Stellarlune || a Keeper fanfiction

Chapter 1

Sophie stared numbly at a blade of grass in Havenfield's vast pastures, flicking away a loose eyelash as she leaned against Calla's panakes tree. Wynn trotted up to her on his gangling legs and nickered, nuzzling his face against her shoulder - but not even baby alicorn snuggles made Sophie feel any better; especially with the sick, sour feeling in her gut when she realized that Keefe had named Wynn.

Sophie heard footsteps, but didn't glance away from the grass blade until Edaline's soft voice broke the silence.

"You need to sleep, Sophie."

"I have been sleeping," Sophie argued, wishing the dark circles under her eyes were a little less noticeable. "I've just been busy, okay?"

Edaline sighed and sat down on the dewy pasture, tucking a strand of Sophie's blond hair behind her ear.

"I know it's hard-"

"Do you?" Sophie interrupted, "Because last time I checked, your possibly unstable friend didn't try to run away - twice."

"Maybe not," Edaline conceded, "But I do know what it's like having someone I care about with untrustworthy powers. Power makes people nervous, Sophie. Who knows what would have happened to Keefe if he had stayed."

A small, rational part of Sophie knew that Edaline was right. The council wouldn't let Keefe live normally once they learned how powerful he was getting. They would probably put him in some sort of facility, especially if they figured out he could sense other elves' abilities.

It's not natural, Councillor Alina's voice echoed in her head.

Even though this part of Sophie's brain was talking sense, the other parts stubbornly refused to get the memo.

We could have helped him, Sophie argued with herself. He should have stayed . . .

But what if you couldn't, a snide voice awoke in her head. What if you didn't? You were too busy worrying about yourself. You should have seen the signs . . .

"No," Sophie said aloud, making Edaline raise an eyebrow. "We can't give up on Keefe now. He knows literally nothing about the human world. He's going to get crushed; we have to find him."

Edaline took Sophie's hand, "I know there's probably nothing I can say that'll stop you from doing this, but just promise me you're going to discuss this with the collective and the council before you run off, okay?"

Sophie opened her mouth to argue, but the expression on Edaline's face - a mix of concern and something warmer - made her mumble, "Fine. But if the collective says yes and the council says no, I'm still going."

"No, you are absolutely not," Sandor - her hulking, grey goblin bodyguard - called from a few yards away. "And just for the record, even if both say yes, you are not going. I will not have my charge risking her life for that boy."

Sophie scowled.

"You know I could teleport anywhere, right? If I didn't like you, I'd be long gone by now." Sophie called, making Sandor squeak-growl.

Edaline laughed softly. "It still amazes me how confident you've become about your abilities. Remember when you first figured out you could do all these amazing things. You weren't sure of yourself at all."

Sophie still remembered the scared, wide eyed girl she used to be; overwhelmed by the power of the elven world and in awe of the elves' timeless beauty. How could she ever fit in?

Well, thought Sophie bitterly, at least past me was right about something.

"But," said Edaline, "I still won't let you go without at least one adult - and Sandor."

Sophie sighed. She knew she would never get permission from both the collective and the council; it was next to impossible. And besides, the human world was way more chaotic and crowded than the lost cities; Keefe could be anywhere. And Sophie knew she wasn't supposed to be focusing on this anyway. She had spent the last few days in a hazy mental fog, when she should have been reviewing the scrolls and caches she had found in the Neverseen's hideout; she was sure that was what her friends were doing, along with a bunch of super productive things she hadn't even thought of.

"Sophie," Edaline said gently, looking as though she knew exactly what Sophie was about to say. "You can't blame yourself for everything. You've got a heavier burden to carry than anyone; it's okay if you forget things now and again, or if you get upset."

"But I'm the Moonlark! I'm supposed to be the strongest. This is what the Black Swan designed me for, and I'm even failing at that!"

"You are not the Moonlark," Edaline explained, "Not completely, anyway. You are Sophie Foster. A real person with real limitations. You can't expect yourself to be perfect, though I  think you're pretty close . . ." - Sophie smiled - "And besides, no one likes when people do things right every time. It would get annoying."

Even though Sophie was tired of her family having to give her pep talks, she was grateful that Edaline knew exactly what to tell her to make her feel better. Sometimes mom-tuition was almost as powerful as telepathy.

"I love you, Mom."

Edaline's eyes watered. "I love you too, Sophie. More than you could ever know."

Sophie didn't know how long she sat there with Edaline, breathing in the sweet, heady scent of the pancakes blossoms, before her imparter dinged in her pocket.

She tapped the silver square once to reveal Linh, looking as impeccably perfect as usual; her silver tipped hair pulled back by a glittering blue barrette.

Meanwhile, Sophie probably looked like an underfed Gremlin, with her greasy blond hair and dark circles.

It was hard not to resent Linh then, especially when Fitz appeared on the imparter screen and flashed his movie-star-worthy smile.

"Hey Sophie," he grinned, his teal eyes glittering with excitement. "Can you come over to Rimeshire, or are you busy? We need everyone there; apparently Dex found something big."

Sophie could still sense some awkwardness between them, and a lingering sadness in Fitz's eyes, but it seemed like maybe - maybe - she had gotten her friend back, if not her boyfriend.

She was so distracted by Fitz's appearance that it took her a minute to understand what he had actually called for. 'Something big', he had said.

Sophie felt her mood lighten just by thinking those words. Dex had found something. Something.

Maybe this was a sign. A sign that said maybe this wasn't going to be another pointless, lengthy search for a whole lot of nothing; which seemed to be their go-to every time they needed information about the Neverseen's latest scheme.

"I'll come over right away," Sophie promised, her heart fluttering when Fitz gave her another perfect smile.

"See you there," he said, before her imparter screen went blank and Sandor ran over to Sophie and crossed his meaty goblin arms.

"Where are you going?"

"I'll tell you in a second," Sophie waved goodbye to Edaline and strode purposefully across the pastures.

"You will tell me now" Sandor countered, stepping in front of her.

Sophie rolled her eyes.

"I'm just going to Dex's house." She grinned at his expression. "You thought I wasn't going to tell you? Not everything I do requires secrecy."

Sandor mumbled something that sounded like, "Yes, it does," before they reached the elegant front doors of Havenfield.

Sophie speedwalked to the Leapmaster, patted Iggy - who unleashed a cage-rattling fart - , said, "Rimeshire," and let the warm light whisk her away.

Ty for reading, and I really hoped you liked it :3

I tried to make the writing as Shannon Messenger-like as possible, so pls lemme know if it was :D