Sophie
Sophie woke up, yawning. Blinking the sleep out of her eyes, she got out of her bed. Her room was a big one. The queen bed only took up about a tenth of her room. She had two nightstands, a big desk, two armoires, and a space to workout (that was necessary for her missions.) She even had a walk-in closet and a joint bathroom. Ah, the perks of being Agent Moonlark.
At the moment, however, Sophie wasn't feeling very lucky. She was thinking about Keefe. Why, oh, why did he have to be part of the Neverseen?
Just then, Vertina waltzed into Sophie's room. Vertina was in charge of Sophie's disguises when she went on missions.
"You look awful," she noted, her sapphire blue eyes narrowing at Sophie.
"Thanks," Sophie grumbled. At seven in the morning, Vertina was already fully dressed and had already done her make-up. No doubt she had already eaten breakfast. Sophie, on the other hand....
"You're hair looks like a bird's nest, the bags under your eyes are darker than Tam's humor, and you're pale as a ghost."
"Vertina, I'm a spy, not a model."
"Doesn't mean you have to look like....that."
"You're starting to sound like Biana."
"Now, that girl has some fashion sense," Vertina said, going into Sophie's closet and digging through Sophie's various disguises. Sophie rolled her eyes and stepped into her bathroom. A good look in the mirror told her that Vertina was right. She did look awful.
"Try this on," Vertina told her, throwing her a red dress. Sophie stared at the dress in horror. The dress was very short and sparkly and strapless. The back dipped way too low.
"No," she told Vertina, and threw the dress back. Vertina gave her a pout and went back to searching through Sophie's wardrobe.
"How about this?" Vertina tossed her a yellow tank top and black leggings. Sophie nodded and ducked into the bathroom. A few minutes later, she came back into her room. Vertina stepped back to admire her work.
"Maybe some gold eyeliner," she was mumbling. "And a high ponytail..." She pushed Sophie into the desk chair. Sophie tried not to complain as Vertina styled her hair and applied make-up to Sophie's face. Why Vertina was so set on making Sophie look good even when she wasn't on missions was still a mystery to Sophie.
"Voilà!," Vertina cried. "You are no longer atrocious! You have been upgraded to 'simply a mess.'"
"Gee, thanks." Sophie wasted no time in escaping Vertina. She darted out of her room.
The hallways of the Black Swan's headquarters were long and tranquil. The eery silence was just what Sophie needed after a long mission. But that wasn't even the best part. The best part was at the other end of this hallway. The training room. It was where she went to think.
As soon as she was inside, she put on boxing gloves and started punching the boxing bag. Her thoughts whirled around in her brain like bullets.
Why did she have to open up to Keefe? Punch. Why did she have to kiss him on the cheek? Punch. Why did he have to let her get the Lumenaria Gem? Punch. Why did he have to be so darn perfect?
"You seem like you want to kill that bag."
Sophie turned around. "Well, Biana, it's not like I can."
Biana was standing with Linh in the doorway. With her chestnut brown hair and teal eyes, she was easily one of the most gorgeous people Sophie had seen. It was obvious that she was Fitz's sister. Don't let her good looks fool you, though. Biana could kick anyone's butt on a daily basis.
Linh had black hair with dyed silver tips that matched her silver eyes. There was always a faint pink blush on her cheeks. She was serene, but feisty. She too looked an awful lot like her brother, but her personality was nowhere near Tam's.
Biana raised her eyebrows. "What did the poor bag ever do to you?"
Sophie kicked the bag. "It existed."
"Congratulations on getting the Lumenaria Gem," Linh said.
"I don't want to talk about it," Sophie answered not as kindly as she should have. She immediately regretted it when she saw Biana's eyebrows shoot sky-high.
"Anything you want to tell us?," the youngest Vacker sibling asked.
"No. But do any of you want to spar with me?"
"I'll fight you," Linh volunteered. They crossed over to the weapons wall. Sophie's weapon of choice was a dagger while Linh's was a nunchaku. They walked to the arena, facing each other.
"Fight!," Biana shouted, acting as a referee of sorts.
Flashback
Sophie walked through the hallways of the Black Swan's headquarters. The Black Swan called this place Alluveterre. Not many of the agents realized it, but most of Alluveterre was underground.
Her feet made no sound as she walked, the Lumenaria Gem safe in her fist. Her cloak swished, twisting from side to side. Her hood cast shadows across her face, making it impossible to see above her lips.
When she threw open the doors of the meeting room, Agent Granite, Agent Squall, Agent Forkle, Agent Blur, and Agent Wraith were already inside. Good. The Collective was already here.
"I have it," she rasped. The five agents perked up.
"The Lumenaria Gem?," Agent Forkle asked.
"Right here." Sophie opened her fist, revealing the precious gem. So small....yet so valuable.
Agent Blur snatched it, and started inspecting it. "It's the real deal. Well done, little Moonlark."
"I expect a full report," Agent Forkle told Sophie.
"Well, when I went into the museum, there was no sound. Except for the guard, of course. But he made about as much sound as a dinosaur. I made my way into the Lumenaria exhibit." Agent Forkle gave a nod.
Right then, right there, Sophie decided not to tell them about Keefe. He was her secret. It was the least she could do for Keefe, after he gave up the Lumenaria Gem without a fight.
"And I took it." The five agents were not satisfied with what she had told them.
"That's it?," asked Blur. "Can you be more detailed? Was there anyone else in the museum apart from the guard?"
"No," Sophie lied. "No one."
Agent Forkle shook his head. "It couldn't have been that easy. You must have left something out, Agent Moonlark."
"I didn't see anyone else!," Sophie exclaimed. She threw up her hands. "I took the gem, and I left. No one caught me. I did what you wanted me to do, now can I go?" She honestly didn't mean for the outburst. But when she was lying, she tended to get defensive and lash out at others.
Agent Forkle studied her, interest sparking in his eyes. Sophie gulped. Out of all five of the Collective, he was the one who knew her the most. He was most likely to figure out that she wasn't telling the whole truth.
"Yes," he finally said. "You may go, now." Sophie let out the breath she was holding and exited the room, relieved that they had not called her out on the big lie she had just told.
Flashback End
Linh was skilled with her weapon, but Sophie was the heir of the Black Swan for a reason. After two minutes of dancing around, she managed to knock the nunchaku out of Linh's hands. She held her dagger to Linh's neck.
"You're dead," she whispered. Linh laughed a soft, melodic laugh.
"I never did win against you, did I?," she asked good-naturedly. Sophie gave her friend a smile.
Keefe
His mother had called him to her office. That was never good. Keefe did not exactly approve of the Neverseen's motives, but it wasn't like he had a choice. His mother was the leader, after all.
He knocked on the cold, metal door. "Come in," came the reply. He opened the door, and tentatively stepped inside. Agent Gisela sat in her desk chair, her back to him. Her desk was rid of all papers. Uh oh. When her desk was clean, that meant she had been planning. And Keefe usually didn't like her plans. Mostly because Agent Gisela played dirty.
Agent Gisela swiveled her chair around to face her son. "Keefe," she chirped, her voice sweet as honey. "I have a new mission for you."