Bittersweet
Summary: Cedric and Sofia are in for the surprise of their lives when, due to the Amulet of Avalor alerting the princess, they discover a tiny unconscious girl, whose origins are much darker and more dangerous than they ever could have imagined. (Artwork and Storyline by MarionetteJ2X)
Disclaimer: I don't own Sofia the First. The character of Nana and the plot belong to MarionetteJ2X.
A/N: It's fascinating to me how much so many of you have been looking forward to this story. That really means a lot. 😊 I want to make sure you guys know something about the little kiddo first. Her name is Nana, pronounced Nɑnʌ (Nah-nuh). With that said, brace yourself for some pretty serious stuff in this first chapter. Here we go!
Chapter 1: Unusual Circumstances
Nana was once just like any other ordinary strawberry growing in some bushes, though these bushes were special: their berries had magical healing properties. One day, though, some members of a dark magic cult plucked her from the bushes and began experimenting on her.
For starters, she was infused with human blood and life elixir, which ultimately morphed her into a humanoid child. The cult members had a specific reason for doing this: they would use her to produce healing elixirs from her very own magic, so that whenever one of the members of the dark cult became injured or was even near death, she could instantly heal them. They often threatened to step on her and destroy her if she didn't comply, so, as a naturally-frightened child, she always obeyed.
In her child form, Nana was rather tiny: probably no more than a foot tall. From what she understood, she would also never be able to grow or age like a normal child. Unlike typical children, her ears were pointed. Her short pink hair gathered just above her shoulders, and she had a green leaf cap on her head that was directly correlated with her origins. Her large green eyes always seemed to brim with tears from sadness or fear, considering her circumstances. She wore a long-sleeved red dress with a green collar and green buttons, and surrounding the bottom hem of her dress was a line of yellow dots in the fabric. She also had a pair of black tights and matching shoes to complete her ensemble.
One more side note about Nana was that she was mute. Her only way of communicating was through tugging at people's pants leg, poking them, or stomping her tiny foot on the floor (all of which often got her disciplined). She was a miserable little girl, always silently wondering why she was there and what she'd done to deserve this horrible life. She often cried herself to sleep at night, though the only evidence would be the tear-soaked pillow she curled up on in her cell, since her cries of anguish were silenced because of her muted voice.
One evening, however, everything changed for Nana. One of the cult members had gotten injured rather badly during an altercation, and the other members had summoned Nana to heal him. She tried her best to transfer her own healing powers to the man, but something was wrong. Her magic wasn't working. Try as she might, nothing happened except she became immensely tired, nearly falling asleep in the process.
"Useless," one man barked, shoving the little one to the side and causing her to tumble to the floor. "We'll handle this one ourselves, I guess." He glared at Nana, who stood up and had her hands clasped before her in fear. "Go to your room."
Hanging her head, little Nana shuffled back down the hallway, ever under the watchful eyes of the other cult members. Her 'room' was a cell in the farthest corner of the cult's hideout, and she had been allotted a pillow, some hay, and a thin blanket that she could claim as her very own. Nothing else. No toys, no extra clothing, nothing.
"She's utterly pathetic," she heard a woman scoff as she walked by, avoiding eye contact with the older adult. "She's been completely hopeless the last few days, which is unusual."
"You don't think her magic is running out, do you?" a man asked, startling the little one as she slowed her walking pace a bit to hear more of their conversation.
"Who knows? All I know is that if she doesn't perform well, the leaders are going to…send her away." Nana could practically hear the wicked smirk on the woman's face.
"As in…destroy her?"
"Hmm."
Those green eyes shimmered with tears once more as she finally made it to her cell, plopping down with a small thud onto her pillow. She grabbed her blanket and held it loosely, staring down at her shoes.
Those rumors about 'sending her away' had become more common recently. She didn't want to know what would happen if they did… She may not be a real human, but she could feel just as easily as one. She felt pain, emotions, and sensations just like anyone else. Granted, for all her powers and abilities, there was one thing she didn't know or understand: happiness. It had never happened for her, and she wondered if it ever would.
She lay on the pillow, the woman's words echoing in her mind. Utterly pathetic. Hopeless. And what had the other cult member called her? Useless. She knew if she stayed here, with how poorly she'd been performing recently, she was probably in danger of being destroyed. Stomped on, just like a regular strawberry…
Terrified, she made a choice. She turned and saw a hole just behind her bed of hay, and through that hole was a stream of air flowing in and out. Frowning, Nana dug at it with her tiny hands until the clay wall began giving away. She looked around quickly, hoping beyond hope that no one had heard any of the clay falling to the floor. Hearing nothing and seeing no one, she quickly set to work again.
Finally, she made a hole big enough to fit her tiny form through, and she pushed herself out through the handmade exit. Filled with pure adrenaline, she took off like a shot and rushed into the forest, just as the sun was disappearing behind the trees.
She ran for what felt like hours, though it was probably only thirty minutes or so, and before long she heard what she feared the most (besides those cult members): a clap of thunder. And then, it was like the bottom of the sky broke open, because rain suddenly began pouring down on the little girl, soaking her straight through, causing her hair to cling to her scalp and neck and making her skin much colder.
Nana frantically looked around for any place to hide and finally settled on a small cave. Peering inside, she was relieved to see no one or nothing there, so she scrambled inside. She leaned against the stone wall, shivering a bit, her lips turning blue as she attempted to warm herself by rubbing her tiny hands against her arms. It worked a little bit, but not much.
If she got sick from this, there was little she'd be able to do. While she possessed healing powers (however sporadic they seemed to be these days), she could not heal herself. She wasn't sure why, though she had to wonder if it was something those cult members planned. Regardless, she sneezed once, her lip trembling as she curled into a ball on the cave floor, willing herself to go to sleep as the rain poured in massive sheets just outside.
When it was daylight again, the cult members were in a frenzy, and for a good reason.
"Where is that little berry child?!" one of the members yelled down the hallway after having discovered Nana's empty cell and the hole in the wall. He scowled as he turned to see another few members rush into the cell, observing the empty space. "She's missing!"
"This is terrible," another man sighed as he scoured the cell, finding nothing. "If the Conjuror's Board finds out what we've done, we'll be hunted for not only disobeying the laws of the magical world, but also for creating something abnormal… It's illegal to create human-esque life from inanimate objects."
"I'm well aware of that, you dolt! That's why we must find her…" He fisted his hand, his nails breaking the skin of his palms as he growled, "At all costs."
Meanwhile, in Enchancia, Cedric was busily collecting herbs from just outside the tower in order to make a healing tonic for James, who'd gotten himself injured during a jousting competition the previous day. He had received a mild jab to the side, creating a gnash, and also a broken arm from falling off the horse. While the sorcerer was gathering the necessary herbs, his partner was currently attending to her brother's needs and had indicated that she'd soon join him in his workshop so that they could produce the healing tonic.
He frowned as he heard a roll of thunder in the distance. It had rained the previous night before breaking up just before dawn, and now it appeared that it would rain again soon. Finished gathering his ingredients, he covered the basket with a cloth and hurried back into his tower before the first drop of water even fell to the ground. Peering at the rain just outside his tower for a few moments, he sighed before climbing the spiral staircase to his workshop.
Not long after he'd gotten settled and had begun pulling out his herbs, he looked up as Sofia walked inside, slamming the door behind her. He smirked. "Bad morning?" he asked, chuckling as she scoffed.
"I swear, James is seriously the whiniest person when he gets hurt," she complained, sitting down across from him as he calmly continued sorting the herbs. "I've been running all over the castle trying to get him food, get him Mom or Dad, and whatever else just to make him comfortable. And yet he still whines. Ugh!" She huffed and dropped her head to the worktable, moaning in exhaustion.
Cedric rolled his eyes before gently patting her head. "There, there. Why don't you take a break while I continue working to sort these out? Then, we can get started on the healing tonic."
"Thank you," she mumbled, muffled by the wooden surface as Cedric chuckled.
Not long after, the partners collected all the ingredients and, using a medium cauldron, created the necessary brew for James's injuries. It would take a few hours to complete, so they sat talking for a while as they waited.
Suddenly, Sofia's amulet began blinking in a rather strange manner. She frowned, grasping it as Cedric stared at her. "It's never done that before," she murmured, looking toward the sorcerer. "Something must be wrong."
"Again?" Cedric groaned softly before watching as she stood up, her amulet levitating in the air and tugging her toward the top window of his tower. "What in Merlin's name…?"
Frowning, Sofia hurried up the spiral case to the top of the tower, staring out the window through the blanket of rain pouring down. Her amulet continued gravitating toward the glass, tapping it gently. She glanced to her left as Cedric walked up next to her, looking outside the window as well.
"Do you see anything?" he asked.
"No, I…" She hummed thoughtfully as she wiped the glass with her sleeve, removing the obstructing fogginess from her view. She gasped softly. "Mr. Cedric, look…"
Cedric stared hard through the window and the rain before blinking in surprise.
It was difficult to see at first, but in the distance at the foot of the hills, they could see someone or something covered in red lying in the grass, the small form being pelted by the unforgiving rain.
"We've got to go see who that is," Sofia murmured softly to her partner, who sighed.
"I knew you were going to say that…" He blinked as she grasped his hand and quickly pulled him down the steps and out of the workshop.
It took quite some time to get to the small form, since they'd had to not only fight the bad weather but also maneuver around the winding land, but they eventually reached their destination and were absolutely stunned by what they saw.
There, on the soaking wet ground, was an unconscious child. But this child looked like a strawberry.
Without hesitation, Sofia quickly scooped her into her arms while Cedric removed his robe and draped it over both Sofia and the little one she was holding.
"We need to get back to the castle," Cedric informed her. "We'll catch our deaths out here."
Sofia nodded and hurriedly followed him as they ran back to the castle grounds, and finally to his tower. "She's so cold, Mr. Cedric…" She was short of breath from running, as was he.
"Just a moment." He collected himself before withdrawing his wand and casting a drying spell on them all. "Come, let's go to my bedchambers. I have a fireplace where we can warm her up."
Sofia nodded as she followed him.
When they arrived in Cedric's bedchambers, he promptly lit a fire in the fireplace with his wand, and Sofia gently laid the little girl on the plush rug in front of the roaring fire. She handed Cedric back his robe, and he slipped into it, tying it in place. As she slept, Cedric and Sofia sat nearby, observing her. She was a strawberry, all right, but she also had a human body.
"Is that possible?" Sofia wondered as she glanced toward Cedric. "A child and a…a strawberry?" She inwardly wondered if this was what Fia had been alluding to a few weeks ago. But how could she know?
Cedric sighed heavily, folding his arms. "Not from Light Magic… But it is certainly possible with forbidden magic—dark magic."
Sofia blinked at him.
"Such practice—creating unknown creatures, much less making them look human—is forbidden in the magical world. Despite appearances, this child may be dangerous."
The princess scoffed, shaking her head. "There's no way…" Her heart wouldn't allow her to believe this little sleeping humanoid was dangerous. "She's so small and she was so helpless, out there in that storm."
"Unless that's what she wants you to think…"
"Oh, Mr. Cedric…" She sighed before reaching a hand out toward the little one (with Cedric hovering nearby just to make sure the little creature wouldn't attack them or anything), her fingers just brushing her leafy head as the child began having a coughing fit. Sofia, startled, retracted her hand.
The little strawberry child was finally awake, though she didn't seem to be fully alert. Her eyes were squinting at the ceiling as another coughing fit overtook her tiny form, and she closed her eyes again, a few tears brimming in the corners of her eyes and dampening her lashes.
Sofia, having recovered from the initial shock, placed the back of her hand against the little one's forehead and gasped. "She's burning up…" No wonder she seemed so sick; she clearly had a fever, and being in that rain had not helped things. She gathered the little girl into her arms, turning to Cedric. "Can we let her sleep in your bed for a while? It might help her rest a bit easier."
He nodded, admittedly a bit worried about the child. "Put her on the bed and stay with her. I'll be right back." He stood to his feet and left the room.
Sofia drew the covers of his bed back and allowed the little one to recline against a bunch of the sorcerer's fluffy pillows. Those pillows even looked bigger than she did, as she seemed to be sinking into them. "There," she whispered, pulling the covers back over her shaking form. "We'll take care of you. Don't you worry."
Cedric returned with a basin filled with water and a few medicinal herbs. While he had no knowledge of the child just yet, he figured something he had could possibly help her feel better. Regardless of her possible origins, he couldn't just let her stay sick. Sofia would never forgive him, and to be quite honest, he wasn't so sure he'd ever forgive himself.
He placed the basin on his desk near the bed, along with all the other items he'd brought. He passed a cloth over to Sofia, who dunked it into the basin and wrung it out before carefully placing it on the little girl's forehead.
The child's breathing was labored as she silently whimpered in her sleep.
Cedric and Sofia exchanged worried glances. This wasn't looking too good at all…
Sofia reached out and gently stroked the girl's hair, calming her down.
Over the course of the next couple of hours, Sofia hummed and continued caressing the strawberry child's hair, placing the cloth into the cool water before draping it over the child's forehead again every few minutes to help break the fever.
Cedric, meanwhile, had gone back to his workshop to finish James's healing tonic before passing it off to Baileywick to give to the prince. After he was finished, he rejoined Sofia in his bedchambers and waited to see what would happen with the child.
Not long after, the little girl's fever finally broke, and she opened her eyes. Upon seeing the two strangers hovering over her, she gasped softly before bolting from the covers and crawling quickly to the corner of the bed, away from the confused Cedric and Sofia. Her tiny body was shaking, and she appeared terrified as her large green eyes nervously observed the partners.
Even Cedric, who was a bit dubious of this girl's origins, seemed rather concerned and worried. This behavior wasn't normal, and he had to wonder what had happened to her to cause her to be so afraid of people. "Sit down," he told Sofia softly. "Don't move. Let's just see what she does."
Sofia nodded and sat on the bed next to him, anxiously waiting to see what the little one would do next.
Nana stared at the other two in fear. She didn't know these people, where she was, or why she was there. All she knew was that she'd been running away from the cult's hideout since yesterday, despite the rain. After a while, though, she'd begun tripping and bumping into things along the way, and she finally lost all of her energy as she collapsed somewhere in the hills. All she saw before passing out was a huge castle and sounds of running and panting. …Maybe…it had been these two?
Sofia's gaze softened and she carefully reached out her hand toward the little one. "Hey, sweetie. It's okay. We're not going to hurt you."
The child flinched away as she saw Sofia's hand, and she curled into a small ball at the foot of Cedric's bed.
The princess frowned at her reaction before turning to Cedric questioningly. She saw him glaring in the little girl's direction, but she could tell that he wasn't angry with her. Something seemed to be on his mind. "What is it?"
Cedric swallowed nervously before sighing. "Sofia… A reaction like that leads me to believe that…it's possible she was abused, and it's quite obvious she's not used to kindness and affection."
"Abused?" Sofia hated the sound of the foreign word on her tongue. Of course, she knew what it meant, but the concept was so outrageous to her. Who would want to hurt such a tiny girl so badly? Resigning herself to what she had to do, she slowly moved over to where the little one was sitting and reached out carefully once more, until her hand came in contact with her cheek.
Nana flinched again, but she didn't crawl away this time as she felt the soft hand caressing her cheek slowly and gently. It surprised her how soft and caring these hands were, unlike those hands back at the cult. Just thinking about that place and those people made her skin crawl. She didn't want to think of that again. She'd rather have more of these gentle caresses.
Sofia finally pulled her hand away, but to her surprise and mild amusement, the little one caught her hand and placed it on her own cheek once more. She smiled softly as the child nuzzled her hand, seeming to believe that she could be trusted. "This is too adorable," Sofia told Cedric with a small laugh. "I think I'm going to melt."
Cedric couldn't help smiling at the scene. "I admit… It is rather…cute."
Instantly, Nana's eyes trailed from Sofia to Cedric. She stared at him for a few moments and then looked down at his hand resting on his bed. His hand wasn't like the princess's. It was covered in something brown, and his fingers seemed a bit longer. Curious, she released Sofia's hand and crawled over to Cedric, sitting in front of him.
Cedric wasn't quite sure what to do now. There was an awkward silence at first, with the exception of Sofia snickering in the background.
After a few more moments, the little girl, though still a bit uncertain, reached out and placed her small hand on top of Cedric's larger one.
The sorcerer froze in silence. He didn't know what to do as the little girl looked toward him expectantly.
Sofia rolled her eyes, smiling in amusement. "Caress her head."
Blinking, Cedric lifted his hand and did just that, trailing his fingers through the girl's pink hair and smiling as she let out a happy sigh. He chuckled and exchanged glances with Sofia, who smiled at him as the little girl's eyes began drooping. Glancing back toward her, he hummed thoughtfully. "I think it's time we let her get some more sleep." That said, he gently scooped her up and carefully placed her back in her previous spot in his bed.
Sofia pulled the blankets over the girl and tucked her in.
Seeing as her fever had just broken, the little one was able to instantly fall asleep.
Cedric quietly nudged Sofia and nodded toward the door, and he led her out before gently shutting the door behind them.
In the workshop, the two partners sat down at the worktable and sighed simultaneously.
"What are we going to do, Mr. Cedric?" Sofia asked in concern. "We can't just send her away."
"First, we need to know who she is and who created her. It's quite clear to me that whoever she originally came from, they're not treating her properly. To be perfectly honest, I'm not quite familiar with her origins. We may have to consult Merlin."
Sofia nodded before sighing sadly. "Poor little Strawbaby…"
"Strawbaby?" Cedric shook his head. He could tell she was already growing attached to the little one, though he knew quite well that this may not end well. Still… "Um, yes. Say, while we let her sleep for a while, how about we play some checkers?" He grinned as she smirked at him. "I intend to win this time."
She laughed. "You're on, Mr. Cedric."
Not long after they'd started their second game, Wormwood, who was just returning from helping Nina at the Raven Haven, swooped in from the window, cawing rather loudly and then yelping as Sofia and Cedric shushed him. "What?!" He frowned as Cedric reached out and clasped his hand over his beak.
"We have something to tell you," Sofia said softly as Cedric released the raven's beak. "But you must be quiet, okay?"
He smirked. "Oh, this ought to be good… Enlighten me."
To be continued…
Next Chapter: Nana