II. EYES IN THE SHADOWS

DISTRICT 5

AYLA GRACE MAXWELL (15)

"District 5 citizens, there's been an outage in the main solar plant, Coriolanus 9. We request that you remain calm as our power plant workers restore power in the city."

The lights in Alya's home flickered, before going out, enveloping the room in darkness. Ayla's little brother whimpered from Ella's lap.

"Where's dad?" Brock asked. He was only seven, and beloved by both Ayla and Ella to replace their father's love, who was distant to his youngest child after his wife had died in childbirth. - yet so remarkably oblivious, even for a seven year old, of everything.

Ayla and Ella exchanged a glance at each other. "He's fixing the lights, Brock," Ella said gently, stroking her brother's hair.

Ayla stayed quiet, until her brother shifted in Ella's arms. "Can you tell me a story?"

A shadow of a smile lit up the teen's face. "Has Ella ever told you about Orpheus?"

"No. Who is he?" Brock asked curiously.

Ayla breathed in, just like she did before a particularly good tale. "Long ago, before the birth of Panem, there was a musician named Orpheus. He was given a lyre by the god of music, Apollo, and with it, Orpheus could make mountains move and flocks of birds migrate to the source of the beautiful lyre- him. He fell in love with a young woman named Euridice and they married soon after." The blonde paused, a bit of sorrow showing through her blue-gray eyes.

"But that's happy, isn't it?" Brock pushed.

"It was. But there was a god who wanted Euridice for himself, so he chased her through the forest. But Euridice didn't look where she was going, and tripped into a nest of snakes."

"No!" Ella gasped, proving she was listening to the story as well. Alya gave her sister a sly smile before returning to Orpheus's tale.

"When Orpheus found his wife's body, he was devastated. They had only been married for a month, and to lose Euridice so soon, so tragically- it was a loss he could never overcome. He begged the snakes to kill him too, but even they loved his music and weren't about to take it away from the world.

"In devastation, Orpheus shifted his musical style to ballads of tragically-ending love. Whole cities cried at the funeral, and Orpheus couldn't bring himself to remarry. But then, years later, he had an idea to get Euridice back.

"Below the land of the living, the king of the dead, Hades, ruled those who had passed on- including Euridice. No mortal would ever make their way to the Underworld and come out alive.

"But Orpheus planned to be the first.

"Using his lyre and his music, Orpheus was able to infiltrate the Underworld, making it all the way to the throne room of Hades and his wife, Persephone. Hades agreed to give Euridice back, but to prove his faith and devotion to his wife Orpheus had to walk all the way back to the mortal realm. Euridice would follow him, but he would not be able to look back or she would return to the Underworld- this time forever."

Both Ella and Brock were sitting in anticipation of Ayla's next words. Despite the fact Ella was eighteen, Ayla knew that however her sister acted she still enjoyed stories as much as they did when they were children.

"It was incredibly hard for Orpheus to not glance back as his wife. After a mile, he kept wondering if Hades and Persephone had tricked him in cruelty, or if Euridice had refused to follow for some reason.

"As Orpheus traveled farther and farther, he was angry that Erudice wouldn't say anything. But he knew that Euridice would speak to him if she was there, so why wasn't she? It must have been the doing of Hades. The god couldn't even have let him hear Euridice's beautiful voice soon again, Orpheus thought darkly.

"The temptation to look back was growing greater. He wasn't sure if he could wait any longer, even though he was growing closer than ever to the light of the land of the living.

"And so he looked back. Behind him, Euridice stood in ghostly glory, her warm smile disappearing as she began to vanish before him. Orpheus couldn't lose her again. He let out a cry and tried to pull his wife to the land of the living, but she disintegrated within his fingertips. Distraught, Orpheus was forced to return to earth without Euridice," Ayla said solemnly.

Ella and Brock looked devastated, just as Ayla wanted them to be. Ayla was about to continue before the door swung open and the Maxwells's father, Chase stomped in.

Their dad was kind and supportive of his children, more of Ella and Ayla than Brock after their mom's death, but when he got angry, it was best to stay out of his way. Ella rose from her seat at he kitchen table and hung up their father's coat for him.

"Did you get the power stabilized?" she asked. Ella had been forced to mature beyond her age after their father had been widowed, but sometimes having that type of sister was a good thing.

He nodded absentmindedly. "Yes, but I've got a lot of work to do. Don't bother me in the office, please. The power should be coming on any minute now." He scaled the stairs, leaving the kitchen in an uncomfortable silence after forgetting to greet his other children.

That had been another part of Analee Maxwell dying. George Maxwell burying himself in his work to support them. Ayla supposed it was all well and good, but Brock had never known his mother.

And he barely knew his father too.

-x-

Well, there's the first tributes POV. Thanks to 30777 for Ayla, hope I portrayed her right!

Here are the sponsor questions, keep track of your own points:

1. What do you think of Ayla? (5 points)

2. How far do you think she'll get in the Games with her wits? (5 points)

3. Do you want more of the storyteller side of her? (5 points)