M.

She placed a green marker in her spot and closed the book, setting it on top of her clothing inside of her sturdiest trunk, because even though she wanted to read it during her ride up to the Kingdom of Itharian, the last thing she wanted was for it to get ruined some how, landing her in a bad place with the Royal Sorcerer. As she clicked the lid shut, one of the maids came around to her side, stuffing more things into another trunk, Sofia could only guess what it all was, and she made her way over to her desk to double check that everything was put away before she left.

Quills, eggs, powders, cuttings, everything had its place and she was irked to see how low her stock had become, and she bent and grabbed a quill to add something else to the piece of parchment she'd left out, a long list of things she needed more of. There was no reason while she was up in the mountains she couldn't keep an eye out for some things. And she groaned when she noticed the little scribble she'd left for herself at the bottom, because it clearly instructed her to make a visit to his tower, and she knew he was going to be grumpy today of all days, but she alerted the maids anyway and started off for his end of the castle.

She looked darling today in a white riding dress with large lapels and buttons that ran the length of her, and she kept her hair free from any pins or tiaras, allowing it to curl around her shoulders, and while she knew it would be a generally approved of look, she still couldn't help but run one hand down her side nervously as she climbed his tower. At his door, she knocked, and she groaned when she heard an explosion followed by a string of angry words. And she let her head roll back, closing her eyes as she took a deep breath and summoned all of her patience before he flung open the door.

And he reacted exactly as she thought he would, opening the door, registering it was her, all fiery fury gone, now just diminished and smoldering anger.

"Oh. What do you want?"

And she gave him a sweet smile.

"Good morning to you as well." She replied, stepping into his work room, noticing the glimmer of magic was still in the air. She was happy to see that he'd thrown open the windows, letting out the musk and letting in sunshine and fresh air. And when she turned she noticed how tired he looked, how.. worn down he was. She wanted to press her hand to his cheek, run her fingers into his hair, give him a hug, something to drive away the look in his eyes.

"I thought you'd have left with your Prince by now."

She sighed. There it was.

"No, not yet. The carriage doesn't come for another half an hour."

He crossed his arms, still leaning against the open door, clearly ready for her to pass right back through it.

"You must be so excited." He said sarcastically, and she was growing irritated with his attitude.

"I am, actually. It'll be nice to get away from the castle for awhile." And she tried to sound pleasant, tried not to be too impatient with him. Because while she saw this weekend as a way to wrap up some loose ends with Hugo, Cedric saw her wrapped up in a totally different manner, and it picked at him. Irked him. Made his skin itch.

He brushed past her back to his cauldron, taking in its energy, glad it was out and there, something to keep him from looking at her stunning face, and it gave him a feeling of shadow and power as he waved his arm over it, swirling the smoke up and away from him.

This was stupid. He should tell her, everything. Tell her all about their past and where they'd ended up together the last couple months. Tell her how much he needed her, wanted her, loved her. He should tell her Hugo doesn't get to have her, that she's already taken, and for a minute, he turned, ready to claim her. He was going to throw her over his shoulder, drag her kicking and screaming into his bed, pop every button on that dress, and do things to her that would turn her friends ears pink at tea. There'd be no more talk of Hugo, talk of being courted, talk of having his very existence taken from her memory.

He'd fix it all.

But she was standing there, her list in her hand, watching him eagerly move around, because she was waiting for him to ask her what she needed, why she was up there. Or maybe she was just watching him, taking him in, and he didn't want to think he saw pity in her eyes.

She was beautiful.

So he swallowed, and straightened up and away from the cauldron, because he'd told himself and so many involved that he wanted Sofia to experience romance and youth the right way. He couldn't be mad at her for doing just that.

"What was it you needed, Princess?" He asked.

She left with several empty jars and a special little pouch that would keep any little snow crystals she found cold until she got home, and she was happy when she left his tower, asking him to save some time for her the next week because she needed a cauldron of her own and she wanted him to come with her to get it. He'd assured her he'd be busy, and she'd waved away his comments almost as flippantly, saying that he would need some sunshine because she was sure he wouldn't leave his tower all weekend without her there to bother him.

She didn't even make it to the bottom of the stairs before she was swarmed by Baileywick and maids, and she wiggled her fingers happily at Cedric, calling out that she'd see him in a couple days, and he didn't respond, merely turning to climb up the stairs, reminding himself that when you've made your bed you get to lie in it.

She was grateful for proper courting etiquette. She was thankful because that meant she was seen off from the palace by her father and mother, and Violet and another servant named Franklin, an older gentleman, hand picked by Baileywick, would be her escort as she took off into the mountains with Hugo, his escorts, and his father, King Garrick. It took three carriages to get their little caravan to the manor up in the mountains, and Sofia wouldn't consider it anything less, because it was enormous. It was supposed to be a little log cabin, covered in snow and surrounded by trees, from how Hugo explained it, but as they landed Sofia could see that the 'cabin' was three stories high, made from horizontally stacked logs, and giant rocks and there were stone chimneys and fire pits all around.

It certainly looked like somewhere Hugo and his family would come to, but she was thankful for Violet being with her, because from where she sat the whole thing was very... male.

She was properly introduced to the staff, and then Garrick wandered off to see to what was being hunted for dinner, leaving Hugo to escort Sofia to her room, two servants lingering not far behind them.

"What do you think?" Hugo asked, spreading his arms as they walked down the hall, trying to get her reaction to all the antlers and candles and the warmth of the manor. And Sofia smiled, because the whole 'hunting motif' suited him.

"It's very you." She said.

He grinned. "So it's handsome and strong?" He came to a set of large wooden doors, the surfaces covered in hand carvings of deer over looking a lush forest and the sun setting off in the distance. He put his back to it and turned to her, causing her to stop right before him, her arms crossed over her chest.

"And modest."

"I knew you'd love it." And he opened the doors, and the room was immense, focused around a massive four poster bed with heavy green curtains that was angled towards a set of glass doors that led on to a balcony, and past that there was a huge fireplace, one she was sure she could stand with her arms spread in, and there was a sitting area and large wooden wardrobes, and all the wood was mismatched and drenched in heavy furs. People buzzed around them, bringing in her trunks, arranging things, removing things, and Sofia was grateful as she watched Violet politely instruct someone from Hugo's group to remove some of the furs, because she knew her Princess wasn't overly fond of being surrounded by dead animals.

Hugo led her to the center of the room.

"You know my staff is at your disposal. Anything you want, just ask." He dropped his voice, and took her fingers, and she offered him a friendly smile. "Dinner is going to be a madhouse. Maybe afterwards we can talk, just the two of us?"

"Sure Hugo." She said, and he nodded, pulling himself back up, and his servants followed him out of the room as Sofia watched, her hand on her hip. And Violet nudged her gently, her arms full of two of Sofia's dresses.

"That one knows he's handsome." Violet said, and Sofia chuckled, shaking her head. Violet eyed her with familiarity. "Doesn't even curl your toes a little?"

Sofia shrugged, blushing, because the only time she could think of someone 'curling her toes' was when Cedric had grabbed her hand in his tower...

Dinner had been loud and hot, and Sofia hadn't realized there were going to be so many nobleman there, and that animals would be skewered and left on the table to be picked at, and she spent the majority of her meal staring at her plate, focusing hard on the potatoes and onions that rested there, because she hadn't had the heart to pick at any of the meat, and kept refusing the offerings made by the servants.

About half way through the meal Hugo asked if they could be excused, making mention of something about promising her hot apple cider, and Garrick had given them both a look that hinted at something else, and Sofia didn't think she'd ever rushed from a table so quickly.

He'd taken her hand, and only apologized quietly when they were in the hall way.

"Tomorrow I'll make sure there aren't any heads on the table." He tried to joke, finding her reaction to the animals to be silly. She narrowed her eyes at him, freeing her hand.

"Don't mock me, Hugo. I can't.. uhh, I can't eat like that."

He nodded, holding up his hands in surrender. "Alright, I get it. I promise no bodies tomorrow."

They quickly found a large room to sit in, away from the dining hall, and there was a buzz of activity as it was prepared for the two royals before suddenly Sofia and Hugo were alone. She plopped down in front of the fireplace on one of the cushions set out, going for the tray of cider and food that had been brought. She was pretty sure someone in the kitchen had been eavesdropping on her, because along with some sweets, there was bread and cheese and slices of apples and oranges that she happily picked at.

Hugo was hovering, so she patted the spot next to her, her mouth full of orange otherwise she would have told him to sit.

After a cautious glance around, he kicked off his boots and sat, taking a mug and sitting back to look at her. For dinner she'd worn a simple green gown, with tiny topaz earrings that dangled and matched the small gems in the tiara that held her hair back in a loose bun.

"Do you and your father come up here often?" She asked, and he nodded, glad they were finally settled enough to talk.

"Whenever we're able to. Usually Axel comes with us, but you got his place in the carriage instead." He joked, and she smiled.

"Is it because I can drink more ale than him?"

"That and you look much better in a dress."

And they both laughed before moving on, talking about a myriad of things until the tray was cleared, and someone came and took it away, and soon it was late and their fire was dying.

She was leaning against her palm, her arm propped on a couch, listening to him tell another joke, another boasting story, not realizing he'd scooted closer until his hand brushed her arm. She drew her legs up between them, spreading her skirt out so that he knew that the edge of the fabric was as far as he'd get, and that afforded her a good two foot barrier.

"You know, I didn't think you'd still come up here this weekend."

She sat up, chuckling, because he was usually so confident.

"I told you I would." She scrunched her nose as she revealed the truth. "And I promised my father I would give this a try. A real try."

And Hugo nodded, looking away from her.

"I shouldn't have stood you up at the ball."

Sofia shrugged, pressing a finger delicately over her mouth, because she wasn't going to say anything until he did, and she felt like the time had come. His brow creased, and for a moment, he looked intense, like he was trying to remind himself that he'd gone over this. He'd planned something to say, and she took a deep breath, because she wanted to give him a minute to collect himself, to figure out his point.

"I understand-"

"It just... would have been nice to have known you were.. still intimate with someone else, though." He finally said, and she closed her mouth, looking confused.

"Intimate with someone else?"

And Hugo stood up, and she followed, not because she wanted to, but because looking up at him made her stomach twist, made her feel vulnerable, and she now had a flurry of questions.

"I don't understand."

"Well.." And he was uncomfortable, glaring at her, and he placed his hands on his hips, taking a deep breath through his nose, his nostrils flaring.

"Him. The Sorcerer. I saw you two you know." Then he let out a deep breath, because he'd been sitting on this for so long, and he'd been waiting to use it, and he'd wanted to see her expression when he'd told her she'd been found out, and now she just looked more confused than ever, and it made him angry.

"You saw me and Cedric? Talking or something?" Sofia asked, grasping, because she wasn't quite sure what the two of them had done that had been so intimate it had shocked Hugo and gave him the notion that standing her up for a fairy ball was still acceptable.

"You're so jealous you stood me up because of that time I asked Cedric to lunch? I have lunch with a lot of people." She babbled, and she was going to start naming names, but then her blue eyes narrowed, and she looked at him, and his eyebrows rose, because he thought she was mocking him.

"No. Before that. I heard you once with him. In the gardens. You aren't quiet."

And she sucked in a breath so hard she had to press her hand to her stomach. Pardon?

"I'm sorry?" She said, shocked.

"Look, I tried to get past it, Sofia, I really did. I'd be a hypocrite to pretend I haven't dallied with the help.." And on this last part he lowered his voice, leaning in close, and it made her blush from the tip of her nose to the top of her chest when she caught his meaning. "But I thought after asking to court you that'd be the end of it. I mean, I ended my thing."

He pulled away, leaving her hand to hang there between them, the air still tense.

"Then I saw you and him talking... at the ball. I was there." He paused, one of his hands pushing through his incredibly glossy brown locks, and Sofia watched him, allowing things to settle and knit together inside her head.

"The way you two look at each other. It's obviously not over. And, I ended my thing. So." He repeated, finally done, and Sofia nodded, making a little sound of understanding, looking away and into the fire. She looked up at him then, sensing this wasn't over, because he was looking at her, as if waiting for some confirmation from her. She had thought he'd been losing interest in her, that he had no feelings for her, but instead he'd... her and Cedric in the gardens...

She felt her finger tips tingling, and it took a deep, calming breath for her not to tear the room in half with magic.

"Right." She said, smiling, reaching out and pressing her hand to his arm. "So about me and the Sorcerer.."