Kotlc Oneshots [Parts 1-13 Pre Unlocked]

What cost?

Prompt from anon on Tumblr. 

About: Keefitz angst 

Tw: death

Word count: ~580

~~~~~~~~~~

Keefe woke up in the the fluffy king sized bed. Out of instinct he rolled over to present a smile to Fitz.

Except he wasn't there anymore.

He would never be there again.

And yet every morning he did the same thing, as if it would change anything.

His face fell as he slowly got up. He felt numb. He always did nowadays.

They had all lost so much.

He had lost so much.

And for what? The preservation of their flawed system? The Neverseen were awful but what was the point in beating them if nothing changed.

It wasn't worth the loss of lives.

Fitz was only one of the casualties that day. There were so many more.

Keefe rubbed his eyes to try and rid the image of the blood stained battle field from his mind.

Sandor. Lost while protecting Sophie.

Elwin. He was healing people. They played dirty, attacking a healer. He held on for a few days, Keefe sat by him when he passed.

Linh. She died in Tam's arms. He could still see the look on the shade's face. Pure pain. The guttural scream he let out would be burned in his memory forever.

Fitz. He was protecting Keefe. Jumped right in front of a throwing knife. And he stayed there, like a human shield. Keefe was begging him to move, he cried, he yelled, to just let him take it. He wouldn't.

...Gisela. She threw the knives.

Keefe got his revenge on her.

It didn't make him feel any better.

Keefe slowly got dressed for the day. Today he and the rest of the survivors were getting presented with some kind of heroism medal from the remaining council. There were only 9 of them now, they were in the fight too. Keefe didn't know the ones who were lost very well.

As he picked a cape from the closet, he noticed that it wasn't his. But rather one of Fitz's.

The tears came rolling down again as he held the Vacker family crest in his hand. He should return this to them. Della and Biana would appreciate it.

He put the cape back up as he wiped away his tears.

~*~

Keefe stumbled into the tribunal hall, where the ceremony would be happening. It only brought back more memories of a simpler time.

He never thought he would look back at the memories this place held as "simpler".

Now he would give anything to just sit here next to Fitz, even if he wasn't talking to him that day.

Nearly every elf in the lost cities sat in the hall. But nearly all of them looked...happy.

Smiling faces, cheering children and whooping parents as the battle survivors walked in.

Did they not see the bags under Sophie's eyes? The way Tam dragged his feet? Biana's unusually wrinkled outfit?

How could anyone be happy when they had lost so much?

~*~

The ceremony was a blur. They only had a moment of silence for the departed, no other mention. Keefe was disgusted.

Before all this, everything was just getting better.

Keefe and Fitz just got their own house, the Neverseen was dormant for a while, the guards had just been lifted from the children (with the exception of Sophie, you wouldn't be able to tear Sandor from her side until he was gone)

But then they came back better and stronger than ever.

Yes, the Black Swan had won in the end.

But at what cost?