Valerie flopped onto her bed. It had been a long day. Sophie had finally woken up, but still struggled to come to terms with her talentless existence. It hurt to see her so defeated. She was trying to help the others in any way she could, but she was limited.

Valerie rolled onto her side, staring at the wall. A piece of paper on the nightstand caught her eye. Opening it, she found a note, signed with the mark of the Black Swan.

A mission for a chosen three.
They'll need your aid to set our world free.
Seek the girl who was hatched alone.
They cannot do this on their own.

The girl must be Sophie, but who were the 'chosen three'? It looked like she'd just have to go to Sophie's house and find out.
————
Valerie knocked and Edaline opened the door.
She stepped aside. "The others are upstairs."

Valerie nodded and trotted up the sparkling staircase to Sophie's bedroom. Keefe, Fitz, and Biana sat on the floor with Sophie, her circlet still digging into her forehead.

Valerie nodded to Sandor as she passed him. "Hey guys. You didn't think you'd get away with some dangerous scheme without me did you?"

Everyone jumped.

Keefe was the first to compose himself, trying to hide the fact that she'd scared him. "It's not our plan."

"How'd you even know about it?" Fitz had to turn around to see her.

"Yeah," Biana flashed in and out of sight as she adjusted her position on the floor. "The Black Swan seems pretty secretive."

"I know." Valerie sat down in their little circle. "They only give information to people who are going on a mission."

Biana looked at her, confused. "But the note said only three would be going."

"Maybe yours did." Valerie pulled the slip of paper from her pocket and let them examine each letter carefully.

"Why wouldn't they put this in our messages?" Fitz looked a little suspicious. Or jealous?

Valerie honestly couldn't tell, but, by the way Keefe stifled a laugh, she assumed it was the latter.

After a long discussion, they discovered that they would be meeting some members of the Black Swan at Green Boots cave on Mt. Everest three days from now.

Valerie waited until the others had left to talk to Sophie. "It's good to see you awake."

Sophie pulled at one of the flower petals that were woven into her carpet. "I feel useless."

"Well, you're not." Valerie scouched up next to Sophie. "Without you, we never would've found out where we're going." She gave Sophie a smile, which she tried to return.

"Don't worry." Valerie stood up to leave. "I'm sure you'll be back out there on the front lines before you know it."

Sophie nodded, giving Valerie a weak smile as she stepped into the of light.
————
Valerie sat bundled up in a cave with Keefe, Fitz, Biana, Sandor, whom Sophie insisted should go with them, and Mr. Forkle - one of the leaders of the Black Swan. He reported that there were some dwarves stationed in the mountain as well. They waited for their moment to strike.

Out of nowhere, Sophie appeared in the cave, immediately doubling over in the cold.

Mr. Forkle jumped into action, quickly placing his respirator over her mouth. "Breathe Sophie. Breathe." He helped her sit up.

Sophie's teeth chattered as she relaid her message. "They know your here."

As if on cue, a pair of giant hands burst through the ceiling and grabbed Sophie, yanking her up out of the cave.

Valerie parted the snow cascading through the hole and froze over the opening. She dashed out of the cave and chased the massive silhouette receding into the blizzard. Her cape whipped wildly in the wind and the snow battered her face. The flakes caught in her eyelashes, limiting her vision. She trudged through knee-high snow, struggling to move very fast. Finally, she threw her hand out in front of her, clearing a path in the snow. She ran after the beast that had taken Sophie, gaining slowly. The creature remained too far away for Valerie to do anything. She reached out her hand and clenched her fist. The snow around the beast's legs surged up to its knees and hardened, freezing into solid ice.

It stopped dead in its tracks, dropping Sophie into the thick snow. Sandor rushed out of the squall. He reached Sophie before Valerie and draped his thick cloak over her semi-conscious body.

When Valerie got close enough, she realized that the beast stuck in the snow was an ogre. He bared his fangs at her. She stayed well out of reach.

She stood next to Sophie and crouched, placing her respirator over Sophie's mouth. "Come on Sophie. Breathe."

Her voice stayed steady and Sophie inhaled deeply. Valerie sighed in relief.

Then, the chaos started. The wind picked up and several silhouettes approached from all around them. The others came running up behind them. There was a moment of anticipation.

Keefe suddenly dashed after one of the robed figures with the white eye on his shoulder. He must have identified it as his father. The others followed after him. Valerie started to trail them, but an ogre came charging out of the blizzard towards her.

Valerie raised her hands and a shield of ice formed between her and the ogre. The beast smashed into her and she went flying across the snow, digging a trench as she slid to a stop.

The ogre trudged towards her and Valerie could see other figures joining it.

Standing, she planted herself firmly in the snow and thrust her hand toward one of the figures. A layer of ice coated the ogre. Valerie blasted a spike of ice at another and it went stumbling backwards, blood staining the white snow. An ogre lunged at her from behind. She turned, narrowing her eyes, and the creature collapsed, unconscious.

As she wiped out the enemies in front of her, an elf in a black cloak with a white eye on the shoulder grabbed her from behind, forcing a sweet-smelling cloth over her mouth.

Valerie struggled against the elf, but soon the drugs took effect and dragged her under.

A/N
Another long chapter, I know. But I had to make up for those filler chapters. 😁 Just FYI: The next couple of chapters will be happening DURING the first half of Neverseen. I'm not skipping it.