There had been no time to waste, Sofia needed to act and act quickly. She couldn't tell anyone about her secret mission or else she'd blow her cover to Livia. She had to act natural. She waited patiently until the evening and claimed she had something she had to do, a protector duty was a good enough excuse to leave for a long period of time. She hated lying even for a little bit but who knows what would happen if Livia found out she was trying to break her spell? More than Cedric could be in trouble then.
The person she had to go to before anyone else was the most powerful person that she knew. Merlin. There was no one better for this than him, he knew everything about everything. He was not called the wizards wizard for nothing so if he couldn't help no one could. That didn't mean Sofia wouldn't try other sources but this was the person at the top of her list. She flew over to where his home was but did not use any transportation that involved people, just Minimus who she left outside the tall building. When she knocked on the large wooden door she knew he might not immediately open it, he was always involved with something.
As she stood outside waiting for an answer she heard wings flapping in the distance from behind her. It sounded like a larger bird. She knew Merlin had an owl, just as she did, so she was not worried but she looked behind herself anyways. It was not Archimedes, as she had assumed, but it was an owl nonetheless- Minerva. She landed on Sofia's shoulder with a huff, obviously a little beat from following behind her the entire way from Enchancia to here.
"Minerva why are you here?"
"Same reason you are, dear," She explained, catching her breath, "to help with whatever is wrong with Cedric."
"How did you know?"
"Animal instincts. Now then with that out of the way, let's head on inside. It's been a while since I've seen the great master Merlin but I could never forget him."
Sofia tried knocking again but to no avail and then decided, since it was an urgent situation, she'd just let herself inside. The door was unlocked, Merlin had no reason to lock it as he could protect himself from any intruders he did not like. He was also an inviting person, his home was welcome to all. Sofia's voice echoed in the empty room before her. Magically he appeared before her very eyes in a fine mist of blue. He was wearing a jovial grin almost hidden behind his thick white facial hair.
"Ah hello there! This is a nice surprise. What can I do for you, Sofia?"
"I'm afraid I'm not here for anything nice at all. I have a serious situation at my castle that is beyond me and I knew you could help with it."
His smile dropped and he seemed more serious. Merlin placed his hand behind her back and led her to his study. "It must be a dire circumstance for you to have come searching for me. Tell me all about it."
"You see I don't know if you knew but I'm engaged to Cedric."
"Yes he told me. He wanted me to officiate the wedding actually. I had no problem with it, he's a fine sorcerer and a good man. But...what's wrong? It's not just pre-marital stress obviously. It's something to do with magic then. Is Cedric under some kind of spell?"
"Exactly! He has been acting so odd, not himself at all. He looks right through you and talks differently. He's usually very witty and sharp but he's not like that anymore. Worst of all he's being well almost unkind to me. Not cruel or evil or even entirely mean but not warm and loving. It was so upsetting...he was treating me like I was a child again."
"Oh that does sound quite awful. I'm sorry you have to go through this especially with someone you care for so deeply. It sounds to me like some sort of hypnosis."
"That's what I thought! Only it's so strange... it's not like full hypnosis. He seems to have some free will at least."
"Whoever is doing it isn't the most powerful magic user, they most likely cannot control him as much as they thought they could. Cedric has years and years of magical blood within him and a lot more potential if he dared to seek it out. Someone like that isn't easily controlled. Do you have a clue who could be doing this?"
Merlin opened the door to his study and ushered Sofia in. She sat down immediately when he gestured to the small chair. His study was exactly as it was last time, disorderly but tidy and full of things she had never seen or didn't understand yet. His pet owl was deep asleep and only awoke when he heard voices. Archimedes was not like other animals Sofia had encountered. He could talk to anyone. She thought perhaps he was enchanted that way.
"I say what's going on here? Can't an owl get some rest?" He crankily whined.
"Hush now, Archimedes. I have an important guest with a lot of trouble on her hands, so please, stop squabbling," Merlin demanded, placing a kettle on top of the stove. The owl harrumphed a bit, fluffed up its feathers then saw who the company was. He liked Sofia enough to not be rude to her so he stayed quiet. He also didn't want to appear ungentamanly in front of both a woman and a female owl. "Now my lady, you may continue."
"Right...well I only have one suspect. This all occurred after Cedric took in a new apprentice from the kingdom of Brightland. Her name is Livia but I have no idea why she would do such a thing to me when I have never even-"
"Livia you say?" He interrupted but without disrespect. Merlin turned to her with a bushy arched eyebrow, pouring the kettle of water into two cups without even looking. Sofia nodded yes to him.
"That's her name. Why? Do you know her?"
"I pride myself on knowing all sorcerers and sorceresses, young and old. Livia however is a name I haven't heard in some time. Are you sure that's her name?"
"Absolutely."
"Hmm..." he mused, bringing her a cup of tea which she gladly took in her hands. It was comforting in these trying times. Merlin sat in his tall blue chair and sipped the tea after blowing on it. His face looked both confused and concentrated. "Sofia I'm not sure if you are acquainted with the four sisters of Sinestra."
"I've never heard of it. Is it a story?"
"It is, and a true one at that. It goes that there were four sisters of a place created long ago called Sinestra, the birthplace of bad wizards, hexes, curses, and all things negative within the world. It's like the magical opposite of the Mystic Isles, which is a place of pure magic and harmony. Of course sometimes bad things do come out of there but it isn't common. Anyhow the four sisters were supposed to represent one of each of mankind's greatest weaknesses. You've already met one, Morgana, the sister of vanity. There were three others one represented greed, one represented envy, and one represented anger. As far as I know they are all still around, which includes this Livia, the sister of envy."
Sofia placed her cup down slowly. Morgana and Livia were sisters then but that wasn't the grandest idea that came from that. It was that they were the embodiment of all the things that made humans turn to the dark side, all the traits deep within every person that made them into villains. She had no idea there was a place where evil came from and she thought of Vor, the mother of all evil beings. She wondered if she created this land, spreading corruption everywhere. Sofia also was curious where it was and if there was a way to destroy it because a place that full of spite and wickedness should not exist.
"No Sofia, you cannot destroy it," Merlin answered, reading her mind which made her look up surprised. "It would break apart the delicate balance of the whole universe. There has to be darkness for light and bad for good. Every world in the cosmos, every planet, every place has evil in it and there's nothing we can do but face it when it comes for us. I know the concept seems far beyond you, but that's just how the world is."
She had never had so much put into her head until that moment, she had never thought that for happiness to exist there must be hatred and sadness and all other feelings that weren't positive. She thought maybe it did make sense, even if it wasn't going to lead to the most perfect world in her mind but nothing is perfect, not even the isles were. Everything had a flaw and that's just how it was. It took brave people like her, like the protectors, like the good fairies, like the fairy godmother, like Merlin to save the world from it and keep the darkness away. It would always be there but they stopped it from taking over entirely and Sofia felt more purpose in life than ever.
"Wait... Livia is envy made into a person then, right? That would mean she's jealous of something...that's why she's doing this but...it can't be she's jealous because I have Cedric. Can it?"
"No, but it's a good guess. I think there's something bigger than you two going on here but I'm not sure what it is. Something in me is telling me this isn't just petty jealousy over a man. There are ways even a simpleton could bewitch him. She's not that weak and she's not that stupid either. There's a plan here but just what is it? What does she want so badly? Even if we break the spell we'll never know and she can try again. We also need proof she did it but for that we'd need her wand."
"How will that help us?"
"I know of a way to see what her last few spells were, if I can find the hypnosis spell was used that's our proof right there. Just breaking her wand won't break the spell, there needs to be an incantation but Sofia...it's very complex. A junior in training like you couldn't pull it off, it's almost impossible."
"I'll do anything to save him even the impossible. I won't let anything stop me. Please, teach me what to say. I'll just do it when he's sleeping, she won't be there then."
"I applaud your bravery but don't be so certain about jumping into these things. Doing something this powerful even for a great magician could singe your fingertips at the best. Also Sofia, she most likely has some sort of eye on him, perhaps she too has a familiar," Merlin acknowledged, nodding towards Minerva who had been alert and listening the whole time.
She would usually be sleeping at this hour but sleep could wait. This was far more important than that. Minerva told Sofia she had never seen any animal come in or out or be around Livia and Sofia relayed this back to Merlin. He was not shrugging it off so easily.
"Familiars come in all shapes and sizes, some can even shape shift. It could be as tiny as an insect and you'd never know. I don't want to discourage you but I want you to understand what you are dealing with here. This isn't going to be simple, it may even scar or damage you, on top of that we don't know the full extent of her plan. She could do anything, even a weak hypnosis spell could force Cedric's hand to do well...something unpleasant to you."
"I'm not afraid of any of that. I still mean what I said, I'll do anything for him and if she means to do worse to anyone else that I love I will do anything for them too. I love him and I know somewhere under that spell he is the same person as before who loves me. He might be suffering and hurting and yelling out for me but can't do anything. Please, I'm begging you, please," Sofia pleaded.
Merlin sat back and pressed his fingers together, looking at her straight on then let out a sigh as he closed his eyes tightly. His voice sounded gravely and soft at the same time. "This world needs you Sofia, I can see that much, so I don't want to make you do anything that would harm you. That being said you are desperate and desperation leads to panic and poor judgement. I'd hate for you to go to someone else to learn the counter spell. What if I did it instead? I could transform myself into a smaller animal and sneak right in without notice and it wouldn't harm me at all."
"Listen to him Sofia, there's no need for you to do it all by yourself," Minerva advised from her shoulder, also not wanting to see her be in any trouble.
"I know what you are trying to do, and I appreciate it, and I know it's the safest alternative but it makes me feel helpless and useless. I want to have some part in all of this. I feel so powerless...and I'm letting other people fight my battles. I don't mind help but...I want to do something."
Merlin held her hands gingerly in his own. "I know. I know. You are an exceedingly strong girl with a rare gift and a light that shines through you making even the darkest place light up. I don't doubt you can do many things but this is very important. If you want it done right the first time you have to let me do it or else you might get it wrong. We can do it together then but let me handle the most difficult part. You get her wand, I'll do the spell."
Sofia smiled softly and agreed with this conclusion. This was the best way to do these things and if they split up things would get done faster. It would be difficult because for one she would have to get her alone enough to take away her wand or stealthily get it while she slept or some other way. Then there was another thing, finding her familiar and getting it out of the way so it wouldn't spy on them. They had no idea what it looked like or where it could be or if she even had one. Maybe she was just using some type of spy spell to keep watch on him. The point was no one knew what to expect and there were a lot of dangers in the way and a lot of them were unknown dangers. Another thing was something that kept bugging Merlin. He just couldn't help feeling like they were both falling into a trap.
Merlin transformed himself into a small blue bird, easily confusable to the untrained eye as any other blue bird friend Sofia might have. With him there with her she calmly went inside and acted as if nothing was out of the ordinary. Minerva had since flown away to go back to her perch but she did not allow herself one wink of sleep. She kept close watch on Cedric and this Livia. She didn't act any differently in private and Minerva could not recall when she would have done the hypnosis spell. Most likely at night or at a time when no one was around or looking. Minerva wondered if this Livia knew she was able to talk to Sofia and didn't act out of sorts so that Minerva would have nothing to report. She must have known something to that extent for there was no other reason to keep up the charade.
Still Minerva didn't close one eye. Sofia debriefed no one on her situation, not even her pets who all seemed curious at the unusual blue bird she was toting around. They asked her about it but she didn't answer. She couldn't let anyone know for risk of someone hearing her. The day progressed so slowly for her, it was as if time itself was teasing in some way. It was hard to fake a sense of calm when you had so much going on inside your head. When night came it was time to finally act upon the plan but Merlin made sure to carefully turn Sofia into something small but not too small so she could grab the wand without being noticed too much. So as a cinnamon colored mouse with hints of purple Sofia scurried around, trying her best to blend in with the darkness.
Finding out where Livia was staying was easy enough but now was the hard part, getting her bejeweled wand away from her without being noticed. Stealthily Sofia crawled through mouse holes and found a way into the bedroom. The only reason she didn't turn into small Sofia was because she would be too obvious to anyone who was watching or looking. A brown mouse was far more conspicuous. Sofia made as little noise as possible, only treading on soft things like carpet so her nails wouldn't make scratch the surface. Quietly as she could she made her way through the dimly lit bedroom, noting that Livia was indeed actually asleep or at least was very good at pretending if that was the case.
Now came something that would prove challenging, finding her wand. It could simply be on her person or it could be in the clothes she wore that day or in any of the drawers and boxes around. Trouble was mice don't have fingers so opening up drawers would be hard especially if she wanted to be silent. Luckily for Sofia her keen eyes spotted a wand sized box right next to the bed on the nightstand. As a mouse it was easy enough to get up on the nightstand but once she got there she noticed the keyhole on the box. It was locked tight. There must have been a key somewhere. Sofia's blue eyes peered through the dark trying to find a key and she did, hanging right off of Livia's neck. This was going to take a lot of skill and precision if she wanted to get it off without disturbing her.
She got onto the bed and slowly crept up to the snoozing woman. One paw at a time she made her way ever closer and closer until her one paw could almost touch the key. Sofia held her breath and raised her tail so it wouldn't make much noise either then she began to gnaw at ribbon that the key was on. It felt weird to be chewing on fabric like that but she would chew through steel if it meant saving Cedric. Somehow she had gotten the key successfully, now holding it between her buck teeth, tasting the strange metal flavor on her tiny tongue. It was heavy and hard to carry like that but she dealt with it and kept her head up and her teeth tightly clamped on it. One false move and it could drop making a loud sound.
Sofia had to use her head to think of how to actually unlock the box with no hands. Turning her head she was able to ever so gently put the key into the hole securely and now she had to forcefully nudge it so it would turn. It worked but the unlocking sound made Sofia turn her head and see if it awoke Livia. It appeared the sound was just loud to Sofia's small ears for Livia didn't even move a little. The wand was right there, sparkling like it was tempting her to take it. It was a little difficult to slide out but even more so to hold since it was elongated. This also posed a problem for the mouse holes that were just wide enough for her head but not much more. There was nothing for it, she had to place the wand carefully on the ground and using her nose push it into the hole once inside there was a little more room but not too much. She'd have to drag it backwards and thankfully the hole she used to get to this room was a straight shot out into the hallway.
The other mice helped her out as much as they could, lifting up the other side and telling her how much farther it was until she was at last out. She thanked them quickly then ran as fast as her little legs could carry her through the hallway and up those stairs. It felt like forever and a day just getting up one step with the, for her size, massive wand in her mouth, but she didn't care. The struggle was worth it knowing how close she was to saving him. She wondered if Merlin had already done his work and if Cedric was alright.
At about the same time that Sofia went off Merlin had gone off too, flying high into the sky and using Sofia's directions he was able to locate the open window where Minerva usually flew in and out from. He was no fool, he landed on top of the roof just above the window and transformed into something so small not even Minerva and her big eyes could spot him. He made it under Cedric's door with ease but didn't start the spell on what appeared to be the slumbering man. He looked around and tried to see if there were any sources of magic about that didn't feel like Cedric's, anything malicious.
When he felt secured in the fact that there was in fact nothing there, he thought it fine to transform into himself now. At his full height now he pulled out his wand, cleared his throat, and began his incantation. The winds shifted around him as he did so, the lights flickered, and his hands felt a tiny pinch of numbness in them. If that's how it felt for him he could scarcely think about how it would have been for a mere novice. Surely her hands would be burned and possibly permanently. He knew of such a case happening, young magic users should never do spells that are far above them. It could kill them even. Thankfully he was seasoned in that field so this was nothing for him. As the wind made his tunic and beard flow to the side he muttered out the words of old. Breaking hypnosis that was done with a wand was harder than anything else.
Usually in other cases one would only have to break the object but not in this case. It COULD work but it could also force him to stay like that for much longer. Breaking a wand was serious business. The counter curse was spoken and once it was done, the dust settling, the lights coming back on, Cedric bolted up from the bed and let out a ragged deep breath like a man coming up for air. His eyes that were glassy and almost foggy were clearing up, slowly dissolving into the normal golden brown they always were. He blinked rapidly, still breathing as if he had run a marathon and coughing violently. He seemingly did not notice Merlin who stood there until he pat his back hard trying to help him out.
"There there now lad. It's alright."
"M-m-m-Merlin?!"
"In the flesh! How are you feeling right now? Everything alright?"
"I-i-i don't know what happened to me...it was like watching a twisted performance of my own life that I couldn't stop no matter what. My veins felt like someone was yanking them in a direction I couldn't control and my lungs and heart were on fire. When I talked it was as if...some creature crawled into my mouth and stole my voice...I didn't want to say those things to Sofia...or do those things to her...Sofia! Where is she?! Do you know where she is? Is she alright?"
"Easy, easy. Calm down, Cedric. It will all be fine. Take a deep breath in and release. Good now another. That's it. Now then I'm sure you have a lot of questions but right now they can't all be answered. Let's just say a certain purple wearing lady came to me for help and here I am."
"...Sofia..."
"She'll be here soon. Let's go downstairs, she can't open the door by herself I'm afraid in her current position."
"What do you mean?" Cedric inquired, still trying to get over the fact that this legend was here in his bedroom and seeing him in his pajamas of all things! He had never been under anyone's influence before but when it happened he knew someone had put some sort of spell on him and just who did it. It had started out so pleasant at first, a new friend, someone to teach, it was going so well, but when she excused herself and came back he was a different person. He swore before he changed he heard her whisper something, perhaps that's when she put on the spell. It was not his fault in any sense, ignoring Sofia the way he did and worse, but he still felt horrid for it. Watching her face that other night, betrayal almost, defeat, heart break, confusion, hopelessness, and more were all over her. He wanted to break out of his tight shell and tell her that this wasn't him doing these things.
When she left hurriedly he let out one solitary tear it was all he could manage in his state. The red headed fiendish woman just dabbed his tears with a loving smile but he could see behind that. He cursed her in every way and language he knew possible for doing this to him and swore if he could ever get released from this curse he would get his revenge. He was frightened of what else she would make him do, if she was just getting started, if she was slowly going to break down Sofia day after day and then...He shuddered at the thought but she could have easily made him hurt her. Images flashed in his head of what happened with Lord Alexey but it was him instead, and smiling at it as if it pleased him. He'd kill himself before he did that even if he had no control over it.
Thankfully no such drastic measures were taken or anything else. He didn't know if Sofia would understand what was going on, there was a lot she didn't know magic wise but he hoped and prayed to any deity Roman, Greek, or made up that she would know. He would never ask Sofia to save him but in this case he had no one else that could. She was his only hope. Somehow his prayers were answered and now he was free from that awful living nightmare before things got worse. As he made his way downstairs he thought he'd never dream that Merlin would be the one to save him but he knew why. His clever fiancé had come to the man for assistance, knowing he knew all there was on magic, he literally wrote the book and was to date one of the oldest living sorcerers. He felt then Merlin was more his hero more than ever, now in a literal sense as he had saved his life.
Cedric could scarcely make it out but there were small scratching sounds coming from the other side of the door. "Ah that will be her! Good timing too."
Now he was confused. Why on earth would Sofia be scratching at his door like some animal? It wasn't until his door was opened that he understood. There was a chestnut colored mouse holding Livia's wand in its mouth and breathing as hard as he was before. He knew it was Sofia without a shadow of a doubt. He had seen her transformed into various animals and she always kept something about herself on, usually a tuft that looked like her bangs and of course those brilliant blue eyes. The purple helped too. Merlin bent down and took the wand then transformed Sofia back into her normal self. Cedric couldn't contain himself at all and ran to her, nearly crushing her against his form, and kissing her with so much force that her teeth almost scraped his. It shocked her but it was confirmation that he was alright, that everything was alright now.
Merlin cleared his throat. "Hate to interrupt your tender moment but we do have other things to attend to."
Cedric blushed vividly and so did Sofia, crinkling up the hem of her dress shyly. "Right," Sofia agreed, touching her lips a little, "What do we do now?"
"Well that's just the thing isn't it? Do we tell your family what happened and have her sent away or do we confront the woman herself? Which do you think is best? Either way I'm not sure we'll get the whole story out of her."
"After what she did to me confronting her would be too nice," Cedric heatedly remarked.
"I know you'd like to get back at her for this but that's not the way of a good wizard now is it?"
He meekly released his crossed arms and huffed. "I suppose not...but we can't let her get away with this!"
"Indeed we can't and we won't. I think confronting her would be best, she's powerless and can't do much to fight us off. I can always use the binding spell if she tries to escape. Sofia could you lead us to her room?"
Sofia told them she'd be glad to show them the way but as they left she couldn't shake off this sinking feeling like something was wrong. This was far too easy even with some of the little difficulties here and there it was simple. Perhaps Livia wasn't prepared fully for someone like Sofia yet, someone with endless resources and powers. Sofia would like to tell herself that, given her sister was very easily taken care of. However Sofia knew how jealousy worked and the pursuer would stop at nothing to get what they wanted so whatever it is she desired she'd make sure she got it. Problem was what did she want exactly? It couldn't be something so basic as a lover and if it was an item of value, like her amulet or jewels or gold she could get any of those other ways. It almost seemed she was doing this just to spite Sofia but why? They would find out when they confronted her though she might not tell the whole truth.
Merlin was prepared for that and Cedric was too, they both knew of a potion that could make one tell the truth if it came down to it. They made it to the bedroom without incident and Cedric used an unlocking spell to open the door. However when they pushed it open they were greeted with a shock. The room was entirely empty as if no one had ever stayed there. The bed was unmade though and some drawers were pulled open. It appeared as if she was awoken and saw that her wand was missing and went about gathering things to leave.
"She must have known her jig was up and fled the scene," Cedric supposed, going over towards the bed slowly and noticing the green ribbon that was carefully chewed in half lying there. He picked it up and looked at it. "Yet again you put yourself in a lot of danger Sofia. She could have woken up and saw you, even she would know who you were in that form."
"I know that but I came into this well aware of the risks and willing to take them. Wouldn't you if it was me?"
He smiled in spite of himself. "You are correct but then again when aren't you?"
"Did she leave a strand of hair on her pillow that we can track her by?" Merlin inquired, surveying the scene.
A little bit of red hair would be easy to see but Cedric could find nothing. It was as if she had known she would be tracked and made sure not to leave any traces behind. Now they seemed to have no leads on where she was or where she might have gone. Going back home seemed an open option for her but it wasn't the best option. She knew Sofia would look there first and tell the king and queen what she had done. If she went back at all it was to get more things, perhaps even another wand. No good or bad spell caster alive had only one, even Cedric had at least five simple ones in case of emergency. This would give her an advantage over them should she face them again and who knows she might be cooking up an even meaner spell.
"I feel there might be something worse at hand here. She could be gathering up her other sisters and though one of them is perhaps easy enough, especially if I was to use the dragon claw wand, taking them all on would be no simple task. The sister of anger, Ira, is the most powerful and the most wicked. We could be facing quite the fight but the problem is not knowing. At best she's hiding and worst she's got something more than we can imagine up her sleeve."
Sofia then remembered about her whichway bow, it having been recently fixed after being broken on one of her duties, and pulled it out to find where Livia had went. The arrow spun and spun then shot out towards a southern direction, leaving a trail of almost sparkling dust. Sofia looked at the trail left for them to follow with confusion.
"South? That's where Brightland is...but...why would she go back there? I just...have a bad feeling that's exactly what she wants, for us to follow her...I don't know why but that's what I feel."
"I've been feeling the same way actually, but what choice do we have? Sit and wait and see what she does? She didn't just use hypnosis and then vanish after she was thwarted."
"No doubt on that, she never truly felt as if what she wanted was me but whatever it is she wanted she could have gotten...unless it was something far bigger. Something she couldn't just take...I know that kind of mind...I was that person once. It's not some pocket sized emblem, no token she wants. For whatever reason I have a sneaking suspicion what she wants is this land."
"Are you certain of this, lad?"
"Unfortunately I have a lot of experience being...on the wrong side of magic and there's very few things people want in this world. Whenever someone tries to get at Sofia it's either for her amulet, her kingdom, or both. Power is what they all want in the end more than fame more than fortune more than anything else."
Sofia pondered on this and went through each of the villains she had faced. He was correct. All of them wanted her kingdom or her amulet and nothing else. In that way they were all very predictable, she could be assured someone would want those two things from her. Her amulet seemed the most powerful thing in the kingdom to steal but if one wanted just to rule, just to have dominance, then the kingdom was what they were after- like Princess Ivy or Queen Vor. Both didn't seem to care about the amulet much. Sofia wondered why it was always Enchancia that they wanted to rule when there were other places; Sumeria, Freezenburg, Corinthia, Wei ling, Khaldun and many others. Then she recalled something that was told to her not too long ago.
"If she wants my kingdom it's not just because she wants to rule it...there's something else. I was once told that the reason it's called Enchancia is because it was first made by and inhabited by enchanted beings like sorcerers and such. It had a massive magical energy around it and someone like her would want that."
"You're quite right. Why I was around when it was made, so I can confirm this is true. So no doubt she would want this place. Now we have a reason but what does it have to do with Cedric? Why him and not the king?"
"Maybe because Cedric is directly tied with this land and he's the only truly powerful magic user in the castle," Sofia explained, holding onto her amulet with her small hands, it seemed to shimmer or glow softly in the moonlight. "But I can't answer for all the reasons why but it doesn't matter. All that matters is that we capture her."
Cedric had a million questions to ask but most profound was what Sofia meant. He could date his family back quite far and all of them or almost all of them resided or started out in Enchancia, at least on his father's side. His mother came from another kingdom, Grimshaw, but lived most of her later life in Enchancia. Still he never knew of any of them being directly a part of Enchancian lore. He wondered about his own family and himself but as Sofia said none of it was a concern. They needed to capture her and figure out what the real truth was and why she seemingly gave up so easily. Cedric explained to Merlin that this wasn't his fight and that he didn't need to stay.
No sense dragging the man into their business and he had done enough already. He understood that well enough, he had done his part, but he wished to be of some service. With him on their side it would be a lot easier to take her down and if she had reinforcements, they'd need him too. It was complicated, it truly wasn't anything that should concern Merlin but in some way Sofia reminded him of his old charge and he wanted to protect her. He knew that Cedric would do that, with all that he had, he would never let anything bad happen to the princess. Those four sisters were not anything to be trifled with and he had faced one before. It took the most powerful wand in the world, Cedric's family wand was the 4th strongest, to defeat her. However Sofia had handled a lot of evildoers just by herself with no outside help because she was clever, quick, logical, attentive, and ready for action.
He had to trust in her but he told her to bring Minerva with her because if anything went wrong the bird could find him or find some other help. So Cedric changed his attire, Minerva came along and they hopped rode on Minimus and a winged Dusk to their destination, following the trail. As they flew together, their horses going at their fastest, they wondered just what would happen when they got there. It still felt, to all parties, like they were flies willingly going into a spider's web.