After Unlocked, a sokeefe Fanfiction.

Determination

Sophie opened her eyes too the mass amount of sparkles in the room Elwin had stationed her, it had been a month since she'd talked to Keefe, a month since she changed his memories, and honestly? A month since she truly believed in herself.

Elwin had conducted a few tests on her, giving her elixirs, new diets, asked Tam too mess with her shadowflux, even listened to some crazy idea Ro had about her emotions. No one could make sense of why she had blinking out the way she did. And... no one could figure out why she was still doing that.

It wasn't as worse as before, but sometimes she'd get feinting spells, or she'd stare off into space for what felt like seconds but turned out to be hours. Once she'd sat down to eat breakfast, she didn't feel any seconds pass between the time she sat down and the time she realized her room was darkening when it felt like she'd only just woken up to an excruciating white. Elwin was keeping her home, and although he promised her a solution she knew the truth, for now, there was none.

And that's why she was heading back to Foxfire the next day, she'd been away from friends for far too long. As requested she took no visitors, instead she avoided every imparter call. Other than Sandor, Flori, Grady and Edaline her life had been pretty alone. Of course Elwin tried to entertain her but at the end of the day he knew there was only one person who could make her smile. And that one elf? She couldn't face seeing him with all the pain she'd made him feel. But tomorrow she'd find a way to bring herself to look into his eyes, because as long as she didn't break, as long as they didn't kiss, and as long as they didn't spend too much time together, Keefe would be safe. And that's all that mattered to her.

Pushing away the thought she turned to the elixir  Elwin had placed by her table hours ago, she would've drank it earlier but...

It was ice blue.

And despite the fact she couldn't look at it, part of her felt comforted by the fact that she knew it was there.

Which was a really really dumb thought because it was just the color of someone's eyes. Just the reminder that there was someone out there that mattered more than the world and she'd hardly known it.

So she had to stop thinking about it and just chug down the drink.

So she did. Picked it up and poured it all into her mouth, so it was gone.

Off her mind.

But some things could never be forgotten.

It just so happened that this was one of those things.

But she had to keep moving forward, pressing on, because if she went back, if she regretted what she'd done to Keefe, if she regretted going after Keefe when he wanted to be alone. If she secondguessed herself on anything she did. She'd never stop, so she couldn't doubt. She just had to forget, let go.

And try anything to hold on to the pieces of hope she had.

Ignoring her other troubled thoughts she placed the shaking glass that had held the elixer back onto the table and focused on the walls around her. Elwin had moved her too Splendor Plains when Foxfire began two weeks ago. He'd made no comment on the fact that she and Ro hadn't stopped to clean up when they trashed his house, only offering advice and medicine. Most of which were accompanied with complaints about sedation. Throwing the thought away and moving too the memory she'd brought up, she smiled remembering the time she'd came to Splendor. Ro had totally demolished every sparkle in sight, till they finally found Keefe's notebook, which reminded her... she still hadn't looked inside it.

Would she ever see it?

Remembering Ro's words she let them play out in her mind.

Yes blondie. I'll make sure of that.

Ro had always seemed so certain about keefes affection towards her. She could see that now that she knew he liked her, and since she had so much time to think, to dream, to wonder, perhaps too much time.

It felt weird, thinking that Keefe liked her so much, and yet nothing had felt more right than when he placed her in his arms and held her like he never wanted to let go.

It was like she'd never known where she belonged till it smacked her in the face.

Incidentally it also was true that she should stay away from Keefe.

Forever.

But she knew she'd never be able to do that.

So why even try?

An emotion was growing inside her, and even though she couldn't figure out what, she did know that whatever it was would lead her back to Keefe. And whatever way that was? She would follow it to the very edge of the world, toppling off just too fall into his arms. She couldn't keep running from her fears, running from the possibility that being around Keefe would endanger him. She was going to school tomorrow and she would say hello.

Where it would go from there she wasn't sure.
But she knew what she wanted. She knew what she needed.

Now she just had to go out and find him.

And this time?

No one would stop her.