Chapter 6: Arrival

The rest of the week was a bit of a blur to Sofia. When she told her friends about her plans to live in the cottage behind her shop, Ruby, Jade, and Lucinda all offered to help her move her thing there. The former princess tried to protest; there really wasn't that much to move. But her friends insisted, so she finally gave in. They all gathered some of her belongings and made their way to the newly repaired cottage. Lucinda was impressed with what Mahoney had done with the cottage from the outside, but when Sofia opened the door to let them inside, she scrunched up her nose when she noticed how bare the walls were. Mahoney had provided furniture, but there were no decorations to be seen. The witch pulled out her wand and conjured several paintings for the living room, telling Sofia to consider them homewarming gifts.

The four friends spent most of that day getting the house ready to be lived in. Lucinda filled the kitchen cupboards with food and dishes before filling the bookshelf in the living room with books, and then she moved to the hall closet, where she conjured blankets, towels, and anything else that might be needed. Ruby made the beds and hung curtains that Lucinda had conjured in the living room and bedrooms. Jade helped Sofia carry more of her things from the back of her shop to the cottage. By the end of the day, a lot had been done. Sofia wasn't planning to actually move into the house until Cedric arrived, so some of her things were left in her shop. She was grateful for all her friends had done to help her, and she hoped she could find a way to return the favor somehow.

…

The day Cedric was due to arrive was sunny and warm. The villagers of Dunwiddie went about their daily routines as usual, unaware that the village would soon have a new resident. Ruby, Jade, and Lucinda knew the former royal sorcerer was coming, of course, but they hadn't told anyone.

As for Sofia, she managed to focus on her work for most of the day. If anyone asked her how she was feeling, she would have said that she was happy. And she was; she was happy and excited to get to see her old friend again. But she was also a little nervous now that the day of his arrival had come. So many years had gone by since she had last seen him. She knew she wasn't the same girl she was ten years ago, but how much had he changed? Would he be happy to see her? Would he want her to live with him? These questions and others had kept her awake until very late the night before, but she was able to push them to the back of her mind and work in her shop in the morning and most of the afternoon.

Late in the afternoon, Sofia closed her shop for the day and sat on a bench outside to wait for Amber, who had informed her via a messenger the day before that she would come to the village to meet the coach from the Tri–Kingdom Prison. The former princess sat there watching villagers walk in and out of the bakery. A sign in the front window indicated that the baker had made two dozen pies and was giving away pieces for free. She wondered if she should get a piece for Cedric.

She didn't have much time to think about this. She spotted the royal coach coming down the road. At the sight of it, people started gathering in a crowd to greet their queen. Sofia had to smile. Amber hadn't been queen very long, but the people of Enchancia loved her just as much as they had loved King Roland II. She was kind and generous, always making time to talk to the villagers and inquire if they needed anything whenever she visited a village. And she loved being the center of attention; something that would probably never change. However, today was different.

As soon as the coach came to a stop in the village square, the queen stood up, a pleasant smile crossing her face as she addressed the gathered villagers. "People of Dunwiddie," she began in a loud, clear voice. "As much as I would love to visit with you all, I have some important business to attend to. Please return to whatever you were doing before I arrived and pay no mind to anything that might happen in the next few hours. I promise I will make time for you the next time I come here."

The people murmured amongst themselves, curious about the business she had. But they soon went back to their usual afternoon routine.

"Amber, was that really necessary?" Sofia asked as she walked up to the coach.

"Of course it was, Sofia," she responded as she stepped down. "Cedric will be here soon, and I doubt he would want to have peoples staring at him when he arrives."

"I guess you're right…"

"I'm always right." She grinned playfully, causing her sister to roll her eyes. She brushed a hand over the skirt of the simple green dress she had chosen to wear as she looked around the village. Her eyes lit up when she saw the sign in the bakery window. Turning to Sofia, she said, "I'll be right back." Without waiting for a response, she hurried to the bakery.

Sofia watched curiously as Amber disappeared inside the bakery. A few minutes later, her eyes widened when her sister emerged carrying a whole pie. "Amber, what's that for?" she asked when the blonde reached her. She eyed the pie, which seemed to be made with several types of berries.

"You and Cedric," she replied with a sweet smile. "It's a little homewarming gift from me."

"Oh." Sofia wondered momentarily if her sister had read her mind since she had been thinking of getting Cedric a piece of pie. She shook her head and smiled. "That's nice of you."

Amber shrugged. "I like doing things for my sister." She hummed thoughtfully before adding, "Cedric probably hasn't had anything sweet for a very long time, so I think he could use a good piece of pie. Now…" She nodded toward Sofia's shop. "Let's go see that cottage. I would like to put this pie down so I don't get sticky stuff all over my dress if I accidently drop it."

"Oh, Amber," Sofia chuckled. Her sister's antics never failed to amuse her.

The two of them walked around the dress shop to the path that led to the cottage. Sofia told Amber about Mahoney clearing the path. The queen was glad to hear this and promised to give him a raise. Once inside the cottage, the blonde deposited the pie in the kitchen before following Sofia around for a tour.

"These painting are beautiful," she said in the living room.

"They're from Lucinda. I'll tell her you like them."

"Please do. Tell her I especially love the sunset picture."

"Why is everything in such a dark color in here?" Amber asked in a baffled voice, looking around at the dark purple curtains and dark green bedding in one of the bedrooms. "I thought you liked lighter colors."

"I do, Amber. This will be Cedric's room."

"Oh, of course!" she laughed sheepishly. "For a minute there I was wondering why you hadn't told me you had a new favorite color."

Sofia rolled her eyes and led her sister across the hall to what would be her room.

"Every home should have a good bath tub," Amber declared in the lavatory, eying the claw foot tub approvingly. "I'll definitely give Mahoney a raise for giving you this luxury."

"Oh, Amber…" Sofia giggled.

Needless to say, Amber was very satisfied with her sister's new home.

…

A little while later, the two sisters were back at the village square waiting for the coach from the Tri–Kingdom Prison to arrive. By this time, most people had headed home, whether it was because their queen had told the not to pay attention to whatever might happen or simply because their business was done for the day. Amber sat on a bench while Sofia paced in front of her. The closer the time came for the coach to arrive, the more anxious Sofia seemed to get.

"Sofia," the queen sighed. "Come sit down before you wear a hole in the ground."

"The ground is made of dirt, Amber," the younger woman muttered as she continued to pace. "A hole can be refilled. And I can't sit still because I'm so nervous about seeing Cedric again. I'm so happy he's going to be free after being in prison for so long. But what if he doesn't want to live with me? And what if—"

Amber frowned and stood up. She grabbed her sister's wrist and pulled to the bench, forcing her to sit down. Placing her hands on Sofia's shoulders, she confessed, "Sofia… there's something I probably should have told you when we had tea the other day. I was going to, but… I had some things to do."

"What is it?" Sofia could see the serious look in her eyes.

"I'm afraid that if Cedric is left alone, he might try to… do something bad…"

She frowned heavily, furrowing her brows, not liking what she seemed to be implying. "Amber…"

"It's not what you're probably thinking." Amber glanced around to be sure no one was nearby before sitting down next to her. "I'm just worried about Cedric," she said quietly. "When I wrote to the prison's warden telling him I wanted to free Cedric, he wrote back telling me some things he thought I should know." She took Sofia's hand as she went on. "Cedric was very depressed when he first got there. But a few days after he arrived, he got a visitor. The visitor was only in the building for a few minutes. The warden didn't know what happened, but after that, Cedric just spiraled downward. He just seemed to give up on life; he stopped taking care of himself, and there were a few times when he didn't eat for several days."

Sofia's eyes widened in horror. "That's awful."

"I know…"Amber squeezed her hand. "But miraculously, Cedric started taking care of himself again. Things were fine until about five years ago. A guard found a razor hidden in Cedric's cell. The warden couldn't be sure how or when he managed to get it there, but he was worried that Cedric might try to hurt himself or worse. He had Cedric monitored closely after that. Thankfully, Cedric seemed fine, depressed, yes, but otherwise fine. The warden mentioned that there were times when Cedric seemed almost happy, but no one knew exactly why…"

Sofia felt tears welling up in her eyes, and she blinked, trying to hold them back. Devastation and anger washed over her after listening to Amber. She felt anger toward Roland for putting her best friend through ten years of imprisonment for something he hadn't done. At that moment, she really wanted to give her stepfather a piece of her mind… A tear escaped her eye and rolled down her cheek as her thoughts turned to Cedric. She wanted to wrap her arms around him and hug him tightly. She didn't expect anyone to be happy in prison, but the very thought of him being so depressed that he would just give up on life broke her heart. Cedric should not have been in prison. He should have been in his tower at the castle, doing the job he loved and being the great sorcerer she believed he could be. He hadn't deserved the way life had turned out for him…

"Sofia…" Amber gently wiped away the tears trickling down her sister's cheeks before wrapping her arm around her. "It will be all right. Things will get better for Cedric now that he's going to be free."

She sniffled. "How can you be so sure?"

"Because…" The queen smiled softly. "He'll have you back in his life. He was always happiest when he was with you, even if he didn't always show it. You lit up his life in a way that no one else could. I want you to be his housemate so he'll have someone who cares about him close by."

Sofia gave her a watery smile. But before she could say anything, the two women were distracted by a covered coach coming into the village.

"Ah, here they are," Amber said as the coach slowed to a stop across from where they were. She stood up and smoothed out her skirt before walking across the road followed by Sofia, who stayed a few steps behind her. "Hello, Captain Chen," she greeted the stout man who had climbed down from the driver's seat along with the driver, who also appeared to be a guard.

"Queen Amber." Both men bowed respectfully before Chen said, "I do apologize if we kept you waiting long."

"No need to apologize. I actually came early to see my sister." She gestured to Sofia. "I hope the journey went smoothly."

"The journey was fine, a pleasure even. Your kingdom is very beautiful this time of year." He gave the guard a meaningful look. The man nodded and moved to the side of the coach, opening the door. After a long moment another man stepped out. "Here he is, Your Majesty." He gestured to the man, who stepped forward timidly. "Sorcerer Cedric as you requested."

Sofia's breath caught in her throat when she saw Cedric for the first time in ten years. He was thinner and paler than she remembered, but other than that, he still looked the same. Her heart ached to run to him and hug him, but, given how much time had passed, she wasn't sure she should.

Amber smiled kindly toward the former prisoner. "Welcome back to Enchancia, Cedric."

Cedric bowed shakily but said nothing, his eyes looking down at the ground.

"He's not very social, Your Majesty," Chen told her. "He spoke very little the entire time he was with us."

Amber nodded. "I understand."

"We should get back," Chen said. "If we start now, we should get back before dark."

The warden and his guard climbed back up into the driver's seat. The coach went around the village square in order to turn back in the direction it had come.

When it was gone, Amber approached the former royal sorcerer. "Cedric," she said quietly, a soft smile forming on her lips when he looked up at her. "I just want you to know that you're free now."

Cedric nodded but still didn't speak.

The queen stood there for a minute to see if he would say anything. When he didn't, she walked back to Sofia. "I need to get back to the castle. Axel and Bianca are coming for dinner." She wrapped her arms around her sister, hugging her gently as she whispered in her ear, "Take your friend home, Sofia." Releasing her, she walked to the royal coach, climbing in and instructing the coachman to take her home.

Left alone, Sofia glanced toward Cedric. Her heart went out to him when she saw how lost he looked as he stared down at his feet. She drew in a deep breath as she slowly walked toward him. "Hello, Mr. Cedric," she said softly when she stood in front of him.

He looked up at her, staring at her face for a long minute before speaking for the first time. "P–Princess Sofia?"

She shook her head. "It's just Sofia now." She saw the questioning look on his face, but she didn't offer an explanation. That could wait until later. Right now, she just wanted to get him to the cottage. She raised a hand to take one of his but let it fall back to her side when it occurred to her that he might not like her holding his hand. "If you'll come with me, I'll show you where we're going to live."

"Oh… okay," he responded.

She led him around her shop toward the cottage.

A/N: Look at that! Another chapter this year! This chapter and the next were originally one, but when I started writing the chapter, I decided this was a good place to stop.

Next chapter we'll see how Cedric and Sofia's first evening went. Things will start to get better for Cedric after this. Also, there will be spice coming up.

Until next time.