Heey guys. Sorry for the late update. I had 3000/4000 words of this chapter written by Saturday night, but Sunday I was busy and I had school yesterday. I planned to update it last night but I got terribly ill. However I took the day off school today and managed to finish it! ^-^ For those who wonder, after this chapter the rest of the story SHALL be in Finnick's POV which is why I didn't include it in this chapter :D Enjoy.

Chapter 11 – As She Fades

Elena's POV

'Ivory dealt the finishing blow.' Idiot. This girl is an idiot. If that girl attacks my Ivory she could ruin the whole plan! Vincent taps snakes an arm round me, and squeezes my side. I know that when Ivory 'dies' I have to act like I never saw it coming but.. If this girl touches my girl I won't be able to control what I do. Poor Vincent doesn't know anything, and it will be the hardest to convince him I'm upset.

Vincent knows everything of me. Every aspect of my personality. He can see right through a lie. All that, on top of the fact it will be painful for me to lie to him. I love this man, with my heart and soul. For the last 5 years, I have spent every minute of every day with him, and he has been like a father to Ivory.

Everything is so silent in the control room right now. If a feather fell to the floor, you would hear its impact. Every mentor is staring at the screen, eyes wide. My eyes scan across to district 3, and I see that Beetee and Wiress, the only living victors for district 3, are holding hands, and muttering between each other. I feel for the pair. Everybody here knows that the 'Uncle' and 'Uncles best friend' from poor Deena's speech is her two mentors.

'YOU KILLED HIM!' Shit. I barely have time to blink before the girl is on top of Ivory. I let out a yelp, and Vincent squeezes my hand in reassurance, and I curl up to him. It's all I can do not to scream. Ivory can easily push her off. She has the dagger I sent her.

..Wait. The dagger.. I remember.. When she was dressing her leg, Deena took Ivorys dagger out her boot to keep it safe. She has Ivory's dagger..

'She has her dagger..' Mumbles Enobaria from across the room. Everybody mumbles and nods in response, and leans back in to the screen. I lean forward too, and turn my attention back to the screen, just in time to see something I really shouldn't have seen.

The knife comes out of my little girl, blood stained, and goes back in. Over and over, in and out in and out. My poor baby girl. I think I'm going to faint. I lean back in my chair, and grip on to Vincent. He gasps in pain, and I look over to see that my nails have drawn blood in his arm. Sorry Vincent. He pulls me into a tight hug, and I let him, resting my head on his chest. He strokes my hair softly, like he always does when I'm upset, but I don't respond. I just stare, gazing motionlessly at the screen.

'Goodnight Finnick..'

'Goodnight Ivory..'

A cannon rings out across the control room. It is eerily silent. Vincent's grip tightens significantly, but I ignore it. Nothing can stop me from loosing control at this moment. I scream, louder than I've ever screamed before, my tears rolling freely.

Vincent's POV

The second the cannon sounds, a pang of sadness rings through me. The girl I have loved as a daughter for 5 years, is now dead. But I only have thoughts for one person right now, and it is Elena. I knew she'd react badly to Ivory's death, but I didn't think that she'd react this badly. She screams, a high, deafening, blood-curdling scream. I barely have time to think before she pushes herself up, sending a ton of sponsorship forms flying into the air, smashing glasses. I rush over to her, propelling myself from my seat and wrap my arms tightly around her.

'NO!' she screams, struggling against my sheer force. I may be about 20 years older than this woman, but I'm certainly not 20 years weaker. This may be wrong to some, but I love her, and I will not let her break. It's my job to hold her together.

'NO!' She screams again, her voice broken by the sobs that rack her body. She can't stay here any more. I look around, and see that every mentor that had a tribute in these games, had come to witness the death of Ivory Mason. And every single pair of eyes is trained on my fiancé. Apart from Beetee and Wiress, who's eyes are still glued to the screen.

Beetee's POV

Deena you stupid girl.. I taught you better.. You have just ruined 18 years of careful planning.. everything I have been working for your entire life. You just ruined it in one, vengeance filled moment. I guess you are not to blame.. You couldn't have known any better.

I don't even pay attention to the scene that is unfolding behind me, because you are still alive. Yes, the Mason girl is dead, but I will get over that. But you Deena, you need to come home. The boy, Finnick, he sits by the girls dead body, cradling it in his arms. He doesn't cry, just sits. The other male, Stock. He stands behind you. He holds both of your arms up, and he's whispering to you. I can't hear what he's saying, because of all the commotion back there, but I'm sure it's not nice.

Some people may say that Ivory Mason came 6th, but did she really? Because my niece.. My beautiful niece, she died the second she plunged that dagger into the girl from district 5. I increase my grip on Wiress's hand. I don't know why it's so soothing to have her here, but the love and support of my best friend really helps. Me and Wiress, we raised little Deena from a child, when my brother and his wife were both killed in a horrific accident. 10 years of work, for nothing.

I watch as the female of district 1 walks over to Deena. She looks her in the eye. From what I've seen of this girl, she hasn't been anything special. The average career. But right now, I see a glimpse of her humanity. She unsheathed her blade, and points it to my nieces throat.

'Any last words..?' she says, a very bored expression on her face. But I see past it. She is just putting on a mask, a daughter of district 1 never tells the truth through her expressions.

'Yes.. Uncle Bee, Auntie Wire, I love you, and I'm sorry I couldn't come home.. Don't forget to feed Percy.' Ah.. of course.. Percy. The small chicken I got her for her 14th birthday last month. She cared for that animal so much.. It gave her a sense of belonging.

And with that, district 1 draws her blade across Deena's throat, and my screen goes black, replaced by the sepia image of Deena Evereth.

Quinn's POV

I never thought that it would all end like this.. Finch would have had such a good life.. She would be well fed, well educated. I would have had a friend. Not just any friend but a rich and famous friend. My life would be so perfect. Just me, Finch and Ivory.

That is the reason why I don't even Flinch as the girl from district 1 kills Ivory's murderer. In fact, her death fills me with a sort of gratitude for the district 1 girl. I pick up the television remote, and change the channel, just in time to see a 'shocking story' on a news channel. The image on screen shows a grown woman, being dragged out of a very official looking building by an older man, with greying hair. She is screaming bloody murder, her tears falling freely over her cheeks. Her dark auburn hair is messed up, and make-up streams down her face.

Surrounding the pair, is a swarm of paparazzi, taking photos and shouting questions. The man who's holding her doesn't seem to notice though. He's just staring into her eyes, whispering in her ear as he leads her away. Seconds later, a very large looking man, with bright yellow hair and pale skin, steps out into the square. The reporters instantly loose interest in their target, and start crowding round him instead.

The man waves them off with ease, he knows how to work the cameras, and the many reporters and fans obey his every command. They follow him obediently, and he walks over to the source of their previous infatuation. I don't hear what he's saying, as the annoying commentators are speaking over him, but I see he's speaking to the woman, placing a hand on her shoulder.

'And what do we have here? Our newest game maker, Plutarch Heavensbee, is consoling this years district 5 mentors! How touching.' Exclaims one reporter.

'Yes, it would appear the female mentor, our own Elena Mason, was the mother of Ivory.' Stresses another, his words barely recognisable through the shouting of the reporters. I pick up my television remote, and change the channel, settling down in the rough sheets of my bed, and pulling my teddy bear close to me.

'So, Mrs Mason, how does it feel to know that your tribute got so far this year?' Shouts one reporter, practically throwing his microphone at Elena. I'm surprised to see that the woman does not respond, and instead buries her head into the older man's chest, who pulls her closer.

'That would be Miss Mason. And, she is not in a fit state to speak right now.' Replies the man, shaking his head.

'Vincent! Is it true that you and Elena are in a romantic relationship!?' Shouts another, pushing to the front of the crowd.

'Yes, as true as it has been for the last 5 years.' He replies.

'Is it true that you're married!?'

'No. But we are engaged.' He says, smiling to the camera. I must say, even though he has slightly grey hair, and looks like he's getting on a bit, he is rather handsome.

'How does it feel to be engaged to somebody 25 years younger than you?' Questions yet another reporter. I feel so sorry for this man. 25 years? That's a bit dodgy but, I guess age is but a number. At least that is what I'll be trying to tell myself as I walk down the isle.

I know Thomas is a nice man, but he's 33 years old and I'm 18. I only accepted his proposal as it would benefit both of our families, and I'm pretty sure he isn't too happy about it either. It would help me a bit if he could improve in the looks department but.. eh, beggars can't be choosers. Damn, it's thundering outside. Thunder means rain, and lightening. And a very awake Finch. Crap, I only just got her to sleep.

Sure enough, about 5 minutes later I hear a soft whine coming from the next room, and then my door slides open.

'Quinny I'm scared.. Can I come and sleep with you?' She says, looking up at me with those big, adorable eyes. I pull back my blanket, and she instantly hops in curling up beside me. I flick the channel, not wanting to go back to the games now Finch is here, but of course every channel has something to do with the games. So, I stop at a channel that is showing the death recaps. This is okay, I guess, it only has pictures, and talking. It doesn't show the bloodbath victims though, which I'm thankful for, and does it in death order, rather than district order. About 45 minutes into the program, Ivory's picture flashes up on the screen.

Ivory Mason

District 5

Training Score : 9

Day Died: 11

Placing: 6th

'Quinny, why is the nice lady on the TV again?' Asks a very tired sounding Finch.

'Because Finch.. The nice lady has gone to heaven now, so the TV has to tell everybody.' I reply, looking down at her for any signs of reaction.

'Oh, okay.' She says, and settles back down into my side.

Deena Evereth

District 3

Training Score: 5

Day Died: 11

Placing: 5th

'She's pretty..' Mumbles Quinny as the district 3 females picture appears. I look down at her, running my fingers through her hair. And I reach for the remote. I press the off button, and the screen fades to black, eliminating the last speck of light in the room.

'Yeah, she is.' I mumble, before closing my eyes, and drifting to sleep.

Eleanor's POV

'For goodness sake calm down. She died the second she volunteered. They all did. It's your own fault for getting so attached to her.' I say, rummaging around in my pack for some cloth.

'Hey, pass me her jumper. I need to clean my sword.' I say, and he instantly glares at me.

'I guess not..' Jeesh, some people can be so rude. I have that little girls blood all over my sword now, it's nasty. Thankful for my many sponsors though, because I look up and see a parachute floating down towards me. It lands neatly on my lap, and I open it up to see a packet of wipes in there. I blow a kiss to my sponsors, showing my gratitude, and start cleaning my sword. Ever since the hovercraft came and took away his 'precious Ivory', he's just been curled up, leaning against a tree.

He hasn't cried though, so I'll give him that. I've no idea what he saw in her anyway. I'm clearly much more beautiful, sophisticated and intelligent than she ever was. I have bright, soft, stunning blonde curls, and she had straight, dull black hair. I had perfect, porcelain skin, and she had off white skin. I had large, bright, crystal blue eyes, and she just had blue eyes. I am perfect and she was not, so why did Finnick like her and not me?

He was far too stunning for her anyway. Perfect people belong with each other, so they have equally perfect children, and will increase the population of beautiful people in this world. It's a shame only one of us can leave this place. If it wasn't for Saffron we would have made quite a good couple. I leave a few minutes to scan my eyes across his gorgeous, shirtless body.

Yes, it's a bit weird for an 18 year old lady to be having such lustful feelings for a 14 year old boy but.. I mean just look at him. I walk over to him, and sit beside him, resting my back against the same tree, and reflect on what just happened.

I'm not entirely sure why I felt the rage I felt when Ivory died, but I guess it's because I promised that I would get the girl to second in the placings, and failed. I can't stand to fail. So.. If it was just for that, why did I even let myself show humanity as I killed Deena? Why did I let her have last words, and why did I hesitate when she apologised to her uncle? I knew getting into a non-career alliance would soften me.

Fuck it.. I don't even care any more. I'm tired. I curl up into a ball, and whisper my goodnight to Finnick, before falling to a very light and dreamless sleep. Stock can be on watch when he gets back from hunting food.

Stock's POV

As I approach the camp, I soon come to a realisation. There's only 3 people in the way of me returning home, and I'm in an alliance with 2 of them. Everybody thinks I'm some physical wonder, but it's only because I'm stupidly strong, and I can lasso just about anything.. Of course I can. I come from the god damn cow district. That's why the career's wanted me. I'd sooner die than become a traitor to my own district, and I said it right to their faces.

Truth is, I only got the 11 because the game makers weren't really paying attention, so I cut off some dummies heads, manually put a few arrows in the bullseye so it looked like I was some next archery wizard, and then made a loud noise to get their attention. They're as stupid as they looked, and thought I was dangerous. I could never kill another man. It troubles me to even kill the cows back home.

I always had to get my dad to do it for me, while I'd sit and cry in my room, pinning up yet another picture of me 'favourite cow' to the wall. I use to get very attached to the animals, and then my dad would just slaughter them. Eventually I use to take a picture of me and the creature a few days before it died, and pinned it on my wall. It became a tradition. Now my wall is just full of pictures of me and now dead cows.

I don't know whether to go back to the 'camp', get some better supplies and then take off on my own, or just never return.. It's a hard thing to decide. Eventually I decide to just leave, it would be easier for everybody. I find a sturdy tree to climb up, and have a bit of a think. Today has been so overwhelming for me. I was getting very emotional over the two girls life stories... It was so heart breaking.. Then the love.. the heart break.. the sadness that followed while Ivory was dying.. The way they gazed into each others eyes, like not even the biggest, most powerful steed may separate them. The words they said to each other. It was everything I could not to burst out crying from the display of raw motion.

The next thing that made me choke up, and 'go hunting.' (for a walk to clear my head) was Deena's final words.. She apologised to her uncle and his best friend.. like her dying had done them wrong.. Even in her dying moments she was still trying to live up to somebodies expectations, which is why at these times, I'm thankful I have no family any more. Jesus Christ I'm tired.

It would be an overstatement to say that I miss my family. They weren't anything special. I 'grew up' in a rather large family. I had three brothers, two sisters, my uncle, both my grandparents, my parents and me living in the house. I mean, you'd think we'd have to have a pretty big home, to house all those people under one roof but, we didn't. Our house was teeny. My parents slept in the only bedroom, my grandparents slept in the dining room, my uncle slept on the sofa, and me and my 5 siblings slept in the cold attic, on a small, dusty mattress.

I never really got on with any of them, to be honest. I was the oldest sibling, and both my parents were unable to work so.. I was counted on to provide for the family, working on a ranch with my uncle and younger brother. One day, I was out on the ranch alone. It was late at night but we'd been struggling for the past month. I only get paid on the last Friday of each month, and this month had been a 5 week month, opposed to the usual 4. Late into the night, I was approached by the ranch owner, who informed me I had to visit the mayor.

I sat down in his office and he threw a teddy bear at me. I instantly recognised it as my brothers. He calmly explained to me that my uncle had fallen asleep while cooking, after working a long day, and the house had burned down, killing everybody inside it. For the last 4 years I've been living in the bunk room at the ranch. Sometimes I feel guilty that I showed no remorse for the loss of my family but, I just guess I learned to live with it. Being sad won't bring them back. At least I have nothing to loose in this competition. My death will be forgotten, just as quickly as it happened.

Lucieina's POV

I sincerely hope that those two cannons were for Traveth and Odair. My only two threats in this game. Girl from three, I can easily kill. Boy from 10, he has no chance. I want Mason as my final challenge when I win this, and I am willing to protect her until the end just so I have the pleasure of killing her myself.

I received yet another sponsor gift , and I must say, everything is looking rather expensive this games. Stu's bow, Mason's dagger, Odair's trident.. All very expensive and jewel encrusted. I'm very pleased with my gift, and I guess I earned it from Enobaria, for not showing emotion at the death of my mate. I miss him, of course. This island is very alone without him. After Dawn, Odair and Mason took off, I managed to haul Stuarts unconscious form all the way to the far side of the arena, with the help of Traveth. We hauled him through the water, as we'd gone to the sunny side of the arena. We were all in summer clothes so, it made sense.

We came across a small island not far out into the water, so we set up a temporary camp there. I was very angry that Enobaria didn't send me any sponsor gifts to care for Stu, but he was unconscious the whole time. About an hour after we set foot on the island, the third cannon of the day sounded. I immediately ran over to Stu and noticed he wasn't breathing. I didn't scream, I didn't cry, no. Instead I just grabbed Traveth's arm and walked away, letting the hovercraft pick up his body – After I stole his bow, of course.

About 3 days later, we came across the boy from 10. Eleanor grabbed her stuff, and told me that she wanted to be the one to kill him. Said she had some sort of vendetta against him, so I let her. She never came back. I've been on my own ever since, which is why I'm delighted to hear the 2 cannons, signalling the final 4 tributes. There's 3 people left in my way of returning home, and judging by the watch I was sent, the recaps are about to play.

Sure enough, the Panem anthem booms around the arena, and I grin, kicking back against the sand. This should be good. I would be happy if the final four consists of Girl from three.. Boy from 10, Mason and myself. Which means I'm very frustrated when the first face appears.

District 3.

Shit. Well, I wasn't expecting any less. I guess anyway. Eh. Well as long as the next one isn't Mason.

It's Mason. Fuck. Well this means the final four tributes are me, Odair, Traveth and the boy from 10. Traveth must be pretty fucking stupid if 10 is still alive, because she set out for him about 2 days ago and he still isn't dead. I feel a deep shame to my district for letting them both live when I had the chance to obliterate them. I feel shame for falling to my knee's as Stuart was incapacitated, instead of slaughtering Odair where he stood. The Capitol want a show, and they're going to get a show. Oh yes they will get a show. I shall make up for my embarrassment by causing Finnick Odair a slow and painful death, to avenge not only my mate, but my district, and to defend my honour and dignity.

Finnick Odair shall pay, and I will guard this promise with my very life. You can certainly count on that.

Big thanks to Taralani2362, Pinklove21, peetniss 4 eva and Angel That Can't Fly for reviewing the last chapter :3 Next chapter will be up as soon as possible. This story may end up being a little shorter than I planned it to be because I originally aimed for 100,000 words but it's almost finished and it's only 47,000 :c mehh. Anyway, peace out!

-Bex