The Mysterious Benedict Society Meets the Mysterious Miss F

Chapter 18

A/N: The end is near... 

When they arrived, straight from Foxfire's leapmaster, four adults stared at them oddly. Constance recognized Juline, Bex's mother. Edaline looked oddly similar, and Constance wondered if the two women were related. Grady was sitting on the couch next to his wife, his hair messy like he'd been riding stampeding elephants. And finally, the man they were all looking for: Mr. Forkle.

He was just how Constance remembered him from earlier that week; pudgy skin, twinkly eyes, and grandfatherly-vibes radiating off of him like ocean waves. Constance could not suppress her smile.

"Bex? Dex? What are you doing here?" Juline asked, surprised to see them at the Ruewen's house.

"We came to talk to Mr. Forkle." Dex answered a little too quickly. But Bex caught on.

"What are you doing here, Mom?" Bex asked suspiciously. Constance assumed Juline was part of the Black Swan and for some reason unbeknownst to her, only Dex knew. Constance did not know what to think of that. Why would Juline tell one child but not the others?

"I'm here for a business meeting, honey." Juline said, amazing Constance at her flawless lie. If Dex's face hadn't given too much away, Constance would've believed her.

Apparently, Bex was a bit more observant. "Why would the leader of the Black Swan be in a business meeting with you?"

"I have to go, I'm sorry Bex. I'll... I'll tell you later." Juline said, fumbling with her home crystal. "I promise." And the light pulled her away and now only three adults remained.

Constance couldn't tell if that was another lie or not. Juline had done it so easily, as if she had her entire life... which she probably has. Constance snuck a glance at Bex, who's expression was unreadable. She felt bad for her friend. She wouldn't want her family keeping anything this big away from her.

But Constance shook herself out of her thoughts; they weren't here to worry about Juline. "We need to talk to you." She said to the man disguised with Ruckleberries. "We need you to tell us everything about Joseph Contraire. Now."

"Joseph Contraire?!" Grady sounded like he was choking on his own spit. He quickly tried to cover it up with a cough. He murmured something about needing a drink and headed to the kitchen.

Edaline, on the other hand, stayed absolutely still, frozen on the couch. Her eyes were widened in surprise and shock at the name, if only for a split second. She quickly recovered and began paying avid attention to the group. "What do you know about Joseph Contraire?" Edaline asked. The look Ms. Ruewen was giving her unsettled Constance; it was as if Edaline was searching for something inside of her... familiarity?

Constance shook that thought away as more disturbing thoughts filled her head... the way Grady reacted... the way Edaline seemed to stare at her... No. These were Sophie's parents.

"What we know isn't enough." Was Marella's answer, thankfully pulling Constance back into the present. "But we know, for a fact, that you, Mr. Forkle, have the answers. The answers that we need."

Mr. Forkle sighed, as if sensing a long and foreboding conversation ahead of them. "I think we all need to take a seat for this."

"Wait, you're going to tell us just like that?" Dex asked, unbelievable. "No sneaky riddles, no risky clues? Just... answers?"

"I believe I understand where you're going with this." Mr. Forkle said as the group filed onto the couch. "Constance, you think Joseph is your father, don't you?"

Constance caught herself nodding. It felt weird, hearing someone else say it. She didn't think she would ever get used to it, if Joseph really was her father.

"It makes sense. Our last names match up. He's an elf, and apparently so am I. According to Mr. Redek, he is also a telepath, like me. He disappeared around four years ago, the age I am now." Constance stated, pulling up the facts her and her friends had found. "We learned that he also worked with the Black Swan... before he disappeared."

"And the last person he came in contact to was Keefe and the letter his mother forced him to deliver." Dex added.

Mr. Forkle nodded, stroking his nonexistent beard. "I see. Well, Constance, you sure are an odd case. As far as we know, Joseph never... had children. He did indeed work with the Black Swan. He was one of the original members of the Collective, in fact. Remember, elves have a long life span." He paused, reminding Constance of the fact. She nodded, thankful for the information. "He was a messenger, working with the humans and was our main communicator. But those were brutal times between humans and elves. Atlantis had just been destroyed and sunken. Elves accused humans of attacking, while humans accused elves of illegal experimentation against their species' will."

"The elves were... experimenting on humans?" Bex said in barely more than a whisper.

"The Neverseen were. Only the Neverseen. However, the Council believed both groups were the same, and therefore were after the Black Swan. That's where Joseph came into the play. The Counselor knew he was suspicious, his pendent always hacked and they finally caught his registry at the Lost Cities. That's how they knew he was illegally communicating with humans. However, he lied low and a long time after, five years ago to be exact, fled to the Lost Cities, leaving behind his family, friends, Black Swan, and identity. The Council could not find him, and quickly covered up his tracks so not to stir up trouble within the community."

"They didn't want others to think it was okay to run off." Grady said gruffly from the doorway. Constance, Bex, Dex, and Marella all jumped simultaneously. He appeared to have been there since Mr. Forkle had started talking. Again, Constance wondered what the Ruewens had to do with Joseph Contraire.

"What happened to him next? Why does his file say he's a human?" Dex asked.

"Well, the Council isn't the only one with files. The human registration keeps tabs on everyone as well. My guess is that when Joseph moved to France, he took citizenship there and kept his name." Mr. Forkle completed. "And thats... thats all I know."

"So... is he my biological dad?" Constance inquired, still unsure with the whole explanation.

"He most certainly could be." Mr Forkle responded. "He could've settled in and gotten married off quickly with a human. Perhaps someone he knew from previous communication."

"So I'm... only half elf?" That didn't feel right. Constance felt whole. Not only could she use telepathy, but she could also read and write in the Enlightened Language. "But I still have so many questions. What happened to him after he left? Why did he leave? He'd been in the Lost Cities for who knew how many centuries and then... he just got up and decided to live in France? That just... that doesn't make sense..." Constance muttered, frustration pouring out of her. "What about my mom?" She felt embarrassed asking that, but she wasn't sure why.

"Only Mr. Contraire knows, doesn't he?" Marella asked gloomily.

"We have to figure out the rest of the story." Constance said with conviction. "We can search through files, maybe even interrogate the Council-" "Or." Grady stood up, his eyes gleaming mysteriously. "Or you could ask Joseph himself."