Edee's Fan Fiction

Swan Song

 

If you found this journal it’s too late to stop him.

 

Part 1:  Bad Match

     It all started near the end of my first year in the elite levels at Foxfire.  Just that morning I had been arguing with my so called best friend, Neva.

     “You know that your bad match will ruin your whole life, right.  Brant is talentless!  I don’t know what you see in him.  Sure, he’s kinda cute and all, I’m sure there were a bunch of girls who had crushes on him back in the early levels, but when he didn’t manifest they all got over him.  You need to do that, get over him Jolie.  No boy is worth the friends you’ll lose.  You’ll just be a bad match, not Jolie Ruwen and it will destroy your whole family’s lives.  Not to mention that your kids will most likely be talentless as well!” She said in a loud whisper.

     “You don’t know anything about me Neva!  I can love whomever I want and there’s nothing you, the match makers or even the council can say that will ever change that!  The old ways don’t have to apply to the present.  I love Brant and I will marry him no matter what!  If you can’t stand by me with my decision, you don’t deserve to be my best friend!”  My voice had also risen and I was almost yelling.

     Prodigies were looking up from their studies to see where the commotion was coming from.  There isn’t usually very much noise in the elite towers and the twisted golden walls which were specifically designed to reduce noise couldn’t block my exasperated shout-whispers.

     I could see that Neva was uncomfortable with the attention we were drawing and she returned to a hushed whisper as she said “Fine!  If that’s what you think.  But I promise you that when your life is ruined you’ll remember this conversation and you’ll think ‘I should’ve listened to my best friend because she knew me better than anyone and she really had my best interests at heart!’ Well, not anymore Jolie!  I won’t let a bad match be my best friend!”

     I don’t know if Neva saw the hot, angry tears well up in my eyes as I threw back the best response I could think of:  “I guess that’s good because I wouldn’t even want to be best friends with a friend traitor like you!”  It was lame, but I couldn’t think of anything better.  My mind was a complete blank-a raging storm of anger, shame and embarrassment.

     It was obvious that Neva told some kind of exaggerated form of our argument to all of her friends because everyone avoided me for the rest of the day.  It’s not like I minded their silent treatment but the disapproving glares they shot me around every corner were not pleasant.  Why should they care who I choose to marry, it’s not like it affects their lives.

     At the end of the day when the other prodigies were already clearing out of the common area Master Prentice, the Beacon of the Gold tower approached me.  Normally the Beacon only talked to you if you were in trouble, needed assistance or medical attention.  Since I wasn’t doing my work, felt perfectly fine and I wasn’t disturbing anyone I was surprised when he made his way over to the table I was sitting at.

     “Ah, Miss Ruwen, I’ve been wanting to speak with you all day.  I couldn’t help but overhearing that you and one of you friends had a little disagreement to day.” He started.

     “Yes sir, uh, Master, Neva and I were arguing about something.” I interrupted, I don’t like it when people know things about my personal life so I immediately put up my guard.

     “Yes, yes, I’m sure everyone heard that.” He continued.  Cracking a smile.

     This must be about all of the noise I was making.  Aside from tardiness the most serious offence in the elite towers was disturbing the studies of the other prodigies.

     “But as I was saying, I couldn’t help but overhear that you said something very wise,” he continued.

     Now I was confused.  Master Prentice started like he was going to get me in trouble but then he turned it in to praise.  I had no idea where Master Prentice was going with this and I didn’t like it.

     “To quote you exactly:  ‘The old ways don’t have to apply to the present.’  I believe you were speaking about the matchmaking office, but why shouldn’t it apply to the whole way our world works, even to the council.”  He said the last part in a barely audible whisper, like the mere mention of these highly treasonous words would get him exiled, though they probably could.

     “Look sir,” I said matching his hushed voice.  “My life is complicated enough already without any of this treason you are suggesting.  I don’t know why you were listening to my conversation today or why you are approaching me now, but please know that I don’t want any part of what you are suggesting.”

     It was very bold, putting my opinion out in the open like that.  Not only with what I was thinking, I didn’t want to offend the Beacon.  Like I had said, I had enough to deal with already.

     “Ah, but Miss Ruwen…” He started.  I didn’t give him a chance to finish his sentence, I picked up my books and headed for the stairs to my dormitory.

 

Part 2:  The Black Swan

     For the next month Master Prentice was constantly trying to get my attention.  At first I let him talk to me.  He told me all kinds of strange things that I’m sure were treason but they were very interesting.  He even showed me a scroll written by ogres.  I didn’t understand all of it but it was clear that there had been some kind of information exchange between a small band of elves and the ogres.  But when he showed the scroll to the council it had been ruled a misunderstanding and they refused to investigate any more.

     Master Prentice showed me all kinds of random pieces of intelligence that he and his associates had picked up.  It was very disturbing to see how much the council overlooked and didn’t seem to care about, when there was obviously lots of suspicious activity going on.

     “That is why,” he explained, “we formed an organization.”

     The Black Swan believed that someone needed to act before it was too late.  I thought that the name ‘Black Swan’ was very suiting to this group.  For centuries humans believed that there was no such thing as a black swan.  When one was discovered, it became a symbol for something that shouldn’t exist, but does.

     Even though I saw the sense in the Black Swan’s ideas, I continued refusing Master Prentice’s offer.  My life was already too complicated without joining a secret rebel organization.

     No matter how many times I explained this to him the Black Swan would not leave me alone.  People would jostle and bump into me on the stairs and on my way to classes saying thing like “The fall is never seen before the rising” and “The brave and bold are never seen”.  At the time I didn’t understand the pun.

     If that hadn’t been frustrating enough, I started finding pieces of paper stuffed into my cape pockets and books with times, dates and directions to meeting places.  Clearly the Black Swan was not satisfied with no.  Even the flowing golden material of my cape couldn’t hide the pristine white paper with the blocky black letters.  Another note, I didn’t even read it this time, I had had enough of this.

     I headed straight for the entrance hall where I knew Master Prentice would be.  I didn’t even bother walking quietly down the many flights of stairs.  Since he wasn’t respecting me I wouldn’t respect him and his tower!

     Master Prentice was sitting down to breakfast when I barged into his private room.  All of the prodigies know where the Beacons’ office is but no one I know has ever been inside.  I’m glad he wasn’t in a meeting or I would have gotten into some serious trouble, if I wasn’t already in a mountain!  I guess I should’ve thought through this encounter before I went storming into the Beacons’ office. Ah well, there’s no turning back now.

     “Oh! Miss Ruwen, I guess I should’ve assumed I would run into you again, but maybe not in such conditions!” He sounded quite surprised and a little embarrassed.  That’s when I noticed that he still wearing his pajamas and a Yeti embroidered bath robe.

     It only took me a few seconds to recover.

     “I’m not here for what you think.” I said.

     “Oh?” Master Prentice’s raised eyebrow and subtle smirk showed that he thought differently.

     “I’m here for one reason and one reason only, to tell you to stop!  My answer is final and no matter how many notes you send me I won’t change my mind!”

     His face twisted from contempt into confusion.

     “What notes?” Master Prentice asked.

     “What?” I said.  He looked sincerely confused, but it probably was just an act.

     “The notes you have been sending me, with locations to meet.” I said.

     “I haven’t sent you any notes, what are you talking about?” Master Prentice said.  His voice sounded panicked.

     “Oh, so now you play innocent?” My sarcasm was probably considered disrespectful, but Master Prentice didn’t seem to notice.

     “I’m very sorry but I have no idea what you’re talking about Miss Ruwen.  I haven’t sent you any notes.”  He sounded sincere.

     “What? Then who are all of these from?” I pulled out a wad of crumpled pieces of paper.

     Master Prentice pulled the top note off the stack.

     “I got that one today, it was in the front pocket of my cape.” I added foreseeing his question.

     His expression morphed into fear.  He whispered something under his breath that shouldn’t be repeated.

     “This is a complication, I need to report this.” He said, turning towards the door.

     “Wait, what’s going on?  What do you need to report?” I called after him.

     “Miss Ruwen the Black Swan didn’t send you any of those notes.  We would still like you to join our cause but no is no.  It seems like the rebels are trying to recruit you as well.” He said in a very grave tone.

     “The rebels.  The ones who you are trying to stop?” I said.  It was my last effort to make sure he wasn’t talking about something else, though I knew what his answer would be before he said it.

     “Yes,” He said.

     My shock was clearly evident on my face because Mater Prentice put his hand on my shoulder.

     “This doesn’t mean you’re a bad person, but I now realize that we need you more than ever Jolie.  Please reconsider your position.” He was begging me.

     That was the first time he’d ever used my first name to address me.  It had always been a formal Miss Ruwen.  I guess that was just another thing to show how desperate he was.

     Something finally clicked into place in my head.  I didn’t have a plain life here in the Lost Cities any more, I was a bad match.  I would always be ‘other’, why not make it interesting.

     “I’ll do it.” I said.  My voice came out more confident than I expected.

     “You will! Thank you so much! You won’t regret this Jolie.”  He used my first name again.

     “I know, and I want to be a spy on this rebel group.  They're already trying to recruit me so I might as well cast off any suspicion and go along with it.” My own confidence surprised me.

     “I don’t think you know what you’re getting yourself into Jolie.  Acting as an undercover spy is a very difficult job and you’re not very experienced with lying.”  He said.  The enthusiasm had vanished from his tone to be replaced by worry.

     “I’m a good actress and anyways, now is the perfect time.  There’re trying to recruit me so it won’t be as suspicious.  All I have to do is officially become a member of the Black Swan and then I’ll just act like I saw reason in their cause and try to find them.  They’ll fall for the trick and I can report anything I find out, to you in school.  I’ll be staying in school right.” I said.  My plan was getting better and better by the second, it was flawless.

     “Yes, you will still attend Foxfire.  We’ll just have to think of some excuses for you to leave…”  By the end of his sentence he was lost in thought.

     “And on top of that no one here will suspect anything is wrong!  None of my friends talk to me anymore and I can just blame any extra stress or tiredness on the bad match!” I probably shouldn’t sound so enthusiastic about something like this but I couldn’t help it.

     “Yes, yes, yes” he came out of his trance, “your current predicament defiantly provides merit so if you’re sure about this I’ll organize a meeting with the collective.”

     He noticed the confused expression on my face and added.  “Our ruling order.  They will decide if this task if important enough to risk your life for.”

 

Part 3:  Waiting

     For the next week and a half I took every chance I could find to ask Master Prentice for any news from the collective.  But he always said that he hadn’t been able to schedule a meeting.  He probably found my pestering quite annoying and childish but I just couldn’t help it, I was so anxious.

     My anxiety effected my class work as well.  My friends didn’t care but my mentors did.  When my advanced multispecial studies mentor, Lady Anary found me doodling in my note book instead of paying attention for the third class in a row, she took it to Master Prentice.

     I was surprised that she only caught me three times.  Lady Anary is the type of person who tends to stare off into space so I did most of my doodling and fantasizing about the Black Swan during her class.  But it was still a problem when she told Master Prentice.

     The day after I overheard her talking to him, Master Prentice sent me a note telling me to come to his office after my last class of the day.  It must be news from the Black Swan!

     I didn’t even try to pay attention in the rest of the days classes.  I wasn’t even focused enough to hide my doodling.  Even the reprimanding glares my mentors gave me during class couldn’t put a damper on my excitement.

     I almost danced into his office after my final class of the day, linguistics.  I’d been learning ogre.  I probably should’ve been paying attention because knowing a few ogre words would definitely help me with my work for the Black Swan, but focusing was a lost cause.

     The plain golden door that led to Master Prentice’s private office and living quarters was marked with a simple plaque.  The word Beacon glimmered in plain black letters, contrasting the glowing walls of the entrance hall.

     I brought my hand up to the door and quietly knocked.

     “Just one moment!” Master Prentice’s muffled voice called from inside.

     My excitement was bubbling over!  I also realized that I was nervous too.  I hadn’t really thought about it, but what if the Black Swan collective people didn’t approve my mission?  Or what if they did?  When I actually thought about it I wasn’t really sure which would be better.

     Before I could come to a conclusion the door opened and Master Prentice was beckoning me inside.

     Master Prentice’s living room was nicer than I remembered.  The gold walls still curved with the shape of the tower, but aside from that, the room looked like a completely different building.  There were pictures of a pale woman with straight, auburn hair and of a boy with dark skin just like Master Prentice.  They must be his family.

     He motioned for me to sit down across from him at his desk.  The chair was comfortable but I was still on the edge of my seat.

     “Yes,” He said.

     “What?”

     “They said yes, the collective approved your mission.”

     I jumped out of my chair.

     “They did! Yes!” I yelled.

     “Please keep your voice down Miss Ruwen what we are doing in technically illegal.” Master Prentice said calmly.

     “Sorry,” I said sheepishly, I was being childish.

     “Jolie, I’m not sure you know what you are getting yourself into.  I know that you expressed enthusiasm, but before that you argued that you had a complicated life.  Joining our order is a very big commitment, if you do take on this mission it will affect both your social and academic lives.” He continued.

     “It’s not like I have a social life anyway.” I mumbled.

     “You will be working undercover as a spy which is a very difficult job.  If it were up to me you wouldn’t be doing it, it’s much too dangerous.”  He said.

     “I can handle it,” I said.

     I don’t like it when people make decisions for my “protection”.  It makes me feel like they underestimate me or think I can’t handle myself.

     “I know that, and so does the collective, otherwise they wouldn’t have agreed.” He said, cracking what could have been a smile.

     “I am not saying this because I underestimate you,” He added, like he knew exactly what I was thinking.  Though he is a telepath so that could be possible.

     “I know that you are a very talented girl and I’m sure you are capable of many things, I am worried about your safety because if you take on this assignment you will be putting yourself at a great risk.” He said.

     “I know, but I’m doing it anyway.  I believe in what you are saying and I’m eager to help my world.” My voice was as confident as I felt.

     “I don’t doubt that.  Meet me here at midnight tonight.  You have until then to change your mind.  If you come tonight I will take you to meet the collective, if not I won’t bother you about this ever again.  Our offer still stands to join us even if you don’t want to take on the mission you proposed.  I hope to see you tonight.” Master Prentice said.

     “I’ll be there,” I said, turning to leave.

 

Part 4: Midnight

     Midnight couldn’t come fast enough.

     At 11:50 I grabbed my warm cape and snuck down stairs.  Thankfully the stairs were in perfect condition and my shoes didn’t squeak on the polished metal.  But I was still careful.  Being out afterhours could also result in a pretty serious punishment, but since I was sneaking out to meet with the Beacon, wouldn’t that eliminate that problem?  I didn’t know.  What if someone else saw or heard me?  I wasn’t going to take the risk.

     I reached the entrance hall at 11:59.  Perfect timing.  The bale fire crystals that lit up the gold tower were dimed at night but I could still make out the silhouette of the golden flaradon statue and its gleaming, ruby eyes staring are me.

     Master Prentice emerged from his room only seconds after I got there.  He was also wearing a cape.

     “Good, you’re here.” Master Prentice said, pulling out a strange crystal from inside his cape.

     It was looked black swirled with dark purple but I couldn’t be sure.  The color shifted if you looked at it from a different angle.  The really strange part was the beam of light it cast.  The light was dark purple.  I’d never seen a purple leaping crystal before, I wonder where it lead to.  My curiosity got the better of me.

     “Where does that lead?” I asked.

     “To one of our hide outs, that’s all I can say right now.” Master Prentice said, holding the crystal up to his pathfinder.

     “Come on,” He added as he stepped toward the light.

     I followed him.  As he pulled me into the light I had one last moment of doubt:  Was I making the right decision?  But by the time the tickling sensation cleared from my cells I had come to a conclusion:  Yes.