To the Moon and Back

by AquaTurquoise

Cedric wants to do something special for his parents' anniversary, and who better to help than his very own apprentice?

To the Moon and Back

Summary: Cedric wants to do something special for his parents' anniversary, and who better to help than his very own apprentice?

Disclaimer: I'm not the owner of "Sofia the First." ;)

A/N: CedricAmber has been asking me to make this story for months, so I finally obliged. Lol. If you've seen "Joyful Noise," you may be familiar with the song that has the same title as this story. Great song (who doesn't love Dolly Parton?) and a sweet message. PS—there are references to my story "Ivories" in here, so I just wanted to give you a heads up. ;) Enjoy!

"How about this one?" Sofia asked as she held up a piece of parchment with fancy writing on it. "It's an anniversary card."

Cedric sighed and shook his head. "No… No, I want it to be special. I mean, forty years is quite an accomplishment."

The princess smiled and nodded. "I agree! So were they teenagers when they married?"

He smirked at the simple question before rolling his eyes. "No wonder my mother loves you so much…" He took the parchment from her while she giggled. "They were a bit older than that."

"Oh! We could make them an anniversary cake! How about a magical cake with confetti and flowers?"

Cedric raised an eyebrow at her. "Do you have any idea how difficult it is to clean up confetti?"

The princess laughed as she leaned onto the table, her head in her hands thoughtfully. "But Mr. Cedric, you have a magic wand. Shouldn't cleaning be easy?"

"If it were, do you think I would have hired you as my apprentice in the first place?" He smiled when the young girl giggled again. Okay, so maybe the workshop dilapidation wasn't the sole reason for her hiring a few years ago, but she didn't need to know that. "Anyway, I'm still just kind of lost as to what to do for them…" He placed his hand to his chin. "What did your parents do for their anniversary?"

"They spent the day together… But your parents see each other every day! We need to add to it…" Sofia thought for a few minutes before brightening up. "Why don't you write them a song and play it on the piano?"

Cedric became a bit uncomfortable at her mention of his hidden talent. Sure, he could play the piano, but he didn't really like flaunting it or anything, even though his mother was the one to teach him. Besides, writing a song? "I don't know how to write music, Sofia," he admitted with a shrug. "I just play it."

"I could write it for you." She pulled out another piece of parchment paper. "And we can use magic to create the keys and notes." She smiled up at him. "How does that sound?"

He chuckled and shrugged. "It sounds like I don't have much of a choice."

The girl grinned and picked up a quill. "All right… Let's do this."

It took a few hours, with Sofia penning the words as Cedric offered some recommendations and background to assist her quest. Then when the two friends transferred to the piano, they ended up gathering a bit of an audience: Baileywick and Amber wanted to hear the song, and soon Violet and a few others had gathered around. Needless to say, Cedric's shyness with his musical gift faded a bit as he received some positive feedback.

Soon enough, the song was complete and ready to go.

"Do your parents own a piano?" Sofia suddenly asked later that evening as she slid the song into a special sleeve.

"Sort of," he responded with an amused smile. "Actually there wasn't enough room for the grand piano my mother loves so much when they moved into Mystic Meadows, so they keep it magically stored save for special occasions."

"Well, I think this qualifies," the princess remarked with a smile. "Well, here you go." She handed him the music. "I'll meet you here tomorrow morning so we can go to your parents' house together."

He nodded. "Sounds like a plan." He smiled as she hugged him happily, and he offered one in return. Cedric watched as Sofia happily skipped out of the room, pulling the door behind her. "Thanks, Sofia…"

The next morning was rather calm and beautiful outside, the sun peaking delicately through the trees while little squirrels and bunnies scampered across the grass. Mystic Meadows looked absolutely delightful that morning.

"Oh, Goody!"

Goodwin chuckled upon hearing his wife's squealing voice from the living room. "She must've found her present," he muttered as he lifted a cup of cocoa to his lips.

Winifred hummed happily as she bounced into the kitchen, her eyes sparkling as she cuddled her new bracelet. "Goodwin, what a thoughtful gift!"

The older sorcerer smiled gently as he turned to the happy woman. "I'm glad you like it, dear." He then appeared slightly miffed. "And where's my present exactly?"

She smirked. "Your present is knowing that when you wake up in the morning, you still have covers draped over you and you aren't lying on the floor. All signs of a happy marriage." She smiled sweetly when her husband raised an eyebrow at her, baffled by this information. "Or I take it you'd rather have a tangible gift?"

"Well…that is to say…you don't have to—"

"Oh, relax, Goody," Winifred laughed as she pulled a wrapped present from within one of the cabinets. She handed it to him. "Happy anniversary."

Goodwin happily opened his present, a smile gracing his features when he extracted a new robe, obviously handmade. "Oh, Winifred, it's delightful."

"After all the teasing you did to Cedric about his 'good robe,' I figured you could use a taste of your own medicine." She put her hands to her hips. "You've had that same robe for twenty years. I think it's time for a new one anyway."

"But I love this robe!" Goodwin defended, clutching the fabric of the dark maroon robe. "It's comfy and has a good temperature."

The woman couldn't help laughing. "Good temperature? Only you, Goody…"

He grinned. "I love it, dear. Thank you." He shed his old robe and slid on the new one: the same color but a bit brighter. He glanced toward the door as a knock fell upon it. "I wonder who that could be."

Winifred smiled as she walked over, pulling the door open. Her smile grew. "Cedric!" She moved forward, hugging her son happily.

Cedric hugged his mother back without any tension or hesitation for once. He chuckled. "Good morning, Mummy, and happy anniversary."

"Oh, Ceddy-kins, I'm so happy to see you!" She gasped. "Princess Sofia travelled with you?"

Sofia smiled at the brown-haired woman. "Hi, Mrs. Winifred."

"Oh, dear girl, it's always wonderful to see you. Come, come! We were just about to eat breakfast."

So the quartet spent the morning together, chatting with each other and celebrating the forty years that the two magical parents of Cedric had been together.

"So," Cedric began somewhat awkwardly, "where's…" He looked down toward Sofia before whispering, "…You know who?"

Goodwin rolled his eyes. "Your sister? Goodness knows."

Sofia blinked up at him. "Your sister doesn't visit you all very often?"

"You could say that," he responded passively. "It's just as well. She's a bit of a pain."

The princess giggled. "Mr. Cedric!" She gasped. "Oh, Mr. Cedric, you should let your parents see the gift you got them!"

"Yes, dear," Winifred agreed with a large smile. "Princess Sofia keeps eyeing the package, and so I'm only going to assume that it's quite an amazing gift."

The young girl nodded happily. "Oh, it is, Mrs. Winifred. I think you're really going to like it!"

Cedric became self-conscious all of a sudden. "Well, it's… Ahem. It's a bit of a different gift. In fact, Sofia helped me create it, and I couldn't have done it without her." He smiled gratefully at the girl, who giggled in return. "Very well. Here you are." He handed the package to Winifred.

The woman gently pulled the fabric from the gift and blinked at the framed music—song—before her. She scanned the words before beckoning Goodwin to do the same. As her husband read, she looked over to Cedric. "You two made this yourselves?"

The sorcerer and his apprentice nodded simultaneously.

"What a thoughtful gift," Goodwin finally stated, clearly touched by the gesture. He smiled toward Cedric. "I suppose all those years your mother had you training with the piano finally paid off?"

"We're about to find out," the younger sorcerer declared as he removed his gloves. "Mother, where is the piano?"

A few minutes later, the princess and Cedric's parents stood nearby, watching as Cedric traced his fingers uncertainly over the keys.

Cedric paused his motions when he felt a hand fall over his left one in a reassuring way. He smiled toward Sofia, who had sat down next to him on the bench. Encouraged, he began to play…and sing.

From the first simple glance

To the first magic dance

A world of enchantment

Created romance

And now all these years later

You're still here together

Although you've had struggles

And stormy weather

The sun shines brighter

The world has a song

For Goodwin and Winifred

Together you belong

Time cannot halt

A love so true

Keep up the good work

This is my wish for you

That night, Cedric sat in his workshop, staring at the copy of his parents' song he'd written. He chuckled softly to himself before glancing toward Wormwood. "Forty years, Wormy," he said softly, his fingers gently caressing the raven's feathers.

Wormwood sighed contentedly as he listened to his master's musings.

"It's a long time, hmm? But I guess if one finds the right person, then…well, I suppose anything is possible." He ceased his movements and then smirked at the bird. "So when are you going to get a lady raven and settle down already?"

Wormwood's contented visage faded into an annoyed stare. "I wouldn't be talking, Mr. Gray-Bangs."

"You're not getting any younger, Wormy! And I want grand-ravens."

The raven huffed and flew off to his perch, completely done with the conversation.

Cedric grinned before rolling his eyes. "Night, Wormy." He gently slid the song copy into a book on his bookshelf before yawning and dousing the light in the workshop for the evening.

The end

A/N: Lol! I love messing with Wormwood. :D It's so much fun. By the way, I actually did write that song and even played/recorded it just to see what it would sound like. I put the song on my website (see my bio for the link). It's nowhere near perfect, but I just like Goodwin's and Winifred's relationship so much that I wanted to pay homage to them. :) And I hope that makes up for the long wait, CedricAmber! :D I'm still working on the second chapter to "Forever Young," and I'm even working on details for "Shadow," so there'll be quite a few updates coming soon. Just be patient with me. ;) Till next time, and thank you all for your reviews/support! ~AquaTurquoise