Peridot Clarity- District One (18)
It was my turn to stand watch, but Danae stayed up with me. The stars were brilliant over the scrubby grass and swirling rock spires of the Arena. They contrasted with the orange sandstone and the brightness of the stone made the deep blue night sky seem fathomless.
"Make a wish," I said, pointing at the morning star.
"I wish for scrawny mutts," Danae said.
"Good choice," I said. Since we'd met in training, we'd hardly been apart. We were allied as Careers, but we stayed together as friends. It was nice to meet someone as dedicated and dreamy as I was. Her light complexion contrasted my dark skin, but our brown eyes matched like sisters. I couldn't have asked for a better ally. We watched each others backs at the Bloodbath and kept the boys in line.
"When did you decide to volunteer?" I asked. We were awake anyway. We might not have much more time to get to know each other.
"I was six. I saw that year's Amazon parade costume and I was hooked," she said. "How about you?"
"I wasn't sure until I was thirteen. I wanted to make sure I was really strong enough," I said. We watched the stars some more.
"Hey, Danae?" I asked.
"Yeah?" she responded.
"The Career pack has to break up sometime," I said. She knew I wasn't threatening her, and she turned over to listen.
"What if we took care of them now? They're all sleeping, and there are two of us," I said. She looked over at the four other Careers on their mats.
"I can take Herodotus first. You can take Shine, and then neither of us will have killed our partners. We can take Minnie and Bay together," I said.
"You think we can?" she asked.
"With two of us, we can get it done before they know what hit them," I said.
"You're right," she nodded. "But what about after?"
"I guess we stick together, kill the others, and then fight it out," I said.
In a flash, the deal was made. Danae slid to her feet and stood over my partner. She held her sword over him and I held mine over Herodotus. We brought them down at the same time and twin cannons split the night. Minnie and Bay sprang up at the noise, but Danae's sword was in Minnie's ribs before she stood up. Bay got to his trident and did a valiant job at warding us off. In the end there was nothing he could do, and my sword nearly cut off his head when he stumbled over a root.
"Great job," Danae said. She held up her hand for a high five. I pulled my sword from Bay's throat and turned, sticking it into her heart. She gasped and her eyes filled with tears as her knees folded. Before I finished the job with a final stab, I said my goodbyes.
"I'm sorry, Danae. I meant all those things I said. I just can't die for you."
Peridot's black. Surprise.