Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-76.196.233.46-20191016000314/@comment-76.196.233.46-20191029022716

WARNING: CLIFFHANGER AHEAD!!

Chapter 4

'''“Ms. Foster.”'''

“Huh?” Sophie said, realizing she was no longer alone in her bedroom.

It had been three days since her telepathic conversation with Tam, and as Mr. Forkle had predicted, lots of changes had occurred.

'''The security at Havenfield had been changed. Again. And Sandor had convinced Queen Hylda to assign more goblins at the property. As if there weren’t enough goblin bodyguards already.'''

'''The members of the Collective’s security had also been increased. They had been assigned dwarven bodyguards, and cautioned not to go out alone anymore.'''

There were far more changes, but there were so many Sophie wasn’t sure she knew them all.

'''“Ms. Foster, I need to talk to you.” Mr. Forkle’s voice roused her out of her trance. '''

“What happened?” Sophie asked.

“First of all, I need you to promise you will not get angry.” Mr. Forkle told her.

“At who?” 

“Promise me.” Mr. Forkle told her again.

'''He clearly wasn’t going to say anything otherwise, so she promised him. “Now tell me what this is about.”'''

'''“Ms. Redek didn’t want to worry you, so she did not tell you something.” He began saying.'''

“What didn’t she want to worry me about?” Sophie had to ask.

'''Mr. Forkle sighed. “Today was her first training session with Fintan.”'''

'''“WHAT??” Sophie exclaimed. “YOU DIDN’T TELL ME ABOUT THAT!!”'''

“This is why I had you promise not to get angry, Ms. Foster.”

'''Sophie exhaled, taking deep breaths until she was calm again. '''

'''Once she was calm, Mr. Forkle said, “There is more to what I have to tell you. I think you should go talk to you friend, Ms. Foster. To see if she is alright.”'''

'''Sophie nodded. “Then I’ll go see her right away.”'''

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'''Marella’s home was beautiful, of course, but Sophie couldn’t find it in her to appreciate the beauty of Marella’s home. Sophie was anxious to see if Marella was alright.'''

“Should we go in?” Biana asked Sophie.

'''On her way out of Havenfield, Sophie had run into Biana. Biana had insisted that she come along, and Sophie had to say yes. '''

“I think so.” Sophie replied.

Sophie and Biana cautiously walked into Marella’s large marble entryway, looking for Marella.

'''“Sophie? Biana? Did Mr. Forkle tell you to visit me?” came Marella’s voice.'''

'''Sophie looked up to see Marella entering the entryway. She looked gorgeous, as all elves did. She was wearing a bright red tunic embroidered on the edges with beaded flowers. '''

'''“Well… Yes.” Sophie answered. She’d had a whole speech prepared to give Marella-about how she should always tell Sophie if she was going to do something potentially dangerous. But the words melted in her mouth the moment she’d seen Marella.'''

“Can you tell us what happened?” Biana asked Marella, voicing the question Sophie had been about to ask.

'''Marella glanced around the room. “My mom’s having a pretty good day-so we should be okay to talk here.” She sighed. ”The truth is, not much happened. He began to show me ways to control my thirst for fire, but other than that, we didn’t do much.”'''

'''Sophie nodded, but inwardly she felt a little disappointed. She’d honestly thought that more would have happened.'''

'''Just then, the door the the entryway opened and a woman with wild and unruly blonde hair walked. She had piercing, sky blue eyes and skin the same shade as Marella’s. Caprise Redek.'''

'''Her voice was a bit gravelly as she said, “Marella? Honey, do you have friends over? Do you want to introduce me to them?”'''

'''“Hey mom. This is Biana and-” Marella stopped talking with a start. Caprise had glanced at Sophie, and had made a squeaky noise.'''

Then her eyes rolled back and she collapsed on the floor, unconscious

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'''Marella squealed. “MOM!!!” She bent down and cradled her mom’s face in her lap.'''

'''Biana placed a hand on Marella’s shoulder. “It’s okay, I’m sure everything’s okay.” she whispered soothingly.'''

'''“But it’s not! She was having a great day! And then she saw you-” Marella’s voice hitched and she turned to glare at Sophie.'''

'''Sophie looked down, feeling enormously guilty. But then she had an idea. “What if I look inside your mom’s head and figure out what’s bothering her? Maybe then we can help her.”'''

'''Marella looked dubious. “This is my mom we’re talking about. She’s not some plaything for you to experiment with.”'''

'''“But maybe I can help her.” Sophie argued, not quite sure why she was arguing with an obviously distraught Marella. All she knew was that she had to help Caprise, and this was the only way to do it.'''

'''When Marella still looked concerned, Biana added, “It’s not like we have any other options. Sophie might actually be able to help her.”'''

“But we could call Elwin!” Marella screamed angrily, tears running down her face.

“But this is quicker,” Sophie explained.

'''“Fine. But if anything happens to her-”'''

“Nothing will go wrong, I promise.” Sophie said.

“Okay then.” Marella replied.

And with that, Sophie pushed her consciousness into Caprise’s.

'''Caprise’s mind was different from what Sophie had encountered before. It wasn’t broken, but there were tiny cracks weaving in and out of the fuzzy gray headspace. A result of the emotional instability of Caprise’s mind.'''

Sophie ventured deeper into the mind, determined to find out what was happening.

'''But what she found was horrifying. Terrifying for Sophie.'''

Because what she found in Caprise’s mind was Sophie’s face.

'''And the words that Caprise’s mind kept repeating, over and over again, were beyond scary. '''

They were the words My daughter.

-bookhugger