(Sorry I haven't updated in a long time! I went on holiday, and all my writing projects kind of stalled, today I'm trying to work on New World for a little while, I promise! There's also another project I have, an original series, but I'm probably going to discontinue it before I finish it.)
There was no good morning for Savi the next morning. Keefe and Sophie seemed to be determined to give her the cold shoulder. Well, good for them. Didn't they realize that Savi didn't even need them? She greeted Flori, and Sophie's bodyguard wasn't responding to her. Oh, so everyone was determined to block her out? Even Seri wasn't talking to her – but that was great. No more kids annoying her! Honestly, Savi was enjoying this new silence. It wasn't like Via and Harmony were going to block her out.
"Hey, Savi!" Harmony waved when she got to school.
Don't come near me, I'm going to open my locker and if you come near I'm going to insult you to make you angry. Remember, Lady Gisela probably left a letter for me here. "Oh, hi, Harmony," Savi said absently. "See you in class?"
"Sure," Harmony said, linking arms with Via as she walked away.
Savi made sure no one was around before opening her locker. A new letter was there in Lady Gisela's handwriting.
αnnα,
í cαn't mєєt чσu ímmєdíαtєlч síncє í hαvє sσmє unfíníshєd вusínєss tσ αttєnd tσ αs σnє σf thє nєvєrsєєn's σnlч survívíng lєαdєrs. turns σut í dídn't mαnαgє tσ fαkє thє pαpєrwσrk єnσugh. gσσd thíng thє cσuncíl nєvєr thσught tσ єхαmínє mч dєαd вσdч clσsєlч, hσnєstlч, thєч'rє vєrч dumв fσr cσuncílσrs, íf thєч lσσkєd mσrє clσsєlч, thє fєαturєs dσn't quítє mαtch, вut í suppσsє thєч thσught í wαs dísfígurєd ín thє flαmєs. í shσuld вє αвlє tσ mєєt чσu ín α wєєk tσ prαctícє hídíng єmσtíσns, αnd mαчвє α fєw wєєks αftєr thαt, wє'll stαrt lσσkíng íntσ mαkíng чσu α mєsmєr. í'vє αlrєαdч gσt αll thє nєcєssαrч dnα trαnsfєrríng єquípmєnt (чσu sєríσuslч dídn't rαíd dαrk hєαrts' lαвs? вєcαusє, вч thє wαч, thєч wєrє vєrч hєlpful), вut í stíll nєєd sσmє σf grαdч ruєwєn's dnα. í tєstєd αnчthíng í hαd frσm dαrk hєαrts, вut hís wσn't wσrk вєcαusє mєsmєrízíng tєchnícαllч ísn't ín hís dnα. вut ít's fínє. just hug чσur grαndfαthєr αnd wє'll hαvє αll wє nєєd. чσu shσuld hєαr frσm mє ín α fєw mσrє dαчs tσ αrrαngє thє cσσrdínαtєs, dσn't rєplч tσ thís mєssαgє σr thє σnє αftєr, í αm nσt wαtchíng чσur lσckєr sσ clσsєlч αnчmσrє.
lαdч gísєlα
Well, if she wasn't watching Savi's locker so closely, then she probably wasn't watching Savi as closely either. Savi inwardly jumped for joy before hurrying to alchemy. She loved alchemy, but today's potion was ridiculously difficult. The potion was supposed to be a shade of light turquoise, but hers was remaining resolutely dark green. It wasn't as bad as Via's – for the granddaughter of a famous alchemist, Via's chemistry was awful. Her potion was a dark purple.
Then there was Harmony's. Her dark cerulean potion was exactly the same shade as Cerulean's eyes, and made Savi gag. Cerulean was absent, since the school had been informed that he'd tried to kidnap Savi, and thus he had been banished from the Lost Cities to Exillium, although nobody knew where he was, so they couldn't force him to go. Theodora had to face more prejudice, and Cerulean's grandmother didn't even try denying it or saying it was absurd anymore. She knew her grandson was involved in the Neverseen even after their fall.
Even after everything, though, Savi couldn't bring herself to hate Cerulean. She should. He'd never done anything good for her. But... still. He'd been her first friend at Foxfire.
She stirred her potion twice clockwise and thrice anti-clockwise, and it turned a shade of pale green.
"Good," Lady Galvin noted. "Read the board, Miss Sencen."
She did. Apparently, after her potion was pale green, she was supposed to add some more Tyrinos, a blue solution. Savi could almost make Tsynis with those letters, and wasn't particularly happy about it. Still, she added the Tyrinos and stirred her potion. It achieved a dark turquoise. She didn't understand. It was supposed to be pale turquoise by now. Maybe she hadn't added enough water. But water and the acid she'd added later on would cause the potion to explode!
Behind her, one of the annoying boys, Gerald had achieved the same dark turquoise. He decided adding water was a good idea, and Savi barely managed to jerk her potion away in time before his vial exploded.
"Clean it up," Lady Galvin ordered, not sounding concerned in the slightest. "Savi, aren't you going to add anything?"
What was clear that wouldn't affect the effect of the potion, or make it explode?
Wait... it was a truth potion. What if she added a hint of Veritaserum, another truth potion? Veritaserum was clear.
"Lady Galvin," she called.
"Yes?" Lady Galvin asked, a small smile curving at her lips.
"May I have permission to use Veritaserum?" she asked.
The smile widened. "Yes, you may."
Savi moved over to the shelf and took some Veritaserum from the restricted section. She was gently pouring it in when Gerald shouted, "LADY GALVIN! Savannah took Veritaserum!"
"Yes, I allowed her to," Lady Galvin said evenly.
The irritating boy was dumbfounded.
Savi stirred some Veritaserum in and after just a drop, her potion turned palest turquoise. She returned the Veritaserum to its box and went to the sink to wash her hands befor presenting it to Lady Galvin.
"Miss Sencen is done. Anyone else?" Lady Galvin asked before hissing, "Write your name!"
Savi jumped and quickly scribbled her name hastily onto the vial before handing it back to Lady Galvin. Her alchemy teacher offered her a small smile.
She graded the potions twenty minutes later. Savi came in top in class with an A+. Via had disappointed Lady Galvin with only a D grade, and Harmony's potion was a B-, but she didn't seem to bothered about it. "I don't intend to pursue a career in alchemy," she explained to Savi.
"Well, I do. Or, I did." Via looked at her hands, which were still wet from her alchemy vial. "I thought I'd be good at this, since grandpa's..."
"Just cos Kesler's good at something doesn't mean you are," Savi said gently.
Via slumped against the wall. "Yeah, but I'm supposed to be good at it. Anyway..." She lowered her voice. "Did you get anything from you-know-who?"
"Aw, does Savannah Sencen have an admirer?" a snide voice asked.
Savi whipped around, her hair flashing like a whip which smacked Gerald's face. Savi threw her hair back behind her head. "No, I do not," she said calmly.
He was feeling scared and contemptuous. "Well, if you say so. I wouldn't say no to being that admirer! A+ in alchemy? That's unheard of. And you still top the Universe every day."
"The Universe is easy," Savi argued. Via and Harmony gagged behind her.
"No, seriously, what's that star on the left of Hyglogliph?"
"You mean Montsomfi?" Savi asked, her mind flashing to her memories of the star charts.
Gerald grinned. "Thanks, Sencen – I've been looking for that star for three hours! My friend told me it's on the left of Hyglogliph, but I couldn't even find Hyglogliph. What's your secret?"
"Get a photographic memory and I'll tell you."
Gerald smirked and walked away.
"You shouldn't answer him," Harmony said, disgusted.
Savi shrugged. "Why, who is he exactly?"
"I mean, he's Gerald."
"Okay?" Savi asked, confused. Why would him being Gerald change anything?
"You know," Via said in a cross whisper. "Gerald. Valin's son."
That name sounded vaguely familiar.
Wait. VALIN?!
The guy who'd... DANCED WITH SOPHIE IN DETENTION WHEN SHE WAS A STUDENT? And who was probably still CRUSHING ON HER REALLY HARD?
"He married someone else?" Savi asked, confused. She'd never imagined drooly Valin with anyone, and when she'd met him once, he'd said that Sophie was the only girl ever for him.
"Nah. Gerald's adopted. Come on, Savi, who'd marry Valin?" Harmony snorted.
"Not me for sure," Via said with a shiver. Savi barely suppressed a laugh.
"Is he still crushing on Sophie?" she asked.
"Probably," Harmony answered, "and I think you should quit calling her Sophie. There are teachers around."
"Right. Mom," Savi amended.
Harmony glanced around. "Are you coming to Everglen today?"
"Can't, I'm grounded again. Keefe found out I had his Pathfinder."
"Wasn't that the reason you were originally grounded?"
"Yeah, well, he reckons I went to the Forbidden Cities."
"Oh," said Harmony.
"What about Goldfire Peaks?" Via interjected.
"Your home?" Savi asked. "Don't you live with the..."
"Nah, my aunts and uncles live in Rimeshire," Via explained.
Savi smirked. "Lucky you. They're kind of crazy."
Via's eyes widened. "What do you mean, kind of? They're like, the craziest people in the world! Except Uncle Rex. He's kind of... depressing. Did you know, apparently he used to be as crazy as the others? But I guess it's because Bex and Lex manifested, and he didn't. Honestly. Bex phases through everything and every time they come over, I find my entire room coated in ice and I have to ask Grandma to come over to fix it."
Juline Dizznee was Via's grandmother as well as Squall from the Black Swan's collective, but she was more or less semi-retired from the Black Swan now that the Neverseen were gone. She was still on call, though. Not like she had anything better to do, now that she was no longer babysitting the triplets so much. But she still had to keep them from wreaking havoc around the house. Bex and Lex still hadn't been employed since they goofed around so much, and Rex... Rex was employed, but he spent most of his time at home moping.
"Okay, I'll hail Dad, give me a moment." Savi fished out her Imparter and hailed Keefe.
His startled ice blue eyes appeared on the screen. "Savi?"
"Can I go to Goldfire Peaks after school today?"
He sounded choked when he said, "Sure."
"Yay, thanks." She ended the call. "Why'd he sound so choked?"
Via and Harmony exchanged a look. "Should I transmit this?" Via asked. Harmony nodded.
So, basically, Savi, I think Uncle Keefe was really looking forward to you going home. Family bonding time, you know? But then you told him you wanted to go to your friend's house – a.k.a. mine – and he got kind of sad and emotional, and he was choking back tears-
WHOA! Savi said. Don't tell me Keefe was crying! He. Does. Not. Cry. I mean, when has he EVER cried?
He's probably cried on Sophie before.
That's SOPHIE. He doesn't cry with anybody else! Anyway, cry over me to what end? It's not like I'm gonna go kill myself.
Crying because he cares about his daughter, but he's losing her.
Well. It's not my fault I'm not the daughter he wanted me to be. If he wanted a daughter, he's got Serena.
You mean Seri.
No. I mean Serena.
Savi... what's happening to you?
What's happening to me? Oh, maybe I've realized my family isn't as good and perfect as I thought. It's all mixed up, my family's a mess and I don't want to be a part of it. So what if I leave? I'll survive on my own. Handle the prejudice.
Savi...
We can still be friends, Via. There's nothing against us being friends.
You do realize that your parents are going to make me reach out to you to try and pull you back to the family.
If they do that, say no.
Sav-
Look. We're friends until you betray me to my parents. Got it?
Yes.
Via looked up, her face anguished. "Savi..."
"See you."
"Wait – aren't you going to Goldfire Peaks with me?"
Savi shrugged. "Change of plans; I'm going exploring."