after unlocked: a sokeefe fanfic

Chapter 56-Sophie

"Would you like to explain to me why you're here?" Dimitar growled. He'd greeted them at the docking place, and had ignored Cadence's bow. Now, he glared at the group, sending especially withering looks towards his daughter and Bo.

Ro pushed Sophie and Keefe behind her, and she and Bo formed a barrier between the ogre king and the elves.

"It's not safe in the Lost Cities," Ro began, calmly, her voice belying her tense muscles. "We decided to bring them here."

"Did you?"

"Yes." Ro motioned for Cadence to step forward. "Care to explain this to Daddy here?"

Cadence opened her mouth to explain but Dimitar snarled, "I don't want to hear from elves. What is this about, Botros?"

Bo explained, minus the part where'd he'd been passed out

"You brought the most wanted elves here?" He growled.

Ro stepped forward, glaring. "Yes. And in case you forget, Daddio, they're our charges and we both swore oaths to protect them. They stay." Her voice was deceptively quiet, but Sophie could hear the unspoken threat, from the ogre princess, to the ogre king.

You attack them, you go through us.

Dimitar growled in his throat, but he motioned for his guards to follow him as he stalked off.

Ro stood tensely for a few more moments, before she slowly relaxed. "Whew. Anyways." She wheeled around. "Come on."

They followed her as she strode quickly through the city, Bo trailing in the back of the group.

Sophie glanced around at the buildings, all seemingly newly built, and tried to ignore the snarls and laughs and mutters of the ogres around watching. Child ogres ran through the city, giggling, then coming to an abrupt stop at the barks from their parents and the sight of the strange group making their way through the city.

A hand slipped into hers, and Sophie looked up at Keefe in surprise. His face was strained, and she noticed that he would squeeze her hand every so often, as if reminding himself of something.

"Don't make eye contact."

"Aw, I wanted to assert dominance." Keefe muttered. His voice was strained as well.

Ro snorted. "Yeah, maybe later, Funkyhair. They think you're prisoners right now; they'd tear you apart if you looked at them."

"Lovely," Sophie said. "I just did. Where are we going again?"

"Domov Bojovníka," Bo answered.

"Home of Warriors," Keefe mused, his anxiousness fading away as they walked away from the city center, "Not very creative."

"At least it doesn't involve the sparkles in the title," Ro muttered.

Keefe coughed meaningfully.

Ro rolled her eyes. "Sparkles rule," she said in a monotone voice.

Sophie snorted. They came to a huge building, noticeably sparkle-less, but very large and gray.

"Watch the Amoebas," Bo murmured as they stepped through.

The entry to the room was just as vast as it looked from the outside. And there was gray.

The walls, the floor, the ceiling. Even the weird doorway thing, which was changing from a square to a tiny round peek hole, was gray. Bo started forward, ditching their bags, and strode through the next doorway.