To say Sophie was shocked when she saw the scene that appeared when she, Ruy, Gisela, Vespera, and Gethen leaped away from the hideout would be an understatement.

"We're in the Forbidden Cities?" Sophie asked. She suddenly felt nostalgic. Years ago, even after she had been living in the Lost Cities for months, it had still been hard for her to call her old home the Forbidden Cities, but after joining the Neverseen, she had grown accustomed to saying it without even realizing.

She couldn't quite tell where they had leaped, but it was a crowded city. Some kind of festival must have been going on, because there were colorful flower garlands draped in between buildings, across windows, on the signs, and even on people. Petals littered the street, and the sound of laughter carried through the air.

She was glad they had took the time to change before they left the hideout, because their usual black cloaks would've made them stick out like a sore thumb among all the bright, pastel colours. She hadn't changed out of her black leggings, but she had swapped her black tunic for a yellowish one. It felt weird to put on after the dark colors she was used to.

Vespera had stayed in her usual getup, but it wasn't that out of place; people just cast excited glances at her, probably thinking that she was some kind of performer. Ruy and Gethen were both wearing black pants she had never seen before with white shirts, and Gisela was wearing a black dress.

While the Neverseen had adapted their style to fit into the human world, they clearly hadn't exerted enough effort to break a sweat. 

The buildings weren't extravagant, like in Atlantis, but she could tell that each one had been built skillfully with years of care. The sun-faded colors blended perfectly together. Even the cars sparkling along the streets were alluring. 

The humans weaving around each other were constantly smiling or stopping by street vendors and shops. They chatted with twinkling eyes as they prepared for whatever was happening. Even their clothes resembled the town. The scene was almost like something from a fairytale. 

Gethen wrinkled his nose. "This is grossly happy. We should start a fire somewhere."

Lady Gisela rolled her eyes. "That's unnecessary destruction. Besides, we're not here to burn anything or leave a message." Her eyes twinkled like the townspeople's, but a thousand times chillier. "Yet."

Vespera was wearing long sleeves, despite the warm, sunny weather. She tugged on the lacy hems as she cast snobbish looks to the humans around her. "You should've told me more than you'll see when we get there. We're supposed to be working together."

Gisela sighed. "Vespera. I admire your Nightfall genius, and it turned out to be extremely useful. But you and I both know that you have your own agenda."

Vespera sniffed.

Gethen was too busy glaring at the poor townspeople who tried to wave at them and offer greetings to notice, but Ruy was been silently listening, even if his eyes wandered. She could tell he was taking in every word. He was probably just as curious as Vespera to figure out what Lady Gisela was up to. 

He met Sophie's eyes, and they both grinned. They sound like bickering old ladies, Sophie transmitted.

Exactly, he thought back, laughing. 

Sophie turned her attention to the townspeople. They really were interesting to look at. She spotted a girl that looked about her age tugging her grandfather towards a chocolate stand. The grandfather was wearing bright neon yellow pants, a teal jacket, and a magenta vest. They were speaking in Korean, but Sophie could understand perfectly.

"Erin, darling," the grandfather was saying. "When I give you an allowance, I do not mean for you to spend it on chocolate every single day!"

Erin was grinning. "Buying chocolate is the sole purpose of money, and you know it." She frowned. "Except, I just wish Luna could have chocolate. I feel so bad when I'm eating it, and she looks at me with her begging face and wags her tail. I almost can't resist her." She finished purchasing two huge bars of chocolate and split one open.

Erin's grandfather sighed. "This is hopeless."

"Exactly—I have to deal with you walking around in that outfit—hey!" Someone had come up and taken the chocolate bar out of her hands. The suspect had a blonde messy bun and a huge grin on her face that didn't match her thieving act.

"I told you that I would come and take your cookies from you, but I guess chocolate works too!" She said, in English, still smiling.

Erin's mouth dropped open. "Annebelle?" She sported a wide grin that matched the other girl's.

"Of course! Did you not believe that I would actually come?" The two girls laughed and hugged each other.

Annebelle gave Erin her chocolate bar back. "Because I'm a nice person."

Erin took it, but broke off a piece go share. "Gosh, I love Cali."

Annebelle bobbed her head. "Me too! And especially now, when everyone is getting ready for the Flower Festival. Anyways, it's so good to see you."

So they were in a town in California, then. Sophie wondered how far they were from where she used to live with her human family. 

Lady Gisela led them closer to where Erin and Annebelle were standing. Ruy saw her watching them. "Do you know them?" he asked.

"No," she said. "But I think they're internet friends meeting up for the first time."

"Internet friends?" Ruy asked.

Sophie shook her head with a little smile. "Never mind."

As the Neverseen passed the group, Erin spotted them. Her eyebrows scrunched together and she looked perplexed, as if she was trying to remember where she recognized them from. "Hey!" She called out, waving at them. "Do we know each other?"

"No," Ruy said. Sophie was shocked to hear him speak in English. Most elves didn't take the time to learn human languages. 

Erin narrowed her eyes. "Huh. You look familiar... is that a knife under your cloak?"

Startled, Ruy looked down. Sure enough, you could just make out the barest outline of his dagger tucked into the waist of his pants. It was easily accessible, so it was probably where he normally kept it, but he had probably forgotten that he wasn't wearing his cloak to hide it.

Sophie's quickly thought of a lie. "You'll see our performance later. We don't want to ruin the surprise!" She winked.

Annebelle came over, too. She beamed when she saw Sophie, and waved. Her attitude was contagious, and Sophie smiled and waved back, then immediately wanted to slap her hand afterwards.

Erin glanced from Sophie to Ruy and back, tilting her head. Suddenly, she started grinning again, and stepped back. "Have fun!"

Annebelle, Erin, and Erin's grandfather continued over to the next vendor, the girls still talking to each other. Erin's grandfather whistled as they walked, waving cheerfully to people.

Gisela had turned around a corner onto another street, and Sophie took notice of the other people around them. They were fascinating to watch—Sophie had never seen humans like this before, happy, content, carefree. It reminded her of the Lost Cities. Or, what the Lost Cities were supposed to be like.

She was surprised to see that almost every street was decorated with flowers and crammed with laughing people and market stands. The festival must be a big event. She was surprised she hadn't heard of it before. 

Gisela stopped them at a bleached stone building, carved nicely with swirling designs. Great oak doors stood beyond some steps. The building was probably the tallest building in the town, and stood out among the cheery pastel colors. Maybe it was just her imagination, but Sophie swore an ominous air surrounded the building that clashed with the festivities around them. 

Vespera adjusted the veil she always wore and climbed the stairs. She knocked on the wooden doors, and even from the bottom of the steps, Sophie could hear the hollow, resounding bang.

The door opened but nobody came out. It must have been normal, since Vespera gestured for the others to follow her, and stepped inside.

"Have you heard anything about this?" Sophie whispered to Ruy.

"A little," he murmured back. "But not much. And I only know pieces because I've been here for so long."

"Oh." He'd probably heard Fintan making the plans. His strong suit was never keeping a low profile. 

She hesitated before asking her next question. "When Keefe came back from the Neverseen, he said that he'd had to do readings of human emotions. What were they for?"

Ruy scaled the last step. They were almost to the doors, and he dropped his voice as they got closer, as if he could feel the foreboding air as well. "I don't know anything about that. Just that it was important. Gisela knew that Keefe was a double agent, but she still needed his ability in particular for the human readings. We couldn't move forward until he finished."

Sophie almost smiled ruefully. Yet another way her old friends had played right into the Neverseen's hands.

They passed through the doors, and Sophie and Ruy fell silent. The inside had towering dark walls and was floored with dark oak, like the door, but the floor was shinier. It had no carpet, so their steps echoed loudly. Sophie was surprised to see that the only light in the poorly lit room came from candles—not light bulbs—sitting in curved bleached stone holders on the walls.

At the end of the room, on either side, grand wooden staircases twisted up and met on the second floor. There was a single, small door in the middle of the wall at the end of the smaller second floor with a dim candle hanging above it. Hot wax slowly dripped down onto the doorframe.

The Neverseen made their way up the stairs. Sophie felt the need to step lightly, so she made as little noise as possible. She didn't know why.

The second floor was padded with thick, soft carpet, a velvet color, with gold leaf designs. Sophie's feet sank at least an inch when she stepped onto it.

She was glad she wasn't wearing heels, like she probably would've been if she'd been here with the Black Swan. One of the best things about the Neverseen was that they had plain, silver-strapped black boots with amazing traction. They were so much better than heels.

The lone door had a thick, intricate brass knocker. Gisela stepped forward and pulled it up, hanging it in the air for a second longer than necessary before letting it fall against the door.

The door creaked open.

It took about seven seconds for Sophie's eyes to adjust.

And then she saw who—and what—was waiting in the room.

{AN} starring my two actual friends—Erin and Annebelle! I hope you liked your cameo! It was fun having your actions/words/lives in my hands. Thank you. *evil grin* Anyways—so school is almost out! You know what that means—more free time—more time to write!