SGE His Darkened Heart (A Japaric Fanfiction)

BONUS CHAPTER #3

~An Unlikely Bond~

PART 3- Conflicted

SHIP: Jophie (Japeth/Sophie)
SETTING: Takes place in Camelot during TOTK. (Continuation of BONUS CHAPTERS #1 & #2)
SCENARIO: (A continuation of Bonus Chapter #1 & Bonus Chapter #1.5) After the deal Japeth and Sophie made, they must figure out a way to find Tedros in order to retrieve the last ring that will ensure Aric's return. Unbeknownst to Sophie and Japeth, Agatha and Tedros are already on their way to Camelot to rescue her from Japeth.  A confrontation ensues and hearts are broken. If there's one thing you need to know for sure, it's that things are going to get ugly.

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Sophie didn't know how or why, but she began to see a change in Japeth's behavior as time passed. Gone was the suspicious boy who'd snap at every wrong little thing she said. Gone was the former liege who didn't know how to go about being a king in his deceased twin's place.

Japeth was beginning to become someone else, Sophie realized. He no longer became short tempered towards her and when Sophie found herself enduring a nightmare one fateful night, Japeth had watched over her. Japeth was no longer bitter and resentful. Instead, his attitude had shaped him into a hopeful boy whose face lit up in determination when he and Sophie would discuss their plans on finding Tedros and Agatha.

Sophie finally understood the depth hidden beneath Japeth's façade. Sophie had given Japeth the one thing Rhian had take away from him when he'd refused to bring Aric back; Hope. Now, with his newfound hope, Sophie saw Japeth much more differently than she'd used to see him before.

The past two weeks, Sophie and Japeth had fussed over the good heroes' whereabouts. The School for Good and Evil wasn't an option since Rhian's men had already attacked them there once and Gnomeland was out of the question. Any other Kingdom the heroes might be hiding in wasn't likely either because they'd all been deemed traitors to Camelot and traitors to the woods. Any King or Queen who caught Tedros and Agatha in their kingdom would most definitely alert Japeth, and no word had come in about any trespassers on anyone's land.

It seemed Japeth and Sophie were out of options, but if there was one thing Sophie knew about her best friend Agatha, it was that she would never abandon Sophie here.

Japeth had become so restless, so focused on wanting to find Tedros, that he released his scims and even sent out a group of his pirate guards to scour the woods in search for his half-brother. All Sophie and Japeth could do now was to wait and see if any of Sophie's friends were found.

Sophie knew Tedros and Agatha and anyone else who was with them would definitely fight back when faced with pirates and scims intent on capturing them. For all Sophie knew, Tedros and Agatha thought her to be untrustworthy now since she'd left them behind in Gnomeland to head back to Camelot. Maybe, they wouldn't come back to rescue Sophie after all. Maybe they thought her to be a lost cause and wanted nothing more to do with her.

But that was just the part of Sophie that had no hope, and she needed that hope to get through her situation. She had to have hope that she'd see Tedros and Agatha again. She had to have hope that her friends could be safe from Japeth, and not only that, but she had to have hope that Japeth could find redemption.

Because if Aric wasn't going to be Japeth's redemption after all, than Sophie knew there was no hope. So long as Aric returned, Japeth had to become better. He could be tamed after all, and Sophie would help ease his heartbreak, his grief.

Five days ago, a search party that had been sent out to look for Tedros and Agatha had trekked through each kingdom, looking through the villages. The search party had arrived back to Camelot empty handed with no new information, and Japeth--in his rage--had every member of the search party thrown in the dungeons.