Chapter 10: Diana

Diana wasn't like the other girls.

While they colored pictures of fair maidens in pretty dresses, she drew scenes of valiant knights. Maximus delivering the winning blow. Viridi before the fallout. She bit her schoolteacher when she ripped up the drawings. 'Be a lady!' the old hag yelled as she whipped her in front of the class. She took every beating in stride.

While they fantasized travelling the districts as a Peacekeeper wife, she imagined her Victory Tour. She shared her daydreams with the closest thing she had as a friend. Said she didn't want a boy distracting her from the Games. By the end of the school day, she was known as "The Lesbian". Winning the Games made it worse.

While they resigned themselves to the factories, she headed off to the all-girls Beta House, "The Kitty Litter" as the Alpha and Gamma boys christened. Her parents humored her interest. They figured actually experiencing the place would get it out of her system. They laughed at her wanting to volunteer then balked when they realized she was serious. 'Girls don't win The Hunger Games honey,' her father told her. 'That's just the way it is."

Against the odds, she was a stellar student. Yet the more she proved herself, the worse it got. The other trainees hated her. She had money. She had a family. She didn't need Beta House. Who was this girl coming in and taking their shot at a decent life?

Viridi, Beta House's headmaster, held a soft spot for the girl. He knew what it was like to be doubted, to be outcasted for reasons beyond your control. After a particularly rough sparring match-turned-beatdown, he shielded the bruised teen in his office.

"If I had a frustum for every time your parents called me, I'd be richer than Snow," he told his only day student. "Are you sure you want to continue here?"

"Yes." She sat straight in her chair, ignoring the gash on her cheek.

"No one would judge you if you quit."

Nostrils flared at the word 'quit'. "I would. That's all that matters."

"I think she's the one," Viridi whispered to Maximus as Diana was chosen at the President's Display.

"You say that every year."

"Well this year's different. I can feel it."

"That too."

"Sorry buddy," Roman shouted over the two, granting looks from the officials. "My boy's gonna win it. Another one to your graveyard, Viridi."

"Victor Vox Segreto Roman!"

With two snaps of the fingers, the younger Victors went silent. "Quiet, or the both of you will be whipped for annoying me."

Diana ignored the constant squabbling. She was more interested in the buzz going around. 'The biggest Hunger Games yet!' the commentators kept repeating. What was so different about this year that neither Viridi nor Roman knew about it?

She got her answer in the Capitol. Sitting at the opposite ends of the City Circle were two towers decked in white marble. The Prep Center and The Training Center, a great use of the decade-long quota increase of the districts.

Picking their jaws off the ground, the Tributes fought through a rabid crowd formed outside to be whisked away inside. Dressed by the finest, they were hoisted onto chariots and presented to the masses. All of the Capitol was squeezed inside the City Circle. Instead of the jeers and boos of the Coliseum, there were shouts of joy. Diana, a marble statue splattered in blood, waved at an enormous group wearing the District Two Arena shirts before laughing at her flabbergasted mentors.

It hit her during the president's speech. The Hunger Games was no longer just a punishment for war. It was a part of their culture. She beamed with pride to be a part of such a monumental change.

Settling inside the Training Center, she joined the others, the "Careers" as the commentators now called them. While the outer districts huddled together in fear, a swift competition broke out between the six. She beat the boys in hand-to-hand combat. Hit more targets than One and Four's girls combined. The boys were impressed. The girls were furious.

"Don't worry," she overheard Land with the other boys. "She's just a girl."

She scored a ten in Training, highest of the year, just for him.

"My, you're rather...androgynous," Thalia started off the interview. In the rows of revealing dresses and flirty undertones sat Diana. Bare makeup, hair cut short, silver pantsuit shirtless underneath. Woman enough to catch their interest. Man enough to keep it.

The Capitol was in love.

"Let me sponsor you," a man decked in jewels cornered her at The Showcase. It was an hour-long gala allowing Tributes to meet face-to-face with potential sponsors. A matter of life and death. She hung to the man's every word and yelped when he signed the contract. Across the room, Roman looked on in outrage.

"Fifth sponsor of the night." Viridi patted her shoulder while giving his fellow mentor a kind finger.

"I look forward to your performance tomorrow." Instead of kissing her cheeks, he extended out his hand. The warrior met his with a firm grip.

"I got this," Diana told Viridi, high off confidence. "The crown is mine."

Then, Diana saw the arena. Replacing the serene meadow of previous years were gunfire. Gray skies. The rumble of bombs. The tattered flag of District Thirteen.

They were in The Dark Days.

She was the first to snap out of the flashbacks. Winning the race to the Cornucopia, she squealed when she saw what lied inside.

Guns.

The others were clumsy, handling the weapons like foreign objects. Never used a gun before, much too young to fight in the war. But the daughter of a retired Peacekeeper knew better. The bloodbath was child's play. The few who survived her rampage scattered through the smoke. The Gamemakers didn't need to release the mutts. Diana was all the entertainment they needed.

"Let's go, let's go!" she commanded the others away. They swept through the war zone, dodging shrapnel and tear gas. Tributes were hard to come by, smoke concealing most of the arena. Diana did most of the work, the others shell-shocked by the chaos around them. Their uselessness annoyed her. She was a war child too.

Things went well, until the third day. They almost killed Diana. Morale was low, they were tired of being in the Games, and Diana getting the best sponsor gifts was not helping. A peace offering of beef stroganoff and water saved the Capitol's favorite from getting her head blown off. It was the first time she questioned going into the Games. Trying to prove she was just as good as the boys suddenly felt stupid with Land's gun shoved to her forehead.

Things made a turnaround the next day. Action lulled. There was an announcement. A feast in the Cornucopia. They threw down their dried canteens and ran.

The others drooled over what foods they would eat. Diana, belly full, counted. Going off the death tally they showed every night, there were six left. The others and...District Three? She remembered nothing about the boy, but he must be something to last this long. Quietly, she slipped away in the smoke while the others pummeled towards the Cornucopia, none noticing her absence.

In the distance, Diana watched it fall apart. District One went down first, then Four's boy. By the time they caught on, there was only Land left to kill.

The shootout raged on. The little boy held his own, his size making it hard to spot him. But then he was spotted and it was just Land gorging on the mounds of food. Completely unaware of the girl who blew his brains out on the roasted pig in front of him.

Maximus patted his protégé on the back. "Well done Viridi."

Roman smiled while shaking his hand. "Congratulations. I still hate you."

The dreary-eyed Victor thanked the men as they walked away. He viewed the envelope in his hands. 'A Request'. He looked at the recovering girl. He tore the envelope in two and kissed her forehead.

Not his Tribute.


The first female Victor. Hope you enjoyed it. :) Expect Chapter 11 next week.