Through the Living Hope

Crocus smiled, and looked down at her daughter. Her face was just as red. To Tinker’s parents, she said, “I’m sorry I tried to kill your son at the start of the games…”

Still clinging to her daughter, Crocus approached Tinker and took his hand. “If it weren’t for you, my daughter would be dead several times over. Thank you, Flemr.”

“STOP!” She Pushed them all behind her, and repeated, “Who are you.”

“N-no, I’m not.” She let him move her. She pulled slightly away. “Y-yes, I’m fine. I mean, he didn’t really do anything so…”

Spark whispered to her, “I dont want to have to have an underage drinking trial as well.”

She hadn’t killed any Peacekeepers, even if the others had. She’d gone for elbows and knees. In her estimation, that was all they needed to escape. Footsteps approached from behind her. She recognized their pattern. She’d just seen their owner. She turned and there she was, no longer storing nor tapping muscle, looking healthier than Marewill had ever seen her. Her mother. Crocus tenderly put her hands on the sides of her daughter’s face. Her thumb brushed over the bandage on her cheek, soft eyes analyzing her. She’d always been skinny, but was more so now. She’d had so little to eat in the arena, her poor girl… She looked tired and dirty, as well. They didn’t say anything for moments. Crocus put her daughter’s head to her chest and wrapped her arms around her. “Mare,” she whispered. She said the one syllable over and over. Marewill didn’t say anything as she wrapped her arms around her mother. She did, however, start crying into her chest.

Spark also gets on the bus.

Jolane stayed away from the mute man. July seemed to be handling things on his own. She watched the man leaving the tavern. He came in once every week, but never bought anything. He always went in to see Robert privately, never interacting with anyone else. And every week, he left seeming more broken than before. Robert leaned against his office's door frame with his arms crossed. He hadn't wanted it to be this way to begin with, but it had been that man's fault to begin with, after all... ~~~ The man still had a smile then. A sparkle in his eye, a straight back. He had a wife and a young daughter at home, and she'd just given birth to a beautiful baby girl. Robert didn't know this. He just saw a man taking bigger risks than he should. And he took advantage of that. The man had lost the game, his face paling. The next day, Robert had found him to collect payment as the man had promised, but he was unable to. The man explained he was trying to make extra funds. His wife had just had a second child. Robert wanted to forgive the debt, but that wasn't the way he was raised. He was a business man, like his father, and his father, and his father. So he'd made an offer. The man, of course, had refused. Or at least tried to. There was no alternative. And every week for 18 years, the man came to the tavern. The bet was always the same. If the man won, he got his daughter back. If he lost, five years would be added to her servitude. Robert wasn't happy with the arrangement, no. But it was the only way to get his money's worth. And if there was one thing his father had instilled in him since he was a boy, it was you collect what you are owed. @J. Magi @The Bookwyrm @Through The Living Glass

The man sulked out of the tavern. The owner stepped out of his office. “If you keep causing a disturbance you’ll have to leave.”

"You should really stop coming here. You're only making it worse for the both of you." There was a pause. "I have to try... and even if I fail, I still get to see her." Robert sighed and put a hand on his forehead. "If you were able to beat me, you would have by now." "I have to try," the man repeated. "It was only going to be twenty years at the start. You know that." "... yes." "Your doing this has gotten it to be over five hundred." "Which makes me that much more desperate." Once again, Robert sighed. He seemed to do that a lot with this man. "Your dedication is honorable. Really. But if you hadn't done this, she'd only be here for another two years." "Please, just let her..." "If I could, I would. But you owe me a debt you can't pay me any other way, and every time you come here it gets larger. It has to be either you or her, and we both know it can't be you. Your wife has to stay at home, and I can't take your wife from you." "Please-" "No." A longer silence. The next thing the man said was shaky and quiet. "But she's my daughter." "I'm well aware. But you could pay no other way." "Then let me-" "No. We're not doing that again. You'll lose and make it worse for the both of you." "Please-" "Go home." Pause. "Go home." The man got out of his chair and began walking towards the door.

The man went in, taking a deep breath first. "If you'd close the door behind you," Robert asked. The man did.

Robert shook his head. "Send him in."

Robert sighed. "In his fourties, looks worn down?"

Robert looked up from a notebook upon hearing his footsteps.

“No, that’s fine. I’m just here to speak with him.”