Guys, hi, long time no see. I know I said I was only going to update after my exams (tomorrow's my 1st exam) but for English exam tomorrow studying, I decided to update. And guess what, I just pretty much found out that when I write using Microsoft Word, I could write much more and much better chapters than just writing the thing in Fanfiction. net's server thingy, so I'm going to use MS for all the remaining chapters so that you can enjoy my chapters more.
This chapter's word count is 3,556 words. Longest. Chapter. Ever. And even though this is kinda a filler, it's still very important to read it, and I hope you read it seriously, one word by one word. Thanks!
Thank you so much to pen. edge for following my story! Means a lot to me.
A person: I'm glad you like Sophie's new personality. Well, I half-like and half-don't like it. Haha, and I already knew 'another person' was another person. There's no need to, but thanks for clarifying. Sending love and luck :)
daringwolf2000: Yes. The new Sophie is more willing to help others and has more courage too! I'm glad you thought of these reasons why you liked her new self, because they were exactly the ones why I liked her! Oh, and you send me good luck for my exams? THANK. YOU. SO. MUCH! :)
KeeperforGoode: Sure :) I also support Keefster, there's no need to try to persuade me anymore! Haha.
ForeverFreeFall: Yay! I'm glad you're glad that Sora lived! And thanks for expressing your opinion. And frankly? I both like and dislike Sophie's new character. Exactly the same reasons as you! BUT AHA! FINALLY FOUND A PERSON WHO HAS A DIFFERENT OPINION! I love it! Thanks! And I totally support Sorax, man. I've shipped it since Sora's first appearance in this fanfic ;) Haha!
fiona: Omg, I found another person who likes my story! Thank you so much! It means the world when you said you can't wait for chapter 52! Whether it might excite you or disappoint, I hope you'll still like it and have faith in me! Thank you again! :)
Pen. edge: Yay, you appeared! I'm so happy! And it really made my day when you complimented that my chapters were really good. And YES, another person who has a different thinking! I'm glad you didn't feel afraid to tell the truth. Honestly, I have no idea if I like Sophie's new personality or not. Guess she's a little too cold, but that'll be all sorted out in the next coming chapters. And thanks for the feedback, I'll consider your idea! And sosososososooo happy you like Dex and Sora together!:)
Man, you guys really make me happy, even when my life's tough! And it is. Thank you so much!
Sophie tossed and turned in her sleep. She clutched her pillow tightly with her fingers as she shut her eyes and the vivid nightmares came again.
All to do with fire.
The first nightmare was as old as an antique and always came no matter what. It approached her as she was sleeping now.
"Sophie! Sophie!" A panicked voice roused Sophie up as she blinked her eyes blearily. It was Amy. Sophie sniffed the air. It smelled strange. Was it...smoke? Was their house on fire?
Sophie sat up straight and shook a frightened Amy. "What's happening! Don't tell me our house is burning!" But before she could say anymore, smoke filled her lungs and she was starting to feel the after effects. She coughed and hacked as she choked on the smoke, Amy doing the same. But Amy's lips were turning slightly blue and her face was ashen and charred. Sophie knew they had to escape quick.
"Quick!" She yelled as she pulled Amy out of her room. "Where are Mum and Dad?"
"I..I have no idea! What if they are d-d-dea-ad?" Amy burst out crying. Sophie wrapped her arms around her and took off her dressing gown, wetting it and holding it to their noses.
They found Mum and Dad inside the kitchen, frantically putting out the fire. Sophie bit her lip and pulled them out of the kitchen, towards the entrance.
She made it! They had almost escaped. One more pull, and her family would be safe too. But she felt her energy slowly fading. A weakening at her arms. She felt her eyes shutting and her fingers loosening on her family.
"Sophie! Sophie! Don't let go!" Amy cried aguishly. Sophie felt a tear streak down her cheek.
"I'm sorry, Mum, I'm sorry, Dad, I'm sorry, Amy, I can't hold on anymore..." She felt herself fainting and letting go.
The second nightmare had first haunted her when they were about to leave to join the Black Swan.
Sophie's vision was blurry.
Where was she? She thrashed around, feeling bonds cuffed around her wrists and ankles.
Blurs of dark cloaks swirled around her.
Brant.
His hot hands grabbed her wrists, and a searing throb of pain and a smell of burning flesh – Sophie's flesh – made Sophie's chest heave and her eyes water.
Her eyesight finally focused, and when she directed her brown eyes to the back of Brant, smoke was billowing and flickers of flames were burning everything she could see. Everything she had ever loved.
Everblaze.
The neon yellow flames was ready to devour her as Brant pulled her closer to the waiting Everblaze. The flames were hungry for her, for anything.
She tried to escape, but the bonds held her back, cutting into her skin, making her cry out and wince in pain. Blood started to trickle.
"So this is the end to you, Sophie Foster," the raspy voice cackled. "The Black Swan was foolish. Nobody would ever miss you. Unless you surrender to the Neverseen, you will die."
He threw her into the flames.
"No!" Sophie yelled as she woke up with a start, sweat trickling down her neck. Her hands shook as she fumbled around for the light in her dormitory.
It seemed that she had awoken Biana too, for a bleary voice sounded in the darkness. "Sophie? Is that you? Is it time for the Great Thing?"
Today was the day to heal Prentice. Sophie had no idea if she could do it or not. It seemed easy, but impossible at the same time to break into Exile. What if they were caught? What if she messed up something and the whole operation went wrong?
No. There was no time to worry and doubt. Sophie pursed her lips and said, "Yeah, it's me. And I don't know, there's no way of telling time here. So I guess we better get up if we are late for the healing."
Biana agreed with her and they headed off into the dim corridor. The cold air struck Sophie like sharp needles and she shivered, remembering the sheer heat in her nightmares.
"Are you alright?" Biana asked Sophie. "You were shouting just now, and saying 'no'. Were you having a nightmare just now?"
Sophie felt irritated, though she didn't know why, and answered sharply, "No."
Biana flinched, then she said, "You know, it's good and all that you've changed, but...there is no need to act so harsh and all. Just don't crack under pressure, and stay strong. It isn't fun to hang out with you now. Sure, the old Sophie was stressed too, but the new one doesn't like to have fun at all and is totally serious and cold. I miss the old Sophie."
Sophie felt something leak into her heart. "Biana..." She was at a loss of words. How could she explain to Biana? That if she wasn't careful, people would get hurt again, like Kenric and Estelle? That if she wasn't totally serious, she would freak out and mess up the whole plan again? She didn't know how to act warm but serious at the same time. She was narrowed and stayed on one path only.
Biana looked away. "It's fine, I guess. You feel responsible. But mark my words-people do not like harsh people. At all."
Sophie bit her lip. She knew she had lost her friend-for now.
They walked to the dining hall in silence. Sophie didn't so much than glance at the triangular symbol on the door that Brant wore. She didn't want to brood on it now.
But wait...
Her mind filled with pictures of her old home and the place where the boy who disappeared had appeared. Sophie compared it with the one that she was looking at right now.
And didn't she see the symbol on Elodie too? Well, she didn't see it herself, but the others had told her they had seen it on her when she had tried to ambush them in the fashion shop back in Firenze. And Elodie was part of the Neverseen. Brant was too.
Biana stopped to wait for her, tapping her foot impatiently, but Sophie knew she couldn't break her train of thoughts just then.
So the symbol had something to do with the Neverseen. And the boy who disappeared...the boy who disappeared...disappeared...disappeared...
Disappeared! He was a Vanisher! But who?
"Come ON!" Biana shouted at Sophie, making Sophie jump. She would have to think later. Now, they had a more important job to do.
The two of them entered the dining hall quietly, meeting up with the other three, Soreas, Madlen, and Master Leto.
"Glad you're finally here," Master Leto said, pulling out a black crystal. "I borrowed this from one of the Councillors and we are ready and set to go. Dex, do you have the sedative I asked you to carry? And Fitz, the balefire keys?"
The two boys nodded.
"Hey, what about me?" demanded Keefe. "I don't know if you've noticed or not, but you haven't given me anything important to do, except guarding Sophie!"
"And guarding Sophie is important," Master Leto countered, walking past him. Keefe muttered something under his breath, and he looked annoyed. He came over to Sophie.
"Well, it looks like it's just you and me, Foster," Keefe said. Sophie smiled and nodded, remembering Biana's warning.
People do not like harsh people. At all.
They were whisked off in a black light from Master Leto's black crystal.
Sophie looked around and found herself surrounded by the endless desert again. She felt her jaw tightening and her heartbeat speeding up reasonably.
"You okay there, Foster?" Man, when Keefe meant bodyguard, it was purely just overprotective.
Sophie gave him a thumbs up and that shut him up. Soreas gazed at the desert with an expression Sophie couldn't recognize. But it was probably because he missed Sora. Dex...Sophie didn't know why Dex liked Sora, but she fully supported whatever decision he would choose.
"Okay, so do we have everyone?" Madlen shouted over the noise. Everyone nodded. "So now, we are going to enter Exile. But do remember, you have to trust the trap."
"Whaddya mean?" Keefe hollered.
Madlen glared at him. "I mean, when we are being swallowed by the quicksand, please do not scream girlishly and flail around like an idiot, because that is our only entrance to Exile."
Keefe gave a thumbs up.
Sophie counted mentally inside her head for the quicksand to happen. 1...
2...
3.
The sand suddenly turned rebellious, and formed an inwards, steeping slope that had a gaping hole in the middle where grains of sand were sliding into-so were they.
Sophie's heart cried out in fear as she gripped Keefe's hand tightly. Nobody, not even Keefe, dared to make a sound as they slid into the hole, and probably towards the place of never ending doom.
Her stomach dived for how many seconds, Sophie was unsure as she was too frightened to count, but it stopped when they landed ungracefully on the sand in a hourglass-like building.
The Entrance To Exile.
It was just the beginning.
A mousy-looking dwarf stumbled out of the gloom. "So you're here, finally. Councillor Terik told me to trust you."
"Councillor Terik?" Sophie echoed. "Councillor Terik supports the Black Swan?"
Master Leto merely inclined his head slightly. Sophie felt her head spinning. This couldn't be true. First Elwin, then Councillor Terik? How much did she not know about the real world?
"Would you kindly come with us to deliver lunch for Krikor?" The dwarf asked Master Leto. "Since you are here already, I'll lead you down at the same time."
Madlen glanced at Biana and nodded his head slightly-not really a nod at all.
Biana snapped up and nodded at Madlen too. She moved behind Madlen and melted into thin air. Sophie could see Dex's plastic bag moving on his own and something being taken out.
"Please wait for me patiently here while I prepare Krikor's lunch," the dwarf was saying. "It would only take a short time, I promise."
"We have time," Soreas assured him, smiling a bit.
"Such nice elves," the dwarf complimented and hurried off into the darkness.
"Alright," Soreas said, stretching his arms lazily. "Let's wait for Biana to accomplish the first step towards our goal."
It seemed like an eternity before the dwarf came back, carrying a bag full of something-so much for a short time. "Alright, I've finished. Thanks for waiting. Now, we can go." He padded off, gesturing them to follow. "You have your balefire keys, I presume?"
Fitz nodded and handed out the keys to everyone.
Sophie fingered the crystal shard and breathed on it, sparking balefire. The blue flames flickered and danced inside the key.
"It's to help you see in the darkness," the dwarf explained. He unlocked the door and led them inside.
Cold musty air hit Sophie's lungs like a plague and she tried hard not to gag.
They started to go down the twisting stairs one by one. They went one step by one step down.
Down.
Down.
Down.
Sophie's legs began to ache and her heart palpitated with such a great ferocity that she thought everyone could hear it. The simple action triggered a rush of memories in her brain. Horrible ones. Sophie could still remember Alden's bloody, injured head, he had been clutching it tightly and moaning loudly...
She shook her head and forced the tears to remain in her eyes. She must be strong. Even if it meant being cold, like Biana had so boldly pointed out. Honestly, she didn't care about what people thought of her now. Everyone was entitled to their own opinion.
Nothing really mattered now.
What was the point in her life? She was just an abnormal creation by the Black Swan who was doomed to fail. She had messed up everything so many times, she lost count. And she had taken away Estelle's life by her own. Sophie had inflicted on her, due to an emotional breakout. She wished she had been more careful.
They reached the end of the staircase and Sophie knew she had to buck up and stop thinking negative. She watched with attentive and alert eyes as the patient dwarf knocked on the plain old door.
Keefe pulled her aside to the dark shadows of the staircase to hide her so Krikor would not recognize her as the girl who had come to Exile with Alden once.
The wooden door swung open slowly with a loud creak, and Krikor appeared at the doorstep. He looked the same as ever, and he had a bunch of prison keys attached to his waist. Biana looked at him as the dwarf was passing him his lunch.
"Come on, Krikor, you have to eat your lunch first before you lead these people to Prentice's cell," the dwarf nagged at Krikor. "I have permission from Councillor Terik to trust them and not be suspicious of them."
While the dwarf was blabbering, Biana took the chance and swiftly stepped behind Madlen again, disappearing the second time now. Sophie felt her arm tap hers, and she became invisible too. Her arm was tense and Sophie knew it was going to be very awkward.
It was a weird feeling, being invisible. Sophie could see everyone else (except Biana, of course) but she couldn't see herself. When she stretched out her arms, she couldn't see them too. The warmth of Biana's hand guided her slowly towards the door. They slipped inside the room unnoticed and waited with bated breath as Krikor grumbled, snatched the lunch packet from the dwarf, and slammed the door in the others' faces, leaving Sophie and Biana trapped with him in the tight little room.
Krikor sat down gingerly on a wooden chair and started eating his lunch, which were weird-looking purple and green vegetables. Biana gripped Sophie's hand tighter to remind Sophie to be alert now.
"The sedative will take five minutes or so to take effect, depending on how strong the creature's immune system is. For Krikor's case, it should be around seven minutes. Look at all the muscles!" Soreas had told Sophie during their discussion.
Sophie held her breath as she counted the seconds one by one. Fifty seconds went by and Krikor was still gobbling down the vegetables. Sixty. Eighty. Hundred and twenty. Hundred and eighty. Two hundred and forty. Three hundred. Three hundred and sixty.
Four hundred and twenty. The time had come. Sophie and Biana watched as Krikor, having finished his lunch with great satisfaction, lay down for a minute to rest his body before tending to the elves outside.
The moment was filled with great tension, and Sophie's palms went warm and clammy, dripping with sweat. She hastily wiped them on her cape. Sophie hoped Krikor wouldn't smell the scent of her sweat. But...he was asleep now. Snoring in fact. Biana dislodged the key ring with no problem, and placed it carefully into her pocket.
Goblin had super senses. They had accomplished the first part of the mission. Now all they had to do was escape and join the others, who were probably outside Prentice's cell already, waiting impatiently for Sophie and Biana to come.
Sophie and Biana crept on tiptoes one by one to the awaiting door. When it was done, Biana made the door knob turn ever so slightly, and the door opened a crack, wide enough for the two of them to squeeze through. Sophie knew they had to be careful at this part. If they opened the door any further, the door would creak loudly and wake Krikor up. Then, good game.
Sophie went first, because she was smaller. Her slender body was no problem and she slid out of the room without any complication.
Biana bit her lip, and flattened herself sideways. She knew she had to try harder than Sophie, because she was the plumper one. She crept out sideways inch by inch, like a crab. Sophie on the other side held her hand to her pounding heart as Biana managed to come through after forty-five seconds. They breathed a sigh of relief. Biana reappeared, making Sophie reappear too. They then ran to Prentice's cell, with Sophie leading the way with her photographic memory.
The others were waiting outside the cell already. When Sophie turned her head around, she could see Prentice's drooling appearance through the glass. She resisted the urge not to gag and shiver and forced her voice to work. Her mind was still reeling and her heart was still palpitating.
"Whatever took you so long?" Soreas hissed at them as Biana handed the prison keys over to him. Sophie tried to ignore the snarls above them, where a monster was probably waiting for them. "But no matter. We can go in now. Fitz, Sophie, and Sir Kerlof will go inside during the healing and Madlen, Biana, Keefe, and I will stay outside as bodyguards."
"Great," Keefe mumbled. "I have to resort to the boring post of bodyguard." Everybody ignored him. Master Leto picked the right key and inserted the key slowly into the keyhole, turning it clockwise. The lock clicked and the door swung open.
He glanced at Sophie and Fitz. "Ready?"
Fitz and Sophie exchanged a glance with each other. "We're ready," They said together in unison. The time had finally come to heal Prentice. And it would not be an easy task at all.
They gathered together in a circle. Sophie resisted the strong temptation to look at Prentice. She shuddered when a projectile of spit landed near her. Fitz laughed and gestured her to come closer to him.
Sophie's traitorous heart missed a beat when she shuffled closer to Fitz. Wasn't she strong? Why was she still having this stupid crush on Fitz?
Master Leto glared at the both of them, and they both flushed red.
"Whatever," He said, snorting. "I don't care about the silly romance youngsters always have. It is the time for serious matters. We are about to enter Prentice's mind. Remember, it will be different from the mind healing on Fintan, as Prentice's mind is much, much stronger, because he is a Keeper. So, his mind will still be a tiny bit conscious, even though his mind is 99.9% broken already. Remember when I said there was a part of the brain where Keepers keep intact?"
Sophie and Fitz nodded.
"Well, that part will still be, if we happen to chance upon it. And we shall use that nook, to heal him to his normal self. Are any of your minds feeling weary? If Fitz's one is, then I can take over. But if Sophie's one is, I cannot."
"What? Why? Biased much?" Sophie protested indignantly. Master Leto glared daggers at her.
"Because you are the only one who could heal minds. If we had someone who possessed the same ability, we would have already done so ages ago, when most of his mind was still fighting to not succumb to the darkness." He sighed, and there was suddenly a tinge of weariness in his voice, and some emotion behind his eyes. Sophie decided not to push him. "But...is your mind okay?" He asked Fitz.
Fitz nodded. "Yeah."
Master Leto nodded back in approval. "Very good. So, we shall now begin-there's absolutely no time to lose."
Sophie walked over to Prentice, hesitating when the drool spilled on the ground near her. Maybe...
She squeezed her eyes and thought of all the peaceful, tranquil moments she could think of. She and Iggy grazing on the fields of Havenfield. Fitz. Dex. Keefe. Biana. Their friendship. When the calmness gathered around in a bright aura, she inflicted the calmness into Prentice's mind.
Calm, she told Prentice gently, like how she would treat Silveny. It's alright.
Prentice's body stopped shaking, and the drool hung from his mouth. Sophie's shoulders relaxed.
"That was superb, Sophie," Master Leto praised her. Warmth filled Sophie's heart, melting some of the ice that had frozen around it. She began to feel better, even if it was only a little bit better.
Maybe being cold wasn't the only solution.
Sophie faced Prentice again, now with a lighter heart.
When she had first heard about Prentice, she had been under the impression that he was her father.
Well, even if it wasn't true, she was still going to believe that for this healing session, and put all her trust in him.
Prentice would be proud that the Moonlark had come so far.
Sophie took a deep breath and placed her fingers onto Prentice's cold temples. With Fitz as her guide, she thought no further and plunged straightaway into the never ending abyss of Prentice's mind.
Question: This has nothing to do with the fanfic, but have you checked out the new official drawings for Jensi and Marella? They were posted not long ago by Shannon Messenger, and the geeky artist in me just gushed at the lovely drawings! Check them out and tell me what do you think of them! And yes, Marella will make her next appearance soon...;)
