Sokeefe AU: The Farmer's Daughter

Part Two

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She woke right as the sun was rising. To her surprise and utter delight, she realized she had not had a nightmare.

She smiled and stood, suddenly energizes from the realization. She didn't stop to watch the sunrise, though she wanted to.

She started towards the house, dusting off her leggings before walking back inside. She didn't want to drag in any grass or dirt for her mom to clean.

Sophie slipped into the kitchen to see said mother cooking something on the counter while her father sat at the table, reading the newspaper, like every morning.

For whatever reason, she paused. The normalness of tje scene before her made her heart swell and ache at the same time. Two normal elves enjoying a morning together. She didn't want to go in, didn't want to shatter the scene with her strangeness.

But you're not strange, a small, timid voice in her head tried to reason with her. You're different, but that's hardly the same as being strange.

She rolled her eyes at her own ridiculous self. Of course she was strange, she told her own mind. The only elf ever with brown eyes, the only elf with unknown parents. If that wasn't strange, she didn't know what would be considered to be. She didn't want to know.

She slipped into the kitchen before her mind could try to convince herself otherwise, trying to silence the voices in her head.

"Mornin'," her adoptive father, Grady, greeted her without looking up. He sipped his tea.

"Good morning," she responded, trying to sound chipper. She sunk down into a chair and mindlessly started tapping her fingers against the counter. "What's for breakfast?"

Edaline, her adoptive mother, said drily, "There's bagels in the cupboard."

Sophie raised an eyebrow. Technically, the family wasn't supposed to have human food, let alone eat it. But her dad had a pretty high role in government, and he managed to sneak them some small things from the Forbidden Cities when he got the chance.

Sophie stood and walked to the cupboard, crouching to make the shelf level with her eyes and she searched for her breakfast. "Then what are you making?" She called over her shoulder to her mom as she selected the food and went to stand. If her mom wasn't making breakfast, then what was it?

"Lunch, for the farmhand," was the answer.

Sophie's eyes widened in surprise. She bumped her head on the shelf as she stood up, spinning around to face her parents. "What farmhand?" She asked, eyes darting between the two. She glanced at Grady, who seemed suspiciously involved in whatever article it was he was reading, even though he normally could care less about the news.

Edaline turned from her cooking and said, "Grady hired a young man to work on the farm."

Sophie's eyebrows raised higher, if that was possible, as surprise surged through her. "Hired?" She related.

Edaline turned back to her cooking, seemingly not going to answer. She motioned to Grady.

Sophie sighed and turned to her dad, a gazillion questions carrying through her. She asked, again, "You hired him?"

Grady sighed and set the newspaper down, taking another sip of tea. "Why can't you let me read in peace?" He whined, but he didn't seem mad.

Sophie's curiosity was so thick she wondered if it would strangle her. "Dad, you hired someone?" She asked, yet again. She vaguely wondered if her parents were hard of hearing, though she didn't know if that was possible for elves.

Grady shrugged. "Yes. The boy came here requesting a job, and I gave one to him."

Sophie slowly sat down, trying to process this. It wasn't a huge shock, not necessarily, considering the amount of work owning an animal reserve was. Still, it was almost impossible to imagine Grady, the man who seemed so tough, the man who refused to let even his daughter help him carry things, had hired someone to work for him. It was enough to make the surprise that much more evident in Sophie.

Still, she wanted to know the details. "Why would someone need a job if they have a birth fund? Why would he need the money?" She stalled, her mind churning with new possibilities, her heart hammering in her chest. "Does he not have a birth fund? Why would that happen? Is he just trying to get even more rich? Can elves not have birth funds?"

Grady put up his hands, the universal sign to calm down before Sophie could ask anymore. "Woah, there." He chuckled. "Yes, he has a birth fund."

Sophie could not deny the feeling of her curiosity intensifying, and she wished her das would just tell her. "Then why does he need a job? I mean, like, if he's young, why would he need to get a job so soon?"

Grady rubbed the back of his neck, like he was hoping Sophie wouldn't have asked such a question. That only made her happier that she had, indeed, asked.

But, after a few moments, the answer he gave her was a simple, "His father requested that he get one."

Of course, that raised a million new questions, but Sophie could tell by the look on her dad's face that the conversation was over. She slumped back in her chair, her breakfast forgotten in the excitement. "When does he start working?"

Grady looked almost sheepish. "He actually started yesterday."

Sophie blinked. "He's been working here since yesterday and I didn't even know? I didn't even notice him?"

"You were gone yesterday," Edaline pointed out, snapping her fingers and turning around to face them. The dish she had been preparing disappeared. "With Fitz."

Sophie's face flushed at the reminder. "Yeah," was her only answer.

She had been gone. Her and Fitz had gone shopping together, talking about life and such. They weren't technically a thing, though Baina claimed it was close enough.

Sophie still had her reservations, though. She couldn't exactly fill out a match packet, and Fitz seemed so dead set on it. Besides, she wasn't even sure if she were ready for something as permenant as dating.

Grady smirked at his daughter, but underneath it was a barely masked glare that always showed up when boys were mentioned around him. "If you must know, he should be here in about an hour," he said, answering her question.

Sophie nodded, trying to appear nonchalant, though she was quite interested in the conversation. More than she would care to admit.

Her mother sighed, stepping forward and picking up the bag of bagels from the table where her daughter had set them. She glared lightheartedly at her Sophie, tapping her on the arm. "Eat, or you'll starve," she commanded, tossing her daughter a bagel.

Sophie caught it, reaching for the butter in the center of the table. "Does he go to Foxfire?" She asked.

Edaline smiled, like she knew something Sophie didn't. "You seem awfully interested in this boy."

She shrugged, trying to appear like she didn't care as she smeared the butter, but she felt her face heat up. "Just wondering, is all," she said simply.

Edaline rolled her beautiful blue eyes, but she was still smiling.

Grady said, "Yes, he does. He should be close to your level."

Sophie perked up. "Name?"

For once, neither of her parents denied her request. "Keefe," her dad responded.

Sophie paused, a blurry image of a blond haired boy filling her mind. She'd only seen him in passing, talking with Fitz, so despite her photographic memory, his face was still not entirely clear. "He sounds familiar," she informed her parents, shoving a bite of breakfast into her mouth.

"I'm going to get ready," she announced, standing up from the table with her bagel still in her hands. Her pants were still grass stained from her sleepless night, and she didn't want to spend anymore time in them than she had to.

Her dad waved his hand, as if granting her the permission. "Have fun," he said sarcastically, eyes glinting.

Sophie rolled her eyes, smiling at her father's ridiculousness. "Yeah, yeah."