Cedric the sorcerer arrived back at his tower with two bundles in either arm, one a planned purchase, and the other a soundly sleeping child he'd impulsively adopted and was only now realizing he had the care of an entire human person dependent on him. It wasn't some parental instinct that compelled his earlier actions, rather an empathy for the orphan's lot in life: her mother only dead a day and already a ward of the poorly village, he could see where fate would take her without intervention, and what an intervention it'd been.

He was walking through the village streets to return home hours ago when he witnessed the magistrate's entourage trying to pull the child from the home of the recently deceased woman, and for a child of no more than five, her little fingers were firmly holding onto the wooden door frame, crying and pleading not to be taken from her home, needing to be there when her mother returned. She'd be tossed in the orphanage run by the church of goodly, but financially stretched people and likely shipped out to a factory to do work only little fingers could to help put food in her belly.

He thought he was no more sensitive to the reality of the world than the other townsfolk, but as he paused a moment to watch the unfortunate scene, there was some kindred connection he felt from her eyes as she looked to neighbors for help, wanting to be wanted, wanting to stay in her home, wanting to just be a child and be with her mother. He could relate, he thought as his chest tightened.

Before he realized it, his feet were moving him forward towards the group, and Merlin's Mushrooms, was that his voice?

"I'll take her!" He announced, surprising himself especially as he pushed the men aside and directed the child to cling to him, which she did immediately, sensing her salvation in his arms and clinging tightly to his robe as he stood up to address the three individuals: the magistrate, and by Cedric's guess his secretary and the building's landlord. "I'll… I'll take her."

The three stared at him like his intentions were anything but noble.

"And who are you?" The magistrate countered.

"I, good sir, am the Royal Sorcerer of Enchancia, Cedric, son of Goodwyn the Great, and not at all one for this kerfuffle I'm guessing you're calling a repossession?" He said rather haughtily with a slight roll to his R's, his position hardly being much to boast about within the castle, but outside of its walls, he certainly wasn't a commoner and acted as such.

"The mum was killed yesterday in a carriage accident," the landlord explained. "She ain't got no father and that means I ain't got no rent. It's a pity an' all, but I can't let 'er be stayin' in the place neither."

"Certainly not, but there are gentler ways of doing things," he said, turning his head to the girl's laying upon his shoulder. "What's your name, child?"

"Sofia…" She said halfway between a whimper and a sniffle. Poor thing had been nothing but tears for hours, he could tell.

"Sofia, we're going to go inside and collect your things, alright? You're going to come stay with me for a while," he didn't know where this unusual tenderness was coming from, but he knew enough about trauma not to inundate her with big changes. Pretty lies would be necessary, and thankfully that was something he was proficient at.

"Uh, sir…?" The landlord watched as Cedric sauntered inside the cottage, pulling his wand from his sleeve and packing the contents of the home into his shopping tote. They were done in a matter of moments, but the true magic was in Sofia's surprise to see her house suddenly empty, sucked into the bag by a hungry tornado, and she found it far more fascinating than terrifying.

She leaned up in Cedric's arms, looking at the man in amazement and drawing a smile onto his face.

"Impressed?" He asked with a cheeky smirk.

Sofia nodded rapidly and kept her eyes on the sorcerer as they exited the cottage.

"Should any further inquiry need be made, you know where to find me," Cedric said to the men before finally making his way home.

Sofia fell asleep on the walk, a day's fatigue catching up with her. Cedric would have to wait to dazzle her with the sight of the castle when she woke up, but for now he'd put her to bed inside his bedchamber as he unpacked her entire house in a spare chamber: a bed she'd likely shared with her mother, a table and two chairs, a wardrobe already filled with her clothes, a small vanity with necessary toiletries, a chest filled with her toys, and a few other miscellaneous items.

He arranged the room as best as memory served, knowing familiarity would be key in acclimating the girl, but acclimating her to what exactly? He couldn't have such a young child running around his workshop, it was dangerous (even for him), and she looked to be too young for schooling… He couldn't shut her up in her room all day either, that wouldn't be any good at all. He suddenly felt in over his head, meaning there was only one person to call.

His mother, Winifred the Wise, popped through the portrait portal after hearing her son's desperate plea for her guidance, something she was used to, but this time found the circumstances far more interesting, and endearing, than she expected.

"The poor dear," Winifred commented from the bedroom door as she and Cedric peaked in on Sofia to make sure she was still asleep. "Heart wrenching though it may be, are you sure this is something you want to do? Raise a child on your own?"

"I think I got a bit ahead of myself, but I… I don't think I'm evil enough Mummy to put her in an orphanage…" Cedric admitted. "I acted on impulse for a reason. I ought to see if it was a worthwhile one."

"True, those split-second decisions are nothing to overlook," Winifred agreed with a knowing nod of her head before she looked up at her son with a proud smile. "Not quite how I pictured getting my first grandchild, but I suppose you marrying first was even more unlikely."

Cedric scowled as the stout woman chuckled.

"Well, you do have some pull in your position. You can probably offer her a much better life than she'd have had in the village, but don't constantly pawn her on the maids. Keep a schedule that allows you time with her and things should fall into place."

"Right. Schedule," Cedric repeated as Winifred pulled him down to kiss his cheek.

"And affection," Winifred reminded him. "If she's just lost her mother, she might be stand offish, so don't force it too much, but don't leave her be either."

"R-Right," Cedric blushed, slightly uncomfortable with the idea seeing as he wasn't the sort of man to smother others with hugs and kisses like his mother did.

Winifred left as quickly as she came, leaving Cedric to finish a letter to teleport down to the head of staff, Baileywick the Butler, to inform him of the addition to his tower. He just finished poofing the rolled up parchment when he heard a soft yawn behind him and turned to see Sofia wandering toward him.

"Mr. Sorcerer…?" She called out to him, rubbing the sleep from her weary eyes.

"My name is Cedric, Sofia," he introduced himself while the raven perched on the perch between them puffed out his feathers and cawed, startling the girl.

"Eek!" Sofia scurried over to Cedric and hugged his legs.

"And that's Wormwood, my raven. He's harmless," he gave her head a reassuring pet as she looked back at the raven who gave another caw at her.

"Hello, Wormwood," she nodded her head to him, which seemed enough to please the bird as he averted his eyes from her and adjusted his hold on his perch.

"Now, I imagine you're hungry," Cedric changed the topic and shifted her attention back to him.

Sofia nodded her head slowly and uncurled her fingers from his robes to allow him to stand up.

"Very good. Our trays will be up shortly, but first, I have something to show you," he told her as took her hand and led her back to the chamber he'd fashioned into her own bedroom, complete now with a cozy fire burning in the fireplace and a large conjured carpet between the furniture and the cold stone floor. "Is it to your liking?"

"Your home is made of stone?" Sofia said curiously as she let go of his hand to explore the chamber.

"Mostly," he said with a chuckle. "If you'd prefer a wooden chamber, I can cast the necessary spell work."

Sofia shook her head. "No, I like it!"

"I think you'll like the view better," he said with a smirk, approaching the windowless stone walls and counted a few stones with the tip of his wand before casting a spell that created a window for her, putting the grandeur of royal castle at sunset on display for her.

Sofia gasped loudly and raced to the sill, her eyes wide as saucers and her mouth dropped in disbelief. "You live right by the castle, Mr. Cedric?!"

"It's where the Royal Sorcerer has always taken residence," he answered with a smug grin. Granted children were easy to impress, but he took delight in the five-year old's boost to his ego regardless.

"Oh wow! This is ah-mazing!" She said, bouncing up and down on her feet in excitement before looking up to him. "You're so lucky, Mr. Cedric!"

Cedric had never considered himself all that fortunate, but compared to her, it seemed life had been kind. An orphan at all of five years old with no other family to claim her and raise her didn't put the odds in her favor for a successful adult life, but why should he care about that? Her story wasn't uncommon, tragic though it was, these things did happen. He was usually so wonderfully callous to the rest of the world, what made this child different?

A knock from the interior of the room caught his attention, followed by the calling of the butler. "Cedric! Get down here at once!"

"Seems Baileywick himself came to deliver dinner," Cedric said out loud and directed Sofia to follow him as they went back down to the workshop where a maid was placing their trays on the table while the lean, graying haired butler stood with his arms folded behind his back looking either cross or impatient.

Baileywick looked up as the two came down the stairs, his eyes widened to see that the girl Cedric wrote him about a mere half hour ago was indeed real and not a prank – not that Cedric was the sort to pull pranks, but the idea of the cranky sorcerer taking pity on a child was more unbelievable. "And yet you won't entertain the royal twins unless ordered."

"I'm not doing a show, Baileywick," Cedric stood in front of the butler, arms crossed in preparation for sarcastic rebuttal.

"Hi!" Sofia waved to Baileywick before doing her best little curtsy. "I'm Sofia!"

"And hello to you, Sofia," Baileywick's frown turned into a smile as he addressed the child. "I'm Baileywick, the castle steward."

"Nice to meet you," Sofia smiled, her young mind now thoroughly distracted by the knowledge she was in a real princess palace.

"A pleasure to meet you as well," Baileywick nodded. "Sofia, do you want to stay in this tower with Cedric?"

"Why wouldn't she?" Cedric interrupted, drawing Baileywick's attention back to him.

"This isn't exactly the best place to raise a child."

"It may not be lavish, but it's practical. I spent most of my childhood in here."

"Yes, and look how you turned out," the steward quipped. "I meant we can put her up in the servants' quarters to have the maids look after her, at least until we can find her a proper home."

"I can't stay here…?" Sofia piped up, scooting closer to Cedric's leg and grabbing a fistful of his robe.

"Err, well, it's just we staffers are quite busy, Sofia. Cedric included."

"I-I can be busy too!" She offered. "I'm really good at cleaning my room, my mom said so!"

Cedric put his palm to the top of her head as if silencing an alarm clock effectively calming the child. "Listen Baileywick, let's sort out the details at another time. She's been through enough. I'm sure I'll have my hands full, but it's not like she's an infant."

"And I worry you're grossly underestimating early childhood development. You aren't exactly the 'fatherly' type."

"I'm well aware of my lack of experience—"

"It's your lack of delicacy," Baileywick corrected.

"Would ya like to have some dinner, Lil Miss?" A female voice whispered behind Sofia and she turned to see the maid motioning for her to come to the table while the two men bickered.

Concerned for her fate, but far more hungry, Sofia approached the table and let the maid help her up onto Cedric's stool in order to have at the plate of food under the cloche. She was nearly finished by the time Cedric and Baileywick finished their 'discussion' and the steward left. Cedric pulled up his other chair to the table and heaved a sigh as he removed his own cloche to finally eat his own dinner and dismiss the maid, insisting he wouldn't require her assistance.

"So what all does a Royal Sorcerer do, Mr. Cedric?" Sofia asked as she sat shifting back and forth on the stool watching Cedric eat.

"Well," he said after a swallow of mead – and gods did he need it after today. "Primarily most of what I do is personal research and spell development, but should the king require anything, I'm to be on call to prepare or more likely to perform a spell."

"Perform?"

"Like a common street magician," he grumbled. "Fifteen years of sorcery school and I might as well be pulling rabbits from hats."

"You have a rabbit too?!"

Bless this child's innocence, he thought with a sigh. "No, there's no rabbit. It's an expression."

"Oh," Sofia said like she understood, although Cedric could tell his meaning wasn't quite comprehended.

"What about you?" He asked, figuring the best way to place the child was to ask after her usual habits. "What busies the life of a little girl like yourself?"

"Me? I help my mom—" Her words abruptly stopped and her hands curled the material of her dress at her knees. "…Mr. Cedric, do dead people ever come back…?"

"…No," he said as delicately as he could. There were some darker spells that dealt with the soul and afterlife, but physically resurrecting a body with its proper soul wasn't possible, or recommended. The dead are meant to rest, and he wasn't about to disturb them.

"Then I'll never see her again, will I?" She asked quietly, tears swimming in her eyes again.

"That's…" Merlin's mushrooms, what was he supposed to say to that? He ran a hand up through his bangs, trying to think while his eyes glanced over at his parents' portrait, specifically on his own mother's likeness. He lowered his hand onto the top of her head and gave it a little pat. "It's a bit complicated for me to explain, but your mother is not 'gone', Sofia, not as long as you remember her."

She looked up at him, fat tears rolling down her cheeks. He wasn't sure if she understood because she didn't say anything, just wiped her tears before crawling onto his lap and putting her small arms around his middle. She really had a tight grip for one so small, but he accepted the discomfort and hesitantly hugged her back.

"You'll be alright," he tried to assure her with a gentle pat to her back. Whatever was he going to do with her?

His saving grace was Sofia's obedience. Whomever her mother was, she'd clearly been doing everything right to raise such a well behaved child. She got up on her own, dressed on her own, kept herself entertained with her toys and crayons, fed herself, got ready for bed all on her own and wasn't at all insistent he tuck her in or read to her or any rituals he might have expected the girl to have. In fact, she hadn't asked him for anything since she arrived. He found it curious, but didn't visit the thought until a few nights passed and he'd been awakened by Wormwood pecking at his forehead.

"Neptune's nettles, Wormy, what is it?" Cedric shooed the bird away in a groggy voice as he pushed himself upright, the raven landing on one of his propped up knees and cawing with his head turned to the door.

The two were quiet a moment as the sound of soft sobbing permeated through the wooden door to Cedric's bed chamber. He was up in an instant and down the hall to the next chamber. He knocked before entering, which caused the crying to cease and the little figure curled up in bed to go still – pretending to sleep.

"Sofia?" He called out to her as he approached her bed and sat on the edge. "Don't pretend with me, child. I know you're awake."

He saw her eyes open in the low light and she sniffled again, clinging to her bed pillow tightly. "I'm sorry I woke you… I'll try to be quiet…"

"That is not my concern," he said flatly.

She turned her head into the pillow, whimpering some more until Cedric picked her up and replaced the pillow with his shoulder.

"If you need to cry, then do so," he insisted. "You'll feel better if you don't keep it all bottled up inside."

"But I…"

"No arguments, young lady," he scolded like a parent, actually feeling some relief when she did let herself cry into his shoulder. He felt every bit the fool for believing she was adjusting fine on her own. She probably didn't feel like she could rely on him, something he was used to, but under these circumstances she'd have to learn, as would he. He wouldn't be much of a parent at all if she never wanted or asked for anything and simply tried to stay out of his hair. Children were supposed to be a bother and the fact that Sofia hadn't been should have sent up more warning flags that she wasn't doing well at all.

Figuring the familiarity of the bed she once shared with her mother wasn't doing the girl any favors, he carried her back to his, much to the annoyance of Wormwood who was awakened again from the shuffling about and the child's whimpering.

"Don't give me that look Wormy, you can perch anywhere," Cedric told the bird who promptly turned tail and flew out the open window to find a more peaceful location.

Cedric drew his wand and relit the fire in the fireplace as well as the candles throughout the room as he approached one of his room's bookshelves to find something appropriate to read. He didn't have anything specifically for children, but he recalled finding enjoyment in the recitation of spell books when he was a child, so perhaps Sofia would have a similar interest. He plucked a book off the shelf with one hand while the other carried his wanted burden and then crawled back into bed, using his magic to fluff up the pillows behind his back as he sat up.

Curious to what he was doing, Sofia peaked her head up from his shoulder, sniffled, and glanced down at the now open book with its pretty calligraphy and strange etchings.

"A Potion for Fire Immunity," he read aloud. "Ingredients: Two salamander tails. Ten dragon scales. Three ounces of phoenix ash…"

Sofia kept her head reclined against Cedric's shoulder as she listened to him read through spell after spell, intrigued by their usage, but her body too tired to keep awake.

Quite proud of himself, Cedric read on a little while longer to make sure she was soundly asleep before extinguishing the lights and allowing himself to drift off to sleep.

Author's Note: I know Cedric is a bit out of character, but such liberties had to be taken for this story idea to work.