Janus Megalos
President of Panem
Janus could not stop pacing up and down. He had to stop the deafening silence somehow. Even with his footsteps and the sound of the clock ticking, Janus couldn't rid himself of the silent moments which threatened to implement doubt into his idea.
But his plan had to work. He didn't even want to think of the consequences of its failure. There was a reason his grandfather had left the Presidency to him and not his father. Janus had to prove his grandfather right and his father wrong.
If the plan failed then he would have let everybody down. Every man, woman, child. Every farmer, shopkeeper, factory worker. Every set of siblings, parents, partners. Heck, he'd even let down every crazy drunk idiot.
And that was the one thing Janus could not and would not do. He refused to be anything like his father. 10 years on and people still spoke of his shenanigans, but it kind of pleased Janus. It meant people were never going to forget the despicable person that was Janus' father.
Selene had sent messages to the mentors and made it clear that they were to arrive at exactly 1300 hours. But she had left to go get water and snacks for the meeting. He wished she would hurry up so he could practise his speech once more.
To pass the time Janus decided to watch the mentor recap. Every year it was presented by Sappho and Phaon, and always included fun facts and a brief history on each mentor – just in case someone had been living under a rock for their entire life.
The show's theme tune played and the two presenters appeared on the screen dressed as Mario and Luigi from some ancient video game.
"Welcome, citizens of Panem to this year's mentor recap. And returning to the mentor positons are some favourites of the Capitol." Sappho announced.
"Let's start with District 1 as usual!" Phaon said cheerily. Sometimes Janus couldn't understand how people could pretend to be so happy all the time.
On the screen appeared an image of the most recent victor – Velvet Coelho. It shows her time in the arena as a bloodthirsty career who killed a quarter of the tributes in her games. However, she made each death as drawn out and painful as possible.
When she won Janus could hear the cheers from the street all the way in his office. He couldn't understand the Capitol's obsession with violence and gore. Personally he hated the sight of blood and quite often it made him feel sick.
Velvet was the only victor that Janus hadn't had a proper conversation with. The last he spoke to her was when he was congratulating her on her victory straight after the games.
All he knew was that she was trying to change her killer attitude, and he respected her for that. But a part of Janus knew the career beliefs and training within her could never change. Especially when they're taught the values of a career from such a young age.
The screen changed to a video of Velvet in District 1's training centre fighting a trainer and by the looks of it she was winning. Again showing off her skills which enabled her to come out victorious.
Then it skipped to a boy with a pastel purple bandana training with Velvet. It was evident he wasn't as trained as her but he had energy about him. The clip ended with Velvet critiquing the boy and smiling at the boy's extravagance and charisma. Janus never thought he was see the Velvet Coelho smiling. Though it was a rarity it was also a pleasant sight.
"Next we have the victor of the 148th Hunger Games and one half of the nation's favourite couple – Rochelle Yates."
Janus was ecstatic that Rochelle was a mentor this year. She was by far his favourite victor purely because of her arena tactics.
Throughout the games she stayed silent in the career pack and only spoke when spoken to. But when Rochelle did speak she made sure to implement doubt into the minds of the careers.
Staying silent during the games made a lot of the pack underestimate her and forget about her. What they didn't know was she watched them and mentally took note of each of her allies' strengths and weaknesses.
To this day Rochelle's games hold the highest viewings and ratings in the history of the games for being the only ever games to have an all-career finale. It was bloody, tense and nail-biting. But it was a mixture of her intelligence and weapon skills which brought her the victory.
The television screen showed a clip of Rochelle and her husband Otto, another victor. This was another reason Janus favoured the victor. Her relationship was literally his OTP and nobody shipped them more than him. He thought they were so cute and their relationship was like a movie storyline.
Janus was disappointed to see the screen flick back to Sappho and Phaon. But he was excited to be updated on the other mentors for this year.
Next up was Kaya Ellis of District 2. Or better known as the once cocky but still fiery victor of the 162nd Hunger Games.
Kaya was one of those tributes that the Capitol loved for her confidence and cockiness. But one which the Districts despised for the same reason.
From knowing her on a personal level Janus knew that Kaya wasn't a bad person at all. Since her games she has worked on her arrogance and reflected on her cold hearted natures. Though she still has a fiery personality.
The screen showed a clip of Kaya with Velvet shopping in the Capitol. From the moment Velvet won the games Kaya had been there for her and the two had seemingly become really close friends.
On that trip Kaya had said, "When I won no body was there for me when I spiralled into a pit of despair. The least I can do is make sure Velvet doesn't spiral into that pit too."
Janus admired her for that. He remembered her not leaving her house for months after the victory tour and it took her until the next games to speak publically. To go through all of that guilt on her own must have been hard. But her doing her absolute best to make sure no one else went through that was admirable.
The scene changed to present time with Kaya in District 2's training centre. They seemed to be having their annual battle for the tribute slot.
Kaya was lecturing the group of teens and they all seemed to be hanging onto every word she said.
All of the group looked like strong contenders but only a few stood out to Janus. Particularly a boy with light brown hair which he obviously took care of and a tall girl with chestnut red hair.
It seemed as though Kaya really wanted a District 2 victory following 1's victory last year. And she was going to really push the tributes this year.
The screen then changed to the other mentor in the centre – Dax Demos. Already the kids with Dax seemed more relaxed than the ones with Kaya.
Dax had a heart of gold when it came to the other victors and every tribute he's ever mentored. He really would do anything for them – one year he even dressed up as a chicken for a week, just to get his tribute water.
Dax was watching chestnut haired girl and neat hair boy compete against each other in an obstacle course. They seemed to be neck and neck but just at the last hurdle the girl overtook, winning.
The boy seemed very frustrated but Dax immediately went over to him to congratulate him and make sure he wasn't beating himself up too much about the loss.
That was what a lot of people loved about Dax. He was so caring and protective of those around him and would do whatever it took to protect them. But that does mean he's one of the most distraught after the games are over.
On the screen appeared a live video call to Dax's two sons, Zale and Kao who were grinning mischievously. They started gossiping about their father and releasing secrets about him. Including how he still sleeps with a stuffed animal despite being 45 years old.
Janus found this hilarious and had always loved Zale and Kao. Mainly because they were very cheeky and rebellious when their father desperately tried to control them and be a lot stricter. He could just imagine Dax's face burning with anger and embarrassment right now.
Soon Sappho and Phaon had to end the call and move onto District 3.
And the screen showed Modemia Wilcox, victor of the 132nd Hunger Games. Her exterior was an aging woman but everyone knew internally she was a genius.
Modemia always sought her words carefully and often spoke in riddles to make people think. In Janus' opinion it was one of the reasons her tribute always got past the top 12.
"I think that Modemia needs a tribute who needs help in some way. Maybe a cocky tribute who thinks they're the best or someone who needs to stop feeling sorry for themselves." Phaon suggested.
"But she's also all about district unity. Wouldn't it be interesting for district 3 to have a pair that already knew each other?" Sappho argued.
"What if they absolutely despised each other?"
"Makes it even easier for Modemia to work her magic."
"Well let's hope that gets put to the test this year."
A video of Ciman Fontaine, victor of the 153rd Hunger Games flashed upon the screen. As usual he had his head stuck in a book but it was a book Janus knew to be banned.
It so happened to be a book about the geography of the world before the foundation of Panem. Even though he had personally given Ciman the book, he was furious at the television studio for showing the book on national television. He just hoped no one took notice of the book itself.
Quickly the screen changed to Ciman in his games, maybe they had realised what the book's title was.
Ciman's games were interesting since the careers had decided to hunt at night and sleep in the day, which caught most tributes off guard. However, Panem would later come to know that Ciman suffered from insomnia which kept him alive in the games.
The careers took out tribute by tribute, night by night all while Ciman was shadowing them and surviving off of the dead tributes' belongings.
The finale soon came and no one expected 14 year old Ciman to win against two 18 year olds but somehow he defeated them and came out victorious.
Soon it was time for the district 4 mentors and they had to have been the best pairing out of them all. They had a past that the whole nation knew about. And no one was going to forget anytime soon.
Mollie Headly, victor of the 160th Hunger Games appeared on the screen with her wife, Shasa and two year old daughter Isla.
"Aw, it's such a shame Mollie won't be there to celebrate her daughter's 3rd birthday." Sappho said, genuinely sounding sad for her.
"I cannot believe it's nearly been three years since Isla was born! And all of the drama seems like yesterday."
Next to the video of Mollie appeared Netta Van Amstel, Victor of the 157th Hunger games and her boyfriend.
As soon as these two victors were announced to be mentoring together Janus knew that he would hear their story everywhere.
Netta had mentored Mollie during her games and brought her back as victor. Due to this the two became the best friends that they are today.
However, they soon developed feeling for each other and they are the only couple to have ever rivalled Otto and Rochelle's relationship as favourite couple. Old videos of the old couple appeared, accompanied with solemn music.
Things had turned messy when Netta was found cheating which sent the quiet and fragile Mollie into despair. No one could reach her for months.
Netta was painted as a villain which harmed her a lot more than the guilt she was faced with.
Janus was about 10 when all of this happened so he didn't understand the heartbreak Netta must have gone through when Mollie moved on and did eventually get married to Shasa.
It took Netta years to gain the confidence to date again, fearing she would mess up again. She did find love with a man called Matt who she's still in a committed relationship with today.
Mollie and Netta did sort things out eventually and have had a strong friendship since.
"Aww, I always tear up at that story." Phaon sniffled.
"And the best part is Netta and Matt ended up being surrogates for Mollie and Shasa. And that's how Isla was born."
"Shhh you just spoilt the ending."
"Well you've been living under a rock if you didn't know the ending."
"I guess. Well here's the ending everyone, even though Sappho spoilt it."
The rest of the clip played with Phaon huffing in annoyance and then the District 5 seal appeared.
There was a video of Eon Alma, victor of the 150th Hunger Games visiting the grave of his sister, Cissy.
Eon was reaped for the quell in which the twist was siblings had to enter. Cissy was obviously the better liked sibling and the one with the most confidence. This didn't leave him in a good position sponsor wise.
During the arena he and Cissy argued a lot and many people doubted that they would be allies by the end. However, they surprised everyone by getting to the top 8 feast. It was here where they had to fight and it ended in Cissy getting a knife to the stomach.
It was a heartfelt goodbye which left the whole Capitol in tears but the games had to go on. The games went on with Eon fighting for his sister and those emotions alone won him the title.
Janus likes Eon for his strength despite everything and even has nominated him for a charity award.
Since he became a mentor Eon goes to every family whose child he couldn't save from death in the games and helps in whatever way he can.
"Now that is something I couldn't do." Phaon noted.
"I know right! Imagine having to look the families of the dead tribute in the eyes. Creepy."
"It's not creepy, it very brave actually." Phaon defended. Janus noted that Phaon was quick to jump to Eon's defence and wondered if the victor was Phaon's favourite.
Eon was great at helping tributes cope with being sent into a death match. He would mentor a tribute who freaked out at the reaping or a scared tribute well. However, Eon is always able to help tributes with a skill no one can blatantly see, perhaps like reading people or observation skills.
Next to appear was Luz Nilsen, victor of the 100th Hunger Games. He is the oldest mentor of this year's games but certainly one of the most interesting.
He being a Quell winner also makes district 5 the only district to have two quell victors. But Luz's quell twist was horrifying from the clips Janus has seen of it. There wasn't really a reaping and all tributes had to be volunteers.
Each half an hour that passed would earn the district a punishment. After the first half hour there had only been a female volunteer so the district was punished severely.
But Luz had been a daredevil in his youth – and still was. But someone had dared him to volunteer and his pride wouldn't let him accept defeat.
Luz had been well liked by the Capitol which helped him get far into the games. It was his love for an adrenaline rush which got him out of dangerous situations and out of the arena alive.
Janus has always thought that Luz would do well mentoring a quiet tribute, maybe a complete introvert. Either way they would be a good match for Luz's loudness and craziness despite his old age.
On the screen appeared Otto Yates, victor of the 147th Hunger games. The other half to the power couple of the country.
A video played of Rochelle and Otto by their house in District 6 with their children. They always seemed to be a happy family, something Janus could only dream of having.
No one expected Otto and Rochelle to end up together but literally everyone is glad they did.
As the video of the pair's relationship appeared Janus turned up the sound. He was a sucker for sappy love music.
The relationship started with Rochelle winning her games and Otto was head over heels for her.
With the help of some of the other victors he plucked up the courage to ask her out on a date. She's even admitted that she only said yes out of pity but was pleasantly surprised when they got on really well.
Their relationship flourished and they soon became the nation's favourite couple. Unfortunately, with every piece of good press there is always a bad piece following it.
There was always a different story of the two breaking up despite them continuously proving that their relationship was stable and happy.
Now they all live in District 6 with yearly visits to Rochelle's home District.
"Isn't that the cutest story you've ever heard?" Sappho cooed.
"I'm still amazed you didn't spoil this one this time!" Phaon joked.
In the past when Otto has mentored he has connected well with most of his tributes and it hurts him to lose them. A tribute who is selfless and fascinated with the small things in life would connect so well with Otto. It would also destroy him a lot more if they were to die.
District 6's other mentor Clio Barron, victor of the 155th Hunger Games appeared on the screen with a cheery smile.
You'd never know that she has psychosis from her bubbly personality and toothy smiles.
When Clio was reaped and all the way up to the interviews no one had any idea of her condition. During her interview she had an episode and freaked out from her hallucinations.
From then on everyone deemed her as a bloodbath or early death. She exceeded expectations and got to the final 5.
However, she had another episode and again everyone thought she was dead meat. Though, it was her episode which helped her survive as she had one of her strongest hallucinations. It caused her to freak out and accidently kill the tribute sneaking up behind her.
Out of the games Clio does everything she can to promote mental health awareness and it doesn't have to be a weakness.
Her talks are always inspiring and she tries to be as motivating as possible.
By being an optimist allows her to get along with pessimists the most and it the pessimistic tributes which she enjoys working with the most.
"Aw, don't you just love the victors Phaon?"
"Totally! It's a shame we'll have to wait a whole 5 minutes to see the rest."
"Bop us your thoughts on the mentors so far Saphaonrocks while you wait."
Then the screen changed to adverts. Janus let out a frustrated grunt. He hated adverts. They were just a waste of time. They just made him go to the fridge and eat to pass the time.
He had 5 minutes to distract himself from the imploding fear of failure. Instead he continued to pace up and down thinking of every way his plan could go wrong.
AN: Prologue number 2! Sorry for the delay, school got a bit hectic. But good news, I finish in 4 days and then I'll have 6 weeks to write. My aim is to finish all of the reapings by September.
I'm going to have a sponsor system because they seem cool. So 5 points for a review and each chapter I'll post a random fun question and the first person to answer correctly will get 5 more points. But I'll start them questions next chapter.
Also, I am extremely grateful to have all spots filled/reserved after only one prologue! Plus the tributes I have received are amazing and I'm pumped to start writing them.
For the tributes I've received for these 6 districts I have incorporated tiny aspects of them into the sections of their mentors. See if you can spot your tributes' hint!
This chapter was going to include all of the mentors but it got a little long lol. But now there should only be two more prologues and then the reapings begin. Fun stuff :D
So, what did you think of this chapter? Any favourite mentors so far? Anything I can work on and improve?
See ya next week :)
