Silence.
Someone's arms were around her, holding her tight. Fingers tangled in her hair, stroking her curls in attempted comfort.
This didn't feel real…
Was she dreaming?
"Renata, it's okay…You'll be okay," Cora's voice suddenly registered in her ears, bringing her to reality. The blonde had tears streaming down her face and her hands held her face.
She was the female tribute. She was going to fight her way out against 23 other tributes.
Cora whimpered as she finally let go of her and she began to approach the stage. The crowd parted for her as she made the short distance to the stage, her heart pounding loudly in her ears. It all seemed so surreal. She had never thought about what it would feel like to be sentenced to death before…
"How about a nice round of applause for Miss Renata? Yes, right up here…careful on the stairs," he laughed, leading the mild applause for the woman as she tripped her way onstage.
Renata swallowed, this situation reminding her so much of her persistent dream. She looked at Salvatore, expecting him to lose his twinkling green eyes for two empty holes in his face. When it didn't happen, Renata turned her head back out towards the square, looking out at the people standing in the crowd and feeling her hands shake with fear. Every face that stared up at her held a different expression. Some she couldn't read, but mostly there were looks of pity. Not even a glimmer of hope for the poor girl… She even saw the look of envy on a few of the older girls' face. Being a victor of the games meant being set for life... If she were to win, she would want for nothing. Renata swallowed and tore her eyes away from the girls. Hey, if they wanted to volunteer for her, they would be doing her a favor. But nonetheless, no one volunteered. Something caught the sun and her eyes shifted to a camera that was fixed on her. She stared at it a moment and managed a small smile, trying to stand a little taller and pretend to be more confident of herself for everyone in Panem that would see this later.
Salvatore's voice rang out suddenly, startling her. "Kain Farber!"
There was the sound of quiet cheering from the boy's section towards the back of the square. A tall, burly looking boy came through the crowd, headed to the stage in a much more confident matter. He flashed Renata a grin when he made it onto the stage without tripping. Show off.
"Shake hands," Salvatore hissed in instruction, making the two face one another. His nose was slightly wrinkled, not used to the smell of fish on the wind.
The redhead looked into Kain's brown eyes and took his hand, not surprised by the roughness of his palm or the firmness of his grip. His hands could easily crush her; it wasn't hard to tell that he had the upper hand against her…
"Good luck," he smiled.
"And to you," she nodded, releasing his hand and turning away from him before the blush could register on her cheeks.
"Let's give your district 4 tributes a hand!" Salvatore exclaimed into the microphone, beaming for the cameras. "We wish you the best of luck, and as always, may the odds be ever in your favor!" He moved behind the two children and nudged them forward a bit. The boy didn't hesitate in raising his arm and waving at the people, that confident and almost cocky grin on his tanned face. Renata tried to mimic him, but only succeeded in a feeble little gesture and a nervous smile. She could practically hear the amused voices of the commentators talking about her.
The two tributes turned and followed Salvatore through the doors of the Justice Building, hearing Panem's anthem blaring out of the speakers. Once inside, Renata was separated from Kain and Salvatore and ushered into a small room by a couple Peacekeepers. Everything was happening in such a whirlwind, it made Renata's head spin. She blinked when the Peacekeeper said something to her. "What?"
"The train is leaving in 10 minutes. You have 3 to say goodbye," he repeated, stepping aside as Cecil hurried in.
"Rini!" he gasped, going to her and crushing her in a hug. She didn't hesitate in throwing her arms around him and hugging him back as equally tight. If she owed anyone anything, it would be Cecil. He had taken her in his own home without question, when he could have let her go to an orphanage or out on the streets. Someone sounded like they were choking and after a moment, Renata realized that the noise was coming from her own throat. She held onto Cecil tightly as she cried, taking comfort in being held.
"Shhh…shhh, I've got you," Cecil whispered, his own voice quavering. He really did care for Renata, while his wife wouldn't even come say goodbye. "Listen to me…you can do this. You can come back, Rini. I believe in you…you're so strong, stronger than you know…" he gently stroked her cheek, wiping a stray tear away. "Trust yourself, and do whatever it takes to stay alive."
Renata whimpered quietly, taking a shaky breath and swallowing. "You really think so? Did you see Kain? He was…he was hoping he would get picked…"
Cecil pursed his lips, gently wiping away another tear. "Some people are like that, you know…but all that cocky attitude…it won't keep him alive when he needs it to. You're smart, and you're a survivor…" He leaned down and pressed his forehead to hers, taking a breath. "Take this with you. You'll have home with you; you'll have me, and Leona, and Polom, Aria, and Vic…"
She sniffled again as he put a little length of rope around her neck, a phial of sea water on the end. There was a tiny bit of sand on the bottom and even a small pinch of seaweed inside.
"Thank you," she whispered, blinking out another tear. Fear was settling in now, but it was bearable. Cecil's token was exactly what she needed to know that she was cared for, that she was being rooted for. "Thank you for everything, Cecil. You'll tell Leona and the kids that I love them and that I'll see them soon?" She asked, clutching the phial in her hand.
"I promise," he nodded, giving her cheek a loving pat. "We love you…"
The door opened and the Peacekeeper announced that time was up.
Renata put her arms around Cecil's shoulders and held onto him tightly. "Thank you, th-thank you so much..." She let go of him, not wanting to cause trouble and gave him a weak smile. "I'll see you soon, right?"
Cecil swallowed and nodded, smiling back. "Real soon." The door closed behind him and Renata was once again left alone in the room.
She went to the small window on the far wall and peered out of it. The town square was practically deserted now; everyone had gone home to celebrate the fact that their children and friends were safe for another year. The glass was cool against the red skin of her face as she pressed her cheek against it and closed her eyes, wishing more than anything that the day could be over and that she could sleep. Her hand was still holding the glass tube and she opened it to look at it. Everything stirred around when she rolled it in her palm, but then settled back down. Footsteps approached her door and the hinges creaked as it swung open, the footsteps stopping after entering the room.
"Time to go," a stern man's voice said.
Renata opened her eyes and turned to face him, taking slow and cautious footsteps toward him. He simply gave her a stiff nod before turning around and walking out, which she assumed that meant for her to follow.
"Your face is red," came Kain's voice from beside her. He looked like he hadn't shed one tear. "Are you embarrassed or something?" he grinned, not ashamed to flex a bicep for her.
Renata looked up at him and laughed softly. "No, not embarrassed, just sunburned…"
He grinned wider and scratched at his neck. "I don't burn anymore. I don't think I ever burned. You can't tell me you've never been out on a boat, you're from 4!"
She shrugged, finding it a little awkward striking up a conversation with this boy. "A couple of times…nothing like what you've done, I'm sure."
This boy had a never-ending supply of grins for her. "Been on boats my whole life! I really hope the arena is like an ocean or something, wouldn't that be cool? We'd have a bit of the upper hand…"
"There you are! We'd best be off before the train goes to the Capitol without us aboard!" Salvatore greeted them. He led them down a long staircase and they stepped onto a platform, a long train waiting for them. "Here we go! Say goodbye!"
Renata looked back the way they came, the hiss of the train filling her ears.
"Come on, come on!" Sal urged her, snapping her back to reality. The doors closed behind her when she stepped onto the train and it began to pull away. She turned and peered out the window, watching home disappear in a matter of minutes.
"You alright?" Kain asked, standing by the short redhead's side and watching her face. "It's a bit strange leaving, isn't it?"
She swallowed and looked up at him, trying to get a reading on him. "Hopefully one of us will get to come back," she said, chewing on her lower lip and grasping the vial of seawater around her neck.
"Come on, Rini," he said gently, her nickname coming as a bit of surprise from him. He held out his big, weathered hand for her and smiled when she took it. "I heard that man call you Rini, is that okay?"
She nodded, letting him lead her into the next car. "So what, we're going to the Capitol now?"
"I think our mentors are going to explain it to us," Kain smiled.
The train must have been moving at some great speed, but if it weren't for Renata seeing the landscape whizzing past them, she would have thought they were standing still. She gripped Kain's hand tightly as they moved from car to car, hearing Salvatore's tinkling laughter as they neared a door into the next compartment.
When the door opened, the escort twirled around to face them, that ridiculous smile on his face. "There you are! I had begun to think that you'd jumped off the train!" Another ringing laugh and he motioned them over.
Kain let go of her hand and instead folded them over his broad chest.
Salvatore cleared his throat, preparing to deliver this very professional introduction. Renata glanced up at the ceiling, surprised when she didn't see bags of confetti prepared to rain down on them.
"You two are fortunate in that you will have two past victors to guide you through your training! Renata and Kain, may I introduce your mentors Mags, and Finnick," he announced, giggling after saying the handsome man's name. His cheeks turned even rosier when Finnick gave him a dazzling grin and he had to excuse himself from the car, mumbling something about having to write the schedule.
Mags made a quiet, cackling little laugh, which made Finnick smile and look at her.
"Pleasure to meet you the both of you," Finnick smiled at the both of them, his sea green eyes lingering a moment on Renata. Or so she thought.
She pursed her lips together, spying the table set up with food behind the mentors. Her stomach growled loudly and she blushed deeply, putting a hand to her stomach.
Finnick laughed, "I think we'd better eat before she starts picking us off, hmm?"
Mags smiled and went to sit down, not waiting to pile up her plate with food. The other three went over and joined her, soon digging in.
"So are you both mentors to us, or are we each assigned to one?" Renata asked after swallowing a mouthful of freshly baked bread.
"I say that the men collaborate, and the women do the same," Kain spoke for the first time, that cheeky grin on his face. He looked at Finnick, to the old woman, to Renata's face. "Makes sense, right?"
He and Renata both noticed the slightly loony smile on Mags' face as she played with the food remains on her plate. She babbled something about recycling bone, making Finnick laugh again.
She was the oldest victor in 4, and adding a pretty strong stroke on top of her age, it had left her a bit absent minded to say the least. It made sense that Kain wanted nothing to do with her. Compared to Finnick, Mags was just a useless old woman.
"Well it's up to you two, I wouldn't mind going at it one on one, or sharing," he winked at Renata, making heat rush to her cheeks.
Ah, Finnick Odair. Not only was he the youngest victor that 4 had, he was quite possibly the most beautiful man in all of Panem. His beauty was one thing that attributed to his victory in the arena, for his number of sponsors practically threw gifts at him.
"I mean, I don't think we need to separate…two victors' help is better than one," the redhead mumbled, picking at the meat on her plate.
Finnick smiled and nodded, watching the young woman play with her food. "Right."
"Could we watch some of the old games? I want to know your strategy," the boy tribute said to Finnick, his eyes gleaming with excitement.
He chuckled and nodded, wiping off his mouth and tossing his napkin onto his empty plate. "Nothing wrong with being eager, right?" He stood, looking at Mags. "Do you want me to walk you to your room?"
The old woman smiled and nodded, letting him help her up.
"Renata, will you join us?"
She blinked and looked up at him, his unbelievable beauty catching her by surprise. "Is that alright? I…Sure," she smiled, standing up. She noticed the scowl on Kain's face and she swallowed, walking over to where he was sitting in front of the television.
Once Finnick disappeared to take Mags to her room, Kain sighed.
"Don't expect me to go easy on you," he said harshly, surprising her with his change of attitude.
So that was it. Lull her into a false sense of security, of friendship, and then take her out. She had hoped that maybe they could team up in the arena, but it was clear where Kain stood.
"Yeah, me either."