A Second Chance

Prologue: A Plot in Motion

"Mr. Cedric, are you okay?"

The sorcerer looked up at the source of the question that had just brought him out of some rather depressing thoughts. Sofia stood in front of the bench where he sat in the garden, a gentle breeze blowing through her auburn waves and a concerned look on her lovely face. Part of him wanted to lie and tell her everything was fine, but after that fateful day a few months ago when he almost took over the kingdom he had been trying to be more honest with her, especially since she was the only real friend he had.

"Not really, Princess," he sighed glumly as she sat next to him. "I know what I did a few months ago was a terrible mistake, but… but…"

Sofia reached over, taking his gloved hand in hers. She frowned when she realized how cold his fingertips were, despite the warmth of early summer. "What's wrong, Mr. Cedric?"

He sighed again and squeezed her hand. "I've seen the way your father and everyone else have been watching me. It's like they expect me to take over the kingdom again. I haven't been asked to do anything. Your father didn't even want a magic show at the party last week." He squeezed her hand again. "You may have convinced him to give me a second chance, but I'm afraid King Roland is going to fire me soon…"

"That won't happen. I won't let it." Sofia said firmly, shaking her head. Yes, it was true. She had seen the way Roland watched Cedric when the sorcerer was anywhere but inside his tower. Even Baileywick, who had been the first person to be attacked with the Medusa Stone, kept a wary eye on Cedric. Sofia supposed she couldn't really blame them. After all, Cedric had frozen her family, and he would have done the same to her. Maybe she shouldn't have forgiven him so easily, but after hearing his emotional outburst about how unfairly he had always been treated, her heart had gone out to him, and she had forgiven him pretty quickly. It didn't make what he did right, but she understood his reasons for doing it. He just wanted respect and acceptance. He wanted everyone to see what a great sorcerer he really was. But all this was several months ago. It was time for Roland to move on. "I'll talk to Dad later. He really needs to start giving you the benefit of the doubt."

"Thank you, my dear, but I don't think even you can change the king's opinion of me," he sighed sadly. "I may as well face facts. I'm just a worthless sorcerer."

"No, you're not." Sofia hated seeing her friend mentally beating himself up. She slid off the bench and moved to stand in front of him, reaching up to gently cup his face with her hands. "Mr. Cedric, you're not worthless. You saved us from Grimtrix. Only a great sorcerer could do that. It's just taking Dad some time to get over what happened. But I still think you're Cedric the Sensational, and I always will."

The princess gasped when Cedric's arms encircled her, pulling her close for a hug. She returned the gesture with a contented smile. The sorcerer had never initiated a hug before, so this was new, but she liked it.

"Thank you, Sofia," he whispered as he held her perhaps a bit tighter than need be. He buried his face in her hair, hoping she wouldn't notice the tear that was rolling down his cheek.

"Everything will be fine, Mr. Cedric," she whispered back. "You'll see."

…

Unbeknownst to the two friends, two animals were watching from a nearby tree.

"Aren't they precious?" Wriggley asked, her beady eyes glittering maliciously.

"They are sickening," Wormwood huffed in disgust, turning his back on the sorcerer and the princess. He eyed the weasel suspiciously. "And why are you here?"

"Ah, Wormy, I came to chill with my chum from the good old days." She chuckled when he gave her a disdained look. "No? Okay, here's the thing. I need that shiny pink Amulet of Avalor to help my master escape his magically sealed prison. And I thought that since you know your way around this giant castle maybe you would help me steal it."

"How did you escape your prison?" the raven questioned.

Wriggley smirked, waving her paw. "My claws can pick any lock. So, are you in?"

"Hmm… And what do I get in return?"

"How about this? If you help me get that amulet I'm sure Grimtrix will let you join us. You'll have the kind of master you deserve. Unless you would rather stay with that bungling fool." She let out a low cackle.

Wormwood didn't have to think about it for long. Grimtrix the Formerly Good had proven himself to be a truly evil sorcerer. Being his familiar sounded very appealing to the raven, especially since Wormwood was becoming increasingly sick of Cedric's goody–goody attitude. He missed the old days when they used to plot day in and day out to take over the kingdom. Those days were gone forever, thanks to that pesky little princess who had wormed her way into his master's heart. Wormwood felt a certain satisfaction in knowing Cedric hadn't gotten the king's trust back after the incident a few months ago. He nodded to the weasel. "Very well. I'm in. I deserve a better master."

"Good to know, Wormy." Wriggley grinned gleefully as she scampered to the base of the branch they were perched on. Reaching into a hole in the tree's trunk, she pulled out a small pouch and tossed it to the raven, who caught it in his talons. "Here's the plan. Tonight, while Princess Meddlesome Pest is asleep in her bed, you sneak into her room and sprinkle some of this Deep Sleep Powder on her. It should knock her out completely, so she won't notice when I creep up and unclasp her precious necklace. In fact, she won't wake until we're long gone." She laughed evilly. "Leave a window open for me, won't you? We'll meet here when it's dark. Toodles!" With that, she slipped down the tree and disappeared underneath a tall hedge.

For a time, Wormwood just sat there pondering the plot he'd just volunteered to take part in. It seemed very likely that this scheme to steal the amulet would actually succeed. Why hadn't his former master ever thought about simply putting the princess to sleep? Because he's an idiot, he thought. Sure, Cedric had given Sofia a sleeping spell telling her it would help with her dancing at the girl's debut ball. The plan had been to blackmail the new princess into giving him the amulet. Unfortunately, Cedric just had to see his plan in progress, and so, just like everyone else in the ballroom, he fell under the spell. Then there were all the other failed attempts; the invisibility potion, summoning the amulet in the guise of fixing the window… The only thing that actually worked was when Cedric had switched the jewel with a fake one, but even that hadn't panned out the way it should have. You were always a fool, Cedric, the raven thought bitterly. If you really wanted that amulet you would have come up with a decent plan to get it. You wouldn't even freeze the little brat when you finally did take over the kingdom. Well, tonight that jewel is coming off her neck. Clutching the pouch of sleeping powder tightly in his talons, he chuckled darkly. And I'll have a new master.

A/N: Yeah, I know… "Ally, you barely started a chapter story, so why are you starting another?" I've actually been working on this on and off. I do have more written, but I was going through my WiPs, and I just decided the first chapter of this story was done.

A few things… This story is inspired by agentgiggles27's story of the same name, so there will be similarities. This is an AU when Sofia never became a Protector for obvious reasons. Certain things that happened during Season 4, like Ivy's redemption, never happened here. The first two chapters take place between the episodes "Pin the Blame on the Genie" and "The Mystic Isles." Also, if you like certain couples, you'll be in for a shock.