A/N: Hey guys! Sorry this chapter is really short, I just wanted to put this out as almost a tester chapter. If it doesn't work, then I guess I'll just delete it and read stories, not write them. Just give it a whirl please! ~hipsterchicaClove POV:
I awake in a cold sweat, panting hard. I just had another nightmare about the gladiators. As the princess of Panem, I get to see way too many innocent young people go into the arena and, well, die.
I, Clove Reenen, am the daughter of Ben and Maven Reenen, who are the king and queen. I have no siblings but plenty of horses to fill my days. In Panem, there are twelve districts. Every year, two teenagers from each district volunteer to come and fight each other to the death in the largest gladiator event there is. If no one volunteers then we have to select our fighters. The winner is revered as one of the best gladiators to ever live.
Being a princess, I was never allowed to fight. Instead, I was supposed to be kind, sweet, and well educated. Nobody knows but I have trained myself with castle guards over the past years to the point where I could win the Gladiator Challenge.
"Clove, dear, it's time to wake up," my maid Glimmer calls as she hurries in with my breakfast.
"Glimmer, I had the nightmares again," I said as she placed my food down on a table.
She gives me a sad look. "Miss Clove, I have told you many times! You will never have to go into the Challenge!"
"I know, I just am afraid of the death! Not the fighting!"
"Relax, dearie," Glimmer hushes as she rubs my shoulders. "Now let's get you dressed. Your father wants to see you after you eat."
Cato POV:
Life in District 2 isn't that tough. We eat well, sleep well, and exercise well. It's not all rainbows and unicorns but it works well enough. I woke up at a casual 10 o'clock, stretching my arms out before getting dressed in running clothes.
"Where do you think you're going," my little sister Darby asked.
"Going for a jog," I said as I kissed her on the cheek, running out the door.
Running was a good escape for me. Because of my stature, people expect me to be all sports and fitness, but I truly love to read. My family won't let me read in the house because they want me to compete in the Gladiator Challenge and think that reading is just a distraction. I don't really care, though. I do enjoy fighting. There's a certain feeling of pride you get when you bring down your enemy with the fatal blow. I smile at the thought of my latest victory.
"And Cato Vact has got Mitch Serpent on the ground! He has his sword drawn to his neck and is going in for the kill!"
That last fight had gotten me noticed by the public. They wanted a strong, and handsome, winner for their 74th Challenge, and I knew that was going to be me.
"Hello, Cato," the girl from down the street calls me flirtatiously.
"Hey, uh, Fawn!"
She giggles at me saying her name and I show her a flashy smile and keep jogging. I had a place to go and I wasn't going to let anyone stop me.
I finally end up at the end of the district. An ancient building sits on the corner of the farthest street. I push the door in and breath in the great scent of old books.
"Good morning, Cato," the friendly librarian says as she looks up from her book list.
"Morning, Miss Cleary. Any good recomendations for today?"
"Yes! This one is brand new, just copied. It's from a new author named Homer," she says as she hands me the copy with her delicate hands.
"Looks good! Thank you," I say while turning around to go to my favorite corner.
No one ever comes to this library, and I like it that way. I can sit, undisturbed, and enjoy myself for once. No one expects big, tough, sexy Cato to come and read poetry on the days he doesn't train.
