Chapter 10 : Tempered Grace


That night, neither Sophia or Yosuke could sleep. They had moved from the protective pine tree and were trekking to find another hopeful hideaway. They stopped when they saw the projection on the barrier of the fallen tributes. Sophia looked away when the pictures of Dawn and Nils, from the Cherry Blossom Institute, showed above. Finally, the cannons sounded and the pair continued to walk on under the cover of darkness.

"Sophia...are you sure that you're alright?" Yosuke asked her after they crossed the river. "You've been awfully quiet all day."

"Hm? Yes, I'm fine, Yo." Sophia responded as they finally spotted a little cave, not far from the river. It was already protected by a few bushes and some overhanging moss. They quickly tucked away inside the cave and sat close together, covering themselves with a blanket they had found in the supplies. It wasn't much to brag about but at least it helped to retain heat as the temperatures had dropped when the sun went down.

"Are you sure?" Yosuke asked her curiously. "You know that you can talk to me, right?"

Sophia nodded, biting her lip slightly. "I know. And yes, I'm fine. Or...as fine as I can be. I mean...we're trapped in this giant arena and I've already killed two people in the first thirty minutes." She admitted to him before shaking her head, trying to hold back her tears. "I'm afraid that after all this, I won't be me anymore and that you won't love me if I change..."

Yosuke looked at Sophia, a bit surprised, before her wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, gently stroking her hair as Sophia began to cry. "Soph...of course I'll still love you. Even if you change, you're still Sophia and I'm a lot more understanding than that..." He told her softly, kissing her forehead. "Dear, I'll still be with you no matter how these games change us. At the end of the day, it'll still be me and you."

Sophia nodded into his shirt as she continued to cry quietly. Yosuke stroking her hair was relaxing her somewhat and she was starting to regain herself after a bit. She looked up at him with her brown eyes. "Thank you." She said softly as she hugged him gently.

"Sophia, you're more than welcome." He told her softly. They sat there together for a while before Yosuke glanced down and realized that Sophia had fallen asleep. He got a small smile when he saw this and kissed the top of her head. He glanced around the area that they were in, making sure that he didn't spot anyone. Yosuke then sighed softly and laid his head on top of hers, falling into an uneasy sleep. So much had happened to them, especially her, in the past year. This seemed to just be another rough patch that they've had to go through.


Emy was standing outside their cave, a long ways down river from where Sophia and Yosuke had bedded down. She had seen the tribute death count and heard the cannons. She sighed, not sure how to take any of this. Sure, they were all trying to fight for their lives. But did it all have to lead to killing one another for the amusement of that psychopath? Emy wasn't sure but she didn't like any of it.

She heard leaves rustle behind her and turned her head to see Melissa walking out to stand with her. "Melissa, you don't have to come out here." Emy told her quietly. "I just couldn't sleep."

Melissa chuckled softly. "I noticed. I saw you come out here. It seems that neither of us can sleep." She said to her. Melissa then shook her head. "Even with all the madness going on, the woods are silent. It's strange, wouldn't you say?"

Emy nodded her head. "I'll agree to that. Then again, we are in the middle of an arena." She pointed out quietly, leaning against the side of the cave. "So, you're a Barrister too?" She questioned, wanting to get to a point.

Melissa looked at Emy, a little shocked at first, before she nodded. "Yes, I am. My mother's extended family lives in Bulgaria. Are you a Barrister as well?" She asked her.

Emy shrugged. "More or less, yes. My mother was a Barrister before she married my father. I'm a Steele. My mother's name is Artemis." Emy responded. She then sighed. "So, let me take a guess and say that you're probably like all the others and have some special power going on?"

Melissa looked at Emy, surprised. "Your mother is Artemis? Ah, my uncle talks fondly about your mother and about her two children that lived with him. I had forgotten that she had more that two." Melissa responded before giving Emy a half-smile. "Well, not all of us have special powers. However, I do. I'm a shapeshifter but...I'm not a very good one. Your power, however, is really great. Have you been like that forever?"

Emy looked at Melissa a bit shocked. She never knew that her mother had two other children. Actually, she wasn't sure that anyone knew that. "What? Who were they? Who was their father? Where are they?" Emy asked quickly before taking a breath and calming herself a little. She just wanted to know the answers and try to find these people. "And...yes. I've been one since I was born. But I wasn't the first one born this way. My mother and my aunt were made first in a lab and then they had kids." Emy explain to Melissa.

"Oh...you don't know about them. It's understandable. Arti lost her memory for such a long time that I don't know if she ever recovered but I know that she never got to re-meet them because she was too scared to." Melissa responded to Emy's shocked face. "Their names were Ilyria and Owen. I remember that Ilyria was like you and she went back to Hogwarts for her last year. However, there's a lot to that story that needs said another time. But their father was Sirius Black."

"Sirius Black?" Emy questioned Melissa. She stood there, thinking about what Melissa had just revealed to her. It was strange because the Durmstrang Headmistress had the same first name as her mother's first girl. She then had an epiphany. "Melissa, you said that my mum had a girl named Ilyria, right? Did she have any kids?" She asked her.

Melissa sat there thinking before nodding. "Well, yeah, she had 3. I don't know much about the first one but she had two girls named Evani and Mariska. Wait...Emy...where are you going?" She asked Emy, who was grabbing a backpack. "What about Ptolemy, Caleb, and I?"

"You guys have weapons and if you stay here, I'm sure you'll be okay. There's plenty of plants and fish around. I've got to go find Evani." Emy stated, pulling the backpack on her back.

"You don't even know where they are! Besides, what if she thinks you're going to hurt her?" Melissa replied.

"I should be able to sense her so I'm going to trust that. Evani and I had a pact in the training room so she knows that I don't want to hurt her." Emy responded before looking at Melissa. "Don't worry about me. You guys be careful and stay warm." She added before hurrying off over the river and into the woods.

"Be careful..." Melissa said quietly, watching Emy disappear into the thick woods. Who knew that even trying to protect family, so many of them would end up there in that arena?


Author's Note : Hope you enjoyed the latest update! There'll be more about the other tributes; Evani, Preston, Jerika, and Jamie as well as one of the other tributes popping up that hasn't been seen since the parade and training center! Remember to review!