Stellarlune - KOTLC Book 8.5 Fanfic

Chapter 1

All characters (most) belong to Shannon Messenger! This is a fanfic inspired by "Keeper of the Lost Cities."

Sophie tried to keep the hope from her eyes from showing. Councilor Oralie had agreed to open the cache, and that could mean everything! Sophie knew she shouldn't be laying her absolute hopes on the cache, but she couldn't stop smiling. Keefe could be woken up! They could learn about what Lady Gisela was experimenting with! Stellarlune.

Yet Sophie still kept her eyes down and kept her face in a neutral position. Councillor, Not Her Mom had still opened a wound in her heart, when revealing that she was her biological mother. Even with all the help Sophie and her friends had received from her, Sophie wasn't ready to get over it. she had almost lost Fitz as her friend because of the matchmaking crisis. The matchmaking crisis. The relationship now between Sophie and Fitz was a bit wobbly. Even though they had agreed to be friends, for the time being, the situation was still awkward. Not to mention how her friends had reacted when -

"Sophie? Are you sure about this." Councilor Oralie said more like a statement than a question. "Yes," Sophie nodded, finally looking up into the councillor's eyes. "Let's open the cache."

"Sophie,"

"Sophie"

Sophie's eyes opened with a start. She looked around the living room of Havenfield in confusion. Then she saw her friends. Tam, Linh, Fitz, Biana, Dex. One was missing. Keefe. Sophie turned away from them, not being able to handle the pain stabbing her heart. She focused instead on the Collective, Oralie, and -

"Bronte?!" Sophie asked with alarm. He wasn't supposed to know that they were going to open the cache! White, hot panic fogged her brain, and she wasn't able to see anything for a few seconds. She longed for a blue breeze to settle her nerves, but -

"Miss Foster! Bronte will keep the secret." Mr. Forkle replied.

"Yes, no matter how treason worthy this secret is," Bronte stated.

"You can't -" Sophie stood up, and right then, she realized how she looked compared to everyone else. Her wrinkled ice blue coloured tunic topped with a white cape stuck out in the room. The Collective was still disguised. There were two councillors in the room. All regal-looking even without their circlets. Oralie had a fancy baby pink dress covered with frills as well as an azure necklace that matched her eyes perfectly. Bronte had dark clothes on, as usual, but there was something different about it today. Today... He looked grim and had subtle tension on his face. Her friends were all dressed almost as regally as the councillors. Sophie forced herself to look into each of their eyes. Dex and Linh, shyly waving. Fitz, not even looking at her. Tam, offering a nod at her glance. And Biana... Sophie almost smiled in spite of the tension hanging in the air. Biana was gesturing for Sophie to pull her hair back into a braid. And Keefe.... Sophie almost burst into tears at the remembrance of him. But the councillor interrupted her train of thought.

"We were waiting 30 minutes for you to wake up," Bronte informed Sophie. Sophie's cheeks heated up, as she ducked her head down, to stare at the ground. She had nightmares the past night. Silveny had fallen asleep before Sophie had, and so, her dreams weren't quite as peaceful. She thought she could have closed her eyes for a few minutes after Oralie agreed to meet at Havenfield in 30 minutes. Minutes had turned into an hour.

"We wanted you to get some rest..." Oralie said gently.

"Sorry," Sophie mumbled.

"No need to say sorry, Miss Foster. You needed it. We could easily arrange another time to unlock the cache if -" Mr. Forkle started to say,

"No! That's... ok. We can open the cache now." Sophie interrupted. She knew it wasn't good to lay her hopes in the cache. But she had to. It was the only clue so far to wake Keefe up. Keefe.

Sophie wanted to stay in that mind forever, repeating Keefe Keefe Keefe. It somehow made her feel better and comforted. But Keefe needed her to be strong, and have courage.

So channelling her inner Keefe smirk, Sophie exclaimed,

"Let's do this!"