Mood Swings

Summary: During a sleepover with Amber, Hildegard and Clio become bored and decide to play a prank on Sofia and Cedric while they're practicing spells in the throne room. With Sofia under a mood alteration spell, what is poor Cedric supposed to do?

Disclaimer: I do not own this magnificent show.

A/N: I should be ashamed, but I'm not. :P Okay, so if any of you have watched the show "Kim Possible," and more specifically the episode "Emotion Sickness," then you'll get an idea of where my mind was when I decided to write this story. Of course, for the sake of the story and characters, I'm only going to use certain emotions in here. But I can totally see Cedric in Drakken's and/or Ron's predicament, trying to figure out A) what's wrong and B) what to do about it. Hehehehe! I know. I'm mean. :D Enjoy!

"Hildegard, Clio?" Amber asked, waving her hands in front of her friends' faces. She sighed when they looked toward her in boredom. "Girls, this is a sleepover! It's supposed to be fun!"

"Key words: supposed to be," Hildegard commented as she yawned and stretched out on Amber's bed. "Face it, Amber. We've done this sleepover thing to death already. There are only so many facials, truth-or-dare games, and outfit changes we can do before it gets old."

The blonde girl seemed a bit hurt by that response but refused to let it show, especially with her two closest friends. "Fine. What do you suggest?"

Clio smiled brightly. "Why don't we eat some cake and share our feelings?" She blushed when the other two eyed her curiously. "I'm sorry. I don't know where that came from… That's what some of the older girls at school said they like to do."

"Yeah," Hildegard drawled with a slight roll of her eyes. "As much fun as that sounds, Clio, I have a better idea." She smiled wickedly toward Amber. "I say let's play a prank on someone."

Amber raised an eyebrow at her. "Have you been scheming with James by any chance?"

"No! He'd get a bit too much enjoyment out of it and try to take over." She shook her head. "No, no. I'm thinking more along the lines of…testing out a spell my sister taught me." She grinned and held up her wand.

Clio tilted her head. "She taught you a spell that you can actually do right?" She squeaked in slight surprise as the dark-haired girl pushed her off her large pillow and onto the mattress. She giggled. "I'm just playing, Hildy!"

"I don't know," Amber yawned as she folded her arms. "Will it get us into trouble?"

"Not if we don't get caught." The princess of Friezenburg smiled sweetly. "Would you like to know what the spell is?" Seeing the other girls nod, she hummed thoughtfully. "It's a mood alteration spell."

Clio blinked. "What does that mean?"

Amber glanced at her. "It means it makes the person who's under the spell have no control over their moods."

"Right!" Hildegard giggled. "It would be 'mood swing kingdom' basically. Are you two in?"

Shrugging, the other two nodded. Really, what choice did they have? Stay here bored, attempting to find something interesting and productive to do, or follow along with something Hildegard had devised for possible 'entertainment.'

"But if we get caught…"

"Oh, relax, Amber," Hildegard insisted. "Hanging around Sofia so much, you're starting to sound like her." She grinned as she slid from the bed and took her wand from her overnight bag. "Let's go."

"Why are so many spells so funny-sounding?" Sofia asked her mentor as they sat on the carpet in the throne room that evening. She'd suggested here as they'd needed ample space for practice, and surprisingly enough, Roland had approved.

"I believe it's called 'poetic license,' Sofia," Cedric responded with a smirk, making her laugh. He flipped through his book. "Anyone can say, 'Open the door!' It just sounds better and more mysterious to say, 'Aperuerit ostium.' Wouldn't you agree?"

The young princess smiled and shook her head. "Whatever you say, Mr. Cedric."

"Can you see them?" Clio whispered behind her friends as Hildegard leaned out from behind Sofia's throne and aimed her wand at the two on the carpet.

"Yeah, hang on." She grinned and waved her wand a few times. "Adfecerunt animos!"

Amber watched as a hardly noticeable stream of magic encircled her sister before disappearing. She blinked. "That's it?"

Hildegard shushed her. "Give it a minute."

"So how did that test on color blending spells go today?" Cedric asked distractedly as he tapped his wand against his leg while reading a passage in his book.

Sofia glanced up and sniffled a few times, getting her friend's attention. "I… I think I did well…"

The sorcerer blinked as he watched her normally good mood dissolve. "Then why are you crying?"

"B-Because…even though I passed, others failed!" She was full-on wailing by now, completely distraught.

Cedric panicked and dropped his wand, waving his hands while attempting to calm the girl down. "Sofia! It's okay! Shh, we don't want to wake anyone, do we?"

Her demeanor changed so quickly that he didn't even see it coming. "Who cares?!" she snapped, making her mentor fall backwards in surprise. "This is about me, Mr. Cedric! Not about others around here, who are weird enough to go to bed at 7:00 at night!"

Hildegard and Clio were snickering, and Amber was shaking her head in both amusement and worry. They'd never seen Sofia that angry over something so trivial. Then again, that's what the spell was supposed to do, apparently.

"Sofia, what is the matter with you?" Cedric gathered his wand while frowning. "Are you cursed again?"

"Huh?" The girl blinked before her eyes watered again. "I—I'm sorry, Mr. Cedric… I think I'm just…" She whimpered before lunging forward and hugging him, sobbing into his robe.

"This is hilarious," Hildegard said with a grin toward her friends. "To see Sofia of all people acting like this…"

"It's kind of mean, though," Amber acknowledged with a pointed look. "Sofia is—"

"It's just a joke, Amber. Calm down. Sofia's going to be fine." She glanced around before humming thoughtfully. "We should probably get out of here though. Don't want to get caught!"

"Right!" Clio agreed as they began sneaking away.

Amber cast one glance at her sister and the sorcerer. "Sorry, you guys." She then crept away.

Cedric patted Sofia's back uncertainly. What on earth was wrong with her? "Um…there, there… It's all right, Sofia. I just…don't quite understand this sudden mood shift."

As if on cue, the princess stopped crying and sat up, a bright smile on her face. "It's okay! I'm all better now. Hey, did you ever notice how close 'better' and 'butter' sound when you say them together? Better, butter, better, butter—everything's better with butter! Like toast!" She started laughing, falling over in hysterics.

The Royal Sorcerer was horribly confused now. "Um…" He scratched his head and sighed. "Yeah, she's definitely cursed now…"

Sofia wiped her tears from both crying and laughing as she sat up. "I'm not cursed," she whispered, seeming slightly fearful. "I'm…" She whimpered, holding her hands to herself and looking around in worry. "I don't know what's going on with me, Mr. Cedric." She recoiled when he reached out to her again. "Don't touch me!" she yelled suddenly, blue eyes intense. "This is all your fault!" She huffed as she jumped up, aiming to run off.

Cedric sighed and grabbed her arm, pulling her back to the carpet and making her even more disgruntled. "Sofia, I don't know what's wrong with you, but…"

"Oh, Mr. Cedric!" She smiled happily again and hugged him. "You do care!"

"Eh…" Poor Cedric was going to need a vacation after all of this. "Of…course I care about you, Sofia… I'm just not sure…what all of this is about."

The princess released him and grinned wickedly. "And you'd like to know! You know what? I'll be right back." She cackled and left the room.

Cedric's mouth dropped at this new emotion before he caught sight of someone he never thought he'd be excited to see. "Baileywick!" Cedric gasped in relief upon seeing the steward. "I need your help." He stood and walked over toward the other man.

Baileywick appeared just as surprised to hear those words as Cedric did to say them. "Cedric…are you feeling all right?"

"Yes, yes, I realize that may have sounded like a strange request coming from me, but I could really use your advice. Sofia is…eh…"

The older man raised an eyebrow. "Princess Sofia is what?"

"I think she's cursed, Baileywick, if not possessed." Cedric had uttered these words with a straight face, but he frowned when Baileywick started to chuckle. "I'm serious!"

Baileywick just calmed down and smiled thoughtfully. "All right, Cedric, and why do you believe she is…such a thing?"

"Her emotions are all over the place! One minute she's fine and we're discussing spells. The next she's yelling at me for no reason. Then she starts crying and hugging me while apologizing. And then she just starts giggling uncontrollably. I'm afraid the girl has completely lost her marbles, Baileywick."

The steward grinned and shook his head. "Well, Cedric… I believe I know what the problem may be." Seeing he had his attention, Baileywick continued. "Sofia is a young lady and almost a teenager, or will be in a few years. These next few years will be one of those critical and evolving times in her life. And things she says or does won't always make sense."

The Royal Sorcerer just stared at his companion in confusion. "…What?"

"Hormones, Cedric. I think it's hormones. And…" He cleared his throat. "Perhaps it's the p-word…"

Cedric blinked. "Potassium?"

Now Baileywick could barely believe his ears. "…Yes, Cedric. Sofia has a potassium problem. Maybe you should conjure her up an orange."

"Well, if it's as simple as all that—"

"Cedric, surely you can't be that clueless!" The steward couldn't help the amused smile breaking out on his face. "I mean…think about it. Don't you remember your younger years when you were Sofia's age?"

"I've blocked that period of time from my memories, thank you." He made a sound of surprise when he felt a tug on his robe. He looked down and blinked. "Sofia, what is that?"

The young girl smiled and held up her doll to him. "You seemed down, Mr. Cedric, and when I'm down I hold onto my doll. It makes me feel better."

"Oh, I'm afraid he's going to need more than a doll to get through this, Princess Sofia." Baileywick laughed and wished Cedric luck before returning to his work.

Cedric didn't want to chance Sofia's wrath again, so he gingerly accepted the doll. "Thanks, Sofia…"

Sofia smiled dazedly before frowning and shaking her head, holding a hand to her temples. "Oh, what happened?" She blinked and looked around. "What's going on?"

"Are you all right?" Cedric asked carefully, not wanting to upset her again.

She nodded. "I feel kind of woozy, like I've been hit with magic or something…" She shrugged. "Where were we?"

"Wait a minute. Hit with magic?" Well, that explained her random mood swings! She must have been under a mood alteration spell. Of course. Why didn't he notice? He laughed in relief. "Oh, thank Merlin. I was afraid something was seriously wrong with you." He handed the doll back to her.

"What are you talking about?"

"I think you were under a mood spell earlier. I know you probably don't remember anything, but it was…rather frightening, to be honest." He smirked as she smiled sheepishly. "And here Baileywick thought it was a potassium problem. Ha!"

Sofia blinked. "What?"

He shook his head before leading her from the throne room. "Don't ask."

In the corner of the room, Hildegard, Amber, and Clio had stopped to check on Sofia's mind frame. Apparently it had worn off, much to their disappointment.

"Aw," Clio sighed before grinning. "Oh, well! There's always next time, Hildy."

"Hmm, yes." She shrugged. "It was fun while it lasted!"

Amber sighed. "Surely you two have had enough fun for the night, right?"

"Maybe we can put James under the spell next?" Clio suggested, ignoring their blonde friend.

Hildegard grinned. "I like the way you think! Let's go!"

Amber's eyes widened. "Girls! No! That's a really bad idea! Clio! HILDEGARD!" She took off running after them.

The end