A/N: I was going to tag some people in this but I had way too many requests for it. This post begins telling Keefe's POV of his and Sophie's trek with Silveny to and from the High Seas hideout towards the end of Exile. This arc is told in four chapters.
Keefe hadn't been home very long when his Imparter rang--and he was pleasantly surprised to see it was Foster hailing him.
She seemed apprehensive when she explained that she needed his help--and oh how he liked that--and that they'd be going on an adventure with Silveny.
Well...she hadn't called it an adventure. She'd just said they'd be flying somewhere, that Grady and Edaline didn't want her going alone, and that she'd fill him in when he leapt back to Havenfield.
It was just as well she hadn't given him details yet, because his dad stopped him on his way to the vortinator and demanded to know where he was going so late in the evening.
And Keefe really didn't even have to lie as his dad grabbed his arm to read his emotions. Keefe was able to keep it vague because his understanding of the change in situation was vague.
His dad was going to refuse to let him go--probably only because he could sense how thrilled Keefe was that Foster needed him--but thankfully, his mom stepped in.
"Let him go, Cassius. He's actually doing something useful, which you always complain doesn't happen often enough with him. Don't stand in the way of it now."
His father eyed her carefully, thinking.
"Okay. I can see that your mother is pleased, at least. You'd better make sure she and I are both pleased by whatever help you're able to offer Miss Foster and the female alicorn tonight." Then he gestured to the brand new Sencen crest pinned to Keefe's cape and told him to ensure that it was tightly fastened so it didn't get lost.
Keefe offered his dad a mock salute and exchanged a quick goodbye with his mom before leaping to Havenfield.
When Foster explained the situation, Keefe was momentarily in shock. "So, let me get this straight. We don't know where we're going, or how long it's going to take us to get there, and we're flying to meet the Black Swan--who may or may not be evil murderers--and this whole thing could be a trap?"
"Pretty much," she agreed nervously, tugging on her cloak. He was glad that she'd also dressed warmly--flying long distances on an alicorn at night was likely to be cold.
"Awesome! 'Bout time this project got a bit more exciting." He glanced at Sandor, who looked extremely agitated. "Don't worry, Gigantor. I'll keep her safe."
"You'd better."
"And your parents didn't have any concerns with you going?" Grady asked him. "You did tell them, right?"
"Of course I told them. Sheesh--you act like I'm some sort of troublemaker." He winked, hoping to ease the tension. "Seriously though, they were fine with it. Well, once my dad asked me ten thousand questions to make sure I wasn't heading off to recreate the Great Gulon Incident or something."
He felt as Foster's anxiety heightened. "You told your dad about--"
"Relax. I only told him that you had to fly with Silveny somewhere and your parents didn't want you to go alone." He looked her directly in the eyes--willing himself not to get distracted by how rich and warm they were--and said, "I got your back, Foster."
"Thank you," she whispered.
Keefe marched over to Silveny's enclosure. "So, we ready to do this? What do you think, Glitter Butt?" He reached through the bars and let her nuzzle his hands, relishing in how the alicorn had come to trust him so easily. This kept him occupied while he waited for Foster to finish her lengthy goodbye with her parents.
At least, until Sandor joined him.
"I want you to take these," he said in a quiet squeak, pulling out multiple throwing stars. "Fill your pockets with them. Just in case."
Keefe's eyes widened. "I don't think...I mean...I'm not sure that's a good idea. My sanity..."
The thought of trying to take someone out with one of those throwing stars made Keefe queasy. But then...the thought that it might be one of the people who'd kidnapped and tortured Sophie and Dex?
That made it feel the tiniest bit easier.
All the same, he felt distinctly relieved when Sandor quietly told him, "don't worry. I know elves don't do well with violence. You haven't been trained on how to throw these properly. The likelihood of you imparting a fatal wound is very low. I just want you to be able to defend Miss Foster if the need arises. These should distract any attacker, and temporarily incapacitate them if you manage a hit."
Keefe nodded and pocketed several of the stars, stealing a glance at Sophie, who hadn't noticed his conversation with Sandor.
But while she hugged Edaline, Grady broke away from them and approached Keefe.
"Take this, just in case," he whispered urgently, pressing a melder into Keefe's hand. "And don't be afraid to use it if that's what it takes to get you both back safely."
Keefe slipped the melder into another pocket and tried to hide the fact that he was suddenly feeling much more anxious about this whole thing.
"I don't think you'll need it," Grady told him, seeming to understand his unspoken hesitation. "If I thought they were going to hurt her I wouldn't let her go. But I can't..." he reached up and ran a hand through his hair, looking even more anxious than Keefe felt. "I can't know for sure. So please, please look after her and bring her home to us, okay? I'm trusting you to protect her."
Keefe's heart swelled with pride at that. He wanted Sophie to trust him. Wanted her to let him in, confide in him, let him get to know her. And that would be much easier to accomplish if her dad already liked and trusted him.
So he squared his shoulders and looked Grady in the eyes. "I promise I'll do everything I can. I'll bring her home safely."
Grady smiled briefly before starting to turn back towards his family. "And don't tell her," he added at the last second. "About the melder or the throwing stars I saw Sandor give you. It'll only scare her."
Keefe nodded.
He watched as Grady went back to his family and felt the familiar ache of jealousy as they hugged and talked, the love between them very obvious. She hadn't even been born to them, but Grady and Edaline's love for Foster was apparent. As was hers for them.
Keefe didn't have that.
Not at home, anyway.
The only time he experienced normal family life like eating dinner together, being shown that he was cared for, being hugged...was when he went to Everglen.
And his dad knew it. Resented Keefe's wish that he was a Vacker.
As if he weren't the reason his son wished that in the first place.
And on that cheerful thought...
"Whoa, you guys are hardcore with your goodbyes," Keefe finally cut in, feeling that the longer they dragged out this goodbye the harder it would be on Grady and Edaline.
And also because seeing the obvious love between them was starting to get painful.
"My mom just told me 'See you, son' and my dad only asked if I'd checked how tight the pin on my cloak was so I wouldn't lose a family heirloom," he finished, keeping his tone light and teasing.
But Grady frowned, and Edaline reached for Keefe's hand, squeezing it gently.
Keefe desperately hoped they wouldn't notice the way his cheeks flushed at the contact. In that short moment that Edaline squeezed his hand, he got a pretty good reading of her emotions.
There was worry and concern, undoubtedly for the journey Sophie was about to take. Love...probably also for Sophie. There was also an undercurrent of some deeper ache. Grief, he assumed. It wasn't prominent. It wasn't loud. But it was there. A whisper of grief that Keefe realized, when he reflected on it later, probably never left Edaline. It may not always flex its muscles, but that grief was likely her constant companion. It had presumably been there since the day they lost their daughter.
Keefe knew he would never forget that feeling--or the inner strength he knew Edaline must possess in order to learn to work around it.
But on top of all of that, there was...well, he supposed with anyone else he would call it pity. But with Edaline, it was mixed in with a sort of motherly affection that made it hard for him to resent the pity. It was too wrapped up in tenderness and even a touch of incredulous indignation for it to anger Keefe.
But it was also too foreign for him to address it or lean into it.
So he merely cleared his throat and offered Foster his arm.
"So, you ready?"
"Probably as much as I'll ever be."
Don't worry, Keefe thought as they approached Silveny and he felt Foster's anxiety increase. I'll protect you.
I won't let your parents lose you.
He climbed onto Silveny behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, feeling self-conscious with her parents watching.
And uncomfortably aware of how awkward she felt about it, too.
Even so, she warned him to hold on tight. And with that, they were off.