I Want to Know What Love Is – Mariah Carey
Disclaimer: I still don't own Sofia the First nor the characters. Also, this story will begin winding down. There will only be a few more chapters after this. I'm not sure exactly how many but I'm going to start wrapping things up. Enjoy!
A/N: Also, check out the new poll on my author's page about which story (if any) you'd like to see a sequel to.
As Sofia woke up, her mind immediately began to race with different thoughts about the previous night. Cedric had kissed her! So what if it had supposedly been to blend in and appear as anyone other than the proper and appropriate queen. Then, as if nothing had happened he sent her home to deal with the suspect and she still had no idea how that had ended!
Looking over at Cedric, he was still asleep. Not caring about the consequences, Sofia sat up and shook him violently, "Cedric… Cedric, wake up!" He sat up, quickly, his eyes wide.
"What!" He shouted. "What's going on?" He asked, concerned, looking around.
Sitting back down, Sofia responded quietly, "I just wanted to know what happened… last night after… you know… after you sent me back here…" She finished, blushing and looking away.
Cedric stared at her for a moment, his jaw agape. "You mean to tell me, you woke me up as if it were an emergency, scaring me half to death… to ask what happened?"
"I feel I deserve to know. And I couldn't wait any longer." Sofia answered.
"I understand that. But you could have woken me a bit gentler. That was kind of terrifying." Cedric explained to her as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.
"Sorry…" She shrugged, guiltily.
He sighed as he settled back into the bed covers slowly. Sofia stared at him waiting for him to respond and begin telling her what happened. She tried not to push him and just be patient. After a moment she realized his eyes were closed and he had gone back to sleep. With a perturbed gasp, Sofia jumped out of bed. "Fine!" She yelled as she walked out of the room, shutting the door hard, hoping it woke him up again.
A short time later, Sofia emerged from the bathroom after a relaxing bubble bath to find Cedric in the kitchen attempting to make breakfast. There were many things Cedric was very skilled and excellent at, cooking was not one of them. Leaning against the wall with a smirk on her face, Sofia watched him struggle trying to figure out how the stove worked as he muttered under his breath.
Unable to watch him destroy more food, Sofia finally took refuge on him. She coughed to gain his attention. He turned around quickly and saw her standing there with a knowing smile on her face.
"What? I was trying to be nice and make breakfast for us." Cedric tried to explain.
"Uh-huh… and how did that work out for you…?" She asked.
"Well…" He didn't have to answer, as he trailed off looking back at the disaster on the stove top.
Sofia walked up beside him, taking the spatula from his hand, "It's okay, thank you for trying." Their fingers gently met as she took the spatula from his hand and for a moment they froze as her eyes flew to his. Neither moved and the tension immediately rose. Pulling her hand back, Sofia broke the tension as she looked away while Cedric coughed awkwardly and excused himself from the room. They would need to talk about what happened between them sooner rather than later Sofia thought before things became too awkward.
The next few weeks passed quickly but very uncomfortably for Sofia and Cedric; neither wanting to be the first to bring up the topic of their kiss or growing feelings for the other. However, he did eventually tell her the truth of what happened after he sent her back to the castle. Newspapers began circulating about the missing Prince Andre and since the letters had stopped appearing, Cedric told his guards the suspect probably gave up and they slowly began cutting back on extra patrols around the castle. Things in Enchancia were beginning to return to normal… everything except for things between Sofia and Cedric. They were becoming more distant and awkward every day.
Being Queen was more stressful than she had anticipated. When she took over after Cedric it was like a tidal wave of responsibility being dropped into her lap all at once. Apparently Cedric had been holding back on her while she was shadowing him and helping him the past few years.
Green plants lined the long hallway to her office as she made her way there to begin her day. As Sofia entered she was greeted by Baileywick who bowed slightly. Afterwards he began to list the tasks of their day that had to be done. Sofia struggled to hold in her tea as she was so shocked. The list seemed endless. When would she get a break?
"Are you sure I'm the right person for this job, Baileywick?" Sofia asked again, in jest.
Baileywick smiled tenderly at her, "Of course you are, Queen Sofia. Your parents would be more than proud of how far you've come and what you're doing with your kingdom."
"Sometimes it feels so overwhelming, I now understand why my father wished to be a baker." She mumbled to herself with a smile remembering their disastrous day of baking in the village as a family while looking out the window.
"Excuse me?" Baileywick asked, unable to hear her clearly.
"Oh nothing, just remembering my family." She said quietly, with a sad look on her face. Quickly changing the subject, Sofia turned back towards Baileywick and smiled before asking. "So, are we ready to begin the day?"
"Yes, after you, your majesty." He responded as they exited the office.
Later that night, after she finished her busy day Sofia settled into bed long after Cedric had fallen asleep. She lay awake thinking about all of her stresses, at the top of her list was Cedric. Turning her head she looked at the man lying beside her. If only he would talk about his feelings. Not that she was any better, she admitted to herself with a sigh.
Unable to sleep Sofia rose from the bed and went to the kitchen to make a cup of tea wishing she had someone she could talk to besides Cedric. She felt like she had lost most of her childhood friends over the years. Suddenly, she had an idea. Throwing her cloak over her shoulders she quickly left a note in case Cedric awoke and wondered where she was before transporting above to prepare a flying coach.
Soon she was in flight to her destination. Although she was exhausted, Sofia felt she really needed to talk to a friend and Cedric had been so distant lately and a lot of it involved him so she couldn't talk to him. It didn't take long to reach where she was headed. As she stepped out of the coach she walked towards the door and hesitated a moment before knocking.
After knocking Sofia waited a few seconds before she heard someone approach the door. Winifred answered it, looking a bit bewildered at first.
"Sofia, my dear. What are you doing here at such an hour? Come in, child. Come in." Winifred gestured for her to enter her cozy cottage within Mystic Meadows. Goodwin came out to see who had arrived as well.
"Good… ahhh… morning, Queen Sofia…" Goodwin greeted her sounding confused about why she was here at such an hour. "Is everything alright?" He asked, suddenly tensing up.
"Yes, yes, everything is fine. I was wondering if maybe Winifred would be so kind to keep me company. I was looking for someone to talk to tonight. I can't sleep. I have a lot on my mind lately." Sofia said sheepishly, feeling bad for waking them up.
"Of course, dear. I'd love to. I'll start some tea for us." Winifred said rushing into the kitchen.
"Well then I'll leave you two while I go back to sleep. Goodnight Sofia." Goodwin said giving her a warm hug before retreating back to his bedroom.
"Goodnight Goodwin." She called out after him before following after Winifred.
Once the tea was ready they both sat at the small table in the kitchen and began to sip the warm drink as a silence took over. Sofia kept her head down not meeting her eyes unsure of how to begin. It didn't go unnoticed to Winifred how nervous Sofia appeared.
"Would you like to learn how to make fly cakes? They're Cedric's favorite, you know." Winifred finally spoke up as a way to break the ice.
"I'd love to! I've tried to make it a few times but I never get it just right." Sofia answered.
"Well then come on, I'll teach you my special recipe. And while we're baking you can tell me about whatever is on your mind that is bothering you." She said with a warm smile as she began to gather ingredients and supplies as well as her wand.
Winifred instructed Sofia through each step while Sofia told Winifred everything that had happened between her and Cedric. She noticed how the elderly woman's eyes lit up with happiness when she heard they had kissed. Then Sofia went on to tell her about the stresses with being queen and how overwhelming her schedule has been. By time she was finished telling Winifred all of her worries she realized the fly cakes were finished.
"Honey…" Winifred began, taking Sofia's cheeks in both of her hands and looking her in the eyes, "Everything will work out. You and Cedric have known each other for so long and been through so much together. He's scared of messing up or hurting you. But I've known for a long time you two were meant to be together. It makes me so happy to see you're both finally coming around to seeing it. Just give it time. Don't rush it. You're still young and he's still… well, he's Cedric." They both began to giggle at the last part before embracing in a hug.
"Thank you. I needed to vent to someone. He can be so frustrating. And I know I'm not much better. I'm not facing things either. I've been avoiding him, too hoping he'll be the one to bring it up." Sofia responded as she ended the hug, wiping a tear away.
"Try this fly cake… how does it taste?" Winifred asked with a twinkle in her eye as she handed her a cupcake. Sofia obeyed the woman and took a bite. She gave her a big smile before answering her.
"It's delicious. They're perfect. Thank you for teaching me this recipe!" She exclaimed as she continued to devour the rest of the fly cake.
"Good, now take the rest of these back to Cedric as a peace offering and talk to him."
Sofia's jaw dropped and then she closed it. She thought about protesting but she knew Winifred was right. It was time her and Cedric talked about what was going on. "You're right. Thanks again." Sofia said quietly, with a small smile.
The house was still dark when Sofia arrived back home indicating Cedric hadn't woken up while she was gone. She brought the fly cakes with her as she walked into the bedroom to wake him up. Sitting on Cedric's side of the bed, Sofia gently nudged his shoulder and called out his name quietly. Cedric mumbled incoherently but failed to wake up. Smiling, Sofia bent close to his ear and whispered, "I have fly cakes…" Suddenly, Cedric's head flew up and he was awake.
"Fly cakes?" He asked, looking around, confused as Sofia began to giggle.
"How did I know that would work?" She asked nobody in particular.
Cedric began to rub his eyes as he realized it was still early morning and Sofia was waking him up with a plate of fly cakes. "What's going on?" He asked.
"I made fly cakes. Your mom taught me her recipe. Try one." Sofia told him, holding the plate out for him. He eyed her, suspiciously but took one anyway, taking a bite.
"These are amazing, Sofia! Thank you. However, I do need to ask… why in the world are you bringing me fly cakes at… what time is it? …uh 4:30 in the morning?" He asked. "Wait, were you at my mother's all night?"
With a sigh, Sofia set the plate down and settled on the bed beside him before answering, "Yes, I was. But that's not the point. They're a peace offering of sorts." She began as she looked up and met his eyes, "It's time we talked about what's going on between us rather than keep on avoiding each other and..." with a nervous gulp she continued on, "and our feelings for each other."