This chapter is not as long, but it's the last chapter with Emily's POV, mainly talking about the distress she's undergoing and discussing what she and Geneieve will have to undergo while these Hunger Games are going on.
Skyler was chosen…with how many friends I had it was likely one of them would get selected. I felt so sorry for Skyler, I felt so sorry for everyone else. At least my brother was safe; at least we could keep fighting Morganthe in the shadows.
Now that the tributes were chosen, we were given one hour to say our goodbyes to the tributes; because there was a chance they were not coming home. The tributes would be kept in their dorms for the time being. If you wanted to visit a certain tribute, all you had to do was say the name of the one you wished to visit and you would enter their dorm. Only small groups could enter at a time.
I had a few people I wanted to say goodbye to. I definitely wanted to say goodbye to Skyler, I'd also want to thank Electra before she left, and visit the Fire School tributes. We were allowed five minutes per group, which meant we could see twelve people. I figured that meant we might as well take some time to visit Carson, and Brandon, as well as Stefan, Lalil, Malorn, Johanna, Rosie and Mindy.
Genevieve found me after the reaping was over and everyone began to disperse. I immediately met up with Simeon and Adam. I brought Adam into a hug.
"You're safe Adam, you're safe." Adam was really happy, he was crying.
"We're all okay," said Gen coming up. "We can tell mom and dad the good news."
"Simeon smiled at us, but started making his way to the front.
"Where are you going?" I asked him.
"To see when I can get my stuff back," he shrugged.
"I don't think they'll give that back until after the tributes have left," said Gen. "Don't want us breaking them free."
"Good point, I'll wait until the boxes are available." He looked around. "I guess I should make some rounds. Lots of these tributes had me as their Prefect; they'd probably like some encouragement from me."
"That's true," I said. "I'm going to go say my goodbyes as well, as much as I can."
"I'll go with you," said Gen.
"Okay," said Adam. What was he going to do for an hour
"You should call Mom and Dad, and tell them we're okay," I told him.
"Alright," he said.
"See you later," said Gen. We then headed towards the dorms.
"Who do you want to see first," said Gen somberly.
"Electra," I told her. Gen turned her head away.
"She took my place."
"You mean she took Jaimie's place instead of you. I saw you wanted to volunteer for Jaimie. I'm glad it's not you. If you were to go in there you might not survive, but out here we've managed to make it so far. I have more hope for us out here."
"What if Electra dies?" said Gen, tearing up.
"That's why I'm visiting her." We went up to the girls dorm, where a spider was guarding it.
"We're unarmed," said Gen with her hands up. The spider eyed us with it's eight eyes.
"The two of you at once?"
"We have multiple stops to make," I said. The spider turned around and chittered something into a shadowy pool. After about a minute of silence, we heard a response.
"Let them through," said the voice of Morganthe. It infuriated me to think she was controlling us even now. The spider stepped aside and we approached the door.
"Electra Stormcloud," said Gen as she grabbed the handle. She opened the door, and Electra was surprised to see us first.
"Emily, Genevieve, you came to see me?"
"We're friends Electra," I said somberly. "I'd like to thank you for your efforts, and for volunteering for Jaimie's sake, as well as my sister's."
"Thank you for saving my friend," said Gen. "I'm sorry we couldn't do enough for you."
"I didn't do it for your friend," said Electra. "I did it for you guys; you saved me when I was in trouble. I wanted to help you. You can do more for me you know, you can make sure these games don't happen again by ending Morganthe's reign."
Genevieve was tearing up. "We'll do just that, we'll do whatever we can. I just hope you can survive long enough."
"I've gotten stronger since you met me; who knows, I'll probably last long enough to escape."
"Good luck to you, Electra," I told her, starting to well up myself. "We'll do our best ourselves."
Shortly after that, we moved on to see Regina. She smiled upon our entry, but we could tell she was sad.
"So you did come to see me afterall," said Regina.
"You volunteered," I said. "When I could've…but I didn't."
"You were going to volunteer for an acquaintance?" said Gen. "Here you were berating me for nearly volunteering for a friend."
"I wasn't going to volunteer, that's the issue," I said. I turned to Regina. "You did something I couldn't."
"It's a good thing you didn't," said Regina. "You need to be out here, so you can stop these games once and for all."
"Still Regina," said Gen. "You know you might not…you didn't have to."
"Anna is not a fighter; it would not be fair to force her into the games. Meanwhile, I have a lot of knowledge and skill as a wizard. I might be able to survive if I play my cards right."
"I'm hoping you're right, but I just hope you don't lose yourself in there," I said.
"Don't worry, I won't mindlessly kill. I'll only do what I do if it means I can survive."
"Don't forget about everyone else's humanity," said Gen.
We would have gone to see Alan, but decided to get all the girls done with first. Next was Mindy, we went in and reassured her that she was plenty smart and resilient she should be alright if she remains strong. Next we went to see Rosie, what she told us surprised me.
"I didn't volunteer for Sarah; no I volunteered for Skyler's sake."
"Really?" I said. "I didn't think you knew Skyler."
"I don't, but I know you. You really helped me out on Cyclops Lane; I wanted to do something for you. I'll do my best to keep Skyler safe so you don't have to worry."
"You could die," said Gen. "Heck, if the goal is to keep Skyler alive you will die."
"You saved my life, I want to save yours. The best you could do is survive so you can stop Morganthe once and for all."
We teared up at this; all these people asking us to stop Morganthe.
"We'll do our best," we both said.
"As will I," said Rosie.
"What do they want us to do? Burst through the arena and save everyone?" said Gen when we were outside.
"That's certainly not the way to go about things, also it might not be in an arena," I pointed out.
"It not," said the spider. "It's on a world vacated to an extent to be used as battlegrounds."
"Right," I said nervously. Morganthe's eyes and ears were right near us, couldn't really talk about taking her down without being attacked. "There's only really Johanna and Skyler left for girls to visit."
We did Johanna first. She told us she wasn't afraid to die.
"Are you really okay with dying so senselessly," asked Gen.
"You did volunteer for Penny," I added. "Surely she was unafraid of death as well."
"The way I see it, I nearly perished in Zafaria. All you guys did was buy me some more time. As for Penny, she hasn't really faced death before, there's no need for her to do it now."
"Are you okay if we can't stop this from happening to anymore people?"
"You're trying your best, that's all that matters."
"We could die," added Gen.
"You haven't died yet," said Johanna. "Even if you do you'll be martyred for it, and someone else will take up your cause, maybe multiple someones."
"That's good to hear I guess."
"It's a lot of pressure on us," said Gen.
"Be careful what you talk about," I said as we were leaving the room.
"Next is Skyler," said Gen.
"I want to save her for last," I said.
"Why?"
"I feel really bad about her going in there, she's my only friend from home that is."
"We faced Electra first," said Gen.
"I was grateful to her."
"I was sorry for her; I could've taken Jaimie's place but she did instead."
"I couldn't volunteer for Skyler. The most I could've done was volunteer in the dueling bracket, but I didn't."
"Someone beat you to the punch, I'm sure she'll understand."
"I want to hug her and not let her go," I said, starting to cry. Genevieve hugged me.
"It won't be easy to kill her, she's a life student." We looked at the door. "It's right here, we might as well get it over with; we only have five minutes anyway."
I turned towards the door, eyes still welling up with tears I shakenly took the door handle."
"Skyler…Huber…Bauer." We opened the door and found her there, sitting on her bed.
"I was wondering when you guys would show up," she said. From the look in her eyes, I can tell she had been crying. I collapsed onto the floor.
"Skyler, I'm so sorry. It's my fault this happened to you; you're my friend, this is to make me suffer. I'm so sorry." Skyler approached me on the floor.
"I don't blame you for this," said Skyler. "You did the best you could, and you'll continue doing the best you can. I know you won't stop fighting, this won't stop you."
"You'll have me helping you too, don't forget," said Gen, joining the hug.
"I don't want you to die Skyler, but I don't want you to lose yourself either. Promise me you'll do neither."
"I'm a life student; as long as I have a wand or some spell cards I can heal myself of damage. It won't be easy to kill me." I hugged her tightly.
"I'll do my best to save you. I do everything I can to end her reign before too many people die."
We were both crying now.
"I have faith in both of you, I know you won't let us down. I'll try to stay alive until you save us."
We stayed for the full five minutes, and then the spider opened the door and said our time was up. We regretfully turned to look behind us, waving goodbye to her before we left. That was it for the girls, now it was time for the boys.
We visited Brandon first as he was a part of Genevieve's school.
"Supposed heroes of the Spiral came to visit me, I'm flattered."
"We're sorry this happened to you," said Gen.
"Everyone is placing a lot of the burden on your shoulders, but you guys are just trying your best. You know what I'm saying, right Emily, like me you're taking multiple disciplines?"
"Yeah, I just want to do the best I can."
"I'm surprised we haven't heard more about you," said Gen. "I'd remember a fellow Storm student taking multiple disciplines like Em."
"After you defeated Malistere, I decided to broaden my horizons. You guys really inspired me, especially you Emily." Genevieve seemed confused at this. "You went on to practice every School of magic, and were able to tame the Dragon Titan. I decided to use my spare time to study every branch of magic I could, and went to Dragonspyre to study more about dragons, so I could do my best for everyone in the future."
"So you were in Dragonspyre, no wonder we didn't hear about you," I said.
"What about me?" said Gen. "We're in the same school, weren't you inspired by me?"
"You were studying multiple tracks but not all of them, and you always seemed more associated with things that are not dragons."
"But…I…"
"I have to admit though; it was the fact that you, a Storm student, could do great things made me feel I could as well." Gen smiled at this, but only a little. "That's why I'm not afraid of these games; I'm prepared enough for them. You guys are great enough, so whatever you manage to pull off, I'll accept." That was refreshing to hear; at least he wasn't expecting guaranteed success from us.
Next we visited Allan, the boy from the Fire school who gave me a look.
"You're Allan, right? Allan Ghostdust?" I asked. He was about a year older than me. He nodded at my entry.
"We'd like to say sorry this happened to you," said Gen.
"No need to apologize," said Allan. "I understand your struggles."
"The boys seem to be a lot more understanding."
"Why did you smile at me?" I asked him.
"It's better that I'm entering the games than either you or any of your friends."
"Skyler is entering," I said somberly.
"I'm sorry for you; I'll do my best to protect her."
"That's two people protecting her," said Gen. "What about protecting yourselves? What about the end of the game when that protection comes to an end?"
"There are two ways this can go," said Allan. "One: you stop the games before the protection ends. Two: the games reach their conclusion, and I am more than willing to die to ensure Skyler can live."
"How selfless of you," said Gen, genuinely surprised.
"It's no big deal, as I'm dying anyway."
"Did we hear that right? You're dying anyway? Do you not believe you're going to survive this?"
"That's not it," said Allan somberly.
"Allan, are you dying? Right now, outside the games, are you dying?" I asked. He nodded.
"What a coincidence," said Gen with a chuckle, "They manage to reap a cancer patient."
"Not exactly whatever you said," said Allan. "My last name is Ghostdust for a reason. My family comes from a long line of spirit hunters and exorcists. My parents ran into a nasty ghost just around the time I was born, and the ghost cursed them so that their child would not live a long life. They've done everything to try to remove the curse, but it's stuck; I won't live to see the age of twenty."
"Still, you have some time to live your life, and it's being taken from you," said Gen.
"If I'm going to go, it will be on my terms."
"But you didn't have a choice in this," I said.
"If I didn't I would've still volunteered."
"There's no pride in this though," said Gen.
"Isn't there? I get to help someone else live."
"Do you have a death wish?"
"No, but I do know I want to help you. We're on the same side."
"What do you mean?" I asked. He looked determined.
"I'm from the council of light. You see, when I was told about this curse on me, I decided to do as much good as I could before I went. I joined their order, and became one of their special agents." Gen and I were in awe from what he was saying; the council of light? So the resistance was strong. "I then heard about you guys and your exploits, and I realized that you two had a special destiny. If anyone can defeat Morganthe it's you, and I want to do anything to help you."
We didn't know what to say. This guy was willing to sacrifice everything for us. What about us? We were unwilling to make such sacrifices.
"It was an honor to meet you Allan," I said.
"We'll do our best out here, but you better do your best in there. We don't want you giving up too easy," said Gen.
"Ghostdust is my name," he smiled. "I won't bite the dust too easily."
We then left, deciding Malorn would be our next visit. We entered his room, and he smiled upon our entry.
"I'm actually surprised to see you here," said Malorn.
"You were my teacher for a little bit," I told him. "How could I not visit you?"
"My teacher as well," said Gen.
"Right," said Malorn. "I didn't think that meant we were friends."
"You were a nice one. Most other death boys we meet are not that nice."
"Give us some credit," said Malorn. We chuckled, and then were silent for a bit. "You know I'm not afraid to die."
"We know," we both said at the same time.
"I mainly want to look out for the younger ones, those who don't have much of a chance."
"We know," I said.
"I'll look out for Skyler," he said.
"What if…the game ends," said Gen.
"Then I'll die," he said. "I told you I'm not afraid.
"I don't think Skyler wants this on her conscience," I said.
"Then I won't tell her," said Malorn.
"At least you're better than Duncan," said Gen. "He probably wouldn't have cared if Skyler died." Malorn sighed.
"Duncan cares more about the power that Necromancy can give him over life and death. He admires Malistere too much, and Malistere forgot that death is a natural part of life. To be fair, I volunteered because I felt that Duncan would forget that we are going against what Morganthe wants."
"Well thank you for that," I said. "We'll do our best out here, as long as you do your best in there."
"I always do," said Malorn.
We went to visit Carson next. Carson was scared. He thought this was all just a bad dream, and he was hoping we could wake him up from it. I had the feeling he wouldn't be there for Skyler much during the games. Lastly, we visited Stefan.
"Colin was going to volunteer for you, wasn't he?" I asked him.
"Yeah he was," said Stefan. "I wouldn't want him to do that for me."
"You're friends with him?" asked Gen.
"After you rescued me in Zafaria, I had to recuperate back at Ravenwood. Colin was there to help me through it, Mr. Wethersfield had suggested it."
"Mr. Wethersfield is always there for an ailing student isn't he," I said.
"He was my teacher until you discovered the Balance school in Krokotopia, he's been kind to all of his students."
"Rosie is also joining," I added.
"I don't know her that well," said Stefan. "She's also representing duelists not Balance. Besides, it's everyone against everyone in there."
"I heard you can form alliances," said Gen.
"Those break by the end of the game," he said sadly.
"I'm sorry we can't do more for you," I said.
"There is something you can do," said Stefan.
"We know," said Gen. "We'll try; we can't guarantee your survival though."
"I do my best in there if you do your best out here," said Stefan.
"Ditto," I said before we left.
As we exited, my hands clasped my face. I was so stressed. All these people were counting on us to save them, to save everyone, and yet a lot of these people could still die. This may be the last time we ever see them.
As we got outside, I felt a tapping on my side from a spider leg. I turned abruptly, and sensing my turn Gen quickly followed.
"A word if you wouldn't mind," said the Spider.
"Say what you need to say," said Gen.
"I have a message from the Spider Queen for you two."
"What does she want?" I asked.
"She'd like to tell you that she knows what you two are planning to do."
"What? Are you going to arrest us?" said Gen.
"You haven't done anything yet, that would be foolish." This confused us. "No, Morganthe would like to tell you that since you managed to escape her games, she is willing to let you try to go against her."
"Really," I said, perplexed.
"However, she'd like to remind you that every day that goes by, your friends and supporters will get closer to death. Also, she's only allowing you two to go against her. If she catches anyone else helping you, they will be dealt with."
The Spider then ushered us away and we walked closer to Torrance. Everyone was setting the school back to the way it was.
"That was weird," said Gen. "Why would Morganthe be so okay with us going against her? After all the trouble she went through to make us stop?"
"She's letting us go against her, but no one else, and these games will be going on in the background." I was pondering things.
"She certainly established the rules," said Gen.
"Also declared the stakes…" I said. We came to a dark realization. "She's letting us play a game with her."
"She really wanted us to be a part of her games, didn't she?"
"That's not all; I don't think she really wanted this power over the Spiral. She wants something else, but this power allowed her to hold something us."
"It's like she already won, with everyone terrified of her, no one being allowed to help us. We're fighting a hard battle, and it really looks like we're going to lose."
I got all determined. "We just have to try our hardest. We'll pick up where we left off in Avalon and work from there."
"How much time do we even have?"
"There's a week before the games happen, and then who knows how long they'll take."
"We'll have to do this quickly then, no side quests, we just go until it's done.
"Right," I said.
The spiders were forcing people to the sides, and then each of the contestants were led out of the dorms and towards Bartleby, through his open mouth. They were headed for the portal door. I took a look at the contestants as they passed. People were waving goodbye to them. I saw Skyler as she was being ushered towards Bartleby; I waved at her and gave her a knowing look. I would save her in the end, she just had to wait and survive. When she was in her games, Gen and I would be playing ours. We'd stop Morganthe and her reign of terror, and we'd save as many people as we can, like we always do.
I saw Emily waving me off with a knowing look in her eyes. I trusted that she would save me and maybe some others traveling with me, until then all I had to do was survive these games.
That last part was a little sneak peak at Skyler's POV. Yeah I would talk about what Emily and Geneieve are going through as this is happening but what Tale of Two Saviours is for. When it gets to that point, they will basically be doing whatever they would have been doing here. We all want to read some Hunger Games action, so that's what I'm going to write about. Stay Tuned!
