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: After the last chapter, I figure a bit of lighthearted goodness is necessary. 😉 Also, in here, you'll meet a few animal friends who help make Dexter's and Brexley's lives a bit more interesting. By the way, Happy Birthday to Sofia, today, October 6! 😊

Note: FLUFFY


Chapter 18
Sofia's Heart

Summary: Dexter makes a comment about how caring Sofia is when trying to train his little sister Brexley, and Cedric reminisces his experiences with the Enchancian princess.


Cedric and Dexter were sitting at a chess table near the window in the younger wizard's apartment, pondering moves and chatting with each other, while the girls were settled on the floor nearby, spending time together and doing different activities. Sofia's hair was now fully yet sloppily braided (courtesy of Brexley), with random fake flowers placed throughout the auburn strands, and stretched out beside her on the carpet as she lay on her stomach next to the younger girl. Currently, Brexley was showing Sofia how to draw a bird.

"She's obsessed with birds," Dexter mentioned as he moved one of his pieces on the chess table. "Ever since she was little, she's loved them, especially songbirds." He laughed softly. "The irony being, of course, that she'll never be able to hear one."

Cedric raised an eyebrow at the mentioning. "Why is she so fascinated with them?"

The boy shrugged. "I guess she likes the idea of them. While she can't hear, I imagine that she can probably supplement sound with what she can see. Don't quote me on that, of course, but it's just a theory."

Bark!

Dexter glanced down to his right when he felt a set of paws on his leg. He grinned at the small brown dog, who was just begging to be picked up. "Hey, Kix! I wondered where you went, boy!" He gathered the ball of energy into his arms and laughed when the dog excitedly licked his face. "Kix, calm down." He smiled when the pup whimpered a bit before dramatically laying his head on his owner's shoulder.

"Kix?" Cedric asked curiously, amused with the dog's affectionate display.

"Yeah. Three years old, and he still thinks he's a tiny puppy." He laughed. "Granted, he's not going to get too big—which is especially good in this apartment—but he's just as playful now as he was when he was really little."

"Can't say I've ever been much of a dog person." Cedric shrugged as Kix whined, looking at him in what appeared to be shock, or perhaps disappointment. "If you saw the one dog at our castle, you'd understand why… A bit of a dunderhead with a knack for knocking things over." He rolled his eyes.

"Aw, Kix knows when to stop." Dexter turned the dog around to where he was sitting half on his lap and half in his right arm, his soft paw draped over the wizard's hand. "Okay, boy, let's watch Cedric and see what move he makes next."

The sorcerer laughed as he picked up a chess piece. "Check."


Meanwhile, Sofia was attempting to mimic the younger girl's drawing skills. Granted, she'd taken plenty of art classes in her life, but birds hadn't always been her specialty. She could handle scenery and backgrounds with no problem, but she'd found birds a little complicated sometimes. Still, she gave it her all, and she made a halfway decent picture.

Brexley finished what she was doing and sat up, holding her picture up to Sofia with a large grin on her face. It was of a tiny songbird, with a maroon color for feathers on the belly side and a royal blue color for feathers on the back. Beady little black eyes peered curiously from the image.

"That's awesome, Brexley!" Sofia gushed, making sure her words were visible for the signdant to interpret. Seeing the girl smile wider, she knew she'd gotten the message. "You like songbirds, huh?"

Brexley nodded happily before dropping the picture and standing, tugging the princess to her feet. She then began dragging her down the hallway toward what Sofia could only assume was her bedroom.

Upon entering the room, Sofia gasped. It was full of pink and purple pastel colors, and the walls were filled with drawings and art pieces that Brexley had clearly made herself. Even the ceiling seemed to be decorated with the same image of a songbird. She watched as the little girl hurried over to what appeared to be a tiny house on a wooden desk and opened a door, reaching inside. Not long after, she withdrew her hands, revealing a little songbird, which exactly resembled what Brexley had drawn.

Sofia smiled. It all made sense now. Apparently, this little bird was the younger girl's artistic inspiration.

With the bird perched on her left hand, Brexley used her right hand to sign some letters. C-O-T-Y.

Sofia decided to put her own magic skills to work. "I can't understand her signing, unfortunately," she said directly to the bird. "I'm Sofia. What is your name?"

The little bird was taken aback by the fact that he could understand the human, but he laughed. "Coty. I'm Coty." He looked toward the dark-haired girl holding him with an expression of pure adoration. "Brexley is my owner. We've been together for two years now." He sighed. "I wish she could hear me, because every day, I sing a song just for her."

The princess reached out and stroked his feathers. "It's the thought that counts, Coty. And she'd absolutely love your song if she could hear it, I'm sure." She then realized that the young girl was staring at her in confusion. Sofia dropped her hand and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, Brexley. I forgot to tell you." She picked up her amulet. "My amulet allows me to talk to animals."

Brexley's mouth hung open in amazement. She then smiled widely and gestured between the bird and the princess, as if asking if they could understand each other.

Sofia nodded. "I can understand him. He said he sings a song just for you every day."

The five-year-old nuzzled the bird in thanks before placing a tiny kiss on his head.

Coty laughed softly. "Thanks, Sofia. At least she knows now."

Sofia nodded before realizing that, once again, Brexley had taken her hand and was leading her out of her room and back into the living room. When they got settled, the young Protector noticed that Coty was now resting on Brexley's shoulder, watching her draw yet another new picture. "Hmm." Settling down after a few moments, she continued the art that she'd recently started.

"Your princess is something else," Dexter remarked as he and Cedric began a new game, Cedric having been the victor in the last one. He nodded toward the two girls, who were happily working away at their new art projects. "She's so gentle with my sister, so patient."

Cedric smiled fondly at the sight of his apprentice demonstrating a few things to the younger girl. "Sofia has, perhaps, the kindest heart of anyone I've ever met." He cleared his throat as he waited for Dexter to make his move. Sighing, he leaned back in his chair, folding his arms over his stomach. "I don't really share much about myself with people I've just met, but I feel inclined to give you some insight, if you don't mind."

The younger magic wielder nodded and shrugged, cuddling a complacent Kix. "Go ahead."

"I met Sofia when she was eight years old. To be perfectly honest, I didn't really care for her much at first."

Dexter laughed in surprise as he glanced up from the board. "Why? I thought you two had a really close relationship."

"We do. But that's now, and over many years of getting to know each other and trust one another." He shook his head. "Anyway, she was new in the castle after her mother married our king, King Roland. I found the girl insufferable. She always wanted attention, needed help, or gave hugs that I wasn't prepared for…" He rolled his eyes as Dexter snickered. "Granted, now I kind of miss the more frequent hugs from when she was younger. Teenagers don't tend to offer them as often… Anyway, I digress."

"I'll say." Dexter grinned as he gently scratched behind Kix's ears, causing the dog to close his eyes happily.

"So, after she came to me for help with her sorcery class one day, I decided to make her my apprentice, which she loved. She did everything I asked her to do: cleaning, spell casting, and so on. Even after the class assignment was finished, she still sought me out for lessons, so I just made her my apprentice fulltime. And she has maintained that role for the last six years…"

"Wow… That's a long time. And she started so young, too… Especially for a normal, non-magical kid."

"Yes." He cast his eyes downward.

Dexter frowned curiously. "There's something you're leaving out, isn't there? Otherwise, this story doesn't feel complete. You said something about her having the kindest heart, but I've yet to hear how or why."

Cedric sighed, blowing his bangs out of his eyes. "Well, I suppose I owe you the other side of the story then. When Sofia arrived at the castle, I wasn't exactly what you'd call…nice. In fact, I was reclusive and snippy, from what Baileywick, our steward, said nearly daily. I won't go too much into it, but suffice it to say that I'd been verbally berated and chastised from the time I was a child up until that point. I was called a bungler and a bumbling fool, who failed at every magic spell or parlor trick presented to me, and no one ever let me forget it. It sort of…chipped away at the kind-hearted child I used to be." He sighed. "I became extremely bitter and angry, and I wanted nothing more than to get back at the ones who had harshly bashed me over the years. As a result, I developed a plan to take over Enchancia."

Dexter's dark eyes widened. "Wow."

"And, to make matters worse (or better, at the time, according to my situation), Sofia had just been bestowed the Amulet of Avalor."

"That's what she's wearing. I knew it looked familiar. Didn't it used to be purple though?"

Cedric nodded. "Yes, but that's a much longer story for some other time. Anyway, her father gave it to her. When I found out about it, I knew I had to have it, so I spent a few years using every trick and excuse in the book to try to get her to hand it over, even though we had developed a very close bond and even friendship during that time." He gestured uncertainly with one hand. "Even though I did consider her a friend, I couldn't let my long-term goal of conquering the kingdom go, so I pursued the amulet. When I finally used a spell to switch out a fake amulet I'd made and got the real one, I was elated, and Sofia didn't know any different."

Dexter blinked. "Wow, that's kind of low."

"I'm well aware, Dexter. Trust me." He shook his head. "Anyway, if you're familiar with the amulet, then you know the old saying: 'With each deed performed for better or worse, a power is granted, a blessing or curse.' So, every good thing I did, I received a similar power as a result. However, when I started gloating or acting like an imbecile, I got cursed. Eventually, it got to be too much to handle, especially when Sofia soon after came to me, panicking, saying that her amulet was no longer working." He glanced to the side, noting that the princess was still finishing her art project with Brexley. "Now I realize that it was likely due to her inability to use her powers. I now know that one power allows her to speak with animals."

Kix tilted his head before squirming out of Dexter's grasp and taking off toward the girls, lying down next to the five-year-old.

"It's quite possible that she realized she could no longer do so, and that's why she came to me." Cedric closed his eyes. "I knew how upset she was, so I had her close her eyes, and I switched them back. She was extremely grateful when I'd 'fixed' her amulet, and I knew then and there that I just couldn't take her amulet." He opened his eyes, gazing at Dexter seriously. "I'd destroy our friendship and the trust she had in me. Of course, I still managed to test it about a year and a half later."

Dexter nodded, indicating that he was all ears for the rest of the story.

"While I'd given up my quest for the amulet, my desire to overtake the kingdom was still strong. Sofia believed in me and cherished me as a friend, but not many others did. Even my own father was extremely hard on me, not to mention my sister. I'd had about enough, but I didn't want to ruin what I had with Sofia. Even if she was the only person in the world who believed in me and cared for me, I at least had her." He sighed heavily. "And then we went to my old school one day: Hexley Hall. They had a seminar going on, and I brought her with me. It was glorious at first, but then I was secretly whisked away by a strange invitation. My old headmaster Grimtrix had created something called Medusa Stones to put on any wand, and they would aid in overtaking any kingdom and any ruler. I…accepted. Sofia found out and was heartbroken, but I didn't really care at that point. I had a method now, and I wasn't about to give it up. So, I headed back to Enchancia without her."

The boy gaped at the older sorcerer. "You just left her there?"

"I wasn't thinking clearly, all right?" He tapped his fingers against his arm. "Anyway, I was successful in taking over the kingdom, but Sofia managed to borrow a witch's broom, and she soon cornered me at the castle; she had probably the angriest expression I'd ever seen, and the fact that it was directed at me when she'd only ever shown me kindness… That was hard. I knew I couldn't follow through with it, so I ultimately surrendered, because I didn't want to disappoint her any more than I already had. I was sent to the dungeon thereafter, and Sofia confronted me, telling me that she was the most upset when I, in a moment of a massive judgment lapse, had told her I'd never been her friend. She was, of course, upset that I'd tried to overtake her kingdom and frozen her family with the Medusa Stone, but she was more concerned about our friendship at the time. I couldn't believe it; I was floored. We made up, and she forgave me, and when Grimtrix came to try to finish the job, we defeated him. After that, even though King Roland wanted me imprisoned for treason, Sofia stepped in for me and saved me…again. She's saved me every day that I've known her, just by being there and believing in me."

Sofia glanced up and over at Cedric.

"I don't know what I'd do without her…" Cedric sighed. "And so, here we are, a few years later. Aside from my completely different perspective and improvement as a sorcerer, nothing's changed. Our bond is stronger than ever, though, as you can probably tell."

Dexter chuckled warmly as he nodded. "I can tell… What you and Sofia have is special, Cedric. You just seem to get each other, and that's coming from someone who just met you. Don't take that for granted. Real friendship these days is very hard to come by."

Cedric nodded. "I know…probably better than anyone." He cleared his throat once more before clasping his hands together. "Well, then, where were we? It's your move, is it not?"

"Oh, yeah!"

"Princess Sofia?"

Sofia turned and looked toward Kix, who was staring at her with his giant purple-blue eyes. "Hi! You're Kix, right?"

"Cheese and bananas, you really can understand me!" The dog panted excitedly, wagging his tail. "Oh, that's super-duper-fantastical!"

Coty, still situated on Brexley's shoulder, snickered at the response.

The princess giggled at the dog's reaction. "It's my amulet."

"I know. That Cedric guy was talking about it earlier." He glanced toward Brexley, who was none the wiser of their conversation. "Sometimes I feel bad; I wish Brex could have that magical power. I know it can't be easy not being able to hear or talk."

"Maybe, but don't feel bad for her, Kix." She gently scratched his head, grinning as the brown-furred dog closed his eyes in delight. "Brexley is a wonderful girl. She's very talented and well-adjusted. She doesn't need to be able to hear or talk to be happy. She's able to communicate with you guys, in her own way, right?" She lowered her hand, laughing as the dog stared at her with his tongue lolling out. "Kix?"

"Uh, yep! Sorry. I get kind of dazed when people scratch my head." He looked up at her with a serious yet imploring stare. "Can you do it again?"

The young Protector smiled and rolled her eyes before reaching over and scratching the dog's head again, sending him into a little state of happiness. She glanced toward Cedric again, who seemed to catch her eye, and she smiled knowingly at him. To her delight, he returned the smile.


That evening, after getting dressed for bed, Sofia asked Cedric if he would make them some cocoa before they turned in for the night.

"Cocoa?" he asked, chuckling as he followed her into the kitchen and used his wand to retrieve the ingredients. "In the summertime?"

"I just felt like it would be nice to have something warm and sweet," she answered as she watched him making two cups for them. A playful smile made its way to her face. "Kind of like you, Mr. Cedric."

"Hmm?" He blinked and glanced down as he felt arms encircling him, the princess now hugging him as he'd finished the cocoa. "Sofia?"

"I'm sorry, but…I heard what you were telling Dexter about me."

He blushed modestly as she released him and smiled in his direction. "Y-You did?"

She shrugged. "We were in the same room, Mr. Cedric." She laughed as he blushed harder. "Just because you were talking sort of quietly doesn't mean I couldn't hear you."

"So you were eavesdropping, you cheeky girl?" He scoffed and picked up both cups of cocoa, holding one just out of her reach as she tried to take it. "I don't think so. Only non-eavesdropping princesses get cocoa on a summer evening, regardless of how strange of a request that is."

Sofia folded her arms. "Very funny, Mr. Cedric." She smiled sincerely toward him. "I really appreciated what you said about me, though…"

"What I said…?" He couldn't recall precisely what he had said. He knew he'd mentioned a lot to Dexter, but his exact words were a mystery, even to himself.

"'She's saved me every day that I've known her, just by being there and believing in me.'" She even started blushing at the next part. "'…I don't know what I'd do without her…'"

Cedric set both steaming cups on the counter and sighed, placing his hands on his apprentice's shoulders as she smiled gently at him. "I meant every word."

"I know." She hugged him once again, glad to have him returning it this time. "That meant a lot to me… You mean a lot to me."

He chuckled as he gently ran a hand through her hair, which was finally freed from Brexley's 'braid' and the flowers from earlier. "The feeling is mutual, Sofia…" He carefully released her before picking up the cups once more, offering one to her and smiling as she accepted it. "To friendship?" he asked, holding out the cup toward her.

Sofia smiled and nodded. "To friendship." She laughed as their cups clinked together.

To be continued…