At The Beginning – Richard Marx (feat. Donna Lewis)
Disclaimer: I do not own Sofia the First nor the characters.
A/N: This is a continuation of the previous chapter where I left off…
Without hesitation, he dove off the cliff…
Cedric gracefully flew beside the face of the cliff as fast as he could straight down. Within an instant he was below Sofia and caught her on his back. He flew her up to safety at the top of the mountain. Once on solid ground he lowered himself so she could climb off. She moved a few steps back staring at him intently, looking him straight in the eyes. She slowly reached a hand out, trembling slightly. Cedric lowered his head to give a sign that it was okay. She touched his face gently and then quickly pulled her hand away again.
"You're the dragon I've been dreaming of…" Sofia said, cocking her head to the side as if she were trying to connect the dots. She still didn't understand what was going on but something about this dragon felt so familiar and safe. Before she could question it further she was suddenly pulled from the dream and was back in her bed.
Sitting up too quickly Sofia was overwhelmed by a terrible head rush, seeing stars and feeling dizzy. Once she could see straight she looked over at Cedric and saw he was sitting just sitting up himself and looking dizzy and confused as well.
"What was that?" Sofia demanded.
"What are you talking about?" He asked, rubbing his face and running his hands through his hair.
"That dream. I somehow got drawn into your dream or nightmare or whatever that was. I was there and fell off a cliff. It felt so real. And… and…" She stopped and looked up at the dragon on the wall behind them. "And, he saved me." She said quietly, looking at the dragon.
Cedric jumped out of bed, startled. "How did you get into my dream?"
Sofia looked at the ring on her finger and began to explain the events that led up to her touching his shoulder and being pulled into his dream. Cedric was now pacing the floor trying to figure out what had gone wrong with his potion. He was not supposed to have any more nightmares, yet alone be dragging more people into them.
"I'm so sorry to have dragged you into my nightmare Sofia. I'm not sure how that happened. It's never happened before that you've been pulled into my dreams so I don't know what was different tonight. That's very strange." He said as he was beginning to form hypothesis in his head.
"What I don't get is where you were? I called for you. I was so scared, Cedric. I knew it was a dream the whole time, I was aware I was in your dream but it was still frightening. Then the dragon appeared. But I never saw you." She looked at him waiting for a response. He wasn't sure how to answer her. Should he tell her about being a dragon yet? Cedric decided not to tell the whole truth tonight but at least a partial truth for now. It might be a little too much for the middle of the night.
"I was the dragon in the dream, Sofia." He said quietly with his back to her.
"You? It's you... You're the one I keep dreaming of." She said with astonishment in her voice.
He pointed towards the painting and put a smile on his face and said, "My subconscious probably got the idea from your drawing."
Sofia looked back at the dragon and at Cedric again. She wasn't completely convinced. When she looked into the eyes of the dragon, she saw something. Now that she thought about it, she saw Cedric. She'd seen it all along in her dreams. She was just never able to put her finger on what it was that was so familiar.
"Yeah, maybe." She said, in false agreement, chuckling slightly.
"I'm going to get a cup of tea, before going back to sleep. Would you like one?" Cedric asked.
"No, thank you." Sofia said as she slid back under the covers.
"Okay, well I'll be back in a few minutes. And tomorrow we will figure out what happened. But for now, let's just try and get back to sleep. Good night, Sofia." Cedric called as he left the room.
After he made a cup of tea Cedric went to his workshop and pulled out his spell book quickly turning to the page for nightmares. He re-read all the ingredients and directions. According to the book, he had followed everything perfectly. So why had it gone so wrong? He shouldn't have had a nightmare tonight and he most certainly should not have pulled Sofia into it. As he was about to close the book he noticed small writing at the bottom of the page.
Cedric read it quickly and then slapped his forehead. "Merlin's mushrooms..." Apparently it did cure nightmares, but it was more like a therapy session and if you passed then you were cured, but if you failed you would be plagued with nightmares forever. It made you face your nightmare head on. That is why he had been faced with Sofia dangling from the cliff and she and the amulet both fell – he had to choose between them. It made him realize deep down he would always choose love over power. He does have the ability to be a good person and a good king and would do what is right for the kingdom without some dark evil desires for power and corruption.
Feeling lighter than he had in a long while Cedric headed back to bed, confident he would finally sleep free of nightmares. When he got there Sofia was already fast asleep. He climbed in beside her and whispered, "I love you Sofia. I always have and I always will. Good night." He slept peacefully the rest of the night with no nightmares.
Waking up feeling refreshed, Cedric slowly opened his eyes. The first thing he realized was he slept the rest of the night free of nightmares, the second thing he noticed was Sofia was not in the bed. He sat up quickly. Where had she gone? Normally he was always up before she was. He looked at the clock and realized he had overslept. He jumped up and hurried to the bathroom to get ready for his day. As he looked in the mirror he noticed a message painted on the wall behind him. It was painted so it would be read perfectly in the mirror. He immediately began to laugh. Sofia must have gotten up early and done this. It read: "There is a no angry way to say bubbles." He just shook his head and continued with his morning routine.
After his shower Cedric came out of the bathroom and smelled breakfast cooking. He found Sofia setting two plates of food on the table in the kitchen. "Smells delicious." He told her as he sat down to eat, "Thank you for making breakfast."
"You're welcome. I actually enjoy cooking." She responded as she began to eat. "So… how did you sleep?" She asked, tentatively.
He stopped eating and looked up at her, "Um, I slept great after… well, after the incident. How about you?"
"Me, too. I didn't happen to jump into anyone else's dreams." She told him, smiling.
After a few minutes of eating in silence Sofia spoke up again. She looked Cedric in the eyes and told him, "Thank you, Cedric. It meant a lot to me last night."
"What did?" He asked, truly confused.
"You choose me... Over the amulet." She said.
He gasped, taken aback. How was she so wise and knowing for being so young? "I would always choose you Sofia. But it was just a dream; nothing more." He told her, pulling the amulet out of his shirt to show her.
"I know, but thank you." She said with a sweet smile.
Cedric knew eventually he'd have to tell her the truth about his ability to change into a dragon with the power of the amulet but he wasn't ready for that conversation yet. He wasn't sure how she would feel about it. She seemed to be okay with it in the dream and also with how she seemed to paint it on her wall she seemed to view it as a good thing but he needed to prepare himself first. He still hadn't come to terms completely with the gift yet, if that's what it truly was. Some day he would tell Sofia.
When Cedric went to meet with Baileywick to head into the village to fix the slides in the park the butler was already pacing anxiously and talking quickly about all they had to do that day. Cedric put his arm out to stop Baileywick. "Say bubbles."
"Excuse me, your majesty?" Baileywick asked, skeptically.
"Just say bubbles. Try it." Cedric told him with a mischievous smile.
"Bu-bubbles…" He said cautiously and trying to hide a grin.
"It's hard not to smile while saying that word, huh?" And he continued walking on.
Baileywick stood there confused at the strange interruption and then joined the king to make their way to park in the village.