So I've decided to upload this because it's been sitting in my Google Docs forever and I'm sick of it. I'm only putting up this chapter for now, but it is going to be a full-length story.

Now, while reading this, you may notice several big things, including new POVs and characters. DO NOT BE ALARMED. This takes place four years after The End Trials. So the ages in this story are:

Amaranth Briars (Ranth) - 22

Cameron (Cam) - 22

Synora Nightsong - 21

Griffin Nightsong - 21

Zoe Reid - 20

Joshuwa Hart - 18

Hope Briars - 4

Ages of new characters will be given during the chapter or in the author's note at the end.

Enjoy!

Chapter One - When the Threats Are Away, the Children Will Play...

Hope Briars

"Are they here yet?" I ask my mommy impatiently, straining to see through the crowd of people.

Mommy puts her hand on my shoulder, halting my uncontrollable bouncing. "They'll get here when they get here."

Mommy's boyfriend Cameron laughs at my expression. "Don't pout, it doesn't suit you." That's what he says about everything; I'm starting to realize that it's not completely true.

All of a sudden the crowd falls silent, and I look up to see a big silver disk-like thing resting on the concrete of the hoverport.

The door opens and three people emerge, walking down the ramp and into the suddenly cheering crowd. Everyone is clapping and whistling. The people - one man and two women - wave and smile and shake peoples' hands, and when they reach us, they stop.

It's silent again. Nothing moves.

And then one of the women steps forward, a huge smile on her face.

"Amaranth!" she exclaims, embracing Mommy in a tight hug.

Then the other woman and the man do the same, only the man doesn't speak. He just smiles at Mommy and Cam.

"Hello, Hope," someone says. I look up and see one of the women, the black-haired one, smiling down at me.

"Hi, Synora!" I exclaim happily. I remember her a little, even though it's been at least four years since I saw her and the others. Mommy told me I wasn't even a year old yet. She taught me their names so I'd remember.

Synora Nightsong grins before reaching into the small black bag hanging from her belt and pulling something out, placing it in my palm. I look at it. It's a small, round black-and-green stone with a loop glued at the top. The stone has something carved into it. I study it and realize it says Hope.

I look up at Synora in amazement. "Where did you get this?"

She grins. "My brother is very talented in engraving, even on the tiniest things."

A hand lands on Synora's shoulder and she steps back, the man replacing her in my line of vision.

Hi, Hope, he says with his hands.

Hi, Joshuwa, I reply. I've known sign language since I was about 11 months old. Cam taught Mommy and me.

Joshuwa Hart's girlfriend of four years (or so Mommy tells me), Zoe Reid, steps up and hugs me tightly.

"How's my little niece?" she asks, grinning. I'm not really her niece (she's not related to Mommy in any way), but Mommy says Zoe always calls me that, so even though I don't know her very well, she's still an aunt to me.

"Great," I reply, grinning widely.

Finally, the people of District Two go home. Mommy lets me lead the way back to our big house. It's surrounded by other houses, but all of them are empty except one, and that's where an old man named Mace lives. When I asked Mommy why the houses are empty when people need them, she said because and nothing else. She looked upset. I haven't asked again.

I drag Joshuwa, Zoe, and Synora all over the house, giving them a long tour of everything I can think of. When I finish, we all sit down for dinner (Cam made it; Mommy can't really cook without burning stuff).

I don't know what everyone usually does when they meet up every year. I'm not allowed to go, so I stay with Cam. I'm not positive about what Mommy does when she goes away at the other time every year. I just know that she leaves for weeks with the two people whose names are called by the tall, weird-looking guy on the stage.

Mommy starts talking. "So, who wants to start? Nor?"

Synora looks around the oval table before speaking. "Well, the date's not set, but... Alec and I are getting married." She holds out her left hand. There's a pretty black stone in the middle of a black ring on her ring finger.

"It's Blackstone," Synora admits. "Alec asked if I wanted a real onyx, but I told him it was perfect."

Mommy and Zoe hug Synora tightly. "We're so happy for you!" they both squeal at the same time.

When they finally settle down, Mommy turns to Zoe. "So Zoe, how about you and Joshuwa? How are you getting on?"

Zoe grabs Joshuwa's hand. "Great. Joshuwa has his own bakery. And we got a puppy!"

"What's his name?" Nor asks.

Zoe's face falls for a second. "We named her Wulfie," she says quietly after a minute. I see tears in her eyes.

I remember Mommy talking to Cam about someone named Wulfie before, but I don't remember what they said or who it is.

No one says anything for a minute, and finally I decide to ask. "Who is Wulfie?"

Everyone seems startled, as if they forgot I'm here, and then Joshuwa turns and quickly signs a message to me.

Wulfie was a girl we knew, he explains. She lived in Sector 5 with her sisters and her adoptive dad. We have a lot of good memories of her but some bad ones, too. Maybe your mother will tell you someday. And that's all.

Brietta Martin

Silence. I look beside me at the black-haired girl. She is staring at the ground with dull gray eyes.

It's been like this every day for a year. I meet up with my mother's boyfriend's daughter in the open field behind the research center. Neither of us says much; Raven looks at the ground, and I look at Raven.

According to my mom's boyfriend, Aaron, Raven has been like this for the past four years, ever since her sister died. I've seen pictures of her sister Robin. I'm told she died from cancer. It makes perfect sense to me. Twins are very close, and losing one must hurt the other severely.

I like it here in Sector Five. It's small and peaceful. Almost everyone knows everyone else. My mother and I moved here last year from Sector Three. She told me it's because she met Aaron when she was here on business and they fell in love.

They may be in love, but they're not sharing it, because I know almost nothing about Aaron Nightblossom or his adopted daughter Raven.

Suddenly, I hear something that sounds oddly like humming. I look around and see nothing. Then I glance down at the eight-year-old.

The sound is coming from her.

She doesn't appear to notice me staring in shock. She seems to have forgotten that I'm even here. She just continues humming and then suddenly begins to sing.

When she was just a girl
She expected the world
But it flew away from her reach
So she ran away in her sleep
And dreamed of
Para-para-paradise (3x)
Every time she closed her eyes

When she was just a girl
She expected the world
But it flew away from her reach
And the bullets catch in her teeth
Life goes on, it gets so heavy
The wheel breaks the butterfly
Every tear a waterfall
In the night the stormy night she'll close her eyes
In the night the stormy night away she'd fly
And dreams of
Para-para-paradise (3x)
Oh oh oh oh oh oh-oh-oh
She'd dream of
Para-para-paradise (3x)
Oh oh oh oh oh oh-oh-oh-oh

La-la-la-la-la-la-la
La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la
And so lying underneath those stormy skies
She'd say, "oh, oh-oh-oh-oh, I know the sun must set to rise"

This could be
Para-para-paradise (2x)
This could be
Para-para-paradise
Oh oh oh oh oh oh-oh-oh
This could be
Para-para-paradise (2x)
This could be
Para-para-paradise
Oh oh oh oh oh oh-oh-oh-oh

When she's finished, she lapses into silence once more.

I finally regain my voice. "That was beautiful, Raven."

She looks up at me and I'm only a little surprised to see a gleam in her eyes. "Thank you. My sister taught it to me."

"Was Robin good at singing?" I ask.

She frowns. "Not really. That's why my sister didn't teach her, just me."

I'm confused. "Wasn't Robin your sister?"

Raven nods. "Robin was my twin."

"Then if she didn't teach you the song, who did?"

"My older sister Wulfie. She died in the Trials."

Arianna Toures

"I've got you!"

I shriek and squirm as I feel two strong arms wrap around me, holding me in place. No matter what I do, I can't move.

"Oh, no you don't!" my captor exclaims. But I keep moving until I've turned around.

My captor's face is right in mine, and he smiles.

"Told you," he says. Then he releases me.

I attempt to smooth my frizzy brown hair but give up after a moment and just glare. Well, as much as you can glare at a guy who's smiling brightly at you.

"Ok, ok, you're faster than me, I get it," I huff, and my boyfriend Matt Norman grins at me in triumph.

"Good. Now that you've admitted it, we can go back to town. I need to stop by the Square; Lissie's birthday is next week and if I don't get her something amazing I'll never hear the end of it." I know he's not talking about his six-year-old sister complaining. His mother is very proud of her little girl and always expects nothing but the best for and on Lissie's special day.

We trek back to the Square and spend the next ten minutes looking at all the stalls, trying to find something Lissie-worthy. Finally we decide to return tomorrow and set off on the path that leads to both our houses.
Suddenly Matt stops. I look up, startled, and see that we're in front of the small shack that is the engraving shop. Matt looks deeply intrigued.

"Let's go in there," he says and starts walking up the pathway without waiting for an answer. Confused, I follow him.

A small bell rings when the door is opened, but the room remains empty. Matt starts browsing through the few items that are set out for display.

I hear a curtain rustle and look up. A man exits a back room and studies us. Matt looks up and smiles.

"Oh, hi," he begins. "I'm just looking around a bit. You see, my little sister's birthday is next week and I need to find her something for her."

The man nods. "How old is she?" he asks.

"Six."

The man - I guess I should call him the blacksmith - thinks for a moment. "What sort of things does she like?"

As Matt lists some of Lissie's obsessions, I try to figure out where I've seen the blacksmith before. He seems so familiar...

It hits me.

"Are you related to a Tribute, by any chance?" I say.

The man looks at me for a moment before nodding. "My twin won the seventy-fourth End Trials," he replies in a proud voice. "Her name is Synora Nightsong. I'm her brother Griffin."

So there it is! Hope you enjoyed it. I'll try to update soon. Also, check out my SYOT, Endlessly Running, and submit a tribute. Make sure to read the author's notes first, though!

Ages for new characters:

Brietta Martin (Brie) - 14

Arianna Toures (Ari) - 16

Matthew Norman (Matt) - 16