"Perhaps, we ought to make a new one. For safekeeping of course"
Cedric uttered, as he sat on the worktable. He had lots of materials strewn over the place and it looked messy throughout. He is working on a new spell that can help him his work
But unfortunately, the thought never came to him. The only thing he has made so far is a lousy wrench even he himself doesn't know the use of
He had too much time to spare, and Cedric knew he had to be productive somehow instead of sleeping all day. And now he found himself in this situation
All of a sudden, a loud series of knocks was heard from behind. It came from his door
"Oh Mr. Ceedric!"
The voice was familiar to him. He didn't even need to see who this individual is to identify such a visitor
Cedric then opened the door, revealing a certain little auburn haired princess from the outside smiling at him
"What do you want?" He asked in a passive tone
This caused her happy expression to fade, as a mad pout forms on her face
"Gee, is this how you treat your visitors?" Sofia whined
"Goodbye~" Cedric stated as he slowly closed the door, but upon doing so, Sofia quickly snuck herself in before he could fully close it
Cedric grew annoyed over this. She just has no regard for safety at all
"That was certainly dangerous, Princess Sofia. You could've been sandwiched there."
Sofia turns to him with a playful look on her face
"Well then, next time, don't close the door on me, Mr. Ceedric…"
Cedric huffed a sigh, getting quite annoyed over her silly banters. He can't just have a one single day without being pestered by the little girl
Sofia however had a beam on her face, enjoying the situation that they were in.
The sorcerer then looked at her again, and upon doing so, he noticed that she was carrying something on her right arm
"What is that right there?" he asked
The girl grew silent all of a sudden, as her fingers twiddled with each other
"It's umm" She mumbled slowly
"A board game that I made.."
"A board game?" Cedric asked
"You made a board game?"
Sofia nodded as she revealed the box to him
His enthusiasm however didn't linger long
"Too bad, I am in no state for games at the moment. Go play with your siblings or something."
"I named it Merlyn's Mushrooms"
Cedric's eyes gleamed upon hearing this, as he led the girl immediately to his worktable
"Merlyn you say? Well perhaps we should play it to test it out!"
Sofia giggled slightly, seeing how excited he has gotten like a little kid. She knew how Cedric adored anything that has to do with Merlyn, and so she used this as advantage
"Okay, Mr. Ceedric. Let's test it out!"
xXx
Cedric and Sofia sat at the worktable with the board game set in it.
"I guess we should start now…" Cedric stated
"Yes, but first you need to learn the instructions…" Sofia uttered as she hands him a piece of paper containing lots of words
Cedric eagerly took the paper, and there stated…
"Welcome to the game, you are playing as a sorcerer who is gonna rescue a Princess from the tower. Roll the dice and move your character on the tiles which number it lands. The game has a total of 30 tiles, but be warned, black tiles are considered as traps, and if you land on them, there are consequences. When you somehow land on a black tile, you can have two choices: you can either go back from the start or do orders written from the cards . The consequences are written on the deck of cards on the corner. Once you finally reach the tower, you will officially win the game."
A realization struck Cedric upon reading the whole thing. Somehow, he wasn't impressed over the premise of this game
"Okay, now what does this have anything to do Merlyn and his mushrooms?"
Cedric groaned slightly, with the board game in the table and Sofia seated across. She had a satisfied smile on her face as she watched him closely
"Shush, It's a surprise~" Sofia crooned as she places the princess figurine unto the tower for the finishing touch
"Maybe there is a price at the end." She added with a wink
"I hate surprises–" he uttered slowly
He then leans in closer to the board, noticing the small pair of dice from the corner
"This game has lots of flaws, Sofia."
"What do you mean, Mr. Ceedric?"
Cedric then takes the dices and rolls them to the board. After that, he takes the small figurine of what seems like a sorcerer in the board
"First, the sorcerer should be replaced by a prince"
He then places the small figurine to the outside tower
"Now that's perfect. The villain that keeps the princess in captive should be the sorcerer" he added
Sofia wasn't impressed about this however, and so when he wasn't looking, she magically transported the figurine to his original position.
"Second, the black tiles are way too many. It's like you're making this game harder than what is should be…"
Sofia just gave him a shrug when he looked at her
"And lastly, there are no other characters which makes this game boring. We should add another character or two"
Sofia didn't like this. It was evident from how her eyebrow seemed to have twitched upon hearing that.
"No!" Sofia grunted in defiance
"But it's no fun if this game only has two characters?" he asked
"I think it's perfect as it is. Other characters are unnecessary"
Cedric sighed to himself, giving up any hints of argument he had in him. And so he just shifted his attention back to the board game. He had nothing else better to do anyways
Now the real game starts, as he rolls his first dice. He got number 4, and so he moved the figurine four times. Upon doing so, he noticed something about the figurine
"Don't you think this kinda looks similar, Sofia?"
Sofia just shook her head and didn't respond
"Hmm, crazy. For some reason, he wears a purple robe and has black and white hair" He muttered to himself
"Where have I seen this before?"
Sofia bit her lip, hoping he wouldn't notice. She had spent so much time on the board game and it would be such a waste if he would realize it early
"Hah, probably just my imagination…" He stated
"Now back to the game."
Sofia puffed a sigh of relief, glad that was all over with.
Cedric rolled the dice again. This time, he got a 12.
He laughed slightly as he moved his small figurine 12 tiles ahead, but luck wasn't in his side at all as he landed on a black tile – which means he had to either start over again or do a consequence order
Sofia watched closely as Cedric grew agitated. This is what she wanted all along. Her excitement however was kept composed – she didn't want to give out her plan that easily
And so Cedric drew one card, hoping the consequences she wrote isn't as harsh. When he finally sees the content, his eyes froze on the spot with his mouth open of shock
He immediately turned to Sofia with a grimace, confused over what was written in that card
"Princess Sofia, what does this mean?"
"Should I read it for you again~" Sofia stated in a sweet way as she takes the card off his hand
"It states here that – Trust is a sacred thing, no other words to describe it. So close your eyes, and let your partner decide your outfit."
"I know how to read!" Cedric grunted, as he takes the card back
"But what's the point of it?"
"Well, I just wondered that it would be fun!" Sofia responded with a smile
Cedric hid his face with his palm upon hearing this
"What will you do if somehow you were the one playing the board game and some guy will be your partner and he wants you to change in front of him?" Cedric asked
This caught Sofia deep in her thoughts. She never really thought this one through
"Well, good thing this game is only exclusive for us!" she finally answered
Cedric had a confused look on his face
"Well then what's the point of creating the board game if you won't even play it with your friends…"
He paused in between upon noticing Sofia's face in front of him. He almost had forgotten how naïve the princess is. Perhaps she just had so much time to spare, and so she created the game out of boredom.
It was quite ironic, with the sorcerer's circumstances earlier
And so, Cedric finally comes back to his senses and decided to just play the game. It's not like it would be that that hard to change clothes
"So, what would you like me to wear?"
Sofia beams him a nice grin as she rose up from her chair and stood close to him.
"This time, I would like you to close your eyes, Mr. Ceedric…"
"But wha…"
"Pleasee…. Mr. Ceeeedricc…." she begged in a very persuading tone
Her sky blue eyes seemed to shimmer against the dark of his room with her lips quivering of anticipation. She was definitely doing this on purpose.
Cedric then closed his eyes in compliance.
This made Sofia giggle a little bit, with her hand covering her mouth. She didn't want to spoil the surprise somehow
And so she took out her wand and casted a spell in front of him
"Corrondo Silko"
A sudden flicker from the wand generated a spark of light which hit Cedric in the front. The lights then gathered all over him which tickled him a little bit.
Sofia was mesmerized by the transformation in front of her, it was truly magical. It was the spell that he taught her a few days ago.
After a few seconds, the spell finally ended as the man himself now had a whole different outfit. Sofia couldn't help but fawn over how amazing Cedric looked.
"Can I open my eyes now?"
"Sure, you can" Sofia mumbled in response
Cedric opened his eyes, and he didn't feel much different. He still was the same Cedric at least. But it was tight for some reason
Sofia then casted another spell which created a mirror in front of him, and when he finally saw his reflection – Cedric groaned to himself
"A fox!?" he asked, frantic all over
"An orange fox outfit, with ears?"
"It looks good on you." Sofia uttered with a smile
It didn't take long before Cedric finally comes to a conclusion on how and what happened
"You used the spell that I taught you–"
"Precisely!" Sofia responded as he casted her wand on herself, transforming her clothes this time
And then after a few moments, she finally revealed herself
"A bunny?" Cedric asked
"Yeah, bunnies are cute~" Sofia responded, adjusting her suit to fit her frame
Cedric pondered to himself what on Merlyn's Mushroom World is the point of that. She should've just arranged a costume party in the first place if all she wanted was to dress up
And so, he decided to resume the game as he rolls the dice, which landed on 10. A smile then crept on his face knowing he is almost at the finish line, but his excitement faded when he landed on a black tile yet again.
Sofia couldn't help but giggle upon watching this as Cedric stared at him with an annoyed face.
He drew a card, which he read indefinitely. It stated "Treat your partner nice today, and with the spin of a dice. Show your appreciation, a back massage would be nice."
"Oh, this one's my specialty" he uttered
This awfully sounded easy to him, as he cracks his knuckles and wiggled his fingers. Sofia however prepared her back and sweeps her hair to the side.
"Are you ready?" he asked
"Yeah, I really need this for all the school work I've had these past days" Sofia responded with her eyes closed
"Poor girl" He whispered
Cedric went to work, allowing his fingers to penetrate Sofia's tense muscles. Sofia loved how it danced on her shoulders, his rhythm was satisfying, with a feeling of pleasure slowly coming up to her.
She definitely needed that after all that stress she's had over the past days
"A little bit to the side, Mr. Ceedric." Sofia hummed slowly
"You know, I'm starting to think that this is just some excuse to order me around." He answered, as he slowly rubs his thumbs careful unto Sofia's shoulder blades
Sofia is ticklish in nature, but she never had to twitch when it comes to Cedric. His touch is like a combination of a soft pillow in the middle of the night and the warm feel of a blanket in a winter morning.
"Thank you, Cedric" She slowly murmured with her eyes closed and a smile on her face. I needed this so much.
After what seemed like forever, Cedric finally resumed the game. He was almost there at the finish line and he couldn't be more excited
He rolls the dice, hoping it would be a 4. When the dice stopped at instant, it revealed the number 9
Cedric was disappointed, he knew what this means. He had to move the figurine 5 tiles back since it was too much. And just as his luck ran out, came another misfortune, as he landed on a black tile
He drew another card, which he read out loud
"Food is beneficial, everyone has a clue. So call out to your partner, and let her feed you"
Upon finishing reading, he shifted his gaze back to Sofia who was now holding a plate of cake in her right hand and a fork in her left hand
"Say ahhh~"
The Poem was quite peculiar, and so the sorcerer decided to read it again.
"No matter how much you read it, the notion stays the same, Mr. Ceedric~" Sofia stated with a giggle
"Can I just feed myself at least?"
"Sure, but you'll start from the veeerrryy beginning" Sofia responded with a playful grin
"And there are still lots of cards with consequences in them – so if you want to win fast…"
"Fine…" Cedric muttered as he opens his mouth and devours the cake on the fork that she was holding out to him.
A smile forms on Sofia's lips when he did this. The little moments like this is what adores her the most.
She then slices another portion of the cake which she slowly presents in front of him
"And another one~"
"I know, I know…" Cedric uttered as he ate up the cake in the fork
Cedric couldn't believe he is letting a little girl feed him like this. If someone would've found him wearing a silly outfit while being fed, that person would probably never see him the same way again
"Oh well, there goes my dignity…"
And the game resumed again, as Cedric rolled the dices which landed on the number that he wanted. This brought joy to Cedric, finally the game is finished as his figurine reaches the princess in the tower.
Upon doing so, he turned to Sofia who for some reason, was avoiding his gaze.
"Princess Sofia, I won the game–" Cedric muttered
"So where are the Merlyn's Mushrooms that you were talking about?"
"Oh yeahh" Sofia responded as she takes out one baked mushroom from her pocket that she got from Merlyn's tower the other day when her class went there for a field trip
"Wait, this is it?"
"Yeah…"
"But I thought there would be like – a dozen!"
"Wow, Mr. Ceedric. That's very ungrateful…" Sofia muttered as she rose from her seat and walked to the door
Sofia paused for a second with her back facing him. She slowly turns around with a playful smile on her face, as she drifted off outside without turning back
Somehow, she wanted the game to last longer, but it would be very cruel to ask him more at that state. There is always a next time. And next time, she's bringing a whole lot of Merlyn related things.
Sofia thoroughly enjoyed her day today – the whole week of working with the board game was very worth it indeed
Cedric sighed, realizing he did all that for a mere one mushroom.
It's not like this is the first time that the princess had made him do stuffs that are embarrassing in the first place
Suddenly, the door creaks open, in which Cedric thought was Sofia herself. But as he turned around, his eyes seemed to froze on the spot upon the sight of King Roland
"What are you wearing, Cedric?"
~The End~