Author's Note: So much for a one-shot. I'm well into the fourth chapter of this story already. This flashback was supposed to be just a quick bit of the chapter, but before I knew it I was well past 1,000 words. Go figure. Good thing I'm so far ahead on updates for my other story. I still plan to keep this short, but we'll see how it goes.
Sofia's thirteenth birthday was a grand event. Her parents threw an enormous ball, and her mentor, Cedric, had a hand in everything, going above and beyond in making sure that the celebration was befitting such a momentous occasion in a young girl's life.
Despite the festivities planned for the evening, Sofia was sitting in his workshop having a cup of tea with him, instead of in her room letting Violet dress her in the mounds of fabric she would be wearing to the party. She swung her legs excitedly in her chair as she gushed about the ball to Cedric, who was too busy going over a last minute mental checklist to pay her much mind. Suddenly, the color drained from his face as he realized he overlooked the most important detail of the night.
"What do you want for your birthday, little one?" The sorcerer asked Sofia, as he did every year. Normally she told him to surprise her with a magic trick, and he was expecting her to do the same now. Instead, she set her teacup down on the table gently and stood, timidly approaching her friend as though he might bite at any second. When she fully closed the distance, she leaned down to look him directly in the eyes. Cedric didn't know why, but he was feeling very unnerved by the young girl's actions. He watched her suck in a deep breath before she spoke.
"I'd like... a kiss." She answered, trying to keep her voice from shaking. Cedric examined her, mouth agape and eyes widened. After a moment he cleared his throat and spoke.
"Yes, well, I'm sure there will be plenty of young princes in attendance who would be happy to oblige you. Though you really should wait until you have someone specific in mind." He replied, not fully grasping the meaning of her words. She sighed slightly and shook her head.
"I do have someone in mind. I want you to kiss me, Mr Ceedric." She informed the man, doing her best to hide what a jumble of raw nerves she was at the moment. Cedric tried to deny her, but he couldn't think of anything to say. Instead, he sat there in a total state of disbelief.
"You're my best friend. That means far more to me than anything the princes I'll see tonight could ever hope to." She continued. She waited a moment, and when it was clear that he still wasn't going to speak, she pouted at him.
"Please, Mr Ceedric. Just a small one." She stared at him intently. She knew full well he was a sucker for both pouting and pleading, and she was sure that she'd won, now. The groan he gave confirmed his surrender, and she positively beamed at him.
"Just a small one. On the cheek." Cedric bargained, mentally pleading with her not to make a counter offer. This girl knows all my weak spots. He begrudged to himself. How did he let her get so adept at manipulating him? She nodded her acceptance, and turned her head to present her cheek to him. He moved in slowly, every intention of giving her the tiniest peck possible.
Just as his lips were about to touch her fair skin, she spun her head to meet them with her own, quickly reaching up to the back of his head and tangling her fingers into his hair to pull him into the kiss.
Cedric cursed himself for being duped, and pulled away as swiftly as he could. He watched as a smile and a blush blossomed across the young girls face simultaneously. With everything the man had in him, he forced himself not to think about how the kiss had felt. Her smile faltered when she saw the darkness clouding his face. He never looked at her like that, and she suddenly found herself feeling very frightened. She scrambled to her feet and backed away a little.
"I-I..." She began to stutter out, but she didn't know how to finish.
"You need to leave. Now." Cedric commanded, trying his best to keep his tone level. Sofia stood in absolute shock, her legs refusing to move.
"Get out!" Cedric demanded, not bothering to control his volume this time. Sofia fled the tower, not even stopping to close the door behind her. She ran through the palace until she reached her room, rushing right past a very confused Violet. The maid tried to follow her back to her quarters, but Sofia pointed her wand at the door.
"Obfirmo!" She recited, and the door locked tight. Sofia flopped onto her bed and sobbed for what felt like ages, Violet pounding on the door. When she finally calmed, she walked over to the mirror and fixed herself up as best she could before unlocking the door. Her maid was still desperately trying to open it, and practically tumbled into the room when the barrier finally gave way.
"Princess Sofia, are you alright?" Violent inquired, her voice full of concern. The princess merely nodded, not trusting herself to speak. Her maid gave her a dubious look, but set about gathering the items Sofia would need to change into for her party. After she had everything ready, she began to dress the littlest princess, worrying about the girl's unusual silence. As Violet laced her corset, Sofia finally found her voice.
"Violet, I've done something wicked, and now Mr Ceedric is terribly cross with me." She confided quietly.
"Would you like to tell me what you did?" Violet inquired. Sofia shook her head, staring down at her hands in shame, and Violet sighed slightly.
"Princess Sofia, I can hardly imagine you doing anything so bad that he wouldn't forgive you. Besides, he doesn't have it in him to stay angry at you for very long." She reassured her charge. It was an open secret in the palace that Sofia was Cedric's weakness, the one person he had any interest in being more than mere acquaintances with. He was a quiet, guarded man, but anyone who had worked with the royals before Roland had married Miranda could tell there was a drastic change in him since Sofia came to live in the palace.
"I hope you're right." The princess replied, her voice small and strained.
Once she was dressed, she was hurried off to the ball, scolded slightly for being late to her own party. The decorations were breathtaking, the ballroom was adorned in purple flowers, and a huge buffet lined the far wall.
All of her friends from school were there. Sofia scanned the crowd, looking for the only face she wanted to see at the moment. He wasn't there. James was the first to ask her to dance, and she accepted. She danced with her brother so many times over the years that she could do it in her sleep, so it seemed like a safe way to maintain normalcy while she was such a mess inside.
When their dance ended, Hugo asked for the next one, and she accepted. He wrapped his arm around her waist and they began to waltz. Just as he was pulling her closer, preparing to whisper something into her ear, Cedric appeared in the doorway.
"Excuse me, I have to go. Can we continue later?" She asked, and before he could answer, she was hurrying across the ballroom towards her best friend. Cedric stiffened visibly as she approached, and she felt terrible.
"Mr Ceedric, I am so sorry about what I did. Can you forgive me?" She asked sincerely. Cedric paled, looking around them worriedly, not wanting her words to be overheard. When he was certain no one was paying attention to them, he gestured for her to follow him. They walked out into an empty hallway and he continued moving, putting some distance between them and the party before he spoke.
"Princess Sofia, you have to understand something. You're not a little girl anymore, and it simply won't do to go around kissing grown men. Someone could misinterpret your intentions. Worse, you could be taken advantage of." He lectured the young princess, who was staring down at her shoes, willing herself not to cry again.
"It won't happen again." She mumbled contritely. Cedric sighed and ran a hand through his white bangs. He didn't wish to make her feel bad, only to have her understand why she shouldn't do such things.
"I'm not angry with you. But I do think it best if you aren't so physically affectionate anymore. You've gotten far too old for that sort of thing, and I should have asked you to stop before now, but it wasn't such an issue until..." He didn't finish before Sofia nodded and ran back to the ballroom. Pinching the bridge of his nose and groaning in frustration, Cedric followed after her. He would normally retreat to his tower and leave her alone for a while, but his presence was expected at the celebration.
