2

'Penny! You came!' Rayne dropped her shiny costume on the floor of the backstage room at Sekoe's Bar and Restaurant and ran to embrace her friend as she came in. Penny hugged back, grinning into Rayne's shoulder and letting her bag and violin case fall to the floor.

'Hey, don't attack our only violin player,' Ryan joked, coming across the room. He firmly slapped her shoulder in greeting, and their eyes met for a brief moment. 'Everything good?' he said, raising an eyebrow.

Penny understood him right away. 'Yeah, I'm fine,' she said with a reassuring smile. 'Selkie's still getting over pneumonia. We've got a host of Capitol doctors and random people at home, so Mom kicked me out.'

Ryan winced. 'Ouch. Anyway, I thought I'd let you know that it'll apparently be extra busy tonight.'

'Yeah.' A new voice joined them from across the room. Lena Markam, one of the maskers, waved quickly from where she was unrolling curtains from a flimsy box. 'Cassius told me there's a big group coming to watch one of the recaps at nine. We'll do a set after, to keep them for a bit. You know how people get after a good recap and a few drinks.'

'Is it a recent Games?' Gaius, Lena's performing partner, came in just in time to hear about the recap.

'I think so. Seventy-somethingth. Anyway, we've got two hours to rehearse the set before Cassius kicks us out. Let's get to it!'

Penny grinned at Lena's authoritative tone as she lifted her violin out of its case. The instrument was a slim, silver-coloured frame with four strings running neatly down the middle. She and Gaius, who had been school friends, had found it in this very room, its case gathering a carpet of dust. It had been surprisingly intact, and she had fixed what needed fixing, referencing one of Cassius's useless books about electronics.

When Gaius first plugged it in and drew the bow across the strings, everyone present had been deafened. After that, no one else was willing to brave the noise and actually learn, so Penny had inherited the offending instrument. She had hunted down more old books and developed a style of playing from illustrations and ancient videos, and once her playing was acceptable to the public, Cassius had welcomed her onto his ragtag crew of musicians, actors, and dancers.

The crew at Sekoe's was markedly unusual compared with the rest of District Two, who preferred violence, the Games, and high living, if you wanted to be stereotypical. People didn't think much of the performers, but come eight o'clock at night when the bar opened, there weren't too many complaints. Sekoe's was the only upscale bar that provided live entertainment of this particular kind, so no one could be very choosy.

The crew rehearsed their set, which consisted of a few pieces by Penny and Ryan, with Rayne as dancer, and a mask skit by Gaius and Lena. By the time nine o'clock rolled around, they had been playing for almost an hour and it was time to step aside for the recap of the Seventy-sixth Games.

Penny wasn't particularly interested, especially considering the circumstances, but she sat quietly as Gaius and Lena cheered loudly on either side of her. She was tired, having been standing up for most of the afternoon, and had almost drifted off when she felt someone urgently tap on her shoulder.

'Penny!' The hissing shriek of Evanna trying to use her inside voice was all too recognizable. 'Penny, you need to come right now! Selkie won't wake up!'

Penny digested that news, staring at the escort's frantic face. 'What?'

'What I said! I just came over to discuss some plans, you know, since the tour's in a week, and she's practically in a coma!'

'Why have I got to come?' Penny frowned, gesturing at the rest of her crew, who were still immersed in the Game. 'I've got the rest of a set to do.'

'I've got orders,' hissed Evanna, lowering her voice even more. 'The Peacekeepers—they said you were to come home and not leave until there have been new…developments.'

That alerted Penny. An unfamiliar trio of Peacekeepers had been assigned to watch over the Katling house, for reasons which she had not yet found out. Penny knew most of Two's Peacekeepers on sight, as they had grown up in that very district. But these Peacekeepers were not known to her, and she thought it might be best to ask them directly what was going on, so she tugged at Lena's sleeve.

'Lena! I've got to go home. Selkie's not well.'

The masker raised her eyebrows. 'But we've got to finish here!'

'I know. Orders from the Peacekeepers. Don't ask.' Penny winced apologetically. 'Sorry. Tell Cassius I couldn't help it.'

Lena shrugged. 'Fine. But it's not my fault if you get in trouble for bailing.'

With that taken care of, Penny packed up her violin and followed the panicking Evanna out of the crowded bar. Once she was out, she noticed that the Peacekeepers had come to escort her. They said nothing and invited no conversation, so she kept silent all the way home. It was a frosty night, and her breath clouded out in front of her.

In the Katling house, everything was deathly quiet. Once Penny had stepped inside, she bolted up the stairs to Selkie's room, squeezed between her mother and the small group of Capitol medics, and took a proper look at her twin sister for the first time in weeks.

Selkie had changed alarmingly since that fight all those weeks ago. Her cheeks were hollow and her half-closed eyes were sunken. Presently, she let out a shallow cough. The heart monitor was agonizingly quiet, and the host of snaking tubes and cords seemed to come straight out of a hospital tragedy. Penny mentally kicked herself when she realized that she had been prepared to ignore her sister for the rest of time.

Shara Katling hardly seemed to notice her other daughter come in. She wrung her hands and enquired of the doctor, 'She's going to be alright, isn't she?'

'I really don't know,' he admitted, shaking his head. 'At this stage it's impossible to say whether she'll survive the night, but we'll do everything we can.'

Shara let out a soft wail. Penny felt as if she had no place in that deathly room, and was starting to back out slowly when she heard a familiar voice calling her back.

'Penny,' rasped Selkie, lifting her hand ever so slightly. 'Stay.'

Her voice was almost lost among the quiet sounds of the various monitors, but Penny heard it all the same. She went to the side of the bed, but could not bear to look her sister in the eye.

'I'm sorry,' murmured Selkie, her mouth twisting in an effort not to shed tears on her pale, veined cheeks. 'I was such a jerk to you.'

Penny found words then. 'Don't be, Selk,' she said, shaking her head. 'It's fine. I forgive you.'

'I wish…' began Selkie, but a fit of coughing cut her off. Penny grasped her sister's hand, hardly knowing what she was doing.

'I want you…to have my journals,' the victor continued once she could speak again. 'Don't show anyone. Just read them once you feel like it.'

The doctor interrupted. 'Miss Katling, please step aside.' He took a quick look at the monitors once Penny had moved, and shook his head. 'Davin, get the…the others. She doesn't have much time left.'

Shara let out a strangled cry, and rushed to her dying daughter's side. 'Selk, please! Please, talk to me!'

It was no good. As Penny backed away once more, she heard a sound that up until now she had thought she would never experience: the sound of the heart monitor flat lining.

She practically threw herself down the stairs and made for the front door, only to be stopped by one of the Peacekeepers, a tall man with close-cropped blond hair. 'Sorry, Miss Katling,' he said, standing between her and the door. 'No one's allowed to leave.'

'What?' cried Penny, feeling a traitorous lump start to form in her throat. 'Who says? My sister just died!'

The Peacekeeper shook his head, looking genuinely sympathetic. 'I'm sorry, miss. Not my rules, but it won't go well for either of us if you leave.'

She fought back a scream of frustration and spun around. Within seconds she was lying on her bed, dry sobbing into the pillow. Real tears wouldn't come, even though Selkie was dead.

As she lay there, Penny didn't even think about the Victory Tour that had been scheduled for the next week. She didn't think about Evanna panicking in the living room downstairs. But an authoritative knock at the door changed everything.

'Please, make yourself at home,' Shara was saying as Penny came downstairs. 'I'm very sorry about the mess, I had no idea.'

'Don't be sorry, Mrs Katling. I know this is a very hard time for your family.' The voice that replied made Penny stop in her tracks. It was a voice had thought she would only hear on television. She entered the room, hardly daring to look up from the floor.

'Oh, Penny.' Shara's voice was taut and unbelievably stressed. 'Say hello to President Elonn.'

The President met Penny's eyes as she looked up, feeling something like a little, insignificant weed in the presence of a sleek evergreen tree. Lydia Elonn was tall and sharp-eyed, and there was something about her which commanded respect. She was unusually natural for a Capitol citizen, with no dramatic bodily modifications to speak of. When she stepped closer, her heels and remarkable height gave her at least one extra foot over Penny, who unconsciously leaned back.

'Please don't worry, Mrs Katling,' Elonn said, waving Shara away with one neat, elegant hand. 'I don't expect you to entertain guests tonight of all nights. I'm here to talk to Penny.'

She sat down on the couch and motioned for Penny to sit across from her as Shara retreated into the kitchen. 'First of all, may I say how sorry I am for your loss,' she said, when Penny had done so. 'I know how well-loved Selkie was in the Capitol, both before and after the Games.'

'Thank you, ma'am,' Penny said, wondering how high Elonn's condolences ranked on the scale of insincerity.

'Penny, I have a little problem.' The President stared right across the coffee table, her eyes fixing Penny in place like pins in a dead butterfly. 'You see, it doesn't look right for a victor to die so soon after winning. With a victor from a lesser district, it usually wouldn't be an issue, but Two hasn't had a victor in years. Selkie was extremely popular in the Capitol, and you wouldn't believe how much media attention she's attracted, being sick and hiding away like she did. To leave the media and the citizens hanging would be a major inconvenience for us.'

Penny didn't bother wondering who 'us' referred to. 'So, what do you want me to do, ma'am? Selkie and I weren't very close—

'What I have in mind doesn't require you to be close,' Elonn cut her off sharply. 'Now that I've met you in person, I'm even surer that you'll be capable of this, Penny.'

'Capable of what, ma'am?'

Elonn's angular face took on a look of ultimate victory as she elaborated. 'Penny, you and your twin sister might not have been close, but you did look extremely alike. I want you to impersonate your sister. Provide the Capitol and the districts with the victor they want to see.'

Penny recoiled. 'You're, uh, you're joking, right? Because I can't just—

'Penny, understand that I don't need your consent for this. I believe I am in quite an ideal position to make deals with you, don't you think?' Elonn glanced subtly through the glass kitchen door, where Shara was pacing frantically.

Penny's blood ran cold. She looked from the President to her anxious mother, and back again.

'I think it's in your best interests to agree with me, Penny. Now, let me explain further. We will put out the news that Selkie Katling is on the way to recovery. At the same time, we'll report that her twin sister, Penny, has suddenly and tragically died of a fall on the ice. You will be made over to look like your sister, and no more will be said about the subject.'

Penny sat, frozen, trying to comprehend what had just happened. 'But, ma'am, I can't impersonate Selkie. I'm nothing like her. I—

'You will have to learn, Penny. Or should I say, Selkie?' President Elonn stood up gracefully and smoothed out her sleek gray jacket. 'A team of stylists will be here in minutes to make the necessary adjustments to your appearance. I will talk to your family.' She started walking to the door before turning to face Penny. 'Also, please understand that you will not speak of this to any of your friends. If you so much as breathe a word to anyone, I will make arrangements for that person to be silenced. Is that clear?'

'Y-yes, ma'am.'

Penny stayed stock still for a long time after Elonn had left the room. Finally, forcing her limbs to move, she dashed up to Selkie's old room. The Capitolians had left for the time being, and Penny averted her eyes from the white-sheeted body lying on the bed as she rifled through the desk drawers. Finally finding what she was looking for, she gathered up the journals in her arms and took them out of the room.

She cast her eyes wildly around for somewhere to hide them. Her own room wasn't an option—it would probably be cleared within twenty-four hours. Thinking quickly, she took the bundle of books to the bathroom and hid them in the farthest corner of the medicine cupboard. They fit perfectly against the back, and if you looked quickly, you would think that they were part of the cupboard lining.

More voices could be heard downstairs. Taking a deep breath, Penny went down, preparing to say goodbye to her very identity.

So, I updated! Yey!

If anyone's wondering what's up with Penny's violin, it's an electric. I figured that real acoustic violins would be rare in Panem's districts, where they don't really value music much. Besides, this is the future.

I'd like to hear your thoughts. What did you think of this chapter's events? Do you think Penny will manage? Please tell. :)

This is a fanfiction and The Hunger Games belongs to the imaginative Suzanne Collins.