AN: In a canon world (spoilers, guys, duh), Katniss and Peeta won the 74th games, then went back for the quarter quell, then there was a rebellion. But what if there was no uprising? What if that wasn't the Quarter Quell was something else entirely and not meant to kill off the Victors? Well I thought it might go a bit like this.
Chapter One: The Reaping of the 81st Annual Hunger Games
Reaping day was not Katniss Everdeen's favorite day of the year. In fact, it basically sucked even more now that she was a Victor and not just another possible tribute for these horrid games.
Before she won, just seven years ago when she put it all in prospective, she would go home after the names were picked and, while she might have known who was going to die, her life continued on. Nowadays, she had to sit on the stage—instead of in the crowd—and she had to go to The Capitol every year—even though Effie hadn't picked her name in the 2556 days since she first volunteered.
This year, Prim was out of the running but Gale's youngest brother, Vick, and little sister Posy were still ripe for the picking. Vick was seventeen now, so close to finally being done, and Posy was thirteen. Katniss wasn't sure what she would do if Effie happened to pick either of their names. They didn't have anyone to volunteer for them.
"Welcome…" Effie started and Katniss immediately drowned out her voice. There were more important things to ponder than sitting there listening to the same spiel given every year.
The first year, Katniss really tried to put on a brave face—she thought that if she could just guide her tributes well enough that one of them could make it home alive. Well, that was the biggest load of bullshit she ever told herself.
That year, the first year she was a mentor, was the quarter quell and Panam be damned if it wasn't brutal. Each district gave five tributes (two boys, two girls, and one at random) who were dropped into a barren cornfield of an arena. That was bad enough but then came the real kicker, no weapons were given until twenty six tributes died. After the first twenty six were scooped up, a feast of small knives and brass knuckles was served at the cornucopia. That resulted in another blood bath that killed twelve tributes. Then, to top things off, once it was down to the last fifteen tributes (the other seven having been killed in the week following the first feast) the game makers let loose a small hoard of mutts. They were nothing like the mutts that came after Katniss and Peeta the year before—these were three headed dogs and polar bears with foaming mouths and razor sharp teeth. The mutts tore six tributes apart, left a mark on an additional two, and did their real job of rounding up the kiddies. The two that were bitten by the mutts quickly succumbed to illness from infection (and rabies if Katniss was to venture a guess). The seven left were all within a half mile radius of the cornucopia and, soon enough, the careers began picking them off. Soon it was down to five and that was when the career alliance dismantled. Overnight it fell to three tributes and just two days later they had a victor—a girl from one named Finch who clawed the eyes out of the boy from two that was left.
So maybe it wouldn't have been so bad if her tributes could have gotten their hands on some better weapons, or secured some better sponsors, or out ran those damn mutts. Maybe if they had done that they would have stood at least a slim chance (though by the end Finch had truly gone mad—her artwork on Yuri's face was evidence enough of her state of mind) but that didn't happen. Nope not even a little, not even at all.
The first year that Katniss Everdeen was a mentor for the Hunger Games, all of her tributes died in the blood bath on the first day. What a way to break your spirits, huh?
She spent the next month in the Capitol getting wasted with Haymitch and watching other kids (some older than her, others younger) slaughter each other with rocks, strangle each other with the straps of a back pack, and, her absolute favorite, watch a deranged teenager scratch the eyes of her opponents out. Yeah, that was a great year.
The next year wasn't much better (one of her tributes made it a week and two days… before he died of starvation). Nor was the next (another year that the blood bath won out).
Her fourth year as mentor was when she really started to lose hope. That year her tributes were both fourteen and both from the Seam. The pair of them were nothing special and the fact that they had spent their whole lives starving really showed on their frail bodies. The boy died in the blood bath, the girl died seven hours later at the hands of a career from District Two.
Her fifth year she gave it her best shot and both her tributes survived the bloodbath. Two days later Mina was drowned by a girl from seven (who went on to win the games). A week and five days later, Geo had a sword put through his chest. His ten day stint in the arena was her record—that was the longest she could keep a tribute alive for.
The next year was nothing special, another take down at the bloodbath.
Overall, she had watched fifteen children die. She, Katniss Everdeen, had brought fifteen children to their deaths.
When she first started out, she and Peeta really gave it their all. They told the kids exactly what they needed to do to survive and, clearly, that didn't work. Eventually, Katniss just couldn't bring herself to give the lost children more hope than they could really count on. They knew as well as she did that they were rather doomed.
Peeta kept up his spirits though, he didn't drink with Katniss and Haymitch after the tributes went to sleep nor did he indulge when the tributes were gone. He tried to get them sponsors but most of them were dead before the fighting was even over. He had stamina though, and Katniss envied him for that. Fifteen dead kids later (all their names forever engrained in her mind) and Katniss wasn't even sure if she could make it all the way to the Capitol without giving up hope on her tributes.
Each year just added two more sets of parents to the list of people she had let down. Each year brought about the reminder that she couldn't save them all.
She had developed her coping mechanisms, most of which her district and probably the Capitol would frown upon, but it kept her sane enough to not start an uprising.
"Ladies first" Effie said before dropping her hand into the fishbowl of slips. Looks like that well-rehersed and memorized spiel was done. Time to see who she was leading to their death this year.
Finally her red painted nails settled on one and the little card was pulled out. "Posy Hawthorne"
Seriously? Was Katniss's luck really that bad?
Well, of course it was! She defied the Capitol, she deserved to watch her best friend's little sister die. That's what the little voice of Snow in her head was telling her. Another voice was just screaming that she really needed to avoid mirrors and ladders… and find a few four leaf clovers, a lucky rabbit, and maybe some more alcohol.
Correction, definitely more alcohol.
The Peacekeepers were escorting the slight girl to the stage—the crowd silent save for Hazelle's sobs and Vick's pleading from somewhere within the masses. Once Posy was on stage, Effie did as procedure dictated and asked if there were any volunteers.
"I volunteer" said an unwavering voice from the crowd. The girl who spoke—clearly very close to being old enough to never worry about the reaping again—made her way out to the aisle. Once she was there she turned and nodded ever so slightly at the Hawthorne clan. Gale returned the gesture just as minutely.
Katniss had seen her before—who hadn't?—but never took her as the 'volunteering for the Hunger Games in place of a stranger' type.
The girl, Paige? Penny? Permanganate? Polly?, had auburn hair and light green eyes that stood out among the crowd even before she began walking down the center aisle. She walked with a certain poise that even Katniss had to give her props for, the girl was walking to her death with her head held high.
As she walked to the stage, Katniss heard the whispers and couldn't help but think the same—why on Earth had this girl volunteered?
Posy had been led—pulled—off the stage by two burly peacekeepers once the volunteer's feet hit the bottom step leading up to the stage, as was the standard procedure for volunteer instances. The young girl looked at the red head with a look of gratitude mixed with remorse—Posy knew what the other girl was giving up by sparing her.
"District Twelve's second volunteer! How exciting! Now, what is your name dear?" Effie asked with her usual tact (meaning none).
The girl smiled and leaned in towards the microphone before speaking, without so much as a quake in her voice, just two words: Percy Gallagher. Whoops, guess Permanganate was a little off.
Hearing the name brought to mind just a couple of thoughts. Number one; her mother was Winnie Gallagher who was known throughout the district for being off her rocker and prone to bursts of madness. Number two; she didn't have a father… or rather she did but he was most certainly not in the picture. Number three; Percy had no connection to the Hawthorne family that Katniss knew of. And number four; this girl was doing a pretty god job of hiding the fear that was most certainly going through her.
"And that most certainly was not a sibling of yours" Effie said, winking at the crowd and tossing a look over her shoulder at Katniss, which just made her blush ever so slightly. What she would do to not be sitting on the stage right now.
"So tell us, dear, why ever did you volunteer?" Effie blinked her sparkle encrusted lilac eye lashes in anticipation. No one in District 12 had volunteered since Katniss had for Prim, nor had they before.
Percy thought about her response for a moment before throwing a charming smile that rivaled the rehearsed showmanship of a career at the cameras. With an expression devoid of fear and a voice just as stoic, the daughter of the District crazy gave her answer
"Why, for the honor—the glory—of course"
Right then, Katniss knew that this girl wasn't just another kid from the Seam that was going to perish in a mist of blood and gore. This girl was a player, and the game had already started.
AN: I always wondered what would happen if Katniss had to mentor and watch these children die every year. Obviously it would pick away at her confidence in saving any of them and that's kind of where this story is based—in a Panam where no one rebelled, where the people sat back an continued to take the pain. Don't worry about the OC, she's basically the tribute that Katniss needs. I'm not saying this will have a few side stories entwined with some characters I'm sure everyone loves, but I'm not saying it wont.