Light Up the Sky – Christina Aguilera
A/N: Happy Birthday Mistress-Zutara. As requested I posted the next chapter today for your birthday! I worked extra hard to have it ready in time! Lol. Also, in this chapter, Sofia is now almost 16, close to the age where she is supposed to take over as queen.
"We have less than a year to prepare you to take over as queen and we are still receiving occasional threats that seem to be increasing as the date of your 16th birthday approaches. Whoever this is does not want you to become queen." Cedric explained to Sofia. "For the last year we've limited your public exposure and haven't had any incidents. So, we're thinking of increasing your public appearances but when we do you will be heavily guarded and I will also be present and have magical shields around you as well. You will be completely safe."
"I really don't want to give the impression that I fear this person. So far they've done nothing more than send threatening letters. Therefore, I am more than willing to increase my public appearances. I want to send the message back to that bastard that I will not be intimidated any longer." Sofia countered, lifting her chin defiantly.
Lifting an eyebrow and studying her with a grin, Cedric stood up and walked over to Sofia. "I'm glad to hear it." He said chuckling at her bold language. She smiled back.
"So what are we doing today?" She asked, stealing his seat at his desk in the office. At that moment there was a soft knock on the door and Baileywick walked in before Cedric could answer her question. He bowed slightly and greeted them each. Then, feeling playful Sofia met Cedric's eyes and smirked before slowly lifting her feet and placing them on top of the desk. Both Cedric and Sofia waited to watch Baileywick's reaction. He was looking at the papers in his hands and when he looked up and saw her bare feet on the desk he visibly balked.
"Princess Sofia!" He bellowed as he dropped the papers in his hands, he was so disconcerted. "That is no way for a lady to be seated at a desk. You're about to become queen!" He proceeded to explain to her. Sofia couldn't hold back her laughter anymore and her head fell back as she began to laugh so hard she even snorted a few times, further frustrating Baileywick.
"Is this how you've been training her to take after you?" He turned to Cedric, with his hands on his hips. Then it was Cedric's turn to lose his control and begin laughing.
Throwing his hands up, Baileywick walked away, mumbling, "I don't know how anything manages to get accomplished in this kingdom between the two of you running things."
"Because we have you, Baileywick! The best, most awesome, dependable, butler, assistant, and friend ever!" Sofia called out after him. Though he didn't turn around he did smile proudly at her silly compliment. He had to admit, over the years even Cedric and him had found common ground and found a sort of friendship though they still got on each other's nerves every day. It was like one very dysfunctional family between the three of them.
Once Baileywick had left and they both stopped laughing, Sofia got back to her original question. "So, back to my question… what do we have planned for today?" She placed her feet back on the floor and gestured for Cedric to take the seat across from her. He crossed his arms and looked at her.
"What?" She asked, innocently. "You want me to begin preparing to become queen, I figure I need to start acting like one, so I'm stealing your much more comfortable chair... Like a queen." She smiled sweetly. Cedric sat ungracefully in the extra chair never breaking eye contact. Neither did Sofia.
"You can't intimidate me by giving me the evil glare…" She told him narrowing her eyes back at him.
"Oh fine, whatever." Cedric said. "You can have the chair because the rest of today you'll be on your feet anyway. So time to stand up and get moving." He told her standing up abruptly and gesturing for her to stand up.
"Well that's not very fair. I barely got to sit in it…" She grumbled as she made her way for the door, not noticing the wicked grin on Cedric's face. Suddenly he lunged for the chair and sat in it laughing at her maniacally.
"I have the chair now. You may take a seat in that chair." He pointed to the extra chair as Sofia just stared at him dumbfounded with her mouth hanging open. She couldn't believe she'd just been duped. Shutting her mouth quickly she gathered her wits and slowly walked around the desk and Cedric stopped laughing. She leaned forward until her face was inches from his.
"Maybe I'll just sit here…" And she sat down on his lap. Cedric stood quickly dropping Sofia on the floor with a thud.
"Sorry…" He mumbled. "You win. Take the chair."
"Yes!" She exclaimed happily, standing up quickly and sitting in the chair. She knew he was becoming more uncomfortable around her changing body and didn't feel bad about using it to her advantage at times like this. She smirked to herself.
"As for today, I only have one meeting. It's a fairly straightforward one. I was thinking about letting you lead… How do you feel about that?" He asked.
Sofia brightened and agreed eagerly. Ever since the threats had started increasing she was pulled out of Royal Prep for security reasons and had been stuck mostly inside the castle unless she was heavily guarded and still it was only on rare occasions she left the castle. It would be nice to get out even if it was for a meeting. She had attended enough meetings by now she felt ready to lead them if properly prepared ahead of time. Sofia got to work immediately to prepare for her first meeting.
The following month, Sofia was sitting at Cedric's desk going through paperwork when he approached her. "There is a festival in the village today. Want to accompany me?" He asked, peeking his head in the door.
Lifting her head up, she smiled brightly and said, "Yes, I'd love to! Maybe I will see Ruby and Jade. I hardly ever get to see them anymore."
"Okay, let me gather some guards together and we'll leave." He told her leaving towards the guards' tower. Sofia stood up and transported underground to get ready. She changed into a dress that a future queen would wear and she could always dance in if she felt like it. She smiled at her reflection, spinning around in front of the mirror and then transported back above to wait for Cedric. Moments later he arrived to retrieve her and they took off to head to the village.
As they drew closer to the village Sofia could hear the beat of the music and she became excited. She hoped to be here long enough to find Ruby and Jade, interact with all the people and have a chance to dance. As they landed Sofia was about to jump out of the carriage when Cedric stopped her.
"What?" She asked him, confused.
"We need to be more cautious now, so just always be aware of your surroundings. And, well, look before jumping. That's all…" Cedric told her with a smile. He then climbed out of the carriage and held out a hand for her. She took his hand and climbed down with her head up looking around.
Walking arm in arm with guards nearby and located all around the village strategically and hidden from view of the townspeople so not to cause alarm for them they began to explore the festival. Soon Sofia found herself lost in the joyousness of the occasion.
"Remember, be aware of your surroundings." Cedric reminded her quietly when he noticed her no longer paying attention.
"Oh yeah, sorry. I find myself having so much fun I forget to not enjoy myself." She responded sardonically glaring at him for ruining her moment.
Just then Ruby and Jade came bounding up and greeted Sofia excitedly. Sofia gave them hugs and began to catch up with them about their lives. Cedric noticed she didn't go into detail about her own life much. He felt bad for her she felt the need to hide so much but he also understood most people wouldn't understand what she goes through with death threats and the demands of being royalty. Eventually the conversation began to dwindle down and they bid their goodbye.
Soon Sofia found the stage with live music. She looked at Cedric with hopeful eyes and asked, "Want to dance?"
"You know I don't; especially not in front of all these people." Cedric responded.
"Suit yourself. I'm going to go dance and have fun." She smiled at him before dancing her way into the crowd. Cedric felt uneasy letting her go dance away from him but he really didn't want to dance. So far he hadn't gotten the feeling of being followed or watched and he had guards everywhere. Suddenly, he felt tugging on his hand. He looked and Sofia was pulling him into the crowd of people laughing.
They were surrounded by people all laughing and dancing merrily. It was hard not to get caught up in the moment. The music was loud and hypnotic. Sofia spoke into Cedric's ear so he could hear her above the music, "Let loose a little, dance with me. Please." And she began to show him how to dance to this faster paced music, her body pressed close to his.
"Do you really think this is appropriate for the King and future Queen of Enchancia to be dancing in public?" He asked her quietly.
"Yes, I do actually." She responded without hesitation. "It shows we're human after all and we enjoy dancing just as they do." Sofia continued to dance, leading him around and showing him different moves until he was starting to dance a little more on his own.
"I understand ballroom dancing or something respectable like that but this hardly seems appropriate." Cedric responded.
"This is how they dance here in the village." Sofia told him. "Look at everyone else, see how they're dancing. This is the style." With that Sofia pulled him close and slithered down his body and back up with a wicked smile. "Now dance with me, King Cedric." She told him. Taking her hand, Cedric began to lead her around dancing with her in the fashion of the villagers as the hypnotic music beat on around them.
When the song was over Cedric excused himself. Sofia was disappointed he didn't want to continue dancing with her. For her it was thrilling to dance with him like that in public. She'd never gotten him to let loose like that before. Deciding to continue dancing Sofia stayed within the throngs of people and danced, lost to the trance like music. She knew Cedric would never take his eyes off her for a second so she closed her eyes and got lost in the music.
Suddenly Sofia felt arms around her. She jerked her body and was about to fight when she heard a voice say, "You're just asking for trouble aren't you?"
She giggled before answering, "What are you talking about?"
"You're dancing with your eyes closed, how is that being away of your surroundings? I could have been anyone. I was able to come up and grab a hold of you." Cedric told her as he danced next to her once again. Sofia felt a slight bubbly sensation in her belly as they moved together and she could feel his breath against her ear as he spoke to her. She pushed the feeling aside and focused on the music and dancing.
"But I knew you'd never let anything happen to me. I trusted you would keep me safe." She said with a smile.
Cedric chuckled as they both danced to the music, neither speaking for a time. Sofia pressed closer to him. After the song ended he suggested they move on. She nodded her head and they made their way through the crowd and towards the food venders where they grabbed a snack. With their food they headed to a patch of trees to eat away from the mass of people.
Sitting down against a tree, Cedric padded the spot next to him for Sofia. She smiled and sat down. They ate in silence for a time being. Once they were finished eating she leaned over and rested her head on his leg that was stretched out in the grass. She gazed up at the sky feeling contented.
Sounds of giggles drew closer and brought Sofia out of her reverie. She sat up as a small group of children came bounding over and wanted to meet her. Sofia smiled brightly at them, giving them all big hugs and greeted them warmly.
"Princess Sofia! We're so excited to meet you. My mama says that you're going to make a lovely queen very soon." A sweet little girl said to her.
Sofia smiled at her and said back, "Awwww, well you tell your mama I said thank you."
Then another child turned to Cedric and asked optimistically, "King Cedric, will you be coming back to our school again soon?" Cedric could see how excited the child was and couldn't resist.
"What is your name?" He asked.
"My name is Max." The boy told him.
"Well Max, I would be more than happy to come visit your school again. And I will visit you specifically." He told him, bopping him on the nose playfully causing the little boy to giggle.
The children ran off to go find their parents and Sofia turned to Cedric. "That was very nice of you." She said. Sofia found herself more and more amazed at how great of a king Cedric had turned out to be through the years. The people had grown to cherish and love him. He really was a great leader when it came time to be.
"Yeah, the kids seem to like it when I visit the schools for some reason. I think it's more my magic shows they like them actually visiting me." He said sarcastically.
Sofia playfully smacked his arm as they both stood up. "Thank you for bringing me here today. I have had a great day. I'm glad we came. And I'm thankful nothing has ruined it this time." She told him smiling.
"Me, too. Although you really need to work on learning how to be aware of your surroundings." Cedric responded playfully as they made their way towards their awaiting carriage. As they walked through the village they noticed people stopping to wave at them, bid them farewell, bless them, etc. Sofia was touched the people seemed to have come to love Cedric and her as much as they loved her parents.
Finally climbing into the carriage, Sofia waved one final time to the crowd before they departed for the castle. She leaned against Cedric and sighed. It was late evening when they returned home. There was another threat waiting for Sofia and Cedric. This time it read: I hope you enjoyed dancing as much as I enjoyed watching you at the festival, Princess. Your time draws near…
Looking it over, Sofia merely shrugged and said, "Well, I had a great day and I'm not going to let them ruin it for me." With that she threw the paper away.