Will They Sing About Me?
(When I'm Dead and Gone)
Belle Hatton, Age 17, District Twelve, "Victor" of the 406th Hunger Games
We arrived in District Eleven, and despite the beauty of the district—contrasted by the harshness of the military presence—I felt sick. District Eleven… Quinn. Quinn with her nonsense songs and float-y nature, who I had let die. At least I'd avenged her death.
We were quickly shepherded into the Justice Building from the train, and I knew that I was the one to give our speech in this district. I looked at the cards again and again and tried to memorize them.
"And now we have our victors," I heard the District Eleven Mayor say.
The doors in front of us opened and we all—Aurelia, Evander, Henrik, Ikky, and me—walked out, me in front. I thought about last year's Victory Tour—Kizzy's. She was dead now, too.
I approached the microphone. "District Eleven," I began, and fidgeted with the cards nervously. "Your tributes were Quinn and Fall. Both were very young. But they were so brave. We salute their courage, and their sacrifice. It was the other tributes that made them fall, not the Capitol, who so graciously let us five live this year." I hated the words coming out of my mouth. "I'm sure it was an honor for them to represent this wonderful district." I paused, and switched to the next card. "Quinn was my ally, even before Evangaline and Jess. Because she was so good, and I wanted to take care of her. And I'm sorry that I didn't do a better job of it. But Quinn will live on in Panem's glory. As will Fall. Thank you."
There was uneasy applause, and we went back into the Justice Building, and I exhaled. Everything had gone smoothly. Now we just had a party tonight, and then we'd be off to District Ten, where we knew no one.
I spoke more in Districts Seven and Eight, for Jess and Evangaline. I was supposed to talk about how merciful the Capitol was, and how it was the tributes that made them fall, again, but I mostly cried. "I couldn't save Jess either," I sobbed. "Just like Quinn and Evangaline. But all of them will live on in Panem's glory; thank you." The words ended in a whimper.
. . . . .
Aurelia D'Avranches, Age 18, District Two, "Victor" of the 406th Hunger Games
In District Four, it was our turn. "Delora was a valuable ally," I began. "But she wasn't loyal to the Capitol as we were." I smirked. "Troy was young, and he was… sweet. But he wasn't strong enough, and that was his downfall."
Evander spoke in District One. "Sage and Jullius were strong warriors of the Capitol," he said. "They were loyal, and they were strong, and they were good allies… until the end. We salute their courage, and their sacrifice, and we honor them and this district, and they will live on. Thank you."
And then, we were off to the Capitol, and all of us were relieved, for once as a group, because our socializing wasn't as important there.
The parties were amazing there, everything I could have ever dreamed of, but I was oddly looking forward to making our speech at home. We would be returning to the Capitol, of course, but to see District Two again… that had been part of my goal in those Games.
But first, we were off to Twelve. It really was pathetic, but the Twelve girl, Belle, was elated. She ran and hugged a bunch of people. She gave a rather rallying speech instead of blubbering. She led a bunch of celebrations in the Harvest Festival.
Then we were off to Nine. The District Nine tributes weren't quite as elated, but they were still obviously happy to be home, however temporarily. I was a bit jealous, to be honest.
But soon, we were in Two, and our very militant district suddenly seemed comforting. I was almost emotional, and that really wasn't like me, but Evander and Caecilia were even happier than I was. Our district was the one to truly get behind us and our cause, and I was again almost sad when we had to go back to the Capitol, though not as sad as I would have been if I'd had to go someplace like Twelve.
Back in the city, things were a little tense between all of us again. But that was nothing compared to the nation as the Reapings once again approached.
. . . . .
Author's Note: Short chapter to get us back to the story. Chapter title from "Scream My Name" by Tove Lo. Also, an important announcement: due to the sheer number of characters in this story, especially tributes, and a small amount of good tribute submissions by current readers, I have decided that only the following tributes will be featured in One Last Melody. They are: Saorise, Ivyta, Xandir, Voltair, Stitch, Len, Leander, Ruby, and Gabriel, and I'm very excited for you to meet all of them. Thank you!
