Keeper of the Lost Cities - Unlocked (A Sokeefe Fanfiction)

Chapter 2-Sophie

"Stellarlune." Sophie repeated the word over and over again in her head. Beside her, she could feel the present day Oralie shuddering at the word.

Just then, Sophie was hit with another blinding flash of memories.

Oralie stood behind a large pillar, not made of any precious metal, like all the elvin structures. Instead, it was made of a creamy, white stone, smooth like marble. 

She stood in what appeared to be an abandoned building, coated with dust and webs. Wooden bookshelves lined the white walls of the building, filled with books written in a language she could not comprehend. A glass chandelier cascaded from the domed ceiling, with broken shards lining the carpet on the floor, untouched from years of abandonment. 

Oralie realized that this was probably a human mansion, constructed who knows how many years ago. She squinted at two figures in the distance, standing in the garden surrounding the house.

Lady Gisela and Gethen were in the midst of a heated conversation, and were too worked up to realize their decades old hide out had been discovered and broken into.

"This won't work!" Gethen exclaimed. "How do you know that they are willing to cooperate?"

"Simple. I told them about the stellarlune that would be produced in their bodies once they downed the vials. I told them that I needed a sample of their DNA a few months after the effect took place, to study how the change affected their bodies, and in exchange, I would let them live." explained Lady Gisela.

"They aren't fools Gisela! They work for the Council. They, of all people, would know better than to thoughtlessly agree to be experimented on, that too with such dangerous and untested substances!"

Gisela smiled, her eyes gleaming wickedly. "You will soon learn Gethen, when it's a matter of their lives, people are willing to perform actions, take risks, and do whatever it takes to save themselves and the people they care about. That is perhaps the Neverseen's greatest advantage against their enemies. They are vulnerable when it comes to their loved ones. Therefore, they are easy to manipulate. And you must mistake me for an amateur! How could you possibly think that I would tell them it's untested and potentially dangerous? I knew that they never would've agreed."

"Impossible," said Gethen in disbelief. "How could you have possibly managed to lie to an empath, that too one powerful enough to be in the Council?"

"The same way I've kept my true self and intentions hidden from my husband all these years. Empaths cannot sense lies. Only the emotions that come with them. And I have learned to sprinkle just enough truth and confidence in my lies to fool even the most talented Empaths. Also, lying is very different from hiding the truth, which is far easier."

"But Gisela, are you sure they didn't catch on to the actual plan? The real reason you wanted a sample of their DNA?

"I was careful not to say anything. I didn't even tell them the theory, that if two people with stellarlune in their bodies have a child, the same flows through the child's veins as well. And its impact on the child is more potent. Which is also why it is essential to set the Lodestar Initiative in motion."

With that, Lady Gisela and Gethen hurried towards the house, looking sideways frequently, as though they were expecting someone.

Oralie scurried away from the pillar, as discretely as possible. As soon as she was out of the mansion, she held her pathfinder up to the light, and within a moment, she was gone.
 

Sophie had no time to process what she had seen, for, a second later, she came face to face with yet another memory.

This time, Oralie was sitting on the corner of a bed in a small room. Much too small and plain to be anywhere in Lumenaria.

Kenric strode from one corner of the room to another impatiently, appearing to be lost in his own thoughts. He stopped abruptly, as though suddenly coming to a realization.

"Oralie, our caches! If we store our memories in them, we can access them when needed. We'll do it the night before Lady Gisela will force us to meet with her, and wash our mind clean of everything that's happened in the past ten months. How can she erase, what is already gone? Our time is up, and there's no escaping her. So why not let her think she's won? The Neverseen will continue to grow. Let this be our advantage. Our chance to defeat them, before it's too late. A secret so well hidden, even we won't know, until the time is right."

Oralie nodded briefly, attempting to stand. But as soon as she got up, she cried out in pain.

Kenric rushed to her side, tenderly putting an arm around her waist to support her. He slowly helped her sit down once again. 

She glanced at him, a look of pain and anxiety on her face.

"Everything will be fine, my love. And regardless of what happens, you can be sure of one thing," he said, gently placing a hand on her enlarged belly. "I'll never leave your side. No matter what."