Adventures in Magic

Disclaimer: I do not own Sofia the First or any of the characters/locations affiliated with it. The original characters introduced in various chapters belong to me.

A/N: This is probably the most emotional chapter, and I've had one part of this chapter written for months now with a few changes here and there. This is why I've been strengthening the bond between Sofia and Cedric this whole time, because they're about to be tested. Side note—many of you are probably going to want to slap Cedric by the end of this chapter… While I can't blame you, just wait till chapter 22 before you proceed, and see if it makes any difference. Lol!

Note: Quick shout-out to one of my guest reviewers, Mino, from Denmark. Wow, thank you for your kind words! 😊 Those are much appreciated. Thank you for reading and commenting. I never know who all actually reads my stories, but every single person who does means the world to me. That goes for ALL of you. 😉 Thank you!


Chapter 21
With or Without You

Summary: In a fit of rage after losing something important thanks to Kitanya and Tiya, Cedric takes his frustration out on Sofia and makes a cold declaration that the princess never saw coming.


Sofia opened her eyes and groaned in discomfort, finding that she was lying in a heap on the floor. And she didn't appear to be alone either. It was still dark, so she couldn't see anything, but she recognized the fabric of the sleeves by touch, enshrouding the arms that had encircled her in a protective manner. "Mr. Cedric," she whispered, sliding out of his arms and turning to face him, or so she assumed. "Mr. Cedric, are you okay?"

Cedric murmured something before reaching out uncertainly, sighing in relief as his hand came in contact with the princess's cheek. "Sofia," he gasped, instantly pulling her in for a close hug. "You're alive!"

She smiled at his reaction and hugged him back. "Of course I am… Why wouldn't I…?" She trailed off as she recalled what just happened maybe only a few minutes ago. She'd been standing before Kitanya, who had intended to blast her with her dark magic. She noticed, however, that she didn't have any pain, save for perhaps being a little sore from falling, so apparently the blast had missed her. Right?

"Sorry for knocking you down so hard," Cedric mumbled to her. "I didn't want her to hit you with that magic."

Sofia couldn't believe it. Actually, no, she could. He'd saved her again. "Did you have anything to do with the darkness?"

"No… That wasn't me." He shuffled around a bit, locating his family wand. With a quick illumination spell, he lit up the workspace, only to discover that they were alone. He frowned, standing up and pulling Sofia with him.

"Where did everyone go?" Sofia asked, slightly panicked. "Dexter and Brexley? Master Elgraste?" She scowled as she realized what must have happened. "Kitanya. She probably took advantage of the situation and took them all. Despite what she said, we aren't who she was really after. Master Elgraste and Dexter are. I just wish we knew where they went…" She gasped in realization before bringing her hand down to her Enchantlet. "Which-Way Bow!" She aimed upward. "Show us the way to Master Elgraste of Mahiya." With a quick draw, she released the magical arrow, frowning as it flew out of the workspace. "I have that bad feeling again, Mr. Cedric…"

He nodded as she began tugging him along. "So do I…"


In the dungeon area of the castle, or rather Kitanya's lair, Master Elgraste sat chained to Dexter and Brexley in the center of the room. All of them were struggling to loosen their bonds, although the Mahiyan leader was far less active due to his wounds. Both Dexter and Master Elgraste had gags shoved into their mouths, but Kitanya hadn't even bothered with Brexley.

"Little good silencing someone who's never said a word in her life," she'd mocked, her wicked grin aimed toward the frightened girl.

"Kitanya," Dexter snapped, his eyes narrowed as she ignored him and instead continued rifling through one of her spell books. "Let us go. The Kitanya I knew would never do something this awful, especially to people who are supposed to be her friends."

That got her to stop. She banged her hands against the wooden table, causing it to shake and dispel a few glass vials, each shattering against the cold stone floor. "The Kitanya you knew is dead, Dexter." She turned and glared at him. "And I don't know what all this 'friend' stuff is about. You were never my friend."

"What about when I was five years old, and I almost fell off that cliff?"

She snarled, "Stop it."

"Who saved me? You!"

"Shut up!" She approached him quickly, both of her hands extended to him, the dark energy already beginning to flow. "You think you're so smart, Dexter. The prodigy of Mahiya… I may have saved you when we were children, but that was long before any of this happened… Before I had to change everything I am just to get some notion of recognition and affection." She scowled bitterly. "What a waste… Even after all of that, no one cared about me…"

"What are you talking about?" the boy asked in complete confusion. "People cared about you—"

"They cared about you! And your sister! And your parents getting murdered! Everything was always about you!" She fisted her hands, sealing off the dark magic for now as she glared into his brown eyes. "And now, for once, it's about me… Once I finish my quest, no one will even remember who you are." She huffed and grabbed the heart and dagger pendant dangling from her neck and stomped back over to the table, where her book still lay open.

"That's not Kitanya," Master Elgraste lamented mournfully as he groaned, still in a great deal of pain from his wounds. "She's right. Whatever semblance of the girl I once taught is no longer there. Some dark spirit is residing in her, Dexter, and I'm afraid it may be too late for her…"

Dexter sighed heavily as Brexley shifted beside him, managing to lean her head on his shoulder. "You're the one who always told me that nothing was impossible, Master Elgraste."

The old man sighed, slowly shaking his head. "It appears I was wrong."


Cedric chased after Sofia as she hurriedly followed the arrow, which had flown through the underground entrance of the castle. He panted, not used to a whole lot of activity, and stopped momentarily. He placed his hands on his knees, continuing to pant. "Go on without me!"

Sofia stopped quickly, sighing in annoyance, and then hurried back to her mentor, grabbing his arm and pulling him along, despite his protests. "We can't stop, Mr. Cedric. They're in danger!" She frowned as they followed the flying arrow. "I'll never forgive myself if something happens to them…"

He was surprised to hear the seriousness lacing his friend's tone. She certainly had matured a great deal in the last few years, and to hear her speak that way now both impressed him and sent shivers down his spine. Sofia was still Sofia, but she was so much more than that now… She possessed the spirit of a leader, an adventurer… A Protector. A true Protector.

They came to an abrupt halt when they heard a loud yowl from near a door, under which the arrow had flown. Tiya, Kitanya's cat, stood firmly before them, her green eyes narrowed and a somewhat intimidating smirk on her lips.

"Going somewhere, Princess?" she asked in a sugary tone, a little 'meow' wrapping up the question.

"Move it, you fiendish feline!" Cedric ordered, withdrawing his wand. Before he could even say anything, Tiya jumped up and clawed his neck, taking his wand in her teeth and jumping to the ground again. "Argh! You wretch! She took my wand!"

Sofia withdrew her own wand. "I'll get it back. Prohib—ahh!" She winced in pain as Tiya clawed at her legs, ripping through the purple leggings as she did so. With Sofia incapacitated for the time being, Tiya grabbed Sofia's wand in her mouth, both of their wands now stolen as she ran off to another part of the castle.

"Fantastic!" Cedric growled, growing angry. "That horrid cat made off with our wands. Now what?"

Sofia, thinking fast, reached into her tunic pocket and pulled out her Necessi-Key. "This should come in handy." She created a new door in the locked door before them, pushing it open and stepping inside, only to scream.

"Sofia!" Cedric hurried in after her and gasped.

Kitanya stood still in the lair, and she now had Sofia in her grasp and her own wand pointed at the girl's throat. "Stop right there, sorcerer, or I'll kill the princess where she stands."

Cedric stopped without any further prompting, his gaze transfixed on his frightened apprentice. "Let her go. Take me instead."

"Mr. Cedric, no!"

"Shut up!" Kitanya jabbed the wand tip against the teen's neck, smirking as she whimpered in pain. "Now, here's what you're both going to do. I have unfinished business to attend to here, and I'm about sick to death of the two of you interfering. When Dexter cast the darkness spell earlier, I was livid that I didn't blast this princess to pieces." She smirked as Sofia winced. "However, I realized… Destroying the two of you will do me little good. You don't belong here. You are not my problem. So here's the deal…" She shoved Sofia back to Cedric, who caught her quickly. "I'm going to teleport you back to your little apartment. You're going to pack your bags, you're going to go home, and you're not going to say a word about this to anyone. Got it?"

Sofia looked past her at the trio who were still chained up, and she scowled at the woman. "Over my dead body."

"That can be arranged, you brat," Kitanya snapped, pointing her wand at her.

"No!" Cedric grabbed Sofia to him, protecting her from any potential blast. "We'll do it. Just don't harm Sofia."

The evil sorceress chuckled wickedly. "I knew you'd come to see it my way." She snapped her fingers once, and the two friends vanished. She sauntered back over to the remaining three and smirked at their worried expressions before clutching the pendant around her neck, causing it to glow in her hand. "Sit back and enjoy the show," she drawled darkly. "You're in for quite a surprise."


Cedric and Sofia opened their eyes to find that they were back in their apartment, as Kitanya had intended. It didn't take them long, however, to realize that both Cedric's family wand and Sofia's new wand were still missing, courtesy of the meddlesome Tiya.

Growling in frustration, Cedric stomped down the hallway to his room, yanking his suitcase from under his bed and tossing it onto the bed. "Maybe she's right," he huffed as Sofia quickly chased after him. "Maybe we're better off just leaving. This would have happened either way, regardless of our being here… We're just interfering."

"Mr. Cedric, you can't mean that," Sofia pleaded, clasping her hands together as she hurried toward him. "They need our help! They're our friends!"

"We hardly know them," he responded calmly as he began pulling his clothes from the chest of drawers, tossing them into the bag.

"We know them enough to be responsible," she declared, glaring at him. "You can't just walk away from them! We can't leave them, Mr. Cedric! You're better than this—I know you care about them just as much as I do! We-!"

"Sofia!" Cedric snapped, garnering her attention and causing her to jump a bit at his tone. "You don't understand. Our wands are gone, all because that wretched woman decided that she despises her master and has some ridiculous vendetta against Dexter, and we may never get them back. I can't keep doing this!" He finished packing his suitcase and slammed the lid shut. "I'm tired of traveling. I'm tired of attempting to fix things that simply won't change." He stared at her with a stern look. "And as much as I appreciate your constant faith in me, I'm tired of acting as your guardian and mentoring a princess who's clearly got a brighter future ahead of her as a queen or other royal persona—a title far more elaborate and ornate than that of a sorceress, regardless of your new powers."

Sofia just stood stone still, frozen to her spot as Cedric hauled up his suitcase and marched toward the door. And then his words clicked. He'd actually thought she could be a…

"Wand or no wand, I'll use my own magic if I have to just to get out of here, even if it drains all my energy. I'm going back to Enchancia…with or without you." That said, the sorcerer shut the door behind him.

The princess lifted her hands to her mouth, tears welling in her eyes. Was he really…just going to leave her like that? Frustrated and heartbroken, she sank to her knees and sobbed.

To be continued…