Heroic

Summary: After listening to the kids gush about a hero who recently saved the village of Dunwitty from a band of thieves, Cedric somehow gets it into his head that he wants to be heroic so he can finally get his coveted recognition. With a little help from some familiar faces, he may realize his wishes, but it may be a bit different than he imagined it.

Disclaimer: I don't own the show!

A/N: So after coming down from "Obscure," here's something much shorter and sillier. Enjoy!

Cedric drummed his fingers against the table in his workshop as he listened to the conversation Sofia and her siblings were having. It was something of an excitable topic, evidently, because they hadn't stopped discussing it since they'd gotten here. He still wasn't entirely sure why the twins had tagged along, but that was beside the point.

"…And then he just ran at those thieves with a large bamboo stick and ha!" James whirled around as he demonstrated the apparent moves the subject of their discussion did. "He knocked all of the thieves out with one swipe!"

"Fascinating," Cedric drawled with a yawn. Oh, he was over this conversation already.

"It really was, Mr. Cedric," Sofia affirmed with a bright smile. "Mr. Bernard said he just knew it was the right thing to do, but everyone in Dunwitty is calling him a hero. He stopped them from stealing everything or hurting anyone."

"A hero…" The sorcerer sighed, realizing that was yet another title that would never apply to him. So the man had swiped a band of thieves and saved lives. Big deal. He was a Royal Sorcerer with magic powers far superior to a normal human being's, and he still didn't have that sort of title. Well, there was the "sensational" aspect Sofia had applied to him—and he'd even started using it a great deal lately… But still!

"Daddy said we're going to host a feast in his honor," Amber added with a dazzling smile. "We'll get to meet Bernard the… What does he do again, Sofia?"

"He's a blacksmith."

"Bernard the Blacksmith, Hero of Dunwitty!" The blonde girl nodded, satisfied with her title for the man.

"Marvelous." Cedric stood up and brushed out his robe. "Well, if you three don't mind, I have a great deal of work to do, so I really should get back to it."

Sofia looked toward her mentor meaningfully. "Oh, but aren't we going to do my lesson today?"

"Well, we were, but there seems to be something far more important that you and your brother and sister need to tend to, hmm? A feast, I hear?"

The auburn-haired girl sighed with an understanding smile. "Mr. Cedric, I always have time for you and your lessons." She waved to her siblings as they exited the room. "I'll meet up with you two later!"

"Don't be too long, Sof," James instructed. "You and I need to find some suits of armor." He grinned as he and Amber left with the door shut behind them.

Sofia giggled as Cedric gave her a baffled expression. "Don't ask. So…what are we learning about today?"

Cedric shrugged and slumped into his chair. "I meant what I said, Sofia… I really do have a great deal of work to tend to…" He saw the disappointed look on his apprentice's face and sighed in resignation. "Oh, very well." He picked up his wand, waving it around and summoning her own purple training wand, which fell into her hands. "How about we focus on self-defense?"

The princess blinked. "I…need to know that?"

"Well, of course! Princess or not, or even future sorceress or not, you need to be able to defend yourself." He stood up and marched toward her. "What if one of those thieves had come after you?"

She grinned sheepishly while imagining that her amulet might have sent Mulan or someone to take care of the thieves… Maybe that was wishful thinking. "I would have… Um…"

"Right. That's what I thought." He walked behind her, placing his hands on her shoulders and setting her in the correct position. "Now, head up. Good. Wand at the ready." He lifted her hand a few centimeters before walking in front of her. "Now, use me as an example, and repeat after me: 'dearmo.'" He lifted his wand.

Sofia nodded and pointed her wand at him. "Dearmo!" She gasped when his wand went flying out of his hand and across the workshop, nearly knocking an annoyed Wormwood off his perch. "Mr. Cedric, are you all right?"

He smirked. "Of course I am. Wandless, but fine. And that was the entire point." He pointed toward her wand. "Many times your opponent will have some sort of weapon, so it's best to disarm him…or her." He chuckled as the raven landed on his shoulder and dropped the offending item into his hand. "Thanks, Wormy."

Wormwood muttered something unpleasant under his breath and rolled his eyes.

"Great! What else can we practice doing?" With all the bad guys or villains they'd been subjected to over the last few years, Sofia considered this lesson potentially the most important one he could teach her. She already had a goal of mastering sorcery, which she was well on her way to doing, and Cedric was her best chance to succeed.

Cedric smiled, encouraged by her enthusiasm. "Well, then, how about we-?"

"Sofia!" James called as he rushed into the workshop once more. "Hey, Cedric. Sofia! Come on!" He grabbed her hand, pulling his sister toward the door. "We've got company, and I think you'll really like seeing who's here!"

Sofia giggled and smiled apologetically at Cedric. "Sorry, Mr. Cedric."

"It's quite all right. We can always pick up here some other time." He sighed quietly, a bit disappointed. She'd finally acquired and interest in something extremely useful, and he wouldn't even be able to teach her now with the new distraction.

The princess paused and then took her mentor's hand. "Come with us."

He blinked. "What? Oh, no, Princess… That's all right. You and your family go enjoy your company."

James grinned. "I think Sofia's got a good idea, Cedric. You may like the visitors too, you know."

The sorcerer looked back and forth between the royal children and sighed, shrugging. "Oh, why not? Let's go then."

"Yay!" Sofia giggled and tugged both her brother and her mentor along down the steps, Wormwood flying after them in order to stay in the loop this time.

Amber turned around from conversing with a few people and squealed when she saw her siblings. "Sofia! Come here, come here, come here!" She grabbed the girl's hand and pulled her forward, much to the younger princess's dismay.

"I'm coming," Sofia relented, laughing at her sister's reaction. Whoever it was she needed to meet must have left quite an impact on Amber…

James and Cedric followed after them, amused by the girls' interaction.

"Sofia, meet Princess Merida!"

Sofia blinked when, indeed, the red-haired princess of DunBroch stood before her. She smiled when she saw the taller girl wink, maintaining their secret. "Nice to meet you, Merida," she said playfully yet honestly at the same time while she curtsied like any good princess would do.

Merida, on the other hand, just smirked. "Aren't you just somethin' else?" she chuckled while folding her arms. "Your sister here has been tellin' me all about ya. I feel as if we've met before."

The younger girl now did laugh. Oh, the irony was too much. "So you've met my brother and sister. Let me introduce you to a friend of mine!" She ran over to Cedric, grabbed his hand again, and pulled him over to the princess, despite his yelp. "Merida, this is Mr. Cedric, our Royal Sorcerer and one of the most sensational people you'll ever meet."

Cedric smiled sheepishly at his friend's introduction. "Thanks, Sofia… Er, it's an honor to meet you, Princess Merida."

Merida smiled carelessly. "Just call me Merida. That 'princess' thing gets old really quickly. Ah, I see we have another princess in our midst. This place is just floodin' with 'em." She nodded toward another person.

Sofia smiled. "Hi, Rapunzel! You're here too?"

The blonde girl smiled and received her usual hug from the younger princess. "Yep! Turns out Eugene knew some of the thieves—surprise, surprise—and couldn't stand them. So he wanted to thank Bernard personally." She glanced over at Merida. "And how are you, Merida? I haven't seen you since our last meeting at Elsa's birthday party a few months ago."

"Hold on a minute," James interrupted as he pushed forward. "You two know Queen Elsa?" He grinned. "That officially makes you both the greatest people in the world."

Amber rolled her eyes as Rapunzel and Merida laughed. "You don't stand a chance, James. You might as well just 'let it go.'"

The boy pouted and folded his arms. "You always ruin my dreams, sis."

"Well, I'm happy to see you have all gathered to celebrate a wonderful hero," Cedric started stiffly as he slowly backed away from the group, Wormwood now sitting on his shoulder. "And it was a pleasure meeting you, Pri—Merida, and seeing you once again, Princess Rapunzel… But alas, I must return to my work."

"Aw, Cedric, don't leave!" Rapunzel smiled happily. "Why not join in on the festivities?"

"Because I have far too much work to do." He sighed. "And I'm no hero—I don't need to take away from a man who was deemed as such."

Sofia frowned. "Is that why you're so down? You don't think you're heroic?"

"Well, at least he has a wand," James admitted with a smile. "That counts for something, Cedric. And you kind of have helped teach us before and helped save the school from some trouble makers."

"Actually, you students did that," Cedric corrected, shaking his head. "I was, if I recall correctly, stuck to a chair thanks to one of their blasted spells."

"You did as I asked and put a spell on James to give me my own birthday," Amber said cheerfully, garnering a pointed stare from her brother.

"…I turned him into a baby because I sneezed…" Cedric sighed. "Face it, I'm just not heroic material. I'm just a sorcerer."

"Just a sorcerer?" Merida scoffed. "Cedric, magic is nothin' to write off. I don't know many people who can do magic, so you must have some sort of gift. Sorcery is a powerful thing, and only truly great people learn it."

"She's right, Mr. Cedric," Sofia added. "Think about Mr. Merlin, or Mr. Greylock…or you!" She giggled. "You're not Cedric the Sensational for nothing!"

"Well…" He shrugged, feeling a little unnerved by all the attention he normally would crave. Now that he finally had it, despite the ones who'd offered it, he wasn't so sure if he wanted it anymore.

"Besides," the princess continued, grasping his sleeve to regain his attention, "you're my hero."

Cedric's eyes widened at these words. "Wh-What?"

Sofia gave her friend a genuine smile. "Mr. Cedric, you taught me magic. You encouraged me to keep practicing and never give up. Remember the 'Sorcerer's Secret' you taught us? And you've done some pretty brave things over the last few years… Doesn't that count in being a hero?"

He stared at her silently, taking in her words.

Amber laughed good-naturedly. "Looks like Sofia really shocked him into silence for a change."

Rapunzel gently nudged Sofia, who giggled. "That's a powerful thing, girl. Use it wisely."

The twins and the older princesses dispersed when Roland suddenly announced that the event was about to begin. While Sofia was curious about the display of gratitude for the local blacksmith hero, she was more curious about Cedric's current state.

Sofia shook Cedric's arm. "Mr. Cedric, are you okay?"

"Y-You think I'm a hero?" he finally managed, surprise laced in his voice.

"Definitely." She took his hand and pulled him along. "Now come on! We don't want to miss anything."

Cedric chuckled softly. While he may not slay dragons or ward off thieves like a normal 'hero' would, his own apprentice still perceived him as one. Her hero. When she put it that way, how could he argue?

The end

A/N: Hehe. I have two things to say. One, writing Merida's lines is harder than I thought with her awesome accent. :D Hope I got it right, or at least close enough. I went back and played some scenes with her in it. And any time I tried to mimic her, I ended up sounding like Monica from "Touched By an Angel!" lol I was like, "I want to sound Scottish, not Irish!" Haha. Anyway! Oh, and two, I plan to have possibly one more story out this week before returning to school next week. I'm not sure which one I want to write next… I guess I'll figure it out. Just let me know: would you rather see a long story (20+ pages), a medium story (10-19 pages), or a short story (1-9 pages)? That may give me a clue. Haha. Till next time! ~AquaTurquoise

PS: I forgot to thank you all for your kind words on the "Never Forgotten" story. I appreciate your kindness so much. My cousin was laid to rest last Friday, so my mind is a bit more at ease now. It's never easy losing someone, and it seems like these last two years have escalated in passing of family members, but I just try to remain as positive as I can…and channel it through my writing of course. Haha. Thanks again! *hugs*