There's something rare in this world… something so precious that everyone would want it
And that's why the world hid it, and only the luckiest can find it
Till now, I've never given it too much thought. But if there is really something that rare in this world
Then it would be me winning Sofia's love despite everything – against all odds.
Cedric woke up from his daze, still holding the piece of paper on his hand as he sat down the nearby bench of the gardens just outside the castle. He yawned, noticing it was already afternoon. The only thing he remembered was he went to the store to buy some lottery tickets and headed straight to the garden
With the pencil on his other hand, he was quite stuck on which numbers to use for the lottery. These numbers should be something special this time because it will be his first and only time trying out the lottery.
Distracted by his thoughts, Cedric didn't notice a certain lady approaching him
"Enjoying are we?"
He turned, and was met by the gentle smile of the one and only youngest Princess of Enchancia.
Cedric smirked "Nothing much really"
Her gaze fell to the paper on his hands "That doesn't seem like nothing much" she gave him a smile as curiosity got to her and sat down next to him "What are you up to?"
"Lottery tickets" he responded
Her eyes widened of surprise "Lottery tickets? Do you need the money for something?"
"Kinda.." he looked away
"What do you need the money for?" her eyebrows raised in curiosity
Cedric hesitated for a few seconds, but as he turned to her looking at him like that, he knew he couldn't lie
"You really wanna know?"
She nodded.
"I wanna buy a spot as one of your suitors" he uttered with no hints of hesitation
She slowly turned to him, eyes fixated and mouth sealed. When Cedric notices her expression, he couldn't help but chuckle
"I figured I'd never win this anyways so you might as well know about it"
"Y-You wanna court me?"
Cedric nodded "But the spot isn't really affordable despite my Royal Sorcerer earnings"
"But why?" she leaned in closer, anticipating an answer "Why do you wanna court me?"
"Because I wanna marry you, that's why." He didn't even bother to look at her when he responded
"You wanna marry me?" she asked in disbelief, despite every inkling hope in her screaming for it to be true
"This wasn't really how I expected for you to know though. I wanted it to be a surprise" Cedric went on
"You sure have a strange way of surprising things, Mister Cedric" Sofia coyly uttered in response "But I have a question though…" her gaze went serious in that moment "Why me?"
"Because you're the only girl who can actually stand me. The only girl who can put up with my antics and the only girl who knows me well" he explained "If there's a woman out there whom I would spend the rest of my life with… there's no other woman I'd want than you"
The princess turned away to hide her overwhelmed expression on her face from hearing that "This isn't fair, you told me this very out of the blue.."
Cedric snickered "That's just who I am." He stood up from the bench "No pressure though. I mean, it's very unlikely anyways, but if I win the lottery, I'll definitely ask you to marry me"
"B-But…"
"No buts…" he covered his ears and walked away "Save it for your birthday tomorrow.."
"Birthday…" A bright idea came to him "That's it!" he whispered as he literally ran to the gates with a series of numbers in his mind
"I'll see you later, Sofia!"
The young woman just did a lousy wave with a pout on her face as her gaze follows Cedric running towards the gate "He didn't even let me finish…"
"Oh well.." with her eyes closed, Sofia just sighed and watching him leave. Her heart was beating fast for some reason
x X x
"Oh my Gosh!" Amber exclaimed, holding the long list of to-be-suitors of her sister for her birthday "Prince Kesper and Prince Bjorn announced their spot for the courtship, Sofia!"
In the dinner table, everyone seemed to be lively. Sofia however was forcing a smile upon taking a look of the paper that contained the list of the names of her "suitors" or whatever they call it. She hated the idea of courtship, it's pretty much yet another preparation for marriage and whatnot which is definitely not her priority as of the moment.
Her gaze landed on the empty spot at the end. It had no name yet, but perhaps there will be… tomorrow
"Who do you think the last suitor will be?" Prince Vivian asked Amber
"Oh, for sure, Prince Briggs from Smythonia" Amber turned to her sister with a proud look "I heard my sister has become a household name in every kingdom as the Angel of Enchancia – every prince would go out of their way to court Sofia, and it's a given fact!"
"Yeah. And the courtship spot costs a lot, so whoever wants the last place needs all the wealth in the world for sure" James added
The auburn-head tried to hide her cringe from that statement. And so, she changed the subject
"By the way, what do you know about lotteries?" she asked her family at the dining table
Queen Miranda raised her eyebrow "Lotteries?"
"That's very random, Sofia" Amber added
"I didn't know you were into that, Sof" James added
"I just want to know. That's all" the auburn-head responded
"Well, it's a thing of luck really.." King Roland responded "But there's like a gazillion of people you're competing against, so the odds are definitely against you"
"I… see" A frown formed on the young woman's face "Against all odds huh…"
Her Mother quickly notices her daughter's melancholy "Is everything all right, dear?" Queen Miranda asked
The young woman woke up in an instant "Everything is A-Okay, Mom!" Sofia beamed a smile at her Mother
"If you say soo.."
A rather sudden silence filled the dining table, but Amber was quick to bring back the old topic
"Soo… how are the preparations for tomorrow, Sofia?" she turned to her sister who looked surprised for some reason
"It's going well… so far" she turned away
"Well we have to make sure everything is perfect for tomorrow" The blonde proudly announced "And you have to look perfect as well. And I have the best dress that would look perfect on you"
x X x
"Good Night, Mom" Sofia gave her mother a quick embrace before they finally parted and the Queen went the other way. Sofia sighed and immediately went to her room
Right after their dinner, Sofia was forced to try some dresses and ball gowns for her birthday tomorrow. What she thought would be a simple haul had turned into a whole three hours of what seemed like never ending dress fitting
And so, Sofia just sighed and stared at the ceiling up above. She should've been excited – it is her birthday tomorrow after all. But for her, it a Day of Judgment
A day of judgment whether the odds would smile on her favor and make Cedric win the lottery
"And if that happens…" Sofia closed her eyes and imagined herself at her wedding at the altar… and the man would be..
Sofia embraced her pillow tight as she opens her eyes. And in that moment, she knew she couldn't wait anymore. She's gone restless thinking about it
"Mister Cedric… you're such a dummy" she cursed under her voice thinking about this "Why can't you just ask me.."
In that moment, a certain book from the shelf caught Sofia's attention. It had a leaf as the cover page. It was actually a gift from Winifred the Wise herself for her 15th birthday
The book was about charms and luck. How certain items can bring the odds in one's favor. Sofia could still recall what Winifred had told her that day too
"Far across the fields of Dunwiddie, just by the river… there is a certain plain where a bunch of clovers are."
"And legend says that if you have found the four-leafed-clover in that plains… you'd have all the luck in the world for your favor"
When it finally hit her, Sofia's eyes bolted open when a bright idea came to her. And so, she didn't waste no time and ran out of her room and sneaked out of the castle gates. The cold evening seemed nothing to the determination of Sofia. If that one leaf is all it takes for her Cedric to win the lottery – she'd find that four-leafed-clover no matter what
After a few while, she finally reached the river. And just nearby was the clover fields Winifred the Wise was talking about. Sofia didn't waste no time and started searching. Every nook and cranny, every corner and every space, she searched
Every site, every hem and every enclosure
But ironically, she didn't have any luck finding it. However, this didn't falter Sofia. She knew it was a vast area of clovers and finding that one certain clover is close to near impossible, but she knew it wasn't impossible
The exhaustion was finally coming up to her after a few more minutes – but her determination kept her awake, despite her eyelids starting to betray her.
And after a few hours, she finally fell onto the field of clovers looking up at the night sky full of stars and the moon that shined brightly. A tear fell down to her cheeks realizing that she cannot move anymore out of exhaustion
The only thing that will make her dream come true of her and Cedric will be nothing but a fantasy now
Sofia was starting to hallucinate, and she saw a vision of her and Cedric's life together. They would live in a simple house, have a baby and another and another. In that vision, Sofia looked the happiest in Cedric's arms
Her eyes finally closed upon seeing such a thing to see. It was too good to be true, but still a very pretty dream
.
.
x X x
Sofia felt the rocking motion as her eyes slowly opens. The surroundings were finally lit, and it was early in the morning.
"Easy now… we wouldn't want you to doze off again"
A familiar voice brought her back to her senses as she smiled and leaned on his back. It was in that moment Sofia realized she was being carried
"How did you find me?" she whispered
"Wasn't that difficult" he smirked in response "And I might have an idea what you're searching for.."
"You do?"
"A reflection" Cedric answered
"A reflection?" she asked. A sudden silence then followed as Sofia hang closer onto Cedric's T-Shirt.
"I realized that even all the riches in the world couldn't buy the only thing that I want most in this world" Cedric explained to her
"A-And that is.." she stuttered in anticipation
"Your love, Sofia."
.
.
.
Cedric suddenly stopped and carefully put her back to her feet. He then inhaled a lot of air as he looks at the surroundings "It's very beautiful here…"
Sofia looks at the surroundings and it was indeed beautiful. But her eyes found him once again – her mind still raving on what Cedric had just uttered to her just then
Something to do with her love
"But you couldn't appreciate it if you've only been focusing on a certain something…" he then looked at her with a smile on his face "And these years, that's what I've been doing.."
"I'm not gonna rely on luck or wait for a miracle anymore. I have to do this and I'm gonna do this right"
The Sorcerer then took a step back and got on his knees. When Sofia figured out what this meant, her knees suddenly got weak and she shivered in anticipation
Cedric looked up at her "Princess Sofia, I have no money, I am no Royalty and I am a decade and a half older than you." He professed to her
"I am not the most attractive man in the whole world, my magic skills are not the best and I can be a troublesome at times."
He then reached out for her hand "But against all odds.. here I am hoping that you'd give me a chance. I am nothing but a humble Sorcerer, but if you give me a chance… I will promise with every magic in my body that I will make you happy in each day of our lives together…" his eyes had no hint of deception whatsoever. Every word uttered was pure and genuine indeed. Alongside with the determined look on his face – the princess was completely smitten
"Sofia, Will you mar–"
"Auhhh!"
A sudden cry came out from her and Cedric immediately stood up to soothe her
"Is everything okay?" he asked in concern "You've gotten a cold.."
Holding her chest, Sofia chuckles and she sniffled and wiped her tears away "This isn't a cold, Cedric.." she turned to him with tears in her eyes
"Do you know how long I've waited for this?!" she exclaimed passionately, a pink hue had completely conquered her face
Hearing that surprised Cedric "W-Wait… you feel the same way?"
Sofia slowly nodded with that precious smile on her face
"I'll marry you, Cedric. I always say yes to you~"
In that moment, a wave of joy came over the Sorcerer as he put both of his hands on Sofia's hips and literally lifted his fiancé unto the air and spun her around. Her giggles echoed onto the entire clover fields and it was the most wholesome thing ever
"I have something to show you.." Cedric uttered to her as he reached out to his pocket and revealed what he had all along
Sofia's eyes widened upon seeing the actual four-leafed-clover on his palm "Y-You found it!"
Cedric smirked and laughed "I didn't know you felt the same way… and so I needed all the luck in the world for you to say yes"
"Dummy.. you didn't need that. And you didn't need to win the lottery to impress me" another tear fell on Sofia's cheek with the smile never leaving her lips "You've had me since the first day you've laid your dreamy brown eyes on me~"
When she uttered this, Cedric reached his right hand for her cheek "Happy Birthday, Darlin… and I Love You" he leaned in and kissed her on the spot – right in the middle of the clover fields where they professed their love for each other.
With her one leg raised up, Sofia was too overwhelmed with happiness and joy at the moment that she unknowingly dropped the four-leafed-clover and the lottery ticket they were blown by the wind and floating with the breeze to somewhere else
There's something rare in this world… And that something is something that cannot be found easily.
That's why the world hid it, and one would need every luck in the world to find it.
And against all odds – that something rare and extraordinary just happened to me, and it is the day I became the luckiest girl in the world
And that something rare is when my feelings finally reached Mister Cedric and told me he loves me~
The End