Constant Reminder

Summary: Cedric keeps having dreams of Princess Elena reminding him of his promise: that he'll take care of Sofia and help her with her amulet journey. Exhausted beyond belief from lack of sleep, he decides to face the source of his dreams and have an important conversation with her.

Disclaimer: I do not own Sofia the First or Elena of Avalor.

A/N: …I couldn't help myself. :D Last story of the night! Second crossover with these shows for me! :) Cedric always has a lot of bad dreams in my stories, but now it's something entirely different. You'll see what I mean by that. *References to my first crossover "Confidant" in this story.* :D Enjoy!

*Story*

"Cedric, you made a promise, and I hope you intend to keep it."

"She's counting on you, Cedric."

"She's forgiven you of your vices; don't let her down. Help her."

"Cedric?"

"Cedric!"

"Cedric, wake up!"

Cedric yelped in surprise and fell off his bed, his limbs tangled in the bedsheets and blankets. He peered through the opening of his sheets and glared at Wormwood, who'd flown down to land on his knee. "What is it, Wormy? I was sleeping."

"Yes, I saw, and you were talking in your sleep as well." He rolled his eyes. "Something about, 'help her,' or 'don't let her down.' Now it may just be my expert raven brain talking here, but I'm inclined to believe you were dreaming about the princess."

The sorcerer muttered something unintelligible and pushed the offending covers away before making his bed again. "It was just a dream."

"That's the third one you've had like that this week. It's keeping me awake at night."

"Then go sleep in the workshop."

Wormwood gave his master a pointed look. "A little cranky, aren't we?"

"Well, you would be too if you were plagued with dreams every night and deprived of sleep…and then have a nosy raven shocking you awake by squawking in your ear!"

"All right, first of all, simmer down on your dramatics. It was only a simple question. And secondly, if it's the dreams keeping you awake, then why don't you do something about them?" He flew upward and landed on a dresser.

"Right," Cedric responded shortly. "Such as?"

"Confront the source. Is it Sofia you're dreaming of?"

"Mm, sort of. But it's not her voice I'm hearing in my dreams. It's Princess Elena's."

"The one who was stuck in her amulet?" Wormwood shook his head as Cedric nodded. "What on earth would she be talking to you for?"

"I met her several weeks ago when you travelled to see Mummy and Father. We had a chat, and she brought up…the amulet. She knew of our plans in the past, and she seemed to forgive me; however, she instructed me to keep an eye on and protect Sofia from evil doers."

"Uh-huh." Wormwood yawned. "I don't know what it is about these princesses all confiding their fears and hopes in you, Cedric, but perhaps you missed your calling; maybe you should have been a counselor instead of a sorcerer. Oh, but then you'd have to purchase a pair of spectacles and practice being poised." He smirked when his master shot him a glare. "Never mind."

"You know, sometimes I do miss the days when you couldn't talk."

"I could always talk."

He turned over and pulled the covers over his head. "I miss not being able to understand you then."

"Confront the source, Cedric. You'll sleep better at night. And when you do, so will I." With that, he flew out the door and toward the workshop to get his much-needed rest.

Cedric stared in the darkness at nothing in particular. Perhaps Wormwood was right. He probably should "confront the source." But that would mean…

"I guess I'll be traveling to Avalor tomorrow."

The next day, Cedric sought and was granted permission from Roland to travel. He didn't indicate where he was going, but Roland hadn't asked any questions and he hadn't volunteered any answers either. They were still on somewhat shaky yet civil grounds. It was better than it could have been though. He could have been in that horrid dungeon again with the oh-so-charming prisoners.

He visibly shuddered at that thought before heading to a flying coach and offering the coachman his destination. He climbed into the back and relaxed as they took off.

The whole way there, Cedric was anxious. He'd met Elena before and she was more than courteous toward him, but there was still that lingering feeling of uncertainty. Really, what was he even doing? He was traveling such a long way just to talk to a girl who had appeared in his dreams and told him something he already knew. Yep, made sense.

Either way, he finally managed to get some rest as the journey carried on, and for the first time in days, he didn't have any dreams.

"We're here," announced a gruff voice as the flying coach landed with a thud.

Cedric bounced forward and rubbed his forehead after knocking it on the seat. "Ow…yeah, thanks for that." He exited and waved to the coachman. "I may be a while. Just wait here."

"Yes, sir."

He walked forward toward the palace steps of Avalor. It was more breathtaking than he remembered. Of course, last time, he'd come with a predetermined purpose: helping Elena's own wizard Mateo, whom he'd enjoyed training. The boy had a knack for spells, and he would be a fantastic royal wizard in the long run.

After speaking with a few guards, they let him inside before he was immediately approached by a taller man with dark hair and a regal outfit. He looked sort of intimidating, not that Cedric let that show.

"May I help you, Señor?" the man asked in a heavy accent.

"Um, may I request an audience with Princess Elena please?"

The man raised an eyebrow at him. "And you are?"

"Cedric the Sensational…er, I'm the Royal Sorcerer of Enchancia. She and I met a few months ago."

"Hmm… Wait here." He turned and left.

Cedric glanced around and took in his surroundings. He found Avalor to be quite colorful and warm. There was a renewed sense of peace and joy now that Elena had taken control again, or at least that's what Sofia had told him. Now he understood what she meant.

"Cedric?"

He turned and bowed when greeted by the Crown Princess of Avalor. "Princess Elena, thank you for seeing me."

"Well, Estéban told me you were here…he said you seemed sort of on edge. What's wrong? Why are you here alone?" She looked around him. "Where's Sofia?"

"Uh, could we talk somewhere, perhaps in private?"

The brunette nodded and gestured for him to follow her to the balcony. They sat together against the wall and remained quiet for a few minutes before Elena finally had enough. "So…what's going on?"

"I did something terrible."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "You yelled at Sofia?" She saw him shake his head. "Um…stole the king's slippers? Ate a bad apple?" Seeing his exasperated look, she shrugged. "Sorry, you're not really giving me anything to work with here."

"You're usually rather perceptive, Princess Elena. Surely you of all people can guess."

Realization dawned on her and she sucked in a breath. "You didn't? You stole her amulet?"

"Not quite… I admitted that I'd tried in the past. And to make a long story short, she was mad at me and then she forgave me after a while, but now I'm evidently plagued with guilt, because now I'm having dreams about you."

"Me? What do I have to do with this?"

He gestured widely. "You're the one who told me to protect her, to keep her safe as people attempt to pursue her amulet. Fine, I get it. I've learned my lesson, and I'm trying to be a better person, but your voice haunts me every night, and I can't sleep. My own raven won't even sleep in the same room with me."

"You have a raven? Awesome!"

"Elena, could you please focus for two minutes?" He didn't even realize he'd gotten so familiar with her, but she didn't correct him. He sighed. "Sorry, I mean… I just don't know what I'm doing wrong. I'm really trying to make things better between us, Princess. I am. I simply don't understand why the dreams keep occurring."

Elena smiled. "You ever think that maybe I'm not the one you need to be telling all of this to?"

He appeared quite flabbergasted. "You very well better be, because I travelled all this way."

She giggled. "Cedric, admit it. You're terrified of making a mistake. You always were. I saw you from my position in the amulet. I saw how nervous you got over every little thing." She nudged him gently. "I don't see that much anymore. You've grown so much and you've changed for the better. But you're human. It's okay to make mistakes or to admit you're not as strong as you think you are—or that you're not the same person the world tries to tell you that you are. The only reason you're having those dreams is because you can't forgive yourself. You said it earlier: Sofia forgave you. Accept it and let that go now. I forgave you too. For goodness sake, before it overwhelms you completely, give your heart and your mind a rest."

Cedric shook his head. "I'm a fool. I should have known it wasn't actually you sending those dreams to me. Yet again, I think maybe I needed to hear those words from you. I'm just so tired…so tired of worrying all the time and being afraid that I'll disappoint her again."

Elena picked up his hand and gently patted it. "You're a good guy, Cedric. Sofia obviously saw that in you; otherwise, she wouldn't have forgiven you so easily. Now give yourself the closure you need already. Okay?"

He nodded. "I will. I think…I'm feeling better now."

"Good. So wake up already."

Cedric opened his eyes and glanced around, realizing he was in his bedroom. Huh. Had that been another dream? He shook his head and rubbed his eyes. He actually felt well rested for a change. He wasn't exhausted or irritated or anything.

But still, that dream had felt so real… He shrugged, dismissing it. What Elena had told him was useful information: everyone else had forgiven him, so now maybe it was time for him to return the favor to himself. Smiling slightly, he got out of bed and began preparing for the day.

Meanwhile…

"Told ya it would work," Mateo bragged cheekily to his friend as she folded her arms. "That, Elena, is the power of the Dream Weaver Spell."

Elena laughed. "Poor Cedric. He's not going to know if he's awake or asleep anymore… But thanks for your help, Mateo. I just felt it was important that he and I talked one more time."

"Yeah. Maybe now they can handle it on their own?"

She smiled. "I guess we'll see. Come on, I told Gabe and Naomi we'd meet them at Doña Paloma's." She grabbed his arm and pulled him away.

"Aw, man! Do we have to?"

She laughed.

The end