A girl would never be able to do the things men could do.
Something Merlot had heard constantly throughout her life. From her nagging father and meek mouse of a mother, this had been the natural order presented to her. Her father speaks, her mother listens. He orders, she abides. It was just how things worked in the Barclay home. It was normal.
And Merlot absolutely despised normal. Perhaps that was the reason she'd volunteered.
Thinking back on it, she couldn't really place what had forced the decision. And honestly, she didn't really care. The looks on the faces of District One as she'd stepped up. The imbecilic expression of rage on her father's face as his daughter defied his oh so meticulously crafted future plans for her. The marriage. The grandchildren.
No, Merlot wanted none of that. What she wanted was freedom. Admiration. The power to choose for herself. Seeing an out, she chose to take her final chance at glory into her own hands and away from the grasp of her father.
The best part? He could do nothing but shout in angry futility as the peacekeepers barred his entrance from the recently established Justice Building. As Merlot stepped onto the train, she found an odd comfort in the fact that, one way or another, this would be the last time she was ever forced to deal with her father.
Even during the games, she was doubted. Her proficiency with blades and her training score of 10 disregarded entirely, solely because a girl had yet to win the games. It was then that the blonde from One began to realize just how real her shot of victory was becoming.
She'd effortlessly charmed her way through the preliminary phases. The long days of training. Catching the males from Two and Four quietly gossiping about her and tossing a wink and a kiss their way, leaving them to argue about who it had been for. Her own partner, perhaps the only man within the entire arena who could even begin to understand how dangerous she was.
The interviews. Oh, the interviews. Merlot had shined there, as she remembered. A wink and a coy little laugh. An inside joke that each member of the audience believed only they were privy to. Just like that, she had the entire Capitol wrapped around her finger. It had been quite simple, really. They had yet to have someone with her graces in their presence. Only two or three competent tributes from her district had arisen in the games, and yet none were quite so elegant as her.
As she soon found out, the tributes in the arena had a similar take on the games as her parents had on her whole entire life. She'd managed to slot herself into the alliance between the group from Four and Two by the combined factors of her combined score from the training session - a 10, tied for the highest among all tributes- and a bit of flirting with the 2 male and his friend from the fisher district. It was clear from the beginning that the two automatically assumed they would be in charge of the little group. Final say on all games matters was deferred to them, leaving the three women in the group to follow along. Any resistance was met with jeering threats and barbed words. A woman had yet to win these games, so who were they to question the men in the group?
As it turns out, this line of thinking would be exactly why it was Merlot who stepped out of the arena. As the boys squabbled for the leadership, Merlot was the one tying the group together. Diplomacy. Compromise. She kept things from getting too heated, creating what was a very early and very effective model of the future career packs.
The group swept through the competition, losing just two members along the way. District 7 took out the girl from Two before being cut down themselves, and a surprisingly capable male from 9 managed to lop off the head of the fisher boy before being gutted by the polearm of his victim's partner.
And by the end, it was just Merlot and the man from Two. He'd laughed upon seeing his final opponent, she recalled. The pretty little thing from One, only good for keeping the peace and looking good. His 10 in training - the only score to match that of Merlot - showed how dangerous he could be.
As Merlot stared into the champagne in her glass, swilling the bubbling liquid around, the memory of the fight replayed in her mind. That boy - Slater - had been dangerous. Dangerous and entirely overconfident. Despite his boasting and considerable strength and talent, he met his undoing in the fact that he refused to view Merlot as a real opponent. Someone who could challenge him. He swung at her lazily, expecting a scream or a cry for mercy. Instead, he'd lost his hand and soon after that his life.
The girl from One had proven that she was so much more than just a pretty face. Every time she entered the mentoring hall, coy smile playing across her faces, each and every victor preceding her was reminded of that fact.
And for all future female tributes who were considered serious contenders. For all who were given strong roles in the strongest alliances of the games, each of them had Merlot Barclay to thank for this.
