When the daylight finally faded, Niles and Daphne got into their sleeping bags and waited for the faces to appear in the sky. They discovered that the only person left besides them was Ruse, the only remaining career.
"Daphne," Niles whispered, "if it should be only you and I remaining, please know that I myself will take the responsibility-"
"Niles…"
"I will take the responsibility and give up my own life."
"Niles, please don't say that!"
"Daphne, my love, if I don't, I came here for nothing."
She was silent.
"I love you so much, Daphne, and I'm not going to let you die."
"Alright," she whispered, knowing in the end it wouldn't really matter because she still held on to her vision. She would die, and now she knew by who- Ruse. Niles' loving words meant very much to her, but she knew the truth.
Niles on the other hand had a steep plan. Sometime they would run into Ruse, and when they did he and Daphne would kill him, then Niles himself would eat the nightlock berries he had seen in various places around the arena and Daphne would win and live well for the rest of her life. It was simple and to the point.
He said goodnight to her and did what he had almost every night, he sat alone with his thoughts.
When morning dawned, Daphne had a strange feeling inside of her. She could not name it as an emotion but it felt steady, certain, and carefully laid. Inside she did not feel nervous or scared, she felt at peace, as if she had accepted what would happen to her ultimately.
She woke up Niles and they had a breakfast of almost-frozen berries. Daphne liked the taste of them very much, and as she ate them she wished she had had them on summer days.
When they had finished eating, they got up and began to walk again, keeping an eye out for Ruse and holding each other's hands. Neither of them were afraid for the first time in days.
Around lunchtime, they decided to find more berries to eat, and they started to pick some from a small bush that was very low to the ground.
"Niles, I'll be right over here. I'm going to go and find a better bush."
He got to his feet, staring Daphne straight in the eye. "I'm coming with you, then," he replied.
Daphne laughed lightly. "Niles, you haven't left me alone since we got here. It'll be alright. I'm just going to be over here. I've got my knife and everything. I'll just yell if I need you."
Niles was not convinced. He just looked at her for a moment, and she smiled and kissed him.
Without hesitation, he kissed back.
"Don't worry," she said, and she walked away from him.
He thought about stopping her for a moment, but then decided against it at the last second.
Stooping over, he picked more berries and collected them in his cupped hand.
That was when he heard the scream.
He bolted upright and started to run as fast as he could to where he had seen Daphne go, but as he ran he heard the cannon, perhaps the worst sound he had ever heard.
When he had found where her footprints stopped, his body shut down. She was there lying in the snow, with a knife in her chest, dead.
He saw Ruse standing in front of her feet, and just for a moment anger won over grief inside of Niles. He drew his knife from his belt, grabbed Ruse, pulled him down, and began to stab him over and over again, even after the cannon had already sounded.
When two bloodly bodies laid in front of him, Niles collapsed to his knees and then fell on his face, feeling the tears about to rise. He pulled his head up to look at beautiful Daphne, and as he did he heard the hovercraft above him.
At that second he knew that he should have let Ruse kill him. In his mind, there was no reason he should be going home.
Daphne was dead.