Light in the Dark

CHAPTER ONE

Sighing, Sophie leaned against the side of her bed and tilted her head back. Staring a the dim outline of her ceiling, the jar of moonlight illuminated the dark.
She could feel her anger burning into energy in the back of her mind. Taking deep, labored breaths, Sophie tried stop the growing anger. She couldn't lose control of her abilities- especially inflicting.
There's no way that could be good. Sophie did wonder, however, what would happen if she released the anger, and losing control. Would she hurt Iggy- who at the moment was in his cage, snoring like a chainsaw-?
What about Grady and Edaline? Exactly how far would her powers go? Does she love Grady and Edaline enough to regain control?
Shaking the negative thoughts away, she focused on one of her happiest memories as a child- when she got Ella. Sophie looked at the stuffed bright blue elephant with a Hawaiian shirt next to her. Good ol' Ella. Always there for Sophie, as long as Sophie didn't lose her.
Was Keefe like that? Did she lose him? Was he gone forever? Was Sophie ever going to find him again?
Sophie bit her lip as tears stung her eyes. She couldn't- wouldn't- cry. Not again. She'd cried so many nights, she wondered if she still had tears left. Probably not.
But Sophie was proven wrong when one stubborn tear slid down her face. Desperately, she tried to scrub away the tear, just like she had the past few nights. But trying to rub away the pain would never work, and Sophie new it was useless.
Finally, reality took over her mind and she clutched Ella, crawling into bed.
And just like every night before, cried herself to sleep.
   Tears stained Sophie's cheeks as she jerked awake at the light seeping through her curtains.
She sighed, realizing it was the crack of dawn. Sophie's woken up at this hour everyday since she let Silveny and Greyfell go, and she has no idea why.
Sophie tried to calm her racing heart, but she knew it was no use. She had had a nightmare. Again, and every morning she woke up, her heart feeling as it was a caged hummingbird.
The thing that bugged Sophie was that she could never remember the dreams, only the fear they caused her. They scared her more than anything, and she would never know why.
Shaking away the feeling, Sophie made her bed and hoped into the shower. quickly changing into clean clothes, she hurried downstairs.
Going down to the kitchen, she saw Grady eating this disgusting looking purple sludge.
Upon seeing her, Grady smiled, "Want some?" He asked.
Figuring it couldn't hurt her, Sophie nodded and smiled. "Why not?"
Sophie's face must've had disgust written all over it, because Grady laughed. "It tastes good," he assured her.
Sophie shrugged and bravely took a bite. And boy was it good. It tasted like Christmas. "Mmm..." Sophie took another bite, ignoring Grady's laughter and a few 'I told you so''s.
"Hey," Sophie said, swallowing her food. "Where's Edaline?"
Grady's eye glazed over and her looked down at the scroll he was reading before Sophie came down. "She's not feeling well today."
"Why? Is everything okay?"
"Yes... Just a little headache." There was a moment of silence, giving Sophie the hint there was something more to it.
Finally Grady spoke again. "Today would've been her thirty-fifth birthday."
Oh.
   "I'm sorry, " Sophie did't know what to say about the dead daughter 'she looked so much like', and she figured it would be inappropriate to comment on how old Jolie would've been. But it did leave her to wonder how old Grady and Edaline were.
Most of Sophie hated how she would never be able to erase the pain from Grady and Edaline's lives, and how she would never be their real daughter.
"We used to go shopping..." Grady's voice was sad. "Jolie loved getting all these beauty elixirs, even though she didn't need them. And then... Then, we'd go and try on dresses for her birthday party. Every dress she'd come out in, her eyes would look at me saying, 'Do I look beautiful, Dad?' and every time, I would tell her she looked gorgeous, but she couldn't go looking to gorgeous because the boys would be all over her." Grady lets out a small, weak laugh, holding unimaginable amounts of pain.
Sophie looked at her adoptive father, his eyes threatening to spill the tears pooling in them.

(A/N: Sophie has never called Grady and Edaline Mom and Dad yet)

"Hey, Grady?" Sophie asked aloud, before she could think what she was about to do over.
Grady blinked a few times. "Yeah?"
Before she could stop herself, she blurted it out. "Do you ever miss being called Dad?"
Grady seemed to snap back to the present, the question taking him back. "Well... I- uh..." he stuttered out, looking nervous and completely uncomfortable.
"Never mind, forget I asked." Sophie says quickly. "I'm going to school. See you later."
Sophie grabbed her bag and rushed to the Leapmaster before Grady could stop her.

Author's Note|
Annnd Chapter One is done! Hope you enjoy; vote and comment what you think! Have a great day!