Chapter 54: Valkyrie Montgomery

A/N: It's been a while, but the Careers are back at it again! This time it's District One, who have a notorious reputation for having drop-dead gorgeous boys and girls with the snootiest of attitudes volunteer for the Games. Does Valkyrie fit the bill? Maybe, maybe not. But one thing's for sure, the boys won't know what hit them!

WARNING: EXPLICIT SCENES AHEAD, skip this chapter if need be.

P.S. Thanks to peachiebumblebee for her ideas! I used her characterisation of a seductress tribute in Valkyrie and her arena idea was amazing! Thanks, Peach!

P.S.S. Join my Discord server, where we will occasionally listen to cartierscrown and Marie464 sing. Furthermore, if you live in the same time zone as Marie, every midnight we shall send you off to bed with sneks.

Katniss gritted her teeth. "Oh, her."

Peeta nodded, an uncertain look in his eyes. "My father told me the boys used to drool about her every single night before the Games began. She was drop-dead gorgeous," he said.

Katniss rolled her eyes. "They weren't wrong. Her victims literally dropped dead at her feet. But the way she won? Ugh, nightmarish." She shuddered, scrunching up her nose in a disgusted manner.

"Still," Peeta reasoned. "I feel bad for her. She was victimised by the Capitol, wasn't she?"

Katniss nodded. "That part was horrible, but in a way, she was asking for trouble."

"Hey, she was doing all she could do win," Peeta told her.

Katniss shook her head. "That doesn't make what she did any less unsettling, but we can agree to disagree, I guess."

Valkyrie Montgomery

District 1

Aged 18

6 Kills

Hot. Beautiful. Sexy. Valkyrie absolutely hated it when people called her that. In a world where lust ran riot, she was the target of many boys' affections and sickly dreams. A remarkable girl who had an entrancing sort of beauty, Valkyrie was raised to be a proud warrior by the Montgomeries, and while she didn't want to compete in the Games, knew she would have no choice, and decided that going with the flow was the best course of action. But one thing was for sure: she was not just some pretty ornament for people to gawk at. No, she was a fierce fighter, who could wield a pair of sais as if they were mere extensions of her own, agile, flexible arms. She was a brilliant gymnast too, who could leap and jump acrobatically, certainly a useful skill while fighting. And yet, all people talked about was how beautiful she was. Ugh, she wished she could slap all those gaping, wide-eyed boys and kick their asses. Because Valkyrie wanted nothing more than to prove that she wasn't just a pretty little doll, and that she was, in fact, the deadliest warrior in the District.

Growing up, she and her twin sister Lilja formed a strong bond, one that seemed to be unbreakable. They were inseparable from birth and could almost read each other's minds. Lilja was, like Valkyrie, very much beautiful, but an accident when she was young had left her without her left leg and in need of a prosthetic one, which hadn't been hard for a rich noble family like the Montgomeries to obtain. However, the social ramifications of this were immense. In District One's elite noble families, having a prosthetic limb was considered very ugly, and the middle-class soon caught on to this, shunning Lilja from society just because she was different. Mind you, her temper and tendency to snap at others didn't exactly improve her situation, but Valkyrie still felt that the outcasting was simply uncalled for. Furthermore, she hadn't been able to participate in the Career Academy's training sessions, thus leading to her being perceived as a weakling amongst the noble children, and a favourite target for bullying at the hands of Valkyrie's older siblings, Demantur and Jolie. Valkyrie did everything in her power to stop this, causing diversions, bargaining with others, doing all she could to ensure Lilja had a better life, but ultimately, her life in a large estate with a big family was a huge downside for Lilja. Valkyrie knew that the only way Lilja could live her life in peace was if she won the Games and invited Lilja to live with her in the Victors Village, away from the prying eyes of the general populace of District One. And that was exactly what she planned on doing.

Valkyrie, in the eyes of everyone else, was the perfect child, obviously because she had a radiating beauty that attracted boys like a magnet. But what they didn't know was that she had a peanut allergy. During mealtimes with her family, she would deliberately avoid dishes that contained peanuts, in an attempt to hide this fact from her family, who weren't very keen on accepting kids with allergies. After all, Valkyrie's brother Cyril had a mild crustacean allergy and was bullied to no end during mealtimes as a result, resulting in him becoming bulimic, not that anyone in her family really cared. Valkyrie was often met with suspicious looks when she was given a peanut-containing dish and chose to pass it up, so she often had to suck it up and just eat the damn dish, before excusing herself to go to the bathroom, where she would vomit it all out just as the effects kicked in. She wanted to keep her image intact, and like President Ravenstill so many years ago, had to keep a peanut allergy a closely-guarded secret as a result. Not that President Ravenstill's efforts paid off in the end though, considering the fact that there was a pesky servant from District Twelve who blurted out this secret amongst others before the Dark Days to the people of Panem, a rather embarrassing revelation that only fuelled Ravenstill's anger towards the Districts.

The day of the Reaping finally came. And Valkyrie was more than well-prepared for it. Standing amongst the crowd in her long, flowing, silver gown with her powder blue heels, her hair graced with a flowery diadem, she held her chin high, maintaining her grand, regal look for the cameras. Deep inside, though, she wished she could crouch and bury her self deep in a hole in the ground. Literally everyone was staring at her, giving her either a lustful or a jealous look. She gritted her teeth and inhaled deeply. Don't think about them, she told herself. Just look straight. She just wanted this Reaping done and dusted. The sooner the better. The escort went about with her usual speech, chattering on about the Treaty of Treason and the Dark Days. While Valkyrie could understand the Capitol's need for vengeance, she had questioned the severity of the Districts' punishment. The Hunger Games had been an extreme form of thrusting their anger towards the Districts, something that Valkyrie herself wasn't quite sure she could agree with. But hey, at least it gave kids a chance to win big money and earn their District some fresh supplies to survive the long, harsh winters in Panem. That part was, at the very least, a huge plus. The time for volunteering soon approached, and Valkyrie glanced to the side, where Lilja was standing, a stony expression on her classically beautiful face. She caught Valkyrie's eye and then her expression shifted. Valkyrie had never been one who could easily detect emotions, but even she could tell what that look in Lilja's eye was. Fear. Lilja was scared for Valkyrie's life. Valkyrie gave her a sideways smile, a smug, cheeky one that she had often given her when they were little kids looking for trouble. Oh, how Valkyrie missed those good old days, when she and Lilja could run freely around the estate, laughing as they pulled pranks on the servants. Valkyrie knew they were fellow humans and she did feel a little bad for getting them fired at times, but hey, it was all in the name of fun, wasn't it? But now, the fun was over, and the time for being serious had come. The escort was just about to pull out a slip from the bowl of girls' names, when Valkyrie's hand shot up, almost against her own will, and the magic words came out. "I VOLUNTEER!"

Valkyrie sat in the train, giving her District partner, Séduire Cooper, a wary glance as he tried to eat his food, munching on some pork steak, but kept on glancing in her direction in that weird, unsettling way with his large, curious eyes. She attempted on focusing on finishing her bowl of mushroom soup, but couldn't get the feeling that Seduire was staring at her. Pervert, she thought, with a slight eye roll. Seduire probably saw her as a pretty little object, but oh no, he was going to see who she truly was in the arena. Over the years, growing up, she had caught glimpses of Seduire before, in the Career Academy, a strong, fine lad who was excellent at weaponry and climbing, but she had also caught glimpses of him staring at her, and at one point, even catcalling her. Seduire began to move closer, his eyes now fixated on her face. Valkyrie had had enough. She glared at him and went full-on Lilja, snapping at him with all the malice that her twin sister often had when someone got on her nerves. "Quit staring." Seduire nodded, and shrunk back into his seat. But then a thought crossed over Valkyrie's mind. So he liked her, huh? Suddenly, a sly smirk appeared on his face. "Actually, stare all you want," she said, batting her eyelashes in the most seductive way she could (which wasn't very, but oh well).

Seduire blinked, clearly confused. "Wait what?"

Valkyrie winked at him flirtatiously, whirling around in her chair and crossing her legs together. "You won't be seeing me for long after all. Besides, a strong, handsome young lad like you, eh, I wouldn't mind making an exception." She licked her lips, cocking her head to the side and smiling sweetly. Seduire smiled back, his smile rather goofy in comparison, and that was all Valkyrie needed to know that he was under her spell.

District One had an excellent stylist that year. Prudens Barrenstill, the man who had styled Marie Meredith during her Games, had been promoted to District One this year after the incumbent stylist retired to enjoy his life swimming in his excess of wealth. Prudens could be a tad annoying in his praising of the Capitol, although his tone seemed a little forced, if Valkyrie was being honest. He no longer had that same fiery love for the Capitol that he used to have when he was styling Marie, someone he had grown to befriend. In fact, in the Training Centre, Valkyrie had seen Marie confiding about her brother Dmitri's death to Prudens, whose own grandfather had apparently died of diabetes due to an incredibly unhealthy lifestyle that Prudens had so desperately attempted to rid him of. Prudens was almost like a father figure to Marie, Valkyrie realised, and she could tell by the way he talked about her as he handed her the costume that he cared for her as though she was his family. After all, his own relatives were nothing short of greedy, elitist bastards, blinded by their sheer wealth. Valkyrie grew to like Prudens too, and shared a couple of jokes with him about Seduire and his blatant infatuation towards her. Valkyrie didn't need to charm Prudens too, thank goodness, because that would have been utterly creepy. It turned out that Prudens was asexual, unable to find love, an aromantic who was moved for his inability to find love. Valkyrie enjoyed his company as much as she enjoyed the dress he gave her, which she had requested to be as charming and sexy as possible because that had been her angle from day one. She had told Crystal just as much, and while her older relative seemed concerned about the repercussions brought about by her strategy, Valkyrie was more than convinced she could- and had to- pull it off. The dress was a golden tube top with a brown leather belt around her waist fastened with a gold pad engraved with an assortment of gemstones and pearls. A bronze cloth armband was tied around her wrists with the hem of the dress attached to it. On the bottom of the dress, the part that covered her ankles, golden-brown glitter was spread across the fabric, shimmering in the moonlight. The dress had a slit in it that ran up to her thigh and the costume was topped off with a pair of fancy golden sandals embroidered with topaz gemstones and a peacock feather headdress on her hair, which was tied in a pretty braid to complete the fascinating look. But when Valkyrie saw how she look, her initial excitement faded into a grimace, one that Prudens instantly spotted. He frowned. "What's wrong, Val?"

Valkyrie bit her lip. "It's beautiful, but, I don't know, everyone will be watching and I'm not sure I quite like all that attention."

Prudens sighed. "Well, all I can say is, better to be noticed than to die without any support from the crowd, eh?"

Valkyrie shook her head. "Well, it's just that, wouldn't this attract a little too much attention?"

Prudens nodded, a cloud passing over his eyes. "Ah, I see what you mean. Val, just focus on surviving. Everything else can come later, 'kay?"

Valkyrie nodded, although she herself didn't look too convinced. However, she didn't want to disappoint her new stylist, and her new friend. "Alright then, Prudens. Let the show begin."

Prudens smiled. "Show those boys what you've got, Val."

Valkyrie grinned, her grin cruel and cunning at the same time. "Oh, I will, Prudens. Trust me, I will."

The moment she stepped out, she could feel the sheer intensity of everyone's gazes upon her. The heat rose in her cheeks as she walked out into the crowd of tributes, glimpsing the god-awful looks the boys gave her and the murderous, killer looks the girls were shooting at her, but she tried not to let it show. Her chariot was at the front of the line, so she essentially had to parade herself through the whole crowd of tributes, unlike the pair from Twelve, who slipped into their places relatively unnoticed except by the boy from Eleven who was there to offer an alliance. They looked utterly devastated, their faces glum and sombre. Valkyrie remembered that earlier that year, Axel Millar, District Twelve's first ever Victor, had lost his battle to cancer. She had seen the guy a couple of times on TV, he was genuinely funny and would be sorely missed in a depressed District like Twelve. But now was no the time to mourn Axel's inevitable demise. On her way to the chariot, Valkyrie caught a glimpse of Marie Meredith, the Victor girl from Five, who was mind-bogglingly still a full two years younger than Valkyrie, was hurriedly giving some last-minute instructions to her tributes, although they were hardly listening, since the boy was too busy gawking at Valkyrie and the girl was too busy glaring at him. Marie sighed, and she looked up, only to catch sight of Prudens, who gave her an encouraging smile before she slipped off to head to her seat amongst the stands. Valkyrie approached her chariot but Seduire hadn't arrived yet so she made a couple of stops first. The Careers had stopped hosting pre-Games meetings since the Quell, after two consecutive years in which a fight broke out between Draco and a tribute that had led to Scipio intervening in a desperate attempt to restore peace, only to get himself injured on both occasions. Thus, this was her first time meeting her fellow Careers. The pair from District Four was up first. The girl was a strong volunteer, aged seventeen if Valkyrie was not mistaken, with a stern look but not a very pretty face. The boy, on the other hand, was seventeen, like her, but a handsome devil, although Valkyrie felt absolutely zero attraction towards him since he didn't look as though he had enough brains on him to fill an egg cup. He grinned at her in a ridiculous fashion, flexing his biceps in what was frankly a pretty laughable attempt to attract her attention as he winked flirtatiously at her, a wink Valkyrie knew she had to return to keep up her tricks, and she duly did so, an act that received nothing short of an exasperated eye roll from the girl, Ocean. Valkyrie approached the boy, making sure to walk as though she were a model, all the while maintaining a seductive smile and keeping eye contact with the boy, Muir. She swirled to his side, shoving his shoulder playfully. "Hey there, Muir," she drawled.

Muir's eyes flickered. "Well, hello there. You're the girl from District One, right?"

Ocean groaned. "Ugh, I'm not sticking around for this shit." With that, she whirled around and went over to the Twos to have a chat with them. That left Valkyrie alone with Muir. Perfect. Time to assert her control.

"So," she began, twirling her finger around Muir's chest. She could feel his heartbeat slamming wildly against his chest and had to resist the urge to roll her eyes. This dude was going to be her slave, and he didn't even realise it. "Strong, handsome guy with exceptional muscles, do you have any special girl back home?"

Muir opened his mouth, but then frowned and closed it again. Valkyrie smirked. "Oh, trust me, I'm much better than that loser back home." She pressed her hand against his chest and rubbed her foot against his. His eyes widened at the skin contact.

"Uhh, no, I don't have a girl back home," he stammered.

Valkyrie smiled, although she knew this was a blatant and obvious lie. "Good. I'll see you around, Muir," she said, giving him a kiss on the cheek. She could feel his hand moving towards her waist. Ew, that was gross, but just to play the act well, she moved his hand there, before pulling away and walking off, blowing him one last kiss as she did. She wished she could run away, slap Muir, punch his guts out. But she couldn't. "Just a week at most," Valkyrie whispered to herself. "Then you can go home and live in peace."

How wrong she was.

Next up was the boy from Two. Valkyrie knew right from the start that she absolutely had to charm him. He was by far the strongest tribute in terms of sheer muscle and body size, so he was no doubt one of her biggest threats going into the arena. The girls from Two and Four saw him approach and quickly retreated, grumbling about her being a 'show stealer' and a 'slut'. Valkyrie ignored their insults. They meant nothing when they were dead and she was wearing the Victors' Crown. She thought about her twin sister Lilja and her newborn baby brother Soldi, who was a cute little baby that frankly her parents cared nothing about. She had had to take care of him for the most part. Who else would do it? Lilja wanted to, but she was too impatient at times and wouldn't be a good caretaker at all. She was doing this for them. She was playing the 'slut' card to come home to them. Jason Forte, an eighteen-year-old powerhouse of a tribute, leaned against his chariot, wriggling his eyebrows as she walked towards him, swaying her hips as she did so. He whistled as she leaned against the chariot next to him, throwing her hair back and smiling widely. "Wow," he breathed, chuckling. "You are simply breathtaking, milady. Did it hurt when you fell from heaven?"

Valkyrie laughed, although deep inside she wanted to strangle the life out of him for telling such a stupid joke. She nudged his arm playfully. "Oh, you're so funny," she giggled.

Jason puffed his chest. "Oh, I know I am!" He froze, all of a sudden, not moving a muscle.

Valkyrie raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong, Jason boy?"

He blinked, then a smile spread across his face. "Oh sorry, I was just stunned by your beauty! Excuse me, can I have the time? I'd check the clock but I can't take my eyes off you!" He roared with laughter, and so did Valkyrie, who, by this point, wanted nothing more than to grab a pair of sais and butcher the hell out of Jason, who was stroking his hand down her hair in a way that almost made her flinch.

Just then, someone coughed from behind them. Whirling around, Valkyrie saw Haine, Jason's District partner, a strong, muscular girl from Two with a black pixie cut and startling green eyes. "It's time to go, blondie," she snapped, tapping her foot impatiently.

Valkyrie nodded and left, but not before giving Jason a lingering kiss on the lips whilst caressing his chest sweetly. She blew him a kiss as she walked towards her chariot, where Seduire was already waiting for her with Prudens and Seduire's stylist, Lori. "I'm sure we'll spend more time together soon!" she crooned, giving Jason one last flirty wink.

As she neared the chariot, she could already see that Seduire was green with envy, but he remained silent. Lori, on the other hand, was chuckling as she nonchalantly munched on an apple. She had been promoted to District One after Miller's Games from District Three, having been Wiress's stylist when she won her Games. Valkyrie had never mentioned it, but she had great respect for Wiress. She had never been a flashy tribute like her, but she won with wires and electric traps, all whilst being in a horrific mental state. All those kills she had, they weren't to be laughed at. She deserved her victory, hands down, unlike what Demantur said. He had never liked Wiress and would constantly go on and on about how she didn't deserve to win. He was wrong, though, and even a snooty girl like Jolie, for instance, told him to shut up and let it go. "Nice work, kiddo," she told Valkyrie, smiling with an air of mystery around her. It took a while for Valkyrie to realise that she knew what her plan was. When Seduire looked away, she held up her finger to her lips, and Lori nodded understandingly. Seduire, Jason, Muir, or any of the other tributes couldn't know, lest her cover be blown and her death be inevitable.

Seduire turned back to face them. "So, Val," he began. "Do I get a kiss from a hot girl too?"

Valkyrie smiled, trying to mask her disgust, and leaned in and pressed her lips against Seduire's. Seduire grabbed her hand and moved it towards, oh gosh no. She tried her best not to break away and scream as he forced her to touch his rear end. She just wanted these three perverts from hell to die, for goodness sake! Luckily, Prudens spared her a long, uncomfortable make-out session, and tapped Seduire's shoulder, forcing him to pull away. "The show's about to start!" he exclaimed, clapping his hands eagerly.

And what a show it was bound to be.

Interview time now. Valkyrie would surely have to talk about her score of ten, which was more than Seduire or Ocean or Muir's scores, and on par with Haine's and Jason's, not bad for a girl with all the charm in the world. But she had something else on her agenda. She knew that Caesar was married to Iris Fisher, but what if, she could stun him and ignite a little bit of jealousy into that woman from Four, gaining a little more popularity amongst the crowds? It would be a tough, daunting task, but she knew she could pull it off if she tried. She stood in her room, blindfolded as Prudens 'didn't want to spoil the surprise for her'. The cloth whipped and whirled around her in a dizzy blur, and she could feel the dress slowly being put on her. Prudens was a brilliant stylist, and he had a lovely chat with her throughout the whole process, so she wasn't fussed or worried about her dress. She had complete faith in him as he worked, the prep team, comprising of three giggling women who apparently came from rich families with bucketloads of cash to flaunt, dancing around her, encircling her and helping him out. At one point, Marie entered and asked Prudens for a new stylus, since she claimed that Willuna Amora, the escort from District Four, had accidentally broken it. He had given the new one to her without a hitch, although Valkyrie was a little suspicious that she might have lied just to get a free, new stylus. Oh well, that wasn't her problem, was it? Prudens finally allowed her to lift the blindfold and see herself in the mirror. She did so with an air of confidence, more than eager to discover what new surprise Prudens had given her.

He didn't disappoint.

The dress was a beautiful white gown, with a curved v-neck and a red rose pinned on it. The dress fell to her knees, upon which it spiralled downwards such that when she moved, the dress appeared to be flowing around her. There was a slit that went up to her thigh, slightly higher than the one on the dress she wore in her Parade, and the whole dress was translucent, giving the audience a teeny tiny glimpse of what lay underneath. She was sexy and provocative all the way. A smirk spread across Valkyrie's face. "I love it, Prudens. It's going to be my show, just you wait and see!"

And what a show it was.

By the end of her interview, Valkyria got up and grinned broadly as the audience gave her a rousing applause, getting on their feet and cheering her name at the top of her lungs. Caesar looked more than a little flustered as he averted his gaze away from her, only to lock eyes with a fuming Iris Fisher. Valkyrie nearly burst out laughing after seeing her reaction. It was a rare sight, seeing Iris getting mad, so Valkyrie had every right to feel proud of her achievement. She had kissed Caesar and practically spent the whole interview teasing him. Yes, the age difference was sickening to even think about, but those shallow Capitolians would lap up the news like dogs, that was for sure. Prudens, who was sitting beside a rather bored-looking Marie, was clapping and cheering along with the crowd as Lori sat beside him, still munching on an apple, but nonetheless giving her a thumbs-up. How had she even gotten that apple in here in the first place? As far as Valkyrie was concerned, food was not allowed to be brought into this hall, but she guessed that Lori had found a way around that rule. As she walked off the stage, she lifted her dress a little, just for the extra effect.

Ten seconds left on the clock. It was game time, and Valkyrie couldn't be more prepared for this moment. She focused ahead, narrowing her eyes as she eyed a pair of sais right in the heart of the Cornucopia. She was wearing a red jacket over a red tank top with the number '1' blazed proudly (and frankly a little weirdly) on its back. The tank top was a little too large for Valkyrie, but that had been the case upon her own request. She promptly removed her jacket, revealing her tank top and smiled at the boys around her, all of whom began to quiver a little. It was gross, the things she was doing. But she had to remember, she was doing this to win. To come back home to Soldi and Lilja and Crystal. Her pants were tight-fitting maroon ones and her shoes were crimson sports shoes, not a bad attire for the Hunger Games. This year, the arena was a beautifully enchanting autumn forest bathed in orange-golden sunlight, with leaf-blanketed rivers lazily intertwining around the trees. A string of brightly-coloured canoes dotted these rivers, as well as gorgeous white swans that floated along the river, seemingly relaxing in the charming landscape. A swan, in particular, was on the banks of a river, feasting happily on a fish. Good. That meant that there was food in the arena, just in case the swans themselves were dangerous. Throughout the forest, meadows, clearings and glades could be seen, with red and white chequered picnic mats and occasionally a bench or two. The clouds above were puffy and white, and Valkyrie noticed that almost all of them were in the shape of a heart. The sky was a lovely shade of pink blended with a couple of touches of purple and red. It was a romantic arena, and Valkyrie could feel the love radiating in the air. But what she didn't know was that love was literally radiating in the air. Because it was pumped to the brim with pheromones. The tributes began to look at one another in a different, infatuated way. Valkyrie initially felt it too, as she gazed a little dreamily at Jason and Seduire, but she shook her head almost instantly, snapping right out of this deadly trance. She had to focus! Three seconds left on the clock. She braced herself, ready to lunge in and fight, ready to kill. The gong rang and it was game on.

Valkyrie burst forward, having tied her jacket around her waist, just to make sure some sneaky tribute didn't take it and use it to their advantage. She ran as fast as she could, ignoring the cries and screams of the girl from Nine as the sound of metal ripping through flesh could be heard not too far away. The pair of sais was tantalisingly close now. Glancing sideways for a while, she could see that the boy from Seven was rushing to get a sleeping bag not too far away. He would be her first target, Valkyrie decided. Grabbing the sais, she swirled around and thrust one of the sais into the boy's chest. He let out a choked gasp as he fell to the ground, breathing his final breath just as his head hit against a hard piece of rock jutting out of the Cornucopia clearing. Valkyrie didn't even spare him a second look. He had to die, it was inevitable, so why should she even care about him? Looking around, she saw that Ocean was trying to wrestle the boy from Twelve to the ground, but the dark-haired merchant boy was giving it all he got, desperately punching and kicking the Career girl from Four with every single ounce of strength he had. Valkyrie considered helping her, after all, she was her ally, but then she thought again and realised that Ocean, being a heterosexual female, was probably an obstacle standing in Valkyrie's way, so she was better off leaving her to end for herself. Instead, she went for the trembling girl from Three, who was rushing for a backpack, blood streaming from her shoulder. The girl yelped when she saw Valkyrie coming and tried to make a run for it but Valkyrie was a trained Career who had worked on improving her speed ever since she was a teeny tiny toddler. She charged forward and slashed her sais, slicing through the girl's throat. She was dead even before she hit the ground. A scream rang out from her left and Valkyrie turned to see the boy from Twelve, Steamer, strangling Ocean. Her body limply crumbled to the ground and that was when Valkyrie knew she could make a run for the miner boy. And she did, but Steamer was surprisingly fast, bolting away and disappearing into the trees in the blink of an eye. Groaning, she looked around for more kills, but there were no other tributes nearby for her to stab. Her fellow Careers stood around the Cornucopia, blatantly ignoring Ocean's dead corpse as they began to collect supplies. Valkyrie counted the dead bodies. Including Ocean, a pathetically low number of eight tributes had died in the Bloodbath, and Haine was gritting her teeth in pain as Jason tried to stop the bleeding in her knee. Valkyrie jogged over. "What happened, sweetie?" she crooned, batting her eyelashes at Jason, who gave her a silly grin.

Haine groaned. "Oh, give me a break!"

Jason ignored her. "Oh, nothing. Just that boy from Five-"

"Eleven!" Haine corrected furiously. "And it was the girl!"

"Yeah, she slashed her knee," Jason continued.

Valkyrie sighed. "Oh, Haine, you should've been more careful!" She put her arm around Jason's neck and gave him a peck on the cheek. "After all, you shouldn't be relying on Prince Charming over here to save the day!" She hated that line so damn much, but she had forced it out anyway.

Jason grinned and saluted her. In the distance, Seduire stared at him, green with envy. He ripped off his shirt, showcasing his rather impressive, if not bloody useless, set of abs. "I can be charming too, you know."

Valkyrie giggled and jogged over. She caressed his abs gently and nodded in agreement. "Yes, very good!" This time, not even Haine could stop herself from staring. After all, the pheromones were kicking in.

Valkyrie hesitated. She didn't want to do it, but she knew that walking around without much of a sense of direction wouldn't work well for the Career pack. Time and time again, this tactic had been thwarted by Gamemaker traps and more often than not, witty Outliers. There had been Kimi and his racing car, Mags and her basket, the vulture mutts from Blight's Games, Porter and her lion mutts, Orchid and her poisonous apples. It just wasn't a very smart tactic. But what she was about to attempt was just plain ridiculous. And it would be absolutely humiliating, Yet, if the note she had received from Crystal was true, it would be more than effective. It was the third day of the Games, and they were camped near a gushing waterfall that sent water tumbling into a crystal-clear pool. A lovely mist blanketed the waterfall and birds could be heard singing in the trees that surrounded it. It was bathed in a particularly bright light as if it were a stage and the Sun was a bright spotlight. Last night, Crystal had sponsored her a cookie, which was an odd gift, but it was clearly just sent so Crystal could give her a note.

Pheromones.

One word, one very powerful truth about the arena. Valkyrie finally knew why she couldn't really help but feel maybe the slightest bit of attraction towards Jason, or why those three Career boys were literally acting as though they were her slaves. They were so infatuated, so crazed by her beauty, due to the pheromones. And Valkyrie then realised something else.

She could weaponise her beauty.

Plucking up the courage and talking multiple deep breaths, at long last, she revealed her plan to her allies. The three boys looked more than delighted while Haine just seemed bemused, but not even she could argue against it. Taking one last deep breath, Valkyrie set her plan into motion. She slipped out of all of her clothes and stepped into the pool. Instantly, she could feel the heat rushing through her cheeks, the sheer embarrassment tumbling over her like a waterfall. She could see the Career boys gasping, their eyes wide in excitement. Ugh, this was a stupid idea and she knew it too. Nonetheless, she began to bathe in the pool, scrubbing off the dirt in her body. She didn't really care much about getting dirty, but as a noble girl, it felt somewhat good to be clean. She took a deep breath and went underneath the water, before emerging and washing off the dirt in her hair. Just then, she heard a twig snap. A million alarm bell began to ring inside her but she forced herself to act as clueless as possible. Now, she had to count on the Careers to help her. if they suddenly decided tonlet her die or were too distracted by her, it was game over. She rose above the pool and slowly made her way to the edge, before stopping and continuing to bathe, but this time her 'show' was even more revealing. She heard a gasp, but it wasn't from any of the Career boy trio. Not a moment later, she could hear the all too familiar sound of an arrow flying through the air and that same person let out a choked gasp. The cannon boomed and Valkyrie instantly whirled around, only to see the boy from Three lying on the ground, an arrow in his chest. Quickly, she ran for the forest and put on her clothes. Her mission was done, there was no way she was letting the nation gawk at her for any longer!

By the fifth day, there were only thirteen tributes left. Valkyrie didn't know it, but the young duo from District Ten had gone on what initially appeared to be a sweet, harmless, romantic canoe ride amongst the lazy swans, only for the swans to go berserk and rip their heads off in a heartbeat. The Career pack, meanwhile, were quietly swooping through the forest, combing it for tributes. Valkyrie's tank top was slightly torn, but it was somewhat intentional. After all, her biggest weapon was charm and she had to utilise it as much as possible. "Maybe you should strip again," Muir suggested, his eyes shining as he did so. "Attract more kiddos to come on over, ya know?"

Haine smacked him in the shoulder. "Quit it," she barked.

Valkyrie, on the other hand, took off her shirt and strutted right forward, trying her best to block out the gasps from those primordial ogres right behind her. She was going all out to win, and with the pheromones in the air, she knew that it would be hard to resist her, as much as she hated that fact. Sure enough, she heard a faint gasp and a rustle in the bushes a couple of paces to her left. Not even taking a moment to hesitate, she whipped out her sais and stabbed at the bush. A boy screamed, and blood oozed out of the bush. Valkyrie didn't care, she just kept on stabbing. She had to get home and fast. After all, who the heck was going to take care of Soldi, the servants? She didn't exactly put much faith in them. Lilja? As she had already established, she wasn't much of a babysitter. Her parents? Out of the question. It was up to her to come home for her little baby brother, and stabbing this meek, defenceless boy was only a step forward in the right direction. The cannon boomed and Valkyrie withdrew her sais, letting the bloodied, torn-up body of the boy from Five drop limply out of the bushes. "One more down, eleven to go!" she murmured, putting on her shirt once more as behind her, Seduire wolf-whistled.

Day seven, and the tribute count was down to nine after the girl from Six was killed by the increasingly violent swans, the boy from Eleven was ambushed and stabbed by the boy from Twelve, and the boy from Nine was seduced and poisoned by the girl from Eight. The Careers were once again on the move, hunting for tributes. The night before, Valkyrie had made out with all three Career boys during their respective guard shifts, a tactic she was sure would be the final nail in their coffins. Valkyrie herself was relatively unaffected by the pheromones thanks to some drugs Crystal had sponsored her. Haine, on the other hand, was starting to get really infatuated with Jason and constantly snuggled up beside him, something the strong Career boy didn't seem to mind at all. However, while he did cuddle up with his District partner, his eyes, and his heart, were always set on Valkyrie. This became evident soon when the tracker jackers came.

Valkyrie herself wasn't quite sure how it happened, but at noon, Haine was stretching her arms, sword in hand, when all of a sudden, the tip of her sword pierced a tracker jacker nest, well-concealed amongst the trees. Valkyrie had heard the buzzing first and didn't take any chances. She ran for her life! "RUN!" she screamed, her voice bellowing out, a command that simply refused to be disobeyed. Her feet flew across the forest as all around her, the tracker jackers began to charge at her. One flew dangerously close to her face but she managed to swat it away with her sais, luckily without cutting herself in the process. Turning around, she saw that Haine was on the ground, screaming frantically as she desperately tried to swat away the tracker jackers as they flew at her, relentlessly stinging her like there was no tomorrow. Jason was closest to her, and he appeared to be slowing down, considering lending her a helping hand. "Please!" Haine begged, tears flooding her eyes as more and more tracker jackers stung her. "Help me!"

"No!" Valkyrie ordered. "Leave her!" Jason gazed at her with a look of uncertainty, the tracker jackers slowly beginning to sting him too as he tried to swat them away. Valkyrie gave him the cutest look she could muster, and Jason gave in, making a run for it.

"VALKYRIE MONTGOMERY, YOU BLOODY BASTARD!" Haine screamed, before her voice was drowned out by the loud, vicious buzzing of the tracker jackers. Her cannon didn't take long to fire, but by then, Valkyrie had jumped into a river, along with the three other boys. She was unscathed, but the same could not be said for the other three boys. Muir only had a single sting, which hurt, but it was nothing. Seduire ad four stings and was slowly blacking out. Jason was the worst-off, with ten stings, and he had passed out in Valkyrie's arms as they hid in the river, waiting for the tracker jackers to go away, which they did rather quickly, thankfully. The four of them emerged on the other side of the river, panting and breathing heavily, but alive nonetheless. Valkyrie dug into her backpack and pulled out some leaves she knew to be medicinal, before applying them on Jason and Seduire's wounds. The boys groaned in pain, but didn't object. Jason was bleeding out, but they didn't have a bandage, nor did they have enough leaves to cover him up. Valkyrie sighed, knowing what needed to be done. She took off her shirt and used it to stop his bleeding. Beside her, Muir chuckled softly, but he refused to comment. Good for him, because if he had, Valkyrie wasn't sure she could resist the burning temptation to kill him right on the spot and wipe that cheeky smirk off of his face.

It was just a canoe ride, nothing more, nothing less. Or so it seemed. Day nine now, and apparently, the tracker jackers had killed off the boy from Five while the girl from Eight had been infatuated towards Steamer, allowing him to cuddle up right next to her and slit her throat. Valkyrie had suggested that they all take a leisurely, romantic canoe ride down a lazy river, one without any swans, just to pass the time before tomorrow, when they would go off in hot pursuit of the girl from Eleven, Calendula, and of course, good old Steamer, who Valkyrie couldn't believe was still alive. Damn, he was stronger than she could have ever possibly imagined. Maybe Haymitch had given him some special tips? Either way, in her mind, Valkyrie knew the male trio from the Career Districts would not be alive for those battles. She sat down in her canoe as the boys began to row. It was a quiet, lazy afternoon, and the sound of water rushing as the boys paddled the oars was the only sound they could hear. A ray of golden sunshine soaked their canoe, causing it to almost glow like a heavenly boat on its way to the afterlife. Valkyrie crossed her legs and gave the boys a seductive (again, to reiterate, she really did not know how to smile seductively, but hey, she had to try at least) smile. "So boys, I was wondering, which of you is the best kisser?"

Jason puffed his chest, almost shoving Seduire out of the boat. "Of course it has to be me. After all, you said so."

Seduire frowned, regaining his posture on the boat and glaring at Jason. "What do you mean?"

"Hate to tell ya'll this," Jason said. "But I got this one. She and I had a good time a few nights ago."

Muir hissed at him. "No, I was the one who snogged her! She said I was the best kisser!"

Seduire scowled. "Listen up, idiots, she's from District One, so she's mine. Back off, bitches!"

As the boys argued, Valkyrie couldn't help but smile. These stupid boys completely glossed over the fact that she had even made out with all three of them. It was funny how she wasn't to blame at all. And then the fighting got intense. Jason grabbed Seduire and shoved him off the boat, before grabbing an arrow and plunging it into his heart. Muir yelped, having left his knife on the shore, and he instinctively held Jason's wrist, preventing him from striking him too. Both boys kicked, screamed, wrestled, grappled, snarled, hissed, trying to gain an upper hand.

Which was when Valkyrie came in. She stood on the rocking canoe and did a roundhouse kick, knocking out Muir. Grabbing her sais, which she had hidden down her shirt thanks to a handy pocket she had managed to sown in on it at night, she stabbed Muir and his cannon boomed right after. She then went on and sliced off Jason's leg. Jason shrieked, but it was too late. Valkyrie lunged at him, grabbing his neck and bringing both of them into the water. She held him under the water as he squirmed and screamed underwater, but he had no left leg and was in great pain. Valkyrie smirked. "I'm not just a pretty little doll you know?" she crooned as Jason made one last desperate struggle before his body went still and his cannon boomed.

Day eleven, and after a long, hard-fought battle, Steamer managed to take out a brave Calendula to set up a finale with Valkyrie. But Valkyrie wasn't fussed. In fact, when Steamer met her in a glade bathed in a golden flash of sunlight, he dropped his sword when he saw her standing there, completely naked. Big mistake. She lunged at him, and took advantage of his momentary stun to stick both sais into his chest. He let out a choked gasp, blood oozing out his chest. A smile spread across Valkyrie's face, a genuine one, quite unlike the sexy smiles the Capitol was more than used to. "Bye, bitches."

She had won this game.

But never in a million years could she even hope of preparing for the game the VPR was going to play.

Katniss and Peeta held a minute of silence for the young seductress, the sly girl who had weaponised her beauty and her charm to win, ultimately leading to her enslavement in the VPR. "She was a terrifying girl," Katniss murmured. "Her tactics were simply disgusting. She hit on Caesar, for goodness sake! Ew, that's so gross!"

Peeta sighed. "Oh well, arguing isn't gonna do us any good."

"Yeah," Katniss agreed.

The pair swiftly moved on to the next Victor. Peeta flipped the page, revealing the photo of a strong, dashing young man with a mop of blonde hair and hardened brown eyes. He stared boldly ahead, his figure tall and imposing, towering menacingly over the crowd beneath him. His arms were huge and muscular, a testament to his sheer strength. But the most quirky thing was the small wooden carving of an orangutan in his palm, an odd way to complete his otherwise terrifying look. "Evan Fortis."

VICTORS

District 1-Sapphire Huntington(4), Onyx Hibonite(9), Franc Montgomery(14), Crystal Montgomery(21), Sterling Jones(25), Luxe Carmichael(36), Geneva Cooper(37), Cartier Cooper(44), Valkyrie Montgomery(54)

District 2-Ragnar Sveinsson(5), Reyna Boudicca(6), Draco Hadley(10), Scipio MacAllister(17), Freya Carson(22), Hercules Nichols(28), Julia Dawson(39), Brutus Gunn(42), Lyme Sveinsson(45)

District 3-Nikola Johnson(13), Gadget Schroeder(24), Beetee Latier(40), Wiress Jansen(47)

District 4-Marina Bluebell(1), Mags Flanagan(11), Jolien Fisher(31), Timmy Fisher(32), Iris Fisher(33), Rafael Fisher(34), Coral Thiller(41)

District 5-Shocker Crimson(8), Switch Kim(19), Flash Morrison(27), Porter Tripp(38), Marie Meredith(52)

District 6-Ford Hamilton(20), Kimi Bentley(51)

District 7-Hassan Greenwood(2), Jill Wilson(15), Olive Sanchez(26), Birch Davison(35), Blight Gavin(53)

District 8-Woof Casino(16), Calico Pepper(48)

District 9-Gwendolyn Whitfield(18), Laurel Flamsteel(29), Miller Thompson(49)

District 10-Ringo Alvarez(7), John Gatwick(23), Mare Trybull(43)

District 11-Orchid Bloom(12), Seeder Crue(30), Chaff Mitchell(46)

District 12-Axel Millar(3), Haymitch Abernathy(50)

Victors that are underlined are deceased.

A/N: So there we have it! District One are back and once again, thank you so much to peachiebumblebee for the arena and for the idea of a seductress! Hope I did her justice aha. So, the drama wit Discord is over and I'm back! Do join the server if you can and check out Cartier's too, the link is in his profile. Sorry if some peeps couldn't see Blight's chapter, yeah, FFN was a tad wonky over the past few days but I think it's up and running now so hope you enjoyed this and don't forget to drop in a review if you did and once again, I will see you next time for Evan! Cheers:)