Hidden Treasure
Summary: Sofia instructs Baileywick and Cedric to team up to find some hidden treasure that she and James have buried. Can they get along well enough to actually find the treasure?
A/N: Thanks to agentgiggles27, this story is now a possibility! It was her idea to do a "treasure hunt" of sorts, so I ran with it. Thanks, girl! :)
"You want us to do what?" Cedric asked dryly as he stood with his arms folded, watching his apprentice closely as she explained the situation to him and Baileywick.
"I want you and Baileywick to work together to find the hidden treasure," she said brightly, a smile gracing her face as she finished.
"Right," the sorcerer said sarcastically, tapping his wand to his chin. "And I'm supposed to team up with Lord Worry-Wart over here?"
"Hey," Baileywick shot back with a perturbed glance, "I wouldn't be calling people names, Cedric. You have your own little quirks too, such as becoming a stuttering bag of nerves any time King Roland requests your presence."
"That's different," Cedric conceded, lowering his wand. "He terrifies me."
Baileywick actually laughed at the mini confession. "King Roland isn't frightening. Now I heard about this other king once in history—"
"Um, guys?" Sofia asked, waving her hands to get her friends' attention. She smiled when they looked back at her. "James and I hid the treasure well, but we're nice enough to supply you with a map. But you'll have to work together to find it."
"And why exactly should we go along with this?" Cedric asked, eyeing Sofia curiously.
She grinned. "Because you love me and want me to be happy and not sad?" she attempted sweetly.
"So there's nothing in it for us?" he concluded, smirking.
The princess gasped in feigned surprise. "Mr. Cedric, isn't it reward enough to make your apprentice happy by participating in her treasure hunt?"
"Not necessarily… You could have picked a better partner for me."
Baileywick rolled his eyes. "Fine. I'll send word to Slickwell and let him work with you."
"No, thanks. If I'm going to work with a brown nosing steward, it might as well be one I've known long enough to realize you won't break into song and dance about stealing someone else's job." Seeing the confused look on the other man's face, he shrugged. "It's a long story."
"Okay, here you go." Sofia handed each of them their own maps, since she knew they'd end up arguing if one had the map and the other didn't. "I'll see you two later."
"Oh, no, you don't," Cedric told her, grasping her shoulder gently before she turned to leave. "This was your idea, little one, and if we're going to humor you by solving this little treasure hunt of yours, you'd better tag along."
The princess smiled and shrugged as Cedric released her shoulder. "I guess I can do that. But I'm not giving you any hints."
"Not even one?" Baileywick inquired with a raised eyebrow.
She shook her head. "That would be like cheating!"
"But…" The silver-haired steward looked around the ballroom forlornly. "There's still so much to do…"
"I've got that covered." Sofia pointed toward James, who was rolling around the room in the wheeled shoes Cedric had made him several months ago. He appeared to have talked several servants into wearing the shoes again also, and they were zooming back and forth, cleaning to their hearts' content.
"I guess that solves that problem," Cedric stated with a smirk. "Who knew Prince James would come up with such a useful idea?"
The trio left the castle and met on the well-traveled road that led to the castle.
Baileywick observed his map and pushed his spectacles up to the bridge of his nose. "All right, let's solve this so we can get back to work."
"We nothing," Cedric informed him with a small grin. "Believe it or not, today was supposed to be my day off." He eyed Sofia, who smiled sheepishly. "Until someone came into my room and woke me up quite unceremoniously."
"You've never jumped on your bed before?" she asked sweetly, giggling.
"Not when someone else is in it, Sofia…" He rolled his eyes before looking at his own map. "Right, so I believe we should go this way." He pointed to the right.
"But my map says left," Baileywick responded in confusion. He twisted the map upside down and chuckled lightly. "…Unless, of course, I turn it the correct way."
Cedric shook his head and led the other two onward.
It took some time and a lot of effort on Cedric's and Baileywick's part to stay the course and maintain determination, but they finally found the spot where Sofia's and James's maps had led.
"What are we doing in your village, Princess Sofia?" Baileywick asked in confusion as he looked around, trying to determine where the treasure was actually supposed to be buried.
"You'll see," she sang with a bright smile. "Just follow the map."
Cedric pointed toward an inconspicuous wooden box, which was resting against a tree. "I believe we may have found what we were looking for…" He walked toward the box and knelt down, opening the lid and peering inside. He smiled a bit and looked back toward Baileywick. "You'll want to see this as well."
Intrigued, the older man walked to the box and looked inside. He also smiled.
Sofia tilted her head as the other two were busy staring into the box. "Do you like them?" she asked, worried that they weren't saying anything.
Cedric picked up a leather bound book that had in bright purple and red letters, "Mr. Cedric and Me." He traced the picture on the front of the book, which appeared to be a hand-drawn version of himself and Sofia, clearly casting spells.
Baileywick also extracted his book and sat against the tree, observing the cover to his own leather-bound book, which was entitled "Baileywick and Me." His front cover held a drawing of himself with a pocket watch, which seemed to be rather exaggerated in order to portray its importance in his life. He chuckled and flipped through the pages, reading what Sofia had to say and admiring her drawings and colorful illustrations.
After waiting a few minutes—slightly impatiently since she was curious about their thoughts—Sofia sighed in relief when both of the castle workers closed their books at nearly the same time. "Well…?"
Baileywick stood, followed by Cedric. "This is why everyone loves you so much, Princess Sofia," the steward said kindly, smiling at her. "You truly are a very generous young lady, and I thank you so much for this gift."
She giggled and hurried over, hugging the usually anti-hugging Baileywick, smiling as he returned the hug. "I'm glad you liked it, Baileywick." She released him and looked back at her mentor and closest friend. "Mr. Cedric…?"
Cedric smiled at her and chuckled. "I never thought you'd be able to top the wand case you got me for Wassailia… I was mistaken. Thank you, Sofia. Thank you very much."
She smiled brightly and ran toward her mentor, jumping up and hugging him around the neck, causing him to have to catch her so they wouldn't topple over. "I'm so happy to hear you say that!"
He laughed and gently patted her back. "Never let anyone say that our Princess Sofia isn't thoughtful and giving." Cedric lowered her to the ground again. "Though I must admit, I'm a bit confused."
Sofia blinked and tilted her head. "About what?"
"You said you and Prince James were the ones who did the treasure hunt setup." Seeing her nod, he shrugged. "So why were the gifts just from you?"
"Oh, that." She laughed. "He agreed to help me so it would get you two out of the castle—Mr. Cedric for needing fresh air and to have a little fun, which you never seem to get to have—so he said—and Baileywick for, eh, escaping a potential nervous breakdown with the constant pressure of such a structured schedule." She held up one hand as Baileywick looked as if he were about to protest. "Which is why he wanted to help you out: so you could have some free time for a change!"
"Well, I suppose that's his gift then," Baileywick agreed, smiling. "And as much fun as I have had, Princess, I think it's time I get back to the castle."
"And I needed to bask in the glory of having my day off," Cedric chimed in with a happy smile.
"Oh, I see," Sofia sighed with her head beginning to lower.
Sensing her misinterpretation of their words, Cedric playfully knocked her tiara askew and grinned. "Last one back to the workshop has to break the news to Wormy about his new upcoming spring wardrobe."
Sofia giggled, readjusting her tiara, and began chasing her mentor back to the castle.
Baileywick laughed softly as he watched them go, and he held his book a little closer before frowning in confusion. "A raven has a wardrobe?" He shook his head. "I don't even want to know."
The end!
A/N: Hope you all liked this short story! :) I threw in the last part about Wormwood's wardrobe, because in a lot of stories he ends up wearing something—a scarf, an apron, a hat, etc. Seriously, a raven as awesome as Wormy NEEDS his own wardrobe! I'm just saying. ;) Well, wish me luck. I'm giving midterms this week, and next week is Christmas! Here's hoping this week goes quickly, and next week goes slowly. Haha. Look for another short story by midweek, and an update for Timey Wimey very soon. :) Have a good week! ~AquaTurquoise