A Taste of the Holidays
Disclaimer: I do not own Sofia the First or any of the characters mentioned.
A/N: This story is dedicated to AquaTurquoise who helped me come up with the story idea. Lol
Sounds of the piano filled the air as Sofia came inside from playing in the snow with Clover. She took off her snow boots and sodden hat as she followed the sound. As she drew closer she detected the scent of sweets in the air as well. Smiling as she rounded a corner, Sofia came upon a sight that she thought she would never see in all her life.
Cedric was in the castle kitchen, wearing his good robe, with an apron over the top of it… baking. Glancing around she noticed Wormwood also had on a mini-apron and he did not look too pleased to be involved. Quietly, Sofia tip toed into the kitchen as Cedric broke an egg into the bowl and began to mix it.
"Just one more egg, Wormy!" Cedric said, merrily. Placing a hand over her mouth to stifle her giggles, Sofia watched as the unusually cheerful sorcerer added another egg to his batter while his rather irritated looking bird rolled his eyes.
In the corner of the room Sofia noticed an enchanted piano playing Christmas songs by itself. She never knew Cedric to be so into the holidays before. Wondering what had him so joyful and wanting to bake, she finally approached him about to speak up.
Reaching out slowly to touch his shoulder, Sofia asked in a concerned voice, "Cedric, are you alright?"
The bowl he'd been mixing his ingredients in went flying in the air as Cedric spun around and screamed dropping everything in fright. "Merlin's Mushrooms…" He mumbled dejectedly as he slumped to the floor covered in flour, eggs, butter, sugar, and spices.
With a slight chuckle, Wormwood spoke up and said, "He's lost his marbles. All day he's been cheerful and happy. Singing and wanting to bake. He even made me this ridiculous apron to match his!"
Sofia couldn't help but start giggling at the sight of Cedric on the floor covered in food. He looked up at her and scowled. "Stop laughing at me. This is my good robe. See what you've done!"
All this did was cause her to laugh even harder as she asked, "Why would you wear your good robe to bake in?"
Cedric took a handful of batter and while she was distracted he threw it at her, hitting her right in the middle of her forehead. When she stopped laughing to look at him, he smirked and began to laugh himself.
"Now that was funny." He said as Sofia gasped in shock.
Spying the eggs on the counter, Sofia grabbed one up and cracked it over Cedric's head. He stared at her as the goo slowly ran down his hair and face.
"THAT, Cedric, was funny." Sofia said with a big smile.
"You had better run little girl…" Cedric warned as he slowly began to get up from the floor. Sofia saw a bottle of oil on the counter and grabbed it, quickly emptying it on the floor on her way out of the kitchen.
Too slow to react to Sofia dumping the oil, Cedric slipped and fell with an inelegant splat on the kitchen floor, further covering his good robe in food and grime. Wormwood watched, shaking his head in disgust. "Kaw!" He squawked.
Slowly, Sofia glanced around the corner and saw Cedric lying on the floor without moving. Concern outweighed her fear so she began to walk in to check on him, careful of all the oil. She didn't want him to be hurt. Maybe he'd hit his head when he fell and was unconscious! Sofia's heart was beginning to pound as she approached him imagining all kinds of ways he could have gotten hurt because of her. His eyes were closed as she knelt down beside him.
"Cedric… are you okay?" She asked, her voice trembling slightly.
Suddenly, his eyes shot wide open, causing Sofia to scream and fall backwards into the slick oil and flour mess. Cedric sat up and began to laugh at her. "Well that was easy to get you back. All I had to do was open my eyes." He said.
They both sat on the floor, covered in oil and food looking at the mess around them while joyful Christmas music played on. Finally Sofia spoke up, "So, what were you baking? And why are you acting so strangely cheerful? It's kind of scary."
"I can't tell you!" Cedric almost shouted, defensively.
"Well, would you like some help? I love baking." Sofia offered, optimistically.
"No! I can do this myself." Cedric responded.
Sofia felt a little hurt by his blunt responses and thought maybe he was upset by her interrupting and messing up his baking, causing such a mess. She hung her head, her shoulders slumping. "I understand, I'm sorry about the mess Cedric. I'll clean it up and then leave you alone."
Realizing what she must be thinking Cedric quickly tried to set things straight, "No, no that's not it Sofia. I can clean it up with the flick of my wand. I'm not worried about the mess. It's just… it's well… I can't tell you." He tried to explain gently as he used his wand to clean up the mess in the kitchen.
"It's okay. I have things I need to do anyway. I'll see you later. Goodbye Cedric." Sofia called out as she left the kitchen. Cedric felt terrible. He knew Sofia felt sad and rejected. But he couldn't tell her he was baking his favorite holiday cookies to share with her! It was supposed to be a surprise! He would just need to hurry up and get them made correctly this time before anyone else interrupted him.
"Wormy, let's get this done before any more disasters happen. Okay… you break the eggs as I add the butter and sugar." Cedric instructed. Together Wormwood and Cedric began to re-make the cookies in the kitchen. This time Wormwood helped make the batter knowing how much it meant to Cedric and so he could get out of his silly outfit.
Once they were in the oven baking Cedric begun making hot cocoa from the secret recipe his mom had passed down to him. He knew Sofia would love it as well. Soon the timer went off for the oven and he took the cookies out, placing them on a plate and taking them into the room by the Christmas tree near the fireplace. He set down both cups of hot cocoa.
"Wormy! Come here!" He called out. Once his faithful friend landed, he instructed, "Go get Sofia for me, please."
"Kaw!" Wormwood squawked as he flew off through the castle to locate Sofia.
A few minutes later, Sofia walked into the room to see Cedric lounging in a chair by the fire waiting for her. He no longer wore the apron but was still wearing his good robe which she noticed was now clean.
"You needed me, Cedric?" Sofia asked as she approached him.
He stood up and gestured for her to take a seat in the opposite chair. "Yes, I baked some cookies. They are my favorite holiday cookies and I wanted to share them with you. Also I made us some hot cocoa. It's a secret recipe that has been handed down through the generations in my family."
Sofia looked at him in awe and smiled. "So that's why you wouldn't let me help you!"
"Yes. It's not that I didn't want your help or your company. It's that it was supposed to be a surprise." He explained, blushing slightly.
"Awwww, thank you Cedric." She responded, reaching over and touching his hand before picking up a cookie and tasting it. "These are delicious."
"You're welcome. I'm glad you like them. I make them every holiday season."
She took a sip of the hot cocoa and enjoyed the flavor of chocolate and cinnamon as well as a few other ingredients she wasn't able to name. It was the most delicious cup of hot cocoa she'd ever tasted. "Wow, Cedric. This is amazing." Sofia told him and she continued to drink the hot cocoa and eat her cookie.
"Thanks. I had a feeling you would like it." Cedric responded also enjoying his cookie and cocoa.
Eventually a comfortable silence took over as they stared into the fire, enjoying the tastes of the holiday season together. Between the cookies, hot cocoa and warmth from the fire Sofia was quickly becoming sleepy. Realizing she should probably go to bed before she falls asleep in the chair by the fireplace she stood up to wish Cedric good night. Rising out of his chair as well, he set his cup of cocoa down and stood beside Sofia in front of the fire place.
"Happy holidays, Cedric." Sofia said tenderly, embracing him in a warm hug.
"Yes, indeed. Happy holidays, Sofia." Cedric replied, returning the hug.