KOTLC Sokeefe One-Shots, Alternate Endings, etc

Forbidden Cities (Keefe POV)

It had been two weeks since he'd fled the Lost Cities. After some trial and error, he'd risked talking enough to sell the items he'd taken from Candleshade, probably giving him more money than the rest of London combined, and sought out the best room in the nicest hotel in London.

It was still pretty awful.

How did humans live like this?

Worse than their accommodations--and their decorating skills--was their food. And their water.

Apparently eating vegetarian was fairly easy, but...it was gross. No way was he eating meat, though--the smell of it alone made him queasy.

But he definitely missed gnomish produce.

And custard bursts.

And mallowmelt.

Edaline's mallowmelt.

And Foster.

Cue the punch to the gut.

He really missed Foster.

His eyes burned. He remembered so vividly (it was, after all, only two weeks ago--two weeks that felt like a lifetime--and he had a photographic memory) saying his goodbyes to Grady and leaping to the Forbidden Cities.

He had no idea where he'd leapt to. It was a city, and it was dark, and quiet.

He had walked stiffly into an alley and sat down, bracing his back against a brick building, and sobbed. He had no idea how long he sat there, his whole body shaking from grief, but he knew he'd only ever cried like that one other time in his life--and that was when he'd thought Sophie was dead.

And now it might as well be the same. He'd never see her again.

He'd made it his life's mission to make that girl happy. He'd hoped he'd eventually do that as her boyfriend--her husband--one day the father of her children--but even if it was just as a friend, he was prepared to do it.

No one mattered more than her.

And now he'd never see her again.

Oh, great. He had to let himself think about that. So now he was crying again, which would mean he'd need more water to rehydrate, and human water was almost gag-worthy.

But his heart ached at everything he'd left behind.

Not just Foster, but his friends. His whole life.

He hadn't even thought to leave a note to say goodbye to Fitz.

Some best friend he was.

For about the millionth time, he seriously considered packing up his things and leaping back to the Lost Cities.

He could go straight to her. Beg her to forgive him for leaving again.

And she would.

She'd tried transmitting to him and it had been pure agony ignoring it.

And now she seemed to have asked Silveny to reach out sometimes.

Oof. Another gut punch. He missed Glitter Butt too. And her little sparkly babies.

He couldn't keep doing this to himself.

So he got up, grabbed some of his money and left the room.

Even after searching and trying to find more information about Ethan Benedict Wright II, he wasn't ready to go back to the hotel.

Sometimes it was nice. It was so far removed from all the horrible things that had happened to him that he was left to work through his trauma in peace. There was nothing here to remind him of his painful past.