Board Thread:Short Stories and Fanfictions/@comment-2601:647:4000:5CE0:FC5C:33DA:7CF0:60A-20191024050134/@comment-2601:647:4000:5CE0:A005:8FF:C12A:BEA6-20191027193026

Chapter 5

"Foster? Foster? Hey, earth to the Mysterious Miss F!" Keefe snapped his fingers in front of Sophie's eyes, snapping her out of her daze.

"Huh?" Sophie said, blinking hard and shaking herself. "Oh. Just thinking. And that reminds me, I want to talk to you. Alone."

"Sure," Keefe said, but Sophie could hear the uncertainty in his voice. She could also see Biana, Marella, and Linh mouthing, ''I ship! I ship! ''She shot them her best glare, careful not to look at Fitz, who was seething as he slumped back onto his sleeping back. She glanced at Dex, who flashed her a thumbs up, and she left the room, Keefe trailing behind her. They moved past the pastures (pun intended) and to the cliffside of Havenfield, overlooking the crashing waves down below. And as they stood to face each other, Sophie could see that Keefe's hands were shaking. She reached for them, steadying his palms as he stopped trembling. It reminded Sophie of the time she had found Marty, and how once she had started to stroke his back, he had stopped shaking immediately and had nestled into her lap, filling the air with his purrs.

"Okay," Sophie said, forcing Keefe to look at her. "What is going on?"

Keefe looked down.

"Hey," Sophie said, cupping his chin with her hand and tipping his head up. "I won't get mad at you. No matter what."

"It's just..." Keefe stared out. "How come you like Fitz?"

Sophie started. Then answered, "Well, he's my first friend, the elf who showed me here, we're Cognates, I trust him..." Her voice trailed off and she furrowed her brow. She could have said that Fitz had risked his life for her... but that would be pretty unfair to Keefe, who-

1) Traveled with her somewhere completely random to heal her abilities

2) Liked Sophie for Sophie.

3) Was favored by Silveny for some random reason.

4) Trusted her completely.

5) Never got mad her

6) Still helped her, even though Lady Gisela was part of the Neverseen

7) Joined the Neverseen for Sophie, to find answers for her

8) Done stupid, reckless things for her

9) Fought King Dimitar for her

10) Drained blood for her.

And still... she liked Fitz because... well... he had teal eyes and a movie worthy smile.

But she liked Keefe for his jokes, his kindness, and his calm attire.

Then she realized.

"You get it now?' Keefe mumbled, gripping her hands tighter. He had obviously felt her mood shift, and Sophie forced herself not to let go and curl into a ball.

"How... long?"

"Since Silveny."

"What?"

"Ridiculous, right?"

"Adorable, actually."

Keefe snorted. He had done so much for her, and yet she had chosen Fitz. "Keefe, I'm sorry."

"Don't be," he said, his voice a lot softer. "I'm sorry, too. I'm just happy for you and everything, and that it's completely your choice. I know that, Alden didn't have to-" he cut off, realizing he had said too much.

"Alden did what?"

"Stopped by before Alvar's tribunal to make sure his son got the girl."

Sophie's heart stopped. "He didn't."

"Oh, he did. And he used that, 'Keefe, I think of you as my son, and I've been in this predicament too, blah blah blah. Apparently his friend had fallen in love with his crush, so he had ended up with Della. And then he said something like, 'Sophie is like my daughter, and we both know it's her choice, so support her no matter what.'"

Sophie reached up and brushed a tear from his eyes. Keefe smirked sadly. "It's like the world's going upside down, isn't it?" he asked.

"Um... I think we should do a trust exercise. Close your eyes."

Keefe obeyed, and Sophie stood on her tiptoes, hoping this wasn't the wrong descion as she closed the gap.

It was much better than kissing Dex, Sophie could probably tell everyone. Her hands instinctively hooked around his neck, one hand tearing through his blonde hair. Keefe's arms wrapped around her waist, and her hair brushed his palms. Keefe's legs stood straight, and he didn't wobble. And best of all, there was the spark.

Even though Sophie had kissed Fitz a few times, it was more plain and boring. Sophie had always hoped there'd be a moment when it would click with him, but it fit together with Keefe instead. And Sophie liked that.

"OH MY GOD!"

Keefe and Sophie yanked apart and whirled around, facing the fangirling Biana, flanked by all the other bodyguards, Grady, and Edaline. Edaline flashed her the sappiest smile ever, Grady raised an eyebrow, Sandor, Ro, and Grizel were smirking (yes, even Grizel was there), Bo was muttering something about 'Teenage love', Flori and Tarina exchanged glances, and even Nubti was there, watching curiously. Biana finally let loose.

"I SHIP!" she squealed rubbing her hands together. "I won't tell Fitz, if you don't want me too."

"Yeah, I really doubt they'd want you to," Linh said, peeking from behind Tarina. "But seriously, you guys are so cute!"

"That's what I've been trying to tell them for ages!" Edaline told them all, flashing Sophie another sappy smile. Sophie groaned and burried her face in Keefe's shoulder, who sighed just as loud.

"We should go," Edaline said, dragging Grady away.

"I HAVE BUISNESS HERE!" he yelled, trying to resist, but Edaline managed to pull him away and into the pastures. Biana and Linh followed, along with the rest of the bodyguards. Sophie and Keefe smirked at each other before dashing back into Havenfield.

"Where have you been?"

"Taking about..." Sophie glanced helplessly at Keefe as soon as Fitz had asked.

"Tam," Keefe inturrupted. "Foster just wanted me to know it wasn't my fault, and that I shouldn't blame myself for my mom." Sophie nodded convincingly. Fitz's eyes flashed to their hands, which were intwined, and Sophie and Keefe quickly let go.

And then it hit.

Sophie doubled over, screaming as the pain hit her again. The migrane pushed through the cool blue waves that were pulsing through Sophie's brain. "Cliffside," Sophie groaned, crumpling under the pressure of hands that were wrapping around her.

Cliffside.

CLIFFSIDE.

CLIFFSIDE!

Sophie yelled wordlessly as she broke free, slamming open the door, her friends and all her body guards racing after her. They reached the cliffside gate, which Sophie easily unlocked, thanks to Dex. She yanked it open, and found that the cave was ''closed. ''Sophie nodded at Ro and Bo, who both slammed their shouders against the walls, reducing it into rubble.

And inside were five hooded figures. And one badly crumpled figure.

Lady Gisela, smirking.

Vespera, smiling.

Fintan, laughing.

Gethen, snickering.

Tam, terrified, but shielding the last figure.

And the last, bloodied, tortured, and deathly pale...

Sophie screamed, ripping free of the arms that held her back.

Because the last figure was her sister.

Amy. ​​​​​