I forgot to mention that the poem in the last chapter is by Frank Wilmot. Thank you to those who reviewed me! I know it's only been chapter two, but I want to apologize if you think I'm rushing this story. If anyone is curious, I imagine Edel to look like Elisabeth Harnois and Anna Lutoskin to be Azalea. Here's chapter two. Enjoy.

Chapter Two – Realization

Azalea and I had decided to risk it. Despite my aunt's wishes and my sister's many warnings, we had decided to go out. We left Iggy at my house so he could play with Rose (I bet he is ecstatic) and I told Aunt Wisteria I'd be staying over at Azalea's house for awhile and I even promised her I would be home by the time all the workers are dismissed. Azalea and I, we walked around the City Centre for awhile, admiring things that we can afford but are forced to pretend like we couldn't. We bumped into other friends – well, acquaintances—at school and conversed with them for awhile. We did everything we could just to avoid going back to our dull houses.

Back when Azalea and I were still newly acquainted, she and I had tried to make our relationship closer. So she had suggested we both go explore the places we've never gone before in District Thirteen (though now after so many trips, we've gone to every place possible and nothing seems new anymore). I hadn't been excited then for my idea of bonding had been to study together. She has always been the adventurous one between us both and now she has influenced me in many ways as I have towards her. Since Aunt Wisteria and Mrs. Liss wanted us to become the best of friends, they had given us permission to go out, as long as we came home on time – much to my dismay, really, because I had really wanted to just stay home and study. How ironic for if I want to go out now, Aunt Wisteria would give me a whole lecture.

We found this old abandoned house near the fences bordering District Thirteen and the forbidden forests. The gap between the house and the fence is a vast land of tall grasses and at the far corner of it was this big tall tree that, if we had the skill, we could have built a tree house on it. Azalea, being the very easily excited one, had rushed into the field leaving me behind to worry about if there were snakes or other frightening creatures hiding in the tall grasses. I was amazed of how carefree and brave Azalea had been to rush in there and when she turned around to call me over, I almost backed away. She told me to trust her when she said there was nothing in there, that I should just relax. And that was when I saw how similar she and Sage were. I learned to trust her, because if she was like Sage, then I had no reason to doubt her.

I ran forwards, leaving all my worries behind and followed her as she climbed up the big tree. We sat there and looked out at the field surrounding us. Just to put my mind to rest, Azalea suggested we waited and see if there really was anything hiding the grasses. We waited but the only thing that had made the grass move was the wind. I was convinced that it was safe and let her pull me down to run around there. After that day, we spent most of our time in that field. I'm sure that we weren't allowed to go there, but it wasn't as if anyone could spot us in the depths of the tall grass. Even in winter we went there, we perched ourselves on the highest branch of the tree. We named the tree 'Autumn' just for fun but the name stuck and that was the name we used so others wouldn't know our secret place.

That is where Azalea and I are right now; sitting on the branches of our dear Autumn, conversing about things we'd forget about in the morning. The field is still and silent as it has always been and it provokes us into our own peaceful silence.

"I don't want to be just the same as everyone, you know?" she suddenly says.

I have to look up at her because she is sitting two branches higher than me. "What do you mean?"

"I don't want to be just another person working in the labs or be a miner. I want… to be, oh I don't know… something else. I want to be the mayor."

I blurt out a laugh. "A mayor, Lea?" I repeat, climbing up one branch. "I don't think being a mayor is going to be easy."

She shakes her head. "No, not a mayor, but… you don't understand what I mean."

I furrow my eyebrows. That sentence caught my attention because I've always been the one to understand her just like she understands me. "Why are you suddenly worried about this, Lea? I thought you didn't like talking about work?"

"No. No, nevermind, Edel. Just forget I said anything, okay?"

I hesitate before leaning back against the tree and looking back towards the sky. I would have questioned her further but it might not be important. Autumn has usually been a place where we can shed away our problems even if it's only temporarily. We continue our silence and… well, I don't know how we both could have fallen asleep. Perhaps the sound of the whistling wind became our lullaby and the swaying of the grass pulled us into slumber. But feeling myself slowly slide off the branch awoke me immediately.

"Azalea!" I call out, shaking her but not hard enough to make her fall. "Wake up!"

Her eyes open immediately. "What? Huh? What time is it?"

I look around and it takes me a long time to realize that it is almost dark. "Oh, it's… it's almost dark." I say lazily, still a bit sleepy. Finally, when it dawns on me, I jump down from the tree in panic. "Azalea, it's almost dark!"

"Yes, you told me the first time. I heard you," she replies, clearly still sleepy and not understanding.

"Curfew!" I almost shout.

That wakes her up immediately and she doesn't waste time in jumping down the tree. Without saying a word, she takes my hand and we run together out the field, making our way to our houses. We've never been this late before and I'm sure Aunt Wisteria is going to kill me if Sage hasn't. Our footsteps echo off the buildings in the town centre. Everyone has gone back home, we are the only ones still out. My eyes take a quick glance at the clock set high on one of the taller buildings and see we only have seven minutes left before half past seven. I would have run faster if it wasn't for the fact that Azalea had pulled me behind a pillar and press her hands atop my mouth.

I give her a questioning look as she buries her face in my hair. "Peacekeeper," she whispers.

I squeeze my eyes shut and press my body harder against the pillar, hoping that I could somehow just blend in with it. I hear the Peacekeeper's footsteps going here and there, bouncing off the walls. Oh, I just hope he didn't hear our tremendously loud and hasty footsteps before – or is it the reason why he sounds like he is searching for something? Azalea's hand is still pressed against my mouth, sparing me from doing so because she knows my breathing isn't so silent when I'm panicking.

I risk a glance towards the clock and I find out we've only got five more minutes before curfew. The longer we stay here, the more trouble we will be getting ourselves in. Standing so close to me, I can feel Azalea's heartbeat quickening every second. I remove her hand from my mouth carefully and place my lips next to her ears. "We have to get back home," I whisper as I silently as I can.

She nods her head and looks up. "We have to run."

My eyes widen and I shake my head immediately. Run? But the Peacekeeper will see us and I can't risk that – I'm too afraid to risk that. As if sensing this, she clutches my hand tightly and, knowing her for a long time now, I already know what she's going to do. I try resisting but at times like this, she can become very strong. She starts running, pulling me roughly with her. I realize it's too late to resist and doing so would just slow both of us down, so I run as fast as I can, which leads to me pulling her. Less than four minutes, that's all the time we have. All the adrenaline pumping through my veins make my legs feel rather stiff and numb and I almost reach my house when I suddenly fall down. I release my death grip on Azalea so she wouldn't fall with me.

"Edel!" she says.

I shake my head and push her away. Her house is so near, she shouldn't be wasting her time trying to help me. "Go! Just go!"

She hesitates but after a warning glare from me, she starts running to her house. I can hear the faint footsteps of the Peacekeeper somewhere behind me and I immediately pull myself up. I see Azalea standing safely inside her house near the window, urging me to hurry up. This feeling of panic, it is making my legs feel so heavy. I reach the front door and rush in, falling to the floor once I know I'm safely inside.

"Edel!" I hear Sage's voice.

All I can do for a few agonizing seconds is let familiar hands pull me up. I don't know what happened, why my legs suddenly stopped working. I don't why they have become so numb but right now there is an aching. I look up to see Leo, his face a mask of worry. He's only eighteen, like Sage, but he looks old enough to be twenty-five. His strong arms wrap around my shoulders holding my shaking body up, facing the doorway. I wish he didn't face me that way because I'm forced to watch as the Peacekeeper Azalea and I had been running from walk up our steps. Aunt Wisteria stands in front of him, folding her arms across her chest.

"May I help you, sir?" she asks, her voice sharp.

"That girl," he spits. "She's breaking curfew."

"There's still--" she pauses to check the clock "—a minute to spare, sir."

"Well, she's still late! Move out of my way, lady!"

Sage gently pushes Aunt Wisteria out of the way. "No, you can't have her," she says, trying to keep her voice calm.

Leo leaves my side to stand next to my sister, and they both make a solid wall between me and the Peacekeeper. Aunt Wisteria takes his place in trying to hold me up. My body can't stop shaking and with every second that passes, my heart beats quicker than it did. Leo and Sage, they're both willing to protect me. Their wall does not allow me to see the Peacekeeper, but I think I prefer it that way. His face is too frightening, I might just faint.

"Would you two like to share a whipping with her?" the Peacekeeper asks.

"Hold on," says Leo. "Technically, she did not break curfew. So, you have nothing to hold against her."

"She is still late!"

Sage shakes her head. "There is no rule saying that no one is allowed to be outside five minutes before curfew."

"She's right," Leo continues. "Speaking of which, the rule that says everyone should leave work thirty minutes before curfew does not apply that one can't still walk around outside. So, really now, you have nothing to hold against my cousin."

My breath gets caught in my throat as the Peacekeeper stays silent. I wonder what he is thinking right now. Sage and Leo, they gave good points. The Peacekeeper has nothing at all to hold against me, so I should be safe.

"Fine," he huffs. "But this will be the last time she – anyone – gets away with a mistake like that."

I can't see but I just know my sister is smirking when she says with as much bitterness as she could, "Have a good evening, sir."

Aunt Wisteria leads me to the living room to sit down while Sage closes the door. Rose sits next to me, putting her small arms around my waist and giving me a hug. I hug her back, but my body feels so weak right now. I hear the footsteps as Sage and Leo enter the room. We are caught in an uncomfortable, agonizing silence. I shake my head and decide to break this deafening silence. "I… I don't know what to say."

And everyone starts talking at once. I block out their words, looking down at my feet and putting my arms around Rose, who seems to be the only one who isn't saying anything. Everyone's voices slowly start to quiet down and I look up to see Sage kneeling in front of me, her eyes filled with tears. Aunt Wisteria tells Leo to take Rose to the kitchen as she herself exits the room. Sage waits for them both to leave before standing back up and start pacing the room.

"Damn it, Edel!" she says. "Do you know how close you were to getting a whipping? What were you thinking? Why were you late? I suppose I spoke too soon this afternoon, didn't I? I knew something like this was going to happen , that's why I keep telling you over and over again to be careful, to always watch the clock! Are you even listening to me, Edel?!"

"I am!" I snap. "Trust me, I am, alright?!"

She walks over to me and kneels down, taking both my hands in her own. "I love you, you know that, right? You're the only thing I have left and I can't bear to watch you get punished." She rests her forehead on my knuckles and I know she's trying to restrain herself from sobbing.

"I know," I whisper. "I'm so sorry. I'll never do it again."