The Neverseen's Last Resort

32

Fitz

Fitz sighed, staring up at the pink curtains that dangled above. After talking with the council, Fitz and Keefe had headed back to the Ruewen's residence in hopes of discovering something they might've missed. Though, Edaline watched constantly from the doorway, glaring at them with suspicion. Fitz figured it had something to do with Biana's last visit to the place. It had been right before she had found Keefe, so now Edaline was wary of them. Maybe she worried they'd try the same thing, though he'd already promised them it wasn't anything more than a quick look around the room.

Well, not so much a quick look around, anymore. He'd given up, now sitting on Sophie's bed and lost in thought. Fumbling and the shifting of objects sounded in his ears, and he knew Keefe had yet to give up. Keefe seemed relentless when it came to Sophie. Serious, too. He hadn't cracked a single joke since their talk with the council, and Fitz wondered if reality was finally starting to settle in Keefe's mind. 

"Find anything?" Fitz asked. Keefe's searching didn't pause for Fitz, nor did he respond. Sighing, Fitz took a quick glance around the room. Clothes and other belongings such as school books, capes, and a spyball were scattered around the room.

"How do you expect to find anything in this mess? You should try cleaning first." 

"You should try helping. Or is that word not in your vocabulary?" 

Fitz smiled. It was the closest to a joke his friend would-- could get at the moment, and even if it was against Fitz, he'd allow it. Keefe was clearly only worried about Sophie, and Fitz couldn't risk ruining their friendship for a second time. How had he let them grow so far apart, anyway? How had they grown so far apart? Fitz tried recalling the first sign of their falling apart, but could find no memories that clued their current friendship status. 

"Found something," Keefe mumbled, and Fitz moved from the bed to where Keefe stood above Sophie's desk. 

"Her memory log?" Fitz asked as Keefe handed the book off to him. 

"Look there," he said, and when Fitz followed his friend's finger, he saw that a page was missing; ripped out, it seemed. 

"What do you think it means?" Fitz asked, but Keefe shrugged.

"It's probably nothing but it's the best we've got so far." Fitz nodded and handed the book back to Keefe before retreating to the bed. 

Beside Sophie's bed, sat Iggy's cage. And inside, Iggy was twitching violently. 

"I think Iggy's hungry," Fitz noted. Keefe groaned from his place and trudged over to Iggy's cage, unlatching it to feed the hungry imp. 

"I didn't say you had to feed him," Fitz pointed out, but his friend ignored him, proceeding to open the cage. Instead of waiting for the food, however, Iggy leapt from his cage and scrambled to escape Keefe's reach. 

"You let Iggy out?!" Fitz asked, letting out an unintentional shriek as Iggy flew for Fitz's head. Fitz ducked out of the way, and Iggy, instead dug his claws into Sophie's pink canopy. 

"Not on purpose!" Keefe snapped, leaping for Iggy, but ending up landing on his friend. Fitz shoved Keefe off him, racing after the imp while Edaline continued to watch from the doorway. Why couldn't she be more helpful? Actually, when he glanced her way, he caught a hint of a... smile? Edaline was smiling? Was this amusing? If so, Fitz didn't dare ask for her help. Because, ever since Sophie's disappearance, the Ruewens had been miserable. They deserved every chance at happiness they could get their hands on. 

"Iggy?" Fitz froze, the voice having come from Edaline herself. Keefe did the same as Fitz, coming to a sudden halt in place as the two watched Edaline stride over towards the imp, who had decided to settle atop Sophie's nightstand. 

Edaline crept slowly toward the creature, preparing to snatch him once his guard was down. But just as she was near enough to grab him, he ducked out of her reach and behind the nightstand that was pressed against the wall. 

"Help me move the dresser," she told them, and both Keefe and Fitz obeyed. The nightstand was surprisingly heavy for it's size, but Keefe and Fitz managed to inch it away from the wall enough to get a clear view of their target. 

Iggy, in response, released a loud burp, beginning to scratch at the floor. Fitz and Keefe shared a look, before scooting the nightstand further away. Fitz inched closer to the imp, this time, not in an attempt to catch him, but to understand him. What was Iggy's deal? 

Fitz extended his hand, and Iggy obediently crawled up and settled on his shoulder. 

"The floor boards?" he asked. Iggy released another burp, and Fitz took that as a "yes". 

Digging his fingers between the crevasses of the wood and pulling, he could tell one of the boards were loose. Just a bit more muscle and he'd get to finally learn whatever it was Sophie had been hiding. 

"Keefe," Fitz grunted after his third failed attempt.

"Got it," Keefe said, kneeling beside his friend and digging his fingers underneath the small crack Fitz had already opened. With both of them working together, the wood popped right out of the floor and flew back a good few feet. 

"What the..." Edaline breathed, and Fitz felt just as shocked. Sophie had an entire hidden nook in her bedroom? For what?

"Did you just read Iggy's mind or something?" Keefe asked. Fitz didn't answer, instead stuck on the hidden compartment. Though, Keefe was right. How had Fitz understood Iggy so easily? All Iggy had done was sit on a piece of wood and Fitz knew. Was this what it was like for Sophie? Or was his connection with the imp lesser? Were these his own talents at work, or Sophie's cognate connection rubbing off on him? 

If so, why now? Was something happening with Sophie?

"Look," Keefe said, reaching past Fitz to pull out...

"The missing page," Fitz gasped, and all three squeezed together to check it out. 

The first thing Fitz noticed was the drawing. It can't have been Sophie's work, as it was much too clean and realistic. It looked almost like Keefe's, only, it couldn't have been. Keefe's expression told him it was the first time he'd ever seen this flower. So... who?

It didn't have much shading, so it was better than Keefe's work. But the drawing itself looked similar to Keefe's art style. 

"You didn't draw that, did you, Keefe?" Edaline asked, and Keefe shook his head. 

"I didn't. But the art is just like mine." 

"Let's take it to the council," Edaline suggested, but Fitz shook his head. 

"There's still the second page," he said, and everyone leaned in closer to see. The second page remained without words, only a picture. 

"Is that a throwing star?" Keefe asked, pointing to the star-shaped triangle with spirals and marked with arrows. 

"It looks like," Fitz sighed, "another symbol." 

"What does it mean?" Edaline asked, and Fitz shrugged. 

"We should take it to the council. Maybe they can figure it out," Keefe suggested.

"And what about the flower?" 

"That, too."