"Yes, that's possible," Veta said slowly, "but how are you going to explain where they are? I mean, even if you got them to forget, they will still be here in the Lost Cities. Looking at us Elves."
Sophie considered this for a moment, sure that she had hit a wall.
But Keefe jumped in. "We can lure them out into the Forbidden Cities, and we could all dress like humans so they wouldn't notice us when they forget about elves."
"How are we going to lure them out?" one of the Councilors said.
Tam shrugged. "Sometimes, we just gotta see how some things shake out."
"But..." The Councilors seemed ready for a full debate, but they didn't have the time for it.
"We have to go, it's only a matter of time before all hell breaks loose." Biana said, racing to her room to change to human clothes.
"But, Miss. Foster," Veta said, narrowing her eyes when everyone cleared away except for Keefe, Sophie, and Charlotte -- they were already wearing human clothes. "You know how the system works. My sister is dead, the only way we can make them forget is by sacrificing one of us and one of them."
Sophie knew that. And she knew what she had to do. Keefe turned to her with wide eyes. "Woah, back the T-Rex up. Don't tell me you're gonna do what I think you're doing."
Sophie shot him an innocent look. "I don't know what you're talking about."
Keefe glanced at Veta (who was trying to talk Charlotte out from coming) before pulling Sophie over to a quiet corner and placing his hands on her shoulders. "Listen, I will not let you sacrifice yourself."
"Let me?" Sophie laughed. "Please, Keefe, I can make my own decisions. Besides, I would be happy to die for something like this. You guys are all going to move on without me, you know that."
"What about me?" Keefe's voice was hoarse, and he gently shook Sophie. "What about me, Foster? What would I be without you?"
Sophie felt her eyes start to water, but she blinked them away. "You're the strongest person I know, Keefe. You'd be fine. You were fine before I came to the Lost Cities."
Keefe closed his eyes and shook his head horizontally many times. "No. No. Foster, I'll do it. It should be me."
"No, Keefe!" Sophie couldn't stop the tears. "You've got a life to live! You've got to live and make wonderful changes in this world. You're an Emissary, for heaven's sake! Look, I was always an outcast. Maybe doing this would make them think of me as someone better."
"They already know, Foster. They know how wonderful and amazing you are. God, you're the best thing that has happened to them -- to me."
Keefe beat her to wiping her tears away. "Keefe, I don't want to. But I'd rather do it myself than let anyone else do it. I know it's selfish." Keefe barked out a laugh at that. "But Keefe, please. It's better if it's me."
"What's better about it, huh? Nothing! Damn right, nothing!" Keefe's tone was angry -- hard. His ice blue eyes met hers, and oh boy, it reminded her of all the things they have done together. The first time they talked in Foxfire. Sleeping in the same bed together -- although it was by accident -- for the first time after a Foxfire Graduation party. Clinging onto each other as if there was nothing else. "I love you, Sophie. I can't let someone I love go! Okay? You're the first one I love, actually with my whole heart."
Sophie was about to reply when the rest of them had to come back, all in human clothes. Fitz cleared his throat, shooting Keefe an annoyed look. "God, Keefe, you made Sophie cry."
"Well, we should get going." Veta said solemnly. "And may luck guide you to a happy ending."
............................................................................................
The humans had a look of astonishment and glee when they leaped over to where they were. A mix of shouts, orders, and sounds of people snapping pictures filled the air as the elves walked over to where they were.
The first gun shot whizzed by Linh's face, barely missing her by an inch.
This was when hell broke loose.
Wylie sent electricity to the humans, his anger for the humans hurting his wife apparent.
Tam also engulfed them in his shadows, and they screamed.
"Guys, stop! We shouldn't be fighting!" Veta ordered.
The humans charged, with knives and guns visible.
This was when the doorway to Atlantis decided to open.
No, it wasn't the doorway. It was the exit.
Elves stampeded out of it, all in their fancy gowns, and a look of determination and anger on their faces.
The human and Elves collided, gunshots piercing the air and shouts following it.
Sophie saw red, black, and god-knows what color penetrate the air.
Although Sophie and her group were disguised into human attires, the rest of the elves weren't, so they were being attacked by guns.
However, Biana was once attacked by a Guster because she looked like a human.
"Veta!" Sophie shouted. "Tell me how to do the thing!"
"I've never done this before, so I don't know for sure, but my guess is that the Sacrifices must be aware of what they are dying for. And they must both hold hands or have any kind of physical contact, and they must be killed by the same person. And... I don't know. Maybe the spell will be cast around us."
"Okay." Sophie said. "Okay." She didn't like that she was acting on Veta's guesses, but this was the biggest hope they had now.
A bullet flew out of nowhere, and it skimmed Sophie's arm. She winced, but was thankful that it had not actually gone all the way into her body.
However, what froze the hell out of her was when a young girl's scream penetrated the air. An all-too familiar one at that.
Charlotte lay on the ground, limp. Her stomach was bleeding. She had been shot.
Sophie couldn't think. She couldn't function properly as she knelt down besides her, trying to find the beating of life inside Charlotte. It had to be there. It just had to.
Nothing.
Oh, stupid Sophie. She hadn't made sure Charlotte didn't follow her out. She should have.
If it weren't for this stupid guns, her Charlotte wouldn't have been shot.
No.
No.
No.
No.
And this was when she felt her body transform into an angry mama-bear. She growled, flinging herself into the angry mob of humans, not sure what she was doing, not even registering the dim pain she felt around her shoulders as a gun bullet went into her body.
Her Charlotte.
The one she failed to protect.
Then...
"It's here! Her pulse is here!" Elwin called out to her. "You're Sophie, right? The bear."
Sophie immediately transformed back, rushing to her daughter's side as Elwin poured liquid of every color into Charlotte and pressed cotton onto her wound.
Charlotte coughed.
And this sound was the best sound Sophie had ever heard.
Sophie hugged her daughter tightly. "Oh, honey, don't you ever do that again! You scared the crap outta me. Are you okay?"
"Yesh." Then she burst out crying. "Wash I dead, mommy? It hurtsh!"
"Oh honey, it'll be alright, okay? I've got you."
They stayed like that for a while before Sophie remembered that she was in the middle of a war. "Elwin, can you stay with Charlotte? I've got to go help."
Elwin nodded weakly. "Just be careful, alright? Your shoulder's hurt."
Sophie nodded, glancing at it (Elwin had wrapped bandages around it), and the pain seemed to worsen. Oh well. She would have to deal with it later.
"Sophie! Are you hurt?" Fitz ran over, a look of concern on his face.
"Y-yep. I mean, no. I'm fine."
Fitz smiled. "Alright then."
"Oh! Sophie!" Fin said, coming over. "How are you?"
"Umm, not the best. We're at war, if you haven't noticed." Sophie replied. He laughed as if it was the funniest thing in the world.
"We should catch up, you know? Once this whole thing is over."
"O-oh yes! Of course."
Fin laughed again. "Listen, I'm joking."
"If you weren't, I'd be concerned for you."
"Haha. Well, I might have eavesdropped on your earlier convo with the lady, and you said you needed sacrifices, right? Well, I'd be happy to be one."
Sophie jerked her head to him. "What? No. You wouldn't."
"I would, actually." He shrugged. "Must feel nice to do something good for the world, huh?"
Sophie closed her eyes. She knew she needed another sacrifice, but him? One of her only friends in the Forbidden Cities?
"Hey." He whispered softly. "Don't worry about it. It's my decision. It's for the world, a-and for you. Heck, I had this awful crush on you when we were working together." He smiled softly. "But I also knew you belonged to a whole new world -- didn't know you would, literally. Let me be something that no one else can be to you, okay? That way, you -- and the world -- could know that Fin is a hero."
"You know that the humans are gonna forget about us, right? And what about your family?" Sophie felt questions tumbling out of her mouth, because no, she didn't want him to die.
"Yeah, I know. And about my family? My dad died a few years ago, and my mom abandoned me when I was a child. I don't have any wife or children. It's just me."
Sophie's heart broke for him, and she couldn't help but rush over to him and hug him. "Oh, Fin, you don't know what you're saying. But this could possibly save the world."
He laughed. "Of course. Everything I do is amazing."
Two chapters in a day! Are you proud of me? Ehehe
SilverFox Out