Chapter One-Hundred-and-Ten; Secretly Deadly
"It's disgusting," Stephanie spat vehemently as she kept her gaze trained unflinchingly upon the sight a few metres away.
Instinct was telling her to look away and shudders were racing up her spine with each sordid detail, but her stubbornness wouldn't let her turn.
The Careers were a few metres away. They had no need to go seeking alliances and the cameras were trained feverishly on them.
They had snagged the limelight early on and from the smugly, satisfied expressions on their numerous mentors faces, Stephanie surmised that they had cooked up this interview strategy to get back the Capitol's attention.
Stephanie watched them grimly with narrowed eyes, each had a camera focused on them.
Har had draped himself casually across the rails with a winning grin while Lana who was seated in front of him, spoke directly to the reporters who were drooling with her every word. She was lounged languidly in a chair, her blonde hair was curled loosely just brushing her tapered chin and she grinned almost lazily. They looked like a prized couple.
Tarii and Cron seemed to have a different approach. Tarii was perched on a table eagerly, her hair falling in glossy cascades down her back while Cron stood at her side, his arms folded casually with his biceps bulging, grinning brightly.
But their words were what chilled Stephanie and the Capitol reporters lapped them up greedily.
The Careers were making vicious promises, bloodthirsty threats. They were describing in sickening detail the revenge they were going to exact on Vir in the arena….and the Capitolites were enraptured by it.
The bright sunshine suddenly seemed garish. It seemed so horribly twisted. The four individuals in front of her were beautiful; Tarii had undeniable grace, her cousin Cron Stephanie couldn't help but recall the innocuous expression he usually wore, always quick to laughter. Lana was a golden beauty incomparable and Har just oozed confidence and superiority.
The spiteful words, the blood-curdling descriptions of what Vir would suffer in the arena seemed so incongruous, so wrong coming out of their mouths. It seemed so warped to watch Lana smile breathtakingly, flicking her golden hair before promising that they would make Vir scream so loud that everyone in the arena would be as deaf as he was by the end of it.
The reporters laughed gleefully, ever-eager for more. This is what they had been waiting for.
"How can anyone listen to that and think it's entertaining?" Stephanie demanded angrily.
Prall shifted uncomfortably at her side. After the first race had drawn to a close – Frenkin's green and golden horse had won – Stephanie had sought out the District 5 male tribute as Haymitch had urged her.
They had been engaged in some sort of stilted conversation since then. It was clear that Prall's mentor Crick had made a similar comment to his tribute to 'suss Stephanie out'. As such there were many suspicious glances on Prall's part.
Stephanie have naïvely initially thought they would inevitably share some sense of understanding with one another; both tributes in this joke of a Capitol, surrounded by things they could barely comprehend.
But after she had made one too many derogatory comments about the vulture-like camera crews, it became apparent that Prall thought she harboured a death-wish.
Prall had been raised with the good sense instilled in him to fear the Capitol and keep any dissenting words about it to himself. He did not have Stephanie's quick temper or pride to be foolish enough to voice his opinions in so dangerous a setting.
"How can they be so unfeeling?" Stephanie demanded again in a furious whisper. She had been doing it for the past few minutes; voicing rhetorical questions that she no longer expected Prall to answer. However this time he did.
"They're Careers. What do you expect?" he murmured, throwing her an exasperated look.
"A shred of humanity," she muttered in reply.
As Cron demonstrated some manoeuvre on a suitably anxious Capitolite volunteer from the crowd, Stephanie scoffed with disgust finally tearing her gaze away.
Prall sighed, the expletive heavy with relief that Stephanie had finally stopped scowling so indiscreetly at the Careers. If he was going to be in an alliance with her, he didn't want the Careers hunting them down first, all because Stephanie couldn't keep her opinions to herself.
However Stephanie's gaze was busy scouring for someone else. She didn't know really why she was looking for her or what she expected to find.
But Slena wasn't amongst the crowd. Stephanie suspected she had wanted to see what Slena's reaction would be to what the Careers planned to do to her district partner.
Would there be guilt on her face? Stephanie wondered. Afterall Slena had told Vir to do it; she was responsible for this.
Stephanie was also curious about Slena now. She heavily suspected that Slena was no longer with the Careers or else she would be up there with them on their podium spewing out their hateful words. But Stephanie pondered if it was Slena's choice or the Careers that she was no longer a part of their alliance.
Would the Careers no longer trust her after her district partner's actions? Or had Slena decided she couldn't betray Vir like that, not after she was essentially responsible for what would happen to him now?
Stephanie chewed thoughtfully on her bottom lip before Prall's quiet voice silenced her musings.
"At least we managed to get rid of our lesser halves," Prall mumbled, his bright eyes flickering for a moment elsewhere.
Stephanie furrowed her brow confusedly as she followed his line of vision until her gaze fell on a sight that made a sad smile touch her lips fleetingly.
Frenkin was leaning over the rail, pointing animatedly at the horses gathered in the distance. He was evidently explaining something with big hand gestures to Ava, who was listening with an expression of rapt attention and wonder. Isa was standing close by them, engaged in conversation with two other Capitol women that Stephanie distantly recognised as Mrs Ara and her friend. The Capitol women kept throwing fond glances towards the two tributes, cooing together when Frenkin helped Ava up onto the rail so she could see better, their small hands linked together.
Stephanie indulged herself another second of drinking in the sight before Prall's words registered with her.
She turned sharply, her gaze zeroing in on him shrewdly. "What do you mean by that?"
Prall eyed her warily like he had been from the start; trying to decipher Stephanie's motives.
"Well…they're not exactly the best candidates for an alliance," Prall ventured cautiously, confused by Stephanie's growing frosty look.
"Sorry to disappoint Prall," Stephanie spat, "But I'd choose Frenkin and Ava to be in my alliance before you."
Prall's expression dissolved to one of incredulity, "Are you serious?!"
Stephanie looked to him, her eyes wide and uncomprehending, "Ava is from your district – she is barely a child. How can you discard her without a second thought?! What is wrong with you?"
Prall shook his head minutely at her in disbelief, "What is wrong with me? – What is wrong with you?! You do realise this is the Hunger Games – one victor. Just one. I want to live, and I know my chances aren't great, but they'll be even less with Ava tagging around after me. I don't like it, but really what choice do I have?"
Stephanie closed her eyes for a moment longer than a blink, trying to gather in her exploding anger, to ignore the rage hissing through her veins that was making her blood boil.
Prall was…right. As much as she might hate to admit it; no wonder he was looking at her so incredulously.
He must think her some completely delusional fool that was going to prance about the arena with a straggling line of the defenceless and weak tributes behind her.
Stephanie's hands curled into fists. She acknowledged bitterly that she had delayed talking about the arena too long.
While other tributes had been served the brutal truth immediately, Stephanie had been given time to develop feelings for Frenkin like a younger brother, to fall in love with her mentor Haymitch.
As such, thoughts that other tributes would have legitimately considered by this stage about severing ties with their weaker district partner, hadn't even crossed Stephanie's mind. And now given how she viewed Frenkin, the thought was near impossible to even dwell on.
Stephanie realised that she wasn't angry at Prall – not really.
She couldn't be. To want to survive was human instinct and wasn't that what Stephanie had been disgusted at the Careers for; their near inhuman disregard for life.
How could she expect Prall to be so human to care, and expect him to then disregard his own life essentially?
Prall watched the anger melt away from her face; Crick had warned him that she was strange.
He had been hoping that like the rumours suggested that Stephanie concealed some secret talent that made her dangerous. Why else had the cameras been so focused on her from the beginning that even the Careers had to fight to grab the spotlight from her?
But all Prall had seen of Stephanie had left him unconvinced. She had a volatile temper, a stubborn streak and a deep compassion that while it was touching, was completely out of place in something like the Hunger Games.
Prall sucked in a deep breath remembering his mentor's words. Crick had said that Haymitch was convinced Stephanie would win. So…what was he missing?
Prall decided to try once more to see if Stephanie was hiding something and he calculated he would get a better response if he were to try it her way.
"What the Careers are doing is vile," Prall voiced with quiet conviction. Stephanie's gaze snapped to him, immediately empathetic but there was still a sliver of suspicion eyeing him carefully.
Prall swallowed. "I wish there was some way to stop them from doing…all that stuff they were saying to Var."
"Vir."
"What?"
"His name is Vir."
"Oh yeah – course."
Stephanie still eyed Prall astutely as she tried to account for his sudden change in sympathies.
"I just wish there was something we could do – in the arena I mean, to well, stop Vir from having to go through that."
Stephanie's eyes narrowed further.
Prall looked down at her. He was at least a head taller than her despite being three years her junior and he looked it. Despite his lanky physique that had him towering over her his face was youthful. His green eyes were round and his bottom lip protruded stubbornly in a childish pout without him trying.
"Well what would you suggest?" Stephanie voiced casually, trying to keep the evident suspicion from her demeanour.
Prall shrugged helplessly. "Taking on the Careers?" he suggested and Stephanie felt her eyes sharpen to points.
Minutes before Stephanie had been able to discern the mild panic on Prall's face as he worried she would annoy the Careers just by scowling at them and now…
"That doesn't seem a sure way to survive," Stephanie replied, recalling Prall's previous words.
"It's showing human compassion," Prall shot back and their gazes locked.
They each knew at that moment that they were being played. Stephanie was deliberately holding back trying to puzzle out Prall's motive, while Prall was deliberately playing to where he knew Stephanie was vulnerable.
Prall thought Stephanie was just being cagey about her 'secret talent' while Stephanie was at a loss for the line of Prall's questioning.
"That's very commendable of you," Stephanie replied shortly. "How would you then go about taking on the Careers though?" Stephanie inquired.
"How would you?" Prall countered quickly, too quickly.
And all at once Stephanie knew what was happening and she recognised the look of battling scepticism in Prall's round, childish eyes; having seen the same look in Slena's at The Chandelier Rooms.
The same feeling of irked exasperation rose in Stephanie as it had in The Chandelier Rooms; the urge to give Prall a cuff to the back of his head to make him come to his senses – She wasn't hiding anything!
But in the same instant something else occurred to Stephanie and she quelled her initial frustration, smoothing her features into something more neutral.
Prall's eyes darted about her face, watching each muscle twitch for any give-away. He leaned towards her confidentially, "I mean we could use whatever it is you can do for…good – save Vir from the Careers."
Stephanie wished she really had got a secret talent. Then maybe she could do something good in the arena; though the idea that something that could be considered even remotely good could occur in the blood-soaked arena seemed impossible.
Prall was studying her again and Stephanie edged back a bit, uncomfortable by how close he was.
"What is it?" Prall urged her, and Stephanie caught the desperate undertone to his voice.
Stephanie swallowed. She hated being deceptive like this. It wasn't something that came easily to her. The secrets that she had kept from Haymitch had tortured her until they had manifested themselves into haunting nightmares.
But…she had no skill with weapons, no secret talents, no chance. And just as despair loomed once more, her resolve to win, that steely determination rose again…Trindlesworth Victor blood ran through her veins.
Stephanie gritted her teeth as she resolved she would have to make a talent then. Her secrecy, this false idea that she concealed some deadly gift would be her weapon.
It was a dangerous gamble to take. If the Careers heard she harboured some secret talent they would make her a priority to take out. But then, Stephanie thought grimly, they had already placed a target on her back a while ago.
And maybe if others thought she was deadly then she could protect Frenkin using her reputation for a while at least.
But if she set Prall right now; her slim chances of an alliance would be non-existent instantly with her admission that she was essentially defenceless.
So having resolved herself and hoping Haymitch would approve, Stephanie set her first plan in motion that directly concerned the arena.
"Well that's for me to know – and the Careers to find out," Stephanie answered, keeping her voice sinisterly low. She remembered watching Lana in front of the cameras and she added in a sweet twist to her lips, hoping it would have the desired effect.
It had, as Prall leaned back, visibly impressed. Stephanie even thought she saw something like relief or hope flash across his expression and Stephanie inwardly grimaced, when she imagined how he would react when he discovered the truth.
Stephanie took a deep breath, her stomach roiling unpleasantly. It was a risk she was taking, one that could backfire on her especially when the time came to enact said non-existent talent. But what choice did she have?
"I knew it," Prall said confidently. The suspicious glares and wary glances from earlier had evaporated, replaced with this warm camaraderie as he looked at Stephanie anew.
An inaudible sigh of relief trembled about Stephanie's lips for a moment as she gave an assertive nod, hoping her expression would not betray her nerves.
She needed to look fierce and unyielding for her next words if she was to succeed, "I take it we are in an alliance now, Prall?"
Prall chuckled, "Of course!"
Stephanie nodded again; now for the difficult part.
"I want our district partners to be in our alliance."
Some of the humour bled away from Prall's lips as some of the scepticism returned.
"Ava? – And your boy?"
"Frenkin," Stephanie corrected firmly. The rather frosty thought occurred to her that Prall had most likely only bothered to learn the names of those he considered worth knowing. He probably only knew Ava's because she was his district partner.
Prall visibly mulled over her words as he chewed on the inside of his cheek. He looked down at Stephanie with hooded eyes, silently considering and Stephanie hoped fervently that her desperation didn't show on her face.
"Alright," he finally agreed flippantly and Stephanie allowed herself a tight smile of victory that froze on her face at Prall's next words.
"I suppose they'll be good scouts to send ahead if nothing else – you know to check the coast is clear in the arena. Ava may look small but believe me, she definitely has a pair of lungs on her – her screams could shatter glass!" Prall chuckled as he drank from his champagne flute; completely relaxed and at ease.
Stephanie clenched her teeth together so tightly she was sure they would shatter, her Capitol nails dug so harshly into her palms she felt warm blood trickle between her knuckles.
She wanted to sink her fist directly into Prall's baby face and hear his scream rent the air. Suddenly some of the things the Careers had been saying seemed pretty damn reasonable.
Stephanie just couldn't believe the callousness of it. She had reasoned Prall's actions to herself! She had berated herself for expecting Prall to be a martyr but this…
Stephanie's expression darkened as she considered; the first person in her alliance and she already wanted to kill him.