Enter iF You Dare

Task Two

Two: Can I Trust You?

Seaver Parish of Alliances: District Twelve: AnonymousRice4.

This is it; the final moments; we're in the Launch Room, Granny, Djaq, Rarity, my Prep Team and me. After this, I will never see them again; I have to make whatever we say in here profound, it has to be something they all can cling to and remember when my last breaths are drawn out, and I die. I know I'll die, the others are so much better than I am - but now is not the time for any self-pity. I have to say goodbye to my loved ones, and enter the arena.

Granny steps forward first, her tiny hands quivering as she pulls me into her bosom. "Be safe." She says. She doesn't say 'come back to me' or 'you can win'. 'Be safe' is all she says, and it's all I need; I don't need anyone telling me they're counting on me, or they need me. Right now I only need a pleasat goodbye. Is that too much to ask for?

Granny pulls away and immediately I see tears forming in her eyes, and trailing down her wrinkled cheeks. "Gran, don't waste your tears on me. I love you, okay?" I pull her into a hug once more, patting her back gently and then tracing circles with my index finger. For awhile we just hug, until our arms feel like they're about to fall off, and we let go. Granny wipes her eyes with a flowery handkerchief, before stepping out of the other's way. Rarity falls into my arms, quietly sobbing, not uttering a sound. I don't know what else to do except place my arms over her shoulders and caress her back, whispering soothing words to her as if nothing in the world could possibly be wrong. Suddenly my former feelings of envy, jealousy and hatred toward her seem so juvenile. I wonder how anyone could hate something so pure, and then I look at Djaq, and a wave of nostalgia rushes over me. I feel like I love him so much, but at the same time, he's like a brother to me.

"Rare, I'm going to be all right in there. You have nothing to fear." Without hesitation she pulls herself out of my arms, stretching out her index finger to pull something off of it. It is a ring; the ring which she bought from me at the Hob, the day of the Reaping. It's still perfectly polished, she must have taken good care of it while she had it. I hesitate to take it from her; she obviously wanted it so bad, it reminded her of something or another.

"No, I can't." I tell her, and push the ring away. "I already have a token, see?" I hold up my wrist, around which is a gold chain which is meant to be a necklace, but the clasp is broken so I tie it around my wrist all the time. In the background I hear Granny gasp, and see her stiffen as she looks upon the pink diamonds making up the butterfly's wings, which hangs off my arm a bit. Djaq lowers his head, and Rarity shakes hers.

"Take it" she mouths, still holding back her voice. I want to ask her why she doesn't talk; I want to know the real reason, not what everyone is always guessing. I want to understand Rarity, to relate to whatever trauma she endured to make her this way. But I can't. Because just like her, I am speechless. The words refuse to form, and suddenly I feel the way she does; maybe she wants to talk, maybe she tries, but the words won't form, her voice catches and she gives up; she decides having nothing to say is better than stuttering through her sentences.

"But thank you, Rare. It means a lot that you would give that up for me, knowing you might not ever get it back." I smile, but she looks confused. She shakes her head, pointing to me and then motioning with her hands, rolling them towards her and pointing behind her. "I'll come back?" I ask. She nods. "I know, I know. But don't get your hopes up, I'd hate for you to be disappointed." I murmur.

"She won't be. You will come back; you're a fighter Seav, don't think we're just going to give up on you the minute things look down for us. We will always believe in you, we will always be on your side. That's what family means." Djaq spits out, coming towards me and Rare. We lock gazes before I run into his arms, and nod. "Thank you." I whisper.