"Let me get this straight. Brady, the person who the Neverseen has been relying on to guard their prison for years already, is secretly on our side?" Alexandra asked, giving Brady a suspicious look. Adria was suspicious too. "Yeah, last time I checked, he was Vespera's favorite."
"Adria, you were Vespera's favorite, remember? And then she tried to kill you in the night. After I heard the news, I immediately kept on guard. You can't trust the Neverseen." Brady leaned back against the couch in Havenfield's living room, and sipped a bit of his lushberry juice.
"I guess he has a point," Sam admitted, "But we still don't know whether he's lying or not. As he said, the Neverseen can't be trusted. And he was originally a member of the Neverseen. What let's us trust him now?"
Renee stood up. "Let's talk about this in… private. I'll let Alexandra stay on guard in case Brady does anything suspicious, and since she can read minds, we can open our minds to her. We'll have to catch Lilly and Kate up on all this too."
Keefe shook his head in disbelief. "I can't believe that I've just met, like, twenty people in less than a week. And now they're going to fight against our sworn enemy group. This is bizarre, Foster."
"Ya think?" Sophie rolled her eyes in Keefe's direction. Everyone except for Alexandra huddled up and started arguing about what to do with Brady, all the while with Brady sipping his juice as if nothing were happening. Suddenly, Gracie stood up, smiling like a weirdo. "Guys, I figured it out!" she shouted. Everyone looked at her either in anticipation or in a weird way. "We're in a book!" she concluded.
Most of the Shifters laughed, but the other people just looked around awkwardly. Gracie cleared her throat to explain, but Edaline halted her. "We can hear your theory later, Gracie. The Neverseen is attacking soon, and we need a plan." Gracie sat down again with a small pout on her face. It was just a theory! A film theory! Just kidding…. No one get's her jokes.
"I say we kill him!" Grady growled, making Sophie, Keefe, and Dex roll their eyes, and making Linh look away, uncomfortable of the violence. "No! I saw we should let him fight, then kill him," Adria shrugged carelessly. All her training in the Neverseen has truly taught her how to be ruthless.
"We don't want to be like the Neverseen, using people and then just killing them off when they are no longer useful in battle plans," Angel countered, a few more Shifters nodded their agreement.
"I say that we should keep careful watch over him while he stays," Gracie offered, and everyone pretty much agreed with that, even Adria. "He could fight, besides, he's pretty good with weapons. As I have already seen."
"Yeah. I guess. Alexandra, are you picking up on all of this?" Mali asked the thin air. After a few seconds of waiting, Alexandra's voice penetrated their minds, saying; yup. All the while sending it to your friends Lilly and Kate. And the old smelly dude… what was his name? Mr. Forkey?"
Close, Angel thought. She still couldn't believe that in a few weeks, she was already in a new place, new world, and involved in battle plans. In fact, she couldn't believe that she could shapeshift. According to what she heard, elves were incredibly smart. She had to disagree with that. Elves may be quite knowledgeable, but some of the choices that they make aren't all that mighty and good. (I'm looking at you, Councillors…)
Gracie, at the other side of the group, had almost similar thoughts. Elves were supposed to be smart. She was an elf. Was she a straight A student? No. Was she the genius in class? No. Did she get average grades? Yes. Did she skip, like, fifty grades? No. Overall, Gracie thought of herself as an average girl in the human world. Which means in the elven world, she would be wayyyyyyyyy below average. Then how could she still be an elf?
I hear you, Tracie, Alexandra's voice echoed in Gracie's mind. She rolled her eyes and transmitted back; My name is Gracie, not Tracie. Stop eavesdropping on my private thoughts. Go read Keefe's mind or something. I can bet you it'll be full of his love for Sophie Foster.
Alexandra chuckled. I bet the same. You have average grades in school in the human world, Gracie? You think you're not special? Well, the average human wouldn't think that deeply about themselves, Gracie. Which means that you are not abnormal, but you are above normal. Gracie, being smart doesn't mean knowing everything in school, having a photographic memory, none of that stuff. Being smart means knowing how you are special. Being smart is knowing how you can improve.
Wow. Alexandra's got deep words. Gracie thought about what Alexandra had just explained to her. Was it true? How was Gracie special?
Thanks. I'll think about it, Gracie thought, just as the huddling up meeting ended. Being funny wasn't always easy. All her friends enjoyed laughing at her, laughing with her, attempting to do her crazy dances, like what she called the 'security infracture' for people who have been 'mcfallen'. They all failed.
Gracie smiled at the thought. She sort of wished that she didn't live in a giant mansion, with her family's memories wiped. She sort of wished that she wasn't an elf. So she could have a normal life, making people laugh, continuing her lifelong dream as a writer. But now, none of that was going to happen.
Alexandra winked at Gracie, and Gracie smiled back at Alexandra. Maybe… just maybe… she was special after all.
