Disclaimer: I own nothing.
One-shot based off of the song Counting Stars by One republic, written as a continuation from the previous one-shot titled Judas.
Sorry for the long Chapter I just couldn't stop writing it.
2 chatty girls came into the house and their noise alerted Winifred and she came rushing in shushing them.
"Cordelia, Calista. Shhhh." She relayed quickly pointing to the couch, the pre-teen twin girls carefully clobbered over to find Sofia.
"She is so pretty," Calista said making Cordelia agree.
"Who is she Mom?" Cordelia asked.
"She is a very dear friend of your brothers," Winifred said a little too loud but they silence when Sofia turned onto her back the blanket slipping down to reveal her torso and her hair flared out a little showing off her pretty face.
"What are you guys doing?" Cedric asked loudly whispering coming back in the living room wearing a fresh pair of gray pants and a long sleeve purple shirt and still in his sunglasses.
"We're looking at your girlfriend, she's beautiful," Calista said.
"She's not my girlfriend and stop it's creepy to watch people sleep," Cedric growled giving his younger sisters a death glare.
"Girls guess what her name is?" Wini giggled with glee.
"Mom don't," Cedric growled but it was too late the girls gasped and answered.
"Sofia?" both of the girls practically squealed in glee.
But unbeknownst to all of them, Sofia had woken up when the girls had come in and she was just listening.
"Just like the prophecy." They squealed again.
"Girls talk quieter you'll wake her," Goodwin said coming out of his office, he ushered them into the kitchen where he began making his special hot chocolate.
"We can't guarantee that Sofia will know or even understand it so we need to be careful with this," Cedric said quietly.
"And with all of this going on in town, she can hide here until things are calm so it gives her time to solve the riddle," Wini said excitedly.
"In the meantime, I have my people working on clearing it up that problem," Cedric told them.
"What about her family?" Calista asked taking a cup from her father as he began handing out cups.
"I've contacted her family they will be staying at her Aunts manor a few towns over, though no one knows where and no one will, We've told them that she is safe for now. They wanted us to bring her straight to them but in fear of her safety, I told them its best of she stays where she is we don't need to give any indication of her location." Goodwin said stirring his own drink.
"How long can we keep her here?" Calista asked in curiosity.
"Hopefully as long as she needs to fulfill the prophecy." He replied.
Sofia felt a little scared and asked herself "What Prophecy? Are they planning on holding me captive?" but she calmed herself down.
Lately, I've been, I've been losing sleep, Dreaming about the things that we could be, But, baby I've been, I've been praying hard, Said no more counting dollars, we'll be counting stars.
"Cedric, don't you let that girl leave here without a baby in her belly." Wini warned making Cedric quirk and eyebrow "MOM." He growled at her with a blush on his face.
Sofia blushed too with her eyes snapped open in shock, and that's when she bolted.
She ran as fast as she could she noticed the front door when she first got there so she knew how to get to it. She heard Winifred scream behind her "CEDRIC, don't let her escape."
Sofia ran faster of course when she finally got outside she tried to run the road but it was covered in snow and ice, she forgot about it and she slipped then she heard running footsteps, looking back Cedric was running right for her HE had no trouble running in the ice and snow.
Sofia tried to get up and she was able to and she tried to be quick but an injury to her knee made her limp, she didn't know what was wrong but it felt like it was broken since her kneecap was at an odd angle.
She moved back to the snow bank to be able to run without sliding but Cedric was better as this and suddenly she was lifted over his shoulder.
She fought back as much as she could but he was too strong and he decided to be funny and kept spanking her butt to make her behave every time she tried to fight.
When they got back to the house, Sofia was wet and shaking, Cedric set her down by the dying fire that Goodwin added wood too, while Cedric fought with her to handcuff her arm to the wrought iron grating of the fireplace, Cedric left after she was cuffed while the others stood back and let her catch her breath until Cedric came back with a first aid kit.
"You dumb for running out in the snow like that." He said opening up the box.
"I had every right to, this is kidnapping." She calmly stated.
"It's not kidnapping if your here for your own good. Now I know what we said might be scary but we promise we will not hurt you." Cedric said setting out the peroxide and cotton balls before he put his hands on her knee.
Sofia sat up at his actions and decided to be brave.
"What Prophecy?" she asked trying to ignore Cedric's wandering hands, but his quick actions to relocate her knee made her scream in pain, she stuffed the sleeve of her jean jacket into her mouth while th e pain slowly died down from the initial shock.
"Sorry." He said removing his hands and moving to clean the bloody scrape.
"There is an old prophecy that has been passed down through our family," Wini said making Sofia look up at her.
"Wini," Goodwin warned.
"Goodwin were keeping the girl here against her will now the least we can do is tell her why." Wini rebutted.
I see this life like a swinging vine, Swing my heart across the line, In my face is flashing signs, Seek it out and ye shall find.
"A love lost in time, once forbidden but not forgotten, the return of the Princess shall bring back the lost treasure." Wini replayed the old rhyme that they all knew by heart.
"Aaaand, you think I'm this Princess?" Sofia asked in total disbelief.
"We don't think we know," Cedric said finishing up his treatment with a bandage wrap.
"How do you know?" She asked with a light attitude.
Cedric unlocked then handcuff from the grating then cuffed his own wrist, then with ease, he picked her up bridal style and walked through the living room into his father's study where she saw what she thought wasn't real but actually was.
Old but I'm not that old, Young but I'm not that bold, And I don't think the world is sold, I'm just doing what we're told
"What is that?" She asked looking at the age-old painting.
She saw a Princess in a purple dress and around her neck was a purple amulet, this young Princess looked exactly like her, next to her was an older man he wore a purple robe and a regal look on his face as he stared at the Princess, he looked exactly like Cedric only older.
"Her name is Princess Sofia the first she was the Stepdaughter of King Roland the second."
"THE King Roland the second?" Sofia looked at Cedric incredulously.
"Why isn't she in the history books?" She asked her disbelief was deterring.
"Because of the scandal, She fell in love with the Royal Sorcerer Cedric the Sensational. Who was 16 years her senior, the King didn't like that, He tried everything to have them separated until finally they just disappeared." Cedric said.
"A love lost in time, once forbidden but not forgotten," Sofia answered.
I feel something so right by doing the wrong thing, And I feel something so wrong by doing the right thing
"Yes. It is said they ran away together but they took 2 treasures with them." Cedric continued.
"What treasures?" Sofia asked curiously.
"I think those are better explained another time." He said regripping his hold on her with a slight haul in the air making her shriek in slight fright.
"So how will I know what treasures you need when I don't know what they are?" Sofia said calming down her heart.
"The Prophecy didn't say you had them, it said that you would bring them back, there is a legend beyond the prophecy saying that there are clues that lead to treasures." He continued.
"So where is the first clue?" Sofia asked actually curious now.
"There isn't one, all there is; is this portrait," Cedric confirmed.
"Then put me down," Sofia said pointing to the floor with a look and voice that meant business.
Cedric squeezed her closer to him bringing her face close to his to rub their noses together, "Why?"
"So I can study the portrait. You wanna hold me the whole time?" She argued pressing her nose against his raising her voice slightly at the end.
Cedric pondered the unceremoniously dropped her on the chair that was right in front of it, his cuffed arm fell with her so that neither of them would get hurt.
Sofia grunted at the force then ignored him as she turned her attention to the portrait.
Cedric hung around for about 5 minutes until he got bored, so he removed the cuff from his arm and cuffed it to the chair, then left her to her sleuthing.
Sofia sat in silence as she studied the painting, her mind did wander toward her family and how they were doing, she mentally kicked herself for leaving her phone in her locker at school, as well as thinking about how she was supposed to solve whatever this is and why.
She finally just let herself focus on the task at hand, she pulled herself as close as she could to look at the compositions of the paint.
An hour later was when Cedric came to check on her with a snack from his Mom, she ignored his presence so she wouldn't lose her train of thought and when Cedric put the plate of fruit on her lap, she mindlessly picked at the chopped fruit.
She didn't even notice when Cedric left, she just sat there and the family all came in when Cedric said she ignored him, they all sat around and watched her. She got close up, she got far away, she stood up, she kneeled and sometimes she would run her fingers along the frame.
"How the heck am I suppose to do this? I don't even know what I am doing." Sofia shouted to no one in particular.
The family all jumped at her outburst then chuckled but she ignored them.
Everything that kills me makes me feel alive.
Another hour later the family all got up to leave in boredom until Sofia said.
"What's that." They all asked "What's what?" but they were ignored again.
Sofia stood up but she limped because her mind was elsewhere and the pain was a little easily ignored but the fact her arm was still cuffed became a nuisance, especially when she needed a pen and paper.
Then thanks to Cedric a pen and notepad suddenly appeared in her chair, she sat back down and tried to write but the cuff was getting annoying.
*growls* "Stupid cuff." Sofia growled out, Cedric was about to uncuff her until she did it herself frighteningly fast.
Sofia replaced the hair pin in her hair then stood to take a closer look at the painting to see what she saw.
They all watched in awe as she wrote stuff down.
It took her 10 minutes at looking over the painting then another 10 to look over what she wrote down.
She turned and looked up to see them all for the first time.
"I figured it out." She said.
They all rushed her at once to look at the notepad.
Sofia fell back on the chair and rolled away as the pad was grabbed from her hands.
Oh, take that money watch it burn, Sing in the river the lessons I learned.
They all fought over it everyone saying something about who was smarter or wiser.
"Let me read it," Calista said.
"No me," Cordelia shouted.
"I'm the patriarch," Goodwin argued.
"I'm the Wisest." Wini rebutted.
"I can read her handwriting," Cedric said while arguing.
Sofia stood and limped then tore the paper from the pad making everyone look at her.
"How about I read it and explain how I found it?" She said making them all look at her.
They all simultaneously agreed and sat back down.
Sofia also sat down and said.
"Looking at the overall painting there isn't much to see until I followed the brush strokes and found that there are words in the brush strokes themselves." They all looked up at the painting and didn't see anything.
"What did it say?" Calista asked quickly.
"Love lost to time, and still remains. only rings 3 times, but stays the same."
"A cell phone," Calista shouted.
"That's stupid. How is a cell phone the answer they didn't have cell phones back then." Cordelia argued.
"Girls. Please." Goodwin said.
"So what does it mean Sofia?" Cedric asked still in his sunglasses.
"I'm not entirely sure but the beginning says 'Love lost to time' it's similar to the prophecy but the line in the prophecy meant the painting so it's kind of confusing. Though I do agree with Calista that the rings sounds like the rings of a phone. But it still doesn't make sense because they didn't have phones back then. I will have to work on it some." Sofia said looking down at the paper.
"Well, then this would be a great time to make supper so a full meal will be good for brain function, you and the girls can help me," Wini said.
Sofia stood up and followed the others for about 3 steps with limp until Cedric swiped her up into his arms and carried her back into the living room, he sat with her with his arm draped around her shoulders while she scribbled on the notepad with her ideas.
It didn't take long for supper to be ready so Cedric had to pick Sofia up to take her into the dining room, he watched her closely as she kept going over the clue. Even during the meal she still focused on the clue and barely noticed that she was eating at all.
The more she tried to figure it out the more she got tired and annoyed.
"Sofia?" Wini said placing a hand on her shoulder, jogging the girl from her trance.
"It's late, you will feel better after a good night's sleep," Wini said, Sofia noticed that the table had been cleared and the house was lit by the chandeliers instead of the natural light from the daylight against the snow outside.
"Yes, Ms. Winifred," Sofia said she let her take the notepad from her so that she could sleep.
"Cedric." She called out to him, he came around the corner and heaved her up.
"Now you take a nice relaxing bath ok Sofia," Wini ordered.
"Yes, ma'am." She said dejectedly.
"Cedric you be sure to help her," Wini said shooing them up the stairs.
"Mother," Cedric growled as Sofia blushed.
"Have fun you two." She giggled.
Cedric landed on the second floor after climbing the stairs. "Sorry about my Mother she' has always been coddling and overbearing." He said not looking at her with a blush on his face.
"I've always liked her and I can see how her personality can be trying at times but she seems to really love you, Cedric," Sofia said with a smile.
Cedric opened a door and Sofia saw it to be his bedroom, it was a darkened room with stone walls a plush carpet, dark purple plaid bedding with 4 posters, dark cherry wood furniture made the bed, dresser, wardrobe, desk, and table and chair set in his sitting area.
He walked through to his en suite bathroom, Sofia then blushed and worried about what he was about to do.
He walked up to the bath and set her down on the side of the tub.
"Wait here, set up how you want the bath." He said before walking out of the bathroom.
Sofia turned and began to turn on the water she looked around at his selection of soaps and shampoos, unfortunately, they were all for men.
Cedric walked back in with a sack and a bundle of clothes, "Here. These are shampoo and conditioner from my sisters, and these are some clothes you can change into afterward. Just shout if you need any help." He explained handing them to her before walking out.
"Ok thank you," Sofia replied before he closed the door.
Cedric changed into his green plaid PJ pants, and a purple t-shirt, then sat down on his bed to read a book he was only reading for about a minute when he heard.
"Hey, Cedric can you help me please?" Sofia called for him.
Cedric stood up and rushed to the door but he settled himself before he went in, he knocked on the door and Sofia called him in, when he opened the door he was met with a sight that made him blush tomato red and he felt his member twitch at the sight.
Sofia was wrapped in a towel and her hair up in a bun. "Is there something you needed," Cedric said rubbing his face with his hand and sounded in defeat.
"I need help removing the bandage from my knee and also getting in the bath." She said while also blushing.
"OK." He said nonchalantly trying to sound cool and uncaring since he had seen her womanhood it was in the shadows of her skirt, but he was actually excited to might be able to see it again so he could try and get a better look.
Sofia easily figured he would have intentions but she didn't really mind, after all, he might have seen it before and if she tried to do things on her own it might make the situation worse and he would have to help her out of a much more embarrassing situation.
Cedric kneeled down in front of her while Sofia held the towel closed and her legs were crossed to try and hide herself, unfortunately...
"Can you uncross your legs I can't undo the bandage with them like that," Cedric said in all seriousness but with a sly smirk.
Sofia slowly uncrossed her legs keeping them as close as possible but she found it difficult when Cedric guided her leg by keeping his hands on her leg, his fingers were tickling her thighs making tingles run right up to her virginity, he even dared to press them apart for better access.
Sofia blushed as her temperature rose at his ministrations.
"There perfect." He said when there was a good 3 inches distance between her legs just enough room for his hand to slip right in between and unwrap her knee, every time his calloused hand grazed her inner thigh her breathing hitched, Cedric couldn't help but adore the smell that wafted downwind from her.
He was slow and enjoyed his show because when he occasionally looked up he saw her own treasure hidden by the shadow of the towel but was clearly on display, he saw the outline of peach fuzz nothing too long or bushy but just a small short patch, he loved it.
Cedric finished his removing of the bandage and gauze revealing the red and bloody scrape, he decided to be naughty and went up to her knee lightly lifting it to give the scrape a lick then a kiss, his eyes darting between her reaction of a look of shock with heavy breathing and her womanhood that was now on more display for him.
He acted quickly to wrap his arm around her waist and the other under her legs his face was suddenly right in front of hers and they were nose to nose.
Sofia was ready for him to kiss her, but instead, he picked her up making her wrap her arms around his neck and she didn't even notice that the quick actions made her towel come undone making it slip down which Sofia didn't even notice, but Cedric did and he loved what he saw.
It wasn't the whole picture but a quarter, but he saw the outline of her C-cup breast, her V-line and a few strands of her patch, He carefully laid her down in the tub letting her sink, and he loved how she moaned at the feeling of the being covered in the hot water.
His member had a full semi now and he would love nothing more than to bury it in her just to fulfill the prophecy, however, he had to wait until she found the treasures as the prophecy said, at least the half that she didn't know.
When he removed his arms he pulled the towel out as well, she gasped at its loss and tried to cover herself but it was too late he had already seen enough and that small moment between the disappearance of her towel to the time she covered herself or at least what she could with her small hands.
She was beautiful, even her puffed up face that held annoyance at him, he smirked as he tossed the soaking wet towel across the room when she went to grab it.
He heard her banter of him and his perverted ways, but the image was burned into his brain as he walked out.
He went back to his bed and he wasn't sure how long he had but he wasn't going to waste time, his hand practically flew to his semi and with her images, in his memory it went rock hard in mere moments and a small release he held would have to do for now.
After 30 minutes she called for him again to come get her out of the tub.
He looked down into the now drained tub, she was curled up pressing her breasts to her legs to try and conceal herself, but he didn't care, she tried to make a grab for her dry towel to cover her but he wouldn't listen and bent down grazing his hand across her butt that was showing making her jump to a straight back position while also making her breasts bounce at the fast action she forgot her hands in the motion which he got an eyeful of before she resumed her position in fetal.
"I can't hold you properly like that. I could drop you." He smirked in his usual perverted tone.
Sofia slowly leaned back a blush reddened her face, he got another eyeful of her using her hands to hide her treasures, then when he knelt down again to pick her up his face was right on top of her hand that hid her patch and got a good whiff of her newly clean arousal and just wanted to taste it.
He carried her into his room and laid her out on the bed much to her dismay and confusion, he left her there naked and wet while he went back into the bathroom to grab the towel and change of clothes.
When he came back out she was still hiding herself but was trying to get under the covers but was unable to.
"Here." He said putting the clothes and towel right next to her then went back to the bathroom while saying "My turn."
Sofia was left to dry herself and look at the clothes he left for her, it was a pair of his boxers, PJ pants, and one of his long sleeved shirts that was a lighter purple than what she was used to seeing him in.
When he emerged with a mouth of freshly brushed teeth and now empty bladder she was dressed and waiting for him.
"Where will I be sleeping?" She asked watching him pick up his comb and comb out his daily tangles, he pointed to the bed and said: "Right there."
"What about you?" She asked confused.
"Right over there." He said pointing to the other side of the bed.
"Oh." She said taking a deep breath and getting under the covers because his house was actually very drafty like an old Sorcerer's tower and she was very cold.
But his bed was warm and smelled just like him, she curled up under the covers and pressed into the soft bed getting comfortable enough that she was ready to fall asleep, until the lights went out and she felt the bed shift at his dropping on it making her turn into his side at the dip where he lay, she now laid right up against him,her body pressed right up on him and one of his legs were now in between hers.
He took this opportunity to cuddle her close to this chest, covered them up and said "Good night."
Sofia was in shock she never thought this would happen to her but it is and she was too tired to do anything about it, so she just rubbed her face on him, closed her eyes and was ready to fall asleep.
Hours later Sofia laid on her back eyes wide open, she had been thinking out the riddle all this time and has yet to go to sleep, Cedric, on the other hand, fell asleep the moment he got comfortable, during the night she was getting cramps at staying in the same position for so long so she moved out of his grasp but instantly regretted it when he cuddled back up to her and was using her breasts as pillows.
She tried to fix the problem but only made it worse, Cedric was now laying in between her legs splayed out his crotch right on top of hers and his face buried in her cleavage while his arms wrapped around her waist.
His legs were bent under him so her legs were bent over his, it was the most awkward position she had ever been in but for some reason, it felt comfortable, so she left him alone.
At 3 O'Clock in the morning, there was a loud chiming throughout the house making her jump and scream.
"Jeez. Stupid clock." Cedric said moving off of her to cover his head with a pillow.
"Sorry that old broken clock rings every morning at exactly 3 in the morning." He said to her as he felt her sit up.
"Why not get it fixed or throw it away?" She asked in curiosity.
"Because it's built into the house and everyone has tried to fix it and we've had clock fixers come look at it over the centuries but no one ever could.
Sofia's mind clicked. "ITS THE CLOCK." She said sitting up and shook Cedric, the man in question was fully awake now.
"The clock?" He said looking at her with now wide awake eyes just as his family came in.
"The Clock. What kind of clock is it?" She asked looking between his family and Cedric.
"It's ah..." He said thinking a moment trying to wake up his thought process.
"It's a grandfather clock. It was built with the house." He said.
"Show me." She said jumping out of the bed as he did the same.
They all scurried downstairs and into the sitting room by the foyer, Cedric noticed that she was completely ignoring whatever pain she had in her knee.
The family stayed back while Sofia stepped up to the clock she looked over every detail just like with the painting.
"The clock chimed 3 am yet it stays midnight." She said affirmingly.
"Its always on midnight."
" Love lost to time, but still remains, only rings 3 times but stays the same." She said replaying the clue.
She kneeled down to open the door and saw that there was a heart shaped swinger with its middle completely open like a charm which was strange because it was supposed to be a weight, so she grabbed the heart and pulled.
A loud ticking noise sounded with the grinding of gears which made Sofia fall back a little until a loud thump sounded from inside the clock body, looking back in was a heart shaped key.
She picked it up and looked around for anything else until she saw on the clock face was the clock winder, she opened the glass door to the face and inserted the key, but nothing happened.
"Chimes at 3 but stays the same." She said reminding herself.
She began to turn the key clockwise and counted for every time it rounded. "1...2...3"
When the clock hands were at 3 am the gears grinded again, the key was pushed out and the clock began to tick like its suppose to, suddenly a drawer popped out at the bottom of the clock.
She knelt down and pulled the drawer out more as the family watched in awe and hope that the prophecy was coming true.
She picked up the key then put it on the chain around her neck.
Inside the drawer was a box and lifting it was was a simple wooden box with what looked like childrens drawings on it, opening it she saw a white branch in it.
She moved the box towards the family for them to look at it but jumped when she was shouted at. "THE FAMILY WAND." Sofia fell back against the shout as Goodwin came up to her and took the wand from her but he was shocked but an electrical current.
"What is it?" Sofia asked, they all stayed silent and looked at everyone else until Goodwin spoke.
"It is one of the lost treasures." Sofia looked back at it in shock.
"But there is one more." He continued.
"You said its the family wand right?" She asked in confirmation. but he wouldnt looka t her.
"Mr. Goodwin. If you want me to solve I HAVE to know everything." he still didn't look at her until Cedric spoke.
"The family wand is a family heirloom it is passed down throught he generations from father to son when the son is old enough to prove himself as an amazing Sorcerer to his father." He explained.
Sofia turned the bos to look at it again.
"Is that a clue Sofia?" Calista asked.
"Is there more I need to know?" She asked looking back at the dejected looking Cedric.
"Yes there is more." He started making Sofia close the box and hold it close then motioned for him to talk.
"I'm gonna make Coffee," Wini said going to the kitchen as all this commotion had woken everyone up and they were too awake to try and go back to sleep and since it had taken a while for all this to go on it was now 4 in the morning.
Sofia and everyone else sat down with their coffee at the dining room table she held the box close to her and waited for someone to continue.
Cedric looked at her and sighed then he nervously continued.
"The other treasure is known as the amulet of Avalor, it is a powerful amulet. When Sofia the first and Cedric the first made all this." He said motioning to the house.
"I thought they disappeared?" She asked in confusion.
"They disappeared from the Enchancian Kingdom. But they lived there lives here until they were found and separated before they could a have any children, or barely even a life of their own. Sofia was forced to marry a Prince from another Kingdom never to see Cedric again while Cedric was banished from the Kingdom and no one ever saw him again for a long time. Sofia died in childbirth along with her baby. No one knew that her husband that she was forced to marry was abusive and it killed her. The last time anyone saw Cedric for the last time was when he was an old man and he laid dead right next to Sofia's grave." He said with grave emotion.
Sofia teared at such a tragedy. "What else?"
"Cedric and Sofia bound our magic within the family wand and the amulet, so when they are found our magic will return." Goodwin continued.
"There is more," Calista said. but all eyes were on her to try and make her be quiet, but she ignored them.
"We are the descendants of Cedric's sister Cordelia and her daughter Calista." Everyone else visibly calmed until she said more.
"And there is more to the prophecy as well." Cordelia shushed her with her hand but it was already too late.
"I have to know everything to solve this," Sofia said with a little bitter tone.
"A love lost in time, once forbidden but not forgotten, the return of the Princess shall bring back the lost treasure. When Love is found again, they must bring forth life, only then this shall ordain, the curse shall cause no strife." Wini said continuing for her daughter.
Sofia's eyes went wide, she put her hands to her forehead to lean on them.
"I see so that's why Wini said that yesterday." She said making Wini sniffle.
"I'm going back to bed," Sofia said picking up the wand case and headed back to Cedric's room.
"Wait what about the wand?" Goodwin asked hurriedly.
"Or the next clue." he continued.
"I will think about telling you later. I'm tired." Sofia replied as she walked off.
"Cedric! Go with her," Wini whispered waving her arm to prove her point.
Cedric quietly followed behind knowing that this news would be devastating to her, and when he got back to his room she was tucked up in his bed on the far side to be as far away from him as possible, he heard her cry silently.
"Sofia?" He tried to be soft with her and not touch her at all.
"Just let me sleep, Cedric." She said in a sad tone that broke his heart.
Cedric crawled into the bed and just laid there and watched her since the coffee was keeping him awake and he had already slept so, for now, he would watch over her until she woke up.
Sofia slept until noon it was a deep dreamless sleep and she wasn't bothered, so when she woke up she had a headache, leaning up she grasped her head while leaning into her grasp then moving ro rub her face.
Looking around she saw where she was at and remembered.
"You ok?" Cedric asked he was sitting up in the bed right next to her reading a book, though he looked at her with concern.
"Yeah. Come on." She said getting out of bed and stretching.
"Hold on." He said making her watch him as he pulled out a bundle of clothes from his drawer and she saw it was her clothes from yesterday.
"My Mom washed them for you. These will keep you warm." He said handing her her a pair of dark purple leggings that belonged to one of his sisters, as well as his signature purple jacket.
"Thank you." She said taking them into the bathroom and coming out with a fresh look of brushed hair and also giving a hardcore look with the leggings and jacket added to her dress she looked good enough to eat in Cedric's mind.
Cedric wore a dark green long sleeved shirt purple vest, gray pants, and his moto boots, making Sofia think the same thing he was thinking about her.
She knelt down by the bed and pulled out the wand case.
"Let's go." She said walking out of his room.
Cedric found himself sitting at the dining room table with his family and Sofia who still held the case in front of her on the table.
"Before I start back again on solving this, I have a few questions," Sofia said with her arms crossed making sure she had their attention.
"Go ahead, dear," Wini said to her.
"Ok, why is solving this so important?" She asked keeping her mind still and without emotion.
They all looked at each other in confusion and tried to explain it.
"Well..." Wini said first.
"It..." Cedric tried.
"Umm..." Goodwin thought.
"I wanna say it's because of the first Cedric when he was a royal sorcerer, in the beginning, he was a little...bumbling." Cedric stopped to think for a minute.
"Bumbling?" Sofia confirmed.
"Yeah, he was always being put down by others so his work made him nervous which made him want to prove himself but also made him nervous at the same time, so it made him mess up...a lot which made people criticize him even more." Cedric continued.
"Poor Cedric," Sofia confessed.
"Yeah, but he got better after Sofia the first arrived at the palace. It wasn't long after that, Sofia had become Cedric's apprentice and by teaching her magic she helped him gain confidence in himself because all she gave him was praise." He continued.
"Aww." Sofia swooned.
"Yeah. No one knows exactly when but history says it was when Sofia turned 16 that they started to fall in love." He added.
"So romantic." Calista followed with her own swoon.
"So when everything went south and they were found and forced apart Cedric was officially fired from his position and the Wormwood family was disgraced as sorcerers because we could no longer perform magic." Goodwin continued.
"So which is it to get your magic back or to prove yourselves just like the first Cedric?" She asked affirmingly.
They all took a moment and look dejected because she had a point.
"So why have me solve it? Why not choose someone else? It can't just be because I look like the picture and have the same name." Sofia argued.
"It's not," Cedric said not really looking at her until now when he scooted closer.
"In the time that Sofia and Cedric lived here, Cedric wanted to prove that he and Sofia were meant to be together. In order to do so, he spent a year training and researching one of the most difficult true love spells known in the sorcery world." He explained carefully.
"What kind of spell was it?" Sofia curiously asked.
"The spell was supposed to start as a potion then when it is sprinkled on someone the person that they are meant to be with will glow and you just follow the glow, no matter where on the planet the glow can be seen." Sofia sort of looked confused.
"Unfortunately he was so focused on showing everyone how great he was and that he and Sofia were meant to be that he didn;t notice he was messing up the whole time." He said leaning back in his chair taking off his sunglasses to rub his eyes.
"What went wrong?" She asked looking around the table.
"The second page of the spell was stuck to the first page of the next spell, but it was actually a curse," Goodwin said watching the distress on his son.
"What kind of curse?" She asked looking between Cedric and Goodwin.
"It is an anti-love curse, when enacted it causes the family and even the future generations to live their lives without ever finding true love, now that doesn't necessarily mean they can't get married or have children it just won't be with their true love." Goodwin continued as Cedric replaced his sunglasses.
"So he accidently mixed them?" Sofia asked while looking at Cedric.
"Yes. He made the love potion like it said in the first spell, but instead of pouring it on himself, he followed the inscription for the curse, it is supposed to be a magic circle inscription one on the floor that the caster stands in the middle, and another magic circle inscription to be inscribed on the body of the on you wish to curse to enact it, then if you did the potion like you suppose to for the curse you pour it around the target and say the spell. Cedric followed the directions for the inscriptions but when it came time to pour the potion he used the True love potion instead and said the incantation for it as well. Mixing them made a curse that was passed down through the generations that every male of every new generation will see the glow of his true love whenever he hits manhood, and whenever he is near them her glow will be so bright that he needs to wear sunglasses." Cedric said tapping his own sunglasses.
Sofia looked at him in shock as what he just said was mulling over in her head, she leaned her head into her hands and said "I see." she took a few heavy breaths and felt a comforting hand on her shoulder and knew it was his though she didn't want him to touch her but it was a simple action that felt warm and inviting.
"So will I be glowing to you the rest of your life?" Sofia inquired with slight annoyance.
"No. When we...mix...our...'essences'...to make a...baby...that's when the glow will go away." Cedric said slowly and carefully.
Sofia blushed, "so how bright is the glow?" she inquired.
"It's bright enough that your different shades of yellow, orange, and gold though I can see your silhouette and outline, but nothing more I just fill in the colors and any blanks from the picture of Sofia the First," Cedric said readjusting his glasses.
Sofia sat back and stared at the wand case in silence.
"So what was the next clue?" Goodwin asked.
"I'm not done just yet." She said gently.
"So the Prophecy does that have to do with you and me? A love lost in time, once forbidden but not forgotten, the return of the Princess shall bring back the lost treasure. When Love is found again, they must bring forth life, only then this shall ordain, the curse shall cause no strife." Sofia said rhetorically.
"Yeah?" Cedric said quizzically.
"I will bring back the treasures, and with our union, it will break the curse, and fulfill the Prophecy," Sofia explained getting it straight in her own head.
"It will be alright Sofia. You can take your time." Cedric said patting her shoulder again.
"If I took my time, I would never be allowed to leave," Sofia said gently removing his hand.
They all looked dejected about that, jogging everyone out of there silent trance when Cedric's phone rang, he left the room to talk while the others continued their silence.
After about 10 minutes Cedric came back and spoke to Sofia. "Sofia, can I speak to my family alone please?" He said making Sofia nod and pick up the wand case and walk out of the room even when the others lifted their arms in wanting of the case.
Sofia was away enough that Cedric couldn't see her glow so he lifted the sunglasses up on top of his head and to tell them the news.
"That was my people, they called to tell me that they took care of Hugo and the other people that were after Sofia, so everything has calmed down a little. It should be safe enough to Sofia and her family to return home by weeks end." He said sitting back down.
"We have to tell Sofia," Calista said happily.
"No, we can't. Not until she fulfills the prophecy and breaks the curse." Goodwin said with a firm tone.
"We can't do that you heard what she just said. She feels trapped here because of us and what we want." Cordelia said worriedly.
"The girls are right Goodwin. We can't make Sofia feel like a prisoner." Wini said being firm with her husband.
"I am the patriarch, I make the rules, and if I say Sofia will stay as long as she is solving this then it is law," Goodwin said in a loud tone hitting the table to prove his point before walking out.
The rest of them sighed in defeat as a listening ear that was next to a vent in a closed off room, sighed in utter upset while clutching the wand case.
Sofia slipped to the ground and silently sobbed.
Things quieted down after that and it was dinnertime that they regrouped.
"Dinner!" Wini called as she and her girls were setting the table, Goodwin came out of his office still with his scowl on his face and a walk that said I am in charge.
Cedric had spent the last few hours looking for Sofia, but he came up empty-handed, the girl in question appeared from nowhere still clutching the wand case but with a determined look on her face.
She came into the dining room and said "I've made a decision." she was about to speak more but she was interrupted by Goodwin. "So have I." He said coming up to her and yanked the case out of her hands.
She let him do it and didn't say anything but just watched when he opened the box and picked up the wand. "this belongs to me its..." Goodwin said while holding it in the air until he visibly got shocked by purple electricity making him drop the wand.
"Dad." Calista and Cordelia shouted at the same time Cedric shouted "father." and Wini shouted "Goodwin"
"What happened?" He said looking down at the wand.
Sofia crossed her arms and looked at them with a raised eyebrow. "The wand belongs to Cedric." She said in a firm tone.
"And how do you know?" Goodwin asked argumentatively.
"Because I do. It's part of the Prophecy." She argued back.
"So pick it up, Cedric." She ordered pointed at the wand. Cedric obliged though he was worried about being shocked, however after having it in his hand for a minute nothing happened.
"How is it a part of the prophecy?" Goodwin asked in annoyance.
"Because it's about Cedric and I. It has nothing to do with you; if the past has taught us anything it's not to underestimate or belittle others." She argued.
"Now, Cedric put it back in the case." She said which he obliged, and as soon as it was back in it, she practically slammed the lid
"I will be right back." She said gripping the case and walking out, they waited for 2 minutes when she came back without it.
"what did you do with it?" Goodwin said angrily.
"I put it back where I found for safe keeping for now," Sofia said sitting down at the table with a notepad.
"But what about the next clue?" Cedric said calmly.
"I have it." She replied also calm holding up the notepad.
"However before that. My decision is that I will help solve this and I will do EVERYTHING that is required of me as soon as I can." Sofia said looking at Cedric when saying Everything making him look at her in light shock at her actions. Because I want to go home and see my family.
"Because I want to go home and see my family and THAT is the end of it." She finalized.
Everyone sat down and nodded.
"Ok back to the clue. I found the clue on the lid of the case; they looked like ordinary scratches but on closer inspection they made words." Sofia explained.
"What did it say?" Wini asked.
"It didn't say anything." She replied unphased but everyone else just gave her a dumbfounded look which she easily ignored.
"It was just a jumble of words that didn't make any sense." She continued then added.
"Point, Lead, Star, Pass, Needle, North, Come." Sofia read it aloud.
"What do they mean?" Cordelia asked.
"I don't know yet. But I will figure it out." She said glowering at them.
Dinner went on with Sofia in Silence while she scribbled on the notepad even after dinner she went right up to Cedric's bedroom, she changed back into the night clothes she wore the night before.
Cedric watched her while he got ready for bed, she used the notepad and scotch tape to write down the words and stick them on his wall, while she sat on the floor and watched the words expecting them to change.
He watched her for about an hour until he fell asleep.
But was awoken 3 hours later by Sofia screaming "I'VE GOT IT."
Cedric rolled over and fell off the bed looking up at her then his family came rushing in and they all saw her rearranging the papers into and order.
"Hah. That's it." She said turning around eyes brimming with pride while the rest all looked tired but slowly waking up.
"Come and pass make one word, Compass. North and Star are put together to make, North Star, and with the needle of the compass pointed toward the north star and it will LEAD to the next clue or treasure." She said excitedly.
"Do we have a compass anywhere?" Wini asked Goodwin.
"Oh, I have one in my office." He said about to run for it until she was stopped by Sofia.
"No that won't work." She said stopping him.
"Why not?" Cordelia asked.
"Because any compass will point north so it's not gonna be that easy." She said calmly and with a smile.
"So what kind of compass do we need?" Calista asked, Sofia pointed her finger and opened her mouth to talk but she quickly said "I don't know." turning around and sitting back down in front of the papers on the wall.
The others groaned, they looked at the time and decided to go back to sleep.
It wasn't until dawn had broke that everyone came to check on her and their ruckus in his room was what woke him and he noticed that Sofia was gone.
The papers were gone, his night clothes were on the floor, and the clothes she wore yesterday were gone.
They all jumped and began running around screaming her name until they all heard.
"SHUT UP, I'M IN THE LIBRARY." She screamed. They all crowded at the library to find that she had a whole table set up with a chalkboard, papers were everywhere and a map of the house was laid out on the table.
"We thought you left," Cedric said coming up and wrapping his arms around her in a bear hug, shocking Sofia.
"I said I would stay until it was done but I wasn't tired in the least so I changed and moved down here so I had more room to work with, but I got cold so I went back up and changed and I've been here ever since." She explained looking back over the map.
"So have you found anything more," Cedric asked with pride at her smarts.
"I have actually." She said easily making the others happy.
I found that since the clue was with the wand it means that they want us to use the family wand as the NEEDLE of the COMPASS." She explained showing the diagram of a compass showing how the clue is explained.
"Ok so let's go get the wand," Goodwin said with happiness.
"And do what with it? we have no compass body to use it on." She asked passively.
Goodwin then looked dejected.
"Ok so how do we find a compass body to use the wand on?" Wini asked.
"I've been thinking about that that's why I got out the map of the house. I figured since the clues were involved with pieces that originated when the house was first built then maybe the body of the compass is another original piece with the house." She explained carefully.
"Why didn't you wake me I could have helped you find them," Cedric said in defense.
But Sofia was still looking at her board while saying "I tried like 5 times but you were dead asleep." Sofia said with ease making his sisters snicker.
"You should try screaming that wakes me up easily." He retorted with a smirk that she could only hear.
"I'll remember that. As Long as your family is ok with being woken up the same." She rebutted with her own smile.
"Ugh. Your gonna be the death of me woman." He said rubbing his face.
"Thanks, I'm trying." She said rearranging the map.
The family left to get changed and ready for the day, and when Goodwin came back to help he saw that Cedric was already back by her side.
"Any new developments?" he asked.
"I just got here so I'm trying to think of things that would make the compass body." He said before Sofia finished for him.
"No ned I found it." She said making the men look at her.
She leaned over the table and pointed to the ground of the manor.
"Right here there is a sundial, right?" She asked looking between both of them.
"Yes but how is that suppose to be a compass?" Cedric asked.
"Why is there a sundial on a mountain when there's never any sun?" She asked rhetorically.
It was quick that Goodwin went to get Wini and the girls while Sofia and Cedric went to get the wand, then Cedric got out his parka for Sofia, while he wore his older one that was old and kind of worn.
They all walked out in the snow a good 20 feet from the house in the garden that was full of trees and plants that were native to winter weather.
The sundial was made of polished marble and covered in snow, Sofia took out a hot water bottle that Wini gave her for warmth under the parka, she slowly emptied the water on the sundial melting the snow and she had enough to clear away the snow from the base of it.
Come to find that, the base had rings with breaks in different directions and sizes, on the face of the dial itself there was more lettering. Sofia took out her notepad and began to write the lettering.
"That looks like another language," Cedric said looking at it.
"It's not," Sofia said finishing the lettering then holding it up.
"It's English but it's backward and upside down." She said rewriting the words properly.
"What does it say?" Calista asked while clutching Wini for warmth.
"Key, Wand, Star, Compass." She answered.
"Oh, great more words. Right, when I thought we were one step closer." Goodwin said storming back to the house making the others follow, but Cedric came up to Sofia who was still looking over the sundial.
"NO. This is where we need to be." Sofia said, the others turned and looked at her in concern.
"Sofia will this take a while like before?" Wini asked fearing for the warmth comfort of the children.
"No Ma'am. This won't take long." Sofia said as she pulled off the clock key, they watched as she poured some of the hot water into her mouth the spit it on the stand. Then she inserted the key into a keyhole that was easily missed in the intricate carving.
There was a loud clicking noise then suddenly a chair was bolted from the base of the Sundial catching Sofia in a sitting position, then the sundial turned to point north.
Sofia looked up to the cloudy sky then looking back down at the sundial she saw the similar rings that were on the base that now made her chair, she rotated the rings into different patterns noticing the patterns and followed them until the rings made out the points of a real compass, she motioned for Cedric and he brought over the wand and she showed him how to place it.
Once the wand was in place it began to slowly spin and the clouds began to disperse until the sky was clear and the stars were now visible, Sofia carefully stopped the wand and pointed it to the North Star with a slight tilt.
That's when a purple light surrounded Cedric and Sofia, He knelt by her side to try and shield her as the wind picked up and the center of the sundial spun the rings as the wand floated then suddenly burst leaving nothing but ashes in its wake until they formed words.
"A love lost in time, once forbidden but not forgotten, the return of the Princess shall bring back the lost treasure. When Love is found again, they must bring forth life, only then this shall ordain, the curse shall cause no strife. "
"It's the prophecy?" Cordelia said in annoyance as Sofia began to read it off.
"No there is more at the end." She said finishing it.
"Only love doth open the door, thine own hands joined once more." She finished it off.
"What does it mean?" Wini asked.
Sofia was about to answer until the compass turned back into a sundial and the ashes of the wand blew away as the snow clouds returned, and with them came a clash of freezing wind and a blizzard.
Sofia was covered by Cedric's protective arms as they all ran back to the house, they all settled into the living room with Goodwin's hot chocolate as Sofia mulled over the words that were now stuck in her head while Cedric was fast asleep on her shoulder.
"I can't believe the family wand just got destroyed so easily," Goodwin said to Wini.
"It's because it wasn't real." Sofia said getting their attention.
"How so?" When holding the wand it was too light, it was obvious." She said making Goodwin glower.
"So? What is the next clue." Calista asked sitting by her sister next to the fire, trying to change the subject.
"The fact that they included the original Prophecy in the clue is a clue all on its own it's the last bit the tells us what to do," Sofia explained while tapping the pen on her cheek while making water drop sounds.
"The Prophecy." She said a minute later getting everyone's attention and a sudden action of standing up Cedric fell on the couch and made him jolt awake.
"With the original, Prophecy it means we go back to where all this started." She said looking around the room.
"The painting." She said leading the way making everyone going into the study returning to the painting.
"Ok so now what? Cedric said still waking up and sipped his hot chocolate to help wake him up.
"Only love doth open the door, thine own hands joined once more," Sofia said before she dropped the notepad on the desk and pulled Cedric up right next to her and she pulled the cup from him setting it down as well then she grasped his hand in hers, when nothing happened they all were starting to lose hope so Sofia began to inspect closer until she saw breaks in the painting itself that she didn't notice before.
the hands of Cedric and Sofia that were joined together in the painting had a dark outline around them, so with her hand, she grasped Cedric's hand once more then pressed their hands onto the painting and lightly pressed, and she felt the button give away.
Gears grinded as they painting carefully separated down the middle then separated to reveal a secret door, hidden behind the painting all this time was dark purple and there was a keyhole.
Sofia had Cedric grasp the key in their conjoined hands once more to insert it they turned the key around but nothing happened until Sofia said.
"3 rings is a chime" She said making their hands turn the key 3 times until the doors jumped in it unlocked state, they pushed the doors in and found a dusty old room.
It was decorated with purple accents, cherry wood, and antique furniture, everything was covered in dust until Sofia and Cedric stepped in and the dust blew off like magic to reveal the room lit and clean.
There were pictures of Cedric and Sofia everywhere but no sign of the treasure.
"So what the next clue?" Cordelia asked peeking in.
"I'm not sure. Sofia?" Cedric asked in confusion seeing Sofia look at the pictures.
"There isn't one. This is the last stop." She said looking around with eyes full of stars.
"What but where are the treasures?" Goodwin asked.
"They wont be revealed until the prophecy is fulfilled." She said running her hand over the purple velvet bedspread.
"But you said this was the last stop." Cedric asked confused at her own words.
"It is, but the Prophecy isn't done." She continued looking up at the dragon designed chandelier.
"When Love is found again, they must bring forth life, only then this shall ordain, the curse shall cause no strife" She recited with a smile on her face.
"This was their room, this is where Cedric and Sofia lived their lives in hiding together, A love lost in time but still remains. This is our last stop to fulfill the prophecy."She said looking up at Cedric who looked around in awe.
"Cedric?" getting his attention she looked at him and said.
"This is where we are to bring forth a life the way never did, and then the curse will be broken." She explained carefully, making Cedric blush and Wini took this time to shoo Cordelia and Calista away. Then she and Goodwin closed the doors locking them in they tossed the key under the door just in time for the painting to cover the door back up again.
Back inside Sofia took off the purple jacket and shoes then crawled into the bed, her mind was tired but was ready to finish what she started.
Cedric also took off his jacket and boots then crawled under the covers, Sofia pulled her knees up to her chest in embarrassment so Cedric took the initiative and pulled her to his lap to kiss her.
She followed his lead, and suddenly there was 2 purple lights in the room one light purple and one dark purple, they looked at them just in time for the light purple one to go into Sofia's mouth and the dark purple went into Cedric's mouth, they both took deep breaths and suddenly felt like new and reborn but they couldn't put their fingers on it even when they looked up to see that they both had 1 glowing purple eye each, it didn't matter so they resumed kissing and they felt like crying because they felt like they had been reunited.
It felt like a trance as Cedric made quick work of removing Sofia's clothes then practically ripping his own clothes off, he was ready to finally make love with her.
Sofia was as well, his mouth was everywhere, his fingers were caressing every place before his mouth could kiss.
Sofia grazed her delicate hands along his muscles and she went to cloud 9 when his hot poker it was large and filled her up stretching her out, she didn't feel any pain but pure ecstasy even when he thrusted into her her virginity was gone and replaced with heavenly pleasure. Then her mind exploded as sparkles colored her eyes and electricity coursed through her body as liquid heat pooled in her belly as the poker twitched in excitement at his own release, while his mouth made work of her mouth and his hands massaged her breasts swelling them and hardening her nipples.
Cedric and Sofia never faltered and went on for hours, he cradled her body while she caressed his.
By morning they were spent and they fell asleep as the bright purple lights left their bodies and let them rest as they ascend to the heavens.
Cedric awoke in mid afternoon looking at a head of auburn hair, the glow was gone and with a gentle brush her hair was removed from her face and he could now see her clearly. He brought her in and held her close kissing her head.
When they both sat up Sofia saw soft purple glows, she sat up to the smaller version of the painting that guarded the door, and she saw it.
"Cedric, this painting was made 3D." She said reaching up to the painting of Sofia the first adn Cedric watched as she pulled out the real amulet from around the neck and out of the painting.
Cedric looked over at his own counterpart adn carefully he pulled the family wand from the other Cedric's hand.
After that the Wormwood family had their magic back, they made Sofia rest for a few days in the room while Cedric took care of her needs both in and out of the bed, After 2 days she got the feeling back in her legs so she was able to sit in Cedric's hummer as he took her home and she found her family already there adn was very glad to see her.
Cedric asked for a private conversation with Roland and Miranda as Sofia went up to her room to rest some more and Cedric told them everything, they were mad at first but glad when Cedric asked their permission to marry her.
After one year the new WormWood boy was born only 6 months after Cedric and Sofia's wedding and the Wormwood name was slowly rising in the ranks as powerful Sorcerers