Prompt : So I was reading some of your older prompts and wondered whether you could do something based on the line Effie "had raged and cried and screamed so hard Portia had been scared her neighbors would hear" from truth & lie?
Unfair
Male and Female tributes will be reaped from their existing pool of victors…
People gasp in delight around her. Effie's head is spinning.
Male and Female tributes will be reaped from their existing pool of victors…
Her living-room is packed with guests, friends and acquaintances alike, the party has taken a life of its own somewhere down the line. She doesn't know half of the people in her house, she doesn't particularly want to either. Everywhere she looks, all she sees are blinding colors, mouths opened in mid-laugh, the golden hues of the champagne being passed around… People turn to her, seek her opinion, ask her what she thinks Twelve's chances are, some commiserate with the star-crossed lovers' lack of luck…
Male and Female tributes will be reaped from their existing pool of victors…
Someone grabs her arm and she knows from the familiar sweet flagrance of her perfume that it is Portia. She steers her away and Effie lets her, too stunned to do anything but stare at the screen in confusion. The announcement is over though, the screen flares to black, the music is turned up again, so loud it almost drowns her own thoughts.
Male and Female tributes will be reaped from their existing pool of victors…
Portia nudges her to her bedroom and closes the door behind them. Effie watches, in a daze, as her friend checks the en-suited bathroom and the huge dressing room to make sure they are alone. She sits on the bed and barely registers Portia crouching in front of her, a concerned frown on her face.
"We will get through this." Portia swears. Effie can barely hear her over the loud blast of the music in the other room. "You will see. We will find a way. Katniss will win, she has to."
Male and Female tributes will be reaped from their existing pool of victors…
Katniss…
She will have to draw Katniss' name. She will have to stick her hand in an empty bowl and pick out the single piece of paper in there and then she will have to call out the girl's name for everyone to hear.
She will have to escort Katniss' back to the arena.
"Effie." Portia insists, clasping her hands and squeezing to the point it hurts. "Effie, the house is packed, you can't lose it now. Everyone is watching."
The other bowl wouldn't be empty though.
The other bowl…
"Oh my god…" Effie breathes out. She swears she's about to be sick, her stomach churns, she's dizzy, she can taste the bile at the back of her mouth…
"Katniss will win." Portia repeats. "We will make sure…"
Effie tears her hands away, angry with her friend for not understanding the whole problem. "Katniss won't be alone in there."
Sorrow flashes in Portia's eyes but her face is set. "She is the only one who counts. You know what's happening, Effie, you must…"
"Shut up." she snaps, uncharacteristically rude. She doesn't care about whatever insurrections Cinna and Portia are hoping for – yes, she knows all about that, she is not stupid and they are not as discreet as they think they are, the whole lot of them – she doesn't care. All she wants, all she ever wanted, is to keep the children safe. That is what the whole Victory Tour was about : making sure the children would be safe. And now… Now…
"Maybe we can pull the star-crossed lovers card again." Portia suggests dubiously. "We can't write Peeta off just yet, it's…"
"And what if it's not Peeta?" she cuts her off. What if it's not Peeta ? What if she sticks her hand in the second glass bowl only to draw out…
"It would be best if it's not Peeta." Portia offers softly. "They don't deserve to be thrown back in there together. You can't tell me Haymitch wouldn't say the same."
She closes her eyes, thinks about strong arms that hold her tight in the night and she almost chokes on the lump in her throat.
"This isn't fair." she whispers. "This isn't fair. This isn't fair!"
She doesn't realize she's shouting until her throat burns in protest. Portia glances at the door over her shoulder but no one comes barging in. The music covers everything.
"This is the Capitol." her friend spits with disgust. "You know what they do. You have to collect yourself, Effie."
"If they send Haymitch back he will die." she whines.
She knows it in her bones. Haymitch was a fighter in his youth, he is still very much a fighter in a lot of ways, but he would never be able to compete with the likes of Finnick or Enobaria – and she has no doubt Enobaria will volunteer, the woman has been dying for years for another fight. If she draws his name, Haymitch is going to die.
"But Katniss has a chance." Portia argues.
She is missing the point and Effie can only laugh bitterly. "So that's my choice? I have to lose one of them?"
"The things Katniss could achieve…" the stylist whispers softly. "Do you have any idea…"
"Don't talk about her like that." she spits, angry with the world. "She's more than just a pawn in whatever game you and your friends are playing. She's…" She falters with the enormity of what she's about to stay but she doesn't stop, she doesn't pause. "…mine. They're all mine." Portia frowns at the possessive note in her voice but she doesn't mind. She loves Katniss and Peeta like her own even when they aggravate her, as for Haymitch… Their relationship is madness but that madness has been keeping her sane for so long she can't even contemplate the idea of losing it. "If I pick up Haymitch's name, I will send him to his death."
She can't stop going back to that. Katniss has a chance, Peeta has a chance but Haymitch?
"Effie, are you and Haymitch…" Portia's voice trails off but she doesn't need to finish the question. It's obvious what's the question is.
"It's unfair." she repeats.
She wants to rage, she wants to slam her fists against the walls, she wants to scream herself raw and tell the Capitol just exactly what she thinks of them…
She can only sit there and stop herself from being sick.
It's unfair.