Hi, my first fanfiction so if its terrible- well, say so nicely:) this is a filler chapter and I know it's not so exciting but it will get better, I promise.
Chapter One
Tribute
"Rue," her father whispered into the cold morning air, "Rue, get up!" Rue rolled over on her side and dragged herself out of bed. She suddenly gasped as she remembered what day it was. Reaping Day. She looked at her father with wide amber eyes and he looked back, hugging her close to his chest. "It'll all be okay, honey," he sighed. She smiled, weakly, springing out of his arms to grab her well worn boots. Quickly tugging them over sockless feet, she stood up, grabbing a small canvas sack and her fathers hand, nearly dragging him out the door.
Together they ran across the deserted street, reaching a watchtower. The Peacekeeper wasn't inside, thanks to a deal her father made with him. They levered the fence up with a stick and shimmied underneath, carefully pas the live wire. Her father followed suit, his stocky and short frame nearly as lithe as his daughters. Creeping along the forest, Rue quickly filled her bag with various forest berries, mostly red, looking out for the poisonous colour of Nightlock, a berry sure to kill her. As the sun slowly rose in the sky, Rue and her father hurried back to their house.
Her mother hurriedly fussed over her, Rue's five younger siblings watching in awe. She wore a pretty blue frock that complemented her skins hue perfectly, and her wild ringlets were tamed into a plait. On her feet were shoes that were slightly too small and white, carefully scrubbed of all stains by her mother the night before. Hearing the bells screeching like birds of prey, Rue quickly planted a kiss on each of her siblings head before tightly hugging her mother and father. With that, she ran outside, her tightly bound feet springing lightly across the street.
As Rue stood at the back, she thought about how likely it was for her name to be called out. Her name was in twenty four times in order to get the extra tesserae rations for her family. But as her father put it, it was just twenty four tiny scraps of paper amongst thousands of others. The thought suddenly comforted her.
A garish woman with blue tinged skin and what looked like a sea creature on her head stood up and lakes to the podium, green heels elongating her turquoise legs. "District Seven," she began, "I am very pleased to present to you the stunning video your illustrious Capitol has provided." We stood there being showed the same video we watched every year. It started as a black screen before fading into a booming Capitol voice, but Rue was so distracted she could only catch snippets before fading back into her own mind. She finally looked up to see the words- The Hunger Games were created to serve as a reminder for every district to never rise up and rebel again and with that she shuddered, feeling something burning rising into her mouth.
The Blue Capitol woman began the selection of tributes, beginning with the boys. She capled out Thresh' name, a boy she knew from working in the orchards with. He walked up to the stage, his head down, the peacekeepers grasp barely grazing him. he got up to the stage as the woman called out- "Any volunteers?" knowing there was none, she quickly went to the girls bowl. She dipped her hand down into the bowl, swishing her hand around dramatically before quickly flicking her hand up and read out "Rue, aged twelve."