A Perfect Role Model, a sofia the first fanfic

AN: Well, this little story turned out way longer than expected. Just a little age appropriate Cedric and Sofia fluff. Please enjoy!

Sofia had many adults in her life and that meant a lot of potential to find herself the prefect role model. It was something important to her because she was still so uncertain of her destiny and she felt she needed a blueprint to follow. There were some good examples around as well as some not-so-good examples around but Sofia felt fairly certain that she'd narrowed her selection down to one extraordinary candidate; her Aunt Tilly.

If one thing could be said about Sofia's relationship with her Aunt Tilly it was that the young princess admired the duchess and held her in very high regard. Tilly seemed like a perfect role model to Sofia; she was always full of whimsy, even when faced with the most daunting tasks and she never let fear or uncertainty shake her resolve. She was brave and strong and true and Sofia aspired to be as much like the woman as she could be. But Tilly's shoes were big ones to fill, and quite colorful too, it should be added. There were many times Sofia felt doubt in her heart that she could achieve even half of her aunt's greatness.

Sofia had expressed her concern to the duchess once but the woman only tried to reassure her by letting her know that everyone has doubts and makes mistakes, even Tilly herself, and what Sofia needed to focus on was simply doing the best that she could.

It was advice Sofia tried to digest but it was hard for her to imagine Tilly ever floundering. To her the woman was an unsinkable ship capable of sailing through even the stormiest of weather.

One day, however, Sofia would come to find out that her perception of her aunt was precisely that. Perception. Tilly, as it turned out, was a far from perfect person and it took Amulet of Avalor to show Sofia this.

That particular day had been like many others. She was in Cedric's workshop getting assistance with her sorcery homework when her amulet began to glow. Cedric had been the first to notice and it seemed a cause for alarm for him but Sofia had seen the glow countless times before and she knew it meant something special was happening. She was once again being summoned to help out a previous owner of the amulet.

She couldn't help but wonder who it might be. She was only aware of three previous owners before herself but she knew there had to be so many more given the amulet's antiquity. When she finally materialized in a new location she looked around in shock. At first glance she appeared to be in her bedroom but a quick survey around showed that the décor was vastly different from what she'd chosen. Her brow furrowed in confusion initially. The entire ordeal seemed very strange until she whirled around and spotted a familiar form flung on the bed.

The honey-blonde hair sweeping down from under a tiara gave Sofia all the evidence she needed to conclude that she was looking at a much younger version of the Duchess Matilda. "Aunt Ti-" She stopped herself immediately, quick to remember a warning Cedric had given her after she'd told him about the amulet summoning her to help Princess Charlotte. Meddling with the past could be a very dangerous thing and she needed to take care to be extremely cautious. "Uhm... Princess Matilda?"

Tilly's head whipped up as she heard the small voice just feet away from her. Her eyes fell on an unfamiliar child standing at the foot of her bed. "Who are you?"

"My name is Princess Sofia." Sofia stated, hoping that simply giving her name to her future aunt wouldn't cause too much chaos. "The Amulet of Avalor summoned me to help you. What's the matter?"

"It's my father." Tilly said softly. "He's unwell and we fear he may die soon. It isn't unexpected. His health has been fading for months and we knew this was a very real possibility. I just didn't expect it to happen so rapidly. I'm not ready to take the throne."

"Take the throne?" Sofia asked in curiosity. "But what about your brother?"

"Roland is only twelve." Tilly replied. "He's far too young to be king right now. Despite that he's the crown prince he's still just a child. As the oldest child it is my responsibility to take over for my father until Roland has come of age. But I'm not ready... I'm only sixteen and there are so many things I wanted to do with my life."

Sofia stared at her aunt sadly. She had known that Roland and Matilda had lost their father when they were both still young but she had never known the circumstances or what truly came to be afterward. By the time she was born, Roland had been crowned king and ruled over Enchancia as a kind and reverent leader. There had never been a mention of Tilly serving as a stand in, though it may have just been something that was overlooked in her studies of the family.

She didn't know what to say to the young woman before her. The sorrow was evident on Tilly's face and she seemed so unsure of everything that lay ahead of her. In that moment Sofia realized that even her aunt, a woman she believed to be without even the smallest inkling of doubt, still had internal struggles of her own.

Sofia stepped forward toward Tilly and reached out to clasp her hand. "I know there's a lot you're uncertain about right now. I'm sure it's a very scary time for you and you're on the verge of having a great responsibility thrust upon you at such a young age. I also know you have so many other important things placed on your shoulders already and you're probably not sure how you're going to deal with it all. But, you know what? There's a woman I know who happens to be one of the bravest and strongest women I've ever met. She's a great adventurer and she's faced more in her life than I've ever dreamed of even facing. I always thought that she never struggled or made mistakes because she always knew what to do in every situation but I found out that I was wrong. Even the best of us struggle and there's no shame in that."

Tilly swallowed a sob that had been trying to force its way to the surface and blinked down at the princess. "Really?"

"Yep." Sofia said with a sweet smile and a nod. "You may be confused and even a little bit scared and that's okay. Those are normal emotions for you to be feeling right now. But I also know that when the time comes you'll know just what to do."

"Thank you, Princess Sofia." Tilly replied. "I think that's exactly what I needed to hear."

"I'm glad I could help." Sofia chirped happily, curtsying to the other princess. She expected then that her amulet would begin glowing and send her back from whence she came but to her dismay, nothing happened. "Hmm..."

"What's wrong?" Tilly asked, eyeing Sofia curiously.

"My amulet summoned me to help you but it should send me back once I've done that." Sofia blinked down at the pink gem around her neck in concern. "Maybe I didn't help you in the way you needed."

"Is that the Amulet of Avalor?" Tilly said with surprise as her eyes fell on the necklace around the tiny princess' neck. She reached to the necklace around her own neck and clasped it carefully. "It looks just like mine, only pink."

"Oh, uhm..." Sofia tucked her amulet quickly inside her dress to hide it from her aunt. She knew she couldn't explain to Tilly about Elena or any of the events in the future. Whatever Tilly learned about the amulet needed to be from her own experiences with it. "I really shouldn't say."

Tilly looked the girl over before deciding that she didn't want to press the matter. The Amulet of Avalor was a very mysterious gem and there was still a lot she didn't understand about it. She knew that it was best not to ask too many questions despite every curious inch of her aching to do so. She opened her mouth to speak when the sound of a knock on the door disrupted her.

"Princess Matilda, it's Baileywick. Your father's tea is ready." Baileywick's voice rang out from the other side of the door.

Tilly looked to Sofia with wide eyes, unsure how she would explain the child in her bedroom if the castle steward decided to let himself in. "A-alright, Baileywick. I'll be there in just a moment."

Sofia watched as Tilly stood and straightened out her appearance quickly. "Do you have to go somewhere?"

"Only to bring my father his tea." Tilly answered softly. "It's really the one thing I feel like I can actually do to help out. He loves his tea so much and I love to be the one to bring it to him. Would you like to accompany me to the kitchen? You won't be able to go with me to see my father but you can at least wait around for me in the kitchen and have a snack. It's better than being stuck in my room."

Sofia smiled at the invitation and nodded excitedly. She recalled a subtle complaint her father had once made about how the castle cook they'd had when he was a child was much better than the one they currently had. At the idea of having food even more delicious than what she usually ate she lurched forward to follow after Tilly. "Lead the way!"

Tilly smiled at the girl before starting out of her bedroom but as soon as she exited the door she spotted Baileywick down the hall. She whirled around to face Sofia in a panic. "I can't let the castle steward see you. I'll distract him while you head to the kitchen. It's downstairs and to the right past the-"

"I'm sure I can find it." Sofia replied, trying to mask that she knew precisely where the kitchen was located. She hurried off, meandering through the halls past servants who seemed much too busy to notice a strange girl in the castle. None of the faces seemed familiar to her anyhow so she supposed it really wouldn't matter if they spotted her. So long as she didn't run into anybody she knew in the future, she would be fine.

She slid quickly down the banister and rushed to the kitchen which seemed surprisingly devoid of life, though she supposed with everyone in such a worried state over the king, eating might not be at the top of anybody's priority list. She began peering into cabinets in search of a snack to occupy her time when she heard a small voice around the corner in the pantry. Curiosity got the best of her and she decided to take a peek to see who may have been inside. Perhaps it was a mouse in the castle taking advantage of the empty kitchen to grab himself a snack.

But as Sofia poked her head around the corner to look into the pantry she saw that it was no mouse. It was a boy grinding something in a mortar. His hair was black as coal in the back but with grayish locks dangling in his face. Her breath hitched and her eyes grew wide as she whispered to herself. "Mr. Cedric..."

"Who's there?" Cedric demanded as he whirled around. He'd heard the distinct breathy sound of a whisper, though he hadn't heard what was uttered. His gaze fell on a girl who appeared to be only about a year his junior. She was unfamiliar to him and at the idea of being caught talking to himself he jumped on the defensive. "You're probably not supposed to be in here."

"Oh." Sofia stepped fully into view and held her hands behind her back. "Uhm, are you supposed to be in here?"

Cedric looked the girl up and down, taking full note of her regal appearance. He made the deduction that she must be a relative of the royal family before deciding that he didn't actually care one way or the other who she was or why she was there. All he wanted was her out of his way. "Actually, yes. And I need privacy, if you don't mind."

Sofia watched as the young sorcerer returned to his mortar and pestle. He was grinding something inside that left a strong aroma in the air. She stepped up beside him to see what he was doing. "That smells lovely. What is it?"

"It's cardamum." Cedric answered dryly.

"I've never heard of it." Sofia said in thought. "Why are you grinding it up?"

Cedric let out a small sigh and turned his gaze to the princess who stood beside him. "The king is sick and he's in a lot of pain. Cardamum is a natural remedy for many ailments. I've been putting it in his tea with the hopes that it will help him get better."

"That's so sweet!" Sofia said cheerfully.

"I'm not doing it to be sweet." Cedric muttered. "My father serves the king and would do anything to save him. I suggested cardamum a long time ago to help but my father didn't listen to me. He never listens to me. So I decided to give it to the king myself and once he starts getting better I'll show my father that I was right and that I helped."

Sofia looked the boy over quietly. There seemed to be so much hurt in his face for someone so young. Cedric had never been one to shy away from how much of a disappointment he was to his father but she had always assumed that was a conclusion he had come to in adulthood. She never realized that he'd felt that way even as a child. An overwhelming sense of sorrow swept over her and she reached out carefully to place her hand on his arm. "Cedric, you should know that you're going to be a great sorcerer one day."

Cedric blinked at the girl before his eyes darted down to her hand on his arm. His brow furrowed in thought. He didn't recall telling her his name, though he supposed it was possible she'd heard it around. He sucked in a quick breath and shook her appendage from his arm. "You don't know that."

"I do." Sofia said insistently. "I can't explain how or why but I know that you're going to be a great man when you grow up. And I know it may not seem like it right now but everyone will see you for how truly capable you are. You'll do great things, Cedric."

Cedric averted his gaze from the girl, ignoring her words as he returned to grinding up the cardamum in the mortar. Once it was reduced to a fine powder he carted it out of the pantry and over to the counter where the king's tea sat on a golden serving tray. He opened the lid of the teapot and began pouring the powder into the liquid, cautious not to spill any. He then replaced the lid and gave the pot a quick swish in his hands to disperse the cardamum evenly. He was taken off guard, however, when the kitchen door swung open widely and Princess Matilda spotted him standing over the tea.

"What are you doing?" Tilly asked with a firm tone as she closed the distance between herself and the royal sorcerer's son. "That's my father's tea. I hope you didn't drink any of it."

"I didn't, your highness." Cedric said, bowing his head as he took a step back.

Tilly eyed the boy before taking up the tray in her hands. "Good. He needs it. He's very sick, you know."

"Yes, I know." Cedric replied quietly.

Sofia had been peering out from the pantry and saw the exchange. It came as a surprise to her to see someone as warmhearted as she knew her aunt to be treat a child so sharply. She'd never wanted to believe that her family could have ever been as harsh toward Cedric as he'd described but she was seeing for herself that it was more than just his own perception of events. Her heart ached, wanting to change things for him so that he wouldn't feel so hated and unwanted. She shuffled out of the pantry and over to Cedric's side with a chipper smile. "Princess Matilda, there's something you should know..."

Tilly turned her attention to Sofia in interest. She'd almost forgotten the girl's presence in the castle and assumed that the amulet had sent her back home after all. "Princess Sofia, you're still here."

"Yes." Sofia said with an eager nod. "And I have something to tell you. Cedric is doing something wonderful for your father!"

Tilly's brow crinkled as her eyes flew from Sofia to the boy at her side. "What are you doing for my father?"

"It's nothing." Cedric said, keeping his eyes downcast.

"It isn't nothing!" Sofia chimed in. She reached out and placed a hand on Cedric's shoulder proudly. "He's been putting a special ingredient in your father's tea to help heal him. Tell her, Cedric!"

"It's just some cardamum." Cedric replied in a small voice. "It helps with-"

"My father is allergic to cardamum." Tilly said, her voice trembling. She slammed the tray back down on the counter and reached out to grab Cedric by his shoulders. "How long have you been putting that in his tea?"

Cedric stared at Tilly with wide, frightened eyes. "Uhm... I'm not exactly sure."

"You need to be sure." Tilly retorted with a small growl. "How long, Cedric‽ How long‽"

"A f-few months, m-maybe." Cedric stammered out. "E-ever since we found out he was sick."

Tilly released her hold on Cedric and turned her attention to the teapot. "That's why he's been getting worse. You haven't been helping him... you've been killing him."

Cedric's heart dropped at Tilly's words. He backed away from the princess before dashing out of the kitchen in horror.

"Cedric..." Sofia followed the boy with her eyes as he disappeared before turning an annoyed gaze up at Tilly. "You shouldn't have said that to him. He's just a little boy."

"That little boy has been poisoning my father for months." Tilly snapped.

"He was only trying to help." Sofia reasoned. "He wanted to help the king get better. He wasn't trying to hurt him. You can't tell me you've never made mistakes before. You probably make them all the time, and your brother too."

"Yes, but our mistakes never got anyone killed." Tilly replied haughtily.

"Neither did Cedric's." Sofia countered. "Your father is still alive and I'm sure he'll get better soon now that he won't be drinking anymore cardamum. What's done is done. It's too late to change anything."

Tilly stared quietly at Sofia for a moment before turning away from the girl. "It may be too late to change anything but there are still going to be repercussions for what he did. As soon as I tell my father I'm sure-"

"You can't tell!" Sofia pleaded as she reached out and clasped Tilly's hand. "If anybody else found out about Cedric's mistake it would ruin him."

"He should have been more cautious." Tilly muttered. "His mistake nearly cost my father his life."

Sofia shook her head and moved to stand in front of her teenaged aunt. "I can't believe what I'm hearing from you right now. You're being so unforgiving! It was a mistake! Nobody is perfect, Princess Matilda, not even you. All any of us can ever do is to try our best. That's what Cedric was doing, trying his best. Surely you of all people can understand what that's like... trying your best and still not feeling like it's good enough."

Tilly froze at Sofia's words. She knew exactly how it felt to try and try with all her might but still feel like a failure. That was how she'd been feeling since her father fell ill. She was trying her hardest to juggle being the story keeper, the bearer of the Amulet of Avalor and her father's caretaker simultaneously and she felt like she was stumbling in all three tasks.

A heavy sigh fell from her lips and she turned from Sofia to bury her face in the palm of her hands. "You're right. I'm so sorry. With everything that's going on I just don't know how to handle anything anymore."

"It's alright. I understand." Sofia said with a small smile. "But I'm not the one you need to apologize to."

"Cedric..." Tilly lowered her hands and inhaled deeply. "I need to apologize to him. But first I need to pour out this tea and brew another pot. I can't keep my father waiting for much longer without an explanation."

"Alright." Sofia nodded. "I'll go find Cedric. He couldn't have gone far."

Without another word Sofia hurried out of the kitchen in search of the boy who would grow to become one of her dearest friends. There didn't appear to be any sight of him and she didn't know where he could have gone so she chose to look for him in the one place where she always knew to find him; his tower. She scurried up the stairs to that same familiar door and let herself inside.

Initially she was taken aback by the appearance of the room. It looked to be a storage area full of dusty old furniture, a far cry from the impressive sorcerer's workshop it would one day become. But as she weaved her way through the labyrinth of antiques and forgotten keepsakes she found that the far end of the room was set up much like a miniature workshop with potion bottles and books alike. Cedric must have spent his free time there, far away from everyone else in the castle where he could practice being a sorcerer without the judging eyes of others.

She looked around in awe at the area, admiring all the hard work it must've taken to set the heavy furniture in place the way he'd wanted it. She saw a book sitting open faced on a book stand in the corner of the space. Her inquisitiveness got the better of her and she started over. As she drew nearer she saw that the book was open to a page about cardamum and its many uses as a medicinal herb. She reached up to clasp the book when shuffling from behind her gave her a start.

"You're definitely not supposed to be in here." Cedric said coldly with his hands clenched at his sides. "You need to leave."

"I'm not leaving yet." Sofia said as she drew nearer to the child version of her mentor. "I was brought here to help Princess Matilda but I'm starting to feel like maybe I'm meant to help you too."

Cedric turned away from the girl and crossed his arms over his chest. "You can't help me. I'm a screw up. I mess up everything, even when I try to do something good."

"That happens to all of us." Sofia replied. She reached out to place her hand on Cedric's shoulder only for the boy to yank away from her.

"Listen, Princess Who-ever-you-are... things are different for you. You're a princess. You probably don't do anything wrong as far as anybody else is concerned. It isn't like that for me. I'm always messing up and everyone is so quick to point it out." Cedric said, slumping down against a nearby wall. He slid down to the floor and gripped his head. "When Princess Matilda tells everyone what I did I'm going to be branded a screw up for the rest of my life. Worse, even! I've almost killed the king and his health may never recover. I'm sure they'll arrest me for treason or-"

"Princess Matilda isn't going to say anything." Sofia said, sitting down beside Cedric.

Cedric glanced at the girl before letting out a small scoff. "Of course she will. Why wouldn't she?"

"Because I begged her not to." Sofia answered with a shrug.

"Why would you do that?" Cedric asked, his gaze narrowing on the princess. "You don't know me. You don't owe me anything."

Sofia shrugged again and cast the boy a kind smile.

Cedric watched the girl's face, her silence saying more than her words ever could. Somehow in someway she knew him far better than she let on. He sucked in a quick breath and shifted to stare hard at her.

"Uhm... what are you doing?" Sofia said, pulling back from Cedric a bit as he moved his face within inches of hers.

"I'm trying to figure you out." Cedric answered. "What did you say your name was?"

"It's Sofia." She answered before realizing that perhaps she shouldn't have. A thought occurred to her to try and exit the room without another word but the boy had her virtually pinned against the wall, his eyes examining every inch of her. Then he stood swiftly and grabbed her hands, yanking her up with him as he went. "C-Cedric!"

"You've seen my future, haven't you? What was it you said to me when we were down in the kitchen?" Cedric began to pry. "That I'll be a great sorcerer one day? That I'll do great things?"

"Maybe I shouldn't have-" Sofia started to say but she was cut off by Cedric whirling her around in excitement.

"What great things, Sofia‽" Cedric pleaded, pulling the girl to and fro. "Can you tell me‽"

Sofia began to feel dizzy with all the movement Cedric had forced upon her. She needed to stop him so she pulled her hands from his and did her best to steady him by gripping his shoulders. "Cedric, calm down. Please. I wish I could say more but I really can't and I can't explain why either. I just need you to trust me on this."

"I'm sorry." Cedric muttered, quickly averting his eyes from the girl. "It's just that nobody has ever told me that I'll be great. If there's something more you could tell me that would be of help-"

"I can't tell you much." Sofia replied with a half-smile. "All I can say is that you should just work hard, keep trying your best and always stay true to yourself. Even if you're unsure along the way or even if you stumble, you'll find a way to work through it. Just believe in yourself, Cedric. I do."

Cedric couldn't fight the smile that came to his face at the princess' words. She believed in him. It was the best thing he had ever heard anyone say. He turned away from her and reached for a nearby quill, dripping ink as he made his way over to the open book on the stand.

Sofia watched in interest as the boy scribbled something on the corner of the page. She stepped up behind him to see over his shoulder that he had written the words "Sofia believes in me." Momentary panic filled her. This was precisely the type of thing the Cedric of the future had warned her about. Meddling too much with the past could have catastrophic results and she couldn't help but worry what might occur when she returned home. Would everything be drastically different because of her interaction with Cedric as a child? Her alarming thoughts were interrupted when she felt a slight pain at the top of her skull.

Cedric had reached up and plucked a single hair from her scalp, placing it in the book before slamming it closed.

She stared at him mortified but she didn't get the chance to say a word to him about the matter. He clutched the book against his chest with one hand and reached out to clasp her arm with the other.

"Thank you, Sofia." Cedric said with a wide smile. He moved to give the girl a gentle peck on the cheek before pulling away from her completely. "I'm going to go apologize to Princess Matilda. I'll be back. Just stay put."

Sofia opened her mouth to protest but Cedric was gone in a flash. She made a movement to follow him but her amulet began to glow, signifying her return home. "No! I can't go yet! I have to fix things with Cedric before-"

But the amulet wasn't listening. It couldn't hear. It could only detect when its powers were needed and when they were no longer necessary.

Sofia closed her eyes tightly, terrified at the idea of opening them to find the world vastly different from when she'd left it. She stood with eyes clenched shut until the sound of Cedric's adult voice entered her consciousness.

"Princess Sofia, there you are!" Cedric said, relief washing over him as the young princess materialized back in the location she had disappeared from. "Where on earth did you go?"

Sofia glanced around herself to make certain that everything had remained the same. Cedric's workshop looked like it always did and nothing appeared out of the ordinary. Wormwood was still on his perch and Cedric appeared to be his normal self. Sofia let out a thankful sigh and plopped down onto the nearest seat. "Mr. Cedric, you wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"You might try me." Cedric replied. "I'm a lot more likely to believe than you'd think."

Sofia looked up at the man before casting him a sheepish gaze. "Do you remember what you told me about being careful of meddling with the past?"

Cedric gave Sofia a knowing smile and turned away from her, starting over to his bookshelf. He pulled out a book tucked in the corner on the very top shelf before moving back over to the princess.

Sofia watched as Cedric opened the book as though he knew precisely what page he was looking for, no thumbing required. He reached between the withered pages and pulled out a solitary auburn hair which he held up in her view.

Cedric placed the book in Sofia's lap, displaying the worn out words he had so hastily scribbled in the corner many years ago. The had faded over time from repeated wear on the book and his own fingers tracing over the words but they were still legible. "I have been waiting for this day ever since that day."

Sofia looked up from the book to Cedric with a wide, curious gaze. "Have you known? All this time?"

"There was a time when I very nearly forgot." Cedric answered. "Thought I'd maybe imagined the little princess who had helped me that day. But I kept checking that book with the words I'd written and the hair in place to prove to myself that it wasn't my imagination. Over time your face faded from memory, though I never forgot you completely. When I first met you I thought that perhaps your name was just a simple coincidence but then you told me about the Amulet of Avalor sending you back in time to help Princess Charlotte and I realized it really had been you all along."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Sofia asked, tilting her head to the side.

"That would have been meddlesome of me." Cedric said with a smile. "At least one of us had to follow my advice."

Sofia blushed in embarrassment at having not adhered to Cedric's warning, though he didn't seem to be too terribly annoyed with her. "What happened after I left?"

"I apologized to Princess Matilda, begged for her forgiveness. I could tell that she was still angry with me but she accepted my apology and told me she was sorry as well. She said she would never tell anyone what had happened so long as I promised to never try to help the king again." Cedric gave a sad smile and shrugged. "It wasn't quite what I had hoped but we both stayed true to our word. I stopped trying to be of assistance and she never told anyone that I had nearly killed the king."

"I'm glad Aunt Tilly kept your secret. You were just trying to be helpful and you shouldn't have been faulted for that." Sofia spoke softly. "I used to think my Aunt Tilly was perfect, that she could never make mistakes and that she never struggled. When the amulet summoned me to help her I couldn't have imagined that she would need so much help. She was so far off from the woman I know today. She's really grown since then."

Cedric nodded in response. "Indeed she has. Thanks in part, I believe, to your influence."

"My influence?" Sofia said in surprise.

Cedric nodded once more. "Things would have been drastically different without your intervention. If you hadn't shown up King Roland would have likely died from my clumsy mistake. Thanks to you he went on to live for three more years before finally succumbing to the original illness. Your father was old enough to claim the throne by then and things went fairly swimmingly for the royal family afterward."

"I see." Sofia muttered. "And what about for you?"

Cedric stared down at the girl, hesitant about whether or not he was ready to say the words he had been practicing over and over in his mind since he'd realized she was the girl from his childhood. He was never one for such sentimental nonsense, though things had always been different with Sofia. "Princess, I feel that I should tell you... your words meant the world to me. What you said to me that day made me feel like perhaps I wasn't such a failure after all. Every bit of doubt I had after that was assuaged by the thought that a girl named Sofia, wherever she may be, believed in me."

Sofia smiled warmly up at her mentor before standing to throw her arms around his waist in a tight hug. "I still do, Mr. Cedric."

"I know you do, my dear." Cedric said, reaching down to pat the child's head. "And do you know what? I believe in you as well. I believe that you will have success in whatever it is you endeavor to do, so long as you work hard, keep trying your best and always stay true to yourself. Even if you're unsure along the way or even if you stumble, you'll find a way to work through it. Just believe in yourself, Sofia."

Sofia stared up at Cedric with adoration as he returned the words of advice she had given him. Though it had only been moments ago for her it had been many years for him and yet he still remembered precisely what she'd said. It was then that she realized her Aunt Tilly wasn't the only person she wanted to model her life after.

Cedric, for all his faults, was a fantastic person and she aspired to be just as much like him as she wanted to be like her aunt. Maybe he wasn't always pleasant and maybe he didn't handle bad situations with any amount of grace or dignity but he was determined and fierce when he needed to be. His moral compass often pointed in questionable directions but he was still a good man in spite of it all and Sofia couldn't help but feel he would serve as an equally good role model for her as well.

If one thing could be said about Sofia's relationships with her aunt and her mentor it was that she admired them both and held them in very high regard... even though they were both terribly flawed. These two imperfect people in her life were both so very important to her and they gave her a sense that she could still do great deeds of her own regardless of her mistakes or uncertainties because they too had done precisely that.

Perhaps they weren't the people she once thought they were. But, as it turned out, they were actually somehow better for it.