My name is Willow Everdeen, I am the daughter of Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Merlark. My Mother is famous for many things. To many, she is a national hero, to others, she is a national disgrace.
All I know is that I will never forgive Katniss Everdeen.
My Father told me that Mother was apoplectic from all of the trauma and horrors she endured. She was given a decision where the Capitol could suffer the same agony the Districts faced for 75 years. Her unbridled rage at the Capitol led her to vote yes that fateful day. President Coin pulled a wool over my Mother's eyes. There was a 76th Hunger Games where the Capitol children slaughtered each other. But the Districts rebelled as they wanted the Hunger Games to cease to exist.
Coin responded by forcing the Districts into the 77th Hunger Games and the rest is history.
The Reaping is on my 15th birthday, the Reaping is at 12PM. I wake up early in the morning from a night of no sleep. I grab my clothes from my dresser and I hobble out of my bedroom to go freshen myself up. I take a brisk shower, then I slip into my favorite deep blue dress and matching shoes. I comb my knotty black hair straight and I examine myself in the mirror.
"Willow! Rye! Breakfast!" Dad shouts from downstairs.
I depart from the bathroom to smell the delicious aroma of scrambled eggs, bacon, and pancakes.
"Morning, Dad!" I shout, walking towards the staircase.
"Morning, Sweetpea! Is Rye up?"
I stop in my tracks, two feet away from my little brother's bedroom door. Rye is a heavy sleeper and rarely gets up early.
"No." I answer precisely.
"Please wake him up."
I nod without a word and I open Rye's bedroom door. I find Rye's softly snoring, he is deep in slumber in his bed.
"RYE!" I raise my voice.
He doesn't wake up.
"Rye!" I walk over to his bed. He is still asleep.
I shake him roughly. "WAKE UP!" I yell.
Rye's eyes flutter, he catches one glimpse of me and is grouchy. "Ten more minutes!" He grumbles, closing his eyes.
I roll my eyes. "No, it's time for breakfast! Dad told me!" I say bluntly. I shake him so more, making him upset.
I don't wait, I yank him out of bed, making him fall onto the floor.
"Time for breakfast." I say, trying to conceal my amused laughter. I walk out briskly before Rye could stand up.
"He's up, Daddy!" I shout. I hurry downstairs and head to the dining room. Dad already has the table set with platters of food. He is assisting the cooking staff in the kitchen, baking cinnamon buns in the oven. I gaze at all of the food and my stomach grumbles. I fix myself a plate of salty scrambled eggs, a hot omelette, and a glass of orange juice. I take a sip of my orange juice when Rye storms downstairs. "Dad, Willow pulled me out of bed." He accuses, shooting me a angry look. I roll my eyes at him, forking my scrambled eggs. "Dad told me to get you out of bed." I defend myself. Dad chuckles lightly. "Sorry about that," He points to the plates of crispy cinnamon doughnuts. "Eat up, the staff did an amazing job cooking this meal for us." Rye's entire demeanor changes upon seeing his favorite food and he seemingly forgets everything. "Awesome!" He rejoices, sitting at the table across from me. Rye smiles widely, brushing a light blonde bang out of his eyes.
Dad pulls out a sweet smelling tray of cinnamon buns out of the oven, placing the tray on the nearby counter. He flashes me a bright smile. "Happy Birthday!" He says happily.
He walks over to the dining table and sits next to me. He fixes himself a plate of pancakes drowned in syrup. It is quiet awhile we eat. No one talks for a long time. I enjoy the peaceful environment, relishing all of the food given to me. Dad told us that Mother was impoverished before we were born. At first, I didn't believe him, Mother didn't seem like she was from the Slums. She wasn't malnourished or emancited. For most of my life, I lived in Victor Village, near the Merchant part of the District. I never been in the Slums, only heard of it.
"When's the Reaping?" Rye ask suddenly. My eyes widen, his words resurfaces my anxiety over the Reaping.
"Twelve. We have time to relax." Dad says softly. I see the sorrowful glint in his eyes. I have seen the glint before. I first saw it when I was seven and seven years of the new Hunger Games continuation. Mother left us alone in the world. It was unexpected, no one had a chance to stop her. She barricaded herself in one of the bedrooms and she took her life. I was never told how she did it, personally I rather never know.
Dad was despondent. For months, Dad cried. Breaking down in the Master bedroom, his mournful wails echoing the house. I made the effort to avoiding talking about her. I never utter her name, I never talk about her, she only exist in the deepest depths of my mind.
I catch Dad giving me a sympathetic look, the glint fresh in his eyes. "How are you feeling, kiddo?" He then quickly adds. "I got little party planned for you. Got your a cake and cookies." I smile at Dad for that. But the happiness is short lived.
I put on a reassuring face. "I'm not going to be picked, Daddy." I say cheerfully. I force myself to smile.
Rye is the only person who is truly carefree. "Can I invite my friends over after the Reaping?" He asks with a toothy grin. I look at him with begrudging envy. He's eight, he only has three years left.
Dad nods his head at Rye, lowering his eyes to his plate of unfinished food. "I know." His voice is barely audible.
After breakfast, I head upstairs to relax my nerves. I try to divert my anxious thoughts. I never want to be picked. I've been lucky for three years, but every year, I can't help to feel like my luck will run out.
I find myself staring at the clock across my room, watching time go by.
When it is time, I feel like my heart is going to explode. I walk downstairs to join my brother and Dad.
Dad gives me a weak smile, the glint in his eyes glimmer. I didn't want to see him like this. I force out a cheerful demeanor.
"Daddy, I'm not going to be picked." I skip over to him, locking him into a quick embrace. "Come on, let's get this over with." With that, I briskly open the door.
We head to the Justice Building with a crowd of other citizens. I see cameras perched on the buildings around us. Camera crews gets every single shot of this event. Everyone silently files in and sign in. It is a warm afternoon, I gaze at my surroundings. The Justice Building is designed for the Reaping. A wooden platform is built in with a black podium. On the platform is a row of chairs for Victors. Only my Father is sitting there. Whoever is picked during this Reaping will be his mentee. I stare at the two balls full of potential tributes' names. Females on the left and males on the right. Lapis Lazuli, the Capitol escort is smiling from ear to ear at the crowd. I find myself alone in the clump of fifteen year old girls. Rye is in the background by himself. I gaze at Lapis, her hair is buttercream colored, her face is painted in pasty white makeup, her outfit is frilly and blue as a cornflower. I always found Capitol fashion strange, but interesting.
Mr. Mayflower, the mayor of District 12 hobbles up the stage to give a very long speech. I barely listen to the speech because I have heard so many times before. The only thing I pay attention is the video that is shown to us every single year.
The video is a screen on the Justice Building. The documentary tells the story of the Dark War and how the Hunger Games came to be.
My stomach churns, when I see my parents on the screen. There is a still frame of Katniss Everdeen with her trademark archery gear. I find myself staring at her in a mixture of emotion.
"She looks so much like her!" One girl comments behind me.
She was right. Olive skinned and straight black hair. I didn't have Mother's gray eyes, Rye did. I had my Father's bright blue eyes.
The narrator of the story tells her story, describing how she repeatedly broke the law by hunting and there is a short clip of my Mother fiercely volunteering for my Aunt, Primrose Everdeen. I never personally met her as she died long before I was born. Then the video showed how she rebelled the Capitol, causing District 12 to be destroyed, how she fought in the Second War.
When I see the clip of my Mother voting yes to the Hunger Games, all I feel is burning resentment. I clench my fists as anger boils inside of my stomach.
"Everyone is here because of her." I mumble under my breath bitterly. The documentary was missing one critical part of my Mother being the Mockingjay. Dad theorized that the Capitol wanted to erase that part from history.
When the video finishes it's segment of my Mother, it goes to my Father. Almost instantly, all of my anger fades away. I see clips of him with my Mother and how they were depicted as "star crossed lovers." I see how him and Mother nearly killed themselves out of love to escape the Games. My Father's segment is quick and brief, unlike my Mother's. The video nears it's end when it tells about the infamous 76th Hunger Games and how President Coin spared the Capitol from engaging in the 77th Hunger Games. The video ends with a short, but effective speech from Coin. Lapis waltz up the stage once it's over.
"Let's begin!"
My heart sinks. Two of my fingers instinctively cross for luck.
"Ladies first!" Lapis giggles lightly. She has a bubbly demeanor that can be both endearing, but annoying.
Lapis walks over to the female ball, humming happily to herself. I stiffen, my heart quickens.
Lapis plucks out a slip of paper.
"WILLOW EVERDEEN!"
Next chapter will come soon.
