Unlocked: Rewritten

Chapter 4

Sophie

After Keefe leaped away, Sophie said goodbye to Elwin and leaped to Havenfield.

She wished she could have told Keefe about the Forgotten Secret she and Oralie needed to unlock. They knew it was about Stellarlune, the mysterious substance Lady Gisela had mentioned when talking about her son's "legacy." Chances were, whatever was in Oralie's cache was directly related to Keefe's legacy. Sophie really hoped it was because they needed to know everything they could about Lady Gisela's plans.

"What happened with That Boy?" was the greeting she received from Grady when she saw him in Havenfield's living room.

"Well, he had to go to the Shores of Solace because his dad made him."

Grady's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Did he now?"

"Yes, he did," Sophie responded matter-of-fact-ly.

She wondered why her dad was being so weird about Keefe. Her dad had never liked him, but his dislike seemed even more prominent now than it usually was.

"Listen, dad, I know that Keefe isn't your... favorite person, but you're going to be his mentor, so please at least try to be nice to him."

"No offense, kiddo, but you don't know what you're asking me to do. It's easier said than done for a father to be...nice" He cringed at the word, "to a boy like him. The problem isn't necessarily That Boy himself, but that he is very close to my daughter. Too close, I sometimes think..."

"Ugh, can we please not have another one of these conversations? Like I've said before, Keefe is my friend! Which is why I care how you treat him! I know how you feel about him, but I'm begging you--please don't be mean to him just because of your overprotective dad instincts. Keefe already gets enough abuse from his own dad."

Keefe

Keefe almost didn't go to the Shores of Solace, as his dad apparently wanted him to. Who was he to order Keefe around?

But then he remembered Ro, who was also waiting for him at the Shores, and decided it was best not to give her another reason to poison him with unpleasant amoebas. No doubt she was already planning to punish Keefe for showing up at Loamnore despite Ro's order to stay home.

So even though there were a million other places Keefe would rather be, he squared his shoulders and knocked on the door of his dad's precious beach estate.

Then Keefe remembered that he lived there too, and shouldn't have to knock. He opened the door to find...

No one.

Not an angry Ro or impatient, disappointed father insight.

"Hello? Anyone home?"

Silence.

"Wow guys, this is quite the welcome. I was expecting something great, but you've really outdone yourselves this time."

With still no response, Keefe began to worry. Where could they be? Were they just playing a trick on him? No, Keefe didn't think his dad had played a trick on anyone in his life.

He started going from room to room, not liking the eerie vibe he was getting from the seemingly empty house. When he opened the door to his own bedroom, he froze.

There were his dad and Ro.

Unconscious on the floor, with Ruy and Lady Gisela standing over them.

A/N

Ooooh a cliffhanger! Chapter 5 coming on Thursday. :)

This chapter was written by SleepyKeefeMuffin.