Chapter 2
Wesley hated that he was a plant now. He called upon his transformation on reflex, needing a quick escape, but now he regretted it. It was difficult enough to be running around as a plant, but to be running around as a plant with a pot was much more difficult!
He wondered how the women in those fancy, royal balls with those wire hoop skirts did it. He had heard that their dresses were heavy, not to mention awkward to move in without much practice. Oh, he felt so sorry for them now.
"Wesley!"
He transformed again, forgoing the pot. This time he takes on the form of a small rose bush and shuffles around a tree to catch his breath. He could hear them approaching and immediately stiffen up to appear part of the forest. The tree he's hiding from speaks, wondering why he was running away. Wesley shushes it, hissing quietly, "They're going to kill me..." He immediately shuts up as Cedric and Sofia approach, both out of breath and a little sweaty.
"I'm not made for so much running," Cedric complained, hunching forward to grab his knees, while Sofia panted beside him.
"He couldn't have gotten that far," the princess reasoned. "I got an idea." Smiling to herself, she opens her enchantlet and summons her Which-Way Bow. "I need to repay you for convincing me to keep it, Cedric." She smiled at her husband, adding in a knowing wink. Cedric blushed heatedly at her suggestion and chuckled quietly, "I look forward to that, my love.."
"Which-Way Bow, show us where Wesley the Whimsical is!" She pulls the string and aims high in the air. When the arrow is released, it spins around once before pointing down and flying to the rose bush.
Now knowing that Wesley can shapeshift into plants, Cedric and Sofia stand over the rose bush, with Cedric's arms crossed confidently, and Sofia's hands resting on her hips. "You can come out now, Wesley." Sofia calls, smirking at him. "While your transformations are cool, we need to talk."
The rose bush doesn't budge. Cedric rolls his eyes, "Come now, Wesley, you can't stay a plant forever. I can easily morph you back into a man." He withdrew his wand from his sleeve.
Finally, the rose bush speaks, Wesley's voice coming from it. "L-Look, I'm not a bad guy, please don't kill me!" He begged and the rose bush visibly shakes in fright.
Sofia smiles softly at him and kneels down to his level. "Hey, we're not going to kill you. Or hang you by your toenails. That's not the kind of people we are, Wesley. We're here because I learned that you're looking for Simon, right?"
He shifts a little in thought, "Yes...?"
Cedric raised his eyebrow, "You don't know?"
The bush seemed to shrug, "I don't know if Simon the SIlent is my cousin. It could be anyone. I mean they look alike and have the same name, but it could just be a coincidence for all I know!"
Sofia shakes her head, "I don't think it is. Look, I know you're probably scared because of what Simon tried to do to us. But he's changed a lot over the years, in fact, Simon's a great person now. He's living in the Mystic Isles, and he's married with two ah-mazing kids, and-"
"Kids!" In a flash, Wesley was back to being human. "Simon has kids! When? How? What happened?" He turned from Sofia to Cedric, "How many? Two? He has two kids?"
"Y-yes as far as I know," Cedric said, a little taken back by Wesley's overexaggerated mannerisms. Minimus was right, the guy was pretty weird.
"I can't believe it," Wesley leans back again the tree as if losing the ability to stand, "I can't believe. Simon has kids. He has kids..." Then a huge grin stretches across his face, it almost looked painful. Wesley's arms shoot up in celebration, "I'm an uncle!" He yelled and tackled Cedric in a large hug, almost lifting the taller man off the ground. "Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!" He lets go and rushes to give Sofia a hug as well, actually lifting her off the ground.
After Wesley lets her go, he spins around to the tree, "Did you hear that? I'm an uncle. My cousin has kids. Wait, does that make me an uncle?" He considers this for a moment, "I mean, I'm his cousin, so that would make me their second cousin right? Or is it the other way around? Oh, who cares, I'm their uncle. I can't believe I have nieces or nephews, or both! Oh, this is so exciting!" He grins at Cedric and Sofia, before offering them his hands. "Hi, I'm Wesley the Whimsical! It's nice to meet you!"
"So, I suppose this means you're no longer terrified of us," Cedric spoke, unsure of what to make of Wesley's switch from fear to excitement and trust.
Wesley smiles sheepishly, "Well, I can't say I'm not scared anymore. See, I'm happier to know that my cousin is alive and has a family. That's awesome! But I have this thing about my brain where I can't focus on most things for long periods of time. I can't remember what they call it. Attention Deficit-something-disorder. Anyways, I try not to live in the past. But you guys aren't here to kill me right?"
Sofia rolls her eyes. Wesley was definitely an odd one. "No, we're not going to hurt you, Wesley," she offers him her hand, "I'm Princess Sofia, and this is Cedric the Sensational, my husband. I heard from a good friend that you were in town looking for your cousin, so we decided to help out."
Wesley cocked his head, "So did the trees tell you that I was looking for Simon?"
"Trees?"
"Yeah," he gestures to the forest they're in, "I can talk to plants. It's a long story, but anyway, I've been asking them if they know where Simon is, and eventually, I was lead out here. Did you guys hear from a plant or an animal? I heard you can talk to animals."
"Yes, I can turn into animals too if I need to. But no, it wasn't a plant. Long story short, I'm a storekeeper, on top of a bunch of other things. And your story isn't finished yet."
Wesley cocks his head, a little lost. Storykeeper? He heard that Princess Sofia was an ambassador of sorts, along with being a protector, and the wielder of the Amulet of Avalor. But a Storykeeper as well? Just how long is this woman's resume?
"Huh," he finally says, "So, you're here to complete my story?"
Sofia nods, "More or less. I was told by a good friend that, your story is more or less open-ended. I can reunite you with Simon, and that's where we stop, but the rest is up to you and him."
"Huh," Wesley repeats again, earning an odd look from Sofia.
"You okay?" The princess asked, taking a careful step closer to the blond, "It's okay if this is a lot to take in, you wouldn't be the first one."
Wesley blinks and shakes his head, "No, I'm good." He smiled at the two, "I'm just processing it all. I heard a lot about you and Mr. Cedric, but to meet you in person is a whole different experience. Even the plants around me are bustling about you guys." He adds with a laugh before turning to one tree in particular, "What's that? Oh her, no I don't know how she is." He cocks his head, listening intently to the gossip before his eyes bug out of his skull, "Seriously! Why would she do that?"
Cedric and Sofia both watch, confused as Wesleys has a seemingly, one-sided conversation with the large oak tree. Wesley snorts, rolling his eyes, "Yeah, well, that's what happens when you're fooling around. She's lucky she's not called a bunch of names for pulling that stunt. I feel bad for the kids, though. It must be a nightmare trying to figure out who your father is. She sounds like a disgusting petri dish." Realizing he has an audience, Wesley blushes deep maroon, "Heh, sorry. Plants tend to gossip about human affairs. They've got nothing better to do."
"Obviously," Sofia spoke slowly, a little bothered by what she had overheard. It seemed like trees and other plants were terrible gossipers. Who knows what else Wesley has heard. Her husband remaining mute by her side, though his expression read he was just as disturbed as her.
"Any-ho, let's get going, I'm eager to see Simon. And the kids!" Wesley's eyes grew wide with excitement as he swung his arms out, gathering up an invisible force and hugging it, "Oh I can't wait to hug those cute little rugrats."
"So how are you related to Simon?" Sofia asked after she, Cedric, and Wesley got themselves situated. It was a tight fit, thankfully, Sofia easily wat in Cedric's lap, making the sorcerer blush bright red.
Wesley smiled, "Our dads are half-brothers. That's why I hardly look like Simon. See, my dad, Lex, was my granddad's firstborn son. My birth grandmother passed away sometime after she gave birth, and my grandpa married this nice woman who was Luther's mom. Luther is Simon's dad."
"And what about Sylvester?" Cedric asked cautiously, frowning in disapproval, "That snake must have been the father to Simon's mother, correct? No doubt the apple didn't fall far from the tree with how Simon turned out as a child."
"Hey, that's my aunt you're talking about and she was the nicest person you would have ever met." Wesley snapped, making everyone around him jump in alarm. He glared at Cedric, "I know you probably think that Aunt Simone was a terrible person because Sylvester was her dad. Well, she wasn't, she was nothing like him. We all hated him and kicked him out of the family long ago."
Cedric looked away, a little ashamed. "M-My apologies, I just..."
"Mad an assumption," Wesley finished, "I know. People do that all the time. It's easy to look at someone and think 'their parents didn't raise them right,' and in most circumstances, you would be right. But, as I said, Aunt Simone was a kind person. She and Uncle Luther met while they were attending Hexley Hall, and then-"
A beep from Sofia's enchantlet catches their attention. It was Chrysta. No doubt the crystal fairy had heard about Simon's cousin. Sofia winced, anticipating what her former mentor, now friend/sister was going to say. Much like Cedric, Chrysta was also very protective. While she had no idea about Greeneyes, she was very much aware that Sofia's habits of attracting danger. However, Wesley wasn't dangerous. Being related to Simon didn't automatically make him a threat to anyone.
Still, she had a feeling there was more going on than anyone realized. A book quote popped inside her head, The past is meant to remain behind, yet sometimes we find ourselves being chased by it.' She shivered, feeling a stone drop in her stomach. Sofia had a terrible feeling that there was more to this story than she realized.