DOUBLE UPDATE! – MAKE SURE TO READ PREVIOUS CHAPTER!
Chapter One-Hundred-and-Thirty-Five; Don't Die
Stephanie gave a small shriek of shocked surprise, as she exited Frenkin's bedroom and came face to face with Electra.
Electra sniggered as Stephanie placed a hand on her racing heart and shot Electra an admonishing look.
"Do you always do that?" Electra asked casually.
"Do what?"
"Tuck him in at night?"
Stephanie shrugged unconcernedly, "and what if I do?"
"In case you haven't noticed this is the Hunger Games, not Mother of the Year competition," Electra drawled sarcastically.
Stephanie scowled as she stalked by the woman not deeming her with an answer.
Stephanie strode into her room, wanting nothing more than to collapse onto her bed and slip into a sweet sleep of oblivion.
However much to her annoyance Electra followed her into the room, already having produced another cupcake from the voluminous pockets of the long cardigan she wore.
Stephanie frowned up at the blue-haired woman as she plonked herself on her bed. "Goodnight then," Stephanie said meaningfully.
Electra utterly ignored Stephanie as she likewise parked herself on Stephanie's bed. Stephanie's frown only darkened, as having finished her cupcake, Electra proceeded to unconcernedly brush the crumbs from herself onto Stephanie's bed.
"Do you mind?!" Stephanie cried indignantly.
Electra looked up at her, "not at all," she replied, a smirk dancing on her lips.
Stephanie rolled her eyes towards the ceiling. "What do you want?"
Electra's eyes narrowed as she scrutinised Stephanie shrewdly, "I'm thinking…" she mused aloud.
Stephanie fixed Electra with an impatient look which the other woman ignored, "what are you thinking?" Stephanie finally demanded.
"I'm thinking that Haymitch is mad. Either that – or the alcohol has finally stewed his brain."
Stephanie frowned, immediately alert and concerned at any mention of Haymitch, as Electra leaned back and produced yet another cupcake from her pocket.
"What?" Stephanie demanded.
Electra nibbled at her cupcake as she studied Stephanie for a moment more in silence before speaking. "Well…" Electra began conversationally, "Haymitch calls me up – after five years of flat out refusing to allow me to help in the slightest – and asks me to get to the Capitol pronto to mentor. You can imagine one of the first things I asked was…why?"
Stephanie frowned, "and?"
"Haymitch tells me he's convinced we got a winner this year; another District 3 Victor to keep the two of us company up in our cosy little Victor Village."
Realisation dawned on Stephanie's face, "me?" she surmised.
Electra smirked grimly, "so far I'm not impressed," she said airily.
Stephanie rolled her eyes, "then go back home," she said wearily, really she was not in the mood for this at all.
Electra scoffed laughingly before grinning infuriatingly. "I promised Haymitch I'd stay. And because Haymitch is one of the few people I actually like in this otherwise sorry world, I have to keep my word."
Stephanie tried to run a weary hand through her hair, momentarily forgetting her hair was resembling a bird's nest at that moment. Stephanie sleepily resolved to take care of it in the morning.
But Electra's gaze travelled over Stephanie's utterly disastrous appearance. "Do you always look like this or were you just having a bad day?"
Stephanie scowled, "I was tackled to the ground and had a knife pulled on me by you, remember?" she muttered sarcastically.
"And I was cracked in the head. Shall we say we're even?" Electra grinned.
Stephanie sighed, in no mood to argue, "fine."
"So…" Electra began prompting.
Stephanie glared at her, "can this not wait until morning?"
"No," Electra immediately answered, taking a large bite of her cupcake.
Stephanie's glare darkened but Electra didn't seem to care in the slightest.
"So, what makes Haymitch so certain you can win?" Electra asked.
Stephanie's expression softened immediately at the mere mention of Haymitch as she gazed down at her hands.
"I promised him I would try," Stephanie murmured quietly.
Electra frowned, "is that it? You promised him?"
"Well like you, I keep my word," Stephanie snapped in reply.
"Yea but Tiny Tim could promise me he is going to grow wings tomorrow and he could really mean it and he could really try. Doesn't mean he has a hope in hell of doing it."
Stephanie scrubbed at her eyes wearily.
"You good at fighting or what?" Electra began before she waved a hand, cutting Stephanie off before she could even answer with a droll expression. "Never mind; I already know you aren't. A six year old could've thrown off that hold I had you in earlier."
Stephanie scowled.
"Are you a brainiac then; you know extra smart, have the arena figured out in ten minutes?" Electra quizzed her.
"No," Stephanie snapped.
Electra frowned at her, "then how the hell are you going to win these Games?" she exclaimed in complete bafflement.
Stephanie sighed heavily as she dropped her head into her hands, "look, we can talk about it in the morning. Please – I really just want to go to sleep."
"Well tough, I can't go to sleep with this possible concussion Tiny Tim landed me and I want some answers," Electra poked Stephanie in the ribs and Stephanie snapped up with a sigh that almost verged on a snarl.
Electra smirked faintly before her gaze landed on Stephanie's throat, "that's some nasty bruises you got there," she remarked casually.
Stephanie's hand rose to her neck protectively as her gaze flickered instinctively to the window where the lights shone still in the sky.
"So what was the fight about with that other tribute?" Electra asked, tilting her head to the side.
"I don't want to talk about this with you," Stephanie grumbled, averting her gaze from the window.
"Tough. You have to. I'm your mentor."
Stephanie scowled but something decidedly more hurt and longing flashed across her expression as Stephanie thought of Haymitch.
"Did Haymitch say he no longer wanted to mentor me?" Stephanie asked, hating how her voice broke. But she needed to know, desperately. If Haymitch had called Electra in because he no longer wanted to mentor Stephanie himself then Stephanie would know once and for all that Haymitch and she were really through.
Electra shrugged carelessly as she looked at Stephanie noting Stephanie's burning desperate eyes, how tense she looked and how hoarse she sounded.
"Well no, he didn't – " Electra began before her eyes narrowed as she gazed at Stephanie searchingly.
"He didn't what?" Stephanie demanded eagerly.
"What the hell is going on here?" Electra asked.
Stephanie blinked as she frowned distractedly, "what? – what did Haymitch say?"
"Oh frig! I don't bloody believe this!" Electra exclaimed then as she stared at Stephanie, almost horrified, realisation lightening her one bright blue eye.
"He really has gone mad!" Electra said shaking her head hopelessly, "getting involved with a bloody tribute! You think he'd know better; District 3's track record of tributes actually surviving hasn't exactly been an upwards trend," she remarked sarcastically. "I knew something was strange when he rang me out of the blue like that; he sounded strange and everything."
"Strange? – How do you mean he sounded strange?" Stephanie asked desperately, barely hearing Electra's rant.
Electra rolled her eyes, "and she's just as bad as he is! Bonkers; the both of them! Heading for her death and she decides to start living right at the end!"
Stephanie gritted her teeth as her already sorely stretched patience evaporated.
"Well you damn well finish what you were saying about Haymitch?" Stephanie demanded.
Electra fixed Stephanie with a deadpan look, "young love – congratulations," she muttered sarcastically. "Haymitch sounded just as desperately and idiotically in love the last time we spoke as you do," she added wryly.
Stephanie felt her heart stutter happily for a brief moment. She tried not to let herself get too carried away by Electra's words as she wished more fervently than ever that Haymitch would return to the penthouse.
Electra scoffed then as she rolled off Stephanie's bed, trudging resignedly over towards the door.
"Wait!" Stephanie called before she reached it.
Electra glanced over her shoulder at Stephanie; the ruined half of her face covered in shadows.
"Haymitch, did he mention when he might be coming back?" Stephanie asked eagerly.
Electra huffed as she blew out a long breath before answering shortly, "no."
Stephanie visibly deflated at the news as she sunk back into her pillows.
Electra scoffed as she went to the door, intending to yank it open and stride out of this room, this hall, this penthouse – get the train straight back to District 3.
But her hand froze on the door handle as she pursed her lips in determination before stalking back over to Stephanie's bed.
Stephanie sat up, immediately wary.
"What you and Haymitch are doing is stupid," Electra stated bluntly.
Stephanie frowned, "we're not doing anything –" Stephanie began but Electra interrupted her.
"It won't end well. You'll be dead soon and Haymitch will be drinking himself comatose over you. Only this time; well, it seems you're more than just another tribute to him, and he mightn't come back from this drinking binge."
Stephanie swallowed thickly as she gazed up at the wrecked visage of Electra, having no words to offer the woman.
"Haymitch was very good to me when I was…recovering from my accident. I'd hate to see him get hurt," Electra stated quietly.
"That's the last thing I want to do," Stephanie agreed, unable to stop thinking of Haymitch's expression as he had stormed from the room. It was too late though, she had already hurt him Stephanie thought mournfully.
Electra smirked sardonically as she looked down at Stephanie, "then don't die Stephanie Trindlesworth."
Electra turned then to stride from the room purposefully, "and in the morning you're getting some proper mentoring," she warned and Stephanie actually cringed at the very thought of what 'proper mentoring' may be like.
"Goodnight Stephanie," Electra said surprisingly gently then. Stephanie blinked at her, "goodnight Electra," she replied as the blue-haired woman slipped from the room and Stephanie settled down under the covers after having kicked off the blue ruined dress.
As Stephanie tossed and turned atop her bed searching vainly for sleep, her thoughts also tumbled around noisily in her head, demanding attention. She was weary beyond belief yet her mind was buzzing with thoughts.
Amongst worried pains over Haymitch, dreaded wondering over Slena and a hundred other things her thoughts inevitably turned to the blue-haired woman that was their newest addition.
Stephanie had barely been a toddler when Electra's Games had happened; she only had a vague memory of walking through the town and seeing Electra's face plastered everywhere on posters when she had won. Electra Hocol was something of a legend in District 3. Her picture hung proudly in their town hall and in some of the factories in a place of honour. All the pictures of course were before her…accident. She really had been the most beautiful girl; she had blonde hair as well back then and her skin was not the waxen, pallid complexion it was now.
Even the Capitolites had mourned putting such a beautiful 'doll' in the Games where she might ruin her good looks. But against all odds, through mostly cunning and devious backstabbing Electra Hocol, the sweet 18 year old beauty had won. None of her fellow tributes had believed someone that beautiful could really been so nasty. Stephanie's brother Fen had told her once that her name wasn't really Electra, it was Ellen but she had chosen it to seem more unique for the Games.
Afterwards Electra Hocol was the most popular person in the Capitol; everyone wanted her at their parties, everyone wanted to be seen with her, everyone wanted to be with her.
For almost five years Electra Hocol led the most glamorous life, unconcerned about her dying tributes. Stephanie was eight years old when Electra had her accident. It had been just months before the 90th Hunger Games Reapings; Haymitch's Games. It was incidentally also why no one especially thought District 3 would win that year; they had no mentors.
Electra Hocol was laid up in a hospital with a mummified face, eating mush though a straw and in so much agony she was usually heavily sedated.
The rumours about what had actually happened bounced about their district in stern whispers exchanged between wide-eyed women.
Stephanie, being only eight years old at the time, was sheltered from the more gruesome stories, but all the accounts seemed to concur on one fact.
Electra Hocol had spurned one of her most infamous Capitol lovers and he had repaid her; by making sure she would never have another lover again.
Electra had rarely turned up for the Reapings after that and no one blamed her or tried to force her to come.
They just left the ruined victor up in her Victor's village with only a 16 year old recently orphaned and crowned Victor Haymitch for company.
Thanks to girlworthfightingfor for the review; well here's not one but two chapters! :D