Confined

Summary: When visiting another kingdom to help establish a new sorcerer and his workshop, Cedric and Sofia suddenly get abducted by an unknown enemy. They must rely on the new young sorcerer to come to their rescue, though it may be easier said than done.

Disclaimer: I only own the Kingdom of Namile (Nah-meel-ā) and the characters associated with it (especially Dante and Seraphina). 😊

A/N: Here's the final chapter! Hope you've enjoyed. Now it's time for some finalizing action! 😉

*Story*

Chapter 7: Guilty Until Proven Innocent

Cedric sighed as he leaned against the cold wall before glancing down at Sofia. She'd somehow managed to fall asleep and was leaning against him, his arm secure around her to keep her safe. How much longer would they have to wait? Oh, if only he had his wand!

He frowned as he heard a slamming door, which startled the young girl and woke her up. "It's all right, Sofia," he assured her quietly as he held onto her tighter. "No matter what, I'll keep you safe."

She nodded and eyed the bars fearfully, uncertain of what would happen next.

Both friends seemed rather confused when a blonde girl appeared at the bars.

"Are you two Mr. Cedric and Sofia?" she asked cautiously as she held Dante's wand in her right hand and the map in her left.

"Yes!" Sofia responded anxiously, hoping beyond hope that this was their rescue. "Who are you?"

"I am Princess Seraphina of Namile, Dante's…friend." She wasn't entirely sure if that was going to be the case anymore if it turned out the boy was, indeed, guilty. But for now, the simpler the explanation, the better. "I've come to get you out of here, but I don't know how to use this thing." She glanced down at the wand.

"I can help," Cedric told her as he stood, pulling the younger princess up with him. "Point it at the lock and say, 'Recludo.'"

She nodded and did just that, unlocking the cell and freeing the sorcerer and princess.

"What happened to Dante?" Sofia asked in concern as she looked up at the other girl.

Seraphina frowned. "A man named Lord Tolvin, who's apparently been tracking him for a while, accused him of treason and arrested him. He said Dante had previously tried to overtake the king of the old kingdom, and he had holograms to prove it." She sighed. "I just don't know about that though… It doesn't seem like something Dante would do."

"It's not hard to fake a hologram, Princess Seraphina," Cedric informed her. "Truly, it's possible Lord Tolvin is only showing you what he wants you to see. In fact, he told us the very same thing: that Dante was accused of treason, and he'd gotten us out of the way since he believed we were 'accomplices.'" He scoffed. "We're from Enchancia, and we'd never met the boy until several hours ago. It's impossible for us to be accomplices. Something about this doesn't add up."

"I didn't trust that guy from the beginning," Sofia told them. "I mean, he knocked us out. He kidnapped us! Even if you're trying to keep people from messing up an arrest, you don't do that."

"Let's get back to the castle," Seraphina told them. "The only way to find out what's really going on is to confront everyone and everything head on."

When they arrived at the castle again, the trio was in for a surprise. The kingdom was frozen in place. All the birds in the sky were halted in midair. Guards, villagers, workers, bugs…everything was frozen.

"Oh, no." Seraphina took off running, only to be followed by the visiting Enchancians. She skidded to a halt in the throne room, where she took notice that King Leandro and Queen Amelie were also frozen, seemingly in mid-yell. "Mom! Dad!"

"We need to find Lord Tolvin and Dante," Sofia reminded her, placing one hand on her arm for comfort. "Your parents will be all right."

"If I had to guess," Cedric began, "there's only one place I can think they might be."

The girls glanced at each other before nodding. With that, they headed toward Dante's workshop.

Dante struggled against his shackles, which were now not only around his arms but also his legs and torso as he was bound to a chair in his own workshop. "Let me go, Tolvin!" he ordered. "You know I did nothing wrong!"

"Hush," the man demanded as he twirled not only the boy's wand but Cedric's wand around his fingers. "Hmm, two new wands. I can do a lot more with both of these…" He smirked before glancing toward the door as it banged open. "Right on time."

"Dante?" Seraphina asked in surprise, shocked to see her friend chained up.

"Sera! Mr. Cedric! Sofia!"

"Let him go," Sofia told the man, who chuckled. "We don't believe for a minute that Dante is guilty."

"Guilty?" He laughed. "Of course he's not guilty. He's 'Dante the Delightful' after all." He scoffed and tightened his grip around the two wands. "Everyone always favors him. No one cares for tradition anymore…"

"What are you babbling about?" Cedric asked, irritated.

"I'm not just a warlock and a warrior. I'm actually a cousin of Dante's." He smirked as everyone, even Dante, seemed surprised. "Of course, he was unaware. What a surprise. No one ever thinks to mention me in their family line." He glared at the trio as they made their way toward Dante. "I was a former reigning warlock among the esteemed Kingdom of Dainsilor, from which Namile was derived."

"I don't believe you!" Dante snapped. "No one in my family would behave like this!"

Lord Tolvin rolled his eyes. "You're such a simpleton, boy. I was supposed to be in line for the job, not you. People overlooked me because they believed I was 'inferior' to you, which is absurd! How could a seventeen-year-old child be better than me?" He scoffed and paced. "Therefore, it was necessary to set you up, and it was so easy to do… My expertise is shape-shifting, Dante…"

Dante gaped, realizing what he was getting at.

"So disguising myself as you was not at all difficult."

"And that was what I saw in the hologram earlier?" Seraphina asked in surprise.

Sofia noticed that Lord Tolvin was distracted, so she lifted her arm with the Enchantlet. Giving it one sharp flick, she created a lasso and ripped the wands from the man's hands, pulling them back to herself.

Cedric raised his eyebrows at his apprentice in shock. "Where did you learn to do that?" he asked, baffled, as she handed his wand to him and Dante's wand to the boy.

Sofia grinned sheepishly. "It's a long story."

Lord Tolvin growled and reached for his own wand, but Cedric used a spell to freeze him instead.

With a few simple words, Dante was set free and Seraphina called for her guards to arrest Lord Tolvin.

"Send him to the highest security prison," the blonde ordered as her men secured the prisoner.

Cedric smirked. "It wouldn't be a bad idea to also report this to the Conjurors' Board, Princess." The evil look Lord Tolvin gave him as he was being hauled away didn't go unnoticed.

Dante sighed in relief and smiled as the blonde princess rushed to hug him. He laughed and held her tighter. "I told you I'd never do something like that, Sera…" He pulled back and gave her a sincere look. "I'd never betray the king, your family, and definitely not you."

Seraphina smiled and kissed his cheek, causing him to blush. "Good to know. Now let's get you initiated already." She grabbed his hand and tugged him out of his workshop.

Sofia and Cedric stood in silence for a few moments before looking toward each other.

"I saw that coming," Sofia snickered, causing her friend to smile and roll his eyes.

"It was rather obvious, wasn't it?" He extended one hand to her. "Come along, Sofia. We have a royal sorcerer to establish."

The girl grinned and accepted his hand as they left.

That evening, Royal Sorcerer Dante the Delightful was instated for the Kingdom of Namile, the first and youngest sorcerer to ever reign in the new kingdom. While he had a lot on his shoulders, he knew with help from his friends, he could handle just about anything.

A few days later, while they were traveling back to Enchancia, Cedric turned to his apprentice and observed her for a few moments. "Sofia?"

"Hmm?" She glanced toward her friend.

"What you did back in Dante's workshop…"

She braced herself. She knew he was going to ask questions about the Enchantlet, but she wasn't fully prepared to respond. It was supposed to be rather secretive, especially considering all the tasks she had to perform and the potential danger she put herself in each time she participated. Again, Amber was the only one who knew nearly the full extent of what she did these days…

"…I'm proud of you."

Sofia blinked. Well, that wasn't the direction she saw the conversation going. "U-Um…what?"

Cedric smiled. "You showed true bravery in the face of adversity, just like you always do. But…I'm seeing a change in you, Sofia. You're a lot stronger than you ever were before, and you're able to take on so much more now…" He chuckled softly. "Pretty soon, you won't need me for magic lessons and advice anymore. I think you can pretty well handle your own at this point."

The princess shook her head. "Mr. Cedric, I'm always going to need you. You're my friend!" She smiled brightly. "And besides, life would be pretty boring without my favorite sorcerer."

He laughed. "Well… The feeling is mutual, my dear." He smiled as she hugged him once more. "And what of our next adventure?"

Sofia grinned at him. "That would be making sure Baileywick is all right and doesn't overwork himself, according to Mom."

The sorcerer rolled his eyes. "That's a harder task than taking down Lord Poodles, I'm afraid." He glanced back at her with an amused smirk before they both cracked up laughing as the coach soared onward toward Enchancia.

The end