Girl on Fire – Alicia Keys
A/N: I will say upfront I don't know how coronation ceremonies actually happen so I'm just making this up. All I know is what I've seen in Frozen and other Disney movies and each one was different. So… I'm doing my own thing here. Also, thank you to AquaTurquoise for helping me with some writers block.
In a dark blood red, short sleeve dress with a long train and black lace trimmings, Sofia looked at herself in the mirror as she applied minimal makeup. The back of her dress was cut in a sharp V shape, revealing part of her back while the front of her dress came nearly to her neck. With the help of her wand she created an elegant up do for her hair. She checked herself in the mirror one last time and stepped out of her room to find Cedric waiting patiently for her in their living room.
Walking down the hall towards Cedric, Sofia's heart began to pound as she remembered their earlier encounter. He turned as he heard her footsteps approach and gasped at her appearance.
"Wow… um… uh… you… uh… wow." He stuttered blushing and she spun around showing him her dress.
"I hope that's a compliment." Sofia responded, giggling slightly as his nervousness.
Cedric looked up and met her eyes, "Yes, it is. You look beautiful and… like a powerful and commanding queen." He held her gaze for a moment longer before changing the subject. "Before we head above I want to explain to you the precautions we will be taking. I will put an invisible shield around us and I'll be by your side through the ceremony. We'll keep it short and simple and only stay for a little while. Everyone else can party on through the evening without us."
"Fine by me." Sofia said, taking a deep breath trying to calm her nerves.
"You'll do great and I'll keep you safe." Cedric reassured her reaching his hand for her.
"Wait, before we leave…" Sofia interrupted.
"Yes…?"
She stepped up closer, pulling him in for an embrace, "Thank you… years ago when I pretty much cornered you into being the king you stepped up. You didn't have to but you did. You've been amazing. The people of our kingdom have come to love and adore you just as I do, I knew they would. I wanted to thank you for doing that for me and giving me time to grow up and also grieve properly for my family."
"You're welcome, Sofia." He responded, holding her in his arms, after a moment he stepped back and looked at her. "Are you ready?"
Taking a deep breath she finally responded, "I suppose as ready as I'll ever be." He took her hand and together they transported above. They appeared in his office so they could walk together to the ceremony.
As they approached the door to open it, they heard a soft knock. Startled, they stepped back, looking at each other. "Stand back." Cedric said quietly to Sofia.
"Who is it?" Cedric called out.
"It's your mummy, Cedykins. I wanted to talk to Sofia before the ceremony." Smiling he turned to look at Sofia as they both breathed a sigh of relief and he opened the door to let his mother in. As she entered, Cedric embraced his mother greeting her.
Next Sofia excitedly ran into her arms, "Winifred, I'm so happy to see you!"
"I'm so glad to see you as well, darling! Today is such a special day for you." Winifred told her fondly, touching her face gently.
Cedric cleared his throat awkwardly, "Well, I will leave you two to chat while I step out. I won't be far. Don't take too long. The ceremony is supposed to be starting."
After he left, Winifred grasped Sofia's hands and asked her conspiratorially, "So, tell me Sofia, how are things, I haven't seen you in a while? Are you excited for today? Or are you dreading it? How are you doing?"
"Honestly, I have a whole mix of emotions running through me. I am excited but I also am worried."
"What are you worried about, dear? Not those silly threats I hope. You know Cedric wouldn't let a thing happen to you. He'd give his own life to protect you."
"No, not that. At first those scared me but I'm more afraid of failing the kingdom and not living up to the standards that Cedric set." She admitted to his mother, looking down at her feet.
The kind woman looked at her with love and fondness, and placed her warm hand on her cheek, "Oh my sweet, sweet child. You won't ever fail the people or Cedric. They all already love you so much."
"I hope so. I want to do everything I can to be a decent and worthy queen, I just hope I'm good enough."
"You already are. You have been since the day your family died. You and Cedric have been running this kingdom together. It was never Cedric alone, he always thought of you in every decision he made and then as you got older you joined him and began to help run things." Winifred explained to her, helping to ease her worries.
Before Sofia could respond there was a soft knock and Cedric poked his head in, "Sorry to interrupt you ladies, but we really need to get going. The ceremony was supposed to begin already." He shut the door as he pulled his head back out.
Sofia turned back to Winifred, "Thank you, Winifred. You've been like a mother to me over the past years after losing my own. Having you and Goodwin around has meant a lot to me." She said as they embraced before walking out the door to meet up with Cedric.
With moist eyes, Winifred responded, "Oh honey, thank you. Having you in our lives brings us much happiness and I know how happy it makes our dear Cedykins having you in his life." She added mischievously, bumping Sofia with her elbow gently and winking. Sofia gasped, blushing at her meaning as they exited the room. She ran straight into Cedric and he caught her causing her to blush even more.
"Are you alright Sofia?" Cedric asked, reaching up to feel her forehead.
"Oh she is fine," His mother replied, smiling at the two. "Come along you two, we don't want to miss the party."
Once they were walking down the hallway, Cedric whispered to Sofia, "My mom didn't say anything that upset you did she?"
"No, nothing like that… More like something that shocked me." She muttered quietly to herself.
"Here we are. Are you ready? Once we exit these doors the ceremony will begin…" Cedric told her, searching her eyes.
"I'm ready." Sofia said, confidently.
With her hand in his arm, Sofia and Cedric walked out together to the cheers of the crowd. Sofia had her head held high as she waved gracefully to the people. As they reached the podium and were about to address the mass of people Sofia realized she was finally ready for this moment. Looking over at Cedric she smiled warmly at him; a lot of her growth came because of his love and encouragement over the years.
Out of the corner of his eye, Cedric noticed her smile at him and he turned towards her and returned her smile. He felt something different in the smile; it felt more deep and heartfelt than usual. Turning back to address the crowd Cedric returned his attention to the people who were attending the ceremony. The speech he presented was short and simple, outlining his years as king and how grateful he was for their acceptance and the kindness of the community. He then began the process of Sofia's coronation and presenting her with the queen's crown.
At last he turned to her and gazed into her eyes. The crown magically appeared in his hands and he raised his arms to place it on her head gently. As he did this, his crown magically disappeared off his head. They continued to stare into each other's eyes, lost in the moment forgetting about the crowd and drowning out the sound of the cheers and applause. Suddenly, Cedric took Sofia's right hand in his left hand and held it up high for the people and announced for the kingdom, "I now present Queen Sofia of Enchancia!" The roar of the gathering became even louder.
Cedric slowly bowed to his new queen and presented his hand to her. Sofia placed her hand in his and he led her down the steps to join the mass of people to greet them and join the celebration. There was joyful music, dancing, delicious food, drinks and a lot of opportunities for social interactions. Cedric was careful to always be aware of who was around them and keeping their magical guards up.
After taking a moment to speak with a few people, Cedric held out his hand and asked Sofia, "May I have this dance?"
"Yes! I can't believe you're asking me before I have to practically beg you!" She exclaimed happily, placing her hand in his as they made their way to the dance floor.
"Now I should remind you, this is a coronation so we are to dance properly and appropriately this time Queen Sofia." He joked with her, remembering their last dance at the festival in the village. Sofia shivered slightly remembering how they had danced so close that evening. Cedric pulled her close, placing his hand on her waist and the other catching her hand in his, as she placed her hand gently on his shoulder, looking him in the eye as they began to dance around the room gracefully catching the eyes of all those around them.
Occasionally, Cedric would look away to sweep his eyes around the room and look over the guests and who was around them. Sofia knew he was keeping an eye out for her and any possible danger. As the song ended, they let go of each other. He placed a hand on her back and led her to the side of the room where tables of refreshments were located. She noticed he didn't take his hand away and it was making it difficult for her to breathe feeling his fingertips touching the bare skin of her back. Not wanting him to stop, she simply stood still not saying a word or looking his way, afraid it would break the moment.
Suddenly there was a loud clash and clatter followed by yelling and guards began running towards the sound. Cedric encased Sofia in his arms and transported her immediately out of there before they could even see what the sound was. For all she knew, one of the caterers may have simply dropped a plate of food.
Below ground, Sofia looked up at him. "I already know. You're going to leave me here while you go see what's going on. Just please, return quickly, especially if it's something trivial because I will be sitting here worrying about you. Okay?" She said, reaching a hand up to touch his face gently.
"I promise." He said, brushing a piece of hair that had fallen out behind her ear. He disappeared, leaving Sofia there. She sighed, not knowing how long he would be gone this time but hoped it wouldn't be long.
In the reading room, Sofia picked up her book and sat down, lighting the fire. Only two pages into her book, Cedric grabbed the book from her hands. "Do you mind? I was reading that!" She exclaimed.
"You wanted me to return and let you know I was alright so you wouldn't be sitting around worrying about me. It looks to me like you weren't worried at all. Apparently you don't care about me." Cedric fake pouted.
"I didn't realize you'd be that quick. I take it everything is alright; a false alarm?" Sofia asked.
"Not exactly, the guards think someone was trying to sneak into the ceremony who wasn't supposed to be there and tried to catch them. As they tried to make their escape they ran into a caterer which is the sound we heard of the clattering and all the crashing. But the person did manage to escape again unfortunately." Cedric groaned. "Maybe we have incompetent guards. The person has been spotted twice now yet never been caught. How can one person outrun a whole kingdom's army?"
"I'm not sure, but the person is gone now, correct?" Sofia asked.
"Yes, the guards have chased them far away and I'm sure they'll stay away for the rest of the ceremony. Do you want to return for a while longer?" Cedric asked her.
"I suppose I should, I didn't get much of a chance to speak with and greet that many people, what kind of queen would I be if I let one small incident scare me away?" Sofia responded standing up. Cedric again placed his hand on her back, noticing her blush and smile at him.
"After you, Queen Sofia." He said, exaggerating her title with a smirk.
"Oh shut it." Sofia responded playfully smacking him. He pulled her against him, and they transported above into what is now her office.
"We should probably get back to the ceremony." Cedric said, placing his hand on her back once more. Sofia wondered why he was doing this all of a sudden when normally they had always walked with her hand in his arm. She wasn't going to complain however as she was enjoying the feel of his hands on her skin.
As they walked down the hall, Cedric noticed Sofia was walking closer to him. He had seen her bare back earlier and when he touched it after dancing he couldn't seem to pull his hand away. Now his hand was like a magnet to her skin. He just hoped Sofia didn't notice.
Approaching the doors to the party, Cedric glanced at Sofia the same time she turned towards him. They both blushed and turned away as they walked through the doors. Immediately they were surrounded by people wanting to greet the new queen. His hand left her back and Sofia felt a loss. She turned to him and met his eyes. He tried to read what she was thinking but couldn't, as there was too much going on around them. After that group of people moved on and they continued their way through the celebration, Cedric tentatively, replaced his hand on her back. He could have sworn he saw her slightly relax and settle closer to him.
It didn't take long for another group of people to want to meet Sofia and congratulate her. This time, instead of removing his hand, he simply stepped closer so they wouldn't be separated. Sofia glanced at him and gave him one of the biggest smiles he'd ever seen.
After a while of greeting people and dancing, Sofia was ready to leave. They approached Baileywick to let him know.
"Baileywick, the party can continue as long as people want but I'm ready to call it a night. I'm exhausted." Sofia told him
"Very well, Queen Sofia." Baileywick told her with a sly smile. "I'm very proud of you, Sofia. You did great tonight." He added, with a bit of moisture in his eyes, giving her a quick hug before returning to his normal butler persona.
"Thank you, Baileywick. We couldn't have done it without you." Sofia responded sincerely, touching his arm.
Baileywick looked between the two before chuckling and admitting, "I don't even want to think about what type of mayhem you two would have caused without me there to help you along and guide you." Baileywick visibly shivered in fear or disgust, Sofia wasn't sure which, maybe a mixture of both.
Both Sofia and Cedric laughed aloud at his confession and nodded, "Yes, it's true. I don't think either of us can deny that." Cedric said.
"Well you have things under control here… I'm going to leave you to it. Have a nice evening Baileywick and I'll see you tomorrow." Sofia told him as she left.
Once through the door and into the hall away from the party-goers, Cedric turned to Sofia, "Are you ready?" He asked, smiling and taking her hand. She nodded and they transported below.
When they arrived below ground Sofia gasped to see he had a present wrapped for her sitting on the table. "Happy birthday, Sofia. I know your birthday was kind of overshadowed by your coronation today so I wanted to make sure you didn't think it was completely forgotten."
"Of course not, you took me flying at midnight." She said as she ran over and began tearing at the paper to see what he'd gotten her.
After she'd opened it Sofia turned to him with a look of astonishment and then jumped into his arms, again knocking him to the ground. "Thank you!" She exclaimed.
A/N: Tune into the next chapter to find out what the present was Cedric got for her!