Hello friends! I wanted to post a little update and realised I had the first half of the next reaping written, o thought why not post it at the same time! So, I hope you enjoy, and stay tuned for the update at the end!

Vivian

"When you were younger, I used to sing to you every night. You used to love it, sometimes it was the only thing that would calm you." She pulled her daughter closer to her chest, kissing her gently on the top of the head. "But you're too old for that now, aren't you?"

"No, mummy." Vivian looked up at her mother, placing her delicate hand against her mother's chest, content. "Sing to me." Everything was so simple, as long as she was with her mother, everything would be okay. The lady with the big hair who shouted her name over and over again couldn't come near her, the man in the white suit who tugged on her arm and pulled her to the stage couldn't touch her. Mummy was here, and she always made things better.

They sat on the cold floor of the Justice Hall, Marnie cradling her young daughter, a girl that could barely read or write, shipped off to the Capitol the week before her sixth birthday. She shuddered at the thought of having to watch her become another victim of the games. Literally, Marnie knew of course that her daughter wasn't coming home, but she also had to watch the girl's personality be destroyed, watch the Capitol etch away every little part of what made Vivian unique, until all that was left was exactly what they wanted.

A brief glimmer of hope crossed Marnie's mind. Maybe they would see how special and pure and perfect her daughter was, and realise how sick they all were, and send her back to Marnie's open arms. But the thought was just that: brief, and totally totally misplaced. There was no way that would ever happen, she had seen the excitement that covered the escorts face when Viv was pushed towards the stage. This was it. Her Vivian was gone.

What hurt Marnie the most, was that her daughter didn't understand. In a few short minutes she would be gone, taken away by someone she would never see again, to a place she didn't know, without friends or comfort or someone to fight her corner. Marnie couldn't bear to think about what it would be like once they were in the arena, and what made her feel sick was the fact that she hoped her daughter would die on the first day. It would be harder to watch her girl be pitied or helped for a day or two, to get the hope that by some twisted fate she might make it back okay, just to have it snatched from her, when inevitably her baby was killed.

She wrapped her arms tighter around her daughter, hoping that by some miracle it would shield her from all the heartaches of the world and hummed tune, lightly, so that only the girl on her lap could hear. Marnie had no idea where the song was from, or even if it existed outside of her mind, but she felt Vivian relax against her and knew in an instant that she was doing the right thing. The woman had had her heartbroken countless times, by her high school boyfriend, by her fiance and Vivian's father, when her parents got a divorce and her mother spiralled into alcoholism that ended in death. But nothing had ever hurt like this, nothing hurt like the feeling of helplessness that overtook Marnie. She could scream and shout and curs the world, but it would make no difference. The Capitol had spoken, and when they wanted something, they got it.

She looked at the door, and the Peacekeeper slumped against it half asleep, and for a few brief moments; she believed that escape was possible. Katniss had proved all those years ago that District 13 was still alive, who knew what else was out there. But it was a pointless dream, the Capitol probably had eyes on them everywhere, there was no way out now. No future for Vivian. Or Marnie. She didn't want a future if her daughter wasn't a part of it.

"Mummy?" Marnie felt her heart stop, terrified that her daughter would ask her a question she didn't know the answer to, or worse, a question that she couldn't bring herself to answer. The thought of telling her child that she was being sent off alone to more than likely die was a situation she never thought would occur. By the time Vivian's twelfth birthday and official first reaping rolled around, Marnie had intended to have educated her girl on the atrocities of the games. But that right had been snatched from her, and now her daughter was left with no knowledge of the games or the Capitol or why exactly they were sitting on the floor of a giant building neither of them had stepped foot in before. Marnie mentally kicked herself for sheltering her daughter so much. She supposed most other children of Vivian's age had at least a brief understanding of what the games entailed, but her daughter had nothing, Marnie had been too focused on ensuring that her childhood remained uncorrupted, and so sure that nothing like this would happen. She cursed herself for ever thinking she could do this parenting thing alone, she was barely an adult herself, her twenty-second birthday just appearing on the horizon, she had been a fool to think she could raise a child and give her everything she needed.

"Yes baby?" Marnie eventually spoke, knowing that beating herself up over the situation would only make things worse. It wasn't her that had ordered the Quell. It wasn't her that had pulled Vivian's name from the bowl. It wasn't her that implemented the games in the first place. Whilst Marnie knew that in the long run none of these thoughts would make her feel any better, for a brief moment she felt at peace, and like she could comfort her daughter without the constant nagging guilt.

"When can we go home? I'm tired." Vivian moaned, tugging on the collar of her mother's shirt. Despite the situation, Marnie smiled at how simply her daughter saw the world, all she had to worry about was food and sleep and having fun. Her mind hung on the word home. After Vivian was gone, Marnie didn' think she could bear to go back to the house, everywhere she looked there would be something to remind her of her daughter, of her laugh and smile, of the way she could play for hours on end and ever get bore. Hell, even of the tantrums she had when things didn't go her way. Every little thing she would miss about Vivian, and she regretted taking anything for granted, convinced that they still had years together.

"Listen to me Viv." Marnie sat her daughter up, so they were facing one another, placing her hands against her cheeks. "You're going on a little holiday for a while, without mummy, like a big girl. You're going to meet lots of new people and go to lots of new places. And then one day, when you see mummy again, you're going to tell her all about it. Can you do that for me, Vivian? Can you go and be a big brave girl?"

She nodded in reply, too focused on playing with the hem of Marnie's shirt to notice the tears that leaked from the woman's eyes. "Do you think we'll get to go to the beach? I love it when you take me to the beach." Vivian answered, as her mother continued to hum.

"You'll get to see all sorts of places." Marnie reassured her. "But there's one thing you need to remember for me, princess. You need to remember that whatever happens, mummy loves you very much, and you'll see her again very soon." She looked down as her daughter slowly drifted off to sleep, so peaceful and unaware of what was to come.

Marnie looked up and nodded to the Peacekeeper, who lifted the sleeping girl tenderly away from her mother's arms.

Our first tribute was a 71 year old man... and the most recent a 5 year old girl, this is going to be sad and heartbreaking but interesting...

Anyway, for the update that I spoke about above. I have started planning out the rest of the story and thought we would be here all day if I write a POV for every character for every thing that happens. So, I have during the Chariot Rides, Interviews and a really cool Tributes Party, only 1/3 of the tributes POV will be written. All character will be involved, but not their specific point of view. In terms of a schedule (so, who I write about at each section) I have this:

Chariot Rides POV:

Diva (D3F), Dina (D5F), Ezra (D6M), Florence (D7F), Doug (D9M), Vivian (D10F), D'ante (D11M), Jordan (D12M)

Interviews POV:

Luster, (D1M), Salome (D2F), Dory (D4F), Newton (D5M), Arbor (D8M), Lana (D9F), Romin (D10M), Alia (D11F)

Tributes Party POV:

Hypatia (D1F), Locke (D2M), Alfred (D3M), Nautilus (D4M), Lya (D6F), Flynt (D7M), Cassia (D8M), Lilac (D12F)

This was completely randomised but I made sure there was an equal amount of males and females in each part and that district partners were split up. Please let me know if you are happy with the POV that your character has been allocated, and if not, let me know what you would prefer and I'll see if I can work out a way to swap it. Don't worry though, as I said, all characters will still be in each section!

As always, thank you for your reads and reviews and love, and please stay safe!

Until next time,

Alice xxx