A/N: Not entirely sure what inspired this story, but I like the idea that like Cinna and Plutarc Effie is not as clueless as she seems, and maybe has some unperceived depths. Also, I just think she's a fun character. :-) Slightly AU. Reviews are appreciated.
A/N2: In theory this goes without saying, but I have do not own The Hunger Games or any of it's characters. Just the idea that maybe Effie isn't as vapid as she seems.
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Katniss slowly wandered down the length of the train, her most recent nightmare fresh in her mind. She had thought she was finally doing better, the nightmares coming only every other night instead of multiple times each night. She had thought of going to Peeta's room and sleeping there as they had done throughout the tour, but he had actually been sleeping soundly for the first time she could remember and she didn't want to ruin that for him. So, here she was quietly roaming the train, hoping to find something to keep her mind off of the fact that tomorrow she and Peeta would be back in the Capitol, preparing to fight for their lives once again.
She paused when she reached the dining car, surprised to find it already occupied. The woman sitting in the cushioned chair didn't seem to notice her entrance, her eyes trained on the large glass of alcohol she was sipping from. She appeared young, no more than 25, her strawberry blonde hair pulled back in a wavy ponytail at the base of her head. Katniss couldn't recall seeing her on the train earlier, and couldn't help but wonder who this woman was, who would surely get in trouble if her escort caught her drinking at sitting in the tributes dining car.
"Katniss you really should go to bed. We have a big, big, big day tomorrow." The woman murmured dryly her eyes never leaving her drink as she took a large sip.
"Effie?" Katniss asked her eyes widening in shock, moving further into the room instead of going back to bed as her escort had told her to. She sat down across from Effie truly studying the woman's face. It was incredible. Without the wigs and makeup she looked nothing like the Effie she knew. The eyes though, the eyes were the same shade of blue she recognized, although instead of the normal clear cheerful gaze her eyes appeared unfocused, and sadder than she had ever seen. "What are you doing?"
"I, my dear Katniss, am enjoying the one night a year I get completely to myself, with no prying eyes of the Capitol upon me. So, if you would be so kind as to go back to bed, I would be ever so appreciative." She finished sarcastically, her Capitol accent, which Katniss had noticed was strangely absent thus far, returning in full force.
"What do you know about being watched? What have you ever had to fear in the Capitol?" Katniss asked, somewhat snidely, studying the woman who had known nothing but privilege and splendor her whole life. Someone who had never worried what the Capitol would do to her if it had known her thoughts, because what could she possibly think that the Capitol hadn't told her to.
"You think you're watched in the Districts?" She scoffed. "No. You're biggest concern is that your neighbor may betray your unpatriotic thoughts, that the occasional drone may be flying overhead to pick up something you've done. You don't spend every minute of every day with something or someone watching you. You are allowed the privacy of your homes. We in the Capitol are not. Every move, every gesture, every facial expression analyzed for even the slightest hint of disloyalty. I am however, allowed one night of privacy a year. One night, where I am allowed to think and do and feel whatever I want because while we are traveling across the barren wasteland that is center of this country at 250 miles per hour they cannot maintain a signal to those cameras." She said, gesturing to the barely concealed camera in the corner of the room. "So I would appreciate it if you would allow me to drown my sorrows in peace, and I promise that tomorrow I will listen to whatever tantrum you wish to throw about the unfairness of life."
"My tantrum about the unfairness of life?" Katniss said, her face screwing up in rage. "You think the Capitol watching you as you try and decide which ridiculous outfit to wear, or what you eat for dinner is the same as being forced to go into an arena and kill other people? Other children? Do you ever think about anything other than yourself? Do you even care?"
"Martin and Iris killed in the cornucopia day one. Rosemary killed in the cornucopia day one, Dale killed the first night trying to start a fire. Sam and Mary killed in the cornucopia. Travis and Lily killed in the cornucopia. Rory died the first night, killed by a muttation. Bonnie though, she was stronger than I thought, she made it to the fourth day only to be sliced in two by a Career. Then came Charlie and Posy, killed at the cornucopia. Darwin and Rose killed at the cornucopia. Daisy killed at the cornucopia, Cole arrow through his throat on the second day, beside a stream. Bay, died on the sixth day when he was beaten to death with a rock, and Ivy died 30 minutes later when a pack of careers found her hiding in the trees. They set it on fire and watched her burn to death. Twilla died at the cornucopia and Ash on day three, after a career ripped out his throat with his bare teeth." She listed off dully, taking another large gulp from her drink. "You know I never realized it before but you people have an obsession with plants. Do you suppose that's because everything is so grey and dismal in your district?"
"Effie…" Katniss said, her voice faltering. She hadn't recognized the names at first, the tributes from District 12 who had come before her.
"Don't ever tell me I don't care." She said harshly, her eyes shining with unshed tears. "Now, I finally get not one but two living tributes. Finally! I don't have to see you die over and over again in my dreams like the others. And now you're going back in and by this time next week you'll probably both be dead."
"Effie you don't know that. We survived once we can do it again." Katniss said quietly, surprised to find herself attempting to comfort Effie, knowing she was lying to them both.
"I allowed myself to get attached. That was the problem." She said, nodding her head thoughtfully, her distant gaze suddenly clearing as she turned towards Katniss. "Now, since it appears that I will not be allowed to drink and wallow in peace, I shall be off to bed so I can be properly cheerful and vapid in the morning. I suggest you do the same Katniss."
With that Effie took one last gulp of her drink, finishing it off, and gently placed the glass back on the bar before stumbling down the hall to her room. Katniss sat at the table for several minutes in shock. She had never guessed Effie actually cared for them as anything more than her shining stars, that she had ever felt anything other than disgust for any of the tributes she had escorted to their deaths. For the first time, Katniss turned towards the camera in the corner, and realized that life in the Capitol was perhaps not as perfect as she had thought. Yes, they may be vapid and out of touch, but maybe that was just a charade, a way to protect themselves from the horrors they knew the Capitol was capable of. Maybe not for all of them, but for some. And Effie apparently, was one of the some.
Eventually Katniss took Effie's advice and went back to bed. She awoke the next morning to Effie at her door, encouraging her (in what Katniss now realized was an affected Capitol accent) to get up for their big, big, big day. When she arrives in the dining car, Effie was as bright and cheerful as ever, chattering on about the game plan for this hunger games, nothing in her face or expression betraying the darker thoughts Katniss now knew existed beneath the façade. When Effie passed her a plate, she accepted it with a thank you surprising Peeta and Haymitch with her uncharacteristic politeness. For a moment Effie meets her eye and she can see through the makeup to the true Effie underneath and Katniss promises herself that whatever happens she will at least try to be nicer to Effie, because underneath the mask of cheerfulness is a real person hurting almost as much as herself, someone she suspects only she realizes is there. Someone she is surprised to discover she actually likes and respects. The real Effie, the one that only comes out after dark.