Chapter 9 - The Threat
Albus and Lily's respect for Natalie was higher than their respect for all the other tributes combined after the time they spent watching her tying knots and lighting fires, all with the help of the boy from her district. Lily and Albus did not yet know his name, yet they wished they could just go up to him and give him a pat on the back. In fact, the only tributes who did not feel this way were, unsurprisingly, the Careers. They would stick their fingers down their throats in disgust or mockingly kiss their hands any time they walked past the two tributes from District 9, but the pair were wise enough to ignore them. After any such event, other tributes would try to go over and talk to Natalie and her friend, but he always pulled her away to somewhere quiet as if he wanted to have her all to himself. This sparked little rumours amongst the tributes of a possible relationship between them, which if it was to be discussed, would be benefited by knowing the name of the District 9 male tribute. Lily and Albus had been referring to him as Nine Boy, which suited him in a strange sense, so it stuck. He was a copper skinned boy of average height who had a contagious smile that was only present when he was alone with Natalie. Whether he was in love with her or just feared what might happen if he left her alone, it was evident he cared for her a lot and that if he did not survive in the Arena, neither would she.
Lily had noted that Hayley, the District 3 girl, seemed to be getting on well with Etta, the District 6 girl. This was important, as Lily reckoned that Etta was someone worth being allies with, so decided to go and find Cole again in the hope that would make her a part of their team. Training had certainly not just been a social gathering for any of the tributes; they had all been working very hard on all of the stations and had all improved significantly. Lily had taken a liking to the bows and arrows, whereas Albus had been frequently using the swords. Obviously, the tributes did not train with firearms, so everything there was fairly simple to understand. This day was to be a vital day of preparation, as the next day was the day they would show off their skills to the Gamemakers. Lily and Albus were not expecting very large scores, as they knew that the Gamemakers wouldn't think much of District 7 tributes who weren't any use with throwing axes. Nevertheless, they knew they would get a better score than some tributes, and that didn't just mean Natalie. Funnily enough, the non-Career tributes who planned to fight in the bloodbath at the Cornucopia were the most hopeless of all the tributes with all five of their senses in working order. Someone who had been trying to show them the error of their ways was Etta from 6, very unlike Tait. He had been trying to show her why they should actually be telling people it was good idea. After all, this was a competition, and if all the others could get themselves killed, it would make life much easier for the two of them. Etta told him how he shouldn't think like that, but that didn't change his thoughts. Lily heard this little argument of theirs at the camouflage section and reported it back to Albus. After that, Albus was the one who kept a close eye on the two of them. He decided to try and get to know them a bit better, so moved over to the archery area where they were taking turns in shooting at the targets.
Albus could see that Etta was doing great. Tait, not so. He walked up to the District 6 pair while Tait was taking his shot and witnessed his arrow going right past the target and landing on the floor behind it. Etta has turned around at this, as if to check that no one saw. Her eyes landed on Albus instantly, and she greeted him with a friendly 'Hey'.
'Hey', Albus replied. He felt a smile appear on his face when he looked at her, like she had a warm, motherly aura in which anyone could feel safe. If Tait could feel it too, it was no wonder he was so close to her all the time.
'You want a shot?' Etta asked, gesturing to where Tait was standing, as if he was playing with a new toy that he had been given.
'Eh, yeah, sure,' Albus answered quickly. Tait turned around, grudgingly holding out the bow to Albus. It seemed he wasn't quite finished with it, but knew that it would please Etta for him to do this. Albus accepted the bow graciously, avoiding eye contact with Tait.
'If you're half as good as your sister, you'll be better than me,' Tait said darkly, as if he sought sympathy. Albus turned his head back in his direction, keeping his eyes on the ground, then turned to the metal stand next to him and picked up a silver arrow. He pulled it back against the string of the bow, aimed for the target's heart, took a slow breath, and released.
The arrow landed on the target's left hip.
'Good job,' remarked Etta. 'He'll be on the floor now, so you can go up to him and stab him in the heart with your sword.'
'You're teaching him how to kill us, Etta,' snapped Tait.
'No,' Etta whispered, 'I'm teaching him how to live a bit longer.'
'I wouldn't worry so much about me killing you,' said Albus in protest. 'I'm not particularly good at killing anyone, and I'm certainly not going to try killing my allies.'
There was a pause. 'Allies?' sighed Tait. 'You really think that going around making up a little fellowship of tributes is going to help? This is a fight to the death, and if you think that being in a gang will help you win, then you're just as stupid as the Career pack.'
'Tait!' scolded Etta, 'it's hardly a bad idea getting to know the other tributes, be it to use their skills or exploit their weaknesses, and I don't think that Careers would win the Games nearly every year if they did it on their own.'
'But they don't win together! There's only one winner, so stop entertaining the idea that if you make friends, you might all make it out alive, because you won't. The Capitol may be "generous" enough to allow one winner, but they would never allow people to have more hope than the hope of being that one person.'
Etta dashed forward, grabbing Tait's hand in hers, fighting back tears. 'So are you telling me that I should give up hope? Are you? Because you know that's something I could never do. Never in a million years could I accept that there was no hope of us both living through this. So please, just let me enjoy the idea that it's possible.'
'I didn't think you were one for crying and begging,' Tait said. Funnily, it was what Albus had been thinking too. He was still slowly taking in what he was seeing.
Etta giggled softly. 'I'll try anything once, especially if it keeps you here with me.'
Etta and Tait were looking into each others eyes in that rather vomit-inducing way that could only mean one thing was coming up next. They pulled each other closer, shutting their eyes, but a flash of silver flew through the gap between their faces, shattering their nearly perfect moment. Albus, Tait and Etta turned to the target at which they had been shooting arrows and saw that a knife had been thrown into the target's heart. They turned to see who had thrown it, and saw Olida standing ten feet away, her feet shoulder width apart, a knife in her left hand and look that could kill in her eyes.
'Having fun?' she asked in her cold tone that would be seductive if it wasn't so spine chilling. 'Sorry to interrupt your intimate chit-chat, but you were putting me off my throwing. Not that I need practise or anything, but I'm sure the others here would benefit from you shutting up. Including yourself, considering just how bad you all are at archery.'
'Oh, we do apologise,' declared Tait. 'We'll remember if you are ever coming at us with a knife in the Games to keep it down a bit, just in case it distracts you.'
Within seconds Olida was right next to Tait, her daggers forming an 'x' shape under his chin.
'Listen, pretty boy,' she hissed, 'you better watch out, because I'm gonna go out of my way to kill you now. Even if it means letting ten people live, or letting all my allies die, I promise you that I will draw pretty patterns in your skin with my knife until you beg for me to hurry up and kill you.'
Tait had turned as white as a sheet, as had Etta and even Albus. Atala, the head trainer, soon ran over to them, commanding Olida to back off. She did as she was told, and was escorted by two other trainers back to the knife throwing station at which she had been practising.
'You better watch your back, Six. I will kill you for talking to me like that! Just you wait! I'll get you, pretty boy, if it's the last thing I do!'
Atala clapped and told everyone to resume training, but no one could simply just pretend nothing had ever happened. Etta had placed her hand on Tait's shoulder and told him not to worry, but he still looked physically ill.
'She's nuts, mate,' said Albus in an attempt to lighten the mood, but he know there was no earthly power that could do such a thing at this time. He gave a sort of bow in the general direction of both of his new allies, and headed back to Lily to tell her everything that had happened. He told her about Tait and Etta's little declaration of their love for each other, and then about how Olida crushed the mood. Lily couldn't think of how to respond. Was she to think it cute? Was she to regard it as very sad that the two of them were put in this position? She too was experiencing the possibility that someone she loved very much was going to be killed right next to her, or that she would be killed in front of that person. She and Albus had both been considering this all for a very long time, but unlike Etta and Tait, they hadn't discussed it, simply because if they did, they'd both probably end up crying.
'Oh, well then,' Lily finally said. 'I guess we're not the tragic pair of tributes any more, are we?'
Albus smirked. 'I guess not,' he replied. 'But we are the pair most likely to be whisked away at the last minute by some magical means.'
Lily looked down to the ground and gave out a 'Hmph'.
'Someone will come for us, you know,' he comforted her. 'How easy would it be for them to just Apparate here and back?
'Well, if it was so easy, they would have done it already,' she replied quickly. She had lost most of her hope in the Hogwartians back in District 7. 'Besides, you know what the Peacekeepers are like. I bet they'll be locking up anyone caught in possession of a twig.'
'I doubt that. After all, they do live in a place full of trees.'
'That won't stop them. If it was magical handkerchiefs they were looking for, they would have no haste in shooting anyone who was seen blowing their nose.'
Albus giggled, and Lily giggled too. They looked at each other, and decided without words that since at least of one them was going to die, they would just enjoy every second they had together. After all, there wasn't much point in trying to become as good as the Careers.
'We should quieten down,' Lily whispered. 'Just in case an angry Career tribute throws a knife at us and sets out to kill us.'
'I'd like to see them try,' replied Albus.
