Yo, all! warning time (discalmers are very much comon sence- I mean why would I be writing Fanficton id I owned the novel rights?)
AU, OCs, spoilers, and any negative comentors will be virbally ripped a new one!
enjoy! ^3^
My eldest sister and I were standing in the doorway of our mother's room standing as still as can be, waiting for her to get off the phone with her friend in District 4. We both knew what I had to do, the question was: would mom really go along with it.
"If I could do it, you know I would!" Poppy replied.
"I don't think Mama would let you do it either!" I whispered. We had just heard the news about the 75th Hunger Games, and we knew our mother was planning something having to do with the revolution that we all knew was coming- well, maybe not 12. My mom was a victor- the first to go into the arena with children back home- and she had never been quite right after words -but to be honest, who was? We both knew she was going to volunteer.
I had just become a Victor 2 years ago (right before Mrs. Katniss Everdeen), and I did not, under any circumstance, want to watch my Mother kill a man and/or woman, and possibly get killed herself. But that wasn't the full reason, I had 3 younger sisters and a younger brother, my older brother had lost his life to one Mrs. Everdeen- okay, fine, technically he lost his life to the girl from District 1, when he was fighting over that stupid orange backpack of hers! The point is, I didn't want them to watch their Mommy die too! Even if it mint lousing a big sister.
"girls?" my mom said and we both jumped. I guess we got ourselves so worked up that we forgot to listen for the 'click'.
"Oh, Mama, Lilac has something she wants to ask you!" Poppy said, giving me a slight shove, and disappeared into the house. Poppy was always the manipulative one.
"what is it Honey?" my mom asked in a low glamorous voice of hers.
I already knew the answer I was going to get, but I was going to ask anyways. "Mama, I want to volunteer!" I spat.
"No!" she replied, not even thinking about it. "sweet heart, you're not invisible!"
"I know!" I replied loudly. "but neither are you! And you're a mom! Calla's just a baby, he needs you!"
We stared at each other for a while, neither of us willing to back down.
Finally my mother spoke "fine! But you will let me be your mentor, and you better not die!" she hissed.
"I wouldn't have it any other way!" I replied, grinning wider than I ever have before.
The reaping was still a long ways off, when I decided I was going to tell my boyfriend about my up and coming travel arrangements. We arranged a meeting out in the woods on a large flat rock by the river, far from the prying eyes of hopelessly romantic little sisters and over protective parents.
River, my boyfriend, was just about as close to perfect as you can get, if not perfect. He's understanding, kind, good with kids, always cheerful, and just an all around better and stronger person than I was! And of course he was attractive, with large sweet dark brown eyes and high cheek bones, and a silver smile, he was extremely tall, with broad shoulders and muscular arms from years of raising horses on his father's ranch.
Going out in the woods in district 9 -witch is were I live- is not the scandal it is in any of the other districts, because district 9's main exports were wild game, exotic pets, furs and marijuana, witch grew all over the country side. But the point is, those things are not easily obtained when restricted by a fence, of course we all had a tracking device similar to the ones used in the games, so if anyone decided to spit, they would be tracked down and brutally murdered in front of the entire district.
I sat patently awaiting River's arrival, as the orange and black butterflies fluttered from purple flower to purple flower and my horse-Buck- wandered threw the large field grazing on the tall grass, it was peaceful out here, away from all the death and disease of the main living area, these would be the memories that would help me keep my humanity in the arena.
"Lilac!" I jumped a little at the sound of my voice, I rolled over on my back to see River riding up on his horse.
Horses were the most important thing in district 9, they helped us with just about everything, moving large game, getting to places too far to walk, and when times got tough some would kill and eat them.
"River!" I replied happily, jumping to my feet and ran too him, giving him a lingering, almost apologetic kiss the moment his feet hit the ground.
When I finally pulled away he smiled goofily at me. "I have to talk to you!" I said quietly, effectively changing the mood of our encounter.
"You're not pregnant, are you?" River replied half jokingly.
I gave a faint smile and shook my head "no, not yet" I laughed. but it's going to be equally as hard to say!
"then what is it?" River said sounding much more relieved, witch is not as bad as it sounds; my mom, for what ever reason, will not tolerate any of her kids having kids -we think it might be a side effect of the mental trauma she experienced in the arena- and would surely kill me, River and the baby id I was in fact pregnant.
"I'm going back into the arena!" I replied quickly, hoping he wouldn't process what I said.
"What!" River replied, sounding livid, "No, you can't!"
I rolled my eyes. "this is my decision!" I said flatly. "and what am I supposed to do? Let my physiologically unstable mother get shipped of to die in front of her kids on live television? Because that's the only other option!" I turned and walked away, and plopped down on my rock by the stream, angry at River… myself… something!
"So you can't be talked out of this?" River asked.
I shook my head.
"well, I guess all I can say is: come back alive!" River said sitting down next to me and putting his arm around my shoulder.
"that might be asking too much!" I replied sadly resting my head on his shoulder. I wasn't stupid -although I sure played incredibly stupid for the viewing public in the grand ol' Capitol- I knew I would be fighting people with much more experience winning these games, I knew my mom and the others were making plans to do something big, but I didn't know what, and thus, I didn't know if it was going to involve my death or not!
River and I sat in silence for a while before I did the only thing I could do in a time like this, I sang the old song of the resistance:
Come gather 'round people,
were ever you roam
And admit that the waters around you have grown
And except that you'll soon be drenched to the bone
If your time to you is worth saven'
Then you better start swimen' or you'll sink like a stone
Oh, the times they are a changin'
Come writers and critics,
who prophesize with your pens
Then keep your eyes wide, this chance won't come again
And don't speak to soon for the weel's still in spin
And theirs no telling who that it's naming
For the loser now will be later to win
Oh, the times they are a changin'
Come senators congressmen,
please heed the call
Don't stand in the door way don't block up the hall
For he who get's hurt will b he who has stalled
The battles are outside raging
They'll soon shake your windows and rattle your walls
For the times they are a changin'Come mother and fathers,
threw out the land
And don't criticize what you can't understand
Your sons and your daughters are beyond your command
Your old road is rapidly ageing
Please get out of the new one if you can't lend a hand
For the times they are a changin'
The line it is drawnThe curse it is cast
The slow one now will later be fast
As the president now will soon come to pass
The order is rapidly fading
And the first one now will later be last
For the times they are a changin'
For the times they are a changin'
Triple-S- I've had this idea for a while (ever since I finished Mocking Jay in January) and I know were it will eventualy end, but I have not the slightest clue what will happen in between! and I will admit that I did not write the song, my creative range dose not stretch into the relm of song writing that often, but the lyrics and the song are both by (as far as I know) the wonderful Bob Dylan, I thought they fit the theme very well.
and furtheur more, I did not make Lilac a singer to rip of Katnis-I feel some of you might jump to that conclution- I made her a singer, because I'm a singer, I always have been I always will, most of my friends are singers, it's not that hard to be a good singer, there are a lot of them!