Disclaimer: I own very little, as you know.
Chapter Forty-Nine: Trust Me
I remember sitting in the lounge at one of the restaurants after work, just before going home to Obadiah. Crystal wanted to take him to one of the children's exhibits at a museum in the city and I thought he would enjoy it greatly. Plus, my trust of her was growing by the day. While I was sitting in the restaurant, chatting with many of Seneca's companions who were also sponsors, and sipping a drink. Enobaria joined us at one point, looking very proud of her tributes, which were shown on the screen in the lounge.
"They were different after you talked to them, you know," She muttered to me as she sat down, looking at Cato and Clove's faces as they led the group through the woods.
I scoffed at this," They didn't care about anything I said, Enobaria. If anything changed their mind, it was their mentor trying to pin me against a wall and my being able to weasel my way out. In fact, they probably thought that was luck too."
She shook her head violently," No, no they were different. You should have seen them."
I blinked several times before shaking my head," They're still going to do whatever they want."
"Speaking of that. Brutus said that you were trying to convince them to kill Katniss, that was your advice to them? Sure, it would be logical, but why her? It's unlike you to have a vendetta against someone you don't even know," She commented, as the bartender placed a drink in front of her.
I sighed, searching my mind for anything to get me out of this, but it appeared as though she had me cornered," She's…dangerous is all."
"Savera, you know I want more than that," She grumbled before taking a sip of her drink.
"Seneca doesn't realize how dangerous she is and I think that he being-"
"Oh, say no more," She cut me off. "You think she's going to stir up trouble and Seneca's going to catch the flak for it. Right?"
I shook my head, before meeting her eyes, somewhat in disbelief," You know me too well."
"I know that you care about Seneca dearly. Head Gamemakers don't have the best track record with Snow, now do they? You don't want anything to not go as planned otherwise…your sweet little husband gets the punishment," She explained her theory.
I had to smirk at this; she knew me too well.
"You can't tell me that you wouldn't be worried," I answered, looking at her with narrowed eyes.
"Are you kidding me? I would probably be a lot more nervous than you seem. You're looking pretty calm for the most part, kid," She commented before shaking her head in disbelief. "Still strange to see you married and with a child. I remember when you were a teenager. God, that was like ten years ago now."
I competed in the 64th Annual Hunger Games and this was now the 74th. How quickly the years had gone by!
Just when I was going to answer, I heard the doors to the lounge fly open. Mentally, I groaned and turned my head away for in walked Haymitch Abernathy. It wasn't just that he was from District Twelve that I didn't like him, it was also his awful personality. He was a smooth-talker when he was sober and downright rude when drunk, which was quite often. From the look on his scraggly face today, he was here to do some major sweet-talking for the ever-powerful dollar for his poor tribute, Katniss, who was still stuck in the tree with a severe burn on her leg.
"You know, I'd love to sit here and reminisce, but Obadiah is probably home now. I should be going," I muttered to Enobaria, as she downed the rest of her drink.
"Savera, don't be ridiculous. It's just-"
"No, I need to get going," I answered, starting to exit, but before I could get very far at all; he saw me.
"Mrs. Seneca Crane! Why, it looks as though we've a celebrity in our presence folks!" He announced, strutting across the lounge until he was just a few feet from me.
"Listen, Haymitch, I would love to sit here and talk, but-" I tried, but he simply walked closer to me before putting an arm around my shoulders and giving me a tight squeeze.
"Don't try to avoid me, sweetheart," He muttered, awkwardly pulling me toward one of tables in the corner of the lounge.
"Haymitch, my son is probably home by now and-"
"Oh yeah, your son," He took his arm from me, pulling out a chair for me at the tall table. Realizing there was no way out of this; I climbed into the chair and sighed as he continued. "You're looking great, by the way. What is the kid like two months old?"
I narrowed my eyes," He's a year and a half."
"Oh, well. Still, you're looking fantastic, Mrs. Crane," He tried to cover up, clearly embarrassed by his mistake.
I adjusted myself in the chair, leaning back before placing a hand on my cheek," Haymitch, let me make this short and sweet for you. I will not sponsor your tributes. I will not give you money. I will not discuss any matter surrounding them. You're better off manipulating someone else with a fat wallet in here."
He swallowed hard, tilting his head at me," I think you're missing a huge opportunity."
"For what?" I asked, raising a brow. "What exactly do your tributes intend to do?"
He looked at me with narrowed eyes," I simply mean that placing your money on Katniss is a good investment. Even you can't deny she's got talent to beat any of them."
"Oh?" I raised a brow. "You aren't advertising Peeta?"
He chuckled at this," Let's be honest. Only one can come out, Savera."
"What a mentor you are," I commented, shaking my head in disbelief.
"Hey, we do what we gotta," He said, leaning back in his chair. "I just want you not to shut me down. Consider it."
I bit down on my lip before looking straight at him," Considered it already. Still no."
"Why? Do you realize how valuable your support is?" He hissed at me, leaning forward.
"Because I think you've got something up your sleeves with them. I don't trust either of them ,especially not Katniss-"
"They're in love! How can you say no to that?" He quickly threw out.
I looked down, realizing he had me there. I wasn't one to say whether they were in love, but it still didn't change my opinion. If only I could explain to him that love did have a huge part to play in my decision, only not Katniss and Peeta's love. The love for my husband would trump any sympathy I could have for them any day, unfortunately.
"You forget that I'm trying to keep someone alive too," I whispered harshly, only for him to hear.
Before I could tuck that back in, I realized that those words had just left my mouth.
"What?" He asked, looking straight at me.
"You know he's in danger. You know Gamemakers don't live for long in this city, Haymitch. I can't support anyone who I think may jeopardize him. Quite frankly, your girl is already a huge threat," I muttered to him, keeping my eyes locked on his.
"Sounds like you don't trust your husband's judgment. I'm sure he has the situation under control," Haymitch commented.
I shook my head," That's not the issue. I trust Seneca, but Katniss is dangerous. It doesn't matter what Seneca does in the end if she is too bold. Either way, he would catch the blame. Would he not?"
"You see, I think you're blowing this out of proportion so why don't we start over? I can throw you my pitch for Katniss and you can see the truth about her. How about that?" He wanted my support desperately.
"Don't change the topic," I spat at him. "It could very well happen. You know it could, but all you want is my money anyways."
He pursed his lips, pondering his response," Savera, just-"
"No. You just wasted your time, Haymitch. In fact, I was just about to give my support elsewhere. Please, excuse me while I do so," I said curtly before climbing down from the table and stomping over to Enobaria, who was watching with wide-eyes.
I really wasn't planning on doing this, but it proved my point loud and clear to Abernathy.
Opening my small bag on my shoulder, I grabbed a handful of money before slamming it in front of Enobaria. She looked at me, confused for a moment, before making the connection. Before leaving the lounge, I shot a glare back at Haymitch, who was swearing at me as I exited the lounge.
When I arrived home, Obadiah and Crystal were already waiting for me. I dropped off my coat before continuing on to pick up my son, who was walking as quickly as he could to come to me. As I placed him on my hip, Crystal approached me, smiling. She crossed her arms and leaned against the island in the kitchen.
"He was great today," She commented, gazing at the little boy in my arms.
"Good," I answered, meeting her eyes. "Everything went well at the museum?"
Her eyes averted mine before she struggled to find words," Well, we…um…someone was waiting for us there."
My heart dropped to my stomach," What do you mean?"
Obadiah was squirming in my arms, but I was still worried about what happened; I leaned down to let the child go where he pleased. Immediately, he wobbled over to his pile of toys in front of the windows overlooking the city and began cackling while he played. With urgency, I took a seat as Crystal folded her hands together and leaned over the island before running her fingers through her, still striking blue hair, which she curled that day.
"President Snow was there," She answered stiffly, clearly holding details from me.
"Oh?" I asked, trying to maintain composure with a raise of my brow. "And what exactly did he want?"
"He claimed that he only wanted to see Obadiah, but he was very adamant about asking me questions. It was almost like an interrogation, to be honest, but Obadiah was very well-behaved throughout it," She commented, swallowing thickly before meeting my eyes again. "I don't know why he was there. I don't know why he was asking me those questions."
I shook my head, disturbed at this and hardly believing he would do this though I shouldn't have put anything past President Snow. I ran my fingers through my hair before saying," I can't say that I know either. He's been probing us a lot lately."
"Well, his questions were basically asking my whole life-story. Not that I have much of one, but I had enough to satisfy him. Or, at least for now, it was," she added with a shrug of her shoulders.
"You're sure there was nothing more to it?" I ask, wanting to know the details of this encounter. "I can discuss it with Seneca and Snow to see what he was-"
She shook her head," Savera, it's not worth it, alright? You discuss it with Snow and you won't get anything accomplished and Seneca has other things to worry about. Just-just don't worry about it, okay? We handled it and we're both fine."
By the demanding tone in her voice, she wanted nothing more to be stated on the matter. With that, I watched as she uncharacteristically groaned and tossed her hair back, as if agitated beyond belief. I furrowed my brow at her as she looked away and started for the door. As she stormed off, I quickly ran after her.
"Crystal? Please, something is clearly wrong. Why don't you tell me more about this and we can-?" I tried, but she only shook her head violently again and stopped abruptly to point straight at me.
I thought she was going to yell at me or say something to me. The look in her bright eyes was clouded by what I gathered to be fear. She simply held her shaking finger out, trying to fight for words, only to be defeated by silence. After several moments of her staring straight at me, she dropped her trembling hand as I watched her eyes fill with tears. Just as she turned to leave, I could see the tears falling. Completely baffled and truly concerned, I tried to grab her attention, if only for a moment. Clearly, there was more to this than just President Snow asking her questions.
"Please, Crystal. Tell me something," I said desperately as she threw on her jacket and pulled the front door open.
She stood there for several seconds before looking over her shoulder at me," I just want to keep your son safe, Savera and I don't know if-"
I waited for her completed thought, but she just shook her head and nearly ran through the door before slamming it shut.
I leaned against the wall and began to rub the pounding headache that was forming in my temple. Crystal was usually so energetic and thrilled to be in our presence. It was strange and worrisome to see her so upset. Shaking my head, I turned to return to the kitchen. I needed to fix something for Obadiah to eat; I needed to clean. The list of my to-dos was so incredibly long that the last thing I needed to be doing was sitting in the kitchen with my head in my hands. However, it was the only thing I could seem to do.
I remember fixing something small for Obadiah to eat before putting him in bed early that evening. The longer he stayed awake, the grumpier he became and the less I could focus on what was going on. With him asleep, I found an opportunity to try to straighten some of this out. The door to Seneca's office was open.
Silently, I stepped into his office and found the desk to be cleared off. I took a seat in his sleek chair tucked behind the desk and looked out into the city lights before me. Somewhere, there were a handful of tributes out there, sitting in the cold, dark night, waiting for the torment to be over. I pushed this thought from my head before grabbing the remote that controlled the various screens in his office; I tapped on the remote which immediately brought up the Games on the screen.
"There's just no escaping it," I muttered as I began to flip through the channels, all of which were either commenting on the Games or showing reruns.
It appeared as though Haymitch scrounged up the money to help Katniss from somewhere. The burn on her leg must have been healed enough for her to climb down from the tree all the while managing to chop down a tracker's nest to drop on the Careers hunting her. She managed to take out the girl from One in the process. However, she wasn't working entirely by herself. I noticed the little girl from Eleven had made her acquaintance, as well.
Had it not been for the little girl, then Katniss certainly wouldn't have had someone to care for her while she was recovering from the multiple stings. The sadistic, selfish side of me that wished for this mess to be ended secretly hoped these stings would be the last blow to her. Yet, two days later, the girl on fire was still alive, as the cameras showed. I could hardly believe it, in fact, it was laughable. No one received this much luck. She certainly had good windfall thus far in the Games.
Just as they were reporting on Katniss and Rue's attempts to outsmart the Careers, I realized how late it was getting and still Seneca was not home. I looked back to the screen and tried to immerse myself in the recaps, realizing he must have had a busy day. However, if his day was busy, then it must have meant something happened in the Games recently.
It was for this reason that I continued to watch as Katniss and Rue's companionship grew and they were able to draw the Careers away from their mountain of supplies. The plan was working flawlessly until poor Rue was caught under one of the traps. Again, I was, by no means, a fan of Katniss, but seeing the girl caught under the ropes, only to have Katniss rescue her. Just as quickly as the scene became happy, it became dark twice as fast when Rue was taken down by the boy from One, Marvel. Instantaneously, Katniss turned to shoot the boy, who never even stood a chance against her.
"And this folks is the reason for the uprising in District Eleven. Just watch as Miss Everdeen raises the sign of their people. Rest assured, measures are being taken to calm the people down and President Snow guarantees us that there is nothing to fret over," Claudius Templesmith comments, as the playback pauses for him and Caesar to have their daily conversation over the highlights.
I shut down the screen before leaning forward to run my fingers through my hair, once again. Riots in District Eleven? This was terrible; this was one of the worst things that could happen. Before I could further process this, I heard a voice from behind me.
"The riots are being settled," Seneca's tired voice said.
I turned to look at him, completely shocked at this. My mouth gaped open for several seconds as I shook my head, pondering what to do next. I simply shrugged my shoulders before maintaining eye contact with him," Riots, Seneca?"
He sighed as he came closer to drop all his materials on his desk top. He sat atop of the desk and avoided my eye," They're just upset over the loss of Rue is all. They'll be calm within twenty-four hours."
"That was rebellion, Seneca!" I growled, slamming my hand down on the desk. "She signaled to those people; she told those people to rise up in an essence."
"She was showing them sympathy!" He barked back at me. "Wouldn't you feel responsible for such a death? Wouldn't you want to tell the family you were sorry?"
"Yes, but in a much less public way, Seneca," I whispered harshly, shaking my head.
"Plus, maybe a riot is what this place needs to be shown. Maybe, they need a swift kick to show them that the people may not always be willing to comply. Savera, you know it's always been my dream to see this place changed. Katniss is still the way to do that," He whispered right back at me. "Those people lost their innocent companion, daughter, maybe even sister…I don't know! That's wrong. I know I don't have to show you why this is wrong."
"I know the Games are wrong Seneca and before we had Obadiah…I would have completely agreed with you about the riots. Quite frankly, your life and my life…we've had our lives and to die fighting for something such as that would be an honor, but Obadiah is still innocent. We can't risk placing his life in danger," I said earnestly to him, looking straight into his eyes.
He looked away, seriously pondering what I said. After several moments, he spoke," I don't want our son to grow up in this environment and I don't think you do either."
"Yes, but I also don't want our son to grow up without his father or mother. Between the two, I would rather he grow up in this environment, here in the Capitol with us than without us," I shot back.
"You act like there are two options: live or die," He said simply. "I don't have to die, Savera. I think I can convince Snow to listen to the people, really I-"
"Listen to the people? Seneca, if he wanted to listen to the people, then he wouldn't be in the position of power that he's in. If he listened to the people, would we not have a government like the days of old? Wouldn't we be living in a democracy?" I asked, quoting the knowledge I had gathered from the years when I used to read books far too often.
"Would you just trust me? Please, that's all I ask of you. Just. Trust. Me," He shouted at me, a little more loudly than I would have for Obadiah was still sleeping.
I swallowed hard before folding my arms over my chest and standing up. I looked at him before shaking my head and realizing it was pointless to argue with him. He was sitting on the desk in his black vest with the stripe of red and cream colored pants, looking as though he was defeated. His head was down, but I made no further effort to comfort or worsen him. I continued to walk out of the office, not daring to mention Crystal to him now.
"If you're going to be upset with me, then you need to watch the rest of the news reel. You need to know what's about to happen," He said heatedly, just as I reached the door frame.
I didn't look back. I nodded before turning to enter our bedroom. I didn't even go to the bathroom; I simply plopped down on the edge of the bed and turned on the television screen once again. It was the least that I could give Seneca.
In front of me on the screen were Claudius and Caesar, chatting just as they were before. I watched, half-interested and half-tired of watching the brutality. Just as I was going to turn the television off, Caesar spoke.
"I just can't believe this sudden change in the rules! Never have I seen something as exciting. Did you see the look in Katniss's eyes when she heard that? It was like the girl on fire received another spark when they said she and Peeta could live. It was the spark she needed to find him," He nearly shouted with joy. "Can we show the clip just one more time?"
Straightaway, the shot went to a voiceover from the Gamemakers.
The words still haunt me.
"Attention Tributes! Attention! The regulation requiring a single victor has been suspended. From now on two victors may be crowned if they originate from the same district."
In a matter of seconds, the people of Panem were given a glimpse of hope from the Capitol in them showing mercy. I bit down hard on my lip before falling back on the bed; Seneca entered as I did so. I met his eyes, as if asking him how he could do such a thing. I knew his reasoning and I knew that we may never see eye to eye on the situation. He held my gaze for several seconds before turning away. There was no use discussing it with him; he made his decision.
A/N: Let me know what you think! :)
