I do not own the Hunger Games!
Thank you to Textcrazy, Cupcakelover56, bbymojo!
bbymojo: Sorry for the confusion but Chapters 5 and 11 are suppose to be for this story, I will try to explain.
Chapter 5 was after Athena was whipped and Peeta chose to intervene, that is a slight parody to Katniss intervening when Gale was whipped in Catching Fire. Anyways Peeta feels from the very beginning that the whole Hunger Games with Capitol children tributes is hypocitical, and he finds a way to put a stop to it in Athena. Athena, he believes, is the only one who truly despises President Snow as much as he does-along with everyone else in the District. He wants her to train to win but doesn't really think about the fact that if she wins she likely will has to kill others of the Capitol, her own kind. Athena does not understand why Peeta would want to help someone like her, the daughter of the man who put his whole family and district 12 to death. So, Athena points out various reasons why he should hate her, just like anyone from the District's should, but she is still curious as to why Peeta is so interested in chosing her(I will explain a bigger reason why in later chapters). Peeta, finally, gets Athena to bend to his will and begin to put her trust in him by promising to keep Pompeia safe as long as she tries to win. Athena still lacks the motivation to win until chapter 6, when Peeta announces the Decade Pass-where the winners family will be granted the chance to not has their family reaped for one decade. Athena wants more than anything for Pompeia to be safe so she knows she has to try her hardest to win; however, Athena still does not fully trust Peeta yet so there is complications.
Chapter 11 is kind of a parody to when the District tributes where allowed to meet with their families for a few minutes, however, President Coin felt that the opprotunity allowed her to dig for information from Snow and his family. Coin is wrongly thinking that President Snow cares about the lives of his children, Athena and Pompeia, and believes that watching the reunion of them will reveal hidden secrets from President Snow. However, the whole scene just demonstrates how much Athena hates her father and what a monster President Snow is. In the end, Athena crumbles as she realizes her outbrust at her father is going to be taken out on Pompeia, and that is why she thinks "what have I done?" Yet, from behind the two way mirror, Katniss watches the whole thing and finds herself wanting to protect Pompeia from President Snow. Katniss' reasoning is because Pompeia strongly resembles her sister, Primrose, and she could not bear letting President Snow take her life again-even though Pompeia is not really Prim, but Katniss sees Prim in the young child.
My that did feel complicated when I rewrote what I was trying to say, I am sorry. If you have any other thoughts or confusions please do not hesitate to let me know. Thank you for your support and kind words, it is much appreciated! =]
Athena's POV:
"There. Finished. The only thing left is to get you dressed, then all the world can see our work." Venia's words cause me to fold my arms across my body, hugging the warmth in while my fingers stretch over the scars I know are hidden beneath my clothing.
"I can dress myself," I say firmly, and I watch as Flavius and Octavia exchange a glance. However it is Venia's gaze I hold, her expression remains puzzled of a moment but she just shrugs and sets the fabric on the bed.
Venia, Flavius, and Octavia leave the room in a trail of bright feather's and exotic scents, the door shutting quietly and the jingle of keys locking me in my prison.
I walk over to the bed and look down at what I am expected to wear, running my fingers over the smooth fabric of a white dress that is cocoon inside a rough bag. My hands shift the dress out of the bag and I raise my eyebrows in part fascination while the other half wants to tear the thing to shreds.
It looks like a snowflake. The bottom of the dress falls in sections-five to be exact-with each slit beginning at mid-thigh length, draping down the legs to the ankle. The top half is thankfully conservative, with a mesh fabric covering the back but allowing the chest to curve in and flare out like the center of ice-crystals and bunched up silver fabric.
Sighing, I decide to get it over with and slip the silky dress on, so I start by shedding my clothes. Standing naked in the middle of the room I look over my shoulder and catch my reflection in a mirror across the room, and see the scars shining on my abdomen, sides, and back. One curves up from the bottom of my ribcage to my left breast, licking it with a curved and raised tongue.
Quickly, I force the dress on so roughly I am surprised that I do not hear the sound of ripped fabric. Chancing a second look in the mirror I find myself peering closer, finding my body and appearance transformed.
I am not not a snowflake, I understand that now, instead the Capitol stylists have turned me into a soft and beautiful flower. The sections of white falling across my thighs down to my ankles I had thought were suppose to be the edges of a simplified snowflake, however, I now see the real idea. Each strip is a petal, and I am the flower.
The curved, bunched-in center of the dress-the part I confused as the ice-crystal center of a snowflake-is actually the delicate bud that completes the allusion of the flower. It is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen, and I have been presented with a lot of pretty things from the Capitol.
Running my fingers over the material, the sensation is soft like butter or-more likely-like real pedals on a flower plucked on a blooming day in spring. My hand cups a "pedal" before letting it flutter back down past my knees, with a smile pulling at my lips I peer closer to my refection. Then, seeing my face, I hear my breathe intake a fair amount of oxygen because the girl looking back is not one I recognize.
The pale glimmer of my face sparkles with a strange silver dust that glitters on each of my cheekbones and around my eyes, which jump out like two freshly cut topaz gemstones against the contrasting white and silver. My hair falls in waves over my shoulders, crashing down my back in a sea of ebony, and a single white flower is pinned above my right temple.
"I can only imagine what Brutus looks like," I whisper, but the voice seems so far away and distant. I turn around to search the room as if to try and prove the words were not my own, that the creature in front of me was not me. However, peering around the room, I eyes capture no one but the reflection staring back at me in astonishment.
Knock. Knock.
The door creaks open slowly, while I stand with my feet rooted to the floor waiting for the person to reveal themselves. Half of me is filled with the hope that it is Peeta, so he can see me looking like this, but my mind squashes the thought immediately because the thought of Peeta causes a rush of anger within me.
Peeta enters slowly with a hand covering his eyes, while the other hand searches blindly to close the door. How odd.
"Are you decent?" His voice is rough and masculine but the tone of it is laced with humor, however, I do not feel much like laughing right now.
"You can call it that," I say, dryly. Should I question him first about the whereabouts of my sister, or just start off by striking him? I take a few steps towards Peeta and notice he is dressed up for the mysterious occasion as well-a white long-sleeved buttoned dress shirt ,opened at the collar just enough to see the skin of his neckline, with rolled up sleeves to reveal the skin of his forearms.
I fight back the urge to allow my hand to travel up the expanse of his strong chest, harnessing the rage I hold deep within and plant my feet in defiance. The door shuts and Peeta slowly removes his hand from his eyes, all the while smiling like he has just heard the most comical thing.
Then his eyes find me rooted in my defiant stance, and the smile slips from his face. However, it is not a frown I had expected to see in reaction to my attitude, and I find myself staring at a man who seems paralyzed in shock. I should have punched him when I had the chance...
"You-you...I-um-" he stammers, then clears his throat. "You look very nice, Athena." He says, a flush rising in his cheeks, before swallowing. Hard. I stare at him for a few moments, folding my arms across my chest and gritting my teeth to cover up the frantic beating of my heart and the flutter in my stomach.
I definitely should have hit him before he had the chance to open his mouth, before he could try and sway me with his tantalizing words. I am angry, and no amount of handsomeness or whatever it is I am feeling can change that.
"Peeta," I begin, my words forced through clenched teeth. My tone seems to catch his attention because confusion marks his face in a frown, but no amount of "concern" will cease the anger burning in my heart.
"Peeta," I say again, my voice becoming what Pompeia always described as "scary calm" and I look at Peeta with every ounce of fury burning behind my eyes at the thought of my sister in danger. "I am going to ask you a question, and if you lie to me I will just have to kill you."
Peeta looks at me with a stunned expression and for a second I think he almost laughed, thinking this was all some strange joke. But then he studied the seriousness of my features and found no hint of humor behind my eyes. Then, he remained quiet-waiting.
Knock. Knock. Knock. Knock.
Sighing, I know this conversation will have to wait because the person behind the door hints at impatience. Peeta gives me a pointed look, as if to say that we will continue this conversation later, and reaches for the handle of the door.
Knock. Knock. Knock. Knock.
"Alright. Alright already," Peeta mumbles, swinging the door open in annoyance. Two guards stand with arms folded across their chests, waiting with raised eye brows and smirking at his outburst. Then, looking in the room at me they exchange a toothy-grinned look before turning back to Peeta, and the one steps forward and pushes passed Peeta to come towards me.
"Captain sent us to come retrieve the tribute," the one guard says, taking a step closer to Peeta. "That okay with you, mate?"
Peeta nods but it is clear the guard did not say it as a question, while the other guard snapped the linked cuffs on me and pulled me roughly towards the door. When he shoves me passed Peeta, I see Peeta's eyes widen and his expression fill with concern but I shrug the thought off immediately.
We walk down the hall to a set of double doors that open up to reveal a grand dining hall, everyone already seems to be there and sitting in seats next to their matched colors. Additionally, I notice I am not the only one elaborately dresses. I am, however, the only one-aside from Brutus-who is not dressed in something ridiculous.
Team green are dressed as plants, leaves to be exact, but the material is so elaborate they look like they just emerged from a thick forest and could not get the vegetation to stop sticking to them. The yellow team were suppose to be portrayed as the sun, which could have been cool but they contained enormous head-dresses that spiked out in all directions-to distract the audience away from the scantly clothed bodies underneath, I suppose. Similarly, blue and red felt that their tributes should be dipped in dye and covered in swirls-waves for blue and intricate designs of crackling fire for red.
After I am unchained, I take my seat next to Brutus-who is dressed similarly to me in a white puffy shirt and dull silver pants, with a crown of jagged white flowers on his head.
"Why hello there, Princess. Don't you look ravishing this evening," Brutus says sarcrastically, his face a mask of smug. I narrow my eyes at him and allow a smirk to rise on my lips, as Brutus' eyes rove over my body-lingering too long on the areas of the dress that curve to my body like a second skin.
"Creep," I mumble to Brutus. I want to fold my arms across my chest, shy away from his offending gaze, but I force my hands to clasp and rest on my lap.
The door opens and slams shut, every eye turning to the sound immediately, as President Coin enters the room and takes her place at the head of the table. The mentor's of the District file in after her, spreading out in the seats beside the president.
Peeta's blue gaze finds me and I turn my head away, showing him my cheek in defiance. Brutus looks at me, smiling, and turns his dark eyes from Peeta to me before returning back to me.
"Trouble in paradise, Princess?" My temper is beginning to wear thin and if Brutus is not careful he is going to find himself in a nasty situation in the near future. However, I do my best to conceal my rising temper, and roll my eyes at Brutus.
"If this is paradise Brutus, then I believe we are all in trouble." My words seem to stump him because he remains quiet, simply staring at me with a strange expression on his face.
Suddenly, President Coin slaps the table and the room dissolves into an erie silence.
"So glad you all could join us this evening," President Coin says, cruelly smiling because it is obvious we had no choice in the matter. "Just as your parents, family, and community made us endure we felt it was only fitting that we parade you around like fools before the public-before you fight each other in the arena-so this whole event tonight will be televised for all the people in the Capitol to watch. Also, as this is a special evening, you will realize what it is like to be served by those of your community. With that in mind," Coin says, signaling to the guards-who are stationed by a nearby door.
The guards nod and kick open the door, gesturing with their guns for those within the concealed room to join the party. One by one citizens of the Capitol trudge into the room, all clothed in the same material that signify their slavery, with their heads bent over the pots they carry. Bruises and cuts mark their arms and face, abuse clear on every feature and passing glance as they begin to serve us elaborate salads to start off the meal.
"Meet our very own anox's," Coin says, coldly. I hear several gasps around me as the thought of the torture these people endured chills me to the core, but it is the concept of being an anox that is even more horrifying. Because torture and slavery is what the Capitol put the District through. Because when I look at the faces of these people I sense the pain they are feeling inside, and understand the fact that they will never be able to express an emotion directly ever again. Because just as my father did to the "traitors" among the District, Coin has stolen the voice from their throats. Because the President has cut out the tongues from their mouths.
I look around at the fellow Capitol tributes and surprisingly find their expressions calm and content, and with a stunned realization I understand that they have no idea what is going on. They do not understand the horror behind each of the individual's slavery, or they just do not care.
Another surprise I find is when I look at the side of District members because a considerable amount look sickened, my eyes jump from Katniss' tense body language to Peeta's look of mortification to even Gale and a few other's becoming pale by the president's announcement.
We all chew the fresh greens and vegetables, slowly and quietly.
The next course is a simple pasta dish with white sauce and vegetables. "I believe I thought I told the stylists to dress the tributes as ridiculous as our tributes were dressed, didn't I Johanna?" Coin says, but it is more like a statement then a question. I feel her heated stare on me as I pick at the meal in front of me, taking careful bites as the tension fills the room like a thick fog.
"Yes. I believe you did," Johanna's voice answers, hesitantly. As if she is expecting the president to leap across the table and rip the very the material from my body.
Then, the pasta dish is replaced by a steaming bowl of soup with a side of bread, and as the aroma seeps into my nostrils I resist the urge to gag. I pick up my spoon and push around the bits of brown rice, celery, and carrots. Then, I see what caused the aroma in the form of morsels floating around in the broth. Chicken.
"Something that displeases you, Miss Snow?" The question is directed at me in mock concern, and I hold back a groan as I shake my head and hesitantly take a mouthful of soup.
The taste of animal flesh in the broth is nauseating and as I take another mouthful my stomach objects and I gag involuntarily, an act that draws every pair of eyes to me. Refusing to meet their eyes, I grab at the bread and dibble at it slowly to calm my stomach.
"I believe there is something that you find offensive about this finely prepared soup, Miss Snow. Or are you calling me a liar?
I shake my head, unsure what my response should be because her question seems like a baited trap where there is no right answer. Meanwhile, Peeta slams his palm on the table angrily.
"Why are you patronizing her, Coin? She is not the only tribute,yet, you seem to direct all your anger and hate at her," Peeta says to Coin, softly but full of anger.
"Mellark, do not start with your...personal attentions to this vile creature."
"Coin," Katniss says, warningly. "Fine. Eat with the pest. Share your secrets and be merry for all I care, but do not come crying to me when it stabs you in the back." Coin's eyes narrow at Katniss as silence fills the room again. "You are dismissed Mockingjay," Coin continues, turning her attentions to the meal in front of her.
"Excuse me?" Katniss asks the question, stunned. The president sets down her spoon, acting as if the task took a lot of effort, and looked at Katniss. "I said. You are dismissed, Mockingjay." Her tone is matter-of fact, and Coin holds Katniss' gaze momentarily before turning back to the soup in front of her.
Appalled, Katniss rises to her feet and places her both palms on the table in order to capture President Coin's full attention. "I am not a child, Coin. Therefore, I will not tolerate being treated like a one. And I will not tolerate being dismissed," Katniss states, seething in fury. Then, without another word, Katniss storms out of the room with Gale and Haymitch trailing behind her.
Brutus, who I have seemed to forgotten entirely throughout all the passing events, pokes my side discretely to get my attention.
"See that, Princess? There is only room for one big dog in the world of power." Brutus smiles arrogantly, putting his hands behind his head and tipping the chair back in ease. As if this entire thing had been just some form of twisted entertainment for him.
Sooo, what do you think? I am going to have Athena confront Peeta about her sister in the next chapter, what are your thoughts on how it should go over? Review! Please =]