Disclaimer: Any concepts used in this work belong to Shannon Messenger.

Author's Note: Hello, and thank you for taking the time to read my work. This is my very first fan fiction story, based on Shannon Messenger's Keeper of the Lost Cities. Essentially, this will be a continuation of Sophie Foster and Fitz Vacker's relationship after Flashback, and will be focused mainly on them, but other aspects of the books will definitely make an appearance. Without further ado, enjoy!

Prologue

In almost all cases, the match was a normal rite of passage for elven teenagers. Fitz Vacker remembered picking up his packet from the Matchmakers' Office and intermittently filling out the hundreds of questions over the course of his Level Five year. Some of the questions seemed too broad to actually affect the lists, some so specific it seemed only one elf would ever meet the standards. It was still a wonder to Fitz that the matchmakers could make sense of it all, let alone use it to find compatible partners. It was said there was nothing more memorable than receiving your first list of possible choices; everyone had a specific name they hoped was on their list. The Winnowing Galas were where relationships began, and most of those relationships stuck. With so few bad matches in the Lost Cities, it was clear the match was extremely accurate. Still, Fitz worried.

He's long since completed his packet, but there was more than enough reason for him to wait to turn it in to the offices; one more aspect of the match was that only those elves who registered could be matched, and she was a year younger than Fitz.

Sophie Foster.

Sweet, gorgeous, talented, amazing Sophie. Fitz had had feelings for her ever since he had known her, and even more so since they had become Cognates. He hadn't known until recently that Sophie had the same feelings for him. They'd been in Everglen's reception hall, talking about the matchmaking process, how Sophie might register. The two of them were alone, and Fitz had decided to tell her:

I want it to be you.

Sophie has seemed shocked at first, and Fitz had wondered if he had made the wrong choice in telling her then, but there was no turning back. Then Sophie spoke the words Fitz hadn't dared to hope for:

I've liked you since the day I met you.

The fond memory was still fresh in Fitz's mind. Later, they'd sat under Calla's Panakes and discussed what had transpired in that hall. Sophie had wanted to wait, saying she wasn't ready for a relationship yet, but it didn't make Fitz like her any less. He was content to wait as long as he had to if it meant Sophie was happy; even centuries could not deter Fitz.

Now, Sophie had decided to register for the match. Fitz was elated, of course. There was no chance of them being a bad match; he was sure she would be on his lists.

But what if she wasn't?