Key to my Heart

Chapter Fourteen

Sophie POV:

The woman looked just like Sophie, with blonde hair and hazel brown eyes, except she had rich, olive skin, like her mom. She looked exactly like Sophie's mom in the memories, except the only difference in her features was a scar that stretched from her forehead to her cheek.

"Oh! Sorry! Wait... Who are you? I know everyone around here, and you are not one of us," The woman said.

"Oh! Umm, well, I'm Sophie Foster, and my mom was an Exsule, while my dad was an elf. I grew up in the Lost Cities, but I wanted to learn a part of me that I didn't know existed," Sophie explained.

"Okay, well, where are you headed to?" The woman started out slowly.

"By the way, my name is Alora Ashwood," Alora said.

"Wait. Are you serious? My long-lost aunt who I came to visit's name is Alora. Wait, not to be creepy or anything, but where do you live?" Sophie asked, excited to see if this truly is her aunt.

"Oh yeah, no problem, I live in the Esteoria residency," She said slowly. Could this really be? I finally got to meet my aunt! What about my brother? Does he live with her, or some other guardian? What about my cousin? She cut off the thoughts. Not yet, Sophie, at least wait until she tells you if she's even your aunt. She scolded herself.

"Wait, I'm pretty sure you're my aunt, but just to be sure, do you have a son named Ivan?" Sophie asked hopefully. Alora nodded, then realized what that meant.

"You're my niece?" Alora asked, dumbfounded. "Sophie? Is it really you, honey?" Alora's eyes were misty.

"It's me," Sophie confirmed. Alora cried out happily and threw her arms around Sophie.

"I can't believe it! The last time I saw you, you were just a little baby. Gethen told me you would come back, but I didn't think it was true," She exclaimed, pulling away to study Sophie. "You have your father's face, but your mother's eyes and natural beauty,"

Sophie felt her own eyes grow misty. Being with her aunt made her feel like she was closer to her mom, even though she never got to know either of them.

"Any chance you also adopted my brother?" Sophie was almost too scared to hope. But to her surprise, Alora nodded, looking pleased.

"There was no way I was leaving him abandoned when your father took you to the Lost Cities after Gaia died," the words seemed to sink in.

"Why did my father separate us both?" she asked.

"He couldn't find your brother in the rush and, even though he tried to, he had to get you to safety." she explained. "But why don't you and your friends come over to my house? Your brother will be able to answer your questions better than I can."

Sophie, Ruy, and Rayni followed Alora into her apartment, taking in the colors and cheerfulness. On the walls were pictures of Gethen with Alora and a woman who looked a lot like Sophie, so she assumed that was her mother. Other pictures were of an extremely young Sophie, but there were many more with two boys who looked to be around Sophie's age. One of them had Alora's eyes and hair, while the other had the same appearance as Sophie. She guessed they were her cousin, Ivan and her brother, Sawyer. The place was small, but cozy and felt like home. There was an aroma coming from the kitchen that smelled comfortingly like Calla's Starkflower Stew. A hallway forked into four rooms.

"It's not very glamorous, but it's home," Alora told them.

"No, it's perfect," Sophie reassured her. It was true. After living in the Lost Cities with its crystal buildings and sparkly outfits, stepping inside Alora's apartment was comforting. It felt nice to take a break from the perfect elvin world she's been living in for the past few years. She knew this visit was going to answer plenty of questions she had.

"Hey mom, Sawyer and I are going to the store to get a gift for Xander's birthday, do you want me to get that new cookbook you've been talking ab- Oh! I didn't know we had company, otherwise I would've dressed up a little," He looked surprised as his eyes were set on Sophie. As the person she guessed was her cousin Ivan awkwardly fiddled with his thumbs, her unmistakably twin brother Sawyer came bounding down the stairs.

"Hey, Aly-Aunt, do you - Oh... ummm, who are these people?" He asked. Sophie noted the cute nickname for her, though she supposed it could be a bit more clever. She stopped thinking about that. She didn't come to turn their lives upside-down and change who they are. She came to learn more about her past.

"Hi, I'm Sawyer!" He said.

"Sawyer, and girl-whose-name-I-don't-know, you look exactly like each other! It's like you guys are twins!" Ivan obliviously said.

"Um, I'm Sophie, and the reason we look like twins is because we are," Sophie informed her cousin. Her aunt nodded.

"WHAT?! NO WAY! MY TWIN IS IN THE LOST CITIES WITH MY FATHER AND IS NOT SOME POSER WHO LOOKS NOTHING LIKE ME! Okay, maybe we have a tiny resemblance, but if she's my twin, she wouldn't be here!" Sawyer freaked out.

"Dude, calm down, it won't be that bad," Ivan said. Sawyer started hyperventilating. Sophie felt guilty for freaking her brother out.

"I am so sorry about this Sophie, your brother's a bit of a panicker since the incident, but he's gotten better over the years. I hope you still decide to stay, you are always welcome since this is your home, too. By the way, what are your friends' names?" Aunt Alora asked once the two boys were out of hearing range. Ivan was doing a great job of calming Sawyer down, though he looked as if he hadn't fully absorbed the news himself.

"Well, I'm Ruy. And don't worry about panicking. Sophie does it the whole time. Like brother, like sister, I guess," Ruy answered.

"And I'm Rayni, so nice to meet you!" Rayni shook Alora's hand enthusiastically and with a warm smile. Sophie could tell she was trying to lighten the mood from the whole, 'Hi, you don't know me but I'm your niece/twin sister, back from the Lost Cities' bombshell that Sophie just dropped on all of them.

Sawyer POV:

He couldn't believe it. His sister was back from the land all Exsules were banned from. She wasn't brainwashed by the Council as far as he could tell, either. Why would she come back, then, if she hadn't bothered all these years they were apart? Sawyer was happy for the most part, even though on the outside it looked like it was taking everything in him not to faint. Ivan seemed to understand that he needed space, and was trying his best to calm down.

"Dude, your sister is back. She might be here to help us get rid of the Black Swan, or she might be on their side. We need to find out," Ivan said calmly. Sawyer was eternally grateful to his cousin for being matter of fact with him and not treating him like a young child. That was something no one else considered would help him through one of his episodes. But now he had to focus on the matter at hand. His sister, if that's even who she is, needed to prove herself.