AN: So I hate to be the bearer of bad news but my writing time has essentially been cut in half due to circumstances out of my control. I will be trying very hard to keep with weekly updates but I can't make any promises. I'm so sorry for the disappointing news. :( I'm hoping for an update next Saturday but if there isn't one, expect it the following Saturday.

I would also like to take a moment to say thank you to all who take the time to write reviews! I can't express to you in words how much your reviews mean to me, (I read and re-read them an embarrassing amount of times.) You reviewers are the hidden heroes of the internet and I just wanted to thank you for that. You guys are awesome!

Now, without any further ado, here is the chapter! Please enjoy and let me know what you think...

"Here's the jaborandi tea." Jade spoke quietly as she peered into the staying room where Sofia sat watching over her two sleeping children and husband. "I brewed it exactly as he instructed."

Sofia let out a relieved sigh as she stood to pull the door fully open for Jade to enter with a teapot and cup in hand. "Thank you, Jade."

Jade watched nervously as Sofia took the cup and pot, pouring the piping hot concoction to administer to the now unconscious man resting in the bed. "Is it going to help him? He looks like he's barely clinging to life."

"He's been like this before." Sofia answered as she set the teapot aside and stepped closer to Cedric's motionless form. "It's a trance-like state used to conserve energy and heal the body. The best way I can think to describe it is like sleeping while still awake."

"Just like Lucinda and Indigo." Jade muttered in thought. She stood back then, watching as Sofia gently stirred her husband. His eyes opened to narrow slits and he lifted his head enough to drink from the cup his wife offered. After he gulped down the bitter scented fluid his eyes closed and he returned to his reclined position once more. "How long before it counteracts the toxins in his body?"

"I don't know." Sofia answered with a shrug. "We haven't eaten anything in a while so it should enter his system fairly quickly."

Jade gasped as realization struck her and she put her hand to her head. "I didn't even think about the fact that you probably haven't had the chance to eat anything. You must both be starving after all you've been through."

Sofa shrugged again and smiled softly. "Honestly, I haven't really given any thought to food. I've just been so focused on getting to this point..." She paused and turned to stare lovingly at her husband and the two sleeping babes by his side. "I haven't been able to think about anything else."

"Well that settles it." Jade said, reaching out to tug at the other woman. "You've got to get something to eat. Come on."

Sofia shook her head in protest as she pulled her hand from Jade's grasp. "I finally have my family back together. I can't leave them now."

"But what are you going to do about the babies?" Jade asked in concern. "They're bound to wake up hungry sooner or later. You can't feed them if you aren't nourished yourself."

Sofia paused in thought, Jade's point not only valid but a bit alarming as well. In preparation for her journey to find Cedric she had used magic to cease her body's natural process of lactation. Her hands moved to cup her breasts in worry. "I-I might not be able to feed them at all."

Jade's eyes widened as she recalled the night Sofia had shown up at their doorstep with Rowyn's lifeless form in her arms and tears streaming down her face. It had been a long and exhausting night that had culminated in the distraught young woman receiving help from both black and white magic. While Indigo tended to the child Lily had cast several spells to make Sofia's body more travel-ready, the repercussions of which were now showing themselves. "What are you going to do? Now that Lily is gone..."

"Lucinda or Indigo might be able to help." Sofia replied softly. "But I've already asked them for so much."

"I doubt either one of them would want the babies to starve." Jade said with a smile. "You could try asking Indigo. She's just in the next room. She's still a little out of it but she's conscious, though for how much longer I don't know."

Sofia looked back at her twins, sleeping soundly beside their father. She knew they would require feeding soon and there were few options available to her at the moment. She looked back to Jade worriedly and began wringing her hands together. "Would you sit with them, please? I know I've already asked a lot of you and-"

"Sofia, I would be more than happy to keep an eye on your baby boys." Jade interjected. "It's no trouble at all."

"Thank you." Sofia said with a sigh of relief. She then started out of the room a bit reluctantly, casting a glance backward at her family before she exited entirely. She knocked lightly on the adjacent door and heard a faint, raspy voice calling her to enter. She stepped inside, eyes making contact with Indigo who looked a little worse for wear, though she was certainly conscious.

"Well, well. If it isn't the pretty little princess." Indigo said with a kind smile at the woman. "How are you doing, Sofia?"

"I'm wonderful thanks to you." Sofia answered, approaching the bed a bit too eagerly to clasp the witch's hands. "Indigo, I can't thank you enough for what you did. Keeping Rowyn in stasis for as long as you did... that was no easy task. You saved his life."

"Your husband saved his life." Indigo replied with a shrug. "I just did what any wicked witch would do and used black magic to defy the laws of nature."

"There was nothing wicked about what you did." Sofia said quietly. "Without you my son would have been lost to me. I have no way to repay you for what you've done. You did me the kindest of favors. B-but at the risk of asking perhaps a bit too much, I have one more favor to ask of you."

"I already know what you're going to say. You need me to make it so that you can produce milk to feed your babies." Indigo smirked at the astonishment that came across Sofia's face and promptly rolled her eyes. "Don't be too impressed. These walls are terribly thin, even when you whisper. I overheard Jade volunteering my services."

"Oh." Sofia nodded slowly and pulled her hands from Indigo's hold. "W-would you mind? I know you've already done so much..."

"I suppose I could manage one little spell." Indigo said as she took up her wand from the bedside table. She twirled the tool before the young woman and tapped the tip of each breast as she spoke the words that would allow Sofia's body to provide for her children once more. "Lacteus abundantia."

Sofia smiled gratefully at the crimson haired witch as she felt her breasts beginning to swell like they had weeks before. "Thank you, Indigo."

"Don't mention it. Really. After all, I have a reputation as a wicked witch to uphold." The witch said with a grin. "Now go feed your body like Jade suggested. Your milk may be flowing but without proper nutrition for yourself it won't do anything for your children."

"I guess you're right." Sofia said with a sheepish smile. "Thank you again, Indigo."

She turned from the witch and exited back into the hall, peering into the room where Jade was watching over her sleeping babies. The other woman cast her a smile and waved her off in the direction of the stairs, giving her leave to get something to eat. She gave Jade a thankful smile in return and started in the direction of the stairs. She made her way slowly to the kitchen, a bit hesitant as she thought about how it had been the place where Ruby and Lily had lost their lives. Her discomfort over the idea scurried away, however, at the sight of Baileywick standing over an open flame, cooking what appeared to be an unappetizing porridge.

A small laugh bubbled up and she cocked an eyebrow at the sight. "I've always known you to be many things, Baileywick. A chef was never one of them."

"Snicker all you want. Someone has to do the cooking around here now that..." Baileywick trailed off and cleared his throat, lowering his gaze in sadness. "Well, nobody could cook quite like Miss Ruby. I always told her that she could have been the head chef at the castle now that Roland is back where he belongs. She always insisted otherwise."

Sofia nodded, a sad smile flitting across her face. "She was always so modest. Even when we were kids she cooked exceedingly well, though she never made a big deal about it. She was like that about everything she excelled in."

"She cared a great deal about you, you know. All of these young ladies did." Baileywick continued. "Not a day went by that you weren't fretted over within these walls. I think both Ruby and Lily would be happy to see that you finally have your sons back. Happiness is all any of us have ever wanted for you, Sofia."

Sofia reached up to wipe away a solitary tear that had fallen from her eye. "I think I can finally have that now."

"I hope that you can." Baileywick replied. He returned his attention to the porridge he was making, an unpleasant thought beginning to cross his mind that he knew he had to address. "Sofia, what are you going to do about Cedric?"

Sofia's gaze clung to Baileywick's face, though he hadn't returned his eyes to her. "What do you mean?"

"You have your sons back and it seems that all who would seek to take them from you have been dealt with..." The former castle steward quickly glanced at the young woman and let out a uncomfortable sigh. "Except for their father."

Sofia shook her head in immediate dismissal of Baileywick's words. "Cedric wouldn't take them from me."

"Sofia, you know as well as I do that he won't part ways with them, especially after everything he just did to get them back. Your family certainly won't accept him with open arms. They'd sooner kill him on sight. It was for that very reason you locked his memory away to begin with." Baileywick said, turning to face young woman. "I suppose what I'm asking is whether or not you plan to remove his memory and send him on his way again."

Sofia grew silent, her heart pounding at the very idea of it. Of course she and Cedric had spoken about doing such a thing prior to him reclaiming his memories but the thought of doing it now seemed almost unbearable. "I-I can't do that to him again, Baileywick. I regret even doing it the first time around."

"Then what do you intend to do about him? If you leave him to his own devices there is no doubt in my mind he will do precisely as we feared last time. He will come for you and the children and he will leave death and destruction in his wake." Baileywick warned.

"No he won't." Sofia whispered.

Baileywick shook his head and let out another sigh. "Sofia, sweetheart, I know that you want to believe-"

"It doesn't matter what I believe." Sofia spoke firmly. "Cedric won't come after me or the children. There won't be any reason for him to do so. I'm going to stay with him."

Baileywick's eyes widened in shock as he stared at the young woman in disbelief. "Sofia, you know your parents will never allow that."

"They won't have a say." Sofia replied matter-of-factly. "I don't intend on setting foot in that castle ever again. Too many horrible things have happened there and it doesn't feel like home anymore. It feels like a prison... and that's exactly what it is now. I thought that would change after we took Cedric out of power but I was wrong. It's somehow worse now than it ever was before. I'm never going back there."

"Then where will you go?" Baileywick asked in concern.

"I have friends in Avalor... maybe we'll go there." Sofia answered. "Or to Freezenberg or Galdiz. I have family in both kingdoms."

"All of those kingdoms have an extradition treaty with Enchancia." Baileywick reminded her.

Sofia gave a small nod in response and sighed. "I-I know that."

"You'll be spending your life on the run or in hiding. Is that really what you want, Sofia?" Baileywick chided delicately. "Think about your future. Think about your sons' future. Is that the kind of life you want for them and yourself?"

"I know it's not ideal." Sofia muttered. "But what other choice do I have?"

"Explain to your parents how you feel about the castle. I'm sure they'll understand and give you some leeway as to where you can stay." Baileywick offered, setting aside the porridge to approach the young woman. He reached up and placed his hands on her shoulders, giving her a gentle squeeze. "Of course that would still entail ridding yourself of that bas-"

"He's my husband and the father of my children." Sofia said, cutting Baileywick off before he could sling an insult about her husband. "I'm not doing this without him."

"Sofia, honey, you're making a mistake." Baileywick replied in an effort to reason with her.

"Maybe." Sofia retorted. "But it's my mistake to make." Without another word to the elderly man she turned from him and reached into the breadbox to pull out half a loaf of rye bread. It wasn't much for sustenance but it would suffice. She didn't want to spend anymore time than necessary in the kitchen. Baileywick would only find more ways to try to convince her that being rid of Cedric was her only option and that was something she never wanted to hear again.

She stormed angrily from the kitchen back in the direction of the stairs but when she reached the foyer a gut-wrenching sound echoed through the house; a heavy, armored fist pounding on the front door.

Sofia's eyes widened in horror and she dropped the bread to the floor. She bolted back up the stairs and into the room where Jade rose in immediate concern.

"It's the royal guard, isn't it?" Jade asked, her eyes darting in the direction of the stairs.

"I need you to stall them, please!" Sofia pleaded. She climbed quickly onto the bed as the other woman dashed from the room. Her hand tapped rather roughly against Cedric's face in a hurried effort to wake him. "Cedric! Cedric, wake up!"

Cedric's eyes fluttered open to find his wife straddling him with a panicked expression on her face. "Sofia? What's wrong, my love? Th-the babies?"

"The royal guard is here!" Sofia cried, scooping up Rhys to hand him to Cedric. "We have to go! I need you to hold onto the boys tightly..."

Cedric took his son into his arms as Sofia passed him over but he shook his head in immediate dissent. "Sofia, it's been too soon. You can't apport using the amulet again."

"I have to try." Sofia insisted, taking up Rowyn into her arms to give him to his father as well. "They can't find us now. We've only just-"

"Sofia, it will kill you. Your body can't take that level of strain." Cedric replied in protest.

Sofia shook her head at Cedric's response and clenched her eyes shut. "Cedric, if they find you-"

"I know, my love." Cedric said sadly. "I know what will happen to me... but it doesn't matter. I won't allow you to risk your life just for my sake. Our boys are going to need their mother."

"They'll need their father too." Sofia rasped out in response. "Cedric-"

"Sofia, I love you." Cedric spoke softly, cutting his wife off before she could object further. Their time together was limited now and he wasn't about to spend it arguing. "I love you so very much, my dear."

Sofia sucked in a sharp breath as tears she hoped she'd never have to cry again filled her eyes. "I love you too, Cedric."

"Will you tell our boys..." Cedric began, struggling to speak through his own growing sorrow. He could hear armored footfall as a background noise to his aching heart pounding in his ears; footfall entering the farmhouse, footfall creaking on the stairs. He knew there was no time left. "Tell them that their father loved them. Tell them how sorry he was that he couldn't be there for them. Will you tell them that for me? Please?"

"I'll tell them." Sofia answered despondently. She pressed her forehead against Cedric's and raised her hands to cup his face. She drew in a shuddering breath and opened her mouth to express to her husband just how much he meant to her and how she would miss him when he was no longer around but she never got the chance.

Cold metal hands wrapped around her waist and pulled her, kicking and screaming from her husband. Her children were promptly torn from their father's arms, both awake now and crying horrendously. Her husband put up no protest as the royal guards seized on the room and dragged him from the bed into the hall and away from his family. The same guard who had grabbed her was now standing before her, barking something in her direction, though she couldn't make out his words.

Everything sounded garbled and foreign before blackness surrounded her and she fell into nothingness.