Sophie
... Or maybe, into consciousness? Sophie opened her eyes to find herself facing the silks draped above her bed and a worried Edaline at her side. Though relief replaced her mother's worried expression as soon as Sophie came to life, groggily sitting up. The smoke was gone from her lungs, as though it'd never existed in the first place and even gravity seemed to have lightened. She was no longer sore, nor weak---those feelings must've only existed in the memories. Sophie wondered if that meant she'd experienced almost exactly what Mr. Forkle had gone through in that time.
"Sophie," Edaline said, pulling her into the tightest hug.
"I'm fine," Sophie promised, thankful it wasn't even a lie this time.
"Good," Mr. Forkle stepped in. "Because you have somewhere to be. Be dressed and downstairs within fifteen minutes."
"'Dressed'?" Sophie echoed, and Mr. Forkle nodded.
"In green," he clarified, and Sophie swallowed. Was she wearing green for the person she'd seen in that memory? Or was there more than one person who had...
"Don't take your time," Mr. Forkle warned, before shutting the door behind him. Edaline gave a hopeful smile before following him out, leaving Sophie alone---
"You haven't changed a bit."
Sophie squealed, jumping back a step from the mirror where she'd planned to change. On a second thought, that was a huge mistake.
"What are you doing in my mirror?" Sophie demanded, eyes narrowed on the girl in the mirror that was definitely not her reflection. The girl smirked at that, tossing her black hair past her shoulder and seeming as though she were leaning in towards Sophie.
"Huh," was all she said.
"'Huh'?" Sophie said, face twisting into what might've been a mix between shock and irritation. "You were about to watch me change and all you say is 'huh'? Huh?"
"'Huh' as in: you really did lose your memory, didn't you?"
"So what?" Sophie barked.
"Edaline warned me but... I'm just shocked. Anyway, I guess I have to reintroduce myself, so... I'm Vertina, Jolie's old spectral mirror---"
"Jolie?"
"Questions later. Didn't Mr-Old-Dude say you have somewhere to be?"
"You heard that?" Sophie asked.
"I hear anything and everything that's worth hearing." She sighed, followed by a grumbled, "Jolie always knew that. Anyways, yeah, Edaline was rambling about how worried she was about you meeting your friends or something---"
"Sophie?" Sophie stepped away from the mirror for the door, and to her surprise, Vertina vanished.
"Yes?" Sophie called through the door.
"Mr. Forkle is giving a three minute warning," Edaline told her.
"Okay," Sophie said, now digging through her closet for something green that didn't have frills. If this was her old room what was with the frills? Sophie despised frills. And ruffles. And anything sparkly that would make her stand out.
In the end, she'd settled on a silky dress that fell down to her knees---she was clumsy enough without having layers of silk trailing behind her ankle constantly. Her waist was tied with a white ribbon, followed by white embroidery sprinkled across the top and she wore her brown ankle boots because heels were... just. no.
"Sophie!" Edaline squealed as Sophie entered the kitchen where she found Edaline, Mr. Forkle, and Grady who must have returned sometime while Sophie had been changing. "You look..."
She didn't finish her sentence, but Sophie knew exactly what Edaline meant anyways. She didn't normally dress up but considering someone had... ... Sophie had decided to be extra careful with how she dressed, so she'd also pulled her hair into a small braid hanging at her side.
"I didn't realize how long your hair had gotten," Grady noted. He was smiling, but Sophie could feel the sadness behind it. Sophie glanced down to the braid, which fell just above her waist.
"Did it used to be shorter?" she asked. Sophie didn't remember.
Edaline nodded, answering Sophie's question. "But I think it looks good this way!" Sophie nodded, dismissing Edaline's glossy eyes as "allergies".
"You're a minute and a half late," Mr. Forkle stepped in, reminding Sophie the family wasn't alone. Sophie turned to face him, staring into his tired, weary eyes.
"Sorry. I met Vertina." She smiled, forcing herself to keep it until it was returned by both the Ruewens and Mr. Forkle.
"Jolie's spectral mirror?" Mr. Forkle asked, and Grady confirmed with a nod.
"Was she okay? We warned her to be gentle but... Vertina will be Vertina." Edaline actually seemed genuine when she chuckled.
"We can move her if she gets too..." Grady hesitated, and Sophie saved him from finishing.
"She's great. Actually, she helped with my braid." Sophie gestured to the braid, woven in a pattern Sophie had never before seen---at least according to what she remembered.
Silence...
Until finally, "We're already late. You kids, always taking your time." He glanced at his wrist, where there was noticeably no watch. Still, he continued to grumble about the time until both he and Sophie were out of the house, and Sophie was grateful for the save.
"I should probably go over some information about your friends. No more than abilities, however. I'm afraid you'll have to learn everything else from your friends. Also, I've warned them to be careful with their words, so don't think you can ask them anything."
Sophie nodded along with everything he said, but inside, she was irritated. They were her memories! She had a right to every single one of them!
"Your mind is fragile," Mr. Forkle warned, and Sophie held back an eyeroll.
"You have no right to read my mind---"
"I do when I'm the only thing between you and a couple years in exile." Chills. Wasn't that the school for disobedient prodigies?
"You're thinking of Exillium, and that school is for waywords, Miss Foster. Disobedient children are given suspensions at worst. Exile, however, is a prison for dangerous elves."
"Stay out of my head," Sophie repeated, a bubbling feeling humming beneath her veins. However, they were muffled, as if something were smothering them and weakening the energy inside her.
"Because I respect your wishes, I'll only violate your privacy in dire circumstances from now on." It wasn't what Sophie had hoped for, but it was the best she was going to get. She could handle that... for the time being. From that moment on, Mr. Forkle recited the names and abilities of each of her "friends". Sophie did her best to memorize them, and hoped she'd be fine without a physical list her photographic memory could lean on, until finally, they'd spotted it.
A giant, winding tree with pink flowers and wispy leaves; below it sat a group of colorful people. One girl, though hard to see thanks to distance, played with fire that bounced from finger to finger. Sophie recognized her as Marella, the pyrokinetic of the group. Beside her sat Linh, talking to what might've been Wylie. It was hard to tell from a distance.
The closer she got, the more slowed to notice her. Inside her, energy hummed, but remained muffled thanks to the ability restrictor the council asked she wear while visiting her friends---as Mr. Forkle had later explained during the recap of things she'd need to know before seeing her friends.
Chatter quieted and heads turned as Mr. Forkle approached, Sophie finding a somewhat sense of safety behind his cape. Until finally, he stopped moving. Due to her clumsiness, Sophie nearly crashed into Mr. Forkle. Thankfully, however, luck seemed to be on Sophie's side that day and she managed to plant her feet beside his. She forced herself to meet their eyes, but when met with a cold, teal glare, Sophie decided she'd let Forkle do the talking before she tried anything else.
A/N- I don't really remember what Vertina looks like or how she's portrayed in the mirror and stuff so if this is inaccurate forgive me T-T
Sorry this is so short! I promise the next chapter is much longer to make up for it!!!
There's also probably a plothole in here somewhere... if you see any, let me know and I'll try and fix it!!