Board Thread:Short Stories and Fanfictions/@comment-43347423-20200111144721/@comment-43347423-20200126164411

Chapter Ten

“Wait…” Fitz said, his voice breaking its way into Sophie’s jumbled thoughts. “If his mind is broken, why don’t you just heal him?”

Sophie pulled away from Grady and Edaline to face him. She was aware that she had snot running down her face, that her eyes were puffy, and that she was a mess. But she didn’t care.

“I can’t.”

Everyone started to talk at once, all shouting the same question Sophie was asking herself:

Why?

“I don’t know!” Sophie screamed. “It just doesn’t work! You’ve all screwed him over in the head and he doesn’t love anyone anymore!”

That shut them up.

Ro spoke up, for once not sounding snarky. “I think I need to show you something.”

“What is it?” Sophie asked. It came out more sarcastic than she meant it to, but Sophie didn’t apologize.

“You’ll see.” She grabbed Sophie’s arm, the home crystal off Lord Cassius’s neck, and handed it to Sophie.

Lord Cassius started to say something, but Sophie held the crystal up to the light, wondering why Ro wanted her to go to the Shores of Solace. Sandor grabbed Sophie’s other arm, saying “I go where you go” in a voice somehow even squeakier than normal.

When they arrived, Ro lead Sophie to Keefe’s room. She’d been in it once before, and it was as messy as it was the last time she was there. Ro went to the drawer that Keefe kept his notebook in, undoing all the rigged booby traps.

“You were wrong when you said he doesn’t love anyone,” Ro said, pulling out the notebooks and reaching for the gold one. “There’s one person he loves.”

She opened the notebook and flipped through it.

Every single page was filled with a drawing of her.

As in… Sophie.

Sophie took the notebook slowly, her jaw dropping.

The first page had a stunning drawing of her laughing.

The next one was of her worrying. She started to see what Keefe meant when he said she was cute when she worried. Her eyebrows went together and her eyes got all big.

Sophie flipped through a few more.

But then she just started crying.

Because this didn’t help.

She’d already tried getting Keefe to come back for herself.

And it hadn’t worked.

“What’s wrong?” Ro asked. “He’s in love with you, and I know for a fact he’ll come back for you.”

“But he didn’t.”

“What do you mean, he didn’t?” Ro asked indignantly.

Sophie looked at her feet. “I already tried myself. And he didn’t come back.”

Ogre curse words filled the air. But Ro had something else to say, too.

“Did you tell him you loved him?”

Sophie wished her cheeks would flame. But she didn’t have any energy left for silly embarrassment. “No.”

“Well, then, what are we waiting for? Teleport us back to Foxfire!” Ro was obviously trying to sound excited. Probably for Sophie’s benefit.

Sophie grabbed the ogre’s and goblin’s hands and ran forward, charging straight into the void.

“Woah, since when could you do that?” Ro asked.

Sophie shrugged. “Since Loamnore.”

Then she pictured the Foxfire room Keefe and the others had been in.

No one else was there, but Sophie didn’t ask questions. She started running straight to Keefe. She put her fingers to his temple and entered his mind.

Keefe! Sophie exclaimed. ''I need you to come back. I need you.''

She imagined every little tiny thing Keefe had ever done for her. The jokes, the teasing, the help, the sacrifices, the trust. What had it all done? It had made her love him.

She harnessed that love, feeling it bubble and burst, and then she shoved it all into Keefe’s mind.  I love you, Keefe.

She felt herself start crying.

Keefe must’ve been healed, because he transmitted back, ''Don’t cry, Foster. I love you too.''