The Realization (A SoKeefe/Keephie story)

Chapter 19 - Sophie

"Come on, it's training time. I've been calling your name since breakfast ended! Didn't you hear the bell?" She stared at her suspiciously, then sighed. "You didn't eat anything, did you? Here." She shoved a dark purple fruit under her nose. "Quick, eat while we're walking. We're going to be late!" She tugged Sophie numbly took the fruit, then reluctantly stood up.

"Come on!" Carmynn's hand tugged on hers as they ran out the dining hall. Sophie hastily stuffed the fruit inside her mouth and was greeted by what tasted like warm, tingling sunshine. I've eaten this before, something in the back of her mind whispered, but she paid no heed to it and ran with Carmynn, pushing those thoughts into the back of her mind.

The two of them arrived just before the shrill bell rang, supposedly signifying the beginning of training time.

"What is this, a school?" Sophie asked Carmynn between pants. The girl straightened up. The run had barely affected her.

"Kind of," she whispered, then put a finger to her lips. "Shh..."

"Mynnie." Sophie straightened up to see Carmynn and someone else, a tall boy with tanned skin and dark clothes facing each other.

"New student?" He asked, his mouth quirking up in a small smile.

"Yes, Ace. And don't call me Mynnie!" She said, glowering at him. He smirked.

"That's Trainer Corrova to you. Now," he turned, facing Sophie. "New kid. In case someone hasn't already told you at breakfast, this is a training session. You'll have three of these throughout the day. And yes, this is quite like a school. All to train new Neverseen recruits. Keep that necklace," he pointed to the yellow crystal hanging on a chain around her neck. "On at all times. Press the phoenix and you'll have access to the HoloNetwork, something our Technopath designed. There, you'll be able to access your schedule, a map of this "school", and many others. It will be able to answer any questions you have. You will also refer to me as Trainer Corrova when we are in session, unlike Mynnie here." He smirked at Carmynn, who was red in the face. "Got it?" He said to Sophie.

Sophie nodded, storing that information in her photographic memory. Trainer Corrova clapped his hands.

"Now... Class time," he said gleefully, rubbing his hands together. "Today we'll be learning how to throw daggers. Normally, Sophie, you would get an examination so that we can see what you can do and what abilities you have, but I've already been informed of all that information by the leaders. And with what I've been told, you should do at least mediocre in this training session."

It seemed that there was no need for any other instruction, for everyone else nodded and grabbed a dagger, then headed to a station, where a bull's eye was painted on the wall. Sophie hesitantly mimicked them, taking a dagger then heading to the corner of the room.

The dagger she had chosen was relatively small but seemed easier for her to handle than the long, sleek ones that Zayn and Marigold had chosen. She watched as Marigold hit bull's eye after bull's eye, getting a small congratulations from Trainer Corrova.

Sophie tested the weight in her hand, then practiced aiming it at the target, but never letting go. Finally, after a few more minutes, she let it fly, and to her amazement, it landed just outside the center circle.

"Good job for your first try," a voice murmured behind her. She spun around. It was Trainer Corrova. He handed her a new dagger, this time longer.

"Thanks," she said. "But maybe it's just beginner's luck."

He raised his eyebrows. "We won't see unless you try again."

Sophie tried once more, only needing a few more theoretical strikes before she let it fly. This one did not fly as true as the other one, landing on the third ring from the center. She slumped down, glancing over at him.

He shrugged. "It may just be the type of dagger," he said. "Try this one," he handed her a new dagger with the same stature as her first one. This time, it hit the bull's eye.

Sophie continued to practice with the smaller daggers, getting more and more bull's eyes every time. Of course, she could not beat Marigold, whose strikes were nearly perfect, but she thought she was doing quite well.

Finally, an hour was over, and Sophie headed back to her room with the help of Carmynn, who congratulated her success at her first training session. Sophie unlocked her door by pressing her crystal to the mirror on the door and slumped through her bedroom into the bathroom, where she took a quick shower.

As she stood below the flowing streams of water, she wondered about the frequent lapses in her memory in the morning. Even when she was handling the daggers, she could feel some sort of muscle memory guiding her, telling her that she had done this before. Finally, she concluded that her memory must have been washed.

Who was I? she thought as she stepped out of the shower with a towel. She stared at herself in the mirror. Who am I?