The Ever Realm Academy was as busy as ever, with a certain flying vehicle hovering over an empty spot for landing. It sure took the attention of some when it finally descended and out came the aviator himself wearing his goggles
Spotting a near bench, he quickly made his way there and sat on the empty one. Those gazes were gonna make him freeze if he stayed a second more. The afternoon was still early, and he oughta wait a bit more
"Now it's nice of you to pick me up with that flying thing, Bro."
The man knew the voice well and sighed. When he turned around, the sight of a certain blond eating a pumpkin pie was what greeted him
"So when are we leaving?"
"I only came here for your sister with the King's orders. Your ass can walk home." he didn't hesitate to grunt
"Oh come on… don't be like that now" James sat beside him on the bench "How many chicks do you think I can impress with that whip"
"Probably all of them. You should've seen the look of all them women I passed through while flying here" a cocky smile fell unto the Sorcerer's face
James chuckled in response as he took another bite of his pie. The drippings almost landed on Cedric's vest but he immediately scooted away
"So where's your sister?" Cedric finally asked
"I haven't seen her since earlier"
"Where does she usually hang out with?"
"I don't really know. She's often called out for those protector duties and whatnot" The prince responded with her mouth still jammed of food
"How is she being treated in this school? Are they nice to her?" Cedric turned to him, anticipating an answer
"Sofia's pretty chill. And she's always on the top of her class. She's pretty athletic and popular too" James explained "But yeah… she doesn't really have much male friends that is… because of you know… her style"
"Not even one?" Cedric muttered
"I haven't seen her hang out with another boy except for me to be honest with you"
"That's messed up. Don't these princes out here see her that way?"
"I don't know about them to be honest" James finally finished the pie and leaned on the bench "I guess they have a certain type. And that type is not Sofia"
"Which is unfortunate… Sofia's seventeen birthday is coming up. It would be a shame if she didn't have any suitors attend or something… you know?" James added
From afar, a group of princes was seen by the Sorcerer and a smirk formed on his lips "Those your friends?"
"Y-Yeah…"
"Then let's do something about that predicament"
Cedric then stood up and approached the young men on that crowd with James watching from the bench
"Afternoon Gentlemen, how was school today?"
"It was awesome… wait.. I remember you. You're Enchancia's Royal Sorcerer right?" Prince Khalid spoke
"Yeah, you got that right. But anyways, ya'll are invited to a party in Enchancia two days from now to celebrate Princess Sofia's birthday" Cedric began which garnered quite a reaction from the crowd
"Sofia…" Prince Zandar held back his chuckle "I mean… we appreciate that and all.. but isn't she kind of.."
In a quick second, Cedric squared up to the boy and gripped his collar with his fist. His other hand was also already curled into a fist as he glared at him "She's what?"
Shivering, the prince looked away in fear "S-She's wonderful.. he he.."
The Sorcerer then shoved the prince away and he fell to the ground "I didn't want to resort to this… but since you little rascals wanna play that way. I'm beating the fuck outta anyone in here that isn't gonna attend Sofia's birthday. I will personally come to your kingdom and knock you out in front of your parents"
"Hey, you can't just threaten us like that!" Prince Ben exclaimed in defiance
"Oh… and since that's pretty unrealistic. I'll just cast a hex on each and every one of ya'll here when that day comes. And the only way to save yourselves from being turned into a frog for a week is by dancing with Sofia on her birthday "
"W-What kind of negotiation is this? You can't force to dance with that dyke!" All of a sudden, a puff of smoke turned Prince Carlos into a toad
"Aw, lil tough guy just had to open his mouth, didn't he?" the reactions from the Princes tells a lot
"O-Okay… they we're just playing around. We accept the invitation, Cedric" Prince Desmond finally stood up and answered "We'll be there. I give you my word"
"Finally a prince who knows how to speak!" Cedric tapped him on the shoulder in a show of respect. Looking back at the princes, he gave them a last glare. "Oh and make sure to look your best and act happy around her."
The princes nodded in unison
"Nice. Now bounce outta here before I heat up" Quickly, the boys ran as fast as they could away from the scene and a proud smile formed on his lips
Shocked, James behind him came up to Cedric "Damn, you're a cold one for that, Bro" He looked back and forth from the princes running away
Cedric was not amused with the blond "I can't believe you hang out with pussies like those who blatantly disrespect your sister like that. You're more of a coward than I thought, James"
"You could get in trouble for doing that, you know.."
Suddenly, the toad in the background finally reverted back into Prince Carlos as he looked at Cedric with fear in his eyes. Without hesitation, Cedric grabbed the boy and pinned his arm from behind causing him to stay in place
"Do it for Sofia."
James nodded raised his fist in front of him with his eyes infuriated of intimidation
"You'll never disrespect my sister again… You got that!?" James raised his voice to him
Prince Carlos nodded quickly and Cedric released him. Without hesitation, the prince ran away to the other direction
"That's more like it" Cedric commented which made James feel proud of himself
"Thanks man… but hey I gotta head back to fencing practice. See you later, Bro" James then walked away and Cedric sat back on the same bench
It didn't take much long before the sight of Sofia was finally visible to him. She was talking to a group of princesses that he was sure we recognized way back.
"James wasn't lying after all." He whispered to himself
Compared to them, Sofia sure looks very odd and stands out from the rest. When the princesses are out were wearing fancy jewelries and dresses, Sofia was rocking a brown jacket and loose cargo pants.
When Sofia finally spots Cedric, she immediately parted ways from her friends and ran to his bench
"What's up? This sure is a surprise visit." Sofia uttered, reaching out her hand as Cedric stood up and pulled her in for a quick dap
(a dap is a form of greeting that is a one armed hug that most men would use in the to show respect or bond to each other. This action is primarily used around men or boys, and is mostly associated with masculinity)
"The King told me to fetch you up since Coachman Riddick's wife was giving birth and he had to be there"
"Bet. I'll send them my congratulations later"
Cedric stood up and gave her the goggles which was exclusive for flying and aviation "You don't mind a little bit of air pressure, do you?"
"Is that seriously a question?" The tomboy put on the glasses casually "I'm all about that"
Cedric smiled at her, but suddenly, his attention was diverted to a certain lady walking behind her. She had a long black hair and green eyes. Their eyes met for a split second and she even smiled at him
"C, you good?"
Waking up from his daze, he immediately turned to Sofia "Quickly, how do I look?" he combed his hair upon saying so
"what's with the.."
"Just answer, quick!"
Sofia was stunned for a quick second before her lips finally moved "Umm… you look pretty okay I guess"
"Great… now stay here and watch me spit some game" Cedric carefully shoved Sofia to the side and started walking to the lady's direction. The princess was surprised of what she's seeing and decided to sit on the bench
Chuckling to herself, Sofia couldn't help but feel some second hand embarrassment for her friend
"Hey.."
The lady looked up to see Cedric himself looking quite confident
"I saw you from there and I think you're really pretty. Can I know your name?"
Intrigued, she then closed the book she was reading and looked at her straight in the eyes "Why?"
"Because I wanna get to know you… My name is Cedric, the Royal Sorcerer of Enchancia." The lady responded with quite an unsettled face but upon hearing the kingdom Enchancia, relief came to her
"Oh… you mean Princess Amber, Prince James and Princess Sofia's Royal Sorcerer?"
Cedric looked away "Yeah that's right"
"That's quite a feat, Cedric… they are really wonderful students. Princess Sofia and Princess Amber are always on the top of their class and Prince James is one of the brightest stars in fencing"
"Yeah that's very nice… I definitely wanna hear more about this. Maybe dinner?"
The lady let a slight giggle as she stood up "That sounds very tempting, Cedric.. but I'm afraid I'm way too busy for that"
When she was about to walk away, the man appeared in front of her again "That's okay. I'll wait when you're finally available!" he grinned at her
The lady beamed him a nice respectful smile "It was nice meeting you, Cedric. Good Afternoon" she walked to the other direction. Cedric was about to follow her again when suddenly he felt a pull from his hear
"Okay, that's enough, bozo. Let's go home"
Annoyed, Cedric turned to the side to see the tomboy herself dragging him away. He sighed. But there is always still another day
"Not gonna lie… that was some cringey shit you did, Homie." a voice from ahead made him frown
"Oh yeah? Well that was still the test run. I'll charm her the next time I meet her for sure"
They made their way to where the plane is parked and Sofia put on her helmet "I noticed you were quite desperate to meet her though… is something up?"
Cedric sighed and prepared his wand "I went to Mystic Meadows earlier and Ma and Pa keeps insisting about me finding a wife now that I'm in my thirties."
"The same old talk basically" he turned to her "That's why when I saw her, I knew I had to talk to her. The way she dresses, her hair and her eyes. She's exactly my type of woman!"
"You serious? Can't you see she wasn't interested..?" Sofia raised her voice in disbelief
Hearing this ticked Cedric for some reason "Why you being a hater all of a sudden, S? I thought we homies support each other"
"I'm looking out for you." Sofia looked at him with a straight face "That lady is Miss Felicity, she's a teacher here and I heard she has a lot of suitors too"
"Of course she would, have you seen her?" Cedric bit back
She rolled her eyes hearing that "The point is… you would have a whole lot of competition if you were to get to her"
"And I'll come out on top among the others." Cedric proudly stated as he reached for his goggles "Don't you have faith in me at all?"
"C, listen to reason.." Sofia held his arm and prevented him from putting on his spectacles. She looked straight into his eyes "I know Miss Felicity, she's not that easy to charm."
Cedric knew Sofia was right. She wasn't the type to easily fawn over men like that. But then, he had a bright idea
"For sure I can't alone… but with your help, that would smoothen things up"
Sofia raised her eyebrow and he leaned in close to her "What are you on?"
"She has a pretty good impression of you, Sofia. Maybe you can hook me and her and tell her about the good qualities of me"
"And why would I do that?" a sudden breeze of the wind came passed them as she rested her hands on her hips in a form of defiance. Her short boycut hairstyle swaying in the air
"Because homies help homies.." Cedric slightly punched her shoulder "And I'm helping you out with your party"
Upon remembering her predicament, Sofia had no choice but to close her eyes
"Fine… but all I can do is set you guys on a date. If she still isn't interested, that's all on you"
"Ey, that's all I need, Man" Hearing this brightened his expressions as he ran to the other side and gave Sofia a bear hug. He was a lot taller than she is and so he merely lifted her in the air. Despite being infuriated, Sofia gave in and just smiled. If it mattered that much to Cedric, she might as well do it for him
"You're hopeless… you know that?" her voice was muffled from his shoulders
"Yeah. But you'll always have my back and I'll always have yours" hearing those words made Sofia feel contented in her chest
Cedric puts her down and raises his hand to her
"Homies 4 life?" he suggested which confused Sofia there for a second, finding herself staring solely at him
When she finally got the context behind it, a smile came to her lips and reciprocated the dap
"Homies 4 life…"
x X x
"Here's to Sofia acing her subjects in school!"
King Roland cheered in joy as his family sat with on the dinner table in celebration of Sofia's topnotch quality performance in school so far
"Pretty awesome, right, Dad?" James uttered, taking a bite of his sweet potatoes "You should've seen her at the track and field last week"
"And very athletic too.. as I heard from your gym teachers" He added which made Sofia feel proud for herself
Queen Miranda felt the same as she stared into her daughter.
"okay okay… but aren't we gonna discuss the elephant in the room!?"
Amber's voice broke out the celebratory mood from the dinner table as they turned to her.
"What do you mean?" James uttered
"Sofia's birthday is just a few days away and we haven't prepared for it yet!" the blonde princess exclaimed
Sofia cringed. She didn't want to have this conversation now. Is a normal feast with her family so much to ask for?
"There's still time, Amber. Don't be like that" King Roland responded in which Amber responded by shaking her head
"These things takes weeks to prepare… and we have to make it absolutely perfect when that day comes!" Amber took her last spoonful of her meal and stood up "And for that, I must take Sofia with me so we can prepare"
She then went to the other side and grabbed Sofia's arm to herself "May we be excused?"
King Roland sighed and gave a nod.
"Perfect!"
"Amber wait…"
"No time, Sofia!"
And so, the sisters went on their way back to their rooms to discuss the party. Unlike Amber long dress, Sofia can freely run with her rather loose pants.
Queen Miranda's frown finally formed on her lips upon their departure. It didn't take long before King Roland notices this
"Is something wrong, Miranda?"
Queen Miranda turned to her husband
"It's just that… I worry about Sofia sometimes. What if society won't see us as we do. She might get ridiculed for her being herself"
"Funny you should say that, Mom" the two were then interrupted by James who was still feasting on his dinner and had no plans on stopping anytime soon "Because earlier today, I watched Cedric confront a couple of guys from my school who were talking bad about Sofia."
"Cedric did?" Roland raised his eyebrow
James nodded "He looked so angry when someone said something about her. He even turned one of them into a frog!"
"Oh yeah, I remember ordering Cedric to go to your school to pick up your sister" Roland uttered while sipping a glass of wine "And then what happened?"
"He invited those princes to Sof's birthday party… and to be her suitors too – Or else he'll beat them all up again and again"
"That's pretty bold of Cedric to do that. He did all of that for Sofia?" King Roland asked looking at his wife who had the same thing he was thinking
"Those two have been friends for almost a decade now and know each other very well. And he mentioned they're like homies or something… "
"A homie?" Miranda's curiosity piqued hearing this
James shoved another spoonful of his food to his mouth "Basically a slang for an good acquaintance, a friend or a brother"
A satisfied smile then formed on Roland's face after a few moments "Well, that is kind of a weird way to put it. It's like he sees her as a boy.."
"I think it's sweet for Cedric to do that. He cares so much about our daughter" Queen Miranda added "It's nice to know that there's someone out there who looks out for her."
"You ever wonder the reason Sofia's being all like this is because of Cedric's influence?" she added
"Might be… but it's not like she's out here causing problems and being a gangbanger or something." King Roland responded "It's probably just a phase, Miranda."
"You're right, Rollie…" A satisfied smile came on the Queen's lips "And she's got Cedric and us with her adventure. She'll be fine."
"Can I have some more of these sweet potatoes?" James asked out of nowhere which made the couple look at him with priceless expressions