Shades of Life

Summary: Cedric and Sofia experience the ups and downs of acting as guardians to Nana, all while learning more about the little girl. Title is based on the song by Billy Gilman called "(I Am) Shades of Life," which was inspired by the poem by Mattie J.T. Stepanek. Nana belongs to MarionetteJ2X, who also created the silhouettes for the cover photo.

Disclaimer: I do not own Sofia the First. Nana belongs to MarionetteJ2X.

A/N: Hey, everyone! 😊 First of all, the title of this story, as indicated in my summary, is based off a song of the same name by Billy Gilman. Billy sang this song, which was actually originally a poem written by a young boy named Mattie J.T. Stepanek. Mattie died when he was 13 after complications with his health (he'd had a rare disease called dysautonomic mitochondrial myopathy). Before his death, he wrote a series of books he called Heartsongs (which was super coincidental for me, lol), all of which contained his poetry about the subject matter of peace. Anyway! What does this have to do with Nana? Well, there are many "shades of life," so to speak. You can categorize them any way you want. I figure colorizing those moments makes sense. And if you don't see it just yet, hopefully you will. 😉 With that said, I hope you enjoy! This is my passion project, so to speak. :D One of my transitions to "Heartsong."

Note: This story, while it takes place in December, doesn't have specific days. They're just little snippets into the new life that Nana now has. 😊 Also, as you may expect, this story is just pure fluff. So there's that. Haha!


Chapter 1: Red


Blood

Nana was no ordinary child, and everyone around her knew that well now. She'd been created from dark magic and the blood of a sacrificed child, which hadn't sat well with her guardians. In fact, Sofia in particular had found it extremely difficult to fathom and stomach. What kind of monsters would do such a horrible thing to a child? And while she was glad to have Nana around now, she still had to wonder… What had that other child been like before? Was she (or he) anything like Nana? Older? Younger? Did the child enjoy the little things as much as Nana did now?

Sofia blinked out of her deep thoughts, coming back to the realization that she was sitting outside the castle in the snowy grass in the garden, as she saw a dandelion obstructing her view. She smiled kindly toward Nana, whose tiny hand was grasping the stem and offering the flower to her guardian. "Aw, Nana. Thank you." She thought it was strange how the little one had managed to find a dandelion in the winter time, but this being an enchanted and magical kingdom, she had seen stranger things happen before. She accepted the little girl's offered gift with a small laugh. "You want to know a secret?"

Nana nodded eagerly as her curious green eyes darted to Sofia's hand, which she'd lifted close to her face.

"There's a saying that goes something like, 'If you make a wish and blow on the dandelion, that wish just might come true.'" She winked at the little girl, who'd gasped in interest. "Want to try?"

Again, Nana nodded earnestly before pausing, closing her eyes tightly, and then opening her eyes and leaning forward to blow the small petals away from the dandelion's stem. She watched in awe as those tiny, soft petals floated away in the breeze.

The princess smiled fondly as the little pink-haired child turned back to her. "Did you make a wish?"

Nana smiled excitedly and nodded enthusiastically.

"Aw." She reached out, gently stroking the girl's hair and causing her charge to sigh happily. "I hope it comes true, Strawbaby."

The little girl opened her eyes and grinned, jumping up and throwing her arms around her guardian in a tight hug, which she was thrilled to have returned.

Soon, a little butterfly (called an Icefly, since it only came around during the winter time) fluttered by, and Nana shuffled out of Sofia's hold to follow it. She eventually paused as it landed on a winter bloom, and her green eyes widened at the sight of it—her innocent orbs full of wonder. She gasped in surprise as the butterfly briefly alighted onto her nose before flying away, causing the little one to giggle quietly.

Sofia smiled at the sight. True, Nana's origins might have been dark and desolate, but the blood that now coursed through her veins gave this precious little girl life. And the princess was bound and determined to make sure that her life was filled with wonder, magic, adventure, and love—because both she and the one who'd fallen to allow Nana to exist deserved nothing less.


Anger

Every time Cedric recalled seeing that dark mark on his charge's back, it made him angry. Granted, it wasn't there now, but the fact still remained that someone had felt the need to sear the child's skin with a painful, permanent (at one time) mark, binding her to the wicked cult.

The little girl was sitting on his worktable now, gently stroking Wormwood's feathers while the raven had his eyes closed in delight. Cedric smirked. The cranky raven could say whatever he wanted, but it was clear that he enjoyed having the little girl around now; after all, he had yet to shoo her away, as one would have expected.

Sofia had tied the girl's hair into twin ponytails today, one on either side of her head. His partner had gushed over 'how adorable' she looked, and Nana had just eaten up the compliment with a shy smile.

How could anyone have hurt this child before? Cedric knew very well that she'd come from a place of exploitation and abuse, especially considering her origins and the way she'd first reacted to them. Under typical circumstances, most people wouldn't recoil in fear when someone as kind as Sofia asked them questions and reached out a hand to help out. He could feel his hands curling into fists as he recalled that night—Nana shuffling away from them in terror, her green eyes wide in alarm.

Cedric blinked out of his thoughts as he felt a much smaller hand rest on his gloved one. He looked down to see Nana smiling up at him, and he melted a bit. She was smiling far more often now, and he knew that both getting her away from that cult and removing the dark mark had contributed to his charge's happiness now. He returned the smile. "What is it, little one?"

Nana snickered and pointed toward Wormwood, who had fallen asleep and was now snoring.

The sorcerer rolled his eyes. "Put him to sleep, did you? I'm going to need you to do that more often, if you please." He chuckled and picked her up, smiling as she crawled up to sit on his right shoulder, leaning her head against his. "What would you like to do now?" He glanced over at her and saw her clutching her hands over her heart, which he recognized as her sign for Sofia (since that would be where her amulet rested). "Hmm, you want to find Sofia, eh?" Seeing her nod, he laughed softly. "Not surprising. Let's go then, and we'll leave our little feathered sleeping beauty here."

Wormwood never heard the door close behind him as Cedric and Nana left the workshop and the tower.

Love

If there was one thing the entire royal family and the majority of the inhabitants of the castle had offered little Nana, it was compassion and love. They'd showered her with praises, affection, gifts, and encouragement, which was far different from what she'd come to expect from that dark cult. The Tenebrous had not been known for their kindness. Nana came to the conclusion that they probably didn't even know the meaning of the word. And neither had she, until she'd accidentally arrived in Enchancia a few weeks ago.

Nana was currently sitting on Sofia's floor on a blanket. She had a few toys around her, but her favorite one was a little black-haired doll with green eyes like hers. Nana held in her hand a small brush and was running the bristles through the doll's hair. Her own was now dry after she'd gotten a bath not too long ago, which of course had called for hair washing (not her favorite chore, she might add, but she loved the strawberry-scented shampoo Cedric had created just for her).

"Aw, Nana," Sofia cooed as she walked up next to the young girl on the blanket, who was still brushing the hair of a little black-haired doll with a teal dress. "Are you brushing your baby's hair?"

Nana smiled up at her guardian and nodded happily.

"Speaking of which, let me brush yours. Now that it's dry, it will be easier to style." She walked over to her nightstand and withdrew a small maroon brush before returning to Nana. She sat down behind the little girl, tossing her own long, loose hair behind her, causing it to cascade down her back and trail onto the floor. She gently fluffed the little leaf cap on the tiny girl's head before running her brush through the vibrant pink locks. She smiled as Nana seemed to sigh in content. "Does that feel nice?"

The little one nodded as Sofia kept brushing her hair. This actually felt really pleasant. Too bad no one at that cult had ever thought to do such a thing for her. Then again, she wasn't at all upset that Sofia was the one who'd started this. She loved her guardian so much, and having her take care of her was so natural and wonderful.

Hearing a knock on her door, Sofia glanced over her shoulder but continued her work. "Come in." She smiled as Cedric walked in, shutting her door before ambling over to the two girls. "Hi, Mr. Cedric."

He chuckled. "Sofia, what on earth are you doing?"

"Well, Nana's brushing her doll's hair, and I'm brushing hers." She then paused for a moment, smiling mischievously up at her partner. "You know, you're a part of this dysfunctional little guardianship/family thing we've got going on too."

Cedric smirked, placing his hands on his hips. "What do you want, Sofia?"

At his astute reply, the princess blushed a bit in embarrassment, shaking her head. "Never mind. It's a ridiculous thought anyway."

After watching her for a few moments and seeing how gentle his partner was with their tiny charge, the royal sorcerer smiled, finally catching on. "I see…" He sat down near the princess, carefully reaching out and scooping her long, wavy, loosened hair in his hands. "Part of the family, you say?"

She smiled shyly, her cheeks still tinged a bit pink at her partner's teasing words. "Yeah…"

He snapped his fingers once, creating a royal purple brush in his left hand as he began carefully brushing through the princess's wavy hair. He chuckled as she sighed in relaxation. "So, what are the plans for today?"

"I wouldn't mind just doing this all day," she answered, laughing.

"As long as I get a turn," Cedric joked, continuing to brush her hair.

Sofia grinned as she saw Nana turn toward her briefly, a sneaky smile on her face. "I think that can be arranged."

Nana smiled thoughtfully as she glanced back toward her doll while Sofia continued brushing her hair. This was what she'd wanted for so long: someone to love her and take care of her like her guardians did. Like the whole castle did. As far as she could see, she was one very lucky little Strawbaby.

To be continued…

Next Chapter: Purple