Mr. Forkle stared at her. "What?"

Valerie stood up to pace, wearing a path in the grass. "It makes so much sense. Think about it Forkle. I don't look like Prentice or Cyrah. Neither of my abilities match theirs and one of them is ridiculously powerful."

Forkle crossed his arms. "There are powerful Mesmers."

"But not as powerful as me." Valerie paused to look at him. "I can do things that other Mesmers can't, some might say shouldn't be able to, do.
"Then there's my Frosting. I can evaporate water and ice. Other Frosters can't do that. And, it reacts to my emotions. Explain that."
Forkle watched her silently pace in front of him. Valerie didn't wait for him to answer. "Not to mention my eyes..."

Forkle interrupted her. "What's wrong with your eyes?"

"They're green." Valerie stopped and stared at him as if it were obvious.

Mr. Forkle looked at her, confused.

"Look closer." She stared him in the eye.

As he stared at her eyes, the color seemed to shift from ocean blue to a deep jade green. His eyes widened at the optical illusion.

"I always knew I was different, but I had just learned to accept it. I didn't know why I was like this, but I just lived with it. Now it all makes sense. My abilities were enhanced and my eyes are some kind of mistake, like how Sophie's eyes weren't supposed to be brown."

"That's possible." Forkle still didn't look convinced. "But why would they put you in Cyrah?"

Valerie started to pace again. "They probably just chose a family at random. They didn't realize their mistake until it was too late, until everyone knew who Prentice was. By then, I had already formulated opinions about the world. If I was their project, they would've been monitoring me; they would've known how close I was to Prentice. Even then, I wouldn't have betrayed him for anything." She sat down again. "That's why they took me. They were trying to fix their mistake."

"But why now?" Forkle stared off into the distance.

She sighed. "I don't know."

Mr. Forkle stood and took a couple steps. "We should go."

Valerie started to stand, but stopped and gasped.

"What?" Forkle turned. A look of concern on his face.

Valerie's heart was racing. "I know why they want me." She sat back on the bench. "If they have me, they have you all."

Forkle's eyes widened. "Are you sure?"

Valerie nodded. "I controlled over two dozen of their members without flinching, all while I was bleeding out. In good health, for all I know, I could control an army."

"Well," Mr. Forkle offered her a hand. "Do you have any intention of betraying us?"

Valerie grinned. "You know I'm too stubborn for that."

He returned her smile. "Then we have no reason to worry."

"You're starting to sound like Alden." She stood up.

Forkle chuckled. "He is right on some occasions."

"Right," Valerie walked up next to him. "Rare occasions."

Mr. Forkle rolled his eyes. "Come on. The others will want to see you."

Valerie grabbed his hand. "Can't wait."

They stepped into the light together, glittering away right as Alden approached from the house.

A/N
Again, sort of a filler, but I felt the need to put it in there. Don't worry the next chapter will be back with Sophie and the others. And yes, they just leaped away as Alden was coming to talk to them. That is not an important detail, I just thought it would be funny if they made a sort of rude exit. 😁