The Cradle Will Rock

Summary: Sofia is abducted in the dead of night by none other than Greeneyes, an evil enchantress who has plans for the princess's unborn child.

Disclaimer: I own the villain Greeneyes, Angel, Corban, and Alamea (whether or not they end up being mentioned in here). Nana and Tanya belong to MarionetteJ2X.

A/N: *WARNING* I'm just going to say this ahead of time. This story is going to start off relatively calm, but over a period of time, it will become much darker and very disturbing in some respects. To be safe, I'm labeling this story as a very serious and even disturbing 'M' rating. It will discuss some situations that may be sensitive to some people, especially if someone has experienced negative occasions during pregnancy. That's all I can say to that right now. But please approach this story carefully; if it gets to be too much, I totally respect your decision to skip this story. It will be very dark in both a physical and mental sense, so take care to exercise good judgement.

A/N 2: Greeneyes in this story is loosely based on the character Green Eyes from The Ninth Gate. Their personalities aren't exactly similar, but I liked the name; plus, truth in origins… If you've seen the movie, you'll probably catch my meaning.

Chapter 1: A Glimpse of Sunshine

It was late October, a few days before Halloween, and most people were working on costumes for their children or dealing with harvests or something of that nature. However, Cedric and Sofia weren't "most people," and they most certainly had other things on their minds.

Sofia sat down on the bed, brushing through her hair. She'd just changed into a soft white flowing pajama shirt, which ended somewhere around her thighs, and some comfortable matching pants. While she had stuck more with nightgowns during the summertime, considering her temporary roommate (or wombmate, as James liked to joke), it was getting colder during these later autumn months, and she had started dressing for them.

She giggled softly as she felt the bed move a bit behind her, one warm hand resting on her right shoulder as another hand reached up and took the brush from her, picking up the task of brushing her hair. "You're definitely earning quality husband points for this right now," she teased, smiling as Cedric chuckled and tended to her hair.

"It's my pleasure, Sofia," he murmured into her ear as he gently swept the rest of her hair behind her back and continued brushing. "Anything to make you more comfortable."

"I've felt okay the last few days… Maybe a few backaches here and there, but not as bad as I was expecting them to be." She smiled as he clearly cheated, using his wand to braid her hair rather quickly, so that he could move to sit next to her and listen to her better.

"That's good. And the baby has been treating you kindly, right?" He smiled as she nodded. "You know… I spoke with Sir Finlay recently, and I'd forgotten all about this, given everything else going on; it just slipped my mind." He twirled the wand in his fingers. "Did you know there's a spell that reveals the baby's gender?"

"Wait, really?" She gasped softly as he nodded. "Well, do you…want to try it?" She lifted her hands to her stomach, gently caressing it. "I mean… It would definitely help as far as planning ahead. Especially names… I've had some thoughts."

"I'm pleased to hear that, and I would love to hear whatever names you've been thinking of. And I'll only try the spell if that's what you want, Sofia…"

The princess smiled at her husband. "I want to know."

"I'm not even going to pretend that I don't want to know as well." He laughed and lifted the wand, hovering just over where their baby would be residing. "Revelare: parve puer vel puella..." The string of magic that flowed from his wand circled slowly around Sofia's abdomen, pausing to pulse gently. "If the magic turns green, it's a boy. If it turns gold, it's a girl."

"Interesting color choices," Sofia laughed, though it came out something of a nervous giggle. She was anxious to find out more about the baby, though considering some of their past experiences, she had a feeling that she subconsciously already knew what the result would be.

They watched silently as the magic slowly pulsed, fading from a brilliant white to…a soft gold color. Sofia's hands lifted to her mouth and Cedric laughed softly as he gazed lovingly at her.

"Another sweet girl," he surmised as she nodded, a few tears surprising her as she wiped them away. "So… That means Sunni…"

Sofia laughed, grasping his hand as he set his wand aside. "Sunni was our daughter… I think we've both known that for a long time though… And I also know…the perfect name to give our little ray of sunshine…" Seeing that she had his attention, she placed her free hand over the baby. "Serena…"

Cedric blinked at her. She'd mentioned at their wedding a number of months ago that he loved his cousin Selena's name. "It's so pretty," she'd told him. And while Selena was a lovely name, Serena made sense: meaning peace, tranquility, and serenity. Everything they'd hoped for all this time, and their ultimate goal in life… Could their daughter…be that semblance of peace they longed for? Could she be that beacon of light and love? "I love it," he finally told Sofia, seeing that she'd tightened her grip on his hand. "It's perfect."

"Really?" She giggled as he leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to her stomach before moving up to kiss her lips instead. "Mm, Cedric…" She released his hand and wrapped her arms around him instead, hugging him. "Three girls… Outnumbered again, huh?"

He laughed, sitting back to admire her lovingly. "I wouldn't have it any other way." He then gently stroked her stomach, humming softly. "Your Papa can't wait to meet you… Serena…"

To be continued…

Next Chapter: In the Dead of Night