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“...Cedric.”
“Miss Nettle.”
The pair glared at each other, each with their arms folded. Sofia stood between them, with her cheeks puffed out like a hamster. Slowly, she let out a breath. “Guys! Come on, you know how much it upsets me that you two still aren’t friends.”
“No, princess Sofia,” Cedric shook his head, turning away from Nettle and putting his hands up, “I may have repaired many old relationships in my time after turning a new page in the spell book, but this is one thing I will not budge on.”
“But why…?”
Miss Nettle rolled her eyes, and laughed a little, “he’s still heartbroken.”
“Hmf!” Cedric stormed off. Sofia felt bad for thinking this, but he did look a little funny when he was angry.
“Miss Nettle - you hurt his feelings!” Sofia protested, placing her hands on her hips, “what do you have to say for yourself?”
“What? It was the truth. I hold no blame.”
“...”
“...why are you looking at me like that?” Nettle narrowed her eyes and seemed to shrink down in size, “your eyes are piercing.”
“I don’t know what you meant by ‘heartbroken,’” Sofia admitted, “but you clearly made Mr Cedric upset, since he left like that. Since you made him upset, that means that you need to apologise to him!”
“Haha! Not a chance!” Nettle righted her posture.
Fine,” Sofia let her shoulders fall. She would have to try another strategy. “If you don’t say sorry, I’ll tell Princess Ivy about the laughing lilies. ”
“Wait! No!” the fairy must have jumped at least a metre in the air, “d-do you know what she’d do to me if she found out about that? I wouldn’t get a moment of peace.”
“Well…”
“Fine,” Nettle spat the words out like a foul taste, “I’ll… apologise.”
***
Cedric sat in front of Wormwood’s perch. The raven might be gone, but the memories remained. So sometimes, when the world felt too much, he still came here. Just to talk to his old friend. “ Oh Wormy, I don’t know. Have you ever had a broken heart? It’s funny. You could have had a whole life full of love and devastation, and I would never have known… because I didn’t understand you.”
The response was a deafening silence, as always.
“And ‘Sasha’… when I first saw her, I thought maybe I had a chance. She was a sorceress, I was a sorcerer… it seemed like we were meant to be. And of course, she was gorgeous - way out of my league. But when she tricked me and… oh, Wormy. My whole world fell away. Desire burnt into ice.”
“ Cedric .” Being addressed from behind him made him jump.
“Miss… Nettle,” Cedric brought a hand to his chest, struggling to catch his breath, “how in the world did you get in here?”
“You left the door open.”
“Oh.”
“I am sorry, you know. About tricking you. I didn’t consider your feelings at all, and I really did only think about getting the amulet; so it wasn’t a personal matter about you - if that helps.”
“...did Sofia put you up to this?”
“Yes,” Miss Nettle admitted, swinging around to lean on Wormwood's perch, “but it was a good idea. She’s a smart kid, you know.”
“Believe me, I do.”
“I get that you’re mad at me-”
“You broke my heart!” Cedric’s voice didn’t feel like part of him.
Nettle sighed, trailing her fingers over the perch, “let’s be honest, Cedric. I didn’t break your heart; Sasha did. I know you’re not remotely attracted to me. It was Sasha who you fell in love with, and she doesn’t exist.”
“I-”
“But what I want to say is this: I’m not attracted to you, you’re not attracted to me - and this combination is, in my opinion, the perfect recipe for a long lasting friendship.”
Cedric paused. He hadn’t been prepared for such a proposal, “I suppose it is.”
“So what do you say?” Nettle grinned, extending a hand down to Cedric, “heck it, if you want, I can be your wingwoman… pun intended.”
“This isn’t what I wanted… but maybe it’s what I need. A new friend," he glanced over at the perch, which now occupied miss Nettle. “You promise no more tricks?” He wrinkled his nose in suspicion.
“Please, I’ve turned over a new leaf. Just ask Sofia.”
“Alright then - but any more lies, and I’m turning you into a frog… or maybe a pebble,” he took her hand. The grip was surprisingly firm.
“Duly noted.”