Neverseen's Puppet

Chapter 10: Abandoned

Disclaimer: I don't own the photo.

Camilla's POV

Gethan's fingernails dug painfully into her skin as he probed her mind. Fintan still held his beloved fireball up to her face, constantly threatening to punish her if she made one move to escape. Lucky for him, she had no plans to disobey their orders. It was completely her fault, after all, she shouldn't have walked up to Keefe, Sophie, and Fitz in the first place. If she had just followed Alvar's instruction and stayed where she was there wouldn't have been a problem.

Camilla decided to make no attempt to hide her thoughts. Gethan would find them anyway and besides, whatever punishment she would get for her mistakes was nothing compared to the burns Fintan would give her if he found out she tried to keep secrets. Painful seconds ensued, one after the other. She studied the floor, too scared to look up and see Fintan's angry expression. Hugging her shivering body, Camilla wished she decided to wear something warmer.

Eventually, she couldn't handle the suspense anymore. She glanced up at Gethan's face. His eyes were closed, and his eyebrows furrowed together angrily. She was about to shift her focus back to the floor when his piercing blue eyes popped back open. She almost squeaked from the fright but managed to keep her mouth shut and hold her breath. The anticipation gnawed inside of her as she waited for an answer.

He and Fintan glanced at each other, probably having a telepathic conversation. The seconds ticked past until Fintan said, "I always knew you were a mistake." Her heart thumped against her chest. She could tell from his tone that that was not nearly all he had to say. "And now that Brant isn't here to protect you..." he lingered on the last word, "We have no reason to keep you."

Fintan stared at her, as still and deadly as a viper. She was scared to move, pinned like a mouse under Fintan's lethal gaze. This wasn't right. They needed her. She was here to help their cause. They wouldn't abandon her, right?

"Brant promised you would have at least twice the number of abilities," Gethan sneered at her. "But what did we get? A weak, pathetic traitor. We should just use Gisela's boy. At least he's got a bit of spine."

I'm not a traitor! Camilla opened her mouth to say something but nothing came out. The words stuck in the back of the throat like a bad cough.

"Wipe her mind," Fintan muttered to Gethan.

Camilla's muscles finally unfroze. "No! Please! Don't!" she gasped. Her eyes burned with unshed tears. "I'll do better, I promise," she took a shuddering breath, "Please." For a moment she thought she might've seen a flicker of sympathy in Fintan's eyes, but if there was it got snuffed out immediately.

Fintan laughed. "It's too late for that."  He signaled to Gethan and the pair of them closed in on her like an animal hunting its prey.

Camilla screamed, fighting to hold onto her identity, but alas, the world went black.

^v^v^v^v^

Sophie's POV

Sophie tossed and turned in her canopy bed. Sleepless nights were no stranger to her; it was rare for her to sleep more than four times a week.

Iggy's rumble snores filled the air. Although she couldn't hear him, she knew Sandor was right outside the door, keeping guard. A restlessness filled up inside of her and she fought the urge to scream, if only to break up the overwhelming silence. She sighed. If she was going to be awake at this hour she might as well do something productive.

Sophie was debating between transmitting to Silveny and checking her Spyball for the umpteenth time that night when a panicked voice filled her head.

Sophie!!! Fitz transmitted. She winced; Fitz's transmissions were very loud.

What is it? she responded, already imagining the worst possible scenarios.

Grizel found Camilla outside the gates covered in burns and her clothes in shreds. Sophie's breath caught in her throat.

Camilla?! Sure, she had betrayed them, but Sophie wasn't convinced that she had known what she was getting into when she joined their order. It was possible she wasn't aware of all of the evils they had committed. Even if she was, no one deserved that kind of pain.

Yeah, Fitz replied, talking so fast that he tripped over the words. My dad is calling Elwin and Mr. Forkle right now. We haven't called the Council though; we want a chance to figure out what's going on before they try to lock her up or something.

Has she said anything? Sophie asked, biting her lip. Did she tell you anything out the Neverseen? Did Fintan burn her?

That's the thing, Fitz transmitted, She's completely unresponsive. She doesn't react to anything. Grizel had to carry her into the house because she wouldn't stand on her own. My dad tried to read her mind, but everything was blank. It wasn't black though. Apparently It was gray, and fuzzy. It seemed like you might be able to make out some shapes, but then they would disappear and... yeah. Fitz took a deep breath. I don't know what to do.

Neither do I, Sophie admitted. Do you want me to head over there? She climbed out of her bed and started walking over to her closet to put on actual clothes.

Only if you think you can handle seeing the burns, Fitz's voice softened. You don't need more nightmares than you're already getting.

Sophie's stomach churned at the thought of seeing Camilla. She didn't care though. Camilla couldn't run away from reality so she shouldn't either. I can handle it, Fitz. I'll be over in ten. She could tell he still wanted to protest, but she severed the connection between their minds before he said anything.

She stumbled into her closet and pulled on a pair of black leggings and a red tunic that Biana had insisted she buy. Hastily running a brush through her hair, she opened the door to her room and ran straight into a wall of goblin-muscle.

"Where do you think you're going?" Sandor questioned, not letting her go past him.

"Nowhere dangerous, I promise."

"You realize that's not actually an answer, right?"

Sophie groaned. "I'm just going over to Everglen." Sandor raised his eyebrows.

"And why do you feel the need to visit the Vackers at two in the morning?" How was she supposed to answer that? If she told Sandor why she had to go, he would wake up Grady and Edaline, slowing her down way too much.

"How about this: I don't have to tell you, but you can come with me," she offered.

"The come with you part goes without question, however, secrets hinder my ability to protect you," Sandor argued. This was taking way too long.

"Fine. I'll tell you. But you can't wake up Grady or Edaline." Sandor narrowed his eyes at her, looking torn. "Please?" she begged.

"Ok, deal." She sighed in relief.

Sophie quickly summarized what Fitz had told her, painfully aware of how much time she was wasting. "Can we go now?"

"I'm going to regret this," Sandor said in his squeaky voice. Sophie skirted past him, hurrying down the stairs. Sandor followed closely behind her. They stood below the glittering Leapmaster. The room was only lit by moonlight, and every movement echoed through the house.

"Everglen," she whispered. The singular crystal dropped down into the light. Sophie and Sandor stepped into the beam, letting the soft light carry them away.

Does anybody know if their leapmaster is actually on the first floor? It's probably in the books somewhere but I'm too lazy to look for it. Anyway, thanks for reading and I'll update again soon.