Adventures in Magic
Disclaimer: I do not own Sofia the First or any of the characters/locations affiliated with it. The original characters introduced in various chapters belong to me.
A/N: Hey, guys! :D So, the "surprise" in this chapter is sort of obvious with the title and the chapter summary, BUT there's a lot more to it than meets the eye. 😉 PS—Mr. Shortman92, how DARE you get that song stuck in my head! Lol. But it's okay. Better than certain other songs, which shall remain nameless. 😊 Oh, and Sofia's issue at the end of the last chapter will be explained…in one of the future chapters. :D I promise. I'll be building up to it though, so for my keen-eyed reviewers and readers, keep an eye out for that.
Note: Some of the events that occur in here refer to things that happened in some of my previous stories. Those stories include "At First Sight," "Against the Clock," "Dream Team," and "Enjoy the Journey." Also, I threw in a little Easter Egg/STF show reference, for anyone who may catch it. 😉 See if you can crack the code. Lol.
Chapter 6
With a Wave of the Wand
Summary: Cedric decides that Sofia has finally reached a level in her magical training where she can get a new and more powerful wand crafted by none other than Merlin himself.
Sofia had fallen asleep about two hours ago, and they were currently approximately fifteen minutes from their destination. Thanks to Cedric, she was leaning against the side of the coach, which was covered with a fluffy cushion, and she had a thick blanket draped over her sleeping form. She hadn't budged since being consumed by the need to rest, but Cedric was grateful for that.
He knew very well that, like him, Sofia was starting to get less rest. For all the similarities they now shared, the lack of sleep was one he could have lived without. He wouldn't wish restlessness on anyone, much less his closest friend. Still, at least she was able to sleep without any interruptions or obligations to jolt her out of the precious state of relaxation.
Cedric glanced out the window a few minutes later and smiled knowingly as the AutoCoach began its final descent for the time being. Once they officially landed, he reached over and removed the blanket from Sofia so that he could begin the process of waking her up. However, he was surprised to see that she was currently whimpering softly and rubbing her hands together, something he'd noticed her doing a few hours ago.
He frowned in concern before gently coaxing the girl awake. "Sofia, come on, wake up." It actually took less time to stir her into alertness now than it had this morning, and he smiled as she stared sleepily at him. "I'm sorry to wake you, but we're at our next destination."
"Oh…" She nodded, glancing down at her hands once before nervously fisting each one, to keep herself from fidgeting. "Okay."
"What's wrong with your hands?" he asked blatantly, noting the look of surprise on her face.
"Nothing," she told him quietly. "They just…feel weird. Maybe I accidentally slept on them last night or something."
"Hmm." He knew that couldn't be the case. She would have had a much earlier response had that been the problem, but he didn't want to pry. She'd tell him anything he needed to know when she was ready, if it needed to be addressed.
Rather than dwell on the topic, the sorcerer opened the door to the AutoCoach and stepped out, offering his hand to Sofia, who smiled and gratefully accepted it in order to exit. "Sofia, welcome to Cardenould."
The princess glanced around curiously as they walked along the well-worn path that was leading them into a small village. "I've never heard of this place before."
"Not many have. It may be a rather small village, but it's home to many of the most powerful magical items in the entire Ever Realm."
"Wow…" She looked around at the colorful houses and buildings, impressed with the sights. The beautiful scenery surrounding the area reminded her of a mixture of Enchancia and Avalor, which she adored. "So, why exactly are we here again?"
"To retrieve your surprise, of course."
She blinked, turning to him. "My surprise is here?"
He smiled mysteriously as they continued walking together through the busy streets, filled with vendors and children playing. "Mm-hmm."
"Hi!" a little blonde girl greeted the two friends excitedly as she rushed over to them, a baby doll clutched in her tiny arms. "Wow! You look like a princess!" She giggled as she grinned toothily at Sofia, who laughed.
"Well, I—" She blinked as Cedric gently nudged her and shook his head, signaling her not to mention that she was. Maybe he had a point. She didn't really want to have to explain what a princess was doing wandering around the Ever Realm with her royal sorcerer instead of spending endless hours on her throne, with a tiara on her head instead of a sporty hairband and a beautiful gown instead of one of her numerous Protector outfits. "Thanks," she opted for, grinning at the little girl. "What's your name?"
"I'm Zaila!" She gasped, looking back and forth between the two friends. "You should come play with me and my friends! We're having a tea party!"
"That's charming," Cedric told the girl, feeling a strange sense of déjà vu for some reason…something to do with a different tea party from years ago. "But I'm afraid we're on our way to do some important business."
"Oh! I see." The girl giggled before turning to Sofia. "Is he your little brother?"
Sofia instantly began laughing as Cedric gaped in sheer befuddlement at the child's clear miscomprehension. "Um, no… No, he's my friend."
"Little brother?" Cedric asked mostly to himself, baffled as to how she even came to that conclusion.
The auburn-haired girl laughed harder before grabbing her friend's arm and beginning to pull him along. "Let's go, Mr. Cedric. Nice to meet you, Zaila. Have fun with your tea party."
"Okie dokie!" She giggled and rushed off.
"I think that child has a rather unique way of looking at people," Cedric mumbled a few moments later once they were out of earshot of most of the villagers.
Sofia giggled and shook her head. "I'm not exactly sure how she came up with that connection, but…" She shrugged. "Kids are weird, Mr. Cedric."
"I couldn't agree more, my dear."
A few minutes later, they stopped at a small pale blue building which ended up being some sort of shop. The hanging sign read, "Magic Matters & More." A glance through the front two windows revealed some quirky displays of cauldrons, wands, books, potions, and many other things.
Sofia followed Cedric through the door, above which a small bell rang as they entered the shop.
"Good afternoon," a man with a long silver beard and mustache greeted as they walked over toward his display case. His matching long silver hair was tied half-up with some twine, and his long velvet green robe practically swallowed his smaller frame. A pair of half-moon spectacles rested on the bridge of his nose as he smiled at the two visitors. "May I help you?"
Cedric withdrew a card from his robe and handed it over to the other man. "I'm here to pick up an order, sir. It was sent in this past spring."
Sofia frowned curiously as she pieced the information together. Cedric had a surprise for her, which appeared to be an order that he had placed now months ago… Had he known he'd be coming here? Or would he have found a way to travel here to retrieve said 'surprise' if he hadn't been involved in the Magical Ambassador travels? Anyway, she was now more concerned about the order he had placed rather than when or how he'd managed it.
The older gentleman nodded with a knowing smile toward Cedric. "Order M-11180908AT is ready for pickup. I'll retrieve it for you." He turned and disappeared behind a red curtain separating the shop from the storage area.
While they waited, the two friends looked around the shop at all the curious items it had to offer. Cedric previewed a large enchanted painting on the wall while Sofia was enamored with some tiny sleeping figurines. She gently tugged Cedric's robe sleeve and gestured toward the little figures.
They were carved into shapes of puppies and kittens, and what was even cuter than the fact that the magic-laced items were sleeping is that they were snoring.
"Ah, I'm familiar with these," Cedric chuckled. "Some magical knickknacks, if you will. Cordelia's room was filled with these when we were children."
"They're so cute," Sofia gushed, grinning.
"Yet rather boring," he informed her. "They literally only sleep and snore the whole time."
The princess beamed at him. "That's even more adorable, Mr. Cedric."
He rolled his eyes in amusement before hearing the whooshing of the curtain again. He nodded toward the man before placing one hand on Sofia's back, guiding her back to the display case.
"Here you are," the old man offered as he placed a long, lavender porcelain case on the glass before unlatching the clasp at the front and opening it, removing the dark cloth that covered the contents within. "See what you think."
Cedric reached into the case, aware that Sofia was watching his every move, and withdrew what had to be the most beautiful wand either had ever seen.
The wand was a rich brown color like Cedric's, made of cedar wood and not at all perfect. It had a few irregularities here and there, as most hand-crafted wands did, which made it unique and far more valuable.
"Fourteen inches," the man read from the info card that came with the wand. "Magic input from Merlin himself, with best wishes to the young Sofia." He smiled toward the surprised girl. "I'm assuming that's you, young lady."
Sofia gaped at her mentor in shock. "M-Mr. Cedric…?"
He smiled and turned the wand around, handing it to her and nodding as she accepted it. "How does it feel?"
She could instantly feel the power the wand held. It was heftier than other wands she'd used, including the training wands from both Royal Prep and Cedric, not to mention his first wand he'd received when he first became the royal sorcerer, which he'd given her as a graduation present a few years ago. This one felt more natural, though, like it belonged to her. It practically fused into her hands upon contact, the cedar wood a rough yet pleasant texture to touch. "I'm… I don't understand."
"I asked Merlin to make this for you, based on your abilities and experience with magic." He clasped his hands over hers as she continued holding and staring at the wand. "This is yours, Sofia. It was designed specifically for you, not only for your role as my apprentice, but also to aid in all the other activities you do." He gently tapped the wand. "It will help keep you safe and armed at all times as well. Do you still have the Wand Ring Cordelia made you a few years ago on your birthday?"
She nodded, speechless.
"If you put that on just at the base, it will even enhance your magic, if necessary."
"Is this her first wand?" the gentleman asked kindly as he observed the girl's amazed look.
"Not quite," Cedric chuckled. "She's had training wands in the past, including one I made myself. She's also been using my old wand the last few years. This is the first non-training wand I've been able to have made specially for her."
"That's quite lovely." He chuckled. "And she's your apprentice, you say?" He smiled as Cedric nodded. "I had an apprentice myself when I was younger. His name was Graiden. Bit of a silly lad but well-meaning. The day he received his first real wand from me, he was too stunned to even speak the rest of the day. Same happened with me when I worked as my own mentor's apprentice. It's a rather humbling experience, to be sure."
Cedric hummed in agreement before glancing back at his friend, who was still just staring at her new wand, awe evident in her expression yet no words yet formed. "Sofia, are you all right?"
As if a spell had been broken, Sofia glanced up at Cedric before grasping the wand in her right hand and throwing her arms around him, hugging him tightly.
He could feel the girl shaking, and it was then that he realized… "Why are you crying?" he asked gently as he urged her to step backwards, the sight of tears cascading down her cheeks nearly breaking his heart. He looked toward the other man. "Is there somewhere we could sit and talk privately?"
"Certainly. Right back here." He placed all the extra information into the porcelain box and picked it up, gesturing toward the curtain. He passed the box to Cedric before leading the two friends to the storage area. "Over in that corner there, you'll find a green sofa. Take all the time you need. I'll be in the shop if you should require my services." He smiled as Cedric passed him a few pieces of silver before heading off.
"Come along," the sorcerer whispered, guiding Sofia over to the sofa and sitting down, gesturing for her to sit beside him. "Sofia, talk to me. What's wrong?"
"Nothing," she responded softly, giving him a tired yet teary smile. "I just… I can't believe you had this made for me."
"After all the things you've done for me over the years, how could I not?" He placed the case on the arm of the sofa next to Sofia before reaching out to her, cupping her face and carefully drying her tears with his thumbs. "You needn't cry, though. I don't like seeing you cry."
"I'm sorry, Mr. Cedric," she sniffled before laughing a little and wiping the rest of her tears away with her own sleeve.
"There's nothing to apologize for. I just wanted to make sure you weren't upset."
"Are you kidding?" She giggled, something he seemed relieved to hear. "You've given me wands before, but this one feels…like it was meant to be, and obviously like it was made for me, which… Which it was…" She stared down at the cedar wand and found a small smile playing on her lips. "When I first met you, I thought you were amazing."
"Ah-mazing, if I recall correctly," he chuckled.
"Yeah… I wanted to be like you so much, because I'd loved magic since I was a little girl. And even though you wouldn't give me the time of day at first, I always admired you and wanted to learn from you." She grinned. "And then…you made me your apprentice. That was probably one of the best days of my life."
"To be frank," he chuckled, "it was originally one of the most dreaded days of mine. I was no good with children, especially a princess. What in the world did I have to gain from teaching you magic? Or better yet, what had possessed you to believe that I would be the best person to learn magic from, after all the rumors that had been spread about my inabilities?" He shook his head. "That's what went through my mind. But you gave me a chance, and now all these years later, here we are. That's why I had this wand made for you. Because you deserve it."
She smiled gently at him. "This is why I like you so much, Mr. Cedric. Because, despite what anyone else may believe, and no matter what has happened between us in the past, you're always so good to me… You help me even when you don't want to or know if you can. You give me a chance when no one else will…" She became a little shy all of a sudden. "You once told me that…I was probably the best thing that's ever happened to you."
He nodded, surprised that she remembered that. He'd said it after she'd done something very touching for him, yet he figured she would have forgotten about that comment by now.
"I think you're probably one of the best things that could have happened to me too." She laughed as he blushed modestly. "I mean, think about it. Where would I be without my Mr. Cedric?"
"I know where I would probably be if it weren't for you…and it's not here." He sighed and shook his head. "You already know you saved me from myself. We continue to save one another, my dear Sofia." He chuckled as she leaned forward to hug him again, resting her head under his chin. He instantly returned the hug, glad to see that she was no longer unexpectedly emotional. "I want you to keep that wand on you at all times. Never let it out of your sight, all right?"
"Yes, Mr. Cedric." She sat up and smiled kindly at her friend. "Are you going to teach me any secret spells, now that I have a more advanced wand?"
He laughed before standing up and helping her to her feet. "We'll see. As long as you promise to use your powers for good."
She scoffed playfully. "Mr. Cedric, what kind of Protector would I be if I used my powers for evil?"
"Chrysta." He grinned as Sofia stifled a laugh, shaking her head.
"Mr. Cedric!"
"The woman used a marshmallow spell on me! She has some evil inside of her, even if it's just mediocre."
She smiled and picked up her wand case, placing her new wand inside the box. "So…" She beamed up at her mentor. "What's next on our agenda? And are there any more surprises that I need to be aware of, so I can prepare?"
He smiled and shook his head. "None that I've personally prepared, but then again…" He shrugged. "Life is full of surprises, right?"
Sofia rolled her eyes before grasping his arm and giggling. "You're so corny sometimes, Mr. Cedric."
Cedric chuckled. "Come along. We'd better get moving so that we can make it to our next stop before nightfall."
She nodded as they headed out to their next destination.
To be continued…
