I really liked doing the last chapter, I think I might put all of the buildup to Fintan's memory break in here.

Which is cool. Because I can't wait for the Neverseen to DIE! Etc., Etc.

Chapter VIII

I'm sorry it's been so long. I started a baseball season in February whilst working on this chapter (we came second. We lost the tournament game to the Cardinals because I got pulled out of centerfield the inning in which two fly balls came whizzing right at the other centerfielder), and then I went back to school in-person, and they were trying to catch us up, which meant that we had monumental amounts of maths homework, not to mention all my classes were in the part of my school that I have never had classes in before. I've just started my little league's new 'summer baseball season.' I've been going to a lot of summer camps and have started a podcast (The Willow Creek Bunch).

Bottom line: I've been busy and have not had time for KotLC. BUT: I am back. This will be a short update, but an update all the same.

(Also, I do think humans stole baseball from elves. If can't imagine Tiergan playing first base, you have lost your mind or you don't know anything about baseball).

Speed, Camera, Rolling!

Scene One:

Sophie Foster enters stage… (totally kidding, I'm not writing this in play format)

They had gotten a message that morning from Blur. He had been on Gethen's tail, and had seen Gethen and Trix disposing of two bodies. Blur had seen their faces. The two bodies belonged to Alvar and Lady Gisela. He had delivered the message to Magnate Leto, who had demanded that the whole crew to drop whatever they were doing and get their butts to the meeting spot.

-Line Break-

Ruy couldn't believe Fintan's decision.

Fintan (Ruy's new worst enemy) had decided that he was going to control the rest of this war thingie, (take the bull by the horns, if you will) as if it was a book, and he was the author. Ruy had read a few books, and he knew how authors liked to kill off a few characters when the plot hit a lull. The plot was stirred off the most when the characters that had been killed off were on the same side as the good guys and the author. Okay, maybe Ruy had read more than a few books.

But Fintan, in Ruy's perspective of the whole business, had decided to kill off Alvar and Gisela because they would impact the Black Swan the most.

When it came to courses of action, Ruy wasn't sure if he should strangle Fintan or throw himself off a cliff. Maybe he could strangle Fintan, throw the evil pyrokinetic off a cliff, then throw himself off a cliff.

But Fintan wasn't wrong, Gisela and Alvar's deaths had made a few members of the Black Swan upset. But Fintan had also just lost himself a member of the Neverseen. Ruy reached underneath his bed, feeling around until he found a dagger he had hidden in the bars holding the mattress up. Gripping the knife in his hand, Ruy slipped into the hallway.

-Line Break-

Kenric and Bronte had managed to move up the meeting with Fintan when they heard about Alvar and Gisela. Fitz was such a wreck that Tiergan had to step in to guide Sophie.

Bronte and Tiergan lead the group to Fintan's prison, which took quite a lot of getting to. Sophie, Dex, Tam, Linh, and Wylie followed behind them, with Grady, Lovise, and Sandor bringing up the back.

'Be prepared.' Bronte said, as he pulled a key out of his pocket. 'He might try to hurt you.' Bronte unlocked the door, and pulled it open. The second he did, a flash of silver came flying through the door, hitting Tiergan in the chest. Tiergan toppled into Sophie and Dex, who barely managed to keep him upright. Sandor and Lovise went running into the prison, swords drawn.

They came out a minute later, each gripping one of an unconscious Ruy's arms.

'What was he doing in there?' Wylie asked, 'I thought it was just Fintan.'

'Fintan,' said Lovise, 'Is dying. This guy,' She gave Ruy's arm a tug, 'Stabbed him.'

'Ruy did?' Linh asked.

'He's with the Neverseen.' Dex added, 'Why would he kill Fintan?'

'Fintan's not dead.' Sandor replied, 'At least not as of when we were in there.'

Before anyone could stop her, Sophie leapt up from where she was crouched like a catcher next to Tiergan and dashed into Fintan's prison.

'Sophie, wait!' Yelled Dex, running after her, followed by Linh, Tam, and Grady. Sandor and Lovise were still occupied trying to restrain the unconscious Ruy for when he woke up.

Dex reached Sophie first. She was on her knees next to Fintan, who was barely conscious. There was blood all over the floor from a gaping wound in Fintan's chest.

Sophie reached for Fintan's temples. She heard Dex shout 'Sophie, don't!' but she ignored him as she entered Fintan's mind. She watched memories flash past her, all from different points in his life, from when he was 103 and receiving his councillor's crown to when he was six, and meeting his little sister for the first time. Sophie focused on a few, learning the location of the Neverseen Hideout that Trix and Gethen were at. After a minute or two, Sophie picked up a message from Fintan. I'm going back. And one last memory.

Sophie almost felt like she was the smiling 12 year old, balanced on the balls of his feet in centre field (Sophie didn't know elves played baseball, but she had enjoyed a few Padres games when she lived in San Diego), watching the pitcher. Sophie somehow knew that Fintan (who she assumed was the centre fielder) was a second year, the second youngest on Foxfire's team, other than their first baseman. Sophie didn't know Foxfire had sports teams. She was watching the batter through Fintan's eyes. Without looking at the scoreboard she knew that if they got this batter out, Fintan's team would win the ballgame. Sophie watched the pitch, then felt herself running backwards towards the fence when the ball was hit. The ball was going to go over the fence, the other team was going to win, and suddenly Sophie's feet were off the ground and her jersey was ripping on the chainlink. The last thing she felt was the ball in her (Fintan's) mitt before she crashed to the ground on the other side of the chainlink fence and everything went black.

-Line Break-

Sophie woke up several hours (not that she knew it) later in Foxfire's infirmary with just about every elf she knew standing over her. She surveyed the people around her, taking in Edaline's tear streaked face, Grady giving up the entire purpose of his life and letting Fitz and Keefe hug him, Elwin scribbling something on a clipboard, Alden and Quinlin having a whispered argument about something, the plaster on Dex's left cheek, and Biana blinking in and out of sight as she wore a hole in the floor with her pacing.

Sophie tried to sit up, but Elwin stopped her.

'Don't move, Sophie.'

Sophie shocked herself with the first words out of her mouth. 'Where's Bronte?'

Everyone looked right at her. 'Bronte?' They all asked in unison.

'I have to ask him something about what I saw in Fintan's mind.'

Edaline sat down on the edge of Sophie's cot. 'I'm sure someone can find Bronte for you, but-'

She was cut off by Alden, who sat down on Sophie's other side. 'Listen, Sophie, before you can even think about what you saw in Fintan's mind, you have to know what happened first, and exactly how dangerous what you did was. You nearly got lost in there, and the only person who can save lost people is… well, you're the only one.'

Sophie wasn't quite sure she wanted to know, but Alden seemed insistent, so she mumbled, 'Go ahead.'

Alden sighed. 'Sophie, do you know what happens when someone dies while you're in their mind?' Sophie shook her head, quickly glancing at the room before focusing back on Alden. 'You get pulled under, and I doubt even Fitz would've been able to get you out. And especially doing what you did without telling anyone… You are very lucky to be alive, you do know that, right?'

'Why wasn't I pulled under? Was that another weird thing the Black Swan did to my mind, that it can't get lost?'

Alden glanced at Quinlin and shook his head. 'Not really. Somehow, someway, Tiergan realized you needed help and reached out with what consciousness he had left to bring you back. It was an incredibly feat of telepathy for even someone as talented as he is.'

Keefe nodded. 'A very Dues ex Machina moment.'

'That is not even close to what it was, Keefe.' Fitz replied.

'How much do you know about Greek literature, Fitz?'

'Almost certainly more than you.'

'When would you have learned about Greek literature?'

'Why are we talking about this!' Yelled Dex, wrapping the piece of wire he had in his hands into a figure eight knot, like the kind used for rock climbing.

'Good question, Dex.' Alden went back to his story, 'Anyway, Tiergan pulled you back from Fintan's mind. Tam hailed Elwin, Elwin hailed me, and now we're all sitting in this room together.' He sighed. 'You better have learned something good, Sophie.'

'I did.' Sophie adjusted her pillow. 'I know where Gethen and Trix are. Can I talk to Bronte now?'

-Line Break-

Honestly, Prentice was annoyed than Elwin and Livvy had waited several hours before hailing him about Tiergan. By the time Prentice got there, Tiergan had just woken up and was confused and in pain. Wylie was sitting crosslegged at the end of Tiergan's bed, trying to explain what had happened.

Prentice rushed towards them and dropped to his knees on the floor at Tiergan's side. Before Prentice could say anything, Tiergan turned to Wylie.

'Wylie… In my right ankle pocket… Will you hand me the thing?'

Wylie clambered off the end of the bed and walked over to a wooden chair with several articles of clothing hanging over it. He dug around in the pocket of the pair of pants before finding what he was looking for and bringing it to Tiergan and dropping it in his hand.

Tiergan mumbled a thank you to Wylie before turning to Prentice.

'Prentice.' He mumbled, still struggling to breath, 'Wylie came up with a million better ways for me to do this-'

'None of them were this good.' Wylie interjected.

'They were all much more creative. Stop interrupting.' Tiergan took a long slow breath. 'This experience with the whole having a knife thrown at me made me realize- Well, actually, I had already realized it, so the knife just kind of got things going-'

'Will you cut to the point before this becomes a philosophy lecture?' Wylie asked, 'I don't mean to be rude; I'm just really looking forward to the outcome of this.'

Tiergan's chuckle turned into a hacking cough. The worry on Prentice's face increased.

'Thanks for the encouragement, Wylie.' Tiergan turned back to Prentice, taking his hand. 'Prentice,' He mumbled, 'Will you marry me?' He unfisted the thing Wylie had handed him, dropping it into Prentice's hand.

Prentice ran a thumb along the cool metal of the ring in the middle of his palm, then looked back at Tiergan. 'Yes. Of course I will.'

Wylie looked ready to jump up and cheer, but decided against it. He then realized something. 'You guys do know that the council will never let you do this, right? You can be a bad match, but this goes over the top.'

'Thanks Wylie, we'll keep that in mind. I'm sure the formerly illegal rebellion we're part of would love to hear all about it.'

Yes, I know I'm horrible at writing Wylie, but we never see him excited, and there is only one line of his from the books that I even remember, and the conversation went like this:

Dex: What about something cool, like Team Nebula?

Biana: Team Cloud of Gas?

Dex (reddens): Nothing wrong with a little gas though, am I right?

Wylie: Everyone has it.

Stina: WHY ARE WE TALKING ABOUT GAS?

Wonderful conversation, am I right?

I will update soon (hopefully).

-SunStar706