A/N: This was a 500 word prompt that turned into more, so you'll find the first 500ish words in "Prompts and Drabbles." But the story required more of me and I was very happy to give it. As always, reviews are very much appreciated. Happy reading!

"Well what are you going to do about this?" The little witch stood in front of Cedric. He barely recognized her without her pointed hat. The gown Amber had selected for her was flattering, but it made the young woman look closer to a courtly powder puff than a witch. Her hair, dark and wild, was the only thing that allowed him to identify who she was.

Cedric was sitting beside the fountain in the gardens, surrounded by the sounds of cleaning up as tables from the reception were cleared and servants chatted softly amongst themselves. The sky was a startlingly clear blue, the air warm with a cool, occasional breeze. It was a perfect early summer day and somehow Cedric was still sitting under a figurative raincloud.

Fingers snapped right in front of his nose. "Hello? Mr. Sensational? Anybody home in there?"

Cedric looked up at Lucinda, face glum. "What do you want?"

"Why are you sitting out here?"

"I missed it. It's over. I'm…"

"Mourning," he thought, but couldn't say aloud. The little witch had the audacity to laugh right in his face.

"You unobservant fool." She moved behind him and put her hands on the sides of his face, squishing his cheeks together as she moved his head to face the multi-tiered cake. "Look at that sugar monstrosity." Cedric tried to shrug out of her hands but her grip was strong. "Look at it."

"What do you want me to see?!" he snapped, hurt and sorrow and anger flaring as he turned to look at the witch instead of the cake. "It's a wedding cake!"

She quirked one eyebrow, her eyes alight with entertainment. "An uncut wedding cake."

Cedric felt his mouth gape open slightly.

"He left her, Mr. Sensational. She never wanted him anyway, not really, but she's hurt and embarrassed and won't see anyone. She needs comfort. She needs you but the two of you are both too dense to see it so I thought I'd intervene."

Cedric wasn't aware of how he got from the gardens to Sofia's bedroom door, but he knew he must have been running as he was now panting and out of breath. He was vaguely aware of the little witch shooting him a knowing smile from down the hall as she pulled out her wand and waved it around, causing Sofia's door to open and then close and magically lock with him on the inside. He could distantly hear her cackling as she walked back down the hall as Cedric turned his attention to the broken bride curled into her childhood window seat.

Sofia's hands were reaching behind her, tugging at what looked like millions of tiny buttons that kept her trapped inside her gown. She stood suddenly and turned to face him. Cedric felt his breath stop. She was stunning. The gown must have been faerie made. Swaths of delicate lace gave off an almost imperceptible shimmer and shine. It hugged her curves with a neckline that exposed bare shoulders and lace sleeves that extended down to loop around her fingers. Her hair must have been up at some point as it now fell in uneven, soft waves across her shoulders. Her carefully applied makeup around had smeared to accompany the red rims that had developed around her eyes from frustrated tears.

Upon seeing her, Cedric determined that he had been right to skip the wedding. He wouldn't have been able to watch her walk down the aisle to another man looking like that. Even with her disheveled appearance she was angelic. A fallen angel, now. And he must be the devil for wanting her to be his now more than ever.

Her eyes were begging into his. Her mouth was moving. She was desperate and speaking and he was missing it.

"-it off. Please, please get it off." Her voice was bordering on the verge of hysterical. She was pulling at the bodice of her dress, at her sleeves, at the skirt - anywhere she could pull but the dress wasn't moving. "It's suffocating me, please. I can't...get if off, get it off, get if off!" She cried in an escalating mantra. Cedric moved so quickly to her side that he caused his robes to billow out behind him. He turned her by the shoulders so he had access to the buttons down her back and began fumbling to undo them, one by one. He could see the tears starting to fall down Sofia's cheeks as her feet moved impatiently in place. His fingers weren't fast enough. He spared no thought for the dress as he drew the small knife he kept on his belt for brewing. He ran the blade down the buttons and they popped free. Sofia peeled the dress off her torso and it fell to the floor in a puff of lace.

Sofia clasped her hands to her neck as though there had been clinging fabric there and drew in a gasping breath. She kicked the dress that encircled her on the floor. She grabbed a handful of lace and pulled at it, ripping it and screaming in howls Cedric had never heard from her before. He stared at her, stripped down to corset and pettipants, unwilling to stall her rage at the physical manifestation of the event that had so scorned her.

When Sofia fell to her hands and knees, hoarse and weeping, he could stand by no longer. He was on the ground beside her in an instant and collected her in his arms, pressing her shaking body to his. She fought against him at first, beating against his chest with a flat palm until he restrained her further. He finally felt her weight collapse against him, exhausted. He rocked her there on the floor for long minutes, stroking her head and murmuring comforting sounds into her hair as she buried her head into the crook of his neck.

Cedric lost track of how long they stayed like that. The sun moved and made different shadows across the marble floor but the sky hadn't darkened. It couldn't have been more than an hour that they sat in silence. He didn't mind it. He never minded silence or noise, as long as she was in the room. But on this day, with what he thought had been lost to him instead here in his arms, he felt like he should say something.

"I'm so sorry, Sofia," he whispered beside her ear. She pressed her hand against his chest to help her sit up to face him. Cedric couldn't even be bothered to acknowledge the tracks her tears made through her makeup. She was always beautiful to him.

"For what?"

Cedric paused, slightly stunned. "I would think that to be obvious. Your wedding - the day...it's ruined."

"Cedric," she reached out her hands and cupped his face and sighed. "Oh, Cedric. Today is the best day of my life."

Confusion didn't allow Cedric to say a word before Sofia leaned forward and pressed her lips to his. His body seemed to know what was happening before his mind did as his arms held her closer and his lips responded, parting to invite her in. She responded immediately, flicking her tongue out to meet his, deepening the kiss and delving into Cedric's year-long fantasies.

Reality crashed around him and he fought back the hungry need inside of him. Cedric pulled back so far that Sofia fell out of his arms and into the tattered pile of cloth that had been her wedding dress.

"What are you doing?"

"I would think that was obvious, Cedric." She said in a low purr.

"You can't. Y-y-you're -"

"Definitely not married." She started to crawl across the floor towards him. Cedric was suddenly acutely aware of the fact that she was garbed in nothing but her undergarments. He continued to back away from her, still on the floor, as she advanced. "I never loved him. I was going through with it for my family. For Enchancia. For what was expected of me."

"From my understanding, love usually has v-v-very little to do with these sorts of things." She continued her slow approach as Cedric bumped up against the steps that led to the pedestal that held her bed. She was like a jungle cat and he her pray as her advance caused him to inch up the steps. He tried very hard not to stare down at her cleavage that was so easily viewed from this angle. He might have failed in his efforts once. Or twice.

"Love had everything to do with this, Cedric. Love is why it hurt so much when you made no protest over my engagement. Love is why I felt like I had to go on with my commitment, even when his touch made my skin itch. Love is what sent you running to me today when I was hurt."

"So you didn't l-l-ove him? You didn't want this? But you were so upset…"

The predatory gleam in her eye softened. "A kind understatement." Cedric had come into contact with her bed and could move backward no farther. Seeing him stalled, she made up the space between them in an instant, sitting back on her knees and poised between his legs. "I was furious that any of this happened at all. That I was left by someone I never wanted. The cost of the wedding, the cost of my father's pride. But I decided something just now while you held me."

"And what was that?" His voice was barely louder than a whisper. He was awed by her strength, her confidence as she leaned closer and closer to him.

"I decided that I was done pretending obligation was anything like love. I decided to follow my heart and spend as hours, days, and years as possible wrapped up in your arms. I decided to stop waiting for you and say exactly what I mean to say." Their faces were inches apart. Cedric could barely take in the intensity of her eyes while so distracted by her tongue that subconsciously darted out to wet her lips.

"What do you mean to say, Sofia?" All of his unease melted away in her eyes. She straddled him. His hands fell naturally around her waist and he helped her settle closer to him.

"That I love you. I want you, above all others." Her tone was natural but the words sounded as though she had written them and recited them over and over, preparing for exactly this moment. She had more to say, he knew it, He wanted to let her say her piece. He wanted to hear what she had to say. But Cedric couldn't help himself. He cut her off, allowing his so-long denied impulses precious freedom as he crashed his lips into hers. She mewled and pressed her body against his until there was no light between them.

"I love you," he said again and again as he peppered kisses across her cheek and down her neck. "Merlin, Sofia. I love you. I have loved you. I will love you."

Sofia whimpered, whether from his lips or his words, Cedric couldn't be certain. Her hips began to rock against his quickly stiffening manhood and he groaned into her ear.

"Please Cedric," she sighed into the soft gray of his two-toned hair. "Please let me have the wedding night I wanted."

"As you wish," he said, lips curling into a smile as he lifted her off of his lap and got to his feet. He held out his hand to Sofia and she took it, disappointment and confusion battling for dominance across her face. "As fetching as this corset is, you will need a dress."

"I need - what?"

Cedric walked across the room and into her closet with Sofia stumbling behind him. She watched in stunned silence as he surveyed her collection of gowns and before drawing out a simple, pale blue dress that she had worn in the village during Beltane this past spring.

"I'm rather fond of this one. What do you think?"

"...I really thought I'd be taking off clothes, not putting more on."

Cedric chuckled. "You certainly can get married in the nude, but I'd rather I be the only one to see my wife naked."

"Your...wife?" She looked star struck before a giggle escaped her lips and she covered her mouth with her hands.

"You deserve a wedding filled with love and that is something I can give you without another thought." He reached out his hand to touch her face, running his thumb across her cheekbone. "Is that what you had in mind?"

She nodded fervently. "Yes."

A/N: So apparently Cedric wants me to write out their wedding vows. I was all ready to write this scene but they wanted more and so here we are, turning this one shot into a two shot.