Fifteen Minutes

Summary: Sometimes, all it takes is fifteen minutes of downtime to make things better.

Disclaimer: I don't own "Sofia the First," Cedric, Sofia, Baileywick, or time. :D

A/N: First of all, thank you all for the reviews recently! They made me smile, and I appreciate your feedback and support, as usual. In addition, I'm in the process of getting as many stories to you as I can before school starts back in a few weeks. Time's flown by this summer, it seems! So here we go with the first story. "Hostage" should be finished within the next few weeks, so keep an eye out for that. :D

"Bah," Cedric uttered with a look of despair as his perfectly-designed banner collapsed from the top of the castle walls. "Oh, that does it. I give up."

Baileywick smirked at him from his position near the large glass punch bowl, which he was polishing. "Problems, Cedric?"

"Yes! This blasted banner refuses to stay where I put it. I swear, it's like it's magic-proof or something." He glanced toward the steward, who rolled his eyes. "I don't suppose you had something to do with that, hmm?"

"Yes, Cedric," Baileywick drawled with an exaggerated tone. "I, Baileywick, Royal Steward of Enchancia, have nothing better to do than to hex your magically-induced banner."

Cedric smirked and pointed his wand at him. "Is that a confession I hear?"

"Oh, honestly!" He sighed and placed the cloth aside before grabbing a ladle. "Some of us have to do things without magic, so when would I have the time or the interest for messing up something of yours, Cedric?"

The sorcerer folded his arms. "Well, there's got to be a reason it keeps falling… Maybe the walls just aren't receptive enough…"

Baileywick raised an eyebrow at him. "Even I know that doesn't make any sense…" He then smiled when he saw a new arrival. "Good morning, Princess Sofia."

Cedric glanced down to his left and saw his apprentice standing next to him. "When did you get here?"

She grinned. "Just now."

"You're a little too good at sneaking up on people without them hearing, you know." He smiled in amusement as she laughed.

"So you've said."

"Oh, no," Baileywick groaned in dismay as one of the glasses he'd picked up slid from his hands and shattered on the floor. "Oh, no! This is terrible! That was Princess Amber's favorite glass!"

Cedric blinked. "They all look the same, Baileywick…"

"She knows the difference!" He knelt onto the floor and began trying to gather the shards together, but one against a particularly sharp edge caused him to cut his left forefinger, which he felt immediately. "Ow!"

Sofia gasped. "Baileywick, are you all right?"

"Well, I've been better…"

Meanwhile, Cedric attempted to use his wand to get the banner back up, but he growled in frustration when not only did it refuse to stay on the wall again, but it fell on top of him, draping over him like an unwanted blanket. "All right, that's it!"

The princess looked back and forth between her two friends, one nursing his wound and the other crawling out from under a heavy and apparently vicious banner. She then broke down in giggles.

Baileywick and Cedric exchanged glances before blinking at her.

"What's so funny?" Cedric demanded as he shoved the banner away. "Do you find our troubles amusing, Sofia?"

"No!" She then smiled at them. "I think you two could use a break though…" She walked over and held her hands out to Cedric, who reluctantly took them as she helped him up.

"We don't have time for a break, Princess Sofia," Baileywick informed her before seeing her walk over and grab his uninjured hand. "We must finish this before King Roland returns this afternoon."

"Fifteen minutes," she insisted with a gentle smile. "It's just a little break, and no one will know the difference anyway. And if anyone says anything, just tell them it was my idea."

"Oh, I plan on it," Cedric joked lightly as he folded his arms. He sighed in resignation as Sofia held out a hand to him expectantly, and he rolled his eyes in humor before accepting her hand. "And where are you taking us exactly?"

"Just follow me!"

Upon obeying the young princess's request, Cedric and Baileywick found themselves outside the castle and on the bridge over the water.

"Why are we way out here?" Baileywick wondered as the girl finally released their hands.

"Because," she began in a matter-of-fact tone with a calm smile, "the farther away you are from your 'duties' or troubles, the more clearly you'll start thinking. Look at it this way. Mr. Cedric, what do you always tell me to do when I can't get a spell right?"

He eyed her curiously. "Step away and try again…?"

"Yes! The point is, if I'd left you two in there, Baileywick would probably have hurt more than just one finger, and Mr. Cedric would probably be trapped under that banner." She smiled as the two royal workers exchanged looks again before sighing in agreement.

"Well, it's already been…six minutes," Baileywick stated as he took out his pocket watch. He gasped when Sofia grabbed it and held it behind her back. "Sofia!"

She grinned. "Relax, Baileywick. The whole point of this is to get you away from deadlines and stress for a change."

"That's his entire life," Cedric informed his friend as she eyed him in agreement. "It's both of our lives, really."

"But the entire castle won't be in ruins just because you're not there to hang a silly banner for a few minutes, or because you don't have the glasses in the right spot, Baileywick."

The steward nodded before frowning. "Though I probably should have finished gathering those shards from the floor…"

Cedric rolled his eyes. "Why not let me handle that? The last thing we need is your entire hand cut up and damaged before the party starts. Imagine explaining that to King Roland. 'Oh, honestly, Your Majesty, I thought it was a good idea to rake up sharp glass with my bare hands!'" He smirked when Baileywick actually smiled and rolled his eyes. "You know it was funny."

"Whatever you say, Cedric."

The conversation turned more to an upcoming trip they were all taking with Sofia's family, and the excitement that came along with it. Baileywick was thrilled to inform them that he'd gotten a new jacket for the occasion, while Cedric remarked that all of his jackets looked exactly the same. Of course, Baileywick shot back with a witty reply about Cedric's endless supply of purple robes. Eventually, Sofia decided it was time for them to return to their original places.

"Okay," she laughed as her two friends stopped their arguing—or discussion, whichever. "Do you feel better?"

"I do!" Baileywick smiled. "Thank you, Princess Sofia. I guess you're right… It is good to step back for a little bit." He nodded gratefully when she handed him the pocket watch once more. "But for now, I guess it's back to work."

"Just be careful," she suggested as the steward agreed and headed back to the castle, with the other two following him.

"Now I just need to figure out how to keep that banner from falling," Cedric muttered as Sofia walked along beside him.

"Hmm… Why not use the sticky spell the Hexley Hall kids used on you a few months ago?"

Cedric considered this suggestion before smiling and shrugging. "I guess it couldn't hurt. Who knew mischievous little brats would inspire you?"

She giggled as she continued following him, anxious to see the final preparations once all was said and done.

The end