Catching Dreams

Summary: Sofia goes with Cedric to visit his mother while Goodwin is on a trip with a few of his friends. While there, she reveals a secret about herself that Winifred may be able to help her overcome.

Disclaimer: I do not own Sofia the First. I do, however, own quite a few dreamcatchers! :) I do not own the concept though.

A/N: This story derives from my own personal life, actually. I am part Native American, and I like studying my culture and ancestors' history. One thing that always stood out to me, though, is the dreamcatcher. In total, I probably own about 20 or so…both authentic and commercialized. I've even made a few of my own. :D If you're not sure what a dreamcatcher is or if you're unfamiliar with the legend behind it, don't worry. It's in the story. ;) And here we go!

Cedric shifted a bit in his seat of the flying coach. Sofia had somehow drifted off to sleep while they were traveling (something he never seemed to be able to do) and had inevitably used him as a makeshift pillow. He wasn't necessarily bothered by it, but his right arm was now numb from the princess's grip on it. Still, he didn't have the heart to move her. She'd gotten so little sleep recently…

It had all started about a week ago. Cedric had noticed his young apprentice seemed unfocused and spacy during their lessons. She'd even tripped over practically nothing and fallen into a mop bucket he'd used to clean up a previous spill. She had just laughed it off, but he could tell something wasn't quite right.

Eventually, she admitted she was having trouble sleeping…clearly. Her sleep cycle was completely out of whack. She claimed bad dreams were plaguing her every night, which wasn't necessarily unheard of for a girl her age, but the content of the bad dreams was almost always the same.

Someone would steal her amulet and harm her family and friends, including him, before ultimately turning the harm to herself. But she always woke up before anything happened to herself…always.

Sofia whimpered in her sleep, causing the driver to glance back at them.

"Is she all right?" he inquired of the Royal Sorcerer.

"She's fine," he stated simply with a short nod. "Don't worry." He sighed when the driver returned the nod and focused on the task at hand. He tugged his arm free from Sofia's grip before wrapping it around her, attempting to comfort her in some way. "Sofia, wake up," he instructed, waiting for her response.

Sofia gasped and opened her eyes. She looked around, uncertain of her location. Seeing Cedric beside her, she exhaled in relief and leaned against him once again, happy that she was no longer faced with the bad dream. "I did it again, didn't I?" she murmured.

"I'm afraid so." He looked past the driver and smiled lightly. "But I believe we've finally made it to our destination, so you won't have to worry about bad dreams for a while."

The princess smiled in excitement.

They landed swiftly and were out of the coach before the driver realized it. Cedric instructed him to pick them up the next day around noon, to which he responded affirmatively before leaving.

Cedric turned to Sofia, who shook her head lightly and appeared to be rather unsteady on her feet. "Don't make me carry you," he told her pointedly but with a bit of humor as he put one arm around her to steady her as they walked toward the cottage across the bridge.

She smiled up at him. "It would be a lot easier…"

"Of course it would—for you maybe." He smirked as she giggled. "In any case, Mother will be happy to see you again. She has this whole day planned, apparently."

Sofia giggled. "I can't wait to see her… And where is Mr. Goodwin?"

"Oh, Father actually decided to go on a trip with his sorcerer friends. I was rather surprised. He's more of a homebody and rarely goes anywhere."

She grinned. "Sounds like someone else I know," she acknowledged, receiving a sarcastic look. "I'm just saying…"

Once they arrived at the house, Cedric knocked on the door and was greeted by an enthusiastic hug from his mother. "Hello, Mummy…"

"Oh, Ceddy-kins!" she cooed happily, grasping his cheeks and lowering him to kiss his forehead motherly. "I'm so glad you stopped by to visit. With your father off gallivanting to who-knows-where, it's rather lonely around here."

"I'm glad we came then," Sofia piped up, smiling at the short woman.

Winifred chuckled and leaned forward, hugging the princess. "It is nice to see you, Princess Sofia. Tell me, you two did bring your overnight bags, correct?" She released the girl gently.

The girl nodded, indicating a bag settled across her back. "I've got mine. Mr. Cedric said he stored his in a different way. I'm guessing magically." She giggled.

"Naturally," the sorcerer quipped with a grin as Winifred led them inside. He blinked at the disarray of some items in the living room. "Eh, Mummy? Why is the furniture all…out of sorts?"

"Hmm? Oh!" She smiled and shrugged. "I was trying to rearrange some things while your father isn't lounging around. I've always wanted the sofa on the other side of the room, but I could never move it with a loafing sorcerer on it." She beckoned them toward the kitchen, which they obeyed. "It's still a work in progress, of course. Anyway, I've made some treats for you two."

Sofia's and Cedric's eyes lit up at the sight of two trays full of Fly Cakes.

"Wow!" Sofia breathed in excitement. "You made all of those, Mrs. Winifred?"

"It's not like it's hard, dear," she chuckled with a slight shrug. "Dig in. And tell me all about your most recent adventures. I'm excited to hear what you've both been up to."

For a few hours, the trio exchanged stories and updates on their lives. Winifred listened intently as she heard their tales of dealing with Princess Ivy and meeting Rapunzel. She'd always figured most princesses would rather stay in their own little worlds, so hearing of their times with the blonde princess surprised her.

Eventually, Cedric noticed Sofia shaking her head and yawning. "Sofia," he began gently, nudging her lightly. "If you're tired, we need to make sure you actually make it to a bed this time."

"Mm?" She blinked sleepily at him. "I'm, ah…I'm okay, Mr. Cedric. I just feel a little…meh…"

"Meh?" Winifred echoed with a laugh. "I think he's right, my dear. It's rather late after all. Come, I'll show you to a spare room where you can sleep tonight."

"No!" Sofia's eyes widened before she lowered her head. "I…I mean… I just don't want to sleep, is all…"

Cedric sighed, facing his mother. "Princess Sofia has had a great deal of trouble sleeping lately," he explained. "I was wondering if you could think of a remedy to help her out. She's plagued by bad dreams of ordeals she's either been through or is afraid she will go through."

"Oh, I see…" She tapped her chin thoughtfully before brushing past them toward a bookshelf. She opened a dusty blue book and flipped a few pages in before turning toward Cedric and motioning him over. Once he was near her, she asked, "What do you think?"

He shrugged and retrieved his wand from his robe. "It seems simple enough." He glanced toward Sofia, who seemed to be swaying a bit. He rushed toward her and caught her before she collapsed. "You are going to give me gray hair…"

She giggled lightly. "To add to the few you already have?"

He scoffed. "That's not gray—it's platinum silver." Hearing her laugh lightly, he smiled. "Let's go. We have an idea."

Winifred and Cedric managed to get Sofia to the extra bedroom before she had another episode of sorts. She went into a closet and changed into her nightgown before lying in bed and pulling the covers up. She looked up at the other two. "Now what?"

"Watch this," Cedric told her with a wave of his wand. "Catch her dreams; make them light. Give her some good visions tonight." As he finished the spell, a round object made of colored leather and a web-like design within and several colored feathers and beads dangling from the end appeared above her head.

"What is it?" Sofia asked curiously as she reached up to touch some of the feathers, marveling at the softness.

"It's called a dreamcatcher," Winifred explained with a smile. "I had a friend when I was younger. Her name was Poloma. She came from a tribe in a far-off region. She told me about these dreamcatchers and the legend behind them."

The princess blinked. "Legend?"

"Mm. The legend goes, if you have good dreams while you sleep, they will pass through the hole in the web." She pointed toward the small hole. "However, if you have nightmares or just bad dreams in general, they will be caught within the web and vanish at the rising of the sun."

"Oh, okay…" Sofia sighed and settled down before sitting up with a look of worry on her face. "But…what if it's raining?"

Winifred blinked before laughing. "Then I suppose I'll light a candle and burn the bad dreams away." She pushed the young girl down gently, smiling. "Nothing will harm you, Princess Sofia. Trust me. We'll be very close nearby if you should need us."

She nodded. "All right."

Cedric and Winifred left the room as the girl fell asleep.

"Do you really think that thing will work?" Cedric asked dubiously. "She really just needs to get some sleep and not have horrid dreams plaguing her every night. It's incredibly hard to get her to focus on just walking normally much less working during lessons."

Winifred nodded. "I can see that. Besides, the spell you put on it should help. Hopefully by tomorrow, you'll see a well-rested princess." She hugged her son. "Good night, Ceddy-kins. Sleep well." She then turned and headed off to her bedroom.

Cedric sighed and looked around before grabbing a blanket and lying down on the sofa, falling asleep for the night.

The next morning, Sofia awoke with a much calmer and happier demeanor. She wasn't still tired. She didn't have lingering visions of nightmares. She wasn't shaking in fear. She was…fine. Just fine. She smiled happily and quickly jumped up from her bed, moving toward her overnight bag. After cleaning up, she changed into one of her purple dresses. She placed her tiara on top of her head after brushing out her hair and then slid her shoes on.

She hurried into the living room and smiled when she saw Cedric still sleeping on the sofa, the blanket tucked around him snugly. She giggled and sat next to him, shaking his shoulder. "Mr. Cedric," she whispered enthusiastically.

"Ah?" Cedric blinked and looked up at the younger girl. "Oh, Sofia…?" He yawned and sat up slightly against the arm of the sofa and ran a hand over his face. "You're smiling. You must have finally had a good sleep."

"I did," she gushed with a grin. "I even had dreams—like happy dreams. It was awesome!"

"Well, I'm happy to hear it, and I'm sure Mother will be too. And maybe we should take that dreamcatcher home with us, hmm?"

She nodded. "It couldn't hurt…" She hugged him gratefully. "Thank you for constantly catching me before I fell and hurt myself." She giggled when he chuckled.

"You're quite welcome, Princess. I doubt your father would have been very happy had I let you hit the ground none too gracefully."

Sofia shrugged as she released her friend. "Probably not…" She stood up from the sofa and grabbed his hand, attempting to pull him up also. "We only have a few hours before they're supposed to pick us up, and there are still so many things I want to do!"

"All right, all right. Let me finish waking up, and we need to find my mother…"

"I'm right here, Cedric dear!" she called from the kitchen as she waved a spatula toward him. "I have some enchanted pancakes ready for you two."

The sorcerer and princess exchanged excited glances before hurrying into the kitchen. No matter how old or young you are, and no matter what you originally had in mind, you just don't miss an opportunity to eat enchanted pancakes.

The end

A/N: And there you have it! So like I said, I collect dreamcatchers and have them spread all throughout my house. In my bedroom alone, there are three hanging from windows, three on the ceiling, one on the closet door, two on the walls, about three in original packaging in treasure boxes and in other various locations, and several more scattered throughout the house, plus one on my rearview mirror in my car. Now I'm a collector and part Native American, so there's that. Lol. I've had at least one with me since I was a little girl, and ever since then the collection just grew. But that's me. Do they work? Who knows? But they do host quite a story. ;) Anyway, y'all have a good day. It's the fishies' tank cleaning day, and they're so excited. Haha. ~AquaTurquoise