One of a Kind

Summary: Sofia asks Cedric for something rather unique for her Wassailia gift.

"Mr. Cedric," Sofia sang happily as she skipped into his workshop. She looked toward the window where he was leaning out to apparently capture some of the falling rainwater, most likely for an experiment or a spell or something. She gasped when he faltered, nearly falling. "Mr. Cedric! Hang on!" She hurried over to him and grabbed his hand, pulling him back inside.

"Thanks," he breathed, sighing in relief as he tried to get his heart rate down. He looked down at her. "Did you need something?" he asked, placing the vial of rainwater on the table and resting a hand over his heart, willing it to slow down.

"Well, I wanted to ask a favor, but I'd rather not if you're still feeling bad after that."

"I'm fine." He sat down at the table. "I'm just terrified of heights—well, more falling from them."

She nodded. "I can understand that. I don't really like falling from heights either." She giggled as he laughed a little. "So, Mr. Cedric…" She grinned excitedly again.

"Yes, Princess Sofia?" he asked tiredly as he smiled at her upbeat nature, especially for it being later at night. It had been a long and busy day today, especially with trying to stay on the king's preferred schedule.

"I was just wondering… See, I have this new thing I started." She smiled thoughtfully. "I've begun creating a doll collection, actually, of the members of the castle. I have all of my family, Clover, and even Wormwood and Baileywick. But… I don't have you yet."

Wormwood looked surprised. He had made it into her collection?

Cedric raised an eyebrow at her, glad to hear Wormy had been created for her collection, but hearing something else that caught his attention. "Excuse me? Baileywick beat me? I see how it is." He grinned as she giggled. "So…what exactly is it that you're asking?"

"Well, that would be a nice Wassailia gift," she hinted cutely, resting her head on her hands.

"Oh, I see. Well, why not? I'll see what I can do." He held up his wand before Sofia reached forward and put her hand over his, lowering the wand to the table. He blinked at her curiously.

"Wait," she said, reaching into a bag she'd brought. She handed him a base for a plush doll, watching as he observed it. "Use this."

"Use what? What exactly is this? And where are the features?"

She laughed. "You use this and add them, of course! I got this doll from a merchant in the village. Isn't it adorable?"

Cedric made a face as he took the doll. "Well, 'adorable' isn't exactly the word I would have used. Okay, let's see here…" He placed the doll onto the table and propped it up against a couple of spell books. He tapped his wand to his chin in thought before muttering a few words, designing a few features for the doll's face. Soon, it resembled him a little bit, at least more than it had. He then added hair to the doll, and it was practically an exact replica of his, which surprised him.

Sofia giggled. "Aw! He's so cute!"

"He's indecent, Princess Sofia. Avert your eyes." He playfully shielded her eyes, making her giggle. He then aimed the wand and stated, "Vestes replica." He smiled proudly as the doll now had a perfect copy of his own normal clothing, including his pants, shoes, olive shirt, and maroon vest…and of course his purple robe. He tugged at the yellow bow tied around the doll's neck, making sure it was snug, and nodded in satisfaction. He turned and handed the doll to Sofia. "Here you are, my dear. Have a look."

She smiled excitedly and hugged the doll to herself. "I think this one's my favorite," she said, absolutely thrilled with her gift.

"Naturally," he told her with a chuckle. "But…" He reached out and managed to slide the doll from her grip. "I'm afraid you cannot have this until Wassailia."

The look on Sofia's face was comical and sad at the same time. "But… Oh, okay. I understand."

"Sofia, Wassailia is only a few days away." He set the doll back on the table. "I guess you'll just have to find something else to cuddle in the meantime."

"You're right." She grinned and hugged him. "I guess the REAL Mr. Cedric will do."

The sorcerer looked at her sarcastically and shook his head. "All right, all right." He patted her back, smiling when she released him. "And I meant perhaps that rabbit of yours."

"Oh, Clover? He doesn't like to be cuddled, usually…although he has gotten better." She laughed. "Well, thanks for my gift, Mr. Cedric. I absolutely love it."

"I'm glad. Now you better hurry on to bed. It's getting rather late." He caught her by the shoulder gently as she turned to leave and smiled gratefully. "And…thanks again, Sofia."

She smiled and hugged him one more time. "You're welcome." She turned and left, happily singing a tune to herself, which echoed down the stairwell.

Cedric shook his head and looked at the doll. "You, my friend, had better ready yourself for a lot of affectionate embraces."

The doll just stared back with an oblivious smile on its face.

The end

(A/N: Okay… Am I the ONLY one who would be ecstatic to have a Cedric plush doll? Seriously, that would be a wonderful Christmas gift! Lol. Since it doesn't exist yet, I'm glad Sofia gets one for her "castle collection." Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this. Thanks for all the feedback recently. You all make me so happy and excited each time I see a new review. It certainly makes the days a lot brighter. I also received a few requests for potential stories, so I'll see what I can do. I have a few other stories in the works, so I'll add the requests to the queue and see what happens. :) Enjoy your weekend and don't work too hard; take breaks and enjoy yourselves. Until next time, my friends! ~AquaTurquoise)