Chapter Text
The day that Sophie Foster was finally kissed by Fitz Vacker was a glorious day. He had taken her for a picnic under Calla’s tree and given her a panakes necklace and kissed her just as the stars were coming out. It had been everything she had been dreaming it would be. They weren’t dating yet, but that kiss had felt like something big. And maybe they were finally headed towards something big.
The only problem? Sophie’s chest had been a mess ever since. It was like Verdi was sitting on her chest, weighing her down all day long. Her heart banged around constantly, as if it were trying to tell her something.
“It must have been the panakes blossoms,” she had told herself the night of the kiss, long after Fitz had left.
But the problem was, the feeling wasn’t going away. When she walked down the halls at Foxfire holding Fitz’s hand, it was there too. Maybe she was allergic to his cologne or something? (Did elves even wear cologne?)
But that couldn’t be it either, because it was even worse when she was in class with Keefe. Her chest was practically screaming in pain during those the moments. But that was just anxiety! About Keefe’s constant teasing! Although, lately, Keefe hadn’t really seemed like he was in much of a joking mood.
Tired of worrying, Sophie decided to seek out help at the closest thing to “Web MD” that the Lost Cities had to offer –
“Hello Elwin.”
Elwin jumped and spun around to face her. “Sophie!” he exclaimed. “What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be at lunch?”
Sophie shrugged and shuffled over to the cot. “I’m not really hungry.”
Elwin gently placed down the beakers of some elixir that probably tasted pretty terrible, based on the smell that was coming from it. His eyes were round with concern. “It’s your echo again, isn’t it?”
Sophie shook her head violently. “No, no. Sorry, Elwin. I didn’t mean to scare you like that. I just…I haven’t been…. I think I’m sick.”
Elwin’s eyebrow shot up. “Sick? Sophie, elves can’t get sick.”
“Yeah, well, elves also aren’t supposed to have allergies and yet here I am – a modern miracle.”
He snorted and nodded. “That’s true. So, why do you think you’re sick?”
Sophie dove into an explanation all about the crushing feeling in her chest. Elwin nodded along with her explanation.
“And when did this all start?”
“Last week,” Sophie began, “after Fitz kis-.” A wave of embarrassment flushed over her. She couldn’t tell Elwin about Fitz! She hadn’t even told Edaline yet.
“After I was…outside for a while,” she corrected herself, praying that her red face didn’t give her away.
Elwin’s facial expression never changed, but there was a definite twinkle of amusement in his eyes that Sophie immediately decided to ignore.
“Ah. I see.”
He got up and walked over to his bookshelf full of healing books. “Well Sophie, unfortunately I absolutely have to get these beakers over to Elementalism, just in case things go sour in this afternoon’s bottling session. But I have a couple books that I really think might help you out with your…sickness.”
She didn’t like the way she said that word – sickness. As if he knew something humorous and was keeping her out of the loop. But Sophie was grateful for his help nevertheless, and she thanked him as he handed the pile of books to her.
“Stay as long as you need, Sophie,” he said, with a sort of sympathy in his voice.
Then he left her alone.
The first two books were all about the Healing properties of Flashers. Which colors to use and when. She wasn’t sure what that had to do with her chest pain, but she flipped through the pages anyway. The gigantic books took more time than she would have liked, and it was almost time for afternoon sessions to begin.
Sophie sighed and pushed the book pile off her lap. She had to get to class, and it certainly didn’t seem like Elwin was coming back any time soon.
Struggling with the giant pile, Sophie did her best to put them back on his shelves, when the smallest book slipped through the pile and landed on the floor.
Sophie let out another long-suffering sigh. “Seriously, can’t I catch a break?” she mumbled to herself.
But the title on the small white book made her lose her train of self-pity – The Heart of the Matter.
It was Keefe’s dad’s book. The one Keefe had been forced to read during their time living with the Neverseen. The back cover showed a very haughty picture of Lord Cassius, which made Sophie’s empty stomach churn with irritation, over the words “Written by the Lost Cities’ #1 Authority on Empathy”. “What a jerk,” she muttered to herself. But her curiosity was peaked. Why had Keefe complained so much about this book? It wasn’t even that big.
Even though she was pressed on time, Sophie flipped to the table of contents. “Head Emotions, Heart Emotions,” she read to herself, “Learning to Decipher….” Sophie trailed off as her brain hyper-focused on the next chapter – ‘When the Head and the Heart Don’t Meet – The Physical Symptoms’.
As if in a daze, she flipped to the correct page and began pouring over the words:
People often wonder how I became so exceptional at Empathy, and the truth, of course, is that I was cursed with this blessing since birth. However, during my time studying Flashers and their patients, I noticed something that most Flashers missed – that feelings can manifest themselves in different ways and that these feelings can even set off certain physical symptoms. This is especially true if these feelings are not dealt with properly. Most Flashers need to do a thorough analysis in order to pick up on these signs, but, of course, I am able to tell just by looking at the patient. Suppressed head emotions are shown through constant headaches, a buzzing sound in the ears, and fainting spells. While suppressed heart emotions are expressed through rapid heart rate and chest pressure/pain. Often these symptoms are not strong enough to warrant an examination; however, if the patient ignores the emotions too long, they can end up in the infirmary. Another reason these physical symptoms erupt is if a certain event, especially one filled with intense emotions already, triggers the suppressed emotions into overdrive.
The book clattered out of her hand and smacked into the floor. But the sound wasn’t loud enough to shake Sophie from her stupor. Suppressed emotions? That was crazy. But those were the symptoms…her exact symptoms. The night of Fitz’s kiss, an event with intense emotions, was when all of this had started.
Her chest screamed with pain. So, it was trying to tell her something. The problem was…she didn’t know what.
Quick as she could, Sophie snatched up the book and burst out of the Healing Center door, practically bowling Elwin over in the process.
“Sophie!” Elwin grabbed her shoulders to steady her.
“I have to go home!” Sophie basically shouted at him. Her eyes felt wild, and she couldn’t look directly at him.
Elwin glanced down at the book in her hands and nodded subtly, as if he wasn’t surprised. “I understand. I’ll contact your parents and tell them you’re on your way. And I’ll let your teachers know.”
Sophie managed one nod and rushed out the school doors.