It was a fine noon in the kingdom of Enchancia as young Sofia is skipping through the empty halls of the Castle. Surprisingly, she could hear the echoes of her footsteps linger throughout the creaks of the floors
"This is gonna be a wonderful day!" she mutters to herself as she continues on her skips
Suddenly, a certain tall person caught her attention. He was acting very suspicious carrying what seemed like a bag on his right hand.
Her eyes cowered in curiosity as her lips twitched. There never was a day when her Royal Sorcerer would not be doing suspicious after all, and there never was a day when her curiosity would fail to come to her
And so she tiptoed and sneaked close to him before finally…
"What do you have there, Mister Ceedric!?"
The man jumped in surprise, not seeing the little girl at first but upon doing so, his eyebrows rose to his forehead
"Ahaa, the little princess, how are you?" He uttered nervously
"I'm doing gr—"
"Yeah, don't answer that. Anyways, I'm off to the tower now, don't be a strangeeerr"
Cedric stated in haste as he moved his body quickly away from the meddling girl towards the staircase of the workshop. He took a glance of his bag on his right which fortunately, still contained what he wanted to see
A sigh of relief came out his mouth as he went on with his way
But upon doing so..
"Just so you know, I don't have any plans for today, Mister Ceedric." Sofia smiled as she walks beside Cedric
"You're gonna be stuck with me the whoooooleee day!"
Cedric frowned. No point keeping the nice guy façade anymore that she had seen through it.
"Its CEDRIC, for the millionth time, Squirt"
Sofia leaned in closer, taking a good look of her sorcerer's expression
"I know, I just want to see your reaction when I say it"
Cedric rolled his eyes in response. He would be lying if he would say that he did not see this coming
He knew for himself that the meddling Princess would always find him in his most disadvantage situations
x X x
Peace at last, Cedric laid on his sofa as he leaned his back on the small pillow of his chambers. This would've been perfect however if not for—
"Mister Ceedric, your room looks especially dusty today, should I clean it in exchange for magic lessons?" Sofia suggested
"You could just ask for it directly you know" Cedric blurted
"But I want to help you" She soothed
"Merlyn's Mushrooms, you are a princess, Sofia. What would your father think if he found out I've been making his daughter do all the chores in here?"
"I say he wouldn't mind— I love cleaning you know" Sofia responded with a sly smile
Cedric buried his face on his palms upon hearing that. He fell back on his couch, trying to get even with the witty princess to make her leave so that he can enjoy the treat on his bag
But then a bright idea came to his mind.
A nefarious chuckle then escaped his mouth as he turned to Sofia sitting on the small chair and humming to herself
"So you're saying I could order you to do the chores in here" Cedric asked
Sofia nodded in response, but upon gave him a wink upon doing so
"I feel like you're up to something, Mister Ceedric"
"Ohohoho, I am most certainly not, Princess Sofia" Cedric spurted in sarcasm
"I'm just a little tired after all that travelling that I had to do throughout the kingdom. My legs are beating me to be frankly honest"
Concerned, Sofia immediately got off her small chair and tiptoed towards her favorite sorcerer
"Oh no, whatever could have happened!?"
Cedric's eyebrows furrowed, as if he sensed something suspicious from her tone
"Isn't that a little bit too dramatic, Princess?"
"I don't know, Is it?" Sofia teased back
The sorcerer groaned on the spot, not wanting to give out his scheme to the very observant princess
He wouldn't even be surprised if she found out by now
"And I was supposed to do lots of chores in the chamber today, If only I have a trusty apprentice who would do it for me—"
Cedric took a paper from the drawer which listed lots of chores that could almost fill a market list
A smile forms on his lips as he slowly turns to Sofia who is watching him quietly
"You wouldn't happen to have that much time, do you? Princess?"
Sofia tapped her bottom lip and looked up as confusion is visible on her face. Cedric could see how she was agitated about his offer
Surely this would chase her away, knowing these chores aren't just some kindergarten task
"And after this I'll be alone at last" he thought to himself
Sofia, who still had the worried expression on her face glanced at Cedric who was holding back a small chuckle from the side
"uhm.. Mister Ceedr—"
"Now now Princess Sofia, you don't have to force yourself. I'll just take a quick nap then I'm gonna do it all myself. I suggest you quarantine yourself from this chamber though for the dust might be a little too overbearing at times" Cedric chuckles to himself again before resting his toes on the couch
"Don't let the door hit you when you leave" He sarcastically soothed as he closed his eyes finally
Seconds passed and Cedric is on the couch with his eyes closed, pretending to be asleep. He doesn't need his sight to know but he could still feel the presence of the girl beside him
Watching him.
This caused a shiver to his spine as he thought to himself
"When is she gonna leave?" he thought to himself
Upon doing so, he felt the comfort in his nice sofa quite much as he slowly fell into a real slumber this time, forgetting his main purpose in the first place
Seeing that her sorcerer is now truly asleep, a sly smile crept unto Sofia's lips as she slowly caressed his black and white hair
"You really think you could trick me? Well jokes on you"
She whispers as she took the list of chores from his hand and stood up from her chair.
x X x
A nice yawn escaped Cedric's mouth as his muscles seemed to have tensed up. His couch isn't really the most comfortable thing to lay on for a couple of hours after all
Upon realizing this, he immediately opened his eyes as the notion of his plan came rushing to him
"Oh no, I forgot!"
He looked around and saw no one, and it seemed empty
And so his troubles didn't really ache that much knowing it ended up him being alone in the end.
And so he closed his eyes again and laid back on the couch. Thinking about that luscious treat that he is about to eat lat—
"Oh you are finally awake, Mister Ceedric"
His eyes bolted open, he couldn't believe it. He immediately sat up from his couch to see Sofia herself in her nice cute pink apron and her hair tied for cleaning
He stuttered to himself as his jaw draped open
"N-noo way…"
Sofia lets out a slight giggle upon seeing his reaction
"I know what you were planning, and unfortunately, I'm not that easy to get rid of"
Cedric gnashed his teeth upon hearing this, he immediately thought up of a nice witty comeback but his attention was then diverted to the room that seemed different
The dust, the droppings and the little cobwebs hanging in every ceiling
All gone!
It didn't take a while before realization struck him
"You cleaned the whole chamber?"
Sofia gave him a very sweet smile as she spun around holding a broom on her hand
"I enjoy cleaning once in a while." She responded
"But y-youre a pr…"
Sofia interrupted him with a glare that came out of nowhere
"Mister Ceedric, My status doesn't define what I want to do" she retorted in a slight annoyance
"besides, it's a good exercise for me"
Cedric, who was still speechless, is trying his hardest to find the best words to speak.
He honestly couldn't believe it.
But somehow, he knows how to appreciate a favor even though he didn't ask it in the first place
And so he stood up to his feet and gave Sofia a reassuring smile. He slowly patted her head indicating of a job well done
"Thank you, Sofia."
Sofia giggled in response as she moved alongside Cedric's hand motion. She loves it so much whenever he would do this. Being praised by Cedric after a hard work feels very nice to her
"And for your reward!" Cedric added as he walked towards the table where his red bag is placed
Sofia anticipated what he had on that mysterious bag of his. She was having so much fun that she forgot to ask what was in that thing
Slowly, he took out a plate of cake on his right hand gleaming with strawberries and banana bits
Her eyes gleamed upon seeing this as Cedric came close to her direction and handed her the plate
"It's all yours, Princess. A token of my gratitude." He stated slowly with a reassuring smile on his face
Sofia, couldn't wait to taste what the delicious looking cake has in store for her
"Thank you… I wasn't expecting a reward but I appreciate this so much!"
"You're welcome, Sofia… now go enjoy it with your friends and family"
The young princess paused, hearing something that bothered her
"But I thought we were gonna eat this together?" she muttered
Cedric chuckled in response as he rested his hand on Sofia's shoulder
"Sofia, a cake should be shared with people that are important to you, such as your friends and family"
Sofia stood in defiance as she placed the cake on his table
"But you are my friend, and you are important to me!"
"Aww, that is so adorable little Sofia, but alas… I am just your servant. Now off you go—"
"No!"
Before Cedric could even utter his following words, Sofia's grunt took him by surprise
"I want to eat the cake with you, Mister Ceedric." Sofia whined with a pout on her face
Cedric heaved out a sigh, she's genuine and kind but she can be too stubborn at times
"Why do you wish to be around me that much, princess Sofia?"
"Because I enjoy your company! And I cherish our moments together" Sofia responded with a warm smile
Cedric could feel the sincerity from her words, she truly is a nice girl, never a doubt in his mind. But the underlying question still stands strong on the back of his mind
Why would princess Sofia herself go out of her way for him?
Eventually, he finally decided to give in the princess's demand. Especially when she made that face which is both adorable and funny at the same time
"Finee.."
Sofia's eyes gleamed in joy as she jumped in delight
"I'll bring forks from the kitchen, I'll be right back and don't move a muscle"
And just like that, she bolted out of his door and went straight outside with excitement visible from her face
Cedric watched aimlessly as Sofia disappeared from his sight. She always was unpredictable and still is. She would always find her way to his deepest insecurities and would always find her way back
For him, moments such as this should be cherished as well
He may never find a friend like Sofia again, and one day, Sofia is gonna find a nice husband and will be too busy to even give him time of day
But as that day is still far ahead, he's gonna enjoy these little tidbits that they share together
"I'm back, Mister Ceedric!" Sofia cheered holding two forks
"It's CEDRIC, but maybe just this once"
They both shared a nice laugh as the afternoon presses on. The cake was evenly shared between the pair as they shared wonderful stories on each other with genuine smiles on their faces
~The End~