Corbin Mallory

Corbin Mallory is a tribute by PoisonedPoetry. Please do not use him without permission.

Tribute Form
Name:  Corbin Mallory District: Any (But preferably D13) Gender: Male

Age: 17

Personality: A lot of people will notice that I'm very solitary and withdrawn. Whenever I'm like this, it's because my past haunts me. Everything about it. It's also the reason why I have lack of faith, and why I'm very pessimistic. No matter what, I can never look on the good side of life. Particularly because I can be philosophical about the ways of the world, often ending up in an existential crisis because I think too hard. I'm one of those remorseful people who will regret anything bad that happens in the past, which happened all too much for me. I'm depressed about life, because there weren't many clouds with silver-lining in my one. I can be a bit secretive at times, sometimes sending off mixed signals that are perceived incorrectly. I can sometimes be a bit dorky, but that's the only time I can be seen as a ray of sunshine. And whilst I accept everything, including the fact that I'll be forever alone, it doesn't stop me from wanting to escape the prison of lonesomeness.

Height: 6’2

Appearance: My hair is quite short, but my fringe covers an abnormal amount of surface area over my forehead. It's a dark blue, so dark in fact, that it almost appears black. My eyes are a pale shade of blue, similar to the ones found on huskies and dogs of the like. Due to lack of sunlight, my skin is pale, almost white as a ghost even. I’m usually seen with a sorrowful expression on my face, all because of a series of events that led to me being the outcast of district 13.

Weapon(s): My main choice of weapon is a garrotte. I don’t want to shed blood because I fear copious amounts, but could use one to strangulate someone. As a second choice, I would use a rapier. Because I have taken fencing lessons, I can easily control one and use it to my advantage.

Strengths: One of my main strengths is the fact that I have knowledge of how to handle my weapons of choices. My fencing lessons have brought me joy and the skills, but the way in which I used the garrotte was much less pleasant. Another of my strengths is my stealth – I can easily sneak up on somebody and use my garrotte on them. Alongside the points mentioned, I have high pain tolerance. Due to several events in which I was hurt, I’ve built a resistance to pain.

Weaknesses: Due to my solitary character, I can seem a bit secretive to any allies I have. This could make them suspicious of me, as if I were planning to backstab them. Alongside this, I easily feel remorse. I would regret not choosing the right path or killing another tribute, but it doesn’t stop me from doing what is needed, even if it goes against my will. Finally, I am weak at swimming. I’ve never seen rivers or lakes in real life before, so I haven’t had the chance to work on my swimming skills.

Fears: More than anything else, I fear never being forgiven for any course of action – It was hard enough bearing with everybody turning their backs on me even after the truth was revealed. Another of my fears is seeing medium-large sized puddles of blood. It was painful enough watching my one true love bleed slowly and in agonizing pain, so to witness it again would remind me of the incident.

Training Strategy: In training, I will be quiet and try not to draw attention to myself. For this, I will focus on survival stations for both of the days. I’ll try to avoid as many people as possible. If anybody tries to make conversation with me, I’ll ignore them. But if they give me no other choice but to pay attention to them, I will do so. I’ll decline any offers to be in an alliance quietly and calmly. Hopefully, I’ll just be left alone.

Private Training Strategy: In private training, I’ll aim for a medium score. Because I’m not part of a career district, I’m confident that I won’t be given a high score. To begin with, I’ll grab a rapier and slice and dice a dummy as quickly and efficiently as possible. I’ll avert my eyes from false blood if I have to. Then once I’m done, I will strangle another dummy. If there’s time left, I will bow my head and face away from the Gamemakers before leaving early.

Interview Angle: In the interview, I will try to say as little as possible. The Capitol likes enigmas, so I will act like one. At all times, I will try to reduce the amount of eye contact and maybe seem quite miserable. I will hope that my interview will be remembered by the Capitol, but forgotten by the other tributes.

Bloodbath Strategy: In the bloodbath, I will either go for the full package of a backpack and a weapon or just a backpack. If it’s the latter, I will grab the nearest backpack and flee. But if I want the full package, I will try to search for uninhabited areas. Hopefully, I will find a garrotte or a rapier. But if not, I will search in a different area. When I leave the bloodbath, I will make camp not too far from there, in an area that can easily cover me.

Games Strategy: Throughout the games, I will try to lure the careers away from the cornucopia each day. Most of the time, this will be by lighting fires to lure them to the spot like moths to a light. I will then go to the cornucopia and try to take out any careers that are guarding the area. But I will only go after them if they’re on their own. If I have to separate them, I will throw pebbles over the area, distributing them evenly. If one of them is on their own and out of view, I will quickly stab them with the rapier or strangle them with the garrotte, depending on what weapon I have. But if I don’t have one, I will distract them to find a weapon.

Alliance: I will go alone in the games. I don’t easily trust anybody, in case they accuse me of things that I clearly haven’t done.

Token: When I participate in the hunger games, my token is a pendant showing the mark of the Mallories: A raven, with its wings spread out.

Other Main Characters


From left to right: Celeste Grimingham, Dusk Mallory, Khan Mallory

Corbin Mallory
“Corbin and Dusk, I would like you to meet your new mother, Melonie!” As Dad’s new girlfriend gives her hand to me, I shake it eagerly to show that she’s entered my good books. Dusk, on the other hand, doesn’t seem to sure herself. Nonetheless, she briefly reaches out and grabs it to create a small gesture of welcome. For some reason, Dusk has always been scared of what Dad’s new girlfriend was going to be like.

Two years ago, our mother passed away after a long battle with pneumonia. When she died, Dad didn’t even seem that upset about it. He simply held her hand and vowed to take good care of us. No tears were shed by him, not even a drip. Dusk couldn’t find it either. To compensate, I mourned her for days on end. Bed-wetting became a regular routine. But Dad didn’t get mad at me. He started filling in the vacant roles that Mum used to do. I was proud of him for always being there for me and Dusk. That was when I was five.

Now, I am seven years old. Even though I still miss Mum, I’ve gotten over her sudden death. And now Dad has fallen head over heels for a woman I truly hope will benefit not only him, but us. It would be fine and dandy if Dad was happy, but I don’t want to be neglected. Either does Dusk, by the look of things. But what would she have to worry about, other than the reapings? She’s nine years older than me, and capable of taking care of herself. Unless…

“Corbin, come with me for a second.” Dusk says. Before I can ask why, she’s already dragged me through two rooms and down a set of stairs to bring me to the basement. She switches the light on, revealing the happy colours of our sofa and the beanbags around.

“What is it?” I ask.

“Well, what do you think of her so far?”

“Umm,” I start wracking my brain to scan for any first impressions that I got from her. But none come. In all honesty, there’s no fair way to judge her so far. Sure, her appearance may make her look like the most attractive Mum on this planet, but she always has a small scowl. In some ways, she does seem maternal. But then there’s also a certain depressed and irritated feeling around her aura. Mixed looks do not go well together. “I don’t think I’ve seen enough of her to tell.” I say.

“I oppose to that, Corbin. She doesn’t even seem like a good enough role-model for you. Think about it, she doesn’t bother to crack a smile. And her body looks fake. Totally fake.”

“Pfft. Haven’t you heard of ‘Don’t judge a book by its cover?’”

“Haven’t you heard of ‘Looks can be the first sign of what kind of status they’re in’? She must be arrogant to think that she can pull off her not-so-fabulous dress just because it’s revealing. And her hands are constantly gripped tightly into fists. Think about it – She’s a man-magnet and she likes to abuse children in her spare time!”

“You’re just over-reacting!” Before Dusk can speak anymore, I emerge from the psychedelic room and return to my room for a quick think. As much as I want to believe that Melonie will be a good step-Mum, Dusk’s words have me thinking. ‘… constantly gripped tightly into fists… and she likes to abuse children in her spare time!” As much as I hate to say it, Dusk has the right idea. My step-Mum does seem suspicious, after all…

“Corbin! Melonie’s just going back to her house to fetch Khan! He’ll make a good step-brother!” I groan slightly and hide my head under my pillow. If Melonie’s exactly what Dusk says she could be, then I hope Khan turns out to be a much more pleasant individual.

Dusk Mallory
Anxiously, I await the arrival of the witch and of her son. With all of my candour, I will say that Melonie has not ticked any of the boxes for me. I sure hope Corbin follows those words, and not why I picked out most of her features. I don’t know how he would react if he found out that I was… no. Don’t think about it – You’ll just put yourself into a frenzy. Besides, he accepts everything in his own stride. And his stride is almost as quick as lightning. Corbin is good-hearted, so I know he’d be fine with the fact.

''Knock knock! ''

I snap out of my sudden daydream as I hear the rapping on our front door. Crud! They’re here! Without thinking, I sprint into the hallway to open the door. I don’t care much for the wicked witch of the West as much as the new boy. I’m intrigued by how his mannerisms and mind will act out in the crazy world of the Mallories.

At the door, I see a decidedly average-looking boy with brown hair and hazel eyes. He doesn’t have too much muscle on him, but he’s not too skinny or fat either. A few freckles spread across his face, but those are the only features I can mention to describe him. Anything else is pretty much useless information.

“You must be Dusk, I presume? I’m Khan. The full name is Khantat, but I shorten it. Otherwise, the other kids make racist Egyptian jokes.” I’m already taken aback at Khan’s politeness and charm, but none of it rubs off completely onto me – It just tells me that he’s a better person than his mother, nothing more. And besides, he could just be putting on an act to cloud us from what could be a monster equally as bad as its producer (or Melonie in this case).

“I see what you mean.” I start to smile in hopes that it doesn’t seem too cold or forced. Sometimes, I can be way too serious. But then again, my mind is said to be the most imaginative of district 13, mainly because it seems like I come up with the craziest theories of the other children. Despite the fact that it seems this way, some of them are actually quite plausible.

Thankfully, Khan smiles slightly in response. But it drops when we both hear the sound of Melonie’s car boot slamming down. She returns with some heavy looking bags, probably full to the brim with her possessions. She must definitely be arrogant to think that she’ll be permitted stay over, even if she doesn’t gain our trust. If dad is still fair and caring, then he will know whether or not we want Melonie here. And he will accept our choices on opinions. He just has to combine them with his in order to fulfil both needs of both sides.

“Khan, how about you become the gentleman I’m raising you to be and help me carry these bags!” For the first time, I finally hear Melonie’s voice. She apparently wanted to keep quiet because she was a bit of a blabbermouth, but now I see, or rather hear why she kept her voice a secret. It sounds worse than chalk on a backboard. The high-pitched shrieking stabs my eardrums repeatedly, almost making me want to commit suicide just to escape the clutches of Melonie’s incessant squeaking.

“Mum, you do realise that becoming a nuclear power plant expert won’t list being polite as a requirement.”

“No, but I expect you to be a proper man for when you get a girlfriend!”

“But what if the girl I like isn’t into posh and trendy and other things like that?”

“It doesn’t matter! Now stop being so cheeky and bring my bags in!”

“Fine, ‘your majesty’!’” Khan mutters in a sarcastic matter, widening his arms to convey his annoyance at the pointless argument. He then proceeds to rush outside, ready to become the new mailman of our street.

“Dusk! I want you to come into my office now. Don’t worry, you’re not in trouble. I just want your opinion on something.” Nervously, I gulp in the direction of Melonie. She starts to light a cigarette, the smoke billowing out from the ends. I almost choke on the ash, which is the reason I reach Dad’s office very quickly. Carefully, I make a couple of raps on the door. And then I get called in.

“Dusk, take a seat.” I look around for a chair, and end up settling for a white and fluffy chair that sits not too far from the door.

“You wanted me for opinions…” I say calmly. “About what exactly?”

“Not what,” Dad murmurs. “Who. That’s the right word you’re looking for.”

“Ah.” I say. “Well then who is this about exactly?” Dad just smiled wryly.

“Well, my dear Dusk, You know Melonie and Khan…”

“Oh, them!” I almost start to cackle dementedly, arousing a suspicious look from Dad. “Khan seems nice enough, I guess. But I didn’t get to know him for long, since his damn excuse of a mother forced him into slavery work.”

“Dusk! Don’t speak about your step-mum like that!” Dad hisses, suddenly bolting upright from his seated position to a standing one. His nostrils flare slightly, but I keep my calm.

“She’s forcing her methods on Khan to make him become a proper gentleman. And he says that it isn’t required in nuclear power plant experience jobs.” I say. “She also seems to be one of those freaks from the Capitol who likes to use surgery to conceal her true identity. She spoke to Khan with unsettling harshness, and she seems powerful in her arm muscles. That could be a sign she likes to abuse little children as enjoyment!”

“Dusk-“

“And that’s not the end of it! You see how low her neckline hangs? It shows that she either likes to grab men’s attention, or that she’s some kind of wh*re or sl*t or anything else. She’ just going to cheat on-“

“Dusk, that’s enough!” Dad roars, slamming his fist against the table. “You seem to think that this is the perfect time to make up stupid conspiracy theories against her? She happens to look like a Capitolian because she’s from a rich family. She’s powerful in the arms because she’s a retired arm-wrestler. The reason for her harsh vocals is for her to get her point across – It’s her way of discipline. I’m not sure what to say about the low neckline, but I think it’s to make her feel more confident in her figure.” My hope dies – Dad is going to support her, no matter what. She has him wrapped around his finger. There’s no way for me to win this battle… but I will be the comeback kid that returns for more until they win the war.

“But Dad-“

“No buts! Now go to your room!” I groan displeasingly as I sulk out of the office. Melonie stands at the top, smirking with her arms on her ‘oh-so perfect’ hips. I find the power to glare at her as I pass by to enter my room. I don’t see or hear her reaction – I only see the door rushing towards the frame and hear it as it bolts shut. The next thing I know, I’m burying my head into my pillow and crying.

‘That stupid b*tch!’ I think. ‘I wish she never f*cking existed in the first place!’ I vent out my frustrations one by one through the only method that calms me down: Drawing every aspect that has annoyed me.

I end up creating a detailed sketch of what I believe Melodie is going to be like, and of what Dad tells me about her. Two different perspectives that make me think. Make me feel. Perspectives that just… push my anger levels higher. In my irritation, I grab a nearby vase and smash it against the wall. It collapses with a crash.

I start to sob in my room, when I hear a small knock.

“Dusk, are you ok?” I almost faint with shock as I hear not one, but two voices chorusing in unison. I smile, knowing who the voices belong to.

“Come in!” Almost immediately, the dark-blue hair of Corbin and the frame of Khan come into view. Corbin bounces onto my bed and tries to tickle-tackle me, breaking my skin out in goose-bumps. I end up laughing hysterically as he merges his fingers with my feet. In revenge, I reach under his armpits and start a tickle war of my own. It whilst we’re both chuckling and incapable of making the next move that I notice something new. The fragments of the vase have been moved, presumably by Khan. Instead of lying helplessly on the carpet, it now sits together in a pile on a cushion.

“If you want, I can fix it for you.” I look from the broken vase to Khan. And then back to the vase. And then to Khan. I yo-yo my sights from the two, until Khan’s voice snaps me back to reality. ‘Dusk?’

“Oh, sorry! Umm, that would be nice, thanks.” I finish it with a genuine smile, but it’s hard for me to present it as so. If only if I held the same childhood innocence as Corbin now has... then maybe I would feel a lot more than a dreary (and now terrible) life.

The cushion is lifted delicately into trustworthy hands, and is then carted off into whatever room Khan is going in. With a big sigh of relief, I lean backwards onto my bed and begin to relax any tension. My eyes begin to flicker slightly, so I pull up the covers for a nap. But Corbin seems determined not to let that happen.

“Corbin! Hey, what are you doing?!” I almost laugh as Corbin climbs over my legs, slowly crawling his way towards my face. And when he reaches his destination, I start to chuckle even more. Corbin begins to use my face to make a lot of funny faces. With it, he adds some sound effects to make a bigger impression of what each face is supposed to represent. After a few minutes, he sits up, not doing anything in particular. I take this as a perfect chance to get my revenge.

I surprise him as I start to do the same as he did to me, funny faces and sound effects and all. I make him pout, when I almost gasp. I just remembered what vase I just broke. And it’s not good. That used to belong to Mum, and was bought for her as a gift by… me. And I’ve just gone and wrecked it. I begin to hope that Khan can fix it, because I’ll be in big trouble. And stuck in memory lane.

Feeling my sorrow return once more, I again bury my head into my pillow so that Corbin won’t see my tears.

“Dusk, are you ok? Dusk?”

“No,” I silently sob. “I’m not ok. Now leave me be.” Corbin doesn’t object. He reluctantly exits my bedroom with no emotions present on his face. As he slams the door, I feel myself cry once more.

“Oh Mum!” I cry. “I miss you!”

Khan (Not Yet A Mallory)
Laying out the different parts of the vase, I begin to inspect where each chip goes. I reach for two random fragments and try to slot the two pieces together in some way. No luck. I put down one of the pieces and substitute another one in its place. This time, they fit perfectly.

All of a sudden, a knocking comes on the workshop door. I tell the person to come in, still trying to piece together the vase. Slow footsteps respond to my voice, loud and proud. It clicks on the floor, similar to how a bat uses echolocation. Immediately, I can tell that it belongs to Mum.

“Khan.” I turn to face her unnerving and unimpressed look. “You’ve done well to gain Dusk’s trust. However, I’m not so sure about the young one.”

“You mean Corbin?” I ask. She nods. “Wait… did you say ‘gain their trust’?”

“Yes. You see, the thing is that they have what I don’t have. They have the riches and respect, we’re just middle-class and unimportant to anybody but our family.”

“What about our-“

“Pfft. Who needs friends?”

“Those living in-“

“Don’t interrupt me!” She hisses. Realising her mistake, she sighs. “Look – I’ve just told several lies to hide my past. You see, Khantat-“

“Don’t f*cking call me that!” I glare at Mum. She just ignores it and continues.

“Khantat, my dear son, remember what I’ve said about raising you to become the perfect gentleman. They don’t swear casually like the pesky ridden-down rats. Besides, I want you to win Dusk’s heart in case this does not go well.”

“What?! But if it works, that’s pure incest! I think I’m about to be-“ I almost retch on the spot. “Mum, you are just disgusting. I can’t even believe that I’m your son. I’m nothing like you! And I don’t even know what my Dad was like! Why couldn’t I have been stuck with him?” Mum freezes on the spot. She clams her lips shut. She seems to be thinking about what to do next. After many minutes, she sighs.

“It’s because he-He was an abusive spouse. He raped me on a daily basis, he wounded me many times. I’d gotten pregnant eight times, and seven of them were miscarriages after your father stabbed me in the abdomen. The only surviving one was you.” Mum starts a sobbing parade, hugging me as I stand there confused.

“I-I…” I glance to the floor, discomfort on my face. “I-I know you’re lying!”

“Wait, what?!” Mum almost forces herself to splutter in shock. “Why would you say such a thing?!” I smirk.

“I saw some documents detailing a certain custody battle. It was between you and Dad. It was for Dad, and he constantly reported you to the doctors for postnatal depression. You often cut yourself, but it wasn’t because of suicide. You brainwashed the police into believing that Dad was the one harassing you. In reality, you was the one who needed to be sent to jail. And yet Dad was sent down instead. He died there after a murder, right? I’m willing to bet that you planned it out by your own hands, either with hired hit-men… or by your own hands!” Mum can no longer resist it. She lashes out at me, clawing my face all over.

“You traitorous bastard! You’ve lied to me all this time!” For several minutes, blow after blow is planted all over my body. But after several minutes, she stops and catches her breath. “Khan… Now would also be a good time to say that I’m not your mother.”

“What?!” It’s my turn to act surprised.

“Yes. Your father’s wife died in labour, leaving him to take care of you. When we met in the pub, I took advantage of him by wearing skimpy clothes and acting like I was madly in love with him. It wasn’t him I wanted, it was you. You was valuable, because… of your ancestors.”

“My what?!” I asked.

“Your ancestors. Long ago, your great-great-great-great-great Grandfather ruled a small island known as the United Kingdom. However, a lot of us moved here to Panem after rumours of a tsunami that would drown the entire nation. A lot of the people stayed… and they survived. There was no tsunami after all – it was all a ruse to disrupt the line of monarchy. I was hoping that when you came of age, we would go there for you to claim power. And then I would bump off you and any other threats to receive the power and admiration!”

“Lies! All lies! All of it is f*cking lies!” I made a desperate attempt to flee, but ‘Mum’ took a tight grip on my wrist.

“None of that was a lie.”

“So why would you want to marry my ‘future step-dad’?” I asked, using my fingers to make emphasis on ‘future’.

“Well,” she begins. “We don’t have the money to buy a vessel to transport us there, but the Mallories do. If I marry your father, I will have the money to carry out my plans.”

“But I’ll just run away if you admit to planning to assassinate me.”

“I never said that!”

“Yes you did!” All of a sudden, Corbin and Dusk storm into the room.

“Dusk! Corbin! I didn’t know you both were on the other side of the door!”

“We were though. And have a listen to this!” Dusk holds a tape-recorder aloft, scrolling through the minutes of recordings there. Eventually, we reach the moment.

“I was hoping that when you came of age, we would go there for you to claim power. And then I would bump off you and any other threats to receive the power and admiration!” Fake Mum remains silent.

“You’re a bit… messed-up in the head, crazy fake lady. Your plans are so rubbish, I can’t even-“

“Corbin, be careful with what you say from here on out – Dad could overhear and we would look like the guilty ones.” Dusk stops speaking and faces Fake Mum again. “Confess to Dad, or we play the tape in front of him.” She just smirks in response.

“Go ahead. He won’t believe you!” She starts to laugh slightly, bringing out the goose-bumps in me. At last, her inner demons will be revealed.

“Oh, but he will when I confess what you’ve done to me in the past.” I say, my very own smirk developing. “I know you more than anybody else in this household. He’ll trust me.”

Corbin Mallory
I can hardly contain myself. The thought of seeing Melonie’s plans thwarted and her reaction bring my joy. She’s too horrible a person for me to handle. And she’s crazy! I mean, telling your own child that they’re an heir to the monarchy in a different country is odd in itself. But to reveal that you want to kill them for your own benefits in front of their faces is a foolish move to make! Seriously, who would buy all of that? I’m certain nobody’s THAT gullible to believe it… but there is one thing that concerns me.

Melonie may seem to be one of those children with imaginative minds, but she knows how to trick and deceive others into believing her. For all we know, she could also be slippery with the words she uses and her tactics to turn the tables on us. Nonetheless, I will pray that my father sees through her veil. And if it doesn’t… then there’s nothing I can do about it.

“Corbin, leave the tape recorder in our safe for now. I think it would be best if we launched this on dad just before Melonie leaves.” I nod at Dusk’s instructions and head into my bedroom. Hidden behind a portrait of the President is the safe. After ensuring that no eyes are prying into my business, I lift it up and enter the code. The door opens immediately and I tuck it away in the back. After sealing it, I return downstairs and spend some of my time with the new family and act as if nothing abnormal happened.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.

“Thank you for having me over Gryf!”

“You’re welcome Melonie. If you ever need to come over, I’ll always welcome you with open arms. Same case for Khan and the kids – I’m sure they had fun with him.

“Indeed we did! In fact, the three of us and Melonie had a bit of fun with some jokes we wanted you to hear. So we recorded it for you to hear!” Dusk smiled at me, which was the signal to press the play button. I revealed the tape recorder and pressed the play button. I risked a glance towards Melonie. I expected to see her scowl or seem anguished. But there was nothing.

As the recording started, I tensed myself ready for the fireworks.

‘What did the Duck say when he bought lipstick?’ Put it on my bill.’ As the fake laughter played, me, Dusk and Khan looked at each other puzzled. Dad smiles and continues listening to the jokes.

“I thought the tape was safe.” Khan whispered.

''“Same here. Maybe Melonie was watching when I'' least expected it, entered the safe and recorded random things from the other recorders we had.” We had no idea what happened. All we could assume was that Melonie found the tapes and used it to cover up her guilt.

“It looks like everybody had fun then! I’ll see you soon!”

“Goodbye!” Dad pecks Melonie’s cheek as she drags Khan out of the house with her. Me and Dusk wave to him whilst he waves back. We’ve both plastered fake smiles on our faces, but we were sad for the witch had won.

After they left, I went back upstairs to my bedroom and fell asleep. All the time, I was haunted by nightmares of Melonie.

Dusk Mallory
2 Months Later

After everything I’ve planned, that b*tch had to ruin it all! Not only is she a waste of space and Dad’s time, but she’s going to take complete advantage of us. She knows Dad’s under her control and therefore, she’s his ‘favourite’. Without her, I’m sure Dad’s life would be much better! He doesn’t know what he’s got himself into. Now that she’s living with us, my life will be harder to thrive in.

We’re all currently seated at the TV, watching this year’s hunger games. It’s Corbin’s first time witnessing the trauma, and he already seems disturbed by it all. I’ve lost interest in the screen, considering it’s the third day and nobody has made a kill. And besides, I’ve watched the games 10 times now. Having the same things playing over and over again, it’s depleted me of any interest I held for them.

“Dusk, can you come with me for a second? Corbin, you too.” Melonie asks.

“Ok.” I mutter. Corbin says nothing, but he merely follows her.

We’re lead into the attic. The last time any of us Mallories entered here was when Dad had to chuck out everything belonging to his wife for her will. Now, everything in it is coated with fresh layers of dust. Cobwebs lie on every corner. It’s similar to a horror movie.

“Why are we here? There better be a good reason, or I’ll tell Dad!” I raise my fists, ready to fight if needed.

“Oh, see for yourself!” Before I can react, I feel a stinging sensation burn on my face. I’m not knocked down fortunately, but the sudden agony was enough to send me into Corbin. Melonie smirks at us, her hand raised and her fingers together. She slapped me… I was right all along! She does like to abuse little children as if it was her only way to survive.

I don’t have enough time to think as she sends me onto the floor with a well-aimed kick. I crumple down, forced to watch as she approaches a now-stunned Corbin.

“Leave him alone!” I screech desperately.

“Darling, do you really think that begging is going to stop me? Stupid girl, you should know that what Melonie wants, Melonie gets!”

“Dad! Dad, help!” I scream. I scramble to the door, but Melonie beats me there. She bolts it tightly with a lock and looks back at me with firm malice. In my panic, I lunge towards her. She sneers with contempt as she grabs my wrist and almost yanks it out of its socket. I scream in pain and fall to the floor, a small cracking noise produced. I just want this all to end, to be unable to feel the pain. I feel my eyelids dropping. Happily, I allow them to flicker.

However, a different thought wakes me up. ‘Corbin!’ What could the b*tch be doing to him? No matter what, I have to ensure he’s better off than me. He has more potential than anybody in the Mallories could ever have. He’s the most youthful of us all, the most innocent. He deserves better than this.

Hesitantly, I open my eyes and prepare to see what kind of torture Corbin is enduring. Although I immediately regret doing so, I force myself to watch on helplessly. He’s currently being battered with a belt, whip marks probably showing all over his body. He’s trying to hold back his tears. I can see from the strain in his eyes, and the fact that they’re watering badly. A few drops escape though. What surprises me is that he hasn’t cried out yet. I still can’t take it though.

My own brother is suffering needlessly.

“You like what you see?” I stare at Corbin pitifully. He merely gives a small smile, almost breaking my own heart. He’s trying to prove himself… it won’t work. She’ll just beat him until he breaks.

“What do you think?” I spit in her face. She’s distracted with it, giving me enough time to help Corbin up. We run to the door and carefully try to pick the lock. I manage to do it in 3 seconds and allow Corbin to go through first. I storm quickly behind him, narrowly missing being grabbed by my neck. I could feel the hairs on the back of it stand up.

Just when I think I’ve completely escaped, I feel the collar of my shirt being pulled back. I almost choke, not only because of my shirt but because I thought I had broken free.

I spin around and prepare to be dragged back into a nightmare. Instead of being pulled like a wagon, Melonie whispers something sinister in my ear.

“The two of you better keep this quiet… or he’ll get the full force of it next time.” 

Khan
Corbin dashes into my room, panting after being chased by something. I can see from the fear in his eyes that it’s not a game. There can only be one reason:

Fake mum… she’s gone back to her abusive roots. And the Mallory children have paid… but not enough. Later on, she will only wound them even more. Imagine if she pins the blame on Dusk and Corbin getting into fights… or worse. What if I’m the scapegoat in the situation? They will be less protected and left to their own devices. The only one who knows what she’s truly capable of is me… But that may not be the case for long now.

“Corbin? Did Melonie do this to you?” He doesn’t reply, instead staring into the corner like he misbehaved. I tap him on the shoulder. “You can trust me you know. I’m also a victim of her antics.”

“She-“ He began. Still staring in the corner with a disturbing glaze in his eyes, he continues. “She needs to be brought down a peg! Dusk is probably dealing with the full brunt of the force by now. I-I can’t believe I abandoned her to save my own guts!” He shakes his head and stares at the floor.

“Corbin – I’m sure Dusk would rather have her body be the sacrifice rather than yours.”

“Yeah, but she’s my sister! I just left her and hoped she would make it out… but since she’s not here-“

“Oh, but I am here now.” I wheel around and see Dusk there, sweating all over her face. She seems exhausted and greatly bothered. Not a surprise, of course. “Melonie has gone too far! She thinks it’s alright to abuse her future stepchildren and threaten the eldest one to never tell it to another soul.”

“Under what consequences?”

“That Corbin would be the sole victim. And I can’t let that happen!” She bangs her fists against the wall, her screams purposefully muffled so no unwanted attention is attracted.

“Rather you than me.” He says at long last, his head held high again. “You are closest to adulthood – I need you to escape without many scars so that you can move out and we could come with you.”

“Corbin!” Dusk shrieks. “Don’t say that! You’re more vulnerable than us.”

“But I can handle the pressure better than you.”

“Corbin…” Dusk’s voice trails off as she sees how much Corbin has grown up in the space of two weeks. No child should have to be so mature so early in age.

“It’s ok Dusk. We may both want the other to last longer, but I’m the screw-up. I mean, whilst you accepted yourself for who you were I wanted to be cool. I was so bratty about having dark blue hair, just because I hated the person who I was. I may not regret it now, but I know that I can make responsible decisions now. My current one is to make sure you survive Melonie’s terrorism that was wrought upon us wrongly.”

“Corbin…”

“Don’t object Dusk,” I say. “He knows what he’s doing.”

“I guess so…” She silently sniffs. “How about we discuss something not as gruelling to think about?”

“Sure! Say, I heard that a new fencing club was opened up somewhere not too far. Should we go there?”

“Works for me.” Corbin shrugs. “Why not?”

“I think that would be great, thanks.” Dusk says.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

“This is actually quite fun!” Corbin laughs as he parries and attack from his instructor and takes advantage of it to pull off a riposte successfully. His trainer seems impressed by how he seems to absorb each detail like a sponge. He just soaks it up and uses it effectively.

“Just be careful Corbin!” Dusk, laughs before facing me. We start to duel against one another. I’ve been her coach, just because I’ve already had fencing experience before. Since the instructors know me, they trust me to teach her. I’ve even been offered a job here before. I might consider it if I lose interest in touring others through nuclear power plants. Until then, I have no idea what the future could hold.

Dusk finally scores a point as her blade taps my leg. I’m still in the lead though. At 3-1, I’m not too far off from winning. Dusk though, is determined. She makes more furious strikes and brings the score up to 4-3 by the time there’s one minute to spare. At the end, I barely lose out.

“Good game Khan.”

“Yeah. Good game.” We watch Corbin as he challenges another instructor. As I see the newly-formed smile on his face, I know that he’s got over the incident pretty quickly. It still stands as a mystery as to how long it will distract him for though.

Part 2: Love
(Overview)

Over the 8 year skip in Corbin’s timeline, his father, Gryf, and Melonie got married. Although she still had the fortune, she found that she did truly love their father. As a result, she didn’t pull off her bizarre plan for fortune in the British Isles.

Despite her affections towards Gryf, Melonie still despised the children for nearly rumbling her cover. The trinity were all battered, but none so much as Corbin. Why? Because Dusk saved up some money to buy a home. She took residence there alongside Khan, but they stayed at Gryf’s during the day to watch over Corbin. Nonetheless, they still couldn’t protect him. Melonie still remembered how Corbin hadn’t shown any signs of discomfort. Although he did sometimes cry out in pain whenever he was beaten, the tears still refused to show. She tried many other methods and yet not a single drop would fall. Khan and Dusk reported her to the police several times, but they could not find evidence to show that Melonie abused Corbin. She started to abuse him whenever his two protectors weren’t around. She made the blows on places where they wouldn’t see it at first glance. She even abused him a bit less over-time. There were some days where she even left Corbin alone to lure him into a sense of false security. However this did not mean that Corbin wasn’t affected in the long term.

The years grew and Corbin grew quieter inside his shell. He started drifting from his friends and eventually hung around by himself. Many people tried to get him to join them, but he refused to budge and made curious remarks. A lot of the adults thought he was suffering from depression, but they couldn’t be further from the truth.

The fencing was still a favourite of Corbin’s past-times. Khan and Dusk showed much less enthusiasm and thus quitted the club. They, however, had to take Corbin there every time a practice session was on. By feeling his happiness in his aura, Dusk and Khan were still grateful to have him in their life.

End Of Overview

Corbin Mallory
Thanks to all my training, I’m now quite the expert at fencing. Instead of learning, I now duel the others who regularly come here. I give them tips to fence better and that’s it. I don’t need anything from them, but there’s times when they need something from me. I still help out, but it’s not what I wish to do – I just do it for a bit of respect.

I’ve already duelled against four others, all of them about average. I’ve had to give many tips to them, but it didn’t change the gameplay. One of them even snorted at me as if I was unimportant. I wanted to throttle them right there, but I knew that would be bad sportsmanship.

Whilst I wait around, I see one figure head towards me. I just hope that she’s not an amateur. But it takes only a couple of seconds before I realise something.

She is purely ravishing. Her curly hair is medium-length, a luscious shade of honey blonde. Her green eyes sparkle with vigour and show her kindness. Her skin is lightly tanned and her smile is warming to my core.

“Hi there!” She calls out to me. I grin like a goof and wave back.

“Hey! Came to have a small duel?”

“Of course.” She equipped her fencing uniform and grabbed her sword. We brace ourselves ready for the match, until the signal is heard. ‘Allez!’

We make lunges towards each other and many attacks until my épée taps her chest. However the hit does not register. I stand still puzzled until the girl’s épée lands on my leg.

“How?” I said incredulously.

“Plastic chest protector.” She says smugly. “Thick enough to make it so that some hits aren’t registered.”

“Fair enough.” We continue our duel there, until I win by one point.

“Good job.”

“Thanks,” I breathe heavily. “That was some battle you put up there.”

“I’ve had training before. By the way, I’m Celeste Grimingham.”

“Corbin. Corbin Mallory.” As we shake hands, I feel another grin form on my lips. Unlike with my other friends, I feel though as if I can’t just push her away.

As I stroll back towards Khan and Dusk, they cheer for me at my 5 wins in a row achievement.

“Well done Corbin! I thought that girl had you for a second!”

“Good job buddy!”

“Thanks guys.” I say. To be honest, that last match still has me exhausted. “Celeste is one mighty fine opponent.”

“Celeste?”

“The girl that nearly beat me.”

“Oh... I bet I know why?”

“Really? You knew that she was wearing a chest protector?”

“…That too. Besides, it’s mandatory for all female participants. I was thinking more along the lines of how you were distracted by her pure… beauty.” Dusk chuckles nervously.

“Haha. She may be a rose with no thorns, but I think she was just experienced. That was probably the best match I’ve ever took part in.”

We begin our trek back home with me thinking about Celeste all throughout. It’s hard for me to find somebody so kind, beautiful and dangerous. The last two qualities may go for those in district 1, but they’re ruthless. She on the other hand would send them running for their money. I sure hope to meet her soon.

Dusk Mallory
I couldn’t resist planning to get Corbin and Celeste to meet each other by ‘coincidence’ on the street. I could already see how well the two would get on in the future and that was when it hit me – Her family lived not too far from my house. I managed to persuade her parents to invite Corbin over for dinner, but forced them to keep it a surprise from her. All I had to do was lure him over and then it would go off to a good start.

“Oh Corbin!” I say excitedly.

“What is it Dusk?” He asked. “Will Dad finally allow me to live at yours?”

“Nope. Before I reveal it, wear this blindfold!”

“This better not be a prank.” He muttered, wearing the blindfold. I never thought I would hear him so disappointed about something that he’s handled for eight years. If that was me though, I would probably not want to hear about the surprise at all.

I dragged him by the hand towards my neighbourhood. He didn’t even need directing – He’d already visited my house many times in the past. Although it was good to see that he was going the right direction, I knew that soon I would be leading him to the house of who would seem a complete stranger. He would probably suggest that I’ve got a boyfriend, knowing him – He did always tease me about whether I had a crush on anybody or not.

“Where are we going?” Corbin asked after we made a different turn than usual.

“You’ll see, just be patient!” After an extra three minutes of walking, we had arrived. He sensed it and threw off his blindfold without even needing to ask. He didn’t seem shocked in any way.

“Is this where your boyfriend lives?” Corbin snickers. As expected.

“Umm… no,” I reply. “I mean, I wish, but no.” I knock on the door. Already, a silhouette draws near and opens it. When Corbin sees the person behind the shadow, he almost falls over with alarm.

“Celeste?!” He splutters.

“Surprise!” She giggles. “Dusk organised this so credit her. Basically, there’ll be several party games and we’ll get to know each other.”

“I knew how much you missed Celeste after that encounter at fencing, so I thought it would be nice for the two of you to get to know each other.” His jaw dropped open slightly. Me and Celeste giggled at his facial expression and we were let in.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

We all sit at the table and almost drool as a roast chicken is laid out in front of us. Mrs Grimingham smiles as she lifts open a lid to reveal a large assortment of vegetables.

“Dig in!” The first few minutes at the table are silent as Corbin looks at Celeste’s parents. They both seem good-natured and bubbly, the best pair of parents one could wish for. The pair that Corbin never got to see throughout the entirety of his life – Only for the first five years. I wonder if he even remembers Mum. I’d be willing to bet that he does.

“So Corbin,” Mr Grimingham begins. “What are your parents like?”

“Well, my Dad is very kind. I couldn’t wish for a father better than him. As for my Step-mum, I’m not too keen on her in all honesty.”

“Ah, is that so? Well, at least you’re not fobbing her off as the best – Celeste claims the same about me.” Mrs Grimingham laughs.

“Mum, I admired you when I was younger. Now you’re plain embarrassing.” She murmurs.

“You want me to bring out the photo album?”

“… No. But still-“

“Then don’t say I’m embarrassing!” Celeste rolled her eyes and faced Corbin again.

“Didn’t you say you and Dusk also had a step brother? Khantat was it?”

“Yes. But he prefers to be called Khan.”

“What would you say your relationship with him is like?” As our conversation continues, I notice a big change in Corbin’s behaviour. He smiles and laughs a lot, particularly when it’s Celeste who’s talking to him. I knew that this evening would be a success.

At the end of the events, Corbin thanks the Griminghams for having him over. They all talk about what a wonderful time they had and with more laughter, we depart. Corbin is still smiling by the time we’re halfway to Corbin’s home.

“So Corbin, did you really enjoy the evening?”

“Of course I did! Why would I lie about it?”

“Oh yeah!” I laugh. “Particularly when Celeste was there.”

“Who wouldn’t like her?” I feel a small smirk playing. This would be a great time to get back at Corbin for taunting me about my love life.

“Perhaps you… but only because it’s more than like?”

“Just what are you suggesting?” He asks in a rhetorical sense.

“Corbin and Celeste sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G.”

“Dusk. I don’t like her like-“ He can’t finish his sentence because he’s stammering so much. I find it too adorable so I laugh slightly.

“Admit it, you’ve fallen head over heels for her!”

“N- Ok, fine! Maybe I do like her.” He looks as red as a tomato now, flushed completely.

“I knew it!” I snigger. “I’d better save up for the wedding then.”

“Just shut up already!”

Celeste Grimingham
As Corbin and Dusk’s figures disappear down the street, I feel a swelling sadness inside. I’ve never enjoyed somebody’s company as much as I have done today. The Mallories sure are interesting people.

“How was this evening Celeste?” Mum asks.

“I think it’s one of the best days I’ve lived in my life.” I say with a smile. “Dusk seemed quite nice and Corbin… there aren’t enough words to describe him really.” I sigh happily, resting my head on my hand. I stare at the ceiling and relive the moment in my memory.

“Celeste… that’s the first time I’ve ever heard you say good of anybody.”

“You know how much trust I’ve lost after all the bullying.” There mere mention of the incidents makes me shudder. How they could treat anybody like they did me, I’ll never know.

Everything goes quiet when Dad walks in. Mum and I both know that he wants me to be friends with the powerful and influential only. I’m not sure whether or not the Mallories are good enough to be on his list of friends, but I wish he accepts them.

“How’s everything going here?” He asks. “I heard you two talking and then it all suddenly went silent.”

“Oh, it’s nothing.” Mum says. “Well, probably nothing of interest to you.”

“Is this about the Mallories?”

“Maybe.” I say with a pout.

“They’re fabulous people, aren’t they?”

“Wha?!” Mum splutters. “We barely know them and you already trust them?!”

“I’ll be frankly honest – I’ve been thinking about myself when it comes to other large families. After that scandal with the Sinclair’s, I never thought that we would be able to trust minor families again… but the Mallories are one exception. And plus, they’re good for Celeste.”

“You-You really think so?”

“Of course! The last time you smiled like that was, well, it was ages ago. I can’t even remember why. No matter though! We’ll be staying in contact with them for a long while yet!” That last sentence has me grinning like a goof. It’s not every day my Dad accepts a family into his ‘community’. In my moment of elation, I run up to dad and hug him.

“Thank you,” I sniff a little bit, feeling a tear or two come my way. “You don’t know how much they mean to me!”

“Ah, but I do!” He says with a wink. “And that brings me to my next point – You know how near your birthday draws?”

“Yes..?” I nervously reply.

“Well, I was hoping that you’d plan a party specifically made to your wanted customs! You can choose who you want to invite, where the venue will be and all sorts of other party things! It will be a treat for you on your 15th birthday.”

“You’re really leaving me in charge?”

“Yes, my dear! You’re growing up so fast that we thought it was time for you to prove your independence. This party may only be the starting grounds, but we hope that we can give you larger challenges until you’re ready for adulthood.”

“I’ll try my best not to fail!” I give my parents a big salute. They smile proudly at me as I leave the room to work on the invites. And I already know three people who would just love to come.

Khan Mallory
3 Months Later

“Nice party, isn’t it?”

“Oh yes – Celeste doesn’t even have any experience with this and yet she already knows the way to a man’s heart.”

“Let this be a toast to her future success!” I watch as a young couple clink their glasses of wine together as a toast. I do the very same with Dusk and Corbin, only our glasses are full to the brim with lemonade. As we tip it down our throats, Mr Grimingham comes over and dumps a whole bottle on our table. We try to tell him that we’re fine for a drink, but he insists on having it there just for convenience. Eventually, I thank him for Dusk and Corbin, prompting him to leave. Not even seconds later, the birthday girl herself seats herself with us. She’s in between Corbin and Dusk.

“Having a good time, guys?” She asks with a smile.

“Other than the lack of entertainment and the other people, it’s going great.” I say sarcastically. She just giggles.

“That will be coming in…” She checks her watch. “Not too long, actually. In the meantime, I’ll just remain here. None of the adults want to talk to me and the kids are too busy with one another.” Like the dinner party, we just sit there getting to know Celeste even better. Most of the time, her eyes are on Corbin and it’s likewise for him. At one point, I swear I even saw them holding hands.

There’s no time to think on it though, as a bell rings out. The audience falls into silence as a man steps on the stage.

“Good evening everybody! Welcome to the birthday party of a certain dear lady! Before we begin, I would like to say that it’s not everyday somebody in Panem could even throw one this large, let alone a small one. That proves some luck right there! Also, we have many acts lined up for you! There will be plays, a magic show, a dance-off…“ I drown out the man’s voice with my thoughts, wondering when he will stop babbling on and get straight to the games.

“… and that will be it! The entertainment will start in 3…2…1…GO!” Instantaneously, the kids go running towards various activities. Their parents have to run just to keep up with them. Most of the adults start talking with one another.

“You guys do what you want.” Corbin says. “I’ll just sit around for a while.”

“Really?” Dusk seems incredulous, despite us knowing very well about Corbin’s lone wolf nature.

“Yup! I have Celeste to keep me company.” He discreetly winks at her, but not enough so that I don’t notice. As much as I want to stay around and watch how the two blossom together, I don’t wish to invade on Corbin’s privacy either. In the end, I just head off to the bar and order a drink. Dusk comes with me too.

One hour passes. Dusk is already drunk after one-too many glasses of alcohol. She’s giggling and swooning all over the place, nearly knocking over a few bottles herself. Some of the boys around her age see this as an opportunity and start flirting stupidly with her. I have to ward them away to tell them she’s not interested.

“It’s not like she’s your girlfriend, is it?”

“No, but she’s my stepsister. For heaven’s sake, don’t make me chase you away.”

“Corvus! Aquilo! Igor! You can’t help yourselves, can you?” I’m almost surprised as Celeste runs into the scene, Corbin by her side. “I thought inviting you here would result in trouble too. For crying out loud, why must you be my brothers?”

“Let me see… it all happens when-“

“Just go.” Corbin seems taken aback as he compares each one to Celeste. They’re nothing like her. At the end of it all, they finally allow us some private time. When Dusk sees their faces, she laughs her head off.

“I’ll tell you now, clowns are always on funny business. Get it?! Because clowns are funny!” She drunkenly orders another glass and downs it in one go. I have to drag her back to our table.

“Dusk! I don’t know why you’re drunk, but Dad is not going to be happy seeing you in this state!” Corbin hisses.

“Oh, you don’t wanna know. I’m just a troubled country-“Dusk hiccups.

“Oh boy, you look even more wasted than a guy who lost his children to the hunger games.” I mutter.

“I don’t care! I love it!”

“For crying out loud.” I mutter. “Guys, just stay here. Dusk will probably have to go inside in case she mistakenly influences the little ones.” They merely nod at me as I lift Dusk onto my shoulder, carrying her into the house, with her laughing all the way.

Corbin Mallory
“Attention everybody! Will all couples willing to participate in the dancing contest please line up at the stage.”

“Come on Corbin!” As Celeste tugs on my sleeve, I shake my head glumly. “Corbin…?”

“I’m not a dancer.” Is all I can say.

“It will be fun though!” She says. Still, I glumly stare ahead at the pairs as they gather. “Do it for me, at least.” As she gives me the puppy-dog eyes, I find it harder to resist. The two sides inside of me clash, until one wins out. In the end, I unwillingly follow behind her. The announcer spots us and smiles with glee.

“Alright: This isn’t going to be the case where it’s energetic, sadly. But this does mean that it should all be easier for the fat ones.” I glance down at myself, receiving a small giggle from Celeste. “Now for the rules: No fighting, no cheating, no moaning if you lose, no tripping others up and most importantly, have fun! The winners will be judged on several criteria. Now is everybody ready?!” Whilst the opponents cheer and clap, I gulp in fear. The only advantages I might have are with my footwork, considering all I’ve done in fencing. Celeste might also be an asset, seeing as she chose this as an activity.

Everybody positions themselves around the dance floor. I really want to go in the edge to hide, but Celeste forces me into the middle due to lack of space. Everybody’s eyes will likely be on us. Already, embarrassing dilemmas rush into mind. ''What if I trip? What if I dance like a zombie?'' What if Celeste sees me as a fool.  

The gentle music plays, and surprisingly I do quite well. My posture is erect, my shoulders relaxed and my footwork impeccable. Celeste does even better, even whispering things on what to do. I follow her advice and slowly feel myself improve.

For some reason, most of the other dancers have stopped. Instead, they gaze at us as we become the stars in the spotlight. Most of them seem pleasantly astounded. I sigh, partially in a dream-like state but also in relief. Celeste soon follows suite, her eyes glazing to the starry night skies.

Only three pairs remain on stage now, most of the others still observing us. Because of the larger amount of space, all of us spread out. Celeste and I pull off a couple of smooth moves, but so do the others. In the end, this is all going to be close. I can feel it. Everybody can. Even our fellow participants, one of which has a mischievous smirk.

They dance into the other pair, effectively tripping them over and getting disqualified. However, the female also trips over and twists her ankle. I can’t even imagine that me and Celeste are the only couple left. Nonetheless, we continue dancing our feet off until the music ends. When it does, we’re in the centre facing each other. The crowd gives us a round of applause, even throwing us a couple of flowers. Neither of us dare move to grab them though – We just stare into each other’s eyes. We both smile, blushing our hearts out. I then feel something in my heart that I want to act upon. And I’m happy to do so.

I close my eyes as I lean my head over, pressing my lips onto Celeste’s. She does not jump in shock at all, instead going in for her own. As we wrap our arms around each other and hear even more raucous cheers, I finally feel like my life has finally been completed.

Part 3: Revelation
Overview

After the kiss, Corbin confessed his feelings to Celeste. She then admitted she held the very same feelings for him. After that, they became girlfriend and boyfriend. Many people of the district saw it to be a treasure – They believed that nothing would come in their way. As far as they were concerned, it was true love. But although many supported it, there were those from the odd bunch that didn’t fully support it.

One of these (expectedly) was Melonie: She didn’t mind it when Dusk and Khan escaped her clutches because they wanted nothing from her. She always thought that nobody would reveal the full extent of her reasons as to why they were often bruised when they were younger. On the other hand, Corbin could easily reveal all to Celeste who would tell her parents, and then the authorities would be contacted. For that, she could easily be imprisoned… or worse: executed. She tried to beat Corbin more often in order for him to keep shut. Whenever it got out of hand for him, he would stay over at Celeste’s for a while without telling her or Gryf.

A more shocking person in this unofficial clique was a significantly important character in his tale – Dusk. Although she brought the pair closer together and initially celebrated for them, there was another feeling hidden inside of her – Jealousy. She had it off better than him: More freedom, less injuries and a friend in Khan. But he held the one thing he had but she didn’t have – love. Because of Celeste, he drifted away from his siblings. Dusk convinced herself that Celeste was a direct problem for him. She felt like Celeste was being an ungrateful, selfish cow. From there on out, she never spoke to Celeste again…

Dusk Mallory
Khan sleeps soundly in his bed. As I watch him, the nerves begin to rise. I have a course of action which I need to do. Am I really going to this? Do I really have to? ''For me, the answer is already clear. Tonight, I'' leave the others behind. The pressure from the lovebirds has got to my mind. And there’s no better way to start afresh than by fleeing. I already have a destination in mind. What I’ll do after that, I’m not entirely sure. All I can think of is that nobody will miss me, except maybe Khan. He shares this house with me and may struggle in paying the taxes. As regretful as I feel imagining him out on the streets, he cannot accompany me. This is my adventure, not his.

As silently as possible, I pull out a briefcase from my bed. I already have everything I need packed – Enough food to last me a while, lots of drink, a couple of clothes, some money and a sleeping bag. Anything else is just a luxury to me. Not needed. A waste of money. If I bind my connection to them, I’ll begin to consider that they’re more important than I originally thought.

Khan rolls over in bed, now facing the wall. I take this as a chance to leave the house.

Walking down the stairs, I see an item I once held and still hold dear – The vase I bought for mum. There’s too many memories to go with that. Every single memory of mum, the time Khan fixed my vase… and of course the times the b*tch beat us all.

I carefully tuck it under my arm. I breathe with relief as it remains there, not seeming to be slipping at all. I’m just about ready to depart again, when another item comes into view. This time, it’s an old drawing of Corbin’s. One showing all of us Mallory children. We’re all happily fencing in it. Even more memories flood my brain. It almost gives me a headache.

Hesitantly, I also grab it and stuff it in my jacket pocket. I try to resist the urge to free it from its frame and erase Corbin from the picture. As much as we’ve been driven apart by his new bird, I will still look out for the not-so-little guy whenever I can.

“Dusk?” The moment I turn around, Khan’s there, rubbing his eyes. “What are you doing?”

“I’m leaving.” I say. “Feel free to tell Corbin, but make sure he doesn’t try to find me.”

“Why?”

“Because…” My mind trails off for a second. “I need a new start. One far away from those I hold dear. I can’t help but feel like I’ll stab someone in the eye if I remain here any longer.”

“But Dusk!”

“Mind your business!” I snap. “You wouldn’t understand!” I slam the door behind me, not allowing him to argue back. Already, I feel some of the inner darkness that once shrouded my soul vanish. I allow myself to breathe deeply a couple of times. Once I do so, I head towards my destination.

Halfway there, my feet already begin to ache to the point where they’ll drop off at any minute. My face is drenched with sweat. Even people with a clear goal in mind need to take breaks before they can reach it. I just need a bench and rest a few minutes or so, then I’ll be set to go again.

Luckily for me, a small park with fake trees and grass lies ahead. I remember taking Corbin here once. He really enjoyed taking in the scenery and- No Dusk. Stop thinking of him. He no longer cares for you. The last person you need on your mind is him.

I idly sit on the bench, watching everything around me. The grass is still as ‘fresh’ as ever, considering it’s fake. The same could be said for the leaves in the tree. But there is something else that’s been added – a fountain. And there’s an inscription. I lean forwards to read it.

“In loving memory of Dawn Mallory – The deceased daughter of Gryf Mallory and Melonie Mallory. May she rest in peace.” ''I almost choke as I read over the words. ''‘Dad and Melonie had a daughter without telling me? At least she didn’t have to be battered. But she did have an awful mother.’ 

All of a sudden, I feel somebody collide into the back of my head. I immediately black out.

Corbin Mallory
“She WHAT?!”

“She ran away. Where she was headed, I was never told. For all we know, she could have headed to a different district…”

“But if she’s caught, the peacekeepers would make an example of her. She may have seemed desperate, but she’s not THAT desperate to make reckless decisions.” I shake my head.

It’s awful. This morning, Khan came round for one of his usual visits with some bad news. Dusk has gone missing. She always seemed happy throughout the years, that I have no idea whatsoever on what the root of her erratic behaviour is. First she gets drunk, then our bonds loosen so much that either of us could break free, and now she’s used that opportunity to escape from her life. Just what is up with her?!

“Khan, do remember exactly what she said?” I enquire.

“Not 100% the exact words, but I know she told me to tell you not to search for her.” He almost gulps as he says so.

“Her command can go to hell. She’s my sister and I care too much to let her throw herself in danger’s way. Anything else?”

“Well… She said that she had to leave us all behind, and that I wouldn’t understand why. That’s all I remember really.”

“I see…” We’re interrupted by a knock on the door. I sprint towards it and open it to the visitor – Celeste.

“Hi Corbin!” She says with a smile.

“Hey.” I try to act happy, but my smile fails. She picks up on the problem immediately.

“Something wrong fellas?”

“Yes – Dusk’s ran off. We don’t know where she is.” For some reason, Celeste doesn’t seem fazed. All she can mutter is a humble ‘Oh’.

“We’re going to try and find her – Any ideas on where she could be?”

“No… But you could try going to places that remain iconic in her mind.” Khan stops to think about it.

“You know what? That’s not half-bad an idea at all! We just need to make a list of our memories with her, then we might get on track!”

“Yes!” I say out loud. “I know one place where we could start: The fencing club!”

“She could also be at that one park we once went to.” Khan says.

“Or maybe she’s at that hut where we camped that time.”

“Or maybe she’s somewhere less obvious to take her mind off of us all.” Celeste mumbles. For once in my life, she has brought me the chills. And it’s not one of those with a good aura. Maybe she isn’t the bubbly girl she claims to be… or maybe the news did hit her hard after all. I can’t say it for certain, but maybe she’s hiding her horror.

“Celeste, are you ok?”

“I’m fine, just a bit shaken from Dusk’s disappearance.” Her skin looks paler than usual. As I stare into her eyes, I see pain and discomfort. But I also see no more of the bright sparkle they had.

“Are you sure? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“Yes, I’m sure.” I highly doubt it.

“Khan, get Celeste some-“As I turn around, I’m met with the sight of nothing. Khan has vanished off somewhere without a trace as well. “Khan! Don’t tell me you’ve ran away too.”

“Nope, I’m still here! But check this out!” He pulls out an envelope, roughly torn up at the sides. He hands me it, looking at me pitifully. I reach in and pull out a card of some kind. I begin to read the writing engraved on it.

“''Name: Dusk Mallory. Age: 24. Occupation:'' None. Member’s access only card, The Crow’s Tavern.” I look up at my companions. “Isn’t that near the park simulator?”

“I think so. Maybe this card will give us some answers… or lead us to questions. Either way, it will help us pinpoint the solution to this quest.

“What are we waiting for then? Let’s get there and see Dusk!”

“Hold on Corbin.” He says. “Dusk never goes anywhere without us in the mornings and afternoons. If I were her, I’d be there in the evening.”

“Then we can collect her from there!”

“No… I can collect her from there. Only those who are 18 or over can enter. I’m the only one here old enough. But still, you could wait just outside at the park.”

“Ok… I guess. But it’s not evening time yet. We’ll still have to come up with plans in case we get no leads. And Celeste need some water. She isn’t feeling too good.”

“Ok.” As Khan rushes to the kitchen to fetch some, Celeste leans in for a small kiss.

“Corbin, I promise you we will find Dusk.” She says with a smile.

“Yes… hopefully.”

Khan Mallory
It feels strange going to a place that I don’t even care for. All this drama could end at a pub of all places. Ironically that’s where most events happen. Hopefully a reunion card can be played there too.

Corbin and Celeste follow behind me, talking about what they could do if Dusk’s fate was still unknown. I have to admit, I’m not as eager to find Dusk as they are. She did tell me she felt like she was going to stab somebody… she definitely sounded severe there. Celeste seems to pick up on this: She’s just trying to support Corbin. My stepbrother’s going to get us in major trouble, I reckon. I understand that he’s concerned for his sister and all, but it’s going to be the death of one of us if we poke our noses about too much.

“Here we are. Corbin and Celeste, I know I can trust you to remain here until I get back. And whatever you do, don’t make out!” Corbin and Celeste both blush slightly as I mention it. They don’t need telling. They’re both mature enough to be left to their own devices.

“Khan, you worry too much. We’ll be fine!” I look back to them one last time, seeing them take a seat on a bench where they begin their talk. I can’t help but be concerned for their safety since there’s an odd feeling in my gut. Despite this, I leave them behind to enter the pub.

There are quite a few people inside, most of whom wasting themselves on the fumes of death. A podgy barman stands impatiently as he waits for the customers to finish drinking themselves into drunken stupor. An acoustic band plays some tunes unenthusiastically, likely as a result of nobody paying attention. A couple plays a game of darts, laughing as they make lucky hits and wide misses.

“Can I get you anything?” The barman says, cleaning a glass with a cloth.

“Actually, yes.” I say. “Do you know somebody by the name of Dusk Mallory?” I give him the membership card. As soon as he sees it he scoffs.

“I’m not the one you should talk to. Try asking the other regulars here. If that’s not helpful I’ll have to contact an employer. Now piss off somewhere else!” I would’ve liked to give him a piece of my mind just for his impudence. But it was obvious that his cantankerous mind was as a result of the drunken people. I stuck to his advice, starting off with the darts couple.

“Excuse me, but do you know Dusk Mallory?”

“Who, kiddo?” The man said as he threw another dart, this one landing in the bullseye.

“Dusk Mallory.”

“Hmm… she sorta rings a bell. Can’t recall what she looked like though.” I handed the man her card. “Oh yes, I saw her two weeks ago. A pure ravishing beauty, I can tell you.”

“Do you know if her behaviour was off beforehand?” I asked.

“Well, she mentioned how she wanted to either murder some b*tch or her lover. She’d been ranting about it in the past though, so I wouldn’t say it was completely off.” Something in my mind clicked. Dusk was one of those people who didn’t like to make new friends unless she was tipsy or if need be. There wouldn’t be anybody she despised in the bar.

“Did she mention any names?”

“God dammit kid, you’re curious about this Dusk.” The wife said. “What is it about her that’s so special?”

“She’s my sister-in-law.” I said. “Her biological brother wants to find her again, ever since she vanished.”

“She what?!” The woman slammed down her bottle of booze. “I swear she’s unpredictable! I mean, whilst we had a game of poker she kept ranting about something to do with cor blimey and caress or something.” Her words validated my theory. One that was not pretty at all. In Corbin’s imbecility, he had expectations that it was all going to be a happy ever after in a fairy tale. His lack of prudence meant he missed pivotal actions and clues. And now he had put himself and Celeste in grave danger.

“Thanks.” I quickly said. “Now I need to get going.”

“Already? Tell us your name at least.”

‘Seriously?’ I thought in my mind. “Khan Mallory.”

“I knew a Khan when I was younger. He loved fencing if I recall correctly. Maybe you’re the Khan I’m thinking of.”

“Possibly, now I really have to go.”

“Ok, hope to see you soon.” I muttered a small thanks and burst out of the door.

“Corbin? Celeste?” I glanced around. They were nowhere to be seen. There was nothing to suggest they were merely hiding. ‘What the heck has Corbin got us into?’ I thought, when my eyesight caught attention of a small ring. One that looked like the one Celeste had. And it was in the direction of the lonely hut.

With no other choice, I run headfirst into what could potentially be Dusk’s territory.

Celeste Grimingham
5 Minutes Earlier...

Khan seems to be taking his time. I guess that means Dusk isn’t at the bar as we first thought. Maybe she really was in the hut, or camping near the fencing club. Even then, maybe he’s unearthed more questions from the cold, dead grip of forgetfulness. It could be that he has a clue… or it’s possible that we’re back to square one.

Corbin stares glumly at the tavern, his eyes harbouring nothing but vain hope. We’ll never find her. Khan does seem earnest on the account that she wanted to live in her own bubble. And if she does, I wonder how she’ll react were we to encounter one another. I’m willing to bet she will lash out at us… or worse.

I huddle closer to Corbin’s chest to calm myself. He responds by wrapping his arms around me. This is grave enough as it is. I don’t need to scare myself any more. Yet in a situation like this, it’s almost impossible not to fret. There are endless scenarios for what could happen. It’s the truth in life: We’ll never truly know what comes next.

“Celeste?” I notice for the first time that I’m crying softly into Corbin’s shirt. For once in my life, the pressure has finally caused my knees to buckle. I once stood strong, now I’m a wreck. Never before have

I known what it’s like to lose someone you truly love. Corbin does, so I can’t sympathise with him. However if Dusk’s disappearance is the reason we’re divided, I don’t think I could forgive myself. If only if I had tried harder to persuade him to leave her be. There’s this massive feeling that something’s going to happen. Something awful.

“Corbin, I just had an epiphany. I don’t want to ever lose you. But someday, one of us will have to die and burden the other with sorrow and guilt.” I start to feel myself pouring out more tears. Corbin whispers reassuring phrases in my ear, rocking me along with him.

“Celeste, I’ve had that same feeling ever since our first kiss. There’s no helping it: That’s just the way our minds are programmed. And besides, as cheesy as it sounds we’ll still be attached even after death. We still live on in memories. We don’t die until we’re long forgotten about.” I bury myself further into Corbin’s shoulder, embracing his warmth from within. Although he’s about as solitary as an oyster, he truly knows how to comfort me in the darkest of times. Anybody who can see through him would know that he’s the best guy a girl could wish for.

Just as I’m about to lean in for one of his kisses, Corbin gasps from nowhere. Out of instinct I jump, causing the two of us to fall off of the bench. He lands right on top of me, shrugging the dust off of his body. Corbin’s bold blue eyes stare deeply into my soul as he mutters a small apology. When I ask him what he saw, he only points at a fountain nearby. I squint in order to read the lettering on the plaque:

“In loving memory of Dawn Mallory – The deceased daughter of Gryf Mallory and Melonie Mallory. May she rest in peace.” ''I feel sickened to my heart. Corbin mentioned'' the abuse his stepmother put him through, so to see that her and his father almost had a child is even more sickening.

“How could they?” I whisper.

“I don’t know,” He responds. “That’s what happens when somebody moves on.”

“Corbin… if I died, could you move on?” He doesn’t answer at first. It’s hard to find the right words. But not for him.

“I honestly don’t know. There’s no telling what you’ll do in the future. If I were to predict it now, I’d say that I’d never get over you but I’d try to move on whilst keeping the best memories fresh in my mind. After all, life is too short to linger on one particular subject for the entirety of one’s life.” I have to admit he has a point there. I’m certain he would miss me, but at the same time he’d try to regain his composure if such a thing happened.

Something slams into Corbin’s head. His eyes roll back as the impact is made, leaving him unconscious. Above us stands his attacker, wearing a mask one would wear at a masquerade. They have a manly figure about them. Just as I’m about to scream for help, they whack me over my cranium with a saucepan. I don’t go out cold, but I fear to make a noise in case it causes more brain damage.

My vision flickers as I’m lifted into a sack, the night sky wavering over us. I don’t even flinch as the sack is sealed, leaving me ensnared. The prone body of Corbin squishes against me in the confined space. I can only hope that Khan finds us soon…

Dusk Mallory
Two prone figures lie on the ground, one asleep and the other knocked out. They’re separate from one another by a wooden wall where a sardonic window is their only method of seeing each other. However, from the beams I stand on I can see everything that goes on. It’s all in my stratagem. There’s a secret buried within me. These two are the source of it. Thanks to them, I’ve lost most of my sanctimony. Those were the good times, but now every source of happiness that once existed has wilted into a black rose. At last, one of the figures shows some movement. In the cellar buried six feet deep, the lover’s shaken from a dreamless sleep. Corbin, my little brother, coughs slightly as he is roused from the blow. Only mere moments later does Celeste rise from inactivity.

“Where the heck am I?” She mutters, stretching out her arms.

“Celeste?” Says the lover.

“Corbin?” The two of them stand at the gap, unable to reach each other. “Do you have any idea what’s going on?”

No, not at all. All I remember is being knocked out.”

“Khan!” Celeste’s voice rings with paranoia. “He’ll be worried sick for us! And our friends and family!” That’s good: They’re ''fearing renditions of that awful night. ''My mind games are going splendidly. As long as Khan doesn’t interrupt, everything will turn out perfectly fine.

After what feels like hours, I finally decide to make my entrance by lowering myself from the banisters.

“Well, well, well, look who’s finally dropped in.” I say in a slightly mocking manner. I peer into Celeste’s cell from a second window, where she stares at me in bemusedly. When I see Corbin, he’s more than ecstatic.

“Dusk! Where the heck are you? We’ve been searching for you!”

“Yes, I see…” I murmur. “However, I thought Khan warned you.”

“Yes, but I wasn’t going to let you go on your own.” He says.

“Big, big mistake.” I growl, more venom put into my voice. “You see, there is a reason I wanted to flee. There was somebody pulling the strings that made me snap inside. And that puppeteer was you, Corbin.” He gasps in disbelief at the mention of his name.

“But Dusk, we’ve known each other for longer than anybody else! How could I be the one putting pressure on you?” His constant questions were beginning to grate me. “What has alienated you?”

“Hmm, let me see. The happiness you’ve had with lover girl? She’s made me feel dejected, disheartened, unloved even. I’ve never had true happiness, but you have. This is what life has made me do, by bringing you a pure angel like her. Must you be the protagonist of the tale of the Mallories? Must I be the laughing stock?”

“Dawn, what the heck has gotten into your mind? This is Panem; of course it’s no fairytale.”

“But you have one source that takes you away from the darkness. I have none.” I could feel my mind turn on edge, starting a countdown for when I lose my mind. “You don’t get it, do you? Well, I guess in my situation you can’t sympathise with me.”

“Of course I can sympathise with you! I felt unloved when the wicked witch of the West arrived.”

“Not that, dipstick!” I snapped. “There’s another secret I’ve been hiding from you, ever since I turned 16… You see, I’m-“I was interrupted by the sound of a door being banged on. “Wait, is someone else here?” Dust shrouded the air inside of the cabin as the door finally fell. A black figure emerged from the darkness. Tall, muscular, it had to be the only person standing in the way of my target: Khan

“I know you’ve hidden them somewhere, tell me where they are or else!”

“Or else what?” I smirked. “They’re larcenists for stealing away my happiness, so surely they deserve it?”

“No, Dusk. I get why you would want to be alone, but we’re just trying to help.”

“Well, you’re failing at it pretty badly right now. You could’ve helped by heeding my words.”

“The two of you, shut up!” Celeste shrieked, breathing healthily. Clearly, the argument got too much for her. “Just let us out of here!”

“I’m sorry ma’am, I’m afraid I can’t let you do that.” I respond, my voice as dead as a doorknob. “You’re the reason my sweet, dear Corbin has gone from my grasp. All he cares about is you, you b*tch.”

“Dusk! Don’t you dare use that language to describe my girl! I’m still the same Corbin you know and love! Why are you even behaving like this?”

“Because I’m a lesbian!” I shrieked. “When I saw you happy with Celeste, I started to grow jealous! Now I realise it was because I loved her!” The confession killed the mood. Khan froze on the spot, his mouth wide open. Celeste and Corbin mimicked him perfectly. “I know I can’t have her, so there are two options: I can either kill lover boy and his brother, thus keeping Celeste to myself, or I can eliminate the cheerfulness she gave to Corbin by murdering her. It’s her choice.”

“Aww, that’s no fun. How about an extra fun challenge like, I don’t know, burning down the cabin and testing us to see whether we can escape?” Celeste’s own evil grin pushes itself free from her face.

“Hmm… you know what? That’s not half-bad an idea.” I say. “Celeste, if only you saw the potential in me. What a couple, you and I: Two mentally insane psychopaths tearing down entire villages. Are you sure that’s not what you want?”

“Thanks, but no thanks. I’m straight.”

“If you insist.” I shrug, reaching for a torch. “Get ready to escape in 3, 2, 1.” I drop the torch onto a bale of straw. “Go.” As the trio prepare their own escape, I slip through the knocked down door. Deciding to eliminate them all, I block it with a few barrels and planks of wood to allow the madness to drown them out of the outside world.

“''1, 2, 3, 4, underneath the cellar floor. 5, 6, 7, 8, lover will suffocate. I can’t have you digging up rumours of the kids in the park'', can I? Not when they helped imprison you there in the first place. Even though they were dumb enough to mistake me, they should hopefully execute stage two of the plan if any of you make it out alive. Corbin Mallory, you’re going down.”

Corbin Mallory
A rush of feelings go through my head. First of all, why would Celeste come up with a plan like that? Second of all, why didn’t Dusk reveal her homosexuality earlier? Finally, how the heck were we going to get out?

“What the f*ck was that about?” Khan asks Celeste. “Why’d you suggest something like this?”

“Relax, Khan. Had I agreed to either of her options, one of us would’ve been murdered. With this, there’s a chance that all of us will escape.”

“She has a point.” He mutters. “So what do we do?”

“We escape.” I say, beginning to climb through one of the small windows. Celeste seems to have had the same idea, for as I finally clamber to freedom she’s already there. We all begin to sprint towards the door Khan entered through, but a multitude of obstacles block it. There’s no going out that way.

“Guys?” Celeste tugs on my shirt whilst staring at something. I face her direction and watch as a bunch of flickering flames becomes a prevalent fire in a matter of seconds. “We gotta get out, now!”

“No sh*t Sherlock.” Khan sarcastically mutters. I can’t see how he can be so chilled at a time like this. There’s a clock, ticking as it counts down our time left on this planet. Maybe Khan believes his clock has ticked its last minute. Or it could be his natural personality, but that would be abnormal considering we’re currently glaring death in the eye.

“Over there!” I point towards a second door nearer to the back. We all head towards it, but before we can reach it a pile of wooden beams fall from the ceiling, also smothered with fire and ash. There’s nowhere else I can see that we can escape through, unless…

“The stairs!” I find myself shouting aloud. “I know it seems like a dumb idea, but our last hope might be there!”

“Unfortunately so… let’s go!” Everybody dashes up the stairs. Celeste and I make it, but the steps give way below Khan. Thankfully we’re able to pull him up before any major damage can be done. The instead we do so, he sprints towards a window.

“Khan!” Celeste screams as he plummets out of there.

“I’m ok. Just a little… graze.” I could hear a small hiss between little and graze. Khan was in pain, but otherwise his guile plan had left him free. Now it was just a case of me and Celeste rescuing ourselves.

At first we headed straight towards the window, but then the floor below it begun to collapse. In a last ditch attempt I put massive effort into a large leap. Thankfully I landed on the side of the window. Celeste mimicked my actions. I thought she was going to make it. I believed that we were going to get out with minor scrapes. But I watched on as she begun to fall. I reached out my hand to her, which she barely managed to grab. Her prowess had not certified her safety.

“Hold on tight!” I begged. “Please!”

“I’m trying!” Wild terror was in her eyes. I swear I could see her entire life story flashing in them. Great sorrow and great bliss made up most of it. “Corbin, my hands are slipping! I can’t hold on for much longer!” I tried to pull her up with all my might. She also made many attempts to swing up to the ledge, but there just wasn’t enough power in either of us.

“Keep trying! Please! I love you too much to let you go!” Whilst I strained my muscles to save my love, Celeste dangled there like a marionette doll.

“Corbin… let go.”

“What?!” I couldn’t believe my ears. “No, I won’t! Not until you’re safe!”

“That’s the thing. We’re losing our strength. Unless we let go, we’ll both go down. Take just one last dare…”

“At least we’ll go down together!”

“But what if one of us manages to survive?”

“Although that may be the case, I don’t care. I’m not letting go!”

“Corbin…” She squirms and struggles her way out of my grip, falling to the ground below. I cry out her name as she goes slightly limp. However she flips herself back onto her feet. A hold opens up in a wall. Feeling confident, I lower myself out of the house and run to the new gap in the wall.

“Celeste! Over here!” I call. She immediately hears me and begins her bid to freedom. I see her luscious blonde locks flowing behind her as she runs. Grim determination etches itself onto her face. Widening my arms to embrace her, I prepare for her to thrust her body into me.

That moment doesn’t come…

Just when I assumed her to escape, a pile of rubble emerges from the depths above her. She notices it, but at a time too late. It drops on top of her. This causes me to bellow abhorrent curses meant for my sister. And of course, I break down and sob over the loss of my beloved.

Khan strolls over to the hut, where all of the flames have vanished. Ash and soot mar the foundations the house once stood on, coating planks of wood that were unfortunate enough to succumb to its power. Beneath it all is Celeste, the only person I know I’ve truly loved ever since our first meeting. Dusk was originally the only other person with that accolade alongside Khan… but it’s because of her I’ll never be able to hold Celeste’s hand again.

“Corbin!” Khan gestures for me to go over to where he is. As I jog over, I can see a touch of colour standing out from the grey and brown. It can only be-

“Celeste!” I shriek. As I finally reach her side, I can see her taking deep, shallow breaths like a fish out of the ocean. Many bruises and cuts smother her once flawless tanned skin.

“Corbin, I’m-“A few tears escape her eyes as she sniffles. “I’m sorry I… gave up.”

“It’s fine: It’s not your fault.” I leaned in closely to take in her ravishing face for what might be the last time. A small smile appeared on her lips. And despite its size, I held it large in my heart.

“If only… we grew older. If only… Corbin, live your life how you want. Forget about me or hold me dear, I’ll love you either way.”

“Celeste… I’ll never forget you.” I closed the gap between us for one last kiss. Celeste grinned lightly as her pulse and breathing grew shorter and shorter. After a few minutes, her eyes glazed over as her body went limp. At that point, I knew exactly what she had become in more ways than one. For starters, she was gone from this world. She was also at peace again, where she truly belonged. Finally, she was an angel of afterlife: My angel of afterlife, to be precise. Nobody else could have her, since she was my precious gem and mine only. And even though most people only displayed their valuables, I showed the world that Celeste was worth more than any jewel.

“Is this for real or just a dream?” I whispered as I shut her eyes. Looking into them would revive all of the good times, which would set me off bawling. Just looking at her graceful-yet-scarred face almost got me going. But what finally released my personal dam were the thoughts of what we’d never have. Things like our wedding, our children, and our children after that. The worst thing was that when I released the waterworks, I couldn’t eradicate my tears. Khan patted my back, but it wouldn’t prevent the horrible sight I witnessed from coming back. Nothing would.

Khan recovered the corpse from the destruction, lightly patting Celeste’s hair. We begin our journey back home, with me holding her hand all the way there.

Part 4: Testimony
(Overview)

When Khan and Corbin returned from their escapade, the first thing they did was take Celeste’s corpse to her family home. They explained the whole incident to her parents, who listened on intently. At the end of the tale, Celeste’s mother begun to weep. Her father comforted her with a hug. They thanked Corbin and Khan for their information as they lay Celeste’s body on the floor.

After several weeks passed, it was finally time for the funeral. Everybody who had attended the party (give or take a couple of people) showed up for the funeral. Most of the people reflected this as a time to reflect on the good times and how life was unfair. They all spoke well of her, considering she was such a friendly person.

Despite the good memories of everybody else, Corbin and Khan could only remember the way she had died. Even though she had returned, she had perished in the fire that claimed her life. Corbin took it the hardest as the two were star-crossed lovers. All he did at the funeral was look at her body, even more stunning at peace than it was during life. But at least she won’t have to suffer any more than she has done… When the time came for her cadaver to be buried six feet deep, Corbin kissed her hand and lips one last time before he assisted five others in carrying her casket, where it was buried in a place she’d never be forgotten and remain proverbial: The town centre.

Ever since her death, Corbin noticed that whomsoever remained of his friends seldom spoke to him. Khan also detected this, but with his own mates. They both suspected it had to do with their closeness to Celeste. And that was not the only problem they faced.

Corbin wanted answers to his unasked questions. He wanted to connect with Dusk again for the reality of the situation. And most of all, he wanted to forgive Dusk: After all, she had stuck by him for many years.

Dusk Mallory
TBA

Optional - Backstory Summary
Corbin was born to Gryf Mallory and Dawn Mallory and had an older sister called Dusk. The four were a happy family until Dawn died from pneumonia. Corbin was the only one who showed any sadness for her death.

Later, Gryf met a new woman by the name of Melonie. Although she tried to play nice, Dusk saw through her act and immediately knew something wasn't right with her. She also had a son by the name of Khan, who she treated like a servant. The Mallory children and Khan hit it off instantly, due to their hate of Melonie. They hatched a plan to persuade Gryf that she wasn't all she was cracked up to be. Although they managed to get a recording of her saying ridiculous stuff and threatening her son, she switched out the tapes and Gryf, thinking it was a joke, laughed. The two would later get married.

Not too long after, she begun to domestically abuse the Mallory children for nearly rumbling her cover. Dusk was the one mainly affected, because she wanted to keep Corbin safe. This time, the trio of kids didn't try to catch out Melonie because she was too smart. Dusk and Khan would later move into a house together, leaving Corbin to fend for himself.

Later, he joined a fencing club to calm himself down after being introduced to it by Khan. To his surprise, Corbin enjoyed it and continued to do fencing for longer than Khan or Dusk stayed there for. He had natural skill with it and met somebody new in his life, by the name of Celeste. Dusk secretly made meetings for them so that they could get to know each other, and before long Corbin developed a crush on her.

Afterwards she invited him to a birthday party which he went to with Khan and Dusk. Whilst Dusk got drunk, Khan took her somewhere safe where nobody else could get to her. Corbin and Celeste joined a dancing contest, which they won. It was then that they shared a kiss, pleasing the crowd.

Dusk went missing not too long after, having built up jealously towards the new couple. Corbin, Celeste and Khan searched for her, before the first two got knocked out. They later woke up in a house, but they were separate from each other. Their kidnapper turned out to be Dusk, who revealed that she also had feelings for Celeste but wanted Corbin to be happy. Khan rushes into the scene and tries to get everybody out of the house, when a fire is ignited. The trio all try to escape the house but Celeste is impaled by some of the materials, leaving her to bleed out slowly in Corbin's arms.

A few weeks after Celeste's funeral, Dusk remains in hiding from the public due to reports of her manslaughter. She hides well at first, until Corbin notices her. He tails her until she finds herself in an alleyway. Though Corbin tries to calm her down and tells her of his forgiveness, she lashes out and almost kills him. He ends up grabbing a nearby rope and garrotes her until she goes weak. Fortunately she isn't dead. However she does manage to get Khan arrested and pleads her innocence, stating that he's been the evil one all this time.

The locals started to spread rumours that Corbin was the one ultimately responsible, seeing as he was in the centre of the 'curse'. He didn't know this at the time, but he did find out that Melonie had died after she tried to fight a peacekeeper whilst drunk. When he felt like he was at his loneliest, Corbin heard a familiar voice in his head: Celeste's. Somehow she was trapped in his mind and now she was going to help him battle against the odds.

Not long after his imprisonment Khan was released free of charge and, following in his step-sister's footsteps, he tried to kill Corbin. After seeing that Corbin never did anything wrong and it was Dusk who betrayed him, Khan forgives Corbin and almost commits suicide to get rid of the guilt of what he nearly did. However Corbin stops him and the two vow defend each other.

At the age of 17, the public seemed to have forgotten about the story and the lies that were being spread. Corbin and Khan were still at peace. Though they were relieved that everything was normal again, it didn't stop Corbin from being reaped. And when his name was called out, the crowd went silent: It felt like they still remembered all this time.

Song inspiration
TBA

Trivia

 * He is my only tribute to have his backstory told through different povs.
 * Each of his songs inspired a different section for each part of the backstory. 'Sacrimony (Angel of Afterlife)' by Kamelot describes the situation with Corbin, 'Hello' by Evanescence is Celeste talking to Corbin, 'Lover's end' by The Birthday Massacre shows Dusk in a new perspective and 'My Confession' by Kamelot is for Khan.


 * The idea for his stepbrother's name came from the old lead singer of Conception and Kamelot, Roy Khan.


 * His name was thought up of by Kekai.
 * On 04/11/15, Corbin became the new longest tribute