OMG IM SO SORRY READERS. School has been a giant nightmare, and I've barely had time to write. I'll be posting chapters for this more often hopefully now!
Keefe
Agent Forkle sped-walk to the infirmary, his cloak billowing behind him. Only his stiff muscles showed that he was nervous.
Meanwhile, Keefe was a zombie. He was following Sophie and their boss, but he was not aware of anything. Only of his thoughts. He was unaware of where he was going, unaware of his feet moving.
Agent Forkle had said Mitya. Did he mean...the Mitya who had taught Keefe? Were they the same person? Had Mitya been a part of the Black Swan all along?
The new revelation blew his mind. Without knowing it, he had met up with someone who worked for the Black Swan when he was little. Thank the gods he never told his mother. Agent Gisela would have insisted on looking into Mitya's past. She no doubt would have found out who Mitya worked for. Before, Keefe had thought he was protecting Mitya's privacy. Now he knew he had unknowingly been protecting much more.
He itched to see Mitya again. He missed her. They hadn't known each other for long, but she had been kinder to him than Agent Gisela ever had.
Suddenly, his heart sank as he remembered why exactly Agent Forkle had mentioned Mitya. Mitya was sick. And from the sounds of it, it was bad.
It was at times like this that Keefe wished he had cared more about the Neverseen's plans. Sure, Agent Gisela never kept him in the loop, but he could have at least eavesdropped. Maybe if he had, he would know where to find the Panakes trees. After all, he was sure that the Neverseen had caused the Gnomish Plague, one way or another.
Bonk!
"Owwww." Pain flared through Keefe as he smashed into something. He rubbed his nose gingerly and glared at the wall in front of him. He thought he could see a faint dent in the wall where his nose had collided with it.
He heard a giggle, and directed his glare to the source. "That actually hurt!"
Sophie cocked an eyebrow. "Uh huh. I'm sure you hurt the wall more than it hurt you."
"Well, I bet your walls are bullet-proof!" Keefe stuck his tongue out. To prove his point, he punched the wall, but immediately recoiled his fist in pain.
"Ow ow ow ow." He cradled his fist and hopped up and down. He took one look at Sophie's amused expression and said indignantly, "It's harder than it looks!"
"When you're done having a fist-fight with a...wall, can we go?" She tapped her foot impatiently, and Keefe blushed in embarrassment. This was not the impression he wanted to have on his crush - waiiiiiiit. What he say? No, he didn't have a crush on the Moonlark.
Or did he? He couldn't help noticing how pretty she looked....especially when she was mad. And how she made his heart beat faster.
She looks so cute, he thought. Wait - what am I thinking? Shut up, brain. Wait, is my brain telling itself to shut up? Heyyyyy, I'm having one of those arguments with myself that people in books have all the time! Awesome! Oh, but now I remember what it was about. But she's the Moonlark and I'm the Lodestar. Is this turning into one of these teen drama things? Like Romeo and Juliet? Wait, but I don't wanna die! Ohhh, now she looks like she wants to rip my head off. Probably 'cause I'm just staring at her. The look in her eyes is so cute - that's it! I have a crush on her. Uh oh. Denial was bliss.
"-Keefe! Keefe!"
"Wha-huh-wha's happenin'?" He snapped his head from side to side, startled. "Did I miss anything?"
"Yes, you missed me yelling at you to listen to me."
"Oh." He smirked. "Well, that's good for me."
Sophie grabbed his arm and literally dragged him down the hall. Keefe tried to ignore the tingles her touch sent through him.
"Foster, violence is never the option!"
"It is when you're a spy, or dealing with an idiot boy - or in my case, both."
She all but threw him into a room. The room was lined with comfortable-looking cots. On the walls, magnificent landscapes were painted. Fluffy pink clouds were set against beautiful sunset skies. Grassy hills, and snowy mountains hid behind the clouds, and there were animals prancing about on them. Dogs, deer, cats, and horses frolicked in flowery meadows. Caribou, arctic foxes, and snowy bunnies played in the snow. There were even birds and butterflies flying overhead.
The plush armchairs next to the cots were a gentle lilac color. On each of the night stands was a bouquet of lavender. At the far end of the room, there was a huge bookcase with vials of colorful liquids on the shelves instead of books.
"This - this is the infirmary?," Keefe gasped.
The Neverseen's infirmary was much plainer than this. In the Neverseen's infirmary, the cots were narrow with white sheets. The walls were white. The thin chairs beside the cots were white. Heck, even the floor was white. Keefe once had to stay in the infirmary for a week when he got impaled in the stomach. The reason he was in there would have been a bad enough experience, but no, on top of all that, he had to be bored to death by the dullness of the infirmary. Since then, the color white haunted his dreams.
Sophie smiled at the walls fondly. "Linh painted those. She's an amazing painter."
"Thanks," a soft voice behind them said. They turned around to find Linh giving them a sad smile. A woman next to Linh had a silver Mardi-Gras-style mask covering the area around her eyes. Tiny jewels glinted in her hair.
"I'm Physic," the woman said, holding her hand out for Keefe to shake. Keefe shook it absent-mindedly, his mind on how different the Black Swan and the Neverseen were.
Agent Forkle entered the room, Biana, Tam, Dex, and Fitz in tow. Keefe acknowledged them with a chin nod.
Physic opened a sparkly midnight blue curtain, revealing two unconscious people. They each had their own cot, though the cots were close together. Keefe immediately recognized one of them to be Mitya. Dismay filled his features as he noticed how pale she was. Her eyes were closed gently, but her face was in no way peaceful. Agony distorted her expression, and she took in ragged breaths. The person next to Mitya was no better. He was, if possible, paler, and his eyebrows were knit together, showing his distress.
Biana covered her mouth, and stared at the scene, her eyes wide with sadness. Tam had a grim look on his face. Dex and Linh refused to even look. Fitz looked angry. His fists were clenched at his sides.
Keefe focused on Sophie. Her eyes glistened slightly with unshed tears, but she seemed to be holding them back. Keefe flashed her a reassuring smile. He put his arm on her shoulders, and drew her in close, letting her bury her head in his chest.
He noticed Fitz glaring at him. Keefe tilted his head to the side. What did he do? Well, he did prank Fitz, but other than that...
Keefe's mouth formed a round 'O.' Fitz was jealous. He had a crush on Sophie. Keefe shifted uncomfortably, not sure what to do.
The silence hung over them, like a storm. No one dared break it. That is, no one except Keefe.
"Agent Forkle?," Keefe asked, trying to lighten the mood.
Agent Forkle looked up. "Yes, Mr. Sencen?," he asked warily.
"Calling you Agent Forkle is too long," Keefe said pensively. "It's four whole syllables!"
"I don't feel that this is relevant right now..."
"I know!" Keefe snapped his fingers, as if an exciting idea had suddenly occurred to him. "How about I call you 'AF?'"
"Mr. Sencen," Agent Forkle ventured.
"Yes?" Keefe batted his eyes innocently. "Mr. Forkle?" He imitated Agent Forkle.
"Isn't that the acronym for...?"
Keefe looked back, a picture of innocence. "The acronym for what?"
"Ummmm....."
Keefe had a trouble hiding his grin. He imagined that Agent Forkle was hardly speechless. "You can say it, AF. I want to know."
"The acronym for, uh, as, um...." Agent Forkle tripped over his own words, flustered.
"Oh my gods!," Sophie exclaimed, her voice muffled. "Keefe, you know what it means!"
Keefe shrugged, no longer concealing his grin. "If you say so." But it had worked. Biana and Linh were smiling faintly, and Dex's dimples were showing.
Tam
Tam hadn't been feeling very well. Ever since he woke up, he felt like he was barely conscious. He was barely holding on. He had looked in the mirror, and his skin was lighter than usual. While eating lunch, he almost dumped his head in his soup. His head felt heavier than stone.
He looked at Lur and Mitya, and couldn't help thinking about how...welcoming sleep looked. He felt lightheaded.
Maybe he was sleep-deprived. But there were no circles under his eyes, and he had slept soundly for the past week, now that he no longer lived with the Basile children.
Biana, Dex, and Linh were laughing. Tam frowned. At what? Had someone said anything? He could barely hear anything over his need to sleep.
Tam stared at the ground. It was getting closer. And closer. And closer. His vision was starting to darken.
The last thing he heard was Biana screaming "TAM!" before the world faded to black.
Dun dun dunnnn. Cliffhangerrrrr.
Also, I'm not really good at romance, so please no hate. More chapters coming soon.