Hi there! This is a fanfic I made purely for fun, so yeah, I don't have high expectations for it. Disclaimer: I don't own KOTLC.
Sophie Foster was sixteen years old. A Level Six, she wore the pure-white cape across her shoulders, with the Ruewen crest pinned securely on it. Her blonde hair had grown to be a pretty titanium-blonde, and her brown eyes seemed more prominent than ever.
Her guardian, Edaline pulled her to the mirror in her bedroom. Instantly, a girl popped into sight in a corner of a mirror. She was smirking slightly, her arms folded.
"Hey, Vertina," Sophie grumbled. She still wasn't too fond of the mirror-girl designed to be in the Elvin mirrors. The F on her Foxfire uniform read the same way, unlike with human mirrors which inverted the letters.
"Well, look at you, you're sixteen," said Vertina in her high voice. "All grown up and prettier, aren't you. But I still think that Jolie was prettier than you. Now, you would have looked more like her if it wasn't for your ridiculous brown eyes."
Sophie tensed slightly. She knew Jolie wasn't her mother, but she was still touchy about the subject and had made her mind up not to think too much about it.
Edaline pursed her lips tightly, and Sophie knew she had sensed the hint that Vertina had given.
Sophie looked away, stepped back and let the picture of Vertina disappear.
Edaline pulled her in a tight hug. "First day of the Foxfire year. Sixteen. Well, who knows? It's been four years."
Sophie smiled. Four years. It had seemed so short.
Edaline sniffed and wiped her tears on her elaborate kerchief. "Come on, let's go downstairs. Grady's waiting for you."
After bidding farewell to Grady, Sophie blinked away from Havenfield using the Leapmaster and arrived at Foxfire, the prestigious school for young elves to attend.
It was Sophie's birthday today, but she chose not to mention it to anyone. She didn't know why. Was it because she was scared that it would cause quite a ruckus with Grady, Edaline, her friends and her Mentors? Whatever reason it was, Sophie decided not to inform them she was the birthday girl today.
It would be a silent celebration with herself, and herself only.
Although...
She nearly slapped herself for thinking that. But a niggling hope in her mind refused to give up the idea. Sophie bit her lip, decided to consider it later, and went inside the school.
Inside she met her best friends, Fitz, Keefe, Dex and Biana. Fitz and Keefe were Level Eights now, their capes of a rich silver colour, so Sophie knew she would not see them as often as usual, and her heart sank a little.
At least she still had Dex and Biana to accompany her. And Marella...
Sophie wasn't too sure about Marella, though. The girl had manifested as a Guster, and she wasn't too happy about it.
"Hey," Sophie said. "I feel weird being a Level Six. Woah. I'm sixteen."
Fitz raised his eyebrows. "It feels weird? How?"
Sophie understood. As elves, they hardly died of old age. But Sophie had lived with humans before, and sixteen in the Forbidden Cities was really a big celebration. So were birthdays.
It seemed that in the Lost Cities, things went differently.
"No, not weird." Biana and Dex said in unison. Dex scowled. Biana smirked.
"Nah, it's not weird, Foster," agreed Keefe, "but yeah, I do feel..." He waved his hands around, oblivious to the stares that he was getting.
"Feel?" Sophie prompted him.
"Powerful." Keefe declared.
Sophie frowned. "Powerful?"
"Yeah. Like I have absolute control over all of the Foxfire prodigies here." He beamed.
Biana rolled her eyes. "Yeah, maybe, but remember, you're in a way still a Level Seven, so don't be so haughty." She nudged Keefe playfully. Keefe yowled and attacked her back. They both laughed.
Watching they two, Sophie thought she felt a twinge of...jealousy. Then she blinked in confusion.
What was happening to her? She didn't like Keefe. No no why was she jealous of Biana?
But there could be only one explanation, couldn't there?