Chapter 14: Franc Montgomery

A/N: So, here's another chapter! District One's nobles finally get their Victor but will it be one they'd expect? Read on to find out!

Katniss frowned. "Know much about him?"

Peeta shook his head. "His arena's a desert, but that's all I got."

"He's a noble? What's that supposed to mean?" Katniss asked, scowling at the boy's muscles, muscles people from the Seam could only dream of.

"He was from a rich family. Probably a brutal Career breeding ground or something."

They held a minute of silence for the noble boy, who in fact, ditched his family as soon as he'd won.

Franc Montgomery

District 1

Aged 18

7 Kills

Franc hated his family. He had ten siblings, one of whom had already died in the Games, and twenty cousins, three of whom were slaughtered in the arena. There was absolutely zero love and care, or whatever that was. Ever since he could walk, he'd been trained to kill. In the Dark Days, it was for survival. But now, it was to win glory and honour for their family. So many noble children had gone in and fought, but none of them made it out alive. It was his eighteenth birthday this year, and it was a family tradition to get married to as many people as possible and start the reproduction process to train new Careers. Franc was having none of it. So while his twin brother Awesome was hitting on all the popular girls and even got a son in the process. It was enough to make Franc gag. He steered clear from his family, and while he did train hard, he never wanted to be in the stupid Hunger Games. All he wanted was a nice, quiet life with a girl. One he'd known for a decade, but never got the courage to ask out. Emma Chase, a girl from the middle-class section of the District. Her parents were gem cutters, and the family was known for being an odd one. But not for the reasons you might expect. You see, Emma hardly ever wore makeup, had no earrings, tattoos, and her hair was tied in a simple ponytail. She dressed casually, a huge no-no in District One. But for a rebel like Franc, she was perfect. They hung out together a lot. They laughed, joked around, read stories together, trained together. She even taught him how to cut gemstones. All this, of course, triggered a flurry of anger from the Montgomery clan, who saw him as their only hope of winning the Games. He was the strongest, fastest, smartest and deadliest family member. The only problem was, he hated the Games. He never wanted to compete. "We need him to win!" Grandma Montgomery croaked scornfully.

"Then threaten him! Take away his jewellery privileges!" Anita, Franc's aunt hissed.

"He doesn't care about that!" Grandpa Montgomery drawled.

"How about we threaten Emma instead?"

The whole family turned, facing their rather influential butler, who merely raised an eyebrow. Then they began nodding, and laughing, and patting him on the back. "Good one, Gemmo!" Anita grinned. "We'll do that right away!"

And so it was. With their knives and guns, the Montgomeries descended upon the Chase household and kidnapped poor Emma from her bedroom. The fact that Anita was the wife of the Head Peacekeeper only made the situation worse for Emma. No one knew, and no one came to her rescue. Except for Franc. He stumbled upon her in the dungeons of the Montgomery mansion, gagged, chained and bruised. He stared at her in horror. "Emma! What the-" He couldn't finish his sentence, as his father Brilliant fired a shot into the wall beside her. Franc whirled around. His entire family, including that sneaky snake Gemmo, had their guns drawn out and were pointing them straight at Emma. Franc scowled, realising that he had no say in the matter.

Anita grinned maliciously. "So, Franc. Mind changing your answer?"

Franc balled his fists, but with Emma whimpering in her cell, and with all the guns pointed at her chest, he had no choice. "Fine. I'll volunteer."

Brilliant cackled, which caused Franc to flinch a little. Brilliant sounded like some wicked witch he'd read from storybooks in the library. It scared him a little, but not a hope in hell he was going to admit that. "If you back out of this, Franc," Brilliant warned, a smug smile on his lips. "Emma here will die a most painful death! And you'll get a front seat ticket."

Franc hated his district partner. Gleam Ashton, a snooty noble girl who was obsessed with her hair and knives. "When I win the Hunger Games I'll make sure your family is employed as my own personal slaves, Franc dearest," she said in her high and queeny voice.

Franc rolled his eyes. He only cared for one person and that one person wasn't a Montgomery. "Fine, go ahead," he told her. "Better yet, make them Avoxes. Oh, wait! I forgot! You aren't going to win the Games! Not with that attitude!" Gleam scowled and grabbed a knife. Just then, the doors burst open and Sapphire and Onyx entered the dining car. One look at Gleam's knife and they both let out exasperated sighs, shaking their heads.

"Here we go again," Onyx grumbled. "Two more spoiled brats."

"Can I take the boy this time?" Sapphire asked, her head in her hands. "These noble girls are a pain in the ass!"

Onyx's eyes widened. "But..."

"No buts, Onyx," Sapphire waved him off. "You still owe me for mentoring you to victory."

Onyx sighed but he knew a lost cause when he saw one. He trotted over to Gleam while Sapphire took a seat in front of Franc. "Let me guess," she said dryly. "You're here for the power and the glory and the family honour and the blah blah blah."

Franc blinked, confused. Sapphire looked exhausted and her eyes were red from crying. But what bothered him most was how she'd utterly dismissed him as somewhat of a brat. It was kinda true since he was from a noble family. But he wasn't here for the honour! She's been here for a decade, he reminded himself. She's seen the worst of us. "Err, no, my parents threatened this girl named Emma, and-"

"Hold on," Sapphire told him, suddenly focused. "Emma, as in Emma Chase?"

Franc nodded, not quite sure where this was going. "Yeah, why?"

Sapphire's eyes suddenly burned with fury. Franc slunk into his chair, wondering what Emma had done to offend the Victor. "SHe's my cousin," she spat. "And you said they threatened her?"

Franc blurted out the whole story. Sapphire listened intently, twirling her knife around her fingers as smoke nearly bellowed out of her ears. "They'll pay for this. Emma's a sweet girl! She doesn't deserve this! You know what, Franc? You like her, don't you?" Franc turned beet red, which only confirmed Sapphire's assumption. "Well then, for her sake, I'm bringing you home! You seem like a nice person, but you need to show the audience you're not just a cliche District One tribute! That's how Onyx and I won, and that's how you will too!" The intent, the willpower, the hunger in her eyes, it nearly scared Franc. But he was glad he had her as a mentor.

"So, what do I need to do? Join the Careers? Intimidate others?" he asked, trying to sound polite.

Sapphire nodded. "Yes, stick with the Careers. Prove you're dominant. But don't forget survival skills. They can mean the difference between life and death in these Games." Franc assured her he'd train to be a supreme survivalist, and they went over to watch the Reapings.

Draco was bored. The Games were no fun if District Two wasn't winning! He'd been given loser after loser after loser. He hated it! This year, he was hoping Gleam would win. She was hot! Draco had bought the company of every female Victor there was, except for Reyna for very obvious reasons. he was starting to get bored out of his mind. He went over to his favourite bar, greeted by a horde of paparazzi, all of which he made sure to entertain. They loved him, and he loved them. But there was one man he especially wanted to meet. Coriolanus Snow. The young blonde Capitolian who hungered for power, just like Draco. They were great drinking buddies who'd bonded after suggesting to Ravenstill that all Victors without a valid love life were to be whored out. Draco was spared from this only because he was the one buying their company. Snow bought it too, and they soon became fast friends. Their personal favourite was Sapphire, the pretty Victor from One. Her tears, her cries for mercy, were simply wonderful. "So, Draco," Snow began, taking a swig of his drink. "How's your tribute?"

Draco chuckled. "You mean Hatchet? Oh, she's going to win, at least that's what I hope will happen. But if she doesn't, then Gleam will do, I guess. More money for us!" It was true, most of the proceeds from the Victor Prostitution Ring went to them since they were its ringleaders.

Snow laughed and took another sip. "Ah, yes. They'd bring us great money, but how about Franc?"

Draco grinned. "He's muscular, certainly going to be a hit with the ladies. Yes, he'll make it rain cash!"

Franc was first in line for his private session with the Gamemakers. "Be unique," Sapphire had told him. Question was, how? He racked his brain for ideas as he walked into the Training Centre, sweat beginning to form on his forehead. The Head Gamemaker, Nix Muller, eyed him with a hint of admiration. That's when he had an idea. He took off his shirt, flexing his muscles, prompting an array of swooning from the Gamemakers. He smiled seductively and went on to show off his knife-throwing skills, throwing two knives at once and hitting two bullseyes. He grabbed a pair of swords and swung them around, before releasing them and sending them flying straight at two dummies, decapitating both of them. He grabbed a spear, and leapt acrobatically into the air, doing a couple of flips before sending the spear flying into another dummy's throat. He strutted over to the edible plants station and set a new record. Then, he pulled down his pants and allowed the Gamemakers to enjoy him in his full underwear glory. They gave him a standing ovation as he left, fairly disgusted by what he'd done.

He made one tiny error: he forgot to put on his clothes as he walked into the first floor. Sapphire and Onyx gaped in horror while the escort giggled with glee. He flushed and ran straight for his closet. Onyx rubbed his eyes and turned to Sapphire, who was still gaping at the now empty elevator. "What have I just seen?"

Franc got a ten. He would've been delighted, if the peacekeepers hadn't dragged Sapphire away immediately afterwards. "Where are they taking her?" he asked, oblivious to Gleam's score of nine. Onyx's eyes drooped, and he whispered, "Not here. Later."

Onyx led Franc to his room, where there certainly weren't any cameras. Ravenstill wasn't that perverted. "So," Franc began. "What's up with Sapphire?"

Onyx bit his lip. "It happens to almost all of us, Franc. We all have to enter the Victor Prostitution Ring."

The Victor Prostitution Ring. The name rang in Franc's head. All the will to get out of the arena, simply gone. "How do I..."

"You can't," Onyx told him bitterly. "Not until there's a romance in you, or you're crazy, or..."

"A romance!" Franc piped up.

Onyx stared at him, eyebrows raised. "You have a girlfriend?"

"Well, yes, but no," Franc mumbled. "But I'll admit it in front of Panem!"

"You do realise odd are, she's going to end up rejecting you right?" Onyx told him.

Franc rolled his eyes. "Nah, we've known each other for years! Only problem is, uh, she's Sapphire's cousin."

Onyx grinned. "Ah, yes. Good luck dealing with her. She's nice until you annoy her. Then she'll show me exactly why she's a Victor."

That didn't bring much confidence in Franc, but whatever. Tomorrow, he was declaring he had a crush on Emma in front of the entire country. What could possibly go wrong?

Franc didn't care about Gleam's interview. She merely played the angle District One had been playing for so many years now-sexy. That didn't interest him one bit. Gleam was just another tribute standing in the way of him going home to Emma. Besides, she wasn't even pretty. If anything she was too glamorous. When the buzzer rang and signalled for her to leave, he couldn't believe that the Capitolians were actually loving her. They were shallow, but that made them all too easy to toy around with. Bartomeus began by asking Franc how he was doing, how many tributes he planned on killing, his strategy, the usual stuff. But then came the big question, "So, Franc. Strong, handsome guy like you, you certainly must have a special lady, eh?" He wiggled his eyebrows curiously.

Franc smiled. It was a bit of a sheepish smile, because he didn't know how Emma would react. "Well, there is one girl." The crowd were on the edge of their seats by now. "She's gorgeous. We've know each other since we were seven. She's considered plain by my family standards, but I don't quite like my family traditions. To me, she's perfect." He turned and looked straight into the camera. "Emma, if you're watching, err," Oh, gosh, was he blushing? Abort! Abort! his senses told him. But he couldn't. "Err, maybe you'd like to go on a date with me after the Games? " The crowd thundered with applause, screaming his name. Franc grinned broadly, and ripped off his tuxedo, only inciting more screams. Meanwhile, back home in District One, Emma was blushing redder than a tomato as the entire district stared at her. Still, she couldn't help but stare when Franc took off his shirt. She was only human, after all.

The arena just had to be a desert. Really? A freaking desert? Franc groaned. "Great, now we're all going to die of dehydration!" The anxiety and pure annoyance on the other children's faces was unmissable. Everyone braced themselves to dash into the fray. There would be no running away without supplies this year. The gong rang and Franc, harnessing the power of many years of beep tests, bolted right in and grabbed a set of knives. Behind him, the carnage had already begun. Hatchet had grabbed a scythe and stabbed Hydro from Five. Surf, the Career girl from Four, had slit Gretel from Nine's leg, but her ally, Planter from Eleven, managed to carry her away. Still, she was bleeding out quickly. Franc knew she wouldn't survive the night. But for now, he had other problems. Alex from Three was slowing down to grab a backpack withing throwing range. He flung a knife and it lodged itself into her back. She crumpled to the ground in a pool of blood. The other Careers wer ebusy taking out the other children. Barracuda from Four managed to spear Haas, the big, burly train driver from Six as he tried to punch Ram from Ten to get a backpack. Gleam grabbed a sword and slashed Coallene from Twelve's throat. Xerxes from Two stabbed Coallene's District partner Smoke with a katana and managed a cut on Dylan from Eight's knee as he'd been fighting Smoke for a bag of biscuits, but Dylan got away in time. Franc saw Gizmo from Three charging at him, and got his knife out to slash his forehead just in time. As Surf speared Ivy from Seven and Barracuda speared Ram's throat, Franc managed to put a knife in Spindella from Eight's gut. She'd been wrestling with Katie from Six for a bottle of water, and this allowed Katie to bolt off into the dunes. It wasn't an instant kill, but she would die soon enough. He grabbed Sadie from Ten, stopping her escape, and punched her in the gut. Xerxes came to finish her off with his katana. Gleam had gotten round to strangling Allie from Five. Personally, Franc thought that was unnecessary. A stab would have been quicker. Hatchet grabbed her favourite weapons, a bow and arrows. "Duck!" she yelled at Franc, who gladly obliged as she sent the arrow flying into Michael from Nine's heart as he tried to escape with a sword and a backpack. The cannons started firing. Twelve in total. Franc scowled at the corpses and the now sickeningly red sand around the Cornucopia. It didn't seem right but he wanted to go home. Best not to overthink it like Shocker or Reyna did. "So, I think we should go hunt at night," Franc told the others. "It'll be cooler, and we can better prevent dehydration. Our supplies aren't infinite."

Surf shrugged. "Whatever you say, I guess."

Hatchet frowned. "But how will we see?"

"There's the moonlight," Franc said. "And even it isn't there at night, we can use these." He picked up a torch. "But for now, let's move away from the Cornucopia. The hovercraft will come soon." Sure enough, they had to momentarily evacuate the area as the hovercrafts cleared up the bodies, but the blood stains remained in the sand. It was gruesome and on a normal day would make Franc throw up like crazy, but today was not that day. No, today was the day he sucked it up and fought like a Career Victor. As the hovercrafts left and they returned to their supply stash, the cannon boomed again.

"It's Gretel," Surf said. "She was bleeding out after I sliced her leg. I think she's the dead one."

Franc nodded and entered the Cornucopia to search for more weapons he could use. He picked up another sword, there were plenty this year, and put it in his belt. He grabbed a couple more knives and a couple of shurikens for good measure. He was ready.

It was their second night hunting. They'd glimpsed upon Planter on their first night, but he'd managed to scramble away. The moonlight shone brighter than any of them could have hoped for and combined with the cool night air, it provided an excellent hunting ground for the Careers. "Come out, come out!" Xerxes taunted, twirling his sword in the air. "Come out and play, little tributes!"

Franc sighed. "Do you really have to do that?"

Xerxes chuckled. "Just getting into the killer mood. When I see them, I'll cut open their limbs, then have a little fun..."

"There!" Franc yelled, spotting Dylan hiding behind a rock. He tried to make a run for it, but Franc there a pair of knives into his back. The cannon boomed. Xerxes, Hatchet and Gleam frowned. Franc raised an eyebrow. "What? I got him."

Gleam shook her head, pouting. "You didn't let us toy around with him!"

"Yeah!" Hatchet agreed. "Torture is fun!"

Franc glared at them. "Look, we can't afford to risk losing them by running up for the torture. Besides, we need to conserve energy." He repeated Sapphire's advice before the Games, which Barracuda and Surf nodded along too. They weren't trained Careers. They understood. Xerxes continued to whine, but his whining stopped when he tripped on a rope and was impaled by a flurry of cacti. Franc whirled around, drawing his knife, and ducked just in time to avoid the axe. Only the axe hit Gleam instead. She stumbled to the ground and the cannon boomed. "Run!" Surf yelped, making a dash for it. In the distance, Franc could see Lumber on a high dune, readying more traps and axes. He didn't hesitate any further. He made a break for it. The cannon boomed again, signalling the end of whinny Xerxes, who, while psychopathic, didn't deserve to die such a painful death in Franc's opinion. Oh well. One less child standing in the way of home and Emma.

Franc managed to return to the Cornucopia before the Fours did. He made sure to grab all the water bottles, leaving Barracuda and Surf, who didn't have any water with them when they' d escapes, to die of dehydration. The cannon boomed in the distance. Franc frowned, scratching his chin as the anthem began playing and Katie's dull, lifeless expression was projected into the bright, moonlit sky. Something about these Games, he knew the were wrong, but something about the Capitol allowing this to happen, it didn't hit home with him. Ravenstill, Draco, and all those Capitol cronies, he couldn't quite figure out what good they saw in needless child murder. For the first time in his life, a rebellious thought formed in his mind. What if he could speak out against them? That would only get Emma killed, but if he could, he would in a heartbeat.

It was the fifth night. Franc walked at a pretty slow pace to minimise sweating and conserve body fluids and energy. Sapphire had given him food to last quite a long while, and an extra bottle of water. But it wasn't going to last. If he was to make it back home and go on a date with sweet Emma, then be had to be on the hunt for the other children. "Just a few more to go," he told himself. "Just kill a few more to get home." He heard scuffing and readied his knives. The scuffing came from behind a rock. He flung his knife, making sure that it curled in the air before hitting its target. He winces when he heard the thud and saw the pool of blood. The cannon fired. What would Emma think? "Emma's not here, " he scolded himself." She would want you to come home. And I have to do this. I have to! " It took everything in him to hold back tears of guilt and regret. He didn't bother retrieving the stupid knife, or to see who he'd killed. No, because Surf had shown up behind a dune, bloodied, bruised and clearly severely weakened by dehydration. He was just about to run after her when a, horrifyingly, a brood of large snake mutts with three heads each pounced on her and mauled her to a bloody pulp. She didn't even scream. She was too weak to. The cannon boomed as Franc stood there, choking back a sob. There was brutal, and then there was downright inhumane. That fell way deeper than the latter category. He bit his lip until it bled. "This is, I don't even know what this is anymore," he murmured, stumbling away, only stopping to catch his breath when the anthem played, the night sky flashing Surf and Plower's faces.

Two long days passed and Franc was running out of water fast. The place was sweltering hot and he was sweating buckets every day. He'd nearly freaked out when a cannon boomed that day, and once again when he stumbled upon a dying Hatchet. She was bone thin and barely breathing. Despite this, she could still feel his presence. Maybe he'd been loud in his movements. Maybe she'd been saying it for hours. But whatever the case, as Franc approached, she whispered, "Please." Franc had the good sense to make it quick. He didn't want the Capitol to have any enjoyment out of this. Sure, Hatchet had been annoying at times, but she was still a seventeen-year-old child who had been groomed for murder. She was a human being just like Franc, a scared children who had been made to suffer by those Capitol pigs. Franc ended her misery with a quick stab. The cannon boomed and Franc shuffled away, dragging his feet to his final two opponents. Opponents soon became opponent, because the cannon boomed, signalling the end of Lumber's fight with dehydration, and Franc could make out a nearly lifeless Barracuda crawling over to him, groaning all the way. Franc didn't wait for him to come. With one, final burst of energy, he ran over and slit Barracuda's throat, much to the relief of the miserable young sailor who'd grown to crave death whilst in the arena. The trumpets sounded, and Bartomeus announced his victory, but was there really anything to celebrate? As far as he was concerned, Franc was as dead as the other twenty-three tributes. Lights were on, but no one was home. He promptly collapsed onto the burning sand as doctors rushed to save him.

Draco hated Franc. He hated Emma even more. Because with her existence came the diminishing of his newfound cash prospect. Oh, and he'd killed Hatchet and failed to save Xerxes. Honestly, the Victors' Village in Two was way too empty! He sighed, chugging down a bottle as Snow took a seat next to him. "Don't worry, there's always next year," Snow assured him, a cold glint in his eyes.

"Hopefully a Two will win," Draco murmured. "Restore pride to the proudest District in Panem. If not, well, at least make it someone single and attractive so we can rake in the cash."

Snow laughed. "I hope so too, Draco. I hope so too."

When Franc returned to District One, he was met with loud cheers and cries of joy. Most important of all, Emma had rushed towards him and engulfed him in a big, passionate kiss, one he was very happy to return. But he had unfinished family business. When the mayor drove him to the Victors' Village, his family was about to tag along when he blocked their path. "No," he said firmly, drawing a few shocked gasps from the crowd.

Brilliant's eyes burned with rage. "You dare leave your family behind? After all we've done..."

"All you've done is turn me into a monster I'm not," Franc snapped, holding Emma closer. "In fact, you know what? Emma's family can stay with me! Because I quit the Montgomeries! " He stomped his foot on the ground for effect.

Brilliant snarled." Very well then. We disown you! "

Franc grinned. "Oh how I've longed to hear those words! Come on, Emma, I've got to show you your family's new house!" And so they went, two young lovers hopelessly in love. They would, some day get married and have their own children, but those little ones were never to step foot into the Career Academy, and they were give the surname Chase instead of Montgomery. In fact, Franc himself changed his surname to Chase. Whatever it was, he had no desire to be affiliated with those vile noble families ever again.

Katniss and Peeta didn't have much to say about good old Franc, and they simply moved on. The next Victor was an athletic-looking girl in a green cloak. Her brown hair was tied in an old-fashioned ponytail, but her most distinctive feature was the smug smile on her face. She'd just beaten the Games, so a smug smile was more than welcome, really. "Jill Wilson," Peeta read out. "Arguably the greatest lumberjack, or should I say, lumberjill, who ever lived."

VICTORS

District 1-Sapphire Huntington(4), Onyx Hibonite(9), Franc Montgomery(14)

District 2-Ragnar Sveinsson(5), Reyna Boudicca(6), Draco Hadley(10)

District 3-Nikola Johnson(13)

District 4-Marina Bluebell(1), Mags Flanagan(11)

District 5-Shocker Crimson(8)

District 7-Hassan Greenwood(2)

District 10-Ringo Alvarez(7)

District 11-Orchid Bloom(12)

District 12-Axel Millar(3)

A/N: So that was Franc! That's by far the longest chapter I've written so far, so I hope you enjoyed it! Anyways, pls review and tell me what you think, plus, I wouldn't mind some ideas on how to write Jill's story (you'll be credited if I go with your idea). So stay tuned and cheers:)