Present/Capitol

Another thing they had taken from him. His last moments before the Games, and he couldn't say the words of his heart. In the quiet of his room, so different from the silence of the square on Reaping Day, he thinks she probably wouldn't have understood them even if he had been able to say them. At sixteen, she had been so much older than her years in some ways, and so very young in others. Not that it matters now.

Gale had stayed in this room then too, before the Games had started. Home seems like too pleasant a term for a glorified prison. He scoots back to lean against the side of the bed. Here they had fed him up, dressed him up, and trained him up for slaughter. He still hates the Capitol and all the people in it, his anger undimmed through the passage of time. The games they had made him play, the way they sought to change him, it was inexcusable.

Gale rests his head back against the covers and closes his eyes. Unbidden, faces start to appear. Her face, as always, then unexpectedly, another female face with wide grey eyes, and one with green. This place was getting to him, nightmares brought back into sharp clarity. He was haunted, though he tells himself he feels no guilt, need not feel guilt or regret. Gale had always been good at lying to others, except his mother and Katniss, who knew him too well for that. His own mind though, took some more convincing.


The Preparation

They just want a good show. "Haymitch, what makes a show popular in the Capitol?"

Haymitch belched and took a swig from his flask. "Death, destruction, and despair, same as anywhere." Seeing Gale's glare, he rolled his eyes and continued, "The Games are the most popular show in the Capitol, go figure. With fashion and gossip shows being a close second." Five minutes after they had been introduced, Gale had slammed Haymitch into the wall of the train. Hanny had looked on wide-eyed and Effie had shrieked. It didn't matter so long as Haymitch agreed to help him.

Following his logic, Gale said, "The Games. The bloodier, the better. So violence and death, those should be easy enough to find in the arena. What else?"

Haymitch considered. "Betrayal," he said, "something unique, a small touch of rebellion."

"And romance," Hanny said quietly from a corner. Haymitch and Gale looked at her in surprise, Gale as if a chicken had quacked. "The best stories always have a little romance to them."

Haymitch nodded thoughtfully, "Indeed. And a romantic angle would be fairly new to the Games."

"Only fairly new?" Gale asked, going back to ignoring Hanny.

"There's usually some flirtation between the tributes in the career pack," Haymitch explained. "But it usually comes to nothing, and is definitely absent by the final eight."

"A heartbreaker, then," Hanny said quietly.

Gale nodded at Haymitch. "It might be a good place to start."

"Couldn't hurt you, anyway," Haymitch agreed. He nodded brusquely at Hanny, grabbed a new bottle of liquor, and staggered out of the car.

Gale closed his eyes, deep in thought. He had dismissed Hanny as one of the many girls in school who looked at him sidelong and giggled, flipping their hair to catch his attention. Amusing as they had been in the past, he had no time for such silliness now and besides, Hanny was an opponent. At best Gale could hope he wouldn't have to be the one to kill her in the arena. It didn't help that she looked so like Katniss, with her Seam-grey eyes... He shook his head and focused. There could only be one winner, and he meant to make a strong attempt at it. In doing so, Gale meant to give them the best show they'd ever seen. It might be the only way he would live through it.


As soon as training began, Gale realized with disgust that he was perfect Career material. Besides a few quiet hours spent with the instructors at the snares and edible plants stations, he spent most of his time at combat stations. Per Haymitch's instructions, he avoided archery and throwing knives, especially after he saw the girl from District 2 working with them. By the time he completed a course in spear-throwing, he had caught the attention of the Careers from District 1. Swordplay took a bit more work. Gale quickly learned that a sword was not just a longer knife. He could feel the eyes of District 2 on his back as he missed a parry and was clipped in the shoulder.

However, when Gale blazed through a wrestling station, he could feel the stares of both Career girls as he stood, bare chest heaving, and helped his opponent up. He'd never take down one of the Mellark boys, especially Peeta, but he was strong and agile, more than a match physically for the other tributes. He knew he'd won over the tributes from 2 when he heard the girl comment quietly, "He's better than you think, Cato. I don't care what you think of his weapon skills, he's got guts."

The Careers invited him to eat lunch with them that day, and a merry time they made of it. Gale could feel the tension in their smiles, hidden beneath a layer of friendly competitiveness. These boys and girls, Glimmer, Marvel, Clove, Cato, would not hesitate to kill him as soon as he outlived his usefulness. Still, Gale turned on the charm to hide his hatred for these people, these pawns of the Capitol who willingly played their sick games and enjoyed the sport.

As training progressed, Gale realized that Clove and Cato from 2 already had some strange bond between them, carefully set aside and ignored as they practiced the skills of battle. Gale filed it away in his memory and focused his own attentions on Glimmer, the girl from 1.

He knew she was as used to boys staring after her as he was to the girls to the girls of District 12 giggling about him. Unlike him, Glimmer thrived in the attention. She was not immune to his winning smile, but she thought herself equal to it.

"Mind if I join you?"

Glimmer cocked her head coyly and handed him a fan. He nearly dropped it. It was much heavier than it looked. She laughed at him. "Nice move, handsome. You're welcome to join, but don't expect to do well if you can't even hold onto the weapon!"

He looked skeptically at the blue silk fan in his hand. "You could take me out with this thing? Really?"

She fluttered her eyelashes at him with a sly smile. "Watch and learn, 12."

Glimmer took the fan back from him and walked out into the sparring ring. A trainer in light pads stepped in to meet her, armed with a long knife. As soon as he took his stance, Glimmer attacked. The fan flew open as her arm arced towards the man, who took a step back in surprise and defended. The fan flashed by his padded arm and as Glimmer drew away, Gale could see the pad had been slit open, layers of foam showing through. The fight was almost a dance on Glimmer's side, the fan flicking open and closed as she moved fluidly around the ring. Closed, the fan became a short club, and after a few minutes Glimmer left her opponent's arm hanging limp from the elbow after rapping it sharply. This made him desperate and he lunged straight at her with the knife. She swiftly flipped the fan open and with great skill caught the blade between the spokes of the fan, closing it quickly to trap the knife. Lightning fast she grabbed the outer edge of the fan in her other hand and twisted it, forcing it out of the man's hand. Her arm swung towards the floor and the fan flicked open again, dropping the knife to the ground with a clatter that echoed as Glimmer finished the motion with the open edge at her opponent' neck. He raised his hands and nodded to her as she backed away and closed the fan. Glimmer ignored him and turned back to Gale with a smile, flipping the fan back open to delicately fan her face and hide behind it, her eyes wicked and smiling over the blue silk.

"That was amazing," Gale said easily as she walked over to him. He made a mental note that this girl, no matter how shallow or vain, was a threat.

"Better than anything I've seen anyone from District 12 do," she agreed, her voice muffled from behind the fan as her eyes dropped away behind it.

Gritting his teeth, he smiled and put his arm around her. Placing his face close to hers, he slowly pulled the fan down to expose her eyes and nose. "Better and prettier than anything I've seen yet in the Capitol."

She smiled and blushed slightly. Glimmer playfully brought the fan back up to cover her face in a show of maidenly modesty and embarrassment. "Oh sir,"she said in a high-pitched voice, "you are too kind."

He laughed and took the fan away from her. She squealed in mock outrage and tried to take it back, but he held it out of her reach and examined it. "Hard wood for the spokes, and silk for the binding. Ah," he said, looking at the edges carefully and testing then on a fingernail. "Metal strips on both edges, for weight and that simple little trick of catching the knife," he said, looking down at her and winking at her real indignation before going back at the fan, "and sharpened on the outer edge for cutting." He folded it back up and handed it back to Glimmer with a slight bow. "I am suitably impressed, o gorgeous one."

"As you should be," she replied with a smug smile. She tucked his arm through his and tossed the fan carelessly onto the weapons table. "It's a useful discipline for control and agility, but it's useless in the Games, where even that scrawny little brat from 4 could get a strike in if he got hold of a spear. Not that he would, he'll be dead long before the spears come into play. Right, Marvel?" she asked the boy coming up next to them.

He laughed callously. "Oh yes, those spears are mine and I'll kill anyone who comes between me and them. Come on, let's go boot that idiot from 9 off the station and I'll show you the way a spear is supposed to be handled."

Gale plastered a smile on his face while inwardly he seethed, took Glimmer's hand in his, and followed.

He noticed Hanny only once as they went about their separate training. She was practicing with a knife and as Gale talked with Glimmer he caught the delighted look on her face as she managed to break through her opponent's defense and got her knife firmly at his chest. He was forcibly reminded of Katniss and of their woods. She had looked like that when they had brought down the deer years ago.

He jerked his mind back to the present. If he wanted to get back to her, if he wanted to see his family again, he needed to focus on surviving now.


Being reminded made it all the harder during the interviews as Gale stared out at the brightly-colored crowd. These people, with their selfish, unreasonable, outrageous desires and wastefulness had cost them fathers and friends, forced them to live in poverty, and cheered for their deaths. During the preceding interviews, Gale forced himself not to glare at the people he decided were not people, but monsters, all of them.

Knowing full well his own appeal in an impeccably tailored black suit with red tie, a reminder of the tribute procession, Gale knew he could charm the audience as easily as he had charmed Glimmer.

Caesar Flickerman started off the interview with a comment about his fiery appearance during the procession. "Were you at all nervous about such a dangerous move?"

Gale smiled, warm and winning, "Oh yes, you know we're familiar with fires back at home, but I've never wanted to be that close to one!"

The audience laughed, and Caesar continued, "I wonder what else you picked up back in District 12: a 9 right out of the gate! Tell me, what are they feeding you all these days?"

Gale laughed. "Nothing new and different, really, but I'm a fast learner and adaptable."

Caesar nodded, "A healthy streak of natural raw talent, that's good! But do you think it will be enough to see you through these Games?"

"I think so, Caesar," Gale said easily, "though the extra practice this week hasn't hurt."

"I'd imagine not," Caesar said as the audience applauded. "Now, we've heard a few rumors, Gale, that maybe you could clear up for us." Gale nodded. "Handsome lad like you, surely there's some young lady that's caught your eye? Back at home perhaps?"

Gale laughed. "Not officially back at home, no. Good thing too, as there might be a beautiful young lady here that's caught my attention." He quickly raised his eyebrows at the audience with a knowing smile before turning in his seat to grin at Glimmer and give her a wink. She blushed as the audience laughed and the cameras focused on her for a moment.

"Oh ho, a little romance brewing in the training area, eh?" Caesar teased. "And from District 1 as well; you have good taste, my friend."

Gale nodded, "I agree, she's quite a catch."

The timer sounded. "Well, best of luck to you, Gale, both in love and in the arena," Caesar said warmly. "Gale Hawthorne, from District 12!"

Gale grinned and waved, hoping that Katniss would forgive him.

A/N:Hooray, second chapter! Many many thanks to warrior4 for his beta-ing skills and long conversations on characters and story plot holes. Reviews are much appreciated.