what happened after unlocked

chapter twenty ~ keeper of the lost titles

Sophie felt almost as bad as she had when she'd read Keefe's letter.

She was crumpled on the ground in a sobbing mess; somehow, Wynn and Luna had realized she was in the deepest depths of despair, and they cantered over to treat her with an alicorn hug.

Sophie really couldn't understand anymore.

Why was this happening? Why did it have to happen? Why was everything getting so much worse as time went on?

She'd always thought that the fall came before the rise, but at this rate there wasn't going to be a rise.

Mr Forkle and Jensi would probably be expecting her again soon. But she couldn't bring herself to move.

At some point Mr Forkle had probably transmitted something to her, but she couldn't hear it over the ominous booming of her heart in her ears.

Luna whined at her, nudging her ribs to try and get her to sit up, but Sophie was far too upset to listen to reason, even if it was an insanely adorable baby alicorn who was trying to convince her.

Keefe really wasn't coming back now.

And this time, it was real.

Sophie didn't know why this was still affecting her so much – but if anyone deserved to cry as much as she did these days, it was her.

Some part of her brain didn't want to keep sobbing. She needed to be strong; prove to herself that she was able to do anything. But another said, YOU SHOULD BE CRYING ABOUT THIS! YOU DESERVE TO! KEEFE ISN'T COMING BACK! THERE'S NOTHING LEFT TO DO!

JUST GIVE UP!

No! Sophie yelled at the evil part of her brain. I'm not giving up, the world isn't over, and I know that in time things will be the same as the were before, if not better!

And her tears stopped falling.

Miraculously, her head lifted, and the feeling of beating her own doubts suddenly boosted her stamina and fortitude.

She knew that nothing ahead would be this easy.

But drying her tears and standing up, ready to face the world again, was a start.

Still shaking, she looked up at the sky, appreciating its soft blue, dotted with wispy clouds lined with silver. Sophie could feel a chill in the air that she only ever felt when it was almost winter, but it wasn't a deadly sort of chill, but the kind that made her want to soak up the cold for all it was worth.

The setting was so tranquil and relaxing that Sophie had almost forgotten everything that had happened in the last 24 hours.

And the thought of Fitz seemed to stick out the most.

Why did she run away from him?

Why didn't she just pull away and explain to him why she couldn't be with him?

Well, she knew why...it was because she wasn't so sure herself.

But why was she even dwelling on this? Sophie should have been at Watchward Heath again, she'd promised Mr Forkle the last time they'd discovered what they could do to enhance a human's power. Or more specifically, Amy, who he said was "showing true potential".

So, without further thoughts into what she was going to do when she turned up to Mr Forkle's office, she leaped away.

"Are you okay, Sophie?"

She'd been asked that question so many times lately that it was difficult not to roll her eyes. But when she realized the voice was Dex's, she turned around and smiled at him with a thumbs up. Her mind was too preoccupied with other thoughts to ask him why he was here today.