Chapter 4: Sapphire Huntington
A/N: District One's first victor! Pls review!
Katniss stared at the girl. She seemed so fragile, so distraught. Her district might have been the richest in Panem, and they're usually favoured by the Capitol, but the beautiful victors from One have a tendency of being prostituted almost immediately after winning. Sapphire mustn't have been much different. "I wonder what happened to her," she mused.
Haymitch snarled. "Whored her out. Barely let her live in District One at all. Sold around to nearly every man in the Capitol and even some wealthy nobles from One. Her family was executed and her friends were jailed for some sort of treason. She nearly took her own life after years of seeing One become a Career district." He scowled, pausing to take a breath. "Worst of all, all she wanted was to help her sick mother."
Sapphire Huntington
District 1
Aged 14
1 Kill
President Ravenstill was in an especially savage mood. Axel had turned the Capitol into a laughingstock. And he couldn't even take out his revenge on him. Instead, he had sliced Twelve's wages, burnt down several neighbourhoods, enforced a curfew and nearly tripled the prices of everything from wood to medicine. He was going to make Twelve pay. But first, he had to make sure this year's victor knew how to bend the knee.
Sapphire caught his eye almost immediately. She had actually volunteered for the Games! When the words "I volunteer!" slipped out of her mouth, he'd had a mini heart attack, spitting out his drink and falling over his chair. His ministers couldn't believe it either. They gaped and gasped as a remarkably pretty girl marched up to the stage, her hands shaking ever so slightly. "What on earth…" He shook his head. "She's going to win, I know it." His ministers nodded in agreement. Suddenly, Minister Ray's lips twitched into a smile. "Then how about we make sure she wins?" Ravenstill scowled. "Why?" Ray sneered ever so sinisterly, his eyes glued to Sapphire. "She can be one beautiful asset."
Ravenstill watched her lustfully during the tribute parade. Her outfit, ever so mesmerizing, had the Capitol screaming and falling over one another.
Sapphire hated the attention she was getting. All she had wanted to do was to win and help her sick mother. Her mother worked in the stripper industry, since they were dirt poor and homeless. It was the only thing she could do. One displeased customer had given her a severe beating, leaving her in critical condition. She needed Capitol medicine. And so, Sapphire had volunteered. The tribute parade should've been her moment to shine. Instead, she wanted to die of embarrassment. Her stylist, some idiot named Stylus, had dressed her in very revealing clothing and a jewel crown. The minute she stepped out, everyone was staring at her. The boy from Two had the nerve to wolf-whistle. Her cheeks flushed red. "Stop staring!" she pleaded. She didn't realise, that the tributes lusting over her was the least of her problems.
The arena was a cleverly built one. It seemed like it was going to be a very short Games, as there was only the Cornucopia surrounded by thick walls. But Ravenstill knew Head Gamemaker Oliverus Dean had other plans. Oliverus was promised some 'time' with Sapphire if he let her win. But he also had to make the Games unique. The Bloodbath was short. Sapphire managed one kill by whacking the boy from Twelve, Rocky, with the hilt of a sword. Four other tributes were killed, all by the two District Two tributes, both of whom had benefitted from the numerous small 'Career' academies popping up across their district. But just as the fighting was getting intense, the ground opened up, and swallowed all of the tributes. For ten seconds, there was nothing except a multitude of screams, wails and blood.
It was all part of the plan. But Sapphire didn't know that. She screamed at the top of her lungs as she tumbled down a muddy slide, deep into the earth. "Oh, gosh. I'm going to die!" she bemoaned. As those words left her lips, she felt herself land of something soft. A cushion had been specifically placed to soften her landing. Once she had gotten over the shock, she looked around and gasped. She was in a sapphire mine.
The other tributes hadn't been as lucky as Sapphire. They had gotten neither a slide nor a cushion. The girl from Six, Toyota, whose arm had already been sliced off by Woody from Seven in the earlier Bloodbath, broke her other arm plus her neck during her fall and bled to death. The boy from Two, Valerius, landed on a sharp piece of sapphire and died instantly. The girl from Eleven, Trowel, cracked her skull during the fall and died. The boy from Eight, Peter, broke his spine and was finished off by Kerry from Four. But Kerry had already landed on a rough sapphire and bled to death soon after. The boy from Ten, Lautaro, fractured his legs and killed himself. Sapphire, meanwhile, was being overloaded with numerous sponsors of food, weapons and even a book to read. She couldn't believe her luck. She was going to win! She grinned at the thought of it, going home and getting her mother the medicine she needed. Little did she know, a peacekeeper force had been summoned to her mother's hospital, where they gunned her down and left her unrecognizable.
The finale was a pretty short one. Grainne O'Malley, the girl from Two, found Sapphire and charged towards her, only to trip on a piece of sapphire she was sure hadn't been there before and fall on her own sword. Boom! President Ravenstill cackled with glee. He was having first dibs with Miss Huntington.
Sapphire hated Ravenstill. He had arrived at her room, ripped off her clothes and practically treated her like an animal. And that was how things went for the rst of her life. Just long, endless hours of being with rough men who never seemed to respect her. Her stylists weren't much better. She was always scantily-clad and walked around in utter humiliation. She ha enough of it. Every night at the Capitol, she would come up to the roof of the Tribute Centre and cry her eyes out. One night, after a particularly rough Games, she brought a noose with her. "I hate my life!" she wailed.
"So do I," a voice behind her said.
She spun around. The boy from Four, Timmy Fisher, stood warily, his eyes staring at her noose.
"Please," she said softly. "Leave me. You don't need to see this."
Timmy shook his head. "No, Sapphire! You can't!" he growled.
Sapphire stamped her foot. "Why not? Anything's better than this! I've lost my will to live! There's nothing left for me!"
Timmy walked over, and with a hard shove, snatched the noose from her. "You've got us," he reminded her. "We're always here for you. No matter what. We're victors. We stick together."
Sapphire sniffled. "Why are you doing this?"
"You saved my life," he said softly. "Remember? On Crystal's Victory Tour? You gave Jolien bread." His voice faltered. "I was dying of starvation then. Without you, I wouldn't be able here today." Sapphire gaped at him. Then, an empty laugh escapes from her mouth. "Oh, right. Jolien's your sister."
Timmy nodded. "Exactly. So, for saving my life, I'm going to save yours." He leaned closer. "We'll burn down the Capitol together, I promise." For the first time since winning her Games, Sapphire smiled. An evil smile. A smile of contempt.
"Yes. Let them all burn."
Timmy grinned. "That's the spirit."
Katniss stared silently at Sapphire. "She went through a lot," she murmured. "Let's move on. I can't bear to even imagine all those things…" It took a lot of willpower to suppress a falling tear. Peeta swiftly flipped the page. His face darkened. "Ragnar Sveinsson. The first Career victor."
VICTORS
District 1-Sapphire Huntington(4)
District 4-Marina Bluebell(1)
District 7-Hassan Greenwood(2)
District 12-Axel Millar(3)
A/N: That was horrible to write. But I couldn't aboid the harsh truth of the Capitol. TBH I always felt bad for District One. The tributes are apparently always beautiful, so what happens after their Games? Ugh. Anyways, hope you enjoyed! Pls review and stay tuned for Ragnar Sveinsson, the first Career victor!