━━･❪ 🌸 ❫ ･━━

Daphne never was much of a swimmer. There was a lake by the school that she, Lysa, and Tobe would go down to splash around in in the summer, but they'd never actually ventured so far that they couldn't touch the bottom standing up.

Daphne would throw a stick into the water for Barley to fetch, and he would paddle out and retrieve it. She tried to remember how he kept afloat, but there was something about the rough waters of the canal flipping her head over toe that seemed to mess with her cognitive abilities.

By some miracle, her head broke the surface of the water, though she didn't realize it at first. When it became apparent that she could open her eyes and breathe, coughing up mouthfuls of water, she surveyed her surroundings for something, anything that she could grab onto.

There was nothing. The edge of the docks were too far away, and Daphne could barely keep herself upright in the rapids as it was. It was a struggle, but she paddled her arms and legs the way Barley did, and so far she was able to keep her head above water.

It was dizzying, how fast the canal was sweeping her. The water was icy cold, and she could barely feel her churning limbs anymore. At least the pain from her cuts were numbing as well. She struggled towards the docks, desperate for a solid surface, but she couldn't break free of the current's chokehold. There was still quite a way to go before she hit the ocean, but perhaps she could wait it out until then. The current would die down eventually, maybe it'll be easier to swim to shore.

But who knew what type of mutts were lurking out in the ocean for that very reason. Perhaps there were monsters in this canal right now, swimming after her, jaws wide open to snap up dinner-

"HELP!" She screamed, tearing her fragile throat so badly she thought she could taste blood.

Daphne hollered and hollered, though she knew it was no use. Who would want to help her in the arena, when they could just let the water or whatever mutts take care of her? It's just one less tribute to deal with.

Perhaps it was better this way. Daphne could let some mutt rip her apart, and at least it would be relatively fast. She could just drown in the canal, rather than suffer some painful death at the hands of someone like Glory.

No! What was she thinking? She couldn't go out like this. What would Aedon think if his little sister, who had fought so hard up until this moment, was killed by falling into a canal on the second day? Pathetic.

Daphne began to struggle towards the docks, teeth chattering from the cold, but the canal seemed to hold her in place with the unnaturally strong current. She was almost to the ocean. If she were to act, she better act quick.

"Daphne!"

She snapped her head towards the yell. It had been so faint over the roaring of the water, it might've just been wishful thinking.

"Daphne, over here!"

Water clouded her vision, but Daphne whirled to find a nest of bushy brown hair atop the dock, dashing alongside her as the canal swept her along. Frantic golden eyes met Daphne's as she called her name again.

Azalea. Azalea is here to save me.

Something landed with a splash in the water beside Daphne, and she grabbed onto it before the current could sweep it out of reach. She still couldn't quite feel her fingers, but from the rough texture that dug into her skin, she realized it was a rope. She clutched onto the rope for dear life, flailing with her legs to assist as Azalea tugged her towards the dock.

As soon as the dock was within reach, Daphne snatched at it, hauling herself onto the planks before curling into a wet ball, shivering beyond function. She stayed like that for minutes, suddenly longing for the heatwaves back home, Azalea waiting patiently beside her.

Daphne had half the thought to hug her, both as thanks and for warmth, but she figured Azalea wouldn't receive that well. Daphne was drenched, for one, and frozen like an ice cube.

"Are you alright?" Azalea asked once Daphne had rolled onto her back. Daphne could somewhat feel her limbs now, and her body temperature was slightly closer to normal. Her teeth still clattered, though, and she was still shivering so bad it felt like even her soul was rattling.

"I just got dumped into a freezing cold canal after a knife fight with a psycho out for revenge." Daphne muttered, her voice hoarse and mangled from screaming. "Do you think I'm alright?"

Azalea frowned. The rope she'd used to save Daphne's life was coiled neatly at her side. Daphne noticed she also had a small backpack slung over her shoulder.

"Sorry," Daphne said, coughing out residual water. "Thanks for pulling me back to shore. Despite everything."

The edge of Azalea's lip quirked and she placed two objects into Daphne's hands. Daphne's knives, the ones that she'd used to battle the District Eight girl.

"How did you get these?" Daphne asked, sliding them back into their sheaths. "Were you watching me the whole time?"

"Yes and no," Azalea admitted. "I heard voices, and yours sounded familiar. I found you and that girl fighting, and when she pushed you into the water, I..." Her voice broke and she swallowed. "I strangled her with this rope."

Daphne's eyes widened in stunned silence. She turned to Azalea, speechless. Her golden eyes were tinted with the same haunted look that had been in Caelum's after he'd shot Mellie. The look of someone who had taken a life.

They stayed there on the dock for a bit after that, allowing Daphne to catch her breath and regain control of her body. Azalea remained silent, as if letting the events of the past few minutes sink in. Daphne sat beside her, marinating in guilt. She'd spent all this time hating Azalea, and Azalea had still been willing to kill for her. And despite all the arguments, all the foul memories, Daphne realized that she would take a life for Azalea as well. Without a heartbeat of doubt.

The sky faded to night, and stars winked into existence. Daphne scowled. These stars were unfamiliar to her. They were scattered in patterns of foreign constellations, if any constellations could be traced at all. This wasn't the real night sky.

Great, the Gamemakers had even taken the comfort of the stars away from her. What else would they take, before her time is up?

The memoriam began soon after. Five tributes had died. The mousy girl's death meant that District Eight only had one tribute still in the arena. Daphne found it especially hard to watch as the images of the two girls from District Nine flashed by.

"We should find a shelter," Azalea said, pulling Daphne back down to Earth after the memoriam was over.

"There's houses right there," Daphne nodded towards the row of wooden, run-down homes lining the edge of the canal.

"Thanks, Captain Obvious," Azalea scoffed. Alas, some of her old attitude was peeking back through. It almost made Daphne smile.

Azalea rose to her feet and extended a hand. Daphne took it, allowing herself to be pulled up. The wounds on her knuckle prickled with pain, and fresh blood welled up. Her body was still trembling, and she was still soaking wet, but she managed to stumble up the creaky wooden stairs that seemed identical in every house. She tracked a trail of dripping water into the house, up to the room, wishing for a hot shower and a change of clothes.

As if her thoughts had summoned it, a small capsule floating on a parachute drifted through the open window. Daphne let out a gasp of surprise and grabbed it, opening it up to find a warm, plaid blanket neatly folded inside.

"Looks like someone got a sponsor." Azalea commented as Daphne snatched the blanket, whispering thanks to whoever had sent it. She nearly screamed with delight as she realized that not only was it a blanket, it was freshly heated as well.

Daphne forced Azalea to turn around and face the wall as she stripped down to her undergarments, laying out the wet clothes on the wooden floor to dry. She then wrapped herself in the warm blanket, and words couldn't even begin to describe how pleasant it felt.

As Daphne sat in the corner in her cocoon, absorbing and relishing the heat from the soft blanket, Azalea nestled herself onto the ledge by the open window. "I'll take the first watch."

"No, you've done enough for me already." Daphne protested, about to heave herself to her feet. "I'll watch, you sleep."

"You're the one who's the most exhausted out of the two of us." Azalea said. "Besides, if you took the watch, you won't stab me in my sleep. I know you, if someone does something for you, you find it hard to screw them over after."

Daphne blinked. "Your point is?"

"My point is, I trust you if you take the watch. But I'm not sure if you trust me." Azalea continued, her tone taking on that of a displeased schoolteacher. "If this 'alliance' is going to work, we need mutual trust. So let me take the first watch, prove that I am trustworthy."

"I don't want to take the watch because I don't trust you," Daphne raised an eyebrow. "Besides, why would you stab me in my sleep right after saving me from drowning in the canal?"

"You say that, but I know you don't. Trust me, I mean." Azalea let out a frustrated huff. "Argue all you want, but I can read you like a damn book. You still don't trust me, not completely. So let me prove to you that you can."

Daphne furrowed her eyebrows, but exhaustion was weighing down heavily. She pulled the blanket tighter around her body and curled up leaning against the wall. The shallow cuts on her cheek and knuckles had already begun to scab up, but pain was stinging across the deeper cut on her arm. She glanced down and winced at the blood welling back up.

Azalea unzipped her backpack, then tossed Daphne a wad of gauze. "Wrap yourself up and go to sleep."

Daphne begrudgingly took the bandages, dressing her arm and muttering thanks. "Got anything else in that backpack?"

"Nope, and so far I haven't needed those bandages for myself."

"Well, now that I'm all patched up, it seems that I'm fit to take the watch."

"Daphne, shut up and go to sleep."

Daphne felt the urge to argue further, guilt pulling at her stomach for letting Azalea save her then watch over her as she slept. Daphne should be watching over Azalea, for the debt repaid.

Azalea said she knew Daphne. Well, Daphne knew her just as well. And from the stubborn set of Azalea's jaw, Daphne knew that any sort of argument from her wouldn't make Azalea budge. And Daphne was bone-tired.

"You must think very lowly of me if you don't think I trust you even after I owe you a life debt." Daphne scoffed. "Fine. Do whatever it takes to convince yourself that I trust you. Goodnight."

***

"It was you, wasn't it?" Daphne snarled, standing up to face the bushy haired girl in front of her. Azalea's golden eyes were filled with defiance. The hidden tinge of guilt that had given her away was gone.

Daphne's face had been flushed with despair and embarrassment, but now all that fueled her was rage. White, hot rage. She and Azalea had been getting on each others' nerves for days, but she'd thought it was just a simple phase that best friends went through. Everything would be back to normal soon. But now Azalea had gone and crossed that fragile line.

Daphne had been so confused. As soon as she'd entered the classroom for literature class, the atmosphere had seemed to change. She'd noticed immediately that everyone seemed to be casting fleeting glances from her to a lithe boy sitting in the corner. Her gaze had gone to Caelum straight away, as it always seemed to. He'd been fidgeting with the leatherbound book in his hands, joking around with his friends. As soon as he'd caught sight of her, he seemed to stiffen. The light went out from his eyes. His smile vanished, and he'd moved so that his back was towards her.

When Daphne had found out why, that her secret had been leaked and apparently she was now the hottest new gossip topic around school, all she wanted was for the Earth to open up and swallow her whole. The image of Caelum, those forest green eyes that had once sparked with vivace, turning away from her with a dead, hollow expression was like a dagger to the heart.

"Why?" Daphne's voice cracked. Azalea, her best friend, her partner in crime. Daphne couldn't believe that Azalea had been the one to hand out the truth of her feelings like spare change. Daphne had trusted Azalea, and Azalea turned around and stabbed her in the back. And for what?

"I trusted you!" Daphne hissed. "I told you because I thought you would keep my secrets safe like I've kept yours!"

Azalea didn't answer. She didn't even blink as Daphne's hands balled into fists and took a threatening step forward. It was like none of this fazed Azalea whatsoever.

"Why won't you answer me?" Daphne was almost shrieking at this point. She lunged forward, grabbing Azalea by the front of her shirt and slamming her against the wall behind. Azalea didn't flinch, didn't give a whimper of pain. "Answer me!"

It took a couple more violent shakes, but eventually, Azalea placed her hands on Daphne's wrists. Her golden eyes were suddenly lit with flames. "Did you ever stop to think, Daphne, that our friendship isn't quite as perfect as it seems?"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Daphne said, her hands itching to release Azalea's shirt and throttle her around the neck instead.

"Your parents are good people. They treat me well, they're always generous with my family. Even your dog is well mannered. How did you turn out to be such a monster?"

"Quit avoiding the question." Daphne snapped, shoving Azalea against the wall one more time with a satisfying thud. "Or are you too chicken to answer?"

Azalea's grip on Daphne's wrists tightened. "Maybe that's why your brother was such a drag in the arena."

A shock went down Daphne's spine. Something flaming hot sparked to life in her chest, burning with a rage so powerful she found it hard to breathe for a second. The heat flared, spreading through her body to the point she wasn't sure if she was even feeling the anger anymore. It was simply a part of her. Taken over her.

"What did you just say?" Daphne's voice was barely a whisper. Low and dangerous.

Azalea spat at her face. Daphne didn't flinch as it landed on her cheek.

"I said, maybe that's why your damn brother was such a drag in the arena." Azalea snarled. "Because he was sick and tired of dealing with his bastard of a little sister. He'd rather be murdered in the Games than come home to you."

The flames in Daphne's body seemed to explode. She let out a shriek of fury and hurled Azalea to the ground, not caring as she yelped and clutched her shoulder. Daphne's vision seemed to go red, her thoughts a burning mess. She lunged forward, needing to punch, kick, break her. Her. Daphne's best friend. Now the person she hated the most.

Daphne vaguely registered footsteps and shouts, and suddenly a pair of strong arms were around her, locking her in and dragging her backwards. Tobe's voice sounded by her ear, begging her to calm down. Daphne screamed and thrashed, tearing at his arms in a desperate attempt to free herself and make Azalea Espinoza feel how much those words really hurt. Tears began to blur Daphne's vision.

"COWARD!" She screeched at the shape huddled on the ground. "You are a COWARD, Azalea! You will never be anything more than a damn worthless coward!"

***

Daphne awoke the next morning trembling, not from cold, but from a sudden rush of fire boiling through her veins. It took a moment for her to realize that she was not sixteen years old in that schoolyard, wanting nothing but to tear Azalea Espinoza apart.

No, she was seventeen years old in an arena to fight to the death.

There was a slight tear ripped in the blanket, still draped around her, and a thin layer of sweat coated her forehead. She was sprawled across the floor, feet away from where she'd fallen asleep curled against the wall. Her heart was racing, and she had to tell herself over and over that it was just a dream. Just a painful relieving of old memories.

Her cheek and knuckle cuts had scabbed up overnight. The wound on her arm had bled through the gauze, pain prickling to life as she shifted it. She tentatively peeled the bandage back, then discarded it upon seeing that only a small oozing of blood remained lining the slice. At least the bleeding had gone down significantly.

She turned towards the ledge by the window, about to ask Azalea for another gauze, squinting against the morning light streaming into the room. The boiling sensation in her blood seemed to intensify at what she saw, or rather, what she didn't see.

Azalea was nowhere to be found.

━━･❪ 🌸 ❫ ･━━