Xenial
Summary: Sofia is known for being hospitable and friendly, especially toward her mentor.
Disclaimer: I do not own Sofia the First. :)
A/N: First of all, let me just say…y'all are funny. :p I loved the confusion about the word "xenial" and the question of what it means. Basically, long story short, I'm attempting to have a "Sofia the First" story for each letter of the alphabet. Don't ask me why; maybe my OCD kicked in. Ha! I've gotten a majority of them done already, and the "x" category was the hardest. So some research provided me with this word, which is NOT used often. In fact, it's rarely found in dictionaries, but it is a word. Xenial means "hospitable, especially toward strangers." Go figure. And technically, this story tied with "Princess2Princess," so since I'm out of school tomorrow (Yay!), I'll start working on it tonight. This one is just shorter and easier to write. Lol, so here we go! (And now you know a new word!)
Cedric had never been much of a winter person. The snow, the ice, or the chill in the air…all these did little to make him happy. He was much more of a spring person. In the springtime, he would harvest new blossoms and useful ingredients for his potions. But in the winter, with everything frosted or frozen over, it was nearly impossible to do such things.
So there he was, in his workshop near the top of the tower, staring out the window at all the white powder intruding on the castle grounds. And more of it was falling from the sky! He huffed, folding his arms. "I love it when it snows on Wassailia," he recalled having told the princess over two months ago. "But this is ridiculous." He shook his head. "Do we really need this much snow?"
He sighed and turned, leaning over the railing to glance down as he heard a knock on his door. "Come in."
Sofia walked inside and looked around in confusion. "Um, Mr. Cedric?"
"Up here, Sofia," he replied while lazily resting on the railing.
She giggled and placed a basket on his table. "What are you doing up there?" She stepped up toward the stairs and stood on the bottom portion, holding onto the railing as she looked up.
"Pondering how many weeks we have until spring reappears," he replied honestly, slumping to the floor.
Sofia smiled and bounced up the stairs happily. "You don't like winter, Mr. Cedric? It seems like it would be the perfect season for you." She reached the top and sat next to him, letting her feet dangle over the edge of the stairs as she looked down, seeing the bottom of the workshop.
"And why would it be the perfect season for me exactly?" He raised an eyebrow at her. "Because of my cold nature? Because I wear long sleeves all the time? Hmm?"
She laughed at his reasons before shaking her head and looked toward him. "Because of the mystery surrounding you."
"H-Huh?" Well, there was a response he hadn't been expecting… "What are you talking about, mystery? I'm not very mysterious."
Sofia eyed him carefully before moving over to sit directly beside him. "You kind of keep a lot of things inside," she told him with an honesty he hadn't been expecting of the nine-year-old girl. "It's like you don't want anyone to know what's really going on with you, or what you're thinking."
Cedric froze. Did she really sense that about him, or was she just going on about nothing? Regardless, it made him feel uneasy, the way she was talking. "I'm not sure where you get that notion, Sofia, but I assure you: I'm about as mysterious as a bowl of soup."
The princess giggled and shrugged. "If you say so, Mr. Cedric… But still…" She hummed in thought before standing and offering her hands to him. "I brought something for you downstairs."
The sorcerer gazed up at his student before nodding and accepting her outstretched hands. He smirked. "If you can actually pull me up, I'll be very surprised…"
Sofia returned his smirk before easily pulling him to his feet. She gasped when she nearly fell backwards and then sighed in relief as he caught her in time. Giggling, she grinned up at him.
"You actually did it…nearly lost your balance and cracked your head open, of course, but you somehow managed to haul me up."
"Mr. Cedric, do you have any idea how many times I've helped you up or had to help carry you to get you out of harm's way?"
He gaped at her before blinking, realizing she was right. Granted, he didn't remember the time with Princess Ivy, but from what he understood, she'd practically had to drag him out of the way to keep him safe. He smiled and shook his head. "You really do look out for me, don't you?" Hearing her laugh lightly, he wrapped one arm around her and led her down the stairs. "You, my dear, are very xenial."
Sofia blinked at the adjective used to describe her and tilted her head as they reached the ground floor of the workshop. "Xenial? What does that mean?"
"It means 'hospitable' basically… Or rather, you're very gracious and accommodating toward people, even strangers."
The princess grinned. "I'm not a stranger to you, Mr. Cedric. We're friends."
"Hmm, yes, but you said there's an air of mystery about me, did you not?" He folded his arms. "Granted, we spend a great deal of time together, but I'm afraid you're correct. There is still much you don't know about me. That makes at least part of us strangers to each other."
"Oh…" She shrugged lightheartedly and sat on one of the chairs as he stood next to her. "It doesn't really matter, Mr. Cedric. You're still one of my best friends. I'll just have to keep learning more about you. And I'm going to keep saving you each time you get into trouble."
"Hey!" he laughed as she giggled. "Let's not forget, I've done my fair share of saving you as well."
"True…" Sofia opened the basket she'd brought and pulled out some bags that appeared to have seeds inside. She then handed the bags to Cedric.
"What are these?" He observed the contents of the bags before eyeing his apprentice curiously.
"Seeds," she answered as she pointed toward the labels on each bag. "This one is for vex vine." She tapped the other bag. "And this one is—"
"Hocus Crocus seeds?" He looked toward Sofia in shock. "Where did you find these?"
She grinned. "Ms. Fauna was really impressed with you when you substituted for her. She wanted to thank you properly, so…"
"Wow…" He chuckled and tucked the seeds into his cabinet for safe keeping before glancing back at Sofia. "I guess I now owe two people my gratitude." He picked up her training wand and handed it to her. "So thank you, Sofia…my xenial apprentice."
Sofia laughed and accepted the wand. "Any time, Mr. Cedric."
The end
A/N: Yay! My "x" story is done! And I'm celebrating another snow/ice/sleet/slush day tomorrow, so keep an eye out for "Princess2Princess," which is most likely going to end up being multi-chapter. I'm still working on "At First Sight," and I hope to have chapter two out this weekend if all goes well!
CedricAmber: Girl, I took the villain test! :P I got Cedric, naturally, as my 83%. :D I jumped up and down, even though my Ceddy-kins is no villain—just misunderstood and adorable to boot. ;) Lol. My second was actually Sofia the Second, third was Ivy, fourth was Slickwell, and fifth of course was Nettle. I love Megan Mullally, but Nettle gets on my nerves. Lol. OH! And if you go to my website (remember it's on my profile page if you need the link), and click on "Introduction," you should see something on that page for you. ;) Hope you like it. Also, since you don't have a profile yet, if you ever need to contact me, I now have a "Chat With Me!" page so you can contact me if you need me. :)