Chapter 2: Sparks
After school the following day Sofia headed for Cedric's tower, humming to herself. She was so excited to begin her apprenticeship. But it wasn't just the magic that had her excited, if she was being honest with herself. Over the years her feelings for Cedric had slowly changed from platonic friendship, to developing a young schoolgirl crush, to slightly confused but certain adoration. Cedric had always fascinated her. His dry sense of humor, his determination to succeed, the fact that no matter what, he always did the right thing in the end. His amber eyes, his two toned hair, his wiry frame. She loved everything about him. And she knew even though he sometimes pretended he was too busy to give her his time, it was mostly for show. She knew he cared about her and valued her friendship. She had never thought of him romantically until one night when Amber was talking about courting princes and eventually marrying. Amber asked if she had anyone in mind, and was surprised when Cedric came to mind. She changed the subject with Amber and kept her feelings to herself. Since then she couldn't seem to stop thinking about him that way. These new feelings were very confusing. That kiss in the garden yesterday! It had been totally impulsive, and she worried that she had overstepped her bounds. It had only been on the cheek, for just a moment, but still… she sighed sadly. She knew, being quite a bit his junior, and a princess, and nowhere near as powerful, that she didn't really stand a chance. She also didn't think her parents would react favorably to a match with Cedric.
"You are his apprentice now! You need to focus on learning magic, nothing else!" She told herself firmly.
She took a deep breath to clear her head and knocked on his door.
"Come in," she heard Cedric mutter distractedly. He always seemed to be in the middle of something when she arrived. She opened the door and found him poring over a thick tomb.
"Good afternoon, Cedric!"
Cedric looked up from his book. Princess Sofia looked beautiful as ever, today in a deep blue off the shoulder gown. The dress brought out the color of her piercing blue eyes, which were currently looking at him expectantly.
"Since when do you think of her as beautiful, pull yourself together, Cedric," he thought to himself, shaking his head slightly.
"Good afternoon, Princess Sofia. Seeing as your birthday is in less than a week, I thought we could begin your apprenticeship by learning to conjure magical fireworks, as you mentioned yesterday. It is a slightly difficult spell, though I think you can handle it with practice. If you are successful, perhaps we can put on a fireworks display together at your party."
Sofia was thrilled. "Cedric, that sounds perfect, can we start right away?" she asked excitedly.
"I have something for you first," Cedric replied, turning and walking over to his desk. He opened a drawer and pulled out a beautiful wand, engraved with vines and leaves. "This was one of my first wands, given to me by my favorite teacher, Grimwood. It is a powerful wand and I thought it was time to pass it on to you." He held out the wand, waiting for her to take it.
"Cedric, thank you so much!" Sofia exclaimed, taking the wand from him and getting a feel for it in her hand. "I love it, it feels just right for me."
"You are most welcome." Cedric replied. "I think it will serve you well."
Cedric opened the wand case on his desk, a gift from Sofia on Wassailia many years ago. He took out his family wand and turned back to Sofia.
"What do I do first?" Sofia asked, ready to begin.
"Erhm, Princess, since I don't fancy having my workshop blown up by fireworks, we will need to relocate in order to practice this spell." he replied dryly, looking at Sofia amusedly.
"Oh! Of course! Let's go outside, then." She turned and led the way downstairs, a faint flush creeping over her cheeks.
Cedric discovered he quite enjoyed making her blush. Then, horrified, she shook his head. "Good God, Cedric, focus on teaching her magic." he thought.
Once outside, in a courtyard without a lot of trees, Cedric began the lesson.
"Allright, Sofia. First I will teach you the wand movement. You need a confident flick of the wrist, and a counterclockwise swirl," he demonstrated. Sofia mimed his movements.
"Very good. Now, as you are waving the wand and reciting the magic words, you need to envision in your mind what kinds of fireworks you'd like to release. It is easiest to start with simple colors and patterns. Once you have those down, you can do rockets, pinwheels, multicolored explosions, and so on. You can even write messages in the sky eventually."
Sofia's eyes widened. "That is extraordinary!" she exclaimed.
Cedric loved the wonder and appreciation she always had for magic.
"Now, the magic words are 'Firecrackerus Explodicus!' Practice saying the words first."
Sofia cleared her throat. "Firecrackerus Explodicus!" she recited.
"Right. Be sure to say the words with confidence, I will demonstrate for you." He waved his wand, recited the words, and a beautiful blue firework erupted into the sky. Sofia watched in awe.
"Now it's your turn, give it a go!" Cedric said, looking at Sofia expectantly.
Sofia took a deep breath, waved her wand, and recited, "Firecrackerus Explodicus!" a small fizzle of light escaped her wand, then vanished. Her face fell.
"Don't get discouraged, remember the sorcerer's secret!" Cedric exclaimed, "Try again, and this time be more confident in your recitation. Be sure to envision in your mind's eye what you want to see!"
Sofia took a deep breath and tried again. This time she sent up a beautiful red fountain. She grinned, and shouted, "I did it, I really did it!"
The sorcerer and his apprentice practiced for the remainder of the afternoon, until Sofia seemed to get the basics down. Dinnertime was approaching, and Sofia and Cedric finished their lesson and headed back up to his workshop.
"You did good work today, Sofia. Why don't we meet for tomorrow's lesson at 9:00 rather than directly after school, it may be easier to see the fireworks, especially if you want to work on projecting messages into the sky," Cedric suggested.
"That sounds like a good idea," Sofia replied. "I want to be really good at this for my party. You are such a great teacher, Cedric."
Cedric smiled slightly at the compliment.
"Merlin's Mushrooms, I can't believe you are turning seventeen," Cedric groused, leading the way back up to his tower. "It makes me feel old."
"Oh Cedric, you can't be that old. How old were you when I first came to the Castle?" She asked, as they headed up the spiral staircase.
"I took my father's place as Royal Sorcerer not long before you came to the castle. I was 21, just out of sorcery school and very unsure of myself." Cedric replied, opening the door to his workshop.
He took Sofia's wand and put it in the drawer. He placed his own wand back into its case.
"So that makes you, what? 30? Wow, you are getting old, Cedric!" She exclaimed sarcastically.
"Oh hush, you!" he responded wryly. "I may be old, but with age comes wisdom, and I certainly have acquired that over the years."
She looked at him proudly. "And so you have. One of the many reasons I wanted you as my sorcerer." She blushed slightly, realizing how possessive she sounded.
Cedric stuttered, "I… I am flattered, princess. And I am honored to have you as my apprentice. But I think I am keeping you from your family supper. Best be on your way, I think."
"Yes, well, goodnight Cedric. Thank you for a wonderful lesson." Sofia said, smiling warmly as she exited his workshop.
"Goodnight, Sofia." Cedric followed her out and shut the door gently. He let out a deep breath that he had been unaware he was holding. The kiss yesterday, the sarcastic flirting today. She had called him "her" sorcerer. Good lord, had she developed some sort of crush on him? What on earth did she see in him? Surely it was just a phase, she was certainly more interested in the magic than him? "Perhaps I'm imagining all this" he told himself. "Sofia and I are just close friends, that's all. She doesn't see me that way." And yet, he couldn't suppress that feeling he had when she looked at him with those dazzling blue eyes, as though he was the most important person in the world. He was a lonely man and valued her friendship and company more than he originally let himself believe.
"It doesn't help that she is turning into a stunningly beautiful woman before my eyes," he thought to himself. "No! Not that again!" he whacked himself in the forehead. "I am her teacher, she is my friend and student. Nothing more!" He almost convinced himself, then sat down and continued to read his potions book, willing himself to think of anything but Sofia.
