Author's note: After an emotionally turbulent personal odyssey and chaotic professional overindulgences, I find myself with enough insanity left to try and finish this story. It's been torturing my mind for almost 3 years now, and needs finality, which I shall endeavor to provide. My beta has moved on to better things in life, so please excuse grammatical and otherwise unforgivable errors on my part.

Chapter 47-Revolution

Any notion that Cedric might be able to help with the destruction of the Autunite was obliterated. Existing as a weeping, huddled mass at the bottom of the flying machine was all he could manage. At one point, he violently sprung up, almost leaping from the carriage. Sofia quickly grabbed hold of him, but his eyes darted away, and the sobbing commenced once more.

But Sofia couldn't linger on his mental collapse. They'd have to outpace Rolland to have any hope of reaching the resistance with the newly brewed potion. She'd managed to get a handle on the flying machine, steering it across the sea toward Maldonia and those awaiting her, but the whole while tension built. Cedric wouldn't listen to her soothing words, the cowering mass jumping away every time she tried to reach out and console him with her touch.

"Cedric, please calm down. It'll be okay."

"No, NO, NO! It will never be okay. Never. Prospero's pickles, why couldn't I have been the one. I should have drunk the poison myself and ended this misery. The world would have been better off." He screamed rhetorically toward the sea below them.

"Don't say that! I still love you, I'll always love you." He started sobbing harder, falling to the ground and burying his nose into the floor of the flying machine, and so she stopped pressing him. While this was something he needed to deal with, it also stung Sofia to the core. The overt emotional response was clearly because he still profoundly cared for Anne, and it hurt to watch him suffer over another woman's fate.

The squeaking of wing flaps was the only sound to be heard beside his wailing for hours, until the shores of Maldonia came into view. Upon that little island, the one she'd ventured to so long ago that set this war in motion, she saw an impressive armada of ships had come to dock along it's cragged shores. Several bore insignias of varied nations, as many people, tiny objects in the distance, ran along the side walls of the prison in long lines toward the vessels.

It seemed the prison had been abandoned by Maldonian forces during the tumult following her jailbreak.

"Cedric, you need to pull yourself together, okay? We have a job to do. The prisoners still trapped in Maldonia need our help."

He continued sobbing. She set the flying machine down as far from the encampment as she could, hoping that no one would hear his wailing from this distance. "Cedric, please, snap out of it. I know it hurts, but, we need to do this now." He continued wallowing. "Please. Can you try, for me? I need your help." She tried reaching out to him again, hoping that somewhere in there the love he held for her would work like a buoy to keep him grounded in reality.

Instead he jumped away from her touch once more, screaming at the floorboards, "Never ONCE did you TRULY need my help! I'm but a burden on you. A malicious, malcontented burden!" He pounded his fists hard into the wooden planks as he screamed it. Unfortunately, their privacy had ended without substantial progress on Cedric's mental state, for Westin now came toward them from around the bend. Trying to preempt what was sure to be an unhelpful conversation, Sofia lunged toward the miserable sorcerer, angling herself so she could hug him about the side and hip, squeezing him tight. There was nowhere he could escape to, but still he tried to wriggle free. "I love you, Cedric. I already knew about her pregnancy, and I still love you."

With that she bolted out of the flying machine, potion in hand to head off her cousin while trying to feign some sort of emotional steadiness.

"Hey Sofia! Why did you land so far away from... wait, what's going on? What happened to you? Is that Cedric?"

Hesitantly Sofia tried to block Westin's advance, without being too obvious. "Ah yes, it is."

"Is he hurt? Cedric!" Westin tried to circle around her, Sofia having to reach out to stop her cousin's advance.

"He's not hurt, but, he's not in a good place right now. He needs…" She trailed off, unknowing of what would soothe Cedric's troubled mind.

"Oh." That got Westin to stop. "Well, It's kind of crazy around here too. We really need you guys right now."

Sofia nodded, then walked back to where Cedric was whimpering loudly, still rocking back and forth on the floor of the flying machine, arms clutching at his sides and staring into space, as if he were in a trance.

"Cedric, please listen to me. It was a long time ago. It doesn't really change what happened, or what we need to do now, if you think about it."

"Don't tell me what to think!" He snapped, "I don't care if this is a blasted book! My life isn't some saccharine fantasy where we skip happily off into the sunset! There are sins for which I can never atone!"

"But Cedric."

"Don't you get it Sofia?! How can you possibly still believe in me?! or are you truly that dense?! I'll never be anyone's happy ending!" Immediately regretting the vitriol he'd spewed at her, he cringed, his head falling back to the floor with a disconcerting thud, as he started whimpering. "Please, Sofia. I didn't mean to say… I … I need to be alone with my thoughts for a while, lest I say something else I'll regret forever."

Choking back tears, she felt gutted. "But I, can't leave you here alone. Not when you're like this, something awful could happen. You even tried to jump out of the machine."

"I promise!" He screamed. Then curled into a ball on the floor as he muttered, "Please, Sofia. All I've ever been is a selfish coward. I couldn't end it then, and I can't end it now. I promise, I won't harm myself, but I am broken. Beyond even your ability to repair. So please, just leave me."

Defensively she pulled back, trying her best not to sob openly. There was a certain permanency to that statement, one she could scarcely dwell on. As she walked back over to her cousin the man's expression went from concerned to displeased quickly. "Hey, I don't know what's going on but, he can't talk to you like that."

"No, no it's okay, he's had a very bad day, and… and…" Sofia waved her cousin off, trying to avoid his piercing gaze while pulling him away from Cedric's makeshift den of solitude. As the flying machine disappeared in the distance behind them, Westin's anger grew more pronounced. "It's not okay."

"No, no it's fine."

"Look at you cousin, he yelled at you, and you're crying. In no country is that kind of behavior consideredokay."

"No, no, I pushed him too hard."

Before they reached the encampment, Westin stopped walking. Sofia side-stepped, trying to avoid any in-depth discussion of why Cedric had an emotional collapse, but Westin stopped her in her tracks. "I don't like this, cousin. I thought you were his best friend."

"I am, I think. I… I…" She could feel the tears welling up again, and struggled hard to suppress them. "I just don't know how to help him this time." Westin stood there, well-intentioned and highly concerned, but Sofia stuck her arms out, trying to block him. "Please, Wes. Just let it go. Please."

"Sofia, I don't know what going on, but nothing justifies what he just said to you."

"I… know." Realizing Westin wasn't going to let it go without some explanation, she relented. "Look, someone he really cared about died, and he just found out some of the details. He's understandably devastated. It's not personal. It's not."

Tears had started to fall onto her robe. Westin pulled her head into his chest for a hug, gently stroking her head as he'd done in Cedric's tower all those weeks ago. "I'm sorry, cousin. I didn't mean to pry. It's just that, the way he spoke to you. I never imagined he could treat someone like that and, maybe he wasn't the guy I thought he was."

Truer words were never spoken. He kept stroking her hair as he started in on what she'd missed while adventuring with Cedric to gather ingredients. "So, we were expecting this big fight when our ships landed, and king Rolland used his political ties to call upon all your families allies, and we sailed as a big armada here. But wouldn't you know? When we arrived, the prison was abandoned." Sofia merely sniffled in response, her composure returning. "Yeah, can you believe it? I guess once there were no more prisoners to guard they shut the place down. It's so weird to be back. All I could dream about for so long was being free, and yet here we are again."

"But you are free now."

"Yeah." He chuckled good naturedly, somewhat helping to offset how horrible Sofia felt. "I guess we are. I can't say the same for Axel."

"Yeah. How's Lucinda taking it?"

"See for yourself. Westin gestured up, and a sea of hot air balloons were spilling over the sides of the prison compound as the irate echo of her friend's voice chanting 'hex' drifted through the air.

Sofia nodded, trying to manage long deep breaths to steady her heartrate. "We need to save him."

"Yeah, right now we're waiting for word on where he is to launch a full-scale rescue. Though if Birk tries to make Lucinda wait much longer we may all end up hexed."

"What about the Autunite? Cedric, he made…." The wind knocked from her by just speaking his name, and sheepishly she held the Erlenmeyer filled with potion he'd brewed in Enchancia up for Westin to see. "He made it."

Frowning, Westin stepped forward. "Sofia, cousin. I'm worried about you." She shook him off, and the young man sighed. "Maybe you'd feel better talking to your Mom about it. She's here, you know."

"Wait, Mom's here?"

"Yep." Westin smiled, "Oh yeah! I met your Mom! It was kind of awkward when Birk introduced us, but yeah, she seemed very sweet and offered me condolences on my Dad."

Sofia nodded softly. Her mother's resiliency in the face of unspeakable hardships truly was remarkable. "She's, amazing. How's Birk?"

"He's, it's actually hard to tell. I can see he's incredibly happy to be around her again, but, I mean, she is pregnant with another man's child. That's tough to take."

"Has Mom decided?" Westin didn't speak, so Sofia pulled her head up from staring at the ground between them.

Pity crossed Westin's face, before he resumed stroking her hair kindly. "I don't know what you're talking about. What's there to decide?"

"Mom has to choose, whom she wants to be with. Birk, or Rolland." Sofia began blinking back the last of the tears, her agony temporarily subsiding thanks to the kindness of her cousin.

"Not really. Per Friezenburg's laws she's still married to your Dad. It's his decision whether to end the marriage because she was unfaithful. Oh, watch your head."

"Huh?" Sofia practically slammed into some stones above a hole cut into the side of the prison. "Oh, sorry."

Emerging into the corridors, Westin chuckled slightly. "You don't even remember, do you?" She stared blankly at the floor. "This was my cell. There I was, sleeping in that corner and minding my own business when you made the wall disappear." She looked up to see his good-natured smile, and wished she could respond in kind. "Thank you, by the way. It's been hard, but so worth it."

A muffled grunt of affirmation was all she could muster before they began snaking through the prison walls. He knew this place well, and escorted her expertly through the corridors until they emerged into the central cavity. The gigantic pit it's hallmark.

"Sofia!" Off in the distance Miranda could be seen, standing over a ramshackle table constructed near the front gate, away from the pit. Birk stood alongside her, and opposing them both, grimaced Amalthea.

On approach Miranda seemed positively relieved to see her daughter, but that quickly faded as she drew closer to Sofia. A few sniffles and partially disguised wiping of tears from her cheeks were no match for Miranda, and the woman began to frown. After gazing into the distance, assuredly to determine if a wayward sorcerer accompanied them, she stepped forward, wrapping Sofia's head in her warm, motherly embrace. Quietly she whispered, "It'll be okay, Sofia. You're stronger than this. I know, because I've lived it."

She sniffled, and Miranda pulled away, now speaking clearly for everyone to hear. "I'm glad to see you're safe, Sofia. Is that the potion?"

She nodded, Birk stepping forward and setting a concerned hand on her shoulder. "Sweet pea, are you okay?"

"She'll be fine. Sofia, come." Miranda cut off Birk's inquiries, taking Sofia by the hand and leading her over to the table. Upon it a hastily drawn map of Maldonia was drawn, in an unsteady hand. She must have shown her confusion, as Amalthea sneered. "Well excuse me if I'm not a cartographer like your father."

"It's fine, Amalthea." Birk boomed, pointing with emphasis at one of the many circles drawn upon the tabletop. Three had been etched out.

Squinting in the sun, Sofia still hadn't fully emerged from the haze of the ride here and into the moment. "Um…"

"They're the remaining prisons" Birk thundered. Amalthea smiled, and to that Birk soured. "You kept our brothers in bondage, it is no something to count among your triumphs." Gruffly he crossed his arms, resolute. "By the day's end, my brothers shall go free."

"Don't worry, we will free them." Miranda calmly stated, placing a hand on Birk's shoulder. It instantly melted Birk's resolve. His arms relaxed, and the lines upon his face grew softer. "That's why Rolly and I assembled all our friends and allies." The lines on Birk's face grew harder once more at the mere mention of the Enchancian king, but Miranda pressed on. "Because, we are stronger when we face the tide of injustice, together."

Trumpets sounded in the distance, but now Sofia knew them as the hallmark of an ally. "That's Carol." An anxious atmosphere grew in the camp, as several men with uniforms of many nations began to gather at the front gates. Sofia pulled on her taller cousin's shoulder, drawing him in closer. "Were we expecting Carol?"

"Well, kind of? She was scouting out where Axel was hiding, but she's only been gone a few hours. If she really found him that fast, she's every bit as impressive as Birk keeps saying."

A half smile crossed Sofia's lips, remembering the revelation of Carol's motivations. No sooner had Westin stood back up than Carol of the Arrow came, her band of Merry helpers surrounding her. She parted the anxious crowd with ease, heading straight for Birk. Almost ignoring Miranda, who stood alongside him, she bowed low, excited but trying to hide she was nearly out of breath. "Commander Birk, I come bringing news!"

Jane stumbled up behind Carol, and with her, the older Maldonian captain that Axel had freed from the capital city. "You!"

The man nodded at Sofia, then turned to address the Queen. "Your Majesty, I have news of where our rightful leader is being held."

Lucinda came floating down upon her broom, an amalgamation of worry and anger. "Where is he?! Just point me in the right direction and I'll set him free in two flaps of a bat's wings." The rage seething in Lucinda was palpable, compelling Sofia to reach up to the witch hovering above, placing her hand on Lucinda's. It snapped the girl out of her blinded rage. Slowly she set down off the broom, letting Sofia wrap her in a hug to help brace for whatever news this soldier brought.

"So, where is he?" Miranda asked.

The Captain took in a deep breath, "He's being held at the Citadel, adjacent to the palace. But your majesty, it is my understanding that, due to the unrest that has spread throughout our country at his detention, he's set to be executed."

Lucinda cried out unintelligibly, Sofia clinging tight to her friend to keep her sane. "Oh no! That's awful." Miranda responded, as murmurs of agitation ignited in the crowd.

The captain took a step forward, bowing slightly. "My lady, we the soldiers of Maldonia have not forgotten how our Prince saved our lives at the battle for Friezenburg's capital. Nor have I forgotten his mercy. He is a more honorable man than his father ever was, and we will save him. The insurgency will not stop until he assumes his rightful place on the throne."

"Thank you, Captain." Miranda stately responded. He dismissed himself, and headed back toward ships waiting to ferry soldiers across the channel to the mainland. "Alright everyone, let's do this orderly, just like we planned it."

Birk began gesturing wildly, men mustering from the encampment and swirling around. Orders were shouted, and off several dozen men went join hundreds more near the boats. Birk then turned to Miranda, tentatively. "I need to go with my men." He seemed to be pleading with her, for understanding, for simple validation. Anything. Slowly Miranda extended her arms out, and elated, Birk stepped forward, wrapping her in a tight embrace about the shoulders. "But this time, I won't ask you to stay." Miranda added solemnly.

He nodded, then slowly he pulled away, the joyfulness gone. With that he pivoted, grabbing Sofia into a quick hug. "I won't waste the freedom you've given me, sweet pea. We will save our people, together."

With that he was gone, up toward the hot air balloons Lucinda had been conjuring. It felt every bit as wrenching as when he'd left for the battle over Friezenburg's capital, but this time, she stood alongside her mother, whose calming presence made the overwhelming worry dissipate.

Lines of uniforms went hurrying, as sails began to unfurl. Still clinging to Lucinda, Sofia calmly turned to her mother, "Mom, tell me what's happening."

"Your father is leading his countrymen to liberate the remaining slaves. The coalition is here to help them. We have to keep most of the foreign volunteers out of the fighting in Maldonia, or we'll be seen as an occupying force. That's why, we needed to keep them off the ground and out of Maldonian villages. They'll help take the capital and be gone before the countryside knows what is happening." She pointed up at the many dozens of hot air balloons Lucinda had been conjuring all day.

"Oh, that's why Birk had me construct those. I thought it was just to keep me from taking out the whole regime in one fell swoop." Lucinda was twitching with anticipation, an ethereal magic cloud brewing at her feet. To which, Miranda smiled widely.

"Maybe that too."

Lucinda pulled away from Sofia, her poignant rage replaced with a fierce determination. "I have to save him." Sofia nodded, then squeezed Lucinda's hand. "Not without me." Turning briskly to her mother, she expected some sort of reprimand. One that never came.

"If you want to go with your friend, Sofia, then go."

"You're not going to tell me to run and hide? To go home to Enchancia? To flee?"

"I won't stop you. Despite how worried I will be for you, this is your life and your choice." Bending over, Miranda leaned her head against Sofia's. "I believe in you."

Sofia grasped the neck of the potion tight in her hand, giving another transitory thought to Cedric who knew nothing of this impending invasion, then slowly extended the precious brew toward her mother. "This is, the potion. The one that will subjugate my Amulet and let us destroy the Autunite." Miranda nodded solemnly, taking it from Sofia's outstretched hands.

"I'll keep it here, safe with me, until you return."

'Hurry hurry, let's get to hexin!" Lucinda cried. With a hesitant first step, Sofia took off toward Lucinda, wand at the ready. Sofia clung to her, together heading straight for the palace ahead of the coalition's following forces.

"Wait!"

But there was no force that could stop a witch on the warpath. "Can't wait! No time!"

"But, uh…" Should she even try to tell Cedric what was happening? He'd demanded to be left alone, under pain of further insult. "Are you truly that DENSE" ringing through her mind, shattering her faith in him with each reverberation.

"What is it, what?!" Lucinda shouted, still barreling full steam toward Maldonia's palace.

"Um…. Nevermind."

"Oh rats. You left Cedric somewhere, didn't you? Well, where is he? We can use all the wands we've got for this one." Sofia couldn't answer, merely bury her head into Lucinda's back to try and suppress more sobbing.

"Just go, Lucinda. Just, go."

"Oh, holey hexes, did he get hurt? Are you okay to fight?" Her face slimy from the earlier crying, she dragged it up and down the back of Lucinda's gown, the witch groaning, "Okay whatever, we'll fix him later. We've got to save Axel, NOW!" Off they rocketed into the distance, leaving the encampment far behind.

As they tore over the Maldonian hillsides Sofia managed to pull her puffy face out of Lucinda's back. Several towns below them were in upheaval. Fighting had broken out across the countryside, with several homes burning.

"Hexes. The whole country has exploded, hasn't it? I guess we did save a whole bunch of soldiers by floating them down the river."

Upon closer inspection, it seemed some of the townsfolk were fighting amidst each other, with Maldonian soldiers on either side of the conflict. Sofia had a moment of clarity amongst the chaos.

"The taken, those who were from Friezenburg, and their children, they're rising up."

"Yeah, looks like it. This place is one gigantic tinder box. I can't wait to watch it explode, serves Victor right." It was a bit unnerving to hear Lucinda advocating more fighting, but she was supporting the liberation of those freed, and it would have been impossible to stop all the minor skirmishes along the way to finding Axel. "If I get my hands on that blood sucker who'd order his son to death, well, let's just say it will be the finest hex ever cast." Lucinda was steaming angry, gripping the broom handle till her fingers went white.

A full-scale riot had broken out in the town surrounding Victor's palace. "Up there!" Lucinda screamed, pointing toward the citadel. Pure, unadulterated chaos greeted them, and with all of those battling wearing the same uniforms it was impossible to tell who was friend, and who was foe.

"What do we do! I can't tell them apart!" Sofia screamed.

"Just hold on and DUCK!"

"Wait a minute! AAAAAA!" Lucinda tore across the courtyard, dodging swords and arrows, flying straight into the open doors toward the back of a pavilion. They zoomed through corridors until coming across a horrified soldier reaching down for his sword. The girls were moving too fast to stop, so Lucinda banked hard, leaving one heavy boot indent in the soldier's chest. Rebounding off the soldier, he went crashing into the wall behind, as Lucinda used the reciprocal force to turn down a side corridor. This one was even more narrow, a hall of dimly lit stones that descended gradually into what could only be described as hell. A rather large and ominous looking wooden door stood at the bottom, quickly approaching and blocking their path. "STOOOOP! LUCINDAAAAAA!"

The witch tucked in tighter, gripping the broom hard in one hand and shoving her wand forward with the other. "HEX!" The door exploded into flowers as they careened past. A vast cavern lay beyond them, which the citadel was built upon. A sea of torches lit the chasm, and within the center of a circle of soldiers kneeled Axel, hands bound behind him. Victor was nowhere to be seen. "AXEL!" The witch cried, the ring of torches jostling at her call. The fallen prince looked up, and locked eyes with Lucinda, tears of relief and perhaps joy welling up.

He was still alive. Some soldiers managed to draw their swords and wand at the ready, Lucinda jumped off, casting hexes at anything that moved. The broom slowly fell out from under Sofia, the momentum carrying the princess into the ground at a rather fast clip. Luckily, she collided with a few soldiers who hadn't yet managed to draw their swords, and took the whole lot of them crashing into the ground.

From on top of the pile Sofia took aim at Axel's bonds, "Dissapearo!" the rope vanished, and the prince jumped to the side, dodging the grip of the guard nearest him. He popped up with someone's sword, standing alongside Lucinda. "Oh Luci, I thought I'd never see you again." Lovingly he buried his head into her hair.

"It'll take more than an army to keep me away." With that, Lucinda turned up to plant a loving kiss on his lips.

"BEHIND YOU!" Sofia shouted, Lucinda shoving Axel to the side to cast a hex at an approaching soldier. Suddenly hands started grabbing Sofia. The men below her were stunned, but not unconscious. Her elbow was seized, as was her ankle. Desperately she tried to struggle free, and started screaming incoherently. Axel pivoted, running toward her and managed to grab onto her free arm, pulling the princess up and away from the clinging soldiers. The one who'd grabbed her ankle had a better grip, though, and refused to let go. It was a mess of tripping, pulling and screaming until Sofia kicked the hand that grabbed her with her other foot, falling in the process. Axel dragged her a few feet away before she could attempt to stand, as Lucinda gave out a horrible cry of anguish.

Axel turned, screaming "LUCI!"

She'd been struck.

The wand she'd held fell to the damp cave floor below, as Lucinda staggered back a few steps, coddling her hand. Axel let Sofia go, lunging forward to catch his lover. The witch's wrist had been injured badly.

Outnumbered and cornered, Sofia flinging spells desperately at the men was the only thing keeping them from outright attacking, but with each passing moment they encroached, forcing Sofia, Axel and Lucinda up against the cave wall.

"BLIZARDO!"

The cave iced over quickly from behind enemy lines, several soldiers freezing in place. Luckily the spell stopped mere feet from where Sofia, Axel and Lucinda had crouched. "Come on!" Axel screamed, scooping up Lucinda and running with the witch in his arms.

"But who cast that?!" Lucinda whimpered. Sofia stumbled behind them, but then was caught. One of the soldiers had reached out, grabbing her skirt. "AAAA!"

"DORMINTATO!"

The soldier dropped her skirt, as a man's voice echoed the spell through the cave. Sofia lurched away from the soldier, and turned up toward the entrance. Surely Cedric had seen her depart with Lucinda, and come to save her. Practically sobbing with joy that he'd chosen her over the past, Sofia took a few steps toward the silhouette. "You came, you came…"

The man jumped down, rather nimbly for someone who's knee was supposedly still injured. "Well I dare say my king ordered me to assist, and I can't think of something engendering more praise than saving a beautiful royal, such as yourself." Emerging from the shadows was not her handsome, conflicted sorcerer, but instead his foil.

"Greylock."

"Charmed, to the last. Watch it there!" His wand was up, flicking back and forth as soldiers tried to pop up from the cave floor like prairie dogs. "Huzzah! Nothing like whack-a-soldier to get the magical juices flowing!" He jested.

"Thanks man! Let's go!" Axel shouted, as he took off with Lucinda up the steps to the doors that led out of this nightmare. Sofia managed to stumble along behind them, the disappointment that it wasn't Cedric like lead strapped to her legs.

He hadn't come.

Why should he? She reasoned. After all, he may not even know the dangers she'd put herself in. He was still in the flying machine, rife with self-loathing and mentally unfit for any of this.

No one asked questions. This wasn't the time for tales or tears, as they were all very much in danger. While an accomplished sorcerer, Greylock had no nose for direction, and several misbegotten turns meant Axel had to take the lead, passing Lucinda off to Sofia. They finally managed to emerge from the twisted halls and onto the pavilion, the pageantry of the soldiers now distinctly different as fighters from Friezenburg as well as several sister nations had joined the fray. Large groups of variegated soldiers held a few stragglers at bay. From their vantage point atop some broken stones and littered weapons, the battle seemed to have been won.

A few lone chants from the pavilion turned into a chorus of celebration. A cacophonous sea of "Axel! Axel!" rose up from around them. In truth, the fallen prince struck the pose of a heroic figure, bathed in sunlight, standing upon the top of the rubble strewn about the citadel. Dignified he rose his chin up toward the palace, gesturing toward it with one broad stroke of his sword. "Onward, toward liberation! This war ends today!"

As it echoed down the hillside the drum of running soldiers and chants flooded the air, as a mass migration from the citadel now headed toward the palace. Axel looked down at Lucinda, his voice no longer booming. "Stay here, where it's safe okay?"

"Not on your life." The witch countered.

"But Luci, your hand. You can't fight like that. Greylock!" Axel turned toward the plump wizard, "Please, as prince of this land I ask that you stay and heal my beloved."

"Well, if your lordship desires. I can't say I'm eager to go looking for trouble." Greylock raised an intentional eyebrow at Sofia, then sashayed toward the wounded witch, "Now don't get to testy with me lass." He winked as healing magic streamed out of his wand.

Luci curled her upper lip, grimacing. "I may not have my wand, but I can still kick some soldier butt!"

"Then come kick some, once you've healed. Sofia, you're with me." With that, Axel took off, Sofia trapped in a fog of sorrow following behind him.

Despite her best efforts, Axel noticed. "Hey, are you okay? We're going after my father, and I need you in fighting form."

She nodded, mustering a weak, "I'm okay. I have to see this through."

Up and over the pass she followed the prince, soldiers of many nations streaming behind them. A throng of Maldonian soldiers and peasants were already at the castle gates. Now joined by advancing forces from the citadel, the palace defenses were overwhelmed and gates fell open, the hordes descending into the main ward. Many in uniform still stood in the castle keeps, silently watching in an act of passive resistance to the king.

Maldonia was overthrown.

But where was Victor? This victory was incomplete until the king's poison was removed from all spheres of influence. From their higher vantage Sofia saw a flash of magic toward the back of the palace. "There!" She shouted. Axel had seen it too, and off broke several dozen soldiers running behind the prince and Sofia toward its source.

Behind the palace, in what was once exquisitely manicured gardens, magical sparks flew. There stood Cecelia, surrounded by encroaching troops and vagabonds alike. Victor was behind her, screaming orders to the few remaining loyal palace guards. Next to him stood Hugo, terrified and trying to steady his shorter, tubby father as they attempted to flee this insurrection.

Victor's eyes were bloodshot, his face crimson as he screamed. "TRAITORS! The lot of you! Kill them girl! Redeem your family's honor in my eyes!"

That hardened Cecelia's resolve, and she took a step forward, casting a hex at the nearest soldiers. They dropped to the ground in a cloud of black miasma. It frightened the others, and they stepped back. "Axel, I've got to get through to her! She's gonna kill you, or be killed along with the king." The prince nodded, and she was off. He was no match for that miasma.

"CECELIA!" The witch froze, mid chant, and turned, looking straight at Sofia.

"Oh perfect. YOU. This is all YOUR fault!"

"No, wait, just listen to me!"

"No WAY! You made my mother turn against our country, turn her back on Hugo's family and their suffering! I'll never listen to you." Cecelia hissed.

"But it was Victor, it was him all along!"

Cecelia screamed, launching a curse at Sofia.

"Cecelia, NO!" Hugo screamed. The sorceress's aim was so poor that Sofia was in no real danger.

"Please, Cecelia you have to listen. Your mother was kidnapped, she was taken from her family and brought here against her will, and Victor, he oversaw that horror for countless people!"

"LIES! He's Hugo's father, and MY KING! I will redeem my father's bloodline, I will be worthy of Hugo, I will be more than the pathetic girl who could never be enough in her mother's eyes!" Victor kept backing away with Hugo as Cecelia held the line. The king was clearly looking for a way to cut and run, leaving Cecelia behind with this mess.

"There they are!" was shouted from an upper palace balcony. Those who had rushed the palace had now wound their way through the castle. More rebels came running toward the back of the palace grounds, where this confrontation was unfolding. Axel started flinging his arm out, holding the onslaught at bay. It worked, enough for them to stop advancing, lest the young fill-in sorceress of Maldonia start indiscriminately casting curses at everyone.

"Cecelia, listen to me. I know you love Hugo, but that doesn't mean you have to protect Victor. He, ordered Axel to be killed."

Cecelia's eyes grew wide. "No, no you're lying! It's all LIES!" She screamed.

"It's TRUE!" Sofia screamed back, Hugo suddenly froze, his grip on the king visibly tightening. "PLEASE, Cecelia you have to realize, Victor has only ever cared about power, and maintaining it. He doesn't care about family. He doesn't care about his people, or YOU. PLEASE, I don't want you to share his fate!"

"You're LYING! Cecelia screamed.

"SHE'S NOT!" The booming male voice from the back of the crowds was Axel. His time to interject had come. In a clandestine fashion the rebels parted ways, that the fallen prince could walk forward and confront his father, the sword he'd taken from the soldier in the cavern still in his hand. "I was held in the caverns of the citadel, awaiting execution." Axel's gaze was hard, burrowing straight into his father. Hugo began hyperventilating.

"Bro, it couldn't have been! There must've been a mistake, or something."

"That's the only reason I'm alive!" Axel yelled. "Even the guards couldn't believe he'd have me killed, so they waited for validation of your orders. But I saw the parchment, I SAW THE SIGNATURE. I KNOW that YOU, my father, signed over my death!"

Hugo snapped around, yanking his father closer. "DID you DO IT?!"

Contrite, Victor began shaking. "Hugo, my lad, please, you wouldn't hurt your own father, would you?" He pleaded. It was assumed by all as an admission of guilt. Tears started streaming out of Hugo's eyes, as he used his grip on his father's arm to yank the man forward toward Cecelia and the waiting hordes.

"Cece, stop."

"No, Hugo no! We can still win this, I will defend you!" The girl was practically sobbing, "I can do this! I can be good enough, for you!" Her whole body was now shaking. It was painful to watch her collapse emotionally, and so Sofia stepped forward, trying desperately to connect with her.

"Please, Cecelia, Hugo wants you to stop defending Victor. You don't have to fight anymore." A massive burst of energy came from Cecelia's wand. Without direction it just exploded forth, covering a five-meter radius around where she stood.

"My family, my country, my life, it's all falling apart." She sobbed.

"Cecelia, please, your mother was of Friezenburg. That means, you're as much of there, as you are of here." Finally, Cecelia looked directly at Sofia. "And you have a brother who is the kindest, most caring guy ever, who thinks magic is the most wonderful thing. Magic, just like yours." The girl's shoulders slumped, wand falling to her side. The magic hadn't completely dissipated, though, and the danger remained real. "Please, Cecelia, I know your mother was cruel, but don't you want to get to know your brother?" Cecelia started to sniffle. Victor tried to speak, to goad the girl on, but Hugo reached forward, clasping a hand over his mouth to silencing him.

"You mean I… could have a real family. One that doesn't think… I'm useless." Sofia nodded, and the girl dropped to her knees, letting the wand roll out of her fingers. Hugo rushed forward to catch Cecelia, lest she hurt herself, wrapping her in an embrace.

"It's gonna be okay, Cece, I've got you."

As Hugo knelt down with Cecelia the rebellion fighters rushed forward, grabbing Victor. He went limp, and was drug over to Axel, who stood tall in the face of his father. "It seems I was right all along, you did seek to overthrow me. I was right to sign the order." With that, he spat in Axel's face. The rage was palpable on Axel, but he stood tall, undeterred. "You, father, will be sent to another kingdom. You will labor in their mines as a slave for the rest of your days!"

Cheers erupted from the grounds, spreading through the castle and down to the citadel. Axel turned, whipping up the crowds who'd gathered around. "Fan out and stop the fighting in the villages! Spread news that Victor has fallen! And send word to each and every one of the mines. All of the prisoners from Friezenburg shall be freed!"

The war was over.

Author's note: Even though Maldonia is overthrown, there's still lots to resolve in the next few chapters. The Autunite, Cedric, and Miranda's choice is all coming on the near horizon. It feels good to write again. Stay tuned.