Broken

### **Chapter 1**

Sophie woke up in Biana's room. It had been a terrible night. She and Biana had just been rescued from the Neverseen's new hideout. Her arm had been terribly burned, and she had broken her ankle. She wondered how Biana was doing. She rolled to her side and saw Biana's arm and legs wrapped up in bandages. Worse than Sophie herself. Then she couldn't take it anymore.

Sophie could already feel the guilt seeping through her brain. Her memories became hazy and were falling apart. So she quickly wrote a note saying,

*From Sophie:*

*I'm sorry, but I can't take it anymore. It pains me to see you all covered in bandages when I just have a*

*few elixirs to drink.*

Then she fell apart.

### **Chapter 2**

Biana woke up and turned to her left, only to find an empty sleeping bag. Then she turned to her right, and shrieked! "Sophie!!! Are you okay???" No reply. Then she saw the note. After reading it, she carried Sophie to her bed and started sobbing.

"What happened?" Fitz entered the room again without asking. Then he saw Sophie. Then Keefe entered. "Foster? Foster? Wake up!"

Biana choked out the words. "You don't understand. She's gone. She's broken."

Fitz looked at her. "How do you know? You aren't a telepath."

Biana gave them the note and started sobbing again. "This."

Fitz looked like he was struck by lightning, while Keefe ran out the door, screaming, "NO! NOT THE GREAT FOSTER!!!" Then Alden and Della came up. "What happened?" Fitz handed them the note and went back to playing "Statue". Then, after a minute, he fainted.

Alden was shocked and Della cried. The three remaining ones took turns keeping watch of Sophie. Grady and Edaline were sedated, so that they wouldn't go crazy. Fitz was also sedated, depending on his mood. He kept the Albertosaurus next to his bed at all times, instead of on his desk.

Keefe... well... he went and crazy. So crazy that there was no way to sedate him.

Then the Council arrived.

The Councillors entered Biana's room. Oralie immediately burst into sobs, while Terik was trying to hold back tears. Bronte was, well, trying to wake her up. The rest read the note in stunned silence. Then Councillor Emery said, "Until we find someone to heal her, she's gone." Then they left. Some were saying, "How will the public react?" Others were crying.

### **Chapter 3**

Fitz received what he didn't want to receive.

*Dear* *families of the Lost Cities,*

*We are extremely saddened by the sudden break of Sophie Elizabeth Foster. She will be honored with*

*a funeral and vigil in the Wanderling Woods in two days.*

It wasn't a dream. His soul mate, his cognate, his friend was gone. But even worse, she didn't know that he liked her. A lot. Now he regrets his choices.

Biana entered the room. “I let Marella, Linh and Tam know. They’re preparing decorations.” She sat down next to him and cried into his lap. Fitz tried comforting his sister, saying, "Someone will be able to heal her." It didn't work. Because Fitz himself was heartbroken. Finally he told her, "I wish I could have told her this. I liked her a lot. I should have told her earlier. It might have made a difference." Biana's tears dried with those words and she sat up, wide eyed. "WHAT???" Fitz nodded. "It's true. I should have told her. It's too late." Biana hugged him and whispered, "Don't break because of this, okay?" Fitz nodded "I'll try."

### **Chapter 4**

It was the day of the funeral. Keefe limped towards the closet and grabbed his green clothes. He was staying at Everglen, because Lord Cassius did not want him to go to Sophie’s funeral.

Fitz was sitting in his chair, already changed. He was staring at the beautiful sunrise with hints of yellow stars in the purple and pink. However, there was a little layer of teal squeezed between the purple and the yellow. Keefe realized why he was staring.

Keefe broke the silence. “It does look like her, doesn’t it? And you are her cognate, so the teal makes sense.”

Fitz nodded. Then Keefe tapped his shoulder and motioned him for breakfast.

Fitz took his Albertosaurus with him, placing it in front of his plate of custard bursts, Sophie’s favorite food. They were made by Edaline specifically for this occasion. She and Grady had recovered from the shock and no longer needed sedatives.

However, that didn’t make the day less worse.

### **Chapter 5**

Sophie’s closest friends gathered around Sophie’s already - planted Wanderling. Then Emery went to the front to address the rest of the audience.

“We have gathered here for the funeral of Sophie Elizabeth Foster, one of the main heroes of the Lost Cities. We would like Grady and Edaline Ruewen to come up to speak in honor of Sophie.

“She was a true daughter. She fought for us, kept us safe, and was a light to the darkness cast by Jolie’s death. She did not give up, and she shared the pain of heartbreak with us,” Edaline began.

“We didn’t love her because she reminded us of Jolie. We loved her because of who she was. She will be greatly missed at Havenfield, especially by her greatest companions. That includes her pet imp, Iggy. Even Vertina, her spectral mirror, misses her. She was constantly appearing and asking where Sophie was. Verdi would not eat from anyone’s hands except for Sophie’s. Finally, a former resident would also like to say goodbye.”

Silveny walked up. Greyfell and their baby, Merrian, followed as Silveny touched her nose to the trunk of the tree. It was such a moving moment, much of the audience was on the verge of tears. Silveny's eyes were proven to have watered up because she blinked, causing a few sparkly teardrops to fall on the grass, watering the flowers and coating them with glitter. Apparently Fitz was able to transmit to Greyfell, who shared the news to Silveny.

Eventually all the Havenfield animals followed, including Verdi and the verminion. Some moonlarks flew by, swooping down gracefully. It was an animal ceremony for Sophie.

### **Chapter 6**

Edaline and Grady soon herded all the animals back, with a special device created by Dex. Then it was time for Biana to speak.

“She was a loyal friend. Sometimes I felt like I didn’t deserve her. I was wrong to disrespect her when she first came.” She talked about their adventures together. “I wish Sophie a peaceful future when she comes back,” she ended. Keefe, Linh, Tam, Marella, and Dex then proceded to speak. They talked about their adventures and experiences. For the first time, Keefe called her Sophie. Marella expresses regret in being rude to her. Linh and Tam talked about how great a friend she was. Dex gave her one last gift: a box of self - refilling chocolates. Just in case she wakes up.

Finally Fitz spoke.

“She was my soulmate. She was one of my best friends. I could trust her with anything. She was my cognate. Losing her is like losing everything. She meant a lot to me.” He continued to speak about his cognate. It was so touching, many of the elves in tears by the end of the short speech.

Alden and Della then proceeded with watering the tree with elixirs. All of the sudden, the tree started glimmering and it shone with everyone she loved. Teal flowers with pink specks. Black and silver flowers. Ice blue flowers with periwinkle specks. Flowers representing her human family, Grady and Edaline, and the Vackers. One branch turned blue with hawaiian flowers.

### **Epilogue**

Before he left, Fitz placed Sophie’s cognate ring on a branch. Then he whispered into the tree. “Come back soon. All of us need you. Now.” Then he left for Everglen.

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