Board Thread:Short Stories and Fanfictions/@comment-44907704-20200201232939/@comment-44907704-20200214224421

I'm going to pick up my match packet.

The giddiness seemed to curl Cassius's lips into a tiny look of pure bliss and indignifance, both emotions fighting each other to see which would win as the serenity of Atlantis seemed to reflect his mood if his feelings had been combined. Being in the underwater city had an edge of uncertainty that he tried to hold on to — what if the force field was breached? What if it was flooded? What if a secret hideout was built beneath the very ground?

OhmygodI'mgoingtopickupmymatchpacket.

The unspoken, unsung words by the rebels seemed to hang in the air everywhere as he carefully observed each elf passing by. Knowing that each of them could be it sent chills down his spine as his father patted him on the back, occasionally smiling proudly down at him and saying "That's my boy!" while squeezing his shoulder, first the right, then the left.

Because of course his father wouldn't know that a group of rebels had contacted him last year in the very hallways of Foxfire. He took his son's nervousness as normal because he wouldn't know him well enough to tell his emotions apart; secondly, he wasn't an Empath; also, it was probably normal to be anxious for the match, which meant that his dad had felt the same way several hundred years ago — which was the most unexplainable part of their entire walk, because his father had always trained him to not show any of his emotions.

He suddenly felt guilty about not knowing any of his grandparents and other relatives that his parents had certainly forgotten to mention. Somehow their disapproval of the subject only seemed to motivate him more to find them — it made him more keen and motivated to go to school every day, even, to know that every prodigy had the possibility of being his distant relative. That he might make new friends.

Glimmer. What color was her hair? What color were her eyes? What did her face look like? Was her name real... or had it all been part of his imagination? Somehow he refused to believe that her name just appeared in his mind magically, or the whole memory had been placed there without him actually being present. He remembered how he'd felt during their first and only encounter, and the emotions were so sharp and so real that they were different from anything he'd ever experienced.

And they clearly meant for him to remember if they planted her name in his mind and rooted it so deep, he wasn't sure if he was ever going to forget. The subject made him feel deprived, nauseous, and dejected all at the same time — but also brave and determined and ''special. ''None of his classmates had gotten such an offer before.

But why would they approach him? He was a Level Four at Foxfire, the only noble school in the Elvin world. He did nothing but study all day — he didn't particularly stand out, but he still had friends. Typical for his age.

He wanted to think that they'd lost interest in him... but they hadn't. He had managed to erase his memories of... thankfully, he couldn't remember, but he knew that he'd shoved his own thoughts out of his mind simply by... he couldn't remember.

But he also knew that the memories were just within reach if he really wanted to get them back. They were in a pocket so far down, piled below so many other thoughts, he couldn't trigger them unless he had the determination to. It was beautiful, how he had the ability to do something but didn't have to use it unless he wanted to. Maybe he would never have to use it.

It was almost laughable until Lord Avery Sencen grabbed both of his shoulders and whispered into his ear, "We're here, Cassius. Can you believe it?"

Taking advantage of his father's almost-delusional state, his mind whispered, ''Of course I can believe it. If I'd been left on my own, I wouldn't have been sure of whether I should register for the match or not, but... I guess you made the choice for me. It's not like I could've been undecided forever, anyway.'' It wasn't purely his own thought, but when would they ever be pure? His father had started it. And he'd continue it a different way.

They now stood in front of a shimmering crystal tower that seemed to reflect all sunlight beaming off its transparent glassy surfaces. The structure was divided into two sides — good and evil, represented by darkness and light — that drew awe and was breathtaking yet intimidating at the same time. It seemed to be the only thing in the underwater city that looked like it belonged above somehow, symbolizing its prestige and importance... his gaze had skipped right over the giant "M" letter represented by twisting strands of DNA that appeared to be moving. The whole sight felt familiar somehow, like he'd been here before when he couldn't go anywhere without his father's permission. All the wrong types of beauty for a building that wasn't the most impressive or tall. Perfect, his father had told him earlier.

"Your registry pendant lets them know you're there right when you walk in," his father's face looked animated as he described it to him. So there's no way of getting out, huh? He felt a twinge of irritation that was almost enough to make him snap at his dad for assuming he hadn't known about the pendants. Was he really that clueless in his eyes?

''I'll pretend to be happy about the match. It won't change a thing about me and Lily — I don't care if we're a bad match and ruled out for the rest of our lives. If we're truly meant to be, this'll prove our devotion. We're not doing this to please anyone.''​​​​

The second he walked in, which he was only vaguely aware of — he regretted it immediately. He felt like the odd elf out (it was a game he'd played when he was younger with his other friends, so there was definitely some irony,) for all the wrong reasons. Even as he tried desperately to observe the people's faces, he could only catch a glimpse of each of their fair complexions as some tossed their hair behind their shoulders, slumped down on the ground with relief, or tried to smile flirtatiously at passing elves... he couldn't see himself doing any of those things.

Couldn't see himself belonging or even fitting in. Their emotions called to him like dancing voices in the starlight, something he so badly longed for it hurt — but he knew deep down that just because he could sense their emotions like he could with any of his friends, they were still just elves he'd probably never encounter ever again. He wouldn't recognize them in the same sea of agony he was drowning in now.

That was probably the saddest part.

"Cassius?" His call felt far away now, like his father was on the shore and he had been alone in the ocean.

And then the blonde-haired girl came sweeping by the tide — his knees nearly gave out with relief and he shoved aside the thought of what his father must be thinking of him as he whispered a silent Thank you to whoever might've be watching him or allowed this to happen, for him to finally notice someone whom he recognized despite their rocky history.

Okay, he barely knew her aside from the fact that she'd had a massive crush on him in Level Four, constantly trying to touch him. Her favorite habit had been grabbing Cassius by his shoulders, a feat that was truly incredible to her that made him blush — just because he was flustered. There was nothing more to the story, nothing else that needed to be known.

Something creeped up on him. ''What if Lily had known? What if she still remembers?''

It wouldn't have mattered to her, his mind assured him. But she would've noticed, especially with all the teasing and imitations his friends had done of the daring girl.

She was waiting for him to mention it to her... and if he didn't, they'd be done. Forever.

With no chance of redemption.

Despite what was at stake, he felt a creepy, sly smile curve on his lips... and it was returned with an expression just as elusive as Adeline vanished out of sight. Dissappeared, reminding him eerily of...

Glimmer.

No.

This couldn't be happening.

She wasn't here.

''She was never here! She shouldn't be here.''

"WHAT?" He fought the urge to scream and faint in front of the crowd of beautiful, flawless elves that would surely take it as a shock.

Especially since it wasn't the real them and they'd dressed up just for the sake of it.

''So transparent and see-through. So ''fake.

It's you, isn't it? He dared to wonder.

''It is. ''A shy voice whispered, sounding so silky and smooth and...

Different.

He could see her face.

Definitely different.

Not just from what he'd expected — entirely different from anyone here, yet she managed to blend in with a crown encrested with rubies and emeralds resting on top of her hair that couldn't be described.

It seemed to be... changing every second. Changing depending on what made everyone feel confused yet accepting at the same time.

Her appearance simply couldn't be described. No words could come close to summing up what she really looked like — the only way for him to ever know what she truly looked like was by comparing her to others.

''She looks kinder and more compassionate than Adeline. More frugal and considerate than that mother hugging her son in the corner. Feistier and braver than his father.''

Simply different from him.

His sorting abilities still didn't tell him what she looked like. Yet when he compared her to everyone in the room, there was a similarity she shared with each of them that he couldn't quite explain or describe, not with words.

"There's something else you can use, you know," he hadn't realized he was about to burst with enigma and mystery until then, caused by the girl that he could suddenly see, not just with his eyes. Somehow, he prefered it when he didn't know what she looked like and had to keep wondering for what the answer was.

Her voice could be a thunder cracking the sky, a transmission being sent through his mind, the feeling and detection of emotions, breaking through walls with no harm, controlling water with a simple swish...

"Asking."

It came out harder than he'd expected, but he braced for impact as Glimmer raised an eyebrow, anticipating his question.

"What color are your eyes?"

It was stupid of him to not use his mind, to rely on his instincts. And yet he knew that he'd asked the right question somehow — he just needed an answer.

Glimmer's eyes seemed to, well, glimmer as she stretched out her arms like a frail bird about to take her first leap into the night sky. "They're blue and green and purple and icy and fragile and everything," she winked, sending frustration his way as she took a step toward him. Not really an invitation, but close enough.

"When will you learn to settle for not just enough? You expect me to use your name to show you respect. And the truth is that I don't know your name. Not really. And you don't know your name well enough either," she said, almost accusingly.

What was the point of telling her everything you say is more clear to me when you move when she wasn't worth his time? He blinked, trying to figure out how to deal with his disgust as the girl's eyes lit up with delight and fire.

Glimmer threw a quick glance at Cassius's father, who he remembered he'd completely forgotten about as the two of them seemed to exchange some kind of secret message. "You deserve answers, Cassius. But that doesn't mean that you get them. For the record, I only glimmer to the people I see potential in — and don't trust enough. For now, anyway," she added, her attention directed to the Sencen crest pinned on his chest.

"You're growing up. At last. I'll wait until you can ask the right questions, alright? And know that I truly know you. Just not in the way you think," she shook his head, practically talking to herself now as he watched her walk off.

Avery waved away a few curious onlookers as his face beamed with something that took him a moment to pick up on — delight. "A Flasher. Someone who has tremendous control and holds tremendous respect, Cassius! This is fantastic," he practically gushed as he waved his right arm in a summoning gesture. "Wonderful!"

Cassius closed his eyes for a second before he nodded, looking particularly pale. "She... was interesting. The girl, I mean," he scrambled to answer as Lord Avery raised an eyebrow and chuckled.

"Which one, Cassy? The last time I checked, there were two of them interested in you," his face reset to a neutral expression as Cassius allowed his tossable hair to droop over his face.

This was the first time when Sophie saw him from a third-person point of view in so long, she almost screamed with relief. Strangely enough, she wanted to remember every piece of this flashback as she could — if she could get Lord Cassius to open up to her, tackling her friends' problems would be a lot easier.

She got slightly worried when Lord Cassius didn't respond to her thoughts the way Keefe could when she and Fitz probed his mind to search for any buried memories. It's probably all fine, she thought as she struggled to hold on to the only parts of Cassius's childhood she had.

Fitz.

''Think about something else. ''

He was certainly adorable in a way so unlike Keefe's — when you looked at him, you wanted to see more. You wanted to know more. You wanted to befriend him, show sympathy for him, and even tackle him with a hug. The best part was that how she felt about him was only for her, and everyone else would see him differently.

''Doesn't that apply to everyone? ''She suddenly felt awakened and stupid while cringing at what her own thoughts were capable of.

"Cassius?"

Lord Cassius — just Cassius — looked embarassed as he scruffed his shiny, spanking clean shoes against each other. "Yeah?"

Before Avery could go on, a Matchmaker emerged from the crowd of elves that parted to make way for her as she flashed her shiniest, fakest smile. "Cassius Sencen?"

"Yeah. Yeah, that's me," he said, suddenly unexcitedly.

The Matchmaker didn't look disturbed as she made a polite gesture to Lord Sencen, who, in turn, gave a polite dip of the head as she watched Cassius give an awkward glance at his father that seemed to be both apologetic and afraid through her cobalt eyes — clearly fake. At least part of it.

"My name is Leyne," she said kindly and with an unusual amount of determination — her emotions wholehearted, cleansed, and pure. "I've come to collect you. Please, follow me this way," she gestured to a hallway that seemed to appear out of nowhere, though somewhere in the back of his mind he knew that it'd been there all along.

When Cassius didn't move, her hearty lips stretched in another polite smile that seemed to break through his trance as he blinked. "Oh. Yeah. Sorry, I just feel... blurry,"

"That's quite common," he was surprised that it came from his father and not the Matchmaker, who looked equally as surprised. "Go on, son. I know you can handle this."

He felt ashamed and embarassed enough — not to mention the Matchmaker, Leyne, had restated something obvious he'd known when she came. And now his father was encouraging him? No elf near normal did that. His father thought he was nervous.

The worst part was: it was true. So he left without making eye contact with his father and followed Leyne, looking defiant and yet walking with a straightened back.

"You're alright?"

"Yes," glad that his voice sounded more confident now, he scoured his mind for a subject he could talk to her about. "How long have you been doing this?"

"Four hundred years," she said in an offbeat way that came nowhere close to capturing reality. Seeing Cassius's look of uncomprehension, she smiled. Again. "I wish I could tell you more, but we've arrived."

That was fast. Leyne saw the thought flicker across his eyes before he forgot what he was thinking about a moment earlier.

"Please wait here until Brisa and Juji come for you," she left quietly, as if walking on tiptoes as he nodded blankly.

A moment later, he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

The Matchmakers — named Juji and Brisa — appeared and took every step in sync, making him wonder how much they had in common as he noticed the differences between them. One had dark hair and the other had blonde — it seemed to be all he could register as he pushed the absurd idea that they might be best friends out of his mind. Siblings and twins always seemed to resemble each other and be incompatible for friendship, while with friends... it seemed like the opposite, always.

"Hello, Cassius," one of the two said, nodding out of courtesy and routine. He cringed at how he might've reacted if they'd called him by his full name, ''Cassius Avery Sencen. ''"We need to check a couple of things with you first."

''A couple. ''What was wrong with him?

"Erm, yeah, alright," he stammered while twisting his wrists with his left hand and holding on tightly to his Sencen family crest with his right hand.

"Your father is Avery Sencen," she waited for him to glance up at her and nod, which he did after a few moments, "And your mother is Mella Sencen."

''So he would've known her name today, even if his father hadn't told him. ''Something weird and squishy hit his stomach. How long had he been planning this for?

And, weirdly, he wanted to know: what was his mother's last name before she took on her husband's?

​​​​​​And why was there a weird edge of detestation in her voice?

​​​​"Oh, sorry," he said, suddenly snapping back to reality, "I've just been super distracted today. I mean, I didn't—" he flushed red when one of the Matchmakers nodded and the other simply glanced up at the wall. It was the first time the two of them had done anything out of sync the entire time. "Yes, yeah, I think that's, uh, right."

He waited for the You don't sound so sure lecture to come, but it never did.

"You attend Foxfire."

"Obviously," he said, without missing a beat. His voice, however, was missing his usual swagger.

"And your name...? We're sorry we have to ask," the Matchmaker who looked like Brisa threw an apologetic look his way, "But it's for verification purposes."

"Cassius Avery Sencen?" He said in a questioning tone.

"Yes," the other one nodded, pleased. "Give us a moment."

The devices they were holding, which Cassius hadn't noticed until then, made a beeping noise and an icon whirled around at the center of their screens... and a thick packet suddenly came through the wall.

Cassius squealed as the Matchmakers coughed to try to conceal their amusement. "That's our depositer," the Matchmaker with dark hair said, smiling now her laughter had been hidden, "and here's your Matchmaking Packet."

"There is no deadline for filling this out," the other Matchmaker chirped in, handing it to him proudly, "But for optimal efficiency and results, we'd suggest that you hand it in by the end of your school year."

"Why does it matter?" He wondered, then looked frustrated with himself when he realized he'd asked the question aloud.

"Many of your peers are doing the same. It's a tradition, in fact. And seeing as many elves prefer to be matched with people around their age, especially now, it's advised. But not necessary, of course," she added and dragged the word out.

He nodded, feeling an enormous sensation of pride and burden as he picked up the packet and flipped through it. It certainly wasn't very polite, but his father could wait.

"Of course, we ask that you answer these questions as truthfully as possible. As we understand that some of your responses will change over time, you are welcome to finish the packet and review it after several weeks have passed. Due to this, we also recommend you pick up your packets as early as possible so your matchees can better suit you — the recommended age for marriage if you choose to go on this early route is twenty-three, though we've had couples marry at as young as seventeen," the Matchmaker seemed to suddenly understand his curiousity.

"And we're always here to answer your questions," the other one added, naturally piquing his interest. "Your father knows where to find members of the Matchmakers Assistance Department."

So he'd have to go through his father if he wanted to ask a question?

"Thanks," he stood up, feeling his jaw unclench as the blonde-haired Matchmaker hurried to his side. "Oh, Cassius? We wish you optimal results."

''Do you do this for everyone? "Wish them optimal results?" What will go wrong?''

"Thank you," he said as sincerely as he could, feeling the dread already building up in his sweaty palms as he hurried outside to meet his father, only to see Leyne meet him again in the hallway.

He hadn't noticed Leyne's sharp, striking features until then — she certainly looked strong, like someone who'd experienced far too much and lost far too little. Straight jaw, gleaming white teeth, and a knowing smile — what was expected of a Matchmaker. Her hair was golden brown, an unusual combination... but certainly not fake.

"Do you need help on your way back?" She stopped, waiting for him to respond.

He didn't.

All he wanted to do was get out as his angry, frustrated stomps began. In the absence of thunder and rain, he was brewing up his own storm.

"Cassius?" It was far too distant to echo.

When he saw his father again, he could breathe. He silently slung an awkward arm bent at weird angles across his shoulder, and his father patted him on the back awkwardly, too — so funny it was almost laughable.

"Got everything, then?" Cassius pointed at his Matchmaking Packet, not sure what else he was supposed to bring with him. He was so surprised at his father's sudden acts of kindness that he grinned at the prospect that he might be allowed to leave his house to go see Lily. "Your mother will be thrilled. Let's go."

And some part of him knew she wouldn't. He sorted through all the data he had until a theory formed...

What if Avery and Mella were a bad match?

What if my parents were a bad match?

And anything seemed possible as they left, the part no one described because it was the only real part of the journey.