A/N: Hello, everyone! Psyched you actually decided to read this. No, don't leave! You made the right decision, of course. I'm new to fanfiction, but I read them all the time. I was recently inspired to start writing them by one of my favorite authors, Phoenix Refrain. She's good! I'm serious. Go read her stories. Not now. Later. So anyways, I'm new to writing these, and so it might not be very good. My apologies if it's really terrible and you hate it. I really am doing my best, and if it is not the most original ideas I assure you it is not on purpose. ;)
-GottaloveTigger
Disclaimer: I don't own the Hunger Games. Suzanne Collins does.
Chapter one: Serenity
Dylan hummed quietly to herself. Her old, used coconut scented candles burned slow and dull. She closed her eyes. Images came to her. Thoughts, pictures of her past. A field of wildflowers. The beach on a windy day. Images of serenity. Her sister singing. Dylan's eyes snapped open. The peacefulness of her meditation stopped. That was crazy. Seph never sang. But she was. Over her peaceful music, Dylan could hear someone singing. In Seph's voice. Huh. She blew out her candles and went upstairs. There was Persephone, Dylan's older sister, sitting at the kitchen counter. Her long, straight blond hair fell into her eyes as she peeled a kiwi fruit. She was singing a lullaby. It was the weirdest picture Dylan had ever seen. But, she thought. It's peaceful. Seph was normally a very serious girl, who never sang and always faced the cold, hard truth of their terrible world. She never spoke out of line about the Capitol or anything. She was well behaved and kept mostly to herself. And she certainly didn't sing. Oh well, thought Dylan. People are driven to crazy things on Reaping Day. For it was truly that time of year again. As it was only about 4 in the morning, Dylan wasn't really in a rush to get ready. She could just put on the dress her mom had bought her a month ago and let Seph do her hair, same as she always did.
"Hey" said Dylan, coming out of the doorway and greeting her sister. "Couldn't sleep?" asked Seph with raised eyebrows. Seph was always up with the sun. Dylan, however, was not. Seph handed her a kiwi. She grinned and plopped down on the stool next to her sister. People always commented on how different the two girls looked. There was beautiful Persephone, named after a goddess, with her perfect hair and delicate frame. Her fair skin and a tiny hint of freckles that you almost didn't notice at first. Her eyes the color of sharp mint. And her hands, small but calloused, that were almost always working on something. Then there was Dylan, with her brown, wavy hair, large brown eyes, a little short for her age. Her hands, too, were calloused, but everyone had to work. Their mom, Cora, always said she had kids at just the right time. Dylan and Seph were 4 years apart, so they didn't have that many quarrels. Their dad said that they used to fight constantly, but Dylan couldn't remember that. Now Dylan was 13 and Seph was 17. They had separate groups of friends and never saw each other at school. Then they had to work. The result was that they rarely even had time to fight. They sat in silence for a while, eating and peeling kiwi. Soon it was almost six. The grandfather clock chimed, and Seph's head snapped up. "Gotta go get ready. See you later." She said. Dylan sat around the kitchen for a few more minutes, then, becoming bored, she decided she had better get ready, too.
The dress Mom had picked out was a shade of green that made Dylan's eyes sparkle and her hair shine. It was short and clung to her torso, then floated away, ending just before her knees. It really was a beautiful dress, but Dylan wished her mom would be more responsible with her money. She spent too much on nice things like dresses and clocks, when she could be spending her money on something normal, like, say, bills. But apparently bills were too trivial for the great Cora Netting. Dylan sighed. She didn't hate her mother. She just… didn't agree with her often. Although, she has good taste in clothes, thought Dylan. She smiled a little and grabbed her sandals. Then she headed to Seph's bathroom. When she got there, the door was closed. She knocked, and heard Seph say "Enter" quietly. When she came in, she saw Seph was having some trouble with her dress. Dylan giggled. She was trying to use the mirror to tie up the back of her dress, which had a fancy lace-up back. "Need some help?" asked Dylan. Relief flooded Seph's face. "Please. This thing is killing me." As Dylan laced up Seph's dress, Seph began talking quickly. "So I was thinking, for your hair, we could do it in a sort of side ponytail, and we could curl it into little ringlets. That would be really pretty, and it would match your dress." "That sounds nice." Replied Dylan with a small grin. She couldn't do hair, but Seph was really talented. "And how are you going to do your hair?" she asked. "Probably just going to curl it. You know, change it up for once." The girls started laughing, the laughter echoing in the small room. Seph's hair changed more often than the tide. This was where their mom's spending issues came to good use. Seph could do whatever she wanted with her hair. "Done." Said Dylan, stepping away from Seph. Her dress was really pretty. It was light pink with little dots and flowers on it. The build was sort of like Dylan's but with more pleats and less float. The material was a little different, but Dylan couldn't put a name to it. They worked on their hair, with the sun rising through the window. Later, when it was all the way light outside, Seph said "Alright, we had probably better go now." So they went and met their mom downstairs. She had woken up sometime when they had been doing their hair and they hadn't heard her. But she was ready, and she slung her arms around her two girls. "Neither of you are going to get reaped this year. Remember that. You didn't even take out tesserae." She gave them a squeeze, a look of worry crossing her face, the face that was usually so sunny and happy. Dylan stole a glance at Seph, who had a much different expression. It was something like… guilt. And sadness. And something else Dylan couldn't name. She caught Seph's eye and sent her a worried look. But Seph just smiled and gave her a small shake of her head. "That's right, mom. The odds are so in our favor. I mean, really, it's probably going to be one of those poor kids from the other side of town." They always got the worst of it. The three women started walking to the square.
When they got there, they signed in and their mom gave them each a quick peck on the forehead. "I'll be over in the crowd, okay? Come find me when it's over." "Alright." Said Dylan. Once their mom was out of view, Persephone pulled Dylan aside. "I have to tell you something." "Ah, the moment of truth. Are you finally going to tell me what that face was about?" But when she saw the look on Seph's face, she became more serious."What's wrong?" "You have to promise not to tell mom." Seph said. "All right," said Dylan slowly. Seph took a deep breath. " I took out tesserae." "YOU WHAT?" Seph clamped a hand over her mouth. "Be quiet!" She hissed. "Someone might hear you!" "You what?" Dylan said again in a whisper. "I took out tesserae. I had to. We have to face the music, Dylan, we just aren't earning enough. I know you're doing your best, but you know about mom's…issues… and we need to pay the bills. When she told me how much she spent on our dresses this year, I freaked. We need to do something, and this was the solution." "How much was it?" asked Dylan cautiously, seeing the hard look on her sister's face. "500 dollars. Each." "You know you're right, Seph. We do need to do something. But you shouldn't have taken tesserae." "It's the only thing I could think of!" insisted Seph. Dylan sighed. "You'd better not get reaped, girly."
Dylan headed off to the 13 year olds section by herself, thinking and worrying about Seph. She wouldn't get picked. Right? Of course she wouldn't. On the stage were a podium, five chairs, and two large glass balls. The mayor, Mayor Donnagan, comes onto the stage and takes one of the chairs. Then the escort, Vane Demetrius, a really tall, thin lady with albino skin and really long blue hair. She has tattoos all along her arms and looks like she hasn't eaten in a long time, though Dylan was sure she had. The final three chairs were filled with the Victors, the winners of past Hunger Games. There was Mery Flaniger, Waiver McGee, and the ever famous Finnick Odair. Once everyone was onstage and the crowd had died down again, Mayor Donnagan started his speech. It was the same speech every single year, and Dylan heard a similar speech every Monday at school. Most kids took this opportunity to take a nap. " Once, long ago, there was a nation called North America.." Dylan took this as her cue to zone out. About 20 minutes later, the mayor was nearly done. "It is both a time for repentance and a time for thanks" he concluded. Then Vane Demetrius bopped up to the glass balls, a gigantic grin on her face that rather scared Dylan. "Ladies first!" She said in a strong Capitol accent. She seemed to fish around in that bowl for a long time. The whole while Dylan was hoping and praying. Not Seph, not Seph, please don't take my sister. Please! Finally, Vane's screechy voice called out a name.
A/N (again) : So, what do you think? Is it good? I really don't know what to think, so please comment! Not sure if I should continue. I need feedback! Who do you think should be called? I already know what happens next, and I'm sure you do too, but it's always fun to guess! ;) I would probably update every few days, but I might get a few out this weekend because I have a long weekend coming up. (p.s this is what I imagined Seph to look like . yes, it is Taylor Swift! I do not own any rights to her or anything else, either, just so there's no confusion. Thanks again for reading!
-GottaloveTigger