#hrah

"Sofia, do you need help with those?"

"Don't worry dad, I'm good!"

"Are you sure? Alright, be careful then!" Roland smiles as Sofia goes off to the dining hall for a study session with Amber.

Cedric is stunned by this. He thinks, 'How could he just let her carry all those books by herself?'

Roland spots Cedric from the corner of his eye. "Cedric! Didn't expect to see you so soon!"

"You never do, Your Majesty"

"Well, maybe that can change."

"Sir, why did you let Sofia carry all those books by herself?"

"She said that she could handle carrying them."

"So?"

"So? What do you mean?"

"You should've helped her with at least one book, the poor girl!"

"I trust Sofia. If she says she can carry those books by herself, then I believe she can."

"Do you believe in everything she says?"

"Don't you?" Roland looks curiously at Cedric.

Cedric paused. Maybe it was from never being offered help, but, he never thought about how asking someone if they needed help was better than simply helping them outright. Sure, it would be kind for Cedric to levitate those books so Sofia didn't need to carry them, but what Roland did showed more than a willingness to help. It showed he trusted her.

"You know, maybe if it were say, 10 heavy books she was holding, then I would've offered at least some of them. If she dropped one of them, then I would've picked it up and walked with her to where she was going."

"But you wouldn't carry all of them yourself?"

"Well, it depends. Sometimes, it can be too much for one person to be carrying so much. Other times, they can carry it no problem. I think it's important to let Sofia say whether she needs help or not."

"Even if it's clear she does need help?"

"Well, that's why I let her choose whether I help her or not. She knows she can come to me for help, and she does."

"She does?"

"Didn't you have someone you could turn to for help?"

"No.."

"Oh. Don't worry, Cedric, if you ever need anything, I'll be there :]"