Swan Song

Chapter Three

"Hello?" Sophie called out, lifting the eagle-shaped knocker on the door again. "Anyone home?"

She was debating whether to knock for the third time when the large door swung open, revealing a tall woman with soft amber locks and turquoise eyes. "Hi, sweetie," the lady said, smiling. "What can I do for you?"

"Is this the Havenfield Inn?" Sophie asked, trying to sound as innocent as possible. Forkle told her that the inn owned by the Ruewens was the safest place with someone with abilities to stay. They ask no questions, you tell no lies. "Would it be possible for me to rent a room?"

"Oh, are you a customer? Sorry, we get a lot of kids coming here trying to pull pranks," the woman said, ushering Sophie in. "I'm Edaline, and this is my husband Grady."

Sophie absentmindedly shook Edaline's hand, her eyes wandering the pristine glass walls. The building, located on an island right by the ocean, had been a pain to get to, and she was starting to understand why Forkle had recommended she stay here. The harder it was to access, the less likely she would get caught.

"So, who told you about us? The only way people hear about us is through word of mouth, really. We don't advertise." Edaline said, walking over to what looked like a guestbook. Uh, what happened to the whole 'no questions' thing? Sophie blinked. Oh no.

Her mind flashed to the certificate she had seen on the wall moments before. God bless photographic memories. "Uh... Jolie. Jolie Ruewen."

Edaline shared a look with Grady that Sophie couldn't decipher. "Right. Jolie. That's our daughter."

Sophie nodded, moving her arm to get a better hold on her bag.

"Your name?" Edaline asked. Sophie glanced at her. "For the guest log." Right. Stop being so defensive. You're going to get yourself caught, you idiot. One wrong move and you're dead.

"Sophie. Uh, Foster. I'm sixteen. I can pay in cash." What was the point of saying that? Why are you acting so nervous?

Edaline marked something down in her book. "Great. We actually don't charge until you leave, so you don't have to pay right away. Your room is up those stairs, on the third floor. You'll know it when you see it."

Sophie forced a nod. "Thanks." She headed up the stairs, dragging her suitcase along with her. She hopefully wouldn't need to stay more than a week. Then she'd get her payment and she could get out of here.

She paused at the door of her room, which took up the whole floor. Wow. How expensive is this? The down payment for her job would give her plenty of money to stay here. Or... you could take the down payment and leave. No. Forkle had too many contacts. She wouldn't survive.

She gently set her bag down on the floor, trying not to leave a dent in the carpet. Quietly shutting the door, she pulled out the book from her purple backpack. 'The Vacker Family!' the cover screamed at her in bright gold letters. "Rich people are so self obsessed," Sophie grumbled.

Time for the first phase of her assignment: research. Using books and the Black Swan's files, without actually getting close to the victim. That was the second part. While the Vackers had wealth and prestige and a small army guarding their palace, she had... okay, nothing. Whatever. Five million lusters. If she died, at least she'd be free from Forkle's debt. And if she lived, she'd be free from it as well. A win-win situation. But, you know, she would prefer to live.

An attack on the Vackers of Everglen resulted in the death of the youngest child, Princess Biana... Their oldest son, Alvar, disappeared under mysterious circumstances... The only remaining child, Prince Fitzroy, will ascend the throne when he turns 18.

Uh... wow. Whoever hired her — likely a member of the extended Vacker family, based on the crest she had seen earlier — was clearly trying to kill all of Alden and Della Vacker's children. The two of them must have really pissed someone off. Or killed her client's children, and this was their revenge. Hmm. She debated searching the book to see who the Everglen family had any scandal with, but she stopped herself. The less she knew, the better.

Turning the pages again, her eyes widened as they scanned the title: The Ban on Abilities. The main reason she despised Alden Vacker. While she had no personal connection to this assignment and would take no particular joy in killing his son, she would be lying if she said it wouldn't be nice to see his royal highness lose his only heir.

When the elves with abilities began to rebel against the law, Lord Vacker pushed for a law to ban them. After the law was passed, goblin soldiers would capture all elves with abilities and put them through a medical procedure that successfully stripped them of their abilities. Sophie rolled her eyes. If a painting of the author hadn't been on the back cover of the book, Sophie would have assumed Alden Vacker wrote it himself. Despite the fact she hadn't attended a proper school in years, even she could tell this was just Vacker propaganda.

As she went to shut the book, a page caught her eye. She flipped her way back to it to see a family portrait, that must have been taken before Princess Biana died, showing the five of them, dressed in garments that looked like they cost more than her whole apartment. They all shared perfectly chiseled features,  silky dark brown hair, and a smile that didn't quite meet their eyes. But what really interested her was the way Alvar Vacker's face, or what she assumed was his face, was entirely crossed out. She knew she should just ignore it, focus on completing her assignment, then get the hell out of this creepy place, but she couldn't help but wonder if there was something bigger going on. Involving the disappearance of the oldest Vacker child and the murder of the princess.

Biana Vacker. Her eyes shifted to the youngest child, sitting to the left of Prince Fitzroy, Sophie's target. Her beauty was undeniable, with the same glasslike teal eyes as Prince Fitzroy and Lord Alden. The princess Biana rests in the Amberly Woods, a 16-acre forest closed off from the public. A map showed the Amberly Woods, a section cutting right onto the Everglen property. If she could sneak by the guards — and manage not to get lost in 16 acres of trees — she would have direct access to the palace. Direct access to Fitzroy Vacker. If only-

"Ma'am?" Sophie's eyes shifted to the door, where she could easily recognize Edaline's melodic voice speaking from behind it. Hastily shoving the book back into her backpack, she got up, unlocking the door.

"Yes?" Sophie asked, sliding the door open.

"I'm sorry, I forgot to fix the blinds," Edaline laughed, crossing the room to get to the windows. "I'm sure you wouldn't want to be woken up by the sun at the crack of dawn."

"Oh, I really don't think that's ne-" Sophie paused, debating what to say. Kicking Edaline out of the room could cause suspicion, but every interaction between them could risk Sophie saying something that could give her away. "Thank you."

"Are you from around here?" Edaline asked. Upon seeing Sophie's face, she added, "Your hair. It's the same color as mine. I know most people with it are from this area, so..."

"Oh," Sophie said softly, running a hand through her very-much-dyed amber locks. Blonde hair was an exclusively foreign trait here. Extra attention she didn't want. Might as well wear a giant sign reading 'I'M NOT FROM HERE!' and run through the streets. "Yeah. I'm from the mainland, though. Not these islands." 

"I love that area. My sister's husband is from there, but we grew up here. My husband, though, he's from the Lumenaria region. Hence the blond hair," Edaline said, screwing the blinds into place. "These should be good now. If you clap twice, they'll open or close." 

"Thank you again. Uh, I'll see you soon," Sophie forced a smile, watching as Edaline slid the door shut behind her. Either Forkle hadn't been here in a long time, or he purposefully wanted to see her suffer. She was a decent enough liar, but she needed time to prepare a story, and certainly hadn't been prepared to answer all these questions from Edaline. 

What more was there to be done here? She could read the huge book of Vacker propaganda, or spend all of five seconds skimming through Forkle's useless notes. She had to be out in the open, gathering information firsthand. Sophie plunked down on the mattress, letting herself fall backwards on the bed. 

Let Phase Two begin.