The sunlight nearly blinded Sophie as she appeared at Havenfield. She didn't even have time to check if she was faded before realization hit her.
Sophie fell to her knees as soon as the light left her, clutching her home crystal in her hand. Tears streamed down her eyes as she replayed what just happened in her head again.
This couldn't be happening. First Keefe, then Alvar, now Biana. Sweet, caring Biana. Sophie let out a scream that sounded like bloody murder and hit the ground hard with her fist. Soon Sandor, Grady and Edaline ran up to her.
Sophie, what's wrong, they said.
Why are you screaming, they said.
But Sophie didn't want to reply so she kept screaming and hitting the ground with her fist.
Soon four figures appeared from the light.
"GET ELWIN NOW!", one of them hollered.
Sophie immediately recognized the voice and stopped screaming. She turned around to see Fitz and Tam holding Linh by her arms, her leg horribly disfigured and the skin was bubbling.
Dex was the only one who seemed to notice Sophie straight away. He walked up to her and helped her to her feet. Sophie hugged him tightly, buried her face in his shoulder and sobbed quietly.
Dex tried to say something but Sophie couldn't hear it right.
"What did you say?", She muttered into his shoulder, her voice hoarse from screaming.
"I said where's Biana?" He said quietly.
Sophie didn't want to reply to that but she felt Fitz's glare from behind her back.
"Sh-sh-she...", Sophie started to shake, trying to not lose herself.
She sniffed and looked up to Dex's periwinkle eyes. She gulped and continued.
"She was taken." She said quietly.
"She was taken by Alvar." Sophie busted out crying.
Anger and sadness radiated from Fitz and Sophie knew most of that was towards her.
A loud, screehing sound filled the air and Sophie looked up to see Elwin had appeared with Bullhorn.
Bullhorn scurried to between Sophie and Linh and kept screeching. Sophie took one look at her hand and saw that her nails were nearly transparent.
"Everyone inside now. Dex, take Sophie to her room. Fitz, Tam, take Linh to Jolie's room and lay her on the bed." Elwin said.
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Sophie sat up on her bed as Elwin checked her vitals. Multiple light spheres circled around her as Elwin took notes and reached for different medicines.
"Your cells are so severely damaged, I'm surprised that you were able to stand at all without going through Dex." Elwin scribbed more notes down and grabbed three bottles of Youth.
"Slowly drink this and tell me how you feel afterwards."
"Emotionally or physically?" Sophie muttered.
"What was that, Sophie?"
"Nothing." Sophie opened one of the bottles of Youth and slowly chugged it. The liquid warmed her body, repairing the damaged cells and removing some of the minor cuts and scrapes on Sophie's skin.
She drank the two other bottles at a slower speed cause the warmth made her feel good temporarily.
Sophie saw as one of the light spheres circling around her turned pitch black. Elwin noticed too and set his notebook down.
"You've gone through some traumatic experiences that no person your age deserves. It's affecting your mind making it more vulnerable and easier to break. That leap earlier could have killed you if you didn't already have enhanced concentration. You have to watch yourself, Sophie. Emotionally and physically or else." Elwin wrote down a few more notes and handed Sophie about a dozen remedies and Youth bottles.
"I have to go check up on Linh now. Also I think Grady might break down the door if I don't let him in soon. Be careful."
Elwin kissed Sophie on the forehead and walked over to open Sophie's bedroom door. As soon as he opened it, Grady and Edaline ran over to Sophie and hugged her tightly.
"Are you ok?! What happened?! Sophie, you nearly gave us a heart attack!" Grady ran his hands through his hair and Edaline kept hugging Sophie.
Edaline pulled away from the hug and grabbed Sophie's shoulders. "Tell us everything that happened after the last time you imparted us."
Sophie told them about her getting kidnapped to Keefe and Brant's appearance to Tam's mindscape to the fight.
Grady gasped when Sophie mentioned about the fight. "Fintan challenged a bunch of inexperienced kids to an medieval fight. That's horrific."
Sophie let that sink it and she shivered but continued on anyways. When she finished, Grady and Edaline were speechless.
Suddenly Dex busted into the room and slammed the door behind him. He grabbed the chair at Sophie's desk and stuck it under the doorknob. He was sweaty and the look in his face showed he was scared.
"What happened, Dex?" Sophie stared at him as he hid behind her.
"Let's just say Fitz might try to break down your bedroom door." Dex grinned a little bit but not enough to show off his dimples.
"Why?"
"You'll see. Just saying this was supposed to happen to Aunt Edaline during her birthday."
Right on time, the chair started to float in the air and was moved next to the door. An unfamiliar person threw the door open. She had short brunette hair and freckles splayed on her nose. She was furious and her teal eyes scanned the room.
"WHERE IS DEX?!" The girl yelled in a deep masculine voice.
Wait that voice, the teal eyes..., She thought.
"Oh my...." Edaline said as Grady and Dex busted out laughing. Sophie's mouth dropped as she realized the girl standing in the doorway was Fitz.
"This isn't funny!!!" Fitz's voice turned feminine.
"Yes it is." Tam said as he walked in behind her.
"Dex, what did you do?!" Sophie said but couldn't move her eyes from Fitz's new look.
"I mixed up a bunch of potions and remedies to give Aunt Edaline so she could change her appearance for one day. She was supposed to go into Jolie's room and find a plate of Mallowmelt and eat one but Fitz found it first and now, I think he took the one that was supposed to make you younger but it was meant for a female."
Though this day had been saddening, Sophie couldn't help but laugh at the way Fitz's cheeks turned rosy red.
"What should we call her? I say we should call her Fizzy." Tam rubbed Fitz's hair and Fitz slapped his hand away.
"Call me Fizzy and you won't see the light of day again."
"Aww come on Fizzy, don't be like that." Tam rubbed Fitz's hair again and Fitz grabbed his hand and judo flipped him into the hallway. She slammed the door behind her and locked it.
"CHANGE ME BACK DEX!" Fitz stamped her foot and crossed her arms.
"I can't! You have to wait a day before it wears off." Dex kept laughing.
"Ughhhhhhhhh!" Fitz unlocked the door, opened it and stormed out the room.
Edaline glared at Grady, Dex and Sophie. Grady cleared his throat. "Dex, that was very mean. You should get in trouble for that but it's not like anyone else will see Fitz like that."
"FITZ?! WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU." A voice yelled.
Sophie, Grady, Edaline and Dex ran out of the bedroom and to the stairs where they saw Della, Alden and Magnate Leo gaping at Fitz.
"Let's just say Dex better run right now." Fitz glared upstairs.
Dex took that as a warning and ran back to Sophie's bedroom.
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After the gender bender situation, Grady and Edaline sat down with Della and Alden and told them everything. Grady sent everyone else to Jolie's bedroom where Elwin had just finished.
"Ok so you should be able to walk by your return to school. I'll see you there and check up on you every break behind classes. Bye everyone." Elwin walked out of the room leaving Sophie, Tam, Fizzy a.k.a Fitz, Dex, Linh and Magnate Leo in the room.
"I see that you've all had your fun but it's time to get serious. We have a little situation." Magnate Leo looked away from Fitz so he wouldn't laugh even though Sophie could clearly see him grinning.
"Little as in--"
"Keefe is still attending Foxfire but as a Neverseen spy. I can't kick him out because he's stable and the council can't do anything because he's still underage."
"But he's part of an evil group. He's insane!" Sophie yelled.
"I know but he can still use his powers normally and no one can tell. As long as he's stable and follows school rules, I can't do anything. I've tried but there wasn't enough support." Magnate Leo ran his hands through his hair and shook his head.
"You will have to deal with him yourselves. I've tried." Magnate Leo opened the door to leave.
"Wait! Can do you me a favor?" Sophie said.
"Tell Sir Astin thank you for believing in Ruy. Thanks to him I'm still here."
Magnate Leo eye's softened up and he smiled. "I will." He said and walked out.
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Woooo. Early update.
Next chapter isn't going to be this long.
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Sneak peek of Chapter 9 -
"Sophie looked out the window, watching all the animals in their pastures. She gently stroked Iggy's back and curled her fingers in his blue and white dreadlocks.
She tried to think of why Keefe would do something like that to her.
Was it her fault?
When did Keefe become so mean?
Iggy scurried out of Sophie's hand and started to pull on her sock.
"Iggy, no. Stop it." Sophie giggled and looked out the window again.
The smile was wiped clean off her face. Sophie jumped off her bed, sending Iggy flying across the room. She quickly put on a button-down blouse and a pair of leggings. She wore a pair of black boots and ran downstairs, not even paying attention to Grady and Edaline.
She ran outside, towards the cliffs. She opened the gate and ran up to the highest cave. She stopped.
Could she be hallucinating?, she thought.
She crept into the cave and looked around, knowing what she saw was real.
She heard a crunching sound behind her and turned around.
To see Keefe and Biana standing in the entrance with matching chaotic grins on their faces."
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Stay tuned for surprises.
Also I'm trying to cut down on the violence in this story.
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