All Aboard

Summary: Chrysta sends Sofia on an Undercover Protector Mission to investigate strange magical occurrences at a boarding school, and her mentor and siblings get pulled along for the ride.

Disclaimer: I only own the characters featured at the boarding school.

A/N: All right! Chapter 2 has arrived! Haha. If you've been wanting to see "Suspicious Cedric" in my stories again, you've got your wish. 😉 With the movie coming out in two weeks, I already have a strong feeling that pretty much everyone is going to discover her secret(s), so this is something of a prelude I suppose. Anyway! Hope you enjoy this chapter!

Chapter List:

1: Protective Instincts

2: Intervention

3: Parental Agreement

4: Boarding Abroad

5: Magic Words

6: Claire Lois XIV

7: Hidden in Plain Sight

8: Down with the Dame

9: Safe and Sound

*Story*

Chapter 2: Intervention

Upon arriving to the castle, Sofia immediately went to her room and started packing a bag. She didn't suspect she'd be staying for too long, but she wasn't entirely sure either. Really, how long should one pack for an undercover mission to discover the source of an evil magic-absorber?

Now there was the matter of actually getting to the boarding school. Chrysta was supposed to inform her of all the necessary details soon, but Skye was currently sick and wouldn't be able to accompany her on the mission. She supposed Minimus would be her 'loyal steed' for this trip, but she still wanted to find out more information before letting him in on the secret mission. After all, unlike Skye, Minimus wasn't always completely on board with her secretive missions, even though he always went through with helping her out in the end.

She stopped her packing when she heard a knock at the door. "Come in!" Seeing Amber and James walk inside, she laughed nervously and quickly stood in front of her backpack full of clothes. "Hi, guys! What brings you here?"

Amber frowned at her sister's reaction and folded her arms as she and her brother stopped close to her. "Sofia, what's going on?"

"What do you mean?"

"You've kind of been acting weird ever since you got home," James told her. "We tried to call to you to get your attention, but you ignored us and hurried to your room. Never mind not being very nice; it's also kind of suspicious."

Sofia frowned at the mentioning. "I'm sorry, you guys. I've just had a lot on my mind."

Noting the bag of clothing behind her sister, the blonde girl raised an eyebrow. "Obviously." She sighed as Sofia's face dropped, realizing she was caught. "Sofia, I know you're nervous about graduation, but I don't think running away is going to solve any problems."

"Running away?"

"I mean," James added, shrugging, "I never took you for the running-away type, but you have been disappearing a lot lately. Does it have anything to do with the dragons we visited a while ago?"

"What? No! Well… Not exactly." James had no clue of her role as a Story Keeper, and he especially didn't know anything about her role as a Protector. It's not that she wanted to keep him in the dark, but… Sofia caught the pointed look from Amber and sighed. "Look, let's… Let's go for a walk and I'll explain what's going on, okay? But you can't tell Mom and Dad."

"Ooh, a secret!" James grinned. "Sofia, what have you been up to recently?"

"A lot," Amber murmured, still eyeing her younger sister carefully. She knew more than anyone in their family (and castle) what Sofia spent her spare time doing. Not that she didn't think Sofia could handle herself, but she didn't like that the other princess was often on her own and in danger.

As they walked, Sofia explained that she'd discovered that there was a magical boarding school that had students being drained of energy and magic left and right, and she wanted to see if she could help them. She told as much as she could without revealing anything about her Protector status or the Mystic Isles. While Amber realized how she might have come by such information, James was completely lost.

"How do you even know about that?" he asked, confused. "And why is it your responsibility to help them? Not that I don't think those kids need help, but why does it have to be you doing it?"

"It just…does, okay?" Sofia sighed, calming down. It was so hard trying to conceal her secret, and she hated not being able to reveal everything to her family and friends (minus Amber, of course), but…it was the way it had to be for now. She couldn't put them in danger. "I'd never forgive myself if I could have helped these people and didn't. It would really bother me, every single day."

"But Sofia," Amber sighed, "as much as I agree with you, and I know your heart is in the right place, let's not forget that we have graduation coming up. There's still so much to do to get ready for it."

"Don't you think I know that, Amber?" Sofia asked a little too harshly, before backing down and murmuring a soft apology after seeing the shocked look on the other girl's face. "I know… And no matter what, I'll be ready…I guess." She frowned, determined. "But helping those students is important to me. I can't just ignore them and let whoever is doing this get away with it."

The twins sighed together. They couldn't change their sister's mind once she'd made a decision. They knew that quite well. Sofia was stubborn at worst and dedicated at best. She'd come a long way from being that scared, uncertain little girl who entered those castle gates all those years ago.

"Whatever you decide, Sof, we're with you," James told her, placing a hand on her shoulder and earning a smile from her. "Just be careful."

"I will. I promise." She sighed as they headed off to take care of some things. She never would expect them to understand how much responsibility she had. She didn't want them to worry about that, really. She could handle things on her own, or so she believed, anyway… Turning, she began walking again and promptly ran into someone. Glancing up, she blinked. "Hi, Mr. Cedric."

Cedric stood before her, his arms folded and a deep frown on his face. If Sofia didn't know any better, she could have sworn this was a throw-back to the first time she ran into him…in almost the exact same spot too!

Sofia smiled uncertainly, seeing he still hadn't said anything. "Um… Are you okay?"

"Can't say that I am," he admitted seriously, his voice a bit more even than she was expecting.

"Oh? Uh…" She swallowed nervously, a bit concerned about his strange response. "What's wrong?"

"I overheard your conversation with your brother and sister."

"…Oh."

Cedric finally unfolded his arms and placed his hands on his apprentice's shoulders instead. "Sofia, listen to me and listen carefully." He sighed as she blinked. "I know you're a strong person in your own right—helping others, standing up for people, doing what's right… But I'll never understand why you always feel it's necessary to take on wicked forces on your own."

"Mr. Cedric…"

"I'm inclined to agree with your siblings, my dear," he continued as he released her shoulders. "Honestly, I wish you'd let someone else handle it and stay out of the situation altogether. I worry about you, you know."

Sofia gasped. She knew that Cedric cared about her and about her safety, but hearing him say it out loud meant a lot.

"Every time you go off on another adventure or put yourself in danger for the sake of others… I always wonder if things will turn out well…or if…"

She hugged him gently, smiling as he knelt to her and returned the hug. She leaned back a few moments later and mimicked his earlier motion of placing her hands on his shoulders this time. "Mr. Cedric, I promise, I'll be careful. No matter what happens, I'll always come back to you guys."

Cedric really didn't care for the way she'd said that, for some reason. It was then that he made a decision. "I'm going with you."

"Huh?" She lowered her hands as he released her but still stayed at her level.

"I made your father a promise after last year—a promise to remember all you've done for me and be grateful for it. I am. And I promised myself that I'd always try to keep you safe, as it's the least I could do for someone who saved me."

"You want to go…with me?" Granted, having Cedric along with her on the mission might be better and even safer, but she wasn't sure what to say if he asked her about the origin of this mission. She couldn't very well tell him about her role as a Protector. But how would she handle that? She then smiled slowly, nodding. "All right, Mr. Cedric. But there's just one thing. This is an undercover mission at a boarding school…with kids. You're going to have to change into your child form if you want to go."

He made a face at the notion of reverting to his child form, but his concern for his apprentice's wellbeing outweighed his hesitation. He sighed and nodded. "Very well."

"We're going with you guys."

Cedric and Sofia turned to see that the twins had approached yet again, looks of determination on their faces.

Amber smirked as Sofia gaped at them. "What? We can't let you two have all the fun."

"Amber, James, I…" Sofia realized immediately that telling her siblings no just wasn't going to be an option. She sighed and relented, shrugging. "All right. The more, the merrier, I guess."

"Whoo!" James cheered loudly until Amber slapped a hand over his mouth, shushing him. He smiled sheepishly as she lowered her hand. "Sorry. I mean, yay!" He grinned.

"Oh, yeah," Sofia remarked sarcastically before laughing uncertainly. "What could possibly go wrong?"

To be continued…