The Burning Light with Shadows (A SOTAM Fan Fiction)

Gala? (Tam's PoV)

"BANGS BOY!!!" Keefe yelled at me the next morning. "When will you give me the antidote so I can fix my hair?!" I shrugged jokingly, grinning. "What about... never?" I suggested. Keefe glared at me. "It's been a MONTH, Bangs Boy. What do I have to do to get you to give it to me?!" I pretended to think for a moment. "Hmm... what about you give me, Sophie, and Dex each a favor?" I had been brainstorming ideas for the past two weeks for any good ideas to humiliate him, but to no avail. In the end, I had just decided to make him owe us favors.

Keefe grumbled something inaudible before finally consenting. "Alright, fine, you get what you want, Bangs Boy." We shook hands, cementing the deal. Dex pumped his hand up. "Yes!!!" Sophie looked just as triumphant. I took the antidote out of my pocket and gave it to him, and he downed it immediately. A couple minutes later, his hair faded back to its normal blond. "YES! THE HAIR IS BACK!" he shouted victoriously.

Biana giggled, then perked her head up. "Sophie!!!" she squealed. Sophie backed up slowly. "What...?" she asked tentatively. "You should have a winnowing gala!!! Sophie looked like she wanted to disappear from reality forever. She probably did.

"Biana. No, no, no, and no!" Sophie pleaded. "You and Tam are the only ones who aren't dating already. You two need to find your partner in crime!" Biana winked one of her teal eyes at me. Both of us turned beetroot red. "But-" Sophie protested, but Biana cut her off. "No nopes!" Biana insisted. "I'll organize it. I'm sure Grady and Edaline would be fine with it!" I gave her a skeptical look. "Grady? Really?"

She sighed. "Alright, not Grady, but I'll convince him somehow." She thought for a moment. "I'm in charge of makeovers!" She started giving everyone roles. Sophie groaned. "At least add like, a couple human aspects," she begged. Biana agreed. "As long as you have the gala!"

I patted Sophie on the shoulder reassuringly. "It'll be fine," I whispered. She gave me a small uneasy smile. Everyone swarmed around us and before we knew it, everyone had left in a flurry of excitement, flying into their rooms to plan out the gala.

"That was... quick," Sophie noted with amusement. "But aren't galas the least of our concern, with the Neverseen?" I grimly nodded. "But let them have our fun. And us, too," I quickly added.

I recalled what had happened the afternoon before. "Maybe it's your chance to finally find someone to finally be your 'partner in crime'," I quoted jokingly. Her smile surprisingly increased, and she blushed.

"Maybe," she replied distantly, looking out a nearby window. "I'm just not sure if I'm ready for such a... commitment yet." I paused for a second. "You'll know it when it's time," I said quietly. Sophie nodded slowly.

I took her hand in mine, and I felt a small shock go through me when our hands made contact. She flinched, and I assumed she had felt the same thing. But for some reason, I didn't let go. We gazed at the almost-ending radiant sunset. Then suddenly, there was a small shimmer of a shadow on the lake. A fuzzy image of a cloaked figure.

Then it was gone. "Did you see that?" I asked. Sophie's eyes widened. "Ye- yeah. Was it him?" I racked my brain for any facts about them. The only thing we knew was that they had a camouflage mottled cloak and a jade sword. We didn't even know their gender out of all things.

"We don't know if they're a girl or boy," I pointed out. Sophie coughed, looking slightly flustered. "True," she admitted. "But still... do you think it was them?" I frowned. "It was just a silhouette of them on the water. How is that even possible in the first place?"

We were interrupted by a crash near the front door and a stomp when Ro walked into the room. "Where's Lord Hunkyhair?" she demanded. Sophie quickly informed me that she had been on a small mission for her father after Alvar's tribunal.

A/N I didn't forget the bodyguards... totally...

"He's upstairs planning my- uh, winnowing gala with Biana." Ro frowned. "Wait, he's with Biana? I thought he would have been with you, Blondie." Sophie turned bright red. "Uh... no. He's dating Biana now. And Fitz is with Linh." I felt a twinge of pity for Sophie. She'd practically been rejected twice, ignored too many times to count, and left out a few times as well.

Ro looked disappointed. "Wow... that's a plot twist I was not expecting. But Lord Hunkyhair does what he does, I suppose." She shockingly did not crack any clever jokes. "Well, I'll go find him now. Which room?" Sophie pointed to one of the doors, and she hampered up the stairs, muttering something I couldn't understand. I guessed it was in Ogre.

"Well... I guess Ro knows now, too," Sophie said wistfully, wringing her hands. I tilted my head to the side. "That reminds me... where's your cacophony of bodyguards?" She groaned. "I forgot all about them. I think Sandor's training them or something. They should be back by tonight to inspect all of our rooms and..." she trailed off. "You know what, nevermind."

She suddenly seemed to remember something. "I'm going to go ask Ro about something," she mumbled, quickly leaving. What was that about? I wondered. But I decided to leave it be and go see what mischief Linh was plotting for Sophie's gala.