The Ninth Star

Summary: An evil enigmatic being known as The Ninth Star was once in a group known as the Nefarious Nine, all of whom were destroyed. The sole survivor of the attack, The Ninth Star takes up residence in a new host, and has now been tracked down to Valestrai, where there are nine powerful magic wielders under investigation. Sofia and company are called in to help question the suspects, but nothing could have prepared them for the outcome when the mystery begins to unravel. *Takes place two years after The Tainted Ten*

Disclaimer: I do not own Sofia the First. The following characters belong to me: Jastin Butterford, Muscles, Malango the Magnanimous (mentioned) Corban, Charlie, Serena, Angel, Shikoba, Alo, the Ninth Star (and other Stars), and several others not mentioned in the other lists. MarionetteJ2X owns Nana, Tanya, and Terra. Mr. Shortman92 owns Christopher Crowley and Amaya. NerdsinaTree owns Captain Nereus. Royal Detective owns Gabriel Sebastian. Allyrwhitney owns Freya. Jettmanas owns Davidius. Creepy-Pasta owns Neoma. Pinkscarlet08 owns Amerie. Theblackraven2.0 owns Malcom "Mac" Woodruff. Also, the "Nefarious Nine" title belongs to NerdsinaTree, as the title was originally supposed to be used in "The Tainted Ten" until we added a tenth character.

A/N: Okay... One more chapter for y'all. Haha. The comps writing is going pretty well. I'm pacing myself and being careful with my wording, which is key to passing. I'm almost done with one of my four papers, though I've been working on each of them at different times. Meanwhile, later, guys! :)


Chapter 3: Like Déjà Vu


It was strange how quiet the castle grounds were right now. Goodwyn and Winifred had somehow gotten it into their heads that they wanted to take a voyage together, and they'd invited several people along. Roland, Miranda, and Corban had agreed, as had Angel, Calista, and Takoda. Cedric and Sofia had originally considered it but instead opted to stay behind, though the adults agreed to watch over Nana, Tanya, Serena, and Charlie if they agreed to let the children travel. They'd agreed, and the company was complete. Goodwyn's goal was to take everyone on the journey to some of his favorite places he'd once travelled to during his younger royal sorcerer days. Additionally, especially for the children, it was a nice break from schooling.

Of course, Amber and Desmond were still running the kingdom with their own children remaining with them. And then there were Cedric and Sofia…


"I don't remember the last time…" Cedric breathed deeply, tugging the blanket over his and Sofia's disrobed bodies, the early morning sunlight barely managing to stream through the thick curtains they had covering the glass. "…W-We were able to…be together… All night long…"

"Before Serena was born," Sofia remarked playfully, draping her arms over his chest, her head resting on top of them. She gently kissed his chin and then his lips, smiling softly at him. "Back before all the chaos, the kids, the…responsibilities, I guess." She giggled as he reached up, his gloveless hand stroking her bare arm. "I've really enjoyed getting to spend some of that personal time with you, though, Cedric… I feel like this was our vacation…"

"I'll say…" He threaded his fingers through her hair, a bit tousled from the evening's activities, and smiled lazily. "I suppose you'll need my help with this…"

"I mean, you did cause it… But for now…" She grinned before shuffling back a bit, gathering her hair behind her back, twisting the long and heavy locks around her arm, and then twisting it into a makeshift bun, held in place with some magical hairpins. "Now then, where were we?" She moved back over to him, lying on top of him as he draped the covers over their bodies, and then leaned forward to kiss him deeply. "Love you, Cedric…"

He smiled as she offered him a sincere smile. "I love you too, Sofia."


They slept in for several hours until finally waking up around 11:30 AM. During that time, they each bathed, with Cedric helping wash and detangle Sofia's hair before magically drying and braiding it all the way down to its full length; got dressed; ate together in the garden; visited Amber and her family; walked around the village holding hands and greeting their friends and/or fellow Enchancians; and just generally had a great time. About 3:30 PM when they were making their way back to the castle, they were greeted with a familiar voice calling out to them.

"Well, if it isn't the most famous magical couple in the Ever Realm!"

The duo turned to see who had spoken, only to find, to their surprise, that Greylock had just pulled up in a magic coach. He stepped out of the coach, a simple brown backpack hanging from his left shoulder, and chuckled as Sofia hurried up to him and hugged him. "Good afternoon, Princess Sofia," he greeted pleasantly. He released her, smiling at his old friend. "Cedric."

"What in the Ever Realm are you doing here, Greylock?" Cedric asked in mild astonishment. "And where are Ivy and the children? Or even Miss Nettle?"

"About that…" He shrugged. "It's a long story…"

Sofia gasped, lifting a hand to her lips. "You two didn't have a fight, did you? Do you need somewhere to stay?"

"Not in our apartment if so," Cedric practically sang in mild annoyance, grinning sheepishly when his wife glared at him. "I'm just saying…"

Greylock sighed. "No, nothing of the sort. Actually, Ivy and Nettle took the children to visit Ivy's family, however begrudgingly so. Evidently, her mother asked Ivy not to bring me for some reason, as there were serious matters their family needed to discuss. For some reason, Nettle was approved, yet I was not. Not that I wanted to be around that woman anyway…"

"Miss Nettle or Ivy's mother?" Sofia wondered, giggling as he offered her a smirk.

"Either. Take your pick."

Cedric wrapped one arm around Sofia, the princess then leaning into his embrace. "Do you think, perhaps, Ivy's mother could be dying? She is rather old, from what I recall… Maybe she needs to settle a will or estate with her."

"I…suppose that's an option," the other sorcerer admitted. "She shouldn't be all that worried though. I don't want anything of hers, except her daughter, of course." He grinned as the couple groaned at the bad pun. "What? I know. Ivy has complained about my 'dumb jokes' recently."

"Just recently?" the other sorcerer asked sarcastically, but he was cut short when Sofia's Enchantlet activated, alarming both of them. It had been a few years since it had activated, after all. "Why are you even wearing that?"

"I honestly don't know," she admitted, shrugging. "I saw it lying on our dresser and decided to wear it today for some reason…" She lifted her arm, waiting for the Enchantlet to respond. "Maybe it was a sign…"

Vega and Orion both appeared in frame, along with the figure of Shikoba standing in the background.

"Uh-oh," Sofia sighed, smiling nervously at her friends. "Let me guess…"

"We are so sorry, Sofia," Vega apologized, her expression serious, "but we need your help…"


The Protectors relayed the information about what was going on in Valestrai, and they introduced Shikoba and her role in the event.

"Would you be able to help?" Orion asked after helping conclude the story. He eyed the guys near the princess, asking, "And would you both help as well, Cedric and Greylock? We could use all the magic and power we could get."

"We certainly wouldn't allow the princess to go alone," Greylock remarked. "Since I have no other plans right now, count me in."

Cedric nodded. "I agree with Greylock. Sofia would not go without me anyway."

Sofia smiled sweetly at her husband before looking toward the Windwalkers. "Um… So, I know usually on these types of missions, Jas comes along as my Guardian…" She left the statement hanging, because she secretly was hoping that he wouldn't have to go with her. After all, she still had vivid memories and sometimes even nightmares of the terrible events of the Tainted Ten a few years ago, and she was not willing to put her Guardian and friend in any other danger if it was at all avoidable. After all, he now had his own family to look after…

"He's actually ill right now," Orion informed her. "A bit of a fever and migraine. The medics are monitoring him at the infirmary, but he is stable and expected to be perfectly fine."

This news nearly made the princess's heart stop. "Y-You're sure he's okay? I don't need to…?"

"He's fine, Sofia," Vega assured her gently, recalling the previous events herself. She knew how close the friends were, and she could see anxiety and fear written all over the younger Protector's face. "I just spoke with him yesterday evening. He said he's being watched closely, and he's already feeling better since getting some fluids and medical attention. Nothing will happen to him, I promise."

She seemed to be receptive to those words and nodded. "Okay… But after we're done with this mission, I'm going to check on him myself. And maybe give him an earful about why he didn't tell me he wasn't feeling well the other day when I visited him… I knew he looked kind of tired, but he shrugged it off." She frowned. "Jas…"

"Don't worry, Sofia," Orion told her calmly. "We will personally escort you to Jastin after the mission. All right?"

The princess smiled in appreciation. "I'm holding you to that, Orion… We'll be there as soon as we can." As soon as the call ended, she sighed. "This is unbelievable…"

"It feels like déjà vu, with some mysterious evil being hidden in plain sight," Cedric commented, looking toward the others. "We've seen this before in Reimagia and at the Conjuror's Board with evil hidden inside regular people within the groups. I suppose now I'm just wondering how bad this Ninth Star really is…"

"And on that happy note," Greylock joked, lightening the tension amongst them. He chuckled as both Cedric and Sofia smiled at him. "I haven't been on one of these missions of yours in a long time."

"Consider yourself lucky," the princess quipped as she took Cedric's hand and Greylock's arm. "Come on. Let's hurry and get the AutoCoach. The sooner we solve this mystery, the better."

To be continued…

Next Chapter: Valestrai