I twiddle my thumbs as I sit waiting for my visitors inside the Justice Building. My family must have gone to Aster first. I don't know why, but it bothers me that they chose to see him before me. I know it really doesn't matter, but I feel a little hurt. Some of my friends from school came, some gushing about how lucky I am, others fighting back tears at my misfortune. Inside, I agree with the latter. But I act as though I'm the happiest I've ever been. Proud to be given this honour. Determined to beat the competition and return home a victor.
Finally the door opens again, and Lace runs in and throws her arms around me, nearly knocking me to the ground. She is almost the same size as me, after all. She buries her head in my shoulder and cries. My parents follow her in quietly. Nobody speaks for a few moments.
"We can't both win," I finally say bleakly.
"But one of you certainly can," Mom says briskly. "You've been trained; you have a better chance than anyone. Especially if you fight together."
"But what if – " I begin, but my father holds up a hand to stop me.
"Sable, leave the tactics to your mentors, okay? We just want you to know that we love you and we're proud of you." He glances at my mother briefly. "No matter what happens, alright?"
"Thank you," I whisper. They each give me a kiss on the forehead. I just have time to hug Lace tightly before the door opens and a Peacekeeper barks that their time is up, before roughly escorting them out of the room.
I barely have time to wonder if I'll have any more visitors when the door opens again and Nero walks in. He looks as though he's been crying.
"I'm sorry I've made jokes about this kind of thing, Sable. This is the worst thing I could possibly imagine. Both you and Aster gone…it's unthinkable." He stops, but I can't think of anything to say, so he starts up again. "There…there's something I've wanted to tell you for a long time but I was too scared. But now I might not get another chance, so I just have to go for it."
My heart is thumping. Is this it? What I've been waiting for practically since I hit puberty?
He grips my hands tightly in his. "I'm in love with Aster. Will you tell him for me? Please? I really want him to know…Just in case."
My jaw almost hits the floor. "With…Aster?" I splutter. He looks confused and nods. "Oh, okay. Of course I can." I look down at the ground. He hugs me tightly and then the Peacekeepers are there to take him away.
"I'll miss you," he says simply, and the door slams behind him. I am still completely taken aback by his admission. I stare blankly at the wall until the Peacekeepers come to bring me to the train.
I sit in the room I was shown to by a silent Capitol attendant. Despite only being on a train, it's the nicest room I've ever been in. Still, when it comes down to it, it's just a nicely decorated prison cell. There's a soft knock on the door, interrupting my thoughts.
"Come in," I call. The door slides open and Aster stands there. We haven't spoken since the reaping; we haven't had a chance to. "Hi," I say uncertainly. He strolls in and sits down beside me.
"This is pretty crazy," he comments.
I laugh. "Very insightful."
"I just want to say now…we're a team, right?"
"Of course we are, Aster. One of us should try to make it home."
"I can protect you," he says vehemently.
I look him straight in the eye. "No. We can protect each other."
"Deal." He smiles.
Before we can say anything else, there's a knock on the door and an attendant peers in.
"Ah you're both here. You may come for dinner now."
Aster rolls his eyes. "Oh may we." His sarcasm is completely ignored and we both follow the man to the dining car.
Already sitting at the table are the Capitol escort Remus, and our mentors. I recognize them from around the district; they're the brother and sister who won the games two years in a row, three and four years ago; Gloss and Cashmere. I sit down wordlessly opposite Cashmere, who focuses her glittering green eyes on me. I'm uncomfortable under her scrutiny and keep my eyes down as Aster sits down beside me.
A plate containing some kind of delicious smelling soup is placed in front of me and I finally look up. Cashmere is still darting her gaze from Aster to me, eyes narrowed slightly. Gloss appears completely disinterested and is digging into the food hungrily.
When Cashmere focuses her attention back on me, I can't stand it anymore. "Cashmere is there something you need to say?" I ask bluntly. "I might enjoy my food more if you weren't staring at me."
Aster snorts into his soup and Gloss finally looks at me, eyebrows raised.
"You're very pretty. He's very handsome. That will definitely work in your favour," Cashmere comments.
"Um…thanks," I say uncertainly.
"I assume you've been trained?" Gloss asks and Aster nods vigorously. "Good. What are your weapons?"
Cashmere glares at her brother. "We don't need to talk about that yet, Gloss," she says disparagingly, and he immediately looks back to his food. "Are you twins?" she asks conversationally.
"Yes."
"So are we."
"Well good for you," I snap. "Can we just eat without making forced conversation please?" There's something about Cashmere that I just don't like, I really don't want to listen to her anymore, at least not right now.
Remus, who hasn't said a word yet, seems appalled by my poor manners and immediately strikes up a conversation about the Capitol and how much they love District 1 and our luxury produce. It isn't really a conversation because he's the only one talking, but he seems happy enough, and so am I, despite the sulking Cashmere in front of me. I sit back and eat the delicious food that's placed in front of me until I'm fit to burst. I know I need to eat as much as I can in the next few days; food can be very hard to come by in the arena and I could do with some extra padding before I go in there.
After dinner we watch the recap of the Reapings in all of the districts. Aster and I are first, and I wonder what the other tributes think of us if they're watching. We look like most people in District 1, with our blonde hair and green eyes. Aster looks tall and strong, definitely a contender. I don't look like much, which Cashmere doesn't hesitate to point out.
"You're pretty small, Sable," she comments. "Don't look like much of a threat." Aster opens his mouth but she cuts him off. "Don't get mad at me, it's probably a good thing. They might think they don't need to worry about her but they do." I roll my eyes and turn my eyes back to the screen, where the District 2 reapings are now showing. As usual, two big terrifying volunteers climb onto the stage.
"Might be good to team up with them," Gloss says, taking down their names in a little notepad. Occasionally during the reapings, Gloss nods his head enthusiastically and takes down the names of tributes he thinks it would be good for us to ally with. I don't want to team up with any of them; don't want to know anything about them. So I tune out.
Finally, they're over and we're allowed to go to bed. I crawl in among the blankets and cushions. I think it will take me forever to get to sleep with all of the thoughts running through my head but to my surprise I drift off almost immediately.
"Sable wake up!" Before I know it I'm being shaken vigorously. "Sable!"
I bat away the hands on my shoulders. "Go 'way," I mutter, confused, and try to roll over. Aster seizes my arms and pulls me upright. "Hey!" I protest, glancing at the window, which is filled with the grayish light of early morning. "What do you think you're doing? It's barely light out!"
"Get up!" Aster drags me over to the window. I look out and suddenly I'm wide-awake. It's the Capitol, with its multicoloured buildings lit up by the sun rising behind the city. It's like nothing I've ever seen before, and for a moment I'm completely awestruck by its size and beauty. Then I think about all of the tributes who have seen this same sight as they travel closer and closer to their deaths, and my heart sinks.
"It's pretty amazing," Aster murmurs.
"It's just a load of buildings painted stupid colours filled with horrible people, Aster. Don't be so naïve, there's nothing amazing about it," I snap, and move away from the window just as the train plunges into a dark tunnel and we can no longer see the city.
Aster looks hurt. "I just thought you might want to see it." He leaves the room quietly and I sigh. It's not fair for me to take out my anger about everything on him.
I dress quickly in the silk dress I was wearing yesterday and run a comb through my long hair. We'll be in the Capitol soon, and there will probably be more cameras there. I have to try to make a good impression.
Reviews would be much appreciated :)