Hanna Engle
I hold a small book, the only one I own. It's called Sleeping Beauty. The cover is bound in leather, and the words are written in a swirling gold font. To anyone else, the book may seem like a waste of time, but to me, the book is magic.
It tells the story of a beautiful but cursed princess. Because of the work of an evil fairy named Malificent, the princess is destined to be sent into a hundred year slumber on her sixteenth birthday. If she goes into this sleep, the entire kingdom will sleep with her. The king and queen did everything they could to prevent it, but the curse still came true.
People from all the kingdoms over tried to get to the princess and revive her with the only saving force - an act of true love. However, the castle was guarded by thorn bushes and a fire breathing dragon. Although many went to the castle, few returned with their lives.
Finally, one prince came along who was smarter and faster than the rest. He outwitted the dragon, snuck through the thorns, and climbed up the tower to the room where Sleeping Beauty slept. He saw her and knew that they were meant to be. He kissed her and she woke. The kingdom rejoiced as it revived and the princess had been saved. On the last page, the cursive script reads, "The End."
Although this story is my life, I hate the ending. The end? There is no way that the princess was kissed and all of the problems were instantly resolved. What about Malificent? She couldn't have just been perfectly okay with being defeated. And the prince and princess? Did they marry? Did they have kids? How did the kingdom recover from being asleep for years? There must have been repercussions.
I know that there is no such thing as the end. There's not an end for anyone. Not for my parents, not for my sisters, not for Sleeping Beauty, not for me. After my every triumph, a book would want to write "The End." But for every triumph I have, the next day there are twice as many troubles.
"Hanna, still looking through that book of yours?" My eighteen year old brother, Conner, laughs at me. He may be my brother, but he's a bully. "What's the point of a book?" He asks. "It's all fake you know."
"I know," I mumble as I try to run off.
"Where are you going?" He snaps. "Come 'ere." He stretches his hand to me and snatches Sleeping Beauty.
"Give it back Conner!" I squeal.
He laughs and flips through the pages. When he gets to the last page, he stops. "And they lived Happily Ever After. The End." He laughs and rips the precious paper, before crumpling the two pieces.
Just then, my sixteen year old sister Alicia rushes in. "What's going on?" She sees Sleeping Beauty and instantly stomps her foot. "Conner!" She declares. Ripping the book from his hands, she runs over to my side.
"Hey Hanna!" Conner taunts. "You can have the page back now." He walks off with a smug grin on his face, and drops the destroyed pages. Alicia retrieves them for me.
"Look!" Alicia holds the pages up next to each other. "The End!" I sob as she attempts to fix the book for me. "I'll fix it!" She says quickly. "I'll write a new ending."
"A new one?" I ask, confused.
"Yes," Alicia says confidently. "You read stories, but someone has to write them!"
I nod, slowly, "Sounds fair."
"Well, soon the - I'm sorry Hanna, but what's the story again? I haven't, er, looked in the book for a long while." I quickly explain the story to her, beginning to be curious to hear her ending.
"Okay. That's a good start," Alicia says. "Now, the prince and princess are getting married. But at their wedding, Malificent sends a, a crony of hers to crash the event! The crony doesn't manage to kill the prince and princess but the king and queen are murdered. Ya... And others! So the government was weak, and, um, well, they were weak. Then the people rebelled, like, really bad, and took over the government. And, so, the prince and princess were exiled! They fled to the forest, but Malificent had trapped them. So, they managed to escape, but the prince got hurt. Really badly. He was bleeding and stuff, and he couldn't walk. So... Um, they had to return to the old kingdom. And they were in such a mess that no one recognized them! A kind doctor healed him, but he still limped. So the prince and princess became beggars on the street until they died. But they were together. The End."
I'm not sure why, but I continue to cry. The story was great. Better than I imagined. "Oh, I ruined it!" Alicia exclaims. "Your childhood is dead now! I'm an idiot. Forget all of that. I guess that, I thought it was okay to make a bad ending because, that's what real endings are like. Most endings aren't happy."
"I know, Alicia. I love the story. I love the ending. It's real. And I know most endings aren't happy. I've been thinking that for a while now."
Elodie Engle
"Alicia, what dress should I wear?" I ask my sister Alicia, who I share my room with.
"How do you have multiple dresses?" Alicia rolls her eyes at me.
"One is Mom's," I snap.
"Why are you wearing Mom's dress?"
"I might not wear it. I just need variety!"
"I don't care what you look like," Alicia sighs.
"Wait!" I quickly throw on Mom's dress, a flowing white one. "What do you think?"
"You look like a swan," Alicia rolls her eyes. I smile. "A fat swan with an awkwardly long neck."
"Shut up! I hate you!" I squeal. I change into my dress, a short purple one. "What about this one?"
She looks at it for a moment before saying, "If looks could kill, you could wear that dress into the arena and win the Games." I gasp in horror. She didn't dare! I march forward and try to kick her, but she steps aside and punches my jaw. Ow... I stumble back.
"You know what? I look better than you!" I shout, but due to my throbbing jaw it sounded more like, "Oo owe what? I ook bettuh dan oo!" Alicia just laughs and gets dressed into her Reaping outfit, a plain white shirt and pleated blue skirt.
I stomp my foot and rush off to the only mirror in our house, which is down the hall. Quickly, I apply dark purple lipstick to match my dress and a light blush, along with a thin line of eyeliner and as much mascara as I can apply.
I've always considered being pretty my best trait. That's all that matters, right? If I'm pretty, I can get a rich husband and live happily. Now I'm concerned that I might have a multicolored bruise on the side of my face where Alicia punched me. Of all the days, she had to sock me on Reaping day?
Sighing, I pull my shoulder length light brown hair into a french braid. I pin down the loose hairs and scurry to the kitchen for my last meal before the Reapings.
Alex Moonheart
I plunge my hand into the soil, pulling up a handful of dirt. The soil is rich in this garden, like most dirt in District Eleven. It feels warm, almost soft. Just like Zinnia. Soft like the lines of her face. Warm like her hands, which she held in mine to keep me reassured despite my fears.
Digging deeper, I watch as the dirt files itself further up my nails. I don't care. I turn to my side and pull a small blue flower from its pot. A zinnia, the flower of her namesake. I place the zinnia in the hole I dug and cover the roots, firmly pushing in and patting down the patch of soil. I sprinkle on some fertilizer and water the plant with an old silver pail.
The flower smiles back at me, just like Zinnia. Since she died in the Hunger Games six years ago, I have planted a zinnia for her on Reaping day. A flower for a sister I'll never be able to thank.
When I was young, my parents died from a cough that swept the country. My sister Zinnia and I were orphans, living on the streets and barely surviving. Then she was Reaped for the Games at the age of thirteen. Although she survived the Bloodbath, she was killed on day two when she was pursued by careers. The District Two female slit her throat, and even worse, her killer moved on to be Victor. Zinnia was never avenged.
I lived as a beggar for three months, before the Moonhearts found me passed out by their trash can. I was severely dehydrated and would have died if they hadn't taken me in. Lucky for me, the Moonhearts are both Victors and they live in the Victor's village. They have two sons of their own, Leather and James, who they train to volunteer. As soon as I was strong enough, I was trained too. They expect us to go to the Games and win. This year Leather is eighteen, so he was going to volunteer, but the twist says that all siblings must enter the arena. So today at the age of fourteen, I am being volunteered for the Hunger Games.
As you can imagine, I'm terrified because of what happened to Zinnia. But James helps. Leather is tough and arrogant, but James is only a year older than me and we are best friends. He was very similar to his brother until he learned my story. He went from bloodthirsty and Games-loving to compassionate overnight. He helps. With his help, and my training, I could be a Victor.
James Moonheart
"Are you ready?" I ask Alex from where I stand behind him in black. Although I never knew Zinnia, I know she is the reason that Alex is alive. Alex is the reason I'm not a bloodthirsty career. It's shocking how much I owe to a dead girl I never knew existed.
"I'm ready," Alex sighs. He stands up and looks down at the cheerful zinnia, his own face crumpled into a frown. "Zinnia, it's been a while since I've seen you, but I don't ever stop thinking about you. I love you, and love is like a ghost; it haunts. Every time I see a sunrise or a zinnia, or an orphan with a rusty coin, I think of you. You were beautiful and brave. Without you, I would be dead, but now you're gone and sometimes I think that it should be me in a grave, not you. You were destined for greatness, Zin.
"Sometimes, I feel like you're besides me. I'll feel your light presence, and I look for you. I never find you, but I know you have to be alive somewhere. Maybe there's an afterworld for people like you who deserve it. A soul as good as yours can't be gone forever.
"The worst part, Zinnia, is that I can't thank you. There is no way to talk to you. But you struggled on the streets besides me, became my mom when we were orphans. And you died before I could see how lucky I was. Now every day I struggle with the pain of living without you." Alex finishes. My turn.
"Zinnia, I, er, want to say thank you too. Without you to raise Alex, I would be a selfish career, killing children in the Games just like you. But Alex, and you, inspire me every day to be a human. To have feelings. I never met you, but I think - I know - you've changed me for the better.
"I'm just going to say, you did a great job with Alex. The kid is strong, brave, and resilient, but he knows how to love better than anyone. If you could see him now, you would be glowing with pride," I slowly finish, wishing I knew more to say.
Alex nods. I expect him to walk away, but he says one more thing. "Um, Zinnia, things have changed since you left. I'm, I'm going into the Games this year. So maybe, I mean there's a chance, I'll be talking to you - in person - really soon."
Alicia Engle
I help Hanna through the line and hold her up while she squeals with the pain of her blood being drawn. She wouldn't stand a chance in the Games. Neither would Elodie - she's been flirting the entire time we've been waiting for the Reapings to start. She's only fourteen! Hanna's only thirteen, so at sixteen, I'm the oldest sister. I try to be caring, but most of the time, Elodie and I fight. I still love her.
I hardly notice our escort walk onto the stage, slinking through the shadow's. His name is Mason, no one knows his last name. He has tan skin and black hair with one streak of orange. His clothes are all black, even his eyes are black!
"Welcome to the Reapings," he says indifferently. We watch the Rebellion video and he quickly moves on. "The female tributes will be the daughters of... Lisette Engle." I hear mom's footsteps as she slowly walks forward. I begin to walk up, staying strong for my siblings. I can make it out... My sisters might not.
As I arrive on the stage, I see Hanna shuffle her way forward, crying. Where's Elodie? I soon see Peacekeepers pushing through the crowd. They lean down, and when they stand, one is holding my unconscious sister. I can win. But... How can I save them?
Leather Moonheart
Dead. They'll all be dead. Bloodbath tributes, I assume. I'll kill them myself. I'm capable. The girls won't even be contenders to my crown.
The time ticks slowly and finally, my Mom volunteers me and my brothers. The other kids stare in awe. Volunteers are rare, but I'm not just a tribute. I'm a Victor.
AN
Thanks for the reviews, follows, and favorites! I appreciate them. Thanks angelofmusic4ever for the Engle family and for Mason, and thank you Starbright22 for the Moonheart family.
Once again, I'm giving a friendly reminder to vote on the Goodbyes. With five votes to four, I plan on writing all the goodbyes. What do you think?
Only one Reapings left, yay! Who was your favorite tribute in this District? What about in all the Districts?
"I wish I could freeze this moment, right here, right now, and live in it forever."
~Oceane
