Hostage

Summary: Miss Nettle returns and takes Cedric hostage, using a mind control spell to get him to do her bidding. Sofia teams up with Vivian and Wormwood to rescue the sorcerer but runs into trouble along the way. *As suggested by TheOliviaOcti*

Disclaimer: I don't own "Sofia the First!"

A/N: So I hope you all like this! This is actually a combination of a few ideas from various people, and TheOliviaOcti kind of set this in motion. For that, I say THANK YOU. By the way, this will be multi-chapter for two reasons: one, I wanted to put something out because I've missed writing; two, I feel it's necessary if I want to get the full story fleshed out. :) I won't make a guess as to how many chapters, because I'm not sure. I'll let you know in the future if I'm aware of my chapter status. Lol

Chapter 1: Laswahinuitosian

"Mr. Cedric!" Sofia called cheerfully as she entered his workshop on a Friday afternoon. She smiled when she saw him look up from what appeared to be a late lunch. "Did I catch you at a bad time?"

"Mmf, fm-mmoph!" Cedric paused and attempted to finish chewing so he could talk.

"Didn't your mother teach you not to talk with your mouth full?" Wormwood griped, rolling his eyes before glancing at Sofia. "Forgive him, Princess. No manners sometimes…"

She giggled as Cedric wiped his mouth with his napkin.

Cedric cleared his throat. "Not at all, Sofia," he corrected, placing the napkin aside and standing up. "I can always finish this later. I know we have lessons to get to."

"About that…" She smiled sweetly when he eyed her curiously. "Would you mind if we had a visitor today?"

The sorcerer grew weary. Another visitor in his workshop? That usually meant trouble… "What kind of visitor…?"

Sofia grinned and stepped back to the door, leaning out and apparently reaching for someone. She returned with Vivian, who seemed typically shy in the new surroundings. "Vivian came to spend the night with me, and I thought I'd see if she could do some lessons with us."

The dark-haired girl blushed. "I… I don't want to impose, Mr. Cedric," she told him softly. "I could just wait in Sofia's room."

"Nonsense," he clarified before smiling. "You, my dear, are one of the best students I've taught. I was very proud of your accomplishments with the 'disappearo' spell a few months ago."

Hearing these words, Vivian lit up. "You mean it?"

"Of course, Princess Vivian. You and Sofia are quite advanced for your ages. And it helps that you both actually want to learn or at least try. That speaks volumes for both of you."

"Aw, Mr. Cedric," Sofia giggled before hugging him. She glanced at her friend and smiled. "He really likes hugs, Vivian. He'll try to deny it, but I know him better than that."

Vivian laughed as Cedric rolled his eyes good naturedly.

About an hour into the lessons, the girls decided it was time to eat. After all, magic usage really did build up an appetite.

"Do you want anything, Mr. Cedric?" Sofia asked as she and Vivian turned to head to the door.

"No, thank you, Princess. I've already eaten." He smiled mischievously and waved his wand. "Hurry back, because I've got a surprise for you two."

Vivian's eyes lit up. "A surprise?"

"He probably bought a new broom and wants us to sweep the workshop," the auburn-haired girl joked, making Cedric chuckle. "I'm just kidding. Can't wait to see what it is, Mr. Cedric! We'll be back soon." She giggled as she and the other princess left.

Cedric turned to Wormwood and smirked. "You look comfy."

Wormwood sent his master a pointed look as he used his wings to knock off the blanket that Vivian had covered him with. Apparently she thought he looked cold, so she was hoping to offer him some sort of warmth. "Not a word."

Meanwhile, outside the castle, Miss Nettle hovered above on her broom with Rosey tied snuggly around her wrist. She murmured a few things as she used her wand to mix something in a small vial.

"What are you doing?" Rosey asked curiously as she peered over at the mixing going on.

"You soon shall see!" Miss Nettle sang happily as she applied the finishing touches. "No insignificant sorcerer is going to stand between me and that amulet. I don't care how long it takes—I will get it away from the pesky little princess."

"Yeah, because that worked so well last time," Rosey griped with a look of annoyance crossing her face.

"Look, if you don't want to tag along, I could just leave you in that field of daisies we passed on the way here."

"NO! You know they're my sworn enemies."

The blonde witch smirked and held up her wand. "Then stop complaining." She lowered her broom to just outside Cedric's workshop. She watched the sorcerer move about the room and fix up a few things before sitting down at the table to talk to his raven. "Hmm, he's alone."

"So what? Are you trying to date him or something?" Rosey yelped when Miss Nettle growled and attempted to thump her upside the petals, but she ducked just in time. "Okay, so that's a 'no!' Just wondering… You seem to be fixated on him for some reason."

"No, dear Rosey. He was fixated on Sascha. It's easy to sway him as long as you have the methods to do so." She grinned as an idea came to her. "And what better way to get his favor than to appear as the very one he seems to respect the most?" She tapped her wand to her head, transforming herself not into Sascha this time, but into Sofia.

"Whoa," the rose commented with surprised eyes. "Did not see that one coming."

"And yet, it's perfect," the witch cackled, though it sounded strange when done in Sofia's voice. "Now, stay here and guard my broom. I've got a sorcerer to sway."

Downstairs, the royal family had just finished eating, and the children were still talking about how good the soup was. Apparently Baileywick had suggested a creamy vegetable soup his mother used to make, and it turned out wonderfully. Never before had the kitchen staff and the castle steward gotten so many compliments on a meal.

Vivian and Sofia bid goodbye to James and Amber, who wend in another direction.

"I wonder what Mr. Cedric's surprise is," Sofia mentioned as she and Vivian moved along down the hallway.

"I hope it's not something complicated, like another spell," the dark-haired girl admitted. "I finally got the hang of the 'disappearo' spell, but I don't know if I could handle another one."

The other girl laughed. "I'm sure whatever it is, we'll love it."

"Wormy, remind me that we need to finish that chess game after the princesses leave for the evening," Cedric called from a closet as he rummaged around in it.

"Ah, yes," the bird chuckled in amusement. "Wouldn't want to miss an opportunity to beat you again."

"Ah-hah! Found it!" Cedric emerged from the closet and shook his head to rid his hair of the dust that had clung to him. He then dusted off his robe. "Also, remind me to clean this filthy closet out." He stepped over to the table and placed a velvet box upon it. "Now then, all we have to do is see the girls' reactions."

The raven tilted his head in curiosity, wondering what could be so special about a box.

A knock fell upon the door, so Cedric stepped over and opened it. He looked down and saw Sofia standing there, but no Vivian. "Sofia?" He motioned her inside, so she moved into the workshop. "Where is Princess Vivian?"

"Who?" The young girl—really Miss Nettle in disguise—coughed to cover up her mistake. "I—I, uh, mean… She's downstairs! Heh… She'll be back."

"Oh… All right then."

Wormwood frowned. That was an awfully strange reaction to the question, and he had his suspicions raised already.

"I have a surprise for you!" Miss Nettle sang sweetly as she held up a piece of paper for Cedric to see. "I wrote a poem for you."

Cedric blinked. "Well, that's…interesting? Um, thank you, Princess." He chuckled and took the paper, peering over it carefully. "What language is this?"

"La—swahi—nuito—sian…" She started coughing and cleared her throat. "Um, yeah. An ancient one that's not been used. Laswahinuitosian!"

Wormwood rolled his eyes. "Really, Princess? And where are you getting these facts?"

Miss Nettle shot a look at the raven and smirked, raising a finger to her lips. "Such a noisy raven," she whispered.

The bird frowned before feeling his beak sealed shut with magic, and his body froze. Oh, no! This wasn't Sofia!

Cedric was completely oblivious as he attempted to read the poem. "Kufanyamimizabuniyakiwavi. Kubadililaanausiku wa manane." ("Commit me to the bidding of Nettle. Reverse the curse at midnight.)

"Mm, yes," the Sofia imposter laughed, getting the sorcerer's attention.

"Sofia, what di-?" He paused, his hands dropping the paper and his eyes somewhat hazy. "I commit myself to your bidding," he said stoically, making the witch cackle and transform into herself.

"Do you now? Perfect!" She picked up the discarded spell (originally disguised as a poem) and cast it aside onto his desk. "Now then, I have a job for you."

Meanwhile, Sofia and Vivian arrived and knocked a few times, waiting for the usual response from the sorcerer. When nothing happened, the girls exchanged looks.

"Maybe he went to bed?" Vivian ventured.

"Mr. Cedric doesn't go to sleep that early." The auburn-haired girl frowned. "I have a bad feeling…" She looked down at her amulet, which was glowing ever so slightly, before she gained confidence and shoved the door open. "Mr. Cedric?" She gasped when she saw Miss Nettle standing behind him, holding her wand up to him. "Miss Nettle?!"

"Good evening, dear Sofia," she cooed saccharinely and grinned.

"What have you done to Mr. Cedric?" She looked up at her mentor, whose eyes were drained of recognition and instead replaced with a look of intense focus.

"Cedric, darling," Miss Nettle responded with a sneer. "Get the amulet for me."

"Yes, Miss Nettle," he said vacantly as he lunged forward, attempting to capture Sofia, who ducked out of the way.

"Mr. Cedric, what are you doing?!" After he chased after her for a few minutes, Cedric accidentally collided with the open door and fell backwards. Sofia gasped for air as she glared up at the blonde fairy. "You won't get away with this!"

"Oh, believe me, my dear… I think I will!" She grinned and used her wand to lift Cedric from the floor and vanished in a dash of smoke. Cedric was gone too.

"What's going on?" Vivian asked, utterly confused.

"I don't know, but we have to get Mr. Cedric back!" She hurried over to Wormwood, who finally was no longer frozen or speechless. "Wormwood, are you okay?"

He huffed and raised his wings, trying to get some feeling back. "This is why I don't like most fairies."

"She took Mr. Cedric! What are we going to do?" The princess seemed really concerned for their friend and her mentor.

Vivian looked on as Sofia and Wormwood seemed to share some sort of connection. It was interesting. Sure, she talked to Crackle all the time, but she'd never heard the little dragon respond. She blinked. 'I wonder…'

Wormwood pondered the situation for a few minutes before smirking and looking toward the Enchancian princess. "I know just what we can do."

To be continued…

A/N: So Wormy is going to have a pretty big role in this story, which has been a long time coming. ;) Hope you all like it so far! I plan to update more frequently after I return from my vacation next week. Then again, you know me—I may actually update while on vacation. We'll see. :D And the language was "Swahili." It was the first one that caught my eye on the translator, and I was like, "Eh, why not?" Haha. It looked cool, so I went with it. :) Oh, and "Blameless" should be updated soon! Till next time! ~AquaTurquoise