Cedric's Sick Day
Summary: Even the Royal Sorcerer gets sick sometimes! But not to worry—Nurse Princess Sofia, along with her helpful assistant Wormwood, are here to help. (Dedicated to Royal Detective)
Disclaimer: I do not own Sofia the First or the characters from the show.
A/N: This was recommended by Royal Detective, an awesome reader/reviewer! I was also inspired by the Golden Girls (specifically Blanche having a bit of a delirious moment with a bag of egg yolks, lol), which is shown in here when Cedric appears to be completely off his rocker…which is a good fifty percent of the story. :D Enjoy!
"Ah-hah!" Cedric shouted ecstatically as he pointed toward a cloth lying innocently across his work table. He leaned down toward it, eyeing the fabric pointedly. "Thought you'd get away, didn't you?" he asked with a growing smirk, his voice slightly distorted due to a recent cold. "Well, not this time, Mr. Handkerchief! You're mine!" He picked up the poor cloth and cuddled it to his cheek before he promptly sneezed into the fabric.
Wormwood made a face of disgust. "What did that handkerchief do to deserve that kind of punishment?" he asked himself, since Cedric clearly wouldn't understand him.
"Oh, Wormy," Cedric groaned as he tucked the handkerchief in a box under the table before holding a hand to his head. "Why must this cold persist? Doesn't it know I have work to do?"
The raven rolled his eyes. "Do you realize you're personifying an illness…?"
"Day after day, I'm growing iller—more ill? Yes, quite right. Even if I'm sick, I'm going to use proper grammar! Now then…" He glanced around before scratching his head curiously. "Where did I put my wand?"
Seeing his owner clearly needed some guidance, Wormwood alighted onto the table and picked up the discarded wand in one talon before offering it to Cedric with a slightly sarcastic look.
"Oh, thank you, Wormy!" Cedric accepted his most important item and looked at it intensely. "It mocks me, you know?"
If Wormwood had eyebrows, he would raise one right now.
"It mocks me, I say! It thinks it's clever with its tiny form and its easily hidden self. Well, I won't be fooled…" He nodded toward the wand, as if coming to a conclusion. "You are not that smart, wand. I won't be losing you again." He then sheathed it into his robe for safe keeping.
"Even the chipper princess would be more tolerable than you right now," Wormwood complained. "Although I must say, this is rather entertaining… I wish I had a snack to eat while watching this delightful show."
Cedric whirled around toward the door when he heard a knock. He gasped and aimed the wand at the door. "Who is it?! What do you want?! …And do you happen to have any spare handkerchiefs?"
Sofia pushed the door open and looked at her mentor in concern. "Uh, Mr. Cedric?" she asked with a slight worried lilt to her voice. "Are you okay?"
"Of course I am, Sophie."
She blinked. "It's Sofia…"
"Yes, yes, I knew that, Princess Sofia. I'm just a little…" He shrugged as he collapsed into a chair.
The young princess walked over to her friend and frowned. "Are you sick?" she asked pointedly while placing her hands on her hips.
"Psh…not, of course!"
Sofia blinked in surprise. "Why are you speaking backwards?"
"I'm not speaking backwards. It's just my…dialect!" He smiled innocently.
"Mr. Cedric, I've known you for two years, and never in these past few years have you talked like some poet in a normal conversation before…" She sighed. "Though honestly, this conversation is anything but normal at the moment." She surveyed his face and gasped lightly. "I think you have a fever."
"No, I don't…" He was caught off guard when Sofia grabbed his robe and pulled him down a bit so she could feel his cheeks and forehead.
"Yes, you do," she argued, frowning. "Mr. Cedric, you need to take the day off." She released his robe and picked up her training wand from a side table. "I'll take care of you."
"Nonsense. I can work just fi-fi-fin-achoo!" Cedric fell backwards from his chair and lay haphazardly on the cold floor.
Sofia looked down at him sympathetically. "Uh-huh… Just trust me." She smiled. "You just leave it to Nurse Sofia!" She looked toward Wormwood and grinned. "And her assistant nurse-in-training Wormwood."
Wormwood rolled his eyes. "Ugh, spare me."
She wasn't sure how she'd done so, but Sofia had somehow managed to talk Cedric into lying in his bed with his pillows propped and his blankets pulled nearly to his chin. His robe and wand were placed neatly on a dresser while his shoes rested on the floor next to the bed.
Sofia draped an ice bag over Cedric's head after having taken his temperature.
"What's the damage?" the sorcerer asked forlornly.
"One hundred and one," Sofia returned with a grimace. "I knew you shouldn't have been working today."
"I've worked through broken bones, insomnia, and one curious case of habitually sticky fingers." He smirked when Sofia giggled at the last mention. "I'm not going to let a little fever keep me down." He started to sit up before Sofia pushed him back into the pillows. "Sofia…"
"No, Mr. Cedric. I'm putting my foot down on this one."
"Why in the world are you trying to look after me? I could do it myself, you know." He sighed and clasped his hands over his chest.
She smiled. "Because…I wouldn't be a good friend if I didn't help nurse you back to health. You need to get your strength back. Right, Wormwood?" She grinned down at the raven, who glared at her from under his tiny nurse hat she'd made him wear to match her own.
"By the way, Wormy, I'm loving the new outfit," Cedric teased his companion, laughing lightly when the raven tossed his annoyed look at him. "Relax. I'm just joking." He grabbed a spare handkerchief as he began coughing before he lay back. "Ugh… Maybe you're right. I should probably just rest for a day."
"Or two, depending on how long your fever lasts." Sofia gathered a bowl of soup that she had made for him and looked toward her friend. "You need to eat."
He eyed the concoction in the bowl and wrinkled his nose. "I'd rather not… Who brought it?"
"Baileywick."
"Then definitely not. His idea of a proper soup is overly finessed chicken stock."
Sofia sighed in resignation. "Fine." She grabbed his wand and muttered something before tapping the bowl, creating a new mixture of vegetables in the soup. She grinned. "How's that?"
Cedric smiled proudly. "I knew there was a reason I kept you around."
The princess giggled as he began eating his meal while Wormwood shook his miniature hat from his head and flew back to his perch.
Sofia left to eat dinner with her family a few hours later, promising on her way out to return to check on her friend. She was true to her word as she arrived another hour after, only to find Cedric fast asleep.
She smiled and gathered the ice bag, soup bowl, and thermometer, placing them on a tray and setting it aside. She felt his forehead and sides of his face, realizing his fever had broken. She yawned slightly and climbed onto his bed with him, shaking him slightly. "Mr. Cedric?"
"Mm?" he asked sleepily, not waking up fully to respond properly.
"Your fever is down… We can work a little if you're feeling up to it." She smiled lightly as he sighed and returned to his slumber. "That's what I thought…" She yawned again and lay down next to her friend and mentor. "I just need a little nap…then I can…" She closed her eyes. "…Go back…"
Pretty soon, both were fast asleep.
Baileywick knocked on Cedric's door later that night. Frustrated with no response, he simply pushed the door open and looked around. "Cedric?" he called, glancing around the workshop. He made his way toward the sorcerer's bedroom and held up a lantern. "Cedric, have you seen…?" He paused short of seeing Sofia fast asleep against Cedric's extra pillows, a content smile on her face. "Oh, Sofia…" He sighed and placed the lantern down before reaching forward and gently tugging the young princess from her mentor's side, helping her stand. "Come on, Princess Sofia," he whispered gently, coaxing her into at least partial alertness. "You need to get some rest. Cedric will be fine."
"Hmm?" Sofia blinked her eyes open and smiled sleepily. "Hi, Baileywick… When did you get here?" She was about to collapse before the steward caught her and held onto her. "Whoa…"
"Yeah, whoa. Let's get you to bed." He chuckled and picked up the lantern before leaving Cedric behind in his peaceful slumber.
The next day, Cedric felt much better. Sofia had indeed nursed him back to health. However, he hadn't seen her yet. She was ten minutes late. That girl was never late to her lessons… Deciding to check on her, he descended the stairs from his tower, travelled the hallway he'd become more familiar with, and finally knocked on Sofia's door. Hearing a weak 'come in,' he did so…and smirked.
Sofia coughed a little and smiled sheepishly at Cedric. "Hi, Mr. Cedric…"
He shook his head and walked over toward the girl, who was tucked into her bed rather snugly. "Well, what have we here?"
She giggled. "What's this called? Irony?"
"In its truest form, my dear." He grinned. "I'll be back. I'm going to fetch Wormy—I may need an 'assistant' too this time."
Sofia laughed as he left to gather supplies (and the reluctant raven) to return the favor she'd previously bestowed upon him.
The end!
A/N: I hope you all liked this, especially you, Royal Detective! My bouts of insomnia are finally coming in handy! YES! And the way Cedric was acting while sick kind of reflects me IF I haven't had any sleep on top of being sick… Yeah, it's funny for everyone else though! :) Well, I'm heading out for now. I'll have chapter three of "Timey Wimey" up soon, maybe even later today if I finish all my other obligations first. See you around! ~AquaTurquoise