KOTLC Sokeefe One-Shots, Alternate Endings, etc

Bravery (Fitz POV)

A/N: Fitz's POV of taking Sophie to say goodbye to her human family.

Fitz was downstairs in the sitting room, discussing the Sophie situation with his mom while Sophie sat with his dad in Alden's office. She was explaining that they were hoping to adopt Sophie themselves, but that the Council was angry with them for conducting the search without permission, so there was a possibility that they would deny the request.

"Where would she go, if she didn't stay here?" Fitz asked. He didn't like the idea of her going anywhere else. The only people she knew in the Lost Cities were the people in this house. He'd spent ages looking for her and felt an odd sense of kinship, almost a responsibility for her.

"Grady and Edaline have agreed to act as guardians if the Council denies us," his mom replied carefully.

There was a tightness around her eyes, and Fitz understood why.

He barely knew Grady and Edaline Ruewen, even though he knew they were good friends with his parents. But they'd suffered a tragic loss before he was born, and it had caused them to close themselves off, so he rarely saw them.

He'd asked Alvar about it once. Alvar had gone slightly pale and told Fitz that they had been completely different people. He remembered going to parties at Havenfield. He'd barely known their daughter, who had been several years older than Alvar.

"They'll do the best they can," his mom said firmly, almost as though trying to assure herself. "But I'm getting ahead of myself. I really hope the Council will let us take her in. You wouldn't mind another sister, would you?"

Fitz grinned. "She can't be any nosier than Biana," he pointed out.

At least, he hoped not.

He loved Biana very much, and they probably got along better than most siblings did.

But she was pretty nosy.

And hung around way too much when Keefe was over. Fitz may not be an empath like his best friend was, but even Fitz could see that Biana was crushing majorly on Keefe.

He could also see that Keefe wasn't interested.

And that Keefe was too afraid to say anything about it.

The thought of getting another sister that might also be way too obsessed with Keefe was a frightening prospect.

Of course, Keefe would probably get a kick out of it.

Fitz was spared from this daunting--and for some reason, slightly irritating--thought by the sound of his father's voice calling for him from upstairs.

When he walked into his dad's office, it was to see a rather diminished looking Sophie staring out the window with silent tears on her cheeks.

He looked inquisitively at his dad, who quietly explained that there had been a slight change of plans.

Sophie didn't want her family to think she was dead. She'd requested to be erased from their memories instead. Fitz understood that--he'd hate to cause his own parents pain like that. But he couldn't imagine being erased from their memories, either.

But she had also asked for permission to see them one last time--which of course, was strictly forbidden.

But his dad thought she deserved at least that much--and Fitz agreed.

It was going to be hard for her, but it should give her some closure, also. A formal 'goodbye' to the Forbidden Cities and a fresh start in her new life. A better life, where the air was clean and the people were all kind and no one's thoughts would bombard her without restraint.