Chapter 6: Reyna Boudicca

A/N: So I introduced Reyna in the last chapter, but this is her Hunger Games! I'm trying to keep up with a chapter a day schedule and I would appreciate if you review and give me some ideas! :)

Katniss raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure she's a Two? She seems like a far cry from Clove, Lyme and Enobaria."

Peeta nodded. "Yeah, pretty sure she is. I don't know, the Games can affect even the strongest of tributes. Look at Gloss or Shocker. Strong tributes who changed after the Games."

But Katniss wasn't convinced. Reyna seemed more devastated than even Sapphire. And she probably wasn't whored out. She was Ragnar's girlfriend after all. A victor love story was good for press. But something had to have happened. How had the Capitol ruined her?

Reyna Boudicca

District 2

Aged 18

2 Kills

Commander Rudy slammed me against the wall, snarling his surgically altered fangs. "You will volunteer, you hear me? Or I'll make sure your brother and Ragnar's family suffer the most horrific death imaginable!"

I whimpered. I was never a killer. I was a decent fighter, but nothing special! The only weapons I could handle were knives and tomahawks, and I barely had any muscles! "Why me?"

Commander Rudy gnashed his fangs, his eyes staring coldly into me. "Because, Reyna, you don't deserve to be with Ragnar. The Capitol want to use him, and you're standing in the way."

My eyes widened. "Use him? You mean, like what they did to Sapphire?" Oh, no! Not a chance I was going to let that happen! I managed as fierce a glare as I could muster. "I'll win. And you'll never ever step foot in this district ever again," I growled.

He smirked, amused, which only made me angrier. "You ruined us!" I shouted, balling my fists. "But I'll come back a victor, just you wait."

He raised an eyebrow. "We'll see, Miss Boudicca. We'll see."

On the train to the Capitol, Ragnar seemed more stressed than ever. "Remember, Reyna," he rambled on. "Grab the knives. Get food and water. Then get the hell out. Do not try to kill anybody. Find a clean water source. Stay away from others, but don't be afraid to kill."

My district partner, Geronimo, didn't seem too happy about the lack of attention on him. "You do realise that there are two tributes, right? Besides," he sneered at me. "She's clearly cannon fodder, a disgrace to our district!"

Ragnar grabbed the collar of his shirt. "You want advice? Do not mess with me, or Reyna.

Try making it into the arena before making it out."

Geronimo scowled. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Ragnar slammed a knife just inches of Geronimo's palm. He yelped. "I think you know."

Ragnar made sure he examined my parade costume before he let me put it on. "I'm warning you," he snarled at Juno, my stylist. "If it's too revealing or looks stupid…" Juno seemed to get the idea.

"It's just a normal dress, don't worry!" she squeaked, wincing under his cold glare.

I frowned at Ragnar. "You need to calm down," I told him. Ragnar shook his head. "Trust me, I'm trying to make sure you'll be alright during and after your Games. I'm following Marina's advice." Marina was the first victor, and considering she despised all things careers, I was surprised Ragnar was able to get advice from her. Maybe she'd seen him for who he truly was, the kind boy behind the media's favourite killer.

Ragnar told us to train our survival skills. I was inclined to oblige, but Geronimo ignored him and went to show off his sword skills and intimidate the other tributes. "What a jerk," I mumbled, trying to tie some knots. "If he runs out of supplies, he's dead meat."

The training scores were out. The Ones both got eights, so they were a threat. To my delight, I managed a nine, better than Geronimo's seven, to which I burst out laughing. "Who's the district disgrace now, huh?" I teased.

He rolled his eyes. "I've got charm."

"And I have Ragnar."

He shut up after that.

No one else really stood out, except for the boy from Ten, who got himself an eight. I'd seen him wield axes. He was one to look out for. "You've got this, Reyna," Ragnar smiled encouragingly, grasping my hand, prompting a groan from Geronimo.

Bartomeus was one annoying prick. He kept prodding me about Ragnar, and it took everything in me to keep smiling and refrain myself from snapping his neck.

"One a scale of one to ten, how hot is Ragnar?" "Um, ten?"

"Is Ragnar a good kisser?" "Well, I hope I get the chance to find out?"

"Is Ragnar good in bed?" "Well, yes. He's a good person in and out of bed." I had to rack my brain for that last answer. Not a chance I was answering that directly. But hey, at least the audience were cheering for me! I couldn't say the same thing for Geronimo though. He was in a foul mood and a couple of guys in the crowd even booed him. Tough luck, I guess.

I lay on my bed, unable to sleep. I was going into the arena! I shuddered, recalling the nightmares I had during Ragnar's Games. And now, they were coming back. And it was my turn to fight it out. Someone knocked on the door. "Come in," I called out shakily. Ragnar came in, and sat down on my bed.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, his tone gentle and loving as he stroked my hair.

"Scared."

"That was me before my Games. But I had no one. You've got me now. You need sleep."

"I can't sleep. I'm going to die!" Tears streamed down my face as Ragnar lay beside me and wrapped me into a hug. He kissed the top of my head, and I could feel my skin tingle.

"No, you're not," he said firmly. "Whatever it takes, you re coming home, Reyna. I'll make sure of that."

I turned and smiled, gazing into his eyes. They were kind, and beautiful. I couldn't understand how the Capitol singled him out as a born killer. I leaned over, and kissed him.

In the morning our escort Pontius practically barged into my room. It was a rude awakening, especially after our night, but when he saw us looking rather frazzled and hugging each other tightly, he made a big fuss out of it. "Are you seriously sleeping together? You've got a big day ahead! You don't spend the night before a proud moment flirting and making google eyes at each other!" I sighed, and went to take a shower.

"Don't even think about taking a shower together!" Pontius shrieked, making me blush redder than ever at the mere thought of it.

President Ravenstill watched as the tributes rose on their pedestal, grinning. He was especially looking forward to seeing Reyna Boudicca die. "Just a few more days, and we can cash in on Ragnar Sveinsson," he snickered. Little did the fat, spoiled man in an oversized suit know, the wily toymaker had zero intention of dying.

We were on top of a pyramid structure with stairs leading to the ground. It's an ancient ruined city, with crumbling pillars and two other pyramids. But there was something wrong about it. It was hideously small. The city was walled in and had little cover save for a couple of trees, which she could tell were full of tracker jacker nests. Her mind flashed back to Sapphire's Games, which had a small arena that opened up into a large underground cavern. But according to the Capitol, such a surprise was outlawed as a couple of tributes had experienced heart problems throughout the Games, making the fight a lot more 'boring'. So there had to be something else. Forty seconds left. Come on, Reyna. Think! Then I saw them. Trap doors. There were faint lines and round knobs all around the pyramids. The other tributes seemed to notice too. It looked like this year's arena was going to be hard to navigate. Twenty seconds left. I had to focus. My heart was pounding but that didn't matter. This year, the Cornucopia was loaded with food, water, ropes, flashlights and- I grinned. Tomahawks. Judging by the groans of the Ones, Geronimo and the boy from Seven, I was the only person who had even seen a tomahawk before. It was perfect. The gong rang. I bolted forward, grabbed a backpack, a flashlight and a couple of tomahawks and dashed off. Geronimo was wrestling the boy from Eight, Woolly, for a bottle of water. I pushed them aside. "Get out of my way!" (It was only later that I realised that I had pushed them off the pyramid structure. Woolly died after hitting his skull, but Geronimo survived before Shimmer from One finished him off) I ran straight for one for the trap doors, and jumped right in.

It was dark and musty. I turned on my flashlight and saw that I had landed in a dark and narrow corridor with rocky walls smeared with red paint. Occasionally I would come across some freakish figures or odd inscriptions cut deep into the rock. Above me, I could hear the raging Bloodbath, the cries and screams of victims, the loud footsteps of escapees, the war cries of the Ones. I shivered. "No, no, no. It's not real. None of this is," I told myself. "You're in District Two with Ragnar. No Commander Rudy. No Games." The Capitol must've thought I'd gone mad. Because I was going mad. Slowly, but surely.

I headed away from the trap door. Tributes would be searching for an escape soon enough. The corridors stretched far and beyond, and there were numerous intersections. Once I heard heavy footsteps coming from a corridor on the left side of an intersection. I ran ahead, not daring to look behind me. Obviously, the place was loaded with traps. I found that out soon enough. One wrong step and soon a bunch of darts were flying towards me. Thank goodness I managed to duck in time. That put me on high alert, especially after seeing the mangled body of the girl from Six, Fordette, netted firmly into the ceiling above me. My jaw dropped. I'd known her in training. She'd helped me at the fire station. Seeing her like this, I let loose a guttural scream. I just wanted to go home…

Ragnar stared intently at the screen, refusing to eat or go to the bathroom. He had to be there to help Reyna. Thirteen tributes had died in the Bloodbath. The girl from Six had fallen into a trap, being engulfed in a net that kept her stuck firmly on the ceiling as poisoned darts flew at her. The boy from Eleven had jumped into the wrong trap door, and fallen into a pit of jaguar mutts. Good. The fewer tributes, the better. More chance of Reyna winning. His eyes were red from a couple of sleepless nights. His mind wasn't much better. Reyna was muttering to herself, making random, frantic actions, and seemed to act a little odd. Had she lost her mind?

"Come on, Reyna," he murmured, his voice tense and desperate. Axel sat down next to him. "Dude, eat something. She'll be fine."

Ragnar shook his head. "No, I can't leave her!"

Axel grasped Ragnar's shoulders firmly. "Look at me. Get yourself some bread and eat. She would want you to. Besides, both my tributes are dead. I can help you look after her." Ragnar sighed, but he had to admit, Axel was right.

"Okay, fine. But please, don't let her die."

Axel nodded. "Got it, now hurry up!"

Ragnar took one last glance at Reyna huddling against the wall, crying softly, and he went to get some food.

A week passed. Reyna was still alive. The boy from One had been bitten by mosquitoes during the Bloodbath. He died of malaria after nine miserable days. The boy from Four had faced off Shimmer and was killed. A jaguar mutt had chased the pair from Three. The girl had accidentally unleashed a trap that sent a boulder crashing into both her and the jaguar mutt, pushing them down a steep drop to their deaths. The girl from Four killed the boy from Ten with a tomahawk, only to step on the wrong stone and was pressed to death when the walls of her corridor closed in. Ragnar didn't care. All he cared about was Reyna, the girl who had begun talking to an imaginary friend, Olivia. He buried his face in his hands. Reyna as he knew her was gone. She would be nothing more than a distant shell. But he loved her still. And not even death could change that.

Pine from Seven attacked me. It wasn't my fault, was it? He came charging at me with his tomahawk and I simply panicked, and I… I sobbed and wailed as I stared at his dead body, with my tomahawk lodged into his chest. The cannon boomed. No, this wasn't me. I wasn't a killer! I was a toymaker who just wanted to make children smile! I didn't want any of this! "It wasn't my fault, was it, Olivia?" I whimpered.

"Oh, but it was," Olivia taunted. "You killed him. You're just like all the other victors and Careers. A stony murderer."

Ragnar could feel it. Reyna was coming home. All she had to do was outlive Shimmer and Siri. Wait, never mind. Just Shimmer. She had killed Siri. Ragnar was on the edge of his seat, and so was Sapphire. "I'm supporting Reyna," she declared. Ragnar nearly laughed.

"What happened to district pride, Saph?"

"Don't call me Saph," she warned. "And I don't fancy being that monster's neighbour."

She was right. Shimmer was making a show of killing Siri, making it as bloody and gruesome as possible. Ragnar had to look away. "She's psychotic."

Sapphire nodded. "She was once in a mental asylum."

Ragnar shook his head. "But Reyna's coming home. Trust me."

Shimmer found me first. "Well, well. If it isn't Ragnar's little bitch!"

I shrieked and ran as quick as I could.

"Get back here, wimp!" Shimmer roared, weakly throwing a tomahawk at me with laughable accuracy.

I ran and ran, jumping past gaps and holes in the ground. Those led to mutt pits, I knew. Shimmer was fast, but exhausted. She had fewer sponsors, and had failed to tie her shoes. "RAGNAR!" I screamed. "HELP!"

"Help isn't coming, idiot!" Shimmer mocked, cackling as she threw another tomahawk. This time, it hit my shoulder. I screamed, horrible pain like I'd never felt before shooting through my body. Shimmer sneered as she approached.

"Time to make your pretty face an ugly one, Two."

I backed away. Shimmer continued advancing. But then, by sheer luck, she stepped on a loose rock. A board filled with sharp spikes oozing with poison sprung up, and slammed right into her, as tracker jackers swarmed into her and darts flew at her in all directions. I screamed at the top of my lungs, horrified by everything. "AYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" I screamed, and screamed, until I didn't. I had passed out.

Reyna was never the same. The doctors declared that she had gone insane. She wouldn't respond to anyone. Anyone, except for the other victors. Ragnar walked into her ward and sat next to her. She simply stared into space, showing no signs of reaction. "Hey, Reyna." Reyna tilted her head slightly. Ragnar bit his lip. "So, uhm, you can go home." Reyna lowered her gaze, but didn't say anything. Ragnar sighed, and pulled her in for a kiss. "It's okay, I won't force you to talk or anything."

Weeks passed.

Weeks turned into months.

And every single day, Reyna would wake up in the middle of the night screaming in agony. Commander Rudy had been executed. That only made things worse. She screamed and wailed all night long. But Ragnar was there. He was always there. And he could always keep her calm with a kiss.

Her Victory Tour rolled by. Most of the districts hated Careers, but most people couldn't help but feel bad for Reyna. The poor girl was like Sapphire, but even worse. But still, she had a role to play in the revolution. When she was in District Twelve, a young boy accused of stealing was about to get shot, but she screamed and wailed, begging for mercy and after much persuasion from Ragnar, the peacekeepers let him off with a beating. The boy's name was Theo Mellark, Peeta's grandfather. In District Three, she gave a starving pair of kids food to eat. Those kids' names were Gizmo Latier and Jenna Sparks, Beetee's parents. Reyna may have gone down as a weak girl who had gone bonkers, but in more ways than she could've known, she'd been a driving force behind the Capitol's fall. And besides, Ragnar loved her, and four years later, they tied the knot. In Ragnar's eyes, Reyna was simply perfect, and that was all that mattered.

Katniss read Reyna's stats. "Only two kills? That's awfully low for a Career."

"She's a toymaker, I think," Peeta told her. "She loved children."

Katniss narrowed her eyes. "That doesn't seem right."

They didn't linger any further, and moved on. Peeta flipped the page, showing a muscular boy in a cowboy hat with a forced sort of a smile on his face. "Ringo Alvarez. The boy who rode a horse to victory."

VICTORS

District 1-Sapphire Huntington(4)

District 2-Ragnar Sveinsson(5), Reyna Boudicca(6)

District 4-Marina Bluebell(1)

District 7-Hassan Greenwood(2)

District 12-Axel Millar(3)

A/N: So I hope you liked Reyna's chapter! She kinda sounds a bit like Annie, right? Well, many victors can go a little crazy because of their Games, so Reyna won't be the last to go crazy, unfortunately. Anyways, pls review as I need your help for ideas (e.g. arenas, names, storylines, formats, etc):) Ik I sound a bit desperate, sorry! But yeah, stay tuned for Ringo Alvarez, District Ten's first victor!