Author's Note:

Hey!!! Today is Percy Jackson's birthday!!!!! I am so excited for this story!!!!!!! And thank you to everyone who has read, commented, voted, etc.!! I think you will really like this chapter!!! I worked hard on it!!!! And there may be some references in here!!!! So look for them! And don't forget to vote for any ships you want to see happen!!! Enjoy the new chapter!!!!

Gasps were heard all around the hall. Sophie sat there stunned. She had a soulmate! Sophie could not wait to figure who hers was. She smiled and looked back at Keefe, who was staring at Sophie with a strange expression that Sophie couldn't place. She blushed and looked in the other direction. Sophie looked over at Biana, remembering that Fitz had said that Biana had seemed to know something. What was it that Biana knew? Sophie was extremely puzzled but she couldn't wait to bug Biana about it. She grinned and rubbed her hands together. She was going to get Biana.

Councillor Emery walked up to Councillor Bronte right then. He seemed to have transmitted something to Bronte. Bronte looked a little surprised but nodded to Emery and looked back at the crowd of young elves. Bronte sighed and said, "Apparently that is not quite going to happen... it would be too easy for some of you! And the Old Magic has decide to make it harder for you... and that means that you are the only one that will know what your soulmate tattoo is. The Old Magic will keep you from saying it. The rest you will find out in a letter that will be sent to your houses at noon tomorrow."

Sophie gasped. She wouldn't be able to talk about it? Well... that certainly would make things harder. She would have to read that letter tomorrow. Councillor Bronte stepped back from the front of the stage and Councillor Emery walked up. "We want you to know thatcher!!! we are interested and eager to see how this turns out. It may not be convenient for some of you. And you may not be eager for this. But your time will come and you will find your soulmate. Everything is happening for a reason. And realize that though you may not be able to talk about it... the Old magic has its ways... it will work out. We understand that we are putting a lot in your hands. Be prepared for your life to change!"

Councillor Emery walked back to the Councillors and stepped into his place. Councillor Oralie came forward. "Have fun though... and be careful. The Old Magic is also known for tricks and trickiness."

Sophie wondered what that meant. Tricks and trickiness? What types of tricks? Trickiness? What would be tricky? Well... the process was already tricky... Sophie couldn't even talk about it! She didn't know what else though. Her mind wandered as they were dismisse to go home. She stood up and walked to the aisle that headed to the exit. Her thoughts raced as the others surrounded her. But no one could get her to snap out of it.

When Sophie had reached the front doors of the Tribunal Hall, she stared at it blankly. Keefe put a hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay?" he asked.

Sophie shook her head to shake herself out of it. "Yeah, I'm fine..." she mumbled.

Keefe sighed. "Sophie..."

Sophie glared at him. "What?"

"Nothing! I just wanted to say everything will work out! Plus I am totally looking forward to this!" Keefe said quickly. "The Old Magic better eat the more Mallowmelt than me if they think they can trick me. They can't trick me! I am the Master of Pranks and Tricks and Trickiness. And no one but me can have that title." He folded his arms across his chest and looked at Sophie intensely. "No one, and I mean, no ONE, will trick me..."

Sophie laughed and reached up to touch Keefe's hair. Keefe froze as she messed it up. He stared into Sophie's eyes. "What are you doing?" he whispered.

"What? No don't touch the hair??!" Sophie asked astonished.

Keefe sighed. "I know... but really what were you doing?"

"I wanted to touch your hair and see your reaction... but I was surprised. You just let me mess it up," Sophie said as she watched Keefe with a look of confusion.

"I... I..." Keefe stammered. "It's... it's just that you have never tried to touch my hair before... at least what I can remember..."

Sophie was taken aback. Keefe hadn't been like this for a while. He had been so confident and funny and unruffled the past few years. Sophie hadn't seen this side of Keefe for a while. And it amazed her to know how much she had missed it. "I just wanted to... I guess..." Sophie said faltering slightly.

Sophie then realized how close they had been standing and she scooted backward. Keefe still watched her with an intense look in his eyes. "Sophie..." he said, his voice down to a whisper, "You can touch my hair anytime..." Then he pulled out his home crystal and leaped away. Sophie stared after him in a daze of amazement and confusion. She couldn't believe it... Keefe doesn't let anyone touch his hair! But why did Keefe say that she could? Sophie was more puzzled than before.

"Sophie?" a voice said.

Sophie turned and saw Biana looking over him with a worried expression. "Yes?"

"I saw what happened... and so did Fitz..." Biana whispered. "And Tam and Linh. And Dex... pretty much everyone. We didn't hear all of it though. We basically heard the last part and watched the rest from afar."

Sophie trembled. "What are they saying?"

"Well... they were worried when you walked out of there like a zombie... that was what Dex compared you to," Biana said wrapping an arm around Sophie.

"I am fine. Just Keefe... startled me... I mean, he said I could touch his hair!" Sophie said frenziedly. Her hands shook a little.

Biana stopped and stood in front of Sophie. "I know... but have you, personally, tried to touch his hair? Ever?"

"No..." Sophie answered. "But what does that have to do with it?"

Biana let out a sigh. "He always says "Don't touch The Hair!" when other people try to touch his hair. But you... you haven't tried. And you took him by surprise."

Sophie just stood there feeling stunned. "I guess... that I did... it sounded like I had... but what he said!"

Biana gave Sophie a small smile. "Sophie... I think you just need to figure it out for yourself..."

Sophie and Biana headed back toward the group. Fitz stood waiting with an anxious look on his face. "Sophie!" he said happily. "Are you okay?"

Sophie smiled. "I am absolutely fine. Thanks for asking!" she said softly.

Fitz nodded and replied, "Happy to!" and grabbed her hand and placed it in his. Then he whispered. "You know that you can trust me with anything... anything at all... I am your Cognate... I want to be there for you! I want to help you. Please let me..."

Sophie dipped her head. "I know, Fitz. I want that too... I can show you the memory if you want..."

Fitz smiled and whispered, "I would love that!" Fitz wrapped his arms around Sophie and hugged her tightly. "Thank you, m' lady!" he added in a whisper.

"Anytime," Sophie responded quietly.

They stayed like that for about a minute and, then Tam poked Chameleon between them.

Sophie sighed and moved back a couple steps. "Tam!" she said. "Why?"

Tam laughed and gave a shrug. "You guys had been in that hug for a while and I wasn't about to let it be longer."

"Mr. Song!" a voice called.

Tam turned around with the chameleon in between the clasp of his hands. "Yes? And don't call me Mr. Song!" he answered uneasily.

"I see you have that chameleon, Mr. Tam," the voice said.

Tam looked closer and realized it was Councillor Emery. "Well, yes... I do... it seems to like me..." Tam said.

Councillor Emery let out a sigh. "Well... we did see the chameleon out on the stage."

Tam nodded. "It was trespassing! Trepassing on the stage!"

"And so?" Councillor Emery said. "What happened?"

"I grabbed it," Tam said slowly. "It was trepassing and so I thought... why not grab it? And plus the chameleon has been harmless."

Councillor Emery groaned. "You don't know... do you?"

"Know what?" Tam inquired.

Councillor Emery groaned again. "Oh well... I assume you find out later... since I am going to let you take care of it for a while. Just know one thing: this chameleon is its own creature and can be dangerous and may cause problems those of which I cannot say... although it may look 'cute,' don't fall into its charm. You will probably be fine though. It shouldn't do anything bad... for now."

Sophie laughed. "Tam! Siriusly! You want a chameleon that may be dangerous but seems 'cute'!"

Tam just had a look of confusion on his face. "Well... I will keep Chameleon and Chameleon will not do anything bad; I will make sure of it! Chameleon is his own creature as well. And I will not let you harm it!" he retorted.

Councillor Emery nodded his head. "Yes, Mr. Tam... I see that clearly... just be careful..."

Tam sighed. "I will. You won't regret it."

"Good!" Councillor Emery said as he walked away.

Sophie laughed even harder. "I can't believe he let you keep it! That is so out of his character! Be grateful though!"

Tam sighed again. "Yes... I know..."

Fitz stroked the chameleon's little head that had a little fluff of fur. "If Keefe were still here, he would name the Chameleon Miniature Hair or Mini Hair or Doppelgänger or just something in relation to his hair..." Fitz said trailing off a little.

Linh laughed. "I know! He totally would!"

Sophie could definitely imagine Keefe doing that. She wondered what Keefe would name the chameleon once he realized the chameleon had hair like him. She laughed too. He had called the chameleon 'little dude' earlier. Now, Keefe would probably have a new nickname for him. Something like Chewy or Furry or Mini or Tiny Hair... but Sophie couldn't predict what Keefe would do. Keefe was really unpredictable.

Tam laughed. "I can see that. But knowing Keefe, he would want to know if the chameleon has sparkly poo. And considering the fact that he nicknamed Silveny Glitterbutt, well he would probably nickname Chameleon 'Furrybutt' or 'Sparklebutt' or 'Fluffybutt' or 'Fluffbutt' or something extremely weird or strange. And it could have to do with the cute little hair on his head as well."

Biana burst out laughing. "I can totally see that happening."

Sophie giggled. "Then he would say, "Bangs Boy! Fluffbutt is coming with me!" or at least something like that!"

Dex came up beside Tam and put a hand on his shoulder. "Keefe might find a way to steal Chameleon though. He really seems to want to use the chameleon for pranks," Dex added.

Tam sighed. "He probably will. Keefe will take any opportunity for a prank..."

The whole group laughed. Sophie loved how close they had become over the years. They had gone through almost everything together, and their bonds had been strengthened. Sophie was sure they would be best friends forever. But now she was wondering if anything would change because of the Soulmate stuff. The 6 of them walked further down the path where the wind blew softly through Sophie's hair. She felt like she could let go of her worries now. That everything would be ok. But Sophie knew the worries would come back... so she decided to enjoy the moment. Fitz grabbed Sophie's hand and the pair skipped down the path. Beautiful cherry blossom trees lined the path, and little animals scampered about. Sophie grinned as Fitz grabbed her hands and spun her around. They hadn't really had a moment to just have fun for a little while. The past couple months had been very busy for Sophie as a new emissary. Fitz had still been working alone, but soon they work together when they passed their final cognate test. Sophie was really excited to work with Fitz, but she was nervous about the big secret. Telling Fitz would take a lot of courage and she wasn't sure how Fitz felt either. There was too much uncertainty... and Sophie didn't want to risk it. Plus Sophie wasn't sure she could even get the courage to do it in the first place.

Biana and Dex caught up quickly. "Hey guys!" Biana said. "You two are so cute!!!!"

Sophie blushed. "Uhhhhhh... Biana..."

Fitz blushed and flashed a movie-worthy smile at Sophie. He seemed to be trying to play it off. But Sophie could tell he seemed a little embarrassed and also a little too happy.

She blushed again and looked at her feet. "Sophie..." Dex said laughing. "Don't be embarrassed! Everything will be okay!!!"

Sophie sighed. "Where did Tam and Linh go?" she said.

"They had to leave... Tam wanted to make Chameleon a home..." Biana said. "I can't wait to see what he comes up with!"

Sophie giggled. "Oh my! I wonder how Linh feels about the chameleon living with them!"

Biana and Fitz laughed. "Yeah! That would be interesting!" Fitz said grinning widely.

"I know!" Sophie said. "It would. And Biana, Fitz said that it seemed like you already knew about the Soulmate thing."

Biana sighed. "Well... you know how I have been trying to become a Matchmaker or a wedding event planner? Yeah?" Sophie nodded. "Well, I have been doing training with some of the people at the Matchmaking office. And I learned from them the reason why we weren't getting our scrolls. And the reason is because of the soulmates stuff and the Old Magic. Then, I became really excited because it really relieved me that I could have a soulmate and have the person that meant for me! And then, I was like, wait, no one knows in our age group, except for me! So I got really excited. And when I get excited... I get really happy and hyper!" Biana explained.

"I wondering why you were so happy! It definitely seemed like you knew something..." Fitz said. "I wanted to get you to tell me! But... I didn't..."

Sophie laughed. "I better get going, guys! I will see you soon!"

"Goodbye, Sophie!" Dex and Biana said at the same time.

Fitz stepped forward and gave Sophie a hug. "Remember you can talk to me anytime and about anything," he whispered in her ear.

Sophie hugged him tighter. "Thank you, Fitz! I will," she whispered back.

Then she stepped away and lifted her home crystal to the light. "Bye!" Sophie said as she vanished into the path that had been created. 

Thank you so much for reading!!! Feel free to comment or vote!!!! And I wanted to ask you again about ships!!!! They have not been decided on yet!!! So comment with the one you really want here!!!!!

How did you like this chapter?? What did you think about Chameleon? Does anyone have any really good ideas for a nickname that Keefe could name Chameleon? Chameleon is da best! And which of the names did you like that I already have? 

And which of my stories do you want me to update?

Thank you so much!!!!

-Strikestar 😂😂🐬🐬🐿🐿🦄🦄😊😊🦎🦎🦎💙💙❤️❤️

P. S. - This is 2683 words! 😁😁