(A/N: Mr. Shortman92, no matter how many times I read your review, I just can't seem to figure out the "smirk". Yeah, Sofia's situation is a little bit more serious. But can you blame her for not saying anything to Cedric? It does involve a very delicate matter. And for the record, I do have my plans down the line to have Sofia really open up about why she has such a hard time talking about what happened to her, even with her own family.

I own nothing!)

A year ago

"No!"

Sofia sat up straight, sweat pouring down her forehead. A glance towards the window told her it was early morning. Too early to be up though. She wasn't sure she could go back to sleep though. Not after that awful nightmare.

Her left arm began to throb. Despite being healed, it would still ache, especially after nightmares.

Feeling like her room was starting to close in on her, Sofia bolted out of the room. She wasn't sure where she was going, but she just needed out.

More than that, she wanted to be far away from the place where her life had been uprooted. She couldn't go to the gardens without feeling the fear and pain she'd experienced that day.

Not watching where she was going, she was startled when she collided with someone. Strong arms wrapped around her and held her tightly.

"Dad…" Sofia whimpered.

Roland gently stroked Sofia's hair. "I know," he spoke softly.

After a few minutes, Sofia looked up, tears staining her cheeks.

"Is there somewhere I can go away for a few weeks?"

Roland thought for a moment. "Your aunt and uncle or Grand Mum would let you come visit for as long as you need."

Sofia shook her head. "No. Outside of Cantare Valley."

Roland sighed. "I don't know, Sofia. I can see if there is somewhere you can go but I can't promise you anything."

Sofia sighed in defeat. She broke away from her dad and walked off, shoulders slumped and head hanging low.

oOo

Sofia let out a dejected sigh as she perused the books in Roland's library. She wasn't sure why though. None of the books held any appeal to her. None of her favorite pastimes had interested her in the week it'd been since she found out Cedric's secret.

After a moment, Sofia gave up and trudged to her room. Inside the bedroom, she flopped unceremoniously on her bed and stared up at the ceiling. She stayed there for quite some time, missing lunch and dinner.

As it was getting dark, a knock sounded on the door.

"Sofia? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine Amber." Sofia mustered every bit of enthusiasm she could manage, hoping to sound convincing.

The door opened and Amber stepped in. She was in her nightgown, a robe wrapped around it.

"Right. That was not convincing at all. You've suddenly started hiding away in your room, turning away meals, not riding Minimus, and you want to say you're fine? What happened?"

Sofia sighed as her sister sat down on the bed.

"You're very knowledgeable about the nobility. What do you know of the Marquess and Marchioness of Hexley?"

Amber looked at her sister in surprise. "What of them? Hexley Hall, well Mystica Prata, is rather far from here."

"Humor me," Sofia said dryly.

"Okay." Amber nodded. "Lord Hexley is one of the most influential of the nobility and very honorable. He's actually a close advisor to the king. His Lordship is Goodwyn Sebara and Her Ladyship is Winnifred Sebara. Last summer, a rumor was going around that the king might grant Lord Hexley a new title and the rank of duke. Clearly that didn't happen. Even then, the family remains extremely influential and anything they say, goes. It's folly to go against them. If I'm not mistaken, they even have familial ties to the royal family and that helped increase their influence."

Sofia nodded. "And the children of Lord and Lady Hexley?"

Amber scratched her head. "Somedays, I really don't understand what goes through your head. I think there are two- a son and a daughter. But I don't know much about them other than the son hasn't been seen in some time and the daughter was widowed a couple years ago."

"The daughter was the first born," Sofia said. "I can't recall her name but I do know the son's name- Lord Cedric Sebara."

Amber's eyes very nearly popped out of her head.

"Cedric? You mean Lord Sebara-"

Sofia nodded. "My friend Cedric is Lord Sebara. And of all the ways I had to find that out, it wasn't from him first."

"And so you're upset with your friend?" Amber's question was more a statement.

Sofia sat up. "Wouldn't you be a little bit upset if a close friend kept something like that secret?"

"That's a bit ironic, coming from you," Amber replied coolly. "You don't exactly share your secrets either."

Sofia's eyes widened. "Amber!"

"You got mad at him for not telling you about something that clearly has bothered him and yet you're doing the same thing. You refuse to talk about the incident with Graham. You don't talk about your feelings and how it's affecting you. You hold it in. If you're going to get mad at him, you better make sure you're not doing the same exact thing!"

Sofia was silent as she pondered her sister's words. Her eyes moistened with tears as the words sunk in.

"Oh Amber! I messed up badly, didn't I?"

"Yes, Sofia. I do believe you have. By your words in the past, Lord Sebara has shown the utmost respect to you and never caused you to fear for your safety. No doubt he knows you have a history with Graham and yet, he continued to be kind to you. I can only imagine how he felt learning something awful happened to you. And I bet he had a hand in what happened to Graham. But the moment you learned something shocking about him, when you learned something of his history, you doubted him and if I had to guess, wasn't very nice to him at all."

"I did get very mad at him when he confirmed his identity," Sofia said softly. "I didn't give him much of a chance."

"It's not surprising," Amber stated. "Whether you like it or not, you are very insecure about the male population. And not without legitimate reasons. But still, that doesn't mean you are allowed to blow up at someone who otherwise has given you little to no reason to distrust him."

Sofia was silent for some time, considering her sister's words. Before she could even find the words to reply, a knock sounded on the door and Violet stepped in.

"Excuse me, Miss Sofia, an express rider just delivered a letter for you."

Sofia nodded and took the letter and Violet stepped out. Amber raised an eyebrow. Sofia just stared at the letter in her hands, a guilty look on her face.

"Alright, out with it," Amber said.

"I may not have been very rational for a few hours after receiving confirmation of Cedric's identity," Sofia replied. "I wrote to Lady Hexley. I told her I knew where her son was and that he was in good condition. I didn't tell her an exact location, though. This is her response."

"Open it then."

"Seriously?" Sofia looked skeptical.

Amber nodded. Sofia broke the wax seal and unfolded the parchment. From inside that, another sealed letter fell out. Sofia looked at it curiously, noticing it was addressed to Cedric. She set that aside and read the letter addressed to her. After a moment, she set that letter down.

"Well?" Amber prompted.

"Lady Hexley sends her thanks for my help. She wishes she could come here for a visit but since it is not a short trip and she has some obligations that are keeping her at home, she cannot. Instead, she's invited me to come visit her. She also asked me to give that letter to Cedric and invite him to return home. She confirmed that there was a massive falling out between Lord Hexley and Cedric. Cedric had been blamed for an accident on the estate. After he had left though, it was discovered he had nothing to do with it. But Lord Hexley has been too prideful to admit it and seek amends with his son."

Amber's eyes widened. "You're not really considering-"

"Going to Hexley Hall?" Sofia finished. "Yes I am. Tomorrow morning. I'll take the letter to Cedric and ask him to return home. What he does then is up to him. Whether or not he decides to go, I intend to be gone by lunchtime."

"Do you really think Dad and Mom will be okay with you leaving though?"

"Do you think Dad would really go against a marchioness?"

Amber shook her head. "You're crazy Sofia. You can't go anywhere unless you have Dad's permission. He is our dad after all and we're both still young enough that what he says goes."

"Permission or not, I'm going to Hexley Hall."

"Why is it so important to you to go?"

"I feel a pull to go," Sofia said softly. "I can't really explain it. I just know I need to go."

"Well then for your sake, I'm going to hope that he gives that permission. Besides, you're a young single lady. Traveling without an escort is frowned upon. And you only get that escort if Dad gives permission for you to go."

Sofia rolled her eyes. "Well then, I'll just have to be extra careful this time if I don't have permission or an escort."

"I take my earlier comment back. You're more than crazy. You're insane."

"Considering some of the other things I've been called, I'll take that as a compliment."

Amber sighed. "I hope you know what you're doing. Fixing things for Lord Sebara is not your responsibility. Yes, you need to mend things with him but you're not responsible for his problems."

"Perhaps not. But he's still my friend and whether or not he wants to admit it, he's deeply troubled by what happened. And I always try to help my friends."

Amber raised an eyebrow. "You've fallen in love, haven't you?"

Sofia blushed furiously. "No! I don't think so anyways. I do know my feelings about him have been confusing. When we first met, I was scared of him because he was a man and I didn't know him. But those feelings disappeared quickly. It didn't take long for me to realize I had nothing to fear from him. Sometimes, I just find myself thinking about him for no reason, I feel happy when I'm with him and afterwards too… I sound like the lovesick female role in those books I often read, don't I?"

Amber nodded. "Yes, yes you do."

Sofia groaned. This wasn't supposed to happen. I wasn't supposed to fall in love.

"What do I do then?"

Amber wrapped an arm around her sister. "Sounds to me like you need to have some extra time to talk to him before you leave tomorrow. Be honest with him. He may push you away, he may not. But you certainly won't know if you only wonder about it."

Sofia nodded. "I'm glad I have you for a sister. Who else could give such great advice?"

Amber smiled. "Oh Sofia. You flatter me."

"You love flattery."

Amber burst into laughter and Sofia smiled.

"Sleepover?" Amber suggested. "Like we used to do when we were girls?"

"Sure."

Sofia pulled her covers back. Amber gave the brunette a strange look before suddenly grabbing a pillow and whacking her sister with it.

"Eek!"

"Come on, Sofia!" Amber exclaimed. "You couldn't expect a sleepover to be remotely like what we did as children without a pillow fight."

Sofia grabbed another pillow and whacked her sister back.

"You're on!"