Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
She looked at herself in the mirror, the sapphire stone around her neck glinting in the sunlight. The stone was beautiful, the back encased in pure silver that connected to her necklace. It was a gift from her fiance, something equally as beautiful as her own blue eyes. However, Zenobia was always told by her mother that her eyes resembled that of a stormy ocean rather than the pretty little stone around her neck. In fact, her whole personality resembled that of the water rather than something small and quaint. She might have seemed shy at first but deep down, she was far from timid. Otherwise, why would she be married to Ares Valor, president of Panem?
He was a harsh, stern man who had lived in the country Katniss Everdeen had created thirty years before his birth. The world where everyone receives the same and is treated equally just does not work and the Panem she helped created proved that.
Crime skyrocketed, people now knowing that unless they killed someone, there was nothing the government could do to stop them. Soon judges quit, unsatisfied being paid the same as someone working in the mines from Twelve. This lead to the downfall of the justice system and Panem spiralled out of control.
Ares own parents were killed by the criminals that ran loose through the streets, blown up by people who cheered for freedom and Katniss. It was only a matter of time before rebels rose up from the ashes, cheering for the old Panem and leading them was Ares.
Once The Capital was attacked by a neighbouring country, Ares saw his chance and gathered up rebels and attacked the faulty system. After a five-year battle, the man took power, taking the country away from the clueless Katniss supporters who become more and more silent as time went by.
Ares came from a long line of One's so when he travelled District Nine on his Presidential tour, he connected Zenobia's eyes to Sapphire almost immediately. He had planned to marry from a District that was against him, allowing them to feel more connected to him. But when he met the then seventeen-year-old, that all became secondary.
She wished she could say he swept her off her feet, asked her to marry him and whisked her away to The Capitol. Sadly, things were much more complicated than that and it took a while her to warm up to the rugged looking man.
Yet, here she was, standing in front of the mirror, in a dress that would have fed her family for a year, procrastinating about meeting the same man, a man she was soon to be married to. She loved him, she would admit but he had some twisted and crazy ideas.
"Miss Kasius?" a small voice called from the other side of the door, accompanied with a small tapping. Zenobia bit her lip and continued to ignore the woman. "Miss?" she said, far more urgently than before, her tapping sounding more like punches against the mahogany. Zenobia gave a sigh, brushing down her cupcake style, yellow dress and turning to the door with a fake smile.
"Come in!" she sighed, fixing the yellow, silk bow in her hair. The door creaked opened, a small, stout women waddling in. Her brown eyes scanned Zenobia's outfit before breaking out into a smile.
"You look beautiful, miss-"
"Thank you,"
"Mr Valor is a very lucky man," she laughed fiddling with the silver cuff link on her maid's outfit. Zenobia bowed her head, her cheeks going a slight pinkish colour. "If you don't mind me saying, miss-"
"It's fine, I am grateful for the compliment," she said shyly, a worn out smile playing on her lips. "Have you come to lead me to the meeting?" she questioned, grabbing her shoulder bag and walking towards the door. The woman seemed confused at first but then her eyes lit up with realisation. She gave a small jump and then rushed out of the door, gesturing for Zenobia to follow.
Ares wasn't the best looking man by all means. Under his scarred face was the ghost of a good looking man but the battle to take back The Capitol had taken its tole. Under his light blue, the pinstriped suit was a stocky body, covered in dozens of bullet wounds, an eerie reminder to the man of how lucky he was to still be present on the earth. His white blonde hair was short in an attempt to hide the bald patches caused by stressed and his sea green eyes allowed a glimpse into a war zone. Maybe it was his battered appearance diverting the eye away from the effects age had on the President, but he looked young for his age like time had frozen him at the period where he was a twenty-year-old war general.
Despite his age and downright terrifying appearance, no one battered an eyelid when he walked into the room with his nineteen-year-old fiance, Zenobia, on his arm. The girl was stunning, a tall, long legged blonde with striking blue eyes, framed by long, catty eyelashes and porcelain coloured skin. Men swooned over her the second she entered the room, flirting was something she had grown to expect from Ares' government friends. However, every time someone made a move, she simply pierced her light, pink lips and took her fiance's' hand with a spine-chilling gaze falling on the person who dared to challenge her loyalty.
Sadly, their latest guests, from a neighbouring country called England, were no different. They had a secret alliance with President Snow but after his fall, the new Panem had refused any alliance with the country. It was clearly a loss on their part as the attack from England is what weakened them enough to allow Ares to take over as ruler of Panem. Needing the support, he agreed straight away to the alliance.
The Prime Minister of England, George Jackson, gestured for the Ares and Zenobia to take a seat in front of him on the red velvet sofa. George made Ares appearance seem inviting and sort after being that he looked more like a corpse rather than a living, breathing being. His, white, pasty skin clung to the bone, his cheeks sagging and sunken grey eyes that matched his thinning grey hair were framed by dark circles. Both his right and left hands were clutching that of a brown and blonde haired, scarcely dressed, females, their oversized breasts almost breaking free of the thin, tight top that covered them. Behind George was a redheaded girl, dressed in the same attire as the other two, massaging his bony shoulders.
"Ares, please meet my wives, Annie, Cleeta and Ebony," George said breathlessly, pointing to each one of the girls while his guests sat down.
Ares gave a nod, taking Zenobia's hand in his hand and running his thumb along her engagement ring. "This is my soon-to-be wife, Zenobia," the blonde woman gave a small wave, a shy smile on her lips.
"What a beautiful name and women," George giggled, "but only the one? Live a little, boy," Ares' grip tightened at this comment, Zenobia glancing over to him with concern. He glanced over to his fiance and gave a sigh.
"Where I am from, you have one love, one partnership and for me, that is Zenobia," the girl squeezed his hand back, the warm fuzzy feeling of pride in the pit of her stomach that the hot headed male was able to address a topic he felt strongly about without launching a chair at the elderly man.
"Oh, my apologies, I had no idea there was feelings involved...you know with her age and all-"
"Well, you were mistaken, shall we continue with the issue you called us here for?" Zenobia bluntly replied, leaning forward with a stern and unforgiving look in her eye. George pulled his hand away from the dark haired girl and started to stroke his bristly chin, chuckling to himself as he looked at the pair before him.
"It's nice to know Panem, or whatever it is called, has two head strong individuals, such as yourself," he said, his voice slightly raspy. He waved his free hand in the air until a bald butler ran over, placing a clear mask over his face. Ares looked on with confusion as the man breathed in the smoky substance, taking the mask off, his breathing back to normal once more. "Now, I am sure you know I didn't just invite you here to congratulate you on your engagement-"
"We guessed that sir, although, you should be clear about your motives in the future, for security reasons,"
"You are not in a war anymore, boy, you can trust us," George said sternly, causing Ares to stiffen up. "It is a gift for your engagement but also for the people of your Nation, to show we understand them and come in peace,"
"And what is this gift?" Zenobia asked, leaning back in the chair. Ares seemed uneasy like he was getting ready to spring from his chair and tear Mr Jackson's head clean off. "I will have you know that our people are very hard to please," she said this, thinking back to the constant riots that were going on right now because Ares re-formed the alliance with the British once more. There would be more to come if they didn't like this peace offering from them.
"Maybe, but we know what your people like, they can't help but love it...Ares, tell me, do you remember The Hunger Games?" Ares shivered at the thought, he had only ever been told by his parents, all victors from his District dead and tapes destroyed but that was all he needed. They sounded barbaric and unnecessary, the only thing he agreed with Katniss on.
"Hm, I have heard stories-"
"Then you will love this, picture, A Hunger Games full of children, my countries children," George said, a bright happy smile on his room was filled with a stunned silence. Ares looked around the room, each wife and servant of George, looking slightly uneasy at the idea.
"Excuse me?" Zenobia asked, her blue eyes wide with fear.
"To celebrate our partnership and unity as allies, I shall present twelve of our people to celebrate Panem and entertain your people. I mean what better way to show we are just like them than taking part in what they enjoy?"
"I don't really think we should go ahead with this-"
"We have already reaped them, they are already on a ship to Ameri-I mean, Panem," he said with a cunning smile.
Zenobia looked over to a guard who just looked away and cleared his throat. "I think you have us all wrong, they won't appreciate this thoughtful gift-"
"Then make them, you are their leaders, lead them!" George growled again, rising from his chair only to be pushed down by one of his wives. "I have faith in you, Ares, something I need to keep this alliance alive, please don't make it be misplaced," although he said this like any sweet old man, Ares knew it was a threat, if he could not make his people cheer on one more Hunger Games, they would be bombed out of existence.
"Okay, Sir, my apologies-"
"That's more like it," George said with a toothless grin, like he had not just threatened a nation with war. "I guess all that's left to say now then is let The Games Begin!"
Hey and welcome to my first Hunger Games fanfiction and SYOT. I have seen a lot of these so I thought I'd give it a shot.
So this is set in a Panem AFTER Katniss took it from Snow only for it to be overthrown once more. This takes place 58 years after the events of MockingJay.
The tributes in this story are from England, not Panem.
Look on my profile for a quick overview of life in this new England, District information, tribute list and submission form. Everything you need should be there. If you need more, feel free to message me.
Until then, I really hope you enjoyed this chapter, I am super proud of myself. Review, submit and follow and as I am doing a sponsor system, after every chapter, I will ask you some questions. Each one is worth an amount of points. The supplies up for grabs will be revealed later on.
Questions:
How old is Ares? (3 points)
What is Zenobia's last name? (1 point)
What were the names of George's wives? (1 point)
What colour was the ribbon in Zenobia's hair? (1 point)
May the odds be ever in your favour.