Speculations

                                    

                                          
"Keefe." Sophie said, he'd turned pale staring at her projection. 
                          
"Hey Keefe you all right?" Sophie waved a hand in front of his face and finally he snapped out of whatever trance he was in. 
                          
"Yeah... no. I don't know." Keefe stuttered, a perplexed look on his face. 
                          
"What's wrong?" Now she was concerned, she hadn't seen Keefe like this in... well maybe ever. 
                          
"Kye's a..." Keefe whispered, glancing away from her. 
                          
"Kye's a what?" Sophie asked worriedly. 
                          
"She's a telepath." 
                          
Telepath? She repeated his declaration in her mind over and over, more confused each time. 
                          
"I heard you wrong right?" Sophie stuttered, stunned when he shook his head. 
                          
"It even fits." Keefe mumbled, "she's probably an elf. She has the blue eyes for it." Sophie nodded, lifting a hand to tear out an eyelash, where had Kye come from? 
                          
"How do you think she got there?" 
                          
"I can tell you that." A familiar voice joined the conversation, (Keefe dove underneath a blanket) causing Sophie too freeze as she turned to face the elf who she'd known for years as her neighbor. 
                          
Mr.Forkle 
                          
"Oh. Hey." Sophie murmured. Panic riveting inside her, what if he told everyone where she was-where Keefe was! How'd he even know where she was? 
                          
"Miss Foster disappearing and running away from your guards to find Keefe was rather successful but also very irresponsible. I expect an update on everything you two saw, and yes Mr.Sencen I can see you under those blankets." Mr.Forkle said, looking unamused as Keefe pulled a blanket off. 
                          
"What did you mean by you can tell us?" Sophie asked, walking over too where Mr.Forkle stood. 
                          
"I'll get to that in a moment, don't you want to know how I found you two?" They nodded and he sped on, 
                          
"I have dwarves stationed underground to watch this place-in case Lady Gisela ever came back- they alerted me of you two, and no I haven't told your parents or Sandor but I have considered it." Mr.Forkle said Sophie gulped, knowing this wasn't the last of that topic. 
                          
"I'll tell them later." She muttered and he nodded than glanced at Keefe. 
                          
"Keefe? It's okay to speak. You and Sophie have already talked haven't you?" Mr.Forkle crossed the room to sit by him. Keefe shook his head. Sophie watched with sympathy, was he back too no talking? 
                          
It's safe Keefe she transmitted. He perked up at her words and than his shoulders drooped. 
                          
How do you know? He asked back, a grim tone somehow in his thoughts. 
                          
I don't. But we've been talking, and you were talking with the humans weren't you? Sophie transmitted back. 
                          
But what if that's my mom's plans? Maybe she's controlling the power and once everyone's here with there guards down it'll consume everything. 
                          
In his mind Sophie could see many scenes playing loudly at the back of his mind, ones that were much too scary for him to face alone. 
                          
Sophie walked over too Keefe, taking his hand, than we will face it together. Than remembering something Sophie put her free hand in her pocket, fishing out a small object. 
                          
"Here." Sophie said softly, holding out the kraken pin she'd forgotten that she kept inside her pocket, "krakie, he's backup remember? And all your friends will be too." Sophie's eyes connected with Keefe's as she pinned it on his sleeve, and the intensity in his eyes made her catch her breath, there was something in the look, behind all the walls, behind the shadows in his eyes, there was a softness a blanket of hope that was scared to show itself. 
                          
"How..." Keefe started, his voice low.
"How did you get that crystal? To that family." He directed the question to Forkle. 
                          
"Straight to business I see. You stole that crystal from me didn't you?" Forkle waited for him to nod. 
                          
"You kids are going to give me a heart attack, when I noticed it was missing I thought someone was going to kidnap them." Keefe shrugged at Forkle's comment, a mischievous look in his eyes masked by a frown. 
                          
"Keep going." Sophie insisted impatiently. 
                          
"Well it all started with when your father asked to be a part of The black swan. I can't offer all the details but I'll tell you what I can." Keefe sighed, Sophie watched him, noticing fear in his eyes, anger. 
                          
"Your father had just recovered a memory, in it were Kye's whereabouts- 
                          
"How did he know about Kye?" Keefe interrupted, "what was the lost memory?" 
                          
"I can't tell you that. What I can tell you is that we offered to relocate her, we feared the Neverseen would use her." 
                          
"Why would they use her?" Sophie put in, wondering why the Neverseen would even notice the girl. 
                          
"Because the Neverseen created her." Mr.Forkle said, "that's part of what Cassius remembered," 
                          
"Why would they create Kye? And how did you get her away from them?" Sophie asked, Keefe wasn't even speaking, just muttering under his breath so quietly she couldn't hear. 
                          
"That's the thing." Mr.Forkle said sadly, "we didn't have to get her away, the Neverseen tossed her out after a few years. We think it was because of her disfiguration, maybe they thought they'd messed up? But good thing was that it was just in time for us to restation her. We didn't even have to take any memories away." 
                          
"So what the Neverseen just gave her too you?" Sophie asked incredulously, there's no way. 
                          
"No." A new voice joined the conversation,
                          
"They gave her too me. Left her on my doorstep." 
                          
Lord Cassius.