Disclaimer: I do not own Sofia the First.


It would have been better if the accident had been an honest mistake due to ignorance. But until his apprentice had shoved him onto the ground away from the countertop, Cedric had had no idea of the danger he had been in. The resulting explosion and the sight of his finest cauldron in pieces was enough to startle him back to reality.

"Mr. Cedric! Are you all right?" Sofia rushed to his side, pulling him to his feet.

"Yes yes, princess," he said, dusting off his robes. "I'm fine." With a flick of his wand, he repaired the cauldron and levitated it back onto the countertop. He surveyed his workshop. A scorch mark now marred the mahogany desk, and a vial of iguana blood had smashed and stained the new rug, but otherwise, there was no major damage.

He sighed, waving his wand at the cabinet to summon a new vial of iguana blood. "We should best restart the potion," he said resignedly.

Sofia grabbed his arm, pulling him around to face her. "Are you really sure you're okay, Mr. Cedric?" She let go of his arm. "You seem really distracted today. If I hadn't seen you add frog tears instead of seawater, you could have been seriously hurt!"

"Oh really? Is that what I did?" said Cedric distractedly, brandishing his wand at a pile of eagle feathers to levitate them toward him. "I must have misread the instructions. Anyway, we should start working on the amulet — I mean the potion. We should start working on the potion." He jerked his wand at the eagle feathers, but instead of landing in front of him, they scattered all around his workshop. "Merlin's mushrooms," he groaned, summoning the feathers back in his direction.

Sofia crossed her arms. "Mr. Cedric," she said reproachfully. "I know something's wrong. You've been messing up your magic all day, and you've been constantly distracted. Please, you've got to tell me what's going on."

Cedric closed his eyes. He couldn't even look at her. On a regular day, Cedric the Sensational would not make such grievous errors. But lately, and especially today, he had been so plagued with guilt that he was distracted from his work.

"Sofia," he said. "I've just been preoccupied with my thoughts. Nothing to concern you."

"No, Mr. Cedric." Sofia had put her hands on her hips. "I am your apprentice, and whatever's distracting you is preventing you from doing your magic properly. This does concern me."

"Fine," said Cedric, sitting down in his chair. "I'll tell you what's been bothering me. It's just… I've been thinking of what happened one year ago when I joined the Order of the Wand and teamed up with Grimtrix to take over Enchancia. If you hadn't been there to stop me, I don't know how far I would have taken it."

"No, Mr. Cedric. I wasn't the one who stopped you. You stopped yourself. You had the conscience not to freeze me with the Medusa Stone." Sofia sat beside him on a stool. "It doesn't matter what could have happened. All that matters is what actually happened. You had the choice to do good or evil, and you chose to do good."

"I don't know, Sofia." Cedric shifted uneasily in his seat. "There were so many times in the past few years where I was faced with that same choice, and I chose the path of evil. I fear to think of what would have happened to the kingdom if my plans had succeeded. It's only been a year since I abandoned my schemes to steal the Amulet of Avalor and overthrow the king. Sometimes, even now, I am afraid that I might revert back to the man I was before."

Sofia put a hand on his arm. "I don't think that will happen. You've changed for the better; you were just misguided in the past. I believe in you, Mr. Cedric. It's not just me either. It's Dad, Mom, James, Amber — it's the whole kingdom that believes in you. Everyone knows how you freed me when Vor trapped me in the amulet. It may only be one year since your change of heart, but during that year, you've shown everyone time and time again that you are on our side. The past doesn't matter anymore; all that matters is that my favorite sorcerer is now by my side. I couldn't ask for anyone better." She got up from the stool to envelop Cedric in a hug. "You're the best, Mr. Cedric."

Cedric felt his body tense before he relaxed, slumping into her arms. "Yes," he said, smiling. "Yes, I am. Thank you, Sofia."


Thank you so much for reading! As this is my first fanfiction, I would appreciate if you review and give me some feedback!

You can find me on tumblr at tenapricots.