His Teal Eyes

Expectations Met, Questions Answered Chapter 1: Sophie

                  Sophie slumped onto her chair, groaning at the sight of the pile of documents on Estra Decorus (a famous elementalism expert, supposedly) she was supposed to annotate. It seemed foreign having to worry about her mounting pile of homework after stopping a band of psychotic murderers from throwing the world (both elven and human) into apocalyptic chaos. With the Neverseen finally out of the way, Sophie had thought all her problems would evaporate: Her teetering relationship with Keefe, her annoyingly unwavering feelings towards Fitz, and, most of all, the grief that still lingered after the final battle with Neverseen. The Black Swan had been lucky to pull down some of the Neverseen with their own. The amount of Wanderlings Sophie had been forced to plant was more than she had ever imagined. The thought of each tree, unique and beautiful in its own way, but terrible all the same, made Sophie shudder. Sighing, she shoved any depressing thoughts away, willing herself to focus on her elementalism homework, which should've been completed an hour ago. It was hard not to worry obsessively over her grades, no matter how much Sophie tried to convince herself one bad grade was ridiculous to fret over.

But the Council always had a way to twist themselves into her life, no matter what she did to protect her privacy. Several newspaper articles had been written in Sophie's honor, and someone had even published a book based upon how she and her friends had managed to defeat the Neverseen. It was all flattering, but a little daunting all the same. If Sophie received a bad grade on a single homework assignment, the Council would know, and, not long after, the whole elven world. For the majority of her life, Sophie had never had to worry about passing a final or turning in homework on time; the major worry had been her telepathy, which she had kept a secret for six years until Fitz had introduced her to the elven world. But now, defeating the Neverseen didn't seem to be enough. Everyone seemed to want more, but there wasn't much else she could give. No drama, no incredible feats, no betrayals . . . nothing but a teenage girl, still trying to find her place in the world. The Council had raised the bar far too high, setting expectations Sophie knew she couldn't meet. It was getting more frustrating by the minute.

Erasing any thoughts of the Council from her mind, Sophie turned to the seventh and final document on elementalism she was required to annotate and began to read. Estra, having already studied water, earth, and air, began to research the third element; fire. Unable to think of a better resource, Estra sought help from her close companion and beloved Councillor, Fintan, the world's only pyrokinetic able to summon Everblaze. Sophie gripped her pencil tightly, starting to scribble a long explanation as to why Fintan should've never been "beloved" nor a "close companion" to anyone in the margins when she heard a soft knock.

"Sophie?" Edaline's soft voice was slightly muffled.

"Yeah?" Sophie called, setting down her pencil and heading to the door.

"You have a visitor."

"Who?" Sophie asked curiously, opening the door. Edaline's cascading tumbles of amber curls framed her round face, her turquoise eyes sparkling excitedly.

"You'll see," she answered, smiling mysteriously.

Puzzled, Sophie pushed past her mother, sprinting down the stairs, glad for an excuse to pause her homework. She flung open the front door with gusto, expecting Dex, who usually visited her after school to work on homework. "Where have you been De-" She stopped mid sentence, trying -and failing- to ignore her palpitating heart, which had instantly switched to hummingbird mode. Instead of the strawberry blonde curls she had expected, Sophie started at the sight of neatly styled brown hair that could only belong to one person.

"Fitz?" she asked, shuffling her feet nervously. "What's wrong?" Concern clouded Sophie's gaze; if Fitz was visiting her without Biana or Keefe, it had to be important; it seemed like it had been ages since they last talked.