His Teal Eyes

Reflections, Reactions, and Doubt Chapter5: Sophie

Sophie's cheeks glowed as she and Fitz landed back at Havenfield, her hand clasped in his. Thousands of twinkling stars blanketed the midnight blue sky, hues of ebony and indigo streaked about it. Glancing at him from the corner of her eyes, Sophie was glad to see a satisfied grin plastered on Fitz's face. "So now you know," he said, deep, accented voice ringing clearly in the frosty night's air.

"So now you know," Sophie repeated, unable to hold back a timid smile. She stared into Fitz's eyes; now that she thought about it, much like the way she did during telepathy training . . . But this time, it was different, somehow. This time, she knew how he felt about her in return, as unrealistic as it all seemed. Miracles could happen, after all. Sophie brushed away the thought; now wasn't the time to marvel over how something so . . . foreign could ever happen to her, and certainly not the time to worry when it would vanish. This had been the moment she had secretly fantasized about for years- a magical fantasy come to real life, like in fairytales.

"I wish I could see you more," Fitz muttered, stepping closer.

"Yeah," Sophie agreed, shoving away the pang of sadness that followed. "You should come over for dinner sometime. With Biana, of course," she added hastily, fidgeting. Imagining dinner with just the two of them, parents hovering over their shoulders curiously was . . . unsettling. As much as part of her wanted it to, Sophie knew just because she and Fitz had finally told each other how they felt (as they should've much earlier), nothing much would change.

"Same here," Fitz replied, dazzling smile lighting up his face. "You know you're always welcome at Everglen."

Sophie's cheeks glowed as she nodded. "I should probably go inside now- Grady and Edaline are probably worried about where I am, as usual," she sighed, rolling her eyes, unable to suppress a bashful smile when Fitz's warm laugh rung about the drafty air.

"Yeah, I should head home too," Fitz agreed, frowning slightly. "Goodnight Sophie," he said, flashing his dazzling smile which, as usual, didn't fail to bring a magenta blush to Sophie's glowing cheeks. Her wide smile only widened when he tenderly wrapped his arms around her in a farewell hug.

Sophie looped her arms around him falling into the embrace. Breathing in his minty scent, Sophie rested her head on his shoulder, excited butterflies erupted in her stomach. Sighing wistfully, she pulled away, taking in his twinkling smile and shining eyes one last time before stepping towards the house's polished door. She glanced back and saw Fitz flash a smile and wave before whisking away in the swath of blinding light.

"So, how'd it go?" Sophie jumped when Edaline's familiar voice sounded behind her.

Sophie hesitated, wondering how much information she should give; at least her former overprotective bodyguard and prying father weren't there to reproach. "It was magical," she sighed, eyes shining.

"Ah, so he did say it," Edaline said knowingly, smiling. "I'm glad he did. It's about time."

"Wait," Sophie said, stiffening,"how much did he tell you?"

"Just that he wanted to 'make things right'. And that he had something important to tell you. He only told us to get permission to leap to the Forbidden Cities; you can imagine the chaos your father would cause if he hadn't. Of course, he already smoothed everything out with the Council; very responsible, just like his father," Edaline explained, offering Sophie a custard burst from a plate she had just conjured onto a nearby glass table.

Sophie popped it in her mouth, letting the sweet flavor bring broaden her smile so much it hurt. "How did you know what he told me then?"

"I was once your age too, Sophie," Edaline laughed. "I know quite a bit more about these things than you think."