The Winnowing Galas

Post-Epilogue

"Arian! Serena! Come on! We've got to leave and Corissa will be here any minute!"

Serena heard her mother, Sophie, call up the stairs of Everglen to her. She quickly adjusted her new Foxfire uniform and gave the pins in her chocolate hair one last tweak.

Serena joined up with her brother, Arian, in the hallway and together, they clomped down the stairs.

"Come on, Mom," Arian complained, "only a few more minutes, I need to finish something!"

"Arian." Their mother said sharply. "We do not need pranks on your first day at Foxfire."

"Darn it."

Sophie sighed and turned to her daughter, "Serena, do you know where your father is?"

"No. He was in his office, last time I checked." Serena knew her father was doing important work concerning the Neverseen, a dangerous organization that her mother, father, and their friends had fought against for many years. Serena also knew that Sophie occasionally had flashbacks and post traumatic stress disorder because of it.

"Could you run upstairs and remind him we have to leave soon." Sophie asked.

"Sure."

Serena ran to base of the stairs and, cupping her mouth in her hands, yelled, "DAD! MOM WANTS YOU!"

"Serena, I could've done that." Sophie sighed. "I wanted you to alert you father, without yelling."

Serena gave a smirk. She knew perfectly what her mother wanted.

Arian strutted over and draped his arm around Serena's shoulders. "That's my little girl, following in her amazing older brother's footsteps. Pretty soon your smirk will be almost as good as mine."

Serena playfully shoved him away. "You're only three minutes older than me, moron."

"Those three minutes make all the difference." Arian sighed contentedly.

Sophie face palmed. "You two have been hanging out with Keefe and Corissa too much." She mumbled.

"Sophie, you called?" Serena's father, Fitz, walked over to Sophie and kissed her lightly.

"Yes. You, mister, should have been here fifteen minutes ago." Sophie accused, pulling away,

Fitz raised his hands in surrender, "I'm sorry, I was trying to track down the last members of the Neverseen."

Sophie gave a slight flinch at the word Neverseen. Fitz immediately looked guilty.

"Well, that'll just have to wait." She said softly.

Fits placed a reassuring arm around her. She leaned into him.

"Can you tell us another story about you guys fighting the Neverseen?" Serena asked her father excitedly.

Sophie raised an eyebrow. "Were you telling them about that again?"

Fits rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Well, maybe."

"I thought I told you not to!"

"But, Mom!" Arian protested. "It's so cool! You got to fight real bad guys!"

"See!" Fitz gestured hopefully, "They like them!"

"We're going to have a talk later." Sophie promised. Fitz groaned.

At that moment, there was a knock at the door. Sophie turned to answer it.

Fitz turned to glare at his kids. "Come on, you guys! I thought I told you Mom wasn't supposed to know!"