A/N: Hey guys, so I hope you like this chapter, I had a whole lot of fun writing it. I'm going to go have dinner now, so curl up, grab a hot chocolate, read, fangirl, and enjoy! Oh and review too! Damn it I messed my line up! Anyways, see you next chapter, still not really sure if what I'm writing is any good, but you seem to enjoy it, so... Anyway, see you in the review section. I hope. Hope you have a great day/night!

Alec POV

Entering the train is so surreal. It's like stepping from hell into heaven. Every surface is a glittery, silver colour, and I think to myself how much Magnus would love it, and then it all comes tumbling back to me, all over again. Another blow to the chest. As the white-suited peacekeepers push me further through the train carriages, their guns to my back, I grasp the sketchbook even tighter to my chest. It's too big for them not to notice it, but no one had ordered it away from me yet. I hope I can keep it, or at least if I have to get rid of it I hope I can at least send it back to Max and Jace, I don't think I can bear it if they don't get it back somehow.

The idea that I might die in the games is something that I can't really get my head around, but an even bigger concept is the idea that I might kill Magnus in my feat to survive. It's such a sickening idea that I fear I might have to stop walking and throw up, I can feel my head spinning, the images of blood and the light leaving Magnus' eyes washing over me in a torrential storm.

Eventually we reach what can only be described as the main living cabin. It is silvery, like the rest of the train, and I'm ushered into a cushioned chair like none I've ever sat in. The table before me is littered with cakes and drinks and food I've never seen or smelt or heard of before. Magnus is going to love this. I think to myself, knowing just how much he loves the little luxuries like strawberries or my tattoos that we work so hard for.

He's not here yet, which I don't understand, as horrible as it sounds, who is there to say goodbye to him? Still, I try not to dwell on it too much, wrapped in my own little world as I flip through my family's sketchbook. I asked for a pencil and was now waiting for it, stroking my hands lovingly over the pages. Max's drawings of the squirrels are a rich brown colour, the grassy background so vivid I can almost breathe it in. I was never cruel enough to tell Max that we ate squirrels for dinner so often. Jace seemed obsessed with buildings and the natural landscapes that surrounded our little village, saying that buildings had no feelings and neither did trees, so they were easier to draw.

As for me, I took after my mother. Living things were my forte, I could draw animals, though not quite as well as Max, probably as I was used to killing them so much with my bow, which meant that I almost always wanted to draw them with that petrified look on their features. That moment where they knew they were going to die.

No, my real speciality was people. There was just something about hair that flew in the wind, or eyes that were so bright when people laughed; just the way people move and talk and feel and are is so fascinating to me. People very rarely see their own beauty, but with a pencil and a page I could record every beautiful feature they had in perfect clarity. Isabelle had always been a brilliant model, and so there were lots of sketches of her.

I remember the first time Jace met Clary, and how he was entranced with the way she drew things, and how once I helped him draw her in this book. The picture was still as vivid and detailed as if I had drawn it yesterday. I missed Clary a lot, actually, even if she was slightly reliant on us, she made Jace happy, and that's all I really wanted.

He was probably the most devastated by the purge. He lost his mother, his sister, and the girl he had planned to marry. It was too tragic for anyone to endure, but Jace had always pretended not to love too deeply, claiming it was a weakness.

It worries me sometimes. Just as I was settling into my thoughts, the peacekeeper I had bothered earlier now passed several pencils to me, and a rubber which I accepted, before he abruptly left.

"Thanks." I muttered, before letting my mind wander again, my pencil sweeping the page.

Xxx

I didn't hear Magnus when he sat opposite me, watching my face intently. We were alone, apparently Effie still had a few things to do, but I was completely oblivious to all this, my head bowed in concentration.

"What are you doing?" Asked Magnus, the noise seemingly so loud to me that it caused me to jump, the lead pencil jarring the page harshly. I grunted in annoyance, quickly using the rubber to rub it out.

I stared down at the drawing resting on my lap. Surprised to see Magnus staring back at me through the page. The breath caught in my throat. It was almost right, but I couldn't do his eyes justice with just a pencil and paper.

"Drawing." I answered, finally remembering that Magnus was talking to me.

"Look, Alec... we might die in that Arena, and I have to tell you-"

He was cut off abruptly by the entrance of a purple haired Effie Trinket, and he looked fairly annoyed, sitting back in his chair in a huff.

"Hello Boys! Isn't this wonderful? Don't you just love it? Only the best for you two now. So let's run over the agenda shall we?"

She then continued to bore us with talks about interviewers and sponsors, etcetra etcetra, the whole time Magnus just stared at me, smirking and making bored faces at me. I had to try to really hard not to laugh at a few of them.

"So, it shouldn't take us long to get to the Capitol, so just sit back, relax, and enjoy!" She announced.

We said nothing. I was disgusted with how calm she was being. We were dead men walking, and she knew it.

Still, as she announced that she was 'off to find Haymitch' I settled back into drawing, trying to lose myself in perfecting the contours of Magnus' face.

"You're stronger than they are."

"Just, try to win."

"Don't let them starve."

I squeezed my eyes shut, how could I miss Jace and Max so much already? I was scared, but more than that, I was lonely, even Magnus felt different to me now, like it was somehow wrong for us to like each other, after all, we'd both be dead soon. It was possible, though very unlikely, that one of us would have to live on, knowing that the other had died for their survival. The thought was awful.

"Are you alright?" Magnus asked quietly, seemingly in conflict, his eyes moving quickly over my face, scanning my features for distress.

"No." I answered bluntly, shutting the sketchbook closed carefully, placing it on the table in front of me, and running my hands through my hair.

Silence passed, neither one of us knowing what to say. Why did it have to be us?

"Have you ever met him?" Magnus asked after a while. I said nothing, "Haymitch?" He pressed.

"Alec, he is our mentor." Magnus said again.

"For gods sakes Magnus, what does it matter? We're dead!" I exclaimed, ashamed as my throat caught, and I buried my face in my hands, forcing myself not to cry. I would not cry.

"No. We're not dead yet, you aren't at least, you can shoot Alec, there is hope for you." Magnus reassured me, leaning over the table and placing his hand over mine, smiling weakly.

"But what about you?" I whispered, looking up at him.

"Don't worry about me." He said, and I looked away, pulling my hand away from his abruptly, not saying what I wanted to; that I would always worry about him. He was part of my family.

Silence continued mostly through the rest of the journey. Magnus didn't ask about the sketchbook. He had probably caught on to the fact that I didn't want him to.

I watched the scenery fly by through the window, and then I saw it. The city towered high over any other sort of structure I had ever seen, and I heard Magnus suck in a breath of amazement as he saw it. The boy ran up to the window, marvelling at the sight of it all, and I couldn't stop the smile that spread over my face. He looked like a 5 year old seeing the sun for the first time!

"It's incredible!" Marvelled Magnus, looking over at me, and beckoning me over to the window with his hand, which I would have accepted if it weren't for all the people gawking at Magnus like he was a piece of meat as we entered to city. Magnus- loving the attention as always- stepped up, waving at the crowds with a massive grin on his face. It was just so wrong.

I gripped the edge of the nearest table in order to steady myself, and that was when I saw the third figure in the room. He wasn't that old, or that tall either, completely average in appearance, with longish blond-white hair that reached to the bottom of his cheek. He looked me straight in the eye, and nodded to Magnus, simply remarking,

"You better sweeten up Alexander; he knows what he's doing."

His teeth were revealed in a wolfish smile, and I realised, that perhaps the town drunk wasn't quite as clueless and stupid as everyone liked to believe. There was a sense of cunning to his movements. If I were to draw Haymitch Abernathy as any kind of animal, a wolf he would be.

Xxx

We got off of the train too slowly for my opinion, enough time for the crowds to gawk at us, smiling and laughing and wolf whistling as we went past. Disgusting. I thought.

"Look at the blue eyed one! He's gorgeous, and so brave too!" One said.

"hey, do you see the one with the eyeliner? He's got amazing fashion sense for a commoner." Another remarked.

I ignored them, staring straight ahead and pushing through the crowds. Magnus was behind me, so lots of people were touching his hair, his arms as he walked past, but he took it all in stride. It amazed me the amount of patience he possessed. And I knew that my hotheadedness could get me killed. I was fierce when I had to be, but usually calm and collected. If someone didn't kill me in the games, I was a little afraid the game makers would instead.

We eventually made our way inside a large marble- walled building. Each surface gleamed with the same texture that I imagine diamonds would possess.

Magnus and I were separated, and I was given simple instructions:

Strip down, Place your clothes in the corner of the room, dress in the simple gown given to you, and sit on the bed. Await assistance. With these instructions in mind, I was left alone.

I followed the instructions quickly, after spending a few moments searching the room for cameras, and set on the cold metal bed, waiting. It was hardly comfortable, the sort of material that was used in the sort of high class hospitals we couldn't afford in district 12.

After a few moments, a men stepped in to see me. He reminded me a little of Magnus, but with warm brown eyes instead of Magnus' startling green.

"What you did, at the reaping? Volunteering for your brother like that? That was one of the bravest things I've ever seen." He said.

"Thank you.." I murmured, a little overwhelmed.

"I'm sorry that this happened to you." He apologised, and I believed him-surprisingly.

"Most people just congratulate me." I said, rolling my eyes, to show how stupid I thought they were.

"Yeah well not me. But, anyways, my name's Cinna." Introducing himself.

"Alec." I said, introducing myself by my nickname rather than my full name for one.

"I'll be your stylist while you're here." He said, sitting across from me in a chair, and looking at me with a grave expression. He was the first person I had seen from the capitol who didn't look like they were on happy pills. His hair was black, styled neatly, and his only makeup was a little gold eyeliner. He had several piercings in both his ears, in the shapes of gold loops.

"So you're here to make me look pretty."

"I'm here to help you make an impression." He answered back forcefully, and I was a little surprised at his tone.

He then started to explain to me the process of the interviews, and the parade before the training actually started.

"Yeah they usually dress people in clothes from their district." I muttered, as we began talking about what I should wear.

"Yeah but I don't want to do that." He objected. "Here's what I think. I think that someone that brave, shouldn't be just dressed up in a stupid costume now should they?"

I looked down, feeling the brush spreading across my pale complexion.

"I guess not." I whispered, smiling at him gratefully.

He grinned.

"So usually, I would have my other stylists wash you down, etcetra, but that would mean they would get rid of these." He said, holding up my arm for inspection, circling a finger over the tattoo there.

I blushed.

"Do you have many more?" He asked, and I nodded.

"I have five in total." I said, and I watched as his lips lifted into a half-smile half-smirk.

"Can I see?" He asked, and I nodded, slightly shy as I removed my gown so I was sitting in just my boxers.

I pointed to the one just above my heart.

"This one is for love."

"The one on my right arm for Strength, the one on my left shoulder is for fearlessness, the one on my left arm is for mourning, and the one on my ribs is for friendship." I explained, pointing to each one in turn.

He grinned.

"I think I can work with those."

Xxx

Cinna dressed me in a simple black suit that was a little tight for my liking, and applied many more temporary tattoos resembling my original ones all up my arms, which were the only parts of my body that were completely exposed. I looked downright vicious as Cinna finished tying my boots up my legs. He also covered all of my permanent tattoos in a clear liquid, which smelt cloying and restricted my movement a little. A few more finishing touches, and I was ready.

"What do you think?" Cinna asked, stepping back to admire his handy work.

"I think I've never worn anything so tight in my life!" I said, looking back at him with an expression I hope paralleled my horror at him.

"Come on blue-eyes, let's get this show on the road. Literally!" He said cheerfully, grabbing me by the arm and pulling me out of the black, small and enclosed space. As I stepped outside I felt my cheeks flush. It was weird, for me to be wearing something this tight at all, let alone in public.

However, weird didn't even begin to cover how Magnus looked. It was incredible, he didn't have rune tattoos like me, he had probably just decided that it felt to fake. Instead, Magnus had swirling patterns stitched into a black, glittery gold and red trimmed jacket, fire designs covering him from head to toe, his hair gelled up in spikes with red glitter at the top of them.

I didn't have words to describe him. He didn't look at all like the Magnus I had known, and yet weirdly, he looked more at home and more at peace with how he looked now. His green eyes were staring at me, causing me to blush horribly at my tight clothing. I felt so exposed.

"Wow..." Magnus whispered, so quietly I was sure I wasn't supposed to hear, but if it were possible I turned an even darker shade of red. I resisted the urge to slap the grinning Cinna, who was looking between us with a very, very suggestive look, before he guided us towards our chariot. The chariot itself was simple; black, with the same flame designs that covered Magnus' jacket.

As Magnus and I stepped up onto our chariot, I felt my nervousness finally start to show itself, and I grasped the chariot in front of me to keep myself steady, afraid I would fall.

"Hey, don't worry." Magnus reassured me, "Everything's going to be fine. I wouldn't let you fall would I?" He asked me, and I smiled back, forcing myself to relax, it was just me and Magnus, no one else, just us, standing looking out on the woods, like we always did. I closed my eyes and pictured it as the chariots started to drive, the beautiful black horses pulling us forward.

We were the very last chariot, meaning we had the best chance to make an impression, I just hoped Cinna's amazing outfits would do the trick.

As we reached about halfway however, I felt my face heat up, and not because I was blushing either. I looked down, to see each one of my tattoos sparking and flaming, Magnus' jacket doing the same, the whole chariot on fire. I yelped quietly in alarm, and Magnus clutched my hand.

"Don't panic." He whispered into my ear. "It's not real fire. I've got you."

I took deep breaths, forcing my eyes shut for a moment, but they could quell the images of the purge as they forced themselves into my head, Izzy screaming as the flames engulfed her, the whole village in flames when we returned.

"Alec? Alec, listen to me, it's not real, darling. Relax." Magnus told me, staring at me intently as I opened my eyes.

"Don't let go." I said, holding onto his hand as if I might fall apart if he let go. He grinned.

"Never." He said, and lifted our joined hands into the air, as we completed the last half of the journey, and came to settle before President Snow.

Much to my relief, the flames went out then, and I stumbled, falling slightly into Magnus' chest, who held me upright, again, much to my relief.

I didn't miss the small frown playing against the edges of President Snow's mouth though.

"Welcome! Tributes, we welcome you, to the 74th annual hunger games! Due to the tragic, tragic events of a few months ago, you may notice that we have two male tributes from district 12. We hope this shall be resolved soon, but until then, we welcome you all, and reassure you not to be alarmed. They will not receive any special treatment. So, enjoy your stay here, and..."

And then, I saw him look my way, but not directly at me, as if above me, or almost through me.

"May the odds be ever in your favour."

Was I imagining things, or did I feel Magnus flinch behind me?