Author's Note: Poor Cedric discovers the whole truth behind the vision of the future.

For this chapter I was flying by the seat of my pants. I wasn't sure how I was going to end it, until I sat down an wrote it on the fly.

Foretold: Chapter 3

Cedric's mind came crashing back into his own body with enough force to drop him to his knees. Cecylia stood over him, swaying on her feet as she rubbed her temples.

"What the fuck was that?" He meant to yell, but his voice came out thin and weak.

"I told you," the Seer sounded as fragile as he felt. "Your future ... and her future, if you seek the amulet."

The images of what she showed him played inside his mind: a disgusting array of power, madness, and desire. On all fours on the floor, his arms trembled. Sofia. The name echoed in his mind, the tone rife with longing. His head shook back and forth as if he could deny what he saw. "No," he panted. "No, that can't be. I wouldn't."

"You wouldn't what?" Cecylia's voice gathered strength. "You wouldn't murder thousands? You wouldn't subjugate an entire kingdom with fear and terror? Or you wouldn't keep the girl as your personal pet?"

He gave up trying to regain his feet. Leaning on his elbows, he gripped his head in both hands, as if he could tear the images of their entwined bodies from his mind. The wine and food in his stomach sloshed viciously, threatening to come up. "No," he moaned. "She's just a child."

The Seer knelt beside him, softening to his distress. "Breathe," she whispered. "You need to breathe. Yes, she's a girl now, but she will grow into a woman someday. You saw her. She'll be beautiful, intelligent, and kind. And you ..."

When she stopped speaking abruptly, he turned his face. "And I, what?"

She looked shaken. "No, I have said too much already."

Cedric managed to gather his strength to him. He sat back on his heels. "No, you don't. You don't get to throw around vague portends and then shut up when it's convenient. What is it? All of it."

She sighed. "I see visions, some are clear and some are hazy. The future is rarely certain, and it is ever shifting, but some things remain constant. Your future, no matter your path, is entwined with hers."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

She hesitated. "I have shown you what I can to avoid disaster. It is up to you to decide how to proceed, but know that whatever path you choose, your actions affect her future as well."

His mind reeled. How in the world did his decisions effect that of a village girl-turned princess? A child no less. Sofia had been a thorn in his side since the day she arrived, but she'd also proven a complicated ally. The girl possessed an almost unrealistic amount of good-will towards everyone, even refusing to see him for his true villainous intentions. He'd attempted to trick, manipulate, and deceive her at every turn but she remained convinced that he possessed a better nature. They were very nearly, dare he say it, friends.

"You mean if I don't take the amulet, then she'll grow up to be fine, right?"

Why did Sofia's fate matter to him? If he knew what the future held, couldn't he just not treat her that way? Couldn't he not keep her? He shuttered even to remember what he saw all too clearly in his mind. The vision burned bright as ever, not faded in the least by reality. But it wasn't just the images that bothered him, but his future self's thoughts and feelings. He, the king, had burned for her, nearly consumed by a desire that present Cedric could barely imagine feeling for anything or anyone. No one could be that important to another person, could they? His solitary existence couldn't fathom such devotion, or obsession. Couldn't he have the crown without the girl?

As if reading his thoughts Cecylia implored him, "Please, don't believe you can cheat the future. I have shown you what I saw for a reason. If you pursue that power, you will not be able to control it. It will destroy you both and the kingdom with you."

He looked hard upon her. "How do I know this isn't some trick? Some other magic at work? Perhaps you invented the whole thing."

She blew out a frustrated breath. "Why? Why would I invent such a tale?"

He had no answer. He'd finally come to end of his excuses, but the truth was hard to swallow. "So if I pursue the amulet in any way, you're saying I'll ..."

His eyes lifted to hers and she saw fear in their depths.

"You said our path were intertwined," he said. "Am I destined to ... hurt her like that?"

Cecylia laid her hand upon his shoulder, offering comfort as she would to a wounded animal or hurt child. "No," she answered softly. Then she sighed. "It might be tempting fate to tell you this."

He scoffed. "You mean you haven't tempted it already by showing me my future?"

"I suppose I have, but it is dangerous for anyone to know too much of their own destiny before they're ready."

This time he sighed, sitting back to lean against the cupboard of his work bench, feeling weary. "You might as well come out with it."

"You're not destined to hurt her," she held her empty hands out as if showing him all she had to offer was the truth and nothing more. "But, you are destined to love her."

A little of the incredulous look her wore at dinner crept onto his face. "Sofia? An annoying child? I can barely stand the girl. She's so irritatingly ... good. Besides, she's," he did some quick mental calculations. "Nearly twenty years younger than I."

The whole subject made him uncomfortable. An age gap of twenty years was not so unusual, particularly between and older man and a younger woman, but he'd never stopped to contemplate such a difference while the couple in question was a grown man and a pre-pubescent girl. His unsettled stomach grumbled threateningly.

"As I said, it is dangerous to know too much about your future before you are ready."

"That's all fine and well to say," his voice rose in agitation. "But, Merlin's Mushrooms, what am I supposed to do with this information?"

Cecylia shrugged. "I had to do something."

Cedric wanted to be angry with her. He wanted to shout and carry on like a child throwing a tantrum. He didn't want any of what she had given him. He closed his eyes, but that only made the image of his future self pinioning the grown princess' body to the bed play across his eyelids. Sleep, he knew, was something he'd be lacking for sometime.

He looked at the seer, still crouched in front of him. All the fight left him at once, leaving him empty and tired. "What am I to do now?"

"You go on." Cecylia stood. "I can only show you what I have seen. I cannot answer that question for you."

He didn't like her standing over him, so he carefully picked his way to his feet, using his workbench for balance. "Is that to say you wouldn't try to stop me if I took the amulet? You could go to the king with the same vision you showed me."

She thought a moment. "No, I couldn't. I've tried to interfere in the past, with unintended consequences."

"And this isn't interfering?"

"This is ... a calculated risk." Her shoulders dropped and she suddenly looked old. For the first time Cedric began to contemplate what a toll such a "gift" would take on a person. "In truth, I don't know what consequences telling you will have. I can only hope for a better future."

She approached the door and he let her go without any interference. There was really nothing for him to say, despite the cacophony rioting in his mind.

Then he remembered something she had said before.

"You said I wouldn't have to steal it."

"No," she paused at the open door. Her eyes pierced him. "She'll give it to you."

He stared in astonishment as she quietly closed the door behind her, leaving him alone with only his thoughts for company.

-The End-

Author's Note: I can see how it's a promising start for a story, but I don't have one. I have a vague idea of a future where Cedric become a fierce protector of Sofia to compensate for the dark version of the future Cecylia showed him. Or perhaps Cedric leaves Enchancia to keep her safe from him. Either way his actions cause unintended consequences, conflicts arise, are overcome and love wins out. Something like that. It's just all those pesky details that happen in-between, like, you know, the whole freaking story. :-P And I don't have them, so this is done.

Review, review, review. Please and thank you.