This isn't what family used to feel like, but it's the closest thing she has left.
They materialized in front of a set of sterling silver gates, glinting gold in the setting sun. Behind the gates sat a five-storey mansion, with multi-tiered waterfalls cascading down the front of the house, flowing into a moat surrounding the house with a thunderous roar, a metal bridge stretching across the moat. Tall, lush trees framed the stately mansion, stirring up Sora's Terrakinesis with an irresistible pull. It wasn't bigger than Mettle Manor, but it definitely looked cooler. Her former house simply paled in comparison with Huldlot.
Not that it could be compared any longer, considering what was left of Mettle Manor was a pile of debris, broken plaster, and her parents' dead bodies. And those pathetic remnants had probably been cleared up by now.
The mansion looked very modernized, all monochrome metal and glass, yet giving off a relaxed vibe, much unlike all the other elvin homes that she had seen. It was a stark contrast to the stiff, ancient Japanese-based architecture of her home. She sighed. She was going to have a very hard time adjusting to this house, and she was sure that Soreas felt the same. One glance at her brother beside her confirmed her thoughts.
A gentle breeze ruffled her hair and she couldn't help to remove her mask to feel the cool breeze on her face. A quick glance around showed that Soreas and Cordelia did the same.
She was shocked by the girl behind the mask. That girl looked like a princess, with long flowing brown hair, with closed eyes and outstretched hands, a serene smile on her face. That illusion was quickly shattered, when she turned to face them, eyes glittering with mischief and a smug grin playing on her features. For a second, Sora could've sworn that she saw someone else, but she couldn't put a finger on it.
"Awesome, right?" Cordelia asked them. Sora didn't have the heart to tell her otherwise. But it was probably written all over their faces, because she said, "I know it's really different from what you guys are used to, but trust me, you would pass this up to live in… let's say, Wildwood?" She shuddered at the mention of the Neutral Territory. Sora frowned, not familiar with the name, but Soreas recognised it instantly, having read a lot of books on the Neutral Territories when they were still at Sakurajima, the Zoroks' estate.
Thinking of the Zoroks, a hot blush spread across her face. She wondered if she was ever going to see Kael again. Probably not. Anyway, Kael pretty much hated her, so it was useless. But just thinking of his bright, intense eyes staring into hers that day made her heart miss a beat.
"Earth to Sora," Cordelia said, sounding bored as she crossed her arms. "Honestly, although you're a Terrakinetic and all that, but there's time to admire the house later. Ayagi's waiting."
Sora blinked, mumbled an apology to her and followed Soreas into the now opened gates. Feeling her boots tread on soft grass made her heart sing, and before she could stop it, little flowers sprouted out of the soil and bloomed all over.
Suddenly, something burrowed out of the ground right in front of her, making her jump back, a half-scream escaping her lips. Cordelia and Soreas turned around, tensed and ready to fight.
Sora stared down at the dwarf standing in front of her, her heart hammering wildly in her ears. She sighed in relief as Cordelia laughed a little and said, "I forgot to tell you guys that Huldlot is protected by dwarves. We like our security as much as the Vackers. No glowing gates though. Bit too flashy for our taste— hey Rikka, how's it going?" she smiled, high-fiving the dwarf in front of her, who had a grubby palm stretched out in front of her.
Sora couldn't help but laugh at that. "It's good to hear that we'll be safe here," she said. "I couldn't thank you enough."
"Thank Ayagi," Cordelia said, shrugging. "It's not like I'm the one who decided to let you guys stay here. I don't call the shots."
Sora and Soreas exchanged a look. She's not happy that we're here. But of course. Who would want to have a murderer in her house, even if they were members of the Black Swan? It wasn't as if Cordelia understood about the Black Swan— she might not even know about it— so why would she care if Ayagi said that they were Black Swan members? Of course she didn't like them staying in her house.
"We're sorry that we're imposing on your hospitality," Soreas said, ever the smooth talker. "If we could, we would stay somewhere else, where we wouldn't interrupt anyone's lives, but we were instructed to stay here."
Cordelia smiled. "Chill. It's okay, I'm glad you're here… All along, it's always been just me and Aya and Sev, so it gets lonely in here sometimes. You two will be a fun addition." She was a good liar, Sora had to give her that. But lying about your emotions was the hardest type of lying, and Sora could hear the slight stiffness of her voice.
But neither Sora nor Soreas was going to call her out for lying. Instead, they merely nodded and followed Cordelia further in, their loud footsteps clanking as they crossed the bridge. Cordelia whispered something under her breath, and the door flew open at her command, revealing a small, dark foyer with another door that Sora assumed led to the living room. The lights flickered on when they stepped onto the floor of the foyer, and a camera head slid out from a moving panel of the ceiling, directed straight at them. It blinked with a red light rapidly, seeming to follow a certain pattern, before it stopped completely.
"Yes, Aya, it's really them. Can you let us in now, thank you very much," Cordelia said to the camera through gritted teeth, clearly frustrated at the extensive safety measures set up around the house. A split second later, the camera slid back in and the panel closed. The door in front of them beeped, and clicked open.
Cordelia turned to face them, grinning. "I told you it was awesome and you didn't believe me." She gestured to the both of them and spun on her heel, heading towards the door. "C'mon."
"Wait," Soreas said, stopping Cordelia. "Before we meet Lady Ayagi, we need to talk first. You need to be able to protect yourself."
As if she's been jolted, Cordelia immediately whipped around to fully face them, her eyes widening in incredulity. She said slowly, "So… you guys are saying that I'm in danger?"
"Not necessarily. But Sora and I—" He suddenly broke off, gesturing to himself and his sister, "May put you in danger."
"You guys? Oh. Oh. I get it. It's because of what happened today, isn't it? Because you guys are strong and powerful and I'm just this little bitch that popped out of nowhere and the both of you have some weird-ass obligation to protect me 'cause I'm small and weak."
"That's not what we're talking about. You're completely missing the point." Soreas crossed his arms across his chest.
"Whatever. Besides, we're getting off topic. The point is, I don't need lookin' after. I can very well take care of myself!" She huffed and rolled her eyes, placing her hands on her hips.
"Really?" challenged Soreas, raising his chin. "Unless we've all been hallucinating, you almost got yourself ejected today, with that stunt of yours. Not to mention killed."
Something flashed in Cordelia's eyes. "Well, when I say I don't need help, I mean it! Did I survive all those fucking years in fucking Exillium for nothin'?"
Sora hesitated. "How many years has it been?" she asked softly.
Cordelia had a distant look in her eyes when she replied, "Six. And a half. This conversation is over. Follow me."
She spun on her heel and walked through the door. Before Sora could follow, Soreas nudged her, and mouthed, She didn't attend Foxfire at all.
Sora gaped, but when Cordelia turned back to fix an impatient gaze on them, she hastened to keep Cordelia's pace. Her mind whirled with confused thoughts. Cordelia hadn't attended Foxfire at all. What had she done to be banished at such a young age? She yearned to ask Cordelia, to find out more, but one look at Cordelia's stiff figure told her it wasn't the time to prod into her past.
Slipping their shoes off, they walked into the living room, toes burying into thick carpet. A big, round dining table stood in the large room, separated by a short glass partition, flanked with eleven chairs. Porcelain plates and the appropriate cutlery were already laid out on the table, and it was clear that it served much more than the supposed four people, Sora noted. Who were the other people that they were going to have dinner with?
She had no time to think, because there were so many other details that caught her attention. An elegant silver spiral staircase curved down from upstairs to sweep the floor of the living room. A set of armchairs and couches had been laid out around a glass coffee table, a vase of flowers sitting on the tabletop. A velvet armchair stood out alone in the corner, looking terribly out of place. Framed pictures of Ayagi, a younger Corey, and another man filled the bare walls, giving the place a cozy atmosphere.
But the longer Sora stared at the photos, the colder she felt.
A woman descended from the flight of stairs. She wore a light silvery-blue dress that reached down beyond her ankles, with a black ombre cloak wrapping around her shoulders, gradually fading to white. Sora thought the dress matched her eyes pretty well, also complementing her smooth, dark skin. Dark, defined eyebrows and dramatic, almond-shaped eyes marked her face as her own, punctuated by orbs that reminded her of her pathfinder, silverish metal with the barest hint of blue. An air of elegance and regality surrounded her as she stepped forward to meet them.
As she reached the bottom step, Sora was suddenly struck by how gorgeous she was, even by elven standards. Tall— almost the same height as Soreas, who was a full head higher than her— with long, flowing coal coloured hair swept up in a half ponytail.
She must be the legendary Ayagi Larayna, Sora mused. The facts she'd memorised about the Black Swan member started falling into place. Her Black Swan codename was Verbouge. And she was an Emissary, too. That must be pretty dangerous, playing the double agent against the Council. Not as dangerous as playing double agent against the enemy, though. The Council would just lock Ayagi up in Exile, maybe break her mind to dig up information about the Black Swan. That was dangerous, yes, but who knew what the enemy would do?
They would probably just kill her, like how they killed Jolie Ruewen.
She was treated as a legend in her own way, sending the elven community into a frenzy after taking her best friend's much unknown daughter, who was none other than Cordelia, and withdrawing herself from society, only appearing for work. Unlike the Ruewens, who put themselves in self-imposed exile and heavily suffered from social anxiety, she simply did not care, according to the rumors that she'd heard the older ones spread. Unrestrained and unbound by the rules of society, she was what one would call a free spirit. That, Sora could see very evidently in Cordelia.
It must be fun, growing up in a environment like that, she thought wistfully.
"What the heck, Aya?" Cordelia's voice pulled Sora out of her dark thoughts. "Why are you in a dress? You don't even bother to dress up when the goddamn Council visits."
Ayagi merely smiled. "That's because I don't care about what the goddamn Council thinks of me. And I dressed up today because some people are coming for dinner."
"Somebody who's not them?" asked Cordelia, gesturing at Sora and Soreas.
"Yes." Ayagi smiled at them. "It's a great pleasure to meet you, Sora and Soreas. We'll be happy to house you for as long as you are in Exillium."
They both bowed and said, "It's an honour to meet you, Lady Ayagi."
Her laugh was gentle, tinkling, and very much unlike Cordelia's. "Call me Ayagi. Or if you prefer, Aya."
"Nope," Cordelia cut in. "Only I get to call her Aya. No offence, y'all." She turned to Sora and Soreas, smiling a little sheepishly.
"None taken," Soreas assured her.
Ayagi looked like she wanted to say something, but Corey beat her to it first. "So, who's coming? Is it someone I know? Is it one of those stuffy nobles?"
Ayagi didn't blink at all. "Yes, it is someone you know. Your friends, to be specific. Now, I—"
"Wait. Holy crap. I have friends?"
"Don't sound so incredulous. You do. You just haven't seen them in a long time." She thought for a while before adding, "An extremely long time." She turned to Sora and Soreas. "Welcome to Huldlot. I'll show you to your rooms, then you can unpack." Her eyes flickered to their saggy Foxfire satchels they were carrying over their shoulders.
Sora followed her gaze. They hadn't brought a lot of things, since most of the things were lost in the earthquake. Since they had just came back from Foxfire when it happened, all they had were their satchels, and the things inside. All other things were left behind in the remnants of Mettle Manor.
"I'd had your possessions you'd left behind sent here," continued Ayagi. "I retrieved what I could, so they should be arriving sooner or later. As for clothes, Sora, I'll let you wear some of Corey's clothes for a while, but they can be quite… different. Don't worry, I'll have your measurements down after dinner so that you can have new clothes, and the same goes for Soreas."
Sora tried not to shiver at the thought of wearing the same clothes as Cordelia did. Cordelia didn't look exactly happy about it, too.
Soreas frowned. "I'm wearing girl clothes?"
"Hey, watch what the fuck you say!" Cordelia snapped.
Ayagi didn't blink. "Corey, I already told you, no swearing. And Soreas, if you'd prefer, you can wear Sevadis's clothes." Soreas nodded at that. "Although Corey's clothes aren't exactly girly."
"And you're being a little sexist right here," Cordelia sniped.
"Sorry," said Soreas. "It's just that our family can be very… conventional."
"Oh, an eccentric family being conventional," Corey scoffed. "Never heard of that one before."
"I suggest you watch what you say too, Corey," Ayagi said, a little sharply. She was about to say something else when she was interrupted.
"Oh trust me Corey, my dear. Once you go into society, you'll see many families like that…" A disembodied voice filtered into the space. Sora couldn't help but jump, and beside her, she heard Soreas curse. Loudly. Soreas rarely cursed.
Surveying her surroundings, she saw Cordelia bent over laughing, clutching at her stomach, whereas Ayagi was silently chuckling.
Seeing the wide-eyed expression adopted by the both of them, Ayagi quickly explained, "That was our—"
"— little house guest," Cordelia finished with a smirk.
"Now, now, Corey, it isn't very polite to interrupt your mother while she's in the middle of talking, we've talked about this." The voice, to Sora's horror, was travelling out of a large rip that appeared in the velvet armchair in the corner.
Cordelia, seemingly unaffected by the strangeness of it all, simply decided to turn her back against the armchair and sulk.
In a bright flash, the armchair was replaced by a dark-haired man sitting cross legged in that very corner, a large grin stretched across his face. "Hello! The name's Sevadaís, I'm a family friend." he spoke, cheerfully waving a hand.
She could feel Cordelia rolling her eyes behind her, as she spoke: "Family friend, you say? Then please tell me other than you, have you seen any other family friends just break into people's houses and steal their food, eh?" The spite in her voice was evident, but when she whirled around, Sora was surprised to see a smile playing on her lips. The man was found in most of the pictures littered around the house, and with a arm around Cordelia.
It seemed that Ayagi had help in raising Cordelia.
Ayagi smiled, shaking her head. "Now, we have wasted enough time. Follow me." She started up the spiral staircase, and Sora and Soreas followed.
The second floor was a corridor with three doors, and Ayagi pointed at the first door on the right side of the corridor. "That is my study. The one opposite is my bedroom. And this one," she said, heading for the second door next to her study, "is where you're going to stay, Soreas."
She pushed the door open and they headed in. Surprisingly, Cordelia followed as well, trailing behind them. Sora looked in the room. It was smaller than Soreas's old bedroom, but it was probably because this room wasn't built to be a bedroom.
A simple super-single bed and a small desk took up one side of the room, and a wardrobe took up the other. A full-length mirror stood beside the wardrobe, probably a spectral mirror like the one Sora had at home. Idly, she wondered if her new room had one too.
"This was all the space we could afford to spare," Ayagi said. "I hope it's good enough."
"It's perfect," Soreas said, flashing Ayagi his ever-perfect smile— the type of smile he always used on the Mentors back in Foxfire. "Thank you so much."
"It's the least I can do." Ayagi walked over and stared at their reflections in the mirror. "I knew your parents. They were good and kind people. And you look so much like them."
Sora instantly tensed up at the mention of her parents, and so did Soreas.
"It's alright, Sora," reassured Ayagi. "I don't blame you for their death. You didn't mean to do it, and that's all that matters. Now, I'll leave Soreas here to settle in, while I bring you to your new room."
"Actually, I'll accompany Sora," he said. Just then, the mirror in front of him flashed, and a girl winked to existence in the corner of the mirror. It was the spectral mirror, Sora realised.
"Greetings, Lady Ayagi, Lord Sevadaís, and Miss Malum." Then she turned to look at Soreas and Sora. "And who might you two be?"
"I'm Soreas Heks and this is my sister Sora Heks," Soreas introduced.
"And who is going to be with me?" Her lazy gaze flickered between the two. "Honestly, I wouldn't mind either one. You're both good-looking."
"Uh," Sora said. Her spectral mirror back at home had never complimented her on her looks before.
"Estelle isn't lying," Cordelia said from behind them. When Sora turned to look at her, she winked.
Ayagi stepped in. "Soreas is going to be staying in this room," she told Estelle, pointing at Soreas. "He needs new clothes, but for now he's just going to wear the clothes that Sevadis never wears anymore. You think that might work?"
"It might," replied Estelle, squinting as she scrutinised Soreas. "He's going to end up looking very shabby, but that's alright. Mr. Orimos and Mr. Fellers wouldn't mind."
Cordelia sucked in a sharp breath when she heard the names, and so did Sora.
She didn't recognise the first name, but… Mr. Fellers?
Ayagi had said that they were Cordelia's friends that she hadn't seen in a long time, so it couldn't just be the two Black Swan members that were coming here. So if it wasn't them…
Could it be… ?
Elian's face surfaced to her mind, smiling with her, teasing her in the Tribunal Hall, right in front of everyone, at the last minutes of her citizenship in the Lost Cities, while she dimly heard Cordelia yelling at Ayagi, Why didn't you tell me earlier, they're my best friends!
His words echoed in her mind. That's why we're lucky that you and I both have a photographic memory. We'll never forget each other as long as we live.
It really did seem that they won't be forgetting each other— at least for today.
"And this," Ayagi said, opening up another door, "is your room."
They had left Soreas's room to ascend another floor up the spiral staircase, and Sora wasn't surprised to see that it looked exactly the same as Soreas's, except that hers opened up into a balcony, where she faced the trees surrounding Huldlot.
"I thought you would like the view," Ayagi said, "especially with the trees, since you're a Terrakinetic and all."
Sora forced the words out of her throat. "Thank you. I love it. Really."
Ayagi smiled. "I'm glad to hear that. Now I'd leave you two to unpack your things and dress up for dinner, and I'll call you guys down in ten, okay?"
Cordelia suddenly piped up and said, "I'm staying in the room with the black and silver door across the hall. If either of you guys need any help, just knock, okay?" It was uncharacteristically gentle of her, accompanied by a slightly awkward smile, and Sora found herself nodding.
"...Okay," Sora replied, and Soreas nodded in understanding. Then Ayagi and Cordelia left, arguing over Corey helping to make dinner, and so did Soreas.
But before he did, he turned and told her, "Everything's going to be alright, Sora."
Then he turned and walked out of the room, leaving Sora alone.
She sighed as she stepped in front of the mirror and stared at her reflection. Her Exillium uniform was already caked in dirt and grime, and when she removed her boots, sand poured out. Her scalp had also trapped sand and her bun had fell out, leaving her hair dishevelled. Her face was splattered with mud, and all in all, she really did look Unworthy.
That's because I am.
After a few seconds, the spectral mirror clicked on, and another girl stepped out. "Hello," she said. "My name is Hansha. And you are…"
"Sora," she said. "Sora Heks."
Hansha smiled in reply. "Let's get you all prepped up. You'll look so pretty that Matteo and Elian wouldn't be able to take their eyes off of you."
"I don't want that." But who was she to argue with a spectral mirror? She opened the doors of the wardrobe and found a stack of neatly folded clothes sitting in a corner. She frowned as she picked up the stack and set it on her bed, sifting through them carefully. Ayagi was right. These clothes were very different.
"What in Eternalia are these kind of clothes?" Sora asked Hansha, holding one of them up for her inspection. Hansha squinted at the pair of pants, made out of a rough fabric that was tearing horribly at some parts, leaving nothing but thin strings attached to the holes like a harp. "Look at this. It's already torn. I can't wear this thing."
"Actually," Hansha said slowly. "I believe it's torn on purpose."
"You mean Cordelia tore this thing on her own?"
"No, I mean that it's part of the design. Miss Malum has a… thing for human clothes," Hansha clarified. "I remembered her lecturing me on this before." She wrinkled her nose. "In the human world, this kind of pants are called ripped jeans. Their own sense of fashion, I suppose. Humans have a strange taste in clothes."
Sora stared at the ripped jeans again. "I can't wear this ugly thing. Everyone would judge me." She tore through the other pieces of clothing again, trying to find a less embarrassing one to wear. None of them looked even remotely elvin. Cordelia obviously wanted her to suffer.
Finally, she eyed the ripped jeans dubiously. "Hansha, which one do you think is the most elvin-like?"
"I'll say the ripped jeans. They are pants after all. If you patch those holes up, they'll just look okay."
Except that I'll look horribly underdressed compared to the others. Sora groaned and buried her face in her hands, lamenting her fate, then accepting it as she picked up the ripped jeans and said, "It's good that I have a tunic from Sakurajima."
The thought of Kael made her surprisingly warm.
Then she entered the walk-in wardrobe and put on the clothes.
She walked out of the wardrobe and stood in front of the mirror, brushing her hair with the brush Ayagi had provided. It took a long time for her to untangle the knots in her hair. Then finally, she was ready. She took one last look at her reflection. At least she didn't look like a murderer. She looked quite decent, except for the ripped jeans. After Hansha gave her stamp of approval, she walked out of her room, ready to meet Soreas.
When she entered the living room, Ayagi and Cordelia were laying dinner on the table. At the sight of food, Sora's stomach rumbled a little. Luckily, they didn't hear it.
A ball of fur bounded into her sight and nearly plowed into her. It yapped at her, jumping on its hind feet, trying to reach her. She yelped, stumbled back a few steps and nearly plowed into Soreas.
Cordelia caught them staring and laughed. "That's Lluvia," she said. "By the way, I like that you chose the 've got good taste."
"W—what's that?" Sora nearly shrieked, scooting to hide behind Soreas. Soreas looked equally as terrified. She stared at the furry creature in front of her. It had fluffy white fur and beady black eyes, and it would look cute if not for the fact that it looked like it wanted to kill her right now.
"Relax, Lluvia isn't gonna kill you," Cordelia told her, making Sora wonder if she was reading her mind. The thought sent a chill down her spine. "She's just excited to see you. You'll get used to it. 'Sides, dogs can't kill… well, at least this one can't."
Soreas raised an eyebrow at her. "Dogs come from the Forbidden Cities."
Cordelia smiled sweetly at him. "Yes. Yes, they do. Ya got a problem with that?"
Soreas knelt down reluctantly, and Lluvia hopped into his lap, eliciting a yelp from him as the creature stuck its tongue out and licked his cheek. Sora looked away, finding it rather disgusting.
Just then, the tinkling sound of a thousand wind chimes rang through the air, making Sora jump. Everyone turned to look at Ayagi, who said, "That must be our guests. I'll go get them." Then she left the living room, and made her way to the foyer to fetch them.
"So only you can open the gates and the front door?" Soreas asked Cordelia in an attempt to fill in the awkward silence.
She glanced at him, then nodded. She seemed a little more subdued than before, and she was picking at her fingers, looking down at the marble floor. She's nervous, Sora realised. Like me. She was nervous to see the two boys, probably because she hadn't seen them in a long time. But whatever signs of nervousness seemed to vanish when the door swung open, and Ayagi entered the living room, followed by two families, with two boys at the lead.
Sora didn't recognise the first boy, but he looked like Soreas's age, and one glance at Soreas's expression confirmed that he knew who he was. A Level Eight. He had neatly styled copper hair that contrasted with his electric blue eyes, and pale skin that was almost as white as snow. A family crest pinned his cape around his shoulders— a circular crest with a picture of a wreath of thorns, with a clear, bold 'O' in the middle in black. A lightning bolt cut right through the middle of the wreath.
This must be Matteo, she thought.
She was so fixated on staring at his family crest to notice the other boy, and when she finally did, he was standing right in front of her, looking down at her.
Elian looked like a faraway dream, with his familiar light brown hair and turquoise eyes. His tanned skin reminded her of the desert in Exillium. He wore a teal tunic that matched his eyes, a pair of black pants, and a cape that reached to his knees. And he was still looking at her, holding her gaze as she raised her head to stare at him.
He smiled. "It's good to see you again, Sora."
Sora tore her gaze away and murmured, "Likewise."
Before he could say anything else, Cordelia ran over to them and plowed the two boys into a giant bear hug.
"Eli! Matt!" She pulled away, taking a good look at both of them. "Wow. Just wow. At first I couldn't recognise you. But hey, how long has it been? Five? Seven?"
"Eight," Ayagi corrected from behind her.
"Oh… oh!" Matteo smiled, his whole face lighting up as he looked at Cordelia. "Delly! It's been a while. You— you changed a lot, huh?"
"Yes, she really has," Elian agreed, a grin overtaking his face, "haven't you, Dells?"
Cordelia shot him a death glare. If looks could kill, Elian would already be dead. "Don't. Call. Me. Dells," she hissed. "It's Corey. If you insist, Dell, or Delly. If you think that's too casual, then Cordelia would suffice."
"Cordelia is such a stiff name," he replied. "Fine, I'll just call you Delly." Then he noticed Soreas standing beside Sora, and smiled at him. "Hello, Soreas. I'm Elian."
"Yes, I know," he said, a knowing smile on his face. "Good to see you, Elian and Matt."
Realising he hadn't introduced himself to Sora yet, Matteo stepped forward and shook her hand. "Hello, I'm Matteo. Everyone calls me Matt. I've heard all about you."
I've heard all about you. Sora tensed. "I guess everyone's been talking about… the Tribunal."
To her surprise, Matteo looked bewildered for a moment, before nodding his head. "Yeah, I guess that too, but mostly because Elian talks a lot about you, you know?" He grinned at her.
Sora was saved from having to answer by Ayagi, who told them to settle down as dinner was getting cold. After she greeted Matteo's parents and Elian's parents— Lorius and Raeiana Fellers, fellow members of the Black Swan. Raeiana gave her a secret smile as she shook her hand, and Sora returned it back tentatively.
Sora sat between Soreas and Ayagi, trying not to sit anywhere close to Elian, but as she settled into her seat, she realised that may be a bad decision after all. Now, she was sitting directly opposite Elian. The moment she raised her eyes from her plate, their eyes would lock, and he would smile at her.
She didn't understand why he was being so nice to her. If he was mean to her like the Shade or Cordelia, it would've been easier. Instead, he just left her confused and shy.
Subconsciously, she realised that she hadn't touched her food yet. So she pierced the stalk of the umber leaf with her fork and forced it down her throat. While the others talked, chatting idly, she felt her mind spin and spin and spin until she almost felt dizzy, out of breath. She could just blank out for the whole dinner until they were all done.
And so she did.
By the time the gnomes were clearing their plates off the table, she and Soreas were struggling to stifle their yawns.
"They've had a long day," Ayagi said. "I just need to take their measurements for their new clothes, and then they can rest."
"What a shame," Elian said. At the sound of his voice, Sora looked at him. He held her gaze steadily. "Sora's clothes look really nice on her."
She looked away.
Raeiana coughed, covering her mouth with her hand, and Sora almost glared at her.
"Actually, those aren't her clothes," Cordelia started hesitantly. "They're mine. Well, the jeans, at least. Sora doesn't dig human clothes. I do."
"Actually," Matteo said slowly. "We didn't know that. You didn't dig human clothes back then."
Cordelia thought for a moment before saying firmly, "You're right— I didn't. But I do now." Then suddenly she frowned, her eyes widening a little, focused on something far off in the distance.
"What is it?" Soreas asked, evidently noticing her strange reaction too.
She shook her head. "Huh. I thought I saw something pass by the window, but I may be just imagining things." Her tone of voice made it clear that she didn't think she was just imagining things.
Everyone turned to stare at the window in front of them, but there was nothing discernible they could see in the growing darkness of the night. But Sora couldn't help but think there was something. A strange feeling wrapped around her, something she couldn't place her finger on. But it was there all the same, and it gave her both warmth and chills.
"By the way," Elian told Soreas with a smile, trying to change the subject, "you've been replaced."
"I'm sorry," Soreas said slowly, "what?"
Matteo shared a knowing grin with Elian. "Kael has a new best friend." Everyone, apart from Soreas, promptly started snickering, even Sevdaís and Cordelia.
Sora frowned, and so did Soreas. Kael. Kael was Soreas's best friend back in Foxfire, and they were utterly inseparable. Did Kael really forget about Soreas so quickly? Though Soreas and Kael were friends, Sora had never met Kael, until the day before she was sent to Exillium. All he had ever done before they met was to intimidate her. He just seemed so… distant, even when Soreas had insisted he was the most fun person he knew. But that was probably because he'd always acted as if Sora was as invisible as a Vanisher could get.
She thought of what he'd said during their first proper meeting.
For a girl like you, you don't seem much of a murderer to me. Then again, I've learned not to judge an elf by their appearance.
Kael didn't like her. Didn't trust her. Did he decide to ditch Soreas as his friend too, because of her?
"Relax," Elian told Soreas with a laugh, who had stiffened. "We're just joking. Kael misses you a whole lot. This person is just… a new prodigy. Pranked Dame Alina, too— it was glorious, by the way. I won't get into the details. Just appeared out of nowhere, into Level Seven. And she's a girl." At that, he smirked. "By the looks of it, he's quite smitten with her."
Without meaning to, Sora's breath hitched, and she felt her throat tighten.
Kael already liked someone else. But then again, why was she even surprised?
"It was beautiful." When Soreas gave Matteo a weird look, he added, "The prank, I mean."
"Stupendous," Elian fired back.
"Absolutely smashing."
"Awesome."
"Like me," Sevadis suddenly interjected, causing half of the table to burst out laughing, the other simply staring. Sora forced a smile onto her face. Cordelia put her head on the table, gently thumping it, groaning loudly.
Ayagi sighed. "You see? This is what I have to deal with every day. An overgrown man-child and a seventeen-year-old. I deserve an award for what I have to put up with."
Matteo laughed along with the others. "Okay, back to the new girl. I saw her and Kael sitting together and talking to each other during the Ultimate Splotching Championships. I could see his face from where I was— he seemed happier than he usually was, during our face-off— you know how Kael always is, kinda moody and all." Then he gestured at Elian and added, "I totally kicked his butt, by the way."
Elian scowled. "When do you not, though?"
"That's true, you know. Eli, you really need to work on your Splotching...you think Aya can help?" Corey interjected, seamlessly blending together with the rest.
Sora couldn't listen to this any longer. Squeezing her eyes shut, she drowned out any other conversation that pounded to be let in, and stared into empty space as she watched the others talk and laugh. Occasionally, she could feel some of the others' gazes flicker to her, but she ignored them, only wishing to be alone, in her own little bubble.
She couldn't wait for this dinner to end, for all the chatting to cease, for all the people to leave.
Before she knew it, it was time for Elian and Matteo and their respective families to go, and they bid goodbye to the both of them. Sora stood behind everyone, not saying a word as she watched them turn away to leave for the foyer. But suddenly, Elian turned around and looked straight at Sora.
Like she wasn't invisible after all.
Not like how Kael always made her out to be, when all she had always wanted was to be seen and noticed by him.
"Sora," he called, looking at her expectantly as he gestured her to come nearer. The others didn't seem to notice, too engaged in their own conversations and farewells.
Sora stifled her sigh. "Yes?" she asked, her voice faint as she stepped closer to Elian.
He remained silent for a while, his eyes lingering on the jade bracelet around her wrist. "Did Kael give you and Soreas that?"
She shook her head. "His mother did. It— it's for emergencies. If we need their help, we can just call them through these."
"Yeah, I know. I have something like that too," he told her, holding his own bracelet out for her to see. "And I'm giving it to you because I have too many of those. If you ever need me, I'm just one call away, okay?" When she didn't answer, he added, "If you don't want to use it, you can just call me through your Imparter."
"I don't have an Imparter." Her voice trembled. Why is he doing this? Why does he care so much?
"I think it'll come tomorrow with all the things Aya managed to retrieve from your house, so that's covered, don't worry," he assured her.
Nimbly, he detached the bracelet from his wrist and put it around hers, his fingers brushing against her hand, warmth spreading throughout her skin.
The clasp closed with a click.
Sora stared at the new bracelet around her. Elian's bracelet. She could feel the warmth of his hand on the bracelet, seeping through the skin of her wrist.
"Thank you," she told him, trying not to tear up. Did her voice sound thick, or did it sound hollow? She wasn't sure. Still, she forced the words out. "You're so kind." The simple, blunt words sounded silly, but she couldn't think to say anything else.
He laughed. "Yeah, I know. You're welcome, Sora. I hope we can keep in touch."
Sora nodded numbly, and before she could reply, he was already walking out of the door, his pealing laughter fading through the growing distance, her only connection to the glittering Lost Cities flickering, and then finally disappearing.
Yvonne: Hey! There's gonna be another one coming up soon, just...take it as an apology for the late updates this entire year, okay? So Sora and Soreas are settling into Huldlot now...what's going to happen between everyone? What happens next? Hm...who knows? ;)