Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

During breakfast on her 15th birthday, Sofia tells her family the only thing she wants for her birthday is Cedric’s hand in marriage. They don’t quite get why she’d pick him, but if that’s what Sofia wants, that’s what Sofia gets.

They ask when she wants to have the wedding and she says that night. That it doesn’t need to be a super big affair, because it was less about the fanfare and more about being with the one she adored. That being said, she lets Amber be in charge of the planning. The blonde says she has her work cut out for her, planning an entire wedding in less than a day, but that if anyone could handle it of course it would be her. She of course said this while flicking her hair.

“Sofia, have you talked to Cedric about this yet?” Miranda asks.

“No not yet, I just wanted to get your permission before asking him, but I’m sure he’ll say yes.” Sofia says, excited.

“In that case,” Roland speaks up. “why don’t you and Baileywick go talk to the royal dress maker so they can get started on your wedding dress right away. That way they’ll have time to finish it before tonight. Then you can go talk to Cedric.”

“That’s a great idea! Thanks dad, thanks everyone.” Sofia says before grabbing Baileywick’s hand and all but running off in the direction needed.

While she’s distracted with that, Roland quickly makes his way to the tower, almost certain he would find Cedric there, and he was right.

“Ah, your royal highness! What brings you here to my humble workshop?” Cedric asks after frantically shoving some papers into a drawer. “A potion, an elixir, a spell, or perhaps a curse~?”

Roland strolls through the workshop casually, picking up a strange little object and inspecting is curiously. “Something a bit different this time, actually:” he says as he sets down the item and turns around to face the sorcerer. “You are to marry Sofia.”

“… Oh, that is a good one your magnificence!” Cedric slapped his knee for emphasis as he let out a few laughs. “I didn’t know you had such a sense of humor… uh,” His laughter tapered off as he noticed the king’s wooden expression. “You’re serious.”

“As you probably know,” Roland began as he started to make his way over to where Cedric sat in his chair. “today is her birthday. For reasons I don’t understand she wants your hand in marriage. It’s the only thing she asked for and I will make sure she gets it because I’ll do anything to make her happy.” He now loomed over the sorcerer menacingly, a dark expression on his face. “And if you’re smart, you will too. Are we understood?” He finished in a voice that spoke pain if disobeyed.

Cedric’s mouth went dry and he gulped nervously before somehow managing to squeak out “Yes, your majesty.”

“Good.” The king said brightly, quite the contrast to a few seconds ago, and he turned to head out the door. “I know you won’t disappoint me.” He waved over his shoulder.

Cedric sagged into his chair like a marionette with its strings cut. “Oh Wormy, how do I get myself into these kinds of situations?”

The raven alighted on his shoulder and gave a sympathetic squawk.

-

“Hey Cedric~” Sofia says after opening the door to his workshop, hands behind her back coyly.

“Oh, hello Sofia. Uh, happy birthday!” He greets her, standing up and trying not to let his jitters show.

“Thank you!” She crosses the threshold and slowly makes her way towards him. “And speaking of which, there’s one thing I’m really hoping I get for it. Something I want more than anything I’ve ever wanted.”

“Oh? And what might that be?” Cedric asks as levelly as his quickly knotting stomach will allow, already knowing the answer.

She finishes closing the distance, then brings her hands in front of her to present Cedric with a small box. “Cedric,” She begins, nerves starting to show as she shuffles her feet. “will you marry me?” She finishes as she opens the box, revealing its contents. Cedric’s eyes widen, recognizing what exactly it was immediately. A blue feather from the rare color-changing fire phoenix. Nearly impossible to find, and even harder to obtain. He gently took it from her hands to examine it up close. There appeared to be a clear protective layer placed over it, and it had been fashioned into a wearable brooch, all without disturbing the feather itself. The perfect proposal gift, suited exactly to his tastes.

So this was really, actually happening.

Oh, if she wanted a wedding that badly why couldn’t she have chosen literally anyone else? He wasn’t exactly… suitable marriage material. He wanted nothing more than to gently turn her away, but—the king’s unspoken threat fresh in his mind—he took a breath and looked down at the expectant princess, saying the damning words “Yes Sofia, I will.” with as genuine of a smile as he could muster.

Sofia’s face lights up like a Wassailia tree. “Oh, this is the happiest day of my life!” She lunges forward and gives him a tight hug around his waist. “I’m going to go tell everyone the good news!” She exclaims before all but sprinting out of the room.

He gives it a few seconds before he sinks to his knees. “Oh, Merlin’s mushrooms! How am I going to get out of this one?” He asks the room at large, knowing he won’t receive an answer, but getting a soft squawk in response.

He doesn’t have long to rethink his life choices before a maid enters his workshop. “Princess Amber requests your presence.”

“Of course she does.”

-

“There you are, finally! We don’t have all day you know.” The blonde princess says in a huff.

Cedric can’t help but notice how busy the castle seems, servants running around in all directions, putting up decorations, gathering supplies of all sorts, and are those brownprints he sees being drawn up? He feels anxiety starting to build in his stomach. “Um, do you happen to know when the wedding is dated for? Two years from now, perhaps three?” He asks, nervously optimistic.

“Oh, don’t you know? It’s happening tonight. It is Sofia’s birthday wish after all.” Amber tells him, as if it isn’t a big deal (or a completely life-altering event).

Oh dear. Well at least Cedric can take solace in knowing that it’s in all likelihood just another temporary fascination of Sofia’s, like when she gets into dancing, or learning archery, or an instrument, and it’s all she can think about until something else catches her attention and she moves on.

She must just be excited to experience the whole wedding celebration foofaraw, what with the cake and decorations and party guests and fancy outfits, and presents, and there was no way she’d be interested in the more… intimate aspects of it. She was still pretty young after all, still played with her animals and had sleepovers, so at least Cedric didn’t have to worry about that, thank goodness. He would just have to play along until she got bored and moved onto the next thing, like paper folding or swan taming.

“Anyway, the reason I summoned you. You are to see the royal tailor for a fitting so an outfit can be made for you to wear tonight.”

Cedric bristles at that. “I will do no such thing; I can make my own outfit, thank you very much.”

“You know how to sew?” Amber asks with a delicate eyebrow septically raised.

“Please, I can make it with magic.” He says, waving his wand for emphasis. “Sorcerer, remember?”

“Okay, go ahead then.” Amber says without missing a beat.

“Come again?” Cedric says, having expected more of a fight (or any at all) from her.

“Make an outfit. Amaze me.” She crosses her arms, settling in to watch.

“Well, I can’t do it with you staring at me!”

“Oh fine, follow me.” She leads him to a room with a partition for changing. “There, happy? Now, I won’t leave until you’ve made an outfit suitable for the wedding.”

He grumbles to himself as he makes his way behind the divider and starts imagining a design.

“What’s the holdup?” Amber asks after about 5 seconds, impatiently tapping her foot.

“I’m thinking! You can’t rush art.” Cedric yells back from behind the divider.

“Fine, fine.” She gives it a couple minutes this time and is just about to tell him to hurry it along when she hears him cast a spell. He then steps out and her eyes go wide. He was now wearing the most magnificent robe she had ever seen: all a purple so deep it looked black, with brilliant reflective thread creating beautiful, intricate designs—a raven on his back with its wings spread across his shoulder blades, twin dragons snaking down his sleeves, a serpent circling his collar, flames crawling their way up from the entirety of a hem that kissed the floor. He even had white ruffles that seemed to glow peaking out from the open part of the robe at his chest. It hugged his figure just so in all the right places to accentuate his lithe frame and tapered waist, and flowed so smoothly along his form, like silken water. Even his hair had been magically gelled back, his silver bangs now resembling wings along the sides of his head. To top it off there was a magnificent, scintillating blue feather brooch in place of a carnation. He looked perfect.

“Well? What do you think?”

Snapping out of it, Amber suddenly realized she had been staring and felt a blush start to creep its way to her cheeks. She spun on her heel and said “I suppose it will do.” as she made her exit. “Now come along, there’s much more to prepare before the ceremony and no time to waste.”

“Of course.” Cedric had a feeling they would be having him do a lot of the heavy lifting, what with his magic and all (despite it being his wedding), and he was right.

The ceremony was to be held in the grand ballroom, as it was the largest open space in the castle. Anyone from the nearby villages was welcome to attend if they were able to get there in time, and Amber had no problem requesting Cedric’s assistance in decorating and setting it up.

By the time they were finished it was well into the evening and Cedric was halfway exhausted. Did they really need three pianos?

“Oh, it looks magnificent! For such short notice anyway.” Amber said magnanimously, then turned toward Cedric and wrinkled her nose at his appearance. “Why don’t you take a seat in the kitchens and have some refreshments? I’ll send for you once the guests arrive and it’s time to start the ceremony.”

There was no way Cedric was going to pass up that offer. “Sounds lovely.” He said only halfway sarcastically.

-

After some time off his feet, a break from spell-casting, and some good food Cedric was feeling much better. Now back in the ballroom, standing at the alter, he looked out at the absolute sea of people sat on the many rows of seats he helped set up on either side of a long red carpet, and attempted not to fidget nervously. He also tried not to wonder how many people were in the room, but was at least relieved that they were too busy chatting amongst themselves to pay him much mind.

It was just about time.

Cedric then noticed Sofia’s friends from her old village were doing the job as the flower girls, making sure not a square inch of the isle wasn’t covered in fragrant petals as they skipped their way down.

Before he was ready (not that he would ever be), the telltale music began and Cedric looked over to see King Roland begin walking Sofia down the isle. Cedric took in her outfit and its many details, noticing her dress looked similar to her usual everyday purple one, but extra fancy, covered in pearls each surrounded with little crystals, and it had pegasus wings on the back. Cedric was impressed that someone was able to make something so intricate in less than a day. Her hair was also done up, all sorts of fancy braids and ribbons twisting this way and that, with little crystals peaking out in all the right places to catch the sunlight just so. And last but not least her shoes appeared to be made of glass, but stained lilac to match her dress, with those same little crystals surrounding both the bottom and top rims of the slippers. It was an impressive outfit, that was for sure.

He caught her looking him up and down too, but she had stopped in place, mouth hanging open, and the king had to give her a nudge to continue walking forward. That didn’t stop her from slowly scanning him top to bottom multiple times though, mouth still ajar. She must be impressed by the detail work too. He did do a good job with it, didn’t he? He tried not to preen himself as she made her way up the few steps to where Cedric stood for the ceremony. She smiled at him and he smiled back, her happiness being contagious as usual.

Just then the officiator stepped into place and began to speak. Cedric stiffened as the reality of the situation set back in and he had to breathe deeply to calm down, reminding himself this would all blow over in a couple weeks if he was right. Which he usually was.

He tried not to let the dull, trite words of age old tradition bore him to death, but then wished for the monotony back when he suddenly had to put effort into keeping himself from shaking as his and Sofia’s hands were guided to join, fingers interlaced as a ribbon was wrapped around them a few times.

This was it.

“Do you wish to cement a bond between the two of you forged in holy matrimony?” Were the words directed at the princess.

“Of course I do.” Sofia beamed.

“Then by the powers vested in me, I pronounce you tied together in wedlock.”

It didn’t slip Cedric’s notice that the officiator not only neglected to ask if anyone objected, but also for his consent to the marriage (no doubt the king having had something to do with that). It was just as well though, he supposed; it’s not like he could’ve said no and lived.

Then it was time for the reception.

-~•~-

Cedric sat bored at a table off to the far side in the vast garden while the common folk (he includes the royals in that category, yes) mingled and snacked on the refreshments provided; lain out on rows of ornately decorated tables. Tables upon which sat massive, opulent centerpieces, taking up the majority of available space, which explained why they needed so darn many tables to hold the food. Cedric didn’t understand what all the ostentation was for at these such events, and he sincerely hoped he never would.

Another thing he didn’t understand was Sofia’s friends.

Most of the other princesses had been able to make it to the wedding, having received word as soon as the event had been set in stone, and Sofia had wasted no time in dragging Cedric over to where they were immediately after the ceremony had ended.

They had first congratulated Sofia on the marriage and then oohed and ahhed at her dress, before finally noticing Cedric and then kind of just, staring at him with their mouths slightly open, looking him up and down—causing Cedric to check to see if he had spilled something on himself—before telling Sofia she was ‘so lucky’, and that they were jealous. If they were so jealous of all the celebration nonsense why didn’t they just have their own weddings? They had the means.

Then he heard Amber whisper to the blue-haired princess behind a fan while eyeing him “He cleans up well, doesn’t he?”
Well, I did do a good job with cleaning and setting up the ballroom, I suppose. Cedric had thought, but wondered why she would be bringing that up now. Hildegard giggled and nodded while pulling out her own fan to cover half her face coyly. The other princesses followed suit, giggling while pulling Sofia away to who knew where.

Cedric had wisely chosen then to make his way to the garden so he could finally get some fresh air and take a seat, but had groaned when he was met with the sight of a veritable sea of people between him and his destination, chatting amongst themselves. Oh well, there was nothing for it; he resigned himself to his fate of having to push and squeeze his way through, as was usual whenever he was up against a crowd. Sighing, he began his arduous task, only to be surprised when—after excusing himself past a couple people—the crowd started to part for him, everyone hushing and turning to stare as he made his way through, the entire room soon becoming silent. …Seriously, did he accidentally make his hair green or something?? Luckily he had made it to the garden without further incident.

Back in the present he groaned when one of the most annoying people in the world came into his vision. “Hey Cedric!” Said one of the royal twins (and he was just having such a good time being bored). “Amber told me you made your outfit yourself, and I was wondering if you could make me an outfit too! That way I can be popular like you.”

What in the world was he talking about? “What, in the world, are you talking about?” Cedric? Popular? Never.

“Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed?” James asked like he was crazy. “Just look over there.”

Cedric indulged the blond and turned his head in the direction the young man was pointing. He saw a group of people throwing glances his way and giggling amongst themselves. He raised an eyebrow at them, causing them to blush and frantically turn away, some bumping into each other in their haste.

Why was everyone acting so weird today? He conjured a full-length mirror to see if there was anything strange about his appearance, only to see not a single hair out of place, and his outfit immaculate.

“So, how about it? Can you do it?”

“Yes sure, whatever, just ask me some other time.” Cedric said as he waved away the mirror, causing it to disappear in a poof; anything to get that royal nuisance out of his hair.

“Brilliant! Thanks!”

“Yes yes, now begone with you.” He shooed him away.

As James headed off Sofia took his place. “You ready to retire to our room now?” She asked the tired sorcerer, having finished talking with everyone she wanted to, it seemed.

“Absolutely, lead the way.” He replied, eager to do just that.

Sofia had been given a larger room now that two people were meant to be living in it, and told Cedric that she helped finish preparing it for them, adding the ‘final touches’. Probably meant she put up extra decorations or something.

“The royal tailor really outdid themself today.” Sofia spoke when they were in a hallway in the castle, eyeing his robe as they walked side by side.

“With this? I actually made it myself.” Cedric puffed out his chest and placed a boastful hand upon it, always happy to have his work appreciated.

“You did? Well you have quite the knack for clothing design; it is very fetching.” The princess said with a smirk as she gave him a quick once over, placing a hand on his back and letting it gently caress him, gliding across to his side before slipping off as she continued walking forward.

He fell behind as that made him freeze in place. Did she just, was she-
He swallowed and then tried to calm his suddenly racing heart, thinking there’s no way she could possibly desire him… like that.

Could she?

And then a thought came to mind. Didn’t newlyweds usually… c-c-consummate the marriage? Is that what they were heading to the room for?

Wait, no no no no no, what was he thinking? Of course not! Sofia wouldn’t even be thinking about that kind of stuff for several more years, right? So he should have nothing to worry about. It was silly of him to even consider such a notion.

He’s pulled from his thoughts then as he notices Sofia standing just outside the entrance to what he assumes is their new room, judging by the ostentatious design.

“And here we are!” She shouts giddily before pushing open the massive double doors.

He follows her in and tries not to gape. If he thought the doors were fancy, the interior took it to a new level. He’s never even slept in a room a tenth this nice in his entire life.

“Well, what do you think?”

“It’s, um, big.” Cedric eloquented, noting how much square footage was being devoted to nothing, when it wasn’t housing plush furniture. He never understood royalty and their fascination with woefully misutilized spaces.

“It sure is!” Sofia smiled before heading to a door off to the side that Cedric assumed led to a washroom. She slipped in before poking her head back out a second later. “I’ll be out in just a few minutes, now don’t you go anywhere~” she said coyly before shutting the door.

That tone made him feel uneasy, tickling at the back of his mind. And where would he go anyway? This was his room now. Plus he was exhausted from the events of the day. He decided to push that uneasy feeling down and give the room a more thorough inspection.

He cast his gaze over the many features the room had to offer with a bored sort of interest until it landed on the nightstand, which had an assortment of items upon it. Cocking an eyebrow he took a couple steps forward to examine it closer. Not a second later he realized what exactly said items were, and more importantly what they were for, and in that moment he was certain his heart stopped.

The setup was unmistakable. And Sofia said she had added the finishing touches herself, which meant she did actually want to, to, to-

Oh no

He’d never been interested in… that. Just the thought of doing it with anyone was revolting to him. In fact, thinking about it made him downright nauseous. And now, faced with the reality that he was expected to actually engage in it, and that if he didn’t Sofia might get upset enough for her father to notice, and then Cedric would no doubt be sentenced to death!

He started feeling lightheaded and found he had trouble pulling in sufficient air. Soon all he could hear was a high-pitched ringing and his own stuttered harsh breathing, and he only managed to put a couple steps of distance between himself and the horrid display before the world suddenly tilted and everything went black.

Chapter Text

Cedric wakes to the feeling of being shaken by the shoulder and cracks open his eyes to see a worried Sofia looking down at him. “Cedric! Are you okay? Should I call for the doctor?”

“No, no I don’t think that will be necessary.” The sorcerer says as he sits up and runs a hand through his hair, checking for a bump and luckily not finding one.

“Oh okay, if you’re sure.” Sofia says, hesitantly. “What happened?” she then asks, still looking concerned.

“Oh, you know, just a little fainting spell. Well, not an actual spell, but, you know.” Cedric replies, finding the floor to be fascinating suddenly. After several seconds of silence though, he feels a hand cup his cheek and tries not to tense as it makes his pulse quicken (and not in the good way). He looks up at said hand’s owner and can’t help but notice her glance down at his lips. He pales and shuts his eyes, pulling in a slow breath in an attempt to calm his now racing heart.

“Cedric? What’s wrong?” Sofia asks as her hand slips from his face.

But what could he tell her? Not the truth certainly. Anytime he had ever done that in the past he was met with reactions ranging anywhere from pretend indulgence to outright ridicule, or worse. No one ever understood, not even his parents (who would tell him it’s just a phase he’d grow out of and he’d feel different, normal later), and so he kept that part of himself hidden from the world. It was best if no one knew.

Hmm, perhaps he could just say he had a headache.

“Come on, you can tell me.” Sofia says, and Cedric somehow feels like she genuinely means it. He opens his eyes to look into hers and sees the sincerity clearly visible in them.

Well… maybe this one time he could- but no! He knew better than that by now. But he had to tell her something. He decides a half truth should work for now, but even that wouldn’t be easy.

“Very well.” He says, taking a deep, calming breath. “The truth is, I’ve never… never, uh…” he couldn’t even bring himself to say the actual words aloud “never done this with anyone.” He settled on, gesturing fervently at nothing in particular, in an all-encompassing motion.

Sofia scrunches her eyebrows in thought for a few seconds as she tries to understand. “Gotten married?” She guesses.

“No! Well yes, but that’s not what I’m talking about.”

“Then what are you talking about?”

Oh, was she really going to make him say it? Because he didn’t know if he was even physically capable. Not trusting himself to put words to his feelings he just gestures at the big bed and then the supplies next to it, not daring to even look at the latter.

Sofia tilts her head in thought before seeming to come to a conclusion. “Oh! So what you’re saying is, you’ve never had-

“Yes, yes, exactly” Cedric interrupted, not wanting to even hear the term, especially not coming out of her mouth.

“Ohhh.” The princess says, letting the new information settle in. “Well, that’s okay Cedric; it’s fine if you don’t have any experience. I don’t mind.” At his visible tensing she puts a gentle hand on his shoulder, thinking she might know what the problem is now. “Hey, if you don’t feel ready yet, we can take things slow until you do. How does that sound?” She smiles encouragingly.

Cedric wants to tell her that it would have to be continental drift slow, because he would never be ‘ready’; he was actually incapable of being a willing partner. But he knew that wouldn’t go over well, so he accepts her token for now and decides to come up with a plan for how to get out of it for good later. He would just need some time to think.

She suggests they just cuddle tonight, and while he isn’t even comfortable with that (knowing what she really wants) he agrees, so as not to make her suspicious.

They settle in, Sofia with her chest to Cedric’s back and an arm snaked across his chest, face nuzzled against his neck. After a few minutes of Cedric remaining tense Sofia decides to rub soothing circles into his chest, guessing it must feel a little scary for him to sleep somewhere other than his tower. “It’s okay Cedric; you’re safe here with me.”

But for how long? Cedric thought. Eventually he managed to relax enough after believing that he would at least not have to worry about tonight. Just as he was about to drift off though, Sofia whispered “I love you, Cedric.” against his neck.

It took all of his willpower to not re-tense at those words as his mind flashed back to the last time he had heard them. It was on a night not that long ago (perhaps a couple weeks), after he had helped stop a powerful threat from taking over the kingdom, that she helped him to his room as he was too exhausted to make the trip by himself. Once he was settled into his bed she looked at him with smiling eyes and said “I love you, Cedric.” And he thought nothing of it, responding in kind, as she had wormed her way into his heart, becoming his dearest friend.

Had she meant that as something more than friendship? And thought he had too? Oh, that was not good. He decided to pretend he was already asleep so he wouldn’t have to respond this time.

-

Cedric awoke the next day to the sound of knocking, and blearily opened his eyes, still feeling drained from the events of the day previous. He looked to the side to see the bed empty save for himself, then noticed the blankets had been tucked in snugly around him. Another round of knocking sounded and Cedric all but growled “Oh, come on in.” as he forced himself to sit up, only to note Baileywick had already started to enter before he finished his sentence.

“Good morning, prince.” The castle steward said in greeting.

‘Prince’, huh? He wasn’t going to lie, he kind of liked the sound of that. ‘Prince Cedric’ did have a nice ring to it, after all. That feeling was short lived by the words the grey-haired man uttered next as he pulled out a scroll.

“Here are the items on the agenda today. You are to perform your royal sorcerer duties in an efficient manner, as you are expected to be finished with them before you and the princess are to go on a lovely picnic, followed by some other fun activities. You’ll find that your necessary belongings have been brought down from your tower, and your clothing can be found in that dresser there.”

Cedric feels a little violated that his private space had been invaded without his permission, but kept it to himself, as he knew it would do no good to complain about it now, so he just shoos the steward away and does as told.

He attends to his duties—a spell for this, a potion for that, rearranging some furniture here and there, for goodness sake (a task made more trying due to the constricted time-frame)—until it’s almost time to leave for the picnic and he’s summoned by the king.

As he makes his way to the dining room where Roland was supposedly having a meal, he passes by a hall where Sofia is talking to her sister and Cedric overhears part of their conversation.

“After all, sharing is caring. So, how about it?” The blonde asks with her hands clasped in front of her in a pleading fashion.

Sofia then spots Cedric, and smiles contentedly before turning her attention back to Amber, shaking her head and saying “James asked me the same thing earlier, and I’ll tell you what I told him: sorry, but no.”

“Oh, you’re no fun Sofia.” Amber then notices Cedric herself and gives him a quick once-over before pouting and storming off.

Odd, Cedric thinks before refocusing on his current task.

“You called for me, sire?” He says after entering the dining room

“Ah, Cedric! Just the man I wanted to see.” Roland said congenially. “Come have a seat, why don’t you?” He gestured at a vacant chair to his side.

“Oh, that’s quite alright; I’m fine here, sir.” Cedric demurred, not wanting to be closer to the man than necessary.

“Come on, I insist.” The king motions to a servant who obediently pulls the chair out in invitation. Cedric tries not to sigh aloud as he makes his way over, feeling compelled to at this point. “That’s more like it.” Roland says after the sorcerer is seated. “Why don’t you have a drink too while you’re here?” He motions to another servant who pours a generous helping of a red liquid into an awaiting goblet. “That will be all.” Roland directs at the help, who efficiently make their way out of the room.

The door closing behind them was the impetus for Cedric’s anxiety to kick up a notch. He tried not to gulp nervously, and wanted to ask why he’d been summoned, as it could not have been just to have a shared drink with the king, but what he wanted even more was to avoid the conversation entirely. He was saved from having to make a choice when the king spoke up.

“You know,” Roland said as he began to slice into the side of the whole roasted duck he had on his plate (Cedric wondering why they left the head on while serving it if people usually didn’t even bother eating it). “I’ve never seen Sofia so happy before.” He said in what sounded like wonderment. “She’s all but glowing, in fact.” He let out an amused chuckle. “I wanted to offer you my congratulations on a job well done.”

Cedric merely smiled hesitantly and nodded, not exactly wanting to thank the king for complimenting him on his part in this whole debacle.

“I don’t know what you’re doing to bring out such joy in her, but I strongly encourage you to keep it up,” the blond then looked down at his duck and dropped all pretenses of friendliness when he uttered his next words, lowering his voice menacingly. “As I’d hate to see what would happen if you disappointed me.” Then with a forceful movement he sliced clean through the neck of the bird, separating the head from the body entirely, and causing Ceddric’s face to lose what little color remained at this point. “Well, I won’t keep you;” he was then back to lighthearted excitement, like a switch had been flipped, giving Cedric whiplash. “go have fun on that picnic!” He finished with a big smile.

Cedric took advantage of the clear dismissal, somehow managing to stand on shaky legs as he made his way out of the room, all too happy to put some distance between the two of them.

Soon as he was outside the room he took a few calming breaths to slow down his racing heart as he began to pace back and forth. Oh, what was he to do? He had to tread carefully, as he was stuck between a rock and a hard place. He had to keep Sofia happy, while also avoiding doing what it was she ultimately wanted, because no. Refusing any advances would definitely be the wrong way to go about it, as he’s sure that would distress her, but maybe if she was the one who decided she didn’t want to advance things further, that could work!

Problem was he had no idea how to do that. He’d have to do some serious brainstorming to figure something out. Yes, that would do it. Just like his old evil scheming days.

It was right then Baileywick decided to disturb his deliberating. “Oh good, you’re done with your meeting with the king. Come along now, it’s time for your picnic. The coachman is waiting for the two of you lovebirds outside.”

Oh, just when he thought he had a few seconds to himself, but no; “duty” called. He decided then that for now he just had to keep things going as slow as he could so he’d have time to come up with a proper plan to make her lose interest, while also not upsetting her. It was going to be a delicate balancing act, but he was sure he’d figure something out.

“Hi Cedric! How’s your morning been?” The somehow extra cheerful brunette greeted him once he reached the foyer.

The sight of her being happy to see him served to both lighten his heart, and also knot his stomach. This was going to be difficult, as Sofia was not someone Cedric wanted to disappoint, because seeing her happy made him happy. “Oh, hello Sofia. It has been, rather eventful, I should say.”

Sofia all but skipped her way over to him, while also making sure not to jostle the little basket she carried too much. She had woken up feeling super refreshed that morning, still snuggled up to her favorite sorcerer (who was now also her husband! Which she could still hardly believe) and hearing his adorable high-pitched sleeping sounds. When she sat up and looked down at him he looked so peaceful (and he’d had such a big day yesterday) she couldn’t bear to wake him, wanting to let him sleep in for at least a little while, so she carefully slipped out of bed so as not to accidentally disturb his slumber, then tucked the blankets around him for good measure, before gently brushing some hair out of his face and placing a soft kiss upon his forehead. He had looked so peaceful then, and here in the present—now that she was close enough to to see his face up close once again—she noted that it seemed a bit pinched. She frowned. “Is something the matter?”

“What?” The sorcerer seemed to be pulled out of a reverie. “Oh, just working on finding a solution to a complicated problem.”

“Oh, maybe I can help; I’m good at problem solving. Together I’m sure we could crack it.”

He very much doubted that. “I do so appreciate the offer, princess, but I’m afraid it is something I have to figure out on my own.” When she didn’t look too convinced he decided to change subjects. “It doesn’t matter right now anyway, what does matter is having a great time on our picnic! Speaking of which, what’s in the basket? Surely that isn’t holding all the picnic supplies.” he knew that while Sofia didn’t like to go as big as the rest of her family, he was also fairly certain she wasn’t one to go quite that modest either; the basket only being big enough to maybe squeeze a rabbit into.

“Oh, this is just a little something I prepared, myself. It’s a surprise~”

“In that case I shall leave it in your care, and keep my hands to myself.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t go that far.” she smirked.

Oh great, he really needed to work on his wording.

Soon they were settled into the open carriage and on their way to the picnic spot, Cedric taking the opportunity to give his plans some thought, but coming up blank.

Oh, what to do, what to do, what to-

“Hey Cedric, would you do me a favor?” Sofia spoke up suddenly.

“Hmm?” The sorcerer glanced to the side at her, interrupted from his musings, then caught up with her words. “Oh sure, what is it?”

She giggled at his distractible nature. “Okay, turn around.” She made a twirling motion with a finger to indicate what exactly she meant.

“Uh, alright?” He complied, turning to face the outside of the coach, confused. “What I am supposed to do nex-” He immediately tensed when he felt hands grip his shoulders, and tensed further when they started to knead. “Um… what-”

“You looked stressed, so I thought a massage might help.” Sofia explained easily as she moved one of her hands towards his neck.

Oh, well he can’t let her know that her massage was having the exact opposite effect, and making him more stressed, so he inhaled and let out a slow breath to calm down, and forced himself to relax his muscles. It was just a massage, after all. Just a simple massage, nothing more.

Sofia smiled when Cedric let out a relieved sigh, already feeling less tense under her ministrations. This was a great idea! And she had no trouble reaching wherever she needed to since she’d had a growth spurt and was barely a head shorter than him now.

When they had landed and it was time to depart Cedric was surprised to note that he felt both relieved and disappointed when Sofia removed her hands, because it turned out she was a really good masseuse (and had even managed to work a few knots loose), but he also wanted to avoid as much physical contact as possible.

Then the coachman assists them out of the carriage and helps them carry their picnic supplies to a nice clearing (Cedric noticing that Sofia had left her small basket back in the coach) and they excuse him as they set it up with a little bit of magical help, underneath a big shady tree.

“I thought we could start with dessert first because I’ve heard food tastes best when you’re hungrier.” Sofia said as she pulled out a pan filled with gooey bread pudding.

When Cedric eyed the dish an idea struck him, and he had to hold himself back from rubbing his hands together in a schemey fashion. Yes, yes, maybe he could make Sofia stop being interested in him by having horrid table manners. It was definitely worth a shot anyway.

“Alright, just gonna grab some plates and-“ she stops short when she hears a squishing sound and looks over to see Cedric with a bare hand full of the pudding, which he then eats directly out of his palm, getting more food on his face than in his mouth, in all likelihood. She freezes and can’t help but stare.

Cedric looks at her out of the corner of his eye, pleased with himself when he sees her eyebrows raised almost to her hairline in shock, but falters when a smile breaks out on her face and she giggles before grabbing a handful of the stuff herself and following suit, but making an even bigger mess on her face (even getting some in her hair), shocking Cedric in turn, who couldn’t help the surprised laughter that forced its way out of him. Things escalated from there until there was food everywhere, including all over their clothing, and they were laughing so hard they were crying.

Cedric wiped a tear from his eye before waving away the mess with a swift flick of his handy dandy wand and a couple magical words.

“Well that sure is convenient.” Sofia says as she takes in the suddenly pristine state of the supplies and their clothes, before her eyes land on Cedric himself. “Oops, missed a spot.” She reaches up with the hem of her dress and gently wipes at the corner of his mouth, causing him to blush.

Sofia giggles, finding his reaction totally endearing.

“Right,” Cedric clears his throat. “well, let’s get this all packed up, shall we?” He suggests as he quickly stands and tries to will away the red from his face, casting another spell, which efficiently sorts the supplies and makes them float behind the two as they make their way back to the carriage.

On the way Cedric has a few moments to himself to think as Sofia seemed content to watch the wildlife as they walked.

Okay, the bad table manners plan failed. Spectacularly. So he’d have to try something else. But what? Aha! He could bore her into submission! Yes, maybe he could just be enough of a party pooper to make her lose interest and end things off. Because if it was her idea to end things off then he would be off the hook, as it would be seen as her moving onto her next fascination, and not so much Cedric going against the king’s wishes.

Sofia smiled up at a squirrel in a tree as she thought about Cedric playing around with the food to have some fun. He just kept surprising her, and she found she loved learning any new facet of his personality. And she couldn’t forget about how adorable his blushing had been! She’d have to make him do it more often~

Once back at the carriage Sofia grabs her basket and fills Cedric in on what they’d be doing next (while he directed the supplies into the trunk), which would be flying to Tengu to attend a special event they do once a year, where the citizens put on little shows on various stages set up around where the marketplace usually is.

“Sounds lovely.” Cedric says as he makes to climb back in the carriage, only for Sofia to grab him by the hand, halting his progression.

“Oh, we won’t be needing that anymore today.” She says in explanation, before bringing a couple fingers to her mouth to whistle, causing the carpet that had been on the floor of the carriage to spring to life and fly out. “We’re going to be riding in style!” She says after she hops on and the carpet does a quick twirl with her posing for dramatic effect.

“Ehh,” okay, he was definitely not expecting that. He eyed the carpet warily before asking “Is it safe?”

“Sure. Do you trust me?” The princess said, holding out a hand in invitation.

“What?”

“Do you trust me?” She repeated, giving the proffered hand an encouraging shake in reminder of the invitation.

Cedric eyed the carpet warily once more, before looking back up at Sofia and soon finding himself saying “Yes,” and placing his own hand in hers.

With a strength that surprised him, she pulled him up onto the carpet, which wasted no time in taking off at high speed the second both of Cedric’s feet were upon it, causing the sorcerer to let out a surprised yelp and grab Sofia around her shoulders for support. So he was indeed right to be wary of the carpet.

Once they reached proper traveling altitude they took seated positions, the carpet being large enough for them to both sit comfortably.

Cedric could feel himself quivering in fright as he peered over the side of the flying menace, seeing just how high up they were, and didn’t even notice how much of a death grip he had on it until he felt a hand alight on one of his and give it a reassuring squeeze. He looked over at the owner and saw a gentle smile on Sofia’s face. “It’s okay, you can relax. I promise to keep you safe.” He nodded, believing her words, and somehow managed to relax his grip enough that his knuckles were no longer white. If carpets could sigh in relief, this one would have.

After no major incidents happened in the next several minutes Cedric found himself relaxing enough to enjoy the view. It was actually quite beautiful up here.

Once Sofia could tell he’d gotten used to being up so high she smirks back at him and asks “Now are you ready for a ride?”

Cedric knows he shouldn’t be encouraging fun things between them, as he was trying to find a way to gently end things, not further them. But then he sees that joyful spark in her eyes and can’t find it in himself to douse it.

Maybe… just maybe, he should enjoy the time he does have with her, before he does whatever it is he has to do to put a stop to it all (the thought of which sent a painful pang through his heart, which he ignored). “Let’s do it.” He says with a determined grin. So much for the ‘party pooper’ route. He decided to give up on these ill-thought out ploys and wait until he had some time to actually think and come up with something more comprehensive.

“That’s the spirit. Tally ho!” She shouts and the carpet goes right into a loop de loop. Cedric instinctively grabs Sofia around the waist, hanging on for dear life and closing his eyes until he feels them level out once again. Then he realizes what he’s doing and immediately removes his arms, instead electing to ground himself by placing his hands on her shoulders as the thrill ride continued. Soon they were zooming through clouds, zipping this way and that, twisting the clouds into new shapes even, and Cedric—while all tense and nervous at first—found that he was having a great time and really enjoying himself by the end, even asking the carpet to do a corkscrew, which it readily obliged.

Once the city was in sight the carpet slowed into a steady and controlled flight. Cedric sees Sofia then set her little basket to the side and is surprised it didn’t get lost during the crazy ride.

Oh no.

It’s with that though he suddenly panics, worrying if that fate had befallen his brooch, before breathing a sigh of relief when he looked down and saw it stood resolutely where he’d placed it on his robe. He ran a finger over the smooth surface of the protective layer as he admired it. It really was such a lovely and thoughtful gift.

Sofia smiles when she sees Cedric caressing the blue feather almost reverently (and remembering clear as day the face he made when she first presented it to him, how enraptured he’d been) and knows she made the right choice picking that as his proposal gift. There were a few different traditional proposal gifts in Enchancia, one being a blue feather of any sort, but she wouldn’t be satisfied with getting someone as amazing as Cedric just any blue feather, so she did some research and stumbled upon the rare color changing fire phoenix and the strong magical properties of its feathers, and she knew she had to get one. It had been an adventure and a half even just getting to where one such phoenix lived (not to mention actually obtaining a feather from it), but was one hundred percent worth it.

The carpet soon made its descent into the middle of the town square and Sofia hopped off nimbly,
but for some reason Cedric found himself lurching forward suddenly, about to go down and no doubt hit his chin on the ground (what with his luck), but instead of hard dirt he was met with strong, small hands catching him by the front of his upper arms. He looked up at Sofia from his bent position, hands hanging onto her shoulders, the two of them now pressed together in a pseudo embrace.

Time seemed to stop as they stared deep into each other’s eyes, faces so close they could feel one another’s breath, and…

“Oh, is that a puppet show I see over there?” Cedric all but shouted, dislodging himself and making a run for it, happy to curtail whatever had just been happening, or about to happen.

Sofia smiled and shook her head in amusement at another example of Cedric’s distractible nature, then turned to the carpet and directed it to go chill in the magic carpet parking area until later, but not before telling the impish thing off a bit. “Oh, and no more tripping Cedric, okay?”

The carpet at least had the decency to look abashed, before giving an approximation of a nod.

“One more thing,” Sofia said, stopping the rectangle in its tracks. “Guard that with your life.” She indicated toward the little basket it now carried for her. The carpet saluted with a tassel before heading off.

Cedric saved Sofia a seat and they sat in for the puppet show, which ended up being quite enthralling. They were on their way to another stage when he spotted one of the few vendor stands that was open during the celebration and told Sofia to go on ahead and he’d catch up with her in a bit.

He perused the wares at the stand until he found exactly what he needed, but didn’t know he’d been looking for. Amethyst beads (perfect for his needs). Several minutes and some quick wand work later he joins Sofia for the next show and she kindly fills him in on what he missed.

They continue watching performances (and eating the occasional snack from food vendors) until evening falls; the sky becomes dark and the Tengunians start to head towards the arena set up for viewing air shows. Sofia mentions the fireworks would be starting in a bit, so Cedric begins heading to the viewing area with the rest of the crowd, only for Sofia to stop him, telling him she had a different idea, and leading him back to their flying carpet instead, who took them to the skies gently this time.

They fly around for a short while before finding the perfect spot, and since they have some time to kill before the show starts Sofia decides it’s time to pull out the contents of the basket.

“Okay, close your eyes and hold out your hand~” Cedric hears the princess say, complying when he notices her reaching into the mysterious little basket she’d been toting around for the better part of the day. Once he feels something be placed in the palm of his awaiting hand he reopens his eyes, and then widens them in surprise when he sees what it is. “It’s a little cake I made.” and it was in the shape and color of one of Merlin’s famous Mushrooms. “Go ahead and try it.” She urged, holding one herself as well. He bit into it and all but gasped; it was his favorite flavor: purple yam. And it was delicious! Sofia giggled at his reaction. “I’d hoped you’d like it.” She said before biting into her own and making a yummy sound. “I tried to get the coloring juuust right.”

“We’ll you certainly succeeded in that.” He said before taking another bite and swallowing. “It really is wonderful, thank you.” He smiled, touched she would go through such effort for him. She knew him so well, and he didn’t think she could get any more thoughtful.

Just then the gong heralding the start of the fireworks display rung, causing the two to turn their attention back to the sky. Cedric wasn’t actually all that interested in the display if he were being honest; if he’s seen fireworks once he’s seen them a million times, after all. In fact, they just reminded him of work, if anything.

As if sensing his thoughts Sofia spoke up. “I know you’ve seen fireworks quite a few times, but you’re always the one making them, so I thought it might be nice to experience them a new way and from a different perspective.”

Huh, he hadn’t considered that. The first few go off and he’s surprised to find that it was actually nice seeing fireworks that he didn’t have to conjure himself. And they looked better from this angle, seeing them how they were meant to be seen instead of from directly below. It was a whole new experience.

“You’re right; they’re actually quite beautiful this way.” He felt the slightest sting in his eyes, so touched he was by how considerate and observant she was to think of all this, and decided now was the perfect time to give her what he’d finished working on. “Now I have something for you.” He said, turning towards her and pulling something out of his pocket. “Happy belated birthday, Sofia.”

She looked on, wide-eyed at the beautiful bracelet displayed on his palm. It was adorned with silver charms, each separated from one another by scintillating purple beads. “I was planning on giving it to you yesterday, but” that plan got derailed by everything else that happened “I didn’t quite get the chance to finish it until today.” The sorcerer explained.

Sofia reached out and picked it up carefully, as if it were something precious and fragile, before inspecting it closely, soon noticing that the charms each represented something from their adventures together: the Dragon Claw wand, a sorcerer’s apprentice’s hat, a cave crystal, etc. She looked on further and noticed there were also ones that represented things that just plain held a special meaning to her: a rabbit, a Pegasus, a flying derby trophy, and so on. She was so moved it nearly brought tears to her eyes. “I love it.” She says, barely above a whisper, then looks up at the wonderful man who made it for her. “And I love you.”

Cedric smiles softly and replies “I love you too, Sofia.” Words low, before directing his attention back to the controlled explosions happening in front of them, not wanting the moment to lead to other things, but being surprised when he realized that he had actually meant those words, and in the way that she thought he did; he realized for the first time that he was in love with her. He just didn’t share quite the same… desires as her, so he knew it could never actually work out between them. He tries not to let his heart hurt too much at that thought, and stiffens slightly when he feels small arms wrap around one of his at his side, before relaxing when Sofia just rests her head against his shoulder. He looks down at her contented expression as the colored lights reflected in her eyes, and decided to just enjoy the moment for now, and think about how agonizingly unfortunate this situation was later, then rested his head against hers for the rest of the display.

-

When they made it back to the castle the magic carpet gently descended to the balcony that was connected to their room and Sofia hopped off with a grace that Cedric in no way possessed, nor believed he ever would. Luckily this time the carpet held still for him though as Sofia offered her hand to help him off. As soon as he had his hand in hers though, she gave a slight bow and kissed the back of it, causing Cedric to blush before stepping off. They then said their thanks to the carpet and sent it off.

As they walked inside Cedric felt lighter than he had in quite awhile; he’d truly had a wonderful time that day and felt quite content. That was, until he got further inside and saw the bed. Just the sight of which gave him a nauseous feeling in the pit of his stomach, reminding him of his precarious situation. He gave a start when Sofia suddenly came up before him, the princess beaming as she looped her arms around him, hooking her hands together and leaning back to look up at him. “Oh, today was just a-mazing, wouldn’t you say?” She lofts with a flirtatious smirk while using her hold to sway them side to side gently.

“E-buh-buh-buh yes!” Cedric stammered, flustered to have her in such close proximity with the way she was holding him (and looking at him). “Yes what an exciting day!” He continued as he managed to back out of the hold. “Really wipes you out, I’m about ready to fall asleep immediately I had so much fun.” He said all in one go as he made his way to the bed, changing into his nighttime robes with a swift flick of his wand. “Goodnight!” He finished before hopping into the bed, pulling the covers over himself, and praying she wouldn’t question his odd behavior. He decided he was in luck based off of the snickering sound he heard.

The princess took some time to get ready for bed herself and Cedric pretended he was already asleep by the time she crawled under the covers. This time she snuggled even closer, pressing against his back and wrapping both arms around him, able to sneak one between his side and the bed due to his tapered waist. Once again he forced himself to keep as relaxed as possible, not wanting to tip her off to the restless thoughts running through his head.

He waited until he was certain she was asleep before he let out a gentle sigh and began to sing. It was hardly more than a whisper, just like he used to do in his tower when he had the irresistible urge to express his feelings through song—but would be told to keep it down at the king’s behest—but it still carried the weight of his tumultuous emotions nonetheless.

”Little do you know
How I'm breakin' while you fall asleep

Little do you know
I'm still haunted by the memories

Little do you know
I'm tryin' to pick myself up piece by piece

Little do you know~”

He let the words taper off and gave a thought to start planning more ideas, but couldn’t find it in himself to exert the effort, as—while he’d just meant it as an excuse—he really was wiped out from the day’s activities, and sleep soon pulled him under.

Chapter Text

The next several days went on in much the same fashion, the two newlyweds going on many fun outings (after Cedric had finished with his royal sorcerer duties each day, that is); an exclusive viewing of a sorcerer’s duel here, box seats to a play there, a day at a carnival, etc, and having an amazing time at each one.

It was torture.

Don’t get him wrong, he truly enjoyed time spent with Sofia, and found himself falling more in love with the princess each passing day as he was met with more examples of how considerate of him she was (directing attention away from him when she could tell he was getting nervous from being the focus of a conversation, making sure to avoid taking him through crowded areas as she knew he got bumped into more than most, telling people off whenever they said something derogatory about him, but in that way only she could, without breaking her smile—sometimes ending up with them thanking her for correcting their behavior—and not letting up until they’d apologized to Cedric, of course), how it was obvious she enjoyed spending time with him (instead of just putting up with him like everyone else), and how they got along better than bread and butter, sharing mirth over the tiniest things. He even found himself—loathe as he was to admit it—getting a case of butterflies any time she directed a smile his way.

But while Cedric was having an amazing time whenever he was around her, he had knots in his stomach almost anytime they were alone because that’s when she would try to progress the… physical side further. Each day she grew more bold with her actions, and it was getting harder and harder to cut things short (and occasionally avoid them entirely) while also not making it obvious he was doing so. After all, there were only so many times he could use the “Would you look at that animal over there!” Distraction when she started getting a bit too handsy for his liking before him claiming he had a fascination with that particular kind of creature would be enough explanation to satisfy her questioning looks.

Speaking of, she had worked up to extended closed mouth kisses just yesterday (only because Cedric had managed to avoid them the previous two days by dint of a miracle), and somehow didn’t seem to mind his lack of initiation, or even reciprocation, which worked for him, because there was no way he would encourage it, barely even handling what she was doing so far, as he knew it was only a lead up to more.

And he still hadn’t had a moment to himself to come up with a solid plan! Time seemed to be running out and his schedule remained packed every day. You’d think they’d give a new Prince a break from royal duties, but you’d be wrong (at least when it came to him). He figured he could just stay awake at night to come up with a plan, but he was so exhausted from the each day’s activities that he would fall asleep almost immediately every night.

Plus—while he didn’t want to admit it—he knew by the second night that there was no way he was going to be able to make Sofia lose interest, as he could see plain as day she had chosen to marry him not because she wanted a wedding in general, but because she truly loved him. Even so he was holding onto the sliver of hope that if he just had time for a proper brainstorming session he’d be able to come up with something. Probably? Oh, he just didn’t know. A man couldn’t be begrudged for dreaming though.

And to top it all off he just had to go and feel torn, because a small (big) part of him didn’t even want things to end, but he shut that part up, because he knew it could never truly work out between them. Not with the way he was.

Anyway,

Today found them on a stroll through a tree-filled park on a crisp and breezy afternoon, Sofia walking along a low stone wall to keep level with Cedric, who had magically slicked his hair back for the first time in about a week to keep the wind from blowing it into his eyes and was wearing a robe he made himself that morning. It hugged his frame snugly to keep him warm, while being a light color to reflect the bright sun shining down in beams through gaps in the leaves above. He stopped under one such beam, closing his eyes as he tilted his head back, just basking in the glow of the light. He breathed out a contented sigh as he let it warm his wind-chilled cheeks.

He reopened his eyes when he felt a hand alight on his cheek, and turned to face the owner. He was met with the sight of Sofia looking at him as if in awe, then he felt a hand snake its way behind his head before the princess was slowly leaning in while tilting his head back to perfect the angle, and then he was being kissed. Cedric couldn’t place why, but this time felt different and it made his hackles rise; it was tender, deep and slow, then suddenly his heart rate spiked when he felt the wet slide of a tongue across the seam of his lips and he let out a small gasp of surprise. He felt that tongue then invade his mouth and begin to explore, slowly but thoroughly.

Cedric found himself frozen in place, too shocked to even think of a distraction, instead just trying to keep his panic at bay at the strange sensation. After all, it was just kissing, it was just kissing, it was just-

Suddenly he felt one of her hands slide down his back until it cupped his rear and he jolted out of her grip on instinct, heart suddenly beating like a rabbit’s.

No.

He barley registered the princess’s confused face as he shouted out some random excuse while making a run for it—heart beating out a fast-paced staccato in his chest—and as soon as he was out of sight, teleporting somewhere. (Anywhere but there). Soon as there was solid ground beneath his feet once again, he collapsed to his knees and proceeded to lose his lunch.

After expelling literally everything from his stomach he wiped his mouth on his sleeve and sat up, shivering even though it wasn’t cold. He then felt Wormwood alight on his shoulder and only then noticed that he was in his tower (the only place he felt safe anymore). His avian friend let out a sympathetic squawk, clearly sensing his master’s distress. “Oh Wormy, what am I going to do?” He asked—knowing he wouldn’t receive an answer—as long overdue tears finally started to fall and he began to sing softly between sniffles.

“I would do anything for love
But I won’t do that”

His voice broke on the last word, and he wrapped his arms around himself in an effort to generate a semblance of comfort, taking a few stuttering breaths before he could continue.

“And maybe I'm lonely
That's all I'm qualified to be
I would do anything for love
But I won't do that
No, no, no I won't do...”

That

This couldn’t go on.

Something had to give.

~•*•~

It was about an hour later when Sofia came into his tower, seeming a bit winded. “Cedric, are you alright?” She asked, slightly out of breath and looking worried.

“Oh yes, terribly sorry for leaving so suddenly, but I remembered that I accidentally left a potion running, and it’s good I got here when I did, as it would’ve exploded if I hadn’t come back in the nick of time. In fact, I just finished neutralizing it moments ago,” he gestured to a bubbling cauldron. “and was about to go find you.” He explained, feigning nonchalance.

“Oh, well I’m glad your workshop is still intact.” Sofia said before making her way over and cupping the sorcerer’s cheek in her hand. “And that you are too.” She smiled gently at him. He tried not to stiffen at the contact, and forced himself to fake a smile back. She looked into his eyes, as if searching for something. “If anything’s ever wrong, you’ll tell me, won’t you?” She asked.

His smile turned genuine before his next words. “Of course.” In fact he planned to tomorrow, still being too raw from the events of today to handle that conversation quite yet, but knowing it needed to happen.

In the time between him finally calming down, and the princess arriving in his tower he’d actually had some time to himself to finally sit down and think.

He’d considered that maybe he was overreacting, taking the king’s threats too seriously… then decided he definitely wasn’t; Roland hasn’t liked him very much in over three decades, and would definitely follow through on them.

But in contrast, Sofia was one of the kindest souls Cedric had ever had the pleasure of knowing, so he decided he’d come clean to her about everything, starting with the threats (and hope she’d believe him; it would be him accusing her own father, after all), and then finishing with his… predisposition. Although he’d prefer to never share that particular information again, if there was anyone he felt he could trust with it, it would be her. She had proven herself time and again to be a kind and non-judgmental person, after all.

Then maybe they could work together to get out of the marriage as low-key and amicably as possible, since she seemed to genuinely care about him. Then Cedric wouldn’t have his head separated from his body, and Sofia wouldn’t be stuck with him—because there was no way she’d still want him as a partner after learning his secret—and things could go back to how they were before. (Cedric ignored the painful twinge his heart gave at that thought).

Yes, that’s what he would do.

It wasn’t going to be an easy conversation, and he had absolutely no idea how he would even begin it, but he needed to, and the sooner he did, the better.

He would just have to break it to her gently.

~•*•~

“Wake up, sleepy head.” Cedric heard before he felt a warm hand brush his hair from his face. He then opened his eyes, having to blink them a few times before his vision became clear enough to make out Sofia smiling down at him, chestnut locks dangling at the sides of her head. “Did you have a restful night?” She murmured. “And morning?” she added with a smirk.

Wha? He scrunched his brow at her words, then looked to the curtains to see the light peeking through. Oh no; judging by the shade it was probably closing in on noon, meaning he was late for his duties. He would not be hearing the end of it from either the king, or his pet Stewart. He groaned out an “Oh, blast it.” before deciding he may as well get ready now so he didn’t get in even more trouble, and began to sit up.

His back barely left the bed before a firm hand on his chest pushed him back into the plush blankets (a feat he elected to believe was made easy by his body’s still sleep-relaxed state, and not because Sofia was totally stronger than him). “Oh, there’s no need for that; I requested we both get the day off.” The princess explained. “No duties at all until tomorrow.” She smiled self-satisfiedly.

“Oh, well that is quite nice.” And meant he might get a chance to actually relax for a while, if he was lucky.

“Yup, and since we don’t have to get up yet, you know what that means~” The brunette sing-songed.

He was vaguely aware her hand hadn’t moved from its place on his chest, but forced his thoughts to the conversation. Hmm, what did that mean? He wracked his still awakening brain for an answer. “Uhhhh,” nope, nothing. “Enlighten me?”

Sofia let out a giggle before fulfilling his request. “That means we can pick up where we left off yesterday~” She walked her fingers up Cedric’s chest until they reached his clavicle, then cupped his cheek and leant down, closing not only the distance between them, but—more importantly—the distance between their mouths.

Ohhh. Oh dear.

This was the first time she had kissed him in bed and Cedric wasn’t awake enough to figure a way out of this one; he was all but trapped. He resigned himself to the fate of just having to let it play out and hope it ended soon.

She kissed him languidly but sensually, and he parted his lips when her tongue requested entrance one again, as denying that now wasn’t really an option since she’d already moved up to that point the day before.

His breathing picked up as she continued, exploring deeper than she had the day before. Then he felt her hands start to roam over his chest, caressing him through his night robe, and his breathing hitched.

Okay, relax. He thought to himself. He’d handled massaging, and kissing before, and this was basically just both at the same time. No big deal- wait, when had she straddled him?

He does his best to remain calm, and thinks he’s doing a pretty good job until her roaming hands start to travel lower and lower until-

He rips himself away from her, and all but jumps out of the bed, heart hammering away in his chest as he puts several feet of distance between them, breath coming out in shaky gasps.

“Cedric? What’s wrong? Are you okay?” Sofia asks as she climbs off the bed after him.

“Sofia I, I can’t, okay? I just, I just can’t.” Cedric admits between breaths, hugging himself.

“Oh, well that’s okay.” Sofia says, believing she knows the cause for his distress. “There’s no need to be embarrassed; I’m sure we can get a potion or a drought to help-“

“That’s not it, everything is functioning perfectly, thank you very much!” Cedric snipped back.

“Okay, well that’s good.” Sofia took a few steps forward. “So, you just need some more time before you’re ready?” She asked softly, placing a hand on his arm.

“It’s not a question of if I’m ready or not,” he ripped his arm from her grasp, “because I will never want to, to, to do that with you!“ He spun around to gesture wildly at the bed, having to shout the words for fear of never getting them out otherwise.

“What?” Sofia asked, taking a step back.

“Sofia,” He spoke softly. This was it, the moment of truth. Big breath. “That, is something I’m incapable of wanting; never have, never will.” He forced himself to look her in the eye, needing to take in her reaction visually.

He watched her calculating gaze, until she seemed to get it, and then her expression completely closed off, causing Cedric’s breathing to halt.

No.

“I’m disappointed in myself for not noticing this sooner.” The princess said, looking down and to the side, as if in memory. “It was so obvious.” She finished with a scowl.

No. Cedric felt his knees hit the floor as his legs buckled underneath him; she did not sound happy.

“If I knew this was how you truly were inside, I never would have said I loved you.” She spoke, voice icy as a glacier.

Cedric’s heart stuttered at those words.

Not her too.

“Sofia?” His voice came out as no more than a whisper.

She ignored him, taking a breath and beginning to sing, a cold expression upon her face as the soft, almost haunting melody flowed from her lips.

“What a wicked game you play, to make me feel this way

What a wicked thing to do, to let me dream of you

What a wicked thing to say, you never felt this way”

It was his worst fear come true, and he began to spill forth words he wished he’d never have to.
“Sofia, I, I’m sorry; I don’t want to be this way, it’s just how I was b-“

She cut him off with a more forceful tune, all but belting it out this time, eyes hard like steel.

“You can look into my eyes and backtrack all you want

But I know now, I know now

Who you are inside

I know who you are inside”

She finished with a sneer. “I hope you feel disgusted with yourself.”

Cedric flinched at her words—words that cut deep into old wounds and reopened them—and found himself unable to voice his own. But that didn’t stop him from thinking them.

I do.

“Oh, and you can have this back.” The brunette said, breaking the sudden silence.

Cedric didn’t even have time to raise his head from its now shame-hung position when he heard a snapping noise and saw—almost as if in slow motion—a cascade of purple beads and silver charms clatter to the floor.

He found himself frozen to the spot, staring at the scattered jewelry he had spent so long and worked so hard on to get the details of just right, as if in a trance, insensate to the other’s movements as she made herself presentable enough to go outside.

The echoing sound of the doors slamming shut served to both snap him out of it, and break the dam, his tears beginning to flow freely once again.

He was a fool to think anyone could accept that part of him. How broken he was. After all, if Sofia couldn’t, no one could.

Right now the chopping block didn’t sound so bad. But no doubt Sofia would be there to witness it, and he just couldn’t take her looking at him with disgust in her eyes even one more time.

Chapter Text

Sofia made sure to slam the door behind her as she exited the room, then marched her way through the hall, until she was sure she was out of earshot, then began to run, tears swiftly following suit.

How could she have been so stupid?

The next lyrics played out in her head like an admonishment.

~It's strange what desire will make foolish people do~

She let her love blind her to the obvious.

~I never dreamed that I'd meet somebody like you~

Why did it have to be this way? He’d been perfect.

She continued on her path, running wherever her feet carried her until she found herself in the middle of the gardens, and slowed to a walk, only stopping when she came upon a pond. She took a moment to catch her breath before picking up the melody from where she’d left off, letting the chime-like notes ring through the air.

“Oh, I wish I never fell in love

No, I wish I never fell in love”

Just then she noticed a lone flower floating in the pond. And it just had to be a purple lotus; Cedric’s favorite flower. She clenched her hands into fists so hard they began to shake.

“With you”

She barely gets the last word out before breaking down into actual sobs and collapsing to her knees.

Why did this have to happen?

She registered her name being shouted before she felt warm arms wrap around her and pull her into a soft chest. She instantly recognized the smell of her mom’s favorite soap, and buried her face deeper as she let the sobs wrack her body.

Miranda stroked her daughter’s hair and murmured soothing assurances until the crying slowly abated, then loosened her grip and moved her hands to Sofia’s shoulders before holding the young woman back enough to look her in the eye. “Better?”

Sofia wiped the tears from her face and nodded.

“Good.” Miranda smiled softly. “Now, do you want to tell me what’s wrong?

Sofia gave another nod.

“Okay, whenever you’re ready.”

Sofia took a few moments to compose herself and formulate her thoughts, then spoke the revelation that had completely ruined her morning. “Cedric doesn’t really love me. He tricked me into thinking he did so he could marry me and become royalty.”

Miranda couldn’t help but stare, shocked. Cedric? Their Cedric? Was he even capable of such a ploy? Or even something vaguely subterfugey in general for that matter? “He told you that?” She asked, trying to keep the skepticality out of her voice.

“He didn’t have to; his actions spoke loud enough.” Sofia responded with a glare directed at someone who wasn’t there.

“Okay, why don’t you start from the beginning?” Miranda encouraged Sofia to her feet and lead the princess to a stone bench where the queen’s forgotten book lay. “What makes you think that?” She asked once they’d taken a seat.

“Well, I somehow didn’t realize it until today, but looking back on everything, it should’ve been obvious;” Sofia began. “he avoided my touch, never initiated anything, whenever he noticed I was going to kiss him he found an excuse to be anywhere else, and whenever I did manage to kiss him he went still and didn’t respond. Plus, he said he never wanted to and never will want to… progress things further.”

What other reason could that have all been for other than him not actually having feelings for her, and just marrying her for status? And a divorce so soon would reflect poorly on not only her, but the whole royal family, which Cedric must’ve been counting on; figuring that if he got one foot in the door it would be difficult to force him back out. What a wicked game. And she’d played right into it. If only it hadn’t taken her until now to see how he truly was inside: a devious trickster capable of such maliciousness. Sofia took what little solace she could that at least he’d been upset at having been found out so soon.

“Well, that evidence is pretty condemning,” the queen responded with a contemplative expression. “but I have a question for you: does he seem to genuinely enjoy spending time with you when you’re not doing those things?” Miranda couldn’t remember a time those two weren’t smiling while in each other’s company (and that look in Cedric’s eyes couldn’t be mistaken for anything but love), and had a feeling that maybe there was more going on than it seemed.

That gave Sofia pause. She thought back to their outings, and how much fun Cedric always seemed to have, and made sure she had too; looking on in awe at the sorcerer’s duel and grabbing her by the shoulder while pointing excitedly when and where he knew something cool was going to happen based on the magic words he heard, to make sure she saw it. Whispering to her during a play that a certain word that was said meant something funny in Latin, causing the two of them to giggle every time that word was spoken throughout the rest of the event.
Filling up on sweets at a carnival and goading her into trying all his favorite kinds, then getting excited when he found the skill games and insisting they play all of them, and she couldn’t forget his eyes going wide as saucers when he saw the rides and pulled her over to them, then throwing up after one spun him around a bit too much. She smiled at the memories.

“Yeah, he really did.”

That couldn’t have all been an act, could it?

“And does he seem to genuinely care about you?” Miranda asked next.

Sofia then thought back to how considerate of her Cedric had been; randomly giving her gifts he somehow knew she would love, magically summoning her a small stool when the nest of baby birds they found in a bush had been just out of her sight, without her even needing to say anything. Subtly picking leaves out of her hair she hadn’t known were there. She could go on.

“Yes,” she found herself saying, confusion tinting her tone; why would he go through all that effort if he’d already secured his position?

“Final question—and no offense to him, but—does Cedric really seem capable of enacting such a plan?” Miranda asked with a single raised eyebrow.

That… was a good point. After all, he couldn’t keep a secret unless his life depended on it. Something wasn’t adding up.

“I personally think maybe you should try talking to him and hearing what he has to say.” The queen continued. “But ultimately the choice is yours. What do you think?”

Hmm, perhaps there was more to it than there appeared to be on the surface. Or maybe he had been fooling her and was just a more convincing—and conniving—actor than everyone thought. But no matter the deal, she had to get the full story from Cedric himself. “I think you’re right; I’ll go talk to him. Thanks mom.” Sofia said, standing up.

“Anytime.” Miranda smiled. “Just remember you can always come to me if you’re having problems; I’m here for you.” She put her hands on Sofia’s shoulders. “And I always give great advice.” She finished, her smile turning to a smirk.

Sofia couldn’t help the giggle that escaped her. “I’ll keep that in mind.” She said before putting a hand on one of her mom’s and squeezing.

The movement seemed to catch the queen’s attention for some reason and she stared at the princess’s wrist in confusion. “Hey, where’s your bracelet?”

“… I left it in my room.” Sofia decided to leave out the part where it was in pieces. And looking back now, fragmentizing it in front of Cedric had probably been a bit dramatic.

~•*•~

Sofia nearly tripped upon reentering her new room, barely catching herself on the door before she went down. She then looked up and noticed beads and charms all over the floor.

Yep. Definitely a bit dramatic.

She didn’t see Cedric, so she called out to him a few times before noticing something was off. Were a few things missing that had been there earlier? A bad feeling started to tickle the back of Sofia’s mind and she checked Cedric’s dresser to hopefully dispel it. She froze when she was met with an empty drawer. She checked a couple other places to confirm that yes. All of Cedric’s belongings had been removed.

Well, no matter, she realized that he must’ve just moved his things back to his tower.

She checked there next, only to see the place completely wiped clean, aside from one little box containing a single blue feather-turned-brooch.

Oh no.

If Cedric had really been after power then it wouldn’t make sense for him to leave, even if he’d been found out. Serious doubt about her theory was beginning to creep in, but his actions all along made no sense otherwise. She definitely needed to find him.

Hoping that she wasn’t too late and that he was still somewhere in the kingdom, she summoned Minumus and rode him around town, asking everyone she saw if they’d seen the sorcerer. After a good while, and many a sorry shake of the head, she heard a familiar posh voice.

“Wouldn’t you like to know.” Was stated more than asked.

Sofia whipped around and spotted the black bird perched in a nearby tree. “Wormwood! Do you know where Cedric went?”

“I do, but why should I tell you?” The raven replied, allowing disdain to pour into his voice.

“Because I really need to talk to him; I think I might’ve messed up.” She said, nervously wringing her hands.

“Oh, you certainly did.” He informed her succinctly.

“What? What do you mean?” Sofia asked, confused.

Wormwood was not happy with the princess at the moment (not that he usually was, mind you), because he had witnessed the Confrontation™ that had left his poor master absolutely devastated, and while he’d wanted to comfort the man, knew there was little he could do. Plus he’d had more pressing matters to attend to.

Such as plucking the princess’s eyes out.

But when he’d followed after her to do just that, he’d observed an interesting development; first her caterwauling (which gave him no small amount of pleasure), then finding out that she had gravely misunderstood the situation and reacted poorly because of it. He’d then figured that perhaps he could afford her the opportunity to make up for her misdeeds, but wouldn’t know for sure until he’d had a chance to speak with her, and decided to hang back and see what her next moves were first before making his own.

“I’m going to let you in on a little secret.” He began back in the present, making sure he had her full attention. “He’s never been interested in the pleasures of the flesh; never has, never will.”

Sofia froze, Cedric’s very words being parroted back at her not going unnoticed, only with a slight—but important—difference.

Grinning at the princess’s shocked expression, the raven continued. “In fact, he has a powerful revulsion of physical intimacy.“

What?

Sofia had never heard of such a thing. But if Wormwood’s words were to be believed, did that mean Cedric hadn’t been referring to her specifically that morning; he’d meant he didn’t want to participate in those kind of activities in general? That… changed things a bit. But then why-

“I’ve seen enough to know that it’s actually a fear of his.” Wormwood continued. “Not to get too into it, but even just the thought of him partaking is distressing to him.” He informed.

“But, but,” how could that possibly make sense if this whole time Cedric knew what they’d slowly been building up to and had agreed to it? Why would he-

“Speaking of which, I’m going to assume you had something to do with that little episode he had yesterday afternoon, no doubt.”

Sofia was pulled from her thoughts and it took a second for the raven’s words to register. “What? Episode?” She blinked up at him. What was he talking about?

“Quite. Nothing too extreme, hardly worth mentioning, really. Just that he suddenly appeared in the tower, so shaken up he vomited and didn’t stop trembling for another 20 minutes.” He stared her dead in the eye.

What? Her heart started to tick just a little faster as her mind flashed back to what had to have lead up to it.

They were strolling through the park, Cedric suddenly stopped walking, so Sofia looked back to see why only to be floored by the sight that met her eyes. Cedric looked absolutely stunning—head tilted back with a blissful expression, sun shining off not only his face but his entire outfit, making him seem to glow, his slicked-back bangs appearing like wings once again and his robe conforming to his elegant frame—and she wanted to absolutely ravish him, but made sure to hold back as much as she could, and take things just a little further than the day before; still keep it controlled, while also pouring her emotion into it. Although she hadn’t been able to resist letting her hands roam for the first time.

She knew something had been off when Cedric had broken it off and left so suddenly, but didn’t push when he’d assured her everything was fine at the tower.

But with this new information the pieces were starting to come together, explaining Cedric’s knee-jerk reaction that morning, but that didn’t answer one important question.

“If that’s all true, then why didn’t he ever say anything?” Sofia asked.

“Oh, did I forget to mention?” Wormwood said as he casually inspected a splayed wing. “The king threatened him.”

…

What?

Her dad?

“What are you talking about?” She asked, a bad feeling starting to creep in.

“At the beginning of all of this—not too long before you showed up and made your proposal—Roland came into the tower and told my master he was to marry you. At first Cedric thought the king’s words were a joke, but then that tyrant made it crystal clear that if he didn’t go along with it and keep you ‘happy’, that he wouldn’t live to regret it.” He finished in a dark voice, giving weight to the words.

Sofia’s breath caught in her chest. She didn’t want to believe her dad was capable of such a thing, but that along with what Wormwood just revealed about Cedric? Suddenly everything made sense.

Why he’d agreed to the marriage even though he didn’t want what it entailed? Not because he’d been aiming for power or status, but because he’d been threatened, and forced into it.

Why he went along with everything she did without verbal protest even though he was not interested in those activities? To keep her “happy”.

She had originally thought Cedric never initiated or tried to further things physically because he was nervous he’d mess something up and embarrass himself, so she had been happy to take the lead, but now that she looked back and could see everything play out with a new understanding, it was clear as day that he had been frightened every step of the way, and dreading everything to come.

Which meant that—unbeknownst to her—she had been forcing herself on Cedric this entire time. Cold dread started to course through her body at the realization and she quickly put a hand over her mouth as her insides began to revolt, absolutely horrified with her actions. And if just thinking about it was effecting her this much, she couldn’t imagine what a nightmare Cedric had been living through.

“You know,” Wormwood spoke up once again, casual as ever, unsympathetic to her inner turmoil. “No one has ever accepted that part of him before, so he eventually stopped sharing it entirely, and began keeping it as his most closely guarded secret. But even so, he was actually planning on telling you today, on his own terms; thinking that out of all people, he could trust you with that knowledge, but you certainly proved him wrong.”

Oh no. He’d opened up to her, and to him it had seemed like she’d torn him down for it; viciously condemning him for just being who he was. Something he had no choice or control over.
(And how many times had something similar happened to him before?) Even though that wasn’t what she’d been talking about. Unbidden, her mind flashed back to his anguished expression back in their room and she flinched at the memory. She told him she wouldn’t have ever said she loved him if she’d known.

What had she done?

She felt her gorge start to rise, but managed to tamp down on the nausea, because this wasn’t about her, it was about Cedric. She’d have plenty of time to hate herself later. Right now she had to get her sorcerer back.

“Wormwood, can you take me to him?” She asked with as steady a voice as she could manage.

“No, I should think you’ve done enough damage as it is.” Wormwood replied as he visibly readied himself for a swift takeoff.

“No, please!” Sofia all but shouted. “I need to fix this. It’s my fault he felt bad enough to leave the kingdom, I have to make things right and bring him back.”

Wormwood relaxed his posture once again, and pretended to be thinking it over, when in reality he’d just wanted to see the princess sweat. He’d been carefully monitoring her reactions throughout their conversation and had decided to give her a passing grade; if she’d been any less horrified with her actions then he would’ve had to follow through with his eye-plucking idea, but it appeared she genuinely felt horrible over her behavior and wanted nothing more than to rectify it as best she could.

“Very well.” But if she did anything to further hurt him he would pay her back tenfold. And he would not hesitate. “Follow me.” Was his only warning as he took off.

Sofia gripped the reins tightly as Minimus tore through the air after the raven, and thought back to her times with Cedric. How his laugh would brighten her day, how a smile directed her way would fill her stomach with butterflies, how just seeing him would elevate her mood. A spike drove through her heart at the thought that she may never experience any of it again since she’d messed up so badly, but she vowed to do everything in her power to try to make things right.

She had a passing thought that she’d have to do something about her father, but shoved it to the back of her mind, because Cedric came first.

He always would.

~•*•~

Cedric set his attaché down on the floor of where he’d be staying until he found somewhere more permanent, and decided to keep himself distracted by unpacking and setting up all his stuff. Just like he’d done back in his torture chamber shared room, and workshop when he’d cleared them out. He gave the case a light kick, causing it to pop open, then pulled his wand out of his sleeve and flicked his wrist.

“Incrementum iterum.”

A tiny desk floated out and grew to normal size before he waved it into place. Next followed his shelving, and then the supplies that usually littered his desk, which he then walked over to so he could rearrange everything to his liking, pausing when he came upon Wormwood’s perch. Come to think of it, he hadn’t seen his avian friend since yesterday. He let that just be a passing thought though, as a long time ago he’d made sure his loyal companion would always be able to find him, and was sure he’d turn up sooner or later. He went ahead and set up the perch before deciding on making a potion complex enough to keep his mind off of things he’d rather not think about.

He was a few steps in when, out of habit, he reached up to stroke his feather brooch, only for his fingers to be met with bare cloth. He clenched his hand into a fist as he remembered what he’d done. After clearing out everything from his workshop he’d looked down at the blue feather and—as much as he loved it—decided he’d needed to get rid of it, as it was just a reminder of the one who had hurt him more than anyone else had ever even come close to.

His heart gave a pang at the thought, all the while feeling like he had deserved her scorn.

So much for not thinking about things.

Speaking of which, he suddenly remembered something he’d put in his pocket earlier, and pulled it out. A silver charm in the shape of a sorcerer’s apprentice hat. Unbidden, his mind flashed back to moments after Sofia had stormed out of their room.

He sat there, kneeling on the hard floor, unseeing as his mind tried to come to terms with what just happened.

‘I thought she’d be different.’ A fool’s dream.

A small sound pulled him out of it and he wiped his eyes before checking to see what caused it: a tear that had bounced off of one of the charms (courtesy of a repel spell he’d put on them so they couldn’t tarnish). The silver pendant was in the shape of a very familiar hat. In a move he didn’t understand he picked it up and stuffed it in his pocket before peeling himself off the floor and away from his puddle of tears so he could gather his belongings.

He looked down at the charm now in his hand, then glared at it—he didn’t need any reminders of how broken, how unlovable he was—before standing and turning to chuck it at the opposite wall with all his might. It made such an unsatisfying clink the anticlimacticity only served to upset him further.

He kicked his chair aside, then marched over to his luggage and began pulling out more items to put away. He was having them float close to inspect them and then directing them to the right areas when he suddenly came face to face with himself.

He glared into his reflection as a song bubbled to the surface and he began to sing, the melody floating from his lips like a somber ballad.

“Stop telling me that it's okay like it's going to get better

I've heard every single cliché, been stuck here forever”

He sent the mirror over to a wall where it wouldn’t bother him.

“In my own head I'm a prisoner”

Next a birdcage floated in front of him, making him feel like he was trapped behind bars.

“And no one’s much of a listener”

He sent it to hang off the ceiling.

“I have always been this way”

He got the line out through gritted teeth, looking down with a pain-filled expression and clenching his fist until it creaked.

“Can't outrun the pouring rain”

He began to travel around the room and direct item after item as they made their way towards him, almost like a dance with the way he flitted about smoothly.

“I'm so sick of waiting on the sun

My silver lining never comes

So sick of feeling not enough

Does hope hurt more than giving up?

How can it be that I’m the only one

Sick of waiting on the sun?”

He came upon the mirror that now rested upon the wall, glaring into his reflection once again.

“Stop telling me that there's a light at the end of the tunnеl”

With a quick gesture the mirror flipped around.

“Every time I beliеve those words, it's nothing but trouble”

The memory of Sofia’s fierce reaction that morning forced its way into his mind and he tried not to flinch.

“I hate to sound so cynical

But I'm done chasing miracles”

He swiped his hand through the air, as if to dispel the memory (for good), and the books that were trailing him flew to their places with enough force to make their shelves judder.

“This fall wasn’t worth the climb

Glass half empty all the time”

Next up were his jars of animal parts, sent to their places hard enough for the impact to sound like a thunder clap and crack a couple of them.

“How can it be that I’m the only one?”

He looked up as his voice rose in volume, words coming out harsher yet more pleading.

“Give me a reason

I should even be alive”

The items began to swirl around him in a circle, picking up speed.

“Help me believe that

Tomorrow's even worth the fight”

He was all but shouting now, belting out the painful lyrics, and fisting his hands in his hair as the swirling mass became akin to a tornado.

“I must confess, I'm terrified

That I won't make it through the night”

He thrust his arms out and everything smashed into the walls, a cacophony of splintering wood and shattering glass.

Followed by a silence only broken by harsh breathing, before the song continued.

“Wish I could change my mind”

He stuttered out, then sunk to his knees as his outburst left him feeling drained, the next verse coming out soft and slow.

“I'm so sick of waiting on the sun

My silver lining never comes

So sick of feeling not enough

Does hope hurt more than giving up?”

Right now it certainly felt like it did.

He looked around at the absolute disaster he’d made and couldn’t exert the effort needed to care, slowly getting to his feet and making his way to the somehow undisturbed section of the room and taking a seat at his desk. He rested his arms on the worn surface as tears began to flow down his face once again.

“How can it be that I’m the only one

Sick of waiting on the sun?”

It was only a few minutes into him creating a new puddle that he cursed his luck as he sensed a presence he would recognize anywhere, not even needing to turn around.

“Hello, princess.”

Chapter Text

Sofia landed Minimus a little ways off from the entrance to where Cedric supposedly was, according to Wormwood, and elected to walk the final stretch.

“Hello princess.” Cedric stiffly said in greeting soon as she had passed the threshold, not even bothering to turn around from where he sat facing the far wall, tinkering with some stuff on a wooden desk that looked very out of place, surrounded by rock as they were.

“A cave, huh? Gotta say, wasn’t expecting that.” Sofia said with a awkward lilt, unable to think of anything more profound when met with that tension in Cedric’s voice, and the absolutely destroyed state of the place, smashed items littering the floor.

“Temporary lodgings, until I find somewhere with better accommodations.” He brushed her words off with a wave of his hand. “How did you find me?” He asked, getting to the point, and sounding as if he were barely holding back an outburst (which Sofia definitely felt she deserved to be on the receiving end of).

“A little birdie told me where you were.” The princess replied as said ‘birdie’ flew past her and the fifteen or so feet over to Cedric, landing next to him on the desk.

“Wormwood, there you are.” The magic user raised a bent arm in offer and the bird seemed all too happy to hop onto it.

Feeling bold Cedric held up a finger from his opposite hand near the black-feathered head and was surprised when Wormwood nuzzled against it, as the feisty raven almost never let Cedric pet him. Encouraged, he stroked his hand over the soft dark plumage a few times, which seemed to have a calming effect on the sorcerer (something that was very useful right then, as Sofia just being there made his anxiety ratchet up a few notches, which he hoped didn’t come across in his voice. Why couldn’t she just leave him to wallow in self-pity alone?). Just then though his brain caught up with Sofia’s last words—and more importantly the emphasis she’d used—and something clicked into place.

“Did he now?” He stopped the petting abruptly and sent a half glare the avian’s way for having given up his location, then raised the laden arm, signaling his raven to retreat to the perch he’d set up for him (which Wormwood only did—reluctantly—after more than a slight hesitation). “So, why are you here?” Cedric directed his question to the princess again, back to business and still refusing to face her, but words seeming to flow a bit easier now at least. “To make me feel even worse about myself? As if you hadn’t done a fine enough job of that back at the castle,” he muttered the last part. “Or to drag me back to the kingdom for a swift beheading, perhaps?” He finished in a tone that would suggest he were talking about the weather.

What?

Sofia’s heartbeat spiked at his words. Ooh, she had really messed up if Cedric thought she would even consider the latter option, hadn’t she? “No I, I came to apologize.”

“Why?” The sorcerer asked in a mocking tone. “You suddenly don’t find my inability to desire to be ‘disgusting’ to you?” He made sure the quotes could be heard.

She winced. Yeah, that must have sounded pretty bad. “That… wasn’t what I meant, back in the room.”

“Oh? Do enlighten me as to what it was you meant then, because you sounded crystal clear to me.” Cedric said behind what were unmistakably gritted teeth.

Oh boy, this was going to be a more difficult conversation than she’d originally anticipated; Cedric must be really mad, considering he wouldn’t even turn around to face her, but Sofia knew she deserved a lot worse than just his ire and refusal to look her way, so no matter how challenging, she would push through with it.

“It’ll be easiest if I start off by revealing something to you: my amulet lets me talk to animals.”

That… actually explained a lot, now that Cedric thought about it. But what could that possibly have anything to do with what they were talking about? He let his silence be tacit permission for her to continue.

“Anyway, I spoke to Wormwood and he told me what was really going on. About my dad threatening you, and ordering you to ‘keep me happy’.” Speaking of which, she would be having words with that man later, she thought with no small amount of vindictivation, a spark of hatred igniting within her.

What? “He did?” Cedric eyed his raven with a raised eyebrow. Flying to a location after being convinced to by a very persuasive princess was one thing (even homing pigeons were capable of such), but relaying the details of a heinous command? That was something much more complex and required a higher thinking process than one would expect of an animal. Did that mean his raven was basically just another person, but one with feathers, who couldn’t speak English? He wasn’t sure how to feel about this new development, but decided to push those thoughts to the back of his mind for now, knowing he would no doubt be reframing everything later.

“Yes, and I’m glad he did:” Sofia replied, then went on to explain the conclusions she’d jumped to—given the knowledge she’d had at the time—and what she’d meant when she had said what she did, with a bit of an embarrassed flush (it all sounded a bit ridiculous now that she was saying it out loud after knowing the truth) that she counted herself lucky he couldn’t see.

“Well, that does change things a bit.” Cedric said after hearing everything, a small weight seeming to have been lifted from his shoulders, and breathing suddenly feeling easier. So she wasn’t repulsed by him (or had the decency to at least not act like it if she did still feel that way, but he dare not ask; preferring to be kept in the dark rather than possibly having his fears confirmed), but there was still zero chance she’d want to remain tied down to him.

“I’m sorry I didn’t let you explain what was really going on.” Sofia continued. “If I had just listened to you, I wouldn’t have jumped to all those conclusions and said those horrible things.” She finished, hoping her earnestness came across in her voice.

…

Cedric took a deep breath and let it out slowly, before standing and turning around for the first time since the princess had entered the cave.

Sofia felt like she’d been hit in the gut at the sight that greeted her. Cedric’s eyes were red and puffy, obvious even from this distance, and judging by the fresh tear tracks he must’ve been crying right until she showed up (explaining why Wormwood had been so eager to offer him comfort, and so reluctant to leave his arm), and hadn’t had the opportunity to wipe them away.

He hadn’t been mad, he’d been devastated.
And it was all her fault. She couldn’t help but hate herself a tad more for it.

“Yes well, I should have come clean about everything to you that first night.” Cedric responded. “I should have believed you would do the right thing and help however you could, instead I was too much of a coward to go against the king’s orders.”

Sofia did not begrudge him that; as her father could be intense when he wanted to be, never mind if he was threatening you with death. It must’ve been traumatizing. She felt that spark of hate growing as the conversation continued.

“And barring that,” Cedric continued. “I should have at least told you of my, uh, shortcoming. I did try, that first night, but, I just couldn’t get myself to follow through with it; you see, revealing that part of myself has never worked out well for me in the past. Even with people I thought I could trust.” The haunted look he had in his eyes told of a story for another time, if ever.

Sofia’s heart clenched, knowing she had added herself to that list, however accidentally. “Cedric, none of this was your fault.” She asserted, taking a step toward him. “You shouldn’t blame yourself for any of it; you were forced into an unthinkable situation and did the best you could with the cards you were dealt. I’m amazed at how strong of a person you are to have endured so much of it; I couldn’t even imagine being able to handle something like that myself. Any blame you want to put on yourself should go directly to my father instead.” Whom she vowed to make sure got what was coming to him.

Cedric stared at her for a few moments before casting his eyes down and to the side and giving a small nod of acknowledgement, not feeling worthy of her words. He then took a quick inhale, as if to change the subject. “Well, everything aside, you’ll be happy to know that it will be easy for you to get an annulment.” He pointed out—even though it hurt to say—as he knew it needed to happen.

Sofia’s breath hitched. “Why is that?” She asked, trying to keep the worry from her voice.

“Because the marriage was never… never” the sorcerer waved vaguely with his hands “well, you know what I mean!” he blushed angrily.

That’s right, now that it was brought up Sofia did recall there were some laws in place regarding lack of consummation, and how that could be grounds for terminating a marriage by considering it null and void (which was entirely different from a divorce and would not reflect poorly on her, as the blame would rest on the other party), but Cedric would have to admit that in front of a court, and that would not put him in a good spot with most of the kingdom. Plus, an annulment was not something she wanted.

“Speaking of which,” Sofia decided to skirt the subject slightly. “Wormwood did go into a bit of detail about your, um, situation; how much it affects you, among other things. But I was hoping to hear it from you, if that’s okay.” She asked, knowing it was a sore subject, but needing to hear what the case truly was so she could understand it fully, and hoping that just talking about it wasn’t too hard on him.

Cedric’s heart rate picked up suddenly. “… I don’t know how much you heard,” he eyed his raven warily (there were some things he wasn’t comfortable with anyone knowing. Things that Wormwood had been witness to). “but to put it simply, I have never had the innate desire to engage in… physical intimacy. Not only that, but I also have a repulsion to it that cannot be ignored. Any attempts have lead to… less than ideal outcomes.” He finished, the haunted look returning to his eyes once again, which gave Sofia a bad feeling; like she might have to make someone pay.

“Did… did something happen?” She asked, trying to keep the tension out of her voice.

Cedric’s eyes darted over to her, then to Wormwood, then back to her before he appeared to decide on how to proceed. “Not to bring it about, no; I’ve always been like this.” He answered, choosing how to interpret the question. “And no matter how hard I try, or how many books I search through, I can’t find a potion or spell that can fix me.” He finished, sounding miserable.

“Maybe it’s because you can’t be fixed,” Sofia said.

Cedric tried not to flinch at her words as they stabbed into his already bleeding heart.

“because you aren’t broken.” She continued.

Cedric gave a quiet gasp of surprise, a small, tentative spark of hope stirring in his chest.

“You just experience the world differently than others do, and it’s nothing to be ashamed of; it’s just another side of you that makes you, well, you.” She smiled at him softly as she finished, taking another couple steps closer.

Cedric was too shocked to respond, heart beat picking up at words he thought he’d never hear. At the acceptance. He then felt the telltale prickle begin to sting at his eyes (for what felt like too many times in too few days) and soon felt hot tears easily run down the paths the last ones left behind. Difference was, these were tears of happiness, even if his expression didn’t convey such.

“I’m ashamed of myself for not noticing anything was wrong.” Sofia admitted, eyes downcast, along with her mouth. “And I’m so sorry for everything I did that hurt you, including anything that was unintentional.” She put as much conviction as she could behind her words, so Cedric would know she meant them.

Cedric swallowed the lump in his throat so he’d be capable of voicing his response, and wiped at his eyes. “It’s not your fault, princess; how could you have known?”

Sofia knew the best way to get this next part across. She took a breath and began to sing, tone gentle but resolute.

“I should have seen by the look in your eyes,
There was something I was missing

I should have known by the tone of your voice,
But I didn't listen”

She took a step closer.

“But I meant
Every word I said
When I said that I loved you-“

She cut herself off when she had a sudden realization. Something she somehow had neglected to consider until just then:

she didn’t know how Cedric actually felt about her.

Was it arrogance that let her just assume he reciprocated her feelings if not the urges once she had learned the truth? It was as if there was a stone in the pit of her stomach and she didn’t even want to ask her next question for fear of what the answer could be.

“Cedric? When you said you loved me back… was that part of the act?” She wasn’t sure how she even got the whole sentence out, her heart beating a mile a minute. And while she knew that he had said it before the whole wedding and threatening deal, he could have well meant it in a different way back then, judging by what she knew now.

Cedric knew it would be for the best if he seized the opportunity the brunette had just handed to him on a silver platter, and confirmed that it had indeed been him just playing the part. He took a deep breath to eject his scruples and forced himself to look her in the eye. “Sofia, it may have seemed genuine when I said those three words, but that is only because…”

But he just couldn’t find it in himself to lie to her. Especially not when faced with her look of dawning devastation.

“because I meant them with all of my heart.” He admitted on a sigh before singing back in the same tune the princess had just used.

“When I said that I loved you I meant that I’ll love you forever”

Sofia thought she might well pass out from the sheer relief that flooded her system, a brilliant smile reforming on her face.

But then Cedric continued, in prose. “Nevertheless we still need that annulment,” He said, trying to keep his voice level despite the pain the words caused him. “because we would never work.”

“Why not?” Sofia asked, uncomprehending. If they both loved each other, then what could possibly be wrong?

Cedric took a steady inhale and determinedly stared right at her, arms spread wide as if in challenge.

“Look me in the eyes
Tell me what you see”

Sofia tried not to frown at his words, at his obvious lack of self worth. So that’s what the problem was. Cedric didn’t think he was good enough for her. Well, he couldn’t be further from the truth.

She made sure to take full advantage of the perfect cue the self-deprecating sorcerer had just given her.

“Lookin' in your eyes
I see a paradise

This world that I've found is too good to be true”

Cedric closed his eyes as if in pain. Why couldn’t she just see it and be done with him? Well, no matter; he knew how to make it perfectly clear.

“You say ‘paradise’?
I’m tearing at the seams

My words please heed
The only thing I need
Is to make your heart believe

That I’m a bad lover
Bad lover

Now you know
Now you know”

Yes, that should do it. Now, once more, with feeling.

“I’m a bad lover
Bad lover

Now you know
You’re free to go”

He waved a hand towards the exit in offer, clenching the one remaining at his side into a fist tight enough for it to hurt.

Oh, not a snowball’s chance. Sofia backhanded the air as if to bat away the very notion, striding a couple paces closer as she continued, hoping the determination came though in her features as strongly as it did in her heart.

“I’m not gonna leave you

Want so much to give you
This love in my heart that I'm still feeling for you

You might think I’m crazy
I don't care about that

Put your hand in my hand
And don't ever look back

Let the world around us
Just fall apart

I know we can make it
If we're heart to heart”

Cedric’s breath caught in his throat at both her words, and the fervor in her eyes.

“I can’t breathe”

But, it was misplaced, and he needed to convince her of that.

“I can’t be
I can’t be what you need me to be”

He curled in on himself, arms around his middle.

Not one to be deterred Sofia countered.

“Oh, all that I need is you
All that I ever need

And all that I want to do
Is be with you forever
Forever and ever”

Cedric’s heart lurched at those words. At the notion of something he could never truly have. Why must he be tortured in this way? He momentarily closed his eyes and shook his head before retorting.

“Trust me, princess
Trust me, princess:

You’d have unfulfilled years;
I’m a man of deep fears
Intimacy, touch and losing one dear

Please believe me
Please believe me”

The song petered out.

“You don’t want to remain with me; I would be depriving you of so much.” He pressed his lips together for a moment to keep them from trembling, suddenly flooded with emotion. “You deserve someone who can give you everything you want.” He finished miserably.

“Cedric, you would not be depriving me,” Sofia admonished with a frown. “because you are everything I want.” Her face then melted into a big smile and she began to dance her way toward him while continuing in song.

“I'm so glad I found you
I'm not gonna lose you

Whatever it takes
I will stay here with you

Take you to the good times
See you through the bad times

Whatever it takes
Is what I'm gonna do”

She finished with a twirl, hand over her heart, now only a couple steps away from him. “Cedric, this past week has been the best of my entire life. And that’s without including the physical affairs,” she clarified before he could start to get the wrong idea. “I don’t need any of that as long as I have you.” She’s finished with a smile.

“That is not what it seemed like to me.” Cedric said doubtfully. He’d experienced first hand how badly she’d wanted to get physical, after all.

Sofia’s expression morphed into one of contrition. “That’s because I thought it was something we could enjoy together, but now that I know it’s something you don’t want?”

Cedric winced at her words.

“Then I don’t want it either.” She finished with conviction.

Shock suddenly filled the sorcerer’s body, mind unable to quite fathom what was being said.

The princess continued. “Listen, I had the best time when it was just you and me enjoying each other’s company; just being near you is the best feeling in the world.” She gave him a soft smile.

“But why?” Cedric asked, uncomprehending. “I’m not anything special. I’m just, just-“

“You’re just the most thoughtful, caring, smart, ah-mazing person I have ever had the pleasure of knowing.” Sofia finished for him. “Believe me when I say that even if I searched for a hundred years I could not find someone who could make me feel even a sixth as happy as you do.” She paused, contemplative. “When I’m with you I feel… whole.” She said slowly as if in realization. “I didn’t even know anything was missing until I thought I’d lost you.” She looked at Cedric with pain in her eyes. “I love you.” She said as a fragile smile broke out on her face. “And if you truly love me too, please, please give us a shot.” She finished beseechingly.

Cedric felt like all the air had been knocked from his lungs, and he soon found his head to be a couple feet lower than it had been the moment before, his legs having given out from under him, too overcome with emotion to remain standing, as he was.

It was the second time that day Sofia had managed to bring him to his knees with mere words.

“You, you really mean all that?” He managed to ask around the lump that suddenly formed in his throat, daring to hope that maybe, just maybe, this could work.

“With every cell of my body.” Sofia assured without hesitation. “And” she began to sing once again, slowly moving closer.

“I'm gonna keep on lovin' you
'Cause it's the only thing I want to do
I never want to stop, I just want to keep on loving you, forever”

“So, how about it? Start over?” she said with an extended arm, now directly in front of him.

Cedric just stared at her proffered hand for a prolonged moment before eventually shaking his head with a disbelieving chuckle and responding in song.

“I think I might be crazy
But what do I know?

Put your hand in my hand
And don’t ever let go”

Sofia’s heart swelled with happiness, and she wasted no time in grabbing her husband by the hand and pulling him back to his feet.

Cedric grabbed her other hand and they began to spin in a circle as a duet filled the air.

“We can build this dream together
Standing strong forever
Nothing's gonna stop us now

And if this world runs out of lovers
We'll still have each other
Nothing's gonna stop us now”

The spinning slowed to a stop and they repeated the last line, slow and quiet.

“Nothing's gonna stop us now” they stared into each other’s eyes, each happy they had the other back.

“Now, what do you say we get you back home?” Sofia asked her sorcerer.

“Oh, yes,” Cedric suddenly pulled back a bit, releasing himself from her grasp. “there’s just one itsy bitsy teeny tiny little problem with that.” He wrung his hands nervously.

“What is it?” Sofia asked, trying not to worry that he’d suddenly changed his mind and wanted her to leave him alone forever.

“Oh, it’s just that, for some reason, I have something against living in the same castle as a king who’s threatened my life.” He replied sarcastically, making light of it in an attempt to distract himself from the memories. He tried not to shiver at the ghost of a dark voice and the sound of a knife cutting through flesh. Just then Wormwood landed on his shoulder and after recovering from a quick moment of surprise the sorcerer ran the back of a finger over the dark plumage of the raven’s chest a few times, finding the action soothing.

Sofia scowled at the reminder. That was right, they still had to deal with that loose thread. The tactician thought for a few seconds before coming up with an idea. One that she liked very much. “Well, what if he wasn’t the king~?” She all but sing-songed.

“Come again?” Cedric asked, looking up from where he’d now been focusing on his familiar.

“Well, he couldn’t exactly rule the kingdom anymore if he was, say, a salamander, could he?” She said with a conspiratorial grin.

Cedric stared at her, shocked. “You would be willing to turn against your father?”

“I would be willing to turn against a king who is willing to threaten his own subjects.” Sofia said with more than a little anger directed at said figure. “And I could use your help.” She smiled at him mischievously.

Cedric couldn’t help but to feel touched at the sentiment. “Well in that case, let me know what you need from me.”

“Sure thing, I’d just like to talk to my mom first; she’s going to want to hear about this.” The princess was certain her mom was not going to be happy with the king when she told her of what he’d done. “And before that,” she looked around at the mess littering the floor of the cave.

Cedric followed her gaze. “Right, yes. Kind of regretting destroying everything now. I mean, I can fix it all; it will just be annoying.” He said on a groan. “Oh well, nothing for it. Just give me a few minutes.” He stood up straight and pulled out his wand. “Might want to step back a bit as well.” He advised the brunette.

“Good idea, I’ll be waiting outside.” Sofia said, making towards the exit before something shiny caught her eye when she was nearly there. She bent down to inspect it and scrunched her eyebrows in confusion when she recognized it as the hat charm from her bracelet. But how could it have gotten there? She certainly hadn’t brought it with her. She then looked up over at Cedric, who was commanding items to repair themselves and sending them into a case as they shrunk with a few words and a swift flick of his wand, and realized he must’ve taken it with him.

She looked back down at the charm and an idea formed. She picked it up and stowed it in her pocket before stepping outside.