Chapter 38: History's Lessons

"Cedric..."

She held Samuel for a brief minute while Cedric stood there, watching them. He looked emotionally destroyed. Sofia couldn't just abandon Sam in this state to comfort him, could she?

"Cedric I told him everything about his mother." She continued to hold the dragon king as she spoke.

"B-b-but Sofia you said... you said... "

"I know Cedric but he's hurting."

"I'M HURTING SOFIA! Doesn't that matter to you?!"

"Of course it matters." Sofia slowly let go of Samuel and stood up. He grabbed her hand as she moved away. "Wait Nihmzahe, I just need to know something."

Sofia paused. "Please, I need to go to him..."

"I know what my mother has done is unforgivable, but you must know that YOU are my true love. You may think you love this sorcerer, but you must love me as well. Only someone who truly loved me would risk so much for me."

Sofia looked over at Cedric who was anxious and upset. She realized he must be thinking the same thing. Samuel kept going, "That night in Avalor, when we danced and you were so happy…" Sofia blushed, which made Cedric whimper, "And in the cave when we kissed and you were lost in me, and last night... didn't you feel for me what I felt for you. Didn't you love me too, Nihmzahe?"

Sofia began to hyperventilate. He did mean so much to her now. "I… I…" She looked over at Cedric, who was himself almost in tears. Not twenty minutes ago she had confessed her undying love for him, but all the memories were now swirling around inside her mind, confusing her thoughts. "I've been so confused and hurt that I kind of forgot who I was and what I felt deep inside." She couldn't look at Cedric, but she knew he was mentally stabbing himself at her words. "I... I... I did start to like you..."

Samuel clutched Sofia's hand tighter and stood up tall. He'd wormed his way into her heart somehow, and he was going to cement it's place there. He turned to stare at Cedric, who had crumpled to his knees at this revelation. "Then Nihmzahe when you are summoned you shall finally come to accept our destiny together. The magic brought us together, and it will not fail us now."

"But Samuel the curse-"

"NO Nihmzahe, it was fate, and the fates will not fail to reveal themselves a second time."

At that moment a massive hinderbeast approached. Samuel turned toward it and stared into the creature's eyes. Cedric kept staring in Sofia's direction, he'd slumped into a seated position and looked throughly beaten. Oh Cedric. Sofia went over to him but he looked fragile, and as if he would physically snap in two if she touched him. She simply knelt down beside him and picked up the mirror off the ground, letting him stare off into space. Samuel finished communicating whatever it was and the creature shrieked, flying off with the rest of Samuel's hinderbeasts following behind it. Samuel walked over to where Sofia and Cedric sat staring off into space. "We should leave Nihmzahe. My mages are in pursuit of my mother, we should confront her now to prevent more destruction."

"No Sam. We have something else to do right now." He looked at her confused but Sofia needed a minute with her sorcerer. "I need you to go fetch something for me."

He looked at her sideways, but she continued on. "I need you to find my ring Sam. It was in my bedroom before your mother attacked, but it's somewhere in the rubble now. Can you find it and bring it back to me, please."

His eyes flew wide open and happiness streaked across his face. "Anything for you, my Nihmzahe!" With that he transformed into dragon shape and flew off.

It felt so awkward, sitting there next to Cedric. There were only a few inches between her leg and his but it seemed a great chasm had opened between them. "Thank you for bringing the mirror."

He didn't respond, he just kept staring off into space.

"Cedric, I'm still here, just like I said I would be."

"No... my Sofia isn't here... not anymore... that tall, powerful, handsome sorcerer with silver hair has stolen her from me, how can I ever hope to get her back."

"OH CEDRIC!" Every ounce of confidence that had risen up in him before seemed shattered. She lunged forward and hugged him, but he didn't hug her back.

"She even wants to wear his ring... Oh Merlin save me.. I've nothing left... nothing at all."

"OH CEDRIC STOP, PLEASE STOP!"

"It's my fault though.. If I would have just told her how I felt that afternoon I wouldn't have lost her...If I was a different man.. a braver man... and now she's gone."

"CEDRIC SNAP OUT OF IT! I told you I'll always love you, and I ALWAYS will, just the way you are!"

He finally looked over at her, " But you're not IN LOVE with me anymore, are you Sofia."

"I told you that I'd always be there for you, that I'd even wait for you at the end... and I meant it Cedric, you're my sorcerer and I want you by my side, always." He didn't look convinced, and stared at his empty gloved hands in the dirt. Oh, his wand. He didn't have that either. James had taken it. The dragon king let out a huge bellow and reappeared in human form, the ring held in his hand. Sofia stood up and reached out, taking it from him. She now had the ring and the mirror, she knew where the celestial pool was, and the spells needed were still in her pocket. She could do this.

Roland approached. He had found James and a couple guards, who had carried the frozen prince back to the castle. He appeared unscathed from the battle, which was a great relief.

"Okay Sofia I found your brother, so please unfreeze him now." He reached forward and in his hand was her wand. The wand, her treasured possession that he had taken from her. He was offering it up so she could relax James. She reached out and took the instrument from him. It felt so right to hold it again. Cedric's gift to her.

"I'm sorry Dad but I won't do it. He's too unstable right now and I have something else I need to do."

Roland stared at her with that disapproving face but it didn't work anymore. "Dad, I need to tell you something important." He shifted his weight around and crossed his arms in a most disapproving fashion. "Well let's hear it Sofia."

"I am the blessed Enchantress from the founding of this kingdom. I'm going back through time to split the continent and end the war."

"You can't be serious Sofia."

"It's true, I've been moving through time for months and learning sorcery to prepare me for this moment."

Roland stood there and stared at her. Realization started to set in. The skill she'd displayed at lake Atalan obviously flashing across his mind. "What do you expect me to say Sofia? I'm not going to let you go run off into danger."

"You can't stop me Dad. You have to realize that this is my life, and this is my choice. I want to save the world, and I want to preserve history. It will be okay, because even if something bad happens to me, this is what I want to do."

King Roland stood still as a stone, taking it all in. "But Sofia, it's my job to protect you."

"No it's not. Not anymore, it's your job to support me in my decisions, and this is my decision."

Roland was shaking his head, "But Sofia if you commit yourself to this life of sorcery... you can't be a royal anymore."

A gigantic smile streaked across her face, "That's fine dad, you are the king and what you think is best for your kingdom I'll respect. Being called a sorcerer, or a royal, or even a shoemaker; I've been all those things and it doesn't matter what my title is. As long as I'm true to my innermost self the labels don't matter."

Roland sighed heavily, he knew he'd lost this battle. "Sofia all I want is for you to be happy but if you do this you won't be a part of my royal house anymore. I guess your mother has been right all along, but I'm still worried about you."

She lunged forward and hugged her father. "I love you Dad."

"I love you too Sofia."

Sofia let him go, "You should probably go find Mom and Amber, they fled with some guards before the hinderbeasts appeared."

"Right." He gestured to the guards and they grabbed up James and moved inside what remained of the castle.

She looked over at Samuel, then down at Cedric who was still crumpled on the ground. He looked helpless. He needed his wand, it was a part of him, as her wand was part of her. "The time for all this destiny business is now. I know where the island with the celestial pool is, and we are ALL going there, with one brief stop first."

Samuel motioned to lift her up and fly away with her as he had done so many times before, but she declined, "No thank you Samuel, I can transport myself, and Cedric." She transformed into the dragon lifting Cedric onto her head and took off into the evening sky. Samuel followed close behind her. She was at the rubble pile in an instant. The wood had burned through and all that remained were scattered ashes. Samuel bellowed at her in dragon form, "What are we doing here Nihmzahe?"

"I'm looking for a small white wand. It resembles a branch of aspen." Sofia circled the wreckage while Samuel growled.

"I have no interest in providing the other with his wand."

"Well you should", she hissed back, "We aren't leaving and you can't find out this 'fate' business until we find it." This elicited another round of growling, but finally Samuel beckoned her to come near. He'd found it. Sofia transformed back to human shape and Cedric plopped onto the ground. Thankfully it had been spared the fires' rage. She picked up the wand and handed it delicately to her sorcerer. He was limp like a rag doll and didn't even reach out for it. She forced it into his hand.

"Hey there, Cedric." He didn't move. This would require something special. She took a deep breath and thought back, way back to the summer solstice. When he'd really needed her encouragement, when it really mattered.

"Hey there... Cedric the Sensational. You know I'm here right, and I'll always be here. No matter what happens, you will ALWAYS be Cedric the Sensational to me. Always. Never doubt that okay."

He looked up at her, recognizing the words, and something that looked like a tiny flicker of hope rose up inside him. She transformed back into the dragon and hoisted him up into the air. She could feel Cedric wrap himself in her snow-white mane. He was shaking, probably from the impact of Sofia's admission earlier. Her frank conversation with Samuel had revealed a deep secret she had buried inside herself. She hadn't really despised Samuel all this time. In fact, she actually, really... liked him. She couldn't comfort her sorcerer in this state though; he wouldn't understand anything she was saying and they needed to get to the island.

They reached the island shortly after dusk. There, as it had been before was the cliff and at it's base the celestial pool. Sofia landed next to it, and Samuel landed beside her. Transforming into human shapes, they stood there. Sofia drew her wand and turned toward Samuel, hugging him tightly.

"Thank you."

"You needn't worry Nihmzahe, the spell I cast will keep your life preserved until I am able to awaken you."

She then turned toward Cedric. Her Cedric. She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tenderly. She tried to pull away but Cedric wouldn't let her go.

"No. NO ... You don't even have the amulet... This can't be happening... "

"I promise you my handsome sorcerer. I always be with you." She kissed the end of his long pointy nose and put her hand on his chest. Samuel turned away, obviously hurt and angry. Sofia turned and walked forward, standing on the edge of the pool. She looked back at them. Their truce was tentative at best, forced upon them by her will alone. If something bad did happen... would it hold?

Sofia looked within herself. Promises to the dead hold the most weight, because there is no one to reconcile with after they're broken.

The truce would hold.

Samuel called out to her, "You've got the ring, yes Nihmzahe?" Sofia nodded. "Good. I can use it to return you to me."

Sofia froze, and then shook her head. Samuel became immediately worried and reached out to her but it was too late. Sofia needed to do this. She put Samuel's ring on top of Elena's mirror and held her wand to it. She felt the magic within swirl around her forming a cocoon of energy, and the celestial pool vibrated silver shimmers as she chanted the words to the alteration of form spell. The items melted into each other and energy whirled around her, but it didn't merge into anything that looked like her amulet had. Sofia looked deep within herself. This was more than healing, it was an act of creation. An act of the soul. She caught a glimpse of Cedric in the corner of her eye. He was awestruck by what was happening, but it made her think back to the blood magic he'd shown during the battle. It was raw, powerful, and dark, and utilized a person's essence, their innermost self. She tore a small gash in her hand with the edge of the mirror and the blood streaked across the mirror's surface. She thought back to the moments when it really mattered. When Cedric had been inches from death, when Samuel had been gravely wounded, when Mira's mother had been suffering, when Emma and Hildegard had been in grave peril, when the frightened villagers had no one, and focused on the love that drove her forward. It was this love, this deep, meaningful love of others, that really, truly mattered. It banishes the darkness and brings forth the light. The magic subsided in purple waves of energy, and within her hand she held the Amulet of Avalor, reborn. A piece of her soul seared into it, just like Ava had indicated. Sofia pinched at it's side and a small whisp extended, enough to wrap it around her head.

"Thank you Celestial pool."

Cedric collapsed at the realization of what just happened and Samuel looked horrified. He'd obviously meant to use the rings connection to bring her back, and she'd put a significant dent in his plans. Maybe this was a one-way journey after all. He reached out to her but she couldn't let him stop her at this point. Sofia smiled at them both and stepped off the edge.

She closed her eyes as she fell, "I LOVE YOU."

She was immediately drawn downward into the swirling silver liquid. She felt the same Euphoria as before, the cosmic bands of the heavens swirling around her. She extended the wand and summoned the magic within, it's light swirling and gathering the surrounding magic to her. It caused the energy storm to coalesce around the magical instrument, and the Amulet of Avalor began to glow brilliantly as everything else faded to black. So she had the magic now... Sofia thought back to her experience with Elena in Avalor... picture the battle in your mind... she focused hard on the scene Ava had shown her... and the twinkling lights reformed around her.

She emerged from the darkness hovering above the ground, the Princess Ava to her left. The girls' arms were stretched into the air. In the distance she saw the demon armies, and above her flew Drago, the ancient dragon king. Sofia pointed her wand down toward the earth and chanted the spell she had learned with Samuel. The cosmic energy contained in her wand began funneling down into the mantle, creating a great rift in the earth. Sofia extended her arms outward, and the great rift expanded apart, driving a wedge between the warring armies. Sofia moved her body to mimic the dance of the dragon she had learned from Samuel, and water came streaming in to fill the now monumental gap. Sofia twisted as the dragon did, and the water began to swirl. Small fragments of land were breaking off as she gently drifted further down toward the ground. Sofia felt the energy draining from her body the closer she got to the dirt below.

Sofia sensed something coming toward her. She looked up to see Drago rocketing through the air toward her with the intent to kill. His teeth shone brilliantly set against the flames erupting from the sides of his mouth as he attacked. The princess was still next to her, and the close proximity of his niece was probably the only thing stopping Drago from burning Sofia to a crisp. Sofia turned her body to confront the dragon. She raised her wand and let the dragon come. This dragon was a master of hate, his crimes to great to measure. But she couldn't just kill him either. It would go against every fiber of her being, and if Sofia killed him then the kingdom of Duvall and Samuel may never come to pass. However she couldn't just let him rip her apart either. Drago flung his mouth open and bent his neck down to grab Sofia's body with his teeth as Sofia touched the wand to the end of his snout. It sent shock waves of purple energy through Drago's body. The last of the cosmic energy left in the wand flowed out into Drago, and he reverted back to human form, sprawled along the ground. He hadn't killed her.

Sofia surveyed the handsome, evil man flopped on the ground. He was still pulsating with energy. Cosmic energy from the celestial pool. Huh, that must be where Samuel inherited 'the magic within' from…. guess that worked out.

Sofia crashed into the ground barely managing to land on her feet, thoroughly spent. Princess Ava was immediately to her left, but a man she did not recognize ran up alongside them. He had a blunt curved nose, jet black hair and wore a sorcerers robe. "Ava, Ava are you alright?"

"Yes Daddy. I'm alive, and so is Ramon. It's just that he's on the other side…" The princess began to weep. The man held her tightly, trying to steady the poor girl. Sofia glanced over toward them and took a step toward the heart broken girl. They both looked at Sofia, awestruck. The girl smiled, "I knew you would come back, you've been guiding me and I knew you would come. See Daddy, women can be sorcerers."

Sofia smiled gently, the magic still wafting around her frame. "Yeah... You made sure of it." Sofia smiled and the girl snapped to attention. Perhaps Sofia shouldn't have said that... oops... guess that's how Ava figured out she needed to help Sofia along.

Sofia looked over at Mabrook, mustering as much focus as she could, but her vision was starting to fade in and out. "I've been thinking, and I have a message for you Mabrook. Never forget that love is the most important thing in all the world, there are all kinds of love, and it motivates us to follow the light and banish the darkness within ourselves. It brought me here. It's more powerful than titles, than magic, more than the artificial boundaries we all force upon each other. You must always trust in love and fight against those who would destroy it."

He looked at her with awe and fear. "But my brother, and his mages, they do not lead with love, there will never be peace."

Sofia's eyes went wide. He didn't know any banishment spell because it had all been one continent up until a minute ago. She reached into her pocket and drew the page from Drago's journal. "Here, the last spell is the one you want."

He took the parchment from her, and nodded.

She was hemorrhaging energy, and could barely keep her eyes open. Sofia reached up to the Amulet of Avalor and tugged at the sparkling purple jewel. It passed over her curls and she held this precious thing; this jewel that had guided her throughout childhood, now made new, staring at it one last time. She extended her hands out toward Ava, "This belongs here in the past now with you Ava, and all the other princesses. Take it and be with the person you love." A giant smile of hope and love filled Ava.

With that, Ava took the Amulet from Sofia's hands."The past..." It looked like a light went off in the princesses mind. As Ava pulled it away Sofia felt her fingers start to loose the sensation of it, and she thought back to her time, the celestial pool, and how Samuel and Cedric were frantically trying to pull her back. The amulet shone a brilliant hue of purple and twinkling lights exploded from it upward towards the sky. Sofia felt the energy wrap itself around her and she found herself surrounded by darkness as the energy completely faded from her body.

...

Am I dead? Maybe this really was the end. Maybe Samuel couldn't save her without the ring... Sofia waited, and waited.

...

and waited.

...

She felt warmth fill her chest and reality came crashing back in. Someone was kissing her. She fought with all her strength to open her eyes and see who it was. She managed to crack open a lid and the light blinded her. There were droplets falling on her face... Keep trying… She forced her eyes to open farther. Hovering above her was …