"Who is this guy?" she whispered to the Doctor.
"President Snow. Iron-fist grip on the government of Panem for 76 years. Overthrown in a rebellion."
"Wow," she murmured, scared of this President Snow.
"... Now you may proceed to training," finished Snow, and the chariots started moving again.
.: [ - ] :.
The Doctor collapsed on the bed in his new bedroom. Training began tomorrow, and he knew that it would be hard to get through. Weapons – they probably would confiscate his sonic screwdriver as soon as they found it, and then where would he be? He'd have to take one up.
He massaged his temples. Of course. This was the Hunger Games.
Meanwhile, Rose looked through the wardrobe they had provided in her room. After a little searching, she found a gray t-shirt and some jeans, which she put on, replacing the gold dress that was still setting off showers of particles. As soon as she had finished changing, she stepped out to look for the Doctor's room.
She stopped in front of a blue door and knocked three times.
"Come in," he said quietly from inside, and Rose opened the door slowly.
"You alright, Doctor?" she asked, closing it behind her.
"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just... they'll confiscate my sonic when they find it, which means I'll have to take up a weapon, and I don't know if I can do that," he managed.
"I'm going to try archery and see how that works, and hopefully I'll be able to actually hit inside the targets," she said, grinning a little bit. Suddenly, someone knocked very loudly at the door, making her jump.
"Dinnertime!" called a gruff voice from outside.
"Who's that?" asked Rose.
"Heard that. I'm your mentor," he said, answering the question before the Doctor could say anything.
"We have a mentor?" Rose whispered.
"Apparently so," whispered back the Doctor.
"Well, I guess we better gorge ourself while we're here, because we'll have to fight for our food in the arena," she said, standing up. "You hungry?"
"A bit, yeah," the Doctor answered, a smile creeping onto his face.
.: [ - ] :.
Rose gaped at the feast before them. From the food she could identify, there was mashed potatoes, bacon, gravy, porkchops, various soups and stews, a big bowl of rice, some stir fries, and several strangely-colored fruits, not to mention all the weirder foods she saw.
"Wow," she managed. "That's a lot of food."
"Grab a plate and dig in!" said the bubbly voice that she recognized as the woman that was showing them around and following them everywhere.
As Rose followed her instructions, she said, "I never got the chance to ask your name."
She smiled. "My name is Melody," she said.
"Nice to meet you, Melody." Rose piled her plate up as high as she could, and sat down. "D- John, you've been quiet," she said.
"I guess I'm not feeling very talkative," he answered, before going back to eating.
"You've got training tomorrow, so eat up," Melody said, and the rest of the meal was spent in silent.
.: [ - ] :.
Rose stared around the room, rather intimidated. The other tributes all seemed strong and menacing, and those who weren't all stayed in the shadows.
The Doctor nudged her. "Archery," he whispered. Rose nodded, and shakily walked up to the archery stand. Having picked a bow, she nocked an arrow, and following a diagram above the stand, drew it back and aimed above a bullseye. She let go of the string, and the arrow, to her surprise, lodged itself in the ring just above the central circle.
"Wow," she breathed, before a massive grin spread across her face.
There we go! Chapter 11! Sorry it wasn't longer, I have a limited writing time :/ In case you guys were wondering, Melody is indeed River Song, and that will be revealed to Rose and the Doctor later :) I'm considering writing a sequel about how Eleven's companions infiltrated the Capitol. Anyway, R&R, reviews are writer food! :D
Next time: More training, more of the Doctor, and private sessions.
Until then!
~TimeLordHowl~