So sorry it has taken me so long to get a chapter up, and that this one is going to be so short compared to the other ones, but I think that this will still make you really, really happy, and hopefully clue you in to how some of the things are working that you as readers don't know about yet. I assure you, by the end of this, you are going to think I am such a horrible person. I hate making my characters suffer...and yet it is so, so fun to see how you react to it. I hope that this will keep you all eager to read. Enjoy!
PS. I am not Suzanne Collins, but I am using some of her characters here.
PSS. I have a forum for this story. If you would like the link to it, send me a PM or ask for it in a review! I'd be happy to give it to you.
Alice POV-
Come immediately.
The only two words on the page that I have just been given. I don't know what they mean, or what's in store for me, but I know who sent them-Snow. And I know that if I don't go, bad things are going to happen. That's how all of these things work. Not just me, though. Every ex- tribute brought back is a slave to Snow the second we get back from the dead. And why?
Because we're grateful to him.
We want to please him.
We want to keep him happy.
We want to stay alive.
As if I would ever want to make Snow, of all people, happy. He's done nothing but terrorize everyone, and I loathe him. He keeps Miklisho and I apart almost every moment of every day, and it sickens me. I want to see my fiance, not be taken from him. He wants us to fall out of love, but it will never happen. It only makes us cherish the time we have together every day even more.
I stand up, getting off the bed I was just laying on, looking at the off-white paper in my hand one more time before crumpling it into a ball and tossing it over my shoulder.
I'll come immediately, Snow. But I will not cooperate.
Miklisho POV-
Come, or Alice gets it...again.
The note sets me even more on edge. I feel horrible. I was working out when I got the note, almost slammed the messenger guy in the head with a dumbbell because of it. Almost killed myself in the process, I was so angry. I mean, what else could he do to Alice besides kill her? I didn't want to find out.
I start pumping the weights faster, harder, more and more rigorously until I feel like I've actually done something with my time. Something useful. Something I can help defend my Alice with. My strength is one of my skills, for sure. And for once, I'm happy Snow forced me to work on something. To practically become a miniature Finnick Odair. I look the part, and now I can act the part.
And what does it all add up to?
I'm going to make Snow pay for everything he's doing to us.
No matter what the obstacles I have to overcome, I am going to avenge everything that he is doing, to everyone know deserves vengeance.
Maryann POV-
Come to the meeting place, and I'll tell you what happened to your brother.
God, I hate him. I hate what he makes us do, how he commands everything that goes on in my life, as well as any other tribute he decided was worth bringing back. And most importantly, I hate what he knows that I don't.
He knows Micheal's fate.
I would give anything, anything in the entire world, to know he's alright. I'd give slightly less then everything to know his body was back home, safely buried. I've give almost nothing to know what I do now, that he was probably dead, and probably back home. And I'd take everything back to get him back alive.
Even if I was dead myself.
I walk out of my room, heading toward the board room that is the room the mysterious 'come' always refers to. Snow never uses our names. He always knows where we are, it seems, and we never know when to expect a note. I was in the shower once when I got one. It was on the sink when I got out.
Talk about creepy, right?
I've been alive for the second time for a few weeks now, and I know well enough that if Snow wants you in a place, you get yourself there pretty darn quick. That is, if you don't want to die.
Micheal POV-
Come to the board room, Michael. I have a surprise for you.
I hate being alive again. Don't get me wrong, I'm alive again, and that part makes me extremely happy. But, I don't like having Snow control every little thing I do. I don't like not being able to see my family, and not being able to choose what job I get to work in, although that part wasn't really all that different then what I had back home, I would have either been fishing or making nets really, and for gods sake, I can't go see Maryann. I hate it for that reason.
Maryann doesn't even know I'm alive. It tears me apart to know that I have to pretend I'm not until Snow gives me the approval to show her that I am still alive. It makes me sick, come to think of it. I miss her. The way she smiles when she's thrilled, the way her eyes sparkle with their emerald green brilliance. The way she smells like sea air and home, even when she takes a shower. The mere thought of how her lips feel on mine makes me think that I'm going to pass out the second I do get to see her again.
And then there's the way that she always seems to know the right thing to say to make me happy. She never gives me a dull moment, and we hardly ever argue...except for the one time I lashed out and hurt her.
God, I regret that fight. The two of us had argued and argued and I just...snapped. I would take back everything I said during that argument if it meant that I would be able to see her again.
I can't bear the thought of not knowing what's going on with my twin, and my girlfriend. I know I have to go to Snow's get together, or I'll never get to see her probably.
I'm almost sure his 'surprise' is going to be letting me reveal myself to Maryann. I'll be damned if I don't go to that meeting. And if it's something else, it just isn't time yet.
I'll get to see my beloved Maryann again soon.
Silke/Velvet POV-
"Sir, I'm going to need you to calm down." I say, to a man who is quite literally trying to choke me.
"I don't know what you want me to do! My wife is in there almost dead, and you're not going to do anything about it?!" the man shouts back at me.
The man lets go of me, and I crumple to the floor, like I usually do when someone tries to choke me. And yes, it has happened before.
I shakily get to my feet, closing my eyes as I see the two blue things that used to be my hands. Well, they are hands...just not mine. They aren't the same creamy pale color they used to be. They're a dark, deep, royal blue color, like the rest of me. My lips are a cherry red color, my eyes a mud brown color. My hair is a bit more blonde than it used to be.
Snow insisted that I look nothing like myself, since he had also insisted I work as a nurse. And at the hospital Liz was staying at too.
Ughhh. That girl makes me sick. I want her dead, and I want it now.
Not that she's getting the perfect life. Snow mentioned to me in one of our progress meetings that things were about to get much, much harder for Elizabeth Hirsch and her dear, sweet fiance Luke, but I didn't have any idea what he was talking about.
The girl's being forced to have a baby at 15, and again before she's 17. Ouch! She's going to be in some serious pain.
Oh well. Sucks for her. She's getting what she deserves, acting like she's so much better then all of the rest of us all the time before the Games started, and even now.
I sound so mean. But Snow's ways have taught me to either be mean and get what I want, or be weak and die. Those are pretty much the only two options.
As I get up, I notice a piece of paper on the ground. I can see the elegant looking font, and I smile, knowing who wrote it.
Come to the meeting place, and I can guarantee that special person you've had your eye on can be yours.
I exit the hospital and go back to my part of the building Snow is housing us all in, changing my clothes and then heading down the hallway to the board room, smirking now that I feel confident, wearing clothes I picked out for myself, since my hospital shift ended, and now I feel a lot better.
Oh, this meeting is going to be amazing.
Especially if I get to have Miklisho Maccol at the end of it.
Snow POV-
Sitting around the table, looking at the four teenagers along the length of it, you would never expect that they had anything to do with each other. They all look different, all seem to be feeling different things, all obviously want different things...and yet I can read them all like a book.
Alice-wants to marry Miklisho, and will be whatever it takes to get to that goal.
Miklisho- vice versa. He wants to marry Alice, and he'll do anything he has to in order to get there, as long as it doesn't damage the carefully sculpted new manhood the two of us have devised.
Maryann- just wants to see her beloved brother again. Doesn't want to make any trouble for anybody. She wants to go home.
Silke- is miserable and hates her life. Wants to go home, wants to look the way she used to again. Basically, she wants everything she can't have.
Michael still hasn't shown up, which is good, because when he does show up, it'll make Maryann insane with happiness. She'll be so grateful I brought back her brother to her that she won't even care what I'm asking her to do.
She's the last piece of this equation. All the others have sworn they'll be loyal to me, and will do whatever I ask of them. Maryann Deluna is the exception. She won't do whatever I ask of her, and that won't do for me. Michael will fix that for me. He's doing whatever I say, so in turn, she will too. Just by his word. Or, if that isn't the only reason, she'll want to do what I ask because I brought her back her brother. That's all she really wants.
And I can give it to her.
This plan is working out perfectly.
"So...why are we here?" Silke asks.
I roll my eyes at her.
"Dear, you're going to have to be more patient. Not all of our guests are here." I can't help my smirk.
She rolls her brown eyes at me. "Whatever. Pardon me for thinking that we would actually start the meeting when the people who got the notes actually got here." she quips.
I clear my throat, and a Peackekeeper comes and stands behind her.
"I mean, my apologies, Mr. President, sir."
I smile. "Much better, Silke."
She looks down, her cheeks flaming, even though her skin is blue now. My god that was a good decision.
"Now, if any of the rest of you are wondering why this meeting has not progressed, we have another guest coming. Someone who also got a note."
Maryann blinks at me. "I thought only the ex-tributes got notes." she said quietly.
I smile at her, watching her expression carefully.
"Someone else got a note, Maryann. No need to be curious, you'll find out soon enough."
She settles into her chair, looking uncomfortable, and for a few moments, everything passes in complete silence.
Then the door opens, and a Peacekeeper walks in, his face plate a different color then everyone else's.
Or should I say, the tribute that looks like a Peacekeeper.
Micheal takes off his helmet, his red hair and green eyes catching the light.
Maryann jumps out of her seat. "Michael!" she exclaims, and runs over to him, latching on to him before I can get anyone to get her back into her seat.
"Maryann!" Michael replies, hugging her so tight I wonder if it hurts the two of them.
Then they're hugging and kissing and making up, and I start feeling warm and fuzzy inside.
That needs to be fixed. I can't have people thinking I've lost control over my own operations here.
"Ahem." I say, and the two Deluna siblings...couple...whatever they are, stop embracing each other and separate.
"We are trying to have a formal production meeting, if you don't mind."
Maryann blushes and takes Michael's hand, walking back to her seat and sitting, Michael sitting down next to her. I'm sure they're both still holding hands.
"Now, back to business. All of you must again tell me you are willing to commence with my plans, before we begin."
Silke groans and rolls her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, we agree and all that, can we get back to the plan?"
Miklisho takes her hand for a second, in a friendly way, but I see her eyes widen in want of him. He even smiles at her.
"Silke, I think we might want to be patient with President Snow, don't you?"
Silke nods. "Um...yeah. Yes. I agree, Mr. President."
Miklisho lets go of her hand and goes back to holding Alice's.
"I agree too." he says.
Alice nods. "If he's in, I'm in."
Michael kissed Maryann, seeing her biting her lip in hesitation. "I agree." he says calmly.
"Um...well...what would we have to do?" Maryann asks.
"Maryann, it's not about what you'll have to do. It's that you're willing to do it because I ask." I respond.
She nods. "Um...well..."
Michael squeezes her hand. "I said yes, sweetheart." he smiles at her, and I can practically see her melting.
"Yeah. Um...ok. I agree." She mumbles.
I smirk. "Excellent. Now let's discuss our strategies."
Luke POV-
Liz and I are sitting in practically complete silence, both of us just staring at Cato's intense stare. Liz knows how to match it, how to keep him from thinking she's some sort of freak, but I'm completely crumbling under his gaze.
I don't know how she does it. Just...sit there. Just...stare at him. I experimentally wave a hand in front of her face, just to see what will happen. Nothing. Positively nothing.
I smile a little. "Liz...? Um...can you tell your dad that you're alright so we can be married, angel?"
She blinks at me, then looks at her father. "Daddy..." she starts. "I'm fine, and if you don't like Luke, you should get over whatever it is that's making you not like him, because he is the best thing that has ever happened to me."
She sighs, and I can see her gathering her thoughts. "My focus has increased, my social skills are improving, as in I don't hate the universe like you so frequently accuse me of, and not to mention the fact that I'll marry him whether you approve or not, because by Snow's order, Luke and I are going to be married."
I see Cato's gaze falter. "I just want to make sure you're making the right decision, princess. I mean, you are only 15 years old after all."
She nods. "I know. But I love Luke, and I want to marry him. If I didn't, I wouldn't have done even half of the crazy things that I have done."
Cato smiles and wraps his arms around her. "I know, sweetie." then he turns his attention to me. "You better be good to my little girl, boy. Or I will make sure it is the last thing you ever do in this world."
I gulp the lump down in my throat, taking a moment to figure out what I am going to say to him. I mean, I can't just say what I have been saying. I need to come up with something. And if I take too long, he's going to think I'm a wimp that can't speak. And if there is one thing I do not need right now, it is my fiance's father thinking I'm a wimp.
"It will be the greatest honor in the entire world to be Liz's husband. And I promise, I will treat her with every respect, every courtesy, every romantic gesture and word I can possibly think of, and more. And I will treasure and cherish her forever."
Liz smiles at me, looking down, her cheeks flaming red, and Cato simply nods. "Alright. But I swear, if my little girl ever comes to me with even the smallest hint of something going wrong, I will kill you."
"Daddy, we're not going to have a perfect marriage." Liz counters.
"I understand that. I mean if he ever hurts you, or makes you feel unloved, or god forbid isn't loyal to you, I'm going to kill him."
Liz's eyes widen and she takes my hand.
"Yes sir." I say. "Those sound like impeccable terms."
Cato nods. "I'll leave you two alone. Be safe."
Liz smiles when he leaves the room. "I love you." she whispers, leaning in to rest her head on my shoulder.
I push her chin up and lean down, kissing her lips gently. "I love you more." I murmur.
She smiles, twisting a strand of hair around her finger and tucking it behind her ear, and I melt, just looking at her makes me dizzy.
"I missed you so much." I say, and I pull her into my lap. I notice she's only hooked up to one machine now, probably feeding her morphling to help her pain minimize.
"I missed you too...how was District 12?"
I laugh. "Exactly the way I left it, except one of my best friends is pregnant, and my other best friend did it, since the two of them are dating."
Liz nods, and I can see her trying to remember this. "Um...those two would be...Meredith and Scott?"
I shake my head. "No. Scott and Maya. Meredith is the only friend that's a girl."
Liz nods. "And is she dating someone?"
I smile. "Yes. She's dating Daniel, but I wouldn't expect you to know that. I didn't even know that until I got back home again."
She blinks, her eyebrows furrowing. "And...Austin's...?"
"Still a little bitter, I think, but otherwise fine. I volunteered for the Games, like you know, but he's the one that got Reaped, and he actually wanted to go, so he was upset."
She nods. "What? I thought people in your district don't like volunteering..."
I shrug. "Usually they don't, but Austin's dad just died, and he has a big family that could really use the money...so..."
Liz nods. "Oh, I get the picture. Not that I know what it's like to be scrounging for money, but I understand." she groans. "Oh my god, I sounded so snobby a second ago."
I kiss his nose. "It's ok. I know you didn't mean it."
We sit there, just talking about anything and everything that's been going on. I'm overjoyed to hear that she's all better now, and that she'll be checked out of the hospital by the next day, and she's thrilled to hear that I want to start sending invitations tonight, and that all my friends and family said that they were excited to come and meet her.
I don't tell her about the cake, knowing it's better as a surprise than as something she already knows. She's going to love our wedding, I'm sure of it.
And I will too, because I'll be marrying the girl that I am so far in love with I can't think of anything else.
Effie POV-
I know Liz and Luke are in the hospital room talking together. I can hear their giggles, their hushed I love you's and their lack of words, where I know their bent together, lips probably also pressed, kissing where words aren't needed. The two of them are so in love. I hate to ruin it.
My phone buzzes in my pocket, and I snap it open, seeing a text message.
Effie, ohmygod, turn on Channel 3. They're showing the dresses in 5 and I think I'm gonna die from excitement!
I don't even pay attention to who the text is from, just go and gather up Cato and Peeta and Clove and Katniss and Haymitch, and then we're all walking into the hospital room, sounding louder than a herd of elephants.
Luckily, we caught Liz and Luke right in the middle of a kiss.
Clove snaps a picture. "I could make some money off this." she jokes, as Cato flicks on the TV.
I hear Valetta's voice, and a second later a picture of Liz pops up. It's obviously from before the Games, because she's wearing a sky blue dress I know was from her interviews.
Haymitch covers Luke's eyes as the first picture rolls up, Liz standing in the first dress, one hand on her hip, smiling, the other hand in the air, where a bubble rests on her fingertips.
"No, that better not be it. She'll look like a doll in a dress." Cato groans, tilting his head back.
"I like it." Katniss says. "Very...pretty." she starts laughing, Clove right along with her.
Liz is blushing, and Luke is smiling like an idiot, even though he can't see any of this.
Haymitch looks at me, blowing me a subtle kiss. I feel my own cheeks start to heat up.
The second picture comes with the second dress, this one involving Liz smirking into the camera, hands on her hips. She looks hardcore and sexy, and the dress is gorgeous. I can tell that's going to be one of the finalists in the picking.
It still boggles my mind Liz doesn't get to pick her own dress.
"I love it." Liz breathes.
"It is pretty." Clove agrees.
"I don't like it for you, Liz. Seems too...feminine." Cato pipes up.
The third dress makes Liz look like a slut, and I love the girl with all my heart. She's laying on the couch, covered in white feathers that are mixing with everything else, making her look like a feathery mess. Her smile is huge though, and I wonder how she managed to look so happy.
"Ew..." Liz groans.
"I like it." Haymitch mumbles, and Cato high fives him.
Clove slaps Cato until he grins it off and stops, and I stare at Haymitch with an expression of absolute confusion.
The fourth dress shot is Liz bent over the side of the couch. The dress is alright enough, but it just doesn't look right to me.
Clove and Liz share a disapproving look, and Cato and Peeta whisper something I can't hear.
Then the dreaded fifth dress comes. The one that was so small Liz was bleeding on the inside of her.
Liz covers herself with the blankets on the bed with a simple, "Don't make me look at that thing."
Everyone else is silent as the description is given, as we see Liz looking dreamily out the window.
And then the screen goes blank.
And then when it comes back, we see a picture of Liz in that second dress, the one she liked.
And I know she's going to be just fine.
