Tales of Avalor ch. 2

Love and trust: Here comes a memory

After Shuriki’s fall the castle lived to see big changes. Shuriki’s loyal followers were fired out of their positions and their work was given to those who swore fealty to the house Flores. One of the vacant positions was the job of the royal sorcerer, the previous one, the honorable Alcazar passed away during his search for a way how to free Elena from the inside of her own jewel. There were several possible candidates for the role. One of them was Alcazar’s grandson Mateo who happened to be also Elena’s friend.

For Elena he was a clear choice but she wasn’t sure the others saw his worth as clearly as her. Her other friends – Gabe and Naomi – were reluctant to trust the young mage to Elena’s extent. He was nice, sure, but clumsy, young and timid. They would prefer someone who’s more self-assured and experienced.

Mateo himself didn’t believe his abilities to ask for the job himself but Elena knew how hard he practiced and memorized all spells he could find in Alcazar’s library. He did mess up sometimes but who doesn’t? Still with each training session the young sorcerer was getting better but Elena was sure that with higher self-esteem he would get great even sooner.

Mateo’s struggle and how he was judged by some people reminded Elena of a place where lived another apprentice of the magic arts. During his life he was constantly put down by his father, his peers and later by other people as well. Due to the constant critiques that weren’t always fair the young eager boy became a bitter, miserable man.  

The soul of the princess was still enclosed in the Avalorean amulet when she met the man and learned his story. It was over three decades since she was trapped in her own treasure when she got to her last wearer. The powers of the amulet enabled Elena to learn the Enchancian language so she was able to follow the goings on around her and the current wearer and though her field of vision had its limits she was still able to witness many events from the wearers’ lives.

The girl was special although she looked like an ordinary village maiden. All previous wearer’s came from the same royal line but for some reason this time the Amulet of Avalor decided that the one most worthy to become the next holder is the step-daughter. And Elena will be always amazed how it knew that she’s the right one. Because the necklace was right.

Princess Sofia had a gift that was very rare in the world at that time. Many people lived trying to do good deeds and help others but she was the one who was able to see into people’s hearts and figure how to help them in a way that worked. It was astonishing that her gift manifested at such a young age but here she was a nine year old princess who was destined to change the world. And a very powerful magical artifact chose to help her achieve the fate she had no idea that lay in front of her.

This little girl was born as Sofia Balthazar but began to call herself Sofia the First because she was the first bearer of this name in the house of Winslow. And this very same princess took interest in the lives of her family but also the palace staff. One of them being the royal sorcerer Cedric, coming from a line of Enchancian royal sorcerers which meant he stood in a shadow of his ancestors. Mainly his perfectionist father Goodwin the Great.

Cedric liked magic and was good at it but he his performance anxiety caused that he often made mistakes and so he was often seen as far less competent than he in reality was. This led some folks to believe that he isn’t worthy of his title and to humiliate him whether intentionally through ridicule or unintentionally through hurtful comments. Sofia being curios and kind hearted as she is learned of his struggles through talking to him and due to witnessing how her adopted father king Roland and the other staff interacted with the sorcerer.

At first Elena didn’t know what an impact Sofia’s actions would have. Then she began noticing that the man seemed to be very interested in Sofia’s amulet. Cedric planned to get the Amulet of Avalor in order to overthrow king Roland and become the new ruler of Enchancia. This ambition was fueled by his feelings of inadequacy and craving for respect. That made Elena wary of the sorcerer but she couldn’t do much, meanwhile Sofia was more active and fearlessly approached the brooding mage.

There were times Elena wanted to yell at her and warn her that she shouldn’t trust him so easily but it was no use. Nobody could hear her. Yet somehow the faith in the power of love friendship of the little princess’ proved to be stronger than any dark desire the sad man could have held. With time even Elena calmed down and stopped seeing Cedric as a threat, he became a sort of weird acquaintance for her. “Hi, Mr. Cedric, so how are you going to try snatch me today,” she would crack a joke when Sofia entered the sorcerer’s workshop. As time went by there were less and less attempts and finally Cedric stopped stealing Sofia’s amulet for good. Of course, Elena helped with that. Once he did get hold of the amulet but since his objection was to do good deeds to get powers to ultimately being able to snatch king Roland’s throne and crown, the amulet and Elena within, have been toying with him to teach him a lesson. Still the Avalorean princess tried to be careful as to not frustrate the man too much as not to undo any Sofia’s effort.

It worked. Cedric gave up his lust for power, his mood improved, his self-esteem grew and people noticed that he isn’t as incompetent as they thought he was. All thanks to Sofia. Elena will always remember her and all the things she taught her even if she didn’t have a clue she had a student.

On the part of putting Sofia’s and Elena’s abilities to good use the Avalorean crown princess knew she will have to keep an eye on her friend Mateo. In order to prevent his descent into darkness she mustn’t allow anyone to ridicule him. She would never forget herself if she let her friend end like poor Cedric. Though even he found light at the end of the black tunnel eventually.

The Grand council sat down and Elena cut to the chase: “Today we are to discuss the matter of appointing the new royal sorcerer. I propose we give the title to Mateo. I have a high opinion of him and even though he has a lot to learn I’m sure he will dutifully continue studying.”

Francisco was ever the one mindful of olden customs and laws: “He’s the grandson of Alacazar and according to the tradition the title of the Royal sorcerer is hereditary therefore I vote that Mateo shall be given this title.”

Louisa smiled her typical smile full of warmth: “He’s a nice, smart young man full of potential. I’m sure he won’t disappoint us.”

Elena looked at her cousin unsure what his stance will be. He did see Mateo in action and didn’t complain about his performance but sometimes the princess wondered if he doesn’t sometimes vote against her out of pure spite though Elena didn’t know why he should do such a thing in the first place. She shooed those thoughts aside and concentrated on the moment.

Esteban didn’t rush with his answer: “His age doesn’t concern me. Mateo proved to be a decent wizard already. Besides there are things books can’t prepare you for, you learn them only when you experience them yourself in the work field.” This was the way he collected enough knowledge to run the kingdom after Shuriki took over. Of course, as a member of royal family he was given a high level of education but he had no actual practice and he hadn’t had the chance to see the former king every day like Elena did since he and his grandparents didn’t spend all their days in the main palace but spent some time in the palace that used to belong to his parents.

The last was Naomi. Of course Elena didn’t necessarily need her vote for four members of the council were the majority Elena needed to start executing her decision. But Elena wanted her friend to see why she trusts in Mateo. The blonde girl shrugged: “I’m not so sure he’s the best man for the job but if you trust all trust him, I’m ready to give him a chance.”

Elena let an inner sigh of relief. That went better than she hoped. Out loud she allowed herself a little jest: “Perfect. I’m so happy when we agree on something, we should do this more often,” she winked at Esteban. The chancellor rolled his eyes but stayed quiet.

That wasn’t the end of it. Elena will have to show Mateo support further until he finds his own strength. Which happened sooner than anyone anticipated. The night Alcazar’s heir was announced as the new royal sorcerer, Mateo battled the warlock Fiero a mage with years of experiences and huge self-esteem under his belt. The quest has tested him to the core, their little group was under time pressure, there was a mighty opponent out to get them and Gabe insisted he shall fight Fiero himself believing to have more chance with his brute force against the mage than actual wizard Mateo. But in the end they have did it. Well, Mateo did it. Even Gabe readily acknowledged it.

Finally Elena’s friends and the Avalorean nobility and commoners saw that Mateo is a good wizard who will only keep getting better if he doesn’t forget his training routine. Later that day when Elena had a few minutes just for herself she mused about the years she spent in the amulet and the fact that they weren’t completely in vain after all. The things she learned will shape her into a wise, insightful ruler. Elena smiled and whispered into the air: “Thank you for the lesson, Sofia.”