No. This couldn't be true.
Those five words rang out over and over again in her mind, forcing herself to repeat it over and over again in an attempt to erase the truth that was standing right before her very eyes. She even tried rubbing her eyes vigorously and opening them again, and pinching herself in the arm hard until she sucked in a pained breath.
But when she mustered the courage to lift her head and stare at Ailill Vacker again, the panicking returned, back in full force.
Her head was spinning, her legs wobbly as she backed away a step from him, refusing to believe it. Ailill wasn't Sophie and Fitz's son. He wasn't. It shouldn't be. It couldn't be like that. Maybe it was just a coincidence that he looked so similar to Sophie and Fitz, and Evelina. Maybe it was just a coincidence that he was a Telepath too, like them. After all, Telepaths were getting less rare by each year. It wasn't much of a surprise for Ailill to be a Telepath. But the problem was, all the clues and hints fitted all too perfectly . . . as if it was urging Evelina to see and accept the fact that he. Was. Sophie. And. Fitz's. Son.
But it didn't make sense! Ailill was younger than Evelina. How could Keefe allow Sophie to have a kid with Fitz after Evelina was born? After their official marriage? And how could they do that, after Sophie and Fitz proclaimed that their love was already over?
Evelina's lower lip trembled dangerously as her blood suddenly ran ice-cold, despite the raging fire that was burning inside her heart. She stared at Ailill again, who had a slightly confused and fearful expression on his face. Ailill clearly didn't know a thing. And based off the conversation she'd heard between Sophie, Keefe, and Dex, his memory must have been wiped, and they were afraid that as he grew older, his memories would come back to him and the truth would be revealed.
She knew it probably wasn't Ailill's fault, and she should not blame him on the matter. Instead, she focused her raging disappointment onto Sophie. Only her, her mother, not even Fitz. Not even Keefe. Either way, the blame led to her in the end. She had broken up with Fitz on her own. She could have accepted Fitz's request to be together again. But she didn't. She stood up for herself, and told herself she didn't want any more nonsense to do with him.
Yet, she had a child with him after she and Keefe had gotten together and raised Evelina.
What was wrong with her? Sophie knew. She knew of the trouble that this could get her into. She knew of the consequences that might happen due to her reckless behavior. She knew that Keefe wouldn't be happy, but she also knew he would let her have her own way because he loved her. She knew that Fitz and Aurelia already had a son on their own, and yet, all this mess about Ailill still happened anyway.
"Eva?" Ailill's small voice broke off her train of thoughts, causing her to snap up her head to look at him. "Are you okay? Uh . . . are you angry with me that I made Brennus hate you?"
". . . Brennus?" said Evelina faintly, then remembered what had happened with him. Ailill had accidentally let out that she only kissed him that time because she had wanted to distract Sophie and Fitz from their dancing. And now, he thought that she had been using him.
Suddenly, something inside of her snapped.
"Never mind about him," she said shortly, brushing past Ailill. "I'll go find my family."
"Hey . . . Eva!" She could hear Ailill's voice call out to her, but she ignored him, as she ran through the crowd of elves, occasionally bumping into someone and muttering a rushed apology, her eyes scanning for Sophie and Keefe.
One time Brennus Vacker, another time Ailill Vacker-my mind's so confused.
I knew I shouldn't have went to that stupid family gathering at Everglen in the first place.
Look at what position it's put me into.
Can't a girl enjoy the Celestial Festival without any boys interfering?
She hoped that they weren't still talking, as they water cum shadow show performed by Tam and Linh was about to initiate. In the corner of her eye, Evelina could see the two twins walk onto the high stage, the effect of the appearance of the shimmering silver tips of their jet-black hair enhanced by the brilliant bright glow of the full moon, which shone radiantly on Moonglade, illuminating the darkening sky along with a gorgeous display of all the stars.
At last, Evelina found them. Faking a bright smile and hoping Keefe couldn't sense her angry feelings, she ran up to them, clutching Sophie's arm like a small kid. "Hey, Dad. Hey, Mum." She was proud that her voice didn't tremble.
Evelina saw Sophie's eyes dart down to eye Evelina's hand that was wrapped around her arm for a split second, then dart up again to meet Evelina's eyes, forcing a smile that looked more like a grimace to her. "Evelina," she said, obviously making an attempt to instill some happiness into her voice.
"Hey, kiddo," Keefe greeted, his voice casual and cheery. "Nice to see you back here with us again. Bangs Boy and Linh are about to start-let's see what they got, after so many years."
Sophie rolled her eyes, her stiff shoulders relaxing a little. "Still refusing to call Tam by his real name?"
"Hey, don't be like that, Foster. You know, some things should never change."
In the corner of her eye, Evelina saw her mother stiffen a little, her jittery and bittersweet feelings mixing into her heart. Maybe this "mother's girl act" worked better than she thought. She could always have an excuse to read her emotions, and better find out what exactly her mother was thinking about.
Some things should never change, huh?
Thinking of Fitz again, are you, Mother?
Are you guilty of rejecting his offer to get back together again? Anyway, that way, you could have avoided a lot of trouble. You also won't have to deal with me, this troublemaker detective that always tries to probe your secrets of the past.
Bitter, Evelina loosened her hold on Sophie's arm, and visibly she could see Sophie relax again, as if Evelina's touch and presence made her that uncomfortable. She was her daughter. Related by flesh and blood. Blood might be thicker than water, but desire was stronger. If Sophie was scared of, or didn't like Evelina, it probably meant that her heart wasn't with her. Or Keefe, for that matter. She wasn't sure about Fitz, but she knew that he missed Sophie too. And sometimes, he didn't really show that he and Aurelia were a loving couple, and sometimes, he did favour Ailill over Brennus.
Despite her mother's coldness and stiffness toward her in all of her lifetime, Evelina had always brushed it off, enduring it and making excuses for her, letting her off, as she did truly love her mother. She even swore to take revenge on the Vackers one by one, because Sophie let her on that Fitz Vacker had been the one to shatter her heart into itty-bitty pieces. She also wanted to find out what exactly had happened with their past, as she wanted to understand her mother better and help her and guide her. Anyway, wasn't that what a good daughter should do?
But now? What had all of Evelina's snooping and hard work paid off to become? She'd discovered that Sophie was disloyal to Keefe and her, even having a child with Fitz after she and Brennus had been born. She'd discovered that Fitz had been a jerk, sending a random ring with a lousy break-up message in it. She'd discovered that both of them probably still loved each other after all this time, after all this years. They had always loved each other.
Evelina felt destroyed, the bitter taste of betrayal lingering on her tongue. She felt like her whole life had been a lie. Literally. Sophie had lied to Keefe that she loved him, when she loved Fitz instead. She lied to Evelina and Keefe that she loved them, when her heart was with someone else. And Fitz? He'd probably done the same to Aurelia and Brennus!
This moment, she realised the truth.
Both Sophie and Fitz were jerks.
Brennus wasn't a jerkface, despite what she had thought of him before everything that had happened. She also didn't want to believe that they were bad. They weren't bad. Evelina knew both Sophie and Fitz were truly good at heart, and wouldn't do anything to harm other people.
So it was back to square one.
What had happened between them to cause this riff?
Evelina slumped down into a chair that Keefe had carried over for her, and sat with her family, though she edged a little farther from Sophie's chair which was beside her. Besides, she knew that Sophie wouldn't mind at all.
She kept her eyes on the stage, and watched as a gnome passed Tam and Linh each a microphone. The Lost Cities hardly used microphones, but since Linh's voice was too soft, Tam had insisted that they both receive one.
"Good evening to all," Tam said, his voice echoing around the whole of Moonglade. Since the last decade, changes to the way twins were viewed had been made, and now, the discrimination against twins and triplets had vanished, eliciting a round of applause and cheers from the audience, who didn't seem to mind Tam and Linh at all now. "My name is Tam Song. My sister Linh Song and I are honoured to perform an exciting and spectacular show to all of you." He then nodded his head slightly toward Linh, offering her an encouraging smile.
Linh gave a shaky smile in return, and lifted her microphone near her lips, saying, "To put up this performance, we have used our abilities to create an interesting balance of water and shadow. As my brother, Tam Song, is a Shade, and I am a Hydrokinetic, we decided to work together to make this year's Celestial Festival's performance possible. Uh . . . we hope you will enjoy the show that we have prepared for you. Thank you."
She handed back the microphone to the gnome, her pale cheeks reddening as Tam did the same.
The audience lapsed into silence as the gnomes started to sing a slow, soft lilting melody that seemed to make the trees and grass around them shiver. Another gnome tapped a small round cylinder that looked like a drum, creating the beat. Linh took Tam's hand gingerly, and she spun gracefully to the music, the frills of her pale blue dress floating up and down slowly as she did so. Her eyes squeezed in concentration, the rain started to come-but this time, it only rained down on an invisible barrier that seemed to wrap around the two of them.
Then, Linh flicked her wrists in the air, gathering all the water into a huge, shimmering sphere that reflected the moon's image. An awed gasp rang out among the audience-the sight was both amazing and beautiful in the magic of the night.
While everybody else was entranced by the spinning sphere of glistening water, Tam leaped into the air, dark shadows obscuring his figure so it was as if he himself was his shadow. Linh reacted fast and swooped in, morphing the water sphere into a thick flat stream, catching Tam before he hit the stage. He pulled every shadow in sight to his side, the sky gradually brightening into an afternoon glow as he shaped the shadows into three humongous words floating in the bright sky: THE LOST CITIES.
The crowd cheered happily as Linh twirled to the music and retracted the water stream, dispersing it into the air in the form of beautiful tiny little water crystals that glistened in the shadows, reminding Evelina of the brilliance and brightness of the Lost Cities, and her breath hitched at the beauty of the shadows and water combined.
Tam landed on the stage perfectly side by side with Linh, and he bowed deeply while Linh folded the sides of her dress in and curtsied daintily. The audience erupted with a huge round of applause, with the occasional cheering and high-pitched screams. From a quick glance, Evelina could tell that everyone loved and approved of Tam and Linh's performance.
The same gnome passed Tam and Linh their microphones, and to Evelina's surprise, Linh was the one who spoke first. She was panting slightly, but her voice was full of excitement and happiness as she breathed, "Thank you, everyone."
Tam said, "We hope to see you again for the Celestial Festival next year." And with that, the two of them climbed off the stage, Linh engulfing Tam with a big bear hug as soon as they reached the grassy ground. The two of them were laughing happily, even Tam, who hardly even smiled.
Brother and sister . . . Instantly, Evelina was reminded of Ailill. She shoved his face to the back of her mind, determined not to let anything ruin her night. Her excitement only grew greater and greater when she realised it was time for the big performance-Orion Vacker's famous light show that everyone anticipated for during the Celestial Festival.
Just then, Councillor Emery rose from his seat at the very front, his eyes looking apologetic as he stepped up to the stage and raised his voice, booming, "Good evening to all fellow residents of the Lost Cities. I am sorry to announce that Lord Orion Vacker will not be present today, due to a case of affluenza. Thank you for your kind understanding and support. This year's Celestial Festival, thus comes to an end."
Annoyed mutterings from the audience rose high into the air as elves started to get up from their seats and leave. Sophie and Keefe also stood up slowly, gathering all their possessions with them. Evelina stood up reluctantly, staring at Councillor Emery in all his luxurious glory, and blinked back her disappointed tears. It wasn't Orion Vacker's fault that he was sick, and there was nothing to about it. Either way, she could see him again for next year's Celestial Festival.
"Let's wait until most of the people have moved out," Sophie decided. "I don't like crowded places."
Evelina didn't like them too, but she felt like she shouldn't agree with whatever Sophie said anymore. However, she didn't say anything to disagree as they sat back down onto their chairs and watched as each family of elves started to leap out of Moonglade. Evelina spotted Myst's family, and she could have sworn Myst met her eyes right before she glittered away with Elliana, Tam, and Cyrilla.
She had completely forgotten about her feud with Myst, thanks to the recent troubling happenings with Brennus and Ailill. Evelina treasured her friendship with Myst a lot. They'd been best friends till the end since they were eleven, when they had first started Level One together, and since their parents were friends, they decided to become friends too. Whenever Elmira insulted her and teased her, Myst would instantly stand by Evelina and lash back out at Elmira. Whenever Evelina found Myst crying in the girl's changing room alone, she would immediately comfort her, and ask what had happened. Though Myst had never really answered her question. But now, flashing back to the part where she'd met Elliana, Evelina thought she finally found what was bothering Myst. And it was because of Cyrilla.
She didn't know exactly what, but she knew that it wasn't anything good. And she felt like she should drop a visit to Myst's house as soon as possible to apologise to her and attempt to make things right. But she believed that she had some questions to ask Sophie.
Evelina didn't know if she was mentally prepared to ask her-
Her string of thoughts was abruptly cut off when she caught sight of Brennus's familiar figure, along with Ailill, Aurelia, and Fitz. Suddenly remembering the hurt expression on his face when Aurelia had rejected him and when Evelina had hurt him, Evelina suddenly felt desperate, and pushed away all thoughts of being humiliated, shooting up from her chair and rushing toward Brennus.
She had a lot of people she needed to apologise to . . .
"Brennus!" she shouted, making the Vackers turn around. Brennus's eyes widened at the sight of her, and Ailill watched her expectantly. Fitz stiffened, and Aurelia's lips curled up a little.
Brennus stared at her, then glanced back at his family. He probably wanted to push her away, to say something rude to her, but he knew he couldn't do that in front of his family. Instead, avoiding Evelina's eyes, with a stiff voice, he asked, "Yes?"
Evelina debated apologizing to him right now on the spot, but then decided against it.
She gave him his most defiant stare, even though she knew he wasn't looking at her.
"I need to talk to you. Tomorrow at the Foxfire Leapmaster after school." Then, she turned to Ailill and offered a faint smile. "Make sure you come along with him."
With that, she turned and ran back to Sophie and Keefe, who had their home crystal out, ready to go back home.
"What was all that about?" inquired Sophie, her brown eyes betraying her curiosity.
Evelina shrugged her shoulders. "Just planning to meet up with them some time." It was kind of the truth, so the half-lie was easy to pull off, and even Keefe seemed to believe it.
"All right then." Keefe twirled the home crystal in his hand, and lifted it to the bright silvery moonlight, casting a beam of light onto the grassy ground. "Let's go home."
***
The next day, Evelina woke up at the crack of dawn, much earlier than she was used to. She lifted a hand wearily to her mouth and yawned, glancing at her alarm clock to check if she accidentally set the alarm clock to wake her up at five-thirty in the morning. Surprisingly, the alarm was set to ring at her usual timing which was seven o'clock. She must have woken up on her own accord. And she wasn't surprised, as to all the things that had happened last night at the Celestial Festival.
That reminded her of today's meeting with Brennus and Ailill. They had better keep to their word and meet her, because she had a lot of things to clear out with them. Though, she wasn't at all sure how she was going to explain to Ailill that he was Sophie and Fitz's son to him. And why she was suddenly so angry and ran off without regarding Ailill.
She still couldn't believe that Ailill was Sophie's son. They were half-siblings. Did that count for the siblings that she had always yearned for?
But first, she had a load of probing questions to ask Sophie. And maybe during the meeting, she could ask Brennus to find out more about Fitz's opinion. If he wanted to listen to her at all. He was probably not going to, and Evelina couldn't blame him. To everyone else, this seemed like she was a knowledge-hungry person, prying into other people's personal life. But she cared about her mum. It was just that she didn't seem to care for Evelina when it came to her.
Determined, Evelina crawled out of bed excitedly. She knew that her mother would get up much earlier than her father, even though he was the one who had to leave for work. Silently, she left her room, making sure to close the door behind her as she tiptoed down the spiral stairs, ensuring that the soft sound of her footsteps matched perfectly with the loud ticking of the grandfather clock on the ground floor, so that nobody would hear her.
Quietly, she crept over to the master bedroom. The door was slightly ajar. Squeezing her fingers in the gap to make the door open wider, Evelina peeked into the room, surprised to only find her father dozing peacefully on his side of the king-sized bed. Her mother was awake, and she was probably in her own study right now.
Evelina watched as Keefe grunted slightly and rolled to the other side of the bed. Clamping a hand to hold off the loud giggle that was sure to come out, Evelina closed the door silently, about to knock on her mother's room's door when she heard faint and indistinct voices floating out from inside. Heart palpitating furiously, she turned the doorknob slowly but steadily, praying the doorknob wouldn't click loudly. Fortunately, it made no sound at all as she meticulously pulled the door open wider centimeter by centimeter. Who was talking to Sophie?
Evelina craned her neck, slotting her eye through the gap as she saw Sophie standing in front of the full-length mirror, talking to Vertina. Evelina relaxed. Of course. She had almost forgotten about Vertina. She was stupid to think that it could have been Fitz-like he had nothing better to do in the early morning.
". . . Where could the book on Cognates and the box containing the ring that Fitz gave me went to?" Sophie muttered, rifling through the bookshelves on her left as Vertina watched silently. Evelina almost cursed out loud.
Of course. The stupid book and the box. She had stolen it, and she must have kept it for too long. Now, Sophie knew it was missing, and probably would suspect something.
"Vertina," Sophie turned to the mirror-girl, "did you see my book? Or the box?"
Vertina shrugged. "Eh, how would I know? I can't see the bookshelves from here, and anyway, that was a stupid place to hide them."
"Fine, whatever," said Sophie, her voice carrying a tinge of irritation, "let me rephrase my question. Did you see anyone that came to my room when I wasn't around? I swear I remember that I'd put it here, right at this exact spot. That means, someone must have stolen it."
"Let's see," Vertina said, and Evelina's heart thudded unnaturally. Vertina was going to sell her out! As she listened, she prepared to run and hide if anything happened. "The Sencen boy came occasionally, but it was to play a stupid prank on you, and the Dizznee boy visited with the Vacker girl to return the mischievous imp back . . . and yeah! Your daughter also came once. I didn't see her with your book or box, though."
Evelina breathed a sigh of relief. At least she'd been smart enough to hide the stolen items behind her back when speaking to Vertina.
"Evelina?" Sophie frowned slightly, her eyebrows creasing together. "Why did she come here for?"
Her tone of voice had become a little wary with suspicion, and Evelina knew this was a chance to know what her mother really thought of her. And at the same time, she hoped Vertina wouldn't say anything ridiculous to sell her secret out. Even though she didn't think that she had stolen the book and the box, Sophie sure sounded like she did.
Vertina waved her hand carelessly. "Oh, it was nothing, really. She just came in and talked to me about stuff. I get really lonely here sometimes, you know. And unlike you, she actually knows how to appreciate make-up. Hmph."
Sophie relaxed, and she rolled her eyes at Vertina. "Not everyone appreciates make-up, Vertina."
"Whatever," said Vertina, and blinked out.
Evelina was stunned. Did Vertina just protect her by lying to Sophie? Why would she? She didn't even know Evelina at all, whereas she and Sophie had been together since Sophie was a teenager. Vertina must have known that she had swiped away Sophie's things after all. But why did she cover Evelina?
Whatever it was, Evelina was grateful to Vertina, and she made a mental note to thank Vertina later when she had the time. Not that she ever had the time nowadays.
She blanched in panic when Sophie sighed, and made her way slowly toward the door where Evelina was standing in front of now. Faster than she had ever been before, Evelina raced up the stairs as quietly as she could and closed her bedroom door behind her, just as Sophie started up the stairs. Luckily, she didn't seem to notice Evelina. She looked like she was in some sort of trance as she climbed up the spiral stairs one step by one step.
Inside her bedroom, Evelina scrambled back into the warm, soft mattresses of her canopy bed, and draped the opaque curtains around her bed quickly, enveloping her in darkness. But as she lingered in the silent and peaceful blackness, her mind was on the book and the box she had hidden in one of the floorboards of her room. Sophie had been searching for the two possessions intentionally. She had actually wanted to look at them. Was what Fitz had given her so important that she wanted to let her mind linger on it?
To Evelina, he'd only given her heartbreak and grief.
But perhaps to Sophie, he'd given her more than that before the breakup. Happiness. Bliss. Peace. Love. Care. Concern. Probably even more than that.
If Sophie didn't want to tell her what had happened to cause them to leave each other for another, maybe someone else that she'd never thought of could. Her mind flashbacked to the words Lord Cassius had told Evelina. He'd told her that the principal of Foxfire, Dame Marella, had a keen ear for gossip, and would probably know something about Sophie and Fitz. Perhaps then, she could finally find out what was going on. As for the case about Ailill, Evelina decided it had to wait until tomorrow morning.
Just then, the door creaked open, and Evelina stiffened, knowing that it was Sophie who had entered. Her footsteps neared, and the curtains drew back slowly, the bed creaking a little as Sophie rested her weight on the edge of the mattress.
Sophie pressed her lips to Evelina's cheek, then brushed a strand of hair that had fallen on her forehead. "Sleep tight," she whispered, then stood up slowly, closing the curtains again.
Evelina didn't dare to even breathe until the door closed with a soft click. She stared up at the ceiling of the canopy bed, a single tear from her eye streaming down her cheek. Why must her mother be so confusing at times? One time she would act all stiff and cold, then another time she would suddenly become so affectionate, then she would switch back again. Did she truly love her, her own daughter, or not?
She wished that Fitz Vacker didn't exist in her world. But then she took the wish back, knowing that if he wasn't there, Brennus and Ailill wouldn't be here too. Even though they probably hated her now, along with Myst. She would have to apologise to them personally, and make up with each of them tomorrow.
Tomorrow. The single word sounded so near, yet so far away. But it pulsed of hope and encouragement, and Evelina finally forgot all her worries for the day, and drifted off to the dream realm.