Match-A Sophie and Fitz Story

Chapter Eleven

Fitz found his voice before Sophie did. "You don't have the results with you?"

The tall elf shook his head. "For confidentiality reasons, we keep all of our records in one place. You will not be receiving scrolls, either. If too many people found out about the compatibility testing we do here, we'd be so overbooked our staff would have to work overtime on a daily basis."

Well, it was a good thing they came back.

"Either way, I'm going to need you to come with me if you want your results." Fitz and Sophie both answered "of course we do" at the same time. The representative looked at them with his eyebrow raised. They flipped their eyes up at each other and smiled.

After a long walk down a maze of hallways similar to the one they'd already been in, the elf stopped in front of an unmarked silver door. He licked a small, inconspicuous panel (also silver) and it swung silently open. He gestured for Sophie and Fitz to enter, so they did. And it was overwhelming.

At least a hundred elves were in the large laboratory. Each was doing something completely different and looking exceptionally busy. Sophie looked up and saw cabinet after cabinet lining every wall—and even the ceiling, which had a similar shape to the exterior of the Matchmaking Office entirely. She wondered if this took up the entire second floor. The representative led them to a petite female elf sitting at a desk in the corner of the lab. She had on an outfit quite like the ones Sophie had seen others wearing before. The tall elf said their last names to her, and she pulled a scroll out of a drawer in the desk. Their results.

Sirens went off in Sophie's head. She was getting a Matchmaking Scroll. She felt silly being so paranoid about something she'd already agreed to multiple times, especially because this wasn't even a really list. It was just a yes or no. But she still felt a certain guilt that went along with the entire system and its discrimination, and it made her slightly uneasy. Still, she was excited about being together with Fitz. She looked up at him, and he was practically giddy. His movie star smile made his eyes sparkle, and his fingers were squeezing her hand over and over. She couldn't help but get in in the anticipation. The elf began to walk briskly back to their room. "Wait," Fitz began. "We can't open it here?"

The representative looked back at him, not even blinking. "Do you really want to find out in such a hectic place?" His question held the answer. Fitz shook his head, and down the winding halls they went.

Once back in the white room. The representative handed the scroll to Fitz and turned to leave. He gave a goodbye, told them to please exit the room within fifteen minutes (there was another appointment), and closed the silver door behind him with a barely audible click.

The second he was gone, Fitz began frantically peeling at the seal on the scroll. "Here, help me," he said to Sophie. He held the scroll and featured for her to untie the silk ribbon on it. With shaky hands, she did. She knew that if she didn't know the results now, she'd never open the scroll. Inside, however, there was only a rounded metal square with a single fleck of glitter embedded into it.

"...huh?" Was the only thing Sophie could think to say.

"It must want us to leap somewhere for the results," he answered, equally confused.

"But why? We're already here, and alone, and ready to know." He shrugged and stood.

"Might as well get there," he said as he created a beam of light with the chip of crystal. Sophie stood, too, and prepared to light leap.

• • • • • •

They ended up in a well-lit cave. As far as caves went, it was quite nice. There were balls of Balefire floating near the top, as well as a plush rug on the ground and several armchairs. Someone was sitting in one of them, turned away from the mouth of the cave where Sophie and Fitz were standing. The figure stood and turned towards them. It was...Councillor Oralie?

Something's odd about this, Sophie transmitted to Fitz.

So is being unmatchable, he countered.

True enough.

"I'm here to speak to you two about your results," Councillor Oralie said in her musical voice. "I'll get straight to the point, if you two don't mind. The Council doesn't want you to be together for several years."

Sophie just about fainted right then. Fitz put his arm around her shoulders to steady her as the Councillor kept speaking.

"The Council wants all of your abilities to have manifested before you be with anyone, Sophie. It's better that way. Smoother."

"That's not fair," said Fitz before Sophie could respond. "If we're compatible, we should be able to be together."

"You make a good point. But it's too risky to have her with someone when her genetic makeup and ability status could change any second." Oralie grew more and more melancholy with every word, and Sophie wondered if it was because she, too, had been kept from her love by the Council somehow. She addressed the regal Councillor.

"Perhaps you should just tell us our compatibility results before you put an indefinite end to my dating life." Sophie hadn't meant to sound so disrespectful, but her anger was beginning to bubble up. Oralie seemed understanding, and kept quiet for forty-three seconds. When she spoke again, it was softer. She reached into a pocket in her dress and pulled a slim scroll from it.

"Here— these are your results. I'll have to take them back once you look at them, but maybe you'll feel better if you know." Fitz was across the cave in a millisecond, taking the scroll and unraveling it at the speed of light. He was so determined to get the results that he cut his finger on the paper and winced. But all of the emotion left his face when he read the parchment he held.

Silence fell on the cave for a small eternity.

"Fitz?" Sophie asked in a voice barely above a whisper. She slowly crossed the cave, read over his shoulder, and gasped.

Sophie Elisabeth Foster
Fitzroy Avery Vacker
Compatibility: 96.4%