Author's note: Just another gem that I dug up from my pre-hiatus phone archives. Enjoy.
It's another manga inspired story, though I'm reluctant to say which manga because frankly I'm embarrassed to admit I read it, and especially that I enjoyed it.
'Sofia has always been such a lonely child'
That was something she overheard her mother say on that fateful day when they first went to the palace to fit the King for his slippers. It pained her to hear the words spoken aloud, no matter how true they may be. The only surviving child of a single mother, Sofia often was left to tend to herself while Miranda worked hard to put food on the table and pay rent for their one bedroom home. Sometimes, this even included being left behind for days at a time, despite her young age, while her mother made longer distance trips. She knew that it was all for her sake, so she never bothered to complain, and just became very good at taking care of herself.
She wholeheartedly believed that becoming a princess, gaining a dad and two new siblings, living in a palace full of people, these things would signal the end of that solitary lifestyle. Unfortunately, that was not the case. It started that first night, at dinner, when she mistakenly called her mother's new husband 'dad', only to be reprimanded and told that she must refer to him as 'Your Highness'. Next came the incident at school when her step-siblings conspired to make her the laughingstock of their class.
Fed up, she hurried toward the palace, still wet and freezing from her incident with the enchanted swing set. She was just approaching the doors when she spotted him, the Royal Sorcerer she'd met briefly the day before. He was hiding behind a pillar, cigarette in hand. Amber and James seemed oblivious to both of them as they passed, entering the palace and leaving Sofia and this man to stare at each other in awkward silence. The Sorcerer held a finger to his lips and Sofia nodded that she understood before hurrying inside.
She searched the palace but could find no sign of her mother or the King. What she did find was an elderly Steward, the same one who had rushed her off to dinner the night before, who informed her that everyone was 'otherwise engaged' and she should find some way to entertain herself until dinner. She stood in the corridor, watching him rush off to somewhere else in the palace and wondering what she was meant to do with herself in this strange new place, when something bumped her hard from behind, knocking her down onto the rug.
"You again?" A deep, angry voice demanded. Sofia didn't want to look up, didn't want anyone to see the tears welling up or her flaming red cheeks, so she stayed there, sprawled out on the floor. "Haven't I told you to pay attention?" An undignified sniffle escaped, and from the corner of her blurred vision, she could see black trousers kneel down beside her, then his face came into view as he cocked his head to check on her.
"I'm... I'm sorry. I'm sorry." She chanted, clenching her eyes shut and praying that he wouldn't yell at her the way the Steward had for delaying dinner, or the fairies had for dripping water through the school halls. "I won't do it again, so ple-" Fingers just barely brushed her curls from her eyes before jerking away.
"Hey, you're not hurt. Stand up." His words were simple, but there was a hint of gentleness to his tone, so finally Sofia gathered the courage to peek up at the man. He certainly didn't look like he was angry with her, but for some reason the way he stared at her just unleashed the flood of emotions she'd been holding in ever since she'd moved to the palace. "I'll make you a deal. You stop your blubbering, and I'll let you see a real magician's workshop." He offered, shifting uncomfortably beside her.
"I-Is that really... okay?" She hiccoughed. He rose back to his feet, and Sofia suddenly found herself terrified that he would change his mind and leave her there.
"Course it is. It's my workshop, I can take whomever I'd like in there." He insisted, stretching a gloved hand towards her. "Come on, not even the King himself has seen it." His tone changed again, slightly teasing but in a manner not at all unpleasant. Sofia giggled and placed her hand in his palm, letting him practically pull her upright. He broke the contact the instant she was standing again, and gestured for her to follow him.
Silently they walked until they came to a twisting spiral staircase, which led to a landing with a large wooden door. Here he paused, making a show of retrieving his keys from the hinged toe of an old gargoyle statue.
"This is where the magic happens." He announced, throwing open the door and leading her to the middle of a room filled with overflowing bookshelves and cluttered surfaces. It was dark and messy, but Sofia quickly decided that his tower was the very best part of the entire palace.
A large Raven cried out from the rafters, nearly scaring Sofia into running right back down the stairs, but the Sorcerer instructed her to pay him no mind, chastising the bird for being so loud before properly introducing them to each other. After that, he showed her around, even taking the time to read her a page from a tome on his lectern that caught her keen eye.
"Okay, tour's over. I have lots of work to do, you know." He declared abruptly, herding her towards the door just as Sofia was beginning to feel like she could stay in his little corner of Enchancia forever. "I know how hard it can be adjusting to life in the palace, so if you ever need me, my door is always-" He slammed the door in her face before even finishing the sentence. From inside, Sofia heard a clatter, followed by a stream of profanity.
...
Cedric sat sulking in the spot he'd fallen when his robe caught, stubbornly refusing to open the door and free himself until he was sure the new princess was long gone. With nothing else to do, he finally had time to stop and consider his actions leading up to this point. He wasn't lying when he told the little girl that the king had never been inside his workshop. He was a very private man, and the only time anyone came inside was when Baileywick stuck his nose in to complain about noise.
Why did I even bring her here? Images of their encounter in the hallway flashed through his head, answering his question for him. She looked so very small and lost. She sounded absolutely terrified of him as she sputtered out an apology for the collision that was just as much his fault for being in such a hurry to get back to his little sanctuary that he forgot to watch where he was going. Just then, she reminded him of... It's fine. She's gone now, and everything's back to normal. He reassured himself impatiently.
For the rest of the night, things really did go back to normal, and he was left alone to concentrate on his 'work', which mostly consisted of moping around the tower and trying not to picture the way that little brat had smiled so warmly at him during the tour or wonder why, when she spouted off some sickly sweet nonsense her mother had taught her, he suddenly became desperate to be rid of the girl, practically shoving her out of the workshop.
"It was just annoying, that's all there is to it. Acting irritatingly charming like that. And in the middle of my evil lair, no less." He complained out loud, prompting his familiar to let out a loud caw from somewhere up in the rafters. "Oh, do shut up!" Cedric shouted, trying but failing to zap the bird with his wand. Lousy budgie, what would you even know about it.