A/N) Welcome back to chapter 26! I think i'm gonna take a little break from the whole special guest thing, considering what happened last time . . .

Anyway, I just wanna say thank you to ProjectMoonlark101 and BasicFangirl101 (Guest) for reviewing on the last chapter! And thank you for the hug, Moonlark. Keefe was such a jerk *Mutters incoherently* Sorry, I'll stop now. I hope the rest of you WONDERFUL readers review as well! And Follow! And Fav! Or, none of them. I'm not gonna make you, don't worry. I'll just subtly hint and encourage . . . hehehe . . .

*Thunder claps and a blonde girl drops onto the floor*

Me: Sophie?!

Sophie: *Looks up at me* i am so sorry.

Me: *flabbergasted, looks at you* uh, why don't you all give us a minute?

ONTO THE NEXT CHAPTER!

Chapter 26

Elwin was right about the elixir.

I had no dreams. It was the most peaceful night of sleep i would ever have for a looooong time.

I woke up in the soft, ginormous bed in Everglen to find sunlight streaming in through the cracks in between the curtains. The soft light illuminated the beautiful white, silver, and gold room. It was hard to believe i was actually sleeping in a place so extravagant. I still couldn't believe i was an elf. Boy, if Hollywood heard even the tiniest bit of info about a place like this, they would turn it into some crazy, wild story that had graphics which didn't even hold a candle to how magnificent this place was.

I rubbed the crust out of my eyes and then looked around the room. Something on the desk caught my eye. I threw back the covers, my feet landing on the soft carpet, barely making any noise as i made my way to the desk. On it was a shimmering gold plush stuffed animal. At least, think it was an animal. It kinda looked like one of those flying dinosaurs i saw on the billboards in Hollywood for the new Jurassic movies. I never learned what they were called. But it looked like one of those. I picked it up, holding it in front of me with both hands. It was bigger than my face, and so soft and shiny, i hugged it immediately, swaying back and forth. I buried my face in its soft little head, trying hard not to cry. I couldn't cry. I didn't have time to cry anymore. I was too old to cry anymore. That's what happens when you live in the streets most your life. All the tears i cried yesterday were enough to last me a lifetime. I needed to be strong. Tough.

Me.

When i held the stuffed animal in front of me, i noticed something tied around her neck.

My end of the deal. Meet Miss Flareadona.

"Miss Flareadona?" i smiled as i looked down at the note. But it quickly faded when i realized how close her name sounded to Flareadon. Was this a flareadon? Was I Project Flareadon? I had heard my name mentioned more than i would have liked in those memories, along with several other terms that i had no idea what they meant.

Black Swan.

Neverseen.

Project Moonlark.

Project Flareadon.

Lodestar Initiative.

Gisela.

Ruy.

Everblaze.

What did any of those mean? Who had they been talking about? And what did it have to do with me?

My thoughts were interrupted as i glanced down at the spot on my desk where Miss Flareadona had been and saw a note.

Welcome to the Lost Cities. Glad you're finally here.

Had Elwin left the note? Nah, he already put one on Miss Flareadona. So then, who? One of the others, maybe? I was mentally running through a list of their names when i looked towards the bottom of the page, seeing a symbol.

A white circle with a white eye in the center.

That's all it was. There was no indication of what it meant, yet somehow, i knew.

Neverseen.

My hands began to shake, and the room began to spin. There was a strong pounding in the back of my head that felt far too familiar. My vision began to blur, and before i could make it to the bed . . .

Not again . . .

I hit the floor.

…

"She's knocked out," Della informed everyone after checking on her for the third time. "The detox is definitely working. She looks so peaceful . . ."

"Don't let her fool you," Fitz warned his mother. "We still don't know if we can trust her." Della nodded as she sat down beside her husband.

"Maybe we could use this opportunity to check her mind again," Sophie uggested. It was a new morning in Everglen, right after breakfast. Everyone had made the hasty decision to sleep over and keep a close eye on Ebony. They still had no idea whether to trust her or not.

Leto shook his head. "I would advise you not to do that. It would be too risky if she suddenly woke up and wondered what we were doing, especially if she really was a part of the Neverseen and found out we were on to her."

"What do we do about tomorrow?" Biana asked. "We have to go to school. Are we still gonna homeschool her?"

Alden took Della's hand. "I don't think that would be the best idea . . ."

"How else is she gonna get into Foxfire?" Dex jumped in.

"If things turn out the way we fear," Tiergan began, "Then she has no chance of entering Foxfire."

The words seemed to silence everyone, even the bodyguards standing up against the walls.

"I really hope she isn't evil," Biana whispered.

"We all do," Keefe said. "Maybe . . ."

"What?" Sophie asked when he didn't finish.

"Well, this might be a dumb idea-"

"Knowing you, it probably is." Fitz's tone was teasing, but his eyes told a different story.

"As i was saying," Keefe said, shooting a look at Fitz before turning to Sophie. "What if we do a lie detector test on her?"

"What?"

"Think about it. I'm an Empath, and i can tell when people are lying-probably even more so with your enhancing ability. She still has a lot to tell us about, and we could ask her other questions too, and then we'll know if she's lying or not."

Sophie thought it, through, and she could tell the others were as well.

"That . . . might work," she finally told him.

He smirked. "Might? Of course it's gonna work. I'm a genius."

"Not a very humble one," Fitz muttered.

"All right," Leto interrupted. "Before we continue bickering, let's figure out what to ask her."

"Well, first, we should get her to tell us her background story," Tam suggested. Everyone nodded, and several more minutes-perhaps almost an hour was spent, figuring out what to ask and tell and not tell Ebony. Finally, Alden said,

"I think we have everything."

"Should i check to see if Ebony's awake yet?" Della offered, already standing. Sophie stood as well.

"I can check on her for you."

"Yeah, i wanna go too," Fitz agreed. Eventually all of Sophie's friends jumped in.

Della smiled. "Well. All right, go ahead, but remember to be quiet."

"We will," Sophie promised. Fitz led the way down the halls and up the stairs, and they were soon in front of Ebony's room.

"I think you guys should stay out here," Keefe told their bodyguards. "I'm pretty sure Ebony would much rather wake up to this-" he waved a hand around his face, "-rather than you guys."

Sandor rolled his eyes, letting out a squeaky grunt. But they consented.

Sophie quietly turned the doorknob, putting her fingers up to her lips and letting her friends know to stay quiet. But as soon as she opened the door, everyone seemed to forget was quiet was.

…

This time it was different.

For one thing, there was this throbbing pain in the back of my head that hadn't been there last time. And for another, it wasn't someone else's memory. I think it was actually mine.

I was only twelve, just barely, actually. It was the middle of the night. I was hugging myself in a large black hoodie i found, which i ended up keeping for the rest of my days in L.A. I remember it being cold, and i was drifting off to sleep against the hard floor, when i heard the sound of someone kicking a soda can. I jolted awake, looking around frantically. But i couldn't see anyone. I felt a presence, though, so i called out quietly,

"Hello? Is anyone there?" i was surprised at how different my voice was in the memory. I looked around and finally saw the silhouette of two adults pressing against the far wall. I scrambled backwards.

"W-what do you want?" i stammered.

The adults stepped out after several seconds, both of them wearing long black cloaks. On the sleeve of each cloak was some sort of symbol-a white circle with a white eye in the center.

"We promise we aren't here to hurt you," one of them said. I couldn't tell what he looked like-either of them, actually-because they both had their hoods up.

"We just wanna help," the other one, a female, added.

"H-how?" i didn't trust people now, and i didn't trust people back then, but something about them just caught my attention.

"We can make your life get better," the woman continued. "It won't happen for a while, but it will eventually." She took a cautious step forward. "All you have to do is trust us."

"I can't trust people i can't see," i told her quietly. She took another step closer, and then crouched down next to me. She pulled back her hood, revealing the most beautiful face i've ever seen, even in the dim moonlight. She had shiny blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and creamy-looking skin. She offered me a kind smile.

"Can you trust me now?"

I pointed to the man, who had stayed back. "What about him?"

The woman laughed, a soft, gentle sound. "He's not important, dear. But what is important is this." She turned a little so that the symbol on her sleeve was facing me. "You see this symbol? Take a good look at it. You'll need to remember it someday. And you know what it means?"

I shook my head as the man hissed something that sounded like "Gisela."

She ignored him, though. "This is for the Neverseen. They're the people that are gonna help you. You'll need to remember that, too. But not today. Today, you simply need to trust us." She held out her hand, and in it was a tiny glass vial with a bright pink elixir in it. I looked at the elixir and then up at the woman. She seemed nice, and she was so pretty. I wasn't nearly as strong of a resister back then as i was now. I didn't trust anyone i didn't know. But Sophie and her friends were . . . a special case.

My present self screamed at my past self to not take the elixir, but i did anyway. The woman smiled kindly.

"Good girl," she whispered. "Now, drink up." i uncorked the top and gave the elixir a whiff. It smelled sweet, like chocolate and cinnamon sugar. Something far better than anything i had eaten in a long time. So i chugged it down greedily. The woman-who i was assuming is whoever Gisela was-laughed quietly.

"I'm glad you like it," she said, her voice turning hazy. My head started spinning and everything started fading away. "Don't worry. You won't remember me tomorrow, but one day, you will. Because tomorrow you'll start on the path to your destiny. All you have to do is trust us."

And the memory ended.

Faded away.

But the throbbing in my head didn't.

I could remember now that it was the day after that memory had happened was when i got my telepathy. They must have made it happen somehow. Now that i knew who the Neverseen were, and that they were meant to help me . . . what was i supposed to do next?

Do what they asked and trust them?

…

"Ebony!" Sophie practically shouted as soon as she opened the door. She gasped and heard her friends do the same as they all rushed into the big room.

"Sandor, go get the others! And somebody call Elwin!"

Because Ebony wasn't resting peacefully on the bed where she should have been. Instead, she was passed out on the floor, blood on the bed frame and soaking onto the carpet.

Coming from the back of Ebony's head.

A/N) *gasp* Oh no, Ebony! Is she gonna be okay? Looks like you'll have to find out in the next chapter!

Sophie: So, does this mean you forgive me?

Me: Sophie, i want to believe you, i really do, but what you did . . .

Sophie: Was inexcusable, i know. And i'm sorry. Really, i am. I never should have recked your friendship with Keefe like that. I never should've recked our chance at a friendship either. But . . . that's already been done

Me: *Realizes how sorry Sophie truly is* Oh. Well, it doesn't have to be. I mean, you'll be indebted to me for the rest of your life, but . . . we could be friends.

Sophie: *Laughs* i could live with that

Me: *nods* Good. First job: get Keefe to come back

Sophie: *shakes her head* I've already tried. That's why i came instead.

Me: Well, try harder. If anyone could do it, it's you

Sophie: *thinks for a moment, then nods determinedly* Okay. i should get start then

Me: Yes, yes you should. But, before you go, what do we say?

Sophie and Me: *looks at you and smiles* UNTIL NEXT TIME!