So, I recently changed my mind about the endgame of this fanfiction, and I'm adding in some in-between chapters. While I'm writing I decided to go back through and edit the old chapters I had in here. So, here is the first updated chapter. :)

ONE

SOPHIE AWOKE TO BRIGHT sunlight at an impossibly early time. Again. She must have forgotten to close the blinds the night before. Again. She sighed and stretched, accidentally knocking Iggy off the pillow next to her as she fell—bleary eyed—out of her bed. "Sorry Iggy," she mumbled, placing him back on the still-warm blankets before stumbling across her flowered carpet to her closet. Her uniforms were all hung near the entrance, so she tugged one off its hanger and headed to her bathroom, where she splashed some water on her face in an attempt to wake herself up.

It was her first day of Level Six at Foxfire. The last year she would ever have classes in the main building. She smiled at that thought as she hopped in the shower. The steam quickly heated her bathroom, and she felt her body slowly waking up as the hot water trickled over her skin.

She was excited, but Sophie would be lying if she said she wasn't nervous for the first day of school. The majority of her sessions were in the Silver Tower this year, and she didn't really like the idea of being around Master Cadence any more than she absolutely had to. Her relationship with her Linguistics mentor hadn't improved much over the past three years, but they were working on it. At least Master Cadence didn't groan anymore when Sophie tried to mimic.

Done with her shower, she turned off the water and threw her hair up in a towel. As she brushed her teeth, she contemplated her new uniform. The lame shirt-vest-half cape combo hadn't changed, and neither had the skirt. Except the color. Now they were plain white, devoid of the colorful excitement of the lower levels. She rinsed her mouth and pulled on the uniform, pausing to make sure the cape was securely fastened with her new yeti pin before heading downstairs.

Edaline was making breakfast, and Grady was reading some scrolls in the breakfast nook. He looked up with a smile when she entered, and laughed when he saw her hair. "I hope you're not going to school looking like that!"

"Very funny," she said, making a face and pulling off the towel. "My hair is still wet."

Still smiling, Grady returned to his papers.

"No matter how early I get up, I still can't beat you guys down here," Sophie groaned, collapsing onto the chair across from him. "I've decided you just don't sleep."

Edaline conjured three plates and three bottles of youth to the table as she sat next to her adopted daughter. "'Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise,'" Edaline quoted.

"How do you know Ben Franklin proverbs?" Sophie asked, digging into her tubers and swizzlespice.

"You forget that the all elves in the nobility participated in the Human Assistance Program," Grady said without looking up from his scrolls.

"Let me guess"—Sophie cleared her throat and mimicked Grady's voice perfectly—"an elf actually came up with that particular proverb."

Grady rolled his eyes and finally looked up from his paper. "I never thought anything would be more annoying than Jolie conjuring things right out of my hands. I was wrong."

Sophie and Edaline shared conspiratorial smiles, and the scrolls in Grady's hands suddenly disappeared.

"Very funny," Grady said sarcastically. "Now give them back."

"Very funny," Sophie repeated in a perfect mimic of Grady's deep voice. "Now give them back."

The scrolls appeared in Sophie's hands. "Thank you, Edaline," she continued in Grady's voice. "Now let me get back to my very important business. Is mallowmelt more delicious than custard bursts?" Sophie stroked her chin in mock thought while staring off into the distance, and Edaline laughed so hard she started hiccupping. Sophie quickly followed.

"That's what you get, you thieves!" Grady said, snatching the scrolls back from Sophie. But he was smiling, so Sophie knew he had enjoyed their prank as much as she and Edaline had.

She was so proud of how much her adoptive parents had grown. Four years ago, when Fitz had first brought her to the Lost Cities, they hadn't been able to hear Jolie's name without breaking down. But now Grady and Edaline had a little closure, their memories of Jolie were happy and they could talk about her with fondness.

"Hello?" a familiar voice called from the entrance hall. "Sophie?"

"Hey, Dex!" Sophie called. "We're in the kitchen!"

Dex peeked through the doorframe and smiled so wide his dimples showed. "Aunt Edaline! Uncle Grady!"

"Dex!" Edaline said, standing up and rushing over to wrap her nephew in a hug. She pulled back and straightened his cape, wiping a rebellious tear off her face. "I can't believe you're so grown up. Level Six at Foxfire! You're practically a member of the nobility!"

Dex blushed beet red. "Well, not yet. I still have to get through the elite levels after this year…"

"Have you had breakfast yet?" Edaline interrupted as he trailed off. "It's a big day, after all."

"Oh, yeah. Mom made some swizzlespice and umber leaf waffles. And she cooked about a month's worth of mallowmelt."

"Knowing Sophie that'll last an hour," Grady said, winking at his daughter.

Sophie rolled her eyes and took her plate to the sink. "Have any of you seen my Imparter? I lost it again."

"Again, Sophie?" Grady rolled his eyes. "That's the third time this week."

"I know," Sophie said, cursing her clumsiness—which had spread like the disease it was and finally infected her brain. She'd been having a lot of trouble remembering stuff lately, even with her photographic memory. Although Elwin kept attributing it to the amount of stress she was under, which was to no degree insubstantial, she couldn't help the reflexive dread that pooled in the pit of her stomach. What if something truly was wrong? Elwin said she was fine…but he'd been wrong before. When she'd broached the subject with him he'd just laughed and said with all her additional chores and the added pressure to prove she belonged back in Foxfire after her time at Exillium, it was a miracle she slept anymore. "I keep putting it down and then forgetting where."

"It's right there, Dex. Can you grab it?" Edaline asked, shooting Sophie a tired glance as she pointed across the room.

She wanted to say she was sorry, but she missed her opportunity.

"We're going to be late if we don't hurry," Dex said, handing Sophie the Imparter and glancing nervously at the Disneyland watch she'd given him six years ago. "Magnate Leto will give us detention if we're late."

Sophie rolled her eyes. "Don't worry, I've been dealing with him for three years now. He loves me."

Dex scoffed. "That's a gross exaggeration. It's more like he doesn't hate you anymore."

"Magnate Leto never hated me!" Sophie argued. "He just, didn't necessarily like me at the beginning. And I think we've established that was all an act."

"Mostly an act," Dex corrected teasingly, a dimpled smile on his lips and a happy sparkle in his periwinkle eyes.

"Sophie, you do need to go," Edaline said, pushing her toward the door and up the stairs to the fourth floor. "Just because you're the Moonlark doesn't mean Magnate Leto will take it easy on you. In fact, I hope he pushes you harder than the other prodigies because he knows what you're capable of." Sophie rolled her eyes, but before she could respond they reached the platform at the center of the glittering cupola.

"I can't believe you're in Level Six now," Grady said, his eyes watering as he hugged her. "It feels like you stumbled through our door just yesterday."

Sophie felt her eyes well up as well when Edaline hugged her from behind as well, completing the Sophie Sandwich. Dex stood awkwardly off to the side.

"Get in here," Edaline ordered, pulling him into the hug. "You're family too."

Dex smiled and hugged them.

Sophie finally pulled away and wiped her eyes, tears running furiously down her face. "We've got to go. Love you!"

"It's the first day of school, Sophie. No emergencies," Edaline instructed, backing away so they could leap to Foxfire.

"But you have your pathfinder and your home crystal just in case," Grady added.

"You don't need to worry," Dex said. "Elwin's learned to keep a close eye on her."

Everyone but Sophie laughed, and she softly punched his arm. "Whatever," she said, sticking her tongue out at her best friend. "I haven't had an emergency all break."

"Yeah right," Dex laughed. "Are you forgetting the incident with Hampsterzilla?"

"That doesn't count."

"Oh yeah? Then what about the—?"

"I think we get the point." Sophie rolled her eyes again. "I'm still a walking disaster. Foxfire!" she called. And she waved to her parents as she and Dex stepped into the light.

"Gosh, they're so sappy," Sophie complained as soon as they materialized in front of Foxfire. They had to carefully maneuver around gnomes as they walked down the now familiar path leading to the main school. All over the campus the plant-like creatures were still working to take down the glowing decorations from the opening ceremonies the night before, and Sophie knew she wouldn't be eating school lunch for the next few days. Although Dex and Jensi had finally convinced her to eat a bite of the cooked fungus last year, it was one of those things you tried once, were proud of yourself for trying, and never ate again.

Dex just laughed in response. "You know you love it," he mocked. Then he got quiet, a feat that only happened when he was thinking hard. "They've changed so much since you got here, Sophie," he finally told her. "You've been really good for them."

Sophie blushed. "We've been good for each other," she told him honestly, recalling how different they'd all been four years ago. They walked the rest of the way in companionable silence, but it was short lived. As soon as they entered the bottom floor of the glass pyramid, chaos ensued. Level Ones, Twos, and Threes rushed around laughing boisterously while Level Fours and Fives looked on superiorly from the edges of the large room. "Remember when that was us?" Dex asked fondly, referring to a few screaming Level Ones as they quite literally flew by.

The majority of the Level Sixes had congregated off to the left side, and as Sophie and Dex pushed their way through the hordes of younger prodigies Sophie answered, "That was never us. I missed the entire Level One, and the beginning of Level Two, remember?"

Dex was saved from replying when someone yelled, "Sophie!" and she was tackled from behind.

"What's up, Biana?" she asked as she turned around and gave her best friend a hug.

"Can you believe we're finally here?" Biana asked, twirling in a circle. "Our last year in the main building. Next year we'll be in the Gold Tower!"

"Just like every other prodigy that's ever entered the nobility," Sophie remarked dryly.

"Spoken like someone who had their Telepathy session there last year," Biana said haughtily with an eye roll. "Well, this is exciting for those of us that have been dreaming about the upper levels since we were babies. Right, Dex?"

Dex looked around critically. "I can't really see anything special about it. I mean, it's just another school year."

Biana let out a drawn out sigh. "Whatever. Anyways—"

"Jensi!" Sophie interrupted as she saw her friend just ahead.

He turned around and waved. "Sophie! Biana!" He jogged up, and Sophie noticed he hadn't gotten any calmer over the summer. He practically vibrated with excitement. "Can you believe it? One more school year until we're in the Gold Tower!"

"Finally," Biana said with an indignant flip of her hair, "someone else who appreciates the enormity of this moment!"

"You both realize we still have two years of school left after we finish this one, right?" Sophie laughed.

Jensi's normally excited face immediately fell. He still hadn't manifested an ability, and Magnate Leto had only allowed him to take the fifth and sixth levels because both his parents and his brother were Talented. Not to say that Talented families never had Talentless children, but it was about as common in the Elvin world as adoption.

"Don't worry, Jensi," Sophie comforted. "I'm sure you're going to manifest this year."

Jensi shook his head and let out a forced laugh. "A guy can dream, right?"

"Soon it won't be a dream," Biana assured him. "You'll become a Phaser within the school year. Maybe even within the semester. I guarantee it!" But her confident smile seemed to have no effect on their usually hyperactive friend.

Magnate Leto's face appeared on the screen, and the room immediately silenced. "Welcome to Foxfire," Magnate Leto said with a smile. "As you all know, I am Leto Kerlof, the Magnate of Foxfire Academy. As this is the only Noble Academy, and therefore each and every one of you is training to enter the nobility. I expect you to act accordingly." Here he gave a withering stare that seemed directed solely at Sophie. She blushed slightly and sighed as he continued. "Some announcements for today. Level Twos: your wing is the closest to the Level Ones'. Please be model students. If you see a lost Level One, direct them to their session. That said, Level Ones: If the hallways are blue, green, or any color other than black, you're in the wrong place. Please try to stay in your wing. Level Threes: if you haven't yet manifested, be prepared to be pushed much harder in Ability Detecting. Remember, if you don't manifest by Level Four, you may be transferred to another school. Level Fours: Please leave the gnomes alone. I know we had a problem with your level last year, and I sincerely hope old habits will not resurface. Level Fives: your ability sessions have been moved to the Level Four wing because of the renovations occurring in the Southern hallway." At this a collective groan rose up from the Level Fours and Fives. Neither were eager to share a wing. "Ah ah ah, none of that. You don't have to like the situation, but the situation it is, and you will be cordial. Level Sixes: you're almost to the silver and gold towers. That does not allow you to enter the towers or disturb the studies of the elite levels for any reason. Do you understand?"

"Yes," the prodigies chorused.

"Good. Welcome and welcome back to Foxfire. Prodigies, please head to your first session."

Sophie turned to Biana. "Good luck in your Elvin History class. I heard Lady Tremaine is crazy!"

"Oh, she is," Biana muttered. "Dad had her over for dinner last night. Apparently, they went to school together, and he wanted us to 'get acquainted' before the school year formally started."

Sophie laughed. "I've got the majority of my classes in the Silver Tower this year. Telepathy, Linguistics, Inflicting, Interrogation Techniques—"

"Wait, what?" Biana interrupted. "Interrogation Techniques?"

Sophie rubbed her temples. "It's a long story. I'll tell you later."

"What do you learn?" Dex chimed in.

Sophie bit back her snarky reply— "It's called Interrogation Techniques. What do you think I'm going to learn?"—and sighed. "I really don't want to talk about it. Let's just say I'm not looking forward to it."

They were silent for a beat as other loud prodigies rushed past them. "So, are you excited for our Advanced Universe class this year? More star gazing!" He winked at Sophie. "Better not burn your hands this time, or Elwin might restrict your use of stellarscopes."

Instead of protesting that he should have brought gloves to their disastrous Level Two star bottling session like she usually did, she sadly admitted, "That's the class I'm dropping this year in order to take Interrogation Techniques, remember?"

Dex groaned. "Seriously? The only reason I passed that class in the lower levels was because we always studied together. I need your photographic memory!"

"Well, thanks to my photographic memory and the fact that I've memorized all the star maps—including the unmapped stars—the Council doesn't think that class is necessary. That doesn't mean I can't help, but…you know…" Trying to erase the bummed out mood she added, "At least I'm still taking the same Elvin History, Multispeciesial Studies, and Elementalism classes as you guys."

"But we all have different mentors," Dex complained. "Sir Faro is so much harder than Lady Tremaine."

"Then you can study with Biana," Sophie told him coldly. "I'm sorry that the Council handcrafts my schedule and that I'm taking four Special Ability sessions, but I have no choice in the classes I take so please stop blaming me."

"Wait! Sophie!" Dex called after her, but she quickly lost him in the crowd. She really didn't have any choice in the classes she took, and the Council did handcraft her schedule. Another weird thing about her. Who else had five Abilities (if you counted her unique ability to heal broken minds), had been taking sessions in the Silver Tower since Level Three, and had a schedule handcrafted by the Council themselves? No one. No one else. She was the only one. A freak. Most days she was able to accept her freakiness, just as she'd been able to accept her nerdiness back in the Forbidden Cities when she was a 12-year-old high school senior. But some days it really bothered her. She sprinted to her classroom and slipped in just as the bell rang.

"Ahh, Miss Foster," Sir Faro said. "You're just in time for the first of many thrilling lessons. You see, this year I've been assigned by the Council to help you control your Teleportation."

"Umm," Sophie started, "I thought that because there were no other Teleporters the Council had decided I would work on it with Alden. And isn't this supposed to be Elvin History?"

"That's the other thing. Lord Alden is on an assignment today, but he will be your second Mentor for this class."

"Why do I have two mentors?" Sophie asked, her brow furrowing in confusion. She'd never heard of a prodigy having two mentors for one session. Then again, she'd never heard of a mentor having two prodigies in an Ability training session, but she and Fitz had shared a Telepathy session since Level Three. Well, Level Three for her. He was a Level Five when they started.

Despite her obvious curiosity, Sir Faro continued as if she hadn't spoken. "Now, I have two important things to tell you. First of all, this will not be our room in the future. We will be working out of the top floor of the silver tower, which means you are expected to pick up a silver cape in the hall before entering the common area, as all prodigies that enter the tower must wear the enlightened color. Secondly, the Council has had a most scintillating epiphany. When you Teleport, you control space, correct?"

"That's not exactly how it works—"

Sir Faro continued to speak over her as if she wasn't in the middle of answering his question. Obviously, her newest mentor enjoyed asking rhetorical questions. "So why wouldn't you be able to control time?"

"Excuse me?" Sophie asked, sure that she hadn't heard her mentor suggest she could time travel.

"Controlling time," Sir Faro repeated, a dreamy look in his eye. "The ultimate control of the Space-Time Continuum."

"Umm, and the Council has decided to help a sixteen-year-old girl achieve that kind of control?" Sophie asked, cringing as she recalled the incident with the power inhibiter Dex had created just before they went off to join the Black Swan. The Council had actually tried to take away her powers. And that was less than three years ago! Now they wanted to hand her the opportunity to go back in time and mess with the past? She made enough of a mess of the present! "Don't they know what kind of damage that could do?"

Sir Faro shook his head as if to wake himself up from his daydream. "Of course. Which is why you'll now only be able to Teleport in either my presence or the presence of Lord Alden. Or in the presence of a Councillor, of course."

"Why do they even think this will work?" Sophie asked, her mind racing for something—anything!—to make the world around her stop tilting. It was making her sick to her stomach. Or maybe it was her swaying, she realized once she barely managed to catch herself before hitting the ground.

"It's very important that you obey this rule, Miss Foster," Sir Faro warned her, wagging his finger at her like she was an unruly child who needed to be reprimanded. Not to mention completely ignoring her question again. She was starting to feel like they wouldn't get along too well…

"I'm still confused as to why I have two mentors for this class," Sophie said, seeing if he would answer her question the second time around.

"Of course!" Sir Faro said, digging through his satchel until he found a small pouch. "Alden has been assisting you in developing your control over Teleportation, correct?" When Sophie nodded, he continued, pulling an antique human pocket watch out of the pouch, as if to accentuate his point. "So Alden will assist you in controlling the space aspect of Teleportation, and I will assist you in controlling the time aspect."

"You mean we're actually going to try travelling back in time?" Her mind flicked to the human movie "Back to the Future" her human dad had loved so much, and she couldn't help the small giggle that hysterically bubbled up in her throat at the thought of her driving the white DeLorean.

Thankfully Sir Faro either didn't hear her or was consciously choosing to overlook her inappropriate reaction. "We're going to explore the boundaries of your ability as we study the subject matter for this session." At Sophie's nervous expression he added, "You should be ecstatic! You are the only elf to ever be able to travel back in time and experience history as it unfolds!"

"Lucky me," Sophie mumbled. She couldn't help but imagine the short story "The Butterfly Effect" and the all too high potential for disaster. What if she made a mistake in the past that was irreversible and would lead to the Neverseen winning the war or worse yet…her never even being born. Now it was like the Grandfather Paradox. If she went back and did something that would stop Mr. Forkle and the Project Moonlark team from creating her, then she never would have existed and therefore would never be able to stop her own creation.

This was really starting to freak her out. Why would the Council ever think this was a good idea? Even she didn't think it was a good idea. And it was her ability. Not to mention the fact that time travel was straight out of a science fiction novel. What made the Council so sure this was possible they would give her another Ability training session?

"Yes indeed," Sir Faro responded, either not detecting or ignoring the sarcasm in her previous statement. "Lucky you."

"So I can't Teleport at all anymore?" Sophie asked.

"Precisely. It's too dangerous until you master complete control."

"But that means I'll have to light leap everywhere," Sophie protested.

"Indeed," Sir Faro said. "Just like every other elf in the Lost Cities."

Sophie sighed. Teleporting was so much cooler than light leaping. Uh oh. She was starting to sound like Keefe. Her mind flashed to her most recent nightmare. Every once in a while she still woke up screaming about fading away. The only way to calm herself down was to look in her mirror and see for herself that her skin was still a healthy peach, her lips were still pink, and her eyes were still a lively brown. To look into the mirror and see that together, Elwin and Mr. Forkle had made sure she wouldn't fade away ever again. "So now what?" Sophie asked. "Are you going to give me another ethics lecture?"

"Later, later," he answered, waving the question away as if it were a physical presence as he packed up his few belongings. "Right now we're going to the Silver Tower. Because you have so many sessions there, Master Cadence Talle has requested that you are present for Orientation."

"Orientation?"

"Yes, Orientation. Now hurry. We're already late, and Master Cadence doesn't appreciate tardiness."

Together they hurried across the campus to the single door to the large, spiraling structure.