Confessions and Realizations - A Sokeefe Story

Chapter 1 - The Dream

Sophie POV:

Sophie walked beside a sparkling river. It was a beautiful shade of teal and she could see fish swimming with the current. She didn't know what she was doing here, but it was a pleasant place to be. She looked back at the river, only to find that it has become a different colour. It was ice blue. How did that happen, she thought? She stood at the river, uncertain. A tall shadow passed over her head.

"It's beautiful, eh?" a deep male voice said from behind her.

"Keefe?" Sophie turned around and saw her friend's face.

"I'm so sorry, Sophie."

What? He never called her Sophie. It was always Foster or some equally annoying nickname that he made up for her.

"What for, Keefe? She asked, not sure what he meant and what he was doing here.

"Nevermind. Sophie, I need you to know this in case anything happens, but you can't tell anyone."

He sounded almost anxious, or afraid of something. Reassuring him she said, "you can tell me anything, Keefe."

"I..." he began.

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Sophie sat upright in her bed. She looked around her, disoriented.

"Keefe?" she asked halfheartedly, still groggy from sleep. Then it hit her. Keefe was in a coma, and had been for the past two weeks. Sandor, her bodyguard knocked lightly on the door.

"Do you need anything Sophie?" he squeaked in his high pitched voice.

"No Sandor, it's just a strange dream I had. I wonder..." Sophie suddenly had an idea, but then dismissed it just as fast. No, she thought, that's not possible. Keefe is unconscious, there's no way he was speaking to you in your sleep.

"Sophie, do you want me to get Edaline? Or Grady?" Sandor questioned again, clearly worried about her mental state.

"I'm okay, Sandor. Really." she sounded unconvincing, but it would have to do for now. Sophie sighed, and decided that it was time she started getting out of bed and ready for school. Mr. Forkle had insisted that they get back to Foxfire immediately, considering how much they had missed because of the Neverseen and their endless attacks. After their last attack at Loanmore, the Neverseen hadn't been seen or heard of, and Sophie could tell that the members of the Black Swan were getting restless. If the Neverseen were to attack now, Team Valiant could hardly do anything about it because they hadn't gotten any word about where they were hiding or what their next master plan was. Sophie decided these problems couldn't be fixed at the moment and decided to focus on something she could control. She walked over to her mirror and decided to ask Vertina for some fashion advice.

"Wow, you look terrible! Did you even sleep at all last night? Didn't I tell you that beauty rest is the key to looking like a supermodel?" Vertina came at Sophie with a million questions and comments that hardly made her feel any better. In the end, she ended up putting on some soft leggings and a dark grey elven tunic, with her hair in a messy braid.

Sophie started down the stairs, took a light breakfast, and made her way over to the healing center to check on Keefe.

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"Hey Elwin," Sophie greeted the physician, knocking lightly on the door of the healing center before walking in. She made Sandor stay outside, insisting she would be fine.

"Sophie!" Elwin exclaimed, "Don't tell me you've already hurt yourself this early in the day!" Everyone was always teasing her about how clumsy she was, and being Sophie Foster, she blushed.

"No, I was actually here to see Keefe." she said, silently hoping he might be doing better.

"Well in that case, you can come around back, but I'm afraid there isn't much to see. He's still in the same condition as last week."

Her heart broke a little, seeing Keefe lying on the bed, without his usual smirk and his playful jokes. His absence had really taken a toll on the whole team, even if only 2 weeks had passed. Without him to keep their meetings light and funny, everything they said seemed coated with sadness. You didn't need to be an empath to tell that the group's mood was always down.

"Well, I have to go mix some elixirs in case I have any emergency visits today, but you're welcome to stay until classes start." Elwin walked out of Keefe's private room and back into his office.

Sophie sat down on a stool beside Keefe and took his hand. It was as cold as ice, and stiff too, from lying there for so long. She rubbed some warmth into his left hand.

"Keefe," she started, "you have to come back to us. We need you. I need you." Sophie choked back her tears and tried to put on a brave face, but it wasn't enough. She laid her head down on Keefe's chest, and started sobbing softly into his shirt.

Sophie

She was so busy crying that she didn't realize that this new voice hadn't spoken out loud. Slowly the realization dawned on her. Someone was speaking in her head.