Authors Notes: Sorry if this one took a while! This chapter is twice as long as the others though, Im eager to get to the arena. Only maybe two more chapters until the games begin! Oh yes, and enjoy the Lya/Peeta action. :D
Oh, and thankyou for all the wonderful reviews! And to FanFreak2002 who keeps me excited to update often! 3
Lya and The Labyrinth
Chapter Seven
Training For Failure
I wake up, hazy from a night of deep sleep. I don't remember the last time I slept the night through. The sun is high in the sky, so it must be around lunchtime. Im surprised no one woke me for breakfast.
Sitting up in my new room in the Capitol, I finally get to look around. This room is much bigger than the one of the train; I still have a wardrobe, only much larger, and a new dresser. I step out of bed, still in last nights black leotard. Padding over to the bathroom, I see the coil of wire on the floor. Freezing on the spot, that's when I remember.
Peeta and I last night, the closeness, and the desire. I have no idea what happened; I don't even know why it happened! What if Peeta doesn't like me? What if last night was all because of the entrancement of the Capitol? How is he supposed to watch me leave into the arena, knowing I will probably die?
Questions flurried through my mind as I stepped into the shower, pushing assorted buttons. One of them poured a gel substance on me that smelt like green apples.
I sat down the in the bottom of the tub and before I knew it, tears were falling from my eyes. I wept about Peeta, I wept about loving him, knowing I might never see him again. I wept for myself, and I wept for Ria back in District 12, she must be so alone.
Although I loved having endless hot water, I miss the creaky old sewing shop. I missed collecting water. I think the thing I missed the most was a simple breeze, sitting up in the ancient trees, watching the District move below me.
I heaved myself up from the bottom of the tub and stepped out, dripping. The direct both my feet touched the mat below me; a warm wind blew up and dried me instantly. I looked over my body; I needed one of these in District 12 for winter!
I placed my hand on the silver panel on the wall before me. Suddenly a current ran through my body, drying my hair and leaving it in a silky sheet down my back. I could definitely get used to this.
I hastily flicked through the wardrobe, selecting a long sleeved purple sweater, black riding pants and knee high leather boots, just like the ones I had at home.
I slipped my knife down into my right boot. Weapons are strictly prohibited, but I felt naked without it.
When I entered the dining room Peeta hadn't arrived yet, but everyone else was already there. Cinna, Haymitch, Effie and Alton.
The room was extravagant; with three of the walls as windows, each overlooking a different part of the Capitol. Set out to dine with was fine china, decorated with happy dancing children. I snorted at the irony.
I helped myself to some sort of fruit soup. I'd never had soup that's made with fruit but when in the Capitol….
"Effie! Why did no one wake me?"
"Oh darling, we all had a nice sleep. Its been such an exhausting journey, we all deserved it."
I chatted happily with Effie about all the crazy things the bathrooms could do.
When Peeta finally walked into the dining room, I was seated with a second plate of fruit and chocolate tarts. He smiled brightly at everyone and taking his plate, helped himself to the table of food.
Alton was making a Capitol man using carrot sticks, and proceeded to stab him again and again with his fork, much to Effie's grimace. I giggled at his carrot victim; secretly knowing we wouldn't hesitate to do the same to the man who invented these horrible games.
My attention was divided when Peeta sat down next to me, so close his leg was touching mine. Underneath the tablecloth his right hand is stroking the side of my thigh, gently. I glance over at him but he is very interested in eating his breakfast and make conversation with Alton.
I sit staring at my fruit parfait, my neck flushing with red.
"Well now that we're all here" Haymitch started. "Its time to begin. I'll ask again if you want to be trained separately or together. "
"Together" Alton says with a nod from me.
"But what if you have a secret talent, a talent you don't want the other two know? You both can't be victor" Haymitch says darkly.
"You've presented us as a combined force." I began. "If Im forced to go into the arena, Its on my terms, and Im going in with Alton, no secrets".
"Well said" Alton smiled at me.
Cinna smiled. "Not all victors are winners, and not all who win are heroes. Don't let them choose who you are."
He looked at Peeta while he said this, and Peeta momentarily stopped caressing my thigh long enough to exchange a look with Cinna. I was really grateful for the long tablecloth right now.
"Well" Peeta began slowly.
"We've presented you as a team, and I want to keep doing that. I think we should present Alton as the obvious threat, but our real secret will be Lya."
He turns to me.
"When training comes, I think we should keep your knife throwing a secret. We want to take anyone and everyone by surprise while we have the advantage"
I tune out mostly now, just enjoying the warmth of Peetas hand on my leg. His fingers make small patterns and a slight smile is on his face as we listen to Cinna and Effie discuss our outfits for the interviews. Suddenly Effie rises, clipboard under her arm.
"Free time until dinner, I have a lot of planning to do" and with that she left the room with Cinna who smiled at us.
"Well Peeta and I have much to discuss" Haymitch stands, raising an eyebrow.
Peeta gently squeezes my leg under the table and stands. That leaves just Alton and me now.
I push my chair away and position myself comfortably on the lounge, my legs tucked underneath me. I stare out at the brightly colored Capitol, still feeling the warmth from Peetas hand on my leg. Alton plops down next to me, his large weight throwing me slightly into the air. We both laugh and the tension is eased.
"Alton" I begin. "I know its not much, but Im glad you were chosen, you know, not in a bad way or anything.." I stumble over my words but he throws his hand out to stop me.
"Lya, Lya relax!" he guffaws. "Its fine. Im glad you were chosen too. I don't think I could go through this by myself."
I nodded, considering my thoughts.
"Lets make a promise. Lets do this together, as a team. You watch my back and I'll watch yours." I look into his brown eyes. His mother probably has the same eyes.
"Lya what happens when it comes down to it. I can't kill you, I just can't do it. They can't make me"
"Lets make a deal then. When it comes down to it, the final eight, we split. We say goodbye and hope it doesn't come down to the two of us. I wouldn't hold you responsible for doing what you had to do to save yourself"
He takes one of my hands in his own.
"It doesn't matter who makes it out Lya. We're not going to bow down to the Capitol. We can get through this, as friends, never enemies"
I smiled at him, and clutched his hand.
Its after dinner, and Im sitting on my bed in my fancy Capitol room. The curtains are drawn and Im staring out over the Capitol lights. Vibrant in blues and reds, and all colors of the rainbow, flashing and glowing. I huddle my knees to my chest and wrap my arms around myself.
There's a light knock on the door and someone enters behind me. I feel the bed slope as someone sits down behind me. A warm hand caresses through my hair and I smell the familiar scent of bread.
"Hello Peeta" I whisper, smiling.
"Hello" He whispers back.
We sit in silence, staring out on the Capitol, his hand trembling as he touches me gently. I slowly turn to look at him after a while, and his normally striking blue eyes are dull cobalt. I can see the sadness in them. He takes my face in his hands and gently kisses my lips. I return it softly, that same familiar blush tiptoeing up my cheeks.
He pulls back slowly.
"Have you ever been to the roof Lya?" He asked.
I shake my head, and he takes my hand and leads me out of my room.
The wind is whipping through my hair, blowing the curls into my neck. I hug my arms to my chest; the sweater Im wearing is keeping out most of the chill.
Peeta's blonde locks wave in the breeze, his cheeks slightly red from the wind.
Im holding his hand, our fingers interlocked.
I've been dreading talking to Peeta about the other night. Im afraid to let someone in just to have to say goodbye to them.
Peeta leads me into a glass house. He shuts the door behind us and the sound of the wind is immediately deafened. Im mesmerized by the beautiful flowers surround me. Releasing Peeta's hand, I walk through the house, arms outstretched. I let my fingers run delicately over the petals, the feeling of silk was like heaven. I look up as rain starts to fall heavily on the greenhouse.
The rain cascades down the sides like a waterfall, enveloping Peeta and I behind the sheet of water.
"Lya, I want to tell you how I feel" Peeta begins, walking slowly over to me.
"Peeta…" I begin.
He hushes me with a finger to my mouth.
"Lya, I was sad for a long time. I really did think I would never get over Katniss, and then one day I saw you. It wasn't long after I returned from the victory tour. I was dropping off bread to Ria, and you walked into the shop. That bell chimed, and in that second, everything stopped. I used to watch you sit in the window of Ria's shop, mending."
He was very close to me now.
"You're so pretty" He murmured, his hand reaching out to my face.
"Peeta" I whisper. "What if I die out there? What if Im not coming back?"
"Don't say that," his eyes were pained.
"Why not?" I challenged. "You can't pretend Im not going where Im going Peeta. What if I die? What if Im just another Katniss, another heartbreak waiting to happen all over again?"
I was shouting now, angry at Peeta, angry at the universe, angry with myself.
His lip quivered. "Lya, I can't let you go without telling you. It all happened so fast for me. That day you slipped while fetching water, I was just walking by. I never expected you'd end up in my arms, and I never expected in that moment I'd fall in love you with. For the first time in a long time, all I knew is that I was happy. I knew I would be okay as long as I could see you everyday, even if you never felt the same."
He sweeps me in his arms and kisses me passionately. For minutes, we are joined together, his warm body pressed against my cold one. My hands are tangled in his shaggy hair and his tongue presses against my mouth. I part my lips and I taste the sweetness of cinnamon and sugar. Why did he have to taste so good?
He pulls back and I lunge for him.
"Don't go!" I cry.
Peeta grins down on me. "Im not going anywhere Lya. We're going to train, and you're going to come back to me"
The tears silently fall down my cheeks, and I place my head on his chest.
He crushes my small frame to his and presses a kiss to my forehead.
"Up, up, up!"
A voice shrills at me as Effie sticks her head into my compartment. I sit up hazily.
"Why is it so early!" I shout at no one in particular.
There are clothes folded on the end of my bed and I shower and dress in them. It's tight black pants and a simple black shirt with three-quarter sleeves and a V-neck. On the side are red stripes on my arms and down the outside of my thighs. On my shoulder patch, there is a red circle saying 12.
I slip my knife into my boots as usual.
Today is the first day of training. I'll actually be able to interact with the tributes, which frightens me a little.
In the dining room, I don't eat a lot, Im too nervous. Alton eats enough for the both of us anyway. Im comforted slightly by Peeta rubbing my hand gently under the table. I don't know why we haven't told anyone yet, but I think it's just nice to have something that's our own. Something not patented by the Capitol.
Effie leads us to the elevator while Haymitch and Peeta scurry after us, versing instructions.
"Don't do anything that shows off. Stay under the radar, scout who would make a good ally, stay away from the careers, unless they speak to you first…"
Alton and I enter the elevator alone, and just before the doors close, Peeta winks at me. I smile up at Alton and hold my hand out to his.
He shakes it and says, "Lets do this."
We stride with confidence into the Training Centre. We join the other tributes; District One is there already as well as two, four and seven. We wait in a tense silence for everyone to assemble and then the woman before us begins.
"My name is Atala. Welcome to the training center"
She marks off our names one by one and explains all the different stations.
Im looking around at the other tributes, and I pale in comparison to most of the Careers. They are all well built, none so large as Alton though, which Im immediately grateful for.
Atala has stopped talking and the tributes are moving, mostly to the weapons stations.
I walk over to the edible plants station, and sit down next to the old man from District 6. He smiles a gummy smile at me and we listen to the instructor. I practice memorizing plants for a while, but decide its best to move around.
I join Alton at the knot tying station. I can really only tie one knot, from when I was younger and used to throw a rope up to help me climb the old trees. I learn a few useful ones; I also learn how to set a snare, which Im pretty excited about. Setting a snare will be hard, but if I do it right, I could easily throw a knife. Even if I manage to catch only one person from a group, a knife would be thrown before they knew where it came from, and bam, one less person to fight. One less person who could kill me.
I know this is supposed to be the time I decide on who I want for an alley, but looking around, I know the Careers will automatically team. The old man from six would be no threat, and I pitied him. The wife and husband from eight would be a fight. I know they would be aggressive for one of them to return to their children. It almost broke my heart thinking that I'd leave their kids orphans. I was an orphan now, but I didn't turn out so bad because I had Ria. I secretly prayed that they had someone too.
Alton and I see the twins, Julia and Clif at the weapons station. Julia is attempting to wield a bow and arrow, but she has nowhere near the skill Katniss did last year. Her aim is wobbly and she doesn't thread the arrow quite right. Clif is practicing his knife throwing. Alton turns to me with a smirk.
"No competition" he mutters under his breath at me.
I wink at him and tie a tiny noose around my wrist, and using my fingers as legs, I pretend to hang the little man. Alton splutters trying to contain his laughter and turns it into a cough when some of the other tributes turn to stare.
I decide to move on to the camouflage station. I sit and listen to the man behind the desk for a while, something about prime colors and how to mix them. I started painting on my arm with different colors. I was going for a field of flowers, but at the moment I looked like I was covered in rainbow sludge.
"Pretty" a low murmur came from behind me.
I turned to see the bronze boy from District Four. He was leaning over my shoulder, his rusty brown hair falling casually into his eyes.
"Its not really anything yet" I say back with a smile.
"I wasn't talking about the paint," He whispers.
I stare up at him, one eyebrow raised.
"It's a shame," he continued. "Once all the old ones are dead, and that young one, it will be a smaller game. Everyone here is twice as big as you, even the girls. I hope you can run fast beautiful"
And with that he left me at the paint station, alone.
I didn't say another word all day until we were released from the training center for dinner. Once those elevator doors opened, I raced down to my room and shut the door behind me.
I shed off my clothes as fast as I could. I wanted to get it all off me. I wanted to be naked, to be free of the Capitol. They were poisonous, infectious and killing everything they touched.
I climbed, uncovered into the bathtub. I started running the hot water and pressed different buttons until foam ran into the tub, filling it with bubbles. I thrust my arm under the water and scrubbed at the paint until my skin was raw and clean.
I heard someone enter my room and approach the bathroom door.
"Lya?" Peetas muffled voice said through the door.
I ignored him. I didn't want comfort right now. I ducked under the water like I used to in the old rusty tub back in District 12. I lie there, beneath the foam in the wonderful silence that only this could bring.
My lungs burned, and coughing I poked my head out of the water. I wiped the water from my eyes to see Peeta inside the bathroom. I have no idea how he got in here. One hand was covering his eyes and the other was holding out a white, fluffy towel.
I couldn't help but giggle.
"What are you doing Peeta? I didn't know you were one for shyness." I asked, a smile on my lips.
"I'm being a gentleman. You didn't come for dinner, so I came to you". He shook the towel in front of me.
I reached up and took it, wrapping it around my body. Peeta uncovered his eyes, and they drifted mischievously over my wet body.
I leant down in line of his view and raised my eyebrow.
"I thought you were a gentleman"
"I am…but Im also not going to give up the opportunity to see your beautiful body" He leant casually against the bathroom wall, arms folded.
I froze. Beautiful. That's what that stupid District 4 boy called me. Peeta noticed the absence of emotion in my face.
"Lya?" he leapt from the wall to put his hands on my shoulders.
He shook my gently, and I was aware of water droplets spraying everywhere from my dripping wet hair.
I looked up, tears falling from my eyelashes. Peeta crushed my damp body to his warm dry one and gently rocked me back and forth.
"Its okay, its okay" I spluttered. "Just, give me a second to dress, okay?"
Peeta pulled back and pressed a kiss to my forehead. He left the room and returned with my pajamas folded. An Avox must have washed them from last night and returned them. I thanked him and he shut the door behind him.
I quickly stepped into the shower and rinsed the remainder foam and suds off my hair. Stepping onto the mat, I dried instantly with the warm wind. My hair was easily managed with the special pad on the wall. Once touched, it was cascading down my shoulders in lovely spirals. I dressed in the pajamas Peeta handed, simple baby pink shorts, and a lace night top.
It was never cold in the Capitol. I suspected they controlled everything, right down the to temperature.
I dried my eyes and slowly opened the door to my bedroom. Peeta was sitting on the corner of my bed, chin in hand. He looked up quickly when I stepped out.
I walked over to him, the towel slipping through my hands onto the floor.
I crawled into bed behind Peeta, who kicked off his shoes and climbed in beside me. We lay on our sides, facing each other while his eyes searched mine.
Finally he spoke "What happened?"
"Its nothing. I just got upset over a silly comment."
"Lya." He said softly "Tell me"
I sighed and without looking at him, I focused on twining a curl around my finger and repeated the conversation I had with the District 4 tribute.
"That doesn't sound all bad" Peeta said when I was done.
"He's against me, AND he's aligned with the Careers Peeta. If he's against me, they are too. The only thing that's protecting me out there is my knives, and that's only if I can get them at the Cornucopia. If not, its just Alton. I want to go home, so how can I kill someone Im going to end up owing my life too a dozen times, maybe more? How am I supposed to live with that? Im selfish for even wanting to survive, because that's what the Capitol does. They take people with good hearts and put them in the games, they watch as they either adapt or die. I don't want to change, I don't want them to own me"
Peeta was smiling now and it made me angry.
"What?" I hiss. "Its not funny. Im sure its all fine and dandy for you…"
"No, no! It's not that. You just, well you remind me of something I said right before I went into the games. I didn't want them to own me either. No matter which way it goes down, you will always be sweet, little Lya to me"
He kissed me gently at first, then harder, forcefully. He rolled me onto my back, sliding on top of me. I shrieked when his chest pressed against mine. He jumped back, startled.
"Did I hurt you?" He exclaimed.
"No Peeta" I giggled. "Your shirt is wet from before"
Peeta looked down, his shirt was indeed covered in wet patches from when he hugged me in the bathroom. My fingers nimbly moved, gradually undressing Peeta button by button. I slid the wet shirt off his broad shoulder; his skin was smooth from a life of living in the merchant's village.
He pulled his arm from the last sleeve and flicked his shirt across the floor. I leaned up and gently placed a kiss on his neck, his chest. Even though he was eighteen, his chest was bare. It must be something they do in the Capitol for appeal, and since Peeta was a victor, he would always need to look good. I ran my hands gently over his strong arms, feeling the muscle twitch beneath the skin as he held himself above me.
Running my hands over his back, I could feel the scars that laced them from when Peeta was in the arena. I kissed his collarbone tenderly and suddenly he gripped me around the waist hard.
Peeta kissed my lips roughly, forcing my head back down on the pillow. His body lay between my thighs as he placed gentler kisses on me, seducing me. It lasted a long time, easily into the early hours of the morning, and I hoped no one noticed both our absences.
We didn't "make love" as my mother had called it, but it was nice still, being so close and intimate with someone I really cared about.
He lay beside me, lazily running a finger up and down my arm, making me drowsy with enjoyment.
"Lya?" he whispered.
"Mmm?"
"I love you Lya Redwan"
My eyelids fluttered open just long enough to whisper back.
"I love you Peeta Mellark"
