A/N: Thanks for all the reviews! Please, keep reviewing on mistakes, ideas, constructive criticism, etc. (: I think I'm going to go with no cornucopia, and the grave yard or Cake land. Thanks for all you that gave me your input. Just to clear everything up, instead of the cornucopia the various items they will need will be scattered around the arena. (: Longer chapter! 3
Rue POV
Effie leads me to my suite and she twists the doorknob, revealing a marvelous room. Mom says I have more than she had in her whole life, but this. This is more spectacular than even what I have. I can't help but gape at the satin curtains. I admire the silk bed sheets and run my fingertips gently over the length of it. I stare at myself in the mirror before taking note of the marble countertop in the bathroom. Correction to that statement, my own bathroom. Awe takes over me and I forget Effie is even in the same room as me until she gives a small, "Ahem." I turn around and blush slightly.
"Oops, sorry forgot you were here." I mumble softly.
She raises a brow then waves her hand in the air dismissively. "I'll send someone up for you when dinner is ready." She turns and struts out of the room, and then she's gone with a slam of the door. Someone has a temper. I actually laugh for the first time, not a forced laugh. A real laugh. I smile to myself before plopping myself on the king size bed.
I think of my family…Finnick, Mom, and Dad. I lay my head down onto the pillows, sinking into the plush comforter. I think of Rose, Leah, and Riley. They were my best friends in District 12. I let the tears slide down my cheeks as I think of Riley.
Riley Hetoff, she and her long blonde hair flowing down her back to her waist. We were all sitting, hand in hand, in a circle on the ground. We were all talking about our crush when mom came out to grab Finnick. I smiled but it soon faded as I saw men. I saw men in white uniforms and they were enclosing us. I shoot a panicked look to all of my friends. I can see the same fear reflected in their expressions as mine.
"What's going on?" I hear someone cry out from the gates of the Victor's Village.
I stand up, pulling everyone up with me. I was about to call out to my mom and dad when a hand encloses over my mouth, gagging me and keeping me from crying out or talking. I start squirming and crying when I'm pushed roughly then dragged back up by my hair. I'm shoved, choked, kicked, and touched before I hear the gunshot. My eyes wide with fear, are barely able to see Riley's lifeless body fall to the ground. I hear the thud of her body and everything after that seems to almost blur. I can vaguely remember one last thing: the blood. There was blood splattering some of the near Peacekeepers snow white uniforms. It was on Riley's face, on her simple yet cute sundress, and on her beautiful blond hair.
I snap back into reality and notice I've been pulling at my hair. How will I be able to stand this blood bath in the Arena? I sob into my pillow, just wishing I can wake up from this nightmare called reality. I hear a rough knock on the door and my head snaps up. I rub my eyes, hoping to get rid of the traces of my tears.
"One minute!" I exclaim before heading to the bathroom quickly. I take in my appearance. Red, puffy eyes, hair in knots, and tired. Great. I grab the nearest brush and brush out the knots, not in the mood to try and figure out which one of these complicated machines smooth's out your hair.
I make my way from the bathroom to the door that leads to my room, and I pull it open to see a familiar face. A smile forms on my lips for the first time.
"Haymitch!" I exclaim before enveloping him into a hug, I breathe in his familiar scent of liquor, it's a scary yet a reassuring scent that I can trust. "What are you doing here?" I mumble into his chest, not wanting to let go of him or lose him.
"I'm going to be your mentor, Rue." He says in a clear voice although I know he sounds a bit drunk. I jump up and down and grins like a maniac.
"So, you're going to be a mentor to Alex also?" I ask him and finally step away from him. I notice he sways as he stands and I lead him to the couch. He's drunk. Great, he'll be drunk half the time.
He nods and lies on the couch before I can ask him my next question. I wonder what to do with him before remembering a memory when I went to his house with mom. She got a pitcher of water and dumped it on him. I giggle running to the bathroom and filling up a fancy glass full of water. I walk back to the room slowly, careful not to spill any water along the way. I position myself above the couch and dump it onto him. He spasms and pulls out a knife from his pocket and I jump back frightened.
"Rue! What the hel- heck?" He stutters and wipes his face with the back of his hand. "What was that for?" He mumbles.
"I had to wake you somehow." I shrug casually and look at the knife with a raised eyebrow. "Why do you have a knife in your pocket?"
"Oh um, just a safety precaution." He says and stuffs the knife back into his pocket.
"Uh huh." I giggle and sit down on the coffee table in front of him.
"So, we need to talk about your…Uh…Your uh..." He thinks about what he's trying to say.
"Are you talking about the Interview?" I ask.
"Oh yeah! That." He nods and continues. "We need to think about how we're going to go about the interview. Like if you're going to be loving or caring. Which is not what your mom was good at, but, your dad was. Your mom went for a girly and beautiful look. Hmm, what should I be doing for you? We need to consult with your stylists." He says and stands up, still slightly drunk. His hand immediately goes to his forehead. Hangover.
I follow behind Haymitch and see a man in a uniform picking up plates from the ground. Not a white, peacekeeper uniform, but, a waiter uniform. I stop and squat next to him. I pick up a silver plate and hand it to him; he stares at me in shock for a moment before hastily standing up and disappearing down the nearest hallway. No, "thank you?" I turn to Haymitch and see he is looking at me with raised eyebrows.
"He's an Avox, Rue. Don't associate with them. It's their job to do that, not yours." He gives me a stern look before continuing down the hallway.
"What's an Avox?" I speed up to catch up with them and finally come up behind him.
"It's a person who has been punished for rebelling against the Capitol. Avoxes have had their tongues cut out, rendering them unable to speak." He speaks as it's casual.
"Ew. Their tongues are cut out?" My face scrunches up into a face of disgust.
He nods, "Yes. So they can't talk. It's there punishment." He continues walking down the long hallway.
"That's cruel," I mumble. "So, that's why he didn't say thank you when I helped him with that plate."
He nods curtly as though the subject offends him, he doesn't give me a verbal answer so I dismiss the subject and we walk in silence before we reach a room with a plate on the door saying Stylists. This ought to be fun.