AN: Honestly, I probably could have uploaded this sooner but I had to sit here and read it over and over and over to ensure that I was satisfied with it. Turns out I'm not and no matter what I change, I'm not going to be any more than 85% satisfied so I may as well just accept it and move on.

I'm not sure what the upload schedule is going to be like within the next week but pretty much, the story will be fully uploaded by next Sunday (November 19th) I've got a bit more editing to do on the next few chapters and that epilogue (yes, it's happening) is nearly complete but far from shiny. I've got a lot of polishing ahead of me.

Thank you as always for your reviews! As you know, they mean the world to me and definitely help inspire me to make this story the best that I possibly can. I love you guys for that!

Please enjoy this chapter and please let me know what you think!


Cedric growled as the maiden who had been dragging him along slung him to the floor the cell. He pushed himself up and snarled at her retreating form but she paid him no mind as she exited the cell with a slam of the door. He examined the bars, noting in annoyance that they appeared to be made of diamond. He would have no luck trying to break through, even with magic. Sofia was placed in the cell next to him, though she seemed to have lost all of her fight. She had collapsed to the ground, holding her head in her hands as she maintained a fetal position. He called to her, though it took quite some time for her to respond. "Sofia... Sofia, look at me. Talk to me. Sofia, please."

"Th-this is what I didn't want." Sofia croaked out. She pulled her hands from her head and looked up at Cedric. "This is why I wanted you to leave."

"It's a little late for that." Cedric replied as he glanced around his cell.

Sofia bolted to her feet and rushed to the bars that separated her from Cedric. She pressed her face between the cold diamond posts and watched him in worry. "It's not too late! You need to wake up! You can still wake up!"

Cedric returned his gaze to the princess and looked her over curiously. "Sofia, what's going on here? Who are these people? What do they want? You have to tell me something. Tell me everything."

"Th-there's so much, I... I don't even know where to begin." Sofia whispered.

"Try at the beginning." Cedric replied. "Typically that's the best place to start."

Sofia lowered her gaze and wrung her hands together as she tried to decide on where exactly the beginning was. Was it the night of her first dream? The night she'd taken control? No, clearly this had all truly started from the moment she'd met Zelenia at the Bizarre Bazaar.

She inhaled deeply and let the breath out in a slow sigh before she spoke. "The day of the Bizarre Bazaar I was really determined to find something special for you, something rare that you couldn't just buy for yourself at some common sorcerer's supply. I looked all over the bazaar but I couldn't find anything that you didn't already have in your stores. I was almost ready to give up when I saw the Moon Maidens arriving. Lucinda told me they were overpriced but that they did in fact sell rare goods. I went to see them against Lucinda's warning and that was where I met Zelenia and another maiden named Neoma."

"Did they place a curse on you?" Cedric asked in concern, uncertain of his ability to break a curse from unfamiliar magic.

"Not initially, no." Sofia replied. "They were very kind and I told them I was there to find something rare for you. They showed me many things but something called Petalluna powder caught my attention. It was the only thing for sell there that you didn't have but would still be useful to you. Zelenia offered to give me a gift with my purchase if I paid full price; a ring made of moon crystal. It's supposed to-"

"I'm well aware of what it does." Cedric said in discomfort. "Don't think I didn't notice it the day you walked in wearing it."

Sofia glanced at Cedric, a hint of venom in his voice though she couldn't understand why. She returned her eyes downward and bit her bottom lip nervously before continuing. "A-anyway, I really wanted to get the powder for you and I felt like I needed the ring too. The only problem was that she was asking one-hundred gold coins for the powder and I didn't have enough. I asked if I could purchase only the powder instead. She was insistent that I take both the ring and the powder. She said that I would make up the difference somehow. That night I started being taken here, guided by the ring I can only assume she had placed an enchantment on."

"That's why you've been brought here? Because you owe the wretch a debt!?" Cedric said angrily.

Sofia shook her head and kept her gaze downcast. "Honestly I think the whole debt thing was just an excuse. I later found out that what she really wants is for me to marry one of her sons."

Cedric tensed, his eyes widening on Sofia in shock. "What?"

"Zelenia is extremely paranoid. She thinks she can't trust the women here. She thinks they're all power hungry and after her eldest son for his claim to the throne. What's more, she's stripped him of his birthright. She said that she wants me to fall in love with one of her sons and marry him because she trusts that there is no ulterior motive for me, unlike the other women. Whomever I choose will eventually become emperor when Zelenia's reign comes to an end. At first I thought she truly wanted happiness for her sons but what I really think now is that she's trying to avoid Avatea ascending to the throne at all costs because she knew he wouldn't go along with this. I think she fears that he would undo so much of what she has done and she doesn't want that. But she can't outright forbid him from taking the throne so she's concocted this insane scheme."

Cedric let out a heavy breath, trying to digest everything Sofia had just told him. He raised his hand to his head as the thoughts swirling there became almost dizzying. "So... you're some sort of prize for these men?"

"Initially it seemed that way but after meeting them all I can tell that they don't really want any part of this either. They can vocalize their displeasure but only to an extent. They have to be cautious of what they say because Zelenia might imprison any one of them for treason." Sofia replied. "They've been reluctantly going along with this as I have. I... I was never going to agree to any of this but it's starting to look more and more like I don't have a choice."

"Surely you're not suggesting that you're going to go along with what she wants." Cedric said, taking a sudden step toward the princess. "Sofia, you can't..."

"At this point I have little other choice. Zelenia has control over whether or not I stay, especially now." Sofia said sadly. "I either go along with what she wants or I'll be forced to work in the orchard for the rest of my life. Either way, I'm a prisoner here."

"No." Cedric said, shaking his head vigorously. "I'm going to get you out of here."

Sofia shook her head as well and looked to Cedric with tear filled eyes. "It's too late. I've partaken from their life force. I'm becoming more and more like them each day. You heard what Zelenia said, eventually my body will be nothing but an empty shell and I'll be stuck here as a celestial being. There's no way to stop it."

"I'll find a way." Cedric said insistently. "I'm not leaving here without you."

"You have to." Sofia rasped out. "Mr. Cedric, please. You could become trapped here forever or worse! I... I'd never be able to forgive myself. You should just leave here. Go live your life."

"No, I don't want that." Cedric said impatiently, his fists now clenched at his sides. "I don't want a life without you in it, Sofia."

Sofia tensed and she stared at Cedric in awe. His words filled her with a bit of joy but it quickly fled when she thought about his actions and how they implied otherwise. She lowered her eyes and wrapped her arms around herself. "That's not true. I-I'm a burden to you. Always coming to you with all my problems and meddling in things in your life that are none of my business. Y-you were right to leave for Rudistan. Putting as much distance between us was probably the best thing you ever did for yourself."

"No it wasn't." Cedric sighed and stepped closer to Sofia. "I was merely a child throwing a tantrum."

Sofia blinked at Cedric in confusion, a question bubbling up her throat through her sorrow. "What?"

"I was... hurt... by what you said about Francine. I-I know I'm not a particularly great catch but you've always insisted otherwise. So, when you told me that Francine didn't really like me I thought that obviously you felt there wasn't actually anything there to like. It felt wretched and I handled it like I handle most things that hurt me; I overreacted and stormed out of the castle and out of your life. I immediately regretted it. All I did was lie around and wait thinking surely you would come to me and demand that I come back to the castle and we would carry on as though nothing happened. Then you did come and you found out I was making plans to leave for Rudistan. I would have dropped it all in a heartbeat if only you'd told me not to go but you... you acted like you didn't even care."

Sofia took in a small, struggled breath as she raised her tearful gaze to Cedric. "You thought I didn't care? I was devastated! Th-the thought of you leaving almost destroyed me, Mr. Cedric! I just knew I couldn't let you see it."

"I wish you would have." Cedric muttered. "It would have spared me a lot of heartache. Leaving Enchancia... leaving you was the biggest mistake I've ever made."

"R-really?" Sofia asked, sucking back a sob.

"Yes." Cedric said, raising his hand to brush away the tears trickling down the princess' face. "Sofia, I love you."

Sofia felt her faculties fail her at Cedric's words. She wanted to respond to him; to reach out and cling to him and shout that she loved him too but doubt immediately crawled into her. Love meant many different things to many different people. Maybe the love he meant was merely platonic. After all, they were friends and had been for several years. There was no reason to think he meant anything different than that.

Fresh tears overwhelmed her face as she stared at him, unable to move or even speak. Their gaze was locked as he continued to thumb away the tears pouring from her eyes. She could only let out shuttering breaths as she tried to will her lips to speak something, anything.

Then he drew nearer to her. Her eyes fluttered shut and she found herself silently screaming for him to just press his mouth over hers. She felt his lips against her flesh, though not in the location she was aching for. His kiss brushed delicately against her forehead as they stood with the bars separating them. At long last her voice returned to her and she was able to speak quivering words. "M-Mr. Cedric, I-"

"Don't worry." Cedric said, pulling back from Sofia slowly. "I don't expect you to become the wife of a royal sorcerer."

Sofia stared at Cedric with wide eyes as he moved away from her, patting her hand gently as he did so. Again, her voice couldn't form words as she watched him turn from her in an effort to examine the cell once more. She opened her mouth as she tried to will herself to tell him that she wanted to be the wife of a royal sorcerer, that she wanted him and no others. Finally a squeak passed up her throat and she inhaled deeply but before she could manage anything else she heard footsteps approaching.

Her eyes grew wide with horror as she saw two Moon Maidens approaching. They stopped abruptly at Cedric's cell and pulled the door open. They had come to collect him and the thought that they might be taking him to his death was simply too much to bear.

"No!" Sofia cried out on a raspy voice. "Leave him alone! Just let him go! Please, just let him go! Please! Please! Please! Please! Don't do this! You don't have to do this!"

But her cries fell on deaf ears as the maidens pulled Cedric from his cell and far from her sight. The last thing she heard was his voice calling to her that everything was going to be alright, that he would fix everything, though she didn't accept it as the truth.

She collapsed to the ground, crying with a voice so strained it scarcely made a noise. She could feel herself trembling against the cold hard ground of the cell as sobs wracked her body. She was helpless and hopeless and she was certain that her foolish mistakes were now going to result in Cedric being killed. She hadn't even been able to tell him how she felt about him. More despair than she had ever felt in her life was creeping over her and she just wanted to lie down, close her eyes and never, ever wake up again.

Someone else had other plans.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and her entire body hardened in fear but the voice that accompanied the hand quickly soothed her with its familiar tone.

"Sofia, do not cry." Avatea said as he made an effort to pull the princess to her feet.

Sofia looked up at Avatea, never happier to see his face. "Avatea!"

Avatea silenced Sofia with his finger to her lips before he took her hand in his and pulled her with him out of the cell. He led her along the corridor to the exit of the prison where they sneaked past the maiden guards who were being distracted by Chandra and his shameless flirting. He then took her back up the stairs to the palace where many of his brothers were waiting.

Sofia blinked in shock as she saw several of the princes standing before her with Máni at the front. She opened her mouth to question them but she was met with many fingers against her lips to silence her. She nodded immediately, knowing that if she spoke her words could be detected by not only Zelenia but anyone else who may be listening as well. She turned her gaze to Máni curiously. He was clutching a book against his chest and it seemed as though it held something important in it. This was confirmed when he opened the book for her to see. There were words written on the page but she could not decipher the text.

She knew a spell to make the words legible but it would require that she speak. She only hoped that if anyone overheard they would be none-the-wiser.

She placed her hand to the book and whispered the words that would reveal what was written on the pages. "In promptu ponere..." The text in the book gave off a faint glow before changing to something she could read. She scanned over the page in interest before she raised a surprised gaze up at the princes around her. She took the open book from Máni's hands and smiled at him gratefully before rushing past them all in the hopes that she could find Cedric before it was too late.