To the person who asked when Keefe is getting a new ability: He's...not. Lady Gisela was working with forces she didn't understand and gave him a nerve disorder that will eventually kill him. I mentioned in an earlier chapter that the section of his brain that controls abilities is gone. As in, the neurons that are activated when he uses his ability have been destroyed. Sorry to disappoint.


Sophie winced when her door slammed open and excited squeals met her ears. She turned around, rubbing her temple.

"Something exciting happen, Biana?"

"Yes!" She was having trouble staying still, bouncing in place with a smile so big her face was in danger of splitting in half.

Sophie gestured to her bed and they sat down. "What happened?"

Biana all but shoved her left hand in Sophie's face. "He proposed! We're getting married!"

Sophie winced, reflexively covering her ears against the squeals of glee. "That's awesome. When are you guys planning on?"

"Several months from now. We know what we want, even though we've only been engaged for like a week. But we've had the wedding conversation before. Sorry about the telling you guys on your wedding. We didn't want to steal you thunder, but then it was getting awful close and you guys were gonna notice, so we thought we'd better just say it. I already told everyone else downstairs."

"You're fine, really. I totally get it. And you're okay with the whole match thing?"

Biana sighed, scooting back and pulling her knees up to her chest. "Well, yeah. I kind of have to be. Dex ultimately didn't register, but when I asked, the lady told me if he had registered, we would have been pretty high on each other's lists. But he didn't, and I did, so…But at least you and Fitz got most of the hecklers out of the way. I'm okay with it. He's scared though. He wants to protect me and knows that kind of scorn could be disastrous."

Sophie rubbed her shoulder. "You'll be okay. Besides, not many people know you guys weren't matched. So who has to know? You could totally just not mention it."

"We could do that, but I don't think Dex would be comfortable with it. But if you guys make a bigger scene, which you seem to be doing without doing anything, we'll be fine."

Sophie laughed. "Somehow, everyone's holding out hope we won't go through with the wedding, that something will happen and he'll break up with me. Well, the rest of the bridal party is on their way upstairs, I'm assuming, and nothing's happened yet."

Biana sighed, still smiling. "Do you remember, back in your first year of Foxfire, when we had that Splotching match?"

"The one where I threw Fitz into the wall and knocked us both out?"

"Yeah that one."

"You hated me."

She laughed. "I did. I'm glad I got over it though. I would have missed out on a pretty awesome sister-in-law."

"Keefe mentioned he had been hoping he could've been the one to, in his words, 'sweep me off my feet'. There were plenty of times where I would not have objected and I still would have no problem with it if I weren't already engaged. But can you imagine being related to Lady Gisela?"

"Oh, that'd be awful!" Biana giggled. "Lord Cassius too! I cannot imagine worse in-laws."

"Well, maybe Vespera. But I don't think she had any kids."

Someone knocked on her door and Sophie called, "Come in!"

Edaline opened her door and stepped in. "Everyone's here, kiddo."

"You can't really call me that anymore. I am getting married today." Sophie stood up and hugged her mother.

Della and Linh came in behind Edaline. Linh squealed and joined their hug, squeezing Sophie's ribs with surprising strength for her petite frame. "I can't believe it's actually happening!"

"Linh, I love you to bits, but I still have to breathe."

"Sorry."

Edaline and Linh let go of her and were replaced by Della and Biana. Della sighed, wiping tears from her eyes. "There are so many things I want to say, but I just can't find the words."

Biana leaned her head on Sophie's shoulder. "Mom, remember when Dad said he was going to look for Sophie and you tried to convince him not to?"

"I'm glad I wasn't able to. I would have missed out on some of the most wonderful moments of my life. Although, was the stunt you pulled at the Gala totally necessary?"

Sophie nodded. "Yes. Very necessary."

Someone else knocked at the door and Sophie disentangled herself before answering it.

She was assaulted by a flying tackle-hug and a face of brown curls.

"Amy!?"

"Hi!" Her little sister squeezed her tightly, burying her face in Sophie shoulder. "I was afraid I was late. Guess I got the time right!"

"What are you doing here?"

Amy let go of Sophie and stuck her hands on her hips. "What kind of sister would I be if I didn't show up to my big sister's wedding?"

"Keefe had something to do with this, didn't he?"

"…Maybe. But still."

Sophie and hugged her sister again. "I'm glad you're here."

Amy stepped around her and waved. "Hey everyone."

"Hello Amy." Edaline stepped forward and gave her and gentle hug. "It's good to see you."

Amy grinned. "It's good to see you guys too. So what can I help with? I know I'm not a bridesmaid, but I can do whatever you guys need me to."

Sophie shrugged, flopping onto her bed. "I don't know. People barely tell me anything, except for the stuff that's my decision alone. I know it's to help keep me from being stressed, but I'm still antsy."

Biana grabbed Sophie by the arm and pulled her up. "Well, first order of business is to get you ready to go. Come on, you have to get up."

She groaned, letting them make her get up and into a chair in front of a large mirror and vanity.

Biana retrieved an eyeshadow palette with more colours than anyone could ever use in their lifetime. "Hey Amy, how good are you at doing hair?"

"Well, I'm going to cosmetology school, so I hope I'm decent at it. As long as you don't want a boat or something in your hair, I can probably do it."

"Great. Can you do my hair while I do Sophie's makeup? Nothing too fancy, just a simple updo."

Amy snorted. "Simple by whose standards, yours or mine?"

"Like, ten minutes or so."

"Okay. I can do that."

Biana opened a case of about a million different brushes. "Close your eyes."

Sophie sighed and obeyed. She could feel Della and Edaline doing her hair up into something she hoped wasn't too difficult to undo that evening.

"Not too many bobby pins, please. I'd rather not spend an hour pulling them all out and then have one stab in the head while I'm trying to sleep."

"I don't know if you'd have time, dear." Della's voice was dripping with implications.

Sophie groaned.

Amy laughed. "She does make a fair point though. But do elves even use bobby pins, bane of the devil they are?"

Biana stabbed Sophie in the eye with the mascara brush on accident. "Sorry! No, we don't really. Most people have pretty manageable hair and those unfortunate people like me use special elixirs and something that's basically glue for hair. It does wash out though, it's not permanent."

"Good. I like my hair down."

"So does Fitz." Biana giggled, switching to a smaller brush. "Edaline, if you're not doing anything, can you grab the circlet? I can't remember the jewel colour."

"They're just diamonds, unless Sophie changed it?"

Sophie resisted the urge to shake her head. "No I didn't. Diamonds and silver."

"Thanks. Soph, did you ever decide what lip colour you wanted?"

"Um, it should be sitting out on my bathroom counter. It was the pink one in the set you got me for my birthday."

"Ooh, that's a pretty one!"

"I'll grab it." Amy offered and her footsteps walked off toward the bathroom.

Edaline sighed. "Sophie, you look amazing already and we're not even finished yet."

"I fully trust Biana to do a wonderful job with my makeup. What are you guys doing with my hair?"

Biana stepped back from her face and gasped. "Oh my gosh, it looks amazing!"

Amy came back from the bathroom, presumably with the lipstick. "Oh yeah, that's all kinds of awesome. I don't know how you accomplished that without bobby pins. It looks great."

Sophie sighed. "Biana are you done yet? I want my sight back!" The statement would have been accompanied by a dramatic gesture, but she wasn't sure how much moving she was allowed to do without disturbing either Biana or Della.

"Sophie, where did you hide your dress? I can't find it in your closet." Edaline's voice was muffled by the intervening space.

"It's not in my closet, Mom. It's folded up nicely in its box at the foot of my bed and even labeled."

"Of course it is." She walked back out and Sophie heard the box open. "Amy could you help me get this out?"

Fabric rustled and Biana stabbed her in the eye again. "Sorry." Cold metal met her forehead as Della set the circlet on her head and pinned it down. Amy gasped. "Oh, my gosh. This dress is gorgeous. Like it should be illegal for something to be this pretty. Anybody wanna bet Fitz is gonna cry?"

Biana laughed. "He already has. Dad got us up early to take care of some last-minute things that came up and I guess it really hit him that he was getting married to Sophie Foster. He spent like an hour sobbing. It was dorky and sweet at the same time. I can't promise I didn't laugh a little bit."

"Still. You cried about it yet, Sophie?"

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "Not really. I sobbed like a baby when he proposed. But I haven't really cried about the wedding."

"I know that's a lie." Edaline said. "Last week you came downstairs crying because you couldn't believe you were actually getting married."

"Hey! I was watching a sappy mmmfph!" Biana abruptly started on her lipstick, cutting her off.

"Sappy movie or not, you still cried." Amy said.

Sophie grumbled, waiting for Biana to be done before speaking. "Can I look now?"

"Not quite. Give me a sec. Amy, can you start on Mom's hair?"

"Way ahead of you." Amy's words were muffled by something she held in her mouth. "Simple updo again? Different than what I did for you or not?"

"Something a little bit fancier, but not by much."

Sophie forced herself not to jump when a light soft brush met her skin.

"Okay. I think I'm done. You can open your eyes now." Biana closed the palette with a click.

She opened her eyes and her mouth dropped open. "Oh, wow…" The diamond and silver circlet sat in the exact centre of her face with a few blonde waves slipping down around her cheeks. Her eyes were pale white and silver shimmers, with black or dark brown liner winged out on the corner of her eyes, making the gold sparkles in her eyes glow. Della had pinned her veil under the circlet and the white fabric flowed down over her hair. "What did you do with my hair?"

"Part of it I braided up and it's holding the circlet in place. The rest of it is curled and hanging down your back."

Despite herself, Sophie began to tear up, and it wasn't from the multiple times Biana had stabbed her in the eye with a brush. "This is actually happening. I'm actually getting married."

"Yes you are." Edaline leaned down and hugged her from behind, being careful not to disturb her hair. "I promised myself I wasn't going to cry this time around. I'm just glad you both made it to the wedding."

"Yup." Sophie squeezed her hands. "I'm not going anywhere, Mom."

"Where'd Linh go?"

"I'm still here!" She smiled, stepping into Sophie's field of vision. "I've been doing makeup while Amy does hair. I'll go grab the other dresses real quick."

"Alright, let's get you into this beautiful dress!" Amy grabbed her hands and pulled Sophie up, albeit with some level of care.

Sophie smiled when she saw her wedding dress laid out on her bed. She'd chosen a beautiful white ballgown with lace off-the-shoulder cap sleeves and a modest neckline. There were pearls and diamond and other white and pastel jewels scattered among the tulle of the skirt.

"When we picked this out was when it really started to feel real." Sophie pulled off the dress she was wearing and lifted her arms above her head, feeling the cool fabric slide over her skin. "I remember when I was little, I wanted to look like Cinderella. I think this fits."

Edaline sniffled, wiping a few tears away. "You look beautiful. You really do."

Sophie straightened her back as someone, probably Biana, did it up and turned to look at herself in the mirror.

And promptly began to cry. Boy was she glad elvin makeup was tearproof.

Linh set her boxes down and hugged Sophie. "Oh my goodness you look amazing!"

Vertina blinked into the corner of the mirror to see what all the fuss was about. "Now that's not something you see every day. Wow. I'd ask what the occasion is, but I'm pretty sure I know."

"Yup. I'm getting married. I'm actually getting married."

"Hm. I think I like this dress better than the one Jolie picked out. I always thought it was too plain."

Amy let Sophie play games on her phone while everyone else hurried to get into their dresses and shoes.

"Hey, Sophie, where are your shoes?"

She shot up, almost dropping Amy's phone. "Oh no!"

"You forgot them, didn't you?"

Edaline groaned. "I knew we'd forgotten something."

Linh ducked into Sophie's closet. "I'll see if I can find something in here."

"How did we forget your shoes?" Biana sighed, balling her fists since she couldn't rub her face. "You can't exactly go barefoot."

"Well why not?" Amy said, pinning the final piece of hair into place on Edaline's updo. "I think it would look good."

Sophie shook her head. "I have to wear something on my feet because our wedding is outside and the place we picked has a bunch of stuff on the ground. I don't want to hurt myself walking down the aisle."

"Yeah, that'd be kind of embarrassing."

"Ugh!" Linh groaned, closing Sophie's closet door behind her. "I couldn't find anything that would work!"

"Hey Mom, didn't you say the other day we have the exact same shoe size?"

Edaline gasped. "We are. I'll be right back." She left, footsteps thudding on the stairs.

The Imparter on Sophie's nightstand rang and she sighed, picking it up and answering. "Hey Dex. Did something go wrong?"

"Nope, we're all fine, just checking in and making sure everything's okay. We're moving a little slow, since Fitz tears up virtually every time he looks in the mirror, Grady's a complete mess, Alden's a mess, and Tam's just staying out of it and keeping an eye on the rings. I'm the only one who's managing to keep it together."

"We're all good here. I'm struggling not to cry, but that's pretty normal." She deliberately didn't mention the shoes situation.

Dex covered the screen and yelled, "Don't worry Fitz, Sophie's have just as hard a time keeping it together as you are." He uncovered it and grinned. "See you soon."

"You too." Sophie ended the hail as Edaline came back in with a pair of ivory heels.

She smiled tearily, handing them to Sophie. "I didn't think I still had them, but turns out they were just sitting in the back of my closet waiting." Edaline sniffled. "These were shoes I wore on my wedding day. My mom wore them, my grandmother wore them. They've been through a few generations; they're a bit of a family heirloom. If they fit you, you are welcome to wear them."

Sophie smiled, setting them on the floor and slipping her feet in. "Wow. They're in surprisingly good condition for being that old. And they fit perfectly." She teared up again, letting her feet settle into the old shoes.

"Jolie was upset she couldn't wear them. Her feet were just too small. So she had an exact match in her shoes size made."

"Well, that's the shoe problem solved. Is there anything else missing?" Amy glanced around. "Jewelry?"

Della shook her head. "We decided against it. Sophie was stressed and didn't really want to deal with it."

"Okay! We're ready to go then?"

"Well what about you Amy?" Biana said. "If you're coming, jeans are a little informal."

Amy sighed. "I'm not sure. What would people say about a human showing up?"

Sophie laughed. "Whatever they want. I really don't care anymore. My entire engagement and up to now, people have been going above and beyond to hit me with their worst. And I still don't care. If you don't want to come, you don't have to. But if you do come, I don't want you to hide in the back. Is that okay?"

Her sister smiled. "That's fine, it's just, what am I going to wear? I showed up on awful short notice and we've only got a few hours until the wedding."

Biana shrugged and walked over to her, slipping one foot out of its shoe to check their heights. "I think we're about the same size. The guys are over at Everglen, so I can have my dad or someone find something for you. Or there might be something in Sophie closet."

"Thanks guys, but it's really okay. If I did go, there is no way I would be able to resist videotaping it all. Or maybe I could skip the ceremony and go to the reception instead."

"I think that would be fine." Della joined Biana in rifling through Sophie's dresses. "Here, this one will probably work."

Amy sighed, taking the dress Della handed her. "Wow, this looks like something out of the French aristocracy. I'm guessing this is run-of-the-mill for elves?"

Sophie smiled. "That's actually on the fancy side. But it should suit you well. Or if you don't like it, you can find another one. But we do have to get going to make sure everything is going okay. If you need help, hail Juline. She should be free until the ceremony starts."

"Okay. Good luck!" Amy hugged her tightly, careful not to disturb anything.

Sophie decided to take her shoes off since the two-inch narrow heels were difficult to balance in. She walked down the stairs, and stepped outside, putting her shoes back on before she stepped outside.

The late spring weather was perfect. It was sunny, but not too hot, and Silveny had reported that there were no storm clouds for miles.

"So far, everything is going as planned." Edaline looped her arm through Sophie's and smiled. "How are you feeling?"

"Well, nervous, and excited and really happy." She smiled down at the silver ring on her finger. "It's actually happening."

"Oh no." Biana whispered, frantically feeling her pockets. "Uh, Mom, you've got the pathfinder right?"

Della frowned. "I thought you did."

"Guys, relax, it's right here." Linh held it up. "You gave it to me because you were sure you guys would find a way to lose it."

Sophie sighed in relief, linking hands as Linh lifted the pathfinder to the light. It pulled them away to the same meadow Fitz had shown her, with graceful weeping willow lining the rainbow grass. Chairs had been set up, but the arch of flowers that was supposed to be at the end of the aisle was missing.

"Wow, this looks great. Where am I supposed to be, and what happened to the arch?"

Della showed them a small pavilion off to one side set a little into the trees. "You wait here. I'll work on coordinating everything and find out what happened."

Sophie sighed, finally getting the chance to sit down and work her feet out of the shoes. The ceremony had been exhausting. She hadn't realized just how much opposition to the wedding had been deflected away from her. She still wasn't sure what had actually happened, since everyone told her not to worry, it was taken care of and she should focus on something else.

"Hey beautiful." The door opened and Fitz stepped inside. Sophie smiled, not finding the will to stand up but reaching up for him anyway.

He reached down and hugged her tightly. She buried her nose in the crook of his neck, breathing in the slightly sharp scent of the cologne he was wearing. The cold metal pressed against her skin as he gently cradled the back of her neck. "Are you okay?"

"I'm doing better now." She looked up at him. "How is stuff out there?"

Fitz sat down next to her and she leaned her head on his shoulder. "Terrible. But that might just be my peopled-out self. Honestly, I wish Keefe were here. He'd do a great job of cheering us up and he's very much a people person. Honestly, this giving us a few minutes to ourselves idea was great. I don't think I wouldn't been able to handle going straight from the mess outside to the reception."

"I have faith in your ability to handle people. But really, what's going on out there?"

"Everything that people could've done to try and sabotage the wedding, they did. I'm so glad our families have our backs. Without that, there would have been no way we would have been able to get married today. The florist Mom had bailed on us at the last possible second, but I'm pretty sure Oralie and Bronte pulled some strings and took care of that. A lot of Vackers more prominent than we are tried to get things cancelled, or change orders, anything they could. And plenty of people went along with it. Even Fallon of all people apparently showed up and he and Dad got into a huge fight. He didn't actually leave until someone, I think it was Grady's dad, Mesmerized him into leaving."

"Sound like a real hot mess." Sophie reached up and trailed her fingers down the side of his face. He sighed, leaning into her touch.

"You've got lipstick on you."

"I do?"

"Yeah. Here, let me get it." She sat up and kissed him on the lips, sighing softly when he pulled her close against him. When she pulled back, both of them were smiling.

"I don't think that helped."

"Probably not. But it was fun." Despite herself, Sophie began to giggle. The giggle turned to quiet laughter and Fitz started laughing too. Both of them started laughing hard, Sophie nearly toppling off the couch, and it took a while for them to calm down, only to start laughing again.

"We actually did it." Sophie took his left hand and held it up next to hers. "We actually got married."

"Yeah we did." He sighed, leaning his head on hers. "All those people who told me we'd never make it, that you were only after my prestige, and tried to fill my head with all sorts of junk and failed."

"Who was telling you that?" Sophie pulled back enough to turn and face him.

Fitz smiled. "That's not important."

"Fitz."

"Some family members I've only met once or twice. Some of them my parents had never met. And they showed up out of the blue to criticize my choice. My dad got pretty tired of them fast and told all of them to get lost. Do you want to change out of some of this? I know you have a pair of flats you wanted for the reception instead of heels."

She nodded. "I understand the sentiment behind these shoes, they've been passed down in Mom's family for several generations, but they're kind of uncomfortable, partly cause they're so old."

"Okay. They're over here." He handed her a pair of white flats with sapphires on the toes. "They're really pretty."

"Thanks. Also, a nice feature of this dress," Sophie slipped her sore feet into the shoes and stood up, unfastening the slip knot holding the puffy part of the skirt to the dress. "The majority of the skirt is detachable."

Fitz's mouth dropped open as she stepped out of the pile of tulle, leaving her in a flowy, A-line skirt that had a short, wispy train. "That is convenient."

"Yup. Now I don't have to drag all this behind me. You ready to head down?"

"If you are." He stood up, taking her hands gently. "But you should know that a lot of my relatives my parents were forced to invite to the reception are strongly opposed to our marriage and they're not afraid to make their opinions known. Just letting you know."

Sophie nodded. "I'm not worried. Mom and Dad introduced me to their parents about a year ago, right after we got engaged. It took a while and Mom almost cut contact with her parents since they were upset about our relationship, but they came around. Dad's parents are awesome though. They always have been."

He pulled her close, tucking his face against her shoulder. She wrapped her arms around him, tracing patterns on his back. "Do you want to talk about something else?"

"Yeah." He sniffled.

"How's the Cliffside project going?"

Fitz pulled back and looked her in the eye, smiling through a few tears. "It's a surprise. But I think you'll like it. It's very much your style."

"Plain?" she joked, playful smile quirking at her lips.

"No, not plain. I think Amy called it 'shabby chic'."

"Ooh." Sophie grinned. "I bet it's gorgeous. Is it finished?"

"Mmhm. It's right on the edge of a cliff, with a stone fence on the edge. The outside is blue with white trim, but it's not a perfect blue. It varies from spot to spot."

"That sounds amazing. But we're probably out of time. Should we go down and face the hoard?"

"I don't think we have much of a choice." He took her arm and opened the door. To their pleasant surprise, the hallway outside was deserted.

"Everyone must be downstairs." Sophie was tense, which made her nearly trip on the narrow hidden staircase down to the reception hall. Fitz caught her and waiting a little longer than necessary before setting her on her feet again.

They could hear the commotion before they got to the ground floor. Sophie heard a lot of raised voices, mostly adult, yelling at one another. She squeezed Fitz's arm and he reached up to place his hand over hers.

"You got this. You can do this."

He took a deep breath. "I got this."

They pushed open the door together and stepped into the room. Almost immediately, some girl wearing the Vacker crest latched onto Fitz's free side, speaking in annoying air-headed tone, complete with stupid run-on sentences.

"Cousin, it's so nice to see you! This is such a nice party, oh have you picked up your match list yet, I have a friend, oh she's so pretty, and very much your type, she picked up her list and she said you we on it, but I don't really believe her, she is a little loopy if you know what I mean and-"

Fitz cut her off before she could prattle on further. "I won't be picking up my lists, because I am happily married. This nice party is the reception for my wedding." He placed unmistakable emphasis on the word. "Who are you anyway?"

The girl promptly dropped his arm, now seeing the gold band on his finger and the delicate ring on Sophie's when she held her hand up. "I thought it was a practical joke."

Sophie grinned and shook her head. "You'll have to tell your friend to look at the other 499 names on her lists. This one's mine."

The girl huffed and flounced off.

"Who's she?"

"I have no idea. I assume she's some distant cousin pretending to be all buddy-buddy. I've never seen her before."

Another young woman, this one with a little more dignity and a crest Sophie didn't recognize, dipped in a slight curtsy and gave Fitz a flirty smile. Either she had no peripheral vision or she was ignoring Sophie. Sophie bet it was the latter.

"How wonderful to meet you, Mr. Vacker." The strange woman purred and extended her hand slightly, probably expecting Fitz to kiss it. He did nothing of the sort, taking a half step back away from her.

"Have we met before?" Fitz was trying to be cordial this time, but his patience was already thin.

She kept her smile up, blinking rapidly. "Well, I wouldn't really expect you to remember little old me. I am a few social circles below you after all. But that does not mean I am lacking."

Sophie had to stop herself from growling. They hadn't even been married for a full hour and already some random woman was trying to pull them apart.

"I'm sure you are not. But if you'll excuse me, I believe my mother-in-law is trying to get my attention."

He promptly pulled Sophie in Edaline's direction. She kept up with him, thankful she'd decided to change into flats for the reception.

"Sophie!"

"Hey Mom." She dropped Fitz's arm for a few seconds to hug her mother. Unfortunately, that was all it took for another random girl to seize the false opportunity to assert herself.

Sophie sighed, taking Fitz's free hand in an effort to keep him calm.

Are your relatives always this bad?

Not usually. They're worse because of the wedding.

A few people screamed and loud footsteps thudded across the floor. The girl scurried away to the safety of other people and Sophie slid her hand over Fitz's back. She felt her face go white and she stumbled, despite the face she wasn't moving, when Ro parted the crowd, breathing hard and looking terrified.

"I've got 99 problems and right now, Keefe's survival is like 98 of them. We need to hurry."


Sophie sat shaking on the couch, staring at a single spot on the floor. Fitz had his arms around her, squeezing her hands tightly in his. Elwin had shooed them out after five minutes and it had been several more since then. All she'd heard was 'neurological abnormality', which could me a whole host of things and none of them were good. Unless Keefe was getting his ability back.

Fitz leaned his head on her shoulder and she felt a wet patch form. Registering that he was crying, she let go of his hands and hugged him tightly, pulling herself onto his lap. He responded immediately, holding her close and crying quietly into her shoulder.

"Are you okay?"

Instead of answering, he opened his mind to hers and letting her feel the crashing, biting waves of emotion he'd been stuffing down for days. The worry, the fear, the anxiety, the shame.

I've been afraid to tell you. You've had just as much to deal with as I have.

I know I have. She gave him a watery smile. But I still want to know. Somehow, burdens always feel less heavy when you let other people help you carry them.

He smiled. Thank you. For a lot of things. Especially sticking by me.

You're my husband now. It's kind of required. She grinned, pecking him on the lips. My makeup probably looks horrible with all the eyelash-tugging I've been doing.

Actually you look great. But part of that is a personal bias. No woman has ever or will ever look as beautiful to me as you do.

Sophie leaned her head against his chest, listening to his heartbeat. It was beating faster than normal, out of fear, but she still found the sound soothing. Fitz exhaled slowly, leaning his head on hers. Their thoughts slowed, meandering together until they were both intrinsically aware of each other's minds and emotions.

Keefe's going to be fine. Fitz gently lifted her chin so she was looking him in the eye. Even with this problem. He won't let this get him down.

I'm guessing you don't know.

Know what?

That this thing is killing him. He said he can feel his body giving out under him and every time Elwin looks him over, he says the damage is multiplying beyond what's fixable. He doesn't have much time left. She sniffled and Fitz gently wiped her tears away.

I knew. Dex hailed me a while ago, all worked up. It took me a while to calm him down enough to find out what was wrong. He spent several minutes straight just talking and that's when I found out.

Has Dex told you his other news?

Fitz smiled. That he proposed to my sister and she said yes?

Yeah.

Remember when they hated each other? Like, they were paired up for a Splotching match and one of them got a bruised rib. Both of them got disqualified. One because of the injury, the other for causing it. The Mentors made sure they never got paired up again.

And then I showed up. Sophie traced patterns over his neck and shoulders, gently rubbing the tension away. And things went sideways.

And it became the best years of my life. Sure, I almost died a couple times, but I did end up marrying the love of my life. And that's really all that matters.

There was a knock on the door and it opened. "Am I interrupting anything?" Elwin asked, without enough amusement to be embarrassing.

"No, not really." Sophie sat up and looked over at him. "Did you figure out what's wrong?"

"Yes, and it's not good."

Sophie slid off Fitz's lap and both of them stood. Elwin led them up to Keefe's room.

Keefe looked a fine as he could be, if a little paler than normal. He appeared to be sleeping, but when Sophie reached out to his mind, he responded, if sluggishly.

Hey.

Ugh.

How are you feeling?

Well, one minute I was listening to Halt's Peril, that's the ninth Ranger's Apprentice book, and the next minute I lost awareness of everything around me, except it hurt a lot more than normal.

Elwin sighed, rubbing his forehead. "I know enough about human medicine to create a treatment plan, but this is another first for an elf."

Sophie paled, leaning heavily into Fitz. "Please don't say what I think you're about to say."

"I'm almost certain this is epilepsy."

"A-are you sure? Doesn't epilepsy need at least two seizures without an outside cause to be diagnosed?"

"We've got a lot more than two." He sighed, taking off his glasses and sighing. "Ro said she'd been noticing several small episodes over the last several days. She assumed they were part of his condition and didn't realize something was wrong until today, when he stopped responding and started convulsing."

Sophie turned around and buried her face in Fitz's shoulder. They clung to each other and she took a few steadying breaths.

"Is there anything you can do?" Fitz asked, voice choked.

Elwin wiped his eyes. "I can try, but there's only so much. This isn't something I know very much about. But I do know that whatever life expectancy he had has been drastically shortened. I've done what I can for him right now, but that isn't much. I'm going to go see if I have anything in my stockpile at Foxfire." He left quickly, taking his things with him.

Sophie slumped in the chair and began to cry, burying her head in her hands. Fitz sat down next to her, pulling her into his arms.

"He's gonna be okay." Fitz whispered softly.

She didn't answer, continuing to cry into his shoulder.

"Can he talk telepathically?"

"He responded, but barely."

Fitz slid his hand up into her hair, gently pulling her head back far enough so she was looking him in the eye. "Would it make you feel better to talk to him and update him on everything that's going on or would you rather go straight home, pack and head out to Hawaii?"

Oh yeah. They were spending a few weeks in Hawaii for their honeymoon. Honeymoon. Just the word made her stomach flutter. "I'd like to make sure he's okay first."

Both of them reached out and formed a mental connection between the three of them.

Okay, so what's this about Hawaii?

I thought you couldn't hear. Sophie was slightly miffed, but too upset to be mad.

I've learned to read lips.

Fitz grinned. Our wedding was today.

OH MY GOSH YOU GUYS CONGRATULATIONS! Sophie was pretty sure Keefe was testing how loud he could yell telepathically and it was probably louder than Silveny. THAT'S AWESOME! But I'm sensing not everything went great.

Sophie smiled. We had a little more than our share of opposition. My grandparents are amazing though.

Your grandparents? Keefe asked, confused.

Yeah, Grady's parents specifically. They're amazing. His dad's a Mesmer and his mom's a Charger. Both of them have very sharp wits and when one of the Councillors, one I didn't know, tried to make a rude comment, my grandma shut her up pretty quickly. I didn't hear what was said, but oh it was funny to watch most of the Council turn red and a few of them flounced off. Oralie thought it was hilarious.

I wish I could've seen it. Wait, are you still wearing your wedding dress?

Sophie glanced down and shrugged. Yes, but I removed the detachable floofy part of the skirt for the reception.

You left in the middle of your own wedding to make sure I was okay? Keefe sounded like he didn't believe her.

The reception. The ceremony was already over, but of course we did. Sophie leaned her head on Fitz's chest and let him continue.

You're our friend. We can always have another party or even another wedding if we have to. But you don't have an infinite time like we do anymore. So unless something changes in the near future, your health and safety come first.

Keefe would have smirked if he'd been able to. So, what would need to happen for me to not be first priority?

Sophie knew he was joking, but answered anyway. If you wake up one and are somehow no longer in pain, then priorities will change because you'll be able to do things for yourself. I can tell you wanted to make a 'Since when am I not Foster's first priority' joke and I should probably tell you you can't call me Foster anymore.

Aaaand why not?

She grinned. Because I decided to change my last name to Vacker. So that every time people talk to me and call me 'Miss Foster', I can remind them that I'm a Vacker now.

Ooh, the Mysterious Miss F is a touch vindictive. Can I still call you that? Mysterious Mrs. V just don't work as well.

Fitz smiled, lifting her head to kiss her gently on the lips. That's fine.

So, how bad is Elwin's verdict? Keefe's tone changed drastically and Sophie grabbed Fitz's hands to stop herself from reaching out and squeezing Keefe's arm in reassurance.

It's…not great. She sniffled, burying her face in the crook of Fitz's neck and shoulder. He doesn't know for sure, but his best diagnosis was epilepsy.

I have no idea what that is, but I'm guessing it's not so great.

Sophie bit her lip, searching her memories for all the information she had, mostly from a singular conversation she'd had with a girl at her school who'd had it. I know it's a neurological disorder that causes seizures. And that they can be fatal. I really don't know much. But it does make your situation much worse.

Okay. You guys should get back to your wedding stuff or just go straight to your honeymoon. Personally, I'd ditch all your stupid relatives. Just pop in a movie for me before you go? Ro went to go calm herself down. She was seriously freaking out.

Sophie frowned, looking at Fitz and then to Keefe's clouded eyes. Only when someone else comes here to keep an eye on you. If you have another seizure without someone here to make sure it's not severe and to get you medical treatment if it is, you could die. Like, you could have a serious seizure right now and if Elwin didn't get here fast enough, you could die. You can have seizures in your sleep and if Ro doesn't realize it soon enough, you could die. This isn't your body slowly giving out under you anymore. Right now, until Elwin comes up with something to control the epilepsy, you could just pass away any second. Just like that, and there wouldn't be anything we could do.

Keefe sighed, or at least Sophie thought he did. His breathing was so shallow to be as painless as possible that any change was almost imperceptible. I understand that. But I've come to terms with the fact that I'm dying and I've done everything I wanted to do that I can still do. I mean, it does still hurt that my dad disowned me, and who knows what happened to my mom. But I've got the family that matters right here. It's really okay. I know you guys would seriously miss me, but I don't mind anymore. I appreciate being alive, don't get me wrong, but I'm not scared of of dying anymore. If anything, it means the pain will stop.

Fitz bit his lip and a few tears straggled down his face. Sophie leaned up and gently kissed them away, smiling. I'll go find someone to keep an eye on you. Which movie do you want?

How about Infinity War? That one always makes Ro sob like a baby, but don't tell her I said that.

Sophie sighed. Okay. I'll find it. It didn't take her long to locate the DVD, since Ro had put it in a clear box marked Box of Shame. She rolled her eyes and took the case out. Fitz came back upstairs with a gnome and Sophie slid the disc into the DVD player.

Keefe smiled as best he could. Thanks guys. Now you go have fun and let me know when I'm going to become the coolest uncle in the world.

Fitz laughed. Don't mean to rub salt in the wound, but you can't exactly be the cool uncle when you can get out of bed. I think Dex is going to take that title.

Sophie just blushed at the implications.

If you got a teaser, you will notice that it's not here. This is because I had to split this chapter into two. Sorry.

Shine brightly!

Ruby