Mood Swings: Baileywick Edition

Summary: What's funnier than Sofia being under a mood alteration spell and freaking out Cedric? Baileywick being under a mood alteration spell and freaking out *everyone*! :D Since I had so many requests, I figured I'd oblige and make a follow up to "Mood Swings," so I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I hereby decree that I do not own this show. Darn it. Lol

A/N: Once again, I have no shame. :p It's even worse now that Baileywick is my next victim. Mwahahahahaha! …Anyway. :D

*Note: This is the same slumber party from "Mood Swings," but instead of pranking James, the girls get an idea that someone else may just be better. :D*

"Oh, that was rich!" Hildegard laughed as she fell backwards onto Amber's bed, her eyes tearing with mirth. She grinned up at Amber, who still didn't seem all too taken with the prank. "Lighten up, Amber. Sofia is fine. You saw her."

"I know, but…" She sighed with a smile. "It's just I did my fair share of pranking her when she first got here a few years ago, and I almost didn't live it down. Even James was ready to disown me."

"But it's all in good fun," Clio assured her with a smile. "Sofia even seemed to shrug it off. Don't worry about it."

"I guess."

"So who's next?" the princess of Friezenburg asked excitedly as she sat up, clutching her wand.

Amber raised an eyebrow at her. "You're serious about this?"

"Of course! Look, if it makes you feel better, we won't prank James like I'd originally planned. But that just means we need to find a better target."

A knock came upon the door before it opened as Amber called for the visitor to enter. Baileywick stood at the door. "Princess Amber, I've made you and your friends some snacks for the evening." He rolled in a tray of pastries and settled it beside the bed. "And your father asked me to inform you that Queen Miranda will be taking you and Princess Sofia shopping tomorrow afternoon.

Amber smiled happily at the steward. "All right. Thank you, Baileywick."

"My pleasure. Good evening, ladies." He nodded and turned, leaving.

Amber sighed before looking back at her friends, both of whom had the same mischievous looks on their faces. She blinked. "What?" Then she frowned. "Oh, no! No! Don't even think about it!"

"He would have a much funnier reaction than Sofia," Hildegard suggested with a wide smile.

Clio beamed. "I'm with Hildy!"

"Shocking," Amber remarked before rolling her eyes. While Clio may have stood up for herself recently, she still agreed with her best friend on quite a few things, which was a little frightening in itself. "Baileywick has a lot of work to do."

"Then we'd better make this fast!" The dark-haired princess rushed to the door, Clio on her heels, and looked back toward the blonde girl. "You coming?"

Amber sighed in aggravation before looking up, shaking her head, and then following after them. "Fine. But just for a few minutes."

"Mm-hmm."

"I'm serious, Hildegard!"

"Your Majesty," Baileywick began as he stood next to Roland, who was reading over a document, "I believe Princess Amber is having a good time with her friends."

"Well, that's good to know," Roland replied distractedly.

In a far and hidden corner of the room, Hildegard smirked and aimed her wand at Baileywick, the same magic used on Sofia encircling him. She ducked low for good measure as the spell kicked in almost immediately.

"I just," Baileywick started with a small sniff, his hands reaching to his spectacles to remove them so he could wipe the random tears forming in the corners of his eyes. "I wish I had friends!"

"Mm-hmm," the king uttered again before blinking, looking back at his steward. "What?"

"Oh, Your Majesty!" Baileywick sobbed and turned to his boss, throwing his arms around him and continuing to sob into his shoulder. "I have no life outside of this job! I need a cookie! Sofia promised me a cookie!"

Clio was rolling on the floor, attempting to stifle her giggles, while Hildegard was grinning from ear to ear. Even Amber was hiding a smile behind her hand.

"Poor Baileywick," she whispered, though Hildegard grinned and motioned for her to keep watching.

Roland shuffled uncomfortably before reaching up and gently and uncertainly patting his longtime friend on the arms. "Um, Baileywick, are you all right?"

His mood switched quickly as the steward leaned back with a large smile on his face. "I'm perfectly pleasant, Your Majesty! The fact that I have no friends shouldn't make me sad."

"But, Baileywick, we're your friends. You know that. For goodness sake, you've been friends with me since we were both younger."

Baileywick's eyes flashed before he frowned and glared at the king. "Yes, when you were a little prince who got whatever you wanted while I was trained in cleaning and taking care of the castle and all its affairs. I'd like to see you do what I do." He huffed and folded his arms.

The girls and Roland all couldn't believe their ears at this point.

At that moment, in walked Sofia, who seemed to have recovered from her earlier debacle. Cedric followed her.

"I certainly do more than him!" Baileywick cast an accusatory glance toward Cedric, who balked and gasped.

"Well, I never!" the sorcerer declared with a frown. "I don't see you wielding a magic wand and performing miracles, you dust-fearing neat freak."

"Cedric," Roland snapped, giving his sorcerer a pointed look. "That's enough."

"Dad?" Sofia asked with a tilt of her head. "Why is your shoulder wet?"

"Well, um…" He shrugged as Baileywick's angry look faded into a calmer though more somber one. "Baileywick seemed to be upset earlier…"

"You were crying?" the young princess gasped as she moved forward to her friend and hugged him. "Baileywick, what's wrong?"

"You never gave me a cookie," he whispered, seeming legitimately upset.

Sofia blinked in confusion as she let him go and stared up at him in surprise. "What?"

Baileywick frowned and folded his arms. "You're a cookie hoarder, Princess Sofia!"

"…Is this some sort of joke?" Roland finally asked with a horribly confused stare. "Baileywick, I think you need a vacation."

Cedric rolled his eyes discretely before leaning down to Sofia's level. "If that's what it takes to get a vacation, maybe I should fall off my rocker too."

Sofia actually smiled and rolled her eyes before looking back at Baileywick. "A break may be good for you…"

Baileywick's new emotion was rather unexpected. "Ugh," he scoffed sarcastically. "Like some meaningless time off is going to vanquish all those horrid memories of cleaning Cedric's workshop and finding mismatched socks everywhere."

Cedric seemed baffled as Roland glanced toward him curiously. "I have no idea what he's talking about, Your Majesty."

Sofia giggled. "Maybe they were Wormwood's!"

"No, he refuses to wear socks."

This time, Hildegard and Clio did snicker a little louder than normal, though Amber was attempting to keep them quiet so they wouldn't get caught. She, the "good" one in this case, was hiding their secret further. This was one huge mess now.

"And by the way," the steward continued with a disapproving glare at Cedric, "that robe is so out of style now. You've got to find a new look and make it work."

"Look here, you pompous feather duster," Cedric snapped as he pointed his wand at him. "My robe is very stylish! You want to talk out of style, then let's start with those pants."

"Uh, Dad, I think I'm going to take Mr. Cedric back to his workshop. We still have work to do." She held her hands up and started pushing Cedric toward the exit. "Let's go, Mr. Cedric!"

"Yes," Roland said warily as he tiredly with a confused nod toward Sofia. "Yes, that may be best… These two need a break from each other it seems."

"Um, Hildy," Amber said quietly as she lowered next to her friend. "Maybe we should reverse this spell. I don't want Baileywick getting fired over accusing Cedric of fashion fraud."

"Oh, fine," she relented before grinning. "He does have a point though."

"Give me that," the blonde girl huffed, taking the wand from her friend and uttering the counter spell to get the steward back to his old self. She then took the girls' arms and led them out of the room. "No more mood alterations."

"Aw," Clio sighed with a pout. "But it was so funny!"

"Don't worry, Clio," Hildegard assured her with a smirk. "We still have a whole class of people we can test this spell on."

Amber shook her head with a sigh. "This is going to be a long week."

Back in the throne room, Baileywick shook his head as his mind cleared. He blinked and looked around. "Why am I here?"

Roland raised an eyebrow at his friend. "Baileywick."

"Yes, Your Majesty?"

"Are you going to give me fashion advice now, or do you plan to finish your tasks and go to bed?"

Confused, the older man answered tentatively, "…The second one?" He frowned. "Wait, fashion advice?"

"Never mind. If you're willing to forget it, then I am too. Just…stay away from Cedric for a few days."

"Hmm, no qualms with that one, Your Majesty." He smiled and moved on about his business.

Roland shook his head. "Maybe I need a vacation… I swear these people all have castle fever or something." He yawned and left the room.

The end

A/N: So I'd like to issue a challenge… Anyone brave enough to keep this saga going? There are plenty more opportunities and people who can be affected by the mood swing spell. :D Just a thought! ;) And yep, that was a Tim Gunn reference up there. :D Hope you enjoyed! I enjoyed writing it. :) Till next time!)

~AquaTurquoise