Happy Campers

Summary: Cedric and Baileywick volunteer (sort of) to take the royal children on an overnight camping trip while Roland and Miranda have to deal with a difficult visiting king. *Requested by allyrwhitney*

Disclaimer: I don't own anything!

A/N: Do you like fluff? Do you like bonding time? Do you like camping? Then this is the story for you! 😉 Enjoy!

*Story*

"Not again," Roland complained at breakfast while he and his family were eating. He was looking over a notice that Baileywick had just handed him; when he finished, he sighed heavily and looked toward the awaiting steward. "Today?"

"I'm afraid so, Your Majesty," the older man responded sorrowfully.

"What's going on, Daddy?" Amber asked curiously as she finished her pancakes before dabbing her mouth with her napkin.

"Rollie?" Miranda gazed curiously toward her flustered husband.

He passed the notice back to Baileywick before addressing the issue with his family. "King Cassius is coming for a visit today…despite my having scheduled a meeting with him next week. This is the third time he's pulled a stunt like this." He rubbed his temples with a sigh. "Apparently, he made the 'executive decision' to move our meeting to today since he has a ball scheduled for next week." He rolled his eyes. "Even better—he'll be staying overnight rather than traveling back home so late. I guess that means we'll have to postpone our camping trip."

Sofia smiled in understanding. "It's okay, Dad. We understand."

"No, it's not okay," Amber said sadly, folding her arms. "Tonight is the meteor shower." She frowned. "I guess this man has no respect for astronomy."

"None whatsoever," Roland verified with a shrug. "I'm sorry, Amber. I wish I could take you; trust me."

"Mom?" James tried, looking toward Miranda.

"Sorry, guys. I'll be with your father." She smiled sweetly at Roland, squeezing his hand and earning a small smile from him. "He needs me."

Baileywick cleared his throat gently, getting their attention. "If I may, Your Majesties," he began calmly, "there is someone you can ask… Someone who has had experience taking the children to certain events before." He smiled, knowing exactly what he was doing. Yet…he couldn't find it in himself to feel guilty at all.

Roland's eyes lit up. "You mean…"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Oh, Baileywick! Oh, thank you for volunteering!" Roland smiled widely.

"Not at all, Your—wait, what?" The silver-haired steward's eyes widened. "No, no, no, not me! I meant Cedric!"

"Oh, that's a great idea," Miranda acknowledged, smiling as the older man seemed to relax a bit. "Cedric can help you, Baileywick."

The agitated look on Baileywick's face went relatively unnoticed as he mentally chastised himself. 'From now on, keep your mouth closed… No suggestions, no taking liberties, no nothing…'

Sofia giggled as she turned to the steward. "It'll be fun, Baileywick! You can watch the meteor shower with us."

"And we'll have some good food," James enthused excitedly.

"And a state-of-the-art telescope," Amber bragged happily.

"Not to mention the magical help from Sofia," her twin added with a grin, receiving a scoff from his sister.

"It sounds…fascinating," Baileywick managed before clearing his throat. "If you'll excuse me then, I need to find Violet to inform her of this devastation—I mean, development." He bowed politely before exiting the room.

"I think he meant to volunteer Cedric," Miranda realized with a laugh.

"Oh, well." Roland shrugged. "With both of them along, the camping trip will be safe, fun, and entertaining at the same time." He smiled toward the kids. "Go easy on them, huh?"

Amber nodded. "We will, Daddy. Hmm, maybe Cedric will be more interested in the meteor shower than Baileywick."

"He will change his mind when he actually sees it," Sofia pointed out with a smile. "Meteor showers are really interesting, even if you're not a frequent observer."

"I think you mean space-obsessed." James laughed as Amber folded her arms. "Just kidding, Amber."

Cedric yawned as he finished dressing for the day, producing his typical yellow bow and then combing through his hair. He slid on his robe, tied it, and then headed to his workshop. He sat down at his work table and grabbed his wand, tapping the wooden surface and creating a splendid-looking breakfast: eggs over easy, toast with boysenberry jam, two pancakes, sausage, and grits. To drink he had a steaming cup of cocoa, which was something of a guilty pleasure every now and again. He'd no sooner produced a fork and begun digging in when his door suddenly opened, and Baileywick walked inside, frowning.

Cedric raised one eyebrow at the other worker. "Ever heard of knocking?" he remarked before beginning to eat, regardless of his current company.

"Overdoing it on the bread intake, I see," the steward returned with his usual snark when dealing with the younger sorcerer. It was something of a game at this point: who could irritate the other more? So far, he was winning: Baileywick—19; Cedric—6. And that was just this week!

"Is there a reason you're here?" Cedric conjured some fruit toppings for his pancakes. "I'm rather busy, as you can see."

"Well, you'd better make yourself un-busy, because you and I have to take the children camping today."

Cedric stabbed his pancakes and glared up at the steward. "What did you say? Did you volunteer us?"

"Of course not!" He heard the sigh and shrugged. "I technically volunteered you—" A gasp and then a growl. Oh, so he was mad about this… …Oh, well. "And King Roland believed I was speaking of myself for whatever reason, so I tried to clarify… And then he and Queen Miranda both commanded that you and I will be taking them camping. So, you have an hour to prepare."

"Hold on a minute!" The sorcerer used his wand to seal the door shut before folding his arms as Baileywick turned back to him, his own arms folded and an unamused look on his face. "You can't just go around volunteering people for things like that, Baileywick. I'm a very busy man."

"And I'm not? I run an entire castle. You make magical unicorns and cause stagnant things to float. I think I'm far busier than you."

"It's not my fault your obsession with cleanliness and order led you to becoming a steward." He twirled his wand in one hand. "Regardless, you should always consult me. Granted, today would have been a bit of a lighter day anyway, but sometimes I'm immensely busy fulfilling orders for the king."

"I guess today is just your lucky day then." Baileywick smirked as Cedric glared at him. "Now kindly unlock the door. I have to pack…for the camping trip that I got us into."

Cedric scoffed and unsealed the door, allowing the other man to exit. "And knock next time!" Using the wand once more, he shut the door behind the other employee. "It's always something…" Sighing, he returned to his breakfast, pondering on the upcoming, albeit unforeseen, trip. "This should be interesting…"

Within the hour, the three royal children, royal sorcerer, and castle steward were outside on the steps, their overnight packs on their backs or dangling from their arms. It was a bit later in the morning with the sun nearing a higher point in the sky, warming the earth below.

"Are we all here?" Baileywick inquired as he did a headcount. He smirked toward Cedric, who had his overnight bag draped over his right shoulder while he was reading a book that was clasped in his left hand. "Cedric, could you not be a reclusive bookworm while we're on this overnight trip?"

"Only if you attempt to be less haughty and even mildly entertaining." He returned the smirk after glancing up from his book, feeling a small sense of victory when he realized the other man seemed a bit annoyed with his comment. "No, I suppose that may be asking a little too much, eh?"

"Now, now, boys," Amber urged playfully as she took each of their arms. "This is a camping trip, not a debate. We're going to watch the meteor shower, we're going to eat good food, we're going to spend some time together, and we're not going to make fun of each other." She looked toward her twin, who was grinning. "Are we?"

James's grin immediately fell from his face as he blinked. "Why are you telling me that?"

Sofia laughed. "Come on, you guys. We have a good walk ahead of us."

They proceeded to a spot that Amber deemed reasonably magnificent (her words) for not only camping purposes, but also for stargazing and viewing the meteor shower.

"Didn't we just have one of these a few months ago?" James asked curiously as he side-stepped a flower with a resting butterfly on it.

"Yes," Amber responded, "but there's nothing wrong with seeing another one. The Minotaur Meteor Shower was amazing too."

"I can't believe I missed that," Cedric lamented as he put his book into his overnight bag. "Cordelia had me convinced it was going to be the following week, and lo and behold…nope! Nothing." He rolled his eyes. "I will never count on her for date accuracy again."

"What time is this meteor shower supposed to start, Amber?" Sofia looked toward her sister expectantly.

"Before midnight. So we have a lot of time to kill."

"How much farther is it to this 'perfect spot' of yours anyway?" James inquired.

"Not much farther. What would you say, Baileywick? About twenty minutes?"

The steward nodded in response. "Sounds reasonable, based on the map."

"He would have a map," Cedric muttered, smirking as his apprentice giggled. "Wouldn't want us to make a turn at the medium boulder instead of the large one."

"Cedric, is there something you'd like to share with the rest of the class?" Baileywick asked pointedly, shooting his fellow worker a decidedly irked look.

"No, Professor," came the sarcastic response, a satisfied grin on the sorcerer's face.

"Are you sure you guys aren't related?" James laughed. "You act like me and Amber: constantly bickering."

"We don't argue as much as they do," Amber pointed out. "You two do act like brothers, though."

"It's the price we pay for working around each other such a long time," Cedric sighed, rolling his eyes. "You get around anyone long enough, and you're going to start getting on each other's nerves."

The prince laughed. "I found that out the hard way when we went on a trip to see Grand Mum. I even started getting on Sofia's nerves, and she asked me in the kindest way possible to shut up."

Sofia blushed as she gasped, "James!"

"What did she say?" Baileywick laughed.

The boy cleared his throat as he imitated his sister. "'James, don't take this the wrong way, because you're my brother and I love you, but if you don't stop singing and making those irritating cannon noises, I'm going to ask the driver to make a detour, and we'll be one sibling short on this trip.'"

Cedric snickered as Sofia lowered her head in embarrassment. He grinned at his apprentice. "Did you really say that?"

"We were cooped up for hours together, Mr. Cedric!" she explained with a heavy sigh. "You'd probably say something similar if it was you and Ms. Cordelia."

"I'd say worse," he admitted. "I'd say, 'Cordy, either stop talking, or I'm going to use a silencing spell.' Actually, with her, that probably wouldn't work. She'd be so irritated that she couldn't talk that she would start finding new and creative ways to annoy me."

"She would," Amber agreed, laughing. "She really would."

Those twenty minutes passed by quicker than the group figured they would, and they finally made it to Amber's ideal spot: a section of land right at the edge of the forest, with a beautiful overview of the lesser-seen regions of Enchancia. The late morning sunlight touched the earth in a gentle manner, warming the ground and the air. The flowers and trees were all in bloom, and the wildlife was bustling around them.

They placed their overnight bags against a tree and set to work setting up the large tent Baileywick had secured. It was light blue and rather well-made, with the Enchancian emblem etched onto the entrance panel. Cedric used his wand to create five plush sleeping bags before guiding all of their supplies and bags into the tent for safekeeping.

"We need to get some firewood," James suggested as he eyed the forest excitedly. "I'll take Sofia, and we'll gather some."

"I'll unpack my stargazing gear for tonight." Amber turned to the sorcerer. "Cedric, can you help me?"

He blinked in surprise before nodding. "Certainly, Princess Amber."

"And I'll tidy up around the campsite," Baileywick volunteered.

"Oh, great," Cedric remarked as James and Sofia left to gather the firewood. "He's going to nature-proof nature. Well done, Baileywick."

The older man narrowed his eyes at the sorcerer. "Don't you have a magic spell to cast or something?"

Grinning, Cedric waved his wand emphatically as he followed Amber. "As a matter of fact, I do." With that, he used his wand to retrieve Amber's stargazing supplies, setting them up in record time, much to the young princess's delight. The sorcerer smirked at the steward.

Baileywick rolled his eyes. "Showoff."

The hours passed by quickly since they all made themselves rather busy. Sofia and James had secured the firewood, which was now set up for a fire. Amber fussed over her astronomy equipment, trying to make sure everything was perfect for that evening. Baileywick tried to make the inside of the tent as organized and neat as possible before arranging the sleeping bags to allow for comfortable space per person. And Cedric? Cedric was given one job.

"Can you make some food for us, Mr. Cedric?" Sofia asked as she held her hands to her stomach. "I'm kind of hungry."

"Me too," James agreed, his own stomach growling rather loudly. He laughed, blushing. "Oops."

"I could go for a nice meal," Amber added as she walked over to the group.

Baileywick called from inside the tent, "Just make sure whatever you conjure that it isn't burned!"

Cedric glared in the tent's general direction before rolling his eyes. "Very well. I'm sure I can manage this. Now, the question is, what shall we eat?" He grinned as an idea came to him. "Well, we're out here to enjoy ourselves, right? I say let's go all out." He magically lit the fire on the firewood before producing several floating trays a bit farther away from the roaring fire for safety. He waved the wand once, causing plates to drop into the awaiting hands. And lastly, he conjured a juice and water system, complete with goblets for them to capture their chosen drink. "Lunch is served."

While the siblings were excitedly hurrying to the platters, taking their share (different meats, vegetables, breads, and the like), Baileywick crawled from the tent and brushed off his suit as he stood next to Cedric.

"It would appear they're happy with whatever you created to eat," he said cordially, watching in amusement as James wolfed down a roll with entirely too much butter (at least in the steward's opinion).

"Magical cooking," Cedric sighed in satisfaction. "One of the most ingenious methods my fore-sorcerers ever came up with."

"Fore-sorcerers… That's a thing now, huh?" Baileywick grinned as Cedric scoffed. "Well, let's see how good of a 'cook' you and your fore-sorcerers are."

Within a few minutes, everyone had a plate. There was little conversation going on, because most were busy enjoying the food. Baileywick would carefully observe something every now and again, trying to figure out if 'magical cooking' was safe or just as efficient as normal cooking. Eventually, he caved and ate…and enjoyed. He may have picked on Cedric for a lot of things, but this magical skill was one he could actually get behind.

The hours passed by, filled with short hikes to look around, a few rounds of magic with Cedric and Sofia, general conversation, more eating, and some rather imaginative stories from James. Before they new it, it was nighttime, and growing ever closer to midnight.

"It should be starting any minute!" Amber gushed, a large smile on her face. "Ooh, I can't wait!"

"Baileywick gets that excited when he finds a matching pair of socks that haven't been stretched beyond recognition," Cedric advised the group, grinning when Baileywick glared at him, visible only via the firelight. "That was payback for your little comment about my being a bookworm. Now we're even."

"Heh, not even close." He grinned. "Our banter is far too entertaining to relinquish just yet. Besides, I have many more quips for you."

"Well, they're gonna have to wait," James told them as he pointed up at the sky. "Look!"

Suddenly, it was as if the sky erupted with shooting balls of light. Amber squealed in excitement and clung to her telescope, previewing the forms. "Wow, it's beautiful! Sofia, look!" She turned the lens to her sister, who looked through it and gasped in awe. "Really neat, isn't it?"

"It's amazing, Amber. Just like the Minotaur Meteor Shower we saw last year."

"I want to see!" James hurried over to take his turn.

Cedric and Baileywick stood, simply watching the show.

"Events like this make you wonder, don't they, Cedric?" Baileywick murmured as he kept his gaze on the meteors. He smiled thoughtfully as he heard Cedric's questioning tone as he turned to him. "There's a lot about our world that we just don't see often, and even more that we still don't know."

"Why are you getting all philosophical now?" Cedric laughed, shaking his head. "Stars seem to make people really pensive sometimes." He folded his arms as he continued watching the meteor shower. "…But I suppose you have a point…"

Baileywick chuckled, not saying anything else.

The shower lasted for a while, leaving the group in an awed and respectful silence as they admired the sheer beauty of nature doing what it did best. However, all good things must come to an end, and the moment the kids began yawning and rubbing at their eyes, the two temporary guardians realized it was time to call it a night.

"All right," Cedric started as he placed a hand on Sofia's back and guided her toward the tent, "to bed with you."

"I'm not tired, Mr. Cedric," Sofia argued weakly as another yawn overtook her. She heard him laughing and sighed. "Fine… I guess I am a little bit tired…"

"I think it's time we all got some sleep." Baileywick held the tent opening aside as the three siblings ambled into the roomy tent. Each one found one of the delightfully fluffy sleeping bags and slid inside, the warmth of the fabric a pleasant surprise. "Cedric, can you douse the fire?"

Cedric used his wand yet again to diminish the fire, at the very least to a point where it could still offer a bit of light and warmth if necessary. After clearing the site of all the dishes and such, he returned to the tent, scrutinizing the space. "I'm not sure we're all going to fit."

The bags in the tent were situated accordingly: two lay vertically side-by-side, and the other three were horizontally placed directly to the right of the dual bags. Sofia was in a sleeping bag to the back of the tent. Amber was next to her, and James was beside her at the front.

"Of course we are," Baileywick countered with a huff. "I made sure to verify the distance between each bag. It was perfectly even, with more than enough room for all of us."

"See, this is where you and I differ, Baileywick." He slid his wand into his robe. "You may not mind a cramped environment with a bunch of sleeping snorers, but I'd rather not."

"We don't snore," James laughed. "Well, Amber does when she has a cold, but she's not sick."

The blonde girl rolled her eyes from inside her sleeping bag. "Thanks for that, James."

"Come on, Mr. Cedric," Sofia called sleepily as she yawned. She reached over and patted the sleeping bag lying perpendicularly to hers. "You can sleep right here, and Baileywick can take the other one."

"Oh, he couldn't do that, Princess Sofia," Baileywick joked. "Cedric prefers not to be in a 'cramped environment' with too many people. He'll probably just have to sleep outside."

The auburn-haired girl laughed tiredly as Cedric shot the steward another unpleasant look before ignoring anymore taunts and adjusting the sleeping bag next to the three royal kids.

Cedric slipped into the bag and buttoned himself in, relishing in the comfort of it. He smiled before realizing that, based on the way they were situated in the tent, Sofia's snickering face was right next to his. He smirked. "What's so funny?"

"You look like a caterpillar."

"Clever, my dear. Very clever." He shrugged, made a bit difficult by his arms being cocooned in the fabric. "Perhaps I'll sprout wings and turn into a butterfly."

"Now there's an idea for show-and-tell," James snickered from his side of the tent.

After he was satisfied that everything was adjusted for the evening, Baileywick clambered onto his own sleeping bag before covering up with it and removing his spectacles, sleep overtaking him easily as he called out tiredly, "Goodnight. We leave as soon as everyone's awake."

The twins drifted off soon after, their breathing more even and peaceful.

"Mr. Cedric?" Sofia asked with another yawn.

"Hmm?" he responded, close to dozing himself.

"…Do you think there are space-animals on those meteors?" Her hazy blue eyes searched his sleepy brown ones, a curious smile on her face.

"…What?"

She giggled. "Like… Maybe those meteors are little fast-moving homes for some creatures. Like space bunnies."

Cedric blinked a few times before reaching out and gently patting her head affectionately. "Sofia, go to sleep."

She smiled in return and nodded, sleep finally overtaking her.

Cedric sighed and pulled the blanket of the sleeping bag closer to him. "Space bunnies… Indeed. Bunnies could never survive that." He shook his head, a thoughtful frown on his face. "…Space turtles on the other hand…yes." He soon fell asleep himself, never realizing how absurd the train of thought was.

The next morning, the group awoke after sunrise and ate breakfast (again, courtesy of Cedric) before packing up and heading back to the castle. Upon entering, Cedric magically transported all their individual overnight bags and other equipment into the castle, advising some of the staff where each one should go. They were soon greeted by a frazzled-looking Roland.

"How did it go?" he asked, a rather prominent twitch to his right eye and his hands slightly shaky as he clasped them behind his back.

"Dad?" James asked in concern. "Your eyeball is freaking me out. Are you okay?"

"I will be once King Cassius goes home; he's a stressful guest to have. He's taking his precious time eating his breakfast and chatting with your mother about mathematical solutions to the weather."

"Eww," the boy remarked, a look of disgust on his face. "Let's go rescue her."

The princesses agreed, thanked Cedric and Baileywick for the trip, and hurried off to see Miranda.

"The evening went well, Your Majesty," Baileywick declared with his normal calm demeanor intact. "No problems or incidents. And the meteor shower was delightful."

"Excellent," the king answered with a smile. "Thanks for your help—both of you. I wouldn't have been able to get away if I tried. And…I did try, but he caught me."

"How, Your Majesty?" Cedric wondered, curious.

"I guess it's a little too obvious, excusing myself to check on a pie…that we had previously been eating." He rolled his eyes. "I can't come up with something like that on the spot. But at least he'll be gone after breakfast."

"Ah, Roland!" a stout man with a grayed receding hairline called as he stepped into the corridor with the other three. He grinned. "There you are! Your children came in and started dragging your wife away, so I took the hint."

"You're leaving, King Cassius?" Roland asked in a feigned disappointed manner. "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. Baileywick, could you help get his things together?"

"Actually, Roland," King Cassius corrected with a toothy grin, his eyes sparkling, "I think it's best if I stay another night. I heard there's a carnival nearby, and I've always wanted to attend one. My wife Mabel doesn't let me out much." He chuckled heartily before turning around. "All right, breakfast round two! Bring it on!"

Roland turned to look at his two workers, the twitch in his eye a little stronger. "…Cedric, I have a favor to ask."

Cedric smiled apologetically. "I don't think even magic could handle King Cassius, Your Majesty…"

"Ugh… Very well. I'll let you two get back to work. Thank you again for taking care of the children." He sighed heavily. "Off to deal with Cassius the Clueless…" He trudged away.

"Well, then," Baileywick started with a mischievous grin toward his fellow worker, "try not to blow up anything today, hmm?"

Cedric smirked in return. "And you try not to over-dust every nook and cranny." He folded his arms. "By the way, you're six minutes behind schedule."

"Don't be ridiculous." The steward scoffed as he withdrew his pocket watch from his jacket. "I—whoa! I'm six minutes behind schedule!" He glared at the snickering sorcerer. "Stop gloating. I have work to do. Good day, Cedric." With that, he hurried off, giving orders left and right to each worker he came across.

Cedric rolled his eyes and began his trek back to his tower, happy to have some peace and quiet again.

The end