Cedric's Apprentice

An Interesting Turn

                      Freya walked around the castle that morning feeling like something was off. She hadn't seen the royal family at all, which was strange considering James and Sofia often ran about in the halls. It was an eerie feeling which the witch did not like. Especially since the Villager's Ball was happening soon and it wasn't like the royals to up and leave right before an event.

                      To take her mind off it she flew down to the village to prank Lucinda. It did not go well. A messy Freya strolled through the town, having no destination in particular. It was when she saw something quite bizarre did she stop and do a double take. The baker family looked strikingly similar to the royal family.

                      That was odd. Then she had a sudden thought, since when did the baker have kids? Especially kids so close to her own age? She took out her spying crystal and centred over to the children. The blonde girl wearing a bonnet seemed disgusted with what she had to do, and the boy was having trouble chasing after the chicken. The one wearing purple was frozen in the confusion. And the baker himself seemingly didn't even know how cows gave milk. 

                     None of these are what would happen if the baker had years of experience. Something was up. Freya checked her pockets. No change. She wanted to kick herself for never bringing money when needed. She poofed to her room and threw aside her shorted-out wand. Freya looked over to her wand collection. She really needed to stop doing long-distance poofs. 

                   After guessing how much a loaf of bread costs, Freya dumped a bunch of coins into one of the bags she used to gather potion herbs and flew back down to the village. But not before noticing the flustered king and queen being chased after by the servants. That was definitely odd. 

                    Just as she was about to enter the shop Freya was startled as a mother with two excited children rushed out of the bakery towards the playground. Collecting herself Freya pushed the door open and was definitely taken aback to see the place and bakers covered in flour. The children ran toward her, "Freeya! It's so good to see you!" the girl in purple said with relief. 

                     "Did Cedric mess up a spell to make us like this?" asked the blonde haired boy, "And is there a way to undo it?" the girl wearing a bonnet said. Freya was definitely puzzled. She had never met these people before, yet they knew who she was? Freya supposed it was because of her status, but why were they speaking as if they already knew each other. "What?" was the only reply Freya could muster. 

                     The children bombarded her with questions, and Freya backed out in a hurry. Whatever was happening, it was most definitely strange. She decided to fly back to the castle and tell Cedric her strange day. That's when she saw the king and queen again. But something was off... sure royal duties could be stressful but the king was never this nervous. On the contrary he usually had an upbeat attitude.

                       When she got there however, Cedric shooed her out, insisting that he needed full concentration to brew a potion. "Well then what am I supposed to do?" Freya asked in annoyance. Cedric sighed irritably, "I don't know, do whatever little girls like to do! Take a walk!" "How is that supposed to boost my magic?" "Oh you want to boost your magic? Well, either get me that amulet, or memorise your spells properly! Now out!". 

                    Wormwood cawed as Freya scowled. She was just about to leave when she eyed Cedric's various potion bottles. "Say, where did you keep that Invisibility Potion again?" she asked. "It's the small green bottle in the back. Careful not to drip it on everything, wouldn't want to lose anything precious now would we?".  Freya made sure the cork was on secure and pocketed the potion before leaving the workshop. 

                     Freya was curious about the baker family in the village. How did they look so familiar? What was going on? She got to her room and activated the magic crystal hologram. All she saw was the family messing up baking. "Crystals crystals in my room, show me all that's happened since yesterday noon." Freya chanted. 

                     Soon, she saw everything. A new mirror in the castle, a magic one. Why it was kept away Freya did not know. The King telling Sofia how tough it was as king. What was so tough about it? All he did was sit in a chair all day! 'I wish I were the village baker...' he said. It all made sense. The mirror must have granted his wish, and in turn turned the baker into the king. Oh, taking over the kingdom suddenly became a whole lot easier.