"Another one of this boring annual orientations eh.."
"Shh"
"Oof, my bad" Cedric blurted, turning to the front to give it his full attention. Currently seated at the same orientation from last year, it didn't take long for him to get bored at it
He was seated next to Margaret and Saul, the best tailors in Dunwiddie. Both were veteran villagers of the village, they were already here before he was born. And so that's why they didn't tolerate such blasphemic disrespect from Cedric and checked him
Out of respect, Cedric changed seats all the way to the back so they wouldn't hear him again. Finally somewhere where he could manspread with no one else to share the bench with, Cedric was more at ease
But as the voice of the speaker echoed, his annoyance returned yet again
Cedric blew his hair up in frustration, and a frown forms on his face. He wanted to leave so badly, but the King could easily see him leave if he did so, and would probably confront him afterwards
He didn't want none of that and decided to bear with it a little long. Perhaps if he can lend his enthusiasm in something else… this orientation wouldn't be so boring
"Or someone…"
As he thought of this, a certain maiden up ahead caught his attention. Raven black curly hair, orange flowing dress and long eyelashes. Cedric was completely smitten seeing her
The orientation didn't seem all that bad after all.
And with this, Cedric found himself staring at the woman without any hint of subtlety. He was literally eyeing him from afar that many would consider creepy or weird
The man however didn't care. He was solely putting his attention on her so he wouldn't have to listen and pay attention to the orientation. Fortunately for him, the lady didn't seem to notice his gaze.
In that moment, something peculiar happened – as a certain girl blocked his view and waved at him. It was princess Sofia seated next to the other princesses on the front. She looked very happy to see him~
Cedric however wasn't. She was in the way of the lovely lady and he wanted her to move aside. And so, Cedric gestured the girl to move so he can see the woman again, but as Sofia notices the lady behind her, a pout reached her lips
Instead of moving away, Sofia moved closer to his proximity, making sure she was blocking the lady from his vision. Cedric grew annoyed at this and gestured to her to move again, but she didn't listen.
A few moments passed and Sofia still refuses to do so. And so, Cedric looked away and sighed. That girl is always ruining his plans
"Mr. Ceedric?"
A certain whisper called out his name. It was Sofia, he knows it well. Cedric turned with a frown on his face
"Yes? What do you want?"
She had an uneasy look on her face "I know you missed me and all… but could you please stop staring at me that much?
"Missed you?" The Sorcerer grimaced at this "Staring at you? You were in the way!" Cedric didn't hold back "If you hadn't noticed, I was staring at someone else… not you!"
Sofia raised her eyebrows "So you weren't staring at me at all?"
"No I wasn't!" Cedric grunted in form of a whisper. Luckily, no one has noticed their conversation
"Well… okay. If you say so.." Sofia then beamed him a smile before leaving. The man sighed yet again, why on earth would he ever stare at Sofia? If anything, he'd do anything just to keep away her away from his gaze
With this, a bright idea came to him.
Cedric then decided to change seats and position so Sofia would completely be away from his point of view, and at the same time, watch the woman for as long as he likes. When he finally found a nearby bench, Cedric didn't hesitate and sat comfortably and resumed his gaze back on her
In this angle, he could see her face quite better. She had sharp cheekbones, green eyes and long eyelashes. She was really beautiful indeed that he couldn't take his eyes off him
But in an instant, his merriment was interrupted yet again when the same princess from earlier appeared out of nowhere and sat beside her. And yet again, had successfully got in the way of Cedric's gaze. As Sofia turned to Cedric staring at her, she gave him an uneasy look which made Cedric look away of bewilderment
He couldn't handle it no more. That squirt is always ruining his plans. He had to steal her amulet soon, that'll teach her for sure!
As he turned his attention back to her, he noticed that Sofia was giggling to herself for some reason contrary to her supposedly being "uncomfortable" with his gaze. As she noticed him watching her, she immediately changed her expressions to the uncomfortable and uneasy one from before
She eyed him from the corner of his eyes and Cedric had an expression of disbelief. She was trying so hard not to break character and Cedric's face was really making her about to break
But luckily for her, Cedric finally looked away with his arms crossed and a frown on his face. The man has finally given up on that woman because of a certain nuisance always foiling his attempts to admire her.
A few moments have passed, and the orientation has finally come to a conclusion. And so, everyone stood up and so did the woman. Cedric could only frown in defeat seeing her walk away… story of his life
"Don't be sad, Mr. Ceedric~"
This was the last thing he wanted to hear.
The girl then sat beside him on the bench as he scooted away from her in annoyance. Sofia however, was staring at him for some reason
It didn't take long before Cedric grew uncomfortable by this "Could you please stop!" he grunted in a low voice
"Now you know what it feels like to be stared at…" Sofia leered at him which made him speechless
"I guess.." he looked away
The princess then sighed and scooted closer to him "Mr. Ceedric, staring is rude.. and you should know better!"
"Oh yeah? Then how come you're here talking to me if I made you that uncomfortable earlier?"
"When did I say you made me uncomfortable?" Sofia bit back proudly without hesitation. He was now coming up with excuses and fast ones to use. Sofia could tell from the expressions he was making. She knew him that well.
"You… uh… never mind" he remembered she specifically didn't say no such thing
"And even if you were, you're probably just thinking of stuff to get back at me or something" Sofia added which was the final blow to Cedric, making him unable to come up with a clever response
"Get back at you f-for what.." He looked away. but Sofia was leaning close on him with her suspicious gaze. He was being sketchy and she could read him like a book
"Could you please stop doing that?"
"I'm just giving you a taste of your own medicine~" Sofia closed her eyes in to emphasize a point
"Whatever, I'm outta here. See you later, Sofia" Cedric stood up to his feet to dip. Doing so, he notices the same woman walking all by herself. Somehow, this brought happiness yet again to Cedric
He still had a chance. If he could somehow introduce himself to her then–
"Mr. Ceedric, look… its Merlyn!"
"Where!?" Cedric turned to the way Sofia was pointing and there was no one there. It was just an old man carrying a bunch of baskets. He frowned at this
"Sorry, I thought it was him with the white hair and beard and all.. hee-hee!" Sofia let out a cheery giggle
He wanted to be annoyed by this, but seeing as how things have turned out, he would just be wasting time doing so. Sofia is never gonna be out of his business anyways so he might as well accept it. Cedric looked at her and just smiled. With how his afternoon went, at least the orientation was finally over and he could do whatever he wanted. He's been craving Ice cream since earlier and might as well go for one
"You wanna go get some ice cream?" he started walking away, with her following from behind
"Only if we'll get matching ones" Sofia smiled at him as she clung to his robes "But you'll have to guess what flavor I'd like to have"
"Vanilla?"
"nope!"
"Choco?"
"Nope!"
"Cookies and cream?"
"Nope again!"
And so, both of them walked the path to the ice cream shop nearby with Cedric already forgetting about the woman from earlier, and instead, devoting his focus on whatever flavor Sofia wanted for their ice cream later on.
~ d~
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"Mango?"
"Nope!"
"Ube Delight?"
"Guess again?"
"Durian?"
"Nope, another one" she cheered in excitement as she held on tightly
Sofia waited for a guess, but Cedric grew silent all of a sudden. As she turned to him, she noticed that he was indeed staring at a certain redhead woman from up ahead.
"ehem!" her sudden voice broke him out from his daze as he immediately turned to her
"er… I mean Mango delight" he exclaimed but only met with Sofia's unamused expression
"You were staring at her, weren't you?"
"I did no such thing. I was looking for the ice cream shop"
"The ice cream shop is the other way, Mr. Ceedric.."
"Well, I guess I lost my sense of direction there"
With this, a sigh came out of Sofia as she looked away with a sad pout on her lips. She was mumbling something and Cedric wanted to hear what it was
"What?"
"I'm literally here, Cedric." her voice was feint, and barely audible. Cedric then leaned closer to hear her better
"You never look at me like that…"
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"What?"
"I said I want Cookies and Peanut!"