This is the final part of Reaping Day :D I know it took a few parts, but I wanted to spread it out. Reaping Day will go on until Edward and Esme leave for the Capitol

Reaping Day-Part 4- Goodbyes

Esme's POV

I glared. Longer than I should have, but I did. I hope President Snow knows how much I hate him. Coriolanus Snow. The President. He seems to think he's the most important person in the world, and whatever he says, goes. He can't be older than 25, a young age for the President. His father passed away last year, so he was next in line. I have never met him, but I know I hate him. I see him on the tv, that snobbish look he wears on his face, the cruel sparkle in his eyes. He's grown up watching his father's cruelty to the tributes, he' s watched as his father made sure that the tributes suffered.

The thought of Snow almost makes me want to scream, so I push him from my mind. I make my way into one of the glamorous rooms on the train. I nod once at Edward, who makes his way into a different room, guarded by peacekeepers. I sit down on a velvet sofa, and close my eyes. The feel of the velvet under my fingers soothes me. My sister has a velvet ribbon that she wears to school on her birthday. I always tie it in her hair for her. I pretend that's what I'm doing now. I pretend I'm fixing back Elia's hair, running my hands through her hair.

The sound of the door opening pulls me from my thoughts and I'm suddenly surrounded by the sound of Elia and my mother. I open my eyes and hug Elia close to me. I never want to let go, never. ''Ezzy don't go! Please don't go!'' Elia cries. ''I have to sweety, I have to. I promise though, I will do my best to win for you. I promise I'll try.'' I say in a whisper. It's all I can manage without my voice cracking. ''You will win..'' I hear her whisper. I look to my mother. ''You have to look after her. Do what you can to find food, because I won't be there to get it for you anymore.'' She nods. She won't say anything, because she'll cry to, and the last thing we need is Elia crying more. So we just sit. We sit with each other and hug each other and talk to each other. Time goes by so fast. It feels like moments later when the peacekeepers pull my mother and Elia away.

I wait for someone else, but nobody comes. Except Salia, but she only leads Edward and I along a corridor to a different part of the train where we'll be staying. ''Now, your mentor is Tiberius Roxin. He won 7 years ago, and is very experienced, so listen to him.'' And with that comment, she walked away. That left Edward and I sitting alone, waiting for Tiberius. I glanced at him for a moment. He was looking down, but you could see how red his eyes were. I knew he had been crying, but I didn't say anything. I knew from experience with Elia that asking if a kid's okay after they've been crying only seems to make things worse.

So we sat in silence until Tiberius arrived. He had shoulder length black hair, and wore glasses. He was about 5'9'' tall, with a pale complexion. It looked promising. In his hand he held two glasses of water. He walked over to us, handed us a glass of water each, and sat in front of us. ''You must be thirsty..'' he said ''Drink. You'll need it.'' He urges us. So we do. Edward is finished long before I am. Not that it's surprising, because his family live in much worse conditions than mine does. I see them about town a lot, scrounging food where they can, hiding from the peacekeepers. Winning this could be the difference between life and death for his family. But I promised Elia I would try and win for her. I promised. Hopefully, then, I won't be the one who'll have to kill Edward. I couldn't do it. I couldn't kill a twelve year old.

I chase the thought away. 24 tributes. One comes out. One. The chances of it being Edward are next to nothing. I can't help that.

Tiberius watches as I finish my water, then as I set my glass down. ''Alright. In a few moments, the train is going to leave for the Capitol. It will take us just over a day to get there. On the way, we're going to have to talk tactics. What you can do, what you'll need to be able to do. But don't worry about that for the moment. Eat, drink, sleep. I know by the look of you where you come from. You need all the food you can get.'' He ends with a nod. I ignore his whole ''I know by the look of you where you come from'' statement. He's trying to tell us how hideous we look. Not that we can help it.

Edward goes straight for the food. Tiberius glances at me and looks at me as if to say will you be alright alone? I nod and give him a reassuring smile. He moves over to Edward, and they introduce themselves formally to one another. I lie down on the velvet couch and close my eyes. The last thing I feel is the soft vibration of train moving off.