He Left Me - KotLC fic (after Unlocked)

Chapter 2

Without the distraction of Fitz's conversation, the walls of my room began to close in again, and I flinched, rising and heading for the stairs. Sandor followed me down into the kitchen.

Edaline was cooking at the stove with help from a few gnomes. Sweet scents wafted from the saucepan, and as I got closer, I recognized the sugar crystals that top butterblasts.

A new wave of pain spiked through me, and my steps faltered. Butterblasts were always Keefe's favorites.

Memories of the night we walked around Foxfire at night, when I was healing from the echoes, drifted into my mind. Keefe stole a ton of different treats for me, insisting I stay seated in one of the chairs. But he kept all the butterblasts for himself, only letting me try one.

Elwin had offered Keefe butterblasts when he first woke up from his coma, but Keefe was nauseous at the thought.

I took a deep breath and resumed walking.

"Hey," I forced a smile for Edaline as she glanced over her shoulder. I swiped my finger through the simmering caramel-like sauce and kissed her cheek.

"Hey yourself," she replied, whacking my hand with the spatula. I laughed, and after a moment, she joined in. "So how are things with Fitz?" she asked with a knowing look.

I shrugged. "I think we'll always be good friends."

"Not more?"

"We tried that, and it didn't work. He was just a silly crush." I half-smiled and shrugged again.

Edaline offered me a sugar crystal, and I took it, letting it melt in my mouth. She looked around the kitchen, her beautiful blue eyes narrowing at the mess. "I thought maybe butterblasts would convince Keefe to come back." She smiled at me. "Elwin said they were his favorites."

I nodded, fighting back more tears. I crossed my arms over my chest, and Edaline dropped the spatula to envelop me in a hug. I leaned into my mom, squeezing my eyes shut. I didn't want to cry any more. I had cried enough.

"It'll be okay, Sophie. He'll be okay." Edaline stroked my hair.

I inhaled the sugary scents that lingered on her tunic and gently pulled away, giving her a small smile as I fought down the remaining tears. "So, do you need any help?"

Edaline studied me for a moment, her gaze lingering on the shadows I knew were under my eyes. I hadn't slept more than a couple hours each night, and my face showed it.

Eventually, she nodded. "Do you mind slicing the cavassa? It needs to be boiled down."

Cavassa turned out to be a sunny yellow fruit that tasted like a mix of fudge, peanut butter, and lemon popsicles. That's one thing I missed from the Forbidden Cities; Amy and I used to spend hours in the summertime eating popsicles and playing in the yard, even if we fought like crazy about it.

"Edaline?" I began. She turned slightly to glance at me. "Do you have any human plants here? Lemons, oranges, apples, lettuce?"

She nodded. "I'm not sure about most, but I think there's a tree that grows orange fruit near the gnomes' home. You can check it out, if you want."

I nodded. "I think I will. Thanks." I finished slicing the cavassa and rinsed my hands in the sink before heading outside with Sandor.

The gnomes lived in what looked like a series of tree houses in a grove near the back edge of the pastures. Flori, seeing my approach, hurried to meet me.

"Sophie! I was just patrolling the property." She winked at Sandor's huffy sigh. Upon hearing my inquiries, Flori led us to a towering tree growing familiar fruit.

I couldn't help grinning as I climbed onto a branch to pick some of the fruit. The oranges were huge, the size of my whole hand, and perfectly ripe. I passed an armful down to Sandor, who took them unhappily, and picked as many as I could carry.

Inside the house, Edaline conjured up a large bowl for me to hold my treasure in. My smile had yet to disappear, and only grew larger as I peeled a fruit to find the insides deliciously juicy and sweet.

Edaline's eyes widened as she tried a wedge. "That's incredible." She quickly peeled her own orange.

I laughed. "My mom used to have us pick as many as we could from an orchard outside the city, and then we'd juice them when we got home and make popsicles."

Edaline's smile softened. "Would you like to now?"

I hesitated only a moment before nodding. We spent the hour peeling oranges; the gnomes said they had an enzyme from Bo that would decompose the hardy peel, and they provided a wooden contraption that they said was a juicer.

Edaline examined the odd machine. "It looks like we put the fruit in here, and then pull this lever?" She slid half an orange into the opening in the side before tugging on the lever. The fruit exploded, splattering me and Edaline with juice and orange flesh.

A minute of silence passed as we froze in shock before a squeaky noise started in the corner. Sandor attempted to hide his laughter, but even the gnomes that walked in to see what the fuss was about started giggling. Soon enough, Edaline and I were laughing with them.

I attempted to wipe some of the stickiness off, but only succeeded in smearing it more. Edaline conjured up a few washcloths, but those too only partially cleaned up the mess. I sighed and shook as much juice as possible off my arms.

The gnomes showed us how to actually use the juicer, but it still took a few tries before I could use it without creating a mess. Edaline, of course, picked it up no problem.

When the fruit was juiced, Edaline helped me pour it into tube-like containers to be frozen. I grinned at the thought of my favorite treat, and ran upstairs to shower off the orange goo that remained stuck to me. Keefe would love to hear about this story. I could almost hear the jokes now—

Except Keefe wouldn't hear this story. He wouldn't make any jokes about it.

I choked and tripped on the last stair. Sandor offered a hand, but I waved it away, rushing into my room. I grabbed come clean clothes from my closet and stumbled into the bathroom.

Turning on the hot water, I stared into the mirror, at the shadows under my eyes. I looked, to be frank, awful, but the orange splatters made for an interesting sight. I almost smiled at the ridiculousness of my reflection.

After spending a good amount of time scrubbing the sticky juice from my hair, I almost ran downstairs to the kitchen. Edaline was placing the popsicle sticks into the half-frozen slush.

She smiled at the sight of my dripping hair. "I see you got all the orange out." She tugged lightly on a strand.

I grinned. "I see you did too." Her amber waves were wet like mine, and darkened by the water. It made her eyes pop out more than usual.

She ruffled my wet hair and slid the tray of soon-to-be popsicles into the freezer. I followed her out into the living room, plopping down on a soft loveseat and picking up the book on wind-catching my mentor assigned me.

Edaline gracefully sat in an armchair, picking up a dusty volume that I recognized from her office. "Grady's supposed to be home tonight."

I perked up. Grady had been gone for two days on an assignment from the Council, and I missed him terribly. When he was gone, it was my job to bathe Verdi. "Really? When?"

"He said sometime around eight."

I looked at the nearby clock. "That's about now!" I dropped my book on the table; there was no way I could focus now.

What felt like hours later, the sound of the door opening drifted in from the entryway. I jumped up, rushing to meet him, and Edaline followed.

But instead of the familiar figure in a midnight-blue cape I was expecting, there were three people in black cloaks.