Insomnia

Summary: Sofia doesn't know the last time Cedric actually got a restful night of sleep, so she develops an idea to get him to sleep for a change.

Disclaimer: I own nothing of Sofia the First, naturally. :)

A/N: So this one gained the most votes on the reviews for the third chapter of "Princess2Princess." Well, technically it won 2 to 1, so there's that. Lol. I'll probably still write the other one soon. They all get written anyway. (By the way, sorry this is so late being posted. Today has been WEIRD.) And on a personal note, I know all about insomnia… I've had it since I was a kid, so I guess I'm paying "homage" to that. :p

"Oh, Wormy," Cedric sighed in a tired yet lilted voice, causing the raven to blink at him curiously. "I think this invention is going to surpass all other inventions… It's going to be so revered that even King Roland will marvel at its amazingness!"

Wormwood glanced down at Cedric's "invention" and scoffed. "You're planning to impress the king with that?"

Resting innocently upon the table was what appeared to be a small cart made out of matchsticks. Inside the tiny cart was an egg and a small wedge of cheese.

Cedric grinned at his companion. "What? You don't think he'll like it? Nonsense!" He waved his wand once, causing the cart with the egg and cheese inside to hover midair. "Why, if one could train some animal—a raven, for instance—to pull this cart along, imagine how much faster smaller items could arrive to the one who requests them!"

Wormwood blinked in boredom. "Or you could, I don't know, just enchant them to float magically to their needed place." He didn't even hear the door open and close and continued ranting. "Or maybe you could use that wand of yours and do some useful magic—make stuff appear out of the blue like other sorcerers do!"

Sofia looked back and forth between Cedric and the raven and asked, "Is something wrong?"

"Yes!" Wormwood eyed her pointedly. "He is driving me crazy!"

Cedric smiled obliviously. "Of course not, Sofia. Wormy just seems to be rather cranky and doesn't like my new invention. But everyone is a critic, especially those who don't have magic, eh, Wormy?" He grinned at his feathered friend, which just made Wormwood more irritable.

"That's it." Wormwood flew down to Sofia and rested on her shoulder. "As much as I hate to admit it, the princess would make a more suitable companion today…"

The girl laughed uncertainly. "That's a first."

"What's a first?" Cedric wondered as he rubbed at his eyes.

Sofia blanched momentarily before recovering. "Um, Wormwood actually came to me rather than glared at me for a change…" 'Whew… That was close.' She got a better look at Cedric, who yawned and leaned up against the table, as if trying to hold his balance in place. "Mr. Cedric, are you okay?"

"I'm perfectly fine, Princess Sofia. A bit wobbly whereas I normally would be tolerant of gravity, but otherwise I'm in top-tip condition!"

She raised an eyebrow at his slightly slurred speech. "You mean 'tip-top,' don't you?"

"Of course, of course… A tongue of the slip." He chuckled and shook his head.

Sofia walked toward him, a bit worried at his slightly erratic behavior. "Mr. Cedric, when was the last time you actually slept?"

"Um…" He counted on his fingers and grew confused, so he shrugged. "I sleep every night, but how long I sleep varies. I think last night was two hours? Mm, yes. And the night prior, I slept a grand total of four hours."

This concerned her. "So, you mean to tell me…in the last two days, you've had maybe only six hours of sleep?"

"I've been busy! I had to finish that potion for your father…and that spell that needed to be remedied. I haven't much time to sleep, I'm afraid. Plus, with our lessons, I need to be awake for those…"

"Well, I think you're going to pass out at any minute at the rate you're going…" She nodded to Wormwood, who took flight and rested on his perch again. "Let's just forget our lesson today. Sleep is more important for you right now."

"But Sofia—"

"No, Mr. Cedric," she scolded lightly, making him blink. "If you did teach me something today and used any kind of potions, I'm scared you'd hurt yourself. And you told me you've blown things up before in the past—and I'm assuming that's when you were awake—so your record isn't exactly helping you here."

The sorcerer gaped at his apprentice and sighed. "Okay, so I've had a few accidents in the past… But don't hold them against me."

"I'm not. I'm just trying to keep you from hurting yourself. So come on." She grabbed his hand and pulled him toward his room, pushing the door open once they arrived.

"And what exactly is it that you want me to do?"

She pointed at his bed. "Sleep."

"Psh, I can't just sleep on command… There's a method to this, you know." He yelped in surprise when the younger girl sighed in what he assumed was exasperation and pushed him toward his bed, making him fall back into the mattress. He sat up and laughed tiredly. "You're a lot stronger than you look."

"Not really," she responded with an amused smile. "You're just too tired to fight back. Now get comfortable. I'll be right back." She hurried from his room, making Cedric wonder what she was up to.

Shrugging, he kicked his shoes off and put his robe across the end of his bed before lying back into the pillows and mattress before pulling the covers up. He sighed in content. Okay, so maybe this was exactly what he needed right now. He glanced toward his door as Sofia reentered, carrying a large book underneath her right arm. "What is that?"

She smiled and sat onto his bed. "It's a story book."

Cedric smiled at her and chuckled. "You're reading me a bedtime story, Sofia?"

"I see no reason not to, Mr. Cedric," she returned with a giggle. "Besides, any time my mom reads to me, it makes me fall asleep easier and faster. So, let's find a story…" She sifted through some of the pages and came upon one that she assumed he would know. "How about Hansel and Gretel?"

The sorcerer made a face at the title. "No! My sister read that to me when I was a child and nearly scarred me for life. That's a horrid story, not meant for children at all."

Sofia laughed. "Okay, okay." She turned a few more pages. "All right, this one looks a bit better. Rumpelstiltskin?"

Cedric folded his arms. "Rather a poor choice for a bedtime story, don't you think? Still not going to ease me into sleep, as far as I'm concerned."

The princess pondered this and grinned as she briefly closed the book and crawled over to his side. She unfolded his arms and lay next to him, using some of his extra pillows to prop herself up a bit better. She smiled inwardly as he softened at her actions and even lightly placed an arm around her to keep her in place. "I have a story you'll like, and it's not scary."

He smiled tiredly and nodded. "If you say so. Let's have at it."

Instead of opening the book again, she placed it aside and folded her arms over her stomach. "Once upon a time, there was a village girl who lived with her mom."

Cedric chuckled as he shook his head. "I know this story."

"Shh, we haven't even gotten to any good parts yet." She smiled and played with her amulet as she continued. "One day, the girl and her mom went to the castle to give the king some new slippers. The mom caught his eye, and they fell in love. Not too long later, the mom and her daughter became the new queen and princess of a magical land." She giggled as Cedric rolled his eyes at the overly saccharine and abbreviated story. "Well, fitting into the new castle was hard. But the girl made friends with some people and some animals, and she especially made contact with this mysterious person who happened to be the royal sorcerer!"

"You think I'm mysterious?" Cedric asked with a smirk.

She grinned at him. "Who said this was about you?" She giggled as he rolled his eyes. "Anyway, the princess and the sorcerer didn't really see eye to eye at first, even though the princess thought he was awesome and really interesting." When Cedric began to say something else, she raised one hand and put a finger to his mouth to keep him quiet. "But soon the two started hanging out more. He started teaching her lots of things about magic, and she taught him a thing or two about believing in himself, and they started becoming friends."

Cedric lowered her hand and laughed. "I think I know how this story ends."

"How could you? Our story's only just beginning, Mr. Cedric." Smiling at his resigned shrug, she continued on as he grew sleepier and started fading into a dream world. Before she knew it, another half hour had passed, and when she glanced to her side she noticed that her friend was finally asleep. She giggled and sat up, grabbing her book and sliding to the floor. "Good night, Mr. Cedric." She pulled his covers over him and hugged him gently before slipping into the workshop area again.

"Well?" Wormwood asked with a curious stare.

"He's sleeping," she informed the raven with a grin. "I think you'll have a peaceful night. See you later, Wormwood." She waved and left, pulling the door shut behind her.

Wormwood sighed in relief. "Thank goodness… One more lousy pun or quirk and I probably would have gone mad…" Even more curious, he set off from his perch and flew into Cedric's bedroom, landing on his nightstand. He couldn't help the smile on his beak as he saw that his master was finally sleeping and content. "Hmm. Good night, Cedric." Quieter than before, he exited the room and left behind one very happily resting royal sorcerer.

The end

A/N: Okay, let's face it. Most "fairytales" or bedtime stories are actually rather gruesome… Yeesh. Lol. I don't blame Cedric one bit. He'd probably be too worked up to sleep anyway! Also, as far as the "linear pattern" concerning the stories and the plot for StF, I'm honestly not sure if they'd line up at all, but I think they'd be in the same ballpark. Ah, well. Hope you all enjoyed this. Now, I'm going to make like Cedric and take my insomniac self to bed before I fall out of my chair. :) Good night! ~AquaTurquoise