A KOTLC Selection

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Thirteen: Unexpected Events

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Previously...

"How are you fairing with all these men?" Dex asks, and I laugh.

"I don't really know. It's quite overwhelming and nerve-wracking. Honestly, I don't know what to do with the Dates, and I have to plan the Contest as well, which I have no idea what to do." I say breathlessly. "So, yeah. Pretty Stressful." I say, and Dex laughs giving a comforting squeeze around my shoulders.

We enjoy the peaceful silence until I hear Dex gasp in Surprise.

"Dex, what's wr-" I cut myself off as I follow Dex's gaze, only to see someone I looked at through Pictures and Videos.

"Jolie?!"

. . .

(Third Person Point of View)

The older girl looked at the young blonde in shock not knowing what to do, as she stood in front of the girl who could be thought of as her identical twin sister. Before Sophie could even begin to comprehend what was happening, her older sister faints and the whole world falls hectically into chaos.

Everyone quickly rushed towards the tall blonde girl who was crumpled in a small heap on the ground. Edaline was the first to the older girl's side, fat tears rolled down her porcelain-like face as she held her eldest daughter's hand. Grady rushed to his wife and daughter's side, complete shock still written across his face as he silently let tears fall at the sudden appearance of Jolie.

The Selected Boys stood quietly behind Dex and Sophie's youngest cousins as she finally regained her ability to move and rushed to her fear-struck family. After hearing all the commotion from his office, Elwin came rushing out of the large castle doors to the oldest Princesses' side, shooing everybody away except for the Royal Family.

As Elwin carefully carried Jolie into the castle to run a few tests in a cleaner environment, Edaline ran after them and grabbed her eldest daughters' hand once again like her life depended on it, Grady following closely behind them.

"How did this happen?" Sophie pondered as she quietly walked behind her crying family, tears of her own creating small streaks across her flushed cheeks.

"Wasn't Jolie supposed to be dead?"

Taking a quick turn, Sophie made her way back towards her room instead of Elwin's Office, knowing that her sister would be well taken care of by the Elvin Doctor.

Her brain was coming up with a million theories per second, but always came back to one imparticular question; 'How did this happen if Jolie was supposed to be dead?'

Sophie groaned in frustration as she flung open her bedroom doors, only to trip on a stray pillow. It was as if karma wanted her to become best friends with the floor, and Sophie carefully pushed herself off the cold hardwood floor before purposely falling ungracefully onto one of the small loveseats in the corner of her room.

Her mind still running a mile a minute, Sophie stumbled from her loveseat to the large bed after a few minutes of exhausting herself with her thoughts and worries, before collapsing in a heap on the giant mass of pillows and miraculously finding Ella in the mess, her eyes feeling droopy.

After what felt like only a few short minutes, but was really several hours, she woke up to the bright setting sun peeking through the unclosed drapes and into her gold-flecked eyes. Her eyes burned and her throat felt parched, causing Sophie to stumble out of bed to grab the glass of water on her desk.

Instead, she tripped on the stray pillow she had forgotten to pick up earlier, cursing herself for her stupidness. She prepared herself for the impact of the cool floor on her skin, but it never came. Looking up, her eyes found a pair of Striking Ice Blue ones, instead of the ceiling as she expected.

"Um, Th-thank you, Keefe," Sophie said, tears threatening to spill once again onto her rosy cheeks. Keefe took quick notice of this and gently picked up the petite girl, carefully carrying her to the nearest couch.

Setting her down on a light gray Loveseat, he took the spot next to her and began rubbing light circles on her back as she placed her elbows on her knees in an attempt to collect herself.

After a few minutes of concentrated breathing, she sat up and carefully wiped the seemingly constant tears off her face, tucking the loose strands of her up-do behind her ears.

"Are you okay?" Keefe asked, worry for the young princess still etched into his pale face.

She shrugged. "Honestly, I don't know. The one person that I thought I would never meet except in death if I ever do die, is in this Castle this very moment." She sighed, and the Blonde next to her only nodded, not wanting to interrupt her. Taking a deep breath, she began to tell him information that was very private to the royal family, explaining that while the Public had been told that she had died in an accidental fire, she had really been "killed" by a group called the Neverseen.

"The Neverseen," She quietly explained, Keefe sitting attentive next to her, "Is a Rebel Group that occasionally threatens the Throne, or as you know it, my Family. Sometimes they do Public Attacks, but mostly send terrifying notes to my Parents. I haven't really seen what the notes say, but I have caught a glimpse of one or two, and I'm pretty sure they're about me. My mother lost one child to them, or I guess she did, but I don't think she could take losing another one."

"Anyways," Sophie continues, "Jolie had gone on a trip to a part of the Lost Cities for a break from school, and she was taken by the Neverseen. They had set fire to the house she was staying in, and at the time my parents both believed she was in it when it burnt down. Though that wasn't the case as a couple of weeks later they sent us a note, explaining that she hadn't died in the fire because they rescued her before the flames reached her and that they were going to give her back to us, playing the role as the Hero. They set a Time and Place, and when my parents got there, they had to watch them slit her throat, killing her."

Sophie didn't remember beginning to cry, only realizing it when the Blue-Eyed Elf brushed his thumbs across her cheeks to get rid of the tears. Talking about her older sister was very hard for her, even though she had never met her personally. Jolie was very close to her heart, and while Sophie had many of the stories, pictures, videos of her older sister locked away in her memory, it could never be erased from her mind that she had been killed by the group that sent her mother silently crying to bed each night.

"Then how is she here, if the King and Queen both saw her die?" Keefe question after a while, carefully grabbing the tearful elf's hand.

"I don't know," Sophie whispered, looking down at their entwined fingers. "But there could be an explanation,"

Her brain once again running full speed ahead, she began explaining possible theories to her new friend, leaving them brainstorming possible ideas late into the night, their quiet laughter ringing into the halls.

At around two in the morning, Keefe finally bid her goodnight once realizing how late it really was.

"Keefe?" She quietly called out into the dark hall, his blonde hair glistening in the moonlight, "Thanks for being there for me." Without thinking, she reached out and placed a soft kiss on his cheek, before turning once again into her room, leaving the Tall Boy speechless. 

A big thanks to @Evelyn_Esher for helping me with this Chapter! She is awesome, and go check out her other stories!