Ch 4- Goodbyes

Sol: Hello everyone! Hope you liked ch. 3! This is back to the tributes. G'syr: I wish I didn't have to say this, but we don't own anything. Sol: oh yeah, and the last few chapters were Merida's memories. Now's the present.

Merida POV

I sit down on the velvet seats. Running my hand over the soft fabric, I brace myself for the goodbyes.

"Merida!" My Mum cries, rushing in with my father and the devils. "Oh, Merida… that was very noble of ya. Savin' the little girl… but we'll miss ya."

Pa piped up, "Merida, you're tough. You're strong. You're smart. You can win this! Just do you're best with the other three tributes, and ya can survive. Do you're best."

"I will," I choke out, close to tears. But what really sends them flowing is when Harris and Hubert pushed Hamish forward, and offers me his dessert. I hug them until its time for them to go.

But as the guards escort them out, Mum slips something in my pocket.

Jack's POV

I'm still in shock from what happened. That girl, Merida… I'm grateful. So, so grateful. She probably saved Emma's life. But when I got pulled, it was like a dream. No, a nightmare. Poor Emma. Poor Mom. Poor me.

The door opens, and Emma and Mom walk in silently. We just look at each other for a second, memorizing each other's faces.

"Jack… how will me and Mom stay alive?"

"I've taught you how to make traps. You're as good as me in that. You know the mutations the Capitol released into the forest. You're good enough with a bow, which is more than I can say for myself. I'd shoot my own foot. You can take care of yourself. And mom. You know how to harvest and grow the edible plants we've found. You can do this."

Now Mom speaks up. "We'll miss you. You were always able to make us smile."

I turn to Emma. "Then you'll have to make Mom smile in my place, okay? And remember, take care of Mom."

She solemnly nods, "I will."

After a moment of silence, Mom suddenly murmurs, "For you."

She hands me a beautifully carved wooden pin that displays a snowflake. It has a thin, slightly shimmering coat of rich blue paint on it, and I can still see the oak below it.

"Thank you… both of you."

Suddenly, a knock on the door comes. "Next visitor." The guard's gruff voice snaps.

"Goodbye." All of us whisper it in unison as they walk out.

To my surprise, the next visitor is my only friend, Sanderson ManSnoozie, or Sandy for short. He's a couple years older than me, but still short. Oh yeah, and he's a mute so he communicates through sign language. As a result, I'm his only friend, since I'm the only person who's bothered to learn sign.

'Good luck, Jack.'

"Thanks, Sandy. But the chances are pretty low, huh?"

'Yes, but don't lose hope."

There's a silence for a little bit, and then Sandy speaks (or communicates, if you're picky),

'I hope you realize you're going to have to win this. For Emma, your mom, me, and even little Bunny. Promise, okay?'

'I can't promise that I'll win, but I promise that I'll try my best. Happy?"

'Yes.'

Rapunzel POV

Ugh. I knew this was going to happen. I prepared myself since the moment I won the Hunger Games, but it still is traumatizing me. I have a bad feeling about these Games, too…

Just then, Mother and Father burst in, faces streaked with tears and worry.

"Rapunzel! We were so worried about you the first time, but now you're going into the arena again, and with other champions, too! Oh, if we lose you again…" Mother's hands are gesturing frantically, like they always do when she's agitated. Father just wraps both of us in a hug. Then Mother pulls away, crying again. "We brought Pascal, and… well, a flower that…" Mother exchanges a look with Father, like, 'is this a good idea?'. Father takes a breath, and continues for her.

"When you were about to be born, your mother got very sick. Deathly sick. But, that night, an hour or two before you were born, I saw a single streak of light fall from the sky and hit the Earth.

"I immediately ran out into the woods where I saw the light land. And after a few minutes of searching, I saw a tiger lily-like flower, glowing softly. When I entered its clearing, the bud opened up and released pollen. Though I'm allergic to pollen, I felt all of my energy return. The pollen had healed me! I picked up the miracle plant and the clod of earth it was in, and sprinkled the pollen on your mother's face.

"Her eyes flickered open, bright as they had always been. An hour later, we had you. You were born with unusually golden hair, about a foot and a half long. Normally newborns don't have hair, but we figured it was a side effect of the pollen. This is that flower. It has no more pollen left, and only it's head has survived. But it should be a good memento. From us. Remember us, and that we are supporting you from home." Both of my parents are in tears now. Quietly, I whisper:

"I will."

Hiccup POV

I don't particularly care about being in the arena again. Besides the fact that I might die a HORRIBLE DEATH. What's there to be worried about? But that aside, all I can think about right now is how Dad's going to give me another 'Viking Talk.' Oh, here he is:

"Son."

"Uh, hey, Dad…"

"You have won this before. We both have."

"I know that."

"So you must be brave! Relish the chance to prove yourself a true Viking once again, just like your ancestors were Vikings. They were the most feared culture in history!"

"But now their descendants are mining coal."

"Respect your ancestors! I myself was hoping to get chosen, but when you were pulled, I stood by my honor and held my pride in check. I did not volunteer. So make me proud once again!"

"Uh… I'll, uh, try my best."

"That's my boy! Oh! I almost forgot…"

He rummaged around in his big coat for a minute, then pulled something out. It was a necklace, with a pendant of a green, almost feline-looking eye. It's slit-shaped pupils made the flat, glass eye look alive and feral.

"This is an ancient pendant. It is in the shape of a legendary dragon's eye. It allows the dragon to know when you are in your times of greatest need. And if the dragon thinks you are worthy, it will assist you in those times. Me, I tried to wear it during my time as tribute, but all it did was make me trip over tree roots. After I took it off, I had more luck, though. Apparently the dragon thought I was UNworthy." He chuckles softly.

"Thanks, Dad… but why didn't you give this to me before?"

At this he looks sheepishly at me. "I was… a bit scared that the dragon would approve of you and not me…"

I sigh, used to this. "Thank you, Dad."

And that's when the Capitol guards took me away to the train.

Sol: Phew! I think that's the longest chapter I've written so far. Sorry I made Merida's chapter so short. And I'll go into more detail about the item she gets to take with her next chapter. ALL of the objects are very important to the story, at least the way I'm planning it in my head. But, honestly, this could go anywhere. I don't even have an ending planned yet! *huffs in exasperation* I worry about myself sometimes.

G'syr: I worry about you too.

Sol: thank you, for that outstanding vote of confidence.

G'syr: you're welcome. Shout outs:

Galatea R.S- thank you! We're a big supporter of Jarida, and we were disappointed at most of the results Sol got for big four hunger games AUs. Thanks!

The Deadly Black Rose- Sol and I try to update every day, but we might not right now because Sol is on vacation and is not allowed to use her electronic devices most places she has Wi-Fi. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Okay, this is the end. Goodbye!

Sol: Ditto!

Oh, yeah, there will be more Pitch chapters eventually. Okay, now goodbye!