Together?- A SOPHITZ fanfiction (UPDATES ON HOLD)

This was a Goodbye

Fitz was tightly tucked under the sheets, blissfully asleep, but the little cuts dotting his face, limp hair, and ashy tone to his skin twisted Sophie's heart. It was her fault. The cuts would not leave scars, she reassured herself. She couldn't help the tears streaming down her face, though. Flori looked up at her and gently held one of Sophie's hands in her own leathery one and tugged her towards the bed surrounded by a table covered with a multitude of elixirs.

Sophie shook her head. "I can't," she whispered. Flori's large grey eyes said otherwise. Sniffling, Sophie approached the bed at an arm's length away. Flori brought over an ordinary-looking chair and placed it next to the bed. Then, she held up a single finger. 1 hour. Sophie had one hour to do... she didn't know what. Flori seemed to know, though, and left without a second comment. The door silently closed behind her and Sophie was left alone with Fitz's shallow breaths echoing around the room.

She didn't want to sit down, for fear of waking him up. In fact, she was terrified of getting too close, for fear of hurting him or who knows what her danger-prone self would do. A few minutes passed with Sophie not moving an inch, watching the weak shape of her best friend, her cognate, her once boyfriend. He looked so young in this large bed, his manicured look now reduced to nothing. Sophie sucked in a breath and sat down on the far side of the chair. She released the breath she had been holding and the chair squeaked loudly.

Sophie, without realizing, had jumped up and moved away, hoping she hadn't woken anybody. In her place under the elixir covered table, she waited, hearing nothing. Fitz slept on. No footsteps were heard in the hallway. Her heart was beating so hard she could see the rhythmic rise and fall of her chest. Just to be sure she waited a bit longer and then stood again. She carefully sat back down in the chair, careful not to move anything, and did nothing.

What was the point of Flori bringing her here? A trip for nothing. Fitz was incapacitated, asleep for his safety, stability, and health. In fact, the whole house was dead quiet, everybody probably exhausted from the week's events. But then, Sophie began to cry again. She knew why Flori had brought her here. Some way, somehow, she knew Sophie had done something important, something consequential. She knew that something had occurred for Sophie to avoid her parents and friends. She had brought Sophie here, to Everglen, to say goodbye.

Sophie shook with her cries and let a sob escape. This would, most likely, be her last time seeing him as just Sophie. She took a few moments to take control of her emotions, knowing that her time was dripping away like the sand in an hourglass. Then, as quietly as possible, she began to speak. "Hey, Fitz... long time no see," she said. She looked away, her tears threatening to escape again, and took a deep breath again.

"You look... pretty horrible. Not quite as bad as I would look after my trips to the Healing Center but... close enough," she said, laughing lightly. She was going insane. "I'm kidding. You still look amazing, as always. Alden and Della were right to name you Fitzroy..." she said softly. "Son of the king... you of course look the part." She was stalling. Fitz did not stir, so Sophie took this as a good sign.

"I've... done something. I don't know if it's a mistake yet, but... I've been avoiding you. And Grady, and Edaline, and everybody else. I know you'll probably hate me but... I'm trying to make things better," she continued. Deep breath. "It's for the best anyway. The shame of a bad match would've followed us our entire lives. Soon enough you would find you had made a mistake choosing me. I'll always remember you, though. Us."

She sighed. "What am I saying...I know you can't hear me." Silence. "Just- make me a promise?" she asked. "When the announcement comes... don't think about yourself. Don't think about me. Think about our friends, our family. Think about the Lost Cities. You're the only one I trust to keep them sane. And remember that no matter what, I'll always love you. I may have been bad at showing it..." She gave a wet laugh. "But it was always there. Since the moment I met you."

She stood and took the risk to caress his cold cheek. She would miss him so, so much, more than she could even say, but once she would be gone, he would never have to worry about his safety again. He would be safe for the first time in a really long time. Sophie tightened her cloak around her neck and approached the door. Fitz was still breathing soundly. She gently opened the door and let the hall light flood the room. She hesitated.

"I'll... see you in 500 years." Then she left, before losing her nerve, closing the door and padding towards the little gnome door. Flori was hidden behind it and quickly ushered her out and away from the sparkling mansion, down a hole in the ground, and through the roots. In what seemed like a moment, they were back at Foxfire where dawn was just breaking. Through the door and up the steps they went, and before they parted, Flori hugged Sophie tightly.

Sophie sniffled. She would miss Flori. The gnome took her two hands and squeezed them lightly. "You are incredibly brave, little moonlark. Never forget it." Sophie nodded and made her way through the little door and back to the silent security of the bedchamber. She slipped into her bed and willed herself to fall asleep, and she did, her conviction finally succeeding.

At Everglen, in Fitz's moonlit room, a single tear slipped down the cheek Sophie had touched.