Trust Me - a Sophitz story

Part 26

Three more chapters, guys! I'm so excited about the end of this because I've been working on it for so long. Honestly, my writing has improved so much since I started this. It's a huge achievement, and as far as the average fanfiction, it's not even that long. I have so much respect for the people that write three or four stories like this, I could never do that. Anyway, as far as this story is concerned, I've changed a lot over the time this has been written, and I've been reflecting on that a lot recently, so while I am really attached to this story, I'm also glad it's done, because I can move on and continue to change. Enjoy this chapter and happy 4th of July everyone! - Mae

Chapter 26:

The night came far too quickly. Alana was, as predicted, thrilled to be a guest of honor. The plan was set. Biana had faked sickness (with a bit of help from Elwin) so she could beg off attending the party. Fitz planned not to attend either, under the pretense of caring for Biana. In reality, he would be by Sophie's side with Sandor, like he always was. Dex, Linh, Tam, Biana, and Oralie would go to the castle. It was a risk to go without any of the adults, but they would all be expected at Everglen, and not having one councilor present was suspicious enough.

So dressed in simple black tunics, dark pants, and sturdy boots, the four teenaged elves met at havenfield and then leaped to Oralie's castle. The plan, to avoid the goblins guarding the door, was to sneak out of the back door of Oralie's crystal palace, dodge through her grounds to the point where she had often met Kenric, and then levitate in through the sunroof of one of the other's castle's rooms. It was always open, according to Oralie, because she could hear Alina singing off key often.

They were in faster than they expected.

Tam darkened the windows and tinted the crystal of the room with shadow vapor. Dex installed a few new gadgets on the doors, which would lock them until he spoke a command word. Linh supported and helped both boys, spending just a tiny bit more time with Dex, who diplomatically pretended not to notice. Tam had no such qualms.

All the while, Biana, and Oralie were prepping in the center of the main room. Oralie held the cache gently in both hands like it was a baby bird about to fly for the first time. With help from her assistant, she lowered herself onto one of the overstuffed leather armchairs.

"Kenric's chair. Alina hasn't redecorated yet." Her voice was thin and weak. But it was a welcome spot of levity in the tense atmosphere, and even Tam smiled a bit.

The fragile elf sat cross-legged, delicate, dwarfed by the massive chair. The spherical cache was nestled in her lap, wrapped in a sheer muslin cloth.

"Are you ready?" Biana asked tentatively.

"No. But we don't have forever. Do you have the circlet?"

Silently, Biana reached into the messenger satchel slung across her shoulder. From it, she pulled a thin band of silver, warped from the everblaze and missing a gem, but whole. Oralie took it and gently placed it on her own head.

"Then let's begin."

***** **

No one was expecting the screaming.

Not even Oralie, and she was the one screaming.

Within a moment, she had stopped, and the only sign she had just been hysterical were the silent tears running across her rosy cheeks.

"I...didn't realize... his last... moments. Imprinted. On the circlet. I'm okay."

No one believed her, but it was okay. Biana wrapped a slim arm around the older woman's shoulders, and they started again. Slowly, Oralie went through what appeared to be a conversation, her face shifting and changing as she worked her way through barriers. After about twenty minutes, she lifted her hand and slowly wiped a stray tear from her right cheek.

"I've gained access. We did it."

They couldn't risk touching one of the gems on the sphere before the rest of the plan was enacted, so they wrapped the thing in cloth and slid it back into Biana's bag, while the four young eleven prepped to leap back to Havenfeild to meet up with Fitz. There, the Black Swan would take the cache and remove the secrets into individual gems, which could hold knowledge without requiring them to go through such an ordeal or possibly risk losing another member of their small group. And now, the real plan began, because while the cache was good security, all they really wanted was to heal the moonlark.