Author's Note: I've changed my update schedule. The new one can be found in my profile. Other than that, not a lot to say here. As an insomniac, I can tell you that after a few days of little sleep, you're way more likely to say yes to things and be distracted, so that's why Cedric's so easy in this chapter. That and we all know he never could say no to Sofia, lol.
The princess's cycle ended without further incident. One morning she woke to find it gone, much to her relief. When she happily informed Cedric, he explained that it would be back in roughly a month, a fact she was not at all fond of, but grew to accept. He also insisted she return to sleeping in her own quarters, an idea she resisted as hard as she could, but ultimately had to relent. Her dreams were relatively peaceful, and Cedric was no longer concerned with them. Until a couple of weeks later, when he heard her signature knock in the middle of the night. Throwing his robe on, he hurried to answer the door, only to find the very distraught young girl standing at his doorstep, looking as pale as a spectre. He ushered her in quickly, unable to ignore the distance in her gaze.
"What is it, little one?" He asked her quietly, almost afraid that if he spoke louder he'd spook her right out of her skin.
"I dreamt-" She started, but then shook her head, trying to calm her racing thoughts so she could focus on remembering the details of the dream that had awakened her. The harder she tried to recall, the more intense the searing pain in her head grew.
"Sofia?" Cedric asked, overcome with concern.
"My head hurts." She whimpered, pushing her fingers to her temples and rubbing, trying to relieve the building pressure. Cedric hurried to fix her a brew of circumin, feverfew, butterbur, and black tea, his best combination for migraines. While it steeped, he dug out a vial of peppermint oil and applied it to her temples, gently massaging it into her skin.
As he worked his fingers against her fair skin, his face was so close to hers that he could feel her breath. His eyes traveled to her soft, pink lips, slightly parted and practically calling out to him.
He reminded himself that she was in pain, frightened, and had not so long ago admitted to already having feelings for someone, and admonished himself for the strong temptation he was feeling to lean forward and capture her lips with his own. The urge to kiss the princess was wrong on so many levels, and he would absolutely not give into it. A slight moan escaped her lips, and he moved away from her before he could act on his impulses. Her eyes flew open, her lips forming a pout as he stood. She opened her mouth to protest, but was cut off by the sound of Cedric's kettle.
Never had Cedric been so relieved to hear the whistle as he was right now, and he quickly crossed the room to pour the brew, avoiding the girl's gaze as he set it on the table in front of her. When she eyed the drink suspiciously, he let out a nervous chuckle.
"I promise, this one tastes better than the last." Cedric assured her. She brought it close to her face and blew the steam off of it, the action drawing Cedric's attention back to her mouth.
He decided it best not to even look at her, so he moved to his desk and pretended to be very busy with one of the papers he found on top of it. Once he wasn't so distracted by the mere sight of the princess, he convinced himself that he was simply having strange thoughts from weariness, having hardly been to sleep in the last few days. It didn't help that his bed felt disturbingly empty after spending almost a week sharing it with Sofia. He wondered if she would ask to stay again tonight, then decided that if she did, his answer would have to be no. He allowed her time to finish her tea before speaking again.
"Is your headache better?" He asked flatly, still keeping up the pretense of being occupied with work. The abrupt break in the silence of the tower caused Sofia to jump.
"Y-yes. But that's not why I came." She answered haltingly. Cedric waited for her to proceed, but she said nothing further. With a sigh, he abandoned his desk and walked back to claim the seat opposite the princess.
"What is it, Sofia?" He prodded, impatient to send the girl back to her room so he could try to sleep, but not wanting to do so until she had said whatever it was she needed to.
"I... It's Baileywick." She stated, her voice quiet but sure. She tried hard to stem the flow of tears prickling at the corners of her eyes.
"Were you sent word?" He asked, wondering why no one but Sofia had been to his tower, yet. She shook her head, and he felt his confusion grow. Sofia took a deep breath before she spoke.
"I dreamed that it would happen. Today, I believe. I know you said the dreams probably mean nothing, but it felt so important, so very real, Mr Ceedric." Losing her battle, she began to sob, greatful for the feel of her friend's arms wrapping around her. She allowed herself to be lost in her grief, secure in the knowledge that she was safe with the sorcerer.
"I don't know what I'd do without him. Who will help care for Tristan?" She asked, cursing herself for thinking selfishly of all the things that Baileywick did for her family over the years, instead of who he was as a person. The two were so interchangeable, though, that she almost felt he wouldn't mind. Cedric watched the girl fret, swallowing his feelings at seeing her grieve so for a man he utterly loathed.
"Sofia, you must calm yourself. It was only a dream. Didn't you tell me just yesterday that he seemed to be doing better?" He hoped his words would help the girl, but he couldn't be sure anything was getting through to her in her current state. He pulled back from the embrace so he could face her.
Sofia nodded slightly. Baileywick had been up and about just yesterday, even serving the royals dinner, despite her insistence that the steward not push himself. Before the man retired for the night, he was going over the details of her much dreaded ball with some of the servants who were overseeing the preparations in his absence.
"I suppose you're right. Would you come with me when I visit him today?" Her eyes pleaded with the sorcerer as she spoke. He felt so torn. He didn't want to spend any more time with the steward than he needed to, but Sofia clearly needed his support. He decided to take her to show her that Baileywick was okay, and then he'd be free to leave once she was reassured of his health.
"Fine. I'll pick you up in the morning, and we'll go see Baileywick." He muttered his agreement. Sofia's mouth, which he was absolutely not staring at again, fell to a pout.
"Oh... I was kind of hoping I could stay here... in case I have another nightmare?" Sofia prodded. Sure, there were plenty of other reasons she wanted to stay that she was omitting, but she really didn't want to wake from another terrible dream alone.
Cedric ran a hand through his white bangs, standing to face away from Sofia, though he could swear he could feel her eyes on him anyways. No. No you can't stay. No, I can't... His mind urged him to speak the words out loud. But there was another part of him fighting back, and it was screaming for him to say exactly the opposite. He glanced back at Sofia, still begging him with her eyes. He let out a frustrated groan.
"Only this one night, Sofia. Then you go right back to sleeping in your room." He surrendered against his better judgement. She gave a loud squeek and bolted for his room, leaving Cedric to ponder on how he had been so easily manipulated once again. One of these days, Sofia, I'm going to put my foot down.