Author's Note: On we go, onto the last couple of districts and their victors that haven't been mentioned yet. I've tried to give an introduction to the mood in the twelve districts and amongst their victors.
….
Determination
The people were ready in Eight, Cecelia could feel it. The Victory Tour had begun to tip the population over the edge from disruption and smaller acts of sabotage to open revolt. Peacekeepers were pouring in, and a crackdown was in force with curfews in place across the entire district, but still, their people carried on.
Cecelia was proud that all their work had led to this. From Woof, the lonely victor of the Fourteenth Games to a full network spanning across the district with a very capable leader in Kersey Paylor. Eight's rebel organisation was complete. Cecelia had seen hers and Woof's part in their plans change and now she trusted Paylor entirely and was making plans to keep her family safe when the inevitable happened.
Cotton could not go back into the arena. The Capitol would not want to be reminded of her near-constant crying and screaming in their presence and they maintained their interest in Cecelia and her family. But now they were going to tear that family apart without a care just so they could get their television spectacular.
From the victor wielding a knife and a shard of glass, emerging from the rubbish-filled wasteland arena to the image of a dedicated mother she had cultivated for the Capitol, its people had remained interested in her, too interested, for her liking. Now, this was to be the outcome. The Capitol would much rather see if the doting mother could fight back with the ferocity she showed seventeen years previously than watch a woman, ten years younger cry her way through another bloodbath.
Her husband had tried to address the possibility of Cotton being reaped or even volunteering but Cecelia shut that down quickly. She was never going to force her young victor into such a situation, and she was simply not going to be reaped. Cotton was not the image of a victor the Capitol wanted to see. Plutarch would ensure, from a rebel point of view, that Cecelia's name was the only one in the reaping ball. She would be more use in an arena than Cotton.
The Games would be a distraction. The districts could ignite whilst their president looked the other way. But the Games would spread the fire even further, a statement on a nationwide scale that the power of the Capitol could be overcome by the strongest from the districts.
She knew now that the arena would fall. Messages were slow to reach her in Eight, and for good reason, it was dangerous to attempt contact. But Poppy had managed it and made clear to Cecelia that it would all start from the arena.
But Cecelia could not help but think it would begin earlier in Eight. She was popular, her husband too and their children always received lots of attention when they were in public. Their family would be torn apart for the Capitol's entertainment. It would only take the tiniest spark to fully ignite Eight and this might be it. Whilst people would fight for themselves and their own families, the demise of her own family, taking poor Woof with it, would not do anything to appease people. She had remained District Eight through and through and her people were proud of her.
Woof had always cut a lonely figure until Cecelia finally joined him. Decades of Eight's children dying and Woof remaining alone was part of their conscience, until they finally got to enjoy Parcel Day and the extra food brought by Cecelia's return. They no longer looked weak, they were set apart from District Twelve and Eight was viewed in a positive light for some time.
Cecelia and Woof both belonged to Eight, never forgetting their roots or the struggles of their people. From his earliest days beyond the arena, Woof did his best by Eight. He created jobs working for his business, securing comfortable employment and safer working conditions for as many people as he could. When his activities were curtailed by the arrival of President Snow, he did his best to protect and support his workers and their families. It was an example Cecelia was keen to follow.
They were both aware of the influence they could have and the soft power they could provide for Eight. Fashion was important to the Capitol and the socialites the victors often found themselves surrounded by. They tried to use their influence to push designs that were simple and safer to make and worked with carefully chosen designers. They also tried to keep up with Capitol trends and find out what was coming into favour so they could forewarn their connections at home so Eight was prepared. They had very little control over what their district produced so wanted to try to alert whoever they could about impending changes and make use of Woof's extensive contacts, even though the man himself could no longer pass on the required messages.
There was a lot Cecelia had to do for them all in Eight and she had to be ready for whatever came her way. The impending war was no different. Woof had always known it would come to this. Along with Orchard in District Eleven, he never fully believed in the reality of Mags and Pluto's earlier ideas about reform in the highest branches of the Capitol. They were never going to install people favourable to them and keep them in post. Snow's rise to power and the violent consolidation that followed proved that. It was always going to end in war.
Eight would be ready. They were sure to be the first district to rebel openly and on a large scale. They would take the heat of the waves of incoming peacekeepers, and they had to be ready for repercussions. But Cecelia and her peers already knew what lows the peacekeepers would sink to, not much would surprise them any longer. Her people were ready, and they had to hope that the other districts would fall in line behind them quickly. The rebel efforts could be confined to just Eight.
Paylor was ready to lead them, Cecelia's husband was ready to secure the safety of their family and fight for their home and their children's future. Cecelia herself would have to be ready for her fight. She would do whatever was needed of her and would have to come to terms with what that meant for her family.
They would be torn apart for the entertainment of others, but Cecelia would do what she had to do. She had to think it was for a bigger purpose. She knew that the arena would fall and there was a chance she would be alive when it happened. If she was, she would have to hope it would be their friends waiting for them. If not, her fight was solely in the arena and it would be one of her own who may kill her. They would not be cruel; they were not peacekeepers. They all had a bond. But she wasn't sure if that was a worse fate than dying fighting for her home. It was a matter of months away and she had to be ready for whatever awaited her.
She was a victor and when someone had that status in an outer district, life had already not gone to plan. It was just another misfortune in a long series. Whilst she was not the ferocious teenager she was years ago, she would still fight and had been preparing to fight a war, it would just take place in a different arena.
….
Maria was determined to bring the rebellion to District Ten. Her young victors, Charo and Adan would return to the arena and leave her bereft. But she had coped with the loss of her victors before. She was District Ten's first victor and she looked set to be the sole survivor.
She would take care of her victors until the last moment and then turn her attention to the wider group. She had received the message that she would take control of the remaining victors' escape from the Capitol as the senior rebel victor in the absence of Mags and Seeder. It would be up to Maria to ensure as many of them as possible were returned to their homes alive. President Snow was not going to simply let them leave on the trains.
She would do all she could to ensure the survival of as many of her peers as possible, but returning home was her ultimate priority. Maria would not leave District Ten to fight without her. She had been an instigator of her district's growing rebellion and it would not do to sit out the fight. The front lines were where she belonged.
Years previously, her attention had been drawn to the poor deal her home's workers were getting. They were being ripped off and denied the fruits of their labour. Maria was a trusted figure in Ten and was rapidly brought into the fold by those who were also aware of what was happening and used her status to push for better.
She had always been a uniting figure in Ten, their first victor after twenty years of the Hunger Games and fast finding common ground with people from all backgrounds. Even though she had to work around Abraham, her first victor, she was able to contribute to the growing rebel effort for several decades.
Her other victors had been brought into the fold cautiously, but it was Maria who took the lead, took on the most tasks and the most dangerous work under Abraham's nose. She had travelled Ten, from the communities of pale-skinned workers to the north to the most dilapidated farms in the south. She had infiltrated some of the estates of the district's richest, loyalist landowners through some of their workers to obtain information on their contacts in the Capitol and upcoming plans for their industries.
Like so many others, she wanted District Ten to have control over their industries, income and lives. She wanted to remove the Capitol's control and distribute power from the landowners to the workers and allow them to own the land they farmed.
But District Ten was not quite ready. They would rebel, Maria was sure of it. Dissatisfaction had been rife for years, agitation was beginning, and production was halting, but the people needed an extra push. They liked the girl from Twelve and her charming little sister but that was not enough. The people needed to be given an extra reason to fight.
They would see uprisings begin across Panem. The news would not be able to hide it much longer. Unrest in Eight was obvious and it did not take a genius to realise what was happening in Three and Four. Gem, Maria's closest friend from One had also delivered the somewhat surprising message that One may be ready early. Unemployment and unrest were rife with District One's industries struggling due to a lack of demand. When people who were used to higher living standards saw a decrease in their own income, living standards and prosperity, they would take action.
But Ten was not One. They had always been poorer. People had always been downtrodden, and it would take a lot of energy to push people over the edge beyond the smaller acts. The Capitol-supporting landowners were also tightening the reigns over their workers and making it more difficult to organise. Conditions were worsening once again, and people lacked the energy and resources to create a fight.
Maria would always do what was needed of her. She was not tied to a landowner and had more money than she needed. She had always been charitable, a quiet act of rebellion in itself, and would continue to donate funds, food and whatever else she could find. She had set up arms deals with those who were willing to lead the fight using her inter-district contacts, transported important messages across the district and provided a link to the rest of Panem.
Her younger victors were now more involved than ever, determined to do all they could before their return to the arena. They were not optimistic as to their own fates, but they would do what had to be done. They were training for the Games and developing their skills by teaching others under the noses of the peacekeepers. As she went for her usual walks through Ten's centre, Maria could spot Charo and Adan's work from the night before. Mockingjays sprayed onto peacekeeper barracks and posters and leaflets being hastily removed before they could gather too much interest.
But beyond the agitation, Charo and Adan were involved in serious organisation and helping unite people across Ten. Charo's family crossed the groups which made up District Ten, so she was able to use her appeal and identity to bring more people into the fold, even those who had done well for their families from the current system. Ten's victors spoke about their love for their home, their desire for something better, for control over their own lives and it was slowly working. People would find something to fight for.