Keeper of the Lost Cities: Unlocked: A Fan-fiction

Chapter Eighteen - Keefe

Keefe was not expecting to come home and see a girl younger than him sitting rigidly at the kitchen table next to his stiff father. Her hair was blond and wavy, her eyes were a striking blue – a blue he saw every time he look in a mirror. Which he did admittedly a lot. With his photographic memory, he could easily see the clear resemblance the girl had to both him and his father.

Keefe froze, but his heart quickened. This girl was his sister. What was her name? Stella. This was Stella. Stella was his sister. His brain could hardly process the fact, and he took deep breaths to steady himself.

Stella herself was frozen in the chair staring at him with the most intense look Keefe had ever seen on a being. Then she rose to her feet. His – their – father was watching them with a stricken look on his face. If others had been there, he would have put on a brave front. Made a joke about the tension in the room. But now...

Now all he could seem to do was stare as Stella came closer and closer, walking slowly with that frozen look still on her face. Keefe could hardly breathe. This was his sister. His whole life, he had believed he was an only child, but now... he could clearly see that that was a lie.

Stella stopped, finally in front of him. Keefe was even more stunned to see tears in her eyes, as well as tear tracks on her cheeks.

"Hi," she whispered.

Keefe swallowed and tried to speak. This was the girl who had willingly sent bolts of light at him to change him into something creepy. But Foster had seemed so sure that she was on their side. And... as much as Keefe was surprised to admit it, there was a strange aura around her that was so clear and sincere that he knew, somehow, that she was trustworthy. Now, if only his mouth would start working again.

"I'm so, so sorry," she said, still whispering. "I didn't know who you were, and Gisela told me... but that's no excuse. I'm really, really..." her voice cut off suddenly, and cleared it, brushing tears of her cheeks. And Keefe knew, then, that this was someone he could trust. This was someone who was broken, who needed healing. This girl had had a harder life than he had – and that was saying a lot – but she had chosen the right side in the end.

Keefe felt a strange connection with her, even though they'd only met two minutes before. It was the connection of two souls who knew each other, but had never known each other. It was the connection two people got when they had gone through the same things – lived the same life – felt the same pain. Keefe had never known anyone but Foster to have gone through such hardships. And, looking at his sister's tear-streaked face, he knew what he had to do.

He took a deep breath and pulled her into a hug. It was enormously awkward for a full three seconds, and Keefe was about to pull away, apologizing profusely. But then Stella sank into the hug, wrapping her arms around Keefe tightly as sobs suddenly wracked her body.

"Did I do something wrong?" Keefe asked nervously. Why was she crying?

"No," Stella snuffled into his chest, "you did everything right. And that's what made it wrong!" she wailed. Keefe blinked. He'd never been told doing something was right was wrong before.

"I'm... sorry?" he said, but it turned more into a question than a condolement.

"Don't be" Stella sniffled, pulling away and wiping her nose with the back of her hand. "You didn't do anything wrong. I was just... expecting you to be so mad at me, that when you... I wasn't prepared. I'm the one who should be sorry."

Keefe shook his head, wondering exactly how long it would take for him to be able to understand girls. Too long.

"Alright," Ro called, stepping out from the shadows where she had been watching. "here's the deal, missy. My charge here was out for an entire week because of your puny little society. Now, I usually wouldn't mind that, but I had to go home and join Daddy-o for the entire time he was out. I did mind that. You have no idea what he's like when you're exposed to him year-round." Ro shuddered, then continued. "It also made me look bad. So you touch one strand of Lord Hunkyhair's precious Hair, and I will personally deliver a fresh batch of bacteria into your food. Got it?"

Stella nodded, and Keefe was slightly surprised the ogre princess's speech hadn't scared her even a little bit. Honestly, if that spiel had been directed toward him...

"What's Lord Hunkyhair?" Stella asked with a grin.

"Me," Keefe said, returning the smile. Ro rolled her eyes, but slunk back. "Totally me," he added for good measure.

Mr. I'm Too Good For Misfits. stood and greeted Keefe stiffly.

"Hello, son. I hope the change your mother brought in you will make you less of a disappointment to the family name. Please find your sister a room to stay in." Then he turned and left for his own room.

Keefe stared after him for a second. No, "Glad you're back," or, "Glad you're not dead," or, "Welcome, Stella, to the family!". No. Of course not. There never was; never had been; never would be. He had been foolish to think so. He turned back to Stella, who was watching him with a frown. She opened her mouth to speak, but Keefe didn't want to hear her ask why their father was so... cruel.

"So, you worked with the Neverseen, huh?" he asked, changing the subject quickly, though it was a fairly obvious topic. From her narrowed eyes, Keefe could tell Stella had noticed, but she didn't say anything about it. Instead, she answered.

"Yep. And... unless there's something you really want to know, I'd prefer not to talk about it."

"Um, okay..."

Neither of them knew what to say after that. Ugh. Why did this have to be so awkward?

"So," Keefe ventured after the silence had grown to a suffocating level. "what was life like with the Neverseen? And... what changed after Bangs Boy came?"

Stella stared at him, then wrinkled her nose. "Bangs Boy?"

"Oh, uh, I mean, Tam."

"Yeah, I got that," she huffed. Keefe couldn't read her emotions, because they weren't touching, but he was pretty sure they would have been annoyed.

"Life was... I didn't know anything else. So, fine, I guess. Once Tam showed up... things were better. Better than I'd known they could get." Stella looked strained, so Keefe decided to put his skills at teasing to good use.

"Ah, yes. I'm sure Bangs Boy made everything better," he said gravely, trying to keep the teasing note in his voice. Stella glared at him. Keefe chuckled, amazed at how much they already felt like siblings.

Watching his sister with a fond glance, he thought he finally understood why Tam was so surly. If Keefe had to be moody and angsty to protect Stella, he already knew he would.

The fact that Bangs Boy was like him in any way made him want to gag, but at least he understood it a little now.

He needed to protect his little sister.

He would protect his little sister. No matter the cost.

Word count: 1332

I love their relationship already! It's so sweet! Sibling relationships are so cute, and I feel like a lot of times in these days, all teenagers do is complain about their siblings. But I love my siblings. Sure, I want to kill them sometimes, but... I'm not afraid to tell the world that my best friend is my brother, and that I'd rather spend a day with my siblings than go do whatever else.

Thanks for reading! Comment what you think should happen next, and I'll see if I can include it. I need some ideas for filler chapters.

- Total_KOTLC_Fan