Second Chance

The Early Stages of Green

"Now she has access to Foxfire?" Councilor Emery sighed, rubbing his temples.
"Apparently that's not enough. She's also starting to make kids like her."
"It's a power move," Mr. Forkle explained, "She's showing us that she can get to anyone. Even the ones we think are the most protected."
"What now?" Keefe asked. For the first time in a long time he wasn't making jokes.
"No matter what, we don't give in to her demands."
"Are you kidding?" Sophie asked, "This isn't just a war between us and them now. There are other people that are in the middle of it and any one of them are prone to the damage."
"This fight was never just between us or we would've ended it a long time ago. This is about the people. And our authority. If we give in to her demands we are showing the people that any one of them are capable of threatening us to get what they want."
"It doesn't matter!" Fitz argued, "They have screwed us over more times than we can count. And as the Council, you should know when it's time to give up for the good of the people."
"We are doing everything we can, Mr. Vacker. We just have to wait this out now. There's nothing else we can do. We are backed into a corner now and we have no choice but to wait."
"You're wrong," Sophie said, her voice shaking slightly. "If the Black Swan taught me anything, it's that there is always a choice."
—————————————
"You think they're going to give in to your demands?" Gisela asked.
"I doubt it," Honoria replied.
"Then what was the point of doing that in the first place?"
"When they don't cooperate, it'll give us the chance to show the whole Lost Cities how willing the Council is to give them up in order to win. Then we'll capture one of them and prove to them how weak they are. The Council will step down if the people don't shove them off first."
"Hmm. Which one?"
"The Song girl?"
"No. The public knows that all we have to do is threaten Tam and she'll come willingly. I was thinking the Vacker."
"Fitz?"
"Biana. She's one of the elites. It'll send a message that we turned one of the Vackers and captured the other. Soon their big legacy will be nothing more than a myth."
"Although there's still a slight chance that they'll give in."
"Then all the species will see that the Council isn't as high and mighty as they think they were. The treaties will become void. They'll all start fighting for the top position."
"Excellent."
——————————————
"We're not seriously going to listen to them, are we?" Fitz argued.
"Unfortunately, Mr. Vacker, we will." Mr. Forkle told him.
"Their orders are crazy. You're not seriously going to stand by and let them hide behind innocent people."
"Fitz is right. Foxfire is a safe place. Kids trust the Mentors and parents trust that Foxfire is highly guarded. We're not going to be the ones to destroy that," Sophie pointed out.
"If we don't follow the Councils orders, we lose their loyalty—"
"And to quote Suits—"loyalty is a two-way street."
They all stared at Sophie blankly.
"Alright, that's not the point. The point is that if they want loyalty from us, we should be getting it from them, too."
"And we are getting it from them, Miss Foster. We would be in exile if we didn't have their support. We never would've been able to announce ourselves to the public without their support."
"Support is different from loyalty. Because we all know. The Council is only loyal to themselves. They will do whatever they need to save their own backs."
"The Black Swan isn't ignorant. We wouldn't trust them if we didn't know their true intentions."
"You are overestimating how much the Council cares for us. Need I remind you that they were the ones who hunted you for millennia."
"That's because they didn't know our intentions. Now we are allies."
"And the only reason why we are allies is because we have a common enemy. What makes you think that the second the Neverseen is down, they won't stab you in the back."
"We don't. But for right now, we are in the same boat and they won't risk them drowning by poking a hole. And need I remind you that the Collective is the leader of the Black Swan and we have decided to trust the Council. While you are a vital member, you swore fealty to us. If any of you have any other questions, say it now."
Dex raised his hand slightly.
"Yes, Mr. Dizznee?"
"What about Team Valiant? What are we doing with that?"
"That is between you and the Council. That's the end of it. All of you, and I mean all, go get some rest."
———————————————
Late at night, Honoria reached out to Alvar telepathically.
"They're all a mess right now," Alvar said.
"I bet they are," Honoria replied.
"You did good."
"I know."
There was a pause.
Then Honoria spoke up. "Are you okay with this? You do know we're going to take Biana."
"I'm good. Although she was the one I favored, she chose their side. She's as much an enemy as any of them."
"I suppose."
"When is this going to happen?"
"The Celestial Festival is coming up. We'll display it then. Biana's going to be in our custody a few days before that."
"And your brother?"
She wrinkled her nose. "He's as much my brother as Fitz is yours."
"You think we're going to win?"
"I do. I really do."
————————————————
Sophie sighed as she nuzzled against Wynn and Luna.
"I bet you both think life is as easy as flying, huh?"
SOPHIE! SOPHIE! SOPHIE! KEEFE! KEEFE! KEEFE!
"Keefe?" she whispered.
"Well, the mini glitterbutts really outed me, didn't they?"
Keefe stepped out from behind the Panakes tree.
"Forkle told us to get some rest."
"I could say the same about you."
He took a seat next to her. "I can't help but think this is all my fault."
"It's not, Keefe, don't even think that."
"But it is. If I hadn't run away and blindly trusted someone else they wouldn't have gotten as far or gotten as much information. I let them in."
"Stop it, Keefe. Don't let them take anything else from us."
DANGER! DANGER! DANGER!
Sophie's head snapped up as Wynn and Luna pranced around wildly.
There was a note in a bottle on the floor.
"I suppose we should hail Forkle?" Keefe mumbled.
A few minutes later everyone was at Havenfield.
"What is going on so urgently that you had to pull us out of bed?" Bronte grumbled.
"We found a note. Inside a bottle. The alicorns sensed it first."
"You didn't see anyone?"
"No."
Mr. Forkle used telekinesis to open the bottle slowly and what was on it made their hearts drop into the pits of their stomachs.

Too late. I hope you're all ready to wear green.