"Oh Mister Cedddddric, are you in here practicing?"
Sofia's long auburn hair bounced as she skipped over the last few steps towards Cedric's workshop. She had been coming here since she was a child and had given up knocking in favor of calling out to him when she was down the hall.
"Of course, Princess, what else do you think I would be doing, really," shot back Cedic's familiar and sarcastic voice.
The workshop door creaked open and Sofia's head popped into sight, "Well, you could have been out in the garden or asleep for all I know!"
"You really think I would sleep at a time like this? Oh Merlin's Mushrooms!"
Sofia let out a giggle and Cedric couldn't help but crack a smile as she entered the room. He had been practicing his transmutation spells in preparation for the Encancian Quadricentennial, a celebration of Enchancia's 400th year as a Kingdom in the Realm.
"So, are you going to tell me what you were practicing or am I going to have to annoy it out of you per usual?" Sofia teased as she strutted across the workshop toward him.
"Aww, and ruin all the good will we've built up all these years? Princess, how could you?!" Cedric teased back as his rolled his eyes.
"Cedric, you're impossible. Just give me a hint, pretty please," she said as she put on her best pouty face.
"I am not looking and you can't make me," he said as he turned his back, knowing what was coming next, and pretended to work on something at his workbench.
Sofia giggled to herself and tossed her arms around her friend's neck, "Oh Cedric, what am I ever going to do with you?"
"Stop interrupting my practice sessions for starters," he said dryly.
That earned him a playful shove and brought a smile to his face. His turned his head just enough to see Sofia staring at him with her hands on her hips and a raised eyebrow.
Cedric had always been over the top, sarcastic, and snarky with Sofia but in their time spent together over the years they had drawn closer to one another. He had always planned to take her amulet in order to seize the crown, prove to his father his worthiness, and prove to everyone how great and powerful he was. The one thing he hadn't counted on was his deep bond to Sofia, how it softened his soul and brought light to his sallow heart. As time passed his desire for the amulet waned and his fondness for the young Princess grew; by the time Sofia was an adult they had a bond that could never be broken.
"Fine, fine, fine. Transmutation."
"I knew it must be something big! I'll leave you to it and bring you up a bite to eat later."
Before a word could be uttered, Sofia had slipped out the workshop door and Cedric could hear her footsteps charging down the stairs.
"What would I ever do without her," he thought to himself as he started to focus in on his spells yet again.
Cedric had once been an object of ridicule in Enchancia, never really able to step out of the shadow of his father Goodwin the Great. He never found much confidence within himself, not until one pesky little princess showed him how good he could really be. As his friendship with Sofia grew so did his confidence; slowly his reputation within Enchancia grew into that of a reputable sorcerer.
It was never easy being Goodwin the Great's son especially since everyone, including himself, thought that his father's skillset and magical prowess would come naturally to him. It seemed as though no matter how hard he worked he would get nowhere, forever running in place and never able to catch his breath. It strained the relationship he had with his father and from that strain grew resentment.
Enchancia's Quadricentennial was Cedric's chance to finally prove how worthy he was of his father's affection and love. He did not want to be Goodwin the Great's son, he wanted to be Cedric the Sensational – a name bestowed upon him by the only person he thought believed in him all this time. Transmutation was something done by nearly every sorcerer but instead of changing objects to riches Cedric was planning on stunning the crowd, and King Roland. It needed to be perfect and if it wasn't he feared that he would never be anything more than Cedric, the bumbling Royal Sorcerer – the one that only remained a Royal Sorcerer because of his father's name.
Cedric tried to push thoughts of his history, his reputation, and his father out of his mind. He needed to focus and he was losing this battle.
