A Person's Price
Katniss held her breath. All she could see were pale, slender shins and knees. The moment seemed to stretch on forever and Katniss could no longer hold her breath. As slowly as she possibly could she let it out before she let the air flow from her mouth, cursing how it came out in a way that could never be described as smoothly. Breathing back in was just as jerky.
The legs didn't move. She didn't move.
Then she heard tapping. Metal connecting with metal, the retrieved knife made an obnoxiously loud pinging sound on the stainless steal counter above in contrast to the absolute silence of before. Katniss knew she was being toyed with at that moment but despite that, she held onto some sliver of hope that Miss Snow just found the table top above her a good place to tap the tip of her knife. Then the tapping stopped and the lower legs she could see were joined by well matched thighs and hips covered marginally in silky black fabric.
"Do I shame you by opening this door myself or do you preserve some amount of self respect by doing it yourself?"
Katniss sighed, audibly, before pushing against the cabinet door with a cramping arm. Even though the room was dimly lit, it was still bright compared to the far darker space of the closed cabinet space. Katniss squinted her eyes as she looked up at the surprised expression of the face she'd come to know so well.
"Miss Everdeen." Lachrimae breathed out, both eyebrows rose. Katniss watched as the older woman took in her cramped position before looking behind her to where she'd just met carnally with Brutus. "Fifteen feet at most… you heard everything?"
Katniss nodded dumbly, too embarrassed, fearful and confused to do much else.
"A cabinet? Really? Is this a habit I can expect to see repeated or was this a spur of the moment decision? Will you be found hiding in closets next?"
Katniss opened her mouth to speak but Lachrimae cut her off.
"And do you plan to spend the rest of the night in there?" She asked as she stood back up herself. Katniss huffed but embarrassingly crawled from her hiding place to painfully stand up herself. She felt like a child that had been caught doing something she should not have been. Katniss had been in that cramped space for too long and her muscles were irritated with her, she couldn't suppress the groan as they stretched painfully back into their more normal positions. Lachrimae stared at her after she stood. The moment drew out and Katniss realized what the other woman was waiting for. Questions. She didn't like her methods. She would have rather Miss Snow just explain what she'd just seen instead of being forced to ask. Usually it was just frustrating but this time it had an added dimension of humiliation as well.
"I didn't know you and he would come in here."
"Of course you didn't. Nether did I nor Brutus." Miss Snow crossed her hands across her chest and waited for the next question. Apparently they weren't going anywhere until the raven haired woman was satisfied with Katniss's level of understanding.
"Why?"
"No. Not this time. Ask again." Lachrimae backed up while she waited and hopped back up onto the table she'd just utilized five minutes ago before returning her patient gaze to the young victor. Katniss surprised herself when she almost growled in frustration. It only earned her a smile from the woman sitting on the counter.
"Why were you two… what were you doing?" She looked toward the double doors and wondered at her chances of fleeing from this situation and the likelihood of Lachrimae letting her get away with it.
"Two related questions at once, how efficient of you." She reached up and pulled out the tie of her hair that she'd just replaced, scratching at her scalp as she started to answer. "I'll answer the second first as it aids in answering the first. We were fucking because that's what we do on occasion."
"I thought you were going to kill each other." Katniss didn't really think about what she said before it slipped out. The observation just made Miss Snow laugh one of her hollow laughs. Katniss didn't think she'd ever heard her actually sound happy.
"If I'd wanted him dead, I would have done it long ago. We have found one another useful. He enjoys the idea of having me and I enjoy his skill and loyalty."
"How romantic." Katniss huffed under hear breath as she studied her suddenly fascinating fingernails. They were still perfectly manicured, a reminder of the lifestyle she'd endured only two weeks before.
"Romantic?" Snow laughed again. "Romance implies the possibility of love. I said we were fucking, not making love." There was no condescension in her tone. "Did you experience any romance with any of your clients?" That got Katniss's attention. It was the one gift that Miss Snow had granted her prior to this night. She'd never asked or mentioned any past clients, only the ones she would need to prepare for that night.
"You know I didn't."
"And now you know I didn't either." Incredulous and confused, Katniss spat out the words before thinking or caring.
"He was not a client." She stated, pointing at the doors through which Brutus had left.
"Of course he was." Lachrimae hopped off the counter. "Let me walk you back to your room." She walked toward the doors and stopped in front of them, turning her head to see if Katniss was following. The victor wasn't, instead, she stood in front of her cabinet with her mouth agape. "It is late and neither you nor I have had much sleep of late." She pushed one side of the pair of doors, holding it open for Katniss to pass through.
It took a moment for the younger woman to move but Katniss finally gathered herself together enough to make her feet carry her through the door. Once out in the dim hallway, Lachrimae led the way. Katniss followed for a few silent steps before she realized that Miss Snow seemed to head toward her rooms without any prompting and as if she had read her mind, her tormentor spoke.
"BC block correct?"
Katniss nodded and mumbled a 'yeah' at the same time. They walked in silence before it was broken when Katniss couldn't contain her curiosity any longer.
"How is that possible?" Lachrimae seemed to know what she was asking without needing clarification. She turned and walked backwards for a few steps.
"People can be bought for many reasons with many different forms of payment. One of the most readily available and often most effective for women like us is what's between our legs." The woman pointed casually at Katniss before she turned around again. "Brutus is a useful man and like most people, he too had a price. His price has always been me. I do not love him, as you seemingly supposed, but I do like him. He understands our arrangement and is not so foolishly territorial that he would begrudge me purchasing others in the same manner. And I have; he knows I have."
Each intersection of hallways would bring Lachrimae to a halt. She would cautiously look both ways before continuing in the proper direction once more.
"Others have other prices. You had your sister. Mr. Mellark had the promise of being near you and Mr. Hawthorne had the promise of vengeance and aiding in the delivery of your emancipation from slavery." Katniss had heard similar declarations before from this woman. She didn't like the way she characterized Peeta and Gale but she didn't dispute it. Instead, she had other burning questions on her mind.
"And Haymitch's price?" This seemed to make Lachrimae falter in her progress, but only for a moment.
"Mr. Sucram talks too much, especially after sex, not the quality for which I keep him around." For a moment, Katniss didn't think her escort was really going to answer her and then she did. "Revenge."
"That's it?"
"That's it? She asks. As though revenge doesn't or hasn't driven the choices of millions throughout our rich history." Lachrimae ran her hand through her hair again. "Yes, revenge. Our motivations were similar however I'm fairly sure it was also his attempt at suicide at the time. He was weaker in that way in his younger days." Katniss wondered if what this woman said to her would ever stop being so irritatingly confusing. The embarrassment of being caught hiding in the cabinet was starting to wear off and now she was just getting angry, not uncommon around this woman. Katniss couldn't tell if she was being manipulated into this anger or not. Everything this woman did and Katniss second guessing herself these days. She tried not to focus on that and instead thought of her mentor.
"Haymitch wouldn't want revenge on you because you handed him that box."
"Half of the words you decide to speak disappoint me." Lachrimae sighed and Katniss just bristled further at the rebuke. "Though I'm sure his actions were born in some measure for my part in the deaths of his family and friends, as small as my part had been, the revenge was far more directed at my father. And as for the suicide, I imagine he thought my father would kill him for touching me. He did not know my father however." They walked in silence for a few more moments; Katniss's mind swirled with everything that had happened over the past months.
"And where was your revenge born from?" Katniss asked in her most condescending tone. She saw Lachrimae look at her from the corner of her eye, not turning her head from the path in front of them. Something about those eyes… she wanted to hurt this woman and she had no idea how to really do it. Her frustration formed her second question. "What did Daddy do to make you hate him so much?" Lachrimae's pace slowed considerably. Maybe it was meant to be threatening, a warning that Katniss shouldn't try to delve this deeply. Maybe she really had struck a chord. Either way, the victor ignored it. Miss Snow had already made it clear that she needed or at the very least wanted to use Katniss for this rebellion. Well she could go to hell. Katniss was tired of playing a game she didn't know all the rules to. Katniss stopped walking. "You want my help in all of this?" She threw up her arms. "Then tell me why. Why do you hate him? Why have you obviously spent years to organize a way to destroy everything he's built?" Snow stopped with her and smiled before leaning against an empty expanse of wall.
"Would you believe that I finally saw my father's wicked ways and have just acted in the interest of the greater good ever since?" She was smirking.
"No." Katniss was not.
"Good. I would give up hope on you completely and just wash my hands of you if you were that hopelessly stupid." The smirk suddenly disappeared. "You truly want to know?"
"Yes."
Lachrimae sighed before pushing off the wall again. She made a motion with her hand that clearly said, 'follow me' and strode off down the hall. They walked for several minutes, no longer headed for Katniss's room or at least she didn't think they were. She'd lost track of exactly where she was again, this repetitive maze was proving difficult for her to navigate. She was used to making her way through natural settings where no two things were exactly alike, making it far easier to mark your path in your mind. She'd have to learn to keep a very accurate count in her head of the hallways and numbering systems of this place is she hoped to not get herself lost every time she left her room. They arrived in hallways where all of the overhead lights were extinguished with only a few of the baseboard lights on, shedding just enough light to keep a person from bumping into walls. Halfway down one block, Lachrimae opened a door to a dark room and entered. Katniss took a deep breath and followed her in. She could barely see anything until Lachrimae found the switch on the wall that flooded the room with bright, harsh light.
"That won't do." She flicked a second switch and turned off the first, leaving them in far more comfortable low levels of light that they were more accustomed to. In the brief moment before she turned off the bright light, Katniss got a clear look at Lachrimae's face; she looked more worn out than Katniss had ever seen.
"Many people are aware of my past but not all, hence the desire for privacy." The room was completely bare of any furnishings so Lachrimae opted to lean against a wall. "Last warning, if you ask again, I swear I will tell you."
"Tell me." Katniss was now leaning against the closed door opposite the other woman.
"Very well." Lachrimae stared directly at the young victor, her face blank. "Do you know why my father's breath smells of blood?" Katniss hadn't expected the odd question that seemed unrelated to the subject. She just shook her head no. "My father's power has not always been absolute. He was not born the president, nor was it a given. There were plenty of other men and women that wanted the honor for themselves. The ones he couldn't merely frighten away or find a way to blackmail them out of the picture, he murdered." Katniss hoped that Lachrimae didn't expect that to surprise her, she kept her face as blank as she could.
"Poison was his favorite. Long ago, it was considered a weapon for women or cowards but that connotation didn't seem to bother him in the least. He kept himself in a near constant state of sickness as a younger man as he accustomed his body to tiny quantities of many toxins, slowly developing immunities to levels that would kill most people. He was always very good at laying plans well in advance. He had the patience to wait years before making a single move. It paid off in the end. One by one, his unsuspecting enemies fell. My father would throw lavish parties, the kind that no one of high standing could avoid without losing credibility. And at these parties, he would serve his enemies poison. In order to avoid suspicion, he would eat the same food and drink the same wine. The poisons didn't kill them then, it would just weaken their bodies, attacking various systems of the body. That's when my father truly struck, sending the afflicted parties 'gifts' that spoke of his desire for them to return to health soon." Lachrimae stressed the last word.
"These were the true killers. His supposed gifts would always be laced with some form of pathogen. The weakened person would then die of one common aliment or another. Undoubtedly, other people that attended the party would die too but they were coincidental and expendable, collateral damage if you will. Victims of eating or drinking too much and then getting themselves exposed to something accidentally." Katniss tried to keep her face unemotional and mostly she succeeded. This didn't seem like anything worse than what she could have imagined on her own.
"Why would you care about those people?" Lachrimae laughed.
"I didn't. Most of them died before I was born. I'm not finished yet." She continued to stare at the woman across the room from her. "But the poisons took their toll eventually on my father as well. They damaged so many of his organs but it's his lungs that cause the bloody smell."
"What does this have to do with you?"
"Everything. I just thought it important to lay a foundation of just what my father was willing to do in order to consolidate his power. If he was willing to compromise his own health then was there anything he wasn't willing to do?" For the first time, she looked away from Katniss. "But you can't kill everyone. Do that and there's no one left to help you run your country. That's were determining a person's price becomes important." Even in the low light, Katniss could see how tired Lachrimae had become. "The prices were as varied as the people, some were bought with money, some with the promise of lower levels of power, some wanted victors from the games," she raised a hand in Katniss's general direction to stress her point, "and others…" Lachrimae looked down at the floor before she let herself slide down the wall to meet it. She looked up at Katniss.
"I was fourteen when my father learned what Mr. Averys price was." She paused, looking up and searching Katniss's face for something. Katniss just narrowed her eyes at the mention of that name.
"Victors?" Katniss asked. She knew well enough. She'd been the coin that paid him once and almost twice.
"No, but close." Katniss watched as Lachrimae looked away from her again. It wasn't like her to break eye contact. "No, his price was the girl that had always dreamed of being one." That made Katniss stop breathing. She could hear Finnick's voice like he was there in the room with them.
'She has as much of an obsession with the games as her father except that she was obsessed with being in them.'
"You? He gave you to Averys?" She asked incredulously to Lachrimae's profile. The face showed no emotions and she didn't look back at Katniss.
"For a year. Avery's had so much influence in the financial sector and he played the game as well if not better than my father that killing him was out of the question. At least that's how my father explained it to me. In the end, they struck a bargain. My father would control the political arena and the military while Mr. Averys would keep control over the financial sector and the general governance of the districts. Though I now think it was more complicated than that." She pinched her nose. "I had always been a willful child, pitiless, violent, aggressive…" She stopped and rubbed at her wrist. "I wore one of those from the time I was five until I was almost eleven years old."
Katniss's eyes shot down to the bracelet she'd worn since before arriving at the capitol. A tightly drawn together brow had replaced the blank expression she's tried to maintain.
"It was necessary. It kept me from killing my peers out of rage or whatever my chosen motivation was for the day. It kept me from striking out at those around me, my father included. No one was safe from my… predilections. I convinced my father to remove it. I wanted to prove that I could control it because I had deluded myself into believing that he would let me enter the arena if I proved myself to him. I was a little fool." She let go of her nose and leaned her head against the wall, closing her eyes. "When I turned twelve and he still refused, despite what I'd let myself believe… I started my first iteration of rebellion. Pranks meant to embarrass my father publically, as I'd seen Mr. Abernathy do when I was younger, and the like." Katniss saw her small smile but it disappeared quickly.
"I was too blinded with my own petty vengeance over being denied the games that I didn't notice just how angry he'd become with me. At the time, he tried to explain that in order for me to one day take his place, to control all of Panem, that 'we'," she stressed the word, "needed Averys on our side. The clever bastard actually convinced me it was the right thing, the wise thing, to do. I was fourteen and stupid. I willingly walked into hell." Katniss watched the odd display of unreadable emotions flit across her face. "I learned many valuable things in that year about myself. I learned what I could endure and what I could not. I learned what it was that drove Panem, what made it move. I learned a valuable lesson but not the one my father had hoped. I learned how to deceive, how to manipulate and so much more. I learned things about myself that I can never unlearn. That year began my second iteration of rebellion, the one you are now apart of." With that said, she stood and moved to the door. Katniss didn't move at first, too stunned by the revelation. "Coincidentally, the year you were born was the year my father's downfall began, the year I spent with Mr. Averys."
"Your own father gave you to that man?" She breathed out.
"You lost your father at twelve, I lost mine at fourteen." Katniss still didn't move but she brought her eyes to Lachrimae. She immediately found herself pinned to the wall, a knife at her neck.
"Do not. Do not look at me like that." Lachrimae spat through clenched teeth. "I do not deserve your pity. My father let Mr. Avery's hurt me in ways that would make your two months feel like you spent the entire time with either of your loving men but never forget what I did to you."
"What you did or what your father made you do?" Katniss didn't fight against Miss Snow even when the grip around her neck became painful.
"My father hadn't been involved directly in the prostitution of certain victors for years. I chose who would come to the capitol. I chose Mr. Odair. I chose Miss Mason. I chose you and your husband. I chose and carried out the methods used to keep all of you in line and profitable and while I did it in order to get you close, to learn more about you and see if you really did have the potential to help fight this war, I enjoyed it. Everything I did to your husband, I did to keep him alive, to keep my father from seeing him as more of a liability than he was lucrative but I enjoyed causing him pain. I like hurting people, I always have. It feels…" Lachrimae didn't finish that thought. Instead she squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head. Then she pulled the knife away from Katniss's neck and slid her hand down her arm to grab at the bracelet. "I was not joking when I told you I wore one of these and it did not change me; it just made me learn to control my proclivities and desires. My year with Averys did not change me, just changed my goals and taught me further control." She pushed away from the girl, breathing hard.
Katniss's mind was a mess of wild emotions and thoughts. She didn't know what to think. This woman had just revealed that her past was filled with as much pain as hers was and caused by the same man. Katniss had allowed herself to feel just a tiny amount of compassion but no sooner had she felt it before she felt a knife at her throat. The moment she thought she understood this woman even a little, that understanding was destroyed once more.
"I am a monster." Lachrimae whispered with downcast eyes. "In every sense of the word." She hid her knife away once more and snapped her hardened eyes back to Katniss. "Now move, we need to get you back to your sweet little sister." She didn't look at Katniss as she pushed passed her and opened the door. Katniss had no idea how she found the will to move her feet and follow the trembling woman in front of her. The trembling terrified Katniss. It terrified her because it represented the unknown. She couldn't know if talking about Snow's obviously painful past caused it or if the President's daughter was just losing some of that control she said had taken her years to develop. More than ever, Katniss did not want this woman anywhere near Prim.
"I can find my own way back." That just earned her a clipped laugh.
"I'm sure you can but I'll escort you back all the same." Her tone brokered no room for argument. They walked in silence until they eventually reached the better-lit hallways. "To answer your earlier question a little more clearly, I took Mr. Abernathy to my bed when I was sixteen years old. I did it to prove to my father that Averys had not broken me, that I had survived and that I was still more than willing to humiliate him, even if I had chosen to keep it more low key than I had before. He hated your mentor and I rubbed it in his face. If I had suddenly started playing the part of the perfect daughter, my father never would have trusted me the way he came to. Mr. Abernathy was the first person I ever saw defy my father, he seemed like the perfect choice."
They finally reached her room after what felt like an eternity. "I wish you luck in keeping her safe. You might find it a difficult task. Ours isn't a kind world and this place…" her eyes lifted to the ceiling, "has monsters all its own." Lachrimae gave her a tiny bow and then walked away.
Katniss sighed and pressed her forehead to the door before schooling her face and entering her and Prim's room.
OoOoO
hgfan: I guess it's just personal interpretation then. For you, my Brutus will be a bit ooc but no big deal I hope. As to arguing the relative strengths of fictional characters, it was fun. It made me do some more research into the character than I had done previously. Keeping me on my toes so to speak.
catie8: I knew you would like the retrospective lemon. I'd been wanting to do one for a while. Gale fans rejoiced I'm sure. Peeta fans will have their day as well. Just not today. Gale being her first was an attempt to undermine her marriage just in case she did love Peeta already (President Snow's thinking). Lol, Peeta has been a bit batshit lately, we'll find out why soon enough. I'm so happy that other people didn't like that line, especially when it was rendered moot in the books with what happened to Prim and it being 'all Gale's fault'. There never really was a choice given to the Katniss from the originals but my version will be given that choice and on a far more equal footing between the two men (making it harder). Rima and Kat, Kat's apathy toward men… now that's just crazy. :) I figured Gale was a bit older and everything thinks he's incredibly good looking… it's not a stretch to think he'd have a bit more experience. Was Peeta with anyone in the Capitol? Yes, unfortunately. *bows*
ElsterBird: Haha, not that we know of. But it's not like Rima is attached to anyone, she just uses sex to get what she wants, as this chapter explained. So I wouldn't put it past her using with Jo, not that I've given any indication toward Jo's sexual preferences. Hey, you keep her as your Lady Gaga; I can see it. :) I hope this chapter makes her lack of feeling make sense. She was disappointed when she thought the victor transport didn't make it but that was about it. It's not about love for her. It's about positioning and without the victors, she's wouldn't be in as good a position in District 13. I tried to make that kinda clear during her interaction with Coin. Awww, you can have a favorite in Peeta but why not like my version of Gale… he hasn't done anything wrong, lol!
Awesome: They did get a room. The kitchen is a room. :) Oh yes, they were talking about our favorite recovering alcoholic.
Thundarrgirl: Hehe, thank you. Yeah, I described this story as sex riddled, had to get back to my roots. Thank you.
Carla: I chose Brutus as someone that Rima would closely align herself with because of they way he was portrayed in the second book. She'd surround herself with confident killers, especially ones she could reasonably control. District 13 isn't her home turf and I hope I made the animosity clear between her and Coin and because of that, she's going to need her own little personal army just to keep in a decent enough position to call some of the shots in this war. But I'll make all of that clearer in future chapters as the war kicks off and everyone starts to interact. And now you understand the why portion of Haymitch. You got your wish with the confrontation. Haha, I'm with you sister, let's keep em both. I still don't see a credible way to do it though lol. I'm happy to oblige your desires to see a different HG continuation AU. We'll see how Rima goes about getting Katniss to help in this rebellion and I promise, you will find out about Peeta and Rima. Ah, the bracelet… yeah, it will come up again, decisions will be made concerning those little chemical toys. I tried to update yesterday but BBQs with the neighbors and hanging out with my nephew ate up all my time. Hope this long chapter makes up for it, even without any sexy time in it. :)
Anyfan2004: I love that what you wanted her to do, she did. That made me smile. Katniss has a lot of issues to deal with and letting the reader see more of her trials and tribulations will make dealing with those more believable… I think. I loved the pointless info, I giggled when I read it. And now you know what happened, lol. Awww, you thank me and then I don't update… that's Murphy's Law for you.
JNGustin: I didn't describe this story as sex riddled for nothing! Glad to hear you had a good b-day.
Rawr: No one expects the Spanish Inquisition! (sorry, that's what I heard in my head when I read that line in your review. I'm a shameless Monty Python lover) I'm glad it was unexpected. She did indeed get herself some Haymitch as well, as well as telling us why. Is that the whole story? Maybe, maybe not. :) Like I said to catie8, it just seems like it wouldn't be a stretch and since it is in no way mentioned in the first book, the only one I'm drawing from, I took the license and wrote him that way. Oh, you'll take it in and you'll like it, one chapter or not. :)
BeenBitten: ROFL, I love the honesty! I've skimmed many a story. I expect people to do it, especially in fan fiction. No one clicked on this story because they wanted to read about Rima or Brutus. If I got a few people to really want to read about them and I seem to have, then I'm ecstatic but I'm not going to be hurt when people skim. It's the nature of the venue. But I promise, your skimming will eventually pay off… I don't know so much about the three layered bit but your 'P' will definitely be back.
