks into ravens! You could have your own Wormy if you master this spell!" She giggled when Wormwood sighed as he rolled his eyes.

"Actually, Mr. Cedric, I was wondering if you could help me destroy Owlly's Mirror," Sofia requested, knowing that asking this would be a long shot.

Cedric blinked a few times, then understood why she longed to do that. She didn't want her father to try to kill himself again. The sorcerer smiled compassionately and argued, "Well if you did that, you wouldn't be able to see your mother anymore."

"I know, but I don't need a mirror to reassure me that my mother is still with us," Sofia protested, smiling at the thought that she knew her mother was right by her side, "And neither does my father."

Cedric shook his head, chortling and said, "You're growing up too fast for me, Sofia. You're growing mature, even more mature than a normal sixteen year old girl should be. Sometimes, I still see you as that little girl who entered the royal life so confused yet full of life. You learn so fast, my dear."

Sofia's lips twisted into a grin, however, she really did want know if she could get rid of the mirror.

"Nevertheless," he continued, "if you want to destroy the mirror, then repeat after me." He aimed his wand at the mirror and chanted, "Mirror of the afterlife, be gone and end my fight!"

Sofia hesitated; the spell was really strange and it didn't make much sense to her. Yet, she said the spell and watched the mirror shake violently. Cedric clutched her arms and pulled them as far away as they could be from the mirror.

"Don't look at the mirror!" he shouted, covering her eyes with one hand, "The mirror will try to trick you into keeping it. Your mother will appear, but it's not really her, okay? Whatever you hear, don't listen to it. If you see her, you will be trapped in the mirror forever. Whatever you do, don't give in!" He shut his eyes too; he knew it wasn't going to be hard for him, but it was definitely going to be difficult for Sofia.

Sofia gulped; she didn't expect destroying the mirror would be this difficult. She held onto Cedric's arm and closed her eyes as tight as she possibly could. She could hear the mirror began to shatter and even though her eyes were closed and Cedric had his hand over her eyes, she could see bright lights.

"Sofia..." a voice called her and she could feel Cedric's hand push on her eyes harder, "why are you doing this to me? I thought you loved me? Do you not LOVE ME? WHY DON'T YOU LOVE ME?"

"I love you, mom!" Sofia screamed, opening her eyes but they were still covered by Cedric's hand. He could feel her eyelashes brush against his hand.

"Don't listen to her, Sofia. That's not your real mother. Don't talk to her, it will only make her stay longer. Close your eyes, please," he yelled.

Sofia did as she was told and shut her eyes. Her 'mother' continued to taunt her, questioning whether Sofia truly loved her and why she would destroy the mirror. Each time she would speak, Sofia would get an unbearable urge to talk to her, but she kept her mouth shut. She even placed her hands to her mouth to get her to not talk.

The light disappeared and so did the sounds of shattering and the pleading woman. Cedric let go of Sofia's eyes and she opened them, looking around at the room before her. The mirror was gone.

Note: Hey, this was longer than I expected. Chapter 15 will be the last chapter to this series. It's so bittersweet. Anyway, in the next chapter, you'll find out what the spell means and of course, there's more but I don't wanna spoil it. ;) Also, someone returns! You can guess if you want. Hint: it's not Miranda lol. I had to rewrite this chapter a few times; it probably would have been out last night, but I didn't like the way it was.

To AquaTurquoise: Thanks. You're so nice! :D and to CedricAmber: August 31st is when I start college! My birthday is in August too!