The Queen and the Sorceress Princess

Chapter 45

Cedric had to leave Maddie's side to let her family grieve too. He took Roland's place in Maddie's chair and just cried not knowing what to do now. He felt so lost without her. And something inside told him this was his fault. He allowed this to happen. He let Maddie marry a fake, he let Maddie leave with him, and he didn't see the signs that she was in danger.

He expected Roland or anyone else to see that too but they didn't. It wasn't Cedric's fault. He didn't know this would happen. Sofia gave him a hug and Cedric returned it. Life won't be the same without Maddie. A few days later, everyone was getting ready for Maddie's funeral. Sofia and Amber were helping each other get ready.

"I've never seen Mr Cedric so sad before," Sofia said

"He loved her more than anyone in the world," Amber said, "She was his world."

"Girls, it's time to go," Y/N said

They nodded and made their way to where Maddie was being kept.

'I've seen dark before but not like this. This is cold, this is empty, this is numb. The life I knew is over. The lights are out. Hello, darkness. I'm ready to succumb,' Sofia said

'We follow you around, we always have. But you've gone to a place we cannot find,' Sofia and Amber said, 'This grief has a gravity. It pulls us down. But a tiny voice whispers in our mind; "You are lost, hope is gone but you must go on and do the next right thing". Can there be a day beyond this night? We don't know anymore what is true. We can't find our direction, we're all alone. The only star that guided us was you. How to rise from the floor when it's not you I'm rising for? Just do the next right thing.'

'Take a step, step again. It is all that I can to do. The next right thing. I won't look too far ahead, it's too much for me to take. But break it down to this next breath, this next step, this next choice is one that I can make. So I'll walk through this night, stumbling blindly toward the light, and do the next right thing. And with the dawn, what comes then when it's clear that everything will never be the same again? Then I'll make the choice to hear that voice and do the next right thing.'

The only people who came to see Maddie were the Enchancia Royal Family and Cedric. But Cedric hated how they made Maddie look. They had put makeup on her to try and hide the rashes that had formed, they had put things in her hair, and she looked like a porcelain doll. This wasn't his Maddie. She didn't wear makeup. But he just assumed that's what the people were told to do with her.

But he couldn't help but notice that she was wearing the robes he gave her for her birthday. The birthday when she made that birthday wish. He smiled at the memory before noticing something was missing. Her wand. Cedric went to get it for her and put it in her hands. Cedric stood back as he waited for the funeral to start. Sofia came to his side.

"How are you doing?" Sofia asked

"Not great. What are we going to do without her? She brought life to Enchancia and now..." Cedric had to stop because he was ready to cry again

"She's watching over us and she's watching over you. She'll never leave us."

Cedric nodded and Roland came forward to speak.

"In times like these, we have no words. We have only each other. Today we come together to mourn the passing of Maddie the Magnificent. Devoted daughter and sister and aunt and mother of all of us, beloved apprentice and wife to Cedric. Scripture tells us, 'Sorrow not, for we do not walk alone'," Roland said

Cedric came forward to talk to Maddie one last time. He kneeled beside her and put a hand on her cheek. She was so cold.

'You're invisible when you're sad,' Cedric said stroking her hair, 'Clocks tick and bells still ring, the world carries on like mad but nobody sees a thing. Whispering behind their hands. Lost for kind words to say. Nobody understands and everyone goes away. Grown-ups wanna fix things, when they can't it only fills them with shame so they just look away. Is it being greedy to need somebody to see me and say my name? Seems when you lose your love no one turns off the sun. Folks carry on, that's that. You're invisible when you're sad...'

Tom had been watching from the door, amused that everyone was making all this fuss over a Sorceress who fell into his trap. He closed the door.

"Holy crap, a ballad already? And such a bold departure from the original source material," Tom said looking at the author of this book

Tom was so happy that he got away with murder for the third time. Now to make it four. He plans to do this to Madisyn for failing him. He gave her one job and that was to make Cedric uninterested in Maddie and she failed to do that. Why? Because she loves someone else and wanted Cedric and Maddie together. But Madisyn managed to apologize to Greylock for what she had done.

He came to the funeral because Cedric invited him. Greylock forgave her and they were friends again. But they left the proper reunion for later. Cedric didn't want to leave Maddie's side. He didn't want to let her go again. He was scared to. Who could blame him? It's gone so wrong in the past. Who's to say it would get better or worse if he did it again. But he had to. He had no choice.

"Keep this wand with you to protect yourself from danger, don't make the same mistakes I did, and please remember what we had. We'll see each other again. I promise. I love you," Cedric said letting tears fall.

He decided to give her one last thing before they were separated forever. He gave her a kiss. A kiss he's been waiting to give for years. It wasn't long but long enough to prove he loved her. But that wasn't all it did. She suddenly jerked forward, gasping and coughing for air. She was alive!