Every year, before the Games, Mayor Francis would hold a feast for all the victors and his family. This was the first one that Crag Steiner was allowed to bring his children, Ember and Shui to. Their mother refused to take part in such events.
The twins sat next to each other, sitting on pillows just so they could see over the table. Ember listened with wide eyes to a young victor they pet called, Jerky about his time in the Games while her brother, Shui, counted the age of the tree the oak table was carved from.
Things were already starting to weave the twins fate's, thread by thread. However, up until this night, those threads could have be torn down and replaced. All it took to make them permanent was one dispute that didn't even concern the twins.
An old man rushed in, his fat, wrinkled face, reddened and sweaty. His stomach poked out from under his shirt and the smell of wine could be smelt from across the room. His beard was white and long, making up for what he lacked on his head. His worn out, dazed brown eyes looked around the room as a small smile formed on his cheeks.
"Ah, Mr Magor, please come in and take a seat," Mayor francis said, gesturing to a seat next to Crag. The Mayor and his wife stood up as the large man shuffled over to his chair, his stomach rocking the table slightly as he tried to push himself in.
"Nice to meet you sir, I am the wife of the Mayor and this is our daughter, Savanna," Mrs Francis said with a warm smile. Savanna was a young girl, short and skinny with long, dark locks that seemed out of place next to her pale skin. She had only just celebrated her fourteenth birthday and was as shy and quiet as a mouse.
"She is just as beautiful as you said, Sir," Mr Magor said, smiling towards the young girl who tried to muster up a smile back.
"He isn't a victor!" Jerky said with a mouthful of food, using his fork to gesture at the large man. The Mayor payed the well built and good looking man no mind as he carried on with his conversation like it was a business meeting.
"Darling," the Mayor said to his young daughter, "Why don't you go sit next to Mr Magor so you can get to know each other better?" he said softly. The room fell silent as the girl slowly rose to her feet and walked over to the large, smiling man.
"And why would she need to know him better?" Her mother laughed, turning to the older man who avoided her gaze.
"I can see where this is going," Pray scoffed, placing more food in her mouth. She was the youngest victor and the most recent, only being eighteen at the time.
"Because they are getting married," the Mayor said. The room fell silent, even Pray looked up from her dinner but more in anticipation than shock. Savanna turned to her father and then to her mother with fear in her eyes.
"But he is-"
"It is arranged!" the Mayor bellowed, slamming his fist on the table.
"Shit," Jerky mumbled as he looked over to the large man with disbelief. Although marrying older men was the norm in Panem, arranged marriages were almost unheard of.
The large man stood up and walked over to Savanna, gripping her hands and pulling her towards him.
"Please, don't fear, I will make a good husband and while I produce you with the best things money can buy, you shall produce me sons," He said with a smile but Savanna trembled, tears streaming from her eyes as she pulled away slightly. Her mother, stood up from the table and ran out the room, whimpering as she went.
"But you can't do that," Shui perked up, anger in his eyes. "It's law that marriage or sexual intercourse can't happen until they are sixteen, my mother told me-" Shui was interrupted by his father shushing him.
"He is the mayor, he can do whatever he wants," Pray said, unamused by the Mayors actions more so than she would admit.
"That's not fair!" Shui cried, looking over to his father for support but all he got was an angered look. At his age, he couldn't even start to understand the power Snow had over his family or how cruel the world truly was.
Savanna let out a little squeal as Mr Magor pulled her closer into an embrace, just when a fork hit him in the shoulder.
"Stop it," Ember said, her grey eyes looking the large man in the face.
"Good aim," Jerky laughed from next to her, impressed by the small child's throw. Her father was less amused, raising from his chair, picking the two up and slinging them over his shoulders.
"My apologies for tonight, I will make sure there are consequences," Crag growled as he exited the room. Two upset children under his arm as he was lead to the front door by the butler.
Savanna didn't get a happy ending, she was married a year later and died in childbirth, too young and weak from the beatings to live through it. The baby died a few hours later, before it had to experience the pain of the world.
However, this story is about Shui and Ember Steiner. The years went on and the two broke away from each other. There love was strong but so were their interests. While his sister trained, spending days with different victor's to achieve the skills of a one herself. Her brother, Shui spent his days like most children should.
District Two, although one of the richest in Panem, wasn't really different from any other District. At five in the morning, everyone woke, working through the day until they collapsed on the floor. People begged on street corners while other people tuned them out, not having the money to spare. Some were just selfish. The market place was nowhere to go if you was rich. People would tug at your coat or your hair, pulling towards their stall, begging you to purchase one of their items. If you refused, there was no doubt that you would be robbed before you reached your house. It's why most of the rich employed people to go shopping for them, keep their money safe and stay away from the lower class. Shui didn't mind though, compared to the likes of Twelve, it seemed like a paradise.
He would walk through the town, offering his change to starving children, he had no need to hoard the money. There was always more.
"Good morning, Shui!" Jerky shouted from his garden, waving at the twelve year old boy. Pray watched from her own garden, tending to the flowers when no one was watching. She wouldn't want anyone to know that she had a soft spot for flowers. Even though everyone already knew. "Where are you going today?" The muscular male asked as Ember swung the sword at the dummy. It was her first time using an adult sword, it took all of her strength just to lift it.
"I am off to school, they have a chess board there, it's really cool-"
"Ah, that's nice," Jerky cut him off, waving the boy off. "Ember, technique, make the cuts clean!" Jerky snapped, gripping the young girl's hand and guiding the sword so it made a swift and clean decapitation. Ember smiled and thanked the tall male.
"Bye, Shui!" Ember shouted towards her brother as he walked off. Shui just turned back giving her a small wave and ran out of the gates.
The District viewed Shui as strange. He was a legacy, the child of a victor yet he wanted to be nothing but a simple teacher. In District Two, careers so valued because they risked their lives to better themselves and earn the District gifts. Even the fallen were celebrated for their sacrifice. While his sister did as expected, Shui spent his weekends playing chess at school, wondering the District and sometimes, offering one to one lessons for struggling students at his school.
Even at the end of the day, he would clamber up onto the roof and watch the sunset over the land he would never touch. An endless sea of trees, stretching as far as the eye could see. It was beautiful but at the same time, Shui didn't feel the need to venture past the gate. He didn't want to doom himself to death like his sister.
"It's cold Shui, come down," Ember said as she sat down next to her brother. Her long black hair shining in the setting sun.
"I will when the sun sets," He mumbled as the sun got lower in the sky. He gave a small smile and lent back on the slanted roof. He looked through the windows across from him and gave a chuckle. Jerky was dancing around his room. He definitely wasn't as graceful on the dancefloor as he was with a sword.
"Jerky has a girl over," He sighed, placing his arms behind his head.
"Hm?" Ember looked away from the sun set and towards her brother who gave her a smirk.
"Through the window, I can see him kissing her," He laughed pointing towards his house.
"What?" Ember squeaked jumping out of her sitting position and trying to see into his house. "No he isn't-"
"Ahh, so you do like him," Shui stuck his tongue out at his elder sister. "Don't worry, you can kiss him when you are an adult," He laughed sitting up and patting Ember on the back. The young girl just scowled at him, pushing his hand away.
"You can kiss Pray then," She growled, turning away from her brother. Shui just shrugged.
"Not my type, I want to watch all the children I teach become successful because of my classes...oh, and have lots of parties, you only live once, we are one this earth to have some fun," Ember smiled at her brothers wish, it was simple but at least he was safe.
"When I am an adult, at least I will act like one," Ember laughed, "I haven't got time to mess around, I know what I want, I am so close that I can't stop now. People think I am nuts but I will show them," She said with pride, looking off into the fading sun.
"Can I marry Jerky if you don't come back?" Shui asked, raising an eyebrow.
"No," his sister scowled at him.
"Oh, so you want to marry him?" Shui said said, a sly smile on his face. Ember opened her mouth to say something the window below them swung open.
"Neither of you are going to marry to anyone, now get down here before I go and tell Jerky that your pass time is looking through his window," Their father Crag growled, hanging out of the window, his head just poking over the edge of the roof. To anyone passing by, it must have looked like a scene from a comedy movie.