When Cedric woke the next morning, he lay in his bed and gazed up at his high ceiling. Wormwood was just waking up on his perch next to Cedric's bed. Wormwood took off to stretch his wings out for the morning. Cedric remained in bed; it was just now hitting him, all that occurred the previous night and earlier this morning. He had a daughter, she was real, standing before him. Should he believe her, could she be lying to him for some reason? No, of course not, the letter she held was real, his hand writing to his once true love. He felt like screaming, he almost wished he could run from his predicament.

Then again, he also felt some love for Abigail. She was a strong, sassy, and brilliant girl who reminded him greatly of, not only himself, but very much of Lily. She could become a great sorceress, he could just retire and she could take over. He'd have someone to keep him company now and again, someone human. Not that he didn't love Wormwood, Wormy was his best friend, his one true companion that no one could replace. Still, there were still days he longed for another person to talk to, to cast spells with, and create potions with. He had Sofia as a regular visitor, she loved sorcery, but her parents didn't like her spending so much time with him. Abigail could be with him after she graduated, keep him company, be his daughter.

Wormwood cawed, shaking him from his deep thoughts. Wormwood kept flying from the perch to the doorway and back. He was hungry, clearly. Cedric hauled himself out of bed and threw on some clothes and followed Wormwood up the stairs. Cedric blinked in the bright mid-morning sunshine that came pouring through the window. He fed Wormwood who delightedly stuffed his face full. Cedric looked around, Abigail wasn't up yet. She was usually up early-though last night was long- much earlier than him.

"I should check on her." He said out loud to himself.

Wormwood, mouth full, squawked in objection.

"You're right Wormy, she's probably just sleeping late is all." He stood pondering in the middle of the room. "But, I better check on her, see if she's alright." Wormwood rolled his eyes and sighed as Cedric took to the stairs.

Cedric came through the open door into Abigail's room. Abigail was sprawled across her mattress asleep. A board under Cedric's foot creaked loudly and Abigail jolted upwards. She looked at Cedric, then fell back onto her mattress.

"Ugh, I am so not ready to wake up right now." She threw the covers back over her head, "wake me up any other time but now."

"It's already mid-morning." Cedric answered, "It's time to get up I think."

He was given a muffled "I don't wanna." in return.

So this is what it's like to have a stubborn teenager, he thought to himself. "Alright, if you don't get up you won't get anything for breakfast."

The blanket rose a little to reveal her face, "Are you actually serious?"

He nodded and shrugged, "It's your choice, sleep, or food."

Abigail sat up with the blanket still wrapped around her body. She tossed her bangs out of her eyes and looked up at Cedric and casually declared, "You're the devil."

She stood up and and threw the blanket down, "Can I at least stay in my pajamas a while?"

Cedric couldn't hold back a grin as he replied, "If it makes you happy, but it is rather chilly today."

"Well isn't it a good thing I've got a bathrobe as well as an everyday robe." She smiled back and she pulled a fluffy blue robe from under her pillow. "Always prepared, you know."

Together they descended the staircase and headed out to door to the kitchen. Abigail walked rather happily along beside him in her incredibly plush robe.

"My God I love this robe." She chimed in suddenly, "It's just so soft, I swear, my mom was a sorceress of sewing."

Cedric laughed lightly, "I'll bet she was." They walked in silence a while, slowly. A comfortable silence fell as they walked, their footsteps echoing in the halls.

They reached the kitchen and Cedric went in. The chef was clearly still upset, especially since his new protege wasn't doing very well under his eye. When the chef looked up to see Cedric in the doorway, his sour face turned downright rotten. Cedric walked past and talked to one of the in-castle bakers who gave him some meat pastries and fresh juice. Luckily, the baker had known Cedric a good long while, no troubles there. However, when Cedric attempted to leave, the chef stepped in front of the doorway, blocking his path.

"Colin, can you do a man a favour and move your fat arse out of my way?" Cedric asked, irritably.

"Oh sure," he replied sarcastically, "Once you git that lil' demon child out of the castle. She ain't a thing but an 'orrid lot of trouble."

"And how, exactly, do you know this?"

"Sixth sense, it is. I can read people, know things about 'em other people miss."

"What's next, Colin, you can read minds as well?"

"Well I very well could if I tried. You're just blind, she's messin' with you somehow and I won't feed anything of 'er likes as long as I'm alive."

"You're a massive baboon, you do realize that, don't you?" Cedric was getting angry at this point, "There's nothing wrong with this child, she's practically a genius. One thing is for certain, she's far smarter than you'll ever hope to be."

"What's that supposed to mean, huh?"

Cedric sighed, "That's, exactly what it's supposed to mean. You've successfully summed yourself up. Now, I think something behind you has caught fire, you best go look at that and I myself shall be off."

Colin turned and saw the kitchen fire that had sprung up with his chef in training attempting to throw water on it. Cedric laughed as he walked back out through the doors. Abigail was waiting on the other side of the door and her face was red and tears were streaming down her face she was laughing so hard. She was on the floor holding onto her stomach, Cedric laughed along as well.

Once Abigail regained her composure, Cedric helped her up with his free hand.

"You sure showed him, didn't you?" She asked, still stifling her laughter.

"I think I did so, quite well too." He smirked.

"So sassy, where'd you learn that?"

"I guess it runs in the family." He nudged her.

"Oh, what's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing, nothing! Come now, we've still got a lot to learn today!"

It was the evening before Abigail was due to return to school for her final exams. Cedric had taken her to the shore for the day as a final farewell day. The day had passed and the two of them were now sprawled across the sand, watching the sun set over the ocean. Abigail sighed heavily and fall backwards into the sand.

"Can I just say this has been the greatest apprenticeship of my life?" She declared, still gazing upwards at the darkening sky.

"Saying as if you've had others." Cedric remarked.

"Details." She grinned, "I can't wait to graduate and be free of that school." She muttered. "I've grown sick and tired of it."

"How come?"

"Mundane, repetitive, holds a few bad memories." She sat up and faced Cedric, "You know, since it's my last day here, there's something I have to tell you." She said, hesitantly.

"You can tell me anything Abigail." He reassured her.

She sighed heavily before continuing, "The cook was right, about me hiding something." She dug her hands in the sand, "My mom, didn't send me off to sorcery school, my mom didn't die while I was away. I-" She stopped, choking on her words. She exhaled sharply and forced her words out, "I accidentally started the fire which killed my mom." The words came out quickly, "I was young, only twelve, I had no control over my magic. I was angry at her one day and, something snapped. It was like a wave of fire, I literally watched my mother burn before my eyes. I wasn't even able to apologize to her for the stupid fight."

"After that, everyone in the town thought I was a murderous, sociopathic child. The only one who helped me was a man in town called Matthew, who taught sorcery at the school I now go to. He understood I couldn't control my magic and took me with him to school the next year. After that I never made mention of my past to anyone except Matthew from then on. Till now, of course." She finalized, breathlessly.

Cedric stared at her in a daze. It was a shocking flood of information which he wasn't expecting to come from her. She had not a tear in her eye, but stared down at the sand in her fists in silence. He wasn't sure what to say next; whether he should comfort her, or be upset?

"I-I'm sorry you had to go through such a thing." He said finally, as the sun dipped below the horizon, leaving them in the dusky darkness. "You had no control over it, so, you shouldn't blame yourself."

"I know," She muttered in return, "But to watch my mother burn before my eyes, and all over a simple argument over-" She paused, "Over who my father was." She sighed.

Cedric could see the pain in her face as she said these last words. He reached out a hand and laid it on her shoulder, "I'm glad you told me," he removed his hand, "I know it was difficult, but I'm glad. I hope, however, you didn't feel you had to tell me just because that idiot in the kitchen felt threatened."

"Oh, not at all." She reassured him, "He's just some, jerk who needs to get away from the stove a bit. I felt like I should tell you, because, I didn't like keeping secrets from you. Also, there's one thing I have to ask you, and I needed to tell you that first so I could have your honest answer." She said quietly.

"Go on ahead, ask me."

"After I finish school, could I-could I come back here to stay with you? I mean, you don't have to say yes, but, I'd like to stick around, if that were alright with you. You could teach me more as well, I could be your stand-in royal sorcerer if you ever needed to go away, too!"

Cedric grinned in the darkness, ""Of course you can come back. I could use an apprentice, and in general, a bit of company around the empty tower would be nice. So yes, come back as soon as you want." He stood, "Shall we return to the castle? You'll need an early start to return to your school tomorrow."

She stood up as well, brushing the sand from her pants. Together they walked towards the carriage as the moon began to rise before them. Cedric smiled in the realization that he had family. Small as it was, it was there. And who knows, with Abigail at his side, he could swipe the amulet and take over the kingdom in no time.

Afterward:

It had been a week since Abigail left. She'd be returning by the next month, yet the place seemed horribly empty without her. Wormwood cawed, angrily trying to get the sorcerer's attention back on him. Cedric ignored him, feeling lonely and bored with no one to teach, or any new spells to think up.

He stood from his chair and walked upstairs to where Abigail had been sleeping before she left. Everything was in shambles; she had left clothes strewn about, and the mattress unkempt and messy. On the side of the room, where a table stood, he noticed something rolled up with a bow. He walked over to it and looked down to see a small card with his name on it. He lifted the card which read:

Dear Cedric, who knows when you might find this, but it doesn't really matter. I figured it'd be nice if we could decorate the walls of this drab castle so, I made a little something. Hope you like it.

Love Abigail

He placed the card within his pocket and unrolled the canvas before him. Upon it was a painting, a painting of him and Abigail, with Wormwood resting on his shoulder. He smiled as he looked over it; it was beautifully detailed, and quite large. He went back downstairs and quickly cast a spell which created a picture frame, perfectly sized for the painting. He framed it and hung it proudly besides the magical portrait of his parents. He smiled as it hung there, beside his parents. His family was together now.