They used to call me Bloody Mary, did you know? I used to be special once. When I got out of the arena, when I was covered in blood and dirt and rage, you know?
This was way back in the late thirties, of course, before Everdeen's time, before Haymitch's time, even. Before me, the only really interesting Victors were Beetee Latier, who won the year before I did, Marcellus Spiteri from 2, and sweet little Bobbie Boags from 8 – the rest were mostly your run of the mill, batshit insane, alcoholic cry-babies. But we four stood out – for a while we were hard to forget.
Old Marcellus used to say to me, "Rosemary, any man should rue the day they met you," and he was right. I killed nine people in the arena, and a tenth when I got back to 5 – and I can tell you for certain that old dumb Silas for sure regretted ever crossing me. For a moment, anyway, before I tore his throat out, of course. This was way back when I still had power over those fools in my District, way back when I was moderately influential in the Capitol – they called me Bloody Mary, you know, because when they got me out of the arena I was covered in the blood of the boy from District 1. Old Garnet couldn't look at me after that – not that I minded. He was unusually ugly for someone from 1.
I used to be really fit, you know. My old Pa taught me how to dance when I was young, before I was Reaped. I added a sword to that in training and I was good to go, not that they knew it, of course. I took down two at the Bloodbath – one of them was a Career. They didn't see it coming, I can tell you that for sure. The others followed, slowly but surely – I was magnificent. I hunted them down like I was a shark and they were silly little fishies, and I got em' one by one – they shouldn't have underestimated me, that's for sure.
That bitch from 7, Johanna Mason, she stole my strategy, she did. Changed it a bit, of course, she acted like she was completely useless – no subtlety with that girl, not a bit. Me, on the other hand, I was smooth, I was believable. That's why they were all so shocked when those heads went flying through the air at the Cornucopia – that was me, you know. Two swipes of my sword, two Cannons, easy as pie. The boy from 4 had been so cocky at training, but he wasn't so cocky anymore. The poor little girl from 9 just got in the way, but that was her fault, of course.
I have my sword with me now, but I'm not as fit as I used to be. I didn't think I'd ever be put back in the arena, you see, so I didn't bother practicing. Not that it would do me much good now, anyway – I don't think my sword will help me kill this big wave, you see, I know water well enough to know that nothing will kill it.
I was going to do what I had done back in the thirties, that is, pick em' all off before they knew what had hit em'. I was going to get that bitch from 7 first – you know, a couple of years ago she had the audacity to call me "a washed out piece of shit who wouldn't know a survival tactic if it hit her in the face". I didn't say anything then, of course, I was biding my time. It's not as though she can talk, though, last year both of her tributes died not twenty minutes in; but my girl, my Finch, well, she made it to the last eight. She was doing well, too, until that stupid little baker's boy got her with the berries.
Although, part of that was my Finch's fault. I told her, you know, I told her "don't you let your guard down for a second, it could kill you" and she nodded, of course she did, I know my stuff. You know, back in 5 they said it was suicide. She was so smart – she never forgot anything, ever. Never! I suppose it could have been suicide. She would have known, my Finch, she would have known that Cato boy would have torn her apart.
But none of that matters now. Did you know that water sounds like a mutt when there's a lot of it? Because it does, it roars and it screams, it says 'I'm gonna kill you, hey you, I'm gonna kill you' and then it does. It pulls you under and slams you around, and you never ever see the sun again.
I lost my sword a while ago, not that it would have done me much good to hold onto it.
They used to call me Bloody Mary, did you know?
I lost my breath a while before I lost my sword. I took swimming lessons after the sixties – it was big in the Capitol, you know, swimming was, after the Odair boy won. Even more so after the crazy little Cresta girl – everyone was learning how to swim after her. I laughed at them, you know – when would a Capitolite ever need to swim? Although, I suppose at the time I didn't really need to know either. I never thought I'd be kicked back into the arena.
But here we are. You know how I said before, that the water takes you and you never ever see the sun again? Well, I was wrong about that, really wrong, because now it's all I can see, big and bright in front of my eyes, right in the centre of my vision, you know. It's funny, though, because my eyes are closed – who knows what's in this water? I don't want to get dirt in my eyes, you know.
They used to call me Bloody Mary, did you know? Right after I became a Victor. Those same people are probably watching me right now.
I can't remember what it's like to breathe. Someone I knew once thought that drowning would be a peaceful way to go, did you know? It's not. There is a burning in my chest that won't go away. It feels like it's been there forever, but it hasn't been that long, I don't think – the arena's a clock, did you know? I picked the wrong time, I think, right place, wrong time.
I'm going to die soon, did you know? I've been under this water for a while now, too long. I have kicked it and punched it and screamed at it but it hasn't done me much good, not that I thought it would, but I had to do something, you know?
They used to call me Bloody Mary, did you know? But now all the blood has been washed away and I'm just plain old boring little Mary.
Did you know?
I originally was going to write this in third person, but it wasn't working. But then I switched and suddenly I had 1000 words and was like damn. I've been working on this for a couple of weeks, but it just wasn't working. I hope you like it.
Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed, followed, and favourited, it means a lot and I hope you stick around.
Have a good day/night!
