DOUBLE UPDATE!
Chapter One-Hundred-and-Sixteen; Accusations
"You're dead," Slena snarled as she tightened her grip around Stephanie's neck.
Stephanie's eyes bulged as she clawed uselessly at the hands at her throat.
She hadn't the time to comprehend why or even contemplate a reason for Slena attacking her like this. The only thing her entire being was attuned to were the constricting hands around her throat and the cold determination in Slena's eyes.
Her ears were just beginning to ring, a shower of white spots appearing across her vision when suddenly the pressure was gone.
Stephanie rolled onto her side coughing out great hacking breaths, her throat burning. Through watering eyes she looked up and was momentarily surprised to see that it was Tain who had jumped to her rescue, tearing Slena off of her though it had cost him a great effort and he was panting heavily with the exertion.
Slena whirled around immediately with all the deadly precision Stephanie had feared she would have.
Slena's unkempt appearance reminded Stephanie of when Slena had cried brokenly in front of Dess on her knees begging for the life of her cousin to be spared for her mistake. Her dark hair hung in wild tangles about her shoulders while her eyes were wet and desperate.
Slena looked completely set to lunge for Stephanie again and Stephanie shakily began to gain her feet. Small hands were supporting her as best they could and Stephanie didn't need to turn to know it was Frenkin.
However before Slena could move an inch Capitol guards had her arms twisted behind her back. Slena give an almost feral snarl, snapping at the air like an animal as her gaze burned into Stephanie.
And Stephanie fleetingly saw that although Slena's eyes were ablaze with hatred there was something decidedly more vulnerable in them as well; a tortured or anguished look that reminded her of Tain and Astara.
"What the hell is this?!" an unfamiliar voice cried and Stephanie vaguely recognised the woman as one of the District One Mentors. She cast a disgusted look at Slena who still struggled against the guard's hold, "did they reap the District 4 tributes from the bloody lunatic asylum this year?!"
Capitolites were distressed that something like this could happen again, tributes stood in muted shock with their mentors – the camera crews were ecstatic making sure to capture everything.
Stephanie fleetingly thought that any chance of her fading into the background after that display had been swiftly eradicated.
Stephanie swallowed with difficulty, one of her shaking hands was hovering near her bruising throat. The collar of her top had well and truly been ruined and the sheer material was hanging on by mere threads, covering her modesty.
Stephanie numbly realised that her styling team had gathered behind her and in a rare moment of compassion one of her stylists – she wasn't sure which – draped their coat around her trembling shoulders.
A buzz of noise was around her Stephanie was aware; Frenkin clutching her hand desperately was gazing up at her his mouth forming words that her brain couldn't make sense off, other conversations were building around her and already Capitol reporters were demanding answers of her.
The numb shock was the only thing keeping Stephanie from hitting the ground in a dead faint.
Stephanie gazed around her dazedly, uncomprehendingly taking in the chaos. The ringing was back in her ears. Ficen was gone.
And Slena was still struggling against her captor's holds fiercely, but she couldn't win.
Then suddenly Slena's head snapped up, her dark hair falling across her face as she focused intently on Stephanie.
Stephanie saw Slena's mouth twist and realised that Slena was speaking to her - or more accurately screaming at her, veins pulsing in her neck, spittle flying from her mouth.
Slena's words crashed through the numbed ringing in Stephanie's ears.
"YOU!" Slena screeched, "ARE DEAD IN THE ARENA – DO YOU HEAR ME?! YOU ARE DEAD!"
Reporters were frantically asking Slena questions ignoring the guards that tried to push them away as they dragged Slena back. But the reporters were nothing more than tenacious flies beating against the storm of Slena's ire and she barely noticed them.
"YOU KILLED HIM!" Slena suddenly flung at Stephanie, her voice breaking and that same tragic expression claiming her features as she scrunched up her face in an unsuccessful attempt to stem her tears.
"YOU MURDERER! YOU KILLED MY COUSIN!"
"Get her out of here!" one of the Capitol crowd cried, "the girl is clearly insane and a danger to the public!"
The guards stopped trying to struggle with Slena and there was a series of cries of protest most notably from the district dwellers as the bulkiest guard dealt Slena a severe blow with his gun to her head.
Slena immediately slumped forward, her ebony hair brushing the ground, finally silent as cameras flashed wildly around her.
Slena's unconscious form was hauled away then while chaos descended similar to the melee that had ensued after the incident at The Chandelier Rooms.
And Stephanie found herself completely transfixed, oblivious to everything around her as her eyes remained unblinkingly glued to a spot of floor a few metres in front of her that was now stained crimson with Slena's blood.
…
"Isa what in the hell happened?" Haymitch demanded as he reached them.
He had come out searching for Stephanie to drag back to her date when it was impossible to miss the commotion.
"S-some district…s…" Isa gave up, wailing inconsolably at a deafening volume into her handkerchief.
Haymitch snarled in frustration as he shook Stephanie's shoulders again.
Stephanie's head lolled lifelessly, her golden eyes wide and unblinking locked on something over Haymitch's shoulder.
"Stephanie!" Haymitch tried again and for once it was he that disregarded their surroundings.
He clasped Stephanie's face tightly within his hands, trying to force a calm he most certainly didn't feel. He swiped his thumbs across her cheekbones forcing Stephanie to meet his gaze.
"She's in shock," Bright said, glancing at him distractedly as she placed an arm around Isa's heaving shoulders.
"Can you blame her?! – that lunatic came out of nowhere and just a-attacked her – no provocation whatsoever!" Lashes cried and Stephanie may have smirked if she could have heard her stylist's indignation on her behalf.
"Stephanie was attacked?" Haymitch prompted, his expression desperate now but he couldn't help it.
"It was Slena," a smaller voice piped up and Haymitch looked down to see Frenkin with tears swimming in his eyes, "the District 4 girl s-she attacked Stephanie a…and put her hands…" Frenkin's small hands rose shakily mimicking feebly how Slena had tried to strangle Stephanie, "she said she was going to…" Frenkin's voice trailed off into a horrified whisper that Haymitch had to strain to catch it, "kill Stephanie."
Haymitch felt something clench painfully inside him as he turned back to Stephanie as though to reassure himself that Slena hadn't exacted out her threat.
But Stephanie was completely unresponsive to all attempts to reach her. Her entire body was shaking, Haymitch could feel it beneath his hands. He slipped one hand from her face, curling his arm protectively around her waist; her skin was ice cold and it unnerved Haymitch like nothing else.
Haymitch tried once more to coax some response from her, as he slid his hand that still cupped her cheek into her hair, threading his fingers through the tangled locks like he had done in the private box so short a while ago.
"Stephanie," Haymitch breathed and Stephanie shuddered, her eyes staring through him unseeing as she murmured something incoherently over and over again under her breath.
Just like the incident in The Chandelier Rooms guards had begun to hurriedly usher everyone else in the vicinity away from the scene except for the ones involved.
Haymitch looked up and felt anger cloud his reason as he spotted the two individuals hanging back and looking miserable a few metres away; the District 4 mentors.
Haymitch clenched his jaw tightly as he unknotted his fingers from Stephanie's hair and levelled the two mentors with a livid glare.
"What the hell was your girl up to?!" Haymitch shouted over at them. He didn't know them personally, he had never much cause to interact with the District 4 mentors; the Careers and both were before his Games.
The man with some grey stubble shadowing his jaw looked up at Haymitch and grimaced but the woman with long red hair looked hurriedly down at the ground.
The man cowered slightly in fright at the anger radiating off Haymitch, while Haymitch held a numb Stephanie protectively to himself.
"W-we don't know," the man replied hesitantly, running a hand nervously over his stubble, "I-I mean Slena h-hasn't been right since Vir…you know at the Chandelier Rooms; she's been jittery for days now. And then…when we arrived here – I-I don't know what h-happened," the man swallowed convulsively as Haymitch felt some of his anger ebb; it still simmered beneath the surface but there was no point in expounding it on the two cowering mentors before him who evidently knew nothing.
Haymitch was about to turn his attentions back to Stephanie; she was the only thing that mattered right now he reasoned when the District 4 female mentor spoke up.
Haymitch's gaze snapped to her as her voice raised tremulously, she locked eyes with Haymitch, licking her teeth anxiously.
"What?" Haymitch barked and the red-haired woman jolted.
"S-Slena mentioned something about h-her…cousin," the woman repeated.
Against him Stephanie made some kind of strange whimpering noise and Haymitch tightened his hold about her waist, in an attempt to soothe her.
"Yes, yes – we all heard the girl's delusional accusations!" Bright shot sneeringly from where she was still trying to console a disconsolate Isa. The stylists had gathered in a huddle a pointed distance away from the 'district dwellers'. However between Stephanie's frozen stupor and Frenkin's teary and frightened face the risk posed to them was minimal.
However Haymitch zeroed in on Bright's words "accusations?" he repeated before he fired an impatient expectant glance at the red-haired woman.
The woman licked her teeth again before replying, "Slena was convinced that…well that – that your tribute," the woman motioned hesitantly towards Stephanie as though afraid that Haymitch would attack her for merely pointing at the cowering girl in his arms.
"Yes?" Haymitch barked impatiently.
"Sl-Slena was c-convinced that S-Stephanie was responsible for her cousin's death," the red-haired woman finished.
Haymitch's brow furrowed, "where would she get an idea like that from?"
The District 4 mentors exchanged a glance, shrugging, "we don't know," the man answered more relaxed now that Haymitch didn't appear too murderous, "Slena just lost it after talking to your stylist Ficen – "
Haymitch cut across him fiercely then, "Ficen?!" he cried.
The man looked nervous again as he nodded hesitantly.
"Yes I saw Ficen talking to that lunatic girl before she went crazy," Bright piped up before she added in a more confidential tone pursing her lips meaningfully, "and Ficen's hair was a state!"
Haymitch's head was swimming as he looked almost helplessly towards Stephanie.
However no further time was given to try and figure out just what in the hell had happened as a very stern-faced Capitol official appeared at that moment.
He looked around at them all gravely before settling on the District 4 mentors first, "the female tribute Slena Clearwater is currently being apprehended. You will be brought to her and the repercussions of her actions will be delivered." The man gestured sharply and a Capitol guard stepped forth to lead the District 4 mentors to Slena.
The two mentors didn't look back as they silently followed after the guard to discover the fate of their remaining tribute.
The man then turned to their small group that consisted of anyone that had anything to do with the District 3 tributes essentially, excluding Ficen of course.
He took one look at Stephanie who looked like she was dead on her feet and grimaced.
"The female tribute Stephanie Trindlesworth will be brought immediately to the First Aid Station down by the Oval Track," the man instructed them.
Stephanie shuddered again in Haymitch's arms as Isa noisily began to dry her tears, preparing to accompany Stephanie.
The man cast a dubious glance towards the flustered escort when Haymitch spoke gruffly.
"I'll take her," he said in a voice that would brook no argument.
The man cast a grateful look to Haymitch and as a last minute thought Haymitch looked to Frenkin.
Frenkin gazed up at him with tear-rimmed blue eyes, "I'll stay here," he said knowingly and Haymitch managed a curt nod in response.
And then Haymitch was gone, led by a Capitol official and a guarded escort to the First Aid Station, Stephanie shuddering against him the whole way.
DOUBLE UPDATE!