The Neverseen's Last Resort

12

Sophie

"We've scheduled our first attack for tonight." 

Sophie nodded, taking the plans from Fintan before carefully looking them over. 

"At what time specifically?" she asked, noticing there wasn't any actual dates-- which was strange, seeing as the papers were a schedule. And all schedules had times and dates-- right?

"You'll follow our lead. There's no need for dates. Besides, if these plans fell into the wrong hands, the enemy would know exactly what we are planning and when we're planning. This is safer." 

Sophie nodded, handing the papers back to him, "I'd like to get some more training in before tonight, then." Sophie told Fintan, and he chuckled. 

"What?" Sophie asked, irritated. 

"Nothing," Fintan grinned, "I just admire how prioritized you are. Keefe never cared much for training. Very reluctant." Sophie flinched. 

"Keefe?- the traitor?" she asked, and Fintan confirmed her question with a nod. 

"Stole information from us. Secret information. Luckily, we managed to recover most of what he'd learned and fix things accordingly. So, his whole operation was useless. Only good that came out of it was that we managed to sneak some shadowflux into his food in case we ever need to track him down." 

Sophie nodded, smiling at the thought of the traitor. So clueless as to the leverage the Neverseen really had over Keefe. No. Keefe was a traitor. He didn't deserve a name. So instead, she'd call him Project Lodestar. 

Because he was a Project. An experiment. A weapon. Nothing more. And according to Lady Gisela, nothing less. 

Sophie Foster had been born and raised in the Forbidden Cities, next to her nosy neighbor, Mr. Forkle. Little had she known, he was a spy. He'd made Sophie. She was his experiment. His project. His weapon. 

But Sophie was not his Moonlark. She refused to associate with the man who'd killed Sophie's human family in an attempt to get her to go with him.

Luckily, Alvar had been there to save Sophie. Rescue her from the horrible weapon the Black Swan wanted to make of her. She was not their weapon. Nor was she the Neverseen's weapon. But instead, she was her own person. Rebelling against the council who's laws were broken. Allowing the Black Swan to do evil things for their own benefit.  

The Neverseen weren't like that. They loved Sophie. As if they were her own. And Sophie cherished them like the family that had been taken from her. She loved them, admired them, strived to be like them. 

And she'd mostly bonded with Alvar and Fintan. Fintan, her mentor. He taught her, and truly seemed to care. And Sophie felt bad for him, knowing that his last apprentice, Project Lodestar, had betrayed Fintan's trust. And hurt Fintan. 

Meanwhile, Alvar was Sophie's savior. The man who'd shown her the truth. Shown her her true potential. 

Sophie wouldn't be what Mr. Forkle wanted. Not a weapon. Not an experiment. And certainly not their puppet. 

She was Sophie Foster-- the Hope. The hope for their new world. The world the Neverseen would create. The world rid of unjust laws such as match lists, talentless scorn, multi-birth scorn, and no banned abilities. 

//

Thwack! Sophie's mouth twisted into a smug grin as her throwing star hit only a little off center of the dummy's head.

"Well done," said a voice, and Sophie turned to see Alvar, "Your practice has paid off nicely." 

Sophie beamed, flashing him a cocky smirk. But remained humble.

"You did most of the work," she admitted, remembering how long he'd spent adjusting her stance and the critique he'd given for her to improve. 

"Nah," Alvar laughed, "I just laid out the stepping stones. It was you who took the first steps." 

Sophie felt her face growing red with the praise, but hid it by turning to face her target again and used telekinesis to retrieve the throwing star. As she stepped back into throwing stance, Alvar hovered over her; moving her arms and legs accordingly to improve her aim. 

"Now, throw," he instructed, and on his cue, Sophie flung the throwing star. This time, smack dab in the center. Right between the eyes. Sophie smiled, not able to hide the girl-ish giggles that bubbled up in her throat.

"You're a natural," Alvar praised, and after calming herself, Sophie met Alvar's eyes. 

"We'll get the Black Swan back. For everything they've done to us. And I'm going to be the one to take out the traitor. Just you wait." 

That earned a hearty laugh from Alvar, "That's good to hear. Don't miss, alright?" Sophie nodded as Alvar exited the room. 

Once he'd gone, Sophie continued to practice her aim.

"For Alvar," she breathed, hitting the dummy between the eyes, again. 

"For Fintan," she threw the star, imagining how painful it must be to form a bond with your apprentice, only to learn they were using you. Poor Fintan. 

"For the Neverseen!" This time, the throwing star went through the dummy and lodged itself inside the wall behind her target. 

Sophie smirked. The Black Swan was going down. And Sophie would be the one to do it. She'd avenge her human family. Alvar and Fintan, too. 

Sophie wasn't sure why Lady Gisela was so obsessed with the traitor- her son- but Sophie couldn't care less. She rarely saw much of the creepy woman, as she gave her orders and plans only to Fintan, Alvar, some dude named Trix, and Gethen. 

Sophie was still too young to be trusted with such information. But that didn't bother Sophie. Because the day she defeated the Black Swan and fixed the world, she'd become Lady Gisela's pride and joy.