Disclaimer: I only own my characters such as Akia and Zaine, the Hunger Games belongs to Suzanne Collins.

A/N: It's been a while *waves madly at the screen* I thought I'd go stir crazy before posting another chapter! But I haven't (yet)! Sorry for he HUUUUGE delay, I kept meaning to update but then something happened and I was just like 'Meh'.

I really suck at excuses don't I? OH WELL, I'M SEEING THIS BABY THROUGH TO THE VERY END.

On a side note, IT FINALLY SNOWED. HALLELUJAH (or however you spell it) I mean, I live in England, so it's bound to snow sometime, but the snow literally skirted around where I lived every single time the forecast said it would snow. Like, I have friends just outside where I live and it snowed over their houses, but not mine -_- *not impressed* But, alas, school was not closed. My school wouldn't shut for total world destruction, I swear - and for all of you who think 'Ah, she's overreacting', I'm not. I'm dead serious. Our headmistress was really ill but STILL came in half-dead so as to make sure we wouldn't call our parents and get them to take us home early. I'm pretty sure she slept over in school to open it the next day...

So yeah... /rant over/

I hope you enjoy this belated chapter, and if you do, please favourite, follow and REVIEW.

To all my followers and favouriters, thanks! And to LadyDunla, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR AWESOME REVIEWS. I 3 long reviews, and I was very happy to hear your opinion :) Personally, I love Zaine (I wasn't meant to, I mean, in a story I'm writing - not fanfic - I hate the guy I based Zaine off of like SO MUCH) and I adore Noah, despite his violent manner. But they're my characters. Only I usually end up hating my protagonists...? (What, you crazy person?!)

ANYWAY, ON WITH THE STORY! CHAPTER 10 OMG :D

-R

I open my eyes and find myself in a familiar room, but the last time I was here it wasn't me who was staring at the ceiling. The same Capitol doctor stares down at me, making a point of rolling his eyes when I see him.

I'm in this place far too much for my liking. I think.

The doctor snorts. "You're in this place far too much for everyone's liking."

I try to pretend I wanted to say it out loud. "Who brought me here?"

"Noah Seryth."

"Would'e been better to kill me there."

"Yup," He pops the 'p' at the end. "But he was pretty shaken up about it. I, speaking with years of medical experience, personally think he's mentally unstable."

"They all are. Every single year."

"Wonder why..." he muses, before remembering he hates my guts. He clears his throat and busies himself with his clipboard, his pen moving up and down as he writes. I sit up, groaning. My neck hurts – but that's to be expected – and so does my head; why is that? I rub the sensitive spot on my head, wincing.

"You were nearly strangled to death. Luckily, Noah stopped just before you died. You fell to the floor and bashed your head. I have a feeling you did die for a second but that was a small blip. Anyway, we got you stable and now you're awake. End of story."

"..." I can't find anything to say to that.

"Just so you know, going into shock can kill you, so I'd avoid that if I were you."

"How long have I been here?"

"A few hours. You've probably missed more training that any other Tribute I've seen."

"... That doesn't concern me too much." I shrug, wincing at the movement afterwards.

"Oh, why is that? Since when are District 3 Tributes so cocky?"

"I'll tell you," I waggle my finger from side to side, bartering. "But I have a condition."

"And it is...?"

"You teach me healing stuff whilst I'm holed up here." I've been thinking about this course of action for a while, and this doctor seems unbiased enough.

"And you'll tell me your story? For curiosity's sake?"

"Curiosity killed the cat." I warn him.

He rolls his eyes. "I'm a doctor, I'm practically paid to be curious."

"We have a deal then." I stick out my hand and he shakes it.

"It should be fun working with you."

"Could you pass me that?" I ask the doctor I now know as Mikail, who has currently been shouting at me for the past three hours. "HE'D BE DEAD BY NOW!" "YOU DID IT WRONG!" being his favourite phrases to yell at me. I told him my story too, all about Allen, about how I was picked up by District 3 officials afterwards, about how I wasn't taken to an orphanage like I had expected, about how I was taken to be trained in secret. I doubt my training was as glamorous as the Careers', it was more like torture-them-until-they-can't-take-it-any-more training, and push-them-until-they-collapse training, but it did the job. I got the scars from my training, the scars that litter my body in such a gruesome manner. I pick them out as I talk, casually pointing at them and saying,

"This one was from when I threw a knife wrongly. I was tired and it didn't hit the traget so I was made to stand in front of it whilst other kids thrw knives at me. Their aims weren't as good as mine, they tried to miss on purpose but some failed."

And, "From the electric shock treatment. Burned the skin around my wrists and ankles from where they cuffed us."

Four years later I was put back in District 3 but it wasn't the reception I had been expecting; my friends and enemies had forgotten me, moved on, and no-one seemed to remember Allen or speak of him. With no family I didn't have anyone to fill me in on what I had missed – I had kept up with the Hunger Games, the training programme made us watch at least five Hunger Games a week, so we'd watched them all at least five times – I didn't have a clue how to interact with people, which is why no-one visited me when I was Reaped. I wasn't up for the Reapings either when I was in the orphanage and I remember being so scared when I went to my first one, the 74th Hunger Games Reaping. I wasn't Reaped, obviously, but after I had heard of Primrose Everdeen's Reaping, I just settled back into training and watching the Hunger Games on a regular basis. But I avoided the 69th Hunger Games at all costs.

I would never watch it again.

"I think they rigged my Reapiung." I whisper quietly, my eyes flicking up to meet Mikail's. "They'd probably been watching me for a while and thought I was ready. I'd never Volunteer so they forced me to be Reaped."

Mikail is silent for a while, probably wondering if he can trust what I have just said. Eventually, his voice breaks the silence. "You better get back to training, then."

I move from my sitting position on the bed, the position I adopted when I mentioned Allen's death. I didn't think I could stand much longer. Just before I leave, I spot a scalpel on his desk and I pick it up. I cut away my sleeves and make the tight trousers into shorts that ride up my thighs. I cut away the turtle neck too, letting the hands imprints show.

I'll do this to all my outfits tonight, I vow.

Placing the scalpel back on the table, I catch a glimpse of Mikail's expression. He looks mildly amused and a rush of pride fills me.

All my scars are on show now.

All my sacrifices.

All my demons.

I'm bouncing up and down on m feet when I see the 'G' button for Ground floor. I said I'd visit my fans today. I take a look of myself in one of the elevator's mirrors and tie my hair up messily. My face is unharmed and that's what they care most about, so I decide I might as well. At first, the elevator refuses to budge when I press the G button. But after some quick re-wirings, it shudders into motion.

I step out into the marble lobby, as grand as I remember it, and instantly everyone's attention is on me. People rush to me, surrounding me, pushing and pulling me this and that way. I'm smiling and shaking people's hands, kissing other's cheeks, and winking at the small children. Soon, a guard approaches me and I have to shout over the mass of people that I'm just greeting my fans. Word spreads quickly, apparently, because soon the whole lobby is filled with the buzz of people, some wearing big 3s on their shirts. I jump onto a sofa so I'm on a higher level than everyone else, before addressing them all.

"Hello," I figure that's a good way to start, "My name is Akia Kaine and it's very nice to meet all of you."

"I'm breaking some rules to come down and meet you," I wink at the crowd and some people shout with glee, "So please, if you're going to tell anybody, tell them secretly. It'll be our little secret, okay?"

It's the 'our little secret' that does it (I seriously doubt that this hasn't spread across all of the Capitol by now but I think they like sharing something with me, in this case, a secret.)

A girl tugs on the button of my ripped shorts, looking up at me innocently. A boy is next to her, tugging on her dress, willing her to move away from me. I see fear in his eyes. I step off of the sofa and crouch so I'm at their eye-level, giving them the respect that I was never given.

"What's your name?" I'm using the tone of voice I always do when talking to children – I have a soft spot for them.

"Azalea," the girl whispers and I barely hear it. She's likes a precious little doll and I hug her, squealing at her cuteness.

"You. Are. So. Precious." I say fiercely, pausing between each word. She blushes crimson and the boy besides her clears his throat.

"I'm Zeus." he sticks his hand out and I get the feeling he's much more formal than his, I presume, sister.

"It's very nice to meet you," I respond, shaking his hand with my own. The fear has left his expression, replaced with something else: pride. "Where are your parents?"

Zeus is also the more talkative of the two. "At work."

"So you're here all alone. How brave of you to come visit the building where all the deadly Tributes stay." I nod at Azalea, "You're taking care of her, right?"

I get a fast, jerky nod from them both.

Then an idea hits me like lightning.

"Want to see something really cool?" I ask, beaming widely. They don't hesitate.

"Yes!"

I tell them to wait a moment and announce my leave from the crowd with a few parting words.

"Can I ask you all for a favour?" There's an instantaneous reaction of 'YES'. "Could you all spread the word that in the Interview audience and in the streets, I want everyone wearing a light electric blue colour. For District 3. I want to show the other Tributes we are not people to be overlooked."

There's a lot of murmurs before someone is brave enough to shout, "Electric blue is in this season!"

I step back into the elevator, grabbing the children's hands, grinning. If the sea of electric blue, a clear show that the Capitol is allied with Zaine and I, doesn't distract the Tributes during their interviews, I don't know what will.

"Let's go to the Training Room!" I say in a sing-song voice, raising an eyebrow conspicuously. They giggle at my obvious attempt to be villainous, obviously pleased with my 'something really cool'. As we go up, Zeus keeps on staring at my arms and legs, then at my neck; if he notices my scars he doesn't say anything. And if he doesn't notice the great big hand-prints on my neck, I'd be worried.

"How'd you get it?" he mumbles.

"Noah Seryth. District 2. I'm too talkative for my own good." He gives me a smile at that.

The elevator pings and I drag them into the room, noticing that the training session probably started hours ago. Zaine is at my side in a second, staring quizzically at the children who squeeze my hands tighter.

"This is Zaine, my district partner. Zaine, this is Azalea and Zeus. They probably have the same mental age as you." I finish my introductions and Zeus laughs loudly. Heads turn and they spot the four of us next to the elevator. I wonder if we look like a family.

Azalea ignores the other Tributes as they stare at her and Zeus, her attention firmly on Zaine.

"Is your hair dyed?"

Zaine groans and hits his head against the wall, shouting, "No!"

Then he smirks. "But the girl from Distinct 1's hair is."

I show the children around the Training room, letting them touch a few things in each of the sections. Well, letting them touch things that aren't potentially life-threatening. In the edible plants section, I give them each a mint leaf to smell and some tasty berries to eat. They wolf them down quickly and it occurs to me they could be hungry, so I speed up the tour. I tell them a few stories of events that have happened whilst we were training, pointing to stations and saying, 'This is where so-and-so blew up their trainer,' and 'This is where so-and-so tripped over the floor.' At some point, I point up to the lights on the ceiling and find the one without a light-bulb. Grinning, I tell them of my antics.

Their eyes grow wide when they hear what I did, but it only increases my status in their eyes. When we head over the collection of weapon's stations, I make a point to wave at Noah and the rest of the Careers, making a V peace and victory sign at Terra, who growls.

The children, God bless them, are amazing. "They're scary. But they look dumb." Zeus says, loud enough for the Careers to hear. I can't help but clutch my stomach as I laugh, tears forming in the corners of my eyes. I regret not having a camera or something to take a picture of their expressions.

Soon, their curiosity gets the better of them. "Can you do anything?"

"That's a secret," I respond at the same time as Zaine says, "Yes, I work with swords."

I roll my eyes. Trust him to say the opposite as me.

"REALY?!" Zeus is excited, bouncing up and down like he's just consumed a billion sweets

"Mmhmm." Zaine looks proud of himself and is quickly pushed towards the sword station by Zeus. Azalea and I follow half-heartedly, with the same general attitude of 'Boys... What to do with them...'

Noah also happens to be at that particular station and he looks over at us as we approach. He takes in my appearance with a shocked expression, seeing all my scars for the first time. I raise an eyebrow as if to say 'You should see the rest'. Zaine greets Noah with a slight bow of his head and I frown, fraternising with the enemy, especially one that nearly killed me? Zaine sees my expression and shrugs,

"He helped me with my sword skills."

"So Careers feel guilt?" I say, sounding surprised. Noah glares at me, turning back his dummy, slicing off each of its limbs with a few precise strokes.

"You're the one who hurt big sister." It takes me a second to realise 1. it's Zeus talking and 2. by 'big sister', he means me. Noah looks down at the child who approaches him.

"Yeah," Noah's voice is gruff.

And Zeus is obviously a whole lot more dauntless than I gave him credit for, because he lifts his leg and kicks Noah in the shin, very hard. But then he retreats rather quickly, hiding behind Zaine's legs before Noah does something very violent. Instead, he laughs, his eyes sparkling with mischief as he says his next words.

"I guess I deserved that."

"You did," I reassure him, biting my lip to suppress a grin.

"Hey! There's no need to agree with me!"

Zaine steps forward and tries to hit Noah playfully on the shoulder, but Noah catches his fist.

"Hey! You beat me up too!" Zaine reminds him, scowling like a little child who didn't get his way.

Azalea, when she hears that, walks up to Noah's other leg and kicks him in his other shin. As soon as she has done it, she pales, realising what she actually just did, squeaks and runs behind me.

"What are they?!" Noah complains, hopping on his other leg, "Your attack dogs?!"

"Yeah!" I laugh.

Soooo what do you think of Azalea and Zeus? This scene may seem really random to you, but I've had it in my head for a while so I had to include it. They're absolutely ADORABLE. I just want to take them home! ^^

This time in your reviews, what do you think to all of Akia's past? I feel kinda sorry for her... And Noah? Is there a light at the end of the tunnel? I can't really ask much about Zaine because he was being his normal gentleman-ly self this chapter and so I can't really ask anything out of the ordinary on him... What do you think to Mikail? Personally, when I thought him up, I was just like... I'd date him XDDDD I imagine him to be quite normal looking and HOT. I really like his snarky personality, it's similar to mine :P I think his character is the annoying elder brother role XP

Until next time! REVIEW!

-R