Tomorrow

Summary: There is a beauty in the idea of tomorrow. It's like a promise that there is something better beyond what can be seen. And for Cedric and Sofia, tomorrow begins today. (Takes place after Chapter 17 of The Tainted Ten)

Disclaimer: I own Corban, Serena, Charlie, and Butterford (all mentioned/referenced). MarionetteJ2X owns Nana and Tanya (mentioned). All other characters and properties belong to Craig Gerber.

A/N: The title is based on Michael Mott's beautiful song "Tomorrow Begins Today." The story is quite a bit different from the content of the song (from an upcoming musical called In the Light), but that was my inspiration. 😉 Hope you enjoy this second super random story. I got more good news recently, so good news encourages inspiration for writing sometimes! 😊 Also, Happy Belated Mother's Day for all mothers in any capacity!

*Story*

She'd always been told that water had the ability to clean, renew, and revitalize. Perhaps that was true. Perhaps she could wash away both the subtle and the blatant reminders of all the terrible things she'd witnessed earlier today… Or yesterday… Whenever it was…

Sofia was currently submerged under the water of her tub, the warmth of the bath embracing her like an old friend. She was still holding her breath, as she'd been doing the last several seconds, and she was doing her best to rid herself of any evidence that the events with the Tainted Ten had happened. That so many had been hurt or killed…

She broke through the surface of the water, futilely trying to dry her face with her wet hands, her fingers brushing her hair aside and behind her back once more. She frowned as she stared down at the water, almost in an accusatory manner… Like the water had betrayed her.

See, water also had a reputation for sustaining things… It was a preserver in and of itself, holding onto the memories, good and bad, anyone dared allow it access to. It would absorb you, drown you—

"I just wish I could sleep," Sofia mumbled to herself. "Just sleep and—just pretend like all of this was a…horrible dream."

That way, none of those members would be dead. Butterford wouldn't have died and been revived—he'd never have gone through that life-changing event, which had probably traumatized him on a different level than it had her. (Seriously, she could use a little beach therapy with Cedric right about now, to scream out her anguish, terror, and devastation at having witnessed such a brutal massacre of someone she loved so dearly; even if he was alive, there was no erasing from her memory his bloody, mangled, broken body lying helplessly on the ground.)

"A-At least he's alive, Sofia," she whispered to herself, and she wiped either a water droplet or a tear from her cheek, though she wasn't sure which. It didn't matter anymore… The water had draped her in its hold, fusing with her weary form.

Finally deciding the bath wasn't helping as much as she thought it would, Sofia finished bathing properly, washing her hair, and rinsing away any excess bubbles from her body. She drained the tub and stepped onto the cool floor, grabbing the large towel from the rack on the wall and draping it around herself. She tugged her hair from beneath the towel and draped it over the fabric instead, and then she walked up to peer at her reflection in the mirror.

She looked drained and so pale, even after spending a while in the heated water. The Tainted Ten had been the worst challenge since Greeneyes, so it was no wonder she looked so frazzled. She wasn't a young girl or a teenager anymore—a time in her life when she would have bounced back so easily from these events. She was twenty-six now. She was a wife, a mother, an aunt, and even a big sister to her precious little brother Corban. She'd gone through more in her short life than many others ever would in an entire lifetime, and there had been both good and bad things in that regard. While the optimist in her wanted to say that the good far outweighed the bad, the realistic side of her always retorted with, "Are you sure about that?" Maybe that bit of cautious awareness was from being around Cedric so much…

She took time to brush her teeth, lotion her skin, and towel dry her hair as best as she could before heading out of the lavatory and up the stairs of the royal apartment her family owned, heading toward the bedroom she shared with Cedric. Serena and Charlie were already asleep on the top floor. Nana and Tanya were still away doing their studies. She wished her daughters would come home more often, especially when she recalled how close they had all been all those years ago. They'd practically grown up together, given the circumstances, but now… Now they were spreading their wings, which was great, but she missed them so much… Well, they'd be home for the next holiday, so at least she held onto that comforting notion.

When Sofia entered the room that she and Cedric shared, she was startled to find herself tugged into a warm hug. She instantly relaxed when she felt that well-worn plush fabric of the purple robe her husband so dearly favored, his comforting arms wrapped around her and his familiar scent calming her. "Cedric…"

"I was about to come check on you," he admitted, his fingers caressing her damp hair. "You were in there for quite a while."

"I was thinking…" She sighed, seeing his knowing smile. "Not my choice, honestly. My mind has plagued me all night about what happened… It's like I feel responsible for something, but… I know I didn't cause anything. I just keep seeing…"

"Shh…" Cedric reached up, brushing her lips with his fingers, before he instead caressed her cheek. "It's over, Sofia. It's well after midnight now, so that was yesterday. Time for a new day."

"Even today may be bad," she admitted. "Probably not as bad as yesterday, because I don't think anything could be that bad…" She sighed, resting her head against his chest. "Let's hope I didn't curse us by saying that."

He chuckled, hugging her. "I was talking more about tomorrow, actually. Or maybe that's just an extension of today…" He shrugged as she glanced up at him. "We're at a rather interesting part, after all: late enough to be considered the evening, but early enough to be considered morning… So I guess tomorrow begins today, hmm?"

Sofia sighed, smiling at her husband with adoration. She loved this man and his infinite wisdom, something he'd gained more of as they'd carried on through life together. "Yeah… I guess it does."

Cedric's eyes drew to her bare shoulders, and he reached up, caressing each one as he felt his wife shiver a bit. "Forgot your nightclothes again, did you?" He chuckled as she blushed, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "At least it was in our apartment and not in the castle. That might have caused a few guards a heart attack."

"Oh, Cedric," she scoffed, shaking her head as he snickered. "I was more focused on wanting to bathe, so I forgot about the clothes…" She shrugged, smiling tiredly at him as his fingers traced the towel and then her collarbone. "I probably wouldn't wear them very long anyway though, would I?"

It was Cedric's turn to blush this time, though he did so with a sheepish yet loving smile. "If…that's what you'd like, my love… Or…considering the day you had, we could always wait until tomorrow…"

Sofia took his wand from his pocket and lowered the candle lighting in the room, tossing the magical instrument aside onto the bed. She then caught his eye as she reminded him, "Don't forget what you said, Cedric… Tomorrow begins today." She stepped over to their bed, shed the towel, then climbed under the covers, smiling gently at him as he stood there, staring at her in awe. "Right?"

The sorcerer willed himself to nod a few times before smiling, removing his robe, and setting it onto the edge of the bed as he walked over to sit down beside her, leaning toward her. "Right." Then, he kissed her gently as tomorrow slowly faded into today.

The end