Chapter 1:

Liberty Hale, 13

District 13 Contestant

In all her life, Liberty never thought she'd be on a train on its way to the Capitol. But here she was, clinging to the edge of her seat while she watched the world whirl by outside the window. Up until two years ago, Liberty knew very little about the Capitol or the Hunger Games. Of course, she knew they existed, but District 13 was very strict with sharing information, and late President Alma Coin didn't want children to learn of the trauma happening in the rest of Panem.

Her mother had told her that it would put her at a disadvantage when she arrived in the Capitol. But she had argued that it wouldn't change anything as she wasn't a tribute going into the Hunger Games. This was different. The competition was supposed to be safe and exciting. She didn't even doubt anything until her mother had listed the reasons it could be dangerous, filling Liberty with dread. She had still applied, though. Perhaps as an act of defiance to her mother or an act of bravery to herself, she had no idea. What's done is done. Now she couldn't go back.

At least, if anything came out of this journey, Liberty would be away from home for a week, or maybe longer. She loved her mother, honestly. But she was so difficult to deal with sometimes. Her mother, Eleanora Hale, was a scientist. She helped develop sustainable food sources for the district. Before the Second Rebellion, District 13 was completely cut off from the rest of Panem. Therefore, they had to learn how to be self-sufficient, supplying their own food en masse rather than relying on the other districts. Her mother was born and raised in District 13.

Her whole family had grown up in District 13- in fact, her great grandfather had died in the First Rebellion, and her great grandmother was a key figure in keeping District 13 alive during the dark years that followed their annexation from Panem.

Liberty's father had died when she was two years old. Some illness she forgot the name of. She and her mother did just fine on their own, though. Liberty was used to being alone. She spent a reasonable amount of time with her mother, but she didn't attend school due to her mother's insistence, and she had trouble making friends. Now Liberty had 26 other people to meet and make friends with, and she couldn't wait.

She heard the sleek sound of the door opening, and she looked up to see her district partner walking in, followed by their district's escort. Her partner was older, around 15. His name was Raiden. He smiled at her as he took a seat across the table from her. He seemed normal. He grew up in District 13 too, but she had never met him before. It wasn't particularly strange, as she had lived a sheltered life back in District 13, but curiosity picked at her brain. She wanted to know more about him.

District 13's escort, however, seemed to be an open book in all regards. Prisca, as she introduced herself, was a short woman with tanned skin and freckles. She wore several necklaces and bracelets as well as earrings and an intricate nose ring. To top it all off, she had short and spiky pink hair. She beamed and took a seat next to Raiden.

"So contestants, in ten minutes, we will be watching a short broadcast by Tanaquil Ebermonte, the host of Paradise. Then, we can have dinner, head to bed, and in the morning, we'll arrive at the Capitol!" Prisca announced cheerily.

Liberty and Raiden shared a weak smile.

Prisca led District 13's two representatives to the next car, where they took a seat on the plush couch. Liberty wrapped her arms around a fluffy white pillow, embracing the soft fabric. She wasn't used to luxuries like that in District 13.

None of the three individuals tried to make small talk before Prisca turned on the TV.

"Greetings citizens of Panem, welcome to Capitol TV. Tonight we are with Tanaquil Ebermonte, the lovely host of Paradise." Liberty had watched enough Capitol TV to immediately recognize the voice as Caesar Flickerman, former host of the Hunger Games.

Tanaquil smiled brightly at the camera, and Liberty resisted smiling back. She didn't want to seem weird in front of Raiden and Prisca.

Liberty knew the basics of Paradise. She knew it was an annual competition in which two children from every district and the Capitol would be selected to compete. She knew no one would be dying, and all twenty-eight contestants would be returning home safely. It was based on an old TV show, Survivor. An ex-game maker who had managed to survive the rebellion, Liberty forgot his name, he wasn't too important, had found old copies of the show, and the idea came to him. Tanaquil bought the rights and spoke to President Faustine, and here they were.

"So, Tanaquil," Caesar started, leaning towards the young woman, flashing his pearly white smile. "The tributes for Paradise are on their way to the Capitol right now. Are you nervous?"

"Well, Caesar, I have to remind you that they aren't tributes but contestants. This year, nobody dies!" She laughed goodnaturedly. "I'm looking forward to them arriving, though, truly. I'm not too nervous. I'm mostly nervous about my performance tonight!"

Caesar and the audience laughed, and Liberty smiled. She knew Tanaquil felt good about the coming weeks. That meant she probably had nothing to worry about. Probably.

"I heard a rumor that these tr- contestants. Sorry!" Caesar laughed off his mistake, and Liberty squirmed. That was probably staged. "I heard a rumor that these contestants will have interviews tomorrow, then a party, and the next day they'll be in the arena! That's a nice change of pace."

"You heard correctly, Caesar. I think this will be good. After all, Paradise and the Hunger Games aren't the same things, so it just makes sense to have them not be the same beforehand."

"That makes sense," Caesar smiled. "Tell us about the arena, will you?"

Tanaquil smiled. Clearly, that's why she was here. "It's a surprise." She winked.

Author's Note: Paradise is back baby! I have been working on this for quite some time but I'm happy to announce that Paradise is back. Once again, this is not a SYOT. But, keep your eyes out folks… I would love to hear your thoughts, whether in the form of a review, or a PM, or just a casual message on discord. I really enjoyed writing this chapter and I look forward to writing the next as well. Thanks folks, that is all!

Chapter Question: What did you think of Liberty Hale?

07/13/21.