A/N: Thank you to my younger sister for helping me with this chapter! Since she demanded credit XD
Chapter 9 - Unabashed - [Keeper POV]
Sophie and Keefe sat on Sophie's bed back at Havenfield, her laptop in front of them. Dex had previously tweaked the human device so that it would still function in the Elvin world.
The laptop was hooked up to cameras that were hidden around Elwin's house so that they could view Enoch and Tam.
What the camera feed was showing them, however, had Sophie and Keefe sitting in shocked silence. They watched as Enoch and Tam teamed up and locked Elwin in a closet.
Sophie and Keefe turned to look at each other. When their eyes met, they both burst out in laughter simultaneously. Neither of them had expected this out of either of the boys they had kidnapped, but it was seriously funny.
Once their laughter died out Keefe became uncharacteristically serious as he gazed at Sophie. "Now for Phase Two." He spoke ominously.
"What's Phase Two? We never spoke of a Phase Two?" Sophie asked hesitantly.
"Yes, we did. When you were sleeping." Keefe spoke slowly and patiently, like she was a little kid.
"Who's we?" Sophie was beyond confused at this point.
"Ro and me!"
Sighing, Sophie then asked, "So what, exactly, is Phase Two?"
"Trials. So the first trial is for Tam and Enoch to 'escape' Splendor Plains, and then we'll force them to lightleap somewhere to the next trial."
"What's the next trial going to be?"
"Haven't decided yet. Maybe we could–"
Sophie felt an insistent buzzing in her ankle pocket. "Hold that thought," Sophie interrupted Keefe. "It's Dex."
"Why is he hailing you?"
"Let's find out." Sophie answered Dex's hail with a cheery "What's up, Dex?"
Looking at the small screen on her imparter, Sophie gauged that her tone wasn't ideal for the situation as Dex seemed to be very, very mad.
"Why did Biana show up at my house crying?" He ground out through clenched teeth.
Sophie froze, flushing tomato red. "I–"
"She told me that she kissed you and you didn't react well, and she was crying her eyes out!"
"Biana kissed you?" Keefe was very surprised. He never suspected Biana would swing that way.
Sophie swallowed thickly. "Yeah... I didn't mean to upset her! I just didn't know what to do, I didn't know..." She trailed off, unsure of what to say.
Dex's face softened. "Look, I get it. I'm sorry for yelling at you. It just shocked me to see Biana, of all people, like that, and it bothered me."
Sophie nodded in understanding.
"You're protective of her, huh? Does someone like Biana?" Keefe interjected teasingly, though Sophie noticed something unreadable behind his sparkling eyes.
"What? No! She's like a sister to me!" Dex defended himself.
Keefe hummed, whether in agreement or disbelief Sophie didn't care to know.
"Leave him alone," Sophie scolded Keefe. To Dex she said, "I'll talk to her. I just need some more time."
"Thanks, Sophie. I gotta go, but see you later?" Without giving her a chance to respond, Dex clicked off.
Keefe and Sophie sat in silence for about thirty seconds before Keefe started talking again. "Alright, Foster! You've had enough time to think; we're going to Dex's so you can talk to Biana!"
"Keefe, no–"
"Foster, I am not going to help you intervene with other people's love lives without you having a handle of your own. So, field trip! Ro! Come out, come out, wherever you are!" Keefe shouted, using the popular hide-and-seek term Sophie had taught him recently.
Sophie wrung her hands anxiously, trying to keep herself from hyperventilating over the talk she was soon to have.
"I'm here, Lord Hunkyhair, no need to shout!" Ro shouted herself, appearing from out of the shadows.
"Take us to Rimeshire, Ro!"
"What, so I'm a transport vehicle now?" Ro grumbled as she led the way out of Sophie's room, through the hallway, down the stairs, and then through the living room and out the grand doors.
Stopping abruptly, Ro spun around and faced Keefe, her hands on her hips. "How am I supposed to bring you anywhere? Are we hiking? Why can't Blondie just teleport us?"
Keefe's eyes lit up, his good mood unshaken by Ro's apparent grumpiness. "That's a good idea! Why didn't I think of that?" He turned to look at Sophie. "Will you teleport us?"
Sophie didn't know whether to sigh in anxious foreboding or giggle at Keefe's excitement. She settled with a nod and smile in answer to his question.
"Yes!" Keefe shouted gleefully. Sophie almost expected him to punch the air.
She watched as Keefe took off at a sprint towards the cliff at the edge of Havenfield grounds. Once he got there, he turned to face Ro and Sophie, impatiently motioning for them to hurry up.
"We're coming, we're coming!" Sophie huffed at him playfully, affected by his infectious mood. "But wait... why can't we use the LeapMaster?"
"We just can't!"
Sophie shook her head and looked at Ro, who seemed to be trying to remain grumpy but was failing miserably.
Without warning her, Sophie grabbed Ro and ran with her speed to the cliff's edge. Once she was close enough, she grabbed Keefe and flung them and herself over the edge. She opened a rift to the void and they plummeted through it, teleporting to Rimeshire.
Anxiety hit Sophie once she scrambled out from underneath the dog pile they had created and viewed Rimeshire.
Suddenly a hand slammed down on her shoulder, making Sophie jump. "Aww, don't sweat it, Foster! You'll go in there and have your little chat and realize everything will be just fine," Keefe then paused and surveyed Sophie, noting her startled expression and slightly rapid breathing. "Oh, did I scare you? Sorry, I didn't mean to," Keefe rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.
"It's–It's okay," Sophie mumbled, stepping away in embarrassment.
Ro chose then to speak up. "So, why did I have to come again? It seems like you two have things under control..." She trailed off, looking up at the elves in expectation.
Keefe scoffed, "You're my bodyguard, remember? You're supposed to go where I go. And right now, I'm with Foster." He then tossed a smirk at the ogre. "If you're so desperate to be away from me I'm sure Juline would be ecstatic if you were to be so kind as to offer to babysit the triplets."
Ro's eyes widened in terror as she remembered the last time she was roped into babysitting Dex's siblings. With a shudder she quickly shook her head. "No, I'm good with you!"
Keefe snorted and even Sophie laughed a bit.
Ro hauled herself to her feet, muttering under her breath something about there not being a goblin in sight.
With no more words spoken the trio made the trek to Rimeshire's grand doors.
Once there, Sophie raised her hand to use the crystal door knocker. Before she had a chance to, however, Keefe shoved in front of her and barged right in.
"Keefe!" Sophie shouted after him. "It's rude to just barge into somebody's house!"
Keefe ignored her, moving into the house and out of sight.
With only a moment's hesitation Sophie followed Keefe into the house, pausing when he whirled to face her. Ro still stood in the entranceway.
"This is weird. Where is everyone?" Keefe asked the other elf.
Sophie shrugged. "How am I supposed to–"
"I'm here!" Dex's voice sounded from behind Sophie. "What are you doing here?"
Keefe moved to Sophie's side and hooked his arm through hers. "We're here so Foster can make up with Biana." He declared.
"Oh." Dex said in surprise. "She's not here anymore. She went home yesterday."
"Yesterday? She was here yesterday, and you only just hailed Sophie today?" Keefe gasped, acting like Dex had committed an act of crime.
"Well, yeah..." Dex didn't really know what to say. He didn't even understand what it was he had done wrong.
"You should have hailed her yesterday while Biana was still here! Now we have to go hunt her down!" Keefe huffed angrily.
Sophie elbowed Keefe. "Actually, that is a good thing because we were occupied yesterday."
Dex ignored Keefe and focused on what Sophie had said. "What were you doing yesterday?"
Sophie and Keefe shot panicked looks at each other.
"Uh, yeah, we were just, uh," Keefe started.
"We had this thing to do, um, it was a very important, uh, thing," Sophie continued.
"They were kidnapping Tam and this kid named Enoch." Ro spoke from the entrance of the living room where the three elves were congregated.
"RO!" Sophie and Keefe shouted simultaneously.
"What? I thought you forgot!"
"Wait, wait, wait... You kidnapped Tam? Why?"
"Because they are – crushing, I think that's the word for it – on each other and we're giving them a chance to get to know each other."
Sophie and Keefe both groaned, and Keefe even went as far as to facepalm himself.
But to everyone's surprise, Dex burst out laughing. "Why does that sound exactly like something you two would do?"
"Because it is." Ro agreed easily.
"Yeah. Anyways, Biana went back home, and I think she's still there if you wanna go talk to her." Dex offered sweetly.
"Thank you," Sophie smiled at Dex, already backing out of the living room and out of the house. Keefe and Ro followed her.
"Good luck with your kidnapping situation!" Dex called after them.
Keefe dramatically waved goodbye before shutting the door.
Outside, Sophie spun around to face Keefe. "You are not coming with me."
Keefe was taken aback. "But... why not?"
Sophie sighed. "This is already going to be mortifying. You being there will only make it worse."
With a pout, Keefe nodded his head in resignation.
Ro took pity on the elf. "Come on, Lord Hunkyhair, we can test some pranks on Wonder Boy."
Keefe perked up with a sparkle in his eye.
"No, Keefe–" Sophie started.
"Don't worry, Foster! I've got this under control!" Without another word Keefe and Ro headed for the Dizznee's LeapMaster.
Sophie steeled her nerves, preparing herself for the conversation that she was certain was going to come this time.
You can do this, Sophie mentally hyped herself as she used the crystal door knocker. She had to wait about two minutes for someone to open the door. She wasn't surprised. After all, houses in the Lost Cities were more akin to castles.
Who opened the door, however, did surprise her.
"Fitz?" She gasped, her eyes going wide. "What are you doing here?"
"I live here. I think I should be asking you that question." Fitz retorted coolly.
"Right, sorry." Sophie ducked her head. "I'm here to see Biana."
"Of course you are," Fitz muttered bitterly. Sophie wondered if he was thinking about their breakup a few days ago.
"Sophie!" Sophie was snapped out of her thoughts by Fitz's harsh words.
"Wha–What?"
Fitz openly glowered at her when Sophie dared to raise her eyes to his. "I said, do you remember the way to Biana's room?" Fits spoke through clenched teeth.
Sophie gulped and nodded, intimidated.
Fitz exhaled a breath before moving out of Sophie's way, a glare still fixed to his face. Sophie trepidatiously moved past him and made her way through the house to Biana's room.
All too soon she found herself outside of Biana's door. Distantly she heard the sound of Everglen's grand doors opening again.
Sophie bit her lip as she knocked on the door. "Hey, Biana? It's me. Sophie." She called, just loud enough for Biana to hear her through the door.
A hesitant voice sounded from inside Biana's room. "Sophie?" Then the door swung open, and Biana's face came into view. "What – why are you here? I thought –" She pressed her lips together, cutting herself off.
"Dex hailed me." Sophie said by way of explanation. "I need to talk to you."
Biana's throat bobbed. "Come in."
Sophie moved into the bedroom and sat at the vanity while Biana sat on her bed.
"So, what did you, um, want to talk about?" Biana started, uncharacteristically nervous.
"Dex told me that you were upset about the other day, when you..."
"Kissed you?" Biana raised her chin, a bit of her usual nonchalant confidence coming back.
"Yeah, that." Sophie flushed red.
"I'm sorry, Sophie, I shouldn't have done that. It was the wrong time; I know that now. I made a mess of things, didn't I?" Biana smiled sadly.
"What? No! That's why I wanted to come talk to you."
Biana's brows furrowed.
When she didn't reply, Sophie continued. "I just wasn't expecting it, not then, and not from you. I," Sophie flushed an even darker shade of red. "I liked it."
Biana grinned. "Really?"
Sophie nodded.
The two elves sat in silence for a few minutes, processing.
"Hey, how long have you... liked me?" Sophie broke the quiet.
Biana looked at her unabashedly. "Since I met you."
Sophie stared at the younger girl in amazement. "That long?"
"Yeah. I just didn't know how to tell you."
Sophie hummed, pondering her options. She found she was really interested in the idea of being with Biana, but she didn't want to risk their friendship for something like that.
Suddenly, an idea came to her. "Biana," Sophie waited until she had the other girl's complete attention. "I'm willing to... try things out with you... but I don't want our friendship to be affected. No matter what."
Biana nodded slowly, an excited gleam in her eye. "Okay."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah."
Sophie and Biana smiled at each other sweetly.
They both startled, however, when very exaggerated gagging sounds came from outside the door. A scolding voice followed, "Ro! You're ruining their moment!"
Sophie jumped up from the vanity and wrenched the door open. "Keefe?" She all but shrieked.
Keefe at least managed to look a little sheepish. "Hi?"
Ro didn't feel a lick of shame, however. "Are you two done? We have some kidnapped boys we need to take care of."