Cedric had never been much of a 'morning person'. Unless summoned in advance or on the spot, he usually spent most nights tinkering in his lab until the very early morning hours, and would sleep in close to noon the next day. Last night had been no exception, even though it had been Halloween night. Since Sofia offered to decorate the castle this year, he'd requested to have the night to himself, and King Roland had allowed it. He was still hunched over his spell-books well into the middle of the night, until he could fight off the need for sleep no longer, and he slumped into the middle of his book and snored.
Just before the break of dawn, a series of strange noises stirred the sorcerer from his slumber. He lifted his heavy head and rubbed the crust from his eyes, then turned towards the source of the noise behind him. Much to his shock, he found two strange-looking ladies, speaking to each other, in his room!
"Aunt Sally, I think we took a wrong turn-"
"I was just thinking the same thing, Rosey dear..."
Cedric couldn't help but pipe up at them, grumpy about the disruption and just wanting to get back to sleep, "Ahem! Can I -help- you...?" It was clear from his tone that he didn't really want to.
It was then that Cedric finally got a good look at them, and noticed something very strange. Now that he'd rubbed the sleep from his eyes and was looking directly at them, he couldn't help but notice that he could also see part of the bookshelves right behind the women, right -through- them! And then, to his shock, when the 'spirited' ladies noticed that he had noticed them, they quickly shuffed out of the room without another word - Right through the wall!
Cedric stared at the empty space for a few seconds, his body suddenly much colder and more stiff than it usually was. But he finally decided that either he was still dreaming, or that this was a clear sign that he was in dire need of more sleep. He decided to go with both, and let his face fall back down on the spell-book he'd been using as a pillow.
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Only a couple hours later, Cedric was woken up a second time by sharp, insistent knocking at his chamber door. He sighed a sigh that was slightly more like a growl, wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth and off the book, and then reluctantly trudged over to the door. He was prepared to give a dead tired stare to whoever it was, but was admittedly shocked into wakefulness by the fact that it turned out to be King Roland himself. "O-Oh, your majesty, w-what are you-?"
"Cedric! You really ARE sensational!" Roland abruptly seized his sorcerer by his shoulders and gave him a hearty pat on the back. Cedric stared back at him, frozen in supreme confusion and more than a little discomfort.
The King went on with a hearty laugh, "That was the BEST Halloween party this castle has thrown in years! Easily one of the top five I've ever been to, although I'm sure I don't have to tell you that Tilly's thrown at least three of the others on that list! HA! But no, -really- Cedric, you -truly- outdid yourself last night!"
"...I... I did...?" The sorcerer could barely manage to return, almost overwhelmed by the bewilderment.
"Oh don't be modest, man!" Roland shook him lightly. "I didn't think much of you requesting this Halloween off since Sofia said she wanted to decorate the castle this Halloween, but she had you working for her all along, didn't she? Hah, no, really, that haunting was so convincing at first we almost wanted to leave the castle, until Sofia explained that it was just your magic tricks! And then when all those 'spooky ghosts' showed up, oh, that was the best part! They were SO lifelike! Well, not exactly, but you know what I mean! It was like I was really talking to another person's spirit, one of them even claimed to be a great-great-great uncle of mine! It was hilarious! All the guests were SO impressed! They swore they'd think of a way to outdo us next year, but I'll be darned if they do! Good show man, good show!" He finally concluded, giving Cedric one last firm slap on the back.
Cedric almost stumbled both from the slap and his shock, but tried his best to collect himself, or at least not fall on the floor. "O-Oh, um, of cooourse your majesty, of -course- I helped Sofia put together an -incredibly spectacular- Halloween party that people will be talking about for years to come! OF COURSE. But, naturally, such a -fantastic- feat has left me rather weary..."
Roland accepted the hint gratefully. "Oh, of course Cedric! Take the rest of the day off! No, take the next week! And I'll make sure to put together a nice bonus for you by the end of this year, and the sorcery budget for next year will be nice and fat!"
That certainly woke the sorcerer up. He blinked back at the king, pleasantly surprised, "R-Really, your majesty?"
"Of course, Cedric! You sensational fellow, you! Enjoy the rest of your week!" Roland laughed as he turned on his heel and walked back down the hall from Cedric's chambers, leaving the supremely baffled sorcerer gawking after him in his wake.
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Cedric did take the rest of the day off, but he was up bright and early the next day, intent on catching the troublemaking princess in question. He caught up with her in the hallway while she was on her way to get breakfast, blocking her way with a grumpy stare. "Oh, Princess Sofia, fancy running into you! And fancy throwing a party with you that I had no idea I'd thrown, now why on Earth do I not remember doing that when everyone apparently thinks I did? HMM~?"
She blushed and grinned and shrunk back with as least some of the embarrassment she ought to feel for whatever trickery she was clearly up to. "I'm sorry Mister Cedric, but you went along with it, right? I was sure Dad would reward you, he seemed pleased with how the party turned out..."
He glared weakly at her. Technically he couldn't be -that- mad at the princess for pretty much throwing him a sweet bonus and some extra funding, but she was obviously hiding some details, and that part he did not like. "Just -what- happened on Halloween? Obviously something magical, which I know you're not capable of, which is why you blamed me for it! Who was really doing the magic, and why didn't they take the credit, hmm, hmm?"
She put her hands up defensively, "Okay, Mister Cedric, okay! I'll tell you the truth - But only if you PROMISE not to tell anyone else. Do you promise?"
Cedric rolled his eyes, but reluctantly agreed, "Alright, I won't tell. Now spill!"
"Well..." Sofia smiled bashfully. "Honestly? They were, kind of... Real ghosts!"
Cedric raised a doubtful eyebrow at her. "Real ghosts." He repeated blandly.
"Yes! Real ghosts!" The princess insisted, "They wanted to throw a party too, and at first they tried to scare everyone away because they thought they couldn't throw their party if everyone thought they were ghosts and screamed at them! But then I talked with them and told them that if everyone didn't think they were really ghosts, but instead your magic tricks, then they wouldn't get scared and scream, and we could both have our parties together!"
Cedric hadn't lowered his brow. "...You invited real ghosts to your Halloween party."
"Well, yeah!" Sofia simply shrugged.
"Oh for the love of Merlin - You're a little girl! You saw GHOSTS! Weren't you SCARED?" Cedric suddenly blurted out.
She giggled and carelessly shrugged again. "Not really! They're kinda more or less just like other people, just see-through."
"Still!" The sorcerer insisted, shivering as he remembered waking up to those strange ghostly ladies floating through his room. "Why would you want to have a party with them? What if they want to come back now?"
"That's the thing!" She argued back, "Apparently ghosts can only see their friends and family once every hundred years! Isn't that awful? It would have been terribly selfish to not let them have their party. I just couldn't do it. But it ended up working out for all of us!" She ended with a gleeful chirp. "So, it's okay with you, right Mr. Cedric?"
He sighed and rolled his eyes, looking away from her big, pleading eyes. "Oh... Fine! But just this once! If you're planning on involving me in any more mischief on the future, I'd better know about it first!"
She quickly nodded, "Of course, Mister Cedric! I swear, I -did- feel bad about it and wanted to tell you, but I was so busy with the party I didn't have time that night. I just had to do it for them. Can you imagine only seeing your friends and family once every hundred years? I sure am glad I'm not a ghost yet! And I'm going to enjoy my friends and family for as long as I can! Sooo, I'm going to go see my family at breakfast now!" She announced, excusing herself by moving around Cedric slyly. "Thank you so much for your help, Mister Cedric! You're a good friend!" She called back at him right before disappearing around the hall.
Cedric rolled his eyes after he watched her go, then sighed as he contemplated what to do with the rest of his day off. He was suddenly struck by the urge to pay a visit to his sweet old mumsy... And since he was going to get a nice fat bonus soon, he was going to bring her some fancy chocolates, a luxurious cloak, and a shiny new cauldron!
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