Trust Me - a Sophitz story

Part 10

dedicated to ShadowQueen1220 for being an inspiration!!

Chapter 10:

Stunned silence filled Bronte's place in the room. Once again, Dela looked like she wanted to tell everyone to go home. But once again, she was stopped. "Everyone out, please," Granite called. "Grady, Edaline, Alden, I'm looking at you. Everyone who's a member of the Black Swan stays."

"Are we really having a meeting right now? After all this?"

"Dela, you don't have to join us."

She looked at her children, who were standing firmly next to the chalky figure, and back at her husband, who looked pained as he said, "Let's go. They don't need us in the way. I assume the rest of the collective is on the way?"

"As long as it's okay with you, yes, I planned to call them here."

Alden looked directly at Sophie as he said, "Yes, of course. There was one other thing left at Calla's tree." He handed her a small package wrapped in plain white paper. I checked it, it's not a trap, and there's no enzymes on it."

Sophie just stared at the package in Alden's outreached hand, so Biana slipped forwards and lifted it from her father's palm.

"I'll give you guys a few minutes. When the rest of the Collective arrives, however, we need to meet." Granite looked at the four children before him, then turned and led the adults from the room.

The four left moved so they were all sitting near each other at the long table, Sophie and Fitz on one side, Dex, and Biana seated across from them. Biana set the package down in the middle of the table, and Sophie hesitantly unwrapped the plain white paper.

As the paper fell from whatever was inside, Sophie gasped. When the others leaned forwards to view Keefe's last gift more clearly, Biana began to cry again, and Fitz turned to look at Sophie, who was also crying, and Dex bravely reached a hand out to the beautifully carved Panakes blossom.

The flower was life-sized, carved from one crystal, which seemed to shift colors, just like a real Panakes flower. But when Dex tapped on of the petals, it peeled apart, dividing into 8 sections. On one, the words 'never forget' were carved along the rim of the petal, and the initials E.L.F. were carved near the base. The next petal had 'Trust me' carved at the top and K.S. carved at the bottom. The one marked with S.E.F. was also marked with 'Be Brave', and the one marked for Fitz (F.A.V.) said 'Stay Strong'. Dex's said 'They need you' and Biana's was heartbreaking. It said, simply, 'I'm sorry.' But the last two pearls were a mystery. One was marked with 'L.S.' and the other, 'T.S.'. Sophie, predictably, understood first. "Tam. and Linh." Linh's petal was marked with 'Keep Control' and Tam's had 'When there is dark, there is light.'

Each petal was intricately carved and looked real. When they were all snapped together, the designs along the petals spelled out 'Calla' at the bottom and 'The Power of Love' along the top. The petals, individually, were beautiful, and the designs matched their powers. Links had swirling waves, Dex had weird technobabble, and Bianca's had figures, blinking in and out as the petal moved. Sophie's and Fitz's had the same designs as their Exilium pins, and they glowed when they were next to each other. All in all, it was the most personal, detailed gift anyone could've given them.

"There's a note," Fitz said, "written on the paper." Reading out loud, Fitz said, "Foster, Fitz, Biana, Dex, Linh, and Bangs Boy. This is my apology. I never deserved my place among you, with the Black Swan. This is a reminder of all you lost, because of the Neverseen, and because of me. If you want to remember me, hang my petal on Calla's tree. If you want to hate me, hang it on the gates of Candleshade. The petals form the flower with or without mine. Goodbye, one last time. - Keefe"

Each of the four strung their petals around their necks, and Sophie spoke. "He's gone this time. We should treat it like he's dead, another causality, like Mr. Forkle or Kenric. Let's put his petal on Calla's tree, because our Keefe deserves that. He's gone, and we can't get him back. This... person... is not our friend. He's not even a member of Black Swan. This flower is the last part of our friend. This note is the first part of our enemy, of the newest member of the Neverseen. We can fight them, but not if we spend every moment searching for clues he's still a good guy."

Sophie hadn't noticed she was shaking, with anger, hate, or grief, no one could tell, but Fitz stood up next to her, wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and wiped the one stray tear away with the pad of his thumb. "Sophie is right. We can't hate Keefe. Keefe is gone. It's time for us to go back to the Black Swan."

Slowly, Biana stood all well and wrapped an arm around Sophie's waist. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but we have to move on, past the betrayals, past the losses, and become stronger, and not let them break us."

Dex looked up from his seated position at the three elves standing arm in arm and said, "You don't have to convince me. Keefe has been gone since he first left for the Neverseen."

At that moment, Granite opened the door and asked, "Are you guys ready?" As Sophie nodded, he said, "Good," and the rest of the collective shuffled in. First came Dex's mom, Juline, not even bothering with a disguise. Next came the, still mysterious, Blur and Wraith, and, somewhat surprisingly, Physic, who's mask was green, with matching gold and emerald beads in her hair. "Then let's get started. We have much to discuss."