Board Thread:Short Stories and Fanfictions/@comment-44544645-20191211195811/@comment-44544645-20200213204626

Thirty

'''Sophie tugged on a loose eyelash. “And…Mr. Forkle interviewed Caprise and she kept muttering something about how Cyrah should have been more careful, right? Maybe she has messed with the Neverseen before and that’s what she was talking about.”'''

'''“No.” Marella shook her head back and forth. “No way! NO WAY.”'''

'''Elwin came over, holding out an elixir. “Relax. Marella, this’ll take the edge off of reality if you need it.”'''

'''Marella shoved the elixir away. “No. My dad’s not….he’s not….” She tucked her knees into her chest. “NO. NO.” Her breathing sped up, quick and hurried, like she had just sprinted a mile and was gasping for breath.'''

'''“Take the elixir,” Maruca and Linh told her in unison. '''

'''Marella shoved the elixir even further away. “I don’t need it.”'''

“If you don’t take it I’m going to blame myself for Alvar’s coma,” Biana told her.

'''“That is not fair play,” Marella argued, but she drank the bottle in one gulp. Her breathing slowed, and she let go of her knees, her legs going back to where they originally were. “Yeah, that’s loads better.”'''

'''“Hey everyone, dessert time!” Keefe called, coming in with a tray full of food. He set it on a table next to the cots, and then waved his hand through the air. “What just happened? I’m feeling some serious shock.”'''

Sophie did her best to explain.

“Someone needs to hail Mr. Forkle and update him,” Elwin directed.

“I’ll do it,” Dex offered, taking an Imparter from his pocket and heading outside the room.

'''Keefe looked at Marella. “Can you promise me one thing?”'''

“What?”

'''“Don’t go off and join the Neverseen like I did about my mom. Not because it’s a bad idea, but that’s so last year. Please. Surely you can find a cooler way to vent your anger.”'''

Seriously?

'''Marella stared at him in disbelief. “I don’t know whether to laugh or scream or eat your mallowmelt.”'''

'''Keefe smiled. “I brought enough mallowmelt for everyone. Want some?”'''

'''He handed around the plates—everyone took one, even the bodyguards—and Sophie smiled at the chocolatey-butterscotchy goodness as she took a bite. Mallowmelt made everything better.'''

'''The room was quiet save the sounds of chewing for a few minutes before Dex came back in. “Okay, I’ve updated Mr. Forkle, and there better be mallowmelt left.” “Relax.” Keefe handed him a plate. “There’s plenty to go around.”'''

“Can I get some, too?” Elwin asked, pulling up a chair.

“Yeah, of course.” Keefe passed the last plate to Elwin.

'''Dex took a bite, swallowed, and said, “I’ve got news. Mr. Forkle told me that Caprise was friends with Cyrah and Prentice.”'''

“Cyrah was Prentice’s wife, right?” Tam checked.

'''“Yeah. Caprise was really close to them. So it’s possible that Prentice shared Black Swan information with her, maybe as a failsafe because of why he called swan song. And Marella was around two when her mom got hurt, and Wylie was about seven when his dad’s mind broke. So Mr. Forkle thinks that Aurelius did it because of the information Prentice has.”'''

Whoa.

'''“There’s no way we can hit my mom with all this and then ask to search her mind,” Marella declared. “We need to get the secret from Prentice, not her.”'''

'''“If and when you decide to tell your mother, I can make an elixir that might help,” Elwin offered. '''

“Thanks.”

“Did Mr. Forkle say anything about when we can try to get the memory from Prentice?” Sophie asked Dex.

'''“Yeah. Tomorrow morning, I think.”'''

Prentice reminded Sophie of shadowvapor, which…..“I want to see if Flori’s songs help Fitz’s echoes–do you think Fitz would be okay with that?”

'''“I don’t know, but I can go with you,” Biana offered. “Maybe if both of us are there he’ll calm down a little. And then we can do some battle training if he wants to?”'''

'''“Sure,” Sophie agreed. '''

“Do you want to do some ability training to take our minds off of all this?” Marella asked Linh.

'''Linh turned to Elwin. “Can we train?”'''

'''Elwin snapped his fingers, forming an orb of pink light that enveloped Linh’s torso and squinting at it through his glasses. “Yes—but don’t push yourselves too hard.”'''

'''“If they’re doing that, we can do some shadows-and-force-fields stuff,” Maruca offered, turning to Tam. Tam nodded. “Sure.”'''

That left Keefe and Dex.

'''Dex grinned. “Do you want to prank your dad in the most epic way possible, with my gadgets and your illusions, and call it ability training?”'''

'''Keefe’s smile was so wide it looked like his face was going to crack. “Definitely.”'''