I've been kind of busy with my school summer work and stuff so I'll try my best to update soon. Also for Future Self too, though I'm trying to switch off the updates between them. And sorry this chapter may be kind of crappy and shorter than usual but my mind is like out of it (Chapter 12 will probs be better). Anyways, enjoy chapter 11!
Chapter 11- Jewel's POV
Jewel fell face first. Her body crumpled on the rocky ground. Pain flared on the side of her head. She yelled out in pain. She heard Keefe moan on the ground next to her. She heard shuffling noises and felt him lift her head on his lap. Jewel opened her eyes slowly, her gaze blurry.
"Geez, Parisi. Your landing is even worse than Foster's. And that shouldn't be possible." He joked. She groaned, trying to spit out an insult yet her head hurt too much.
"Yeah, yeah. I know. Save your energy. You have a real bad cut on the side of your head." He said, taking out something from his backpack. He dabbed a soothing cream on her cut. The pain subsided, but the smell was terrible.
"I thought you wanted to be captured by Neverseen, so they could bring you back to their base." Keefe said suddenly.
"No. I want to sneak into their base not be kept hostage. Otherwise, I'd be completely powerless against them. The element of surprise is super important." Jewel replied. She wrinkled her nose at the stench.
"Do I even want to know what this is?" She asked, frowning in disgust.
"No. You don't." He responded. After he was done, he helped her up. They examined the beautiful waterfall and the hidden room behind the rocks. Jewel frowned as the horrible memories about it came rushing back. She took a deep breath and climbed up the rocks. Keefe followed quietly behind. Jewel's heart pounded against her chest. She was nervous and anxious. The answer had to be here.
Luckily, the rock was still opened, the way she left it, which meant no one came back. They were safe. For now. She slipped in and scanned the room for any clues. Keefe looked around the almost empty room.
"How did you even survive in here? There's like nothing in this place." Keefe asked. Jewel knew she's been in here for all 6 months after they defeated Neverseen. She, however, doesn't remember being awake in here.
"I was drugged." Jewel guessed. Keefe's eyebrows scrunched up.
"With what? Nothing in the Elvin world can put you in a coma for 6 months. That's not possible. And even if it was, you would be dead, anyways. You would need to eat and drink and… well… you know… get rid of the waste… yet if you're in a coma, you couldn't have done any of that." Keefe said, conflicted. Jewel thought harder. He was right. She had to be awake at some point. She remembered being drugged and just slipping in and out of consciousness. She only saw Neverseen when she was escaping. Suddenly, everything clicked together.
"Wait! That's it!" Jewel exclaimed excited. "I was drugged, but not all at once. When I was trying to escape, I saw 3 people from Neverseen. They probably come to take care of my needs. Like feed me and that stuff. And drug me again after their done, so I wouldn't clearly remember. Though they must not have gave me a lot at once, or I could die. So that means that they would have to come often. So their base should be close… unless they light leaped… But they couldn't have known I would awake at that moment, unless… unless they had a camera! I always thought it was weird that there was somehow electricity in such a nature built room. But that means that there are wires here that should lead us to their hid out!"
All the pieces finally came together. She solved it! She was so happy, she embraced Keefe in a bear hug. She jumped up with joy. When she finally celebrated till she was exhausted, she quickly turned to Keefe, serious again.
"Okay Keefe. This is where you come in play. If you were Neverseen and wanted to spy on your most important treasure with a camera, where in this room will you hid it?" Jewel posed. Keefe glanced around, his eyes narrowing on the ivy vines.
"Neverseen is a secret organization that has been hiding for years. They would have to be masterminds at covering their tracks and hid things in places no one would think of. The common mind, however, would hid it in the places where it's the hardest to see and find it in. So naturally, they would think of the ivy vines. But if you think about it, the ivy vines would block the view and it doesn't have the best angle to see the whole room. And since Neverseen is so talented at hiding things, they would know not to put it in a place where people would guess where it'd be." Keefe explained.
"So where is it?" Jewel asked. Keefe smiled mischievously.
"Plain sight, of course." He answered. Jewel stared at him in awe.
"You really know what you're talking about." Jewel said with newfound respect. He flashed a grin.
"What can I say? Tricks involve a lot of planning and thinking. If you think like a common person, they'd know where to expect the trick, since they would think the same way. So you'd have to plan it in a way that the victim won't expect it. I've learned a lot from my years of hard work." Keefe spoke proudly. Jewel giggles.
"Being a trouble maker comes in handy sometimes, doesn't it?" Jewel joked.
"That's the spirit!" Keefe pumped his hand in the air. After a good laugh, Jewel widened her eyes.
"Wait. So then where's the camera? If it's in plain sight?" Jewel questioned.
"Now it's you turn, genius." Keefe said, playfully. Jewel smiled before turning her attention towards the room.
"Not the corner. It would have a blind spot beneath it with the angle. However, if the camera was in the center of the ceiling then, it would have the full view." Jewel talked through it, thinking hard. "But, there's a light in the way…" Jewel said, confused. Then she remembered what Keefe told her. Plain sight. Unexpected.
"No way. It was in the light." Jewel concluded in shock.
"Bingo!" Keefe clapped. "That way, they'd use less wires since it's connected together. It was hard enough to get that one source of electricity in this far out in the middle of nowhere." Jewel examined the light and then at Keefe.
"So how could we trace the camera? Wouldn't we have to demolish the place to do so?" She asked. Then she mentally wanted to slap herself. She already knew who could help them. She exchanged a knowing glance with Keefe.
"Dex." They said at the same time. Jewel shifted her foot.
"I don't know though… then we'd have to tell the others about our plan and Alden would probably try to stop us." She said. Keefe shrugged.
"I mean without their help, we wouldn't be able to track Neverseen down anyways." He pointed out. Jewel sighed, knowing he was right.
"Fine. I guess we'll call it a day and come back later. Though I won't let them stop me if they try." Jewel spoke, her eyes burning with determination. Keefe nodded.
"Don't worry. I'll always have your back, so if they do, they'll have to get through the both of us." He smiled, making Jewel feel warm and fuzzy on the inside. They started walking again and Jewel watched Keefe from behind. His back seemed broad and strong yet cuddly at the same time. She couldn't control herself anymore. She wrapped her arms around him, hugging from his back. He looked back at her in surprise.
"Thank you, Keefe. For everything." She whispered. She quickly let go and walked ahead of him, not wanting him to see her face. She can't believe she just did that. Like what was she thinking? Her heart thumped like crazy as she was trying to calm her heart. She cursed at her own heart. Stop beating so fast! It's not like he's that attractive! Jewel told herself then glanced back at him. Her heart sped up again. Urg, he really was too hot.
"Let's go!" Jewel said, hoping her voice didn't give her away. But then again, he probably already felt all her crazy emotions. She noticed him smiling at her.
"What?" She asked. His smiles widened as he shook his head.
"Oh nothing." He replied as they flung themselves into the empty crack in the air. As soon as they entered Keefe's house, his dad ran up to them.
"Where were you guys?!" He yelled. Keefe immediately shrunk down.
"You know… out." Keefe replied, averting his gaze from his dad. Lord Cassius fumed.
"Out where? I called the Vackers. You weren't there. I raised you to be better than this!" He scolded. Keefe clenched his hands, glaring at his feet. He muttered something under his breath.
"What did you say?" Lord Cassius asked, his voice raising in a dangerous tone. Jewel stood to the side, feeling very uncomfortable in the position she was in.
"What do you care?! You never even look at me for more than a second! Even after mom abandoned us, you didn't care about me at all! I'm just a number to you, a number to your status! You don't even treat me as your son!" Keefe shouted. Lord Cassius looked shocked for a moment, as if Keefe had never talked back to him before. Then his face turned into a scowl. Keefe immediately backed down. His dad raised his arm, preparing to strike. Jewel gasped. He was going to hit Keefe! Her mind shouted at her to get out of their problems but she couldn't help but be involved. She was literally standing right in the middle of it. Just as his dad struck down at him, Jewel jumped out in front of Keefe, protecting him. As soon as she took the hit, she recoiled and touched her stinging cheek. Keefe looked at her, stunned. Even Lord Cassius was astounded. She spread her arms in front of Keefe and looked his dad straight in his eyes.
"Please don't blame Keefe! It was my fault! I wanted him to show me around in the Elvin world. I'm still getting used to the place." Jewel quickly said, her eyes darting to Keefe and back at Lord Cassius. He looked dubious but frowned. He gave Keefe a stern glare before storming off. Jewel let out a sigh of relief. Keefe, who still seemed mad, thanked her. She gave him a concerned glance.
"You okay?" She asked. Keefe sighed and nodded his head.
"Yeah, I'm fine." He responded. Jewel nodded, knowing that he'd probably want a moment to himself. She headed upstairs and hailed Sophie.
"Hello? Jewel?" Sophie's voice sounded from the device. Jewel brightened up as soon as she heard her sister's voice.
"Hi, um…" Jewel started, trying to figure out a way to explain. "I need to tell you something."
"What?" Sophie asked. Jewel told Sophie about finding Neverseen and how Keefe aided her. She recapped their journey and all the events that happened.
"So that's why I need your help." Jewel finished. Sophie stayed silent for a while before taking in a breath.
"Okay… I guess we can help. We need to officially take down Neverseen… for the second time." Sophie sighed unenthusiastically. Jewel frowned. Sophie must had have such a stressing life. For her to constantly have to deal with Neverseen and Black Swan. And the fact that Sophie had to figure out everything by herself while Jewel had just remembered everything.
"I'll tell Dex about the problem and I'm going to bring Fitz and Biana with us, just in case something happens." Sophie said. After planning out the details, Jewel went down to find Keefe.
"Sorry bout earlier… I just needed some time to think." Keefe apologized. Jewel sat down next to him and stretched out her arms.
"Yeah that's fine. I was just talking to Sophie. We're meeting tomorrow morning at the Wanderling Woods." She informed. Keefe raised his eyebrows.
"Why there?" He questioned. She smiled and looked ahead.
"Because we wander but we're not lost."