Princess Nova
Summary: Cedric and Sofia encounter Princess Nova of Dæsondria, a girl who has a somber past but an optimistic outlook on life. *Requested by allyrwhitney*
Disclaimer: I don't own anything. The character of Princess Nova was conceived by allyrwhitney.
A/N: So I've covered a few characters with different challenges before, but never one physically incapable of walking or anything like that (or at least I don't think I have; correct me if I'm wrong, lol). But my sweet reviewer allyrwhitney asked specifically for a princess with a walking disability, and I agreed. 😊 Hope you enjoy!
PS: My favorite accent has got to be the Icelandic accent, so when Nova speaks, she is supposed to 'sound' Icelandic a bit. Lol. As for King Ludwig, her father…probably the same! Haha.
*Story*
"Mr. Cedric?" Sofia asked as her friend trudged over toward her with a defeated look on his face. She was dressed in her increasingly familiar blue dress with her hair tied into a ponytail and was standing outside the throne room, waiting on him before some expected visitors arrived. "What's wrong?"
"Oh, Sofia," he lamented, sighing dramatically. "Today is not my day. A strong wind blew earlier and ripped one of my loose spells out of my hands. Then I accidentally knocked one of my potted plants out the window."
"Oh, my gosh! Was anyone hurt?" A concerned look appeared on the princess's face as she awaited her mentor's response.
"No, no… Just the plant." He winced. "My mother is not going to be happy to hear about that, since she's the one who gave it to me." He lowered his head. "And then, to top it all off, I've somehow misplaced my shoes…" He frowned as Sofia began snickering.
"Are you telling me…you're not wearing any shoes?" She giggled harder when he pushed his gray hosiery-clad foot forward through his robe before quickly retracting it. "Mr. Cedric, you're so silly."
"If your father finds out I'm shoeless right now, when we are expecting guests—"
"Why don't you just conjure a new pair?" she asked innocently. Seeing the baffled look on his face, Sofia laughed harder.
"Oh, very funny. You try thinking logically after you've already lost two things to the wretched tower windows." He cleared his throat and reached into his robe…only to pause. "Wait, where's my wand?! Ugh…" He raked his hand over his face. "This day cannot possibly get any worse."
The princess shook her head and smiled sweetly. "I wouldn't say that if I were you. Bad things tend to happen to people who say that…"
"You're right," he agreed with a sigh as he lowered his hands. "I'll simply have to make do for now. After all, these visitors of your father's are only coming for the afternoon meeting, right?"
Sofia nodded. "Yeah. King Ludwig of Dæsondria is visiting with his daughter. I think Amber said her name is Princess Nova."
"That's a unique name. Perhaps her parents were inspired by the celestial sciences." He fussed with his robe a bit to make sure his shoeless feet were not too obvious to onlookers.
"Maybe. We should head inside before Baileywick sends a search party." She grabbed his hand and pulled him into the throne room, smiling toward him briefly as she left him by the door before heading to her throne to sit down next to her family.
"Where have you been, Sofia?" Amber asked in a slight chiding voice. "The Dæsondrians will be here any minute, and it's important to be punctual for all royal business, remember?"
"Sorry, Amber," Sofia laughed. "I was helping Mr. Cedric with something."
"Show of hands: how many of us are surprised?" James announced playfully before a fanfare played, signaling the attention of everyone in the room.
Baileywick stepped forward, unrolling a scroll as a regally-dressed man stepped into the room. "Your Majesties, may I present King Ludwig of Dæsondria and his daughter Princess Nova?"
King Ludwig was a man of average build and height, dark and warm eyes, sunkissed skin that was beginning to show signs of aging, and medium-length wavy dark hair with some glittering gray peaking through. Unlike the typical garb expected of a king, he instead opted for a more relaxed attire, similar to Roland's daily clothing. However, instead, his was a variety of dark green and black. On his left hand shimmered a prominent gold ring.
"Hmm," Amber pondered to her siblings, "if he is wearing a ring, he's probably married. So…where is his wife?"
James shrugged. "Maybe she couldn't make it?"
Sofia ignored her siblings and paid more attention to the visiting king's daughter as she entered the room. Upon seeing her, the princess's eyes widened slightly.
Princess Nova had features similar to her father: the same hair (minus the gray and much longer), skin, eyes… She had a smaller frame, even smaller than most other children her age (twelve). A silver tiara sat atop her head, matching the dangling silver earrings she wore. Her floor-length, long-sleeved purple dress practically swallowed the young girl's frame, though she didn't seem too concerned. All these things aside, the one thing that stood out about her was the fact that she seemed to utilize the aid of a wheelchair, and a rather beautiful one at that, with its dark exterior and decorative butterflies attached to varying sections of the chair.
The Enchancian family remained attentive as the king and his daughter approached.
King Ludwig bowed respectfully as Princess Nova mimicked the gesture as best as she could. The king smiled kindly as he looked up at the other royal family. "Your Majesty—King Roland, it is an honor to finally meet you. My wife spoke highly of you and your former queen." He gave Miranda a sincere smile. "No disrespect to you, Queen Miranda."
Miranda shook her head. "None at all, King Ludwig. She was a wonderful queen and person."
"As was my Helena," he added with a somber look. "She spoke so often of Enchancia and its beauty and kind people, and she wanted so much to visit before she passed, but… I'm afraid it just never happened."
"Oh, so that's what happened," Amber whispered softly to her twin, who frowned.
"He must wear the ring in her memory," the boy surmised.
Sofia simply sat still and listened, but when she saw that Nova had glanced in her direction and smiled at her, she returned the smile.
"Why don't we talk in private, King Ludwig?" Miranda suggested as she and Roland stood, stepping forward to attend to the visiting king. "That way, we can discuss our business without boring the children."
The older man chuckled and nodded. "I think this is a good idea." He looked toward his daughter. "I won't be too long, Nova."
"Take your time, Pabbi," she responded, a unique yet warm accent tumbling out as she spoke.
"Princess Amber, Prince James," Baileywick called after the kings and queen had left the room, "we need to finish your royal portrait today. I'm afraid we won't be able to postpone it any longer."
"Ugh," James griped as he stood up from the chair. "We already have a window with our faces on it. Why do we need another royal portrait exactly? They take forever."
"Oh, hush, James," Amber tutted. "It's our Royal Twin Portrait. How many royal twins do you know?" Before he could retaliate, she grabbed his arm and began dragging him away. Before she left, she smiled kindly toward the visiting princess. "It's nice to meet you, Princess Nova. I'm sorry to meet and run like this but…"
"It's all right, Amber," Sofia responded as she walked up toward Nova. "I'll show her around. You two go take care of this portrait business."
Baileywick guided the twins away as Sofia smiled happily toward the dark-haired princess.
"I'm Sofia, by the way," she greeted.
"It is wonderful to meet you, Sofia. You have a lovely kingdom."
"Thanks!" She looked over toward the corner of the room, where she noticed that Cedric was attempting to sneak away. "Oh, Mr. Cedric!"
"Oh, Merlin's Mushrooms," he huffed quietly so the girls wouldn't overhear him. "I almost made it…" He turned and plastered on a smile for Sofia, though he was rather uncomfortable without his shoes. The floor was so cold without them—not that he'd ever noticed before or had a reason to. "Yes, Sofia?"
She smiled mischievously and used her forefinger to beckon him forward. She giggled as he sighed and obliged, just as she expected. "Princess Nova, allow me to introduce our royal sorcerer, my friend and mentor, and the best sorcerer in the entire world: Mr. Cedric."
"I don't know about all that, but thank you for that introduction, Sofia." Cedric smiled toward Nova as he approached before bowing respectfully. "It's an honor to meet you, Princess Nova."
"Thank you, Mr. Cedric," she responded with a giggle. "Tell me, I am not used to customs in your kingdom, but is it often that you travel without shoes?"
"Uh, about that," Sofia laughed as Cedric attempted to use his robe to hide his feet yet again, "well, it's a long story. Would you like us to show you around?"
"Is there a lot of ground to cover?" the princess asked. "I do not mean any disrespect; it is just that with my chair, I must physically move the wheels, and it gets exhausting sometimes."
"I could push it for you if you'd like," the younger princess offered kindly.
Nova blinked in surprise. "You would do that?"
"Of course!" She grabbed the handlebars and began pushing, Cedric following along behind her. "What part of the kingdom would you like to see first?"
"Well… I was intrigued by the large body of water as we crossed the bridge on the way in. Is there any way we could see that?" She shyly began playing with the ribbons on the front of her dress. "I really like the water."
"Certainly," Cedric agreed as he moved to walk next to the moving chair as Sofia pushed. "Just make sure to steer clear of those suspicious-looking swans. Princess Amber usually sees to it that they stay closer to the castle, but sometimes they have a habit of escaping to the water. And they are not very friendly."
Nova giggled. "I will keep that in mind."
As they took in the sights of Enchancia and talked for a while, the trio became more comfortable with each other. Sofia and Cedric were joking around and chatting with Nova as if they'd known her for years, which made the shy girl far more responsive and open to them.
"I am surprised neither of you asked about my…situation," the older princess admitted as they traversed back over the bridge leading toward the castle. (They'd already visited parts of Dunwiddie and outer lying areas.)
"We…didn't feel it was our place to ask," Sofia replied honestly, her eyes flickering to Cedric, who seemed to share the same sentiment. "Besides, chair or no chair, you're an awesome person, Nova! You're fun to hang out with."
She smiled. "Thank you… But I am all right with you both knowing the story." She sighed as Sofia stopped the chair toward the end of the bridge before walking to stand next to Cedric as they leaned against the stone wall separating them from the castle to listen to her story. "You both probably heard my father speak of my mother earlier. She was actually friends with King Roland when they were younger, you know."
"Really?" the Enchancian princess asked in surprise.
"Yes. From what I am told, they went to Royal Prep together. Anyway, before I was born, she became rather ill, and she was uncertain if I could even enter this world. The doctors were concerned for both of us, but she was determined to make sure I had a chance at life." She smiled in a bittersweet manner, which both friends caught. "I arrived late one winter night: the 27th of December, as a matter of fact. My mother did not survive, however…"
Sofia gasped softly as Cedric looked away to hide his sorrow.
"I was rather small for a newborn, or so I was told," Nova continued. "In addition, my legs never functioned properly, so I never learned to crawl or walk; my father had special chairs created for me to help me become mobile. The doctors explained that it was likely a complication with my mother's difficult pregnancy and birth. They are still uncertain what happened to cause it. But anyway…" She shrugged. "That is why I have this chair."
"I, um," Cedric began, clearing his throat. "I noticed you covered the chair in butterflies…" He noted that Sofia gave him a curious stare, but he retained his attention on the other princess. "Is there any particular reason for that?"
Nova smiled. "My father gave me my name after visiting a tribe and meeting a little girl who reminded him of my mother: her love for life, her looks, her excitement. The little girl's name was Nova, which in the tribe meant 'butterfly.'" She looked up thoughtfully, watching the clouds moving by in the sky. "Pabbi always told me that I did not need to walk to make my way through this world, because one day I would get butterfly wings instead. In the meantime, I just sort of…roll with it." She grinned as the other two exchanged looks before snickering. "I am glad I can tell jokes better than I can walk—oh, wait."
Cedric laughed. "You're quite something, Princess Nova. I'm glad you travelled here with your father today."
The princess beamed. "So am I, Mr. Cedric."
Several hours later, after the visitors from Dæsondria had left, Sofia caught Cedric before he left for his tower that night. She hugged him instantly, surprising him.
"Sofia?" he asked, hesitantly returning the hug as she didn't seem to be letting go. "Are you all right?"
She smiled happily as she looked up at him. "You made Princess Nova's visit memorable, Mr. Cedric. Thank you for that."
He chuckled and finally relaxed, patting her gently on the back. "It was the least I could do… She is an extraordinary princess whose circumstances have not held her back, and for that I'm glad. It's a rather sad thing that happened to her, and yet she doesn't let it define who she is. I admire that."
"Me too." She let go of him and yawned, smiling sleepily as he placed one hand on her shoulder. "I need to get some sleep, don't I?"
"I think we both do," he replied, echoing her yawn as he held his free hand to his mouth. He smirked as she giggled. "Off to bed with you. I'll see you in the morning."
"Okay. I hope you find your shoes." She grinned and gave him a parting hug before heading off in the opposite direction.
"Oh, right, my shoes…" Cedric suddenly realized he'd managed to travel all over the kingdom without them that day. Weird. But suddenly, his exhaustion overwhelmed him, and his shoes were the last things on his mind at that moment. All he cared about was getting some much-needed rest, so he trudged up the tower stairs to his workshop to put everything away before heading to bed.
From behind some bushes outside Cedric's tower, a narrowed pair of dangerous-looking green eyes glistened in the moonlight as they glared up at the sorcerer dousing the candle in the window. "Be on your guard, sorcerer," a dark voice with a heavy accent warned quietly as a low growl escaped the person's lips. "Your shoes won't be the only thing 'missing' soon enough." With a sneer, the figure turned and blended into the shadows before seeming to practically disappear into the night.
The end (and to be continued in "Hunted")