Reversed

xlix. forty-nine

"No, I am not wearing another dress today!" Sophie brushed her hair out in front of the mirror, her temper towards Vertina drawing thin. She wondered if the spectral mirror would break if she threw her hairbrush at it.

"But you looked so nice yesterday," Vertina tried to cajole. She glared when Sophie gave her a pointed look that said she wouldn't budge. "For once," she added, giving up on flattery.

"If I wanted advice about fashion, I'd ask you."

"Then don't stand right in front of me! It makes me turn on!"

"Last I checked, you could click yourself off and on."

"You still activate me!"

"Fine! Maybe I should just use the bathroom mirror from now on!"

"Maybe you should!"

Sophie threw up her hands and stormed away.

In the bathroom mirror, she finished brushing out her hair and tugged at her embroidered tunic and leggings. Did she look to simple? Maybe she should—

Why was she even thinking about how she looked? It was just another Empathy meeting. She did not care about her appearance after spending seven months in mostly black and cloaks than she had before the Neverseen.

Or maybe, she thought with a snort, in that missing-memory-time-period I became a frilly princess who wore makeup every day. Wouldn't that be a thought?

She sobered up as she started thinking about the missing—no, stolen—memories that still left huge, gaping holes in her mind that she had to work around.

Taking a last swig from the mug of Cinnacreme left over from breakfast, Sophie walked out of her room.

After she stuck her tongue out in Vertina's direction one more time.

Aurahand was just as she remembered it—and she was startled to realize that its wooded, mystical grounds were starting to become as familiar to her as the old terrain of Alluveterre.

A surprised voice called out from near the entrance of Aurahand. "Sophie?"

Sophie whipped away from the trees she'd been studying. "Fitz? What are you doing out here?"

He stepped off the wall he'd been leaning against, rubbing the back of his head and flashing a grin. "Keefe told me that you guys were having another session today. I thought that I'd come out to escort you in."

Sophie gave an uneasy smile. "How very kind of you."

He tucked his hands into his pockets and started walking. "Do you remember everything that happened while you were . . . ?"

"While I was . . . ?"

Fitz cleared his throat. "With the Neverseen."

"Yes, I remember everything."

"Oh." Yes, oh indeed.

"But there's a gap in your memory from when we fought the baby trolls to when you joined the Neverseen?"

Sophie shifted uncomfortably, studying the sunlight that danced in the grooves carved into the smooth walls of the hallway they were walking through. "Pretty much. A few things that I must've subconsciously buried before they stole memories have come back, though."

"Like?"

"Like when I asked you to make me forget that I'm an Enhancer, and . . . and little bits from when the Neverseen got me and did . . . whatever they did to me to change things."