Is there a journey coming up, either literal or figurative? Are you being fulfilled walking the path that you are on?
Kenna St. Clair, Victor, Twenty-eighth Hunger Games
Capitol
The news travel faster than wildfire, through the tight borders between the districts. Hot gossip and rumours circulate faster than trains finding itself on the lips of every person in Panem. This week's current topic? The arrest of the infamous Leroy Ramnes, Victor of the First Hunger Games; now labelled 'Victor-Killer' by the media.
Naturally, the Capitol responds by holding an inquest under the prelude that the annual 'Victor Tea Party' start early, a week before the Reapings to be more precise. Every living victor is dragged to the Capitol to be questioned. Whether they know something or not, everyone is here in the Capitol.
The Capitol is a buzz, never have they seen all the victors in the Capitol, wandering the streets, staying in lavish hotels, eating at various restaurants. Kenna St. Clair had felt more freedom in the last couple of days than what she had the last five years as victor.
She folds her arms as the private car drops them off in front of a tall building. There's no media, which she finds unusual because the media is always here, keeping tabs on the whereabouts of all the victors in the Capitol.
"I don't see why we have to be here." She says with a huff as she folds her arms into a cross looking at Hamish. "I don't even know Leroy, and Adlay for that matter."
"A request from the Capitol should never be turned down, I thought I've told you this." Hamish looks back at her with a stare of his own that just turns Kenna's head away.
"Whatever." She says curtly before looking up at the tall glass building in front of them.
Her gardening will have to wait she supposes, not that she cares much for plants. She just wants her home to look nice for the inevitable return of her love lost. She holds out hope for that day, so she makes sure she plants lots of flowers and tend her garden.
It's true that she knows nothing about both victors. She attended the funeral for Adlay but being so detached from everyone already she doesn't even recognise most of the victors that did attend the ceremony.
Adlay and Leroy were from a different decade than her, and probably twice her age. Kenna thinks they're old news but that doesn't seem to be in the Capitol as every news outlet and giant TV screens have both victor's faces plastered on them.
She keeps forgetting that the Capitol is like another world compared to Five, or any districts for that matter, as they walk inside the building, Hamish leading the way. She walks begrudgingly behind the older victor into the Gamemaker Building watching as every person she sees rush around her, like worker bees in a nest.
"So is it murder?" Kenna asks as they make it to the reception desk, the Capitolite at the desk looks at them shock on her face at the statement before pressing a button. "I thought Adlay died of liver cirrhosis?"
"Apparently that was the cover story." Hamish says looking away from the reception lady to look at Kenna.
She sighs as she looks around the glass building, the workers never stopping to look at two famous victors from Five. There's a sense of comfort in that, the feeling of being mundane instead of standing high on a pedestal.
"Is Leroy really that bad a person?" She asks and she can hear Hamish scoff at that statement.
"Bad is an understatement." He says and nods at a Peacekeeper who approaches them, he holds his arm at a direction, and they follow his gesture. "Leroy is the Devil incarnate."
"I've only met him once."
"And I plan to keep it that way." Hamish quickly says as they stop in front of the elevators. "Leroy is not to be trusted, whatever comes out of his mouth take it with a grain of salt."
Kenna just nods as they enter the silver elevators. She fixes the grey suit jacket she has on after seeing her reflection on the shiny metal. She will admit that Hamish does his very best to protect her in every way, and although she appreciates it, the older man is still scared of the Capitol and its powers; unlike her who wants to challenge everything now that they've used her as a pawn for their Games.
She really struggled the first few months after her Games. The feeling of betrayal from the Capitol she so admired before; her involvement with rebel groups, and then exposing them. She feels that her entire life has been built around deceit and secrecy, and she supposes that Hamish knows all of that hence steering her away from the likes of Leroy and his goons.
That's not to say that Hamish totally limits her interactions with other victors. She does find solace in having a few victor friends. The newest victor in Rudy being one of them, as well as Sibyl and Ahab. She finds similarity in them, having won all their Games close to each other. They've found companionship in that, kindred spirits attracting one another.
The elevator stops and the metal door slides open into a similar busy office space. Her feet step out onto the polished floors of the large office space. She can see the same busy bees working non-stop here too, probably preparing for the Games that are only a few weeks away.
"You're Kenna St. Clair!" She looks to her side at a girl with long brown hair, her eyes looking at her with adoration. "An actual victor! Here!"
"Anisa, don't bother them I'm sure they're here on official business." Another young man says beside her, and she glares at him.
"Leo, must you always be so close to me and ruining the mood?" She says with a sigh before fumbling for a pen and looking at Kenna. "I would be honoured if you give me an autograph!"
"Sure." Kenna says curtly before taking the pen and signing her notepad quickly. "Nice meeting you."
Kenna gives one of those fake smiles, the ones she's learned and perfected over the five years she's been victor. She looks at this younger woman, Anisa, as she almost squeals before bowing her head and leaving the vicinity, the other man she was with following her.
"That was weird." She says as she fixes her hair. "Why are we at the Gamemaker office and not anywhere else?"
"This is where we're supposed to be." Hamish says looking at the piece of paper he fishes out of his pocket. "Gamemaker Center in the Capitol. See?"
She looks at the handwritten letter and she scrunches her face. This all seems too suspicious as she takes the letter tying to discern the handwriting but failing to recognise it. She gives the paper back to Hamish just in time for another person to approach them, Kenna already steeling herself with that smile.
"Ah! The Five Victors!" She looks the man up and down, a friendly demeanour in a grey suit and white tie.
He approaches the both of them with a smile on his face, dark short curls on his head, greying at the sides. The man looks like he's in his late forties, yet he looks slim and strong. He shakes Hamish's hands, then goes to extend his hand to Kenna who doesn't return the favour, eyeing him up suspiciously. The man just nods his head the smile never faltering.
"Hamish Brighton and Kenna St. Clair? Is that correct, I do apologise if I get the names wrong. I'm new to the post." He says apologetically rubbing the back of his neck. "It's been a tough few weeks, I won't lie to you."
Kenna gives him the side-eye as she tries to establish the man's intention. He can look friendly, sure, but Kenna knows what it's like to pretend now and she's trying to see if the man in front of her is also doing the same.
"That's correct." Hamish says, also as cautious as Kenna, who remains quiet. "I don't think I caught your name?"
"Jerome O'Neal, Head Peacekeeper." He says giving a curt bow in front of the two victors. "It's a pleasure to meet two amazing victors: a fantastic show of grit and perseverance. If only my Peacekeepers are half as brave as you both."
There's alarms going off in Kenna's mind that warns her about this man, but as she look towards Hamish's direction, who starts to relax his guarded features, she too lowers her guard slightly. Can this man be trusted? She doesn't know just yet, but she trusts Hamish's reaction, he's never wrong about people.
"Now, I don't suppose you know why you're here?" He asks them looking at them in succession.
"Interrogation." Kenna finally speaks, and the man smiles wider.
"Ah! So you do know." He claps his hands and then focuses on Kenna. "Shall we start with you then, Ms. St. Clair?"
She looks to Hamish, who just nods at her, and then back to Jerome. She sighs, quite visibly, Hamish's willingness to keep the peace annoys her at times. Although she knows he complies because he has a family to look after.
Unlike her.
"Fine." She says and she follows the man with her eyes as he makes his way to the elevators.
"If you don't mind, I'd like to go outside?" He says pressing the button and then looking back. "Is that alright with yourself?"
Kenna continues to eye him and reluctantly follows the man inside. She doesn't say anything only nodding. She sees Hamish's eyes, slightly worried, before the door slides close. They stand in complete silence, hearing the whirring of the elevator as it makes its way to the ground floor once again.
"There's this lovely garden space not too far from here." Jerome says as he nods at the Peacekeepers who salute him.
"Can I just say that I don't know anything about the men we're here about." She says catching up with the man, falling into the same stride he has.
"Leroy Ramnes? Let's not worry about that." He laughs as he pushes the glass doors into the streets of Upper Capitol. "I'm here about you, and your life."
Kenna stiffens up a little but continues to follow the man. Her life has been uninteresting since becoming victor, in fact she wanted to be out of the spotlight when she's at home in Five, quietly tending to herself, avoiding all sort of contact from the outside world, spare for her close friends.
They step onto the concrete pavement as they walk slowly towards this garden. She looks around the Capitol, a few of the citizens see her but with Jerome about they don't seem to approach. She resigns to just following the man, he is new, and she doesn't know much about him at all, save for a somewhat friendly personality.
She takes a moment to herself, in her head, to try and see if she can pry information from what is going on. She wonders if she can pry other information too. Her mind reminds her of Brooke once again and she shakes that off quickly.
Maybe.
They make it towards the garden, Kenna's eyes scan all of the different flora. She's breathless at the sight of it all, a massive garden in the midst of all the skyscrapers and tall buildings. She finds that calming looking around.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" He asks as he follows the dirt path. "I hear you've taken up gardening, so I thought you would appreciate it."
Kenna keeps quiet as she walks the same dirt path, her shoes crunching under some of the stones. Her inner mind working out how this man knows so much information on her. She doesn't make eye contact with the man as they continue to walk.
"Tell me, Ms. St. Clair, how is your garden?" He says looking at her.
"Fine." She replies with one word quick and concise.
"Fine? That's good. What about your parents?"
A touchy subject. She has all but left her parents' lives. Kenna has stopped all communications with them the moment she got home from her victory. Her disdain for her parents for raising her like some child spy for only the Capitol to benefit.
She will admit she did once love the Capitol. She didn't know any different, and after experiencing the Hunger Games, and finding out about what happened to the rebels in Five, she feels disgusted with herself. She feels nothing but contempt towards her so called 'family' after how they've raised her to be so obedient to those higher than her rank without questioning them.
Kenna is no longer that person.
"I don't know, I've not spoken to them in years."
"Why is that?" He asks, and she looks at him incredulously. "Sorry, I don't mean to pry too much."
"I don't need them to tell me how to live my life." She says, although she didn't want to say too much, she can feel the genuine curiosity from the man in front of her as he looks at her with worried eyes.
"That's a shame." He says shaking her head. "I hope my kids don't end up resenting me."
"It depends on how good you are as a parent." She says looking at one of the rose bushes, going closer to have a closer inspection.
"Well I'm sorry that your parents have not been there for you." Jerome says closing the gap and watching Kenna as she smells the roses.
She stays quiet, not wanting to reveal any more about her life. She finds it quite difficult not to speak to the man who doesn't seem to be hostile at all. It's like he cast a spell on her that makes her lips move on their own making her respond to the man as if they are close friends.
"What do you really want from us victors?" Kenna asks stopping her gaze from the roses and directing it towards the older man.
"To touch base." He says simply. "I want to meet with all of you, on a one to one basis."
"Why?"
"I can't tell you that, I'm afraid." He says with sad eyes. "Although our little chat has been good. I should bring you back to Hamish, he didn't look very happy about me taking you away."
"He's been such a good mentor." She says, and she means that.
"I can see that he cares about you a lot." He smiles once more, and they walk out of the garden and back onto the concrete path back to the Gamemaker Center. "It's been a pleasure talking to yourself, Ms. St. Clair."
"No problem." She says looking at the man as they enter the elevator. The quietness feeling more comfortable than it did before.
"If you're ever needing someone to talk to…" He starts going into his suit jacket and pulling out a white card and giving it to Kenna. "…here's my number." The elevator stops as Kenna takes the card.
"Anything you need? I'll try my best to accommodate." Jerome continues. "Trips around the Capitol, good restaurants to try, a way to escape the media, finding sponsors for your tributes, looking for Brooke."
She stops looking at the card and with eyes wide focuses it on Jerome. She feels her breath hitch a little as she drops the card at the name of the person she's in search for the last five years. She's about to speak to the man but the elevator doors open, and Hamish comes back into view.
"Well, Ms. St. Clair, it's been a pleasure." He repeats himself with a big smile before going to approach Hamish.
Kenna gathers herself after a few seconds and picks up the card on the floor, exiting the elevator. She mimics Jerome's smile, her mind scrambling for more questions she wants to ask but unable to. She interrupts the man talking to Hamish as she extends her hand for Jerome.
"Thank you for showing me that garden, Mr. O'Neal." She says, this time shaking the man's hand with vice grip tightness.
He winks at her playfully before gesturing towards one of the rooms for Hamish to enter, the older victor following the direction. When Hamish is out of earshot Jerome looks back at Kenna with that same smile on his face.
"I'm here anytime you need me."
A/N - And so we reach the end of our prologues. ((Finally)). We are going to gear up now, and as I tackle through the tributes submitted I would like to once again say thanks to those who have submitted and have waited patiently for the story to kick off.
Back to the prologue.
We finally meet the victor of DoG (Spoilers obviously, but it's unavoidable). Kenna, now five years older and seasoned with the recurring death the Hunger Games bring have been put on a path, a chance to choose between following happiness or staying in her mundane life.
What do you think she will choose?
Thank you to those who have reviewed the prologues and I'm happy that you are all still reading. Love you lots.
Cheers!
~Alec
