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merlinsmushrooms · 6 years

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Bird in a Cage: Cedric and Wormwood

“You’re nothing more than a goody-goody now. Leave my presence, you traitor.”

The corvid’s hostility was understandable, but ridiculous at this point. He had no room for attitude; he had failed and was now prisoner. To bark orders at him? He wouldn’t take it. Not any longer. He had put up with enough over the years, and now, after weeks of relentless anxiety and looming thoughts, he could get an answer. The sorcerer would not be leaving without one.

“So you can what? Rot in here miserable by your lonesome? I think not.”

“I think so, you bumbling buffoon. An eternity in solitude would be better than having to converse with you. Did Roland promote you to dungeon master now? Are you here to torture me?”

“Yes.”

The malicious answer was entirely warranted at this point; he had been tortured by losing the one he felt was dearest to him. His first friend — his companion. There was absolutely nothing wrong with a touch of petty revenge, and he couldn’t help but delight in a bit of his old dreams coming true as a smirk warmed across his expression. Luckily for his own personal investment, it was a new - warranted - target for the childish sadism rather than anything truly horrible as he had once daydreamed.

Wormwood’s exasperated groan was one he had heard so often before the betrayal, but this time, it wasn’t at his lack of aptitude. It was where a sigh should be placed, and it signaled him to pace the bird’s new permanent perch and ponder. Where exactly was he going with this? And why did he ever think coming down to confront him was a good idea? Midnight frustrations were not anything he should be prompted on, but here he was already. He had better make the best of it; shut the door. It was unlikely his former familiar would want it open again anyways.

“Why did you betray me?” Cedric would ask bluntly after bracing himself for a most obvious answer.

“Goody-Goody.” the raven would taunt with guttural malice, fluffing his feathers.

“What makes you think I’m so perfectly good now? Just because I don’t want to take over the kin-”

“Any kingdom. You’ve lost your drive. Your spark. The thing that made you bearable to be around. Your ambition made your failures at least tolerable, but the fun is gone, and any dreams I had of having power were stripped the moment that brat took your eyes off the prize. What point is there to you anymore?”

So it was all about him. He wanted power, and from the sounds of it all from before and now, he never truly cared about anything but. However, the raven had made a grave mistake, and while it was unlikely he’d want to be educated, an explanation was still in order.

“I have power now, Wormwood. I technically did before, and you blinded me to it. I am the royal sorcerer; the most prestigious mage in the kingdom. I was bl-”

“You never had prestige. A title means nothing if nobody respects it.”

“And would they have respected me if I took the Kingdom by force? Or would they have marched upon the gate and stripped that power from me?”

It was a reoccurring nightmare that he had ranted to the raven about from time to time. What if they had taken over the kingdom? Tyranny could easily grant him the throne, but it also made him a target to those who preferred the former ruler. People could rise up, and even though he had deluded himself in the past, the truth to his nefarious desires was more than clear now; he would not have held the throne for long. Perhaps with Grimtrix’s plan things would have gone smoothly, but at that point, his statement still held strong — nobody would have respected him. Perhaps not even the other monarchs.

“Probably. But that was to be your problem, not mine.”

He had to restrain himself from smacking the cage. The audacity! If it weren’t for the pangs of the past reminding him of how close they possibly were, he would have accused the bird of unspeakable words, but he couldn’t help but also feel there were mind games being played here; it was obvious Wormwood was fond of them. And if it were games the raven wanted to play - old schemes that he begged to be revived - then he would indulge. Perhaps then he would see the benefits of his “goody-goody” status.

“And now you have your own set of problems, Wormwood. One which your friend has no desire to help you with. I can only say that I am lucky to have lost you. My life has only improved with the new me. It’s a shame that your head is stuck in the clouds.”

“It’s a shame you’ll never amount to anything, Cedric the Great.” The insult wasn’t even worth a response — the irony of it all was lost upon the captive, nor did he deserve the chuckle that Cedric expertly managed to hold back.

It seemed there would be no talking sense into him at this point. Perhaps it was too soon, but that was not for him to dwell on at this moment. He had gotten the closure he desired, or at least the end of a chapter. Wormwood had always been stubborn, and it was obvious now that he would need to show the raven the truth; that he was Cedric the Great, and that he indeed had power without needing to resort to extreme deviancy.

But such things would take time, and as of now? Wormwood had plenty of it. Perhaps then - when his eyes were opened - things could go back to some semblance of normality. But for now, the sorcerer would leave the animal helper to his lonesome. While he was indeed disappointed at this particular outcome, he couldn’t help but smile as he returned to his abode; he would amount to something, alright. And Wormwood would regret leaving his side. It would only take time.

#sofia the first spoilers #sofia the first #..{{A Better Me}}..#{yeah ya'll knew I had to write a drabble about Cedric and Wormwood}#{they shoehorned Cedric into being too good too quick}#{but I can't help but feel he still gets up to his old ways in... better ways}#{u show him whose boss Ced}#{this was written at 2am with sleep deprivation plz no judge me}

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