Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Disney or Hunger Games characters and plot
A/N: Training has begun, but how are things going to go in this place! So instead of going to Genie's interviews, I'm doing one more chapter before then! In the meantime, I think I'm leaving it up to you to volunteer who you would like for Genie (and myself) to interview in more depth, rather than one question to lots of candidates (this also tests who knows who is in the story! Haha, just kidding, choose whoever and I'll try include them!)
In the next chapter, I will be writing about the interviews – pick your favourite five characters to be included and let me know in the review! hope you are enjoying the story peeps!
Note – remember, any creature that is an unusual object or animal, or even troll, has been made into a human, apart from Tinkerbell – she's still a fairy and some abilities that the characters have in the films, they more than likely have it in this story too!
Chapter 10
Allies and enemies were beginning to form amongst the twenty six tributes. Thirteen girls and thirteen boys between the ages of twelve and eighteen. Eventually it would come to light as to who was being genuine and who was being manipulative.
Triton was enjoying watching and listening to reports about this year's tributes – even more so when he was able to discuss things with his sixteen year old daughter, Ariel. She may have been one of his many daughters, but she was the only one that took an interest in the Games, thus building an even stronger bond between the pair.
"So which ones would you think stand the best chances of succeeding in winning this year's games, Daddy?" Ariel asked, watching the broadcasting screen that showed all of the tributes from each of the districts. "There is a range of different personalities and characters – each one with their own skillsets."
Ariel's father stopped to think and wondered who he deemed a potential winner. In his own opinion, it was easy for him to eliminate the tributes he knew wouldn't survive the whole games and why.
For example, the boy from district three, LeFou, he was a short, and chubby boy who clearly had not exercised much in his life. With a pig snout nose and goofy teeth, the boy clearly wasn't going to get many sponsors. With an unusual name like LeFou, that was about the only thing that people were going to remember.
Drizella Tremaine from district eight was another individual that Triton had written off without a care in the world for. All he had seen her do was cry and sulk at the sidelines, practically refusing to participate in the training. Regardless of what Tiana had suggested that the tributes do.
Other tributes he ruled out based on their lack of strength, lack of skills or just his own intuition. Yet they appeared to excel further than the weakest, even if it was only marginally. By the process of elimination, Triton had a number of strong candidates. Jasmine, Megara, Hercules, Ron Stabbington, Merida and even Amelia from the thirteenth district – but only just.
"The games can change in a heartbeat depending on what the head gamemaker makes of the games and what they choose to do. What I do know, is that it shall be an incredible game. Even though I do not have a definitive answer for who I believe will win, there are factors that can affect the course of the games."
"I think that Rapunzel might go far," Ariel replied calmly, smiling at the blonde's bonnie face on the screen. "The sponsors will like her, and Mother Gothel will do whatever she can so that her daughter survives. Just like you would, if there was ever a moment where I was in that awful situation."
Triton brushed his daughter's fiery coloured hair before softly smiling. "Regardless, you will always be safe, so you never have to worry about that situation every happening."
"I want to meet her, I want to meet them…"
Triton shook his head. "That is not appropriate, it wouldn't be an appropriate place for you to go."
Ariel was taken aback and couldn't tell why her father would be so insistent on this view – nearly every year she would try to meet the tributes who gave their lives up for this peculiar tradition that had been created. Because there were so many children who had died at the hands of her father and all the Presidents and Gamemakers before him. Previous victors she had met before they won included Adam "the Beast," Moana, Tiana, Tarzan, Flynn Rider and Eric. She had the biggest crush on Eric, who had won the games last year.
"But Daddy!" Ariel stammered. "You always used to let me!"
"Well this year might be different." President Triton stood up slowly and walked over to the door. "Ariel, I want you to come along to the observatory for the interviews with Genie. That is my compromise. And I do not want to hear about you sneaking off to the training centre."
Ariel nodded quickly. When the door closed behind her father, Ariel decided to defy her father to see the tributes. There was no stopping her once she had an idea in her head.
She shuffled her way along the grand hallway, around the marble pillars that lined her path. It was well lit here, so she had to be quick.
"Oh I don't think that would be necessary!"
Ariel backed up when she heard this voice – it was her minder, Sebastian and she would clearly tell her father of her sneaking around. There had to be another way to get to the training centre.
And it was a group of Avox girls. As they passed her, Ariel grabbed a vase full of decorative flowers from one of the stands. Elbowing her way into the centre of the girls, she kept her head down as they went past Sebastian. Fortunately, she went by unnoticed. The door to the private shuttle station was just up ahead to one side of the corridor. Picking her moment, Ariel nudged her way through to the door and onto the station platform. Ditching the vase, Ariel straightened her dress out before stepping onto the platform.
The shuttle tore away towards the training centre. Her heart was racing at defying her father, but she was close to meeting the next cycle of tributes. There were so many that were worth meeting, but some that she wouldn't want to be caught in a dark corner with.
"Yes!" Ariel exclaimed when she found that the door to the observation deck was unlocked.
Bursting into the room, she nearly had a heart attack when she walked right into Eric. He too must have been observing the tributes. The door clicked shut and he turned to look at who it was.
"Oh, Ariel… I didn't expect to see you here." Eric smiled. "I thought I would come and see what the next round of tributes were like."
"Maybe we could watch them together?" the teen suggested, blushing a deep red that was almost as bright as her hair. "What do you think of them?"
"From the look of things – there are some clear blood-bathers…" Eric walked Ariel over to have a look at the tributes. "Her, him, her, her, him, her, her, definitely her." Eric's finger darted about between the tributes. "I still haven't seen the girl who injured her wrist, or the boy who was caught on morphine back here though – that was quite a shock, wasn't it?"
"Oh definitely. I can't wait for the games to start so that we can see the true potential of each tribute."
Eric smirked a little. "How- it's amazingly refreshing to find a girl who enjoys the games… Lots of the girls around the Capitol tend to be more interested in the way they look or what kind of treatment they should get next. Winning the games isn't as glamorous as everyone makes out. If I had to choose a winner, the district two boy has got to be it-"
"Hercules. His, his name is Hercules." Ariel beamed up at Eric. "Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt…"
"No, it's fine." Eric turned back his attention to the tributes. "They don't even know what they are letting themselves in for."
"Can I ask you something, Eric?"
"Yeah, of course. What is it?"
"Well, I was wondering… What's it like to be in the games?"
"Oh. I don't know if I'm the right person to ask about that. I kind of won because I stay to the background. In my game, I built a raft and sailed over to this island until it was just me and one other person… I only killed three people the whole time in the arena."
Ariel looked down at the tributes and observed their training session start. Tiana stood in front of them all.
"Alright kids, I have devised a training station that I want you to practice. It's simply to show you another thing to think about whilst you are in the arena." Tiana pulled out a tablet from her pocket and swiped across the screen. "On the weights, Achmed, Claudia, Nakoma and Macintosh. On the gauntlets, Jasmine, Ping, Thomas and Drizella. On the archery and spears, Anna, Baker and Jim. With the knives, Peter, Rapunzel and Ron. At the hand to hand combat station, Alice, LeFou, Tink and Merida. Camouflage is Kristoff. Snare-setting is Megara and Clopin. Plants station, Hercules. Lastly, Esmeralda and Amelia- I want you to work on the survival station." Tiana smiled, clapping her hands. "Everyone to their stations…"
Achmed was mortified at the thought of being told that his physical strength was what he actually needed to work on. He shook his fists at Tiana and then turned around swiftly in a huff. Arrogance brimmed over in his mind. He was the son of a rich entrepreneur and to be treated like a child was no luxury to the mature gentleman. He glowered at the other boys, like Hercules, Ron Stabbington and Kristoff who looked as though they had the muscle…but maybe they just lacked the intelligence and intellectual abilities that Achmed's mentor Jafar had tried to bring out in him.
Claudia watched Nakoma grab one of the weights and set about working. "Are you really going to just lift them? You're acting like a cavewoman…"
Nakoma froze, with her arms locked in during a cycle of bicep curls. "What do you mean?" she asked calmly before continuing her reps. "Tiana suggested we work on these – why aren't you?"
Extending her hand was simply enough. "Well, it's just that- the Capitol has been treating me really well. I got the deep clean manicure this morning – although I did have to sneak out of Mrs Potts' sight in order to do it… But who's watching?"
"They are," Nakoma whispered, indicating the observation deck where Ariel and Eric were watching. "That's President Triton's daughter, and Eric – he won the Games a couple of years ago I think."
"Oh…" Claudia had a sudden change of heart and grabbed the smallest weight.
A scream ripped out in the training room.
No one had seen what happened, but everyone turned towards the knife section. Some of the tributes saw Ron Stabbington twiddling a knife in his grip. Rapunzel was on the floor, clutching a long but small bundle of hair that had now been transformed into a dull, mouse brown.
Rapunzel gasped, a tear rolling of her cheek…
Thoughts from AspiringWriterGirl = Ah, another chapter out of the way – I hope you are enjoying it, even if your favourite characters aren't getting the attention they should! Next up is the interviews and I need your suggestions for your favourite five of the bunch for me to include a slightly more in depth interview with the Genie in the next chapter :D tell me your thoughts in the review!