Book Two: KOTLC One-shots and More

More Than Anyone Else

A/N: This is the next chapter in my Alternate Universe wherein Sophie and Keefe began dating earlier in the series. This began with the chapter entitled "Sweet Dreams", which was set right when Sophie awoke after having her inflicting reset in "Legacy". That chapter was so well received that I got several requests to continue this storyline with other canon events. For the purposes of these chapters, I will be skipping a lot of chunks of action and dialogue from the books in order to simply focus on the way Sophie and Keefe's relationship changes certain elements of the story. There will be some canon dialogue pulled from the books, but most of it will be original to fit the AU. This particular chapter covers the final chapters of "Legacy". There will be two more chapters in this arc.

Keefe was waiting for Sophie when she came back downstairs in one of the outfits Flori designed for her, and his eyes widened as he took in her appearance.

"Whoa, Foster," he muttered, studying her. "Only you could somehow look like a warrior and a noble at the same time--and manage to pull it off."

Sophie flushed. "The crown is just to remind the Neverseen that I'm a leader," she explained. "And this outfit is full of weapons."

Keefe smirked. "I always knew you were dangerous." His smile faltered. "Just...don't get hurt, okay? I hate that I'm not going to be there. It feels so wrong that my friends are all going to fight my mom and I'm not even going to help."

"You are helping," Sophie insisted. "It's better for you and Linh if you guys aren't anywhere near the Neverseen right now. Plus," she reminded him, reaching for his hand, "it'll be a lot easier for me to keep my head in the game if I'm not worried about your mom being able to grab you and leap away in all the chaos."

"I know," he whispered, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. "I just..." his voice trailed off and he brought his free hand up and dragged it down his face.

"I understand," Sophie finally told him when he didn't elaborate. "I'd be worried about you, if the roles were reversed."

"Yeah." His features looked pinched. "And I agreed to it because it's a good plan. I'm just...really going to worry, until I hear from you that it's all over."

"I'll reach out as soon as I can," Sophie promised. "And I'll come see you first thing tomorrow morning."

"Um, I think I'll come see you," Keefe corrected her. "Havenfield is a much more cheerful place."

Sophie nodded. "Deal." A quick glance outside showed her that everyone was reappearing on the grounds. It was time to go. "I'll see you soon?"

Keefe wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. "Be safe," he murmured into her hair. "Fight with everything you have. And then come back to me."

"I'll do my best," she promised.

Keefe released her then, but before she could turn to walk toward the door, he took her face in his hands and kissed her.

And didn't stop until Ro said, "awww, you two are just the cutest!" and started making obnoxious kissing sounds.

Keefe sighed as he pulled away. "Thanks, Ro." He gave Sophie a sweet smile and pulled his home crystal out of his pocket. "I'll see you when I see you," he whispered, then stepped into the light. Sophie watched him go with no small amount of trepidation.

A part of Sophie really wanted to Sucker Punch Keefe for breaking their deal--breaching her trust--and showing up in Loamnore.

But a much bigger part of her was terrified for him and she knew that whatever was about to happen to him was likely to be more than enough punishment for going back on their plan. So while Lady Gisela was showing Tam where to stand, Sophie reached out to Keefe telepathically.