"Ellie, tell us a story," Idyll asked, placing her chin on Ellie's knee, red hair shining in the golden light of the flickering fireplace nearby.
"What kind of story?" Ellie replied, leaning forward to push some of the unruly red hair that'd escaped from Idyll's braids out of her face.
"I dunno… something new though, you always tell the same ones," Idyll yawned, her eyes fluttering shut.
"Something new?" Ellie paused to think for a moment, "What if I told you the story of a little girl named Elysium."
"Elysium? Isn't that you though?" Idyll replied, peeling one of her eyes open to look up at Ellie.
"Well, not quite. How about you listen and find out," Ellie said softly, to which Idyll nodded eagerly, sleepy eyes opening as she got ready to listen.
Ellie Cullinan was a whirlwind of a child, always causing problems and picking fights with other kids, leaving only destruction and disorder in her wake. Her parents, however, had a vision for what they wanted from their daughter. They wanted to mould Ellie, to shape her young mind into the perfect Career. She was not a person in their eyes, and she certainly wasn't their child.
No, she was nothing but a tool, nothing but a lump of clay waiting to be shaped into what her creators wanted.
What did they want? A victor.
Ellie was to be their victor - or at least, she was meant to be one of them, as she wasn't the only child of her parents. Onyx and Majesty had seven children, the oldest of whom was Ellie. So when she began acting out, they naturally made an example of her. Ellie would pick fights with other kids in the school yard, disrupt class, speak out against her teachers, lashing out against the world as a show of defiance. Her anger at her parents for forcing her into training became directed at everyone around her, her temperamental nature only growing worse with every beating her parents gave her.
Until one night. Ellie was lying in bed, body and spirit broken, when she realized that her anger was misplaced. Why should she waste energy being angry at the world? She was hurting innocent people who'd never done anything to her, why should she hurt them? Ellie's anger should be directed at her parents, if anyone.
Ellie wasn't meant for this life. Ellie wasn't meant for this, but she was here, and so she would fight, fight against every hurdle life had put in her path.
So, she wouldn't be Ellie, because weak little Ellie was not meant for this world anymore. She'd shed that identity, stepping up to take the mantle of Elysium like she was born to do.
Elysium would survive. Elysium would fight. No longer would she be a victim of her circumstances.
Elysium would be meant for this.
"You're going to marry that boy when you come back, whether you like it or not," Onyx grunted, narrowing his dark eyes at Elysium, his tall, dark frame looming over her. But she was not afraid; she'd put up with her parents for eighteen years, and she wouldn't let herself be afraid of them anymore.
After all, she would be gone tomorrow. Tomorrow, she'd be a tribute on her way to the Capitol. Wasn't that what they wanted? But no, they always wanted more from her, now they wanted her to marry a Peacekeeper boy if she won. Once she won, her parents would force her to be like them, trapped in a loveless marriage, churning children out with the sole goal to become mindless soldiers. It broke Elysium's heart enough to see her siblings going down the same path as her.
"I don't want to," Elysium whispered harshly.
"What did you say?" Majesty snapped, digging her long nails into her daughter's shoulder. "Are you disobeying us, after everything we've done for you?"
"I said I don't want to! You've already ruined my life; if I come back alive, I'm living my life on my own terms!" Elysium shouted, voice breaking under the stress.
That night would be the night she finally cracked, the dam within her falling for the first time in years- since the night she chose to fight. Her parents sat and listened as she screamed about how horrible they were, about how fucked up what they did to her was, about how they were doing the same thing to her siblings- the siblings she never got to see because of her parents' control.
"You'll both rot in hell," Elysium spat, voice rough and hoarse as she turned and stormed out of the room, pushing through the grand front doors of the house she could never call home. She didn't know where she was going, just that she needed to get away. The dazzling lights of District One lit her path as she eventually found her way to the doors of the Academy. It was dark and quiet, strange compared to what she was used to, normally it was bustling with light and life. But not tonight, the only soul left around was Elysium. She pushed through the doors, letting them quietly swing shut behind her as she made her way through the dimly lit halls. She soon found herself in one of the training rooms, racks of weapons hung on the walls nearby, scattered mats and dummies left discarded by whoever had been there last. Elysium walked along the wall, searching for something, something…
She found it, surprising herself as she relished in the feeling of the tomahawk in hand. And so she would become Ellie once again.
"Ah... hi, I'm Sarmiento." The man held his hand out to Ellie. "It's nice to meet you."
"I'm Elysium," Ellie replied, taking Sarmiento's hand, shaking it firmly.
"I'm gonna be your mentor, so uh, please let me know if you have any questions." Sarmiento nodded with a smile. "Now, let's get going, we don't want to miss the train."
The pair made their way towards the double doors, which were pulled open by a pair of Peacekeepers on either side. Ellie shook off the weight of her parents' expectations with every step, leaving them behind in that room. Her knuckles still hurt where they'd connected with her mother's face, but it felt good. Her parents didn't control her anymore, and now the only thing between her and her birthright was twenty-three other tributes.
She might not see her home again, but she could at least leave it satisfied, having finally stood up to her parents. Ellie didn't know if she'd come home, but she would try her hardest to make it. She would try her hardest to return with this new control over her life, and she'd never let go of it again.
Even if Ellie died, she would die proud. She would die without regret. She would die free.
Axe after axe left Ellie's grip, each sinking into the target before her. It was cathartic, the whoosh and thunk of each axe embedding itself in the wood as she mulled over her thoughts.
What would it be like when it was a person? Ellie didn't know if she could kill somebody. She may have trained for it all her life, but actually doing it? That was a different beast entirely, but she would have to do it if she wanted to win.
"Ellie?" Ambrose called from behind her.
"Don't call me that," Ellie replied, turning to face Ambrose, dropping the axe she'd just picked up.
"Oh… Sorry, yeah. We were wondering if you had a plan outside of doing… well, that," Ambrose said, gesturing to the station Ellie was standing in front of.
"I don't know, why?" Ellie shrugged, indifferent. The rest of the Careers were, to be frank, somewhat useless to her. The Fours, Bayou and Cordelia, were decent but nothing stellar. Two hadn't produced any strong contenders in three years, not since Creed Odinshoot, and even Ambrose wasn't exactly the sharpest tool in the shed.
"Well... I guess you're kind of our leader," Ambrose mumbled with a shrug. "Which I don't mind, you seem to know what you're doing."
Ellie couldn't help but laugh- she didn't know what the hell she was doing, nobody did in the Hunger Games. Even with training, the Careers were an imperfect system, humans with flaws and imperfections. They could be killed by things out of their control despite their training, and nothing was ever a guarantee.
The Games were nothing but a gamble, the lives of each kid that was chosen every year didn't matter to their Districts. They were nothing but expendable lives to keep a broken system going.
"Ah, thank you, what if we all went to the survival stations for a bit?" Elysium placed her tomahawk back on the rack, glancing over at the survival stations. She wanted to see if any of her potential allies would be of any worth to her outside of their fighting abilities, and this would be a good way to test their usefulness.
"S-survival? Are you sure about that?" Ambrose stuttered, looking confused.
"Of course I'm sure, didn't you just say how put together I seem?" Elysium shot him a grin. "Besides that, it can't hurt to know a few things, since we never know what might be available to us in the Arena."
"Well, I guess you're right. Let's uh… go get the others then!" Ambrose nodded, still looking puzzled as he hurried away to retrieve the others.
Maybe these allies would prove to be helpful yet. There was no use in her putting effort into allies that would only drag her down.
"So… let me get this straight, you want to split from the Careers?" Sarmiento said, taking a sip of his tea as he pondered Ellie's plan. "That's certainly interesting."
"Do you think it'd be worth it?" Ellie leaned forward intently. "I know it's risky but… they won't do anything for me."
"It might be; based on your scores I doubt they'd pose any sort of threat to you," Sarmiento trailed off.
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. Scores certainly aren't everything, but still an eleven is impressive, and though Ambrose is the closest, he only got a nine."
"So you could say the odds are in my favour," Ellie grinned, her joke eliciting a snort from the mentor stretched across the armchair across from her.
"The odds aren't in anybody's favour, you'll learn that much. No matter how hard they try to predict and speculate, it really is just that in the end: predictions and speculation. Nobody can say for sure what's gonna happen."
"I guess, yeah, but in the end there's some bullshit reasoning behind everything that happens, no matter how garbage it is," Ellie shot back.
"Hmm… you remind me of somebody I used to know," Sarmiento muttered rubbing his left shoulder.
"Oh yeah? Who?"
"My... friend, Jade. She was my District partner," Sarmiento continued, casting his eyes towards the ground. "She was a lot like you."
"Oh, I see. What happened to her?" Ellie asked, remembering full well what had happened to Jade. She'd watched Sarmiento's games as a kid at the Academy, but she wanted to hear the story from him. His perspective on it would be far different then anything Ellie could glean herself just by watching it on TV.
"Well, I killed her. I had to, to get back here, but..." Sarmiento trailed off for a moment, "Maybe I should've died in her place. I've sent fourteen kids to their deaths since, fourteen kids just like me."
"Well, I can't promise I won't be dead next. Maybe I'm screwing myself over, breaking off from the others," Ellie declared, pausing for a moment before continuing, "but all I can do is try. And if I'm dead next week, then so be it."
"You're a good kid, Ellie. I'll do whatever I can to get you back here, okay?" Sarmiento said, placing a hand on her shoulder, which she instinctively drew back from. "Get some rest, I'll see you tomorrow."
And with that Sarmiento departed, leaving Ellie alone. Maybe she would be dead next week, maybe she had wasted all her life training. If she died in that arena, then there really was no meaning to her life. It would mean she'd just rotted away for nothing, nothing but the entertainment of the Capitol, no better than the very people she despised. And yet... if she wanted to live out the rest of her life, she'd have to play along with their Games. They were nothing but an advantage to Ellie, a way to get what she wanted from life. If she had to go through the Capitol to get what she wanted, then so be it.
Maybe Ellie could change things. Maybe, if she won, she could prevent other kids from ending up like her. Maybe she could save her siblings from getting stuck on the same path as her. But, she couldn't focus on that, not yet. Ellie couldn't worry about the future when the next two weeks were looming in front of her. Ellie still had to live, and if she could do that then she could worry about making a difference.
She couldn't let herself rot away in the Arena, not with this much on the line.
The lights blinded Elysium as she stepped onto the stage, carefully lifting the hem of her cascading white dress as she ascended the final steps. The roar of the crowd deafened her, drowning out everything except the sound of her heartbeat pounding in her ears. She blinked once, twice, before her vision returned and she pushed onwards to the chairs in the center of the stage.
"Ah, Miss Elysium Cullinan, how're you this evening?" the master of ceremonies, Quill, asked as she took her seat across from him.
"I'm quite well, thank you Quill." Elysium forced a dazzlingly wide smile on her face, years of practice hopefully making it seem natural.
"Good to hear! Now then, let's get right into this, as we are on a timer. Elysium, I've heard that you've got a Victor in your family, what can you tell me about him?"
"Oh yes, my grandfather. I never knew him very well, since he died when I was very young, but he was kind from what I can recall," Elysium gushed. In reality, she didn't know her grandfather at all; she hadn't interacted with him more than a handful of times. But, if she could use his name to her advantage, then she was more than willing to. Maybe the Cullinan name would finally do her some good.
"I see, yes, and he was taken so tragically," Quill apologized, thinking for a moment before continuing. "Tell me Elysium, who do you have waiting for you at home? Family, friends, significant others, anybody like that?"
"Oh, yes of course, my siblings were so sad to see me go. I miss them dearly," Elysium sniffled, wiping away a nonexistent tear from her eye.
"Do tell me more about them! A little birdy told me you're the oldest of the family, right? Your siblings must admire you for being so brave as to volunteer for the Games."
"Yes, I am the oldest. I don't know what I'd do without them, you know? I know I'm supposed to be a role model to them, being older and all, but I look up to them too. I just love them all so much, I hope I win so I can see them again." Ellie fanned her face, choking up ever so slightly.
"How sweet is that, huh everybody?" Quill called out to the crowd, "Now, since our time is almost up, do you have a message for your beloved siblings before you leave us for the night?"
"I'll see you all very soon, and I love you!" Ellie beamed at the camera as the buzzer signaling the end of her interview rang. She made her way toward the wings, blowing kisses to the crowd who cheered even as she disappeared from view.
What did her siblings think of her now? Even if she made it back, what if they didn't want to accept Ellie, or her help, ruined by their parents brainwashing before Ellie even had the chance to make an impact? Were their thoughts of her skewed already because of what she'd done, how she'd left them? Ellie didn't know, and she wouldn't be able to unless she managed to get out of the Arena alive.
Ellie could only hope that she came out of the arena as herself.
"Okay, are you ready to go?" Sarmiento asked, leaning against the wall in the small pre-launch room. It was nothing like Ellie had ever imagined, surprisingly drab and boring, the grey walls of concrete pushing in around her, giving no hint as to what the arena above contained.
"Of course," Ellie said confidently, steadying her shaking hands as the two lapsed into silence for a few moments.
This was it. This could be the end of Ellie Cullinan, but she'd fight with everything she had to make sure she got out of that arena alive.
"The others don't know that you're ditching them, right?"
"No, not yet. I'm gonna get supplies and get out as fast as I can," Ellie replied, Sarmiento nodding thoughtfully.
Would she live to see another day? Ellie didn't know. Maybe these would be her final moments and she'd be nothing but a lifeless corpse in a few minutes. That was a reality Ellie had to account for, as just because she was trained didn't mean she was guaranteed to win. If that was her fate, then she'd already accepted it, but… if she died, what would be the point of everything she'd been through? Ellie had worked towards this for years and years, wasting her life away training, and if she died, what was it all for?
It didn't matter, because she had to fight. Fight, to win, to live, to make something of herself outside of the Games.
"Tributes, please enter the chambers."
"I'll see you soon," Sarmiento reassured her as they walked to the tube in the corner of the room. "Or, I hope I will at least. Good luck Ellie."
"No promises," Ellie replied with a nod, stepping into the narrow glass tube, the door sliding shut around her.
What would Ellie face on the other side of this tube? What would she find? As the metallic voice rang through the cramped space, counting down from ten, she ran over her plan once more. Get in, get out, take out anybody who got in her way. Ellie didn't know if she'd feel bad about taking a life, but that was something she'd worry about later on.
Three, two, one.
With the final number, the plate beneath her feet began to rise, catching her off guard. She nearly stumbled as the plate rose quickly, and before Ellie knew it, she'd stopped.
And her vision was filled with gold. As she spun around on her pedestal, Ellie was met with gleaming gold and white. It seemed to be a grand ballroom, with walls rising far above her head and a gleaming crystal chandelier hanging above the Cornucopia. It was blinding and beautiful in a way she hadn't expected, and Ellie had to rub her eyes to clear her vision.
"Now then, welcome to the 210th Hunger Games! May the odds be ever in your favour."
"Okay, we'll stop here for the night." Ellie spoke softly, looking down at her half asleep sister.
"Do we have to?" Idyll mumbled, trying and failing to keep her eyes open. "I wanna know what happens next."
"Hmm, maybe tomorrow night. It's getting late," Ellie replied, scooping her sister up from the floor, cradling Idyll in her arms easily. She didn't protest as Ellie carried her up the stairs, passing their other siblings' rooms to get to Idyll's. Ellie quietly opened the door, making her way to the bed, careful not to trip on anything on the floor. Ellie gently tucked her sister into bed before turning and leaving the room just as quietly as she entered.
The story of the arena would have to wait for Idyll, but not for Ellie. No, she saw the arena every night as she drifted off to sleep, unable to escape what she'd done there. But it was worth it, more than worth it, worth the face of her peacefully sleeping sister in the moonlight streaming through the window.
Huh, so I don't usually write a/ns but here I am. Welcome to Prosperity! this is just a little side story so we can visit Ellie my beloved. Im uh.. not sure how many chapters it'll be total, probably only 1 or 2 more following this one but! Yeah. she exists n shit. Anyways I'll see y'all later :D
pith out, Phobie :D