List
eight years old
The knocking at his door was quick, excessive, and insistent. Cedric looked to the small clock on his workbench. It was incredibly late for anyone to be at his tower. He swiveled around on his stool and stared at the door. The knocking paused briefly before starting up again. He sighed, already anticipating exasperation, and crossed the room to answer the knocking in his shirt sleeves.
The door opened to a wide-eyed, nightgown-clad princess with her arm raised to continue knocking.
"I'm quite certain that the entire castle would be up in arms to find you out of bed at this hour, Princesxs Sofia."
The girl absently picked at her cuticles. "I know. But mother and father are in Wei-Ling and Amber is over at a sleepover with Hildegard and James went with mom and dad to have a sleepover with Jin and I don't know where anyone else's rooms are and-"
Lightning flashed and Sofia had her arms wrapped around Cedric before the thunder rumbled. Cedric held his arms in the air before awkwardly settling one hand to her back while the other pat her head.
"I'm scared," her muffled voice squeaked out from somewhere around his middle.
Cedric felt frozen. He had never been great with children. He was turning twenty next week, not that anyone would remember, and felt relatively certain after babysitting his niece that he had no desire to have children. So this sort of interaction with someone so young felt foreign and unwanted.
"But if you help her now, she may give you further opportunities to take the Amulet of Avalor," came that dark little voice from inside him that sounded surprisingly like his mother. "Do what you must to make the girl trust you. Her trust will make things so much easier."
"She says you're friends," came a second voice that sounded much more like himself. "And you don't really have enough of those around to waste."
The voices in agreement, albeit for very different reasons, Cedric crouched down level with Sofia, his arms resting supportively under her elbows and her hands resting on his forearms.
"Everyone gets scared," he said, his voice uncharacteristically patient. "I find it's easier to get through scary moments if I make a list of things I like."
"Like card towers?" Cedric had never heard her voice sound so small. He gave her a little smile.
"Things you like, Princess. Like flying in that terrifying sport of yours, and, I imagine...flowers?"
"Daffodils. I like daffodils. They're so sunny. And dancing. And - " the smile that had started to form vanished as the lightning flashed again. Her hands gripped his arms and he held her eyes.
"And knocking incessantly on my door?" He quirked his eyebrow teasingly. She gave a nervous laugh, trying to swallow down her fear.
"And helping clean your workshop."
"You actually enjoy that?"
"I do. You always end up teaching me something about magic and I really, really love magic, Mr. Cedric."
He couldn't help his genuine smile. "I do, too, Princess."
A/N: I am apparently really in to lightning storms right now, especially considering there was an epic one last night. I regret nothing :)
and I seem to have two speeds for these stories: incredibly dark and brooding or sweet and cute. Again, I regret nothing :)