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Chapter Text

Prologue 

Sophie hadn’t slept in two days. She couldn’t. Grady and Edaline had begged her to take a sedative, but she refused. She knew that she would only dream of that carefully tousled blonde hair, and the laughing, handsome face that in the past few days had become sad, and empty. She just wasn’t ready to deal with that yet, although he was all she could think of. She had spent nearly all the time since she had found his letter reading it over and over again. It had become crumpled from all the times she had balled it up and hurled it against the wall. Some of the words you couldn’t even read anymore. Her tears had smudged the ink, but that didn’t matter. She had memorized it. Silveny had even tried reaching out, from the pastures outside her closed window.

“SOPHIE OKAY? SOPHIE OKAY?” Sophie wiped her eyes and transmitted back “Keefe ran away, Silveny” Silveny’s mind filled with images of Keefe hidden amongst black cloaked figures. “Its not that. He’s scared. He got a new ability. He left me a letter.” “SAW! SAW! SAW!” Silveny replied, and before Sophie had time to question it, Silveny filled her mind with a memory. She was laying under Calla’s Tree with Greyfell. He nuzzled her cheek as they watched Wynn and Luna running around, teleporting in and out of the Gorgodon’s enclosure. “Baby Strong.” Greyfell transmitted proudly. Silveny suddenly raised her head at the sight of a familiar blonde elf. “KEEFE! KEEFE! KEEFE!” she thought excitedly. She watched as he petted Wynn and Luna, who had rushed up to see him, and gave them each a big pile of swizzlespice. He looked up to where Silveny and Greyfell were and brought over two piles for them. He then whispered “I need you to keep Sophie safe for me. I need to go away.” He then turned and levitated up to Sophie’s window, where he disappeared.  Silveny’s memory ended there, and both she and Sophie were silent. Tears ran down Sophie’s already tearstained  cheeks. “SOPHIE STRONG. KEEFE STRONG.” Silveny said, reassuringly, and ended the transmission.

That conversation had been very draining for Sophie. Although Flori had begged Sophie to let her give her a good night’s sleep, Sophie refused. Even she didn’t know why this was so hard. She had been through so much. But this was different somehow. What she wouldn’t give for him to give her one of his signature smirks and make a joke about the “Mysterious Ms. F” again. Or do that little smirk. Or throw his arm around her and make her blush. She had spent the last two days re-thinking her whole friendship with Keefe. She was beginning to wonder if some of his flirting and teasing and handholding had been more serious than she had been led to believe. Did he maybe, could he possibly, like her?  Her fingers traced the letter she had spent days crying over. ‘You mean a lot to me Foster, more than you’ll ever know.’ He’d written. And then, there was the end. ‘Love, Keefe’. Maybe it was her sleep deprived, grief-stricken brain that was doing this to her, but now that she was remembering, she could see several occasions in a different light.

 Memories flashed through her head as she flicked through the songs on her iPod.

Keefe leaning over her shoulder while they rode Silveny, telling her that even though he makes a lot of jokes, he really cares about her, and promising her that he’ll take care of her.

Keefe almost running away to Ravagog, and when Sophie convinced him to wait, him agreeing, but only for her. 

Keefe saying that that was one of the things he liked about her, and them standing so close that their boots were touching, and his breath was warm on her cheeks. 

Keefe holding her hand for the first time since she manifested as an enhancer, and grinning when she agreed that the ‘crazy rush’ he got was probably a clearer reading of her feelings. 

Keefe assuring her that she’s worth it when she worried about her emotions being too strong. Him backing her up into a wall. Her saying he should stay away from her. Him saying he likes a challenge. Her feeling his breath on her face, and her stomach fluttering. Him noticing that she was speechless again, and begins to suggest something, when they are interrupted by Mr. Forkle. 

Keefe’s face when he told her that he knew all about her and Fitz. His grim smile when he had told her he was happy for them.

And finally, Keefe, looking heartbroken, silent, and in pain, asking her to stay away. 

And of course, all of Ro’s quips about ‘Little Miss Oblivious’ and all those secret spilling threats she had made to him, glancing at her.

After another rough day, she finally dozed off in the corner, holding Ella to her chest. Her dreams were, as she had expected, full of Keefe’s face. Except one, really weird one in which Bronte and her sister were at a One Direction concert . As the sun began to shine through her open window. She groaned and was about to clap her hands to shut the blinds, she heard several short knocks on her door. Sandor’s pitchy, worried voice rang through the door 

“Sophie, I’m going to let Linh and Biana in.” the door creaked open before Sophie had time to react. Linh and Biana entered cautiously. They both had red eyes but had clearly not let themselves go as much as Sophie. They exchanged a worried glance, then both rushed to her, and gave her a big hug, which, not that she would admit it, Sophie really needed. Biana drew away after a bit, examining Sophie’s appearance.

“No offence Soph, but you need to shower and change.” Sophie allowed a small smile to pass over her tear-stained face. She drew away from Linh, who still had her arm around her, and sniffed at her tunic. Biana was right. Sophie blushed and hid behind a strand of greasy hair. She had been too deep down in her own misery to think about things like personal hygiene, but now that her friends were here, it was really embarrassing.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 1 - SOPHIE

Biana and Linh each grabbed one of my hands and hauled me up. They led me to my bathroom.

“First thing, you need to shower, and brush your teeth and hair.” Biana said. I nodded. “Then we can talk. Or not. It’s up to you. But taking care of yourself is important when you’re going through something. Trust me. I nearly went through this path when my dad’s mind was broken.” I nodded again. She was right. I had basically done this when I had been forced to wear the ability restrictor. Although, in that case, I had drunk Slumberberry Tea constantly so I could hide from my problems. This time, I had done the opposite.

They closed the door, and then turned again while I peeled off my clothes and got into the shower. I turned on the water, and immediately began to feel a bit better. I heard one of my friends go out and return with some fresh clothes for me. I turned off the water, feeling a lot cleaner, and less stuck. Biana handed me a towel, which I wrapped myself in. Linh handed me the clothes she had brought me. “I just grabbed the outfit you wear a lot, and I just grabbed the other stuff from the top of your drawers.” She explained. I grinned appreciatively, and once my friends had turned around, I put the clothes on, instantly feeling a lot better. I hadn’t realized how uncomfortable I’d been in the same clothes for nearly three days.

“Sit here, Lady Foster!” Biana smiled, gesturing to the stool facing the mirror. I sat. Linh lifted the water from my hair and turned it into a little flapping bird before letting it splash into the sink. Biana pulled out a brush, and I braced myself for pain. I could only imagine how many knots had developed. Linh handed her a bottle with the Slurps and Burps logo on it.

“What’s that for?” I asked, my voice still hoarse from all the crying.

“Hair detangler.” Linh explained. “We figured you might need it.” I laughed weakly. I was kind of disappointed that I was only hearing about this now, but hey. Better now than never, I guess.

Biana rubbed some of the elixir in my hair, which was faintly green and smelled surprisingly neutral. She then ran the brush through my hair, and it went through perfectly smoothly. She then did some sort of intricate braid that would have made Vertina proud.

“Thank you, so much.” I said, turning to face my friends. I felt so much better. If they hadn’t came for me, who knows how long I would have stayed like that. Or how long before Grady and Edaline called Elwin and they force fed me a sedative. It was now that I realized that I needed sleep. But not now. Now I needed to face the world and check in on all my other friends. I realized that I’d been being a really bad friend and making this all about me. Linh and Biana grinned back.

“No problem.” Linh said softly, reaching out to squeeze my hand. “That’s what friends are for!” Biana nodded, reaching for my other hand. We walked out of my bathroom, and I saw Ro standing in the corner, looking a bit pale, but otherwise the same.

“Hey blondie.” She smirked, grinning. I smiled weakly “Thought I should probably warn you that Lord Bossypants is here. Apparently, nobody told him until today. Also Doctor Dude.”

“Elwin?” Biana suggested. Ro nodded.

“Yeah, that guy. And he brought a ton of sparkly elixirs. Somebody’s really in for it” she said, raising her eyebrows at me.

“Do you think you’re ready to see other people?” Linh asked, “Grady and Edaline are super worried.”. I nodded. At this point it was kind of embarrassing to make an entrance, but at the same time, I really owed it to my adoptive parents and Elwin. And I guessed I should probably deal with Lord Cassius.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 2 - SOPHIE

Well, it turned out I wasn’t only making an entrance to my parents, Elwin, and Keefe’s dad , but to Tam, Dex, Fitz, Marella, Oralie and Bronte, 

They were chatting among themselves, until Tam noticed that Ro, Biana, Linh, and I were standing in the doorway. He nudged Grady and Edaline, and they looked up, and ran to me. 

“Oh Sophie…” Edaline cried, running to me, and wrapping me in a huge hug. I was stiff at first, then sank into her hug. “If your friends hadn’t come to help you today, your father and I would have” she whispered. She pulled away, kissed my cheek, and let Grady hug me. 

“We were so worried about you,” he whispered in my ear. When he finally let go, he put his arm around Edaline, who had silent tears running down her face “Are you okay?” he asked. I wasn’t before, but now, I wasn’t sure.

“I think so.” I said, giving my best attempt at a smile. Elwin hurried up to me and began flashing lights around my face. I looked at his satchel, and it did have quite a few sparkly elixirs of a variety of colours. Elwin looked tired, and worried, and his pink banshee tunic was a bit wrinkled, but otherwise he was the same old Elwin. 

“You look alright, but I'd like to give you a couple calming and head-clearing elixirs,” he said. I nodded. 

“How are you?” I asked him, before he could ask me. He smiled half-heartedly.

“You know. Been better.” He handed me an orange elixir and a ripplepuff. 

“Heads up, the orange is pretty funky, so you’ll probably want to eat the ripplepuff pretty quickly.” I nodded. I gulped down the elixir, which tasted like liquified Iggy farts, and chomped down on the ripplepuff as soon as I could. It helped cut the taste a little bit. I could feel my mind begin to clear. I then turned to my friends. They looked a little worse for wear, but they were being strong. Fitz looked angry. Wylie looked disturbed. Dex looked upset, and a little bit guilty. Marella was worrying one of the little braids in her blonde hair, and even Tam, who had repeatedly insisted that he disliked Keefe, looked like he hadn’t been sleeping well. I then turned my eyes to the person that I had been attempting to ignore. Lord Cassius, who looked the same as always. Not a bit phased by the disappearance of his son. He met my eyes with a stiff nod. His expression held a mixture of fear and anger. He cleared his throat and spoke, his voice slightly cracked, yet still surprisingly haughty for a man who had lost his wife, and now his son. Grady placed a hand on my shoulder.

“Ms. Foster.” Lord Cassius spoke, bringing my attention back. “May I speak to you?” I could feel Grady tighten his grip on my arm. I looked at him. 

“It's okay.” I said and turned to face Keefe’s father

“Nobody thought to tell me about my son. I only found out by accident today from young Mr. Vacker.” I rolled my eyes. Like he cared. “Ms. Foster, do you have any idea where my son is?”. I shook my head, which was technically a lie, yet at the same time, not. I had some idea, but I couldn’t really just say ‘yes, your son is likely somewhere in the forbidden cities.’. Anyway, if I did know, I wouldn’t tell Lord Cassius, who, while not as bad as his wife, had still contributed to giving Keefe a terrible home life. He stared at me, with a piercing gaze. I realized that he was likely reading my emotions. I met his gaze and noticed that his eyes were precisely the same shade of ice blue as Keefe’s. He didn’t seem completely satisfied with my answer, but he didn’t push. “I know my son and I don’t have the best relationship” I snorted. That’s for sure. “But may I remind you that I do care about him, and his stance in society.” I opened my mouth, then closed it again. He didn’t even deserve a response. I turned away from him and walked over to my friends. 

I carefully avoided Fitz’ gaze and turned to meet a different pair of teal eyes. Biana’s. “So, what did I miss?” I asked. 

“Not much,” said Tam carefully, and I could hear the ‘but’ coming. “But, when you’re feeling up to it, we need to talk about Glimmer.” Everyone nodded. I looked around. It looked like Lord Cassius had left, but Bronte and Oralie were still there. Shit. I’d completely abandoned my duties as leader of Team Valiant. 

“I’ll talk to the councillors first, and then we can talk.” I said. My friends agreed, and I made my way over to where Bronte and Oralie were waiting. I still wasn’t sure how to feel about Oralie. Now that I knew she was my biological mother, I wanted to hate her. And I did. But there was a little part of me that just couldn’t. When I first arrived in the Lost Cities, I would never believe I was saying this, but Bronte was definitely my favourite councillor. 

“Ms. Foster, the council recognizes that this is difficult for you, but we must ask. Do you know where Keefe Sencen is?” Bronte asked, studying my face carefully. I bit my lip, weighing my answer. I didn’t want the council to track him down. I know he told me not to come after him, but there was no way I was just going to forget about him. I shook my head, and let my voice crack a bit as I responded.

“No.” Oralie bit her lip but didn’t say anything. I wasn’t sure if she could tell that I wasn’t telling the whole truth or not. Bronte looked like he had questions, but he was interrupted by the beeping of his and Oralie’s imparters. 

“We must go for now,” she said. “We believe you, Sophie, but we’d like to follow up on this and get a bit of background information later.” And with that, they raised up crystals, and glittered away. I sat down on a chair that Edaline had probably conjured up earlier. I took a shaky breath and leaned back on the chair. Edaline brought me a platter of purple goop that tasted like a hamburger. It wasn’t until I began eating that I realized how hungry I was. I gobbled that down, and when I was finished, Edaline snapped the tray away. Grady looked like he was debating saying something but didn’t. I looked at him for a second, and then Linh spoke.

“Can we talk about Glimmer now?

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 3 - MARELLA

Grady, Edaline, and Elwin left, and Sophie turned to Tam and Linh. “What’s up with Glimmer? Did she do something? Is everything okay?”

“Nothing has actually happened.” Tam explained. “We thought of something.” He turned to Linh, who picked up where he had left off. 

“We realized that someone had to have freed Lady Gisela from her bonds. Urre and Timur, my dwarf bodyguards, found one set of footprints leading away from the throne room on an unsteady path. It had to be her. She was the only one who escaped. They also found handprints a couple times, from when she must have tripped, and they were apart. Not tied together like they would have been if Tam’s shadowflux bonds were still there.” Linh, Maruca, Stina and I had figured this out. Linh had been so frustrated that Tam was acting differently and spending so much time with Glimmer. 

“So, your saying,” Sophie blinked, “You think-”

“We think Glimmer freed her, yeah.” I said, fiddling with one of the braids in my hair. I turned to Tam. “And Tam thinks that the bonds could only be undone by a flasher, or another shade.” Tam nodded, tugging at his bangs. 

“I don’t know for sure, but it would make sense.” He admitted. “And I think I was the only shade there.” 

“And as far as I know, I was the only other flasher there, and it definitely wasn’t me.” Wylie spoke up. Sophie nodded. I agreed. It seemed extremely unlikely that it was Wylie.

“So,” Sophie mumbled “what are we going to do now?”  

“I could burn her hood off and make her tell us what she knows” I offered sarcastically. Linh laughed. 

“I don’t think that’s the best idea.” She said, Fitz nodded. 

“Definitely not.” He agreed. 

“Have you guys told this to the Black Swan yet?” Sophie wondered. Dex shook his head. 

“We wanted to get your opinion before we did anything major.” Sophie looked away.

“I’m so sorry for not being there for you guys. I think we definitely need to find out what Glimmer is up to, but we also need to find Keefe and figure out what’s going on with his powers.” I shifted my gaze away. I still felt guilty that I hadn’t talked Keefe out of going to Loamore. He had come to see Linh and I, and he was so convincing. It didn’t help that we all really wanted to go. But I still felt somewhat responsible for what had happened to him.

“What if we have two groups?” Fitz suggested “One can focus on Keefe, and one on Glimmer.”

“That’s a good plan.” Wylie said. Dex and I nodded. Sophie bit her lip, and then quickly said

“I want to look for Keefe. Is that okay? I know I should be helping with Glimmer but-” Biana cut her off, taking her friend’s hand.

“It's okay Soph. We got this. You know Keefe better than any of us. If anyone’s gonna find him it’ll be you.” Sophie blushed. I smirked. For someone who claimed to not like Keefe, she certainly didn’t act like it.  

“I’ll be on team Glimmer.” Tam said, tugging at his bangs. “I think she vaguely trusts me. Well, more than any of you.”

“Yeah, about that, you should continue to act like you’ve been. Don’t let her know we suspect her.” I realized. Tam nodded. 

“I’ll be on team Glimmer too.” Biana piped up “We haven’t hung out in a bit” she said, grinning at Tam, who blushed. I raised my eyebrows at him, and he scowled. 

“I’ll be Team Keefe. Glimmer will think its weird if I suddenly move back to Solreef.” Linh decided. We decided that Tam, Biana, Wylie, and Fitz would deal with Glimmer, and Me, Sophie, Dex, and Linh would look for Keefe. I figured it would be nice to be part of a smaller group. Sophie doesn’t mean too, but she often ends up forgetting to keep Dex, Linh, and I in the loop. 

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 4 - TAM

I had no idea what we were supposed to be doing to figure out if it was Glimmer or not. I guess we just had to get her to trust us enough to admit it. Or I guess if we could distract her enough that Fitz could break through her mental barriers. 

I really needed to talk to Biana. We hadn’t exactly been dating, but we definitely weren’t nothing. We had kissed a couple times, and we had both confessed to having a huge crush on the other one. We were just dealing with so much that we decided not to officially date. Linh was the only person who knew. I hadn’t confirmed or denied it. She somehow guessed. We hadn’t really talked since I got back from the Neverseen. I have to admit, I was kind of avoiding her by watching Glimmer. When we went to the Neverseen storehouse with Sophie, we hadn’t really had time to talk, but she hadn’t seemed mad…It was hard to tell. I guess I would have to talk to her. 

Once we had finalized who was doing what, and when we were going to start, we decided to leave Sophie alone. She looked super exhausted. I felt really bad. I was the one who had triggered that new thing that Keefe could do. The bonds had been really hard to resist, but I bet if I had tried harder, I could have done it. I tugged my bangs over my eyes and tapped Biana on the shoulder. I guess I had to do this. 

“I think we need to talk.” I said quietly. She nodded.

“Yeah, I guess we do. Do you want to come to Everglen? We can take a walk.” I nodded. We looked around. Dex waved and held up his home crystal. She held out her hand, and I took it, trying to ignore the stubborn butterflies in my stomach that just wouldn’t go away. We stepped together into the light, and appeared just outside the gates of Everglen. Biana fiddled with a small control panel, and the shimmering gates swung open. I made to walk towards the house, but she pulled me in the other direction, towards the forest. I shuddered, unable to unsee the baby trolls and all the death and destruction that had happened here that day. We stopped at a tree, beside a small lake that I hadn't noticed before. Biana squeezed hand, and I shook myself, turning my attention back to the beautiful girl in front of me. My eyes traced over the features I’d memorised long ago. Her shining teal eyes, her soft jawline, the constellations of tiny scars peppering her cheeks, her perfect lips. My eyes settled on her lips, afraid to meet her gaze. She grabbed my arm, gently rubbing it with her thumb. I turned away, staring blankly at the lake, trying to figure out what to say. I couldn't lose her. Not again. We stood there awkwardly for a moment until she whispered, “I really missed you.” I turned to look at her. That had not been what I was bracing myself to hear. She was staring at the water, absentmindedly fiddling with a lock of her long brown hair. She was so beautiful. And strong. And smart. And brave. And I was just, well, not much of any of that.

“Really?” I whispered, hating my voice for cracking. “You don’t hate me?” She shook her head. 

“I couldn’t.” she smiled wryly. “Believe me, I tried. Thought it’d be easier. But I couldn’t. It wasn’t you, they forced you to do everything you did. I’m really glad you’re back.” I smiled. Genuinely. For the first time in a while. 

“So, we’re okay?” I asked, and she nodded, and I felt her hand slip into mine. “I missed you too. I’m really glad I’m back. Most of the time, you know, when I was with them it was you and Linh keeping me sane.” She turned away, blushing. I coughed slightly, realizing how sappy that had been. “You know, I think Linh is secretly a telepath.” I said, teasingly, as I tightened my grip on her hand. She giggled

“How so?” I blushed. It was a stupid thing to say, really, but it had saved me from accidentally saying too much, and risk scaring her away. 

“You know the first time we, you know, kissed? Well, when I got home, she was waiting for me with some mallowmelt. I ate some, and then she was like ‘sooo, what’s up with Biana?” Biana giggled again and turned to face me. Her eyes were such a perfect colour of teal, and her cheeks were slightly pink. My eyes flicked down to her lips, and up to her eyes again.

“Wanna…wanna see if she can tell again?” she stuttered, looking absolutely adorable. I blushed and leaned in to meet her lips. It was amazing, just as I had remembered. Her soft lips moved in sync with mine. Her warm hands moved around my neck, and I ran my hands down her back. We broke apart, pink-cheeked, resting our foreheads together. We had both missed this. I shivered slightly and moved to meet her lips again. This was perfect. Just as she began running her tongue along my bottom lip, we heard a voice calling Biana’s name, and jumped apart, blushing. Biana swore, flickering in and out of sight, and I instinctively stepped backwards into the shadow of the tree.

“Biana?” Della called again, coming into sight. She spotted me and raised her eyebrows at us. “Hope I’m not interrupting anything…” Biana rolled her eyes. I took the distraction to wipe my lips in case any of Biana’s lip gloss had gotten on my face.

“Mo-om, what do you want?” Biana groaned, pouting adorably. Della grinned. 

“I noticed Fitz came home and I was wondering where you were. I can whip up a quick batch of mallowmelt for you, and Tam, if you’d like.” Biana nodded

“Yes please!” she looked at me, trying to hide her smile. I smiled at my feet and nodded

“That would be really nice, Ms. Vacker, but I should head home.” I replied.

“Della.” She admonished, smiling. “And I might as well give you some to go.” Della decided. I followed them inside, not really paying attention. Not only did Biana forgive me, but she kissed me too! Now that I wasn’t worrying about Biana hating me anymore, I could focus on Glimmer. Although now all I wanted to do was go back to the lake with Biana.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 6 [POV BIANA]

I waved goodbye to Tam, and he stepped into the light. Instantly, my mom cleared her throat.

“We-e-e-ll…!” she said, drawing out the word suggestively. I groaned. “You two seemed… cozy!” I rolled my eyes, willing my cheeks to not give me away.

“We were just talking Mom, chill.” She raised an eyebrow, but let it go. Once she had left the room, I let out a sigh of relief. That had been close. I was sure that she wasn’t finished, but I hoped I had convinced her. Depends on how much she saw.

Tam and I were-something. I wasn’t exactly sure what. We had finally confessed to liking each other a while ago, and then it had been stolen kisses and longing glances. Then he had been taken by the Neverseen. I had been devastated. I could only imagine what it had been like for Linh.

It had really taken a toll on Sophie as well. She had been going through a lot lately. First, she sort of started dating my brother, (horrible decision, really) and that turned into a whole mess. Then Tam was taken, and that was really stressful for all of us. We went to Loamore to get Tam, and then Keefe ended up being changed. Then he left. That was what broke her. After she had been alone for a couple of days, Linh and I decided to check on her, and by what Grady, Edaline, Sandor and Flori told us, it was a good thing we did. She was in a really dark place.

And now Tam was back, and it was like he never left. I think we were both reluctant to label… whatever we were , and as far as I’m concerned, I don’t see a problem with that. I guess we should probably agree to stop sneaking around, and not care if people knew, but we wouldn’t have to use labels, because frankly, I think that’s what terrifies both of us.

“That’s not what I saw” she grinned, arching an eyebrow playfully.

“You were spying on us?” I asked indignantly. Mom flushed a bit.

“Not exactly. I went to see where you were at, and I kind of stumbled upon you two. I didn’t want to interrupt you