Sleepless and Senseless

Summary: Poor Cedric has had difficulty getting to sleep the last several nights, the effects of which are rather obvious during a royal party one evening. He's even found sleepwalking that night, which concerns the royal family. Baileywick and Sofia are soon tasked with keeping an eye on the sorcerer, but that might be easier said than done.

Disclaimer: I don't own the show!

A/N: Iwish2remainNameless has had a plethora of ideas the last several months, and this was one of the stories requested some time ago. I fell in love with the idea, so I decided it would be fun to take it on. 😊 Especially since we've probably all gotten to this point (I know for sure that I have). Enjoy!

*Story*

Another yawn escaped the sorcerer as he sat at his desk, attempting to gather his necessary materials for the day. Roland had requested his help preparing for yet another royal party that evening, and though he was exhausted, he wasn't about to deny the king. They were getting along a lot better now, and he wanted to maintain that steady friendship. And though his vision was slightly blurred from having worked straight through the night on a new potion that he'd discovered in one of his spell books (call it a burst of energy or inspiration, or whatever you like, but it had to be done, in his opinion), he still wanted to take part in this event.

"This would be…so much easier…had I slept at all," Cedric murmured after having tied off the velvet bag that contained some items he knew he would need for the preparations. If he'd been honest with himself, it wasn't just last night he hadn't slept. The previous nights dating back as far as a week or so had been difficult. He was lucky if he averaged two or three hours a night. And why was that? He wasn't sure. Maybe stress, maybe the sense of uncertainty and concern for Wormwood (though right now he would deny it should anyone ask), maybe his system just wanted to think it was a hyperactive four-year-old child that didn't need much sleep… Regardless, he could feel that a huge crash was coming sooner or later, but he hoped beyond hope that it wasn't today.

Yawning again, he stood up and gathered the bag over his shoulder before leaving for the ballroom.

Not surprisingly, the majority of the ballroom was already decorated, courtesy of Baileywick and his team. However, Roland had specific plans in mind for tonight's ball. The king greeted Cedric as he approached, "Good morning, Cedric." He blinked. "Didn't get much sleep last night, I take it?"

Cedric stared at the other man through his bleary vision. "Um… I suppose you might say it was a bit of a fitful sleep, Your Majesty." He smiled to cover up his lie as he withdrew his wand from his velvet bag. "But fear not. I'm here to decorate."

Sofia, who'd been standing near Baileywick, turned upon hearing her friend's slightly slower speech. Something wasn't quite right, and she knew it. She began walking toward him.

"If you're sure," Roland acquiesced. "If you're too tired, I'm sure Cordelia wouldn't mind decorating."

"No, Sire. It's perfectly fine. After all, she and Calista are having a mummy-daughter day until at least the afternoon, and I wouldn't want to tear them away from that." He nodded as if convincing both of them. "I'll be all right, though I do appreciate the concern."

The king smiled and clapped a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Thanks, Cedric. I appreciate your dedication. Once you finish, get some rest, all right? I'd like it if you attend the ball tonight, but I think it best if you get some sleep first." He turned and left as Miranda had called for him from the hallway.

"Mr. Cedric, what's wrong with you?" Sofia asked, seeing the dark circles under his eyes. She frowned as he glanced down at her. "Did you even sleep last night?"

"Umm… Hmm." He held up one hand before shaking his head. "Aside from the seven or so minutes I passed out at my desk before having one of those dreams where I'm falling through the ground…nope." He shrugged. "I did make a breakthrough discovery with one of my potions."

"That's great, but you can't just not sleep! That's dangerous." She put her hands on her hips as it appeared that her mentor was suddenly beginning to doze off, even standing. "Mr. Cedric!"

"What?!" He gasped and blinked, staring wild-eyed at the princess. "Oh, Sofia… Um. Sorry, I don't know what I was…doing?"

She tilted her head. "You were about to decorate the ballroom, but maybe you should get some rest instead."

"I can't," he insisted. "I mean, I want to, but your father asked me to finish putting some magic flourish to the decorations, and he also wants me to come to the ball tonight. I feel it necessary to go to maintain the friendship we've rediscovered, and I feel it would be rude to deny that to the king." He lowered his head. "Plus, to be honest, Sofia… I feel one of the other reasons I've not slept well recently is due to Wormwood's absence." He sighed. So much for denying it. "The tower isn't the same without him."

Sofia smiled in understanding before walking up to her mentor, taking his hands in hers and causing him to look toward her curiously. "I get it. Look, you teach me the spell, and I can finish decorating the ballroom. It's not going to do you any good if you exhaust yourself now and don't have enough time to get a nap in, right? Especially if Dad wants you there tonight."

"But Sofia—"

She shook her head. "No, Mr. Cedric. That's part of what being your apprentice is about, right? Helping you when you need it?" She grinned. "Just leave it to me."

He finally relented and smiled. "As you wish, Sofia…" He gently squeezed her hands in appreciation. "Thank you." After teaching her the spells she needed to know, Cedric gave the princess his wand to conduct the necessary magic before forcing himself to trudge back to his tower, hopefully for some much-needed sleep.

"Is Cedric all right, Princess Sofia?" Baileywick inquired as he watched the girl conducting the spells Cedric had taught her. "I thought he'd be here decorating."

"He was going to, but you saw him, Baileywick." She sighed. "He looks awful, and he even told me he hadn't been sleeping much. Mix that together with magic, and it's a recipe for disaster, so I sent him to bed and told him that I would do this."

The steward nodded. "That's kind of you, and in all honesty, it's likely for the best. I'd rather not see the effects of an exhausted and half-asleep sorcerer trying to do magic."

She grinned as she continued her task. "Me neither." She then turned toward him. "Hopefully a few hours of sleep will do him some good."

"Hopefully."

Soon enough, the entire ballroom was fully decorated with streamers, flowers, and many other trimmings, but each one had a layer of sparkling magic to it thanks to Cedric's spell and Sofia's conducting. The curtains shimmered with a thin cover of glittering magic, and the typical punch bowl had instead a magical fountain producing fresh juice. Some candles were even hovering midair thanks to his spells. It looked absolutely…magical.

"I think Cedric will be proud that you portrayed his vision well," Baileywick declared as he and Sofia stood side by side, admiring the handy work.

"I hope so. And I hope he's resting."

The steward nodded. "Me too."

That night, the moon beamed through the large windows as the ballroom was bathed in both natural and magical lighting. Guests from all over filled the room as the string quartet in the corner played both upbeat and slower-paced songs for all sorts of dances. The royal family had decided to host this ball for the welcoming of spring, so the flowers seemed to strike a positive chord with many of the guests.

Sofia, donned in a darker purple gown with a teal sash fastened around her waist and her hair in the now more common ponytail, glanced toward the doors when she noticed a familiar shuffle of purple walking through. She smiled. "Mr. Cedric…" She excused herself from her family and a few of the guests before hurrying up to Cedric, who appeared a little more rested but still slightly disheveled. His robe was a bit wrinkled and his hair could do with a good comb, but he didn't seem overly exhausted like earlier. "Mr. Cedric, how are you feeling?"

"Never been better, my good man," the sorcerer replied as he walked into the room, never even looking her way.

"Huh?" She blinked as he moved right past her and headed straight toward the table of food. "Okay, then…? Maybe he's hungry and a bit out of it?" She folded her arms and observed her mentor as Baileywick approached her.

"How's he doing, Sofia?" the steward asked quietly.

"Oh, you didn't hear? I'm not Sofia anymore; I'm 'my good man.'" She shrugged as Baileywick made a face. "That's what Mr. Cedric just called me anyway."

"Um… Perhaps I should speak with him and see if he's all right." He frowned as the sorcerer soon glided up to a group of party goers, something Cedric would never do in normal situations, and began chatting animatedly (though he never seemed to look anyone directly in the eye). "I think I'd better go now."

"I'll say," Sofia agreed. "I'll go with you."

Cedric gestured widely as the group of people around him laughed. "You know, I'm not sure why our horses don't wear pants, but perhaps it wouldn't be a bad idea to consult a seamstress and start enforcing new pants laws."

"Good heavens," one of the men laughed, removing his spectacles and wiping them with his handkerchief as he then dried some tears from his eyes. "Do tell, sorcerer. I've never heard of such a thing."

"And what is your policy on the exchange of goods?" another man asked, grinning at the anticipation of seeing what the royal sorcerer would say.

Cedric shook his head vehemently. "I don't trust Rudistan gophers. They're always eating my carrots."

The group of people fell into more laughter, though Cedric never acknowledged it as he walked away.

"I think he might have had too much gooseberry cider," one woman laughed as she shook her head. "Makes for great fun though!"

Cordelia, who'd stepped into the party to check on how things were going after having gotten Calista to bed, had seen the entire display. Fearing that her brother would make an even worse spectacle of himself, she grabbed his arm and pulled him aside. "Ceddy, I think it's time you went to bed," she whispered, being joined by both Sofia and Baileywick, who concurred with her statement.

Cedric blinked though still wasn't focused on anyone in particular. "Why would I need to go to bed, Cordy? And why are we whispering?"

The woman placed her hands on either side of his face and responded clearly, "Because, Cedric dear, I believe you're sleepwalking."

Sofia and Baileywick exchanged glances. "Oh!" Well, that certainly explained a few things.

"Ha!" Cedric exclaimed loudly, garnering the attention of a few people nearby. "They think I'm 'asleep!'" He snickered before shrugging himself away from his sister and slinking off. "The party didn't start until Cedric arrived, Cordy! Deal with it! La-la-la!"

Sofia placed one hand to her head and sighed. "And to think, that's my mentor."

"And my brother," Cordelia added.

Baileywick rolled his eyes. "I don't claim him."

Pretty soon, despite their efforts, the trio lost track of Cedric as he pushed his way farther into the crowd.

"I'll see if I can find him," the steward volunteered as he looked toward the girls. "You two keep an eye on the door just in case he tries to escape.

"It might be better if he did, to be honest," Cordelia insisted before guiding Sofia in the direction of the door.

Baileywick shook his head as he walked through the crowd. He paused and glanced in a few different directions before gasping when he felt someone grab his wrist. He turned and was instantly surprised. "Cedric, what are you doing?"

"I learned a new dance from the village," he mumbled, though he seemed a bit disoriented—more so than earlier. "Dance with me!" With that said, he linked his arm through Baileywick's and began happily skipping in a circle, forcing the steward to comply as he was dragged around the dance floor. "Now the other arm!" Cedric insisted as he switched arms and danced in the other direction, Baileywick barely keeping up with him. He grinned when the music finished. "Next we do the tango!"

"No!" Baileywick yelped as he pulled his arm from the sorcerer and slipped away from the crowd of people, now laughing at the display.

So Cedric lost his tango partner it seemed, but that didn't stop him from performing a new solo move he called the 'magic twist.'

By the end of the ball, people were heading out and surprisingly praising the king and queen for their very colorful sorcerer, who had apparently disappeared at some time during the evening. After searching very briefly, Sofia and Cordelia located him in the hallway on a chaise lounge, sleeping at last.

"Oh, dear," the woman laughed as she shook her head. "Looks like poor Cedric has finally exhausted himself. I'll help him get to bed." She gently guided the sorcerer into a standing position before leading him away. "Good night, Sofia."

"Good night, Ms. Cordelia," Sofia giggled as she headed back into the ballroom with her family. She walked by one of the decorated curtains and blinked as she heard a hissing noise. Surprised, she turned toward it and was stunned to see Baileywick peeking out, a worried look on his face. "Baileywick?"

"Is Cedric gone yet?"

Sofia laughed and nodded. "Ms. Cordelia took him to bed. He'd fallen asleep in the hallway."

"Oh, good," he sighed as he stepped out from the curtain, straightening his jacket. "He caught me off guard when he started dancing with me earlier."

"If you can call that dancing," the princess teased with a grin. She laughed as he gave her a pointed look. "Just kidding, Baileywick!"

"Sofia?" Roland asked as he walked over to his daughter. "What happened to Cedric?"

"He passed out," she responded. "Ms. Cordelia is taking care of him. He could probably use a day off tomorrow, Dad."

"And if he doesn't take it, I will," Baileywick half joked.

"I'm not surprised," the king remarked playfully toward his steward. "All that dancing probably took a lot out of you, Baileywick."

The older man held his tongue and cleared his throat. "Have a good night, Your Majesty. We'll get to work cleaning up the ballroom."

Roland chuckled. "I can take a hint. Good evening, Baileywick." He and his family left, leaving the workers to do what they did best.

Meanwhile, Cedric was fast asleep in his room, an oblivious smile on his face. That night, he dreamed of sneaky gophers and horses wearing pants, and the next morning, he didn't even try to figure out what on earth his mind was trying to tell him. Apparently, exhaustion had weird side effects after all.

The end