"And so we had been planning this for a almost a month now"
Princess Hildegard spoke with confidence at the roundtable as the group of Princesses cheered in response.
Sofia however was not feeling the same. It is evident from her face that she is not finding this fun at all. It was her sister who invited her to the whole "girl talk" thing and she didn't find it as amusing as Amber described it to be
"Sofia, is something wrong"
Sofia turned and saw no other than her lovely sister with concern on her face
"Oh everything is alright, Amber" Sofia responded with a smile
"Good, because now we are discussing about tia-raas!"
The group of princesses squealed in delight upon hearing this. Especially Amber who introduced it in the first place
Sofia sighed internally, not wanting to seem rude to her friends. She does enjoy their company, but this whole talk just isn't for her
There is definitely some place else where she would rather be.
And on the corner of her eye, she noticed a certain figure and his raven playing with what seemed like foams
xXx
"Come on Wormwood, we don't have all day"
Cedric uttered as he held up his wand, creating a big bubble which could fit an entire elephant
Wormwood then entered the bubble, careful on not to pop it as he tucked his wings on the front
And after a few seconds of struggle, the raven finally fitted inside
"We did it, we finally did it!" Cedric cheered as he created more bubbles in the air
Prince James, who was just strolling around with Prince Khalid, notices this and decided to play along
"Hey Cedric, this looks fun. What is it?"
The sorcerer turned to see the young prince and his friend
"Oh just some spell that your father had instructed me to do"
"That looks fun, can we join in too?" James uttered
"Well I don't see the harm on doing so," Cedric responded
"Awesome, let's try it out James" Khalid yelled in excitement
And so the boys hopped in the big bubble which inserted them in without struggle. Smiles formed on their faces as they started floating.
"Weeee!" James yelled
"This is so cool, James" Khalid uttered
Not wanting to miss the fun, Cedric also made a bubble just for himself which floated in the air with him in it, joining the boys in the air
"This is so cool, Cedric!" James stated
"We should do this more often!" Khalid added
And so the boys floated their afternoon with fun lingering in the air. Cedric never expected his spell to work but it indeed was rewarding to spend such afternoon just playing around without a care in the world
Meanwhile
A certain Princess is shaking. Her eyes fixated on the group of giant bubbles floating in the air with her favorite sorcerer in it. She clenches her fist, sweat starting to form on her forehead as her legs continue to shake unstably
"If only I can excuse myself from this group" Sofia thought to herself, her eyes never leaving the bubbles in the sky
She bit her lip, anticipating to try it out also. Jealousy starting to prang unto her upon seeing James and Khalid enjoying it themselves before herself
"Mr. Ceeeeeedriiiiicccccc!" Sofia whispered to herself with her impatience flaring up at every second as she watched the sorcerer create more tiny bubbles
Upon slowly investigating, she notices something that she hadn't seen at first glance. A small rabbit floating along with the sorcerer
"Clover!?"
Sofia suddenly spoke which garnered the attention of the Princesses chatting
"What's wrong Sofia?" Princess Vivian asked
"Oh nothing, sorry…" Sofia uttered with a small smile
They couldn't see the bubbles from their position but Sofia can see it very well. Cedric enjoying himself without her
It didn't take long before Sofia finally had enough.
"I'm sorry but I have to excuse myself now, thanks for the time!" She abruptly spoke as she stood up and ran to the other direction where Cedric is
"Wait, Sofia.." Amber called
She turned around and noticed the group of bubbles floating in the air. Each to their own, creating rainbows in the sky which seemed very beautiful to her.
The Princesses however didn't even hesitate
"Wait for me, Sofia!"
"I'm coming too…"
"That looks fun for a Princess, I must try it out"
"Me too!"
"Don't forget about me!"
And so the princesses flocked into the area, just beneath the vicinity where Cedric is currently floating in. He didn't notice it at first, but when he did…
"MERLYN'S MUSHROOMS!"
"Mr. Ceedric!" Sofia shouted in excitement
"Can we play too?"
"This is not for kids, I'm afraid" Cedric responded
"You made bubbles floating and you expect us to not be interested?" Princess Hildegard stated
"No way! This is for boys only" James yelled
"Yeah, no girls allowed!" Khalid added
"Right, Cedric?"
The sorcerer rolled his eyes, not even wanting to utter a comeback or a remark. He casted his wand which created a series of bubbles reaching to the ground
The Princesses didn't even hesitate, inserting themselves carefully into the giant bubbles without even the slightest struggle
And so they floated away, cheers and yells coming out from them as the excitement that they were having
"Wha… I thought this was boys only?" James ranted
"Yeah, a fine idea James, but it wouldn't be you who's receiving an earful when the girls will tell on your mother for having such ludicrous rule" Cedric sarcastically uttered
"I guess that makes sense…" James murmured
A certain blonde Princesses however watched everything from the ground. Her whole afternoon was ruined by a group of bubbles
Amber grew agitated, annoyed about the whole thing, and sad upon seeing her friends having so much fun without her
Out of nowhere, she was approached by Cedric of all people. He is currently in his bubble, floating in mid-air
"Princess Amber, what is wrong?" he uttered
"Come join us"
Amber then frowned and turned to the opposite side, ignoring him completely.
Cedric took the hint and decided to float away.
Upon realizing that her whole bait didn't work, Amber instantly turned around to approach the sorcerer
"Cedric, wait!" she yelled
"I do want to experience it too…" she added shyly
"Well then hop on in!" he responded
And without hesitation, the blonde princess ran to his bubble with a smile on her face. Amber is quite stubborn at times but deep inside, she is still a little girl who wants to be pampered
Cedric and Amber then floated in mid-air enjoying the view from up top. The whole aqua filter of the bubbles adds to the effect of the experience
"Hold on, Princess Amber. We're about to go turboooo!" Cedric warned, not even finishing his sentence as they literally drifted into the air with full speed
Amber yelled in excitement, holding unto Cedric's robes to avoid falling out of balance
"Watch this Sofia!" Vivian yelled as she literally flipped inside the bubble like a trampoline
Sofia cheered in amusement upon seeing this
However, Sofia's gaze was diverted into a speeding bubble which had Cedric and Amber in it. For some reason, she stared at them for quite a few seconds, her gaze never leaving them
"Sofiaaa!" Vivian called
There was no response from the auburn haired girl. She literally spaced out on nothingness
"SOFIA!"
And just like that, Sofia bolted out from her daydreaming as she felt her bubble move. It was Vivian bumping her slightly
"Oh what's happening?" Sofia uttered
"You were spacing out back there" Vivian responded
"I was?"
Sofia pondered to herself, not even remembering what she was spacing out on.
"Oh I'm very sorry Vivian!"
Vivian didn't seem to mind as the two of them continued to float mid-air. Sofia however is still dazed, quite taken aback on what could've triggered her spacing out
All that she knows is that she was staring blankly on a bubble which had Cedric and Amber in it
xXx
The afternoon was turning gears, and so the kids were now settling down after a whole hour and a half of floating. The children were now on their way to their own coaches with Cedric, Sofia and Vivian watching them
"That was certainly most very especially fun, Cedric. I didn't know you had such a fun side in you"
"Yeah right, you wouldn't know what fun is if it isn't coated with diamonds or rubies shimmering on a nice shining tiara…"
"Cedric!" Amber interrupted
"I can sense sarcasm from a mile away, you know."
"Well forgive me, your highness…"
Amber giggled, Cedric's wits finally getting to her
"You're certainly not that bad Cedric" Amber uttered
Suddenly, Baileywick comes into the scene with urgency painted on his face
"Princess Amber, King Roland wishes for your presence in the throne room"
"Alright, tell daddy I'll be there" she responded
"As you wish" Baileywick responded, walking to the opposite direction afterwards
Amber heaved out a puff of sigh as she turned her attention back to the tall sorcerer next to her. Cedric just stared at her with a quite annoyed look on his face
"What?"
"Shouldn't you be heading to the throne room now?" Cedric stated
"That's no way to talk to a Princess" Amber groaned in response, starting to get infuriated
"Whatever, it's getting dark here anyways. Thanks again Cedric, but don't try to get all friendly with me, I still don't want to be seen with you"
"Hah, I'm sure you wouldn't"
And so the Princess waltzed to the entrance of the castle.
Noticing the orange hue of the sky made Cedric space out a little bit, especially on how the sky looked from this position.
Upon finally having enough, Cedric turned, and when he did, he stumbled upon a certain girl who was just silently watching him the whole time
"Princess Sofia!?" Cedric blurted out in surprise
"You were here the whole time?"
Sofia nodded slowly, her eyes still staring into Cedric's
"Well you should've said something there, taking care of your sister was 10 times more exhausting than the whole bubble thing"
"Well, I wanted to, but I didn't want to interrupt you and Amber"
"What do you mean interrupt, if anything, I needed that interruption Sofia" Cedric uttered
Sofia giggled upon hearing that, her fingers swirling all around with her toes fidgeting on the ground
"Uhm… Mr. Ceedric?"
"We best get inside now Sofia, it is getting cold"
"Maybe we can float again, just the two of us?" Sofia interrupted, finishing her words
The sorcerer turned to her with a confused look
"Haven't you had enough?"
"Nope!" Sofia responded with a smile
"Oof, maybe some other day, Princess Sofia. I still have some potions to brew"
"We'll do them together after this one final float" Sofia answered again, with a toothier grin this time
"Princess Sofia, I am worn out…"
"Pleaaassseeeee…" Sofia pleaded, giving the sorcerer the gaze that she knew he couldn't resist
Cedric looked away, that darn kitten eyes that she has always gets to the best of him, especially when she is requesting something. There's just no resisting the Princess's cuteness whenever she does that
And as it always turns out…
"Fine…"
Sofia jumped in joy, her smile was almost reaching her cheeks
"You are being more and more spoiled, you know that…"
"Well then spoil me good, Mr. Ceedric" Sofia teased playfully
"That's not funny, you'd end up like Princess Amber in no time"
Hearing Amber's name made Sofia sad for some reason, it was certainly a strange feeling she's had ever since earlier
She glanced at Cedric who was preparing the bubble and she couldn't help but feel some sort of emotions through her, an emotion that she wasn't familiar of
It was worse when she watched silently as Cedric and Amber were talking to each other in high spirits which she felt completely irrelevant, as if Cedric was having more fun with her sister than her
Sofia closed her eyes and shook her head, trying to shake off the thoughts forming in her head
"Princess Sofiaaaa…"
The girl opened her eyes and saw two big bubbles in front of her with Cedric inside of it
"Are you coming?"
Sofia smiled, her thoughts now clear of anything. She was gonna enjoy this afternoon with her favorite sorcerer regardless
"Try to keep up, I can get pretty fast sometimes"
"Oh that won't be necessary Mr. Ceedric…"
The sorcerer looked at her with confusion
"What do you mean?"
Sofia then completely ignored the other bubble and went inside Cedric's instead
"Wha… and what do you suppose you're doing here?"
"I want to float with you" Sofia uttered, her sky blue eyes reflecting the sun light from above
"Wouldn't that defeat the purpose of this whole thing then?" Cedric asked
"Oh let's just float, Mr. Ceedric!"
"It's Cedric!" The sorcerer corrected as he raised his want, slowly lifting the bubble to the air
Sofia and Cedric watched closely as the surrounding seem to get farther and farther the more they floated. It was like something out of a fairy tale book
"You know, this reminds me of a scene from Alladin" Sofia slowly muttered
"you mean when the Genie escapes with the lamp, that was pretty funny"
"nooo, I mean when they roved the whole world—"
Sofia turned away of embarrassment, trying to avoid his gaze as she uttered the following words
"Just the two of them…"
It took quite a few seconds before Cedric caught on what Sofia was pertaining to, but a thought occurred to him not long after
"Ofcourse, now I remember" Cedric uttered
"It was when the Genie fought with the evil Genie in the second volume. That was pretty good too"
A pout forms on Sofia's lips upon hearing this, she gathered up all that courage for nothing. She gave him a quick glance and noticed that he was now focused on the view
"You suck at Fairy Tales, Mr. Ceedric…"
"What was that?" Cedric asked
"And it's CEDRIC"
"Of course Mr. Ceeeeeedric" Sofia playfully teased
"You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?"
Sofia didn't respond, she just gave him a nice smile.
Cedric couldn't help but smile back upon seeing how the Princess is genuinely happy now
"At least you're really enjoying it now, you were really gloomy earlier"
Sofia grew surprised upon hearing this as she looked at him with her eyes wide
"You can tell?"
"Your bubble's height and speed is determined on how a person's emotions inside, basically how the person is enjoying the ride. Yours was very low earlier this afternoon and that's how I knew" Cedric explained
"Is something the matter Princess? I may not be the best of people to give advices but I'm a quite good listener"
Sofia turned to him with a slightly worried look on her face
"You will?"
"Of course, now tell me what's bothering you."
"Well actually, it's about earlier… when you and Amber were floating together"
"And…?
"I guess I felt… jealous of you two"
"I see" Cedric uttered
His response was composed and natural, as if he wasn't even surprised. Sofia looked at him and noticed that his facial expressions didn't even budge
"I'm sorry for feeling that way Mr. Ceedric, I just felt like you were having more fun with Amber and thought that you prefer her company over mine…" she slightly muttered
"Don't worry about it, it's completely normal." Cedric answered
"It is?" Sofia asked
"Of course! No such thing to fret about Princess Sofia" Cedric responded
"I can teach you this spell someday and you can float higher, that way you won't need to be jealous of others' bubble anymore…"
"That's not what I meant!" Sofia grunted in annoyance
"Mr. Ceedric, sometimes you are just sooo infuriating'
Cedric scratched his head, quite confused over what had caused her sudden mood swing.
"But one thing is for sure, I wouldn't choose Amber's company over you at any day"
Sofia suddenly grew surprised upon hearing this, a smile returns on her rosebud lips as she turned to him
"You mean it?"
"Of course."
"Like you really really mean it?"
"I swear to Merlyn's divine mushrooms themselves, Princess Sofia"
Sofia giggled softly, Cedric and his Merlyn puns never fail to make her laugh
"Thank you Mr. Ceedric" Sofia uttered, her sky blue eyes reflecting with the orange skies that looked really beautiful
Cedric nodded in response, a smug smile then forms on his face as he whispered
"Because you two are equally annoying to me anyways…"
Sofia's smile turned to a pout in a matter of seconds after that statement
"What was that?"
"Nothing Nothing Princess Sofia" Cedric responded with a chuckle
"You said something!" Sofia whined
"Okay Okay, It was just a jest!" Cedric laughed casually
"Oh, now I'm mad at you, Mr. Ceedric." Sofia crossed her arms and turned to the other direction
Cedric immediately noticed this and reached out, still chuckling slightly from that clever joke that he did
"Come onnn— Don't be like that"
"Hmph" Sofia snorted in annoyance
"I'm not talking to you anymore"
"Oh Princess Sofia… I have a surprise for youuu" The sorcerer uttered in an friendly enticing tone
The Princess turned slightly, still not facing Cedric
"you do?" she asked slowly
The sorcerer then stood up and grabbed his wand from his sleeve
"Bubblo Rondo!"
Suddenly, a large array group of bubbles surrounded them. It was like they were inside a halo. The different colors reflected all around, now it feels as if they were inside a rainbow
The delight on Sofia's eyes returned upon seeing how beautiful they looked.
"Wow, they are Ah-mazing!"
"Of course it is" Cedric responded
"And I'll teach it to you someday"
Sofia turned around, to meet Cedric's gaze this time
"This was supposed to be a surprise, but I reckon it won't make such difference if I showed it to you here anyways" Cedric stated
"Do you like it?"
"Like it? I love it Mr. Ceedric" Sofia responded, the Princess didn't even take a second to respond
"Thank you so much for showing it to me."
"Of course, anything for my adorable little apprentice" Cedric uttered sarcastically
"Is that sarcasm I detect?"
"hah, would it make a difference?"
A series of laughter came out of Sofia upon hearing that, but a yawn escapes her mouth after a few seconds
"oaaahhh, very eve…ntful afternoon Mr. Ceedric" Sofia uttered under her breath with a yawn.
She slowly rubbed her eyes and walked close to Cedric, she leaned in close and rested her head on his shoulder as he murmured his name
"Th..ank you, Ced..ric"
The sorcerer smiled, seeing how peaceful the Princess is at this state. He then slowly descended the bubble trying not to wake the sleeping princess up.
Reaching the ground, He was met by Queen Miranda with a warm smile on her face. Cedric then slowly carried Sofia to her
"She fell asleep mid-air, no pun intended your highness"
Queen Miranda hummed, sweeping a messy fringe on Sofia's forehead. She had a smile on her face while her eyes are closed
"She really likes your company huh Cedric?"
The sorcerer cleared his throat, trying to make gather his thoughts up
"Well, she's doing great in her sorcery lessons. I think that's just what it is"
"No, I think it's something so much more" Queen Miranda
"Cedric, thank you for always taking good care of my daughter"
"Of course, it is always my pleasure, My Queen"
A smile still lingers on Sofia's smile in her Mother's arms. The afternoon definitely brought joy to her and Queen Miranda can tell this just from the look on her face
~The End~