Archive of Our Own

“Matilda, you have to pick a theme for your party,” Her mother chided, walking around her teenage daughter’s room and picking up a few articles of clothing discarded on the floor with disgust painting her features.

Tilly laid back on her bed, paddle ball in hand. It was a little doohickey she’d crafted a few nights ago, and she had gotten pretty good at it. She pursed her lips and answered her mother, “I already told you; I want it to be themed after the Mystic Isles and I want to invite as many magical creatures as I possibly can.”

Her mother stood at full height, her back straight and shoulders back with perfect posture as she draped a skirt over her arm, picking a dust bunny off of the pretty fabric. She sighed and glanced at her daughter, having to hold back on rolling her eyes, “Matilda, the Mystic Isles are just a legend, you know that. And we can’t possibly invite any magical creatures, the party would become a disaster.”

Her parents were both so old fashioned. With how flawless and ‘perfect’ her mother wanted this party to be, Tilly thought she might as well hand the whole bash over to her; she was practically making it what she wanted it to be. Tilly still tried to get her ideas across though.

“Oh, come on, it would be so much fun!” She said, still playing with the paddle ball in her hand, “We could invite the elves, and fairies, ooh and wee sprites!”

“Wee sprites?! Matilda, we cannot invite wee sprites inside!” She scolded with a voice of offense.

“Sure we could, it sure would make things interesting,” Tilly continued on, a smile dancing across her face, excitement building the more she thought of her idea for her own perfect party, “And there would be music, with horns and piano! We can have party games and win prizes! Oh, and Cedric can do a magic show for us!”

And then the paddle ball was being yanked from her hand, her mother standing over her and glaring a scolding look; she was upside down from the young girl’s point of view, “Matilda, don’t be ridiculous!”

“Hey! I was so close to beating my personal record!” She complained in a pout.

Her mother tucked the paddle ball beneath her arm with the dirty clothes, sighing in irritation and smoothing out her own blouse, “You want a circus, not a birthday party. We can’t invite wee sprites, we can’t have ridiculous music, and we can not have Cedric performing any magic at such an event!”

Tilly quickly sat up and flipped around to face her mother, sitting on the edge of the bed, “Hmm, maybe you’re right. Cedric is a bit shy, isn’t he?”

Her mother blustered, “Matilda, this is your sixteenth birthday, it is a very serious and important event!”

“Serious and important event? Pfft! Mom, it’s just a birthday party, it’s meant to be fun!” She reminded her, “I want to invite who I want; it is my party remember?”

“Yes, of course I remember,” Her mother snapped, unrelenting, “But you’re nearly of age. There will be a lot of potential suitors there.”

“Potential suitors? Ew, gross,” Tilly gagged dramatically.

“Enough Matilda, you know how these things go, don’t pretend to be ignorant,” She scolded, getting more and more annoyed the longer this conversation went on.

“God, fine,” Tilly rolled her eyes, hopping off of the bed and smoothing her skirt out before looking up at her mother and flashing a smile, “No wee sprites, we’ll get boring old lady music, and we’ll play pin the tail on the Queen. Happy?”

“Matilda!”

“And listen, Cedric won’t do any magic, okay? He can come as my date instead, then we can avoid the whole suitor problem. Deal?” She was saying it all in a chirpy tone, like none of this really bothered her to say to her poor annoyed mother, and really it didn’t.

“Your date?! You can’t be serious?!” She looked like she was about to blow a fuse; maybe her heart would explode? She sure acted like it would with how horrified she currently looked.

Tilly merely shrugged, “Sure, why not? He’s cute and well-mannered enough for you, isn’t he?”

Her mother put a hand to her chest, her eyes wide with shock, “That boy is a mess! You know how he is! He’s so accident prone he’ll probably end up making a mess of your cake, or spill something on your beautiful dress!”

Tilly only chuckled, “Would that really be the end of the world?”

“You are a difficult child, Matilda,” She looked like she wanted to run out of here screaming.

Tilly sighed and grabbed her bag off of her bed, slinging it over her shoulder, “Alright, listen. I gotta go to school, and I’ll pass out these invitations there, okay? No magical creatures, just kids from school. But think about the music, will you? You can still have your boring traditional stuff, but maybe we can compromise and mix in some of my stuff?”

That seemed to calm her a tad. She took a deep breath and nodded curtly, “Yes, that will be acceptable.”

“Great!” Tilly chirped, briskly stepping past her mother and heading for the door, “And don’t pick out my dress for me, alright? I’ll handle that and you do the decorations. Good compromise? Good. I’ll see you later!”

She heard her mother call after her, but she was already out of the door and heading down the hall. She exhaled with relief at successfully exiting that conversation, and cheerfully she headed off to school.

- - -

“You really wanted to invite wee sprites?” Roland asked with an amused smile as he walked alongside his sister.

Tilly, always so cheerful, smiled right back at him at the question, tilting her head and giving him a cheeky look, “Are you really surprised?”

He chuckled and shook his head, “No, I guess not. Mom would’ve flipped a lid if you ended up doing that, though.”

She snickered, “Don’t tempt me, I haven’t handed out the invitations yet so I could still make this party interesting.”

He rolled his eyes, “It’s your party, Tilly, I’m sure it’ll already be interesting enough.”

She scoffed, “If Mom will let me do anything fun, maybe. Can you believe she was against the music I wanted? It’s not even that weird.”

“You know how Mom is, she’s very traditional,” Roland reminded her, huffing, “Dad’s worse, so maybe it’s best you go with Mom’s ideas.”

“Oh, you can’t be turning against me, Rolly,” She pouted at him, looking just a little genuinely upset about it.

“I’m not against you! I just don’t want you to get into trouble!” He promised her, holding up his hands in defense.

Tilly let her head fall back dramatically and she groaned before righting herself again, “They don’t ever let me do anything I want to do. No good music, no fun games, I’m sure even the decorations are going to be bland. At least I can pick out my own dress… And can you believe she doesn’t want Cedric to come?”

Roland faltered, stopping in his tracks and turning to his sister. He reached out to grab her wrist to stop her from going any further, and she stumbled back a tad and looked at him with a curious look of confusion, “Tilly, you know how Cedric can be.”

She raised an eyebrow, still confused, “He’s a little clumsy, but what’s wrong with that?”

“Well, nothing if he was just a normal guy, but he’s a royal sorcerer’s son and he’s very intense about his… ‘magical ability,” He explained to her, “He’s always trying to prove himself but he’s always messing up. I don’t know, maybe Mom has a point. This is a pretty big party after all, a whole bunch of very important people will be there.”

Tilly wanted to rip her hair out at this point, “Why is this such a big important deal anyway? It’s my sixteenth birthday party, maybe we should be concerned that a bunch of old people are this concerned with an event for kids.”

Roland looked like he wanted to roll his eyes, and his face got serious, “You’re a royal, Tilly. You’re the Princess of Enchancia, you know exactly why this is a big deal.”

Tilly tugged her arm out of her brother’s grip and crossed her arms, pursing her lips into a thin line and turning her nose up at him, “Is this about the suitor thing again? Aren’t I a little young to be getting engaged?”

“Oh, come on. There’s plenty of nice guys in your class,” He tried to get through to her.

“Well, I don’t like any of them,” She huffed, “I just want to have a good time, Roland. Ever since we left Royal Prep everything has gotten so serious and I for one have had it.”

“But Tilly—”

The sound of laughter startled the both of them out of their conversation, and both sets of eyes turned towards a tree by the river to see some of their classmates huddled around one side of it. Roland tilted his head, “Is that Henrik?”

He was there, as well as Princess Cecily and Prince Oberlyn. Henrik was holding a book, flipping through the pages and reading off some of the words in a mocking way, and then suddenly he was ripping out a few pages and throwing them onto the ground, and the other teenagers just laughed.

“Hey! Stop that!”

Tilly’s eyes widened, and she was quick to hike her skirt up to give her some room to run, and then she took off, “That’s Cedric! C’mon!”

Roland was quick to follow after her, and the siblings rushed towards the edge of the river. Roland was more careful as he ran down the hill, not wanting to get his pants and shoes dirty, but Tilly was dashing with reckless abandon; she never cared much about material things.

“Hey! Cut it out guys!” Tilly shouted as she stumbled to a stop at the bottom of the hill, glaring sharply at her and Roland’s classmates.

The other teenagers turned towards her, surprised by her interruption. She saw Cedric caught between them all; they had cornered him and stolen one of his books, and he looked on the verge of tears, but his rage-filled glare remained strong.

Henrik slumped his shoulders a bit, smiling and looking happy to see her and Roland, “Oh, hey guys!”

Roland frowned, stepping up behind Tilly, “Henrik, what are you doing?”

The brunette held up the book in his hand, smiling in a sickeningly prideful way, “Just getting a head start on ridding Enchancia of the Cedric the Great Failure problem.”

“That’s not funny!” Cedric shouted, lunging for his destroyed book but Oberlyn held a forearm against his chest to keep him from going far.

“Oh, it’s all in good fun, Ceddy. Don’t be a spoilsport,” Cecily mocked him, fanning herself with her pretty purple fan.

“No, he’s right. It’s not funny,” Tilly snapped, taking a step forward, “Back off.”

They all turned to give her a look like she had grown a second head. Cecily chuckled an incredulous sounding laugh, “Tilly, we’re just messing around.”

“Well clearly he’s not in on the joke, and neither am I,” She reached forward and snatched what was left of Cedric’s book out of Henrik’s hand.

“Hey!” The boy shouted, glaring at her.

“Get to class before I mess up all your elegant stockings and shoes by pushing all of you in the river,” Tilly threatened.

Cecily gasped, “You wouldn’t!”

“You know I would,” She spat right back, then she tilted her head towards the path at the top of the hill behind her, “Now go, I’m starting to get tempted.”

Cecily flustered, hoisting up her skirt and beginning to walk up the hill, letting Oberlyn help her so she wouldn’t trip. Henrik glared at the bold princess, then he looked at Roland, “C’mon Roland, we have that project to unveil this morning.”

Roland was looking at his sister who was still glaring at the other teenagers, and then he glanced at Cedric who had fallen to his knees and was scrambling to pick up the ripped-out pages of his book. Roland looked at Henrik, “O-Oh, right. Are you coming, Tilly?”

She looked at her brother, looking sort of disappointed that he was just going to leave and ignore what happened to their friend, and worse yet he was leaving with the bullies who caused his hurt. She huffed and extended her glare to Roland, “I’m going to be a little late this morning. I’ll see you later.”

“Okay…” Roland mumbled, seeming to feel somewhat ashamed about his actions, but he made no attempt to stay, “I’ll say you forgot your homework and had to run back and get it.”

“Fine,” She snapped, turning her back on him and looking at Cedric on his knees in the grass.

Roland didn’t say another word, and she heard his footsteps run up the hill with the others and soon enough he was gone. Tilly sighed and tried to push away her anger. She brushed her hair back from her face and then looked down at the book in her hands; it was a spell book, and a pretty worn one at that. It’s the one that Cedric has been carrying around since he was little.

Tilly sank to her knees across from him, set the book next to her, and began helping Cedric pick up the ripped pages. He glanced up at her, glare still in his eyes but confusion shining through, “What are you still doing here?”

She stacked the pages neatly and held them firmly so the wind wouldn’t catch them, “I’m helping you put your book back together.”

He was quiet for a moment, but she could feel his eyes still on her, and then he was mumbling, “Oh… Th-Thank you.”

She lifted her head to look at him better, wiping away her angry expression from interacting with the other kids, and then she smiled big at the young sorcerer, “No problem! Happy to help!”

Cedric’s eyes widened a fraction in surprise at her enthusiasm, and he quickly ducked his head down and continued gathering the discarded pages. They worked in silence for a couple of minutes, but Tilly could never stay quiet for long, “Those guys are a bunch of jerks. I’m sorry they pick on you so much.”

Cedric faltered momentarily, and he cleared his throat and replied without looking up to meet her eyes, “It’s nothing new, it’s fine.”

Tilly shook her head, “I know, but it’s not fine. What did you ever do to them, anyway?”

It was rhetorical, but Cedric gave her an answer anyway, “Embarrassed them by merely existing in their presence, I suppose.”

Tilly sat back at that, frowning and with furrowed eyebrows forming a sad expression. Cedric noticed this, and he sat back too, looking at her with that same look of confusion. Right when he was about to ask her what she was staring at, a gust a wind came through and blew the last couple of remaining pages into the sky. Tilly gasped and tried reaching for them so they didn’t get away, but they were too far out of reach. Cedric acted though, lifting a hand a wiggling his fingers, pulling them towards himself as a gentle purple light encased his hand. The pages flew back towards him gently, and they settled into a neat pile. He collected them and put them with the other pages, the purple light disappearing, and he sighed with relief.

Tilly’s eyes sparkled, and she smiled to show her amazement, “You’re really good at magic, Cedric.”

He flinched quite harshly, it was as if someone had just run up behind him and scared him. He caught her eyes finally, looking incredibly shocked, and then he looked around as if searching to see if somebody else was around that she was talking about, and then he looked into her eyes again, looking somewhat annoyed and apprehensive, “Is this some kind of set up for a joke or something?”

Tilly rolled her eyes, “Come on, Cedric. I’m not like those other kids, you know that.”

It was true, she was never mean to him. Sure, he was clumsy and anxious, but that wasn’t his fault, and it certainly didn’t make him a bad sorcerer. Still, pretty much everyone he knew was horrible to him. Roland and Tilly’s friends, the other kids from Hexley Hall, his own father and sister. He didn’t receive kindness enough, so it wasn’t a shock that when he did, he was put off by it.

“Here, let me see those,” She held out her free hand for the pages he was holding in his. He looked at it warily, gripping the paper in his fingers, but taking a glance up at her face again she was still smiling kindly at him. He sighed and handed the pages to her, and she quickly stacked them on top of the other pages and then set them inside the damaged book, closing it up to keep the loose pages from flying away again. She picked the spell book up and held it out to him, “Here you go! I hope you’re able to fix it up good as new.”

He carefully took the book from her, still in a bit of dazed shock, and replied to her words, “I’ve got a spell that can put it back together.”

“Oh, that’s good!” Tilly chirped, “I know how important that book is to you, you’re always carrying it around.”

He hugged the purple binded book to his chest, “It was my father’s when he went to Hexley. He gave it to me when I was little.”

“I remember! You got it for your eighth birthday,” She rambled on, “You were so excited. I’ve never seen you smile so big!”

A light pink dusted his face, and he averted his eyes, grumbling out in annoyance, “What do you want, Princess?”

“Hm?” She tilted her head, her smile never falling, “Oh! Well, now that you mention it, there is something I wanted to ask you.”

He huffed and slumped his shoulders, showcasing disappointment, “I figured as such…”

Tilly turned and opened her bag, shoving her hand inside and searching for something, and then she pulled out an envelope and was thrusting it towards him, “Here!”

He flinched again at the sudden movement, not expecting a letter to be given to him. His eyebrows furrowed with curiosity, and he gingerly took the envelope from her fingers and held it in his. He flipped the envelope over to inspect it, as if cautious of it being booby-trapped, and then he opened it and pulled out the card from within. His eyes skimmed the words on the paper, and then they widened and caught Tilly’s again.

“You’re inviting me to your birthday party?” He asked; last time the royals had had a party, he was instructed by his father to remain in his quarters so he wouldn’t embarrass the royal family.

Tilly nodded, “Yep! I wanted you to be the first to get an invitation!”

He blinked. Once. Twice, “You’ve not given anyone else an invite yet?”

She shook her head, “Nope, not one!”

He blinked again, and he frowned. The anger had left his expression, replaced completely by confusion and… some sort of sadness, “Why?”

Tilly snickered, “What do you mean ‘why’? You’re my friend, Cedric, and I want you to be there.”

The things she was saying was not helping with his surprise, “R-Really? But… your parents, they surely don’t want me there.”

Tilly shrugged, unbothered, “It’s not their party. I get to invite whoever I want. I already told my mother anyway that you’re coming as my date.”

His face burned as red as an apple, “Y-y-your date?!”

She laughed at the look on his face, “Yes, my date! If you’re okay with that, of course.”

He stammered for a moment, opening and closing his mouth like a fish out of water, then finally he was able to get his words out, “Are you sure this isn’t a part of some elaborate joke? Roland is hiding behind the tree right now, isn’t he?”

She wanted to frown, but she fought to keep her smile intact and shook her head, “No, it’s just me. I promise this isn’t a joke, I wouldn’t do that to you.”

He was still looking at her suspiciously, so she raised a hand and made an X shape over her heart, “I cross my heart! I’m one-hundred percent serious!”

Cedric scrutinized her for a moment longer, then he looked back down at the invitation in his hands. It looked legitimate enough, and Tilly had never given him any reason to not trust her before, but she knew as well as anybody that Cedric wasn’t a very trusting person in general. She wouldn’t be either if she were in his shoes.

He exhaled and nodded, looking into her eyes again, “Okay. I’ll be there.”

She beamed and threw her arms up, “Great! I’m so glad! And so, so excited! This is going to be so fun, Cedric, just you wait!”

Before he could get a word in, she leapt forward and wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him tight. He didn’t return the embrace, unsure of what to even say, “Uh-um…”

She pulled back, smiling so big at him. She really was quite excited about this, “And listen, don’t worry about dress-code or anything. Just come as yourself, that’s what I’m doing. If you’re worried about my parents, don’t. I’ll handle them.”

He blinked, just sitting there on his knees in the grass dumbfounded. And then Tilly was standing, smoothing out her dress and then putting her hands on her hips, “Oops, got my shoes all muddy.”

She only laughed about it, things like this never bothered her. Cedric looked down at her mud coated short heels, very pretty, and he held up his hands, “I-I can help with that.”

Again, his hand became illuminated by a purple light, and he flicked his wrist and pointed a finger towards her shoes, and before she knew it, they were clean and free of mud. She had that sparkle in her eyes again as she inspected his handiwork, and then she turned her sparkling gaze to his own eyes, “Wow, thanks Cedric!”

He averted her eyes, reaching up to rub awkwardly at one of his arms, blushing lightly, “It-it was nothing, an easy spell…”

“Easy spell or not, still very sweet,” She smiled, then she leaned down and ruffled his already messy hair, “I’ll see you later, okay?”

He nodded, and it was clear he was anxious but not necessarily in a bad way, “Y-Yeah, see you later.”

She smiled one last time at him before turning away and starting back up the hill, and when she reached the top, she turned to wave at him. He faltered but waved back, and she held back a laugh. He was quite shy and a bit awkward, but she liked that about him. He was different from the other boys she knew, not so egotistical. She was so excited for him to come to her party; they’d have a lot of fun.

For now, she had to go hand out the rest of these invitations.

- - -

A week later was Tilly’s party, and her mother really went all out on these decorations. She hadn’t really expected anything less, but still, it was just so… not her. She did promise her mother she would let her handle the decor though, so she couldn’t complain. At least she saw horns in the band, meaning at least she had taken Tilly’s suggestion of more upbeat and fun music seriously.

The party would be starting soon, she just had to go and get ready, but that wouldn’t take too long. She stopped at the table where food would be served, and where the bakers had just rolled out and set the cake in the center of the table. It was at least ten tiers high and covered in elegant white frosting with powder blue accents and gold marbled sprinkles. It was beautiful, she had to admit, but did it taste good? That was what was most important.

She reached a finger out and scooped some frosting off of the cake, popping her finger into her mouth to take a taste, and she smiled and hummed with satisfaction and delight at the flavor.

“Matilda.”

Her mother was suddenly grabbing her arm gently and pulling it from her mouth and back to her side. She was giving her that scolding glare again, the one that didn’t even make Tilly flinch; she beamed up at her mother, “Oh, hey Mom! The cake is delicious, I’ll have to go and tell the bakers what a wonderful job they did!”

Her mother sighed and released Tilly’s arm, “You know the cake is not to be eaten until it is cut later.”

Tilly sighed but wasn’t too bothered, “Alright, alright. I guess I should go and get ready anyway.”

“Yes, you should. The guests will be arriving soon, and you must be properly introduced to them,” She agreed and then added her two cents.

Tilly wanted to sigh again and complain but kept it to herself. These parties were such a big deal in the royal family, she knew that by now, and she knew even better that her parents wouldn’t change their opinions on these sorts of things. So, Tilly smiled at her mother and did as she had to, turning away and heading out of the ballroom and towards her room.

It wasn’t too far, just down a long corridor, make a turn, take the steps, take another turn, down another corridor, one more turn and oh, here she is! She closed her door behind her and kicked her shoes off as soon as she was inside, heading for her bed and removing her school clothes, and then she went for her wardrobe and began searching for an outfit to wear. Her parents would probably prefer that she wear one of these long, elegant, poofy dresses. Something of a tame color, like a light blue or pink, but she had already decided she wouldn’t be dressing up like that, not completely.

She had an idea to mix her own style with her parents' expectations, so they weren’t too cross with her. She pulled out a yellowish beige dress with little red flowers embroidered across it. There were some ruffles along the collar and at the wrists of the sleeves, but it wasn’t as stuffy and billowy towards the bottom, it was more free-flowing and breathable. And even better, she wouldn’t need a tight corset.

She was able to pretty quickly get dressed without assistance, never quite liking help with getting her clothes on, and when that was done, she took a seat in front of her mirror and began to do her hair. It wasn’t as long as most girls, so she didn’t have to do too much with it. She ran a brush through it, teased it a little to add some volume, and curled it with her fingers and placed some bobby pins to keep the strands in place.

Now she just needed makeup, but nothing too extravagant, she was a simple to please girl after all. She opened her eyeshadow, grinding up some light brown pigment, and then subtly applying some to her eyes. Setting that aside, she put a light dusting of blush across her cheeks, some light pink lipstick, and she called it a day. She got up and stood back, smoothing out her skirt and taking a look at herself. She had to smile.

I look perfect!

A knock on her door made her tear her eyes away from her reflection, “Who is it?”

“It’s me. Cedric.”

He sounded nervous, but he always did. She smiled at the sound of his voice nonetheless though, turning towards the door and making her way over. She slung the door wide open to see him, beaming happily at him, “Cedric! I haven’t seen you all day, I was starting to get worried you were getting cold feet.”

“Well, that’s exactly what I wanted to— Oh wow,” He stopped dead in his tracks and took a good look at her, seemingly mesmerized, “You look… beautiful.”

She was surprised by the complement, Cedric had never been particularly forward about things like this, he had never seemed interested. His face burned when he realized what he had said, and he began stammering, but Tilly only laughed, flattered, “Thank you! You look nice, too.”

He stopped his stammering, closing his mouth, and he looked down at himself. Dark trousers, a yellow buttoned up shirt and a brown vest. It wasn’t as elegant or fancy as what other boys would be wearing, but for Tilly’s standards it was perfect.

“Um, th-thanks,” He folded his hands together and wrung them awkwardly.

Tilly reached forward and grabbed his arm, pulling him towards her, “Come in, what was it you wanted to talk about?”

She released him once he was inside, closing the door behind him before turning and going back to her mirror to prod at her hair. Cedric remained unmoving in the center of the room, still wringing his hands, “Um, well, I…”

Tilly wiped some stray eyeshadow away from the corner of her eye, glancing over her shoulder at him afterwards, “You don’t have to be nervous, Cedric.”

She heard him shuffle his feet, and then he sighed, “Right… It’s just… I don’t know if I can go through with this, Princess.”

She frowned and raised an eyebrow, turning around to face him. She folded her hands in front of her and took a few steps towards the young sorcerer, “What do you mean?”

He separated his hands from each other and made sure to avoid her eyes, seeming too ashamed to even look at her, “It would just be a huge embarrassment. Your parents don’t want me there, nobody does. It’s for the best that I just stay out of your way so that your party runs smoothly. I’m sorry.”

He turned to go, but Tilly was quicker. She lunged forward and caught his wrist in her hand, stopping him immediately. He pursed his lips into a thin line and looked over his shoulder at her, shame evident on his face. Tilly was frowning too, even looking rather upset, “But I want you to be there.”

She felt his hand twitch beneath her fingers; he looked like a cornered stray cat, “Why?”

She huffed. She was tired of telling him why, he should know by now, but he was stubborn and bitter, and she couldn’t blame him for not understanding, not with what he’s been through his entire childhood, “Because you’re my friend, Cedric. I don’t care what my parents will say, or even what my friends will say. And I really don’t care if this party runs smoothly or not, I really don’t even want it to. It’s more my parents' party than mine at this point, so please go with me. At least then I’ll actually have a good time.”

He had turned towards her as she spoke, his body untensing somewhat and his expression less sad and more curious; she thinks she got through to him. She let go of his wrist and pulled her hand back. She adjusted her sleeves and then went back to where she had been dolling up her hair, grabbing a small jewelry box on the table and pulling a pretty gold necklace out; it had a small yellow gemstone hanging from it, very delicate. It had been a gift from Roland a few birthdays ago and she’d worn it every birthday since.

“Help me put this on?” She asked of Cedric, stepping back over to him and gently handing him the necklace.

He looked down at it briefly and then back at her, and she almost laughed at the bewildered look in his eye, “Oh, y-yes, of course.”

She flashed him a smile and then turned around to allow him to drape the little gold necklace around her neck. He lifted his arms and set the thin chain around her, and he worked on getting the clasp closed. It only took him a second, and when he was finished Tilly turned back to the mirror and adjusted the gemstone so that it set against the center of her chest. There! Now she was ready for the party. It was a simple enough outfit, but still pretty enough to satisfy her mother.

“Perfect! Thanks Cedric!” She spun back around to him, smiling big, “You go on down to the ballroom, okay? Tolerate my family for just a few minutes, I have to wait for the castle staff to escort me down. You know how my parents are, they want a grand entrance for me.”

She rolled her eyes to complain, and something about the look on her face apparently amused Cedric, because suddenly he was chuckling, “As you wish, Princess.”

He had a soft smile on his lips, and it made Tilly a little less annoyed about this whole party. Her smile remained at the sound of his light laughter, not having heard it for quite some time. She sighed with relief through her nose and stepped into his space a tad, “We’ve been over this; just call me Tilly.”

She stood on her toes and pressed a gentle kiss to his cheek, and she wasn’t surprised to see the red hue to his face when she pulled back. He swallowed nervously and cleared his throat, “R-Right, of course. I’ll see you downstairs then, Prin— Tilly.”

She giggled and wiggled her fingers, “See ya soon.”

And then he was stumbling backwards, still looking at her and smiling sheepishly when his back hit the door and his hands scrambled to find the doorknob. He pulled the door open and slipped out, and Tilly just shook her head with amusement as he left. He was a sweet boy, it hurt her heart to know that everyone treated him so poorly. She’d make sure he had a good time this evening.

For now though, she sat on the edge of her bed and waited for the castle staff to come and retrieve her.

- - -

“And now, introducing the birthday lady herself, my daughter, Princess Matilda,” King Roland announced with a smile, stepping out of the way of the large doors so the guards could open them and reveal his daughter to the royal guests.

Tilly stood still and waited for the doors to completely open, shooing away one of the handmaidens politely to stop trying to fluff her skirt. She offered a smile to the woman as she backed away, and she smiled back. She had to look ahead now, the guards had finished opening the doors and now she was facing an entire ballroom of royals. She’d done this a dozen times before, but it never gets any less nerve wracking. Still, she plasters on a smile and walks forward into the room and greets her guests. She was nothing if not polite.

A lot of the guests here were family friends, and others were friends from school, but it was clear there were quite a few more boys her age than girls, and she can’t recall inviting some of them. She sighed quietly with annoyance. She strictly told her mother she was not in the mood for this suitor business, she was too young and frankly uninterested in romance at the moment. She kept her smile intact anyway, keeping up appearances for now while all eyes were on her. She didn’t want to tick off her parents too early on.

She said hello to a few of her parents' friends from neighboring kingdoms, and with more cheer she greeted her friends, but soon enough there were boys coming up to her and kissing her hand, telling her how beautiful she looked, asking if she’d save a dance for them. She had to bite her tongue on telling them to get lost, and instead she let her eyes scan the crowd. She saw her brother with his hands folded behind his back a few feet away, smiling with pride at her, and then she spotted Cedric anxiously huddled towards the back of the room, but his eyes were on her as everyone else’s were, though he did cut them away when he saw her staring back.

“Excuse me, gentlemen,” Tilly silenced a few of the boys crowding her, pushing past them and heading for the boy she’d invited as her date.

They all watched her go, dumbfounded. She knew they were going to be moody about who she decided to spend her evening with, but she didn’t care. Her smile widened the closer she got to Cedric, and eventually she stopped in front of him and gave him her gratitude, “I’m so glad you’re here!”

He was able to smile back at her, not as big but genuine, “Well… it’s important to you, and you invited me. I’d be rude to turn you down.”

Somehow her smile got even bigger, and then she was standing next to him and looping her arm with his, “C’mon, let’s go say hi to my parents.”

Cedric grimaced, “Do I have to?”

She nudged him with her elbow, teasing, “Don’t worry, I’ll beat them up for you if they have anything nasty to say.”

That got him to chuckle, and he didn’t protest walking over with her again, even if she could tell he was nervous. All eyes were on them, that much was obvious. It was making Cedric squirm, and to be completely honest, it was making her uncomfortable too. It’s why she hated these big parties. Everyone treated her like an object to behold, like she was some sort of precious pearl in a museum, enclosed in a glass case and meant to be ogled at. She hated being a royal sometimes. She really wishes she could just be a normal person, and maybe go on some adventures without the constant looming presence of the royal guards. She could take care of herself, thank you very much.

“Matilda,” Was the first thing her mother said in an almost offended tone when they stopped before her parents.

She smiled up at them both, “Mom, Dad, you remember Cedric?”

Her father visibly resisted rolling his eyes, plastering on a very fake smile, “Of course, we remember Cedric. He’s Goodwyn’s son. Cedric, it’s very nice to see you.”

He stuck out his hand for the young sorcerer to shake, and Cedric looked at it like it was a sword pointed towards his heart. He swallowed and hesitantly reached out his own hand, shaking King Roland’s with as much firmness as he could muster, “You too, your majesty. O-Oh, and you also your majesty.”

He released the King’s hand and bowed politely at the Queen, and then Tilly was back to looping her arm through his, standing quite close, “Cedric was the first one I invited. He’s standing in as my date.”

Both her parents looked positively aghast by that, but her father more so; her mother had some warning beforehand, “Your date?”

Tilly rolled her eyes, “Oh, don’t be like that. We’re friends, you know I’m not really into that romance stuff.”

Her mother folded her hands in front of her, “But Matilda—”

“Oh look, there’s my friends. I’ll see you guys later,” Tilly cut her off, walking away briskly with Cedric in tow.

He looked over his shoulder at the royals, feeling a bit rude about not saying goodbye to them, but he followed Tilly’s lead anyhow, “Is… everything alright between you?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah. You know how my parents are, they’re so stuffy,” She explained to him, “We’re not arguing or anything, they’re just really pushing for me to meet somebody special, you know? I’m sixteen today, after all.”

She felt Cedric tense beside her, and when his footsteps slowed, she came to halt. She turned to him with furrowed eyebrows, curiosity on her tongue, “Cedric? What’s wrong?”

He looked annoyed, but it was the hurt on his face that got to her heart, “So that’s what this is, then?”

She blinked, her eyebrows pushing even further together and forming a V-shaped crinkle between her eyes, “What do you mean?”

He untangled his arm from being linked with hers and yanked it away, taking a step back, “Your parents want you to marry in a couple of years, so you brought me to ward off any respectable man, is that it?”

She was at a loss for words, “What? N-No, that’s not at all what this—”

“Really? It’s not?” His expression was angrier by the second, but even more hurt, “You avoided every boy at your feet as soon as you walked in. You came straight over to me and now nobody wants to even approach you. I’m a repellent! You brought me because you knew everyone would avoid whoever was with me!”

She reached a hand towards him; this was such a big misunderstanding, “Cedric, that’s not how it is. Please let me explain.”

“I don’t want to hear it,” He snapped, taking another step back when she got closer, “You’re just like everyone else. This was all just one big cruel joke like it always is!”

His voice shook like he wanted to cry, but he was pretty good at holding it in. Tilly still tried to reach for him, “Cedric, please—”

“I’ll see you around, Princess,” He turned to walk away, but immediately ran into one of Tilly’s classmates whose cup of wine spilled all down the front of Cedric’s vest and shirt.

“Oops! Excuse me, I didn’t see you there,” The other boy’s voice was dripping with sarcasm and mocking, and his smile was just as vile.

Cedric stumbled back to look down at himself, and people standing around were stifling laughter. It was mostly Tilly’s classmates, but there were adults that were joining in on the laughter as well. How could everyone be so cruel to him? He was fifteen, but he was still just a child.

Cedric kept his eyes low and pushed around the boy, “Excuse me.”

And then he was storming out of the doors and disappearing from the ballroom. Tilly watched him go with a great sadness, and she hardly even noticed when the blonde who had purposely spilled wine all over the sorcerer approached, “There. Took care of that problem for you, Tilly. Now your party shall go smoothly.”

She blinked, his words pulling her from her thoughts, and she turned her head to look at him, “What?”

The boy shrugged, still smiling in a cocky way, like he had just done something worthy of praise, “He was weighing you down, now you don’t have to worry about him anymore.”

Tilly opened and closed her mouth a few times, unsure of how to even respond to such horrible words, and finally she settled with, “I invited him.”

The boy raised an eyebrow, and then he scoffed an amused chortle, “And why on Earth would you do that?”

“Probably out of pity,” Cecily said from nearby, a green fan in her hand that she waved towards herself gently, “You’re much too nice, Tilly dear.”

Tilly could feel rage boiling in her gut now, and it was her brother that tried to get the others to stop, “C’mon guys, cut it out. She was just trying to be nice.”

Cecily sighed in a bored way, “You’re already nice, darling. You don’t have to extend pity towards Cedric to impress us.”

Tilly clenched her fists and whipped around to glare at the other girl, “I’m not trying to impress you! Why would I ever want to impress you?!”

Her friends faltered, their smiles dropping and being replaced with expressions of shock as the young royal shouted at them. The boy spoke next, “We were just trying to help.”

“I didn’t need your help! I wanted Cedric to come!” She shouted, the whole ballroom going silent and all eyes on her; she’s sure her parents were embarrassed, but she didn’t care about their feelings or anyone else’s in this room for that matter.

Cecily looked horrified by her confession, “But… why?”

It was their shock and confusion and their shame that angered Tilly. What had Cedric ever done to wrong any of them in this room? She huffed in her anger and just kept shouting, “Because I like him! He’s kind and he’s funny and he’s much nicer to be around than any of you!”

A few of her classmates gasped, and the boy who had been cruel to Cedric stepped towards her to grab her arm gently, “You can’t mean that.”

“I do,” She said firmly, and then she glared at her arm and yanked it out of his grasp, “Let go of me.”

She turned away from them, taking a deep breath and exhaling in a flustered huff. The party had only just begun, and it was already such a disaster. She should’ve figured as much with how little control she had over the entire event. Roland stepped after her, but made no attempt to follow her, “Tilly, where are you going? Your party—”

“I don’t care about the party,” She snapped, not giving any of them a second glance, “I’m going to find Cedric. Don’t follow me, any of you.”

And then she was gone, leaving her guests and her family to watch her go in shock.

- - -

She found him outside at the fountain, sitting on the edge of it and using his sleeve to scrub at the stain on his vest, but all that was getting him was a reddish-purple stain on the cuff of his collared shirt. She could see him huffing in exasperation as he attempted to clean himself up, his dual-colored hair a mess and falling against his forehead; even from here she could tell he was still quite upset.

She was slow when she approached, keeping her hands folded politely in front of herself and hoping not to startle him. Her short heels click-clacked pleasantly against the stone path beneath her, and she really should’ve expected that he’d notice her before she said anything; he was quite perceptive.

He looked over his shoulder when she was just a few feet away, but quickly turned away and sighed, continuing to blot at the stain on his vest, “Is there a problem, Princess? Am I too close to your party? Maybe I should go back to my room.”

Her face somehow fell even further, and her heart broke at the defeated tone in his voice. She could reply to his questions, but instead she asked him about his shirt, “Don’t you have a spell to help clean that up?”

He just shrugged, dismissive, “I’m much too upset to try and do magic right now. I’d probably just mess it up and embarrass myself even more.”

He still wasn’t looking at her, and she didn’t say anything in response to his explanation. Instead, she pushed her toe against the stone, trying to find the next step. She gestured a hand towards the empty spot at the fountain next to him, “May I have a seat?”

He hesitated, but she could see him pause in his current action to consider her request. After a moment he nodded very slightly. She stepped around him and took a seat next to him, adjusting her skirt to keep it tidy and in place, and she rested her hands in her lap. Cedric dropped his arm from his vest and placed both hands on the edge of the fountain, “I was just going.”

Tilly quickly reached out and took his hand as he stood, keeping him from walking away, “Cedric, wait!”

“What?” His voice was heavy with anger, venom dripping from every word, “I didn’t ask to be a product tonight, not something for you to hang off your arm to keep the other boys away! And I definitely didn’t ask for your pity! I knew I should’ve just stayed out of your family’s way; everything runs so much smoother when I’m not involved.”

She tightened her hold on his hands, begging for him to stay, “That’s not why I invited you, Cedric! Please, just… let me explain.”

He scoffed and rolled his eyes, “There’s nothing to explain, Princess.”

“Stop calling me that!” She yelled back, tugging on his arms and trying to get him to sit down again, “I told you to call me Tilly!”

“Why?! You’re royalty, aren’t you?! I should be respecting that, shouldn’t I?!”

“I don’t want you to see me that way!”

“I have to! You’re the Princess! You’re the heir to the throne! One day you’ll be Queen and you’ll be married to one of those noble boys in there just like your parents want you to be!” He ranted on, getting everything off of his chest, “You’ll have everything you want! A beautiful castle, a wonderful family, and I’m sure Cordelia wouldn’t mind being your royal sorcerer! She wouldn’t fuck anything up!”

“Shut up!” Tilly suddenly stood, releasing his hands and stepping into his space. She startled him and he took a step back; despite her being several inches shorter than him, in her current emotional state, she seemed so much taller, “I didn’t want to go to this stupid party either! Nothing is the way that I want it! I got an over the top, elegant, fit for a queen ball, and my parents want me to hit it off with some boring idiot from a neighboring kingdom, but I don’t want any of that! This wasn’t a cakewalk for me either, you know?!”

She was jabbing her finger harshly against his chest as she ranted and raved, “And another thing! I did not invite you because I needed someone to ward off the other boys, and I didn’t invite you to piss off my parents! I invited you because I wanted you to be here! I know everyone is horrible to you, Cedric, but I thought you knew me better than that!”

He still looked angry as she went on and on, but that hurt look was back in his eyes that made her heart break, and again his voice shook, but he stood strong, “Pardon me for not trusting you! I don’t know if you noticed, but I don’t have any friends! My family hates me, and everyone at school avoids me! And your family treats me like I’m a burden, so I’m so sorry that I don’t believe you when you say you actually wanted me to be here today!”

Tilly wanted to shout at him some more, defend her stance, but his words cut deep. She just wanted him to trust her, to believe that she truly liked him and enjoyed his company, but she couldn’t blame him for his feelings. She’d seen the way people acted towards him, even just moments ago her classmates weren’t against publicly humiliating him, even if it could potentially ruin their ‘friend’s’ birthday.

Tilly felt tears well in her eyes, and her bottom lip trembled as she tried to hold the waterworks back. Cedric’s angry expression fell, and suddenly he looked regretful, “Princess?”

She wasn’t very good at holding herself together, but then again, she’d never been particularly ashamed of her emotions. She bowed her head slightly and brought her fingers to her face to brush away the tears. Cedric remained close, no longer trying to rush away, “Tilly… Please don’t cry.”

She sniffled and shook her head, catching his eyes with her tear-filled ones, “I’m so sorry, Cedric! I didn’t mean for any of this to happen! I don’t know how to get you to believe me, but I promise I’m telling you the truth! I really wanted you to be here!”

She continued to cry, and Cedric didn’t seem to know what to say. He stood in front of her awkwardly, wracking his brain for the right words to say, but eventually decided to raise his hand and grip his sleeve between his fingers, “Please, stop crying, y-your makeup is running. It looked really nice.”

She felt him gently blot at her cheeks with his sleeve, and the soft gesture made her falter. He caught her eyes briefly before grimacing, “Oh, sorry, my shirt is all covered in wine, this is only making it worse.”

Despite her tears and her hurt, his words and actions made her giggle. The sound startled them both, and Cedric’s golden-brown eyes widened with surprise, and to her glee he began to laugh too. It was such a soft sound, and he didn’t let others hear it quite enough.

Tilly continued to giggle, and she wiped at her own eyes, not really caring too much about the state of her makeup. She sniffled and hoped the tears wouldn’t come back, she just wanted to go back inside with Cedric at this point, “You’re very kind, Cedric.”

The compliment surprised him, and he looked away with fingers twitching at his sides nervously, “O-oh, really?”

Tilly nodded, wiping at the corner of her eye, “Mhm. You’re so mad at me, but you’re still standing here trying to get me to stop crying. Only someone kind would do something like that.”

He shrugged loosely, his shoulders rising and falling in one quick motion, “Anyone else would do the same.”

Tilly shook her head, sniffling again, “No, they wouldn’t… Why don’t you see how special you are?”

He chanced a glance at her face, and the sincerity in her eyes is what kept him from looking away. Something changed in his eyes then, he looked… thoughtful, like what she had said really stumped him. He brought his hands in front of himself, beginning to wring them again like he always did when he was nervous, “I… I can’t. Nobody else believes in me, so why should I?”

He sounded and looked so defeated, and suddenly he sat at the edge of the fountain again, so Tilly took that as an opportunity to really talk with him now, and this time with both their minds clear. She sat next to him again and rested her hands in her lap, “Because you’re so much more than what everyone else says you are. You’re sweet, and very smart, and you’re a wonderful sorcerer.”

He made a sound that was a mix between a scoff and a chuckle; neither sounded amused, “You’re just trying to make me feel better.”

“No, I mean it,” Tilly shook her head to dismiss his negative thoughts, reaching forward and laying a hand on top of his, “My parents are snobs, and my brother, even if well intentioned, is unfortunately following in their footsteps. Don’t listen to a word any of them say, and don’t listen to your family either.”

Their eyes met, and he looked to be thinking quite hard, and then he asked, “And I should listen to you?”

Again, she shook her head, “No, you should listen to yourself. If everyone else wants to tear you down, then just prove to them that you’re not going to let them.”

He looked down at her hand on top of his, “And how am I supposed to do that?”

Tilly stared at him for a long moment, chewing gently on her bottom lip and thinking it through, then she stood and took his hand with her, “Come back inside with me.”

He looked up at her and looked somewhat annoyed, but he didn’t pull his hand away, “Tilly…”

“They think they won by getting you to leave, but show them that you’re stronger than that,” She told him, determination in her voice and eyes. He stared back at her, and her expression softened, “Please? I’d really love it if you came to my party.”

For a long few seconds, she thought he’d say no and return to his quarters anyway, but she was met with a smile instead and he squeezed her fingers in his, “Okay, I’ll come to your party.”

She smiled back a beaming grin, perhaps a little too giddy but she didn’t care, she was really happy he’d decided to go back with her. So, she grabbed at her skirt with one hand and made sure it was out of the way of her feet, and kept ahold of his hand with the other, dragging him back inside and towards the ballroom under both grand staircases. He could barely keep up with how fast she ran, and he was impressed at her speed in heels.

Running into a ballroom garnered attention, even more so when you were the Princess and the centerpiece of the evening. They both stopped just a few steps into the doorway; all eyes were on them. She could tell Cedric had the urge to run, but she held firm to his hand and looked determinedly into the crowd.

Cedric sort of shuffled to stand somewhat behind her, whispering to her, “I’m still covered in wine.”

He was embarrassed enough as it was with all attention focused on him, now he had to deal with being unpresentable in the other’s eyes. Tilly though had a plan, “Oh, I can fix that.”

She looked to her left and reached up and took a goblet of wine off of a tray a passing member of the wait-staff was carrying around to serve to the guests, and then she held it up and tipped it over her head, red wine spilling out and making her hair sticky and her makeup run.

“Matilda!” She heard her mother call, but all she could do was smile and beam up at Cedric.

“Better?” She asked.

All he could do was stare at her for a few seconds, as baffled as the rest of the murmuring crowd at her split-second decision, but then he started laughing, and wasn’t that just the cherry on top of this wonderful moment for Tilly. Cedric shook his head in disbelief, “You look great!”

“Oh, why thank you,” She dramatically flipped her short hair, then she turned completely to him and took both of his hands, dragging him towards the center of the room, “Care to dance with me?”

Pink dusted his cheeks at the request, “I hate to tell you this, but I’ve never danced before.”

She raised an eyebrow, but her smile remained, amused, “Never? I find that hard to believe.”

“Well, never in a ballroom setting!” He corrected, but she wasn’t taking no for an answer it seemed.

“Then I guess I’ll have to lead,” She said, “If that’s alright with you, of course.”

Her eyes were sparkling with hope as she waited for an answer, and Cedric took a look around the room at everyone else. Tilly’s classmates looked absolutely shocked, and some of the noble boys looked appalled, but no one looked quite as taken aback as her parents. This was all a bit nerve wracking, but when Cedric looked back at Tilly, all he saw in her eyes was pure joy and hope.

He smiled.

“I’ll try not to step on your toes,” He joked, and her smile lit up the room.

The music was gentle and swaying enough for them to dance, and Tilly was quick to put his hand against her shoulder and hold the other one in her hand, her free hand going to his waist and pulling him close, “I think you’ll do just fine.”

And they began to dance, and for the first time tonight, it felt like they were the only ones in the room.