Disclaimer: I do not own Sofia The First.
A/N: So this is my original Older Cedfia story I've been mentioning. I actually came up with this back in August of last year. And although I already had it planned out. I still wanted to wait until season four finished before starting to post it, so it could at least be up to date as possible. Although season four ended up being the last season anyhow, lol.
Anyway just a quick little thing on this story. As I've been reading some of the other fics on this sight. I noticed that a lot of the elements I was planning on using for this story, had already been done before. At first when I found out I honestly just considered scrapping the whole thing. But I decided not to, because this story is very important to me, being the first STF one I came up with.
So there is going to be a lot of concepts that have been done before in here. I won't tell you what, to avoid spoilers. But I hope you can forgive that. And what I lack in originality, hopefully I can make up for in quality. So that it's at least and enjoyable ride. If not an entirely exciting one.
Also just a quick warning, this story does have lots of OCs. Just so you're aware. Also, special thanks to MarionetteJ2X. Who drew the cover image. :). Anyway, enough rambling. Please enjoy.
By the way Sofia is 18 in this story.
—-
It certainly would have been nice if that second crash had merely been an echo of the first. But to Cedric's dismay the glistening shards at his feet and the vapor of blue gas rising from the ground were undeniable proof that he had once again dropped one of his potions. Ah! and he had been so careful too, concentrating with all his might as he added just the right amount of frogs tears to the bottle. He had enjoyed a brief moment of success when the sound of breaking glass and a short gasp from the floor below had startled him so much that he responded exactly in kind.
He let out a sigh of accustomed discontent as he surveyed the mess below him. Thankfully there was nothing in the potion that would cause harm to himself or his workshop. He instead turned his attention to the cause for his distraction. Down on the main portion of his workroom, a young woman was stepping gingerly away from a steaming puddle.
Quickly he slid down his ladder, and pulled out his wand banishing the hazard with a spell.
"I'm sorry Mr. Cedric" Sofia apologized.
"It's alright " he assured her. Well, that wasn't entirely true. After all valuable ingredients had been wasted, not to mention the potential damage it could have caused to his workshop floor. But honestly those were concerns his past self was more likely to agonize over. "More importantly though," he began, giving her a once with his eyes, "You're not hurt are you?"
"No, I'm alright" she answered, briefly examining herself and turning about once as if to insure him that she was indeed fine.
"Good" he sighed relieved.
"I guess we'll have to start the potion over again, huh?" Sofia asked, with a bit of dismay
"I'm afraid so" Cedric confirmed with a sympathetic frown.
That was the way it went with potions. If you muddled up the ingredients, or spilt it such as in this case. You had to start the whole process over again.
The princess grimaced slightly as she stretched a bit, letting out a heavy sigh. "Looks like I haven't been much help today."
"Nonesense Sofia, you've always been a great help in my workshop" he assured her. "Besides, it's a simple enough potion to start again. Here, I'll get the snake skin over here while you get the butterfly dust up top."
Working quickly the two soon gathered all the ingredients for the potion. "There, every thing we need" he declared proudly. Sofia smiled and nodded before bringing her hand to her mouth in an attempt to keep a yawn from escaping.
Cedric frowned, he had also noticed Sofia rubbing her eyes throughout the day. Could this be the reason for her uncharacteristic clumsiness?
"Sofia... " he began cautiously. "I know you said you wanted to help me with my work today. But maybe it would be better if rested instead..."
"No, no! " she protested eagerly, "I'm alright I just have a lot on my mind!" She then failed to stifle another yawn. "And well, I guess I am a little tired..." she relented "But here! Let me at least make the potion I spilled earlier."
"Alright..." he conceded softly.
Sofia quickly made her way to the spell book and repeated the steps she had done earlier. Not wanting to interfere when she was so determined Cedric stepped out of her way and let her proceed. He watched her with increasing admiration as she skillfully prepared the potion. For the briefest moment he seemed go into a trance at the sight of her graceful arms dancing as it seemed while she added each ingredient to the vial. Having finished, she turned around and graced him with a beautiful smile.
And then just as quickly the spell broke, and he was in reality again...
"I'll go to my room and rest now." Sofia announced.
"Yes, yes princess, you do that" Cedric answered enthusiastically, showing no signs of his previous enchantment with her, "I'll see you again some other time."
She gave a short nod in response, "See you" she said.
With that Sofia went out the door and left Cedric alone once again in his workshop. He proceeded to redo the other potion. Mixing the ingredients he let out a sigh, discontented that the princess was no longer there with him. Of course, he didn't want her to push herself. But he had grown rather accustomed to her company.
About a few years ago Sofia had taken to assisting him in his workshop on occasion. It started when she had asked the sorcerer to help tutor her friends Desmond and Zandar. And although the man agreed to do so, he often found that after helping the boys, that he had little time left in the day to do his own work.
Of course the man was no stranger to late nights and he simply decided to bear with it. But Sofia would have none of it. As soon as she found out, the altruistic girl immediately set about assisting him. He tried to dissuade her at first knowing she already had a lot on her plate, but she was insistent. Finally they came upon an agreement that she could help so long as she made sure doing so didn't interfere with her other responsibilities.
So that was how it began. And although the prince's had long since ceased learning under Cedric's tutelage. The princess still kept her habit of helping him whenever circumstances allowed. Something that had become increasingly common after her graduation. Of course she still had her full time duties as both a Protector and Story-Keeper, but those tended to be rather arbitrary. Sometimes she found her schedule seemingly endlessly booked. While other times she could go weeks with nothing in particular happening.
So it was on her off days that she took the time to catch up with her family and friends. Which included the Royal Sorcerer, much to his appreciation.
Cedric continued his work, the sounds of bubbling potions intermingled with the occasional puff of smoke or clanging of glasses was his only company in the silence. He worked on contentedly for a while before his thoughts brought him once again to Sofia.
His relationship with the princess had improved immensely over the years. Especially now that it was based on honesty and genuine care. Well, actually it had always been that way, at least on Sofia's part. He on the other hand still remembered with bitterness the days when he only sought to steal her amulet, overthrow her father, and take over the kingdom. Once he almost succeeded, choosing his own evil dreams over their friendship.
Even then, though, she had forgiven him. If he had been the man he was before, he may have considered her a naive fool, seeking to take advantage of her kindness at the next given opportunity. But that wasn't the case. His heart had been softened and changed by the sweet princess, and his repentance was genuine. Sofia not only forgave him, but she also plead his case before the king and assured him his place as Enchancia's Royal Sorcerer.
And if that wasn't enough she had also helped to restore the long forgotten positive relationships he had once shared with his sister and King Roland ll. Gone were the days when he was seen as only 'Cedric the Bungler'. His magic which once suffered severe bouts of impotency as a result of his nervousness before the King improved rapidly. This was probably aided by the fact that now when he made a mistake Roland was more liable to take Sofia's lead and give Cedric the benefit of the doubt. And since his success in freeing Sofia from her amulet, Roland now proudly announced him to others as 'Cedric The Great'.
Of course Sofia had always thought he was a great Sorcerer, and although he got along quite well with Roland now. He found he still preferred the princess friendship above all others. An almost amusing irony considering how at one point he had found her unbearably annoying. Perhaps because she was the first person, in a long time, to show him genuine care and kindness.
Cedric came out of his musings, in order to examine the potion he had been working on. Holding the vial in front of his face to be sure it was the right consistency and color. He smiled in satisfaction, it was just about ready for the final ingredients.
An insistent knocking caught him off guard, and with a yelp the bottle slipped from his fingers. Scrambling desperately he managed to dive and save it just before it had a tragic meeting with the floor of his workshop. "Merlin's Mushrooms!" He exasperated wiping his brow with his free hand in relief.
Sofia, who had let herself in as she was wont to do, set something down on a table before running over to help him up. "Are you alright, Mr. Cedric?!" she asked grabbing his arm.
"Yes, yes I'm fine" he assured her standing up. "and so is the potion!" He said smiling proudly.
She chuckled in amusement, having witnessed his feat of heroism. "Good job, Mr. Cedric. You're the best."
"Yes I am...I Oh! wait, Why are you here? Shouldn't you be at supper?" Cedric asked having grasped the abnormality of the situation.
"Oh, well, the thing is..." she explained. "I thought you and I could have supper here in the workshop."
Cedric stared at her baffled. "You want to have supper here...with me?" he asked for confirmation.
"Yes!" she answered "...I mean... I thought maybe I could spend the time helping you with your alchemy. Considering it's my fault your potions got messed up earlier."
"Oh don't worry about that." He waved her off distractedly, still shocked at her sudden invitation. Though Sofia occasionally lingered with him a little past both supper and curfew, she had never before opted to just stay with him instead of joining her family. Speaking of which...
"But won't your family miss you downstairs though?" He asked.
"It's alright, I already asked my mom and she said it was a great idea. And look!" Sofia gestured to a large platter of assorted sandwiches and cakes she had set on his desk on her way in. "Chef Andre even made these for us! He usually makes them for Gwen, because they're easy to eat while she's working on her gizmos."
Cedric stared at her dubiously, honestly he couldn't fathom why Miranda would think Sofia having dinner in his workshop instead of with them was a 'great idea'. His eyes traveled to the platter of goodies, beckoning enticingly at his desk. Come to think of it, he hadn't eaten yet today. Oftentimes he became so caught up in his work that the desire for food, drink, and even sleep were cast by the wayside. But now that his attention was on it, he realized he actually was quite hungry. Still, he thought as his eyes rested once again on Sofia, it still felt like such an odd request. He scrutinized her, trying to maintain a composure of aloofness to the idea. Her eyes took on the gentlest of a pleading look, and with that his defense fell.
"Alright," he conceded "That's fine with me."
"Yay!" Sofia responded, her face lighting up. Cedric simply smiled back, he had long ago lost any drive to refuse her requests. Indeed, it seemed she had him wrapped around her finger.
Sofia's exuberance suddenly turned into concern as she looked behind him. "Is your potion supposed to be doing that?" He turned in a panic to see pillar of green smoke coming out of the vial.
"Poseidon's Pumpkins!" he shouted, rushing over.
Thankfully they were able to salvage the potion. And true to her word, the princess went about helping him finish the rest of his potions. Though Cedric insisted they wait until after they had finished their work before eating. In order to avoid getting any crumbs in their brew.
Cedric now only had a batch of healing potions to make today. They had also successfully concocted brews for resting, crop growing, and other things that were just generally good to have on hand. The sorcerer had noticed his supply was getting low, so he had set this day aside for the purpose of restocking everything.
He finished quickly with Sofia's help, and the two were left with plenty of time to enjoy their dinner. It was a pleasant experience, to just chat casually whilst they ate. Though Sofia had brought tea and snacks up to his workshop before, it had been awhile since they had the luxury of just enjoying each other's company.
Having finished their meal the two began placing the potions in their designated places in Cedric's workshop. Putting the last bottle away, Cedric stepped back smiling. Pleased with their work, as well as the fact that he would be able to go to bed at a decent hour that night.
"Mr. Cedric. What kind of potion is this?"
The sorcerer looked over curiously to see the princess holding a glass vial of glowing crystal blue liquid. "That's not one that we made today." he observed, approaching her.
"I...I know...I was just curious is all." She explained, handing the bottle to him.
"Hmm, well I suppose I could show you how it works" he grinned. "Hold still."
Sofia obeyed his instructions. Wincing only slightly in surprise as he placed a single drop of the magic liquid onto her head. Immediately a cloud of lavender smoke spewed forth and hovered in the air above them. Presently the cloud began to morph, displaying various shapes. Which although not greatly detailed, we're still discernible. Images of flying unicorns, wee sprites, fairies, rompkins, dragons and other magical creatures danced before them. Smoke figures of a rabbit and flying horse joined the revelry.
"What is all this?" She asked, in awe as she watched the morphing images above her.
"This is 'Heart's Truth" Cedric explained, "a potion that reveals what is in the heart of an individual. The things that are most important to them. " They continued to watch on as the cloud took on the appearance of the royal family, as well as that of Sofia's friends. Cedric couldn't suppress a small smile at an image that was clearly meant to be him, mingled there among them.
"It's beautiful... " Sofia sighed gazing upward.
Cedric smiled as he looked on at the images himself. "Well, that's to be expected Princess, since it did come from you " he explained, "the potion also reveals the nature of a person. It makes sense that the pictures would be beautiful because it reveals your exceptional goodness "
The scene before them soon ceased and the air before them cleared once more. Cedric placed a stopper on the bottle, "Still, " he thought aloud "It is a rather impractical potion. Especially when one takes into account the amount of time needed to make it."
"I think it's wonderful!" Sofia countered, "To be able to see all the things that resonate with my family and friends, the things they care about the most. Even if it was only a little, I would be able to understand them better. "
"You would say that. " he smiled, mildly amused by Sofia's ability to see the good in any situation. Taking the potion, he returned it to it's home on his shelf.
"I wonder what kind pictures you're heart would show, Mr. Cedric..." she suggested.
Cedric froze, his back turned towards her. The corners of his lips turned down slightly. A dull pain filled his chest at her words. See what was inside of his heart? His nature? No, no, he rather she didn't...
"It's rather late." he said dully his back still facing her. "We'd better wrap things up before Baileywick comes looking for you. "
"Oh...alright " she answered softly.
The two silently worked alongside one another tidying up his workshop for the night. A habit they had developed on Sofia's insistence. The process caused Cedric to forget about his previous concern, and he soon bid the young woman an amiable goodnight. His focus turning for a moment to his open spell book.
"Cedric?" Sofia said quietly.
He stiffened slightly, surprised that she had suddenly dropped the prefix she had used fondly for his name since her childhood. Looking up he saw her standing in front of him, her eyes downcast and her fingers twiddling.
"Yes..?" he asked cautiously. Her demeanor had taken a drastic change. Gone was the effervescent and confident young woman he had become acquainted with over the years. Now she bore more of a resemblance to the timid unsure little girl she was in days gone by.
"There's...something I want to tell you..." she said still averting her gaze.
"Alright..." he said gently, urging her to continue.
"I...I...That is..." she seemed to be struggling to find the words. "Do you remember Prince Hugo!?" She suddenly blurted out.
Cedric flinched at her sudden question. Searching his memory though he seemed to have a vague recollection of a Hugo that Sofia had mentioned to him. Though he had never met him, himself.
"I think so" he said folding his arms and looking up as if trying to remember better. "Wasn't he one you said you did flying derby and enchanted ice dancing with during 'Royal Prep'?"
Sofia nodded in confirmation. "To be honest when I was younger, I actually had a little bit of a crush on him." She told him with a gentle smile, her eyes searching the floor, "I haven't seen him for some time though, and as I've gotten older I've actually started to...to" it was back to the uncharacteristic stuttering.
Cedric blinked, trying to figure where she was going with this. All of a sudden realization dawned on him. Sofia must still have feelings for this Prince Hugo.
"You want to see him again?" he asked her.
"Huh?" Sofia looked up, startled "Well, yes..."
"Hmm, well maybe you could write him a letter. " he suggested, trying to be helpful.
"Oh..I guess...I could do that " Sofia said, a tinge of disappointment in her voice. Cedric frowned slightly at her tone.
"I'm sorry, but this sort of thing isn't exactly my strong suit." Cedric apologized nervously running his fingers through his hair. As old as he was, he didn't have much experience in romantic relationships. He suspected that was why this conversation felt so uncomfortable to him.
"It's alright " Sofia assured him with a small smile, "I think I'll try to contact him. Thank you. Good night Mr. Cedric."
"Goodnight, Sofia" he echoed, noting she had once again adopted the 'Mr. Cedric'. Perhaps the previous lack of it was a mere slip of the tongue. Still, something nagged at him.
"Sofia! Wait!" he called, before she could leave.
"Yes!" she turned around quickly, her eyes wide and expectant.
"Umm, just one question. Why tell this to me? About Prince Hugo, I mean". He asked. It was something that caught him off guard from the start. Surely something like this was better suited for telling her family, or at least one of her friends closer to her age.
"Oh...Well you know..." Sofia explained, "I guess I'm just not ready to let my family know about it just yet. Especially Dad and Amber. You know how they can be." She laughed lightly.
"Ah, I see" he said in understanding. He could see Amber causing some trouble in that regard. Though she had improved over the years, the elder princess was still a bit of a gossip monger. Also, having grown closer to Roland over the years, Cedric could just imagine how well Roland would take to the idea a young man wanting to court his youngest daughter. Miranda and James however , on the other hand, probably wouldn't be a problem.
"Well, Good night again." Sofia said softly.
"Good night. " he echoed back to her equally quiet, as she closed the door for the last time that night.
So Sofia was in love with this Prince Hugo, huh? Well, he supposed that made sense. After all she was an adult now, even if a new one. Still, it just all seemed rather...unexpected, he thought.
Cedric took in the silence of his workshop for a few moments, before checking the time on his clock. Really he should be turning into bed himself, but instead he turned his attention back to his book. Pursuing it almost feverishly, as if searching for something. Perhaps a distraction?
Sofia found her way into his thoughts, as she often did, but he quickly banished her. It was probably best not to think about the princess right now. He should just keep reading, ignoring the burning in his temples and the pit in his stomach...
—-
So there's chapter one. Also in case you're worried about it, yes this will be a Cedfia NOT a Hugfia story. Sorry to any Hugfia fans that may have stumbled onto this. Thank you for reading.