Thanks to everyone who has reviewed and kept up my energy for writing lately! Also some of you offer really amazing suggestions for flushing out the world a bit. Thank you so much!

And sorry, no smut yet! Lots of talking and worrying and whatnot. I do promise to get Part II of this scene done soon!

As always, I am a terrible proofreader of my own work, and any mistakes drive me nuts. Please let me know if you see something I should fix, and I will do so ASAP and be very grateful!

Part One

Sofia of Enchancia, newly made Duchess of Filamondria just a half year prior, opened the door to her guest chambers and stepped into her room and the attentions of her devoted servant Violet. Violet set about getting Sofia out of her ballgown and dancing slippers, then into a thin gown and robe made for Avalorian summers. Sofia just stood, for once content to be moved about as a doll when she was so tired and listless. Instead she concentrated on staring out the window on to her balcony toward the starry night sky, focusing on keeping herself under control and not giving into the sense of panic that prickled along her spine, and had done so for the past several days.

"Princess, you will be tryin' to get some sleep as soon as possible, aye? Ya need to rest for the trip all the way to Freezenberg, and the ship leaves on the tide tomorrow!" Violet chirped brightly, full of boundless energy even after a day spent packing and preparing to leave Avalor. Sofia nodded, hoping her movements looked natural and not weighed down with worry. Violet had taken her responsibilities of caretaker to heart, and she would be ruthless in nagging Sofia until she confessed what was bothering her. And Sofia really didn't have a good answer.

Hopefully, exhaustion would be a good enough excuse for Violet. It had been a long day of goodbyes and a longer night of dancing in the Avalorian style, and Sofia desperately hoped that sleep would come easily tonight. Violet puttered around the room, sorting through the trunks, leaving Sofia to her thoughts as she sat carefully in a chair by the window, taking advantage of the sea breeze.

Sofia sighed softly, trying to relax her muscles, if not her magic, and hoping that would relax her mind somewhat. Thoughts whirled as she worried about a thousand normal things. Politics and etiquette and trade and building codes. And Cedric. Always there at the edges of her thoughts, a comfort and a torment all in one. Something was wrong, something about him. But she had no idea what or why or if she was just so homesick she was making herself go mad. She took a deep breath, trying to reflect.

Avalor had been better than most of her state visits. Most of the time she went to an endless series of tea parties and archery tournaments and Flying Derby or Flying carpet races. She avoided the hunting at all costs. Her ideas about animal rights and the rights of magical beings had grown slowly but surely over the years, and she tried to sneak in her thoughts on the matter into normal banal conversations on the weather or fashion or juicy court gossip. She took note of who was sympathic and who needed to be convinced. In the future, she would do more. She hoped someday to improve the lot of the non-humans of all the realms, but she knew she had to start small.

Avalor was the first court in which she felt she could openly discuss her ideas, and Queen Elena, Prince Consort Mateo and especially Princess Isabel were very enthusiastic about her idea of a Treaty of Rights for Magical Beings. The animal rights might take a bit longer to sell to a wider crowd, but given the strength of her magic, Sofia thought she might have quite a few decades to wrangle all the parties in place. Diplomacy was at times immensely dull and taxing to her patience, but was at times exciting and very rewarding.

She stood up, wandering over to one of the open trunks lining the walls of her spacious bedchamber while Violet was busy wrapping up her last ballgown. She had no doubt Violet had done an amazing job with her packing, but looking over her trunks gave Sofia something to do. Sofia whistled to herself, trying to find a distraction from the knot of worry in her chest. She felt...itchy. Itchy and prickly. Unable to sleep well. Uninterested in eating. Her mind kept traveling across the sea and into a familiar tower, almost her second home.

She stood looking into the trunk in front of her, contemplating the gifts she'd acquired for family and friends, most pleased with the outcome of her months-long mission to Avalor. Queen Elena had been most helpful and forthcoming, especially in regards to her scandalous yet successful marriage to her Court Sorcerer, Mateo. Queen Elena was currently pregnant with her second child, and she and Mateo seemed to rule together with cooperation and respect. She had established a precedent, and Sofia had every intension of citing that precedent gleefully when and if she ever found herself at odds with her parents about her choice for a life's partner.

Thoughts of that partner were stroking seductively at the edges of her mind, and she was trying not to succumb to their call, knowing what the results would be. The combination of worry for him and arousal at her imagings of him was why she'd been staring into space most of the day. She bit her lip. Hard. It didn't help. She fell into memory of the dumbstruck yet wistful look on his silly, wonderful face as she flew away in her carriage when she left on her Tour. She'd kissed him that day, pining him to his workbench and pressing her lips against his before dashing away to leave. She hoped that with time he would start to think of her not as a child and his apprentice, but as a woman to share his life, his magic. His woman.

"Sofia? Sofia? Are you listening?"

Violet had had to speak quite loudly before Sofia, Princess of Enchancia, managed to hear her. "Oh, Violet! I'm so sorry. Woolgathering again. What were you saying?"

Violet looked at her, concern evident in her eyes. She had been Sofia's maid and friend for more than a decade. Sofia had helped her budding romance with a Coronan footman blossom, and now Liam was a member of Sofia's own entourage, and Violet was slightly rounded with pregnancy. But her stern stare had lost nothing of its effectiveness in discombobulating Sofia. "I'm afraid that I'll need to go out first thing in the mornin', Princess. We'lll be needin' an additional trunk, what with all the purchases you've made for your family and friends, and all those books of yours. Will you be well on your own to prepare?"

Sofia breathed a sigh of relief. Yes, alone. That was precisely what she needed. "Yes Violet, I shall be able to rise and prepare for the journey on my own. I'll sleep soon, I promise. I know I need it. You know that I've not been sleeping well. Too homesick." Well, that was one way to explain her deep need to go home. Now.

Violet sighed in sympathy. "Yes, I as well miss. I can't wait to show Enchancia to my Liam. Only one more visit left, and we'll be at home again!"

Sofia restrained a groan. Heading to Freezenburg seemed overkill – how many times had she visited there with Amber as a child? She could go there any week, and she doubted Hildegard would give more than superficial lip service to her concerns for magical creatures, although maybe Astrid would. No – no plotting. No weighing options, no tea party maneuvers, no calculation. She didn't want to be Duchess Sofia, founder of the newest island protectorate in the known world and budding political star. She just wanted to be Sofia and miss her family and friends and care about people and creatures. She wanted to sleep. But her mind twirled in a frantic waltz, if it wasn't politics that was her partner, it was thoughts of her sorcerer, and that wasn't really restful either. She needed time to herself to purge these thoughts and the pent up magic that accompanied them.

"Go ahead Violet. I trust you to choose precisely what we shall need for our journey."

Violet smiled, and swept out of the room, efficient as ever. Sofia collapsed to a chair again, and breathed in deep. As she exhaled, she let go.

Power flared in her hands, twining up her arms, red and gold and pink and orange, and she flinched in pain, in need. Every time she thought of him lately, this was the result. The Amulet pulsed, sending out a cooling wave and the fire receded petulantly into her skin. This was insane. It couldn't go on much longer.

Memories swamped her, so vivid they seemed like they's happened yesterday. The flames had started in truth when she'd seen him in the flesh six months ago, when she'd met her family and shown them the beauties of Filamondria. It had been wonderful to hug her mother and father and siblings, and to see the awe and pride in their eyes over this amazing addition to Enchancia territories. They had explored the mountains and the river and the dense forest and verdant plain. Sofia had lost track of the new birds and butterflies she'd never seen before. It had been a wonderful respite before they returned to business. Plans were made to welcome settlers, to start farming and fishing in the now abundant seas surrounding the island. And Dad had surprised her by making her a Duchess in her own right, giving her the taxes and rule of Filamondria once she had reached the age of twenty one. It was a princely dowry, or security and vocation if she chose never to marry at all.

But with her family came one other much beloved visitor to her – their – island. Cedric the Sensational had stepped out of the flying coach and stared around himself as though he was seeing a ghost. He hadn't quite believed that what had happened that Samhain was real, that was evident. Then his eyes had met Sofia's, and she'd seen the love and desire flash through him, plain as day before he covered everything up in his usual cynical mask.

"It's far too humid here. My potions will take twice as long to brew in this weather. And yes, it is good to see you, Princess Sofia."

She had not thrown herself at him in the same kind of hug she'd given her family. But she had taken one of his hands in both of hers and felt the fire flare hot between them wherever skin touched. He'd restrained himself from flinching and she'd held tight so as not to let him. They reached a truce of sorts.

He'd come with the family on every excursion, found countless medicinal plants and interesting minerals, and been adorably excited often enough that Sofia was filled with joy just watching him and his love of knowledge and magic. He'd watched her too, not talking, just watching, as though drinking in the sight of her.

It was that last night when she'd taken a walk on the beach, away from the pavilions of their camp site, that he'd found her in the moonlight.

"Hello, Sofia."

His voice was deep, and slightly rougher than normal. It had made her shiver, and not in fear. He was standing in the shadow of a rocky cliff that edged the beach, and she could barely make out his shape, just the bright spot of the light gray in his hair. She had stepped closer. "Hello, Cedric. It's good to drop all the titles. After the last year I am thoroughly sick of all the titles."

She saw his smile, a flash of reflected moonlight in the shadows.

"Yet you went and got yourself a new one, Duchess." The way he said the word made it sound like an endearment, a seduction. She wrapped her arms around herself, not to protect herself from the chill night breeze, but to cover her peaked nipples, despite the thickness of her robe. He continued wryly, "You found this paradise fair and square. You could have set yourself up as Queen Sofia the First. Why hand it to your stepfather, Duchess?"

She had grinned back at him. "Because I didn't have the money for a navy to defend it, my Duke."

He'd choked for a moment, and the sound turned to laughter. "You were always delightfully devious, if far too kind hearted. I see that the world of politics has rubbed off on you." He coughed. "Duke? Really...I'm not, I mean...we're not..."

She'd taken another step, passing into the shadow with him. "Not yet, no. But you did help me conquer the island. It's as much yours as it is mine. But you might have to marry me to claim the title, Duke Cedric."

He was the one that had taken that last step, and swept her into his arms. His kiss was fiery and hot, as though all the passion of weeks – nay, months, had boiled over into that one act. Her knees grew weak, and flames seemed to burn her from within, her blood hot and thick and her core tight and heavy with want. He sucked her bottom lip into his mouth and she whimpered, her nails scratching at his back where her arms had wrapped around him, pulling him to her. She felt his hardness pressed against her stomach and she wiggled her hips back and forth, making him groan. Part of her wanted him to set her down on a conveniently sized boulder and spread her legs and have her, just to stop the endless waiting and wondering.

He ripped away from her just far enough to pant out, "Sofia, Titania's Tits, Sofia we have to stop, the magic, the flames..."

She looked down then, and finally noticed that the two of them were glowing, every color from red to purple flowing together and then merging at the edges into a pure, brilliant white. It was beautiful.

"If we don't stop, we will bond completely, and then you'll be stuck with me." He took a step back, trying and failing to pull out of her arms because she just followed him, pressing her body against his as he backed roughly into the cliff face.

"And what is so terrible about that?"

"Well, besides the fact that we will probably be driven to have unrestrained sex for hours and your family will likely walk in on us, you will be tied to a bumbling fool of a sorcerer who tried and failed to take over your father's kingdom many times, tried to steal your amulet more times than there are stars in the sky, and who is far too old for you."

She still blushed, no matter how many erotic books and spell manuals she'd read and lurid images and sculptures she'd seen, the thought of her family finding them was enough to put a damper on her ardor. "I thought we had gotten past this the last time we were here. I love you, you love me, we were possibly fated to be together. I don't understand what is so terribly wrong with us?"

He squinted down at her in the darkness. "What part of, 'I tried to steal your Amulet' did you not understand?"

"Oh pish! Of course you tried to take my Amulet. You think I didn't figure that out? I spent weeks when I was thirteen having an existential crisis about all the times you'd probably attempted to do bad things and I was too naive to notice or believe you capable of ill intent. But when I realized that you never really went through with anything truly evil, and that you were at your best when you were working for good, that you simply had to work through some issues and would come out stronger for the test. I mean, when was the last time you tried to take over the kingdom?"

Silence reigned. "I can't remember," Cedric whispered.

"I can. It was ten years ago. And you ended up on the right side of things then, didn't you? And when was the last time you tried to steal my amulet?"

He kissed her again instead of answering, and she thought that was settled, but when he pulled back again, he looked sad. "Nevertheless, if our magicks merge, I have no idea what will happen. It's so rare, there's no records of it. I don't know if I will swamp you with my power, or you'll swamp me. Will our minds stay intact, sane? Will our magic burn us up entirely?"

She placed a finger to his lips. "Cedric, you worry too much. Does it feel like a bad thing?"

"No! It's too easy. And everything good in my life has taken work. It doesn't come naturally. Evil and selfishness come naturally. Don't blame me if I worry that the magic that already binds us is influencing you, making you think you love me, making you give me everything I want." He yanked himself out of her arms, scraping roughly along the cliff and backing away from her, his skin covered in green and purple fire. "I love you too much to want to control you like that. You deserve to find a man who you can love without that taint."

"Who is to say I'm not controlling you?" she cried out, stamping her foot in the pebbles of the beach, her own red and gold flaring bright enough to rival the moon.

He'd whispered, barely audible over the sound of the surf, "Because I loved you long before that night you found me in the binding circle."

He'd turned and ran, and she'd stood there and burned, angry and sad. He didn't let her answer that she'd loved him too. She'd dreamed of his kiss, his touch, the comfort of his presence as they worked together, how she wanted to see him the first thing when she woke in the morning and the last thing when she went to sleep. She'd dreamed it from the time she was sixteen.

Sofia sighed, the wash of memory almost painful. How long could this go on? How long would he fight what she could feel in her soul was right? Did he think she would forget about him, replace him, when she knew that he wanted her, loved her? He had said that he didn't want to bind her magic with his own. Was that enough for him to never take the risk of being with her?

She'd tried to find another man, briefly, thinking she could use the experience to prove to Cedric that she knew her own mind, that she would choose him. But the touch of any other man who looked at her with desire was revolting, almost painful. Instead of him fading in her mind as she flew from nation to nation, learning of customs and trade routes and helping people where she could, he grew more vivid, more present in her mind's eye. Her imagination had taken flight from those few shared kisses and all too often she was sleepless, tossing and turning at the thought of his kiss, his touch, unable to rest until she had touched herself, imagining it was his long fingers bringing her pleasure. And even if she fell asleep without indulging in such naughty behavior, her dreams were no better, full of skin and sighs and the constant driving feeling of want that was slowly driving her mad, then waking up to bright light flaring like a Wassalia blaze around her body, like she was made of fire. The Amulet had to rescue her, time and again, before she was made mad with wanting and unrestrained magic.

She rocked back and forth in her chair, her magic flaming up once around her, making her burn and want. It was on the edge of pain, and Sofia was worried what would happen when it crossed into constant pain, when not even the amulet could hide it anymore.

"Princesa? Princesa, you have important visitors." Sofia started at the sound of an Avalorian maid's low voice at the door. There was no time to stop the flames. The doors opened, revealing two very familiar, very unexpected people.

Winifred the Wise and Duchess Mathilda stepped through the door, looking tired and worried. As they caught sight of Sofia, her skin lit up with red and gold flames, they gasped in unison.

"Oh dear, she's almost just as affected! Thank goodness we came when we did or they'd both be beyond help." Tilly bustled across the room, pressing a hand to Sofia's forehead.

Miss Winifred looked to be almost in tears. "Oh, my dear sweet girl. Here I thought I'd have to try and convince you into saving my boy, and instead I am doing you both a favor. What a matchmaker I am. My sweet Ceddy, married to a Princess – well a Duchess then." she glanced at Tilly, "Nothing wrong with being a Duchess mind you." Winifred turned and shooed the wide-eyed maid out of the room, closed the door, then pulled out her wand and sealed it shut. "Don't want to be bothered now, do we?"

Sofia finally realized that she was not having a very strange dream, and hence found her voice. "Miss Winifred! Aunt Tilly, what are you doing here?"

Tilly made tsking noises. "You have a fever, Sofia. How long have you been having controlled flares?"

Sofia blinked, the her brow furrowed. "The Amulet helps, but a few months now. It doesn't last too long. I really have a fever?" She raised a hand to her own forehead, and her vision was filled with the red and gold fire than blazed around her hands – the heat of them magical rather than physical, otherwise she would have feared for her eyebrows.

Winifred puttered around the room and poked in the various open trunks with a smile on her face as she commented, "Now Prin...Duchess Mathilda, the girl will be just fine as soon as we get her to Cedric. I can't believe I didn't think of who his match would be until now! Oh, the grandchildren will be so beautiful and talented!"

Sofia looked back and forth between her frowning aunt and Cedric's scheming but sweet mother. "Aunt Tilly, why do you need to take me to Cedric? Is something wrong with him?"

Her heart suddenly pounded, and her thoughts moved a mile a moment. She'd felt his nagging sense of distress for some time. She knew he was unhappy – that he was tired. She had selfishly thought that he would realize in his unhappiness that he needed her, that when she returned he might be ready to truly listen to her, that she knew what she wanted. But the last few days had been filled with so many restless dreams and constant aching longing, not to mention the intensity of her flares was increasing.

Tilly sighed, rolling her eyes a bit in Winifred's direction as that good lady bent over to examine a particular Satu silk robe that Sofia had intended as a gift for her mother. "Cedric disappeared into his tower five days ago, and when no one saw him for two days, and meals set at his door went uneaten and strange lights were scene coming from the windows and someone could hear Cedric's raven squawking as though he was screaming for help. Rolland sent for Goodwyn and Winifred to check on him. They could get past the wards he'd set on the door. I happened to be there for a visit, and Winifred came to get me when she saw the state Cedric was in. I had no idea he was capable of that degree of magic. That he's kept those flares under control for so much of his life is a remarkable feat of discipline."

"That's what I always told Goodwyn, but oh no, he always said it was his binding spells and not my boy's inner strength. Humph." Winifred glided across the floor to stand next to Sofia and pass a hand through the red fire on her arm. "You, my dear, have a remarkable level of magic as well. If it wasn't for that Amulet of yours, you'd have burned up long ago."

"What? What do you mean?" Sofia thought she'd understood magic, but there was nothing like this in all the books she'd read. "What do you mean, burn up? And why could I never find anything about these flares in any books – I checked in so many Royal Libraries!"

Tilly laughed. "Wizards and witches and sorcerers don't like to put all there secrets in libraries Sofia. Especially not when it is something powerful and rare. It's all family secrets and word of mouth. In all my travels I'd only see one person have magical flares, and now I've seen two more in a matter of days! That both you and Cedric should be so gifted, and you from almost out of the blue – it is extraordinary."

"But what are they? The flares?"

"You and Cedric have certain kinds of magical talents – I know that Cedric excels at movement spells, conjuring and potion making – when he can concentrate. You have shown skills in healing, translation and transformation."

"But isn't that just the amulet?"

"The amulet simply brings forth the potential that is already there Sofia, didn't you realize that?"

Sofia looked down at her chest, and Tilly smiled softly at the jewel that had once been hers to bear. "I was a Story Keeper, and the bearer of the amulet, but I have never had the finesse with the amulet's magical gifts that you have, nor the understanding of it to be able to free poor Queen Elena. You are an extraordinary young woman, Duchess Sofia."

Sofia could feel herself blush, and the confounded flames rose up brighter around her cheeks. She giggled in response, almost to the point of hysteria. What was happening? "Ok, so I have one set of magic skills, and I have a certain set of colors to my flares, and Cedric has other dominant skills, so he has other colors?"

"Or you are good and he is evil, it could be that!" Winifred cackled and Tilly blew a lock of her disheveled brown hair out of her face in irritation.

"You are very quick, Sofia. I knew you would understand. Cedric's magic is strong enough that it is almost too much for his physical self. Yours is the same. So your magic flares and seeks a partner. When we found Cedric, he was lying on the floor of his bedroom, his flares filling the room. Working together we managed to get another level of binding on him, but he's delirious and kept saying your name. We aren't sure how long he can last until..."

"Let me help! We were partly bound just before I left Enchancia. It was an accident. Is all this my fault?" Sofia stood on suddenly shaky legs.

Tilly took hold of one of her arms to steady her, and Winifred came up and patted Sofia's other arm and spoke softly, "Cedric told me a bit of what happened, as he felt terribly guilty about it. I don't think you hurt him – in fact I think he would have collapsed years ago if it wasn't for the comfort he has always found in your presence. You've been his guiding light all these years, and I should be upset at you for leading my son astray from a proper path of manipulation and acquiring power, but I've seen how happy and content you make him, deary. But oh, did you know he's actually given magic shows for the village children! And then I found him feeding the animals in that little garden of yours at the castle. Really dear, you have to let him be a little dastardly sometimes!"

Sofia smiled, laughing softly, her heart light and warm in her chest at the thought of him feeding all the friends she'd left behind in the castle when she'd left for this confounded Tour. Tilly chuckled as well, "It's not all Sofia, Winifred. I remember at sixteen seeing a three year old Cedric floating bread out the kitchen windows of the castle with his first tiny wand and giving it to the ducks in the moat. He was adorable."

Winifred sniffed. "Goodwyn's influence, no doubt. But really, we need to leave soon. If we can find a way to rejuvenate the horses quickly, we can get back in the coach and get back to Cedric and let these two bond properly!"

Tilly looked conflicted. "It is still up to Sofia, Winifred. We are not sure of the consequences of binding. It's never been documented. I'm always one to pursue adventure and to understand the unknown, but this..."

Winifred stood taller, looking serious instead of celebratory. "Mathilda, I'm not sure either of them has much of a choice at this point. Their magic calls to one another, and it may either disappear completely or burn them to a crisp. I know that my Ceddy would be lost without his magic, and I certainly don't want him to die." She clutched at Sofia's arm, her nails digging in to the skin, "Cedric is in a magical sleep, and Goodwyn and my Cordelia are standing over him, trying to keep his magic contained. We have to get to him and put this right!" Sofia's flames grew bright enough to burn, making both Tilly and Winifred let her go with gasps of alarm.

Sofia looked back and forth between the two women, "How do I, what would I even..."

There was a great banging at the magically locked door, interrupting whatever words Sofia was trying to get out.

"Sofia? Sofia are you there? We were told that there were visitors, some kind of emergency!"

"Elena?" Sofia flew to the door, despite her shaky limbs, and yanked at the handle. It resisted, but a flare surged from her fingers and the lock broke off in her hand, the door swinging open. Queen Elena of Avalor stumbled in, stopped from tipping over in her ungainly state by her husband who was at her heels.

Elena laughed, a hand at her hip on her husband's hands where they held her upright. "Oh, I forgot how hard it is to dash around the castle on adventures at seven months pregnant!" Elena looked beautiful, glowing with health, her bright red silk night robe tied awkwardly over the swell of her baby.

"As if anything could stop you on a mission, my love." Mateo muttered with a roll of eyes and a smile that said he loved her for it. Sofia had known Mateo for a decade, and he had finally grown into those sorcerer's robes of his, even if he was wearing deep blue pajamas at the moment. He was slightly taller than Sofia, and his chest had finally filled in, giving him a presence and gravity that a Prince Consort needed. She'd gotten to know him very well during the six months they'd spent as co-apprentices under Cedric's tutelage years ago, and she'd known before he did how very much in love with Elena he was. Sofia was so very glad things had worked out.

Winifred and Tilly had actually stepped in front of Sofia, shielding her from the perceived threat, but when they'd seen it was Elena they both relaxed, at least in part.

"Why hello, Queen Elena, Prince Mateo. We haven't yet met, but I'm Duchess Mathilda of Enchancia, Sofia's aunt through marriage."

"Oh Mateo! My you've grown since you were last in Enchancia with my Ceddy. And two children! Wonderful! And Queen Elena, you are as ravishing as Mateo has told us!"

Elena and Mateo bowed their heads in acknowledgment, all the years of etiquette training kicking in with the ease of long practice that Sofia recognized. Elena responded for both of them, "Thank you, Duchess, Sorceress, I am pleased to meet both of you, but may I ask what brought you to Avalor, and at such an hour? Is there a problem?"

"Elena – look at Sofia!" Mateo gasped out.

And yes, another flare had encompassed Sofia, the flames leaping around her high enough to be visible despite her two self-appointed guardians blocking the Avalorian royals' view.

"Oh, I wondered if that was what was wrong." Elena looked worried. "I had a similar problem, years ago."

"You did!" Sofia, Winifred and Tilly all spoke simultaneously.

Winifred spoke first, "I didn't know you too were a sorceress! Mateo gave us not the slightest inkling!"

Tilly took over, "How did you survive the flares, Queen Elena? Do you still have to suppress them?"

Sofia was quiet, thoughtful, and quick. "You bonded, didn't you? You and Mateo bonded and that helped."

Both Elena and Mateo looked at each other with small sweet smiles and blushed. Mateo spoke for them both, confidence giving his voice power. "We did, although that was a bit of an accident. When Elena first started having flares, she didn't know how to use or control her magic. She isn't naturally a sorceress – but spending over forty years inside a magical object, she absorbed so much magic it was naturally a part of her. And eventually, without the Amulet surrounding her, the magic grew too much for her body to keep contained – especially when she began to use her sceptre as well."

"There must be something special about the magic artifacts of Avalor, something that can magnify but contain magic." Tilly pondered aloud.

"Yes, exactly!" Mateo enthused. He obviously had warmed to his subject. "The Empire of Maru sunk a tremendous amount of its wealth and resources toward the creation of potent magical object to protect and magnify magic. They studied magic in all its forms before the Empire fell, and there are manuscripts left from those times with methods to help control and contain magic gone out of control." He swallowed thickly. "When Elena was first affected, she was still very young, and we had no idea what the flares would do to her or how to help. I found a scroll from the time of the Maru with a method of physical...manipulation of magical energy meridians in the body that would help contain magical flares, especially if done by a compatible magic practitioner."

Elena laughed softly. "He found a guide to magical massage. It helped for a while. But eventually, my own flares started in response, and we got so close to each other that bonding was inevitable."

Mateo grinned at his wife, "Admit it, you found me irresistible."

Elena smiled back, "That I did!" She turned to Sofia, walking forward and taking her hands, despite the red fire surrounding them. "Do you have a compatible partner? Someone your magic reacts to?"

Sofia smiled. "I do. And now you've given me such hope! Even if he doesn't want to bond with me, perhaps I can help him anyway."

"Don't be silly, Sofia. My son adores you. He's loved you for years, and he thinks himself a lecher for it. He is lying if he says he doesn't want to bond with you."

Tilly nodded her agreement. "Cedric is stubborn, but you my dear are more so. If anyone can get him to do what is right for you both, it is you. You've had him wrapped around your finger since you were a child."

"Well then, how fast can we get back to Enchancia? How could you possibly take a flying horse all the way here?"

Tilly grinned, "Quite the accomplishment, isn't it! The first flying coach to make it all the way across the sea! I must admit it was your beautiful island that made it possible. We were able to change horses there, and it is a whiz bang of a fast little wagon, let me tell you."

Winifred sighed, "Tiny little thing, not at all comfortable, but I will endure anything for my Ceddy."

Elena spoke up, "We don't have a good selection of coach trained flying horses, Sofia, but we do have something even faster. Flying Jaquins!"

Sofia rubbed her hands together, suddenly filled with ore energy and determination then she'd felt in weeks, "Well then, what are we waiting for, let's get me a copy of that scroll and get airborne – I'll read it on the way home!"

Home! She was going home to Cedric. Her heart almost sang in happiness, and her magic flared bright enough to flood the room with pink and gold light. She felt just a bit dizzy, and had to sit down again. She better get there soon, or both of them were in deep trouble.