castle of glass {Iain/Gardenia/Ikaia}

[EMS]

Iain

What do I do?

I'm supposed to help, and yet I can't even help myself. Each time I close my eyes all I can see is blood and a lifeless body crashing towards the ground. Never in my life did I imagine that I would kill someone, but when people are thrown into a kill or be killed situation, terrible things happen. Last year I failed. I failed as someone that was supposed to care. Lie after lie left my lips as I promised I would try to save them. I promised to help. To try to bring someone home, but I'm only a single man that somehow managed to survive.

Never again.

No more promises will infiltrate the minds of those chosen especially the mind of my brother. He's my world, my life, and now everything is changing.

I...I...I can't watch him die.

A heavy sigh leaves my chest knowing more victors are allowed this time around, yet I don't trust the mazemakers. Chaos and Lightning betrayed everything they worked for. They want to kill people. They want to show the world that the Capitol does own them -

I'll kill them myself if my brother falls victim to one of their terrible creations, and I'll never forgive them.

Heavy feet carry me across the floor. My gait isn't the best because I'm still learning to walk on this fake leg they gave me when I escaped the maze alive. The broken bones have healed, but the scars run much, much deeper. Thousands of thoughts race through a frantic mind - I have to help them, but how? What did I do to deserve this? I wanted to live, and now I feel the world is falling apart right before my very eyes. I should've known my family wasn't safe. I saw what happened to Lightning and Chaos. I watched their sister die.

And now I feel I'm going to watch Ikaia die the same exact way.

I plop down in a chair in the lounge. It's not easy being here. It's not easy knowing what I have to do, but at least they can both survive. Crossing my arms, I lean my head back trying to pull myself together. It's hard to breathe. Hard to think. Hard to do anything when broken strings control the rhythm of a beating heart. I don't even know what time it is, and it doesn't even matter anymore. All I'm doing now is waiting for my brother and Gardenia to wake up. There's so much we need to talk about. So much to discuss.

But most importantly, I want Gardenia to know that I'm going to help her in every way possible. That all my attention won't focus on Ikaia because I have a chance to bring both of them home, and that's my goal. I just hope that somehow, someway we'll all return to district eleven alive.

[Kaplan]

Gardenia Sinnoh
District Eleven

It's hard for me to even imagine how I'd go about surviving in the Maze. It seems like an impossibility. Some sort of miracle would have to surface in order for me to live through it all. I don't want to become a killer just so that I can live, but I fear that that may be where my fate ends up being directed. I just have to hope that maybe, just maybe, someone can help me through this all. Whether it be an ally, a mentor, or even a one-time friend who just assists me in the moment to help me move on to the next day of my life, I just need someone. The only thing is, I fear that I might never find that someone. Will the fate of Gardenia Sinnoh be dying alone in the Maze with no one who cares?

When I step foot onto the train, my jaw quite literally ends up dropping open. Gaping in awe, I look around at all the luxurious things that surround me. There's a variety of refreshments and a rather fancy seating area. It even looks as if the tables are made of mahogany wood. That was when I saw who was sitting in one of the chairs, though. It was Iain. He had won the Maze not all that long ago, and here he was, expected to help us. I couldn't make him feel obligated to help me, though. I knew that if he felt he was being forced to help, what he said to me may not be genuinely to my benefit. Therefore, I knew I needed to start by making him like me. Making friends was all I really knew how to do, after all.

Sitting down in the chair across from Iain, I placed my hands, folded in my lap. I directed my gaze to him, and spoke kindly. For some reason, his last name wasn't showing up in my memory. Although, I still wanted to greet him politely. Therefore, I tried my best.

"Excuse me, sir? Mr. Iain? Are you okay?" I asked him this, as he looked quite upset. At first, I couldn't place why. Then, I remembered. I remembered Iain's last name, and I made the connection.

He and Ikaia were related.

[EMS]

Ikaia

This is definitely a journey. Life has always been a journey full of ups and downs, and now it's all just falling apart. I'll never forget watching my younger brother survive the maze. Every single night I stayed awake watching because I had to make sure he was okay. Iain meant the world to me - I let him go through the hell he witnessed, and now this is my reward. This is what I get for letting him suffer after I swore to protect him. At least more than one person can survive this maze.

My eyes are heavy, yet I pace back and forth unable to sit down. I'm more afraid of what's running through his head. Many nights I've held him trying to calm him down, but the nightmares just keep crawling back. I'm worried that I won't be around to protect him anymore.

Iain is strong. I know he is.

I close the door behind me as I step out into the open for the first time since I came into this room. It's better this way, and I have to face him soon. I have to talk to him and Gardenia. We both can live, and it makes this maze a little easier, yet death still lingers before us all. Several of us will never make it out of this alive, but that's all part of the crooked ways.

After a few moments of walking around, I find Iain and Gardenia seated in the lounge. Iain looks extremely lost and confused, and I don't even know what to say to him. Nothing will make it better, but maybe I'll have to try. A half smile spreads across my face as I lower myself down into a chair.

I wonder if he knows how afraid I am. I wonder if he realizes everything that's running through my head, but I understand if he doesn't. I simply nod my head waiting for him to speak. He won this, so maybe he can help district eleven to win again.

[EMS]

Iain Deseme

Hey brother! There's an endless road to rediscover
Hey sister! Know the water's sweet but blood is thicker
Oh, if the sky comes falling down, for you
There's nothing in this world I wouldn't do

The weight of the entire world presses firmly against me making it impossible to move. Yet it all seems surreal. Two years ago I was in their place, but I don't know if it's any different now. I'm alone and afraid. Even though a crown sits upon my head, it doesn't mean I know what to do or how to help. Just look at the last maze - both runners died day one. They didn't even stand a chance. Not that it matters anyway. We're only pawns in a game for comedy.

I survived. I fought to stand where I am, but it isn't easy. Seeing people die day after day;

A flash of red sprays against my face as she crumbles her cannon blasting not even a second later.

Every night when I close my eyes, that's all I can see over and over, and no matter how many times I scream, it never goes away. And now I feel that my brother will suffer the same fate as she did. It's hard to get it to go away, but I can't just sit here and watch them die when maybe I can offer some advice.

Gardenia walks in first, and I barely move as she sits down across from me. She asks me how I'm doing, and she's so polite in asking. It's impossible to look at her because the only thing racing through my mind is the idea of seeing her face in the sky. I'm just a failure that survived on luck.

She asks if I'm okay, and I want to tell her that I'm not okay. That I'll never be okay. That the stupid maze changed me forever. It made me stronger in some ways since I realize I'm stronger than anyone ever imagined, but I'm also not the same. I watched people die. I can hear their screams;

I killed someone.

But before I can answer, Ikaia walks in and plops himself down in a chair close by. I can't look at him, yet he needs my help. He needs to know that he can survive this. They both can survive this if they play their cards right, however, I refuse to give them a false sense of hope.

I take a deep breath trying to drown out the weight of the world.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I try to keep my voice calm, but I'm so afraid that the nerves are showing through. I've never been the same since I emerged from the water alive. "So, I just want to start off by saying that I'm here for you both. If you have any questions please ask. I'll be as honest with you all as I can."

Honesty is the key, and I want them both to know that I'll try to help them. I'll try to make sure they're safe, but I don't know if I can.

District Eleven | Sixteen

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[Kaplan]

Gardenia Sinnoh
District Eleven

When Ikaia entered the room and sat down near Iain and I, I was at a lost for words. Iain said that he was fine, but I didn't really believe him. I knew he was struggling with what was going on. His brother had been selected for the Maze, and I was sure that no one could really be 'fine' when if something like that happened to them. I was the girl chosen to represent Eleven this year, but had it been one of my siblings, I would have been more of a wreck than I was being selected myself. It's likely I'd be like Iain, sitting in a chair, not wanting to converse or even look at the others who were around. I could imagine it being Roark on the stage, or Fantina. What if it was Volkner or one of the others? I knew I wouldn't be able to handle it. Perhaps it was best that I was the one in my family who was chosen, and not one of the others.

"Yeah, I'm fine," were Iain's words. "So, I just want to start off by saying that I'm here for you both. If you have any questions please ask. I'll be as honest with you all as I can." It was reassuring, knowing that he wasn't just going to focus on helping Ikaia, although I'd understand if he were that way. It was his brother's survival on the line, after all. I nodded in thanks, and paused for a moment before I said anything else. I looked from Iain to Ikaia and back to Iain.

"Thank you," I said to Iain. "I appreciate it, really." I wasn't entirely positive of what the best thing to say would be at that point, so once again, there was another silent pause. "Do you have anything that I should keep in mind when I'm trying to make allies?" I asked. I was trying to get his mind off of anything that may be bothering him, and hoped that mentor-related questions would help.