Disclaimer ig: I'm not sure if this is a realistic depiction of what Brant or anyone in his situation would be going through, so don't take this as something that actually happens because idk if it actually does, or if this is the right context for this kind of mental state to occur, or anything. My goal is to portray what I imagine the power of guilt among elves would manifest as in our world. In fact, at this point he probably would be in a psychiatric hospital, given that he can't really function "normally". Basically, I'm clueless and don't want anyone to get scared or upset or anything sidjksnsms

Sophie thanked the driver quickly, hopping off the bus and walking to her house. She had been walking to the ice cream shop nearby, where she always told her parents she was at as a ruse whenever she went to the rink, but her mom had ended up stuck at Havenfield later than she had expected, and Sophie was too upset to wait for her. She wouldn't have been able to give Keefe a ride in time anyway.

She entered her seemingly empty house quietly, her thoughts still clouded with Keefe and his father and the broken look in his eyes as he tried to convince her that he was fine.

She let the strap of her bag slide off her shoulder, the bag falling in front of the door with a thump. She looped the skates strings around her fingers and walked to the kitchen, opening up the fridge and hunting for food. Maybe something sweet would take her mind off everything.

A container of mallowmelt Edaline had made the night before sat in the back, hidden behind a carton of milk. She grinned, the first smile on her face since she'd seen Keefe, and slowly pulled it out, feeling almost guilty. She peeled back the lid eagerly, and then groaned.

"Dad," she muttered. "He really needs to stop eating sweets in the middle of the night."

She peered down at the pitiful remains of his hasty midnight snack, sighing with disappointment and shoving the container back in the fridge. "Fine then. I'll let Mom find out on her own that you're still doing this. Rest in peace, Dad, your thievery will not be missed."

She closed the fridge door and wandered into the living room, plopping onto the couch. Her eyelids dropped, and a sudden wave of exhaustion washed over her. Maybe she would just...

Creak.

Sophie shot up, heart pounding and all tiredness leaving her system. She looked in the direction of the stairs, where the sound had come from. There were a few floorboards that would creak, but only if you stepped on them, and she was alone...

She sighed, hitting her cheeks lightly. Her imagination was getting the best of her again. She relaxed, laying back on the couch and shutting her eyes again.

She was starting to drift off to sleep when there was a loud thump, rustling, and a deep voice groaning, "ow".

She definitely wasn't alone.

She got up and crept over to the doorway. She wondered if she should have gotten a stick or something to hit the intruder with, but it was too late for that. Her skates would have to do should it come to that.

She held up her fists, ready to punch someone to unconsciousness, and walked the rest of the way to her door. She dropped her hands with surprise.

"Dad?" Sophie raised an eyebrow as she watched Grady slowly turn from the door to look at her guiltily.

"You got me," he chuckled weakly, rubbing his foot. "And your bag is painful. What are you carrying in there-"

"What on earth are you doing? You gave me a heart attack! You should have at least come down and greeted me when I got home so I'd know you were here." Sophie crossed her arms, eyeing him. He was dressed to go out. "Were you... sneaking out?"

"No!" he said quickly.

Sophie narrowed her eyes at him. "Dad."

"Okay, okay. I was sneaking out. I wasn't expecting you back so soon since Edaline said she would be held up at Havenfield."

"And where exactly were you going?"

"Nowhere in particular."

"If that was true, then you wouldn't be sneaking out." Sophie glared at him. "You're not a good liar, remember?"

"...I was going to see Brant."

Sophie's heart stopped. "You what?"

Grady and Edaline never visited Brant. Not even once. Grady said he was unpredictable, and Edaline got sad whenever she saw him. The burns that marred his face reminded her of the fire.

Grady looked at her sheepishly. "Please don't tell your mom."

"But why? You always say he's unpredictable and unsafe!" Sophie spluttered.

"Yes, but... I've been thinking. I need to see him again. For all I know, he's gotten better! And I think... it's wrong to shut out someone Jolie loved so dearly, no matter how stressful or hard it is." He paused. "Edaline can't handle him. You know how she is. And her smiles have started to look less burdened, and her eyes are lighter these days." He smiled. "I don't want to ruin that with something that could easily go horribly wrong."

"But-"

"And," he continued sternly, "I still stand by my earlier statements. He is unpredictable and he is unsafe. Which is why you can't come, before you get any ideas," he added. "But it shouldn't be a reason not to see him. I think I was just using that so I wouldn't have to face the reality of it all. But he's a person. And one who's mourning alone, at that. We shouldn't be hiding from him."

Flashes of Brant trembling on the ice and calling her by her sister's name played in Sophie's head, and she squeezed her eyes shut.

She definitely didn't want to see him.

In fact, she would be content if he never crossed her mind again.

But... she was curious.

Before she could think it through, she was opening her mouth and requesting to come with him. "Okay... but I want to come with you."

Grady's eyes flashed. "Absolutely not. Didn't you hear what I said? You're not coming."

"Please, Dad." The wheels in Sophie's head were turning. "Maybe seeing him will bring me some closure. I'm not like Mom. I can handle it."

Grady rubbed his forehead, deliberating silently. After a minute, he sighed. "Alright. But you have to promise to stay behind me at all times and if I tell you to do anything, you do it immediately. Promise me."

Sophie held up her right hand solemnly. "Promise."

Grady sighed again. "I can't believe I'm allowing this. I need to get better at saying no." He glanced at her feet. "Hurry and put your shoes on. We have to go quickly so we can get back before Edaline comes home."

Sophie nodded and dashed to the living room, where she had left her shoes. She quickly tied them and hopped up, when a flash of silver caught her eye. The skates.

It would take too much time that they couldn't afford to go upstairs and throw them
in her room, and she couldn't leave them here in case Edaline managed to beat them back. Without a second thought, she grabbed them and ran to the door, tossing them in her bag and slinging it over her shoulder. She pulled open the door and joined her dad outside, who glanced at her bag oddly but didn't question it.

"Are we walking or taking the bus?" she asked.

He frowned in thought. "Walking."

Together, they briskly walked down the path towards Brant's house. The last time Sophie had been to his home had been right after him and Jolie had announced their engagement. He had served them herbal tea in his small house, and Sophie remembered that it smelled of
spice and smoke. It was comforting, and homely, and she couldn't help but feel safe as she watched her sister and her love laugh together.

Now, Sophie's skin was crawling as they drew near. She wondered if the house had lost its spark as well.

"Sophie," Grady murmured.

Sophie's head snapped up. "Huh?"

"We're here..."

They were standing in front of the house. She had been so lost in thought that she hadn't realized, and the creeping feeling returned with a vengeance.

The lawn was overgrown with weeds and grass, and the house's once tidy appearance was ruined by the chipping brick and dirt staining it. Even the colors seemed duller.

"Well... I suppose we knock on the door," Grady said. He sounded more uneasy than Sophie had ever heard him.

He always managed to be so confident, never once slipping and losing his step like the rest of the world. He had always been their little family's rock, and though Sophie had seen hints of uncertainty when he held her and Edaline together in the days after the funeral, he had never been as raw as he was now. It scared Sophie more than her own anxiety did.

"I suppose..." she said nervously.

Sophie walked a few steps behind him as he went up and rapped on the wooden door. A few minutes passed with no sign of anyone coming to let them in. Sophie breathed out a sigh of relief. Maybe he wasn't home.

The door creaked open then, and Sophie cursed herself for jinxing it. Slowly, the door opened wider, revealing a disheveled Brant. He looked as out of it as always, but recognition flashed in his eyes as they landed on Grady. Then they shifted to her.

"Jo... lie?" he muttered.

Grady flinched. Sophie struggled to keep her face neutral.

"No... it's Sophie. You remember Sophie," Grady said uncertainly.

Brant paused, and then turned from the door and stumped back into his house. Grady glanced at Sophie, and she shrugged shakily. He exhaled, and then followed Brant into the house.

They found Brant in the living room, playing a movie with some blonde celebrity as the lead. Sophie recognized her as someone that people had often told Jolie she looked like. Jolie had always waved them off saving she wasn't nearly as beautiful or talented.

She really did look like her.

As they joined him in the living room, his head swiveled to look at Sophie. He didn't even spare Grady a glance, keeping his unblinking state fixed on her.

Grady's eyes bounced between them uneasily, and he put a hand on her shoulder. "Go make tea or something. I don't like how he's looking at you. Better to be safe."

Sophie nodded, quietly dumping her bag at the foot of a worn arm chair farthest away from Brant and going to the kitchen. As soon as she was out of his sight, she put a hand to her chest and breathed deeply, trying to calm her racing heart.

Her eyes traveled around the room, landing on a cabinet. She remember him getting his tea from there. She walked over and opened it, only to find it empty. She checked the other cabinets near it, but they were all cleared out as well. She frowned.

She opened the fridge, finding only a pitcher of water. She wondered when the last time he'd eaten was. He looked awfully thin.

There was something different about his house that she couldn't place. Everything was the same, aside from the lack of food and tea, but something was missing.

She managed to find three cups after much searching and poured the water in, and then forced herself to carry them back to the living room.

She found them sitting in silence, with Brant looking at the battered TV intently and Grady watching him with an unreadable expression on his face. She set down two of the glasses, and headed back in the kitchen for the third.

When she came back, Brant was staring. At first, she thought it was at her, but then she realized his gaze was near her feet. She looked down to find her bag, the zipper half-open and revealing the skates inside.

Jolie's skates.

Sophie's heart pounded in her chest again painfully, and she looked over at Grady, who had followed Brant's line of sight and had a stricken expression on his face.

Brant stood up, striding over with more power than seemed possible for his frail body, and grabbed them out of her bag with so much force that a part of the zipper ripped off.

Grady was there in an instant, pushing between them with a hard look on his face, but Brant wasn't paying attention to her. He turned one of the skates over in his hand, looking at it with wonder. His eyes sparkled with what looked like tears.

Grady whirled to her, saying only one word: "Go."

Sophie obeyed, tripping over her feet as she grabbed the bag and headed for the door. She paused, and turned quickly one last time. Brant's eyes were on her as Grady murmured to him, and for once there was a clear emotion in his gaze.

Longing.

She dashed out the rest of the way, closing the door behind her and sinking to the ground beside it. She breathed out shakily, head throbbing and legs itching to run far, far away. She waited, digging what was left of her bitten nails into her leg painfully and trying not to panic further.

Grady thought that Brant was gone, completely off his rocker, lost in his aching mind and jagged memories, but Sophie couldn't believe it. He had kept his gaze on her firmly, even as it was clouded with things that weren't of the present. Brant might have been lost, but Sophie could still see the spark in his eyes. One day, maybe that spark would re-light. That would make Jolie happy. Seeing her love regain his fire was the one thing Sophie was sure Jolie would have wanted, even if she wasn't here to confirm it.

She had finally figured out what was wrong with the house. What it was missing.

It only smelled of smoke now.

After what felt like hour, Grady calmly stepped out of the house, quietly shutting the door behind him. Jolie's skates dangled from his hand.

"Why..." His voice shook. He held up the skates with shaking fingers. "Why do you have these?"

Sophie fumbled for a lie, trying to stop her lips from trembling so she could speak. "I like to have them. With me. They... comfort me."

Grady blinked, the betrayal in his eyes fading. "Oh..."

"What did you think?" Sophie said hurriedly. She felt bad for lying, but she knew he would take skating away from her if she told him.

"It's nothing," he muttered. He bent down, untangling her bag from her arms and ignoring the wet stains from her tears as he placed the skates in it. He slung it over his shoulder and offered her a hand. She took it hesitantly, letting him pull her up and thankfully not falling.

She looked up at him questioningly, and he smiled. "Let's go home."

She smiled back, ignoring the growing pit of guilt in her stomach. "Okay, Dad."

They walked hand in hand the entire way home.

"I think we made it before her." Grady grinned as he gently shut the door of their house. He swung the keys around his finger triumphantly.

Sophie breathed out a sigh of relief.

Edaline stepped out of the kitchen, and they both froze. Her arms were crossed and her eyes narrowed.

"Before me?"

A/N: YOU IDIOTS ARE DEADDDDDDD