Match-A Sophie and Fitz Story

Chapter Sixteen

Hey Keeper fans! This next chapter is a bit more lighthearted and more like the first KOTLC book. I thought it'd be nice to bring the Keeper crew together and reset a little bit before I get too far from the plot that Shannon created. 😁 Thanks so much for your support; it's incredible to see this fanfic rise in rankings like it is! Anyway, I hope you enjoy this next chapter.

The next day, Sophie Foster was in Mysterium with her friends.

They had all decided to go shopping before school started up again. Everyone needed new clothes, new shoes, and new colored pencils (or gel pens, in Bianca's case). The whole crew was very excited. Linh was chattering happily about Silveny, Greyfell and the twins. Keefe was joking and teasing nonstop about Sophie and Fitz's "official relationship".  Biana was begging Tam to quickly stop by a Prattles stand with her before they went to Slurps and Burps to meet Dex. Fitz and Sophie kept looking at each other, noticing the other was looking their way as well, and quickly turning away, blushing furiously. They had decided telepathically the night before to not discuss the memory alteration with anyone. It was over and done with, and bringing it back up would only cause chaos and destruction to an already crumbling city.

Each Elvin family had received scrolls in the morning that told them about Alina and Emery. The reason for their impeachment was simply stated as "failure to abide by Councillor regulations". Sophie had scoffed when she read it. Regulations? Seriously? The scrolls also notified the public that the Council was, once more, open to nominations from the public.

Biana jumped in front of Sophie. "Will you go with me to the Prattles stand? I really want a box! And Tam is being stubborn." Biana looked at Sophie with such pleading in her round teal eyes that she caved and agreed to get a tin box of the sweet candies. "Yesss!" Squealed Biana. "I hate going alone. I always buy way too many boxes without someone watching me." Sophie snickered and walked with her to the stand, leaving Fitz with the others. Tam watched them go, looking a bit regretful. Sophie wondered why for a moment, but then she was overwhelmed by the wonderful scent of candy and forgot all about him. Biana hadn't noticed at all. The two girls bought their Prattles and skipped back to the rest of their friends, diving back into joyful conversation.

The group arrived at Slurps and Burps just as Dex was leaving. He was holding a wooden crate of glass vials and giving a one-armed wave goodbye to Kessler when they walked through the entrance.

"Hey, Dex!" Said Keefe. "Want to tell me what's in these bottles?" He pointed to an especially green and murky elixir, mumbling "especially that one?"

Dex tucked the crate slightly closer to his chest. "Well, actually, these are just old beauty elixirs that I'm throwing out." His tone brightened. "Once they're in the trash, I can come hang out with you guys!"

"Sounds good!" Chimed in Biana. "But first, I want to quickly grab a few Lash Lengtheners from your dad's store. Can you guys wait for a second while I go?"

Sophie nodded. "Sure, we can wait. I want to crack open these Prattles, anyway." She began to open the silver tin and was about to gorge on caramel candies when a waft of a horrible smell snaked across her nostrils. They instinctively scrunched up, and Sophie turned her twisted, grossed-out face toward the source of the smell. So did the rest of her friends, and the group stared at the smelly creature in question with shock and disgust.

Was that...Tiergan?