Okay! You all want to kill me now! As you should! I know that a lot of the time I'll apologize for a cliffhanger and then say "but not really," but that's not true this time- I am genuinely so mad at myself for killing Sandor! I had also considered Grady, Edaline, and Mr. Forkle before deciding on Sandor, so... at least the three of them are surviving this fanfiction? I'm so sorry!
Crowd- Finally! They all hate you!
Me- As they should.
Crowd- Wait... I still hate you the most, right?
Me- Of course! No one can ever hate me more than you do! Wylie from my react fic does come close, though.
Anyway, respond to reviews!
MarellaIsTheBest: This isn't even the climax yet! And FedEx is Fitz and Dex- Fitz doesn't technically have an E in his name, but the pun is too good!
Multishipping101: Not the reaction I was expecting. And oh my gosh, thank you! Of course, no one can, but I'm so honored you think I'm close!
Lady Kiddo: Thank you! I'm so sorry...
Guest: I'm sorry! Please don't kill me! He was one of my favorites tooooo- thanks!
Ilikethemsalty: Wow, very... coherent. Sorry!
Bookhawks: Hey! A review that's not a death threat! Huzzah!
SokeefeWillAlwaysBeBetter: I'm sorry!
MeeIsFarrow101: As you should.
IShipWayTooManyShips: I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! Life is very cruel! And remember, I could always torture you more...
Siren: I'm sorry! I'm sorry! You should! Evil author high five! Thanks!
Elizabethornton: I'm sorry. Truly. But thank you.
Princess Book: I'm so sorry! Ahh! Grizel! Exile is a pretty good book... thanks! I really do think it's going to happen. I'm already a fangirling mess.
Mallowmelt: Lmao! Out of all the death threats I've received, this is my favorite! Mostly because I'm a giant math dork. I think I've reached my peak in evil, don't worry. Key word: I think!
MalinaEverfree: Sorry! :(
Sky: I did. I did. I DID AAHHHHH! I totally think it's going to be him in the real book. You should hate all of those people, myself included. Thanks! You too!
Lilac: OH MY MALLOWMELT YOU'RE TOTALLY RIGHT
FlowerGirl15: I'm sorryyyyyy. I definitely agree, if anyone died it will almost certaintly be him. She's my least favorite character! Ugh! #GiselaMustDie. ...maybe I'll like her off...
On a happier note, 14K views! And 17 reviews on the last chapter alone (I knew I would get a huge reaction from that), bringing the total up to 280. Thanks, guys!
Okay, enjoy! No one dies in this chapter, which is an improvement!
Edaline squeezed Sophie's shoulders as the ground rumbled. "Remember Twinkle?" she asked softly.
Sophie nodded, unable to reply verbally. She definitely remembered the titanoboa, otherwise known as the Snake Carriage Of Doom ™, from Brielle's aurification. It didn't feel real that they were now going through the same process, but for Sandor. Every second, it felt like he was about to explain goblin culture or lecture her about safety or tease her about boys... and then she remembered... and then it hurt all over again.
She couldn't even bring herself to be scared of the titanoboa with the highly misleading name as she stepped into the carriage. Counting the seconds as they traveled as supersonic speeds- 542- was her only distraction from the feeling that Sandor should be there protecting her and the knowledge that he couldn't be. With shaking legs, she stepped out of the Snake Carriage Of Doom ™. Gildingham probably would have been beautiful- the perfect architecture, the rolling hills and the lake, the gold everywhere- but honestly, she didn't care. The only time she had ever been there before, Sandor had been there too, acting like a giant gobliny tour guide. Her photographic memory remembered everything he had told her- but even so, it didn't feel right.
Nothing felt right anymore. Keefe was gone, Sandor was gone, and their latest encounter had proved that they were never really safe from the Neverseen.
It had only been a few hours since the fight with the Neverseen. True to their word, for once, Lady Gisela and her allies left once Keefe agreed to come with them. All of the arrangements had been made quickly, and it was only just past noon when Sophie and her parents arrived at Gildingham.
Her reunion with Grady and Edaline had been bittersweet. One of Sophie's friends- she wasn't quite sure who- had managed to hail all of the parents and tell them what happened, along with the fact that they were safe now. Her parents quickly arrived at Candleshade, and all Sophie could do was cry as they hugged her and whispered how thankful they were that she had survived. Soon, though, she had to ruin the moment by telling them about Sandor.
Sophie wasn't sure what was to blame for her inability to walk properly- her general clumsiness, or her shaking legs. Grady wrapped an arm around her, keeping her steady. "How are you doing, kiddo?"
Tears rose to Sophie's eyes and she blinked them back. "I miss him," she choked.
"I know," Grady said quietly. "He was a really amazing bodyguard. And a really amazing goblin in general." Sophie nodded. "If I could make this easier for you, Sophie, I would."
"I know, Dad," Sophie whispered.
Grady gave her a sort of awkward, one armed hug, which was difficult to do while walking. "And I'm really sorry about That B- about Keefe. He may be- there aren't really words in the enlightened language that can properly describe that boy, but no matter how aggravating or reckless or irresponsible or- I'll stop- he can be, he definitely doesn't deserve to be kidnapped by the Neverseen again. And I know that, despite his flaws, you really care about him a lot. And maybe- maybe- I tolerate him a little bit."
Sophie blinked back tears again, but a few might have escaped. "Dad, this probably isn't the time, but... well... right before the Neverseen showed up... Keefe told me that he... that he liked me in 'that way'. And... I may have told him... that I felt the same way. So... I don't know if we're officially dating or what, but... out of all the boys I could have chosen, I ended up chosing the one you hate."
"I don't hate him," Grady said. Sophie lifted an eyebrow with as much skepticism as she could muster. "Okay, I kind of hate him. But if you really love him, I'll try to stop hating him. But rest assured, if he ever hurts you in the slightest way, I will take my baseball bat and beat him to a pulp."
Sophie managed a watery smile. "Okay."
"Okay." They stopped walking just before the doors to the Hall of Heroes. "You ready, kiddo?"
"No," Sophie answered, pushing open the door.
Although the ceremony was supposed to be a celebration of Sandor's life and his achievements, it didn't really feel like one. It wasn't supposed to be sad, but Sophie couldn't help but cry when Grizel went up and stoically talked about how amazing Sandor was. Queen Hylda had wanted to know if Sophie could also say a few words about her bodyguard.
Former bodyguard?
Sophie decided not to think about the difference.
There was so much she could have talked about. How he never complained about the number of times she accidentally inflicted on him. How he was protective without fail, even to the point of being really annoying sometimes. How he was sometimes willing to break a few rules, as long as they were smart and safe about it. How he cared about her more than the typical bodyguard cared for their charge, according to him, anyway. How he wanted to resign because he thought it would be the safest thing for Sophie. How he decided to get a multispecial bodyguard team for her. How he decided to get involved in her romantic life- and if Sophie was getting nostalgic for Sandor's boy talk, it was bad.
But Sophie knew that she couldn't say more than a few words without dissolving into tears again, so she declined.
And then it was time for his aurified body to be presented. Sophie thought she was prepared- she had seen Brielle's aurification, after all- but she really wasn't. It looked exactly like him- almost like he would walk over and say "Do you ever listen to me, Sophie? Would it kill you to be safe for once in your life?". The only difference between Real Sandor and Aurified Sandor was that he was now pure gold.
And he would never be gobliny again.
Queen Hylda cleared her throat. "We would like to thank everyone who came today to-" her voice died off as they heard a loud pounding on the door, over and over and over. Only 18 seconds passed before it opened. A sea of humans stood before the doors, going on for longer than Sophie could see.
They were under attack.
Man, this chapter took forever and it's not even that long. Lodestar is the only KOTLC book I don't own a copy of (along with Legacy, Glitterbutt23 stole my copy of that one) and of course, those two are the ones I have to reference most often. I also used the KOTLC wiki for a lot of this. I hope it was mostly accurate.
*Crickets*
Okay, fine. I'm sorry for killing Sandor, but not for that cliffhanger! Muahahahaha! Next update hopefully coming sooner.
Well, my Bat Mitzvah's on Saturday (AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH), so probably not before then.
Okay, so... what did you think about the Grady/Sophie conversation? I kinda liked it, though I don't know if they're in character. I just figured Grady had to find out about The Triumph Of Team Foster Keefe ™ eventually, and since I needed a longer word count (this is over 1,000, but just barely,) I figured, why not here?
Okay, so I'm going to figure out how to write a fight scene again... :/. I don't think anyone dies in the next battle scene... wait, actually someone does, but I doubt you'll be upset about the next death.
We're actually getting kinda close to the end, which terrifies me. We have this upcoming battle, and then its aftermath, some Black Swan stuff, the climax, and the resolution- am I turning into an English teacher? Sorry. But yeah, we're kinda close. I would guess maybe ten more chapters, but maybe more- so not that close.
There is almost as much A/N as there is chapter- 1,075 chapter content, nearly 800 author's notes. I am completely rambling now. Mostly because I should be doing science homework but I don't want to. But I really should, so I'll leave.
Please review!