Nightingale
I do not own The Hunger Games nor will I ever, despite my endless pleas. This is just a fanfiction which I hope you all enjoy. Thanks for reading and please review, favourite and follow.
Chapter One
Broken. If someone was to describe victors in one word, that'd be as accurate as you could get. Because we were broken. Because when you win the games, you lose a bit of yourself.
My name is Piper Cassidy, and I'm the victor of the 70th Hunger Games. When you hear the word victor you think a career, someone who'd been trained to kill and loved it. Someone who'd been fearless through the whole of the games. Well sorry to disappoint you but you couldn't be more wrong - at least not in my case.
The moment my name had been pulled from that fishbowl I'd felt my whole world come crashing down. All I could hear was the pounding of my heart, so fierce I'd thought it would burst out of my chest.
Nobody thought I'd stood a chance. That girl from District 11? No threat. That was what they'd thought. But I wasn't who they thought I was.
A scream tore through the early morning followed by a gunshot, disturbing the peace and resulting in me jolting out of bed and hitting the floor of our house with a bang.
Right now I should be feeling sorry for that poor women who'd obviously got into a fight with a peacekeeper and been killed, but all I could think about was my poor back which I'd landed on and how much it hurt.
"Thanks a lot," I growled to no one inpiticular, rubbing imy back with one hand.
"Piper? Is that you? Awake?"
"No I'm sleeping." I called sarcastically back down the stairs. No answer. "Yes of course I'm awake Cedar!"
My older brothers face appeared round the door and I was surprised to see a grim look on it. Something very different from his normal smile and kind eyes.
My face fell. "What's wrong?"
"It's Reaping Day today," he told me. "Iggy's scared."
Iggy.
My little sister had turned twelve yesterday and all she could think about was how she could be picked for the reaping, how she could die any day now.
"I'll take care of it." I said and swiftly jumped down the stairs. Although Cedar and I were both her siblings, Iggy was closer to me. I could make her happy, sad and, most importantly in this case, calm down.
I found her sobbing her heart out by the table. "P-P-Piper.." She wailed. "I'm g-going to get c-c-chosen. I-I'm going to d-die!"
"Shh," I said in a low soothing voice. "You're not going to die. You're never even going to get reaped."
"H-How do you know?" She asked.
"Your names in there one time," I said. "One out of thousands. You'll never get picked."
"P-Promise? Promise that you and I will never get picked?"
I couldn't promise that. How did I know she wouldn't get picked, but the odds were agasint it so I guess I was okay. Me? Well I was a different story. My name was in there quite a few times. But what else could I do? "Promise," I reassured her.
Iggy's sobs turned to a few sniffles. Mission accomplished.
"Piper?"
Cedar again.
"Yeah?"
"If you want to go hunting you'd better go now before all the peacekeepers are out. They'll be more of them today because it's the reaping."
I nodded and opened the cupboard. My game bag and hunting jacket were inside it. I slung the bag over my shoulder and put the hunting jacket over my clothes.
"I'll be off then." I opened the front door and had one foot out the door before Cedar's voice caused me to turn round.
"Be back soon," he said. "And Piper.. Be careful."
I winked at him. "You know I always am."
When the door was closed behind me I took off at a run. The sun was low in the sky but you never underestimated how fast it rose. Because when it got at a certain height the Peacekeepers started to come out.
Judging by its position I had about 10 minutes or less to get to the secret hole under the fence. I had to hurry.
Slipping into the shadows, I manoeuvred my way between buildings and the orchards until I'd reached the end of District 11 territory. How did I know? Well it was easy to tell with a giant electric fence casting a shadow on you.
I realised too late I'd taken to long to get to the fence. The peacekeepers were already up and patrolling it. The worst part? One was right in front of my way out. Great.
I had to do something. Fast. Picking an unripe apple from a tree right in front of me, I threw it to district the Peacekeeper. He heard the noise as it went rolling away and took the bait, running to investigate what it was.
As fast as a bird I burrowed under the tiny hole and sprinted down to the forest that awaited me down the bank. I was in the undergrowth before the Peacekeeper was even back at his post.
Sighing in relief, I strolled through the forest until I'd found what I was looking for. The old tree. It was easy enough to sought out, what with its knarled trunk and yellow leaves, but what made it even easier was the nightingale's which perched on the branches - singing sweetly. So if I ever lost my way, their song would guide me.
I loved nightingales. They were so similar to me. I had been named Piper because I'd had a beautiful voice and I won't lie; it's true. A nightingale has a beautiful, strong song. I was small for my age. Nightingales are small. Sometimes by Cedar and Iggy I'm called Nightingale.
Underneath the roots of the old tree was where I kept my weapons.
Bending low, I fished under the roots and retrieved them. My throwing knives. Their hilts were lovely soft leather and the blades? Well they were as sharp as razors. But anyone could hold throwing knives. What was so remarkable was my aim. An ant in the dark, that would be an easy target for me.
With them in my hand I was unstoppable. At least to bunnies and all the other animals I killed to eat.
The crack of a twig behind me alerted me that someone was there. And I knew it wasn't an animal.
"Show yourself!" I hissed, holding one of my knives tightly in my grasp.
If it was a peacekeeper I was doomed.
No one came out. I checked behind the trees but no one was there. For the first time in about four years ever since my mother had died, I felt wary of attack. I was scared.
I tried to push away the feeling. Afraid, scared, timid... They were words I didn't usually like to use about myself.
Notice the word tried. I just couldn't rid myself of that feeling of dread that someone was there, watching me.
Warily I began my usual trek through the forest to check the traps and snares I set. The first trap was the one by the lake. I found three fish caught in the net and I smiled, pleased. Iggy loved eating fish. After the reaping she could eat a nice meal.
But what shook me was seeing the next trap. Instead of the wooden spear that came swinging down from the trees if some animal tripped over the vine I found the spear lying in splinters on the ground.
"Who's been here?" I whispered to myself.
Because I knew the ruined spear could only of been ruined by a person. Someone had definitely been here and broken it, and it hadn't been me.
I wanted to go home straight away but I couldn't go home with just three fish to feed my family. My keen ears picked up a pheasant plucking its way through the undergrowth. It didn't hear me or even know I was there until my knife pierced its heart.
I picked it up, shoved it in my game bag and slung it over my shoulder. "That should be enough," I muttered to myself.
Retracing my steps, and looking over my shoulder nervously a lot, I made my way back to the fence.
The peacekeepers were retreating from their posts, instead going to the town square where the Reapings would be held in an hour or two. They needed to patrol it.
After I hid my knives I scrambled underneath the hole and set off at a run towards my house.
I was met by Cedar at the door. He was surprised to see me back so early.
"Piper," he sounded shocked. He looked at my face and he raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong?"
"Just.." I wanted to tell him everything. How somebody ha deepen watching me in the woods, how someone had ruined my traps.. Someone had been following me.. But I couldn't because right then I saw Iggy appear behind him. Her eyes were wide.
"What is it?" She asked.
I forced a smile onto my face. "Nothing Iggy, just discussing what to wear."
This made Iggy giggle. "Cedar and you? Discussing what to wear? Piper, everyone knows you don't do clothes."
I laughed and quickly turned the subject over to her own clothes. "Speaking of clothes, you look beautiful Iggy."
It was true. Iggy was naturally a pretty girl with her long lashes and kind smile. And wearing that beautiful white dress that mother had made before she'd died, she looked perfect.
Iggy blushed with pride. "Thanks Piper."
Cedar looked me up and down. "Now that you're back Piper you might want to get changed into your Reaping Outfit now."
I nodded. "Fair point." I took the game bag off my shoulder and put it in Cedar's outstretched hand. "I'll be down soon," I told my siblings then ran up the stairs to my bedroom to get changed into my reaping outfit.
I took my clothes out of my tiny chest where I kept all my clothes. The chest was about the size of a bread maker and all my clothes fit in in easily with room to spare. I forced myself into the pale pink dress and checked myself in the mirror.
To be fair I looked pretty good. The pale pink dress was modest, showing only enough skin. It stopped right above my knee. It had a high collar and no sleeves. My mother had worn it for her Reapings and now it was mine.
Looking at myself I couldn't help dwelling on the fact that I looked nothing like my siblings or the rest of District Eleven.
Instead of the dark skin colour everybody else had, I had a pale olive skin tone. Instead of black, usually short and frizzy hair I had dead straight silver-cream hair. And don't even get me started on the eyes. Everybody in my district had brown eyes. Me? I had un-nerving golden eyes. Nobody in Panem had eyes like me.
Because our family had no mother or father we didn't have a lot of money and I had no special shoes. So I just kept my hunting boots on.
Tying my hair back in a high ponytail with a hair tie as I rushed down the stairs I heard a low growl.
I groaned and looked down at the little snarling being who I'd nearly stepped on. Apple, Iggy's little pug dog, bared its tiny teeth at me.
I snarled right back at it. "Go away mutt."
"Oh Piper!" I heard Iggy's affronted voice. "Don't say that to Apple!" She scooped up the ugly dog up in her arms and held him close.
Apple's squashed face turned to me and gave me a smug look. See? He seemed to be saying. I'm important.
I sighed but because I loved my sister so much and didn't want to hurt her feelings, I nodded. "Okay, I won't say things like that to Apple."
But I had my fingers crossed behind my back.
Iggy placed Apple gently back on the ground and beamed at me before skipping away, her plaited pigtails bouncing agasint her back.
I looked down at Apple who was glaring at me with his murky brown eyes. "Don't think for a moment I like you mutt," I told it harshly.
By the way Apple was looking at me I could tell he didn't like me either.
Good.
"Piper," Cedar's voice sounded from the next room.
"Yes?" I asked.
His head popped round the door. "The Reapings," he told me. "You have to go to them now."
I nodded and walked past him to where Iggy was standing, shaking like a leaf.
"It'll be okay," I told her and put my arm around her shoulders.
Cedar gave both us a reassuring look and Iggy and I walked down our front steps to join the hoard of people progressing towards the town square for the Reaping.
Eventaully we got to the front of a line where a peacekeeper was checking off names and pricking our fingers for blood.
"Name?"
The peacekeeper women asked me. Her tone was flat and she reminded me of a toad.
"Piper Cassidy."
Her finger traced down the list of people and finally found my name.
"You're seventeen?" She asked.
I nodded.
The peacekeeper woman and exchanged looks with the peacekeeper man behind her. They seemed to have a silent conversation before the man nodded curtly and walked up to the Justice Building and disappeared inside.
She guestered for me to hold out my hand. I did. She got the needle ingecty thing and pricked my finger. She then grabbed my hand and forced it down onto the paper where I saw my blood stain the snow white paper.
"Next." She said and shoved me out of the way.
Next was my little sister.
"Name?" The woman drawled again and Iggy was shaking so hard she couldn't answer for a moment.
But when her voice came out it was loud, clear and confident. I was impressed.
"Iggy Cassidy."
"You're twelve?"
"Yes."
"Hand." The peacekeeper instructed.
Iggy held out her hand and her finger was pricked. The moment I saw blood well up there I felt a surge of protectiveness and I hoped to God the only time I'd ever see her bleed was when she got pricked before the reaping.
The peacekeeper slammed her hand down agasint the paper and since Iggy was trembling, it made a red smudge.
"Next." She called.
"Come on Iggy," I called, holding out my hand which my sister gladly accepted.
"I'm scared," she whispered to me and I gripped her hand tighter and leant down to her ear.
"Be strong Iggy."
That was all I could say before I had to leave her and take my place in the seventeen year old girls section.
Iggy walked to the front where she stood with the other twelve year old girls.
I looked back and saw Cedar standing with the rest of the District Eleven people who were too old enough to be eligible for the reaping. We didn't have to mouth any words to eachother, as there were no words to say. Only an encouraging nod was exchanged between us before I looked back to the front.
Suddenly the doors of the Justice Building opened and out stepped our escort, Lillbe Trundle. She looked, of possible, even more ludicrous then last year.
Her hair was styled in a way it fell down over one shoulder which would of been natural if it were not a shade of pale pink. Thinking about it, it was the same shade as my dress. But is wasn't only the hair, her outfit was just.. Wow.
She'd been styled up in a way to look like a hot pink butterfly but it hadn't exactly worked out.
Her skin hugging dress came down to her thigh and pink wings which were so large they obscured the mayor and victors from view.
Her high heels couldn't of been more then six inches high and she teetered unsteadily on them.
But, reflecting on what I'd just thought, I supposed she wasn't that bad. I mean she was bad but not as bad as say... Effie Trinket from District Twelve. She was just horrific. How did the people in 12 stand it?!
"Hello District Eleven!" Lillbe squealed in her high pitched, Capitol accent. "Are you ready for another Hunger Games? I am. I am totally! And I bet you are too. This is just great isn't it?"
God, this woman talked a lot.
"But," Lillbe went on, "before we can get to picking our tributes we get to watch a video on why we have the Hunger Games. Isn't this just exciting?"
We all stared blankly back at her. Seriously, this woman was nuts.
The tape about the Capitol beating the rebels started playing. The young ones, aka. The 12 to 14's, watched the tape all the way through but us older ones who'd seen it heaps didn't pay attention.
To mask my boredom, I started scuffing the ground- removing dust from the concrete.
Eventually the video ended and Lillbe spoke into the microphone. "Didn't you just love that? I know I did. And I know you all did from the way you're all smiling up at me."
This woman was insane! None of us were smiling!
"Now for the moment you've all been waiting for," Lillbe paused to create suspense which wasn't really suspense because we all knew what was coming. "The District Eleven Reapings. Ladies first."
I closed my eyes and felt my heart beating so fast I thought it might burst out of my chest.
Not Iggy. Not Iggy. Not Iggy. I chanted over and over in my head. Please not Iggy. Please.
Then she announced the female tribute.
And it wasn't my sister.
Lillbe cleared her throat and called out. "Piper Cassidy."
Shit.