Mentor to Mentor
Summary: After accepting Olivia as his apprentice, Mateo needs all the advice he can get in order to become the best mentor he can be.
Disclaimer: I don't own Sofia the First or Elena of Avalor. I only own the Kingdom of Palenquía.
A/N: So after watching "Wizard-In-Training" on Elena of Avalor, I knew exactly what I had to do. Therefore, this story was born. If you're not aware, in the new episode, Mateo makes a young girl named Olivia his apprentice. She's adorable! She admires Mateo so much and just fawns all over him when she first meets him…pretty similar to another certain someone. :) Also, just for reference, if you've not read my story "Confidant," Mateo and Cedric HAVE met in my little story world, so this is like a reunion for them so to speak. Haha. Enjoy!
*Story*
"Oh, Mateo!" Elena called as she peaked into his workshop with a bright smile. "Hey, you done working for a while?"
"Are you kidding?" he joked with a grin. "A royal wizard's work is never done! But I…suppose I could take a break." He rubbed the back of his neck. "Olivia stopped by today to help me clean up the place after yesterday, and well…let's just say she was curious about some cleaning spells, but they went sort of wrong."
The princes laughed as she extended her hand to him, swiftly pulling him along. "Well, she's just a little girl. It will take some time for her to get adjusted to the magical life. And while I had my reservations about the whole teacher thing at first, I think what you're doing is pretty noble."
He blinked in surprise. "Really?"
"Yeah! You're encouraging the next generation to give it their all and not be afraid to try new things." She winked. "That's a wonderful thing to do, Mateo de Alva."
He chuckled nervously and shrugged modestly. "Well, thanks, Elena… So what did you need me for?"
She released his hand and turned around, walking backwards in front of him as she clasped her hands behind her back. "As it turns out, at least from what Armando told me, the Enchancian crew decided to stop by for a visit before moving on to another kingdom while on a royal vacation…" She smiled softly as he caught on.
"Sofia's here?"
"And her family, and a few others from their kingdom."
"Awesome! Let's go see!"
Elena yelped as he grabbed her hand and hurried off down the hallway.
"It's a pleasure to have you and your family here again, King Roland," Luisa gushed pleasantly as she and Francisco chatted with the Enchancian family and their workers. "Tell me: what brings you here?"
"We're on our way to the Kingdom of Palenquía, and we decided to drop by for a visit since it was on the way." He wrapped one arm around Sofia's shoulders, making her smile. "Sofia would never have let me have a moment's peace if we'd passed on visiting, after all."
"Well, we're pleased to have you all here," Francisco added warmly. "Why don't you stay for a while and have dinner with us? Luisa is making her famous tamales, and there will also be lots of other Avaloran dishes you are bound to enjoy."
"That sounds awesome!" James piped up. "I'm starving! And Amber is 'hangry' or whatever Clio called her when she got grumpy from not eating the other day." He grinned as his twin nudged him.
"Ugh, really, James?" Amber huffed.
"Just follow Estéban then. He's already managed to get the dining room set up," Luisa told them.
"All ready?" Baileywick asked in surprise.
"Hey, look, Baileywick," Cedric teased playfully. "Someone who's even more efficient than you."
As they were all following Estéban, who was more than glad to be given the task of seeing to the Enchancian family, Sofia fell back when she heard a familiar voice call out to her.
"Sofia!"
The girl turned and gasped in shock as she felt herself scooped into familiar arms and spun around a couple of times. She giggled as she hugged the newcomer. "Hi to you too, Elena!" she laughed.
The others turned to witness the rather warm reception the youngest royal had received. It was no secret that Elena was forever grateful for what she did for her and her kingdom, and who could blame her? Without Sofia, she'd still be stuck in the amulet—probably forever.
"We were beginning to wonder if you would show up, Elena," Estéban mentioned as he folded his arms. "You simply vanished the moment their arrival was mentioned. We were beginning to wonder."
"Yeah, sorry about that, everyone. I'm here now though!" She beamed happily. She walked forward and grabbed her cousin's arm, walking along with him as they led everyone forward again. "I believe you were heading to dinner?"
The older chancellor gave his cousin a reproving look before sighing and rolling his eyes. Some things never changed.
"…So how have you all been?" Miranda asked later as they had all sat down to eat. "It looks like you're making some new progress since we were last here."
"Oh, yes," Francisco confirmed. "With our Elena in charge, things have never been better. Vast improvements and changes have been applied for the better, I believe. Of course, Avalor is still classic Avalor at heart, but it's just a newer version."
"She is certainly exploring the idea of changes quite well," Estéban muttered as he cut some of the meat on his plate. "Elena seems to like 'new and improved' better than 'old yet reliable.'"
"That's not true," the princess quipped. "After all, I still have you around." She grinned as the chancellor gave her a deadpanned stare. "I'm just kidding, primo. Calm down."
"And she's the one in charge, huh?" Cedric murmured to Sofia, who giggled. "Well, if nothing else, she can charm any enemies and perhaps make them laugh."
"Whatever works best," the young girl remarked with a grin as she returned to her food. "Mrs. Luisa, these tamales are great!"
"Thank you, Princess Sofia. It's one of my own recipes." She smiled happily.
"Oh, Elena, I'll be back," Mateo told her as he stood up. "I forgot to make sure all the tamboritas were locked away. I don't want any more potential mishaps in the future."
Elena snickered. "Nope, we wouldn't want that. Hurry back though! I'm sure these guys need to be going soon, and I want us to have enough time to visit."
"I know. It won't take too long."
"If you need some assistance, I could help you," Cedric suggested. "Perhaps two wands will be better than one, and you can get your work done quicker?"
"Is Cedric actually volunteering to help someone without being prompted?" Roland whispered to Miranda, who nudged him. "What? I know he's changed. I'm just…surprised he willingly volunteered himself."
"I told you to give the guy a chance," she returned quietly with a wink. "Maybe Sofia knew what she was talking about after all."
"Sure, Mr. Cedric," Mateo responded happily as he nodded. "I'd appreciate it a lot!"
The Avaloran and Enchancian families continued their conversations as the two magic wielders left.
"I take it your spells have improved," Cedric began as he and the younger wizard traversed the expanse of the palace toward his workshop.
"Oh, yeah, a lot, actually. In fact, Elena and I have been working to figure out…some stuff." He didn't want to get too into detail with the exploration of Elena's magic. After all, it was something of a secretive subject for their own Avaloran people, so sharing too much with an Enchancian sorcerer might not be best. "Uh, both new and old spells, that is. So many of them have roots in our ancient culture, so it's interesting to learn more about them."
"I see." Cedric didn't quite buy the boy's entire story, but who was he to pry? After all, Avalor and Enchancia were two entirely different places. Perhaps it was best not to know. "I am glad to hear you are still working toward being your best. And for someone still so young, it's impressive."
"Thanks! Oh, and that's not even the half of it." He unlocked the secret path to his workshop and led Cedric inside. "Just a few days ago, I actually met a girl who knew who I was. She was dressed just like me and said she admired me and loved the fact that I was a wizard. She loved magic and wanted to learn all about it."
"You don't say?" Cedric chuckled. "Sounds awfully familiar for some reason." He smiled when Mateo blinked at him. "Princess Sofia was much like that when I first met her. She was new to the castle and to royal life, but one thing that was always true about her and still is to this day is that she is enamored by magic. Like your little friend, she wanted to learn more about magic. She actually came to me for help with something pertaining to school. I ended up making her my apprentice, and even a few years later, she still is. She's learned a lot from me, yet not nearly as much as I've learned from her." He wasn't sure just why he was telling this boy all of this. It's not like he asked. And it's not like they were exactly 'friends' either. Still, he felt that Mateo was good company, and for some reason he entrusted him with his perspective. "Anyway… So what happened with this girl?"
Mateo started grabbing some of the tamboritas that had been scattered during the last meeting with Olivia. He smiled in appreciation as Cedric used his wand to encase them all in a stream of magic before settling them into their place along the wall once more. "Thanks. Well, first of all, her name is Olivia. After talking to her and realizing how much learning magic meant to her, I told her I'd teach her and made her my apprentice."
"This is starting to sound eerily familiar," the sorcerer remarked as he folded his arms.
"Heh. Elena thought it was a bad idea at first. She said teaching takes a lot of focus and dedication, and I'd have to walk her through things step by step."
"Princess Elena is correct. Sofia had to learn magic not only by instructions and spell books, but also by actually doing spells. It's part of why she's excelled in her sorcery class at school, I believe, because she actually threw herself into the experience of magic."
Mateo nodded. "Yeah, I can tell! The girl is a natural." He laughed nervously as he ran a hand through his hair. "Well, things started off fine. We chatted and I got her to practice on an alchemy set, but then I got a bit distracted trying to solve some problems the locals had with my own magic, so…I guess I kind of gave her busy magic."
"Busy magic," Cedric repeated with a shake of his head. "That's a new one. What else do you need me to help you with?"
"Uh, if you could just do something about this—" He gestured toward the scattered papers on his table. "—yeah, that'd be great."
The Enchancian sorcerer nodded and aimed his wand at the mess, gathering the papers into the air and magically sorting them into perfect piles.
"Awesome! Thanks, Mr. Cedric." He laughed. "Anyway, Olivia didn't really seem to take well to not having my full attention, and she wanted to learn magic so badly…so she sort of, kind of…overheard some of my spells and learned them on her own. And then she got a bit out of hand, yelling out random spells left and right, even if they weren't the right ones." He sighed in frustration at the recollection. "And after I'd told her to be careful and not mess with certain things."
"What?" Cedric asked in feigned surprise. "You mean to tell me your apprentice has a mind of her own and doesn't follow the rules sometimes?" He smiled sarcastically. "Just wait. It gets worse."
"Oh, great! So Sofia was like that?"
"Well, Sofia is someone I actually consider a bit of a prodigy. Not only did she take to magic well, but she also managed to teach others magic. Anyway, yes, she's always been a bit headstrong and has slipped a few times in the past and gone against my wishes or used some magic without my knowledge or permission, but I believe with age comes wisdom." He shrugged. "She's a few years older now and certainly more capable of handling the stronger forms of magic, and she's much more responsible. Plus you know as well as I about her amulet, which holds her own powers. She's had to learn to control that just to endure a daily life."
"I see…" The boy nodded in understanding. He knew about the Amulet of Avalor, and he knew probably more than Cedric did, especially concerning Elena. But that was a conversation for another time…maybe. "So what you're saying is…?"
"This young girl, Olivia, is not that different from Sofia, or so I believe. They both like magic, and they both have someone to teach it to them. But with that comes the need for you and I to be both patient and firm. If something is dangerous, tell her—and tell her why. Sometimes it's best to be well-informed when magic is concerned, considering how dangerous it can be. Also, no means no. You must establish a set of rules and regulations with your own apprentice. Tell her what you expect from her and what she'll receive as a reward if she's compliant."
"You really would have been a great professor," Mateo said with a thoughtful smile. "I mean, you're an awesome sorcerer, and you're obviously doing what you enjoy the best (believe me, I understand), but I really do think if you'd chosen any other profession, a sorcery professor would have been perfect for you."
"Well, thank you, Mateo." He folded his arms. "Anyway…that's about the best advice I can offer you, I think. When all is said and done, having Sofia as my apprentice has been wonderful. Sure, I wasn't certain about the situation at first, but I believe you'll come to find—as I did—that having someone to share your passion and magical interest with is worth it in the end. Really and truly, my life improved vastly because of her. Perhaps Olivia could do the same for you."
The brunette grinned. "Yeah, just maybe. It's only been a few days, and I don't know what the future holds, but I guess we'll see."
"Indeed."
About an hour later, the Enchancian group bid their friends farewell and took off on their vacation once again as the Avaloran group went back to their normal routines. Estéban was thrilled, of course, because that meant fewer distractions.
"Hey, Mateo," Elena greeted as she walked over and gently nudged her friend. "So, did you and Cedric have a good chat?"
"What makes you think we had a chat?" He saw her knowing smile and chuckled. "Well, yeah. I know he isn't exactly the most outgoing sorcerer or anything, but he knows his stuff. And he actually gives some pretty good advice."
"Oh, really? What did he give you advice about?"
"Olivia."
"Uh-huh. And what did he have to say?"
Mateo smiled thoughtfully. "In a nutshell…don't give up on her."
The princess returned the smile and nodded. "I like that advice. Good for Cedric. Good for you, Mateo. I'm proud of you."
He laughed as they moved along to their next adventure, whatever that may be. "Thanks, Elena."
The end