Chapter One

The Victory Tour


It was that time of year again.

The Victory tour.

But this year, for the first time in decades, the victor was from District 12.

And for the first time in history, there were two of them. Yes, two. Not one, as was tradition. But two. Two young lovers who would have poisoned themselves rather than kill each other. Who almost did just that. Rather than have no Victor at all, the Capitol allowed them both to live in a display of unprecedented mercy.

Or so their unending propaganda would like everyone in Panem to believe.

Iris was more than a little suspicious of all of it. She kept that to herself, of course. Mostly. She and Mia talked about it at length, when they were sure they wouldn't be overheard. Because if they were, the peacekeepers would take a few reams of flesh from their backs.

She didn't know what game the Capitol was playing at. But she was sure it was something that was really, really big.

What gave her that notion, Iris couldn't put her finger on. But it was a feeling she couldn't shake, no matter how much she tried. Whenever those two, Katniss Everdeen and Peta Mellark, appeared on their television screens, or came up in conversation, a terrible chill came over her.

She didn't know either of them. Not even a little.

Though that wasn't unusual. The Capitol kept all of the Districts so stringently separated that it was impossible to meet or even speak to anyone who wasn't from your own District. One of the only exceptions to that iron clad separation was the Games. The Tributes all knew each other, if only a tiny bit, before the Games began. They met during training. And the interviews. The Capitol had to let them interact, otherwise the alliances that made the Games so tantalising to their citizens wouldn't have a chance of coming into being.

And there was no real danger in it, of course. Because all but one of them always died about a week or two later.

The only other display of leniency was the Victory Tour. Then the Victor, in this case Victors, travelled around all the Districts. So they could be goggled at by everyone in the twelve Districts, and gape at them in return.

It hardly allowed for any time to make friendships. Or even have a conversation beyond 'It's an honour to meet you'. But that was the entire point, Iris supposed.

But she knew they were important. Much more so than any Victor before them. The how only remained to be seen.

Why else would President Snow let them live?

Iris didn't know them. But she would very soon.

The Victory tour was well underway. Televised constantly. Though it didn't seem to be going very well, for the Capitol, anyway. The Districts were wild with anticipation of … something.

And they were set to arrive in District 4 in only a day's time.

As the granddaughter of the Mayor of District 4, Iris would have to be up on stage with them while they gave their simpering little speeches. The same ones every Victor had spouted since The Games began all those years ago.

Iris hadn't paid attention to those things in years. Not since she was a little girl. It was always the same old propaganda anyway. Panem united. Panem forever. Panem this, Panem that.

It was endlessly dull. But she had to at least pretend to be interested.

Because while the cameras were rolling, the eyes of the nation, and more importantly the Capitol were on her and her entire family. If they were seen to be dissenting in any way, or disrespecting the Victors or President Snow, there would be consequences. Terrible consequences. The likes of which she had seen a long time ago, and never wished to see ever again.

She still had nightmares about that afternoon from time to time. More often than she'd ever willingly admit to.

The Regans were not the best family to be a part of. And Iris didn't like them very much. But she'd do anything and everything in her power to prevent any of them suffering through something like that.

Iris spent the days leading up to the arrival of the Victors the same as she did almost every other day of the year.

She went to school, very unwillingly.

She did all the chores that were required of her around the house.

Aside from that, she continued to spend almost all her time in the company of Mia, her dearest friend. And they both thought about the Victory Tour as little as humanly possible.

Instead of dwelling on that depressing eventuality, they swam, ran along the beaches until their legs refused to move them another inch. They hunted for sea glass. Had competitions to see who could free dive the longest. Iris won every time. As she always did.

They both did everything in their power to remain away from their families for as much time as they could possibly manage. Instead choosing to whittle away the hours in the company of each other.

They made for an odd pair, Iris and Mia. But they had been absolutely inseparable since they first met, when they were three years old.

Iris knew Mia better than she knew herself. The same reverse was true as well. They could even be heard finishing each other's sentences. And communicating not through words, but looks and tiny little gestures that made no sense whatsoever to anyone else.

You would hardly, if ever, see one unattached to the other. But they did look a rather strange couple.

Where Mia was polite, put together, and pretty, Iris was wild, unabashed, and bombastic. While Mia sported silky black locks that swayed whenever she moved, Iris had a thick mane of untameable copper curls. Where Mia was very tall and positively statuesque, Iris was small and really quite skinny. All sinew and bone. Built like the habitual swimmer she was. Instead of being excessively freckled like Iris, Mia only shared her sun kissed complexion.

But the thing that really bonded them so strongly to one another, was a difficult home life. And the desire to avoid the majority of their blood relatives like they had an infectious, skin melting disease.

They were each other's safe space.

But days like the Victory Tour made it damn near impossible for them to be together. Their safe space, was completely off limits.

Which only made all of the publicity days all the more horrible. For both of them.

And it was for that reason, admittedly among others, that Iris had absolutely no willpower to get out of bed the morning the Victor's train was set to arrive at the Justice Building.