I've actually been getting more chapters done now I've started to do them on my iPod so I hope to get the groundwork on this story done pretty quick. I hope you enjoy and once again thanks for all the reviews and followers and favourites I got :D
Effie POV (again)
"It's breakfast" I state simply as Haymitch places a huge plate of lamb stew and rice in front of me "can't I have fruit salad or something?" I try and persuade him, I should never have agreed to this eating thing, he's driving me mad already. To my surprise he makes up a heaping plate of fruit salad and for a second I think I've gotten away with it but just as I've managed to convince myself that he's reasonable and not that stubborn he places it right next to the stew and says "you can have that too" and my blood should boil, really it should, but he says it with that cheeky grin that melts my heart. Damn his kissable lips. Just as I've shot him a flirty yet exasperated look and began to fork the food into my mouth the door to the other tributes bedroom opens and I immediately recognise the girl that steps out. Annabella Snow.
What immediately strikes me is that she is breathtakingly beautiful in every sense of the word. You wouldn't think that she's only 14, she looks at least 3 years older that she actually is. Almost luminous pale blue eyes sit on her perfectly proportioned face, wide and all seeing, her skin is as smooth, clear and pale as that of a china doll. Her Cupid's bow lips are opened a little and she is exceptionally tall yet extremely slight, possibly thinner than me and dressed in Capitol wear she would be at home on any runway but here, in the training centre, dressed in similar, simple attire she looks like she could snap at any second. My heart squeezes in my chest. Too young. Far too young. She had left her long white blonde hair down and perfectly straight but seeing me with even just the front part of my hair waterfall plaited away from my face she seems to realise what we're doing and pulls it into a hasty ponytail as she sits down.
"Hungry kid?" Haymitch asks. Having obviously noticed her very low weight and when she shakes her head Katniss cuts in, knowing what's coming
"It wasn't a question" she replies, passing her a plate of lamb and rice and a bowl of fruit just like my own heaving portion. She looks about as impressed as I do but our eyes meet for a millisecond and she seems to say to me 'I will if you do'. Maybe she's not so bad after all.
"So. Any special skills?" Haymitch asks as soon as we tuck into our plates and I let Annabella answer first, it's not like I have any. "I guess I'm kind of fast, I win some of the races at school" she says quietly; her voice is a perfect bell like soprano and I can't say I'm surprised. "I do the long distance runs mostly but I won the 100m sprint for the past two years" she elaborates "I'm on the swim team and baseball too but I'm not really much good at those, I think I'm just there because they need a body on the pitch or in the pool to make a full team"
Haymitch nods thoughtfully, he got good with her, she might win this with those skills, not many people will have offensive skills apart from Tax so running and hiding might just be her best bet out of that place. Haymitch turns to me next and raises an eyebrow, prompting me to speak. I know if I say I don't have any he'll tell me off and give up on me so I decide to reel off all the things I used to do as a kid no matter how useless they are and hope for the best.
"I did dance and gymnastics for a bit when I was a kid but I don't see that it will be much help" I say, scooping the last forkful of the stew and rice into my mouth. My stomach is stretched uncomfortably tight but I pick up a different fork and get started on the fruit salad anyway, I get the distinct feeling that if i don't finish neither will Annabella so I shove a chunk of pineapple into my mouth all the same, the sweet juice bursting over my tastebuds
"And how long was 'a bit' for exactly sweetheart?" He asks in that same old exasperated tone, like he can't fathom a single reason that justifies talking to me right now. I have to think of his lips on mine, his hands pulling me hungrily closer to him to remember that he actually likes me. I tot up the numbers hastily and am disturbed to find how high they are he's going to berate me for wasting so much of my life on a useless discipline and ask me why I didn't run or swim or play baseball even though I couldn't imagine Annabella's slight body being of much use in any sport.
"13 years of dance and 10 years of gymnastics" I mumble with my head down, shoving grapes into my mouth with a spoon. I prepared myself for his tirade but he lets out a few short chuckles
"Kept that close to your chest sweetheart" he said "that'll be useful in the arena" he finished and tucked back into his breakfast but anger boiled inside me explosively. I had no chance of winning! And he mocks me by saying that?!
I think Annabella can sense the tension in the room because she manages to cram the last of her breakfast in her mouth and announces she wants to go down early and she'll leave us to it. How she can inhale food at such a pace and all but run from the room and still look like an elegant fairy will never cease to amaze me. I wait for her to leave before I start my tirade, if she's made it perfectly clear she doesn't want to be here when it starts the least I can do is give her chance to leave.
"I have no chance! No chance at all! Especially against Tax! He's a trainer, Haymitch. I think it might even be in his job description to be able to win a games. I am not going to beat him by pirouetting my way out of there!" I explode at him startling the whole table to silence. You could almost hear the dust orbiting around the room. "Think about Rue-" he starts to retort but I cut him off "acrobatics and gymnastics are different! I can't do acrobatics, I've never trained in it so if that's what you're thinking then stop it!"
"I don't care if you can do acro-whatever or not! You're right, the person who can do the prettiest double back flip isn't gonna come out of that place alive, it's the person who's fast, smart, strong and knows their own bodies, sound like anyone you know?"
I slump back down into my seat defeated, stuffed to bursting and proven wrong. Katniss breaks the awkward silence with the only thing in the world that could make it more awkward then it already is
"You and Haymitch need to play the lovers card. I know you're gonna hate it and I did but you need the support and everyone's a sucker for a good love story"
Way to go Katniss. I didn't even know someone could put their foot that far into their mouth. Haymitch looks at me and I look at him. He shrugs. I stay silent. She's right and we both know it. What I feel and what he feels and how we feel about each other is nobodies business but our own and I don't want it plastered across every television screen in Panem but if I want to get back to him I might not have a choice... I nod, the tiniest movement of my head that feels so much like betrayal. He nods.
"Right. I'm really sorry in advance but you need to take her down to training and make a big fuss about how much you love each other. At least in some ways it might be true. Someday" Katniss tells us and I have no argument left for her or Haymitch or anyone else that I could shout at over this. I rise soundlessly and we intertwine out hands as we head to the elevator.
The trip to the elevator is silent but when the door closes he pulls me into a warm embrace that I sink into happily. "I'm so sorry princess" he whispers into my hair and I can't stop the lone tear which trickles out of my eye, I'm sure he feels it seep through his shirt because his arms tighten around me as we descend. He pulls me away from him abruptly and starts speaking very low and very fast
"Work on your aim, bows and arrows, knives, spears, axes, whatever you can get your hands on, if you show the game makers you're worth a bow and arrow they'll give you one and with Tax in the mix they'll only put in one." He doesn't have to explain for me to know what he's saying. Get the bow and arrow before Tax or you don't stand a chance. "Under no circumstances show them you're skills in dancing and gymnastics, hand to hand combat is just like a dance and we can work on that in the penthouse, use this time to learn something new. And don't forget" he slows down now, I expect some piece of advice, like a copy of the instruction book to winning the games but he caresses my cheek and all I can think is how much I love it when he does that "I love you" he whispers right in my ear. I understand, he's telling me now so I know he felt like this before all that is still to come. "As I love you" I reply instantaneously. This moment should have been special, it shouldn't have been forced out before it needed to be, hurried and unromantic in a lift but this is what we have so we work with what we've got. He intertwines his fingers with mine again and it makes me feel a little calmer The sharp ding of the lift informs us that we've reached our destination, we are the last people here and we have to work this to our advantage, with our joined hands we walk towards the large training room, eyes bright, chins up, look confident. Just a little show of more than friendly affection now and then ham it up at lunchtime; I walk close to him, our joined hands brushing between our thighs and all eyes are on us. He leans down and presses a chaste kiss to my lips, it's nothing, a peck, a goodbye kiss but my body reacts anyway and I can feel desire fizzing in my stomach. Everyone was talking amongst themselves but with the kiss everything has fallen silent. I even hear a sigh from someone, I think it's a member of district 8's old prep team. He ghosts the back of his finger along my cheek again. I really really love it when he does that. And then he's gone, leaving me with weakened knees and armed with what little advice he could give me in the time we had left. Time that seems numbered now, ticking down to zero and there was nothing I could do to stop it.
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MeganEliabethh xx