Disclaimer: I don't own The Hunger Games and am making no money from this.
This story, like most Hunger Games stories I've read will be told from various points of view. As normal, I'll note when they change.
Katniss
The snare line produced squirrels and a rabbit for us. I managed to sell them for decent money, not that I'll be able to give Gale nearly as much as I'd like. He's fair to a fault, and that means splitting the money we make from hunting, even if I don't need a single coin and Gale can use them all. Every time we sell at the Hob we have the same argument; every time I try to get Gale to take more than half; every time he refuses. Sometimes I do something childish like run off before he can hand me my share of the coins, sometimes he wins.
I've hears there's such a thing as pickpockets; people who can take things out of your pocket without you noticing. I imagine it would work in reverse too. Maybe I should learn; I certainly have the time…
My indulgence of childish sticky fingered fantasies stops suddenly when the entire Hob falls deathly silent. What the heck? I look around and suddenly the cause is obvious. Gale and his very blonde, very famous companion. "Geez, can't you enter a room normally?"
"But that's no fun!" Glimmer's blonde voice is back. I guess she and Gale aren't mad at each other anymore if she's back to teasing me.
"Relax people, it's just a Victor, you see one every day, no big deal." Gale booms out. Apparently his voice has authority because the room quickly returns to normal.
"Way to ruin a girl's fun! No wonder you haven't hooked up with Katniss yet."
"Hey!" Gale yells. "Katniss, is she always like this?"
"Pretty much," I deadpan.
"Hey! I'm totally awesome and you know it Katniss!" Yep. She's already starting. And we have two long weeks on a train together to look forward to.
"Don't you have some banquet to get ready for or something?" Gale asks.
"Ugh, yes. My prep team will want to torture me all afternoon probably."
"Is it really that bad?"
"It's hours of horrors I never dreamed of. Pray you never experience it firsthand."
"We have a lot of it to look forward to in the next two weeks, and you're right, we do need to head back or they'll come looking for us, and this district didn't look big enough for it to take long to find this place." Glimmer breaks in.
"She's right Gale, we do need to get out of here. You'll be at the banquet later, right?" I ask.
"Sure, I may not like the Capitol but I'll eat their free food. Besides, you're leaving on the train afterwards right? I have to be there to say goodbye."
"Great, I'll see you then, Gale. Oh, don't forget your coins." I hand Gale all the coins and grab Glimmer and leave before Gale can object. Well, he didn't see how much I sold, so he can't say for sure if he has half the coins or all, right?
It's a short walk from the Hob back to Victor's Village. "Your team is on the train?" I ask.
"Yeah, should be. Yours probably will be at your house; more space and all that."
I nod. "You good to get back to the train then?"
"Sure, no problem. I'll see you at the banquet." We trade waves and part ways: her back to the train and me into my house.
Prim
Katniss is up in her room with her Prep Team. I see what she meant about them being weird; they look like something out of a bad kid's coloring book. People just are not supposed to look like that! But at least Cinna's nice. He's in the kitchen talking to my mom. He even looks like a normal person too!
Today's a big day in the District. There's a banquet to celebrate Katniss' victory tonight that marks the start of the Victory Tour, but it's also the first of the monthly Package Days and a day off from work and school. For most of 12 Package Days are a huge deal- packages of food and candy, some of it the sort of things they could never hope to afford. Every month for the next year there will be a Package Day to celebrate the district that produced the Victor. At least that's the Capitol's description of it. If it was a celebration you'd think it'd start as soon as the Games ended or when the Victors got home. Since half the Package Days come after the next Games it seems like they remind people of what they're going to lose. Like the dead kids don't do that enough.
Gale's quiet about it, but I know he doesn't like the Capitol. Katniss has mentioned that in the woods he isn't so quiet about it. It's things like that that make me think he's probably right. Of course he's pretty careful about what he says where I can hear, and so is Katniss, so all I have to go on is the odd comment they make when they don't realize I'm around, or forget they aren't alone in the room.
It'd be nice if they'd let me in on things a bit and I could actually do something to help for at least something, but that doesn't seem like it's gonna happen. So instead I'm spending my day off playing video games. Don't get me wrong, I like video games as much as the next girl, but there should be more to life than just that. Unfortunately I don't know if Katniss' prep team or Cinna have anything planned for me today, so I can't even really wander far from the house. So video games it is.
My gaming marathon is interrupted when Glimmer bursts into the house. Usually people only do that for houses they actually own. Weird. A few paces behind her is another Capitol… person. I think it's a guy, but it's the girliest looking guy I've ever seen. The face sort of looks like a guy, but there's way too much hair gel… and is that makeup? That and the clothes he's wearing are so tight I think they'd fit me. That could be a girl, but I think I'm gonna go with guy until I hear otherwise.
"No! I absolutely refuse!" Glimmer yells.
"I am your stylist and you will do as I say, and I say you will wear it!" Wow, he even has a girlie accent. This is the Capitol everyone hates so much?
"I'm not doing it and there's not a god damned thing you can do about it!"
"I am the brilliant stylist Puella and you are a mere canvas and will do as I say!"
"I'm not afraid to hit a girl you know." Glimmer warns, suddenly calm. It's the sort of calm I've seen a few times before, usually from Gale when he's about to start a serious fight.
"How dare you! You insult me by calling me a girl! As if any single gender could contain my brilliance, you stupid ignorant urchin!"
"Ok, that's it; it's time to hurt you." Glimmer's stance hardens. She's really going to do it and I'm going to have to clean up the mess on the floor!
"Now what's all this then?" Cinna stands in the doorway from the kitchen. With all the noise from the argument I didn't even notice him come in.
"Hmpf, Cinna. This is none of your concern. A simple matter between myself and this glorified mannequin."
"That may be so." Cinna starts. "But you do realize she is quite serious about hurting you, don't you?"
"A pathetic joke, no more! This child could not hope to touch the radiance that is Puella!"
"You must have watched the Games. I think that showed she could do more than simply touch you. And I do not think she is in a mood to show restraint." Cinna's calm to a fault here.
Puella looks at Glimmer again and it's like he's realizing for the first time she actually won the Games and did it by killing people. I'd like to say the color drains out of his face, but with so much makeup it could be just some wishful thinking on my part. "I'm going to start shoving those batteries somewhere. Care to guess where?" Glimmer asks with a grin.
"Now please, surely we can be reasonable about this?" Puella asks. He's bad at keeping fear out of his voice.
"No we really can't." Glimmer cuts him off. "You're fired."
"Absolutely not! You have no authority to fire me! You are a mere Victor and I am a legend! And this legend refuses to work with one such as you!"
"Yeah whatever. Hop the next train to the Capitol and tell yourself whatever the hell you want."
Puella leaves in a huff, slamming the door behind him. That poor door is just getting no respect today. There is one thing I need to ask before the door gets disrespected again though. "Um, Glimmer, why were you going to do something to him with batteries? Aren't there better things for the job?"
Glimmer looks at me, taking a moment to calm herself. "The outfits he was trying to make me wear needed batteries. They were covered in lights; flashing light, light strips, patterns, all sorts of nonsense. I'd have looked like a stupid billboard or something." Glimmer frowns
"Ah, I thought it might be that." Cinna says, I'm not sure if it's to us or himself. "He's been trying to push that in the Capitol, make it the next big trend. So far it hasn't caught on as much as he wanted. Seeing a Victor in it though…"
"A no talent hack trying to use my brilliance for his own, unlike you Cinna. And actually, that reminds me. I seem to need a new wardrobe…"
Cinna chuckles. "It's possible I might have something in your size. I'll let Katniss' prep team know they have another client so need to hurry."
"Thanks Cinna, you're the best." Glimmer smiles. The girl sure can go through moods fast. Cinna heads upstairs to talk to the prep team and Glimmer sits down next to me, grabbing a spare controller. "Mind if I join you?"
"Um, sure." I reply. I try not to sound apprehensive but the look on her face tells me I didn't do so well.
"Hey, don't worry, I'm not mad at you."
"How do you jump through emotions that fast?"
Glimmer looks thoughtful for a bit. "I think it's because a lot makes me angry, and most of it centers around this tour. I may not want to be, but there's so much that ticks me off, and it's been on me for a while now. Being mad is easy now, I've had so much practice at it that it's just automatic almost."
"What are you always so mad about?"
"Hmm, how to put this…"
"Why does everyone always say something like that?" I ask. I'm the one getting mad now. "Why can't anyone just tell me things?"
"Prim, these are things I'm not allowed to tell anyone. If I do, there's consequences; very real and bad ones. It's not that you're a kid or whatever, it's that I can't tell anyone; I'm just not willing to live with the price. And that's part of what I'm mad about. There's a lot in my life I should be in control of and I'm not. I guess you could say the odds are never in my favor, no matter how it may look."
"Is Katniss in a situation like that too? Where she can't talk to anyone about what's happening?"
Glimmer nods. "She and I are in the same boat, yeah."
"Are things going to get better for you and Katniss?"
She pauses for a bit. "I don't know Prim." I've heard that sort of answer before; it's a nice way to say no.
Katniss
Apparently Glimmer and her stylist had a falling out. I'm glad; I didn't like the look of the guy, and also it meant my prep team had to fit Glimmer in too, sparing me who knows how long of their bizarre work. Hopefully since they'll be doing this every day the session won't be as long, but I don't really think I'm that lucky.
There's parts of the tour I dread, but tonight isn't one of them. We'll have to make a speech at the Justice Building, which can either be some boring prewritten speech or if we knew tributes from the District something we write ourselves and then a banquet. Tonight Peeta's parents will be there, so that part will be a bit tough. His father and brothers don't hold a grudge, but his mother… Well, she's had a grudge against everyone since even before the Games, so no change there.
The banquet normally is just local politicians or something like that; people I could care less about. But in a Victor's district, their family and friends get to be there too. So that means Prim, my mom, Gale and Madge are there. A banquet with my friends isn't a bad start to this tour.
The only bad part tonight will be having to remember Peeta. My feelings for him were pretty muddled in the Games. I owed him for that bread all those years ago, but that declaration of love was just so… stupid. And on all of Panem watching. God I wanted to hit him for that. Hmm, come to think of it, I did hit him for that.
And then there was that idiot stunt teaming up with the Careers. Even if I was pretty sure it was a scheme, I still felt a little betrayed at the time. Not that I could really talk bad on teaming up with Careers for too much longer; I did the exact same thing with Glimmer after all.
Finding Peeta again was weird. They'd just said two of us could win; Glimmer and I could both walk out alive. It was still new in our heads, and after Rue and Finch died that rule was something that actually gave us some real hope.
Glimmer didn't like Peeta. She pretty much hated him actually. Being a coward was a big thing with her, and Peeta fit the bill perfectly as far as she was concerned. Me, I don't care either way. You do what you have to do to live, and sometimes that means you run and hide. It's not nice, but it keeps you alive.
I owed Peeta, I was still a bit mad at him, and his feelings… Well, frankly I tried hard to ignore them; they just get in the way. I wasn't sure how to handle it, really; mainly I played referee between Peeta and Glimmer or went out to hunt so I didn't have to deal with any of it. Not the best things for some speech.
I don't really know what I'll say. No one ever taught me how to do things like this. What do you say to parents in this situation? What they want to hear I guess. I'm not looking to change the world or even make some big statement; Snow made clear where that choice leads.
I guess nice talk about how brave he was at the end, what a courageous choice he made and all that will be the order of the day. I don't really have much planned; I'll just make it up as I go. Nothing I say can change things here. After all, this is District 12, not the sort of place that's going to sit in judgment of someone who was singled out by the Capitol for special abuse and actually survived it.
Besides, the Victory Tour isn't about the Victors or their districts; it's a reminder to the losers that they're just that: losers. So I'll make some speech, be paraded around in pretty dresses and be the doll Snow wants me to be. After all, it's like Peeta did. Sometimes you just hide and hope things get better.
Today I'm hiding in a dress that seems to move from black to dark red like smoldering coal, and matching heels. (Every time I give Cinna a look about them he reminds me I'm stuck with a taller partner who adores heels, so I have to suck it up or look tiny next to her.) It seems this will be how most of the outfits go, a mix of colors native to each district accented with red for me, and gold or silver for Glimmer, plus of course our Victor's crowns..
It's not exactly a lot to hide behind and it certainly isn't armor like some storybook hero; I don't know why Snow seems to think I am. Really Gale's the rebel, not me. If it was him going on this tour maybe Snow really would have someone to fear; instead he has two girls who are running late to the start of their tour and both wish we could just stay home.
Of course since it's a Capitol function and we're late there's Effie Trinket. Her absurd colors, the high pitched voice, the ridiculous outfits and obsession with punctuality, it seems Effie's completely unchanged since I last saw her. In some way's it's comforting, seeing a familiar (if decidedly odd) thing, but in other ways it really ticks me off. So perky and oblivious to all the horrors that happen right in front of her; a chipper escort for condemned prisoners.
Fortunately I'm not the target of her particular brand of motivation; Glimmer's the one running late since she fired her stylist, so she gets to listen to Effie. In a way I'm curious, but not so curious I'll go upstairs. Besides, she's getting ready in my room, and it's soundproofed; it's the only way Prim and my mom can get sleep reliably.
I don't know if it's because of Effie or not, but within a minute Glimmer's coming down the stairs. She looks amazing, of course, and the way her dress fits I'd say Cinna saw his having a second girl to design for well in advance. Effie's already rushing to collect Prim and my mother so we can get going. While everyone else is distracted with the odd mix of organization and chaos I walk over to Glimmer. "Enjoy Effie?" I quietly ask.
"Ah, she's not so bad."
I look Glimmer in the eye. I know she's teased and messed with me before, even flirted (I'm pretty sure that was just to get a laugh at my expense, not because seriously wanted me like that). I'm no expert at reading people, but I swear she's serious. "Are you kidding me?"
"Sure. She might be a bit annoying, but she's harmless."
"A bit annoying?" Did she hit her head or something?
"Just watch my mentor, Cashmere and you'll understand. Effie's annoying, but totally clueless. Cashmere, she knows exactly where this tour leads and loves seeing it; Effie's harmless, Cashmere is a malicious bitch."
Well this just sounds like it's going to be a delightful few weeks. Annoying Effie, drunk Haymitch, and Cashmere who just sounds like such a delightful girl. Oh yeah, and the families of people I used to know, some of whom were my friends and others Glimmer and I killed. Joy.
Madge
My dad has never been the party line sort, and that passed on to me. Sure, he's the mayor, head of District 12 and chief Capitol representative; that's what people see at least. When people aren't looking he's not a fan of the Capitol at all. Now he may not be as blatantly outspoken as Gale Hawthorne, but my dad's in a position to do more than just rant. As mayor of District 12 he can make life miserable for everyone, running things totally by the book, or he make things as loose and relaxed as possible. Now, that doesn't mean things are easy here, the Capitol won't let that happen, but compared to some other districts, 12 is relatively peaceful and pleasant.
Because my dad is a rebel in his own way, he raised me like one as well. That meant that when school lessons were blatant Capitol propaganda he made sure to show me the truth, and when I was old enough, he started giving me books to read. The sort of books that are banned: books about other districts in Panem, and especially books about the world before the Dark Times.
The world really was a different sort of place, and honestly a better place. Freedom of speech, freedom of movement, even freedom to bear arms; all of these weren't just allowed, they were called fundamental rights. Even the names were different. (Apparently District 12 was called West Virginia once.)
It's amazing to me people let all that be eroded and totally vanish. Now it's all just a dream, and an illegal one at that. Fortunately my dad taught me about Capitol surveillance as well;he taught me what places they listen to, what sorts are loyal to the Capitol and what sort aren't. He taught me to be paranoid and to keep my dreams to myself until the time comes that we can rise up against the Capitol.
For years I thought it was just wishful thinking that anyone would ever raise a fist against the Capitol, but half a year ago I saw it start. The Hunger Games, the Capitol's ultimate and most public of controls backfired. Not just one, but two districts rose up in riots against their masters. The Capitol didn't let people know, of course, but as a Mayor's daughter I get to see news feeds that normal people would be killed for reading.
The riots in 5 and 11 were unprecedented and the Peacekeepers were totally unprepared. The resident Peacekeepers were overwhelmed in a matter of minutes; more Peacekeepers were brought in and retook the Justice Buildings, but to fully pacify the uprisings took a week. All this because two girls who shouldn't have ever even spoken actually allied with each other and girls from 5 and 11, and when those girls from 5 and 11 died they weren't just cast off or left behind like they should be, they were honored.
Of course no one outside of 5 and 11 knows this, least of all Katniss and Glimmer. I've thought about telling Katniss, but I've never been sure how. To be honest I've always been a bit jealous of her, how she seems to able to do whatever she has to do. I'd have no idea what to do if I went out into the woods, but Katniss practically lives there. Sure, my dad keeps the fence off most of the time and that's why Katniss is able to go into the woods at all, but I wish I could go out and actually know what to do.
Before the Games Katniss had to hunt to feed her family, so I couldn't ask her to take me along. Indulging me at the expense of her own family just wouldn't be a fair thing for me to ask. Now that Katniss is a Victor she doesn't need to hunt and certainly would have the time to teach me things, but we never talk; I'm still in school for a little longer, and Katniss doesn't have to be anymore. I can't just go over to her house and ask either; I know full well that everything in Victor's Village is bugged.
I also know about the appointments. I'm sure Katniss could use someone to talk to about that, now I don't know if she would or not, but any way to broach that would raise a lot of questions that I can't answer. Maybe it makes me a bad friend, I don't really know. Unless something changes I think I'm stuck as an observer. It's basically what my entire life has been, just watching, inoffensive in the background, why should today be any different? I'm the pretty blonde in a dignified dress that everyone says looks nice then doesn't think about again.
The current window dressing I'm playing is sitting on stage at the Justice Building, waiting for Katniss and Glimmer to come out and make their speeches. But before that are the preliminaries, which consist of some gaudy looking Capitol woman giving a speech. It's the same every year, and as mayor's daughter I've had to go to every last one. I'm not sure exactly what she says; I must have actually paid attention at least one year, but I can't for the life of me tell you what she's going on about. Probably how glorious the Capitol is or some such.
Oh, don't get me wrong, I look like I'm paying attention. It's a well practiced skill, looking like you're interested and paying attention while your mind is totally disconnected and elsewhere. It may not be the most noble of skills, but in my life it is among the most useful. District 12 is basically in the sticks so not a lot of dignitaries come to visit, but there's enough formal functions that I've been expected to attend that I've learned the skill. I've gotten good at it; so good that I can even do it while someone is talking to me. Usually it's the same shallow meaningless chatter, so it's not hard to have those conversations on autopilot while I retreat into my own mind. After all, for a girl whose only friend is Katniss Everdeen great conversations that take your whole attention are rare indeed.
The Capitol woman has finished talking now and the crowd applauds, and me along with them. It's the sort of polite applause borne of intense apathy and boredom. Next is presenting Glimmer and then Katniss each with a plaque (are Victors actually expected to fill a wall with the plaques from each District?) and a bouquet of flowers. The crowd applauds with genuine enthusiasm for Glimmer and roaring adoration for Katniss; home town girl makes good.
It's Glimmer's turn to make her speech first (1 comes before 12 after all.) She walks to the microphone with the usual premade speech in her hand. She gives in a long look and then apparently decides to skip it; the raised arm holding the paper falls to her waist. "I don't think it's much of a secret Peeta and I didn't think much of each other or see eye to eye on most things. But in the end he stepped up and was someone District 12 should be proud of. He was all about helping others; his interview was about someone else, he joined the Careers to try and help someone else, and he died helping others. When he had to face the end he did it nobly and in a way that people should be proud of. District 12 had two great tributes, Peeta Mellark who gave his life, and my friend, Katniss Everdeen. Thank you, everyone. Thank you, District 12."
The crowd and I applaud. It's sincere, if not thunderous. A real speech hasn't happened in District 12 since Haymitch Abernathy won 24 years ago. Glimmer's was nice, and only the slightest bit revisionist, but the real event for the home crowd will be Katniss. Personally I think they might be disappointed, but hey, she's the local girl so they'll applaud for anything she says.
Katniss walks to the microphone slowly. I think it's partly the shoes, and partly fear. After all, words and Katniss aren't always on speaking terms. "Peeta Mellark went to the Games to help others. It's a contest all about killing and survival, but right from the start he did things differently; he dedicated his time in the Capitol to helping others. Primarily me. I'm very grateful for all Peeta did for me. I can't ever repay his kindness and certainly could never repay Peeta giving his life for me, all I can do is thank him, thank his parents and thank his family."
Again the crowd applauds. It wasn't a brilliant oration by any means, but it was sincere, and by Katniss standards unimaginably long. I also think it bothers her that she owes Peeta and can't ever repay that debt, though she wouldn't admit it. Not to me at least.
It's been an odd start to the Victory Tour so far. Usually we get the premade Capitol speeches and then it's off to the banquet, where the Victors and their mentors leave as fast as humanly possible. Most years we don't even get to see them stay long enough to look polite. Instead today we've gotten a pair of eulogies to start. The banquet will be different too, if for no other reason than I'll be sitting with the Victors instead of with my dad being a pretty little decoration.
The public part of all this is over, so the crowd gets to go home, but the Capitol crowd, the Victors and their guests all go into the Justice Building. For tonight only the desks, papers and Capitol bureaucracy have all been shoved aside for tables, chairs, a bar and a dance floor. Tonight, with these Victors is probably the closest the building has come to anything resembling justice in a long time.
Now I know the whole point of this is to make all the politicians, civil servants and other sorts of meaningless people feel important, like the Capitol cares about them and lets all these paper pushers see the famous Victors up close. Usually it's limited to a few handshakes and the odd picture or two. After all these important people have nothing they'd actually discuss with Victors, so traditionally the Victor and their mentor are alone, looking impatiently down their noses at the savages in 12.
Tonight, however, the Victors will have others at their table. Friends, family, and me among them. I'm actually looking forward to it. For the first time in my life I actually want to be at this banquet. So I go into the Justice Building, the smile on my face genuine for the first time of all the Victory Tour banquets I've been to.
Author's Notes:
Another chapter comes to an end, and the Victory Tour starts. I'd like to thank my friend JB for some help with the editing. Like always if anyone has any comments, critiques or suggestions I'd love to hear from you. Reviews are always great. Thanks for reading.
