" 'cause he's a bad boy with a tainted heart
& even i know this ain't smart.
but mama i'm in love with a criminal —
& this kinda love isn't rational, it's physical.
mama please don't cry, i will be alright.
all reason aside i just can't deny, i love that guy "

disclaimer: i do not own KOTLC.

○

title: criminal
pairings&characters: edaline, sandor, mr. forkle, dex,
biana, sophie, keefe, sokeefe
genre: romance, slight hurt/comfort, (kind of) au
rating: t for making out and cursing
summary:  in which keefe didn't leave the neverseen.

a/n: i'm really not proud of how this is structured and written..
i apologize in advance.

playlist ;
criminal ; britney spears
slow it down ; kim petras
party's over ; astrid s
all the time ; zara larson
with you ; kaskade, meghan trainor
i can't stop me ; sabrina carpenter, saweetie

( full playlist on my spotify >> )
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5wMpdMMH8nPYjZrfbTtZpg

○

"Sophie, it's okay."

Sophie nearly jumped as two hands reached over to stop her fumbling fingers. She'd been messing with the button on her suit, anxiously picking and prodding at it for no reason. She had to find something to do with her hands since she didn't want to risk sacrificing the makeup her mother had spent so much time on just to tug on a few eyelashes. So, she settled for unbuttoning and re-buttoning frantically.

Edaline was smiling down sweetly at her as Sophie released a long exhale. Edaline bent over slightly, readjusting it for her daughter so that it was set perfectly in place. Her hand trailed up to cup Sophie's cheek for a bliss second to show her affection, and when Edaline spotted a stray strand of hair tangled in Sophie's dangling earring, she uncoiled it softly.

Sophie stared up at her, blushing because she felt so dishevelled, but also extremely pampered. There were a few guests watching them quietly.

Edaline noticed and she pulled her hand away from the dazzling earring once it had been fixed. Her smile didn't falter as she asked, "Are you embarrassed to be seen with me?"

"Mom," Sophie groaned, and it made Edaline laugh lightly. Her laugh was always light and delicate, Sophie noted. But she couldn't just attribute it to chiming bells -- it was more melodic and sweet. Chiming bells sent images of high-pitched choir bells dinging obnoxiously. No, Edaline's laugh was as wind chimes, but as light as floating balloons and soft as tears.

Yet, Edaline looked anything but light or delicate in that moment. Regal and powerful were the first things that flashed to the front of Sophie's mind when she looked at her adoptive mother in that snapshot of a moment. She'd convinced her to ditch the gowns for the day's proceedings, and now Edaline looked like a woman on a striking mission. The light blue complimented her eyes perfectly, and contrasted with her caramel curls that rushed around her shoulders like a waterfall. Her glossed lips were curving when Sophie met her eyes. "You have no reason to be nervous, Sophie. It's just another day."

"They seem to be getting farther away from any treaties," Sophie grumbled in response, shoving her hands in her pants pockets to avoid the urge of tugging on anything else.

"Dimitar is persistent," Edaline agreed with a bob of her head, eliciting a wistful sigh from Sophie.

"I can't wait until we eat dinner."

Edaline laughed, and even though Sophie had said it in full seriousness, her cheeks tainted pink. "We just ate lunch, Sophie."

"And now all of this stress is making me hungry," she groaned, and Edaline laughed some more, lifting the weight off of Sophie's shoulders. It could be worse, she supposed. She could be all alone at this summit, but instead, she got to spend time with her mother. "It feels like everyone is watching me."

Sophie frowned as she said it, eyes darting around the room to see if it was true. People were, in fact, looking at her. Mr. Forkle caught her eyes, sending her a reassuring dip of his chin before resuming his conversation with another elf and Sophie held back a sigh. Especially when Edaline began trying to give her a pep-talk.

"They're just enraptured," she said with a grin clearly meant to lift her spirits. "They aren't staring at you because. . ."

She was only half-listening, she knew that. A sliver of her felt guilty for purposely blotting out parts of what Edaline was saying, but all she could focus on was the very noticeable amount of people staring. A few of them made direct eye contact with her as she scanned the room, quickly darting their eyes away in embarrassment, and it made Sophie's body heat.

". . . Strong in the face of adversity. . ."

So many eyes. So many pairs of eyes, from blue to green to—

She sucked in a barely audible, but sharp breath. The air escaped her lungs in a flash, and her eyes widened in horror. What is that?

Her brain was reeling because surely she wasn't seeing what she thought she was. The figure wasn't moving, so she knew it was all in her head, her mind was playing tricks on her, anything.

They waved.

Her heart plummeted down to her shoes. Not a dream.

They were peeking out from behind the corner of a hallway, part of their long cloak billowing past the wall into her line of sight. She recognized that hood and sleeve anywhere, but who was it? How had they gotten in? The security was insane, so surely it just had to be her.

". . . I think—"

Sophie whirled to her mother. "Please be safe for a second, okay?"

Edaline's mouth was still open mid-sentence when her elegant brows puckered. "What?" she asked, needing clarification.

But Sophie was already backing up from her, holding out her hands. "Just. . . Bathroom! I'm going to the bathroom."

Sophie turned away from her, striding swiftly out of the large ballroom before anyone could try and stop her. She noted the multitude of eyes resting on her shoulders, making her face flame as she sped out, gaze glued to the corner she'd seen the cloak disappear around.

Who are you who are you who are you ?

Her heart was drumming in her chest, pounding and thrashing like a bucking horse, and as her stomach twisted she knew she shouldn't have been wishing for more food earlier.

Bile shot up into her mouth as she stormed around the corner as bravely as she could manage, shoulders stiffened. She halted instantly when the figure was only practically a foot away from her, and she scrambled back.

A lump lodged in her throat, and she was about to demand who they were, when a chuckle erupted from underneath the vast shadow of the hood that concealed their face. They swished it back, revealing tousled blond hair and striking ice blue eyes that filled her mind much too often. His smirk was contagious as he strode towards her casually, eyeing her suit. "So, like, you don't think this neckline goes down too far for something as formal as this?" he asked, reaching forward and brushing a thumb down it. "I'm also fairly sure you're not wearing anything underneath that suit coat, given the fact I see no undershirt or bra—"

Keefe Sencen. Keefe fucking Sencen.

"What are you doing here?" she hissed, grabbing him by the collar. She darted her eyes around to check for any witnesses before storming off, dragging him behind her. They swirled around corners, jumping into new hallway after new hallway before she spotted one that was a dead-end. She set out towards it, away from the party, hoping that no one had seen. When she reached a spot where she knew no one could see them (unless they strolled down that specific hallway) and she could only hear the muffled sounds of voices, she harshly shoved him against the pristine wall.

It glittered behind him, illuminating his hair to the point where it appeared as if he had a halo. With it, she could see just how pale he was against the warm glow of the crystal, and the light revealed several bruises littering his body. She could see them peeking out from under his collar, and even though she knew they weren't from her, she panicked, shame and guilt flushing through her body. It also wasn't like it was rare to see him beat up, because, between his hectic lifestyle, constant shenanigans, and (the one she hated most) his association with the Neverseen, he revealed himself scarred to her half the time.

But every time it managed to punch her in the gut.

She flinched her hand away from him, wringing her fingers. "What are you doing here?" she repeated when Keefe simply looked her up and down.

His infamous smirk stretched onto his face, brightening his eyes. "What, you don't want to see me?"

Sophie pushed her hand against his chest, disregarding the nearby bruises. Luckily, Keefe only chuckled. "C'mon, Foster, I haven't had time with you for a month."

The way he mumbled it set a fire burning low in her navel. He lifted his hand, letting his fingers brush against her cheek and linger. He swirled one of the hairs framing her face around his finger, fumbling with it for a few extra seconds before tucking it behind her ear. His touch ignited a tingle that shot up her spine.

Sophie sighed as he began messing with her dangling earring, thumbing the glittering diamonds between his fingers. He stared at them before she pushed his hand away tenderly, lacing their fingers together at the last second.

His teasing statement was true, and she had to admit that she'd missed him just as much as it appeared he had missed her.

Ever since Keefe had joined the Neverseen two years ago, they'd been secretly meeting one another at least once a month. Whenever time allotted and they could sneak away from their overbearing duties, they made it a point to meet one another. Usually in a secluded place, but sometimes they had to settle for trying to blend in with crowds.

At first Sophie had selfishly set them up not only because she missed Keefe and wanted so desperately to see him again, to know he was okay, (which she would never admit straight to his face) but she'd also wanted to raise every attempt that she could to try and convince him that he could come back. That they'd welcome him with open arms. That he had a purpose and was loved and appreciated.

All attempts were futile.

In fact, with every meeting, she noticed Keefe's growing agitation and how much less patience he tended to have with her and her words.

There was one day when he finally snapped at her for it, calling her out on the fact that she was only there to try and convince him to come back to her side. Partially true, she knew. But she also just. . . Needed to see him. Needed time with him, because some stupid part of her heart couldn't let him go so easily.

It broke Sophie that they were on opposite sides. After his confrontation that day, she'd felt him stretching further away from the light. Drifting over the hard lines he'd originally promised he wouldn't cross. And she knew.

She knew they were enemies now.

And yet, they were. . . Also not enemies, in a way.

She could see that by the way her stomach fluttered anytime he got close to her in the hallway, and by the way he was currently looking at her. They weren't here to fight, she knew, nor were they meeting to try and recruit one another for the side. And he knew that just the same.

Because after he yelled at her that day, almost two years ago, her reaction to his snapping had been to storm forward, grab his face, and crash their mouths together.

They'd kissed.

○

Sophie twined her fingers, constricting her blood flow. She watched the colour drain from them, going from peach to stark white, reminding her of the clouded sky outside. No blue was visible, muddled over by white and grey clouds. A gloomy day. Perfect for her mood, she supposed.

Keefe was growing distant. Though, more distant was the better phrase. He had already been distant with her for a while, but now she couldn't deny he had truly reached his peak of impatience with her. It was odd (but mostly alarming) for her to see his fuse so short, as he'd always been so gracious towards her. His tempers with her had been mellow, if they even existed at all, back then.

Now everything was. . . Different.

The clack of a tongue made Sophie jump. "That is a lot of worry, Foster."

She whirled around, hand clutched around her throat, and she blew out a breath of pure relief when she saw him standing in her doorway. Quickly her eyes narrowed. "How did you get in here without all my bodyguards seeing you?"

He fanned out his fingers and excitedly shook his hands in a jazzy gesture. "Magic."

She rolled her eyes and Keefe laughed, though she found it anything but funny. It honestly had begun to terrify her how easily he evaded any and all security precautions Sandor laid out. "Did Grady or Edaline see you?"

Keefe cocked an eyebrow. "You really think I would have made it to your bedroom if Grady had seen me? I'm flattered, but let's be honest here. Realistically, you'd have found me in the verminion's food."

Sophie shrugged, stealing a glance out the window. She didn't know how to respond to Keefe's humour anymore. It felt too light-hearted and simple like it belonged solely to their past.

Keefe seemed to notice, clearing his throat. He lifted his eyebrows temporarily as he readjusted against the door frame, leaning against it casually. She stared out the window for a few extra seconds (that she was thankful for because she wasn't sure how to look at him without getting lost in his eyes) before she heard him call for her. "So, what's in it for us, today?"

There was an attempted light, teasing ring to the edges of his voice, but she knew in reality he was asking her in full seriousness why she'd called him there.

Sophie watched the way his cloak swished around his legs as he tapped his boot against the door frame, waiting. You're staring, he brain warned. Look up, you're staring.

She swallowed thickly, tearing her eyes away, forcing herself to meet his. She was enraptured just like that, heart picking up its pace in her chest. They weren't like Fitz's eyes, unique, where you didn't think of them even existing. But they were beautiful, the perfect mix of a clear sky and frost over a glistening lake. It pricked at her heart.

Sophie squared her shoulders, blinking her eyes softly to avoid having constant, unwavering eye contact with him, and she pinned her arms to her sides to keep from tugging on her eyelashes. "I, uh, I wanted to talk."

He cocked one curious brow. He looked her up and down in one swift motion. "Oh?"

She took a deep breath, shifting on her feet. "Yeah, um. . ." Sophie screwed eyes shut, taking one long and slow breath in through her mouth, releasing it through her nose. She still felt anxiety wafting through her, but she forced it down.

When she opened her eyes, Keefe was watching her patiently from the doorway, though it looked like he was itching to get closer to her by the way he was fidgeting.

"I. . . wanted to talk about you and your. . . decision. Again."

Keefe fluttered his eyelids. "Oh."

"Yeah, um. . ." She had barely even started, but she already felt the urge to rip off all her eyelashes. "Okay. For starters, I just. . . Need to remind you that I'm not attacking you when I say these things. I'm only trying to remind you that everyone here is your support system, Keefe. I know it's been a few months, a-and I can't deny that you may have made some secure connections over, er, there. But we all. . . We all genuinely care for you, Keefe."

He was standing ramrod at the door, now.

You're repeating his name too much.

She swallowed. "A-And I know that what your mother laid out. . . It's tempting, yeah. She's your Mom, after all. But you don't need to follow it. You have so much more ahead of you, and you weren't born for one sole thing. Hell, I wasn't made for one sole thing."

He bit the inside of his cheek, part of it sinking in.

"You can always come to us, Keefe. Any of us. We're all here for you. I—"

He muttered under his breath, tiredly, "You've said this a million times."

Sophie clamped her jaw shut, eyebrows pressing together. She watched him run a hand down his face, exhausted, a sigh escaping. Her entire speech was thrown out the window, entirely forgotten at the look of pure rage building in his eyes. She'd never seen that directed towards her, so her body went rigid at the sight of it. "What was that?" she asked.

Keefe grumbled. "I just. . . Foster. You. . . I love you, but you don't know when to quit!" Sophie flinched at the way his volume rose so quickly. He seemed so exasperated that Sophie grazed over the love comment.

Her heart was in her throat, yet her blood was beginning to boil. "What do you mean?"

"This!" he practically roared, gesturing to all of her. "You only meet up with me to tell me the same shit over and over. I'm-I'm sorry, I don't want to hurt you, but that's true and you know it."

She scowled. "If it were true that you didn't want me hurt you wouldn't have joined the other side. I was only trying to tell you the truth, Keefe. You think you have to stay with them, but you don't."

Keefe scoffed, throwing his hands back up in the air at her reply. "Oh, well, it seems we're back at it."

"I'm serious, Keefe! You think sucking up to your mother is going to—" She clenched her jaw. Fuck, wrong words. "Sorry, no, I—"

"See, this. This is not the Foster I know."

"This isn't the Keefe I know! You've changed! So much. And I don't like it."

He grit his teeth, a muscle feathering in his cheek. "I haven't changed one damn bit!"

"Yes, you have! I don't know a time when you'd ever yell at me before all this bullshit!"

"Maybe I'm just learning to speak up for myself!"

"Maybe I'm learning, that, too!"

"This is so fucking stupid!" Keefe exclaimed, laughing bitterly. He drug a hand over his face. "It's not ever my intent to hurt you, Foster, but you can't just expect me to stay calm when you drag me all over the place, giving me this false hope. And then you constantly badger me with these pep talks, thinking one day I'm going to give in and just come back home. I don't have a home here!"

Sophie bit her tongue to keep from snapping. She'd never heard anything like this from him, and even though part of her knew it was just him spewing out random junk to take a load off his shoulders, she knew that he didn't mean any of it, she couldn't deny the part of her core that was burning with rage. "Keefe—"

"You know what, Sophie? No. I'm not going to listen to it anymore. I know I've changed because of my Mom, but I don't care right now. And I know that after I've said all this to you, I've probably lost you. But whatever. I thought I lost you awhile ago. I don't even know why you've put up with me this long. I don't understand why you hold on to this delusion that I'm going to one day waltz back and—"

"Oh my God, would you just shut the fuck up?!"

The air between them froze. Keefe made a face at her, clearly surprised, but she held her ground, glaring at him. Keefe's eyes narrowed dangerously, and he stalked up to her in a flash, Sophie's heart leaping into her throat. For a brief second her eyes widened as he towered over her, face mere centimetres from hers.

"Make me."

The way he growled it threatened a tingle that yearned to run up Sophie's spine, but she ignored it. Instead, her eyes widened for a second, but she quickly narrowed them, looking him up and down as if he was insane. Her nose scrunched, but not in disgust — mere thought. Finally, she snapped, "Fine, then."

Sophie harshly grabbed his collar, yanking him down while meeting the action by standing on her tiptoes. Keefe's mouth crashed onto hers with a muffled "Hmph!" and she just knew his eyes were bulging, even though she'd squeezed hers shut. Oh, she knew it was wrong. She knew it was so wrong to be kissing the enemy because this would either drive a wedge between them or push them further apart, but it was also so right because every piece of her puzzle was finally shifting into place. Even if he pushed her away out of disgust, she knew she wouldn't regret getting to soak up one last piece of him before he left her.

But he didn't leave. In fact, soon his mouth was moving along with hers, and it felt so much more magical than it had when she'd been moving to her own accord. She didn't care that half of the power was now in his hands because she'd succumb to this touch any day. Every day.

The first time Sophie broke the kiss to suck in more air to her burning lungs, she'd expected Keefe to snap back to and push her away, saying it was wrong and they had to stop, but he just kept returning. Every time they'd part for more air to allow them to go under again, he kissed her with more fever, hard and frenzied and pulsing with energy.

She opened her eyes at one point to check how he looked, out of curiosity, to find his brow furrowed in concentration. It made her lips curve into a satisfied smile, the kiss twisting and breaking with a crude pop before they reconnected.

Sophie didn't know how long the kisses lasted. All she knew was that his hands were on her face, her fingers had become numb from gripping his collar, and her lips were swollen from the many times they'd accidentally jammed teeth against one another.

The kisses slowed eventually until they were both focusing on gulping in the air around them, foreheads pressed senselessly together. Cautiously, their eyes locked, sea and earth swimming together.

"Well. . ." Keefe cleared his throat, which was still hoarse from the kiss. "Okay. You win, then, Foster."

○

Sophie snapped out of the memory as Keefe hummed in thought, rubbing her earlobe for a brief second before sliding his fingers down her earring one last time.

Ever since that day, they'd taken aside the time to sneak away and steal kisses, bask in each other's arms, delight in the enemy. They hadn't put any label on it — hadn't much thought about the detail any more than need be. They were content with the soft touches and the time they carved out for the other (never speaking of their respective sides during that time, however).

No one else knew of their rendezvous. But, if they weren't careful, someone was going to find out very fast.

Sophie looked down the hallway again, trying to check to ensure no one was coming, but hands sliding onto her waist distracted her. She rose an eyebrow when Keefe tugged her forward, and mirth danced in his eyes as he chuckled at her expression. "That was a mood drop," he murmured.

"Well, you're distracting me," she grumbled, placing her hands onto his chest. She shifted in his arms, turning her head again out of instinct to check for any people or guards passing by. Keefe hummed as she absent-mindedly drew patterns onto the warm, thick cloak over his collarbones, and it made her realize just how near his face had gotten. He was right up against the side of her face, lips tickling her ear. She didn't give him the satisfaction of her flicking her eyes to peer at him out of curiosity — no matter how much she wanted to — but he still seemed satisfied, because he chuckled. "Your mood is all over the place, Foster. Just relax."

"But what if someone—"

"You say that every time," he reminded softly. He leaned back, then, to meet her eyes in some attempt to display that he knew they were going to be fine. She lifted her hands off his chest and cupped his face, holding his intense, smouldering gaze just to say she'd held it that day. She wanted to memorize his eyes, burn them into her brain so that she'd get to see them as she dreamt.

"So," he purred, grabbing the collar of her suit and running his hands down it. They grazed over her chest, finally slipping back to her waist once the neckline ended and he decided it was best not to let his hands rest there. "Suit?"

She blushed. Crazy, she thought, how that one simple word could send her spiralling over the edge like that. He obviously saw (and felt) the effect it had on her, grinning as he playfully reached behind and tugged on her low ponytail softly.

"Suit, yes," she agreed after clearing her throat and swatting at his hand. He recoiled with a chuckle, hands resuming their place on her hips. "But not for long, sadly. It's required that I have to wear an evening gown for the dance."

"There's a dance at this thing?"

Sophie snorted, musing over the fact that that was the detail he honed in on. She set her hands on his shoulders. "Yeah, I know. It sounds crazy if you ask me. Dimitar looks like he wants to slice everyone's throats, so I doubt a glittering dance is going to appeal to him. And everyone is. . ." Sophie's face flamed. "Well, we're all different species. And some are every. . . Short. In comparison to others, I mean."

Keefe burst into laughter at that, and Sophie's face went supernova as she hushed him. She begged him to quiet down, fear gripping her heart at the thought of someone finding them in the hallway, but then she couldn't help the slight smile that cracked on her face at the way his bubbly laughter lifted her mood. "Not gonna dance with a dwarf, Foster?"

"Not likely, no," she admitted, brushing some hair off his forehead. "Don't think I'll be doing any dancing."

Keefe pursed his lips. "Oh?"

Sophie rolled her eyes. "Since when have you known me to dance? For one, it's ballroom dancing. That screams 'elegant and graceful,' whereas I scream 'will trip over air.' Secondly, no one is going to dance with me. I'm, like, the only kid here."

Keefe frowned, tracing circles over her hips. "That's a shame, Foster."

Sophie shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly. "No, I don't really mind. If I were to dance with anyone. it'd be my Mom, just for fun—"

"No, like, you seem really distraught about this," Keefe said, reaching up and placing the back of his hand against her forehead like he was checking for a fever. Her eyebrows pressed together in confusion, temporarily believing what he was saying. But then she caught the look on her face, a smirk twisted his mouth upwards, and she knew he was teasing with her. Her eyes shifted to it, that damn smirk, and when she met his eyes again, they were gleaming in triumph.

He knew. Oh, he knew she wanted those lips on hers.

She was in trouble.

Keefe tsked as he grabbed her by the waist and spun her around. A startled yelp escaped past her lips as her back crashed against the wall, two hands boxing her in on both sides.

"So, why don't you let me make it up to you?" His voice had dropped, low and steady, his eyes calculated as he searched over her.

"Keefe, we're out in the open," she whispered, a shiver running down her back.

"A little kissing isn't going to kill you."

"It's never a little kissing with you."

Sophie flushed as the words came out, but Keefe just quirked up an eyebrow, laughing softly. "And vice-versa," he agreed quietly, humming in thought as he stooped to cover his mouth over hers.

Sophie made a tiny sound of surprise the moment they touched, his lips vibrating with his humming. Sophie wrapped her arms over Keefe's shoulders, pulling him closer, and she could feel his lips smile on her.

Sophie rose on her tiptoes, deepening the kiss, sighing contently into his mouth. All rational thoughts flew away at his touch, and she couldn't even find time to dwell on the fear of being caught.

The kiss was dry and chaste and would have been much quicker if Keefe hadn't parted his lips. He sprung to action, recognizing the fact that they didn't have much time with each other before someone would notice Sophie's absence. She felt his tongue prod her lips after running it along her lower lip, and when she allowed him access, she sucked in a tiny breath at his teeth grabbing onto her lower lip. He tugged, and she knew nothing would ever rival that, groaning. He seemed satisfied with every sound he could cause her to create, and when he released her lip to return to his mouth, she found his tongue replacing that disappointing absence.

He swept over every inch of her mouth skillfully, exploring and sending rushes of blinding sensations coursing through Sophie's. She shivered, moving her mouth against his, wishing the night wouldn't change. wouldn't end. That they could stay like that forever.

-

Sophie didn't know where Keefe had disappeared to after their. . . run in. All she knew was that he'd pulled back halfway through the ravenous kisses, saying he should probably go before anyone noticed he was gone. She knew it was the same for her, but every piece of her had screamed not to let him go, unsure of when she'd see him next. Unsure of whether or not it would be for love or war.

Edaline noticed her funk all throughout the rest of the day, and into the night. She made several comments on it while they were in their suite, getting ready for the mandatory dance later that evening.

Edaline combed her fingers through Sophie's hair, watching as the elixir curled her hair softly. She de-tangled any stray threads, fluffing the gold waves and watching them cascade around her daughter's shoulders. "Sophie, are you sure you're okay?"

Sophie noticed the way her mother met her eyes in the vanity in front of them. Sophie wished she could avoid her gaze by staring out a window, for she knew the view outside had to be beautiful, but all the walls were marble. Beautiful, but cold. "I'm just nervous."

She knew was lying through her straight, white teeth. And she felt Edaline knew, too. But she didn't comment on it. Simply fluffed out her hair one last time before settling her hands on Sophie's shoulders, smiling at her in the mirror. "Well, I'll be there with you the whole time. You know that, right?"

Sophie bobbed her head, happy to feel some of the warm of her mother's hands seep into her. It lightened her mood, just for a second.

Next, they both broke apart respectively to change into their gowns, and Sophie was spending the entire time scowling in the mirror and how elaborate and fancy everything had to be. She knew if she could curse the summit's rules, she would. In a heartbeat.

As Sophie struggled to zip up her dress in the back (which was a hassle, given the fact it was so low down, half her back exposed) she couldn't stop catching her eyes in the mirror. It felt conceited of her to think, but for once, once, she felt. . . Pretty.

Her brain couldn't even deny it as she observed herself in the mirror. Soft, tangled curles tumbling around her shoulders, bright eyes, stewed-red cherry dress clinging to her curves. It was a brave move of her to wear it, a shoulder-less, tight thing with a low neckline and a skirt that only flared out once it reached her knees. But she loved it. She really, really loved it.

"Need help?"

Edaline appeared behind her in the mirror, and Sophie looked her mother over as she helped her to zip up her dress. Edaline was always this gorgeous being, delicate and fragile looking with pink cheeks and dainty hands. The dress that adorned her told the same story, flaming with subtle browns and oranges that blended into one another, reminding Sophie of an autumn sunset.

Sophie knew better, though. Edaline was anything but finicky or delicate.

"Thanks," Sophie said as Edaline backed up, done with zipping. Sophie stole one last look before she turned to watch where Edaline was walking to, hearing her heels clack across the tiles.

"Last touch," Edaline promised. When she reached for a string of diamonds, Sophie held up her fingers.

"Oh, wait."

Sophie hobbled over to the vanity (the combination of heels and tight dress were not her friend), sliding out one of the white drawers. She dug around inside until she found it, pulling out the short string of painted beads. Keefe's necklace.

Sophie's face turned as red as her dress, very aware Edaline was watching her with some hint of sympathy in her eyes as she put the necklace on. Edaline watched as the beads were wrapped snugly around her neck, not even grazing her collarbones.

Sophie awkwardly let her arms fall as she clipped it in the back, wiping her sweaty palms on the hips of her dress.

Edaline wasn't frowning, but her mouth wasn't in its neutral position, coiled down lightly. She set down the diamonds, which were twinkling in the hazy light of the room. "Do you miss him?"

Sophie blinked. She hadn't been expecting her mother to ask it so bluntly, and not so soon, so it knocked her back a step. For some unknown reason, a lump lodged in her throat that she couldn't shake. ". . .Yes."

"Oh, Sophie. . ."

She strode forward without another word, intertwining her fingers with her daughter's. Sophie sniffled despite herself, eyes pricking with tears. In the past two years, she hadn't cried for Keefe. She'd sworn she wouldn't because he always came back to see her, so it was senseless to have another part of her body endlessly in full panic mode.

So, just seeing him yesterday, she didn't know why she was crying. She wasn't scared for his safety (not too much, at least). They hadn't had a big blowout or anything crazy. They'd left on good terms. So why was there a lump constricting her throat? Why were her eyes burning?

"I wish. . ." She swallowed. She didn't want to cry. Didn't want to mess up all the time and effort Edaline had put into her makeup, even if she would have preferred to have her face bare. "I wish he was still with us."

You make it sound dramatic. You make it sound like he's dead. He visits you every month. Why are you so close to crying?

Edaline pulled Sophie into a hug, and hair and makeup be damned, Sophie put her face into her mother's shoulder, focusing on inhaling and exhaling slowly.

"You never talk to us about him," Edaline said, rubbing circles onto her exposed shoulder blades, dipping to her lower back a few times. "You never tell us how that made you feel."

Sophie choked, "I wish I'd done more."

"It's not your fault, Sophie."

She bit her tongue, lip trembling. No tears. Don't cry.

"Sometimes I feel like it is," she whispered.