No {Rest} for the {Righteous} [Anna]

[Deleted]

M I N D O F A W A R R I O R H E A R T O F A C H I L D

[presto]

D A L I L A H ▲ D E V E R O U X

The stories that my father told us often began and ended in the same way. From the heroine to the villain, the song remained the same. However, Ally and I were never really bothered by this, for we were content to play our parts as we should, only tweaking little things that we saw necessary. She always played the one sending out a distress signal, and I was always the knight in shining armor, riding fair and far upon a horse that no one but myself could see. We never really had a villain, for we never really needed one. The story we fabricated was fine without someone coming and wrecking everything we had, for that wasn’t a story of fantasy; it was one of reality.

I suppose we stayed away from villains because they surrounded us on daily basis. They came in many forms, some of them not even human. Villains came in the drought that dried our lands and voided our cabinets of food, but they also came in the slips of paper that danced mercilessly in a crystal ball. Even though I often told Ally that I would never hesitate to take her place if the need arose, she always refused to hear it, and insisted that she would do the same for me. She didn’t understand that I had been playing the hero all these years for a reason, and that reason was to prepare myself for the time when I actually had to be brave, because now, it was easy, but it might not be so when I realize that our lives might actually be on the line.

”Ally, it’s my job to protect you. You realize that everything we’ve done, and everything I will do, is for you. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do; there’s no consequences I wouldn’t face if it meant keeping you safe.”

The tears streamed down both of our faces at this point, my eyes burning with the frustration that my efforts were to be put aside by her now wanting to be the one to make sacrifices. When we were younger, the roles always remained the same, I was the saver, and she was the saved. Now, things weren’t supposed to be any different. I was supposed to carry her over the fire and water that threatened to separate us, and I refused to let her pull her own weight. She couldn’t do it, and I thought we both knew it. It was my job—mine alone. We never broke eye contact at this point, each of us staring with intensity that matched the sun that beat down on our amber hair.

That had occurred just a few months ago, when the drought had only just begun to show the beginnings of its brutal regime. Now, we were still staring face to face, but the grasses that usually waved in the wind were replaced with golden soil that crumbled at the touch of tender fingers. There was something that lingered in the air between us, and I couldn’t put my finger on it. I had felt this tension linger around us for years, but I could never quite figure out what it was and why it hung around. Her hair hung loosely around her shoulders, and I lifted a hand to brush it back. I trembled as she moved away, her softer gaze meeting my harsher one. I pulled my own hair back before stammering over the only words I knew how to say, “Ally, it- it’s still my job to protect you. It doesn’t matter the situation, whether it’s real or pretend. It’s always going to be my job, and you can’t do anything to reverse the rolls. This is the way we’ve grown up, and it’s the way we’ll live. I don’t want you to change it, because if I couldn’t protect you I- I wouldn’t know what to do with myself.”

I shifted my eyes to the ground, unable to look her in the eyes for the first time in years. I was supposed to be strong, and I was being the exact opposite of that right now. As I felt a tear begin to fall down my cheek, I realized that maybe, just maybe, for once I was the one who needed saving.

[/presto]
T E M P L A T E B Y C H E L S E Y

[Anna Banana]

Ally Deveroux

I'm not as weak as I look

Before now our lives where very different, DJ was the hero and I was the damsel in distress, but as I grew older that situation started to wear down on me. I didn't want to be the helpless person anymore, I could see from the dark rings under DJ's eyes that this was beginning to affect her. Granted I wasn't the strongest person out there, I wasn't built for fighting or survival, our dad wouldn't even let me help on the farm unless it was absolutely necessary. I knew I was weak, I knew that I wasn't going to ever be like her, but I wanted to do something for her. It hurt me to look into her eyes and see the steely resolve of someone who was dead set on doing something that might in the end kill them. I couldn't live with myself if anything happened to her, I loved her, perhaps more than I even should, but it's the truth.

She was the only person that really knew me, she knew how I worked, what I loved, what I was capable of, what I really was. There was no hiding something from your twin, as much as you would love to hide something it just didn't happen. I think that's why recently a rift had started to form between us though, it was for that exact reason that we couldn't stand to be in each other's presence. Our relationship was strained now because she knew I wouldn't back down on the point I had made before the reaping last year, telling her that I would never let her volunteer in my place, if anything I would volunteer for her. I didn't want to be the one to watch her walk away, I didn't want to watch her walk onto that train knowing her imminent death would be coming...and I would have to watch it. I wasn't going to let that happen though, I wasn't going to let her do that to me, and I had told her as much. Not that she appreciated being told what to do, but I have put my foot down.

Now though, for the first time in a few days we were together again, and I would be lying if I didn't say I was scared. I knew she was still mad at me; I knew she still thought that she was supposed to keep me safe from whatever might hurt me. I watched her out of the corner of my eye, my body fully alert as we sat there next to each other, and I visibly flinched as her hand came up to sweep some of my hair over my shoulder. She had always been like that, taking care of me in every sense of the word, so why now did I not seem to like it? Was I letting my feelings cloud my judgment? Was I thinking to deeply about things, things that seemed so innocent before? She still seemed intent on making me believe that she was the one to protect me, but just by looking at her I could see that she was breaking down. If I hadn't seen a tear roll slowly down her dust covered cheek I might have let out a bitter laugh, but instead another feeling overwhelmed me. The need to let her know it would all be okay.

Slowly I moved towards her and took her calloused hand in my own much softer one. I brushed my other hand over her cheek, rubbing my thumb lightly over her skin to take the tear from her cheek and whispered almost inaudibly to her. "DJ, why do you always insist on being the strong one? Sometimes all of us need someone to lean on, or at least someone to appreciate everything that we're doing for them. I'm sorry that you can't lean on me because I'm so pathetic, and I'm sorry that I don't seem to appreciate what you're trying to do for me. The truth is I do appreciate it...but I don't want to have to watch you walk away from me, I don't want to have to watch you go onto a train and never come back. I don't want to watch you die DJ, because...because I would die if you died. I wouldn't want to keep on living if I were ever to lose you." I looked at her sadly and continued to stroke my thumb over her cheek, slowly leaning in closer to her until our foreheads touched.

I hadn't shown her the appreciation she deserved, I was being selfish and yet selfish a the same time because I was taking for granted what she was offering me...a better life. Without thinking I crawled into her lap and brushed my lips over hers quickly, a faint blush settling over my cheeks as I settled into her lap, resting my head against her chest. "I really am sorry DJ, I didn't mean to make you feel bad or feel like you should have to do anything. I want to make you feel needed, I want to make you feel loved, I want to make you the happiest person in the world. Just...please...promise me you won't do anything stupid...because I can't lose you." I took her shirt in my fist and pressed myself closer against her, afraid that even mentioning losing her might make her disappear from this world.