Chapter 14: Labels
Sofia wound through passageways as fast as her feet could carry her, out the side entrance and through the shadows toward Minimus's stable. In the distance she could hear a raven crying out. Wormwood was searching for her. Into the stables, she grabbed Minimus's reigns and pulled him forward. The raven swooped by and landed on the outside gate, cawing.
Eyes bulging, Sofia pulled Minimus to the far back of the corral behind a gigantic pile of hay bales, and in the next instant the front gate was flung open, hurried footsteps pounded through the stables.
Sofia held her breath. If Cedric found her like this he'd be furious and probably lock her in her room. Wait, her door was already… There was a cry of agony.
Silently she peered around the hay. The silhouette of Cedric was outlined by the faint moonlight reflecting out the entrance to the stable. He stood there, hunched over the gate to Minimus's stall while gripping onto the wooden edge as if his life depended on it. His mouth hung wide open and head bent downward.
He was in so much pain, worry for her well-being must be consuming him. Doubt came raging forth, how could she just leave him like this? He was her best friend, they shared so much history together. Sofia took a deep breath and relaxed her shoulders. She deserved this reprimand, and Lucinda could save the newly discovered prisoners without her. Cedric needed her, right now. She took a step forward and reached out a hand to set along his shaking shoulders when the sorcerer suddenly let loose a violent, angry scream and reeled back, flinging a curse at the stable. The hay bail at the back of Minimus's stall exploded, sending grass flying throughout the enclosed space. Sofia hunched over for cover, and once the dust settled she drew her hand back, but the sorcerer was nowhere to be seen.
Wormwood had flown off and the sorcerer had retreated back to the castle, but that noise was sure to bring a palace servant running toward her. She needed to flee NOW, or everyone would know she was running off, and then they'd start asking WHERE was she going... Sofia dragged the frantic Minimus from the stable and mounted the horse, flying off toward Dunwitty. She needed to tell Lucinda it wasn't going to happen, then come back and console Cedric.
Lucinda was waiting outside her cottage, broom in one hand and wand in the other.
"There you are! Good news Sofia, my grandpa didn't actually get out this afternoon, although I still don't know how the wall froze... Oh Toadstools, what happened NOW?"
The distraught princess landed Minimus and flung her hands around the witches neck, "Lucinda I just… Mr. Cedric knows I've gone, BWAH!"
Tears were rolling down onto Lucinda's shoulder, "Rats. He's gonna tell your parents too, isn't he?"
She shook her head. He hadn't divulged the other times, so this one would probably be his burden to bear alone as well. "I don't think so, he's known every time I flew off and hasn't said a word to anyone else, wahhhhh."
Lucinda sighed. "Well then, what's the problem? If he doesn't ever tell on you then we're gonna be fine, so let's go."
"But he's furious and I can't do that to him, not again. We fought so bad last time and I… I'm just, I can't come. I've got to go back!"
"Whoa Sofia, just calm down okay. He's just your teacher. Just tell him you were at my house when you see him tomorrow. You are at my house after all."
"But Lucinda I can't, he calls them 'lies of omission' and he knows when I do it. He knows everything about me, and it hurts him so bad when I go. He's so worried about me since the injury to my leg and he's distraught. He just tried to blow up Minimus's stable! I… I can't come."
"SOFIA, get a grip okay." The girl had grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled away to stare Sofia in the face. "Now relax, he's just your magic teacher so as long as he doesn't tell on you we'll be fine."
"But I'm his only friend Lucinda. His only…" Sofia crumpled over and swayed side to side.
"Ugh. Sofia seriously, so he's a friend. You've got lots of friends."
"But HE doesn't. BWAHHHH."
"Alright, yeesh, just think about it okay? If Ruby or Jade saw you taking off overnight they'd figure you had a good reason, right? They'd be worried, but once you came back in the morning they'd see you were fine and let it go. So…" Lucinda raised an eyebrow up at the distraught princess, and in return she tried to suppress the sniffling.
"So what?"
"So he's gonna be okay Sofia. Geeze, it's not like he's your father wondering who you're running off with in the middle of the night."
"Huh? What do you mean?" Sofia managed the words through the halted breaths and Lucinda grabbed her hair in frustration.
"Seriously? Ugh, Sofia you are in desperate need of a boyfriend."
Sofia curled back over at the waist, "Lucinda, if I don't go back he's going to HATE me, I just know it. He'll stop being my friend, he'll stop showing me magic, he'll be alone again. I can't, I can't…" Sofia was reeling.
"I'm your friend Sofia, and I wouldn't stop being your friend if you really needed to do something without me, so I'm sure he'll be fine. I think you're blowing this out of proportion. You've got a big heart, but I'm sure he's not that worried."
"He IS worried, I know he is, and HE NEEDS ME! BWAHHH." Sofia's hands were up and shaking wildly with adrenaline coursing through her veins from the frantic dash from the castle.
"SOFIA! Deep breaths, okay?" Several helped to steady the princess. "Alright, think of the slaves in Maldonia. We need to free them, and the witches are going to get better and stop us if we don't do this now. This is our chance."
That's right. Dozens of people were counting on her. Lucinda lifted off on her broom holding onto Sofia's hand. The horse started to flap and they took off into the night sky. "It'll be okay Sofia. I know it."
Tears streaming, the princess looked back as the castle faded from view, "But I… I don't know."
Lucinda still had a hold of the princess's hand. "Aw man, it's too bad there aren't two of you."
Sofia sniffled, "Huh?"
"Well, if there were two of you then one could free the prisoners and the other could stay at home to keep your teacher-friend happy."
Lucinda was suggesting a copy. In fact, there was a spell that could do that… but no. It had gone horribly wrong and she'd sworn off that particular spell, no matter how dire things got.
The entire ride to Friezenburg Sofia buried her face into Minimus's mane sobbing huge tears while the horse followed Lucinda through the night. The witch had made several valid points, why was Cedric always so furious when she'd gone? Sofia reminded herself his reaction stemmed from the fact that he actually cared about what happened to her. He was worried sick for her safety, she was his dearest friend, and he was so much more than just her teacher, he was like family. Rolland would probably be even angrier if he knew she was disappearing all night even without knowing where she was flying off too.
"We're here Miss Mopey."
Minimus set down and the sound of waves crashing into rocks along a shoreline was heard. Sofia pulled herself from the purple bristly mane of her horse and saw they had landed on the outskirts of a seaside village.
A few more sniffles and Sofia tried desperately to compose herself. "Where are we?"
Lucinda smiled, "Brennen, West Friezenburg. It's one of the 'liberated' villages. Westin should be here somewhere. Just wait a minute, okay? And cheer up, we're the good guys, remember?" Lucinda walked off and left Sofia with the horse. The princess tried to suck up her tears and push the thought of Cedric alone at his potions table miserable from her mind. They were on a little hill that overlooked a quaint village. Sofia walked to the edge and looked out. Visible in the moonlight was a large crowd of peasants milling about. In the center of the dilapidated village was an arbor strewn with autumn leaves. Moonlight reflected off the stream that rolled lazily through the village out to the shoreline beyond.
Suddenly a hand was on Sofia's shoulder.
"EEP!"
"Shhh." A finger was held to her lips. It was Westin. Sofia batted his hand away and stood, hands on her hips whispering forcefully at her cousin. "You frightened me!"
"Sorry" was whispered back. "Where's Lucinda? And why are you crying sweetie?"
"Lucinda's looking for you, and someone I care about is hurting right now because I came here."
"Oh man, I'm sorry cousin. Who was it?"
Another sniffle at the thought of her sorcerer, "My magic teacher, my friend, uh.. Mr. Cedric."
"Oh, that nice guy who everyone misunderstands." Sofia nodded, "So, he knows why you came?" Sofia shook her head. "Ah, couldn't tell him huh? Afraid what he'd say?"
"Not really, but make me stay home or worse, he'd want to come and then he'd get hurt or caught and killed and I just couldn't live with myself if something happened to him."
Westin relaxed and hugged the shaking, tear streaked girl. "Oh wow, it's gonna be okay. He sounds just like a big brother."
"Huh?"
"Yeah, Birk is always trying to shield Dad and I from anything that might be harmful. Birk even came to save my Dad in the first war. It sounds like this 'Cedric' guy just wants you to be safe, and you will be. Maybe you should give him a hug tomorrow, or something like that. It always makes Birk happy when my Dad hugs him. Family hugs are the best."
Sofia sucked up the last of the tears. Cedric did seem to be enjoying a good hug recently, and he really was closer than any of the multitude of teachers she'd had over the years. She smiled at her cousin gently, "Thanks Westin."
He looked over Sofia's shoulder and saw the gathering of peasants below, "Come look at this, it'll take your mind off things." He pulled her closer to the edge of the gathering below. "I bet it's going to happen soon."
Sofia turned, "What?"
Westin smiled, then draped his arms over her shoulders as they stood looking over the crowd. "Just watch. It's starting."
The peasants began to hum a melody, and a very nervous young man near the arbor of leaves began to pace.
"Wait… is this, a wedding?"
Westin laid his head on Sofia's shoulder. "Yep, but it gets better."
The humming grew louder, and a jubilant mood along with dancing and stomping grew from the relative quiet. A woman seemingly younger than Sofia had emerged from the far end of town. She was being escorted by a pack of people. Westin leaned in with an explanation, "Her family."
"But she's so young!"
An eye roll, "No she's not. Just WATCH."
The young girl timidly walked toward the center of town toward the nervous young man twisting his hands together. She stood atop the mound of earth below the arbor and after joining hands the crowd grew silent. The young man cleared his throat and squeaked out beauteous lyrics of love.
To you, my dear, I will be true,
... ... ... No lass was ever fair as you
The curls upon your head ignite,
... ... ... The fires of my soul's delight
To you I'll always return home,
... ... ... From your love I will never roam
For you my dear are my true love,
... ... ... Blessed by the heavens up above.
It was so touching. Sofia clutched at her heart, the troubles back in Enchancia melting away. The young man bent down and embraced the young girl with a passionate kiss and the crowd erupted in cheers.
Everyone started jumping and singing while the couple departed together, and Sofia turned to her cousin. "Wait, that's it?"
"Uh, yeah. Why? Wasn't it nice? I saw you smiling."
Sofia turned back, "It really was, but where are the bridesmaids? and the officiant? and um… don't they need to say vows or something?"
Westin chuckled, "No. Why would they need to do those things? Her family approved and he sang to her. That's it."
"But what about the dress and the cake and the flowers and—"
"Sofia they don't need that stuff to be happy, they just need each other. I mean, tomorrow when they wake up all that stuff would be gone and it's just the two of them."
Sofia's head fell to one side. It had a romantic simplicity to it. Pure love, unburdened by the party planning, pomp and circumstance. It seemed so… perfect. Weddings in Enchancia were 'events', but maybe they didn't have to be to have the same meaning.
She stood there, sighing while Westin leaned against her, confused. "Sofia, isn't this the way your parents got married?"
Her eyes went wide. "I… I don't know. Mom never talked about it, but Papa did sing that beautiful song he wrote for her all the time when I was little."
Westin smiled, "Yep, the groom writes the song for his beloved, so each is different. That's your parents song." Westin stared off into the distance across the sea, lost in thought. "I guess I'll never get to write one though."
Huh? "Why's that Westin? I'm sure you'll find someone perfect someday."
"Oh really? Why's that?"
"Well your young, handsome, and very nice. I'm sure it'll work out."
He smiled widely at her, "Thanks, you're pretty beautiful yourself, but I don't think it'll ever work out."
"But—"
"THERE you are! Alright let's go!" Lucinda had returned. Sofia hopped back on Minimus while Westin climbed on behind her, wrapping his strong arms about her middle. They left the celebrations behind, flying across the sea into untold danger.
Beyond the shoreline and several miles of rolling farmland they came upon the mountains of Maldonia. "How much farther?" Lucinda inquired.
"It should be where the mountains slope into a lake that's shaped like a kidney bean." Westin retorted.
Nothing resembling that was about, and an hour of flying in circles looking for a lake in the darkness was fruitless. Sofia set Minimus down for a rest while they strategized. Lucinda and Westin were arguing, and Sofia sank her head into her hands. The memory of Cedric's pain as he stood hands clenched on Minimus's gate was gnawing at her psyche. He'd looked as if Sofia had exsanguinated him right there in the stables.
"SOFIA!"
Her head shot up and both were staring at her. Lucinda rolled her eyes. "You moping about Cedric again, seriously he's JUST your teacher. Get over it, we need you mentally present right now."
Just your teacher… the label left a sour taste in Sofia mouth. Westin bent down to console her. "Hey, it'll be okay. We just need to find the prison and then you can go home and make things right." Sofia nodded, her cousin was so nice.
Lucinda huffed, "Anyway, can you think of a spell to locate the prison Sofia? I specialize in hexes, not locator spells. Please Sofia, we need you."
Sofia stood. There was one spell she learned, long ago. She'd used it to locate a missing object, one stolen Amulet of Avalor. Cedric had actually taught her the spell long before, but he probably never guessed she'd use it to find her missing amulet, and the sorcerer who'd stolen it. The memory of traveling on Minimus through the snow after the shinning silver light to that old cottage in the woods was still fresh in her memory, and the look on Cedric's face when she walked in to discover him holding the amulet. Priceless.
Sofia took a deep sigh. If their friendship could survive that, it could survive anything, even this. She stood and searched her memory for the spell. Raising her wand, she chanted, "Findatus magicalus desirerous!" A sparkling silver light shot forth form her wand and streaked across the night sky back toward the sea. They pursued relentlessly, but suddenly they were back at the shoreline. Lucinda blocked the path and Sofia pulled the reigns to avoid a collision.
"Be careful! We almost knocked you off your broom!" Westin hollered.
"It's getting away!" Sofia cried.
"It didn't work Sofia, we've left Maldonia and the prison has to be here. What was the spell exactly?"
"It was supposed to take me to the thing I desire most."
Lucinda groaned, "Oh Sofia! You still feel guilty about Cedric and it's taking us back to Enchancia. Come on." She glided back to the mountains. The sun had yet to make an appearance, but the sky had begun to lighten.
Westin put his hands on Sofia's shoulders, acutely aware of the distress his cousin felt. "Okay, one more pass and then let's go home."
Lucinda relented, and they flew over the mountains one last time. Lucinda finally cried out in relief, "THERE!" The kidney bean lake was finally visible. It had been but a few miles from where they originally stood.
"Alright, it should be that mountain."
They circled the suspected site and there was a ledge near the top. A door etched into the mountain face stood above it, and no less than six heavily armed men guarded the entrance.
"They've increased security."
"Nothing a little nap won't cure, right Sofia?" Lucinda was smiling and had clasped her flattened hands together, laying her head on them. A sleeping spell would do nicely. Sofia landed Minimus a little ways up the hill on a flat spot, then slid down to the ledge directly above the etched door.
"Dormintato!"
The men crumpled over into a sleeping pile.
"Nice job." Lucinda had slid down next to her.
A very distressed Sofia responded, "But there's no more entrances, no windows, we can't see what's in there."
Westin hoped down onto the ledge and pushed on the door a bit. "Then we're just going to have to make it up as we go." No scouting this time, it was all inside the mountain.
"Lucinda, the hot air balloon, HURRY!"
"Already started!"
Sofia took an instant to reconjure the long blonde hair and eye color disguise, then looked at Westin. He nodded with confidence and they were off into the darkness beyond the door, Sofia's wand glowing in the dark. BOOM- A few guards blown to the side, but an alarm was sounding. There was a large wooden crate descending into a shaft. Westin jumped on and extended a hand out. The next instant they were spiraling down the shaft and the rope snapped taunt, knocking them both to the ground. Westin pulled her up and pushed her forward. There were three guards running toward them down a corridor lined with buckets of magical jewels, swords drawn. BOOM. The wind tunnel knocked them back and sent some of the jewels flying. Westin was examining the bars along the walls and men rushed forward.
He shouted, "Are you all sons of Friezenburg?"
A chorus of "Ay" came from the human cages. They'd found the prisoners.
Sofia ran down the hall while men screamed for salvation, she needed to make sure all the guards were unconscious. Westin cried out behind her and Sofia spun to see him being flung through the air. He'd been hit with a spell and landed face first into the wall of the corridor. The prisoners cowered inside their cells and at the end of the hallway stood Cecelia, squealing with delight.
"See Momma I can do it!"
Sofia looked with horror at Westin sprawled on the ground and a surge of adrenaline coursed through her veins. She planted her feet and BOOM.
The massive blast of wind surprised Cecelia, blowing her backward straight into the railing of the crate in the mineshaft. The girl fell like a stone into the cart, knocked unconscious.
Sofia ran to Westin's side. He was breathing but she couldn't see his face. There was no time to inspect, as Amalthea wasn't far behind. Sure enough the sorceress, heavily bandaged and looking as if she'd walked out of the infirmary straight into the mine, raised her wand at the end of the corridor. She shot a spell and stumbled, but the wand was in her alternate hand and her aim wasn't true. Sofia dodged easily and in the next instant Amalthea was wrapped in thick bindings, her wand flung down the corridor toward where Sofia stood. The royal sorceress fell with a thud to the ground. Amalthea cried out in pain, her injured arm bound by the ropes as well, and Lucinda floated down and pushed the woman into a pile of magical jewels with her foot to muffle the screaming.
"Sorry about that, they shot the balloon and trapped me underneath it—OH NO! Westin!"
"I'll get him, just get them out!"
Lucinda went around unlocking the cages and thankful prisoners were running toward the mineshaft. Sofia grabbed up Westin's arm and draped him over her shoulder, his longer hair obscuring most of his face from view. Luckily there seemed to be no permanent damage, he'd only gotten the wind knocked out and a few scrapes. Lucinda enchanted a gigantic balloon below the floor of the crate, and they ascended up the shaft, prisoners in tow. Sofia still had Westin draped over her shoulders, but saw a commotion coming from the far side of the crate. The men were stomping on Cecelia. Sofia lunged forward, "STOP! She's already unconscious!"
Sofia flung her body over the girl and the men backed off. They reached the top and the harrowed men barreled over each other to the breaking dawn beyond the doors leading outside. They were shoving each other to get to safety, one man fell and the others began to trample him, a stark contrast to the way Birk's companions had assisted each other. Once the men began boarding the hot air balloon Lucinda ran back to help with Westin. She took his arm and Sofia cried out, "I've got to help the injured."
"Wait, cousin!" Westin cried out for her but Lucinda dragged him onward toward the exit. She ran over to the man on the ground, a gigantic gash along his head was bleeding heavily. He needed magical mending, NOW.
She summoned the healing spell she'd learned for her leg, and bathed the man in magical energy. He slowly regained consciousness and she helped him stand. There was a horrible commotion outside; as clamoring men chaotically boarded the hot air balloon. The healed prisoner staggered forward without a thank you or acknowledgement and Sofia turned back to Cecelia when she heard a crackle of energy. Up rose Amalthea from the black abyss below. She'd regained her wand and freed her arms, levitating up the shaft. A fireblast brushed past Sofia and hit the cave wall, destabilizing the rock. Sofia conjured a set of small balls that crackled with static energy, and then hurled them at the witch. It wasn't enough to hurt the woman, but it did knock the wand from Amalthea's shaky grip. Levitation broken, the royal sorceress collapsed into the crate as her wand fell down the mineshaft into the beyond.
Sofia took stock of the situation. The men were freed but Cecelia was still lying there with injuries from the prisoners. Amalthea, broken and without her wand, wasn't really a threat. Resolute, Sofia took a step forward.
"Please let me help her."
Stunned, Amalthea looked back at her daughter, then slid backward to allow the disguised girl room to work unimpeded. Sofia looked to the exit briefly. Lucinda was there, screaming, "We've got to go, NOW!"
"Then GO! I'll catch up."
Sofia knelt down and started to heal a horrible gash on Cecelia's side. This whole endeavor was completely different from last time. Before it had all seemed so justified, and the prisoners were obviously in the right. This time…
Amalthea hovered, and afraid the witch would take her wand Sofia held a hand up to stop her advance. Amalthea slid back a little farther while Sofia conjured the healing spell for a gaping wound.
Tears began to stream down Amalthea's face, and a stunned Sofia was transfixed on the display of emotion before her. "Why are you staring at me? Shouldn't you be looking at my child?"
"It's just… you're upset." In actuality her behavior ran contrary to what Sofia thought, that the woman pumped ice through her veins instead of blood.
"Of course I'm upset. Don't you realize what you're doing? Why are you doing this anyway? You can't be from Friezenburg, not with long blonde hair like that."
Sofia's disguise seemed to be working well, and most of the inhabitants of Friezenburg did have brown wavy hair and blue eyes, just like Sofia, and Amalthea as well.
"I have to set things right, I have to save these people. It's the RIGHT thing to do!"
"Oh child. You're just like I was. So young, so idealistic, and so very angry." The witch looked back at her with all the depth a lifetime of hardship could summon upon a human.
"But these people deserve freedom, and you're the reason they've been subjected to this horror." Sofia tried her best to bite back the anger.
The witch laughed through the tears, "Of course they deserve freedom, but what happens when they go home child. What happens to Friezenburg? You can't remember the war, you're too young to know, but thousands died."
"That's NOT true! They were stolen, they—"
"YOU HAVE NO IDEA!" Amalthea's screams spilled out between the tears. "Most died little mage, most died." There was uncomfortable silence as the wound on Cecelia continued to close. Amalthea took in several deep breaths.
"You just don't understand. Friezenburg has too many people, and Maldonia everything but. It has to happen this way."
Indignation at what the woman was trying to do swelled in Sofia, "I'll never accept that this is the only way! It's NEVER okay to enslave people, I—"
Amalthea broke out in fits of laughter. "Oh you really ARE me, naïve little mage, but the world hasn't broken you yet, has it?" The witch stopped cackling and tensed. "Just where do you think the grain rations COME from? Just where do you think the FOOD in Friezenburg comes from? Exactly what grows in Friezenburg besides PEOPLE."
Memories of her time in Friezenburg came flooding back. There were no crops, Sal had mentioned going for grain rations as children with her Papa, how families just got bigger and bigger. It was all adding up. The lives of the 'lost' were bartered for the things those left behind needed to survive.
"But no, NO it's NOT OKAY! Someone has to stand up for what's right, I have to stand against injustice."
A half smile and slight chuckle escaped the royal sorceress, "and you're sure you know what's right? Do you think the family of Anteiweill's village elder think it's still 'right'? Or do you think they might have doubts."
That horrible bloody stump in Antieweill flashed before Sofia's eyes. The girl reeled a bit and the healing magic wavered. She quickly regained her focus. If Amalthea saw an opening she might just try and take it, along with Sofia's wand.
"No, no you can't be right. You can't be."
"Just wait until it's your lover you sing the funeral lamentations for each night while pining for their warmth in your bed, and then remember this conversation little mage. I've sung it's heartbreak twice now, and the pain will never go away. Mark my words, it will be YOUR fault they die. You've ushered in the end of times with that wand. History will never forgive you, as it will never forgive me."
Ceceila began to awaken. The healing spell finished, Sofia turned and ran out of the mineshaft. Amalthea's words haunted the princess as she fled, the difference between wrong and right crumbling along with the path she tread out of the mountain. She HAD started a civil war, and people WERE dying. It was only going to get worse, all because of her.
Sofia took off straight for home. This war, this idealistic mission of freedom, none of it made any sense anymore. All she wanted was to get home and apologize to Cedric for sacrificing their friendship for this horrible endeavor.
The morning was underway by the time she reached Enchancia. She landed outside the palace and walked Minimus inside the castle walls. "But Sofia my stable! Cedric messed it all up and what if he comes back angry again and I'm in it and Oh!"
"Oh Minimus. He's mad at me, not you." Sofia stuffed carrots into the horse, calming him greatly.
"Princess Sofia!"
Sofia spun to see Baileywick. "Oh, Hi there." A sheepish grin and small wave.
A gentle smile was returned from the steward, "Out for an early morning ride Princess?"
"You could say that."
"It's so good to see you feeling better! But please be careful not to overdo it, and do make sure when you get back to change into something more appropriate if you're wet. It's been raining on and off all night and we wouldn't want you to catch a cold." He was scanning her green dress over.
Sofia nodded furiously. "Thanks Baileywick."
"Anytime."
Once the steward was gone she rushed to her bedroom to change alongside her little phoenix, now sleeping at the foot of her bed, then spirited herself up the stairs and pounded on Cedric's tower door. "Mr. Cedric, please I know you're upset but I've been miserable all night. I just want to apologize!"
"He's not here Princess." Startled, Sofia turned to see Wormwood preening along the ledge on the foyer.
"Then where is he?"
"How should I know? He came back here last night and tore the place up, then wandered off." He did… what? Sofia reached down and unlocked the latch with her wand. The door creaked open, and horror lay before her. Broken beakers, turned over cauldrons, the place was in shambles.
"Mr. Cedric… did this? But this is his workshop, it's his favorite place."
Wormwood flew up and landed on her shoulder. "It's not his favorite place, and it's not really his fault this happened, is it Princess?"
"No. It's mine." Sofia turned her gaze to the floor. She KNEW he was furious, but she still went.
Wormwood cawed loudly, then dropped his head low. "I suppose I bear a tiny bit of the blame, she was so angry with me after all."
"Huh? She? Oh my phoenix. She's mad at you?" Wormwood ruffled his feathers and turned to the side. "It's not your fault Wormwood, you were just being a good friend for Mr. Cedric."
"I don't suppose you could tell her that? She can understand, even though she hasn't spoken."
"Sure."
Sofia stood there surveying the carnage of Cedric's workshop, trying desperately to hold back the tears.
"He's afraid you know."
She turned to the raven, "I know, he's afraid I'll hurt myself."
The bird let out a series of guffaws and flapped his wings in her face, "No Princess. He's afraid to fight with you. That's why he's not here. He knows you'll come looking for him, and if he sees you there will be another fight, and he knows what will happen when you do."
Oh no. He was worried they'd stop being friends too. Worried enough to run away from the problem.
She ran through the palace gardens, looking frantically for the missing sorcerer. Heavy dew covered the ground, and spider webs among the bushes were beaded with remnants of recent rain.
She turned around the corner of the hedge maze and saw a figure slumped over upon the ground. The dark purple coverings betrayed its owner.
It was Cedric.
He was hunched over, his head resting upon his updrawn knees while staring off into the space before him. Waves of guilt washed over the princess. Cautiously she approached him, Wormwood's words haunting her. Three steps from reaching him she saw the sorcerer stiffen. He didn't turn to address her, and simply stared off into the distance. Both were aware of each other's presence, but the rift that had opened up within their friendship could fill the greatest chasm in all Enchancia.
"Mr. Cedric."
There was a long pause, and finally he responded, "This is the part where you laugh mercilessly at the royal fool and walk away forever. Isn't that right Princess?"
Tears welled up in the princess's eyes. She dropped to her knees beside him. Was he really ready to let their friendship go? What could she say to make him feel better? To let him know how upset this had made her as well?
'You mean so much to me Mr. Cedric, and you are my best friend, but I'm not a little girl anymore and—"
He cried out in horror. That was definitely the wrong thing to say for some reason. Without looking at her he whimpered, "So you're a WOMAN now, is that it? Does it delight you to tell me these things? You are just the same, aren't you? The mask of goodness you wear is just that, a mask."
She reached out and wrapped her arms around his neck, leaning her face against his hair. He was soaked to the bone. He'd been sitting out here in the rainstorm earlier.
"I'm so sorry Mr. Cedric. Making you sad is the last thing I set out to do."
He turned away slightly, "You needn't placate me princess. I know this story. I've lived its lines. My sister was right, I'll die alone and only my spell books will mourn me." And with that he went silent.
What was he saying? "Cedric, Cedric I'm so sorry. Please yell at me, be mad at me. You have every right and I promise I'll never fly off and leave you alone all night again, so please, PLEASE don't talk about yourself that way. Please Mr. Cedric…"
He said nothing, and tears began to fall from the princess. Wormwood was right; he was afraid of being truly angry in front of her and instead internalized the hurt.
"Please reprimand me Mr. Cedric. Say you're mad, say you're hurt, say something, ANYTHING. Please don't hate me Mr. Cedric. I'm so sorry… I'm so sorry."
She pushed his damp bangs away from his face to try and see his eyes, but he simply stared off into the distance. As she did it her fingers bushed against his forehead. It was searing hot. She placed her entire palm to it, and it confirmed her suspicion. He had come down with a serious fever.
"Mr. Cedric you're burning up! How long have you felt this way?"
Nothing.
"You're sick, you can't stay out here like this while you're sick, okay?"
He just sat there, staring off in the distance. Sofia looked out and saw overgrown vines. People rarely ventured this far out into the gardens, and beneath the overgrowth there appeared to be a swing set.
"Mr. Cedric say something, please I'm worried you're really sick."
He finally blinked. "I suppose I am princess. I'm very sick inside, but really what did I expect? The winter longs for spring, but the beautiful flowers of May can never grow in the snows of December."
His speech was getting stranger and stranger. The poor man sat there, broken inside and feverish. "Mr. Cedric you're sick, and you're soaking wet!" She wiped the damp sheen from his cheek, but his clothes were soaked through to his bones. Reaching out, she took his hand in her own and it was freezing to the touch. She turned the limp arm over and brought his hand to her face. Sure enough, his fingertips were wrinkled. She pressed them against her cheek to try and warm his frigid fingers up.
He'd sat outside like this for hours in the rain. "Oh Mr. Cedric, I'm so incredibly sorry! Please we need to get you inside. Please!"
She pulled him to his feet and the sorcerer lost his balance. She could finally see his eyes, and they kept shifting in and out of focus. Suddenly he pulled away, and almost toppled over.
"No, no I can't let it happen, not again. This story can only end one way. Let the worms feast upon me instead."
Whoa, he was delirious. She angled his arm up over her shoulder and used her body to prop him up. The sorcerer was tall enough that Sofia fit underneath his arm with little extra effort, and functioned as a crutch rather well. Struggling to haul his dead weight she managed to get him inside and up the tower steps. She'd seen a fever like this before. James had come down with a similar affliction a little over a year ago and had stripped naked, running through the castle with not but a helmet on his head, convinced he was slaying a dragon. It had taken Sofia, Amber and Baileywick to pin down the exposed prince while Cedric had poured the potion down his throat that restored sanity.
Upon entering the workshop Wormwood let out a series of worried caws while Sofia navigated the horrible mess of the tower dragging Cedric along.
"Wormwood, find the ladelilly extract, the beetleberry root and some poseyloks. I need to brew something for Mr. Cedric to bring down this fever."
"Cedric hates it when others touch his ingredients Sofia."
She gave the raven a frantic look and gestured to the sorcerer, beet red in the face and draped over her shoulder, "I think we can make an exception, don't you?"
"Agreed. I suppose he can't get any angrier with you anyway."
Sofia finally dragged the sorcerer into his bedchambers and realized she'd never actually been in the room before. There was a small bed with soft looking purple sheets up along the wall flanked by two bookshelves overstuffed with books. Beside one end was a small circular end table and one arm chair sat next to a window overlooking the gardens. There was a rather old looking rug upon the floor, and one set of drawers that must contain his dry clothes. That was it. Very sparse, a stark contrast to the rest of the castle.
Sofia lifted his arm from her shoulder and tried to steady the afflicted man but the minute she retracted her hands he began to sway side to side.
"Mr. Cedric, you need to get your wet clothes off, okay? They're making you sick."
Even stranger things started to stream from his mouth, he was fully consumed by madness. "Beautiful nymphs don't dance in my room in daylight, they sneak into my dreams by the light of the moon."
Oh man, dancing nymphs? He needed serious help, and this was wholly her fault. Sofia flew to the small dresser and rummaged through. She pulled a grey shirt and brown pants and turned back to the sorcerer. He was still listing side to side and hadn't taken off a single wet garment.
"Mr. Cedric, please, PLEASE you're scaring me. Mr. Cedric?!"
His eyes were unfocused. She tossed the dry clothes on his bed and lunged forward, undoing the knot holding his robe on. Peeling the wet robe off his shoulders it made a disgusting 'squish' sound as she tossed it on the ground. "Mr. Cedric you've got to change into something dry. Please PLEASE listen, you're sick and I'm so worried about you."
His eyes started to close and knees began to buckle a bit. Frantically she undid his yellow bow and vest, tossing them in the growing pile on the floor. She went for the shirt, but then stopped. There was skin underneath that, and he was so very private. When it was James sick and delirious she didn't hesitate for even an instant, but Cedric always took suck great care to cover himself in layers. She shouldn't do it. But then again, he was still wet and his brain wasn't functioning right.
"Mr. Cedric please, please you need to change into dry clothes. They're right there on the bed, can't you do that?"
"Why does it burn the worst in the darkness of the night?"
"Mr. CEDRIC!" This wasn't working. Sofia looked around frantically and her eyes settled on the spell books. Maybe there was a spell to suck the water off of him.
"Mr. Cedric, I need a spell, something to wick the water off you? Is there a spell? Can you remember? Please Mr. Cedric."
He lurched forward and draped his arms over her shoulders, bending them so his hands danced along her back. "Does the royal fool amuse you? You can laugh at his pathetic pale body, you wouldn't be the first."
"Mr. Cedric what are you saying? You're not pathetic, you're wonderful and amazing. Please you're scaring me, please I just want to help you!"
He was leaning on her for support to stand, "Then help me. End my suffering, end my very life if you must. I'll drink the draught of death instead to save you from the fiery demons of the eternal abyss."
That was it. He might as well be reading an ingredient list in ancient Corinthian, nothing he said made sense at all. Sofia negotiated her hands up and undid the buttons of his shirt and managed to slide the sopping wet mass off of him. He kept putting his arms back on her shoulders and she kept moving them back down. He was paler than she'd imagined and as he kept draping his arms over her they brushed up against her own face and neck. His skin was really soft, but it wasn't the time to linger on such things. She grasped for the dry shirt on the bed and finally grabbed the item.
It was like redressing an unruly toddler. At least he wasn't as muscular as James. She had a fighting chance on her own. He kept listing and then finally flopped onto the bed. That proved to be a blessing, as she now had use of her upper body to get his arms in the shirt. Before she could button it up he rolled to the side and moaned. "It burns, deliver me from the fires of the abyss, oh torturer of my soul. Bring me sweet release!"
He was still so hot to the touch, "Wormwood! Where's those ingredients! Cedric's brain is on fire!" The raven cawed then came swooping in.
"I've found all but the Ladelilly extract," He dropped the two vials and a small cup on the carpet beside where she stood.
The ladelilly. "Wormwood there's some on my dresser in my room. Please hurry!"
"And why would something like that be in your room?"
"I was using a little on my hair, please Wormwood, FAST!"
The disgruntled raven cawed, "Alright, but this is all your fault."
"I KNOW! I know Wormwood. I know." Sofia started to tear up again at how low she'd brought this poor man. She closed her eyes but the tears wouldn't stop. There she was, standing over the delirious sorcerer on the bed crying her eyes out. How could she do this? She KNEW he'd be furious, hurt, that she'd actually KNOWINGLY run from him. It was to protect him, but still, the guilt consumed her. She was his only friend, and she'd broken their friendship. She closed her eyes and reached for the pants. She could do it quick and he was so sick he'd never remember anyway. He just had to recover, or she'd never forgive herself.
"I'm sorry Mr. Cedric."
She undid the clasp and his half lidded eyes flew open. He grabbed her hands and pressed them against his stomach. If he had regained any sanity he'd scream her into oblivion for this violation of his personal space, but he just flopped over again and groaned, "Delight in my shame, my misery, the lowness to which I'll sink. Forever your royal fool will suffer for you, my dearest one, the ruler of my heart."
Man, he was so far gone. She closed her eyes and in one swift motion pulled the last wet article off. Eyes screwed shut she grabbed for the dry pants and shimmied them onto him. He was so skinny it was pretty easy to do. She tried to imagine he wasn't actually male and it made the whole ordeal easier.
Now that he was dry she rolled him over and pulled the purple sheets over him. He snuggled up on the pillow and she collapsed on the floor, leaning her head against the mattress for a moment of relief. At least he was dry and in bed.
Suddenly there were hands in her hair, fingers roaming through her curls. She lurched forward and tried to pull them out, but he'd latched onto the silver star pin she still had nestled in her locks.
Wormwood finally returned, and she managed to pry, finger by finger, his hands from her hairclip. It took a brief minute to mix the ingredients and slowly she cradled his poor burning head in the crook of her arm, pouring the mixture down his throat. Once in, she sat back and set his head down gently on the pillow. Now all she could do was wait.
Fingers clutching the side of his mattress, she set her nose on the edge and peered over at him, waiting for a sign. His eyes slowly closed, and his mouth fell open ever so slightly. He'd fallen asleep. She reached up with an abundance of caution and touched his forehead. The fever had lessened. Crisis averted, she rose and sat in the arm chair. It was horribly uncomfortable, and the nap she'd hoped to take after being awake all night would never happen there. She couldn't just leave him here alone though. He could get worse, or wake up frantic thinking she'd gone again.
Blinking back the fog of tiredness she rose and walked out to his workshop. The place was a nightmare of a mess, an aftershock of the pain she'd inflicted.
This was her fault too. Sofia rolled up her sleeves and dove in cleaning, organizing and returning everything to its place. She even found the brand new robe he'd conjured for her before the tournament at Hexley Hall amidst the rubble, and hung it from an appropriate hook along the wall. He'd need a real apology he could remember, but for now this would have to do. Once she'd cleaned the floor and side tables she tackled his workbench. Half way through clearing it she came across a pile of lists. It was all the potions he was supposed to have brewed over the last week. Normally he'd have little check marks next to all of them and they'd be stored neatly in a side drawer, but none of these had his telltale sign of completion.
None.
They were dated from when she'd been recovering from the injury to her leg up through yesterday. It was horrible. Not only had she smashed up their friendship she'd been sabotaging his ability to do his beloved job as well.
She was worse than Edith. At least his sister had the decency to challenge him outright, not undermine him from within. If their friendship was ever to be saved, Sofia had to set this right. She knew how to brew them all, having witnessed him complete these orders for years.
Fires were lit, cauldrons bubbled, and vials stoppered. There was a strange silver ball on the tabletop, but she had no idea what it was and set it to the side. Before she knew it there was a knock on the door, and Baileywick entered. "Good morning Cedric. The king is very disappointed and… oh hello Princess Sofia, whatever are you doing here so early in the morning? I thought you were riding your horse?"
Sofia froze. Cedric might be furious if others knew she'd taken over his job. Her eyes bulged out while the steward waited for an answer. She flung her hands forward, "Baileywick! Mr. Cedric is horribly sick so I'm taking care of him. That's all, he's just really really sick."
"Oh dear. Sofia you shouldn't be here, you could catch whatever's wrong with him too."
She shook her head, "It's too late Baileywick. I've been taking care of Mr. Cedric all morning, but don't worry because I feel fine."
The steward nodded, "Of course I worry about you Sofia. We all care about you so much. Your father isn't going to be pleased if Cedric actually got you sick. Whenever he's ill he takes care of himself."
No. Not again. She just couldn't stop ruining Cedric's life. "Please don't say anything. I chose to help him and this time he really, REALLY needs help. I'll be fine, so please don't tell Dad."
The steward smiled, "You have a big heart Sofia. I understand, but please think of your health first next time, alright."
"Alright. Thanks Baileywick."
"Anytime. I'll just leave this list here for when Cedric feels better." The steward dropped yet another list and departed. Sofia examined it, and it was a horrific amount of work.
"No wonder Mr. Cedric is always a 'very busy royal sorcerer'. This is ridiculous."
More scrubbing, more cauldrons, more vials. She ran on adrenaline through the morning and another knock came. Sofia opened it, and upon the ground was a beautiful lunch spread. She happily consumed the steward's gift and reserved the soup for Cedric. He was still asleep, so she went to set it on his end table but had to clear it first. The book she had given him on magic stones sat there. Soup set down, she opened up the book and leafed through the pages a bit. It was still just as dense as before.
More potions, more cauldrons to wash. It was a miracle he did this every day without fail, why did no one appreciate all this work? She fought the deep pull to sleep and soldiered on.
"Sofia."
Her head flew up and she spun. Cedric was standing there, half hidden behind the curtain to his room, his nose and shoulder poking out.
Embarrassed to ask if he remembered anything she stood there in the center of the workshop, the fingers of one hand curled up to her lips and the other tugging at her skirt. He started to walk toward her in a slow, methodical way, and luckily he had the wherewithal to have buttoned his shirt and clasped his pants. He must be feeling worlds better. Thank the stars for all those lessons on medicinal potions. He didn't stop walking though, and Sofia took a step back to maintain distance. He stepped closer, and she bumped her backside into the potions table. Another stride and the potion master had bucked his hips up against hers, pinning her to the table. Startled, her topside fell back onto the workbench, propped up by her elbows. He lurched his chest forward and planted his hands to either side of her, his eyes shut but face contorted in a grimace as he hovered there above her. She couldn't help but remember how she'd done something similar, sans grimace, when forcing him to let her compete in the magical tournament well before all this chaos started.
"Mr. Cedric, I'm so sorry. You can't possibly know how sorry I am."
The corner of his mouth turned upward. "So then, you have the audacity to suggest your evening was worse than mine?"
She swayed her head side to side, her hair brushing along his hands planted upon the table below. He'd had a pretty rough night too. He was so angry, so hurt. Maybe Westin was right; all he needed was a good hug. She lifted off her elbows and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Last night was horrible Mr. Cedric, I spent it all thinking about you."
The man was biting back whimpers and clawing at the table below them. A menacing whisper drifted out of him. "Make me believe you Sofia."
He was still so upset. She kissed his cheek, and his eyes finally opened. A small smile was given, and he seemed to have relaxed, as even his hips stopped pressing her mercilessly into the table.
"I suppose your recidivism could be forgiven, IF…" The smallest of sly grins had spread across his face.
"Anything Mr. Cedric, just tell me what you want."
He buried his head into her shoulder, tangling himself in her hair to whisper in her ear, "If you keep your promise to me."
One of his hands had found her side and was squeezing it. Oh man. He'd heard her promise not to leave again this morning, and that meant… he'd remembered everything. Heat rose in her cheeks remembering what she had to do to help him, but his gaze never wavered. He hovered there with an arm wrapped around her. Not a trace of embarrassment.
He shifted his stance and lifted up her top half so she could stand unaided. "Tell me you'll keep your promise and never leave my side again." It drifted out of him so deadly serious.
"I… I said that I wouldn't fly off at night and leave you alone, so I won't do it again. I promise Mr. Cedric."
All the tension melted away with a series of deep breaths. "Then I suppose I have to forgive you Sofia, but don't make me regret it. Never again, are we clear."
She nodded furiously, and he finally let go of her. Glancing around the workshop, he seemed to be making mental notes of the things she'd cleaned. His eyes bulged out when he took stock of the number of vials she'd bottled and which potions were still brewing. He might be angry she'd been into his ingredients without permission.
"I did my best Mr. Cedric. I know they're probably not as good as when you do it, but I just had to help. You deserve it, you're the best."
That elicited a huge smile from the sorcerer. Suddenly it was as if the night had never happened, as he strode up to the potions table and started manhandling the solutions she'd made. He picked up one particular brew and held it up in the sunlight, "Now see here Sofia, if I've told you once I've told you a hundred times, you've got to slice the dragon scales with the diamond blade, then mash them. This will turn Chef Andre blue in the face, and then whom do you think will get blamed for it, hmmmm?"
"I'm sorry Mr. Cedric, I was just so tired. It's amazing you can get this done every day." She yawned, and the sorcerer put the vial down.
WHOOSH.
He'd lifted her up off her feet. It wasn't exactly graceful like Axel had done, but he did it nonetheless. A few awkward steps and he'd taken her into his bedchambers, gently setting her down on the bed. "Wait Mr. Cedric I can't sleep here!"
An eyebrow went up, "And just why not? It's perfectly comfortable and you need a nap before I'm letting you near my ingredients again."
"But it's YOUR bed, I can just go to my room and—"
"NO!" He'd grabbed her hands. "Please Sofia, just take a nap here, where I can keep an eye on you. See here-" He rose and in a blink of the eye returned from the workshop with the robe he'd conjured for her before the tournament. "You can wear this, it's very soft after all and won't harm that porcelain skin of yours." Cedric flinched and the robe fell out of his hands onto the bed.
This was ten kinds of weird. Sofia had no knowledge of anyone ever going into Cedric's bedroom for any reason, not even Baileywick, and here he was demanding she sleep there. Sofia thought back to the night before. Cedric had left her in her room to sleep and she'd fled.
That's what this was all about. She'd created some sort of post-traumatic distress disorder in his mind. "But Mr. Cedric you're still sick, YOU should be the one sleeping here. I can go to my room and I promise—"
"No! Just sleep, please Princess just sleep. It's nothing to fret over, after all you are m… m… m-m-m-my g-g-g.…" He'd suddenly started fidgeting weirdly, like he was having a nervous breakdown.
"Mr. Cedric, are you okay? Please you should really sleep more."
He started shaking his head around and clenching his hands, "m-m-m-my g-g-g-g….. Ooh! Merlin's mushrooms."
Soft lips were suddenly pressed against her. He was kissing her forehead. She couldn't help but smile, remembering the hundreds of times her parents had tucked her into bed like this when she was a small girl. It relaxed him instantly too. He finally pulled away, seemingly delighted. It had been so long since she was tucked into bed, and after the harrowing night she'd had full of pain and confusion it was the perfect punctuation to help her relax.
"Thank you Mr. Cedric."
A kind smile, and he was off to finish the potion brewing in the workshop.
His bed was soft, and she was so very tired, having been up since the night before. She changed into the robe and heavy eyelids closed while she nestled into the sheets. The bed smelled just like he did. Potions and magic.
In the moments before she faded into unconsciousness thoughts of the night came back to her. Amaltehea's haunting words of pain and regret echoed through her mind. Was a few living in servitude better than death spread throughout the land? But then, who decides those whose lives are 'lost'? Shouldn't everyone get the chance to choose their fate?
The scent of freshly ground barkenroot came wafting in from the workshop, disrupting her darker thoughts. Cedric was brewing the flower blooming request on one of the parchments. The smell surrounded her, helping her to drift off out of reason and into dreams.
What had he been struggling to say? My…apprentice? My… friend? Maybe it was even 'My daughter', he seemed to be struggling with the labels of their relationship too. He was heavily protective of her now, and even doting on her when he wasn't angry, kind of like a father, but not really. And the way he'd been holding her earlier over the potions table, neither King Rolland nor her Papa would consider holding her like that. She was pretty sure big brothers didn't hold their siblings like that either; James would certainly never do it. It was so very strange. He wasn't really like any teacher she'd ever had before, or any family member either. He was very comfortable to be around, just like a best friend, but then again she didn't kiss Ruby or Jade's cheeks to make them feel better. It was something different… but then, what did he really think of her? Was she more like a disobedient apprentice, an unruly daughter, or… maybe… something else… Confused but relaxed, the princess finally drifted off to sleep.