A/U, Sofia is 18, Cedric is 28 (I always thought of him as 18 in the series, I didn't know everyone thought he was so much older, lol) This is my first piece of fan fiction, I hope you like it :) This is a Cedric X (OLDER) Sofia story. Critiques are welcome

1.

Sofia squirmed in her seat waiting for the speeches to end. Amber sat next to her new husband, Zander, and they were too preoccupied with each other to listen to Baileywick's overly sentimental speech. The castle steward, who was really more like family, must have had too much wine. He was gripping the glass and slurring his words.

"And then, when she was 14…" Baileywick had decided to share every 'cute Amber' story he knew.

"Baileywick," King Roland II interrupted, placing a hand on his dear friend's shoulder. "I think we should wrap up the speeches," he lowered his voice. "And prepare to bring out the wedding cake?"

Baileywick snapped to attention, and set his empty toasting glass down on the table.

"Right away, your majesty." His words were still slurred, but he walked back towards the kitchens with surprising grace. Sofia smiled and gripped the table. According to the overly-detailed wedding program Mr. Cedric would now entertain the guests while they waited for the cake cutting ceremony.

She had pestered the sorcerer to reveal what he had planned, but he had shooed her out of his workshop and refused to tell her. She bit her lip and sucked in her breath as Cedric made his entrance. He appeared in a cloud of smoke, but no one seemed to notice him. He glanced around, but everyone but Sofia was conversing amongst themselves. She frowned, but then got an idea. She stood, and the metal on metal scratch of her chair on the floor made all eyes turn to her.

With a flourish she scooped up her glass and a clean spoon, hitting them together so that a gentle 'ting, ting, ting' filled the room. Even Amber was looking at her, one eyebrow raised.

"Thank you all for your attention!" Sofia raised her glass. Even though she was no longer a little girl, and was a woman of 18, her voice still rang like a bell. "Now we have a very special treat for you all! Let me introduce our very own Royal Sorcerer, Cedric the Sensational!" She pointed to Cedric, who had gone pale and then cleared his throat. Sofia sat down, smiling at Cedric. He blushed, but he closed his eyes and held his wand up high.

"Yes, well, um," He cleared his throat again. "Mohit Flora," as flower petals erupted by the ceiling and began to float down, Cedric waved his wand again and the petals danced above the guests. Forming heart, and other romantic symbols. Sofia smiled as everyone gasped and marveled at the sight. She looked down from the flower show and watched Cedric, he looked tense, and was watching the petals. He was probably waiting for something to go wrong, but it had been awhile since one of his public spells had gone awry. Of course, there was always the occasional mishap in his workshop, usually because she had burst in without knocking to ask him a question or see what he was working on.

There were some trumpet noises, and Baileywick walked ahead of a large table being wheeled in. On that table was the tallest cake she had ever seen. The overall frosting was white, but there was a fancy gold trim of flowers. It was actually fairly modest, considering the bride, but Amber had said she didn't want anything to detract from her wedding gown.

While everyone in the room turned to watch the newly married couple head to the cake for the cutting ceremony Sofia turned to watch Cedric sulk from the room. The petals were gone, and he probably wanted to sneak away before the King requested more displays of magic. With strong hesitation she tore her eyes away and back to Princess Amber. She wanted to follow after Cedric, but knew it would be rude to leave the wedding, so she rested her chin in her hands and watched the happy couple.