Biana looked down in horror. On the ground before her lay Sophie Foster, alive. She was alive and gorgeous and...well, and she was a traitor. And she was also barely breathing.
"Dead," Marella yelled, taking her out of her trance, "We are all going to die because of you!"
"No, you are all alive because of me." Ramzi corrected, thinking that she was right for harming the blonde.
Oh, how she wanted to punch that look off of the dumb elf's face.
Oralie scoffed, obviously pretending that she didn't care about Sophie who didn't look like she was breathing anymore. "No, Miss Redek is correct. The Black Swan is going to kill all of us for what you did to their Moonlark."
Biana could tell that Dex and the rest of the group were on edge about their old friend popping up in thin air saving Kesler then almost dying for that. Sophie was in hiding for six years, then all of a sudden makes a couple appearances in front of them. Anyone with a brain could see that this was an oddity.
But as soon as she recognized the blonde, thoughts came flooding to her. And maybe they were selfish, but she would finally get her chance to apologize, she could make up for the lost time, she could have the friend she never got to have back. Then all of a sudden a stab of a needle from that asinine elf is killing her chance.
And it wasn't like she could bend over by Dex and try to calm her once-friend, the Councillors were watching them. This was basically a test, and Biana was going to fail if she looked down at her broken friend. Then that's exactly what she did, she looked down.
Sophie was turning blue, the same thing that happened the last time with the Nogganese and the truth serum, but happening at a much faster rate. Her throat looks swollen and there were little bumps covering her golden skin, along with scratch marks.
Biana was about to go down, but then her brother shocked her by falling to the ground first.
She watched as her brother picked up the blonde's head and rested it on his knees. He gently went through her pockets, "What are you doing?"
"You all still remember that she is a telepath, right? She whispered in my mind about there being something to help her in her pocket." He told them.
"Why would she have it in her pocket?"
"Because after what happened the last time with the truth serum, she has been really cautious. And it looks like the caution paid off." Fitz replied to Ruy's question.
Then he wasted no more time, picking up Sophie's hand and—not very gently, because he was a bastard—injected whatever was in the syringe that he pulled out from her pocket. And when he pulled the needle out, it was evident that this had happened before. Biana could see the scars that formed on her old friend's skin from other times she's done that. Three times to be exact.
A few minutes later the swelling went down, and she could recognize the pretty face again. Her friend was also breathing regularly, and surprisingly the scratch marks on her arms were healing.
Soon everything was back to normal, but the small blonde girl still never woke up.
The Council then made it their mission to watch over her and make sure she was questioned and never escaped. They left after those parting words, and instantaneously Sophie woke up.
"Oh, goodie, they're gone. I thought that they would never leave, and then I would actually have to fall asleep." She said, then did a kick jump to stand up. Sophie walked up to the bars she was behind and leaned upon them. "Do I really need to be in here? I'm not going to kill anyone, or go anywhere for that matter. I came here to speak to you all."
Biana and her friends stuttered, "But, you were just out cold?"
"I'm an actor, Biana, a skilled liar, and a very cynical person. I came here for one reason, and one reason only, and that was to talk to you—my dear old friends." She said with a knowing smile, "The least you could do is make me feel at home, or welcomed."
The mini Councillor Alina who they all forgot was in the room spoke before anyone else could. "I thought I killed you."
Sophie smirked and laughed at her, "Killed me?" She said with a devious, knowing laugh, "Limbium can't kill me," She sneered, "Nothing can, you just gave me a...how do I say this? Boost? Kick start? Hunny, all you did was make me more powerful."
In a flash their old friend was standing right in front of the Beguiler, bopping her on the nose. "Worry not fiends," She accentuated the last word to let them know she still wasn't their friend, "I'm not here to harm anyone, or make a big fuss. I'm here to give you guys another warning. As funny as that sounds, I want to help.
"I love my family, and I hate betraying their plans like this, but you guys will be hurt in the process, and as silly as that is, I cannot let that happen. The Black Swan is not at fault, and nor are you. You just choose to follow old fools who need to be caught up on the times." Sophie breathed out. "I cannot allow my family to tarnish their minds by hurting and possibly killing people, and I cannot allow you to die."
Ruy laughed, a loud fake laugh that made everyone look at him. "Not tarnish their minds by killing you say? What about the dead elves in the wanderling woods?"
"Have you ever heard of the Neverseen?" She asked, no one knew what she was talking about, "Well they were the bad ones, and as the only known cause of rebellion, we took the brunt of their wrong doings. But now the Black Swan and the Neverseen are united—my fault there—and I fear for what they will make us do.
"But Keefe knows," Sophie gave him a knowing smile, which he balked at. "Oh, don't play coy, Sencen, when memories I've specifically taken off the face of the Earth are restored, I know. I know because I get them back as well."
//
"The question is though, how did you get them back?" Sophie asked after a long period of silence.
Keefe was still silent, and the rest of her friends didn't have the balls to speak up. But not her, she would speak up, "What does she mean, Keefe?"
"I-she...we..." This was a train wreck–just like this whole situation. And then he finally got one clear word out, "Calla."
Sophie scoffed, "Are you telling me that my dead mentor, who is also a tree, gave you the memories."
"I know it sounds stupid, but it's the truth. Look through my memories if you have to, but then you would have to relive them if you try." Keefe forced out quickly, preventing Biana from asking Sophie how she knew Calla.
Sophie's jaw locked, "No need for that," She relented, "If Calla deemed it necessary for you to have the memories, then I will leave it at that."
The blonde was just about to cover a different topic when she froze. Biana didn't know why until Dex appeared in front of her, staring down at Sophie.
"Three things, Sophie, where is my father? How do you know Calla? And what are you talking about, about the memories?" He was most definitely pissed, she could tell by his set jaw.
Biana watched her shiver at the calling of her birth name. It was evident that she hadn't used her real name in a long time. "First off, I'd much rather everyone call me Moon or Luna. And secondly, I don't have to tell you shit–but you are Kesler's son..." She trailed off, "He is fine, he's with your mother and siblings–and they are somewhere that I can't say, but they are safe."
Dex's jaw was still clenched tight, it was a wonder he didn't break a tooth from the pressure. "Okay, now the other questions."
Wow, no love lost apparently.
"When the Black Swan found me, I was tutored in many things–name something and I can tell you about it. Calla was required to keep me sane, give me a good balance of what was good and bad. She's probably the reason I'm not evil, and it's because of me that she's dead. The virus that spread was a warning from the Neverseen, they wanted me and Calla paid the price for it." Sophie breathed out, "And since she was a tree by the time Keefe was taken, she has a connection to all the plant life on the earth. That's why she was able to restore your memories, Keefe.
"Now, are we done here? I have to show you guys something, and introduce you to people you should meet."
//
This totally wasn't sketchy at all, Biana thought, Sophie totally isn't trying to murder us!
But then she took in her surroundings better, they were in the Neutral Territory.
"I'll be right back, I gotta get the people you're supposed to meet." Then in a flash of lightning and thunder she was gone.
"Okay," Ruy breathed, curiosity laced in that single word, "What the hell was that and how can I learn it."
"That's not important," Fitz grumbled, "You don't think she's leading us into a trap right?"
Her brother was looking at Dex. He was the obvious choice to ask about Sophie since they were the closest when Sophie still lived in the Lost Cities. But that was years ago and they were only children, and Sophie seemed to have changed a lot.
"Sophie is many things, but I highly doubt she would do this. She got herself limbiuminazed to save my father, she has morals." Dex pondered, "And the reason Sophie can teleport most likely has something to do with the alicorns."
And now that he brought the mystical creatures up, she could see the resemblance between the teleporting.
"Do you think that they have a technopath that made the teleport-y thing for her?" Marella asked, and at first Biana thought that it was a question out of pure curiosity, but it wasn't. The petite blonde smirked at her boyfriend, "Falling behind on skill I see."
Dex grumbled something inaudible, well not inaudible, just that Sophie reappeared with her friends at that moment.
"So I knew that you most likely didn't want to see Brant, so I brought different Neverseen members for you to meet. Along with Black Swan members."
Everyone looked at the said friends, she looked away quickly, but looked back to double check that she wasn't imagining things. "Alvar!"
Fitz shared her sentiments and their oldest brother carefully walked in front of Sophie, "Siblings," He greeted, if he was nervous at seeing them he didn't show it.
"Was it really necessary for me to be here, Soph?" Oh this asshole knew what he was doing by calling her 'Soph'.
"Yes, and I know that this is an incon—" Alvar cut her off with a smile, the same smile that Fitz had. A smile she hated because he betrayed them.
"Don't worry, it's not. Me and my siblings have a lot of catching up to do." And the smile he gave was not entirely sane.