Chapter Text
This was going to be epic! Keefe reclined on his bed and grinned as he pulled out the new elixir from his collection. It was a thick, clumpy, and gloopy mess, barely contained by the small glass vial and cork. The opaque liquid made an odd sound as he swirled it inside the vial.
He wondered who would be his next victim. This new elixir would make their hair turn a vivid ice blue, twist, and harden into the shape of a gulon. (Not that he was admitting to anything, of course.)
He swung his legs off of the bed and chuckled. But his smile fell when he remembered how upset Foster was earlier. He could feel it coming off her before she even turned the corner.
She was visibly upset and blamed Fitz for faking their friendship. Keefe was sure Fitz wouldn’t do that. Not with Sophie anyway. Why would Fitz need to fake being friends with the most beautiful elf in Foxfire? The girl who had such a huge crush on him since… ugh, he did not want to think about that.
He wondered if Fitz had talked to her.
He checked his imparter; he could at least ask. He saw he had a missed call from Fitz. Uh-oh.
He looked down at the small square in his hand. Before he could change his mind he blurted out, “Show me Fitz.” His imparter blinked and shut off. Keefe rolled his eyes. “Show me Fitzipoo.” The imparter lit up then, and Fitz’s face filled the screen. Something was wrong. His eyes were red and even though he tried to hide it, tears were pooling in his eyes.
“Hey Keefe, listen. Something’s… happened,” He looked distracted for a moment then blurted it out. “Sophie was in the cave in Havenfield, she was upset because of that thing Stina said. I told Dex to go after her—”
Keefe furrowed his brows, “Why would you send Dizznee? Why not go after her yourself?” Not that that was necessarily a better option, but if he cared about her he should’ve… well, that’s what Keefe would do.
“I don’t know, I panicked! I don’t do well when Biana is upset, and Sophie was crying—”
“She was crying?!” Keefe felt a bubble of panic pop inside him.
“Yes! Anyway, Dex never got back to me, so I went to check out the cave, thinking they lost track of time or something. But when I got there…” His voice trailed off, and Keefe waited a few seconds for him to continue.
“Fitz, what happened?” He was squeezing his imparter so hard it was cutting into his fingers.
Fitz was crying for real now. Tears were streaming down his face, and sobs were coming through his words. “They’re gone, Keefe.”
“What are you saying? They left?!” Keefe felt sick. Sophie wouldn’t have run away, would she? Why hadn’t she come to him? His stomach clenched when he realized he had never offered.
“No, we found—the registry pendants—in the water. They’re saying—it was a tidal wave. They’re– gone. ”
Keefe’s eyes widened and filled with tears. He fell back and clicked off the call. No, it couldn’t be right. A sob racked his body, he barely knew her and she was gone. She is–was beautiful and seeing her at Foxfire had been the brightest part of his day. The past tense hurt so badly that Keefe doubled over clutching his chest.
He remembered when he first met her coming down the white hall fresh out of alchemy, obviously lost. He knew she was something special. He was expecting to have years to get to know her. She was never supposed to die!
Time no longer existed. He didn’t shower or even think about his hair. He didn’t eat and barely got out of bed. He dreamed of Sophie screaming his name as she was swept into the ocean. He chugged down sedatives to keep them away.
There were no words to describe the pain he was feeling. His stomach lurched when he thought about going to the funeral. He went to his closet and chose a green jerkin, doublet, cape, and leggings. She deserved so much more. More life, more time, more love. He had never let on that he thought of her as anything more than a friend. And now it was too late.
He waited in line with his father at the Wanderling Woods, waiting to pay his respects to the adoptive family of the girl of his dreams.
Edaline was sobbing, clutching Grady as he nodded to each of the well-wishers. Grady comforted her but looked a mixture of heartbroken and angry.
When Keefe got to the front of the line, Edaline reached out and hugged him tightly. Cassius cleared his throat but Keefe didn’t care. He barely managed to squeeze out, “I’m so sorry.” Before his throat closed, he squeezed her tightly, glad no one could see his tears.
Grady’s deep voice came from beside them, “Thank you, for… everything.” Keefe swiped at his eyes, nodding at Grady before moving forward and away from his father.
Sophie’s tree was beautiful to behold. Too beautiful to be representing her death. The tree was pale and thin, with brown seed pods and golden leaves that shimmered in the waning sun. A charm bracelet with a single charm in the shape of an elephant rested in the branches.
When Keefe got home he lay down and just stared at the ceiling. His chest felt heavy like something was pushing him down. His face was dry; sometimes grief is too deep for tears.
He thought about reaching for his journal but he wasn't ready for that, not yet ready to even think about processing through these emotions. Sophie deserved much better than that. She deserved to be grieved. Deaths were so rare in the lost cities that Keefe had never had anyone he was close to die before.
Keefe’s imparter lit up, it was Fitz.