"Jeanne Prouvaire."
All eyes fixed on her, sixteen-year-old Jeanne Prouvaire, as she walked up and took her place by the podium. Then the next name was called.
"Gavroche Thenardier."
The twelve-year-old's eyes went wide. He looked around frantically for his siblings as he was ushered to the stage.
"No," Eponine stared, grasping Courfeyrac's arm, face turning white. "Oh, God, no."
"Wait, wait!" Courfeyrac shouted, and Eponine released her grip on her older brother's arm. "I volunteer!" He shouted, as he waved his arms about wildly. "I volunteer as tribute!" All eyes were fixed on him as Gavroche ran to his older brother.
"Courf, you can't!" He cried.
"Gav, please, go see Eponine. I need to do this for you, I can't let you go out there." Courfeyrac told him. He gave Gavroche a hug. "No, go," He gently pushed him towards Eponine, who embraced him in her arms.
Courfeyrac walked up towards the stage and took his place next to Jeanne.
"Well, it looks like we have a volunteer! And what is your name, sir?" Cosette, the announcer asked.
"M-my..." Courfeyrac cleared his throat. "My name is Courfeyrac Thenardier."
"So, I'm taking a wild guess that that must have been your brother, then, correct?"
"Yes, ma'am." Courf answered.
"I thought so," Cosette smiled. "Now, shake hands with your fellow tribute."
Jeanne and Courfeyrac shook hands. They had sad, sort of scared looks on their faces, but that wasn't really anything new pertaining to tributes. Their hands lingered in each other's for longer than usual, though. Soon after, they were ushered off to separate rooms in the justice building. Gav and Eponine were the first to visit Courfeyrac. In fact, they were the only visitors Courf had. Same with Jeanne, she got one visit from Eponine and Gavroche.
"I'm so sorry," Eponine said. "This is just... awful."
"It's alright, Ep, you don't have anything to apologise for." Jeanne replied. "I'm going to do my best, and... I'll try to get him home, alright? I will do everything within my power to get him home."
"Please, Jeanne..." Eponine had no more words.
"It'll be okay. Okay?" Jeanne said. "I'm not... I'm not scared of what'll happen. I'm gonna..." She cleared her throat and wiped away the tears that had formed in her eyes. "I'll miss you guys." She embraced Gavroche and Eponine in a big hug. "I'll make sure your brother gets back." She whispered to them. Seconds later, the peacekeepers came in and ushered them out, Eponine on the verge of sobbing and Gavroche with a solemn look on his face, like he was trying to stay strong for Ep. Jeanne sat down on the couch, and awaited her instructions.
Later the same day, on the train to the Capitol, Jeanne and Courfeyrac could hardly speak, let alone to each other. They could hardly even look at each other without Jeanne bursting into tears or Courf turning away to hide his.
"What's the matter with you two?" Cosette asked. "You should be happy to be representing your district!"
Jeanne ignored her, and turned to Courf trying her best to hold back her tears. "Out of the whole district... It had to be us. But Courf, I swear, I am going to make sure you get home." She managed to say, before falling apart again.
"Shh, Jeanne, love," Courf held her in his arms. "If either of us gets home, I promise, it will be you."
"B-but Eponine, and Gav... They need you Courf, nobody needs me." She protested, tears streaming down her face.
"Shh, shh, it'll be alright. Let's just... Let's drop the subject. Forget about it as long as we can."
"I-I l-love you, Courf," Jeanne said, crying into his shoulder.
"I know, Jeanne, I know. I love you, t-too," He said, voice cracking, trying to control his tears. He placed a soft kiss on her forehead, smoothing back her hair. They sat there on the couch like that, Jeanne wrapped in Courfeyrac's arms, for the remaining ride to the Capitol.
The next morning, after the Tributes' parade, began their first training session. Courfeyrac and Jeanne had been instructed by their mentor, Grantaire, to keep as far away from each other as possible, and not to draw attention to themselves. They went through the various stations, staying on opposite sides of the center, not talking to each other, and hardly even looking at the other if they crossed each others' paths. The training sessions went on for two weeks, at the end of which they had a personal session, where they were given scores. Jeanne and Courf both got 8's.
The day after their last training session, Jeanne and Courf had a picnic on the roof. They took some food from the kitchen and just laid together for the whole afternoon.
"I just wish this moment would never end," Courf sighed.
"I know..." Jeanne replied. "I wish we could just live like this forever. I wish these stupid games never had to exist. I wish... I just wish we could be together." Her voice cracked, tears starting to fall.
"I'm sorry, love. I wish everything was different, too," Courf kissed her forehead and wiped her tears. "Let's just... Make the most of the time we have left. Alright?"
Jeanne lifted her head up, tears glistening on her cheeks. "I love you," She whispered.
"I love you, too," He whispered back, leaning down to kiss her. They laid like that, intertwined with each other for the rest of the afternoon.
That is, until they had to get ready for their pre-game interviews with the host, Marius Pontmercy.
Jeanne was dressed in a beautiful, pale green, floor length dress. Her blonde hair was in a braid over her shoulder with pink and yellow flowers woven in.
They went through the normal questions and then Marius said: "You're a very beautiful young woman. Is there a special someone at home that you're here to win for?"
"Well, um," Jeanne cleared her throat. "Winning won't help me in this case, because, well... Courf's here with me. There's no way now."
There were a few gasps from various places in the audience. They seemed to be shocked by the misfortune that the lover's had. As soon as Jeanne's interview was over, Courfeyrac strode across the stage, grabbing Jeanne's hand momentarily as they passed each other. He was dressed in a suit of the same color as Jeanne's dress, and his curly black hair was in the unruly mess that his stylists could not fix.
"So," Marius started, after wrapping up with the typical questions. "That was your, um, girlfriend, then?"
"Yes, sir." Courfeyrac answered.
"Wait, weren't you the one who volunteered for your brother?"
"Yes, sir," He replied again.
"Why did you volunteer for him, then? You would have had more of a chance with your lovely Jeanne," Marius said.
"It was a split second decision. I knew I had to keep my brother out of the games. He's only twelve. But it didn't cross my mind that is mean... That it meant Jeanne and I wouldn't last together." Courf tried to keep his voice from wavering as he spoke.
"Oh... I'm sorry to hear that," Marius said. "I believe that our time is up, though. Perhaps we shall meet again on the other side."
"Yeah... Maybe." Courf walked off the stage, and Jeanne ran into his arms, crying.
"I'm sorry, love. I'm sorry." He stroked her hair and placed a kiss on the top of her head.
This is it, Jeanne thought, as the platform rose through the tube to the arena. This is where I get to save Courf.
I've gotta save her, Courf thought. I'll save her, if it's the last thing I do. It will be the last thing I do.
The platforms emerged in the arena, and surrounding them was a thick forest, with the cornucopia in the center. There were weapons and bags of supplies strewn about it. Courf and Jeanne had been instructed to stay as far away from this as possible, and head off to find water immediately.
The cannon blasted, signifying the beginning of the games. Jeanne and Courf both raced toward each other, each grabbed a bag, and headed off into the woods together. They were going to be allies for as long as they could.
They ran to a little clearing with a small brook running through it, that seemed safe, at least for the time being. They embraced quickly, and then dug through their bags. Both of them had a water bottle (empty), a blanket, and a rope. They needed to find weapons. They needed to go back to the cornucopia to get something to defend themselves. They took off toward the area, disregarding anything Grantaire had told them. Slipping around the trees, they avoided any of the other tributes seeing them. Jeanne ran out of the woods, toward the weapons, not noticing that someone had spotted her, and was now aiming an arrow at her. Courf saw, and ran towards Jeanne, knocking her to the ground, out of the way of the arrow.
"Jeanne, we've gotta get out of here, we can get weapons another time, let's go!" Courf pulled her to her feet and started running with her, hands clasped together. They ran back toward their clearing, but little did they know they were being followed. The tribute behind them, his name was Bahorel, he was one of the strongest, most dangerous tributes there was, was following them with a spear in his hand. Jeanne turned around and saw him, and despite her better judgment stopped dead in her tracks and screamed. Courfeyrac ran in front of her, trying to get her to move, but it was too late, Bahorel threw his spear, piercing through both of them. They landed flat on the ground, Courf on top of Jeanne.
"I-I wanted to save you..." Jeanne said, her voice weak as the life drained out of her.
"I know, love. I'm sorry..." Courf placed a gentle kiss on her lips, and the last thing the two of them ever saw were each other's beautiful eyes.
