Ellington Lockwood, 18
District Ten Female

She's been having strange dreams lately.

Yet again, does she ever not?

But the voices from her dreams still linger in the back of her mind as she carts the tray of delicate raspberry tarts around the path. The sun is out today, and if it had a face, she'd describe its rays as smiling down on the Psychiatric Hospital. Some cruel souls in other parts of Ten would say that the hospital doesn't make the patients housed here any better suited to living in what they deem the real world, that they're just as broken as the day the hospital was built, but she doesn't think so.

Even the broken look brighter under the sun.

But putting her musings aside, it is a beautiful day here at the hospital. The garden that the staff bring the patients out into, just behind the hospital and away from any nosy people wanting to get a look inside, sprawls over an acre of beautiful bushes and flowers. In the main meadow, an area cleared for those who are claustrophobic and others who prefer being around other people, staff members have set out tables for the patients to sit at, and the cooks have prepared a spring banquet, with tarts and baked goods and small sandwiches for them all to eat, complete with plastic forks and knives to properly eat their meal.

"Over here with the tarts!" cries Martha, a tall blonde who is setting down plates while waving at Elli to get her over to the table on the far right. "The other tables have tarts already, but this set can fit in right by the pickles, if you don't mind walking a little further."

Elli smiles and sets the tarts down next to the pickles and a tray of ham sandwiches, Martha dusting the tarts with icing sugar before stepping away from the table, a proud smile on her face. "If they don't like this, I don't know what will. One of my best rounds of tarts. Michael and Louisa will be disappointed that they weren't able to try them, but they aren't here to know, are they?"

Elli laughs. The meal certainly looks lovely, with all of the different spreads of cheese and crackers and sauces fitting next to the sandwiches, tarts, and such. The residents of the hospital will certainly be pleased to see something as stunning as this for them to dine at.

Even the smallest things, like putting flowers at every table in tiny paper vases, helps everyone to smile more. It makes them feel more human.

It's hopeful.

Elli walks past the tables and helps a younger girl, just around eighteen, to get to her feet from the ground and take a seat at the table. "How are you doing, Matilda?"

Matilda smiles with anxious eyes, biting her lip as she takes a seat. "It looks really nice today. I'm glad that you decided to put it in the schedule instead of the normal lunch that we have at these hours."

Elli laughs, then starts to walk to another table. "I'm glad too."

She helps the next few patients to sit down, most of them smiling gently and then starting to eat. The more violent patients are in another part of the hospital with stronger and more capable staff members, so Elli never feels uncomfortable among them all. It's nice to chat with them, to hope for the future with the younger ones who wish that they could be able to adjust to society again and go into the real world - and cheer for the ones who manage to do so, waving proudly as they hug their family and walk away from the hospital. Some look back wistfully, but most march forward proudly, their chests puffed up as they walk away from the hospital.

They don't want to look back.

An older man is already seated in the chair next to her when Elli finally brings back the last patient from the garden that she has under her care and takes a seat, smiling warmly when Elli sits down. "How are you doing, Elli?"

"I'm doing well, Whit!" Elli grins for him, a wide, genuine grin that shows her teeth before she reaches for a sandwich and begins to nibble away. "Are you up for another round of chess? I reckon I have a bit of a shot if you go easy on me."

Whit smirks, taking a sip of water before grabbing the chess set he carried into the garden with him. "White or black?"

"I'll be black!" Elli takes her pieces and sets them up neatly, her dark, slim fingers nimbly putting each one in place. "I might as well give you a chance in this game, after all. Am I right?"

Whit chuckles, his pieces set up as well. "I suppose so. You wouldn't want to beat an old man like me too badly."

They begin to play, paying no attention to the woman who hums loudly and off tune as she arranges her food into neat little pyramids, or a man who bursts into tears and has to be taken away into another part of the garden when he stubs his toe while trying to stand up from his chair. Elli tries to play a defensive game, setting up her pieces in a way that ensures that Whit will have to sacrifice valuable pieces in order to catch her king, but Whit is cunning, playing an aggressive game with his knights that slowly take her pawns and rooks. She's soon left with a handful of pieces, only having captured Whit's rook, both of his bishops, and three pawns.
Whit has a dark scowl painted on his face as she takes his knight with triumph, making a hacking sound in his throat before moving his queen into the battlefield. Elli begins to move her bishop to take the queen, then notes that moving her bishop will allow Whit to take her own queen. She instead moves it back to protect the queen, and Whit moves in with a pawn on the other side of the board and converts it into a queen, having reached the end.

And after that move, Elli only has a few moves before she's forced to surrender. She tips her king in defeat, surrounded by Whit's pieces as she takes a bite of the raspberry tart. The voices whisper angrily to her, taunting her over the loss, but she pays them no mind. "Great game!"

"It was a horrible one," Whit frowns. "I'm more the fool for letting you get my knight. I… I need to go sit down."

Elli is about to protest, noting the fact that Whit is already seated, but then she nods in understanding. He's in one of his dark moods again. "I'll come with you."

Whit gives a sigh, rising from the table and walking slowly to the edge of the garden. He sits down near a pruned hedge, staring into the dark green leaves with a tired frown on his face. Elli sits next to him, holding his hand as he buries his face in his knees and tries to ignore the world.

After all, he'd do the same for her.

A/N: Well, well, well, guess who's back again?

And this time it's for real - you might have seen my explanation in my other SYOTs, but I got SWAMPED by school and the summer being so busy that I couldn't do anything - so instead, I put my work into finishing all of the intros for this story before updating again. And yep, I've finished them all, FINALLY.

I hope that I haven't worried anyone too much about disappearing! I've been lurking on the site during the past year and not putting much out, but you might have seen me updating my profile, lurking on other stories, and leaving nonsensical reviews. I haven't gone anywhere, and I am excited to share my work with you all. After all, I have over 12K words stockpiled for this story, and I'm putting them to good use.

Anyways, you'll see this update every week or so with the next chapter. I'm spacing them out so I don't make the same mistake as last time, but I'm going to get them all out at a reasonable pace. Y'all deserve some content for sticking around for so long - and to the five or six of you who are still around, I thank you very much. You're the reason I keep updating.

Enjoy the chapter. Until next time, TheAmazingJAJ.