Other Fan Fiction / Fables/Fairytales Fan Fiction / Realism Fan Fiction ❯ The Melodies of War ❯ Chapter two:Tears Before the Fight: A Songbird's Cry ( Chapter 2 )

How did I get here? I didn’t ask for this, 
One moment I was safe, now I’m lost in the mist. 
Thirteen years old, still playing with dolls, 
And now I’m walking, and the darkness calls. 

I sing out in the room with white. My voice is soft and sweet like a songbird’s call. 

I was just a girl, with my birthday cake, 
Daddy’s warm hug, everything felt safe. 
But now my name is in the air, 
And I’m shaking, scared, unaware.  

Daddy’s face, he’s trying not to cry, 
I see his love, but I’m asking why. 
I don’t want to go, don’t want to fight, 
I just want to stay home tonight. 

I for some reason choke out these lines, tears in my eyes. But I don’t stop. I continue to sing. Raising my voice, it flies quickly throughout the room. Although I’m singing softly and slowly. 

I don’t know how to face this fight, 
I am just a child in the morning light. 
I never thought the world could be so cold, 
I’m just a girl, I’m not yet bold. 
The odds are stacked, and the fear is real, 
But there’s no way out, it’s all I feel. 
The price we pay, we can’t deny, 
Tears before the fight, goodbye. 

I remember running, my tail wagging fast, 
All those moments, I thought would last. 
The cake, the games, the songs off key, 
All those people, laughing with me. 

But now it’s gone, just like a dream, 
Now I’m stuck in this endless scream. 
I want to run, to hide, to be small, 
But I must face it, I must stand tall. 

In singing these stanza’s, the tears flow out, the snot threatening to come as well. I sniffle, to clear my nose of the unwanted snot, so I can continue my song. 

Daddy’s hands, they shake in mine, 
His voice cracks as he says, “You’ll be fine.” 
But I know it’s not true, and it breaks my heart, 
Because I’ve never been so far apart. 

I breathe in and choke, out of breath. I suck in the air and continue. 

I don’t know how to face this fight, 
I was just a child in the morning light. 
I never thought the world could be so cold, 
I’m just a girl, I’m not yet bold. 
The odds are stacked, and the fear is real, 
But there’s no way out, it’s all I feel. 
The price we pay, we can’t deny, 
Tears before the fight, goodbye. 

I stretch out the words ‘goodbye’ before starting a new stanza, my voice trembling. 

Oh, Daddy, don’t let me go, 
This world’s too dark, too much to know. 
I’m scared, I’m lost, and I’m just a kid, 
Please don’t make me face what’s ahead. 

I’m sobbing, wiping snot and tears away just to finish. 

I don’t know how to face this fight, 
I was just a child in the morning light. 
I never thought the world could be so cold, 
I’m just a girl, I’m not yet bold. 
The odds are stacked, and the fear is real, 
But there’s no way out, it’s all I feel. 
The price we pay, we can’t deny, 
Tears before the fight, goodbye. 

I reach my last stanza, and I try my best to keep my voice steady and sing the stanza softly, sniffling as I am doing so. 

I don’t know how to do this alone, 
I don’t want to go, I want to go home. 
But here I am, and I can’t turn back, 
Tears before the fight... 
And the wild's attack. 

I let the words linger in the room. I sigh and let myself cry. Tears covering my clothes and face. A Peacekeeper comes in to take me to the train station, and my eyes are red from the crying. I blush, embarrassed by the mess I am, and wipe my tears away quickly before standing up, letting the Peacekeeper escort me. On the way there, I saw Kai Smith. He looks as cold as ever, while I on the other hand, look like a puppy who lost its favorite toy. I blush harder and cover my face with my hands, peeking through my finger's openings. By the time we are at the train station, there are several camaras. I flinch as they take pictures and screen me live on television with their bright lights. I flatten my ears on my head and step backwards behind Kai. Kai turns to me with a look of confusion. I have no idea why I seek protection from a man I’ve met just today. But Kai, for some reason, doesn’t question me and shields me from the camara’s. The second we were on the train I bolted to my room, not caring about meeting my stylist, mentor, prep team, nor escort. I sit in my room, on my bed, ears twitching, tail twitching. Why am I twitching so much? I thought. I need to stop; people will look down on me if I keep on being the scared wolf. I get out of bed and head for the bathroom. I look at myself in the mirror; hair messed up, eyes pink, wet face. I undress and drag myself in the shower. I looked through the bathroom only a bit. Fancy counters with buttons, beautiful sink, made of marble, glass shower door, containers of shampoo, conditioner, and soap in the walls in the shower. I push the button on the shampoo and conditioner containers and the liquid comes out from the bottom. I gently massage the liquids in my scalp and down my hair. Once I’ve finished, I wash it out in front of the shower head. I do this two more times before getting the soap out of its container and scrub my body clean. After I am clean, I get out of the shower and sit in a chair and push a button that says ‘dry’ then my whole body and hair is dry. I tilted my head slightly, astonished, then smiled. I walk out of the shower in a towel and search the closet for clothes. I pick out a simple white shirt and black pants. My ears rise off my head and my tail take its position up, but still slightly down. I suck in a breath and hesitantly open the door that leads to the train. The door opens to a woman with curly red hair and green eyes. She was tall, her face looked sweet, and her skin was light pink. Her hand was closed in a fist, as if she were about to knock. The woman blushed, her cheeks turning a nice rosy color. I chuckle at her embarrassment. “Oh, I was coming to get you for supper. Didn’t expect you to run off like that.” She said. I blush remembering how I ran away so quickly. “My apologies for...running off without getting to meet everyone.” I said. She shakes her head and smiles. “No, no, I get it. It can be overwhelming when you’re reaped. Names Kactus.” She said. I tilt my head. Kactus? What kind of name is that? Of course, it was unique and pretty, but still. “I’m Emerald.” I said. Kactus nods and leads me to a dining room with plates filled with luxury foods and desserts. Everyone was there. My mentor, my stylist, and, of course, my district partner, Kai. When Kactus pulls up a chair for me, I look up at her and smile gratefully at her as I take my seat. Everyone, and I mean everyone at the table is looking at me. I start to feel self-conscious about how I acted and lower my head, trying to focus on the food on my plate. Soon enough, the chatter begins and I'm glad to no longer be the center of attention. But not for exceptionally long. Kai calls out to me; my ears twitch and I look up. “Have you met your stylist and prep team yet? Or even your mentor? Seems like you met Kactus though.” He said, his expression soft, not like I remembered it to have been. I glance around, seeing all the people at the table and shake my head. “Well-” He gestures to a man on his right with black hair and amber eyes. “He is your mentor. And-” He gestures to Kactus. “She is our escort. And they-” He points to two people with abnormal skin colors, sunset orange and sea green, both females with black hair. “Are our stylists, Honey and Dew. And finally, Screw, my mentor.” He said, gesturing to a woman with brown hair, green eyes and a scar on her cheek. I glance around the table then my gaze falls back on my plate. I know Kai is trying to start a conversation, but I’m not much of a talker until I know the people, per say, shy. I can hear everyone at the table groan quietly and my ears flatten on my head. All I can think is “I’m sorry, I wish I wasn’t so shy...” I quickly finish my food and bolt back to my room. I did it again, I thought. Why can’t I just talk to them? Am I really that shy...? Once in my room, I sit on my bed, hugging my knees. Then I hear a soft call, like a songbird. I look around but found no one. Then I know exactly what’s happening. My eyes twitch as they start to glow. There it is! Or should I say, who it is. It was a ghost of a woman. She has long, curly hair that falls in wild waves around her shoulders and a pair of beautiful brown eyes. Dressed in a vibrant colorful skirt and blouse. It could only be one person. A person from the past. The person...who gave birth to me...”Mother!”