A/N: Short transitional chapter. I know it's been a year and a half since I've updated. Since this is the 2 year anniversary of my starting this. I finally finished a half written chapter. I don't know if anything Will be written anytime soon, so please don't expect updates, but we shall see.

Enjoy.

The dreams came unbidden. Each night the dream was a frustrating reprise of the night before. It was Sofia, sitting on the stairs that led to his tower, and weeping piteously, sometimes he would not make it to her before he awoke, but all too often he did. It was far worse when he did. For she would look at him with eyes filled with such grief and betrayal and practically hiss "Look what you have done to me! You have broken my heart!" In one particularly awful nightmare she suddenly disappeared from his view, fading into a thousand tiny flowers. After each nightmare he would awake with a start, drenched in a cold sweat.

Eight days and nights Cedric had lived with these horrors haunting his sleeping mind. Well, perhaps, "horrors" was too strong a word, but he was left with a noose of guilt tightening itself around him and Cedric did not like to feel guilty. Nor did he like the sight of his Princess in tears haunting him each night. A display he himself had been responsible for.

Sofia had not returned at all since the confrontation in his tower. Not in eight days. She was rarely away that long. He knew he shouldn't be surprised. he'd betrayed his only friend and broken her heart, but still he had in some strange way expected that in a day or two, she would have come ready to make amends. Well, that in itself was untrue. The guilt though it had started to consume him had not fully settled in yet at first, and coward that he was, he'd spent the first two days and nights holed up in his tower, waiting for the Royal guards to arrive, weapons drawn , ready to escort him to the dungeons under charges of treason. That had not happened. Sofia had not turned him in, although that was no surprise. She was fiercely loyal even if she was upset. Though, now several days and nightmares later he almost wish she had, because death would be a sweet reprieve! Well, alright, perhaps he was being dramatic. But still! This was driving him mad.

With a heavy sigh, the Sorcerer rose from his bed, and in his stockinged feet walked over the stones to grab his robe from where it lay flung over a chair. He slipped it on and walked to his workshop. Conjuring a light with his wand. This elicited an angry "Caw!" From Wormwood, who had been asleep.

"Ohhhh Wormy! I can't help it!" He whined.
"I dreamt about her again! About Sofia. The ones where she yells at me, and she looks so awful! So sad! I've never seen her so sad! What am I to do?!" The raven let out a croak and Cedric sat down at his desk, letting his face fall unceremoniously against the tabletop.

"If only I could see her and see that she is fine, then perhaps these dreams, would stop! They shouldn't be happening anyway. I've taken every draught I can think of and they always occur!"

He thought back to the solution of seeing Sofia. He had once since that night. On the fourth day. He had finally forced himself to leave his tower to get something to eat after his stomach had begun to sound like a roaring dragon and he'd felt himself near to fainting. So he was forced to make his way down to the kitchens in search of some repast.
They had crossed each other's paths while in the corridors. He'd stopped and paused, but Sofia had pointedly avoided eye contact pretending she did not see him at all. That may have been plausible, except for the fact she had noticeably hastened her pace to a near run as she had passed by him,.

He'd been relieved at the time in a strange way, since that meant no confrontation, but four days later, he regretted it. For he was very much contrite now, and though was loathe to admit it he missed her.

"I… miss her." He murmured"

Wormwood let out a disgusted croak.

Cedric ran a hand over his face and through his hair at the thought.

"I do Wormy, I miss her. I think I've grown accustomed to her. Accustomed to her face…"

He shook himself from the thoughts and instead rose to look at his potion backlog. It would be a distraction and thanks to his inactivity from brooding for the last week, it had grown rather long.

He collected the ingredients from where they sat upon the shelves:

Ginger, lemon rind, peppermint, rosemary, enchanted willow bark. These were all to be part of an infusion to be passed out at Amber's engagement Ball as a curative for a Hangover headache. He found the Royals at these ridiculous functions imbibed far too much and it was in his best interest to make sure he had an abundance in stock. After hours of grinding them to a fine powder in his mortar and pestle and then slowly brewing the infusion he added the last ingredient, it was a few drops of lavender to give that relaxing touch to the restorative infusion, the last ingredient brought forth Sofia to his mind once more. Remorse filled him, guilt wrapped itself around him once more. What had he done?! How could he have hurt her so?! The thoughts returned to him once more. He was useless here, he was useless in his own tower thinking about the girl. He had to make amends. Not just for himself, but for Sofia. He doubted the relationship could ever be repaired to what it once was, but he had to try. He knew to try that meant he had to seek her out, and that wasn't a task he was particularly keen in undertaking. He must at least attempt it though. He racked his mind trying to think of what her routine was so he could find her and they could talk things over.

His thoughts were interrupted by a rapping on the door that led to his workshop.

He started, eyes wide and heart beating erratically in his chest.

It wasn't her knock, but he still had hope.

"C- come in..." He stammered.

To his disappointment he found it was only the Castle Steward.

"Oh. It's you. What do you want?"

The older man quirked a brow at him and gave him a disapproving look over his Pince-nez glasses.

"And a good morning to you, Cedric."

Cedric glanced at the clock to see that the time was nearly a quarter to Ten.

"The King," Baileywick continued, "wishes for your presence in the dining room."

Cedric felt his heart drop to his stomach. Was he now being summoned because his scheming had been discovered? He tried to tell himself if that were the case the King or Baileywick would have been accompanied by the Guards, but that did little to reassure his anxieties.

"What does he wish to speak to me?"

The Steward seemed annoyed

"That I do not know. He simply asked me to retrieve you. Though I do imagine it has to do with the Entertainment you have planned for Princess Amber's Ball"

"Oh! Yes! Of course, of course. I was already working on the curative Infusion for the night's events."

Baileywick gave a quick nod and then gestured for Cedric to follow him.

Poor Cedric was a ball of nerves in the walk from his tower to the Dining Room. Sofia would be there. He wondered if she would acknowledge him, because the idea of her averting her gaze made him feel ill.

His thoughts were broken by Baileywick's voice:

"Here is Cedric, your Majesty." Baileywick gave a quick Bow and stepped back toward the door.

Cedric followed suit bowing himself.

"Your Majesties, Good morning."

His eyes quickly scanned the length of the table in search of his Princess only to find her seat vacant. That startled him, and he felt his heart fall to his stomach.

She was not there, but then where was she? He reasoned if she was ill surely he would have been called for?

"Ah! Good morning Cedric!" Cedric's eyes reluctantly left Sofia's empty chair to rest upon the King's face. The King seemed in a pleasant mood and was treating Cedric a bit friendlier than the Sorcerer was used to.

"G-good morning, Your Highness, you called for me?"

"Yes, Amber wished to discuss the entertainment for the ball."

Cedric's gaze fell to the rest of the royal Family. Prince James was voraciously eating a plate of Golden Berry Pancakes, Princess Amber looked annoyed her mouth set in a frown, Queen Miranda gave Cedric a small smile but something about her countenance seemed off, she almost seemed to look worried. His gaze finally fell once again to that empty chair, wishing that bright blue eyes, and her beaming smile would meet him.

"Cedric? Are you listening?!" The voice was sharp, annoyed. It was Princess Amber's.

"Oh yes your Majesty, my apologies, I-"

"Sofia was supposed to go over the plans before she left and she didn't. I need to know what you have planned."

Cedric must have looked utterly confused at the mention of Sofia having left because Queen Miranda gently spoke to him.

"Sofia went to visit Princess Vivian for a few days in Zumaria. She… said she was in need for a change of scenery. Didn't she tell you?"

As change of scenery? That meant away from the Castle. Away from him. He swallowed thickly.

"She may have mentioned it. I've been a bit preoccupied. He quickly lied.

"Well she chose the worst possible time! I need her here!" Amber pouted.

"Amber, Sof hasn't been herself lately. Give her a break. Hopefully Vivian can help her." Cedric vaguely noticed a fond look appear in the Prince's eyes at the mention of the Zumarian Princesses name but caught up in his own thoughts he could hardly be sure.

Amber huffed and then looked at Cedric again, and he forced himself to act like the Royal Sorcerer he was and not a love sick schoolboy. He mechanically listed some ideas he had in mind, including Sofia's idea of the Doves and Amber seemed placated. He bowed and was then dismissed, heading toward his Tower with quite the workload in store for him, when he heard someone call his name.

He turned to find that Queen Miranda had followed him.

"Your Majesty?"

"I need to have a word with you. Alone."

Cedric's mind was racing but he quickly nodded

"But of course." And the two moved to a small alcove to speak.

Studying the Queen's face he found it was rife with worry.

"Cedric… I don't know how to ask this, but, Sofia hasn't been herself. She's been withdrawn, quiet, she looks ill. Do you know what's wrong with her. She won't tell me."

Cedric felt pained, what was he to say?

"Your Grace, I haven't seen Sofia in over a week." He finally admitted.

Realization dawned on the Queen's face.

"Did you two have a fight?" She asked slowly.

"There… was a quarrel of sorts. Yes." He said quietly.

Queen Miranda sighed heavily.

"Then that's it. That's what's wrong. She hasn't tried to talk it out with you?"

Cedric shook his head.

The Queen gave him a stern look and then said slowly.

"I don't know what's gone on between the two of you. Though I have my suspicions, but you need to talk things out. Please. For Sofia's sake. My little girl looks like a ghost of herself and I can't bear it!"

"I will do my best your grace, but I don't know how to start."

"Sometimes a simple gesture from the heart works best." And with those words she excused herself and was gone.

While being good advice on its own Cedric didn't think there was a way to really say: "Sorry I plotted for years to steal your Amulet, and overthrow your father" not to mention the additional: "Sorry I broke your heart" but he thought back to his youth. When he'd upset his Mother, the only other person, save Sofia, he felt affection for, he had given her a bouquet of flowers.

It seemed like such a feeble way to attempt an apology now as a grown man, but, Sofia did like flowers. He thought back to her twentieth birthday and that walk in the garden, with a book on the language of the flowers she had annoyed him with their meaning. This is how he could apologize. In a way that would be meaningful to her.

He strayed from his path to the tower, stopping at the Library to find the book, and then out to the gardens to pick the proper flowers until the proper nosegay had been chosen:

Purple Hyacinth, for forgiveness. Bluebells to show his humility and then, last but most important several little Primroses, and he realized they meant exactly what he felt:

"I can't live without you."