After Unlocked, a sokeefe Fanfiction.

Thoughts

Sophie walked past Keefe with a smile on her face. He was sooo dead. There was no way Ro was leaving him alive after how many times he'd ran off. But that was just Keefe wasn't it? A trickster on borrowed time. Suddenly she noticed a goblin at the edge of the room and she gulped, speaking of borrowed time...

"Miss Foster, I fail to comprehend how many times I've lost you in the past few weeks. I understand that you were called away due to a new development but you must know that you have to bring me with you, again, I go where you go, and next time something like this happens you can guarantee I'll be watching your every movement." Sandor said and Sophie nodded before rushing over to hug him, despite the annoyance she sometimes held for her bulky bodyguard she also was grateful for everything he did for her, he was giving his life to protect her every single day.

"Where is Councilor Terik?" Sophie asked after letting go of Sandor, Councilor Emery pointed towards a cot with an elf laying on it.

"Be careful, I've seen his mind, and trust me it might not break you, but it'll tire you out as fast as a good game of basequest." Emery said and Sophie stifled a smile, remembering that Councilor Emery too had once been a boy, playing games and wondering what the future held.

"I understand," Sophie said and placed her hand on Councilor Terik's forehead, letting herself into his thoughts.

~~~

As soon as she found herself in his mind she looked around, wondering why everyone thought something was wrong. At least she did until she saw his memories, images of scenes from long ago all mixing with one another, thoughts racing across his mind as quick as lightning.

"He's never going to amount to anything."

"A human? Why would you want me to see the potential of a human?

"I'd be honored to be a member of the council."

"I was just like him when I was younger.

After what felt like hours of trying to concentrate on a single thought, one lone memory brought itself to the surface and played out in front of her.

"You didn't actually think we believed you right?" A lady in a silver hood and Neverseen cloak asked, her voice sounding devilishly amused, and yet distorted, as if his memory was untrue, aware of the peeping eyes and covering secrets in ways unknown.

"That we actually trusted you. You never learned anything we didn't want you to learn, anything that we didn't think you should hear, you played right into our hands, assisting with Kye, proving loyalty in ways we had dreamed of long long ago." 

Councilor Terik stood silent, not a word as his veiled cloak revealed betrayal in his clear glass eyes, a betrayal none could understand or even bear to figure out. 

"But that's why I don't believe you, you're smarter than that, I know you, so why did you go along with this, why did you help, what did you want? Because we both know you weren't here for the reasons the council sent you, they could've sent anyone, you volunteered, so... why?" This time the devilish tone had changed into that of curiosity, that of a pure sense of wonder. 

"I came because I was needed, I didn't want to risk anyone else," Councilor Terik said and you could hear a harsh laugh coming from the Neverseen member he spoke to.

"Still don't want to tell me eh? You know I'm not the bad guy. We just have different interests, different ways of thinking, but that didn't use to be a problem with you, in fact, you once used to be a lot like me. Letting the world know your thoughts, your abilities, even if they were harsh. Whatever happened to you?"

For a second Councilor Terik didn't speak, aware that until he could find a way to leave safely the only way he was getting out of here with the knowledge he learned was stalling, and the only way through that was the truth. 

"You. You happened to me. But that was a long time ago and it's done, so tell me, am I getting out of here through force or can I leave on my own accord?"

"Straight to the point I see, I suppose I should've expected that." Her tone cold, and yet it held an essence of regret as if there was something missing, something she would've changed if times had been different but also a hidden sense of resolve, her motives unchanging.

"Well you know the deal, we can't have you leaving before we want you to." She said as Terik felt a sense of crippling silence fill his mind, the air around him suddenly cold as he started to fall to the ground, a battle raging in his mind that he couldn't understand or even think to fight. 

"For what it's worth, I didn't want it to end this way. You could've been right here with me, but we both made our choices. 

Her crisp voice was the last thing he heard before drifting off into a cold resolute, his mind releasing vivid memories that seemed to twist and turn, race back and forth against his head, thumping, churning, whisking him away from reality.

Sophie pulled herself out of the memory as it ended, surprised how easily she'd heard his thoughts, his emotions running clear in his head, but she could feel him waking as if his conscience was set on a timer no one had set, only to wake up when he was needed as if nothing had gone wrong, as if nothing had changed.

And with that Sophie felt him begin to wake up, but as she stared into his waking mind she felt herself grow faint, what was this? As if she was being dragged into an ocean of swirling thoughts that crammed every inch of her brain, quickly she pulled herself out. 

"He's waking up, there's still something weird with his mind but I think he's coming back, I'm gonna go find Keefe," Sophie said to Elwin and Mr. Forkle who had risen with a start at her movement. 

"Sophie, you were inside his mind for two minutes, how did... how did you figure out how to wake him up?"

Two minutes? Sophie thought, astounded, it had felt like half an hour in her head, possibly even more.

"I... I'm not sure." Sophie said and shrugged it off, going to find Keefe, maybe she could save him from Ro's questioning. 

Quickly she walked over to the door stopping when she heard her name spoken, 

"It's just... to everyone else Sophie is a member of the Black Swan, the Moonlark, the leader of Team Valiant."

His tone held clear pondering, as Sophie hung back from opening the door, curious as to what he had to say about her. 

"She's the elf who was raised by humans, the elf that almost broke our treaty with the Ogres, the elf that fixed Alden's mind, the elf that has a million crazy abilities and uses each one for good, but... to me?" 

Sophie's heart fluttered at his last comment, was that what he really thought about her?

 "But... to me? She's Foster. Just Foster. My freaking amazing friend who I love more than words can say, more than anything could say really. But... I'm just me, and there's so much I've said and done, times I've hurt her, times that I've left when I really shouldn't have, and I... I know she could do better than me, and I don't want her settling for less, for someone like me."

Her breath seemed to catch as she realized the depth of his words, the emotions held behind them, Keefe was wrong, he was so wrong. He deserved so much, and come on she wasn't... she didn't deserve this, this much love and devotion. 

"Sophie he's awake, he knows where Kye's parents are," Elwin said, standing right next to her as if he'd been there for a few seconds, her thoughts consuming her mind. 

"That's amazing," Sophie said, rushing to where Terik lay, mumbling quietly to Mr. Forkle who sat beside him. Elwin rushing 

Pushing away her thoughts about Keefe she resolved to think about that later, for now she had to-

"We need to talk," Councilor Terik said, as soon as he saw Sophie next to him.

"We need to discuss something I've kept secret from you for a long time," Terik said, staring into her eyes with bleak determination.

"It's my fault. All of this is my fault."

~~~