If you had asked Sophia a few months ago what her life would be like right now, it would not have been this. She would have been positive it would still be a life of sneaking around, selling trinkets, and attempting to get Archie to truly notice her. It certainly wouldn't have entailed spending days away from Elias in an unknown world.
To be fair, she is still sneaking around and selling trinkets, it's just in a different context, and Archie is at her side. Archie, who she has loved for a long time, who she tried to destroy not that long ago in retaliation for him insulting her and trying to leave, has become the most constant thing in her life. A breath of familiarity in an unfamiliar world. She's had to learn to trust him again, but his presence has become a comfort. She's happier than she ever imagined she could be.
She stands barefoot, feeling the sand between her toes and the waves washing over her legs, watching the ocean, feeling the sun. A sight she never thought she would see. Her skin is slightly burnt, having never seen the sun before, but the people up here have technology to protect them from the dangers of the light. Its one of the first things she and Archie stole up above. It turns out the sun ages people's skin, so even Old Archie seems young for his age up here.
She feels awe staring at the ocean's vastness, its beauty. It's almost enough to make Sophia feel small in comparison; almost.
A small part of her wonders if she would have faced the sorrow of being abandoned so many times in her life if she hadn't been stuck by a lie, Underground, but she doesn't think she would actually change anything about her life. All of the challenges still contained and led to her great joys; Elias, Luna, and now even Archie.
She takes a moment to look at all the shells and seaweed washed up on shore, imagining the different trinkets she can make from them and what she will bring back to Elias and Luna.
She looks back at Archie.
“To think I get to be in this vast and wonderful world with you.” Sophia says to Archie.
She grabs his hands and closes in to kiss him.
Written by Kaiya C.
“Ah, this?” said Sophia with a slight smile on her face. “I know! Pretty, isn't it? I got this gemstone from a street market I travelled to with Archie. They were practically giving them away. I tried to pay them more, but they wouldn't take it– they'd dug more of the stuff than they knew what to do with setting up a new quarry. Of course, I stuffed my bag with as much as I could carry, and I stuffed Archie's bag with as much as he could carry. Then, I made him carry both bags.”
The customer looked over the strange trinket. The stones were pretty - little rainbows, all polished to a near mirror shine. Still, it wasn't quite what they were looking for.
Sophia had all manner of trinkets now, lined up in neat little rows atop a blanket. She'd finally set up her own stall outside her place a few years back. Life was just that little bit easier now that business came to her.
Next, the customer pointed at a shiny chrome ring, and Sophia gestured to let them examine it. “This metal was a gift. Medae - um, an experimental roboticist - stopped by a few weeks ago, I managed to convince them to give me a bit of scrap.”
The customer tried it on. It was pretty, certainly, but it didn't quite match their outfit. They looked over the trinkets once again, finally settling on a necklace with a milky-white crystal dangling from a silver chain.
“Oh!” said Sophia. “This one's something special. That chain's from here - from Principality. I just happened to spot it one day, out in the desert. It must have been part of someone's else's necklace, once upon a time.”
“And the stone?”
Sophia smiled. “Ah! It's seaglass. Nothing too special, I'm told, but it was certainly a new sight for me. I was travelling with Adela– she saw it on the beach, and thought of me.”
“I'll take it.”
Sophia picked up the trinket, and put it into a little paper bag. “So, what'll it be? Gossip, trade, or favour?”