All is Fair in Scarborough Fair {Chevi}

When Parsley entered the room, Sage froze. There were no tears on her face, but she didn't seem infuriated. He had expected that at least one of those things would have been an obvious emotion when she entered, but neither were present. She walked up to him, calmly, and placed her hands on his shoulders. Sage froze, unsure of what to do. He couldn't move, and he couldn't speak, although he did try.

"Parsley, I..." the boy trailed off. He truly couldn't get any words out. All he could do was imagine the pain that his sister must have been trying to hide from him in the moment. He wondered what she'd been thinking when he approached the stage after shouting the words that may have sentenced him to death. She had to have thought they were safe, before he did that. He could imagine that she felt relieved when the quell was announced. Then again, Sage had been relieved in a way, too. Nothing could stop him from going in if he wanted to, and he wanted to.

The boy closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath before attempting once more to speak to his sister. They had been in silence for about two minutes, and he knew he had to say something. He couldn't just waste what could be his last moments with Parsley. Then, Sage opened his eyes. He looked back at Parsley whose eyes seemed to be trying to read into his mind. It was as if she were gazing into his soul, trying to find what had prompted him to volunteer himself for what was almost certainly imminent death.

"Parsley, I'm sorry. I don't know exactly how you're feeling right now, but I know you're not happy. You probably can't understand why I volunteered, and I really wish I could make you understand, but I'm not sure how," Sage explained. He looked at his older sister, trying not to look as nervous as he felt.

Parsley's voice was kind. Her words didn't even question him, as if she knew that he truly felt a need to volunteer.

"But you have a reason," his sister stated. She said it like she meant it, and there was trust in her voice. Sage's heart skipped a beat, however, as Parsley let out a soft sigh and slid her hands from his shoulders. He began to worry in the short moments of silence that held between them oh so briefly.

Does she know I'm not trying to hurt her? he asked himself.

Sage then noticed as Parsley's gaze shifted to his bracelet. Affron had given him the bracelet as a gift one day with some extra money he'd... obtained. The young boy hated thinking about the way the money was obtained, as it was stolen, and he knew Parsley wouldn't approve of that.

At least I didn't steal the money, right? It was Affron, not me, his silent thoughts wondered, trying to reassure himself that it was okay. Parsley would never know that the bracelet was obtained in an unethical way.

"Try to keep your wits about you." she expressed. Sage nodded to show he understood, and soon after she said this, she was holding his wrist in one hand, using the other to examine the bracelet he was wearing. Parsley continued to speak as she removed a thin, red thread from her apron pocket, wrapping it around the piece of jewelry her brother was wearing. For some reason, he knew, in his mind, that this was meant as a good luck charm. He gave his sister a small smile and mouthed the words 'thank you.'

"Remember what I taught you about herbs and treating wounds," was a reminder that he was given. Then, she continued with, "And for heaven's sake, don't eat any strange berries."

Well, I know that much. A reminder is always good though, I guess.

Parlsey was muttering nonsensical things as she was wrapping the thin piece of thread around his bracelet, but Sage didn't question it. He looked at his sister, almost longingly, and part of him wished he had just kept his mouth shut when they asked for volunteers.

"Stay close to that boy. He likes you." were the next words passed from Parsley to Sage. He nodded again.

"I will. I promise," he assured her. "I like him too, though. What if neither of us makes it out, or if he dies before I do? I..." he trailed off again, not knowing how to continue. If Affron died before he did, Sage didn't know how far he really wanted to go in the Games. After all, there was a feeling, somewhere in Sage's heart, that he may have actually loved Affron.

Parsley seemed to be doing some sort of ritual as she sprinkled herbs or some sort of spices over Sage's bracelet. He'd always thought that her different types of good luck charms were odd, but he wasn't going to stop her. If his sister believed it would help, maybe he would, too. Then, she looked up from what she was doing, and put her hands around his face. It was comforting, being this close with his sister, but he knew that their time was running short. The Peacekeepers would be in any minute now.

"Whatever you do, do not hesitate." It was like an order, but not a forceful one. She was giving him advice. She wanted to help him. She looked him in the eyes, and continued to speak. "Whatever you do, do not hesitate. You chose this, you go with it. If you start second-guessing yourself, even for a minute, you get clumsy. You stumble. You get hurt."

Sage knew that his sister was right. At least, she was in a way. He was rather clumsy, which was part of the reason he got hurt so often. Although, he didn't believe it was purely from hesitation. He believed that, at least in part, it was his terrible luck. Of course, he wasn't going to mention this to Parsley. This as not a time to argue, disagree, or cause any sort of conflict. There were already enough negative emotions in Sage's mind, swirling around. Guilt. Fear. Concern for his sister. None of those emotions were really ones that he felt too often, but they were very prominent right then.

"You trust yourself," she continued, "and you do what you have to do. For you, and... for him." Sage nodded. He was going to listen to his sister's advice until his very last breath, even if that last breath was in the arena as his life was being taken away from him by another volunteer of the Games.

"I will," he assured her. He made sure that his voice sounded confident, even if he didn't really feel that way. "I promise."

Sage looked at the clock. The time was ticking. They would have seconds together before he was taken away to the train. Therefore, he wrapped his arms around his sister in a tight, loving hug.

"Don't worry about me, okay? Even if I don't make it out, just know that I care about you. You're the one thing I really don't want to leave behind," he said quietly to her, his head resting on her strong shoulder.

Then, the door to the room opened and a Peacekeeper entered.

"Your time is up," came a stern voice. A tear slid down Sage's cheek. He didn't want to let his sister go, but he'd made his choice. He would have to, now, and there was no turning back.