The castle was quiet since most of the royal family was away and Sofia had left instructions with the castle staff not to disturb her. The evening breeze blew through the castle corridors carrying with it a tune all its' own.

Sofia had left her robes behind in her room, donning her standard plush bedtime robe over her long silky purple nightshirt. She was in no mood to be anything but 100% comfortable right now. She made her way up the tower stairs towards Cedric's workshop and paused outside the door before offering up her familiar knock.

"The door is open," Cedric called softly.

Sofia came in and was surprised to see Cedric out of his normal robes and in a similar bedtime robe adorned with a small black raven on the collar, no doubt a tribute to his late friend Wormwood.

"I wasn't sure I should stop by but I needed to see you. I need to explain."

"I think we both need to say a few things. Why don't we take a walk in the gardens tonight? The moon is bright and I think we both need to stay out of this tower for right now."

Sofia nodded in agreement, relieved by how calm and caring Cedric's tone was. They descended the tower stairs once again and made their way out to the castle gardens.

"I want to take you to one of my favorite spots in the gardens Cedric," Sofia said. She passed his lead and tugged on the sleeve of his robe as though it would ensure that he was, indeed, going to follow her. Cedric remained quiet and followed her to the spot that he had spied her at so many months ago.

"Here it is! Isn't it lovely? It is quiet and I come here a lot to think."

Cedric sat on one of the nearby benches, the same that he saw Sofia lay on before, she sat next to him but stared straight ahead towards the darkened tower.

"Princess, I can't deny that what happened this morning was lovely. The truth is that no matter how either one of us feels I am simply…"

"Not good for me?" Sofia interrupted, "I know what you're going to say; you are afraid of my reputation being tarnished by yours and afraid that the age difference will give cause for people of Enchancia to talk. I know and I don't care."

"Princess, please…"

"Stop calling me 'Princess' like that is what defines me," she stopped for a moment to compose herself again, "Do you know why I like this spot in the garden Cedric?"

"This is a rhetorical question I presume?"

She shot him a playfully disapproving glance over her shoulder as she leaned forward, "I come here to watch the tower and think of you… I never realized it before and I had always assumed that I simply liked this spot because it was pretty or quaint. I came to understand that this spot made me feel connected to you; I would come here when I needed to clear my head or gather my thoughts and, by staring at your tower, it was as if I was talking directly to you. Sometimes you'd be up there working late, other times the tower would sit dark as it is now and I could only assume you were avoiding people elsewhere in the castle."

"I walk the garden wall," he blurted out unexpectedly, "to smell the jasmine at night; it helps me clear my head."

The moonlight cast shadows in the garden that danced for them, giving them an excuse to remain silent for a moment.

"What will people say of us? Of you? Have you thought about that?" Cedric's tone was sorrowful.

"And have you ever thought that perhaps you're too hard on yourself? That maybe you've suffered enough; warred with yourself to the point that now it is okay to win?"

Sofia stood and faced Cedric, still sitting, and stared at him hard. He met her gaze and she extended her hand; he did not take it but rose.

"Cedric you've spent a lifetime stuck in silence, afraid that you will do or say something wrong. So what if we are 20 years apart? I am not ashamed, why are you? I am the light to your darkness and you are the same for me, even if you don't want to believe that. If what I feel is forbidden, I want to break all the rules. If people want to talk about us, then why don't we give them something to talk about?"

"Sofia, I am not ashamed of you," he said, placing his open hand on her face.

"Say it again."

"I am not ashamed of you."

She smiled, put one hand over his and the other on his chest, "no, my name…"

"Sofia…" Cedric was interrupted again but he wouldn't complain; she had brought her face closer to his and kissed him deeply and softly on the lips under the silvery glow of the moonlight. He didn't fight it, he didn't stop himself either; he kissed her back and felt whole for the first time in his entire life.