A Day in Dunwitty - a Sofia the First fanfic
A Day in Dunwitty
Note: this is a story set in the future during Sofia's young teenage years, and takes place a few months after "The Newest Princess".
Chapter One
It was a beautiful morning at Enchancia Castle, with the sun shining bright. In her room, 14-year-old Princess Lucinda was just waking up after a good night's sleep.
"Miss Lucinda?" a female voice asked. It was Violet, one of the castle chamber maids.
"Good Morning, Violet" Lucinda answered.
"Sleep well, Miss?" Violet asked.
"Very much so" Lucinda replied.
"Let's get you ready for the day, Miss" Violet said as she brought out one of Lucinda's gowns from Lucinda's walk in closet. "Any plans for the day?"
"Actually, Sofia and I will be taking the brooms into Dunwitty today. Each of us has business there, and then we'll be having dinner at Ruby's house." Lucinda answered.
"Sounds like a nice day, Miss" Violet remarked in a cheerful voice.
After breakfast, 14-year-old Sofia met Lucinda in the castle courtyard. The two mounted their brooms and flew off from Enchancia Castle. Soon, the two arrived in the village of Dunwitty and landed in the village square.
"So, we'll meet back here around four?" Sofia asked Lucinda.
"See you then, Sis" Lucinda answered with a smile.
Sofia and Lucinda then walked in different directions, with each having her own business to attend to.
Lucinda soon arrived at the house where she had lived before she lost her birth parents and was then adopted by King Roland and Queen Miranda. Lucinda took a few moments to look at the house, then she walked up the front stairs and knocked on the door. A woman wearing a witches' outfit, much like the one that Lucinda had worn when she had lived in the house, answered the door.
"Ah! Princess Lucinda! What a wonderful surprise!" the woman said as she greeted Lucinda. "Please, come in."
"Thank you, Mrs. Vanoor" Lucinda replied as she walked through the door. "How are you, your husband, and your daughter settling in?"
"Very nicely" Mrs. Vanoor answered. "It's a lovely home. Thank you for selling it to us."
"My pleasure" Lucinda said smiling. "And how are you settling into Dunwitty?"
"It's a nice village" Mrs. Vanoor replied. "The people here are so very nice, and they've made us feel right at home".
"That's nice to hear, Mrs. Vanoor" Lucinda commented.
At that point, a well dressed man walked into the room.
"Do we have a guest, Arabelle?" the man asked Mrs. Vanoor.
"Yes, Jerrick" Mrs. Vanoor answered. "It's Princess Lucinda come to see how we're settling in".
"Ah! Princess! It's nice to have you visit" Jerrick said to Lucinda.
"Nice to see you again, Mr. Vanoor" Lucinda responded.
Then, an 8-year-old girl, also wearing a witches' outfit, came into the room.
"Cayley, look who came to visit" Mrs. Vanoor said to the girl. "It's Princess Lucinda!"
"Welcome, Princess" Cayley said to Lucinda.
"Hello, Cayley" Lucinda replied. "Settling in okay?"
"Oh, yes!" Cayley answered. "And I've already made some friends here."
"Oh! That's wonderful, Cayley!" Lucinda responded.
"Cayley" Mr. Vanoor said in a gentle tone of voice. "How about you go out and play with your new friends?"
"Yes, Dad" Cayley said. "Nice seeing you, Princess Lucinda". Cayley then went out the front door of the house.
"Arabelle?" Mr. Vanoor asked Mrs. Vanoor. "Should we ask the Princess about what we were discussing earlier?"
Mrs. Vanoor nodded her head yes.
"Princess" Mr. Vanoor started. "Since I'm a warlock, and my wife is a witch, we are of course teaching our daughter how to use her magical abilities. However, we are also teaching her how to sometimes live without magic. We would like her to know what is it like to make friends, to have fun, to do the things that a regular little girl would do."
"I understand completely" Lucinda said. "As a witch myself, I'm a firm believer of balancing magic with a normal life, especially where children are involved".
"We were wondering, Princess?" Mrs. Vanoor started. "Are there any activities in Dunwitty in which Cayley could take part as any other girl could?"
"What does she like to do?" Lucinda asked.
"Cayley likes the outdoors very much" Mrs. Vanoor answered. "She also likes to learn new things. You should see her go through books - history, maps, even art. She also likes to build crafts with her own two hands, such as bird houses made out of sticks."
"I believe I know someplace where Cayley might fit it nicely" Lucinda smiled. "I think she would make a good Buttercup."
"Buttercup?" Mr. Vanoor asked.
"The Buttercups are a group of girls Cayley's age who, under the leadership of a woman, take nature walks, learn about various things, and make arts and crafts." Lucinda answered. "When I was Cayley's age, I was a Buttercup, and I enjoyed it very much."
"But would Cayley, being a young witch, be allowed in?" Mrs. Vanoor asked.
"Here is what happened with me" Lucinda started. "I wanted to be a Buttercup, so my birth parents and I saw Mrs. Hanshaw, the local troop leader. She was very nice and understanding, and when I told her I wanted to participate without using magic, that was good enough for her."
Lucinda then pulled out a small pen and small pad of paper. "I'm writing down Mrs. Hanshaw's address here in Dunwitty - she's still the local troop leader. Tell her what you told me, and I'm sure she'll let Cayley in. And please feel free to mention my name."
"Thank you, Princess" Mrs. Vanoor said as she took the information from Lucinda.
Chapter Two
Meanwhile, on the other side of the village, Sofia approached a white house with a nicely kept front lawn. Once at the house, Sofia stepped onto the porch and knocked on the door.
The door opened. "Good morning, Mr. Nigel!" Sofia said in a happy tone of voice.
"Ah! Princess Sofia!" Nigel said, happy to see the Princess. "Please, come in."
"Thank you".
Sofia and Nigel went into the house, then sat down in the front room.
"What may I do for you, Princess?" Nigel asked.
"Well" Sofia started. "Baileywick's birthday is comming up next week, and everybody at the castle wants to do something special for his birthday. And we were hoping you would like to get involved too."
"Count me in, Princess!" Nigel said with a smile on his face. "Anything for my dear brother Wicky!"
"Excellent!" Sofia beamed.
"So how is Wicky?" Nigel asked.
"Well, you know Baileywick" Sofia said. "Always making sure everything runs smooth at the castle. I sometimes wonder where he gets his energy from?"
"Always been like that, you know" Nigel replied while smiling.
Sofia nodded in agreement. "Anything special you would like to do for Baileywick this year, Mr. Nigel?"
"Funny you should mention that, Princess" Nigel added. I was going through some old recipes the other day when I came across a recipe for one of Wicky's favorite cakes - a blueberry angel food cake. Mom would make it every so often, and Wicky always enjoyed it!"
"Sounds delicious!" Sofia commented.
Nigel reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. "I made a copy of the recipe, Princess. I had a feeling it might come in handy."
"Thank you, Mr. Nigel" Sofia said as she took the recipe from Nigel. "This will make an excellent birthday cake!".
"Glad I could help, Princess". Nigel responded.
"You know, Mr. Nigel" Sofia started. "We've known each other for a long time now. Don't you think it's time you just started calling me Sofia?"
"But, Princess" Nigel started. "That would be disrespectful ..."
Sofia put her hand on Nigel's hand. "We're friends. And I've never stood on formality. Besides, I've come to think of you as family, as I do Baileywick."
A tear started forming in the corner of one of Nigel's eyes. "That's one of the nicest things anybody has ever said to me, Princess ... I mean, Sofia."
Sofia smiled.
"And you must now just start calling me Nigel, Sofia" Nigel added.
"Deal!" Sofia responded.
"I was just about to make some peppermint tea" Nigel commented. "Would you like some, Sofia?"
"That would be nice" Sofia answered. "Thank you, Nigel".
Chapter Three
It was early afternoon in Dunwitty. Sofia was walking down a street when she saw something she had not seen before - a tall blue box made out of wood. Sofia walked a little closer to get a better look. The box had two doors, with each door having six very small windows. Looking up at the top of the box, Sofia noticed there was some writing on the box.
"Police ... Box?" Sofia thought to herself. "What's a Police Box?"
At that point, Lucinda walked up to Sofia.
"Hello, Sofia!" Lucinda cheerfully said.
"Hello, Lucinda" Sofia answered. "Have you seen this?" Sofia asked as she pointed out the blue box.
"Ah!" Lucinda replied. "The Doctor's back!"
"The ... Doctor?" Sofia asked.
"He visits Enchancia every so often" Lucinda started. "He's a Time Lord, and that's his vessel - the Tardis."
"It dosen't look big enough to be a vessel" Sofia observed.
"Would you believe it's bigger on the inside than it is on the outside?" Lucinda asked Sofia.
"Your kidding, Lucinda? Right?" Sofia questioned.
"Nope" Lucinda replied with a smile.
At that point, a tall skinny man and a red haired woman approached.
"Ah!" the man said as he noticed Sofia and Lucinda. "Princesses".
"Who?" the red haired woman asked.
"Oh! My manners, Pond" the man started. "These are their Royal Highnesses, Princesses Lucinda and Sofia of Enchancia. The Princesses are also the Official Royal Sorceresses of Enchancia". The man then looked at Sofia and Lucinda. "And this is my traveling companion, Amy Pond. And I'm The Doctor, although you, Lucinda, already knew that."
"Nice to see you again, Doctor" Lucinda responded. "It's been what? Two years?"
"More or less" The Doctor replied. "Had to drop by to get the Tardis recharged. All the magical energy that exists in Enchancia makes a great power source. And I see your now a member of the royal family, Lucinda".
"Yes" Lucinda answered as she looked at Sofia."Sofia, The Doctor. Doctor, my sister Sofia".
"Nice to meet you, Sofia" The Doctor said.
"Same here" Sofia replied.
"Amy and I were just about to leave" The Doctor said. "How would you two like to take a trip?"
"You'll love this, Sofia!" Lucinda said.
"We do have to be at dinner at Ruby's house in a few hours" Sofia remarked.
"No problem!" Lucinda responded. "We can take a trip and come back just a few moments after we left!"
"That's absolutely right!" The Doctor said to Sofia.
"I've done this once before, Sofia" Lucinda added. "This is something you'll treasure forever".
"In that case, let's go for it!" Sofia agreed.
The Doctor and Amy walked into the Tardis, followed by Lucinda and Sofia.
"Oh, my!" Sofia said as she walked into the Tardis. "It is bigger on the inside ..." Everybody inside the Tardis smiled.
The Tardis then vanished only to reappear a few moments later.
"It was a wonderful few weeks" Sofia said as she and Lucinda walked out of The Tardis. "Thank you, Doctor".
"Anytime, Princesses" The Doctor replied from inside the Tardis. The Tardis then vanished.
"That was enjoyable" Sofia commented to Lucinda. "And I had no idea there were inhabited worlds out there in space".
"I enjoyed it too" Lucinda replied.
"What do you want to do now?" Sofia asked Lucinda.
"Well, we have a few hours before we have dinner at Ruby's house" Lucinda started. "How about we go to the village square?"
"There's always something going on there this time of day" Sofia answered. "Sounds good."
Sofia and Lucinda then walked down the street toward the Dunwitty village square.
Chapter Four
It was now late afternoon as Sofia and Lucinda walked up to Ruby's house. The two then went up to the front porch and knocked on the door. Ruby's mother, Mrs. Hanshaw, answered the door.
"Sofia, Lucinda" Mrs. Hanshaw greeted. "Please, come in".
Sofia and Lucinda walked into the front room where Ruby and Jade where waiting. The four friends greeted each other as Mrs. Hanshaw looked on.
"Dinner will be in a few minutes" Mrs. Hanshaw announced.
Sofia, Lucinda, Ruby, and Jade helped to bring the food to the dining room table, then the four plus Mrs. Hanshaw sat down. As dinner began, Mrs. Hanshaw looked at the four teen girls talking to each other. "It seems like just yesterday they were just children" Mrs. Hanshaw thought. "Now look at them! They've grown into four fine young women".
Mrs. Hanshaw then entered the conversation. "Oh, Lucinda?"
"Yes, Mrs. Hanshaw" Lucinda answered.
"Cayley and her parents came to see me today" Mrs. Hanshaw said. "And you'll be happy to know that Cayley is now a Buttercup effective immediately".
Lucinda smiled.
"It's going to be a pleasure having her" Mrs. Hanshaw continued. "She has the makings of a great Buttercup."
Sofia, Lucinda, Ruby, and Jade all smiled at this point, with each remembering their time in Mrs. Hanshaw's Buttercup troop when they were Cayley's age.
"Her first Buttercup experience will be this weekend when we hike through the Peppertree Forest" Mrs. Hanshaw announced.
At that point, Sofia made a suggestion. "Why not stop off at the castle before you get started?"
"We wouldn't want to impose, Sofia ..." Mrs. Hanshaw started to say.
"It would be no problem", Sofia continued. "We would love to have all of you, and I know Mom and Dad and Baileywick would be happy to see you again."
"Well then" Mrs. Hanshaw answered. "It's settled! Thank you, Sofia".
With that, Mrs. Hanshaw, Sofia, Lucinda, Ruby, and Jade enjoyed a great meal and had fun talking to each other.
By early evening, the dinner had ended. Sofia and Lucinda said their goodbyes, then mounted their brooms and flew back to Enchancia Castle.
"That was a great day!" Lucinda remarked.
"It was indeed!" Sofia replied.
"Doing anything before you go to bed?" Lucinda asked.
"Actually, I want to stop by the workshop before going to bed" Sofia answered.
"Mind if I tag along?" Lucinda asked.
"Please" Sofia answered.
The two walked into the castle and wound at up Cedric's old chambers, now Sofia and Lucinda's workshop. Sofia walked over to the bookshelf and pulled out a book called "Book for the Future".
Sofia then took the book over to a table and sat down. Lucinda also sat down as Sofia opened the book, looked for the next blank page, and pulled out a pen.
"What are you going to write, Sofia?" Lucinda asked.
"When we traveled with The Doctor, I discovered something" Sofia started. "He was banished, or will be banished, from a future kingdom because of who he is. I may not be able to stop that, but I can do something to help him here in Enchancia".
Lucinda smiled as Sofia started writing. Sofia wrote the following in the book:
The Doctor: At some point you may encounter a man called The Doctor. You will know him because he travels in a blue wooden box.
The Doctor has been, and always will be, a friend to Enchancia. He is always welcomed here.
Sofia waited a few moments for the ink to dry, then got up, closed the book, and put it back on the bookshelf. Lucinda got up as well.
"Think I'll go back to my room and go to bed" Sofia said.
"Think I'll go to my room and do the same" Lucinda commented. "Good night, Sofia".
"Good night, Lucinda" Sofia replied.
The two then walked out of the workshop for the night.
Chapter Five
It was now Saturday morning on the outskirts of Peppertree Forest. Mrs. Hanshaw and her Buttercup troop were starting to get ready for their hike when Sofia and Lucinda walked up.
"Good morning, Princesses" Mrs. Hanshaw greeted. "What do we owe this pleasure?"
"Just thought we would give you a send off on your hike" Sofia answered.
"As former Buttercups, we couldn't resist ..." Lucinda added.
"That's very nice of you" Mrs. Hanshaw said to Sofia and Lucinda. Mrs. Hanshaw then turned to the group of Buttercups that were assembled on the outskirts of Peppertree Forest. "Okay girls, prepare to move out!".
The six girls there, including Cayley, formed a line and then started marching behind Mrs. Hanshaw. As they marched, they started singing the Buttercup song.
"Buttercups Buttercups make some room! Buttercups Buttercups watch us bloom!" the girls started. "Look at me I'm a Buttercup! I may be young but I'm growin' up! Make some room and watch us bloom! Look at me hike through the trees! I learn to do new things with ease! Here I go so watch me grow! ..."
As the troop disappeared down the trail, Sofia and Lucinda smiled as they remembered their days as Buttercups.
Two days later, Sofia and Lucinda were in a large room inside of Enchancia Castle along with King Roland, Queen Miranda, a teenage Princess Amber, and a teenage Prince James.
James was standing near the doorway, keeping a lookout down the hall. "Here they come!" James said to the others in the room.
"Quick!" King Roland said. "Everybody behind the curtain".
Just as everybody got behind the curtain, Violet and Baileywick entered the room.
"Hurry, Mr. Baileywick" Violet urged.
"What's wrong?" Baileywick asked.
Suddently, everybody behind the curtain came out and shouted "Happy Birthday, Baileywick!"
Baileywick was taken completely off guard. "Your Highnesses" Baileywick started. "Your shouldn't have".
"It's your birthday, Baileywick" Roland said. "You deserve this".
"... and we have some surprises for you" Miranda added and she motioned for the curtain to be opened. As the curtain opened, Baileywick noticed a large blueberry angel food cake and some wrapped gifts.
"Happy Birthday, Baileywick" Sofia said as she walked up. "And ... we have one more thing that makes this party complete".
"Happy Birthday, Wicky!" Baileywick heard from behind him.
"Nigel?" Baileywick responded. "What a wonderful surprise! This is all such a wonderful surprise".
"Anything for our Baileywick" Sofia smiled as she walked Baileywick over to Nigel as Roland, Miranda, Amber, James, and Lucinda looked on smiling.
"And after the party, your getting the day off" Roland said to Baileywick.
"But, your Highness ..." Baileywick started.
"No buts about it, Baileywick" Roland smiled. "You do an outstanding job all year round, and you deserve some free time".
"Very well, your Highness" Baileywick smiled.
Everybody had a great time at the party. Afterward, Baileywick and Nigel spent the day together doing their favorite things: picking apples, having ice cream from the Dunwitty ice cream stand, and going fishing. It was, truly, a fine day.