Chapter Thirteen – Shooting Star

"What?" she asked with a smile, unclutching the fabric.

"Why did you really want to come up here? You don't know any constellations or stars and ever since we sat down you've been doing everything but looking up at the stars. What's the real reason you dragged me up here?"

Sofia looked away, biting down lightly on her lip. She could tell him everything right now—say that all this had been an attempt to get him to notice her and fall in love…but the fear that it might scare him away still haunted her like a ghost. Amber was older and wiser, so maybe she was right. Maybe confessing her feelings would only push him away. She certainly didn't want to do that, but she knew that a relationship built on lies would never last. If they got together would it be okay to tell him then?

"I…well, I…" Sofia was torn between wanting to be honest with him, and wanting to believe Amber was right. "I can't tell you."

She was afraid what he would say next, but he leaned forward and smiled. "Sofia, you can tell me anything."

A sudden flash of light across the sky distracted her, and she turned just in time to catch a shooting star disappear below the horizon.

"A shooting star!" she exclaimed, desperate to change the subject. "Quick, make a wish!"

She closed her eyes, wishing that Cedric would kiss her. After a moment or two she opened her eyes and turned to see Cedric staring at her.

"What did you wish for?" he asked.

"If I tell you it won't come true. But I promise to tell you if it does come true," she replied. "Did you make a wish?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"There isn't anything I wanted. Right now is enough," he said, leaning forward slightly. Sofia felt her heart leap to her chest, remembering those exact words from two years ago. He must replay that night in his mind if he could still recall exactly what she said…he must think about it much as she did.

Her thoughts became scattered—distracted by how close they were. Did he even notice? They were mere inches apart and Sofia knew that if she just leaned forward their lips would be touching. Her heart started to beat faster. She could feel her eyelids closing as she inched forward, unsure about what his reaction would be. Amber would absolutely disapprove of making the first move, but she didn't care about anything else right now. All thought processes in her brain had shut down and what was left only focused on what was happening right now.

When she felt his breath fanning over her lips, a rush of desire swept over her—a breathless sort of feeling that she found strangely pleasant. She felt energized and calm, dazed and alert—all at once. It was like a cauldron of liquid fire had been poured into her stomach and was burning her up from the inside out. The last thing she saw before closing her eyes was his slightly parted mouth and half-lidded eyes.

Suddenly there was the sound of something hitting the stone roof. Sofia's eyes snapped open and she saw Cedric turn his head towards the sound. Her eyes followed his gaze to the shadows. There was another sound—this time louder. Sofia jumped up, reaching up with one hand to clutch her amulet. Cedric jumped up as well, putting a hand out to push Sofia behind him as he pointed his wand at the direction the sound had come from.

"Who's there?" he called out. Suddenly a blur jumped out from the shadows. Sofia let out a scream before realizing that she knew the figure crouched in front of them.

"Gnarly?" A smaller figure stepped out of the shadows, and Sofia smiled at the sight of her friends. "Teeni!"

"Sorry to scare you," Gnarly said. "We just wanted to come up and see the stars."

She ran out from behind Cedric and over to her friends, giving them both a hug. "What are you guys doing up here?"

Gnarly pointed to the sky. "We saw the clouds go away and wanted to come up here and look at the stars." Gnarly looked past Sofia at Cedric. She turned around and saw him staring uneasily at the trolls.

"Don't worry, Cedric. They're my friends," she told him.

"Do you mind if we join you?" Teeni asked.

Sofia didn't really want them here right now. She could still feel that burning fire deep down in the pit of her stomach. Would Cedric have kissed her if they hadn't shown up? She was a bit disappointed that she'd never know, but she knew saying so would be rude. They were her friends and she didn't want to make them feel like nuisances.

"Of course not. Come and sit next to me," Sofia said, sitting down and patting the spot next to her. Teeni walked over and sat down before turning her face up to the stars.

She heard Cedric let out a small sigh and when she turned her gaze to him she saw him slipping his wand back in his pocket. "Well I'm going back to bed. I said I'd spend a few minutes up here and I have. You can stay here with your friends or I can escort you back to your bedroom."

Sofia wasn't sure whether leaving her friends would be considered rude or not, but Cedric was offering to walk her back to her room. If she went with him she'd have an opportunity to be alone with him. Maybe he'd give her a kiss then. She nodded and he extended a hand, helping her up.

"It was nice seeing you again, but I have school tomorrow, so I should be getting back to bed," she told her friends.

Gnarly gave her a smile. "No problem. See you some other time."

Sofia gave a nod before following Cedric down the stairs. The whole way to her room he was silent, and she wondered what he was thinking. Finally, they reached her door and she turned to him. She slipped his robe off and handed it back to him.

"Thanks you…for everything," she said, giving him a smile. A normal smile, this time. He returned it as he pulled his robe back on.

"No problem. Goodnight, Sofia."

She took a step closer, hoping he would lean down and give her a kiss, but he only turned and walked away. She felt her shoulders slump. It must have been her imagination earlier, because if he wanted to kiss her, that would have been the perfect time. Now what? Sofia sighed. Well, she still had school tomorrow, she should get to bed. With one last glance at his retreating figure, she opened her bedroom door and stepped inside.

Sofia was awoken by the creaking of her bedroom door. She sat up and rubbed her eyes to see Amber walking over to her. Was it time to get up already? Her whole body still felt like it was asleep.

"So, did it work? Did he ask you to court him? Did you get a kiss?" she asked, sitting down on the edge of Sofia's bed.

"No," Sofia said as she yawned. "The trolls interrupted us. I think he…well, he might have kissed me if they hadn't shown up. I don't know."

Amber smiled at that. "Well, it's a start. Some men take longer than others to fall in love. You just have to keep trying. I'll look through my romance novels while you're at school."

Sofia let out a groan and covered her face with her pillow. "Don't remind me about school. I'm so tired I'll probably fall asleep through my first three classes."

"Say no more," she thought she heard Amber say. Sofia removed the pillow and raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?"

"I'll just tell mom and dad that you feel sick."

Sofia frowned. "Amber, I don't like all this lying."

Amber waved a hand. "Oh, its fine, Sofia. Remember that time I forgot to write my report on the rainbow toad?" When Sofia nodded Amber continued. "Well, I told dad that I was sick and turned it in the next day."

Sofia knew it was wrong, but…well, she was so tired, and missing one day wouldn't hurt, right? She was getting A's in all her classes, so she could afford to skip one day. With a nod, she gave Amber permission.

There was a knock on the door, and both Sofia and Amber turned at the sound. A moment later Baileywick strolled through the door.

"Princess, your parents asked me to check up on you. Breakfast started five minutes ago, and the royal carriage leaves in twenty minutes."

Before Sofia could respond, Amber replied, "Sofia is feeling sick and won't be attending school today. She needs the day to rest."

"Of course, Your Highness. I will inform the King and Queen and have a meal brought up for you," Baileywick replied. With a bow he left the room, closing the door behind him.

Amber turned to face Sofia with a smile. "This gives us time to plan your next move. I'll bring you lunch around noon and then we can discuss what to do."

Sofia gave a nod in agreement before snuggling into her pillow and closing her eyes. The door closed, and it felt like she had only been asleep for a minute when she heard a voice call out, "Wake-y, wake-y, princess!"

She groaned and rolled over in bed, opening her eyes to see Clover sitting on one of her pillows. Robin and Mia swooped down, landing on her bedpost.

"What is it?" she asked.

"We were waiting for you to bring us our breakfast, so when you didn't show up we got worried," Robin explained.

"Yeah. Are you all right?" Mia chirped.

Sofia smiled at her friends concern. "I'm fine, just a bit tired. I'm sorry I wasn't there to feed you, but Baileywick said he'd send up a meal. You can have it when it comes, I'm not hungry."

"Why are you tired?" Clover asked, hopping closer.

Sofia stifled a yawn before sitting up in bed. "I stayed up late last night with Cedric. We went up to the roof to watch the stars together."

Clover's smile widened, while Mia and Robin tweeted excitedly. "So you two are courting now?" He turned to both birds. "I told you our plan would work."

Sofia's smiled faded. "We're not together…yet. The falling plan didn't work, so Amber and I have been trying a few different things. I was hoping he would give me a kiss last night, but it didn't work."

"Why don't you just make him a Valentine telling him how you feel?" Robin asked.

"Yeah, Valentine's Day is tomorrow, it would be perfect!" Mia said, flapping her wings in excitement.

"That's what I was going to do, but Amber told me it would scare him away if I told him how I feel. She told me that I have to get him to confess his love for me first."

Clover scoffed. "And what does she know? Is she courting anyone?"

Sofia shook her head. "Well, no, but—"

"Then there's your answer. You should just tell him how you feel."

It sounded logical, but then again, so did Amber's opposing argument. Who was she supposed to believe? When Sofia recalled how each attempt had failed, she found that she agreed with her animal friends. She gave them a smile and nodded.

"You guys are right. I'll make him a Valentine telling him how I feel."

There was a knock on her door, and Sofia motioned for her friends to hide under the bed. She called out for the person to come in, and a servant carrying a plate piled with food opened the door. Once she was gone Sofia put the plate on her nightstand and let her friends help themselves. Sofia, who was feeling energized by her latest plan, tossed the sheets aside and walked over to her desk. She pulled out some colored paper and got straight to work on the perfect Valentine.

You guys didn't think I'd let her get off that easily, did you? Lol.

Like always, thanks to everyone who followed, favorited, and reviewed! Hope you enjoyed the update! :)