Love You till the Last Rose Dies [KOTLC Sokeefe fanfic]

Chapter 10: Hidden Lies

Biana's Pov

I don't know what happened. Keefe just fainted or something. He was perfectly fine 2 minutes ago! When Livvy saw that he was unconscious, she panicked and hastily called the collective. When they arrived, Mr. Forkle took one look at Keefe and declared possibly the worst bit of news ever. He was broken. And there was only one way to fix it. We were going to have to call Sophie.

Sophie's Pov

Fitz and I were having some mallowmelt in Atlantis when I receive a hail from Biana. I quickly answered it. "Biana? What are you calling for?"

I could tell Biana was trying to hide something from me because it took her a long time to answer. When she did, she said, "Come to Alluveterre."

"What why?" I was in the middle of a date!

Now Biana was almost in hysterics. "Just come. It's urgent." With that, she hung up.

I glanced at Fitz. He looked back at me.

"Welp. I guess we're going to Alluveterre." I pulled out my pathfinder and we faded into the light.

When we got to Alluveterre, it was silent. That was strange. This place is rarely silent. We wondered about the treehouses until I spotted Squall. "Juline!"

Squall, or Juline, looked around. When she spotted us, her face collapsed into relief. "Sophie!" she cried. "I'm so glad you're here. Come on. We need your help."

"What's going on? Are the Neverseen attacking?"

"No." The answer came short and crisp. "It may just be worse."

What could possibly be worse than the Neverseen? I couldn't picture anything. That is until I was led up to the healing area.

No one made a sound. My face paled upon entering the room. No. It looked like someone was murdered here. The floor and cots were stained with blood and... were those flower petals? Then I saw who was on the cot. And I screamed.

Keefe was lying motionless on the cot. His eyes were closed, so he could be sleeping. But is body fell limply in unnatural positions. Worst of all, he seemed to have blood coming out of his mouth.

"Keefe!" No. Not another friend. I turned to my friends. "Is he dead?"

Biana shook her head. "No. He's just broken." She looked like she wanted to say something else, but she didn't. Instead, her eyes went straight to her shoes.

Tam and Linh were standing next to Biana, both pale and shellshocked. Marella and Dex were crying in a corner.

"I can fix this, right?" I whispered.

Mr. Forkle nodded. "Yes, you can. I suggest you do it now."

I walked over to Keefe and pressed my trembling fingers to his temples. Then I dove into his mind.

The first thing I see as the memories come flooding back to me are Keefe's old memories. His time at the Neverseen, the battle at Loanmore, and all the moments he's tried to hide with a smirk or a joke. Then I saw new memories. Keefe staring at me and Fitz, a sad look in his eyes. His bedroom, littered with loose flower petals, with him coughing up more, blanketing the room.

"Please. Keefe, please. Come back. We need you."

Silence.

"Keefe. Please! It's not your fault. Nothing is your fault. Come back."

Still, silence in the air.

"I need you." Did I really just transmit that? I love Fitz. But Keefe is important to me. I need him. With that, I inflicted everything I had in me. "Keefe? Are you there?"

A painful silence was followed by two words. "I'm here."

I slowly cut my connection. When I stood back, I saw Keefe open his eyes. Everyone in the room breathed a sigh of relief.

Then Keefe sat up and coughed out more blood-soaked flower petals. His face, though much better than before, was still ashen and pale.

"Keefe?" I murmured.

Keefe swung his head around. His eyes landed on me. "Sophie." He looked down at the petals on his bed. "I'm so sorry."

Keefe's Pov

I didn't feel Foster in my head until she started transmitting. I heard her for the first few times. Just hearing her seemed to glue me back together. I only answered on the third. She did need me. When I woke up, I saw the collective as well as all my friends. Including Fitz and Sophie.

"Keefe," Sophie whispered, her eyes shining with tears.

"Sophie." I looked down at my lap and noticed the stray petals everywhere. Dammit. She has to know now. What do I do? With my eyes still down, I say, "I'm so sorry."

"Sorry for what?" Sophie's voice was raw with emotion.

"For everything."

"Keefe. We just healed you. Don't break again."

I managed a weak smile. "I'll try." I gestured to the bed. "I'm guessing you want to know what this is all about."

"I think we all do," Fitz spoke up.

Grimacing, I replied, "They all know. Only you two."

I felt Fitz's anger rising. "Why?"

"I didn't want to bother you guys."

Sophie say down next to me. "That doesn't matter now. Just tell us."

So I did. I told them all about my condition, leaving out one fact. I couldn't bring myself to tell Sophie that she was the one that could cure me. I just couldn't. When I finished, I could tell that both Fitz and Sophie were shocked.

"So..." Fitz began. "You're telling me that you're suffering from a fictional disease and there is no safe cure and you're just gonna die?"

"That pretty much sums it up."

Fitz sat down heavily. "I don't want to lose another friend."

That was something that really made my day, especially coming from Fitz. "I'll try to stick around long enough to annoy you, 'kay?" Then I turned to Sophie. "What about you?"

Sophie simply stared back at me with tears in her eyes. When she spoke, her voice was shaking. "Is there really no way to heal you?"

I wanted to tell her. I wanted to tell her, yes, there is a way. But then I'd be asking too much. She's already saved me, our friends, and the Elvin population countless times. She deserves to be at peace with Fitz. So, I bit the truth back and answered, "No. There's no other way."

Sophie started crying, and the only thing I could do was watch helplessly at the mess I had created.