Duluth / A Keeper of the Lost Cities Fanfiction

Duluth / 18

Everyone she loved was in one room. Everyone she had betrayed was in one room. And Sophie couldn't bare to look at any of them.

Biana stood up first from her position against the wall, her hands shaking slightly as she reached out for Sophie. Sophie made herself stay still as Biana slowly wrapped her hand around Sophie's arm, as if she was making sure Sophie was really there. 

Dex, as if sensing Sophie's discomfort, put an arm on her back, leading her and Biana away from the sitting room. 

Sophie gladly let him, but couldn't help but look at Edaline and Grady's disheveled state. They were standing up too, and had so many unanswered questions in their eyes. 

But they would have to go unanswered, at least for now.

Dex and Biana took her to Biana's room, which was exactly the opposite of what Sophie expected. The walls were a matte grey, and the decorations were extremely minimalistic, with a pale pink bedspread and white marble floors dotted with fluffy white carpets. 

Sophie didn't register the push at first. Biana had shoved her across the floor, and it was a miracle that Sophie didn't go tumbling to the floor. "You idiot!" Biana yelled, shoving her again. "How many times do we have to tell you? You. Are. Not. Alone!" She gave yet another shove with every phrase. Dex put an arm between them, but backed off when Biana shot him a dirty glare. 

"I know," Sophie whispered, grabbing her friend's hands as she went back for more. "I know, and I'm sorry." 

Biana grimaced, allowing two angry tears to spill over, and Sophie was wondering if she was going to punch her this time. But then she wrapped her in a hug and said, "The only reason I'm not throwing you off of a cliff is because I'm glad you're alright. I thought the Neverseen had- I thought you were..." She backed out of the hug and slowly melted onto her bed. 

Their surroundings flashed and settled to a pale lavender, startling Sophie. "It's my walls," Biana waved off. "They change depending on my mood. Dex is the mastermind." 

Dex gave her a small smile that went unnoticed by Biana but not by Sophie. He strode to her nightstand and picked a remote, sliding his thumb across the black marble. The walls flashed to a grassland with soft, grey storm clouds sliding over the hills. "Keefe helped me with the mood and emotion-matching to colors, settings and patterns," he paused for a second and he exchanged a glance with Biana. "He really needed the distracti-"

Biana's double French doors burst open, revealing a frantic Keefe. He and Sophie stood there blinking at each other for what felt like an eternity before he crossed the room in two steps, taking Sophie in his arms. It wasn't a soft hug like Dex's was, where it felt like he was afraid she would break, and it wasn't hard like Biana's either. It was the perfect mixture, the perfect in-between. 

And if everything wasn't enough, seeing her parents and her friends for the first time in weeks, leaving her life behind for the fourth time in four years, knowing that humans may be exterminated, it was this that sent her over the edge. Keefe. She hadn't allowed herself to think about him, to think about what he might be doing or what he was feeling. But he was real now, and standing in front of her, with his crazy hair down to his chin and a slight stubble growing along his jaw. 

And now she was with him, she knew what she had done was... Well, there were a lot of words that could describe what she had done. Irrational. Wrong. Hurtful. 

And the worst part was that she couldn't undo anything. 

"I know that I've done the same thing, Foster, but if this was a way to get back at me, let me tell you I can think of a LOT of pranks that would've been more effective than this." Keefe's tone was light, but strained. He pulled back to look at her face, and Sophie searched his eyes for any sign of anger or frustration but all she found was relief. If he was angry with her, he was impossibly good at hiding it. 

Sophie let out a screech of pain as an orchestra of agony played inside her head. It was getting worse, and she didn't know how to stop it or what was happening to her. Keefe grabbed her arms before her knees collapsed under her. "Sophie?" Keefe half carried her to Biana's bed. Biana's face waved in and out of Sophie's blurring vision, and she distinctly heard her saying, "What's wrong? What can we do?" 

Sophie felt bile rise in her throat, already burning, but she forced it back down. She had already put her friends through enough- she didn't need to ruin Biana's duvet cover as well. 

"I'll get Mr. Forkle," Dex told them as he rushed towards the door. 

"Get Tiergan too!" Keefe called after him. "And Fitz!" 

"No." Sophie struggled to get back up, despite her legs turning into molten lead. She couldn't face Fitz. Not now, not when she knew exactly how he was feeling and how right he was to feel that way. Not after she faced all those she betrayed and was the projection of their frustration, pity, and now worry. 

"My brother can be stupid," Biana confessed. "And I'm not sure what he said to you, but it doesn't matter now. Something's wrong with you, and you need to be alert if you're going to talk to the council." 

Sophie blinked hard and shook her head, trying to sort between what was actually happen and the distortions of movement and sound her brain was trying to process. "You know what's happening?" 

"Of course we do," Keefe said. "And we can't protect the humans- but we can support you while you defend them. And Foster, frankly, I don't know if I support you if you were vomiting on the Councillors' shoes." He stopped to think for a second then continued, "Nevermind, I totally would. They've had it coming for a while." 

Sophie wanted to laugh, but was afraid that her head would burst open. 

"Miss Foster." 

Sophie glanced up and squinted to see Mr. Forkle and Tiergan standing in the doorway, with Fitz standing close behind. 

But even though every ounce of her wanted to look at Fitz, to see if he had a trace of forgiveness in her face, her eyes were drawn to what was gripped in Mr. Forkle's hand. 

A glass bottle. 

A sedative. 

Cool, cool, cool. Haven't updated in months but I don't want to write an author's note so yep this is all I'm writing!

Love you! Wear a mask! Stay safe!