The Tale of the Golden Spokes

Summary: Visiting from Rudistan, Greylock tells Sofia of a magical mountain top in a mysterious country called Okahʋshi (Moon Water). The peak is said to hold half of the world's mystical forces, so naturally Sofia wishes to explore said mountain and witness its mysterious phenomenon that occurs once every hundred years: the Golden Spokes.

Disclaimer: I do not own "Sofia the First." The terms "oka" meaning "water" and "hʋshi" meaning moon/sun come from the Choctaw language, which I speak very little of. ;)

A/N: Hi, hi, everyone! I luckily became inspired to write one more story before my break, thanks to a random viewing of "Baileywhoops." I decided I had to write for my favorite visiting character before my break, so here we have it. Also, this is going to be a two-shot story, so look for the second chapter later when I get a chance to post it. ;) Enjoy!

*STORY*

"We could call it a day if you're that tired," Cedric reminded Sofia for the third time since she'd arrived. He chuckled as she attempted to stop yawning. "I wouldn't be opposed to taking a break either way."

Sofia smiled sleepily and shook her head. "I'm all right, Mr. Cedric," she assured him sweetly. "It's just been a long week."

"I can understand that myself." He shut his book and sat up straighter, stretching momentarily before looking back at the princess. "How about we reconvene at another time when we are both more awake?" He smiled when she giggled and nodded. "Besides, I do believe we have a visitor."

Sofia blinked as her mentor nodded toward his door. She turned around and lit up with delight. "Mr. Greylock!"

The brown-haired sorcerer was rather surprised when the princess enveloped him in a hug, but he leaned down and returned her hug happily before kneeling before her. "Princess Sofia, I do believe you've gotten taller," he commented as she laughed. "Or is it just the tiara?"

"No, Dad and Mom both told me I'm growing a little more." She returned to her seat as Greylock walked over to stand next to his friend/rival. "So what are you doing here, Mr. Greylock?"

"Oh, King Magnus had some royal business to attend to with your father, and he asked me to tag along." He glanced at Cedric, who rolled his eyes at the mention of the other king. "Would you believe the man snores more loudly than Mistress Lilith from Hexley Hall?"

The Enchancian sorcerer smirked and folded his arms. "Hard to believe, honestly. I would assume no one could make more disturbing noises than that woman." He gestured toward a bench, upon which Greylock finally rested. "So how long has King Magnus decided to torture King Roland this time?"

The brunette laughed. "A couple of days, give or take."

"Does that mean you'll be staying here?" Sofia asked excitedly.

"Indeed it does, Princess! And even better: I'll be roommates with dear old Cedric."

The other sorcerer made a sound of dismay. "Oh, no, you don't. There is barely room in this tower for just me—I am not sharing my room with you, Greylock." He waved one hand flippantly. "There are plenty of guest rooms, which I'm sure the king would be glad to offer you. But for goodness sake, make sure you keep it tidy so as to avoid a run-in with Baileywick."

"Aw, but Cedric," Greylock began playfully with a pout, "you don't want to spend time with your old chum—reliving our days at Hexley Hall, telling ghost stories, eating horrid sweets until we cannot stand it anymore?" He grinned as Cedric gave him a dull stare.

"As fun as that sounds, I think I'd rather you have your own room and we save the 'ghost stories' and such things for a later time...much later, in fact."

"We'll find you a room, Mr. Greylock," Sofia insisted with a pleasant smile. "Besides, Mr. Cedric may not have room for any luggage you brought."

"Not to mention he hasn't cleaned the mess off his floor this week, and it's a challenge even for him to enter," Wormwood snarked in addition, making Sofia snicker.

"Ah, well, I appreciate the kindness and hospitality, Princess Sofia." Greylock removed his monocle and cleaned it with a handkerchief as he continued speaking to his friends. "By the way, Cedric, have you ventured to Okahʋshi in the last few years?"

Cedric shook his head as he cleared his table of items from the lesson. "Haven't been there in quite some time. Any changes?"

"Well, the Golden Spokes are returning this year and will be glowing much brighter than before." He grinned as the other sorcerer gave him a look of surprise. "You know what that means."

The Enchancian sorcerer beamed. "Our magic will become stronger!"

The princess blinked at the other two and tilted her head. "Oka-what now?"

"Okahʋshi, Princess," Greylock responded while replacing his monocle. "It is a rather mysterious country with no definitive origins. Legend has it that the native inhabitants settled the land and then just…disappeared. However, there is a mountain with no name at the base of Okahʋshi, and its peak is rumored to contain half of the world's powers, and it serves as the resting point for the Golden Spokes."

"What are the Golden Spokes?" Suddenly, Greylock's legend seemed really fascinating, and Sofia noticed that even her mentor had settled down to listen to the story.

"Every century, on the tip of the unnamed mountain, a golden orb appears and casts a magic haze known as 'the Golden Spokes.' It increases and enhances magic-wielders' powers. So say perhaps mine and Cedric's powers aren't quite as up to par as they need to be."

"They aren't," Cedric griped with a huff. "Otherwise we'd be as renowned as Merlin."

"Well, he's been through a few Golden Spokes himself, if you know what I mean." He grinned as Cedric smirked and rolled his eyes. "Anyway, the phenomenon will cause our powers to become better and stronger even. We won't have nearly as many pitfalls or struggles with that enhancement."

"Do you have to actually be there for it to take effect?" Sofia wondered.

Cedric shook his head. "Not really, but the closer you are, the better the change will be." He sighed. "If I recall correctly, the event should occur tomorrow evening. Oh, now I wish King Roland would let me travel there for that very reason… However, I know the chances of that are rather slim, especially with King Magnus here."

"It couldn't hurt to ask," Sofia suggested gently with a smile. "We could tell Dad it's important for our lessons…which, technically, it is, because power enhancement on your end would benefit both of us, Mr. Cedric." She grinned cheerfully upon seeing her mentor's surprised look.

"You speak more like an adult every day, Sofia." He chuckled at her sheepish look. "Well, I suppose you're right. I mean, the worst he could do is say no. And besides, we'll get a small power boost either way, right?" This time he glanced to Greylock, who nodded.

"King Magnus will take up most of his time anyway, and I'm sure King Roland would rather deal with him diplomatically and effectively… Occupying ourselves would be beneficial."

"Let's go ask him then," the princess said happily as she proceeded to the door with her two friends following behind.

"…And then I hired new servants to install three new glorious statues of, you guessed it, yours truly!" King Magnus chuckled to himself as the other king laughed half-heartedly along with him, appeasing the older man's need to feed his obvious narcissism.

"I always said your kingdom needed more statues of you, Magnus," Roland uttered with a strained grin. He coughed a few times when the other king patted him a little too hard on the back and guffawed at the supposed compliment.

"I should say so! No one should be denied this beautiful mug." He smiled widely.

"Dad?"

Roland turned and seemed to smile and sigh in relief at the sight of the young princess with the two royal sorcerers. "Sofia! And Cedric and Greylock, I suppose you're watching Sofia for me?"

"Something like that," the girl responded with a giggle. "Dad, we wanted to ask you a favor. Mr. Greylock was telling us about a place called Okahʋshi, where some mystical magic thing is supposed to happen tomorrow—and it only happens once every century or so. Can Mr. Cedric and Mr. Greylock take me to watch it?"

"Um, well… Would it be any trouble, Cedric?" He looked toward his sorcerer with a raised eyebrow.

Cedric shook his head. "None whatsoever, Your Majesty. We just needed to have your permission before even attempting such a journey, of course."

"Well, sure, I don't see why not. Is that the event where sorcerers and other magic wielders get better powers or something? I remember my sister talking about it one time."

"Yes, indeed!" Greylock gushed happily. "It's quite honestly the greatest thing that could happen to us in our lifetimes." He grinned toward Cedric. "I'm just glad it happened before we ended up with walking sticks."

Cedric rolled his eyes.

"I don't mind if you wish to visit Okahʋshi, Sofia. Just take care of her, please," Roland finished, directing his last statement to the sorcerers.

"With pleasure, Your Majesty," Greylock replied with a slight bow. "King Magnus? May I have your permission to travel with them?"

"Oh, yes, of course! By all means." The overly zealous king pulled Roland into a bit of a headlock, making the other three snicker somewhat. "It gives me more time to tell Roland here about the huge glass sculpture of a giraffe I'm having built for the east wing."

"Why would you want a glass giraffe statue?" Sofia asked curiously, honestly interested in the man's answer.

"Why wouldn't you?" he retorted with a chuckle.

"I guess I can't argue with that." Sofia laughed and looked up at her temporary guardians. "I'm ready when you are."

Cedric nodded and glanced at Greylock. "In that case, we'd better prepare for our journey."

"Lead the way!"

To be continued…