A.N: Ahhh… the reaping is finally here!

Enjoy and may the odds be ever in your favour!

-THG-THG-THG-THG-THG-THG-THG-THG-THG-THG-THG-THG-

Chapter 3.

I wake up and realise with a sudden jolt that today is the day.

It's the reaping today.

It's my day.

The day when I finally got to take part in the games.

The funny thing is that I'm not excited at all, not even in the slightest. In fact, I think I might even be scared. Not scared of death like the other tributes that will be chosen at the reaping today but scared none the less.

However that was no way for a career and future victor to think so I try to set my mind back to the frame my parents had been imposing on me since I was old enough to walk.

I try to be happy about this, after all why I shouldn't be, this is finally happening, the day my whole life had been leading up too.

But as much as I know I should be happy I just can't bring myself to be. It's odd if anyone asked me they would assume I was unhappy due to the fact I was about to kill a friend and a whole load of other tributes but it's so much more. It's the fact I know that my parents can't possibly love me if they are putting me forward for something I could die in just to bring them fame and it's the fact I have no friends to worry about having to kill.

But how I feel is irrelevant today is the day I am going into the Hunger Games and nothing is going to stop me so I pull myself out of my comfortable bed and walk towards the full length mirror on my wall.

I look completely normal; there was no sign of the conflict I amfeeling on my seemingly calm face. My soft oval face is as smooth as usual and my delicate facial features looked the same as ever. The only part of that looked any different are my light purple eyes which were wide and frightened; I smile at my reflection to hide the truth my eyes showed.

I am Thistle Casletoe.

I am strong, lethal and intelligent.

I am going to win the Hunger Games.

I say in my head, the same as every other morning before walking away from the mirror in order to get ready for the reaping.

I got out the light green dress I decided on a couple of days ago because it complimented my eyes, I had almost chosen this beautiful blue dress but had decided against as it was my favourite and I didn't want to get blood on it during the fight at the reaping.

The dress hugged my figure clinging to my curves before flowing out and billowing up above my knees. It showed off my slender frame and was strapless to highlight my long elegant neck.

I look at myself in the mirror again pleased with the dress and set to work on my face. I gently highlight my eyes and give my mouth a wicked curve that made me look a hell of a lot more sinister than I feeling.

I don't need to work with my light ash blonde hair apart from to brush it as I had cut it into a short bob that framed my face and showed off my strong jaw. All the girls at school had been shocked at my choice of hairstyle, girls don't cut their hair short that's what boys do, which is why I originally chose the hair cut. Spark had thought it was brilliant, I remember his amused face as he took him my new almost boyish look and I can't help but smile at the comforting memory.

Giving myself one last look before I start to breakfast to face the adorning faces of my mother and father who are sure to be ecstatic about the reaping today.

"Hello Sweetie!" My mother calls, barely able to conceal her excitement, as I enter the kitchen and sit at the table, "Today's the big day!"

"Yeah." I mumble as I make a grab for some food.

"Now, now Thistle you seem to be in a bit of a mood this morning. Just remember this is the first the public will see you and you need to make a good impression on the sponsors." My father says giving me a slight frown of disapproval.

By the time I have finished breakfast I have managed to work up a happy mask to wear for the reaping after all who wants to sponsor a career that looks like they don't want to be part of the games, I need to look strong for the people watching.

Of course on the way to reaping almost every passer-by would stop and give me their congratulations and tell me that they couldn't wait to see me in action. By the time I have reached the town centre where the reaping is being held my smile has almost worn out.

I am ushered into a long line of girls none of which were even looking nervous, they knew if their name was chosen someone else, like me, would volunteer in their place. That is apart from the girls who hung around with me at school, they look incredibly scared and kept sending me fearful glances and then looking away as soon as I caught their eyes.

They should be scared after all I am about to kill one of them. Feeling their fear made me feel stronger in a weird way; if they were scared of me then the other tributes would know to be scared of me too.

The Mayor of district 2 stands up gives a speech on how wonderful our district is and how important the Capital is and then goes on to talk about the rebellion and how the games had been made. It was the same speech every year and yet somehow every time I listened to him it seemed it get more and more boring.

Then our host a young (or at least he looked young but that was probably due to extensive surgery) man called Pentive from the Capital steps forward his pure white teeth flashing against his purple lips.

"Hello and welcome to the 100th reaping!" He says his Capital accent twanging annoyingly, "I am honoured to be hosting such a prestigious event and cannot wait to meet districts 2's tributes for the games so without further ado let the reaping begin!"

I feel anticipation coiling in my stomach making it twist uncomfortably and held my head higher to show everyone I am ready.

I no longer feel afraid, I feel confident and deadly. This is my day and nothing is going to stop me.

"Let's start with the girls, shall we." He says his voice booming out across the silent courtyard. His hand dips into the large bowl and he swirls his fingers around stopping over several slips before choosing one.

"Rose Devenly!" He calls out and a young girl walks forward to stand on the stage not looking very worried. She knows someone will step forward.

Once she was on the stage Pentive gives her a smile and says, "Any volunteers?"

I immediately put my arm up and shout "I volunteer!"

My voice sounds strong, steady and confident as it echoes through the silent courtyard.

"Brilliant!" Pentive says sweetly before asking, "Any other volunteers for the place of the female tribute of district 2?"

Usually several people would have called out by now and I would have to fight for my place as tribute but today no one came forward. I suppose it was because of the quarter quell and the doom of having to kill one of your own friends that deters them.

So I make my way up to the stage unchallenged, smiling at the crowd to show them I am not afraid all the while avoided the eyes of my school mates as they stare at me with fear, praying they are chosen to fight me.

"Lovely and you are?" Pentive asks once I am standing beside him.

"Thistle Casletoe." I answer clearly.

"Right Thistle lets see who you are going to fight against, shall we."

This is the moment I have been dreading and my palms start to sweat as the calm exterior I thought I had control of slips away.

I have to look away as he opened a book and searches for my name to see the list of contacts he could chose from.

After a while he smiles and says clearly, "ah ha! How about Daisy Abbott!"

A small girl of about the same age as me steps forward and I immediately recognise her as the girl I sit next to in maths, she is kind and sweet but she is in no way prepared to even try and take me on. She would be an easy kill. That is of course if I forget that she's the girl who helped me in my maths exam by sliding her answers over and always shared a joke with me over our horrid teacher, Mrs Da Costa.

If I forget all that she will be an easy kill.

By now she has taken her place next to me on the stage and seems to be pleading me to spare her with her eyes, but it is no use if I could I would save her but I didn't get a choice, it was kill or be killed and I was not going to die.

"Ok now the games can begin." Pentive says rubbing his hands together eagerly.

"Step into the cage," He says motioning to the cage at the centre of the stage. It was large with plenty of room to stand up and move around.

I move towards the cage, slip inside and wait for Daisy but she doesn't come. I look over and realise she's still standing beside Pentive and looking the cage with fear apparently struggling with the urge to run off the stage.

Eventually however she has to enter the cage and immediately walked over to the very edge as far away from me as possible, her legs shaking.

I don't know how long I stand there looking at her but it feels like forever. My heart is beating quicker and quicker as I realise for the first what I truly had to do, I had to kill her. I have to kill the only girl who had liked me for reasons other than my social status, she might not have been someone I trusted with my secrets but she was still someone I liked, someone I had joked with and messed around with. Now she was someone I had to kill.

I don't realise when I decide to move but suddenly I have lurched forward and grabbed poor Daisy by the throat. I hold tightly watching her flawing weakly as I choked the life from her.

I could feel her desperately hitting me trying to break free of my grip, her breathing becoming broken and disjointed and I wished she would stop she was making this so hard. I didn't want to kill her and her struggles were just prolonging her suffering.

I can't take it anymore, looking into Daisy's scared, innocent eyes as I kill her.

I needed to end this now.

I tighten my hold; I don't want her to suffer for a single moment longer.

That is when her light blue eyes lost their light and her head rolled back lifelessly. Standing this close to her I feel that her chest had stopped moving and the lack of breath on my check and I knew that she was gone.

Her once warm smiling face is now limp and cold and her eyes are glassy and unseeing.

I shove her dead body away from my own unable to bear the thought of being this close to her empty lifeless shell after what I have just done.

I have killed her.

I have destroyed her family.

Somewhere in the crowd her mother and father are weeping for her lost child who had just been killed in front of them. Somewhere her friends and siblings are crying for my blood.

What I had just done was unforgivable. And it doesn't matter according to the Capital and my parents.

Well they're wrong, it does matter and I will never forgive myself.

"It appears we have a winner!" Comes Pentive's voice, sounding overly cheerful after the death of a young girl.

He calls me other and gets me to stand next to one of our old victors, Rosmary, and then he walks back over to the reaping bowl.

I feel numb as I watch him choosing a name out of the reaping bowl. Yet again a name was called out and the boy walks up to the stage only to be replaced by an another volunteer.

The new boy walks up to the stage and I vaguely recognise him from training but as I had sessions away from other people I have only seen him in breaks and leaving to head back home.

He is big and muscular as you would expect from a career tribute and appears to be around 17. He has an almost hungry look about him as he steps onto the stage and stands beside Pentive.

"And you are?" Pentive asks.

"Forto" He answers his voice strong and unwavering.

His friend is called forward and the big strong boy wavers for a moment, an unreadable emotion flitting through his eyes and then it's gone and the boy is striding towards the cage.

His friend enters after him without a moments hesitation.

It's an unfair match and it's clear who is going to win from the start, his friend was thin and lanky; he didn't stand a chance against the trained killing machine standing before him.

The two boys stand there looking at each other for a moment and then the friend nods once and Forto moves forward and twists his neck in one smooth motion. The click that sounded through the otherwise silent air lingers for a moment for all to hear before it vanishes leaving behind only the friends dead body.

The friends head rolls to the side and Forto slowly presses his lips to the boy's forehead before walking out of the cage and standing beside me.

"Well it looks like we have our tributes!" Pentive says his heavy Capital accent making every word sound distorted and alien, "So happy Hunger Games! And may the odd be ever in your favour!"

With that the mayor steps forward to finish the speech and congratulate us, we both smile graciously knowing the Capital audience are watching and that we must appear strong for sponsors but I can see that killing our friends has affected us both and if I look carefully Forto's hand is trembling slightly.

After the speech Forto and me move forwards to shake hands, he gives my hand a small and yet comforting squeeze and I know that I have found I confidant, someone who knows how I am feeling right now and understands.

I think that is what grounds me during the rest of the ceremony.

I think that is what reminded me that the games had only just begun.

-THG-THG-THG-THG-THG-THG-THG-THG-THG-THG-THG-

A.N: So the tensions starting to grow…

Just wondering do you think she should trust Forto?

And please leave a review if you want me to continue because I'm not very sure at the moment.