The Unexpected Tribute

Chapter Ten

by Technomad

From the memoirs of Peeta Mellark

After the interviews, the rest of the Mentors and I got together. It was still a couple of days before the Games began, and we wanted to keep people stirred up. The shouts to "Stop the Games!" had no precedent, and we thought that if we poured more coal on the fire, we might be able to force President Snow to cancel the Games. They said they'd circulate, and do what they could to keep people fired up about the iniquity and horror of this particular Game…and the Hunger Games in general.

The other Mentors knew the Capitol far better than I did; I'd never been let out of the building where the Tributes are kept during my previous stay there. Even so, I got out onto the street, with one of the District 5 Mentors, Edison Smith. He'd kindly offered to show me around the town. "I've been coming here for years! And please, Peeta…call me Eddie!"

I'd been kind of nervous, but in our Capitol-made clothes, we didn't stand out, and most people paid no attention to us. Of course, we were both wearing broad-brimmed hats, pulled low over our faces. That was the latest Capitol style, and down inside, I blessed whichever style-setter had come up with it. Between the hats and the fact that it was after dark, we were unrecognizable.

I looked around me. The Capitol's buildings were in a style I had never seen anywhere else, even on my tour of the Districts after our victory in the previous Games. They towered into the sky, seeming to claw at the very heavens. Unlike the Districts, they were all brightly lit up. Eddie smiled at my wonder. "It's like a whole 'nother world, isn't it, Peeta?" he asked, his voice low. "We in District 5 provide a lot of the electricity that keeps this place lit up!"

"I suppose you're well-lit, too?" I muttered.

"Fat chance of that! No more than you in District 12 get to keep warm with the coal you claw out of the earth!" Eddie shook his head. "I saw all the Districts in my Victory Tour, just like you did, and I have to say that District 12 was the one District I'd least want to live in." He saw the expression that passed over my face. "No offense meant!"

"None taken, Eddie," I answered. "We're probably the poorest District, and our way of making a living…it's not for everybody."

"I know!" Eddie shuddered. "I'm not short of courage, but the thought of going down those mines gives me the heebie-jeebies!"

All around us, the life of the Capitol went on. Brilliantly lit signs offered merchandise that no one in any of the Districts had ever seen, unless they happened to be making them for their masters. Everything I saw spoke of luxury, contentment and comfort.

For a second, I contemplated ditching my companion and just escaping into the darkness. But then I thought of what would happen to Haymitch and Katniss, and quelled that thought. If I tried to get away, the monsters that ran Panem were quite well capable of taking it out on my companions, even though they were completely innocent.

Not to mention Effie. Much to my own surprise, I'd become quite fond of her. She was doing what she had to do to protect her children. Just like Katniss. Just like Haymitch. Just like me. While I don't always like my mother, she has reasons for being so irascible that most of District 12 doesn't know about, and I knew that Snow would have no problem whatsoever having her, and my father, killed. It'd probably trouble him more to swat a bothersome fly than to have District citizens killed.

Eddie and I wandered around the streets, looking into the lit-up shop windows. Even though the hour was late, there were quite a few people around, shopping, eating in fanciful restaurants, going to shows, or just milling about. Music played over loudspeakers, and the colorful lights were very festive.

I noticed that the Capitol citizens didn't seem to be very happy. The ones whose faces I could see looked very serious, and I didn't see a single one of them smiling. "Is this usual for the Capitol, Eddie?" I asked, keeping my voice low so that nobody could overhear us. What with the background noises, the chances of being overheard were small, but I didn't want to be overheard. Or, worse, recognized. If we were recognized, there would be an almighty uproar, and I didn't want that.

"No," Eddie murmured back. "I've been coming here for ten years, and the mood after the Tribute interviews has always been upbeat. You'd find a lot of people swarming around the bookies' offices to lay down bets." He nodded toward a store front with the name "Gracchi Brothers, Bookmakers" over it. A few people were inside, but there was no crowd. The people behind the counter looked rather bewildered to me.

I indicated a store near us that was emitting heavenly odors. Over the door, the name "Constantius Jones, Fine Pastries." told us what was inside. "Let's go on in there. I want to see what they make here, and maybe pick up a few recipes."

"Good idea!" Eddie grinned at me. "I haven't eaten since this morning, and I'm about to cave in!"

When we went in, there were other customers, mostly sitting at tables, but there were a few up at the counter, ordering. I looked up at the menu display, and my eyes went wide. "I don't even recognize a lot of these!"

"Here. Let me order for both of us. You grab us a table." Eddie's idea made sense, and I went over to claim a table off in a corner where we could be inconspicuous. After a while, Eddie came back, with a tray of wonderful-smelling pastries, two drinks…and the proprietor himself. I raised an eyebrow as Eddie sat down, inviting the proprietor to join us.

"So, you're the baker's boy who won the last Games?" asked the proprietor. He stuck out his hand for a shake. "Pleased to meet you! I'm Constantius Jones. I figure you're here to compare notes?"

"Busted," I said. "Just keep it down, okay? The last thing I want is for everybody here to know that Eddie and I are old Hunger Games victors. We're out on the town. Did you see the Tribute interviews?"

"I did," Constantius said. He looked very sad. "I've got to say, I had to agree with Miss Mason. This stunt of dragging Victors back into the Arena…I never thought I'd live to see the day!" He shook his head.

"Neither did we," Eddie said. "I've got to say, when I saw the announcement, I didn't believe my ears at first. I'd always trusted the Capitol to keep its promises." He looked down at the table. "Guess that shows how wrong I was, doesn't it?"

"Listen! Not all of us are wild about this ourselves!" Constantius' voice was low and urgent. "Ever since they announced that, I've been hearing people saying that the Games have finally gone too far! It's not enough that children as young as twelve are eligible for Reaping…" he gave me a look… "but now the rules that were in place for a long time have been changed!"

"Precisely!" Eddie leaned forward, his expression intense. "If they can betray us, what's to prevent them from betraying you Capitol citizens too? What's to prevent them from Reaping your children next, if they think that'll make a better show?"

Constantius looked sick. "I have children of my own! If they tried that…" He then looked around fearfully. "I'd best not say anything more! I don't want to be an Avox!"

Eddie and I both smiled sourly. "And now you have some idea of what it's like living out in the Districts, instead of here in the Capitol." said Eddie. "Tell me…do you like it?"

"No!"

"Neither do we. But nobody listens to us. Maybe if you Capitol citizens make enough of a fuss, we can get Snow to call off these Games. For Pete's sake, it's been seventy-five years! Your point has been made! Isn't enough enough?" I bit into my pastry, and smiled hugely. "And can you share some of these recipes with me?"

"Do you bake?" Constantius looked at me, wide-eyed. "Oh, right! Of course, you do! Would you like to look through our kitchen here?" I eagerly accepted, and soon I was exploring a huge dream kitchen. It made the one we have back home in District 12 look pretty shabby. I couldn't even recognize a lot of the equipment I saw, although Constantius was happy to enlighten me when ever I asked a question.

"Everything here is state-of-the-art," Constantius told me. "When things are really busy, I have ten people here assisting me!" That, also, made our little business back home look pretty small. Of course, Capitol citizens are rich, and have no problem paying for treats.

I was telling him about what we have, and he was shaking his head at what we had to deal with. "You must be some sort of genius, to be able to produce fine pastries and breads under those conditions!"

"All what you're used to," I assured him. "Say…Capitol citizens can come out to the Districts, right?"

"Yes…we can, although it's not normally done." When I heard a Capitol citizen say something wasn't done, that was their way of saying that it was all but out of the question.

"Well, after the Games are over, come on out to District 12 and visit me! I'd be delighted to show you our setup, and maybe you can show us a few tricks we don't have!"

An hour or so later, we left, with Constantius promising to visit me and insisting on presenting me with a book full of his recipes. It was late enough that even the night-owl residents of the Capitol were heading home, and we slipped into the crowds with no problem.

Around me, I heard mutterings about the way the rules of the Games had changed. Nobody seemed to be happy about it, and I smiled to myself.

When I got back, I found Katniss still up, pacing around in a tizzy. "Ooooh! Where have you been?" Eddie gave me a slightly-sardonic wink as he headed off to his own quarters. "Have you been drinking?"

"Not more than a beer or two, Katniss. What's got you in such an uproar?" She gave me a glare and put her hands on her hips, tapping her foot. I knew those signs. Something really had her upset.

"Right after we got back here, that hussy, Johanna Mason, was up here! She grabbed Haymitch and hauled him off somewhere! I can't imagine what they're doing!" I was rather amused. I knew that Katniss had no romantic feelings toward Haymitch. Heck, she hardly had romantic feelings for me, and our "romance" had been the talk of Panem since the last Games! I wasn't sure she could have romantic feelings for anybody. I loved her, but I was pretty sure she didn't love me back.

"Look, Katniss," I said, taking her hand and leading her over to where we could sit down, "Haymitch and Johanna have known each other for years. They might just want to talk. They haven't had a chance to catch up with each other, much."

"'Catch up with each other?' 'Talk?' Is that what they're calling it, these days?" Katniss snorted. "I know what that hussy wants! All she wants is to get Haymitch into bed and work her wiles on him!"

I got exasperated. "So what if that's true? Why do you care? Haymitch is old enough to be our father, and Johanna's of age, too! Are you jealous?" I grinned at Katniss. "Maybe you're planning to replace me with Haymitch?"

She scowled at me. "No, I'm not planning to replace you…as if I could! That stunt about saying I was pregnant…whose bright idea was that, anyway?"

I gave her a level look. "Mine. I wanted to figure out a way to force Snow's hand, and maybe get him to stop these Games. I trust you don't object to that idea?"

"Of course not! But…"

"But nothing. I was out with Eddie Smith. He's a Mentor from District 5. He won the 65th Games, and he knows the Capitol. We were wandering around, trying to see how people are feeling, and from what we could see, there's a lot of folks here who'd rather the Games were canceled."

Katniss stared at me, her eyes round. "Do you think it'll be enough? Can they pressure Snow into calling off the Games?"

"Difficult to say. Eddie says that the mood on the streets is very different from the other time he's been here. I don't know how much Snow depends on the people here to keep his job, but if he really does depend on them heavily, he might at least consider canceling these Games, or making them more normal." I scowled. "Of course, that would mean another Reaping, but at least we'd be out of the line of fire!"

Just then, the door opened and Haymitch walked in. His Capitol clothes were suspiciously disheveled, and he had a smug grin on his face. "Haymitch!" I called. "Come on over! I was just telling Katniss about how Eddie Smith and I went out on the town!"

"Ah, yes, Eddie," drawled Haymitch. When he sat down beside us, I could smell something on him…something suspiciously like perfume. "Known him for years! He's a good guide to this town. Knows nearly everybody." He winked at me. "Finnick Odare would probably be even better, but as a Tribute, he's not allowed out on the streets. Like me."

"Well, allowed on the streets or not, I can see you found something fun to do," Katniss snarled. "How dare that hussy molest you?"

All of a sudden Haymitch was giving Katniss a cold, cold stare, very like the ones I'd got from our fellow Tributes the previous year. "For your information, sweetheart," he snarled through a smile, "Johanna and I have known each other for a long time. She's always flirted with me as hard as she could. This time, we just decided to see what would happen. When you're about to die, you grab at whatever life you can." He stood up. "And, on that note, I'm for bed. I suggest you both follow my example. We have a busy couple of days ahead of us."

When he'd rolled off to his bedroom, Katniss stood up. Expressionlessly, she held out her hand to me. We went into her room…and followed Haymitch's example.

The next morning, we turned on the television, to see what was going on in the Capitol. Caesar Flickerman was on, with some guests I didn't recognize. They were talking about the Hunger Games.

Caesar's guests were saying how unhappy they were with the set-up. "We in the Capitol have kept our side of the bargain with the Districts for seventy-five years, and now we're spitting on the terms we made! Can they ever trust us again, Caesar?"

"I don't know," Caesar answered. "I must say, I was shocked when I heard the news myself!"

Caesar's other guest spoke up. "Myself, I'd be just as happy if they called this Game off. I just don't feel right about it. Do you?"

"I don't like it, myself," Caesar admitted, "but we have to allow that President Snow probably knows what he's doing."

"A lot of people are particularly upset about Katniss Everdeen. The Girl on Fire is much beloved, and now not only must she return to the Arena, she's pregnant!" I turned and gave Katniss a grin, and she gave me a rueful look in return.

"I know!" Caesar shook his head. "That's something that the people who organized the original Hunger Games never took into account, did they?"

About then, Effie Trinket came in. She'd recovered a little of her Capitol façade, but I could tell that under it, she was still very upset about this situation. She was wearing her usual Capitol styles, but they were less flamboyant than most of the things she wore. "Well! Good morning to you all!" She turned to Haymitch. "I heard about you and Miss Mason."

"And?" Haymitch's voice was light, but I could see that he was fully well willing to fight back if Effie raised a fuss.

"All I can say is, you finally got around to it! I've been wondering why, for all these years, you didn't take her up on her offers! She has many admirers here, you know." She dimpled for a second in a smile. "They call her the 'Lethal Logger,' and other such silly names."

"Does she have to do what Finnick and Cashmere and Gloss, and the others, have to do?" asked Haymitch.

Effie blushed, and looked at the floor. "She refused. The President…let us say, he was not pleased with her recalcitrance." She wouldn't look us in the eye. "He had her family all killed."

I shared a horrified glance with Katniss. If things had been different, that could have been either of us in her position! "Oh, my god," Katniss breathed. "No wonder she's the way she is!"

"She's got nothing much left to lose," Haymitch remarked. "That's why she grabs at things with both hands. She won't let herself get close to anybody who isn't a fellow Victor, and most of the other male Victors are married, or at least spoken for…right?" He looked at us, and Katniss and I both nodded.

"So you finally let her catch you!" Effie said, with a wicked grin. "You know, I've seen pictures of you when you were younger, just after you won the last Quarter Quell. You were really very dishy!" She gave Katniss a wink. Katniss blushed. When we're not in private together, she really is very shy about these things.

"So, what news from the Capitol streets?" asked Haymitch, clearly changing the subject.

Effie looked at us, her twinkle all gone. "People are not happy. The news about Katniss shocked everybody, and I've heard calls for President Snow to step down. Not that he will."

"So the Games are still on?" I asked.

"As far as I know. At least, until you get notice otherwise, I would have to assume that they're still on."

"Very well." Haymitch got up, and motioned me to rise. "In that case, I think we'd best go talk with the other Tributes." I followed him out, wondering just what he had cooked up. For all that he'd done his best to fry his brain with white liquor, I'd come to learn that there was a lot of intelligence and cunning still left under his façade, and he knew this whole situation, and these people, far better than I did.