This is my fanfiction/short story that takes place immediately after the end of Flashback. It is Sokeefe so if that bothers you don't read it, and if you read it anyway, don't hate. --TrickyZbear
Preface----------------------------
Unmatchable.
The word echoed through her head, getting louder and louder, bouncing and ringing until it focused on one thing. A beautiful pair of teal eyes.Â
How could she tell Fitz?Â
"There's no way we won't be matched," he had said.Â
But...they weren't.Â
Sophie Elizabeth Foster is Unmatchable.
How could she have let herself hope?Â
Somewhere deep inside of her, something snapped.
One----------------------------
"Why?" she asked, her voice hard and emotionless.Â
"We don't know," she matchmakers told her.Â
"Is it because the Black Swan won't tell me who my parents are?" she continued, a hint of bitterness slipping in.
"We don't know."Â
Sophie stood up abruptly. "I'm leaving. If I'm unmatchable, then there's no reason for me to still be sitting here." She knew she shouldn't speak to them like that, it wasn't their fault, but she couldn't bring herself to care. She felt cold. Numb. She walked stiffly to the door, opened it, and continued down the hall. She walked brusquely past the seats full of beautiful elves and looked for Grady and Edaline.Â
"Sophie?" Her adopted mother said.Â
Sophie turned and realized she had walked right past them. The numbness disappeared with a snap. She choked on a sob and rushed to her, resisting the urge to collapse in Edaline's arms and cry.Â
"Sophie, what happened?" Edaline asked, running soft fingers through Sophie's hair.Â
"I'm...I'm...I can't...not here...not now. Just take me back to Havenfield."
She scrunched her eyes closed to hold back the tears and only vaguely felt the feathers whisk her away as Grady light leaped them home. She felt bulky arms pick her up and smelled goblin musk and dimly realized that Sandor must be carrying her up to her room.
There was a knock on her door and she pulled the covers down so they weren't covering her head. "Come in," she said, her voice hoarse.Â
"Do you want to talk about it?" Edaline asked, coming over to sit on the bed next to Sophie, placing a tray of mallowmelt in the space between them.Â
"I'm Unmatchable," she whispered.Â
"I know. We're worried about you, Sophie. You've been in here for three days. Fitz is downstairs. He wants to know why you weren't at Foxfire today."
Sophie froze. "Tell him I'm sick. Tell him something. Just make him leave. I can't talk to--"
"Can't talk to who?" asked a crisp, accented voice that made her heart skip a beat.Â
She shook her head.Â
"Okay. Why weren't you at Foxfire today?"
"I... er..."
"You can tell me, Sophie. You can tell me anything."
Her heart fluttered, her stomach flopped, and she said, "I'm Unmatchable."