As you wish... [Jacob One-shot (maybe)]

"Are you sure you want to give this up?"

"Am I sure I want to give it up?" I look at him and then to the threaded bracelet in his hand. I nod. There's been so much going on in our family since my sister's death but perhaps if the only thing I could do was to offer the spirit of my sister to protect him I would. She was a freed soul. I wasn't sure if the bracelet would in fact carry Cecilia's spirit with it, but I would make sure he had my prayers with him every step of the way. The answer was very simple though. "I still have our violin. The one where those strings originally came from. We had to fix the entire thing after we found it broken. My sister did the lot of it, but I helped just as much. It was I who really took to learning the music though. A natural talent, I guess. Do you remember when you first heard me playing that day in the cemetery? I'll play that everyday for you until you return to us. It was her song that I've played for years since..."

"I do remember. It was beautiful. I will try my best to come back alive, so your playing will only end on a happy note."

I nodded to him. He looked somber. Inside, my mind was telling me to stay strong and to not show any affection toward anything I was saying, but in truth my throat was closing up. It burned with a thousand embers, penetration deep into my gut as I watched my fellow classmate in front of me. I barely knew him, but what times I had, I felt worse and worse. My heart burst from inside though and I felt my eyes well up. The damn wasn't broken just yet, but the liquid seemed to dull my vision.

"As long as my sister is dead, the violin will never play a happy tune, but it will change for you. Tonight, and every night until you come home, I will play a new verse in your honor. I will. I swear it on my own grave that I will do whatever is possible to make sure you come home. Come back to district eight. I can't fathom another death. I've lost my sister years ago. I lost my best friend not long after that. I can't lose another. Cecilia is with you in spirit, Zagreus."

Zagreus didn't speak though. He didn't seem the type to do so either. Instead of tears, I raced up to his person and let my arms wrap around him in a brotherly hug, one pat and then turned on my heels. I wouldn't hear him anymore. I couldn't bear to listen to him promise to come back because I know what could happen. He would come back quiet anyways. I didn't want a false report from him. I wanted him to come back to tell me what he wanted to.

---

No sooner had I left that day of the reaping, the justice building was out of site. It was behind me as my journey took yet another route. Jory had ran off immediately when neither of our names were called and he knew not of my friendship with Zagreus. He had let the anxiety take over his body and probably was off on the hillside watching over Cecilia's grave from afar. That's where I needed to go as well, but today we both clambered together to watch the first day's start. It was a holiday basically for everyone. It also told us all who would and wouldn't be coming back home first.

I hoped it wasn't Zagreus because if it was, surely the bracelet did no good in his presence and today I couldn't feel my sister around at all. "Jory. Do you sense her?" and I looked to him with hope but he shook his head and pulled Gage into a hug. Lotus had been put down for a nap, and it seemed like it was a good time to do so since in a due time, tears would be shed for some and others would be hopeful for other reasons.

"The timer has started Mom." I yell out, and she walks into the living room, and gathering Gage up in her arms.

"He's still too young to watch this. He don't need to be in here with you boys." Her demanding tone scorns us both and they disappear into the next room. The sound of the rickety television set is halfway full of static but we can kind of hear what's going on. Especially when the moving pictures shows the arena moments before the gong set off. The arena was hideous for more than one reason. Death and destruction to come in such a dreary place of all arena's. Gravestones littered the ground and the view's go from tribute to gravestone to tribute to the next gravestone. Jory saw it first.

"CECILIA...." My vision focuses on what he saw and I catch it as it lingers on her name, mixed with a few others for more than five seconds. Names from other districts that have had dead tributes names upon them as well as my own sister.

"No. They can't do that. They can't do that. MOM... MOM! THEY... " I can't speak any longer. The thought of them making fun of her death by engraving her name in stone for other tributes to die upon was despicable. How dare they desecrate my sister like that. How dare they do that to anyone whose loved one died in the games.

My heart raced. My teeth clenched together and immediately, I felt my fist swinging around, making contact with the wall and pain erupted from the force.

"FUCK THEM..." Fire boiled into my belly and images of Cecilia's death protrude into my vision and memories. The wailing screams she set alight with the fire burning her body. The charred skin that continued to burn her as she lay there dying. The pain she must have felt when the spear sunk into her leg and severed the artery. She died the most horrendous death and no one batted an eye and here they were desecrating her name by placing it over an empty grave for decoration!

"Jacob, what's wrong? What is I..." Her voice set my feet running from the living room and to the front door. Within moments, I felt the gentle breeze of air on my face and the sidewalk's lines counted quickly the further the distance grew from everything in the district. Tree's darted past my figure and it still couldn't rid me of my sister's death.

"No.. No... No... how could you. You... BASTARDS." Dirt beneath my shoe kicks up like a storm. The hillside where Jory stays is empty and yet I still can't stop. Not when she needs me near her.

"I'm coming Cecilia. I'm coming." I promise and the gate to the cemetery stands between me and my dead sister. "I'm here. Wait for me."

I barge through the gate, feeling the pins and needles in my hand and arm as I do. Through welled up eyes, the stone heads all around seem to scream at me and the only one that don't is empty of the void and I come crashing down without warning.

Moments pass by and a surreal feeling takes over. Double visions of the grave dance in my sights. My head lolls to the right and muscles scream to lift my head. A chill runs down my back as someone steps beside me and I see the wobbly image of see through feet standing by my head.

No words.

No movement.

Not even a breeze.

I groan, trying to lift myself up but I merely turn my head to glance up at the stranger who dares to disrespect my sister's grave by standing where she's placed. "Move... now." I grumble and then I see the face and my mouth drops so suddenly. It was her.

"C... Cecilia?" I mumble and look to her and a smile has graced me. One that looked so similar to her anthem picture, where she was almost happy, but sorrow seemed to take over her eyebrows. Then she bends down and her feet don't even crease the blades of grass that were under her feet and her knees touch the ground. "Cecilia, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry that I couldn't save you. I couldn't save you and I can't save Zagreus and I can't do anything right and he's going to die because I was a coward. I'm... a ... coward."

I close my eyes feeling the tears break a damn that had been needing to be broken for a while. My father hates for men to cry and thinks that shows weakness, but he doesn't understand the guilt that plagues my soul. It plagues me everyday of my life and at this particular moment, I do not even have our violin to soothe her back into her spiritual realm and Jory is missing out on this.

"Jory misses you." I tell her and feel a cold touch of something on my cheek. Then another something touches the other cheek and together I look up to my big sister holding my face and placing her forehead to mine. I long to hear her voice again. I long to hear her tell me that everything is going to be okay and take the heat for my anger lashing out at everything but right now, this is good.

She nods to me and assists to lift me up. Strength returns to me in my weakest moments. Pain doesn't touch my body at all. Something so odd about this moment makes me feel at ease within my sister's presence and I don't want to leave. "There is so much I want to say. So much I need to tell you."

She shakes her head from side to side in such a soft manner, she's clearly an angel come to console her grieving brother. "Mom misses you, too. Lotus is going up so fast and I try to tell her about you all the time. She looks like you but you know that, don't you?"

She nods her head. Her hand touches my own, the one that had hit the wall the moment I saw her tombstone in the games. A chill overcomes me and I reach to give her a hug and as I do, I can't grasp her and toddle to the side. "I can't touch you, can I?" I question and she shakes her head, but my head drops and tears cascade to the ground and her lips touch my forehead and darkness overtakes me.

"Cecilia... come back?" My voice whispers and my eyes open to see my sister's grave in front of me. It was all a dream.