CHAPTER 22: THAT'S LIFE

A/N: HAPPY VALENTINES DAY EVERYONE! So sorry I've neglected writing on any of my stories. I've dealt with the loss of my dearest grandfather in July, then my grandmother days before Christmas. They practically raised me while my mom was working third shift as a single mother until I was almost nine when she married my stepfather. Then I spent most days after school with them and then weekends with them during college. It's been really hard to be motivated to do anything creative for a long time. I'm crying just typing this, thinking about them. But I think I've got my groove back now. I've got more chapters written out, they just need typed and edited. So, here's to hoping I'll finally get his story wrapped up! I love you guys, you're the best fan base ever!

When Cedric awoke the next morning, he was acutely aware of a foreign feeling of stiffness in his body. Groggily he attempted to open his eyes, realizing as he did so, that his left eye was completely swollen shut. He winced as the simple action made the corresponding cheek and eye socket sting like salt in an open wound. He flexed his fingers to relieve the stiffness in them, unwittingly opening the scratches and cuts that had only just begun to heal, causing his knuckles to tingle and sting. He was certain that his face was covered equally with minor scrapes and bruises. He wondered to himself if Roland had awoken to the same fate; part of him hoped that the man had.

Through his good eye, he looked down to see Sofia's form curled up beside him. He gave a lopsided smile then grimaced at the pain. His arm was draped over her form, spooning with her, holding her to his chest. Gently he lifted his hand to his face and muttered a quick spell to hide his swollen features before Sofia awoke. Instantly his body felt relieved; the pressure and aches in his joints were gone, the throbbing in his eye dissipated, and the sharp sting of open cuts and fresh bruises vanished.

With his face feeling and looking better he nuzzled closer to Sofia, breathing in her sweet scent. He trailed light kisses down her neck and shoulder, savoring the sensation of her skin on his lips. She stirred slightly, her eyelids slowly fluttering open. Ceric pulled her closer to his form and nibbled on her earlobe.

"Good morning, Dearest." he murmured against her ear.

"Mmmm, morning." she replied sleepily with a yawn and stretch. She rolled over in his arms to face him, wrapping her arms around his neck as she did so, entangling their legs with her final stretch. "Mmm, how do you feel?" she murmured.

"Sore."

"You look surprisingly well for someone who was in a brawl last night..." she stated already suspicious.

Cedric cleared his throat. "About that... I might have healed myself some before I woke you."

"Ah, I see." she smirked her suspicions confirmed. "Was it that bad?"

"Not really, it could have been worse. I suppose I might have to fix your Father up if he'll let me..."

"He'll let you. He can't walk around letting everyone see him like that and know he got into a fight." she stated.

"True." he paused a moment, biting his bottom lip nervously. "Maybe it would be best if you dealt with your father's injuries instead."

"I can if need be, but I think it would be better if you did it; help mend the bond type thing." she said as she ran her fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck.

Cedric sighed. "I suppose we ought to get out of bed then... before he barges in here and finds us like this." he said rolling her underneath him and playfully kissing her.

"Yes, we had best get up and get dressed. They'll be wanting an explanation as soon as possible."

Cedric groaned. "I'd rather stay here in bed with you." he murmured into her neck as he distracted himself with her body; kissing her neck and roaming his hands over her breast then down to her hips.

"So would I." she chuckled. "But this needs to happen. I'll be good for all of us. Hopefully, they'll understand."

"You mean hopefully your father told them the truth about me; about us." he more of less stated. Sofia nodded and brushed his bangs from his eyes as he gazed down at her. Cedric rolled his eyes and groaned again before rolling off of her into a standing position beside the bed.

"I have to teleport to my room, seeing I have no other clothes here, I-"

"That can be remedied easily." he interjected slyly with a wink. "I can always stash some of your dresses here, in case of... extenuating circumstances... where you might need to stay the night with me." he said pulling her to him playfully.

She smiled and kissed the tip of his nose. "Maybe, if you're lucky, we'll discuss that later. But for now, I'll go to my rooms to dress. You can meet me there."

He raised an eyebrow at the thought of joining her alone in her room.

"Outside my room." she smiled softly at him.

He sighed and rolled his eyes. "I suppose you've got a point. Just don't be too long..." He inhaled deeply, chewing on his bottom lip again before exhaling slowly. "I'd rather get this over with as quickly as possible." he said solemnly.

"I'll only be a minute. And everything will be okay. If Dad was angry, he would have found us by now. Seeing that he hasn't, I'd say he wants to talk things over."

"That's a fair enough deduction." he nodded finding a pair of pants to slip on. "Off with you then." he muttered, shooing her away with his hand. She chuckled lightly as she gathered up her semi-dry dress from the chair and slid her wand out from its pocket.

"Everything going to be fine. No worries." she stated with a soft smile, before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

Slowly Cedric let out the breath he had been holding as he sank onto the edge of the bed. He hung his head between his hands and whispered. "Can he possibly forgive me..."

"Stop fidgeting. You look fine." Sofia said straightening out his bow tie.

"I'm sorry, I'm... I'm just a tad nervous is all."

"You can't be too nervous, seeing that you're not stuttering." she teased him.

"I suppose it's more of I'm afraid than nervous..." he said running his hands down the front of his vest in an effort to smooth out any wrinkles.

"You have nothing to be afraid of."

"So you keep saying, but I still feel a noose tightening around my neck." he said, his hand rubbing his throat.

"Trust me, please?" she asked brushing his bangs from his eyes.

"I always trust you. That doesn't mean worry any less."

Sofia opened her mouth to utter a rebuttal but closed it again thus ending the conversation as the large ornate doors creaked open. The royal family entered the room, closely followed by Baileywick, who locked the doors behind them. Sofia heard Cedric swallow hard, and fidget with his watch chain.

"Would everyone please have a seat?" Roland asked hesitantly. Cedric froze, breathing shallowly and staring at the man before him. Sofia lightly brushed his hand with hers, prompting him to take the seat beside her. He blinked out of his trance and pulled out her chair for her before taking his spot beside her.

"I take it Baileywick is now privy to our topic?" Sofia inquired.

"Yes." Roland replied slowly. "I felt he deserved to know. I... I felt he needed to understand what's really going on."

Sofia nodded and glanced over to Cedric hoping he was okay with the steward being part of the conversation. He nodded ever so slightly, glancing over at the steward then back to Roland.

"I... uh... I suppose this should start with both of us... Cedric and I... telling our sides of this... story... This... This is really hard for me Sofia... But I know you're right... It needs to be addressed. So... if it's alright with Cedric I'd like to go ahead." The king glanced over at the sorcerer and proceeded when Cedric gave a nod of his head.

Roland closed his eyes and inhaled slowly before he began his speech. "When Amber and James were three years old their mother suddenly became ill. None of our doctors... or sorcerers..." he said pausing a moment to make eye contact with Cedric. Cedric held the man's gaze, his heart twisted at the pain in the king's eyes. "...could do anything for her." he finally finished. "It was a mysterious disease no one could identify." he went on as he began pacing the room. "Back then... I was a different man... Back then... Cedric and I... Well... We were best friends." he said slowly looking over at the man beside his youngest daughter. "I tasked him with finding a cure. Which I was sure he could have done; he was the best potions master in the kingdom." he said with a faint smile. "Even better than his father... But the illness manifested and plagued her body so quickly nothing we tried worked." he added solemnly.

Cedric clenched his hands to his sides at the painful memories returning. Sofia took his hand in hers and gave it a gentle squeeze. Roland clenched his teeth at the display but pressed on. He turned his back to them as he spoke.

"Before long she had succumbed to her illness. And I... I was wrought with grief. So, I turned to Cedric... And asked him to do something I knew very little about... And at the time … That fact mattered very little to me... All I wanted was to have her back. I didn't care how. So, I went to him not knowing the consequences of my actions... Asking the impossible." Roland turned back to them, tears in his eyes clearly hurt by the memories. Cedric bit his lip and did his best to hide his own emotions.

"I... I asked you to use dark magic to bring her back... I didn't know if it would work or think of what it would do to you..." he swallowed hard. "I never did until last night. I still don't quite understand but I realize that's when things changed. We both changed. You did what I asked without a second thought... and when you couldn't bring her back to me... I took my anger and grief out on you. I have been all these years. I never forgave you... For not being able to do... To do the one thing I asked, the thing that mattered most. And you... You were different after that … You were no longer the happy and carefree man I knew. That's when your hair changed too. I thought it was the only side effect of the ritual." he shrugged. "But now I see I was wrong. I... Tell me... what happened? What is the penalty of using such magic?"

Cedric swallowed hard and gripped Sofia's hand tighter. He moved his mouth but words failed him.

"It might be easier if I explain that part..." Sofia spoke up giving Cedric a tender look. Roland glanced from his daughter to the sorcerer and nodded ever so slightly. "You see, all magic has a price: for example, healing magic can be very costly to the healer and the patient- energy wise that is. So, one's healing capability is based on how he or she uses their own energy, and how much they have to spare in the first place. So, something like dark magic... Normally takes a bit more... From what I've read and heard, most the time it consists of…" She bit her lip and sighed before continuing. "A contract, binding for all eternity; sealed by blood... Normally for one's soul in exchange for the power to fulfill the contract... Upon completion of the contract, whatever that may be, whenever that may be, the person's soul is taken... In Cedric's case, it only took part of his soul, because the demons didn't uphold their end. They failed to revive Elizabeth, so their contract was broken. Cedric had summoned their help though, so part of him was taken... tainted, if you will. That's why his behavior and even his appearance changed. He's not the same person he was before, not for lack of want or trying. He just..." she sighed heavily.

"It's taken a long time..." Cedric began his voice almost a whisper as he spoke. "And someone as pure and loving as Sofia to bring me back from the darkness that consumed me." Cedric said gazing over at Roland. "When I … When I made my contract with the necromancer... I never imagined that I would survive. Everything I knew and had read about necromancy made it very clear what the outcome would be... It was worth it though; you and the kids would have Liza back... That's all I wanted." he said shifting his eyes down to his hands in his lap. "The kingdom needed her, you needed her..." he shrugged looking back up to his king. "You were my best friend. I was willing to give my life for you. It was my duty as royal sorcerer... And your confidant. A-And I missed her too. I missed how happy she made you. Her laugh." he smiled at the memory. "How she could light up the room in an instant."

He shook his head softly. "Nothing was the same after that..." he bit his lip before continuing. "To this day I don't know why it failed. But because I did make a blood pact, part of me was, as Sofia said, tainted. All those times I disappointed you; all my scheming and planning was from this urge... the darkness within me. It filled me with anger and hate; angst and jealousy. And as you directed your pain and anger onto me, I did the same to you. Not because I really felt that way... but because I couldn't suppress the dark urges I had. And it took a very long time... and Sofia's unending confidence and trust in me for it to finally begin to lift. The more she wormed her way into my life, into my heart... The more the darkness began to dissipate. And now, I feel as if it's finally gone... It's left its mark, I'll never be the same... but I can accept myself now and be happy."

Sofia slipped her hand into his and gave him a soft smile. "Happy with Sofia." He added with a crooked smile. "I never meant to hurt you. The day Liza died I didn't just lose her, I lost you too. You had been my best friend since infancy. Part of me just always wanted to impress you. Win back our friendship. But it always seemed the darker forces were at work to prevent it. Always filling me with doubt and making me nothing but a bumbling fool; nothing but an embarrassment to you and the kingdom. But..." he rose from his seat to finish his oration. "Now I know I can prove to you I am still... mostly... the man you remember and perhaps, even a friend..."

The room was still as both men stared at one another, chests heaving from the emotions building within them. Sofia stood beside Cedric and quietly slipped his gloves from his hands. She turned his palms out for the room to see. Cedric looked away with disgust.

"These are the marks he bears for his sin. Tattoos needed to perform black magic; his blood contract. Dad, he's lived with this all these years silently hurting and hating himself for feeling like he failed you... and her. We will never know how it feels to be filled with such darkness, with no way out. Don't you think he's paid his debt? Don't you think he's suffered enough?"

Slowly Cedric turned his eyes to his king. Roland took in a deep ragged breath.

"I... Cedric... I'm... So sorry. Why... Why didn't you just tell me?"

"You had just lost your wife, your queen." he shook his head. "You had a country to worry about." Cedric scoffed casting his eyes down to his hands. "I thought it would be easier that way... I suppose part of that thinking was the darkness taking over though..." he sighed running his thumb over a tattooed palm.

"I've been such an incredible ass... Can you ever forgive me?" Roland sighed.

"So have I... I just hope that you can forgive me." There was a paused between the men as they looked one another over.

"You did all you could and more. There's nothing to forgive you for. I'm the one who should be pleading for forgiveness."

There was another pause as Cedric closed his eyes, finally hearing what he had longed for all those years.

"I forgive you Sire." he almost whispered. Roland closed his eyes and sighed as well. They both felt the world lift from their shoulders.

"Thank you, my friend." he replied with a tender smile. "And thank you Sofia. He said turning to her, rounding the table to wrap her in a hug. "This is all because of you. Thank you, Sweetheart."

She hugged him back and said "I just want you two friends again. It hurts me knowing how things have been and how they were. Dad, I love you. You're the best father anyone could ever ask for. I'm so glad you and mom found one another. I know you love her just as much as you did Elizabeth; perhaps love in a different way for different reasons, no love is ever alike." she smiled at him softly. "And that's why I hope you understand how much I love Cedric. For so many reasons and in so many ways. We complete one another... Please tell me you understand...If you of all people don't then no one will..." She said looking up to her father with soulful eyes. He looked from his daughter to his old friend and placed a hand on Cedric's shoulder.

"It's hard from me to accept the age gap... but I know your both serious about this. Everyone can see how much you care about one another and need one another." He returned his hand to his daughter's shoulder and gazed into her eyes. "Sofia, you're the glue that holds this family together. You've turned into a lovely young woman and an amazing politician. If I can trust state affairs with you then I can trust you to make your own decisions." he smiled at her. "You both have my blessing." he turned to face Cedric, placing both hands on his shoulders now. "Take care of my baby girl. Make her happy, she deserves it." he said giving the man a squeeze.

Cedric swallowed hard and nodded, steel-faced. Roland laughed and pulled Cedric into a hug. "If I ever turn into an ass again just hit me with your left hook." he muttered pulling back to rub his swollen jaw.

"The same here." Cedric scoffed rubbing his own face. "I can fix that for you..."

"Ah, I was wondering why you looked so pristine." he said with a smirk. "I know I gave you my best."

"That you did Sire." Cedric gave a crooked smile. "But you'll never see the evidence to know." he said with a chuckle brandishing his wand over Roland's face minimizing his wounds, leaving him with only a cut on the corner of his lower lip. Roland ran his fingers over his face pausing at the blemish Cedric had missed. He gave him a puzzled look and pointed to the scab.

"A reminder?" he shrugged with a smirk.

Roland nodded and returned the smile, wincing at the sting as the wound reopened. "It's good to have you back, Cedric."

"You too Sire, you too."