One of the main things Sophie remembered at the end of the war was the celebrations everyone threw. Sophie had seen elven parties before, but never like this. Never the grad balls that looked like a scene straight out of The Great Gatsby. Everyone wanted to celebrate the comfort of defeating evil and everyone wanted Sophie to be at their celebration. Their big savior. She only accepted a handful of invitations, due to a lack of time and her own anxiety to large crowded situations with glitter, but the night that really stuck out in her mind had been the ball the councilors threw in honor of Sophie and her friends. Everyone had been there, talented and untalented, dancing and drinking together until dawn.
She remembered it being hot, even though she was wearing a dress that in her opinion was not covering nearly enough, and the suffocating eyes of the world watching her. She had been hungry, too, not wanting to have people watch as she stuffed herself with the mouthwatering desserts the council had ordered for the grand event. Everyone around her gave her looks of thanks and admiration, she had done what most of them didn't believe possible. She had saved their people from utter destruction. She winced as she realized that she still referred to elves as "them" and not "her". She may have the immortal body of an elf, but she would always hold the heart of a human.
Another reason she didn't want to celebrate.
The fight had gone greatly in everyone's mind but her own. In their opinion, there was that word again 'their' not 'our', few lives were lost in the consequence of victory. And while it was true that they only lost two lives, an ogre and a gnome, she knew better. Sophie remembered the thousands of innocent human lives that had been slaughtered by the Neverseen in their ploy to upset and weaken her. She knew that she would, alone, carry their lives upon her shoulders and mourn their loss.
That was her main reasoning behind insisting Biana pick a black dress for her to wear tonight instead of the red she usually preferred. It was lovely and elegant yet simple too. The thin straps connected to two triangle pieces that connected to form the deep neckline with a long skirt that reached the floor. If she was going to celebrate the end of the war, she would do so with respect to the many lives lost that day.
Sophie heard the chime of the first song and watched as people partnered up for the waltz. She watched as Biana waved off an oncoming swarm of male suitors and reached for the hand that gave Sophie a great deal of surprise, she hadn't thought he would end up being the one to steal Biana's heart but then again, what did she know when it came to love. Sophie was fortunate enough to be hidden away in an alcove so she still had a few precious seconds before her own gaggle of boys caught up to her. She glanced at the dance floor again to watch as Prentice stood across from Lihn in wait for the beginning of the dance and smiled at the pair. She wished she could be as brave as them and dance in front of everyone like no one was watching. But everyone was watching and no one knew that she was unmatchable, or that she was in love. A flash of ice blue caught her eye and she tried not to stare as she looked at Keefe across the room. Her heart pounded and she wished for nothing more than to be able to hold him close to her, to leave the ball and be only with him.
No one knew that she and Keefe were dating, though she suspected a couple of people close to her had figured it out. Sophie knew that if they had made their coupling official that the Neverseen would have used it against her, just as they had done with the humans' lives, that wasn't the only roadblock though. The Blackswan hadn't been kind when Fitz had become a 'distraction' and told her this after she announced they had decided to stay friends instead. But what held them back now was the Council and their silly rules. Sophie knew that she would never be matchable and that no matter how much people saw her as their hero, they would only respect her if she followed their rules. The council was pressuring her greatly to join the council to solve two of their main problems: they would gain the respect of the elves that admired her bravery and they wouldn't have to figure out what to do with her unmatchable status. So when the fighting had stopped, she wasn't able to run to Keefe to celebrate like everyone else. All she got was that quick look that told her, I love you, before returning to their group in celebration like there was nothing between them.
Even now, as she wished to dance the night away in his arms, she found herself forced to choose someone else to cover up her relationship status. She felt a hand wrap around her arm as she was pulled out of her revere and look at the familiar face before her.
"Would you like to dance?" Dex asked her as he disappointed the boys that had yet to gather the courage to talk to her. She glanced at his eyes and saw mischief hidden behind the purple.
"Of course Dex." She tried to smile but nothing more than a polite grin appeared. He led her to the dance floor and positioned them so they were properly across from each other right before the music began. She shuffled nervously to the moves. Biana had taken the time to show her the steps to the elven waltz's but Sophie had trouble executing the steps even with her perfect memory. The dance was to a light and happy tune but Sophie found it too difficult to listen while concentrating and trying to keep the face of normalcy for her audience.
Suddenly Dex did an unexpected swing and Sophie, luckily, followed giving him a questioning look. She felt Dex let go of her hands as a new pair replaced his.
She met those familiar blue eyes and her heart caught in her throat. Keefe kept a serious face and Sophie made sure not to appear too surprised. They spun again, this time as part of the dance, and she noticed Dex sitting with his mom feigning exhaustion. Sophie smiled to herself as she realized what Dex and Keefe had set up. This way, no one would question her partner switch and they could dance without suspicion.
She looked at Keefe again and saw the hint of a smile on his lips as he grasped her hands more firmly than necessary. He looked at her and only her, knowing this was likely the only time they would ever be able to dance in front of people without scorn. Their looks said to each other the words they were forbidden to say, I love you.
Sophie was painfully aware of every spot Keefe's hands touched. His fingers interlocked through hers while his other hand pressed gently into her back, every touch glowed brightly in her mind as she felt it heat up her core. For a moment, it was like no one else was in the room except the two of them. He led her gracefully across the floor and she followed easily, smoothly, letting their moment together whisk her away from the worries and the pain of the past few days. She could see that Keefe, eyes never wavering just like hers, parted his lips and gave her a quick look of adoration. She wasn't just loved, she was adored. It was a feeling of shared pain and connected understanding. There were few to no beings that could understand the situation Sophie had been put in. It wasn't like she needed a copycat version of herself, someone who had lived through the hero complex and came out of it with scars. She needed someone who knew what it was like to not feel home, to understand loss, and who knew what it felt like to be the person on the outside. Most elves, for good reason, hadn't had to feel such pestering emotions. They would never know what it felt like to lose someone they loved or to not belong to their group.
It was that feeling, that understanding, that had originally brought the two together. Keefe knew what it felt like to have a parent leave, to feel the loss of someone loved. He loved her in the way that something like a matchmaking scroll or status in a community was nothing because nothing like that mattered when you were with them. He knew that she cared for human lives and because of that, he cared too. In turn, Sophie was the only one who understood what it felt like to remember the exact details of a traumatic event, to never have it fade from your mind as normal memories did, the curse of a photographic memory. She knew that sympathy was nothing to understanding, and she knew that her love for him was built unconditionally just like his.
The music showed signs of nearing its end and Sophie let their moment together fade as she memorized the features of his face. She noticed his eyes wander over hers and knew he was doing the same thing. If any of her now adoring fans were watching, as she knew they were, they would see two dance partners with passive faces. Keefe a random replacement to the injured Dex. But anyone who knew them, as some did Sophie and one did Keefe, would notice their eyes and the hungry looks behind them. Sophie noticed his usually fluffy blond hair had been styled down to fit the sleek look he was giving with the black tux. She wished she could reach out and pull her fingers through his hair and let it fall out like it was usually.
The music ended and Keefe let go of her so they could bow to each other. He gave her one quick look of sorrow and vanished in the crowd of elves that joined the dance floor. She stared at the spot he had been at for no longer than a second and turned to join the other festivities, never allowing herself to look back to where Keefe disappeared to for the rest of the night. She knew soon enough the Lost Cities would fall into a new routine, one that hopefully didn't require her, and she would be able to date Keefe without putting themselves at risk of separation. Until then, they would have to steal moments like the dance until they could be in public together.
Sophie was in a group with Fitz and Biana and their respective partners but couldn't bring herself to focus on the conversation, the feeling of Keefe holding her still lingering in her body. Someone coughed and she looked up, noticing all the eyes of the group on her.
"Are you feeling okay?" Fitz asked. "You look flushed."
Sophie began to shake her head and disagree when Biana cut in.
"You do look a bit sick Sophie, maybe the day has caught up with you," Biana said with a pointed look. "Why don't you say goodbye to the council and I'll take you back home."
Sophie understood and went along with Biana's plan. "Thank you Biana, I would appreciate that. I have been feeling a bit under the weather. I'll go say goodbye and meet you in the lobby."
With that, Sophie found her way across the room and went to the area where the council was mingling with the other high nobles. She said her goodbyes to each one and tried to suppress a groan every time they gave her a long thank-you speech in return.
She found Biana in the lobby and gave her a smile.
"Thank you for getting me out of there," Sophie said as she gave Biana a hug.
"No problem Soph," Biana returned with a smile, "now I know you don't need me to walk you to wherever you and Keefe are meeting up so I'll say goodbye now."
Sophie felt her face go pink but gave Biana a wave goodbye as she walked back to the ballroom. She knew Keefe couldn't be far since they would have to go somewhere that wasn't being monitored by other elves or their parents, so she wandered up a staircase and down a long hallway that led to several rooms above the grand hall.
She saw his tall figure leaning against the wall at the end of the hallway and felt herself pick up her pace. He looked up and gave her a smile as he started walking towards her, careful not to go too fast and make too much sound. When they reached each other Sophie felt their bodies come together as her hands found their way in Keefe's hair. Lips crashing together, Keefe moved forward to pin Sophie against the wall and she pulled her hands down so they cupped his face. This was a moment of need, of raw energy from being kept apart for so long. A deep part of her core wanted nothing more than to ignore the party downstairs and stay with Keefe in this hallway, this moment, forever but she knew better than that.
"Keefe," Sophie whispered as she pulled away. "Someone's going to find us eventually."
He gave her a sad look and nodded in understanding. They pulled apart but kept their hands intertwined as Sophie led him down a series of hallways and doors. Eventually, she stopped in front of a blue door and quickly rushed them inside. Inside was what looked like the office of one of the nobles that worked in the building.
"Where are we?" Keefe asked, still whispering.
"Nobleman Strauss, I had the lovely job of listening to him speak about the work he does in the forbidden cities," Sophie told him as she rummaged through the various drawers and cabinets in the room. "You should have heard him, he doesn't care one bit about what happens to the humans, his job is for show so the council can feel like they're doing something," she scoffed. "But I figured that the only place we can go without being monitored is the one place they intentionally don't bother monitoring."
"You want to go to the Forbidden cities! Brilliant!" Keefe exclaimed as he understood. "We can finally have some time together!"
"Exactly! Where there's a nobleman who works with humans," she said as she pulled a blue crystal out of the desk drawer, "there's a lightleaper to the Forbidden cities!"
Keefe picked her up and twirled her around as she felt herself squeal.
"Your brain never ceases to amaze me, Foster," he smiled at her.
Sophie leaned up and gave him a quick peck, "let's go to Paris and dance under the stars." He nodded and Sophie held up the lightleaper while they held each other tightly and wooshed away, finally getting some peace.