Welcome, everyone, to Underestimated: Warrior Rising! I've been thinking of writing this for a long time, now, and I only got a FanFiction account recently. This is my first fanfic, so please don't be too harsh with the comments. I hope you all enjoy!

Chapter 1 - Overshadowed:

Pale silver wisps mingle with the deep red of the sunset sky. The intricate designs of the golden buildings in District 1 appear darker as the sunlight dies. The distant hills are no more than dark silhouettes, far away. Beyond that, the narrow shapes of the Capitol buildings are barely dark lines against the waves of red.

I, too, must be no more than a dark silhouette as I walk through the trees of the thin woods and onto the pavement toward the area where the main homes and factories of District 2 are placed. In a black hunting jacket and dark pants, I must appear to be no more than a shadow.

As I walk into the main area of the district, I see many pairs of eyes on me. Of course; I'm the odd one. My hands are always out in front of me when I walk, and I carry a metal rod in one hand to steady myself. District 2 has never before seen another like me. Nowadays, I'm always the one standing on the side. I'm the one who suddenly appears weak and vulnerable. I'm the one who's now overshadowed by the rest of my district. I'm the one who's blind.

They think I can't see. But I can see more, and I know more than any of them could ever think. I'm not sightless. I'm not blind. But I tell District 2 that I am.

There is a branch in front of me. As much as I want to step over it, I deliberately stumble over it, dropping my metal rod in a show of shock. It's all in the act. I'm supposed to be blind. But, in truth, I am no more than a coward. And, just like that, as I stand again, I am plunged into a certain memory from a few months ago...

I smile at Mother, and she puts her arm over my shoulder. The two of us were always very close. Her dark green eyes, so much like my younger sister's, twinkle like twin stars as she gazes at me. "You've grown fast, Axelle. I remember, not long ago, you would follow your father around, asking what he was doing. And now, you're fourteen, and the fastest girl in District 2." I let her lay a hand on my head, while she pauses. "And, you've already got a straight shot at winning the Games!"

"I've been practicing," I mumble, but my blue eyes hold a smile.

Mother nods, but her voice during her next few words is very hesitant. "I want you to succeed, and win the Hunger Games... but at the same time, I don't want to see you possibly die at the hands of another tribute."

I give her a questioning look. "I want to be the best I can be! I'm going to enter the Hunger Games, and prove what I can be!"

"But what if you don't win?" Mother asks me, her face darkening with concern. "You're up against twenty-three other tributes, who are all as determined to win as you are. I don't want you to die, Axelle."

"I won't, Mother," I tell her. "I promise. When I go, I'll come back a victor. I'll make you and Father proud."

And then, we both hear the ominous sound of a match being struck.

I stare at Mother, my heart racing. I see anxiety flash in her dark green eyes, and I'm sure that fear must have flared in my own blue ones. My voice is low and taut with worry as words spill out of my mouth. "Mother, what's going on? Mother?"

Mother turns away. "Mason?" She walks a few steps away from me, and I suddenly want to run up to her and stay by her side, as I did when I was a child. "Mason, where are you?" Before I can speak or move, she walks rapidly out of my sight into a different room in our home. Moments later, while I stand, waiting in utmost confusion and fear, Mother screams. "Mason!"

I see her emerge from the room a moment later, and her eyes hold the same fear as mine. However, I see her try to mask it with solid calm. "Axelle, we have to go. We have to leave home, now."

"Where will we go?" I ask; when other speaks in a tone like that, I know that she's serious.

Mother stops short, her mouth open as she tries to answer my question, but before she can, the wall to the side of us crumbles, and a pile of flame separates us. "Mother!" I call out, wanting to wail like a small child. "Mother!"

I turn and run. I burst through the burning walls, feeling pain sear through my shoulder, and out into the open, where I stumble and fall, gasping for breath. My hands are a burned red, and my legs are weak. Still, I somehow manage to stand.

My usually beautiful blonde hair is a mess, and my blue eyes are wild and frantic as I turn back to face our home.

Fire rages in our home, and, what's worse is that Mother is still inside. "Mother!" I scream again, running blindly through the flames. "Where are you?"

The answer comes as I stop before a burning wall, smoke filtering through my nostrils. I drop to my knees as I see Mother's limp shape on the ground in front of me. "Mother," I whisper, closing my eyes for a long moment. Her eyes are open and glassy, and I realize that she must have breathed in too much smoke.

And then, I crumple down as a streak of fire strikes me, and I close my eyes into the welcoming blackness.

I had survived that, but neither Mother nor Father had. The sound of the match being struck, that ominous noise, was always replaying itself in my mind. I know that someone has tried to kill my family and me by setting that fire.

And now, I'm afraid that they'll try again.

So I let the rest of District 2 think that I am blind. It provides more protection for me, and people are less likely to attack a blind target than a not blind one. Still, this is District 2, and no one seems to have any heart. Everyone's just focused on entering the Hunger Games and winning.

I was, too.

But that was before this accident.

I'm blind, yet I'm not blind. I'm weak, yet I'm not weak. I'm brave, to have survived that accident, yet I am, in truth, a coward. But if this is the only way to stay alive, and lessen the bitterness that my attacker had felt toward my family and me when my home burned, I am willing to take it.

So here I am. Axelle Firethorn. A fourteen-year-old female, known as the "blind girl", a hindrance, the tainted splotch on District 2. The one whom everyone hopes will disappear or die, soon.

I don't need to be able to see to get the feeling that trouble is lying ahead.

But what else should I have done? If I had remained unscathed, I would be taking the huge risk of being attacked again, and, perhaps, not surviving, that time. Still, the people of my district want me gone. I bring a scar to the proud title of District 2. I can't tell which is worse.

Slowly, I walk, fumbling with false clumsiness towards my new home - the one I've used since the accident. Nothing much, really. It's the old, abandoned, one-room house at the end of the main homes. The mayor gave me permission to move into there until he could find "somewhere else" to put me.

I sigh, allowing myself to tap around with the cane until it hits the brass knob. Reaching forward, I push the heavy, wooden door open and enter, feeling cold air greet my face. There is nothing inside this home to warm it up, and still, I sense that this home has been abandoned for a long time before I occupied it.

The shutters are down, the door closed, and here I stand, where I can finally be myself. I stand the metal rod beside the door and sit down on the cold floor, shivering slightly as the dim light flickers on.

I reach for the bread and handful of nuts that were left over from this morning, and wrap a thick cloth, which I use as a blanket for warmth, over my shoulders as I eat. My appetite has grown since the accident. The people of my district seem to offer less to me, deeming me a worthless cause.

With a long sigh, I eat. The bread is dry on my tongue, but I know that District 2 will not give me any better.

A pleading mewl sounds from the corner, and I turn my head to see the cat emerge from the darkness, padding toward me. I had found her in the woods, a cub near death, and I brought her home not long ago. She was a wild cat, perhaps a young cheetah, judging by her clouded spots and speed, and she bore the name Flame, for the rare spark she brought into my heart. Yes, the woods in District 2 are home to a variety of creatures.

Standing stiffly, I produce a thrush from a pile of birds on a dusty shelf, and toss it to Flame. As I settle down again, I pull Flame close for warmth as I continue eating. I gaze into the ginger clouded cat's startlingly green eyes, and feel tears spring into my own.

"How long will this continue?" I ask aloud, though I know in my heart that Flame will not understand. "Either way, this isn't going to last long." I stroke Flame's thick fur half-heartedly. "I can't pretend forever, but I still can't let anyone find out."

I swallow the last of my evening meal and throw the cloth over my entire body as I lean back to lay on the cold floor. Flame, seeming to sense that there was something wrong with me, obediently pads closer and lays beside my forehead.

An image of the metal rod flashes through my mind, and a sudden urge to run fills my young body. It passes in moments, but the freedom I desire is still there. I wish I could simply fling the cane away, into the mysterious beyond, and return to my life as it used to be, a few months ago.

But I know that now, my old life is gone, and it cannot be revived.

I bury my pale face in Flame's fiery ginger coat. "Oh, Flame. What should I do?" I close my eyes, breathing in the scent of Flame, probably the only spark of hope and cheer I found, these days. All I do, nowadays, is hunt in the forest for a very short while, when no one is around, and practice throwing knives in the thinner woods, continuing to act blind.

My hand curls into a fist, as if I was trying to grab at nothing. The past is gone, to fast for me to catch in my fingers; I cannot tell what awaits me now. A single tear slides down my cheek and disappears into the thick mass of ginger fur.

I never knew tears could squeeze themselves out of closed eyes.

I hope you enjoyed this first chapter! Everyone, please review!

~Shadowy Sunlight