A/N: Well here's the 'plot' part of the story. I know there are a lot of stories about the angst involved in Cedric, a servant, marrying Sofia, a princess (and boy do I love those) but when I was writing this I thought I would go a different way.

I really do think Rolland and Miranda, and James and even Amber are good people . Though maybe Amber needs a push in the right direction ever once and a while. I also thought given Rolland married a shoe-maker, he'd be hard pressed to be sooo hypocritical he'd deny his kids the same right to marry for love. So that's why I had things go down this way.

Disclaimer: Sofia is 18, Cedric is 34 and I don't own either of them, or anyone else mentioned. I just love it when Amber gets sassy!

.o~O&O~o.

A little over an hour later, Cedric was fully dressed (minus his is Sorcerer's robes) and Sofia was in her shift and corset, her petticoats and ball gown laid out on the bed.

She had the tip of her thumb between her teeth and a look of consternation on her face.

"What has you frustrated Dearest? I know I'm probably not half the Ladies Maid Violet is, but I'm fairly certain between the two of us we can get you back into all that." Cedric's voice sounded confident, but somehow the huge pile of lace and linen was more intimidating than he cared to admit.

"I have no doubt, but I think maybe we should pop down to my room before seeing my parents. I'm not sure I'm ready to do 'the walk of shame' quite yet."

Cedric laughed at that. Even if he got her back into that ridiculous pile of fluff, his hair only required a small comb to tame. It would probably break in two before she'd run it through half of her long, tangled curls. Even dressed she'd look wild and thoroughly fucked.

It was probably best to take her to her room and let her make herself 'Princess Perfect' before they tackled the task ahead.

"You're right. Shall we then?" He said holding out his hand to her.

She nodded, but instead of coming to him she grabbed her dress and petticoats and walked into his closet. He watched her pull down a few spare hangers and slip her dress on one of them. For the petticoats she used a trouser hanger, clipping them in place and sliding his clothes down so hers could rest next them.

He didn't know why, but such a simple action had him choking back a sob. Such a banal, every day thing to do, and yet it finally drove home the truth as nothing else had. She was a part of his life now. She was here to stay! His room was her room too. His closet was her closet.

He was hers.

She came bounding back then and took his hand.

Grabbing the wand lying carelessly on the desk he cast the spell and a moment later they were in Sofia's room.

Her blessedly empty room.

Part of him was relieved they were still alone but another part was starting to get slightly angry. Was no one looking for her? Did no one care that, for all intents and purposes, she had been missing since late last night? Did everyone have their heads in their asses this morning?

Ten minutes later Cedric was surprised to find her already dressed in an elegant eggplant colored gown, her hair half pulled back with a little ivory comb, and the rest cascading in neat curls down her back.

He noticed that as he had omitted his robes, the symbol of his status, she had omitted to put on a tiara. It seemed they were going to her parents as simply Cedric and Sofia.

He liked the sound of their names together like that. When you said it a few times it began to sound as if it was a single unit, a compound word.

She came bounding towards him just as she'd done in his room, and took his hand, bobbing up to give him a quick kiss. Before they left her room, he decided to leave a little of himself in her space too. He put the wand down on her dresser as they passed and, looking at it there, he knew it belonged.

The family room was on the other side of the 'Royal residence' from Sofia's bedroom. A long hallway filled with servants bustling about, stood between them and their destination.

Holding her head high, Sofia squeezed Cedric's hand and they started their journey, side by side, hand in hand just as they had last night, without concern for who should see them.

They were ten feet from the family room when its door swung open and Baileywick walked into the hall.

He turned to them and froze in his tracks.

"Good morning Baileywick," Sofia said brightly, no hint in her voice or demeanor that anything was different from any other morning. "Thank you for all your help yesterday. I know it must have been total chaos behind the scenes, but the night went off perfectly and I know you had everything to do with it. I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to thank you earlier."

Baileywick's mouth opened, then closed, then opened again, but still nothing came out. It seemed all the steward could do was look between Cedric and Sofia's faces and their clasped hands and gape while air, but no sound, escaped his open mouth.

Walking past him, they finally entered the family room. Cedric noticed that everyone was exactly where Sofia said they would be.

King Rolland sat in an armchair reading the 'Enchancia Times'. Queen Miranda and Princess Amber sat on either side of a large couch so they could share a collection of the latest fashion and decorating magazines between them, and Prince James stood by the window, sipping tea and talking to everyone and no one about the new flying horses the stable master and his grooms where exercising outside.

When the door closed, all eyes turned to them.

"Good morning Sofia." The King greeted, only half lowering his paper. "You look just lovely today? I take it your early morning ride on Minimus was just the tonic you needed after all the stress of yesterday?" Rolland continued seeming not to see their joined hands.

But then, even now, when Cedric had proved himself over and over again, the King rarely noticed him unless he was forced to.

"Early morning ride?" Sofia repeated, seeming a little thrown by the odd statement.

"Yes, your mother said she came to visit you early this morning and found you up before the sun, putting on your riding clothes. I can see it did the trick, you look much happier today. Why you're positively glowing."

Cedric looked over at Queen Miranda and found her staring directly at their clasped hands with a small, almost wistful smile on her face. He found himself wondering how it was the Queen had come to provide the perfect alibi for Sofia so they could spend the morning together undisturbed.

"I am happy today Dad, really happy, but not because I went riding. I'm happy because Cedric asked me to marry him this morning and I said yes." Sofia declared this as simply and matter-of-factly as she did everything else. As though there was no question or room for argument.

To emphasize her point she held up her left hand and showed them her ring.

Cedric had a moment of pride when he saw Amber gasp and the Queen smile widely. He might be the very last man they had in mind for Sofia, but the ring was magnificent, a piece worthy of an empress.

Before anyone else could speak, the Queen was up from her seat and crossing the room to them. Without any hesitation she hugged Cedric warmly and kissed his cheek.

"Welcome to the family Cedric. I'm so happy for both of you!" Her smile was so genuine, Cedric had the momentary desire to pinch himself.

Things simply could not be this easy. Could they?

He had to be dreaming. He was almost certain this whole thing was a wild delusion and he was about to wake up hunched over his worktable, his face smooshed into a spell book, and a blinding tension headache raging from his eyes to the base of his neck.

The Queen had moved from him now and was hugging Sofia fiercely.

"My little girl, where does the time go? I'm so happy for your darling."

James was the next to approach them. He clapped Cedric on the back amiably.

"Congrats Cedric! There's no one more awesome than Sofia. I know you guys are going to be really happy together."

Yes, this was all a dream. Of course it was. How on Earth could Sofia possibly want him, agree to be his wife, and then everyone else just accept it like it was no big deal. Maybe he should punch himself in the face instead. A pinch might be to gentle to break free of this hallucination.

The room fell silent with that. All eyes seemed to gravitate to the pretty blond Princess still holding a magazine, but watching everything with a keen eye and a neutral expression.

When Amber realized she'd become the center of attention she finally broke her silence.

"Well why are you all looking at me like that?" She countered, no hint of what she might be thinking about all of this.

"Well…," Sofia spoke slowly," I knew Mom would probably be on our side. And James, I knew if it made me happy you'd be happy for me. But honestly Amber, I guess… I was a little worried you might not be so thrilled for me." Sofia looked at her with an expression Cedric had seen many times on his own sister's face; the need to have the approval of a beloved older sibling.

Amber huffed at that as though she were offended.

"Really Sofia, sometimes I don't understand what goes on in that head of yours."

Dear god, maybe he was awake. Amber seemed more than ready to give them the reaction he'd been expecting all along.

Which was why her next words floored the whole room.

"You've been a Princess long enough you should know the rules by now. And the first rule of being a Princess is that Princesses live happily ever after. You can't possibly live happily ever after if you don't marry your true love!

I've never known you to be fickle a single moment in your life. So if you tell me Cedric is your true love how can I do anything but believe you? Of course the two of you have to marry!

Besides it's not like every Princess has to marry a Prince.

Prince Aladdin was a thief before he married Princess Jasmine. So was Prince Eugene before he married Princess Repunzel. And Prince Kristoph was an… an ice merchant before he married Princess Anna."

Amber put special emphasis on the 'ice merchant' part, her hands coming to her neck as if the very thought of such degradation made her want to clutch at an imaginary set of pearls.

"At least when I'm asked about it, I can hold my head up and say my brother is a great and powerful Sorcerer. I double dare Queen Else to look down her frosted pink nose at that!"

With that Amber swept out of her seat and walked regally over to where the rest of the family, save the King, had assembled around them.

Without a moment's hesitation she went on her tip toes and kissed Cedric's cheek.

"Welcome to the family, Cedric." She said, an actual, genuine smile on her face.

Cedric was so shocked he barely heard the shrill squeal that escaped Amber's mouth as she threw herself on Sofia and the two women jumped up and down as they hugged.

"Oh Sofia just wait! If you thought last night was big, I can't wait to tell you all my ideas for your wedding." Amber's voice was still at peak squeal even as she released her sister to clasp hands and start spinning them around in circles.

"I'm sure my wedding will be ah-mazing Amber. You know why?" Sofia asked, tears of happiness swimming in her eyes.

"Why?" Amber replied as they came to a stop.

"Because I have a secret weapon… YOU!" The sisters laughed at what must be an inside joke and embraced again.

They were still laughing and hugging when King Rolland finally stood from his chair, clearing his throat to get everyone's attention. He remained where he was as everyone stopped and looked at him.

"I gather then that you were not in fact out for a ride this morning." He said, pinning Miranda with a hard look.

"No I wasn't." Sofia declared with that same matter-of-fact tone she'd used earlier.

"I see," was his only reply for a long moment. Rolland seemed as though he were trying to process what he'd just learned but his mind wasn't cooperating.

"And you're ready to be married. You're very sure about that?"

Sofia nodded.

"I am."

Cedric knew it was time to stop allowing the King to make him invisible.

"I love her, your Majesty, with all of my heart."

Cedric realized this was probably the first time he'd ever spoken to the king without that demeaning, obsequious tone creeping into his voice. He was struck to realize it was because he no longer cared what the King thought of him, or if his actions pleased the other man.

He loved Sofia. She loved him. He had asked, and she had consented to be his wife. The king could suck on his scepter if he didn't like it!

"Your feelings for each other were never much of a mystery to me Cedric. I just want to make sure Sofia is ready for something so…life changing." The King paused at that, and it was clear he was fighting a great deal of emotion.

His eyes darted back to Miranda for a moment, and from the tenderness of Rolland's gaze it was obvious the Queen was already forgiven.

"Sofia, I know that in the most technical sense of the word I'm not your father. But I have never, for a single moment of the last ten years, considered you anything but my daughter, and honestly I didn't wake up this morning with the slightest notion I'd have to figure out how to let you go quite so soon.

You and Amber both, you're my little girls. Sometimes I just wish I could make you both small again so all I'd have to worry about is keeping Amber in new dresses and you out of mischief. But you're not little anymore and I…," Rolland stopped again, visibly trying to contain himself. "And I guess keeping you safe is Cedric's job now."

The king walked over to Cedric then, holding out his hand.

Cedric didn't hesitate to take it and found himself pulled into a manly hug. As the King stepped back, he clapped Cedric on the shoulder, and then pinned him with a hard gaze.

"And I do mean safe Cedric. As in not a hair on her head, do we understand each other?"

Cedric gulped a little but was determined not to appear a sniveling fool.

"We do." He tried on Sofia's matter-of-fact tone of voice and found it a good fit for the occasion.

Rolland smiled, satisfied with Cedric's answer.

"Then I guess the only thing left to do is welcome you to the family. Please don't think I meant any offense by being the last to do it. A father… a father just needs a few minutes to realign his world view. You'll understand that one day I trust."

And just like that Cedric the bumbler, Cedric the So-So, became a Prince.

Cedric looked down at Sofia, who had wound her arms around his and was clinging to his side as the whole family talked excitedly about when and where and how they were going to throw the biggest shindig ever to hit the kingdom, and his eyes settled on her amulet. She taken it off for last night's festivities, as she sometimes did now, but had put it back on while in her room.

If he'd been alone he would have had himself a long, crazy, ridiculous, ironic laugh.

All the years he'd wasted trying to steal that miserable necklace. All the frustration and anger and hopelessness he'd felt after each failed attempt. The whispers that seemed to suck him deeper and deeper into darkness by calling him idiot, bumbler, fool as though the amulet knew what he was trying to do and was cursing him from afar.

What a waste.

What a God damned waste.

All it had taken to have the life he dreamed of: people who respected him, confidence to be the best Sorcerer and person he could be, and a love so true he'd felt almost overwhelmed by it more than once in the last twelve hours; was to open himself to one pesty, exuberant, annoying, endearing little ray of sunshine.

It was all so clear to him now. The amulet had never been the path to happiness.

But it had been the path to Sofia.

One day he'd find the courage to confess his sins to her and ask for real forgiveness. When he did, it would be with the knowledge that there was no longer anything about him that resembled the angry, scared, twisted young man he'd been.

And when he finally told her, it would be the last step of his transformation into the man she deserved.