Halo – Beyoncé
Preparations were underway for Sofia's coronation in three days. The castle was in full preparation mode and Baileywick was more anxious than Sofia had ever seen him before. She truly feared for his health sometimes. With the ceremony so near, Sofia remained below the castle to stay safe and would only come above when it was time for her ceremony to begin. Cedric was planning to use all guards and as well as magical safety measures to ensure her safety. Although Sofia felt scared the person who was threatening her would make an attempt on her life, she trusted Cedric to protect her more. However, to lower his anxiety and stress levels this week, she agreed to stay in their home below the castle so he didn't have to worry about her while they prepped for her ceremony.
"I am so bored!" She yelled loudly to herself after the fourth consecutive day alone while Cedric was above working. He left every morning, not returning until dinner time. There was much to be done this week. Plus he thought he had new leads on the suspect. The person was getting more risky and one of the guards spotted someone walking the perimeters the other night. They chased the person down but lost them in the forest. As the date of her coronation approaches the person is more likely to take greater risks to get to her. So she has to stay inside while they increase security.
Suddenly she heard footsteps behind her and she turned around to see Cedric. "You hollered?" He asked, looking amused.
"You heard that?" She asked dumbfounded. "How is that even possible?"
"Apparently the amulet thought your boredom was worthy of taking me away from work and sending me to you." Cedric smirked taking a seat on the couch and resting his head back.
Sofia sat beside him, noticing how tired he looked, "You look exhausted. Maybe you should rest for a bit before returning. I could make you lunch or something." She offered.
"That would be nice, actually. Thank you. I would love to take a break. Things are getting quite hectic up there."
"Maybe the amulet sent you here to take a break, not because I was bored. Maybe it realized we both needed each other and sent you here." Sofia smiled as he looked at her thoughtfully.
"Maybe you're right." He said as she leaned her head on his shoulder. Soon they both fell asleep on the couch that way, forgetting about lunch altogether.
Sometime later they were awakened by the ringing of the box Cedric had given Baileywick. Looking at the clock Sofia realized they'd slept for over an hour. Cedric stood and stretched, about to head back to work but she stopped him.
"Wait, let me make you something for lunch really quick first. Baileywick can wait two minutes." When Cedric agreed she made him a sandwich to take with him above before he thanked her and left to get back to work.
After he left Sofia made herself a sandwich and sat at the small table in the kitchen about to begin eating, the silence in the house driving her mad. She sighed, setting the sandwich down, losing her appetite and lowered her forehead to the table.
The sound of a chairs legs scratching against the floor startled her and she flung her head up quickly to see Cedric pulling a chair out and sitting at the table with her, setting his sandwich down.
"I told Baileywick I need a few more minutes to enjoy my lunch." He told her and then began to eat.
Blushing slightly, Sofia smiled and sat up straighter in her chair and pulled her sandwich back to her, "Thank you." She told him quietly. He smiled back in return and continued to eat.
The next few days passed slowly for Sofia as she was stuck inside waiting for the ceremony to begin and she had a serious case of cabin fever. It didn't take much for Cedric to notice as he usually found her antsy and fidgety when he would return. Deciding to surprise her with a night out the night before her coronation Cedric woke her after she'd already fallen asleep at midnight.
Shaking her gently, Cedric whispered, "Sofia, wake up darling. Sofia…"
Slowly her eyes opened and she looked up at him. She sat up and looked confused rubbing her eyes and asked, "What's going on? Are you alright? Is something wrong?"
"Everything is fine. I just had a thought…" He began with a bright smile.
"You woke me up to tell me you had a thought? I sincerely hope you plan on sharing the thought and that it's a significant one at that, otherwise I may be upset." She chuckled good-humoredly at him.
"Well, first of all… I should begin with happy birthday…" He gestured towards the clock and she noticed it was midnight, signifying she was now 16 years old. "And in honor of your birthday, I was thinking you must be going stir crazy stuck in here the past week and as a way to celebrate both your coronation and birthday… maybe you'd like to sneak out tonight and go flying?" Cedric asked nonchalant knowing she'd jump at the chance excitedly.
"Yes!" Sofia squealed jumping out of the bed and knocking him onto the floor as she flung herself into his arms. Realizing she was lying atop him, Sofia blushed and stood up, letting him stand as well. "Thank you, Cedric. Thank you so much. You're so thoughtful." She smiled at him genuinely. He grabbed her hand and they transported out of her bedroom as she gasped and he began to laugh.
In the next instant they appeared in the mountains lit by the moon and stars. She looked down at her pajamas and then up at Cedric glaring at him. "You couldn't have given me a chance to change clothes first?" She asked, crossing her arms.
"Nope, this is more fun." He said, tweaking her nose as he began to laugh at her reaction.
"Oh really? Fun is what you want?" She asked mischievously as she began to back towards the edge of the cliff.
Cedric tensed as he realized what she was thinking. She'd threatened on many occasions of jumping off the cliffs to test his reflexes, always insisting she trusted him to save her. Although he felt gratified she trusted her life in him, it didn't help his stress levels to watch her dangle her feet off a cliff.
"Sofia… come back here. Do not jump off the cliff. It gives me a heart attack seeing you do that." He proclaimed as she got closer and closer to the edge with a grin on her face.
"But I know you'd save me. I have complete and total trust and faith in you, Cedric. You are my guardian and protector, my angel, my hero." Sofia told him sweetly causing his heart to race for other reasons than her one foot now stretched out over the side of the cliff.
"Please. Let's just go flying…" He pleaded.
"Oh we will go flying, after you catch me…" Sofia winked and with another step she jumped off the side of the cliff. Cedric ran to the edge and screamed her name before bursting into his dragon form and flying down after her. He caught her on his back and took off soaring through the air.
Closing her eyes, Sofia drank in the night air and was thankful to be out of their home and free from the threats and stress of their life in the castle. When they are flying she feels as if they can forget everything else. Leaning forward, Sofia hugged Cedric as best she could and spoke to him, "Thank you, Cedric. That was so exhilarating."
Speaking for the first time in his dragon form, Cedric responded to her, "Please, promise me you won't do that ever again. It's not a good feeling to see you falling off a cliff." He admitted to her.
Shocked he finally spoke in his dragon form, Sofia didn't respond for a moment. Finally all she could manage to say was, "You… you spoke!" He began to laugh, making steam come out his nostrils.
"Yes, I finally spoke." Cedric responded as he continued to fly around the sky, also enjoying the freedom, sinking lower towards the river bank and then up higher towards the edges of the cliffs, around the tree tops, and through the forests highlighted by the moonlight.
"Are you angry with me?" She asked.
"No… Although, if you do it again I might be." He added, knowing she would get ideas.
Leaning forward again, she rested her body against his neck, wrapping her arms around him as best she could.
"Thank you, Cedric. For everything. You're the best. I can't imagine my life without you. Promise me you'll help me through this. Just because I will become queen tomorrow I don't want that to mean you just go back to being royal sorcerer and nothing more. I want you to keep the amulet and I want you to stay with me. Please…"
Before answering her, Cedric landed and lowered himself for her to climb off. At first Sofia thought he was upset at her because he was so quiet. He changed into his human form and approached her, taking her hands in his, looking into her eyes. "I wanted to be able to look at you while we spoke. I will stay with you Sofia. To be honest I can't really imagine my life without you in it either. Although in what context I'm not sure, but we can work that out in time. For now I could always help you adjust and provide protection until the person who is threatening you is found."
Throwing her arms around his neck, Sofia responded with moist eyes, "Thank you."
"I'd do anything for you." He said quietly as he returned the hug, wrapping his arms around her tightly. When she opened her eyes they were back in their home beneath the castle. Sighing when she realized her time outside was over she got ready to return to bed.
"I suppose I do need some sleep. I have my coronation tomorrow… errr… I mean today." She giggled as she realized it was now almost 3:00am.
"Yes, we really should get some sleep. It wouldn't do if we both arrived and looked exhausted and worn-down at your big celebration." Cedric chuckled along with her.
As Sofia was already in her pajamas Sofia climbed into bed and was about to fall asleep quickly. When she felt the weight of the bed shift as Cedric climbed in beside her she turned toward him, snuggling closer and whispered, "Thank you for tonight. It was the best birthday gift." Moments later she drifted off to sleep.
The following morning Sofia was woken by Cedric again shaking her gently and calling her name.
"I don't want to get up. I've hardly slept. Just a little bit longer." She groaned as she rolled over away from him, covering her head with the pillow to try and drown out the sound of his voice. Soon the pillow was torn from her hands and the blankets were ripped off her body.
"You need to get up and begin getting ready. I've already let you sleep in longer than I should have. It's time to start preparations." Cedric demanded.
"It's your fault I'm so tired. You made me stay out too late." Sofia continued to complain in a sleepy voice refusing to look up at him, covering her face with her hands.
"Really? That's your response? Fine. I can play that game." He responded.
Suddenly she felt hands grip her ankle and she was yanked off the bed and plopped on the floor ungraciously. Before she could respond he picked her up and carried her out of the room.
"Put me down! Put me down this instant! Cedric! As your soon to be, almost queen I demand you put me down!" She yelled at him. He continued walking down the hall ignoring her and entered the bathroom, with his wand he turned on the shower, opened the door and threw her inside fully clothed, shutting the door behind her.
Sofia began to scream and stomp her feet, opened the door of the shower, ran out after him and jumped on his back, still soaked from the shower water.
"Hey you're getting me all wet. After I so graciously carried you to the bathroom and even started the shower for you this is how you repay me?" Cedric asked sarcastically.
"You… You… Jerk!" She screamed at him. "How dare you!" Sofia was still clung to his back and wouldn't let go, dripping water all over the house as he carried her around pretending he didn't notice her there.
Walking into the kitchen he picked up his cup of tea and was about to take a sip when Sofia reached forward and knocked it out of his hands.
"Well that was uncalled for." Cedric said, conjuring another one as he also tied her hands magically with his wand causing Sofia to begin screaming at him again. After he took a sip of tea he undid the ties and carried her back to the bathroom where he let her down.
"Now, take a shower Sofia, we don't have much time." He was about to leave when Sofia grabbed his hand and with all her strength pulled him back and then pushed him into the shower shutting the door and then locking it with her wand. Sofia laughed as she crossed her arms smugly while Cedric stood there watching her as the water washed over him, soaking his clothes. She suddenly became fearful. His magic was much stronger than hers and he would break out of there.
"You know what, you're right. We really don't have time for these games. I need to get ready so you should just transport yourself out of there and… well… anywhere else." Sofia said.
"What's the matter, Sofia? Suddenly afraid?" He asked her with a smirk. As he pulled out his wand, Sofia began to back away from the door. It opened and without breaking eye contact he slowly walked towards her menacingly. Her back hit the counter and her heart accelerated knowing she was trapped. Standing inches from her, Cedric stared into her eyes. He was standing so close she could feel his breath against her skin. Glancing at his mouth by instinct Sofia began to flush as she automatically thought of kissing and quickly raised her wide eyes back up to his. Cedric merely smirked and walked away, shutting the door as he left.
Letting out a deep breath Sofia began to take off her wet clothes before climbing into the shower to get ready for the day. She let her mind wander as the hot water washed over her. What had just happened between them? When she'd looked at his mouth she'd suddenly had the feeling of wanting him to kiss her. Where had that come from? Shaking her head she tried to push the thoughts aside. She had more important things to worry about today.