Sophie 2.0 - Keefe x Reader

I Get Stuff Shoved in My Brain

"There are a few things we didn't tell you," Mr. Forkle said. You were standing in front of a hill, and you waited as he fiddled with something in front of him. You couldn't see what it was, but a moment later a door in the hill opened.

You stepped back, surprised even after everything you'd already seen. Mr. Forkle chuckled and led the way in.

"What didn't you tell me?" you asked, eyeing the door warily as it shut behind you. You were in a round white room with a single bulb, some monitors, and a table. It felt like being inside of an egg.

"There are some things you'll need to learn. Most elves don't speak English, and it would be too conspicuous if you did." Mr. Forkle leaned your suitcase against the wall near the door.

"So . . . what? I have to learn a language? I already know—"

"I assure you, these are nothing like any of your human languages. And I am already aware of your affinity for languages. That was part of the reason why I chose you." He stood at the table, hands splayed against it. "You will have a training period, in which you will learn the Enlightened Language, our school subjects, and how to act like Sophie. Sophie will be here as much as she can to help. Her abilities as a telepath will allow her to insert memories and knowledge into your mind."

"Insert—listen, man, I don't want things being shoved into my brain, substantial or no."

Mr. Forkle looked amused. "Then you can memorize every star chart on your own, if that's what you really want."

"Wha—every star chart?!" You vaguely remembered reading something about Sophie having memorized all the stars, but you'd kinda figured that was a joke to lighten the mood and skimmed right past it.

"Every one. Unless you want Sophie's help, in which case this would go much smoother for all of us."

You pursed your lips and drew out the silence for as long as you could stand. "Fine. But only the things I need help on."

Mr. Forkle nodded. "I suggest you begin your language lessons immediately. The fact that you already know many of your human languages is helpful, but you'll also need to know—"

"You already told me. The Enlightened Language." You made your voice all sarcastic and derisive. "Enlightened" was quite the egotistical name.

"Not just that," he said, frowning. "But also all the languages of the other intelligent species."

"Which are . . . ?" You asked, a sense of dread growing in your gut.

"Ogres, trolls, gnomes, dwarves, and goblins."

"So you're telling me I need to learn six languages. In how long, exactly?"

Something buzzed in his pocket and he took out the silver square from earlier. He frowned at it, shoved it into his pocket, and turned back to you. "No more than a month."

Your stomach plummeted. It took you at least a year to get a good handle on a language, and even longer to become fluent. In fact, you were only fluent in English. You was pretty close with Spanish, thanks to the high population of Spanish-speakers in your area, but you still weren't as good as someone who'd lived with the language. Was Mr. Forkle crazy?

"No, I'm not crazy. And I believe that, with Sophie's help, you will do just fine."

You stared at him.

"Oh, that's another thing. You'll need to work on quieting your thoughts. They're not as loud as some people's, but they're still louder than an elf's," he added when you still looked confused.

"You can hear my thoughts?" He nodded.

"Now!" He clapped his hands and rubbed them as you scrunched your brow, trying to think quietly. "Sophie should be arriving any minute, and then you can begin. We'll run through some scenario exercises, get you up to speed with both school and current events, and start your language lessons."