Chapter Eleven

~Just a normal day. That's all that Fitz asked for. No secret messages, no watching out for spies, but that's what came with knowing Sophie. It was worth it. Currently, Fitz was walking down the hall, when he noticed Marella standing in front of an open locker, grumbling to herself angrily. He walked over, hoping that she didn't get into a fight with Sophie again. "Hey, what's the matter?"

"Nothing- I mean, it's just that people are spreading rumors that Keefe and I are dating." Marella looked nervous in a what that was almost suspicious.

Fitz laughed, though it was a bit forced. He had to stay vigilant, she could be the spy. "That's hilarious! You'd totally slap him five minutes into the relationship."

"That's not what everyone else is saying," she sighed. "He's so... obnoxious."

"Sometimes, but we all love him for it, don't we?" Fitz smiled.

"Ehhhh..."

He laughed again, "oh come on, who doesn't like Keefe? ...On second thought, don't answer that." It was Marella's turn to laugh now. "Don't let them get to you. I've had to deal with rumors my entire life, and as you know that it isn't true, then that's all that matters."

She nodded, cheeks pink, "thanks."

Fitz nodded, "anytime. I'll see you later." He waved before leaving, not noticing Marella staring after him, cheeks red, with a huge smile on her face. Even the strong willed Marella had fallen for the Wonder Boy.

He then went to his locker, licking the strip. He made a face, it was sour. Elwin must have picked the flavor today, yuck. Fitz was shifting things out of his locker when Dex ran over, "Fitz!" Panting, he stopped in front of him, looking scared.

Frowning, Fitz asked, "Dex, what's wrong? Is everything okay?"

"You have to- you have to come quick." Dex bent over, his hands on his knees.

"Hey, just take a second to catch your breath. Whatever it is, it can probably can wait." Fitz put his hand on his friend's shoulder.

"N-NO! I-it's Sophie. We were talking with Keefe and she spaced out and then she just collapsed."

Fitz froze, wide eyed, "what?" His mind immediately started racing. How could this have happened, he has just seen her yesterday and she was fine... or so he thought? She was perfectly normal yesterday, save for the Black Swan note, so what could have happened? Could she have been drugged, or does she need to have her mind fixed by the Black Swan again, or... No, her mind couldn't be broken, Sophie told him everything, right?

"Yeah, luckily, Keefe caught her, the two of them are probably with Elwin by now. She needs you." Dex straightened, his eyes watery. He looked exactly like Fitz suddenly felt. Ragged, tired, worried, scared, fearful. All because of her. Dex couldn't- no. They were cousins... but Sophie is adopted... No. Now was not the time for petty love triangles.

"What are we waiting for? Let's go." Fitz threw the rest of his stuff into his locker before slamming it shut and sprinting down the hall, making his way towards the infirmary.

Dex followed closely behind him, and Fitz could have sworn that he groaned, "great, more running."

They arrived a couple minutes later, panting and leaning against the door frames. Elwin was looking through his medicine cabinet, while Keefe sat at the foot of Sophie's cot, his hands in his lap, looking at the floor. "Where is she?" Fitz demanded, still trying to catch his breath.

Elwin turned, a frown on his face. Bullhorn was on the other side of the room, curled up in a corner, napping. That was a good sign, but why had she passed out? "Fitz, Dex, I'm glad you're here."

"Have you figured out what's wrong yet?" Dex asked, looking so worried, and Keefe looked up at him, his hair messier than usual.

"Nothing yet, but Keefe and I agree that it's a mental thing. Bullhorn hasn't touched her, so that's a good sign, but after she wakes up, I'm sending her home. Fitz, could you check her mind, please? I don't have any idea what it could be. Her mind isn't broken because she hasn't started having any spasms, so it should be safe. If you need assistance, I'll call Sir Tiergan."

Fitz only nodded, his mouth suddenly dry, and made his way over to the cot Sophie was laying on. Keefe silently got up and made his way over to the other side of the room next to Dex, who was fiddling with the hem of his cape anxiously. Fitz gently moved his cognate's arm over her stomach so he could sit next to her, and put his finger tips lightly on her temples. He closed his eyes after Keefe mumbled to Dex, "I need some air."

"You can get some air as you walk back to class, both of you." Elwin said, breaking through Fitz's concentration.

"There's no way I'm leaving, I'm her family!" Dex's voice cracked hopelessly, and it took all of Fitz's will power to keep his hands from shaking. The strawberry blond's saddness was overwhelming, and easily contagious. "I have to know if she's okay."

"I have already written you boys passes, I'll send a message as soon as we know what's wrong, but standing around here being worried won't help Sophie in the least. She wouldn't want for you to worry about her like this." Elwin reassured him gently.

Keefe laughed half heartedly, "I hate to break it to you, but he's not wrong. Come on, let's get to class so Sophie has one less thing to worry about when she wakes up. She'll be okay, I know it. Sophie is the toughest girl I know, easily. She'll be up and causing random explosions at school again in no time."

Fitz could hear footsteps quietly growing quieter, and the hushed voices of his two friends. After a few minutes of silence, Elwin sighed, and Fitz opened his eyes. "I have to get some bottles from storage quick, just in case I run out of a few ingredients. Don't do anything dangerous please, I'll only be a few minutes."

"Don't worry, I'll keep everything under control." Fitz nodded, and Elwin patted his shoulder lightly.

"Thank you, I'll be back shortly," and with that, he walked out of the room.

Fitz nodded, almost to himself, and he got to work. He put his hands back on her temples, and closed his eyes, concentrating on his cognate. Getting into her mind was easier than he thought, and when he was in, her mind looked pretty clear except for a giant blurry blob in the back corner. That was odd, Sophie had a photographic memory. He touched it lightly and immediately pain shot through his head, like it did in the human world without blocking. He then blinked, and the pain was gone as soon as it had come. This must be the problem, since it had hurt him too, and the memory wasn't even his. "Strange," he thought, and looked around for a moment, to see if there was something he could use to get rid of it.

Fitz looked around her mind for a while before finding a giant box with hard edges labeled: 'surpressed memories'. Could this work? Would this keep the memory at bay? Deciding that at the moment, he had no other ideas, he used telekinesis to bring it over to the memory. Next, he timidly swung the lid of the box open, careful not to look inside, and looked at the blurry memory he was about to put inside. Could he do it without touching it? Was there a way to get it inside the box quickly? After one last look around the room, Fitz walked behind the memory and took a deep breath. This was going to hurt, a lot, but if it meant that Sophie would wake up... Fitz began pushing the memory into the box.