The sun sets into the night sky as the glass elevator shoots up to the penthouse. Tributes get exceptional treatment during their time in the Capitol. Attendants serving us with whatever we desire, luxurious products, more clothing than I could ever think of, and the most amazing food. Each District gets its own floor, District 1 at the bottom, and District 12 at the top. 1 and 2, supposedly, don't get the same treatment we do because they already have similar luxuries back home.
The elevator doors open and reveal the suite we'll be staying in for the next week. "Alright, children, tomorrow we wake up extra early for the first day of training," Safa says. "You two wash up, then meet us here for a late dinner." Xavier and I are escorted to our rooms by attendants. I strip off the dress, which is still smoking, and fold it up at the edge of the bed. I step into the shower and get the same treatment I had on the train. This time, though, instead of using the fresh flower scent I use the primrose scent. Aunt Prim died during the war, so I never got the chance to meet her. Mom says she had a kind, gentle soul that was taken from us too soon. Actually, the day of her death is soon. If I make it out of here alive, I'll be home in time. If I don't make it out alive, Mom will have to mourn the deaths of two of her loved ones. I can't do that to her.
I turn the shower cold to shock me out of my thoughts, then turn it off completely. I get blown dry, then change into black stretchy pants and a dark red shirt. I walk out into the main living area to see Safa, Seraphina, my prep team, Angel, and Daton sitting at the table. I sit down with Xavier following after a few minutes. Tonight's dish is lamb stew with dried plums served on grain—my Mom's favorite meal. I remember once she tried to make this exact dish at home because of how much she liked it. But this, the Capitol version, is so much better. I can see why she loves it so much.
For dessert, they serve chocolate-covered strawberries, small cakes for each of us, and hot chocolate. I've never had hot chocolate before, but my Dad says it's his favorite. Xavier, Daton and I eat the dessert quickly while the others eat at a reasonable pace. "So, Willow," Daton says. "I hear you can shoot as good as your mom."
I freeze slightly. I can't talk about this here. "She taught me when I was really little," I say. "But I haven't picked up a bow since going past the fence was punishable."
After the electricity could no longer support the fence, going past it wasn't legal but peacekeepers didn't stop anyone from going past. But, when I turned 7, it was enforced again after a boy was hurt by a wolf. Now we have to go past the fence before the sun rises, and return within two hours of daylight to avoid the Peacekeepers.
He nods slightly and furrows his eyebrows in suspicion, knowing my family and I are still active traders of game at The Hob. "Yeah, okay," He replies. "Well, you should still try and use that to your advantage. But, both of you listen, don't only stay at the weapon and combat training stations. Most tributes die of natural causes, so spend some time at survival stations."
One of the attendants takes my empty plate from in front of me. "Thank you," I say, turning towards her. I look into her eyes and see something or someone familiar. She is older, has dark skin and honey brown eyes. "Do I know you?"
She goes wide-eyed, and Safa gasps. "You are not supposed to speak to the Avox's unless you're giving them an order!" She exclaims. "What's an Avox?" Xavier asks. "A traitor of some sort, they cut her tongue out so she can't speak," Seraphina explains. "You wouldn't know her." But I do know her, I know I do, I just can't pin a name to her face. "Oh, I know!" Xavier says. "Kimmy Jackson! You know, the girl a grade below who's always singing?" Of course I know Kimmy Jackson, I don't know her well, but she's acquaintances with Rye. "I thought she looked familiar too, and now I know they look nearly identical."
Kimmy Jackson is a merchant who works at the sweet shop. She's pale-skinned with blue eyes and blonde hair. They look absolutely nothing alike, but I know Xavier is just trying to save me from a bad situation. "Oh yeah! They could be sisters!" I respond. The table relaxes, and everyone else finishes their food. We're dismissed from the table to our rooms after everyone finishes. Xavier and I walk side by side until we reach our rooms.
"Willow," He says. "Daton was telling me that we have access to the roof on this floor. He says it's really nice, you can see the whole city, but it's tough to hear one another because of the wind." I understand what he's saying. We can talk about anything and not worry about others hearing us. "Sure, let's go."
He takes me to a door that leads to a flight of steps. We walk on to the roof, and I'm amazed by the view. The lights twinkle into the night sky, cars zoom on the street below us, and I hear some people shout below. "Couldn't someone jump from here?" Xavier asks. "No, there's a force field that sends people back," I say, knowing the information from my Dad. The cool night time wind sends a chill up my spine and I wrap my arms around myself. "Are you cold?" He asks. "No, I'm fine," I reply. Despite my words, he takes off his coat and wraps it around me. "Thank you," I say.
"So, how do you know the Avox?" He asks quietly. It would be nearly impossible to hear us talk because of the wind, but better safe than sorry. "I don't know her name, but she looks so familiar," I say. I go through all the people I've seen in my mind, trying to match a name to the face. "She looks like she could be from 11."
"Maybe," He responds. Who do I know from District 11, though? "How do you think your parents are doing right now?" He asks. "No clue, probably just trying to survive for Iris and Rye," I respond. "What about yours?"
"They're most likely acting like nothing happened. They've never cared to give me any attention in the past, why would they now?" He responds. "They didn't even come to say goodbye to me." I couldn't imagine my parents not saying goodbye to me, let alone acting like I don't exist. "I'm sorry," I say. "Don't be, it's always been like that," He replies. We sit in an awkward silence while taking in the sight of the city.
"What happened to District 13?" He asks. I'm taken aback by this question, no one has asked, or even talked about District 13 since Rose came into power. "I don't really know," I say. "My Mom says the Capitol wants us to think they were destroyed again, but they're probably working underground again." "I doubt it," He says. "Rose learned from all of President Snow's mistakes. Probably made sure they were completely gone."
I don't reply, I like to think that they're still there, working on ways to bring down the Capitol again. It pains me to think all my parents went through was for nothing, that this is how it'll be forever. We sit for a few more moments before he stands up. "I think we should head to bed, we have a big day tomorrow!" He mocks Safa's Capitol accents with an equally creepy smile. I laugh in response and stand up along with him. He grabs my hand and leads me back down the steps into our suite. "Goodnight, Willow," He says. "Goodnight," I respond before walking into my room and closing the door.
The room is nearly identical to the one on the train. I make my way into the soft bedding and allow myself to relax. As usual, I wonder how my family is. Maybe my parents are holding up well after the parade, or maybe Rye had to drag them out of bed. Right now, there's probably tons of news coverage of the parade so I know they've seen me. I wish I could call them or even write a letter. Just to let them know I'm holding up well.
Then, the Avox creeps into my mind. I know I've seen those same eyes somewhere, but I can't remember who's they belong to. My thoughts eventually dissipate into incoherent ones, and the plush bed drags me into sleep.
When I wake up, I again have tears soaking my pillow, and even some fresh ones dripping down my face. The images of last night consisted of the brown eyes and tongues being cut out of mouths. I'm able to shake some of the images from my head before Safa knocks at the door. "Breakfast is nearly ready!"
I leave the warmth of the bed and decide not to change yet. I brush my teeth and detangle my hair before making my way into the dining room. Xavier meets me about halfway and greets me with a good morning. This breakfast consists of fluffy pancakes, which my Dad has made for us a few times, covered in berries and syrup. On the side is some cut up potatoes with vegetables mixed in and orange juice. Daton makes his way into the room and sits next to Safa.
"Alright, kids, let's start talking about training," He says. "Seraphina and Angel have left out your training clothes at the front of your closet, you have to wear them for your training. Now, these next few days aren't just for training, but also for forming alliances. You don't need to form one, but I recommend you do. It helps a lot more than you think. Don't trust 1 and 2, though, they're nothing but bad news." He finishes his plate before the rest of us, with Xavier and I following after. "Alright, it's nearly time to leave. You don't want to be too early or too late, so we should head out in about five minutes," Safa explains while dabbing her face with a napkin. "You both need to get dressed."
We walk quickly to our rooms and get changed in our training clothes. My outfit is a black top with the sleeves cut off, showing off my arms, and black pants similar to those I'm wearing now. The back of the top has 12 printed on it in white. The shoes are black, with comfortable soles that make each step feel like nothing. I pull my hair into a ponytail and pull out a few strands in the front to better frame my face.
I walk out and see Xavier is dressed similarly, but with short sleeves instead of cut off ones. Daton and Safa decide to walk us to the elevator but stay behind us once we get inside. "You two don't need us as babysitters, good luck," Daton says just before the elevator doors close. The elevator shoots downwards to the underground training center. We're running late, so everyone else is already standing there in a tight circle around our instructor.
The center is filled with weapons, obstacle courses, and different stations for various activities. I can already see the career tributes forming alliances with each other. A woman in an all-black outfit steps up on a pedestal and begins to speak.
"Hello, tributes, my name is Fery, and I am your head trainer." She begins to read down some of the rules and different stations. Masters will be at each station, and we can travel from area to area as we wish. We aren't allowed to fight any other tributes, not yet at least, so there will be assistants to practice with. Some stations are for combat, while others are for survival and resources.
She dismisses us to start training, and the careers already have made their way to the weapons. The white-haired girl from 2, Bella I think, picks up a deadly looking spear and throws it through a dummy with ease. Jay picks up a trident and quickly seizes another dummy with it. Of course, District 4. My brain is telling me to head straight to the plant station, but the empty archery grabs my attention. I guess Xavier notices this and walks next to me. "I'll go with you." We both walk towards it, and I pick up the shiny black bow. It's some sort of metal that is sturdy, but light and the arrows are the same metal. I load up an arrow and shoot at the closest target.
I manage to hit right in the bullseye. I go for the next one, farther, and another direct hit. I keep going until I hit every single target dead center. When I'm done, I see the trainer and Xavier have matching wide eyes. I turn around to see a few tributes look at me, specifically the boy from 1 and the girl from 2, who are standing together. Jay is staring with a smirk on his face, then starts to walk over to me.
"Wow, you really are Katniss's daughter," He says. "You had your doubts?" I ask. "I didn't know you were as good of a shot as her," He says with a smile. "Why don't I show you how to make a few knots, they come in handy more than you think." He takes my hand and guides me to the knot tying station.
Like my Mom, I'm not a very social person. I don't have many friends at school, let alone a boy trying to win me over. So this is a new experience. What's the harm in letting Jay charm his way into an alliance? Both of us are probably going to die anyway, so why not? We finally get there, and he lets go of my hand. "Okay, so, observe," He says. He grabs a thin piece of blue string and starts to form knots. "These are a bunch of slipknots, and if you do enough of them," He explains. He keeps making the same motion repeatedly until the string has turned into a slightly thicker, patterned rope. "You get a bracelet." He takes my hand and places it around my wrist, then tightens it.
"Thank you," I say, a bit stunned. In District 12, friendship bracelets are not common in the schoolyard. "My siblings and I used to make them for each other," He explains. "Well, let's try some knots that will actually help," I say. He laughs before selecting one on the tablet in front of us. We practice a few, I show him some hunting-related knots, and he shows me some fishing related ones. We both depart afterward, and I move towards the edible plants. I already know a lot about plants because of my Mom's family book.
The book has tons of pages, some old and some new, filled with information about different types of plants and detailed drawings. I burn through the edible plant's test on the tablet, then head over to camouflage. Dad said I should dabble in it a little bit, just in case. The girl from 11 and the little boy from 10 are already there. They're having fun spreading mud and berry juice around each other's arms when I approach.
They both whisper to each other once they see me, then turn to me. "Are you Willow Mellark?" The boy asks. "Yes, what's your name?" I ask him. "I'm Jaden," His small voice says. "I'm Lily," The girl says. "From District 11, he's from 10."
"Hi," I say to both of them. "Look at what I made!" Jaden shows me his arm excitedly. He's painted a tree on his arm, not a very good one, with a bright yellow sun above it. "Nice," I say, smiling at the small boy. Lily shows me her arm which is a beautiful grassy meadow. Her painting reminds me of my Dad's. "My Dad paints a lot," I say. "Yeah I know, that's what made me love painting," She responds. I tend to forget how much everyone still admires my parents, especially District 11. They're still incredibly thankful to my Mom for helping Rue, apparently.
I paint for a few with Lily, who shows me how to properly paint some grass on my arm, then move to the throwing knives station. In front of me is Xavier who is actually pretty good, then I go and miss only three shots.
About an hour later, we're all sent to a cafeteria to eat lunch. I make myself a plate of chicken coated with some sort of sweet orange sauce, and a side of rice. I sit next to Xavier, Lily, Jaden, and Ty who is Lily's district partner. We all keep up a steady chat about the Capitol and the food here before talking about what the arena might look like. "I think it'll be a desert, with sand and snakes," Ty says. "What about a meadow with a forest?" Lily adds. "I'm thinking of an amusement park," Xavier says. "I wouldn't be surprised if they threw me into the same arena my parents were in," I say. They silence themselves. Maybe bringing up my parent's games is too risky here.
To break the awkward silence, Jay sets his tray down to my right. "Hello," He greets. "Hi," I reply. The other three stare at him, most likely because he's a career. "Don't worry, I come in peace." He flashes his smile at them. They all laugh slightly in response to his joke, then resume eating. "So, what do you guys think of the other tributes, that girl from 10 is terrifying," He says.
"Ramona?" Jaden says. "She's scary at first, but she's really nice." "Oh, so like Willow," Jay says. I remember his comment yesterday before the parade, saying I looked terrifying. "I guess you could say that," I respond. We eat the rest of our meal, keeping with the occasional chatter, then return back to the training center.
I spend another hour in the knot tying station going over some snare traps for both animals and humans. Then, I do some combat with a trainer and finish off my day with archery. The bows they have here are much different than mine back home. Mine is worn, since it used to be my Mom's, but is easy to use because of how loose the string is. Here, the strings are tighter than what I'm used to and shoot the arrow at a faster speed than my old one back home does.
Xavier and I get on the elevator, with Jay running in just before the doors close. He presses the number 4, then hits 12 for us as well. "Thank you," Xavier says. "Oh, no problem," Jay replies. When the elevator shoots up, his hazel eyes widen slightly at the sudden speed. I'm sure mine are the same, Capitol elevators are faster than what any of us are used to. We reach level 3, then 4. The doors open and Jay smiles at me again. "See you guys tomorrow," He says. Xavier and I both wave as the doors close.
"You and Jay seem to get along well," Xavier says. "Yeah, he's nice for a career," I respond. The doors open to our floor and we walk out. Daton is sitting at the table, eating one of five full plates of food, and Safa is waiting in front of the elevator. "So," She says as we walk to the dining table. "How was it?" "It was alright," Xavier says.
We both sit down as the same Avox from last night places a plate of steak and potatoes in front of me. "Are you guys thinking of any alliances?" Daton asks. I think back to all of the tributes I've talked to today. Lily definitely is someone I want to team with, and she seems pretty close with Jaden. "Lily from 11, and Jaden from 10," I say. "Alright, who else?" He asks. "Jay, from 4," Xavier answers. "A career?" Daton asks. "Yes, he's actually pretty cool," Xavier responds.
"Ok, I'll talk with 11 and 10's mentors, but give it another day before going for a career. They're tricky to trust," Daton explains. We finish eating our dinner, then dessert comes out. It's a cold, sweet strawberry soup drizzled in chocolate. We eat our dessert, then all head to bed. I go into my room, still hungry, and decide to order some food. All I have to do is speak into a microphone attached to the television remote, and an Avox will bring the food to my room in five minutes. I order the same chicken I ate at lunch, and wait.
Five minutes pass, then there's a knock at my door before the brown eyed avox walks in. "I do recognize you," I say quietly. She shakes her head, then sets the food down on my bedside table. "Don't be scared to te- write down," I say. She sighs slightly before bringing a paper and pen out from her pocket.
She scribbles something down and hands the paper to me.
Azalea
"Azalea? I guess I don't know you, I'm sorry for all the trouble." She grabs the paper again and writes down something else before handing the paper back to me.
You don't know me, but your mother might.
"What do you mean?" I ask. She scribbles again, and I swear I can see tears form in her eyes. She hands it back to me and I gasp at what she wrote down.
I'm Rue's little sister.