Chapter Text
He knew it was foolish.
The moment her name was spoken, carried by the trembling voice of the woman on stage, the crowd fell eerily silent, thousands of eyes swinging toward her like vultures.
His breath caught, cold and shallow, as the white-clad peacekeepers closed in on her, their footsteps echoing through the hushed air. He could do nothing but watch, his heart hammering wildly in his chest, as they led her forward. Her blonde braid vanished behind a sea of motionless figures, and by the time she reappeared at the podium, her face was a ghostly mask—too calm, too defiant—but the fear flickered in her eyes, betraying her. The crowd rippled with murmurings, some drowning in pity, others drunk with anticipation.
He told himself to stay still. To remain silent. But then her eyes found him—just for a fraction of a second—and in that brief moment, every promise he had made to keep her safe came rushing back. To do nothing—to let them take her without a fight—was unthinkable. His body moved before his mind could catch up, a frantic rush of instinct overriding every rational thought. The sharp pain in his leg twisted with every step, but he pushed forward, blind to everything but her. The murmurs in the crowd grew louder, whispers curling through the air like smoke. People moved aside, confused, some even reaching out as if to pull him back, but he shrugged them off, his pulse roaring in his ears.
All he saw was her. The girl whose life he could not—would not—allow to be wasted.
Even if it meant sacrificing his own.
He knew it was foolish, but he had no choice. And before another name could be drawn, he raised his voice and sealed his fate: "I volunteer! I volunteer as a Tribute."