Imposter Syndrome

The Goddess League

Can we trust her? Carolina glanced at Helena, questioningly.

She was sent by Lazlo. I trust Lazlo. So I trust her. From one to the other, wordless communication. And there was no room for argument.

Carolina found herself walking alongside Helena as the latter provided Sofie a tour of Constanta Castle. First, the trio ascended the ballroom staircase, powdered over with dust and glass shards, turning a darkened corner to the massive, cylindrical high-ceilinged archive library, which appeared to span multiple stories. Sofie silently counted...five...ten...fifteen...twenty levels! Each floor was interconnected to the other by a tight-wound side staircase, its faded crimson nevertheless belying a sense of innate grandeur. Oh my. The history of magic, from its very beginnings, to present, were in those shelves.

Passing a pagoda window displaying a sunny view of the sea, they traipsed onward to a dusty side stairwell vaguely resembling a fine Parisian arrondissement flat, a grand piano at the left of the railing. What was it with Helena and pianos?

And then they found themselves in an upstairs room, painted a serene seafoam green, with half the ceiling missing its crown molding, the floor in an utter state of disrepair, pieces of plaster strewn about in a veritable snowdrift.

"Where do people sleep?" Is this the bedroom? She silently wondered to herself that question as Helena laughed, and Carolina finally managed to crack a smile.

"Wherever they live, but the castle's for key meetings, training, and such—"

Carolina interjected. "If it's an emergency, there's some rooms upstairs, but the place is crazy dusty."

Sofie frowned. "Why?"

"Why nobody lives here, or why it's so dusty?" Helena responded.

"Um....both? I guess?"

"How about I let Carolina take this?" And the tall, dark-haired woman nodded.

"We use Constanta Castle for practice. For dueling, for future battles. We can't do it outdoors, too many would notice, so this is our practice space."

"So you can be as loud as you want?"

Carolina and Helena glanced at each other, biting back a smile. "Something like that."

"For the Goddess League?"

They concurred as Helena resumed the tour. "Sofie, the Goddess League is a foundation of powerful women who came out of situations like yours—who escaped the Veronicas of this world—people like you, brave and strong and empathic. Goddesses."

"But," Sofie thought aloud—"I'm not brave. I'm not strong. And my empath abilities—they must've been pretty bad to underestimate Carolina...I mean, no offense..." She glanced apologetically at Carolina, who brushed it off, having done an assessment of her own of the lady before her.

"None taken, your boss is a pain—"

Helena coughed. "Point being, we're showing you a way out. To discover your abilities. Work with the best and the brightest. Sometime soon, I—we—goddesses—want you to make a decision, and we hope that you choose to join us."

"What about...Boss—I mean—Veronica?" If Veronica caught wind of this, she knew her life was over. Literally and figuratively.

"For now," Helena stated, without missing a beat, "work undercover so the woman doesn't suspect a thing. Then join us when the time is right."

"So, uh, this is an internship?" Finding a place to live after growing accustomed to Air B&B living would be a challenge, given her own lack of credit history and far more. Like finances. She could afford designer clutches, but definitely not a down payment, let alone a deposit. 

"No, more like..." Helena paused, searching for the word, "...temp-to-hire."

Sofie breathed a sigh of relief. Higher than an internship, with possibility of becoming permanent. If she chose.

"We will train you, if you let us," Carolina piped up. "You'll of course need to make reparations, but we'll deal with that as it comes up."

Reparations? Then Sofie remembered—Zach, Clotilde, Karlo, and Cosima. Right. "Sounds—sounds reasonable."

A few hours later, she found herself seated beside the same duo, enjoying a lovely, elegant outdoor dinner by vined chandelier lighting, the skies a deep marbled blue. "To new beginnings!" Helena's voice echoed in the expanse.

"To new beginnings!" Sofie all but whispered, downing her glass in its entirety, recalling her next assignment—somewhere in the south of France.