Hi everyone! I'm Vi and thanks for reading my humble story. I'm new to the whole Hunger Games fanfiction world but I've been lurking for a while and Gadge is by far my favorite ship. If anyone has any questions or comments, feel free to let me. I accept constructive criticism! Please review because it gives me more incentive to update sooner if I know people are actually reading my story. And I really enjoy hearing from lovely people like you all! So without further ado, here is Lucky.
AN: I do not own any of these amazing characters or this world; all praise goes to the great Suzanne Collins.
Looking in the mirror, Madge (that's what she liked to be called—only her father ever called her Margaret and only when he was angry) sighed. What she saw as she examined herself was pale skin. And an awkward teenage body not yet grown into itself. A nose a little too large for its face. A mop of untamed golden curls with a pink ribbon in it. And on top of it all a pretty, chaste white dress.
The white dress had been ordered by her father specifically for today—Reaping Day. As the daughter of the mayor of District 12, Madge was expected to look her best and happiest on days like these, even though on the inside she was having a hard time controlling her nerves and distaste. The odds were in her favor; she was lucky. Madge barely had five slips entered in the Reaping. She was from Town and her name had never been entered more than the required once every year, but she knew that there was still a chance her name could be the one called. Her family had learned that the hard way almost twenty four years ago when her aunt, her mother's twin sister, had been ripped away and never came back. Maysilee had not been as lucky as she was.
Reaping Day always meant bad things were to come. Madge knew that it meant two families were about to lose their children physically and that she was about to lose her mother mentally. Her mother had never been the same since her sister had been killed in the Games. Mrs. Undersee was only a shadow of what she had been when her sister was alive. Madge had grown up with her like this, though. She was used to her mother being locked away in her bedroom for days at a time, in a morphling induced coma.
The sun peeked through the white eyelet curtains of her room. A flash of gold from the mirror suddenly caught Madge's attention and brought her out of her reverie. On her stark white dress, a golden pin glimmered from its place on the left side of Madge's chest. Everything that she wore was fashionable, pristine, and lovely, from the silky pink ribbon that adorned her blonde hair to the white sundress that hung on her body down to the sandals that protected her freshly painted toes. But the pin was by far the nicest thing she had on—and the most precious. It was an unusual brooch, fashioned into the shaped of a bird—a mockingjay—with a golden ring attached to it by its tips. Madge remembered the day she had gotten the mockingjay pin, but it hadn't been the first time she had ever seen it.
"Madge, are you in there?" She heard her father's voice at her bedroom door along with a swift knock.
"Uh, yes, Dad. Come in," A twelve year old Madge said, wiping away tears that threatened to spill from her eyes. It was her first Reaping Day—the first day she would ever have to fear for her life.
Growing up the daughter of the mayor of District 12 provided Madge with certain privileges. She always had as many clothes as she wanted, plus more. She had never had to experience real hunger or wonder where her next meal would come from. The red carpet always seemed to be rolled out for her no matter where she went. But this didn't stop her from being eligible for the Games, the thing that terrified people from the Town and the Seam alike.
"I wanted to give you something," Mayor Undersee said, pulling out a small box wrapped in light pink paper. "We were saving it for your birthday, but I felt like today you might need it."
Mayor Undersee was an older man, with a slightly balding and graying head and he stood at a rather intimidating height. As a politician, many people were scared of him, but he had always had a soft spot for his only child. He and her mother had tried for years to have children before they had Madge. They had even been told that they would never be able to have children due to Mrs. Undersee's fragile condition, but they had been so elated when she had given birth to a healthy baby girl. The first few years after her birth had been the best years of her mother's life since the death of her twin sister. The Undersees were a very happy family during that time. They even used to call her their "angel baby" because they thought she was a blessing from God. It wasn't until Madge got closer to Reaping age that her mother started to slip off into her own world again.
Madge smiled softly at her father. As an only child, she had grown up as the apple of his eye, and Mayor Undersee loved to spoil her to no end. Whether it was new dress, a puppy, or a beautiful grand piano, her father would go to whatever lengths to give her what she wanted and more. She always felt like it was to make up for the fact that she had an absentee mother, but Madge knew her father was a good man who loved her and wanted to provide for her and make her happy.
As she unwrapped the crisp pink paper, a little blue velvet box was revealed, and Madge wondered what was inside. It appeared to be some type of jewelry box. She looked up to see her father's loving blue eyes and she knew she'd love whatever he had gotten her, even if it wasn't something she would necessarily pick out for herself. Madge cracked open the little box and gasped at what she saw inside.
She knew exactly what sat before her. A small, golden pin in the shape of a mockingjay. She had seen it plenty of times before in the pictures that decorated her mother's bedroom. But now it was cleaner and shiner. It looked almost new...if she hadn't know that her aunt had worn it twenty years ago when she had been in the Hunger Games, Madge would have thought he had just bought it.
Madge hesitantly reached out to touch it. The metal was so cold that it shocked her. "Daddy, you didn't have to do this…"
"Your mother and I wanted you to have it," Her father's eyes glistened. She knew watching the Reaping was just as hard on him as it was on everyone else. Just because he was the mayor didn't mean that he agreed with everything the Capitol did. He hated to see the lives of children lost every year. District 12 wasn't exactly known for winning. "Think of it as something to watch over you today."
After her father left, Madge took the small pin out of its box and placed it over the left side of her chest—over her heart. Turning to look at herself in the mirror, she wondered what Maysilee Donner had been thinking on that fateful day twenty years ago when she had been Reaped. She never got the chance to know her mother's twin sister, but she had been told they were a lot alike. Madge just hoped that wearing Maysilee's pin would give her enough courage and luck to make it through the day that was ahead of her.
A knock sounded on her door.
"Miss Madge, you have some visitors at the backdoor," Nettie, the Undersees' maid, called to her. She was a short, older lady, with salt and pepper hair that she normally kept up in a small bun on the top of her head. Nettie had kind, watery gray eyes that Madge always longed for when she was sick or down. Nettie had been a part of her family for as long as Madge could remember. She had been there for Madge when her own mother had not.
The Undersees didn't get a lot of visitors at their house, especially not on Reaping Day. Most people wanted to stay with their families until they were required to go to the square to face their fates so Madge was surprised to hear that she had visitors. She reached to open the back door and saw Katniss Everdeen.
"Hi, Katniss," Madge smiled and the girl with dark brown braid returned the favor. Katniss and Madge weren't exactly best friends, but Katniss was one of the only people Madge truly enjoyed being around. They were both loners of some sort. But they kept each other company at lunch and always worked together on school projects. Katniss lived in the Seam, the poor part of District 12, but her mother was from Town and had once been good friends with Madge's mother. They had a connection of sorts and Madge always appreciated it.
"We brought you some strawberries," Katniss said, holding out the basket that held the delicious, ripe fruit. Madge and her father loved strawberries and Katniss always made sure to come sell to them whenever they were in season. What Katniss was doing was illegal, but Mayor Undersee chose to turn a blind eye to it. Too many people were starving in the Seam for him to crack down on petty things like selling strawberries.
"Pretty dress," Came the snide comment from Katniss' right side. There stood the sneering Gale Hawthorne. Madge knew that he resented her because she was from Town and he was from the Seam, but she couldn't help that. She had never personally done anything to him, but he always felt the need to pick on her and make rude comments whenever she was around.
Sensing Gale's sarcasm, Madge fired back, "Well, if I end up going to the Capitol, I want to look nice, don't I?"
"You won't be going to the Capitol," Gale's already dark eyes blackened even more as they narrowed at her. He really was quite good looking, but most of the time his face was scrunched into a permanent scowl that made Madge dislike him. "What can you have? Five entries? I had six when I was just twelve years old."
Madge almost felt bad for Gale for a moment, until she thought of Maysilee and her mother. She was sure that people had said that to Maysilee before she was Reaped, too. Being from Town didn't mean that your name wasn't in the Reaping. Sure, people in the Seam typically had more entries because of the tesserae but it didn't always mean that all the tributes from District 12 were from there. Even the girl tribute from District 12 last year, fourteen year old Ivy Jansen, had been from a merchant family. No one was safe.
"That's not her fault," Katniss jumped to defend her friend. Madge knew Gale and Katniss had been friends for a long time, but she honestly couldn't see what she saw in him. He was just so…mean.
Gale's face remained stony as he took her in. From the white dress to the golden pin, Madge could tell he was disgusted with her and the money she had. "No, it's no one's fault. Just the way it is."
"Good luck, Katniss," Madge sighed as she dropped the money for the strawberries in the girl's hand. She was already tired of arguing with Gale Hawthorne. There was no point to it. His mind was too set on hating her.
"You, too," Katniss replied, giving Madge a sympathetic smile as Gale turned away. Katniss followed after him quickly, probably off to be with their own families.
"Who was that, dear?" Nettie asked as Madge dropped the strawberries into the sink in the kitchen. As much as Madge loved Nettie, the housekeeper was pretty nosy. She always liked to know what Madge was up to.
"Just some friends from school. Well a friend."
"That boy," Nettie smiled as she stated to wash the strawberries and cut the leaves off, "was pretty handsome, Miss Madge. Is there something you need to tell me?"
Madge guffawed and almost choked on one of the clean strawberries. The fact that anyone could ever think she and Gale Hawthorne were any more than people who somewhat tolerated each other was almost comical to her. "Um, no, Nettie. Gale Hawthorne hates me. He's the spawn of Satan."
Nettie raised a dark eyebrow, questioningly. Madge did have a tendency for being somewhat dramatic. "Hawthorne? Ah, Hazelle's boy. He's had a tough life, that one has. I know his mother and she is a very sweet lady. I wouldn't be too hurt by anything he says, Sweetheart. He's just had a hard time. I'm sure he isn't as bad as you say."
Madge thought on what Nettie said. Other than being friends with Katniss, Madge didn't know much about Gale. The two girls never really talked about him. She did know that Gale's dad and Mr. Everdeen had died in the same mining accident a couple years back, but other than that she didn't know much about the guy. He was just another one of those boys from the Seam that would end up working as a coal miner, like his father and his father's father and so on. That couldn't be the life that he really wanted. Maybe she did feel a little bad for him. But the thought of all the mean things he had ever said to her came flooding back and the dislike was back again.
Mayor Undersee strode into the kitchen in his finest looking suit. He was all business on Reaping Day. Visitors from the Capitol always brought out her father's worst side. "It's time to go, Madge."
Madge followed after her father as they left their house. The Mayor's house, which was the biggest house in the district, sat on top of the hill, where most of District 12 could be seen. Everywhere in Town was within walking distance from their house so they were in the square where the Justice Building was within a matter of minutes. People had already started gathering. The Reaping was a mandatory event for every one in the district who weren't too sick to attend, which meant that Mrs. Undersee was never able to make it.
"I love you, Madge," Mayor Undersee kissed his daughter softly on the forehead before smiling to put on the façade that was required of him. As the mayor, he was the face of District 12 to the Capitol. That meant that he always had to put on the appearance of a devoted, unquestioning subject whenever anyone from there was around. Madge hated what the Capitol did to her father sometimes. They always seemed to take him away when she needed him most. "May the odds be ever in your favor."
"I love you, too, Daddy," Madge tried to smile back, but the weight of everything that was happening was starting to pile up. Every year since she was twelve, when she was first eligible for the Reaping, it became harder and harder to remain calm as the Peacekeepers prodded her finger and ushered her into the crowd of anxious children where two of them were doomed to die. That first year she had only had one measly slip; this year she had five. It wasn't as much as she was sure Katniss or Gale Hawthorne had, but it was enough to scare her.
No matter how much she wanted to run away back to her house on the hill, the show had to go on. It never stopped just because Madge was scared. It always went on. The same old show where they pricked her finger harshly and pushed her into the crowd of kids from District 12—kids from the Seam and Town. Madge was pulled quickly into the grasp of a red-eyed Delly Cartwright, who Madge could tell had been crying all morning. Delly, who was blonde-haired and blue eyed just like Madge and most of the other people in Town, was one of her closer friends from school and her parents owned the only shoe store in District 12. The two girls had been stuck together in the same social circle since they were born.
"Oh, Madge," Delly teared up again, whispering so the Peackeepers around didn't hear what she was saying, "what if my name gets called? I know I will die."
Madge decided not to respond. Delly had always had a slight case of anxiety and there wasn't much Madge could say to calm her down once she got started. Delly's family, like Madge's, had never had to get the tesserae so she had the same amount of slips as Madge. The odds were in their favor technically. Madge didn't like to think that there was a possibility that one of their names could be picked. As everything started falling in place just like every year, Madge made eye contact with her father on stage. He gave her one last smile, but she could tell that his eyes were anything but smiling.
A bright-pink haired Effie Trinkett hobbled on stage in one of her ridiculous outfits just like every other year. Madge had to hold back a scoff at the sight of her spring green dress, which stands out so much compared to the blandness of District 12 around her. While she did enjoy the clothes that her father had sent for her from the Capitol, Madge found what the citizens of the city wore to be utterly ridiculous. Everything about the Capitol, including its people, was just too much for her. Having been forced to visit there on multiple occasions during her life, Madge found the whole place to be decadent and outrageous. She also hated how the people in the Capitol were obsessed with the Hunger Games, like it was some kind of sport or something. They came and visited her house every year when the games were on, and she always made sure to be out of the house when they were downstairs. Although she had never personally known Ivy Jansen, the girl tribute from the year before, Madge would never forget the way that they had made light of her death. It was the first year that she had truly realized what an atrocity the Games were.
"Ladies first!" Effie announced bubbly into the microphone, her Capitol accent shining through her words. She walked over to the glass ball that the held the names of all the girls twelve through eighteen in District 12.
Madge felt her heart move up to her throat and Delly clamped on to her hand, struggling to hold it all together. Effie reached in and grasped at the slip that would seal the death of a girl that they more than likely knew, that could possibly be one of them. She cooly walked back over to the microphone and opens the slip. Effie Trinkett probably didn't think twice of the horror that was to come when read out the name. A drop of sweat rolled down Madge's back.
"Primrose Everdeen!"
Madge breathed a sigh of relief. For a moment.
Then it hit her. Not Prim. Not Katniss' baby sister. She was twelve. The girl only had one slip in the entire ball. What were the odds?
A commotion started in the back of the crowd and Madge knew that it was Katniss. "Prim! No, Prim!"
Tears welled up Madge's eyes. She couldn't even imagine what Katniss was thinking at the moment. Her baby sister was about to be sent off to her death. A small girl like Prim would never survive the Games. It was a death sentence.
"I volunteer! I volunteer as tribute."
Madge never imagined those words to come out of anyone's mouth in District 12, especially not from one of her friends. She could feel the blood rushing from her face and she felt dizzy. Katniss was her friend. She couldn't go. She had a family that needed her. Madge could feel bile creeping up the back of her throat.
Madge looked back and saw a screaming Prim being restrained by a pained-looking Gale as Katniss was led up to the stage by Peacekeepers. She could hardly believe what was going on around her. District 12 had never had a volunteer before. Usually Districts 1, 2, and 4 were the only ones that had any volunteers. These were called the Career districts because people trained to be part of the Games. She was still caught up in the commotion until Effie moved on to pick the male tribute. For a moment, Gale Hawthorne's face flashed in front of her. Madge quickly dismissed it as her mind wondered back to Katniss.
"Peeta Mellark!"
Madge felt like another blow had been dealt to her.
"No," Delly cried into Madge's shoulder. Peeta was the son of the baker and he had grown up in the same group of Town kids that they had. He didn't have the survival skills that kids in the Seam did because he'd never had to fight to live. He was sure to die.
While her father read the Treaty of Treason describing why the Hunger Games now existed, Madge zoned out. She thought about Katniss. And Peeta. She knew that Katniss went out into the woods beyond the fence and that she hunted, but was that enough to save her? District 12 hadn't had a victor in 24 years when Haymitch Abernathy won the same year Maysilee was in the Games... The only thing Madge could hear was the sound of Delly's sniffles reminding her that everything around her was real. Up until this year, she hadn't known anyone that had been in the Games. Of course she knew of them, like Ivy Jansen, but they hadn't been her friends. Now, Madge felt as if her heart was getting ripped out. She got a glimpse as to why her mother would rather stay in a morphling coma than watch the Hunger Games year after year.
People automatically start lining up to say goodbye to the tributes. Delly and Madge first got into Peeta's line behind his two older brothers, both of whom were silent and stony. The Mellark boys had always been known for their charismatic personalities, but no remnant of that could be seen. When they were finally admitted into the room to see Peeta, Delly flung herself at the blonde haired boy while Madge hung back. Madge noticed that he didn't even budge. Peeta, like Madge and Delly, had never wanted for food. He wasn't extremely tall, but he did have a stocky, muscular build. He was strong, but Madge didn't think he would be strong enough to overpower any of the Career tributes.
"Oh, Peeta! I can't believe it," Delly sobbed as Peeta patted her back. In a strange way, Peeta was the one doing the consoling, not the other way around. That was just the way he was. "We'll miss you."
A lump formed in her throat after Delly's words came out. They wouldn't be saying 'see you soon,' like they had so many times before after leaving the bakery or going to a party at the Faulk's house. They were saying goodbye. Madge didn't know how to say goodbye to someone. She was lucky; she had never had to do that before. Peeta had always been the sweet baker's boy that they hung out with whenever Town events or their parents' forced them together. He was the boy that Madge's parents had always joked about wanting her to marry and now he was going to die. It was all so unfair. As she thought about what to say to him, she didn't want to accept that he would never come back, that they would never see each other again.
"Good luck, Peeta." That's what she decided on. She just couldn't say goodbye outright.
"Thanks, Madge," The boy she had known her whole life smiled sadly back. He gave her a short hug before Madge helped pull Delly from the room. There were lots of other people who wanted to say goodbye to the popular Town boy.
Delly wiped at her red rimmed eyes, "Do you want to walk home with me? I don't really want to be alone."
"I need to say goodbye to Katniss, Delly. She's my friend, too," Part of Madge felt bad for leaving her, but she needed to talk to Katniss before she left. She had something she needed to do.
Katniss had a much shorter line than Peeta, probably because she wasn't as popular and friendly as the Town boy was. Madge found herself standing in line in front of a stoic Gale Hawthorne, who was probably wondering what she was even doing there. But he didn't speak to her and they didn't look at each other as they waited. There was no time for arguing now.
As she waited for Prim and Mrs. Everdeen to come out, Madge looked down and saw the golden mockingjay pinned onto her pretty white dress—a reminder of the girl who it used to belong to. The girl who had died in the Games. The pin had watched over her today and every other year on Reaping Day, just like her father promised it would.
When Madge entered the room, Katniss was standing by the bookshelf, and if Madge didn't know any better she would have thought she was scared. She could tell that Katniss was a little surprised to see her, but there wasn't much time to spare. She knew that shortly Katniss would be on the train to the Capitol, where she would possibly never return from.
"They let you wear one think from your district in the arena," Madge pulled the pin off her white dress roughly. She wasn't going to accept now for an answer. "One thing to remind you of home. Will you wear this?"
Katniss was confused, obviously. She didn't know who had once owned the little gold pin. Madge could tell that she just thought that was another ordinary, albeit expensive, piece of jewelry. "Your pin?"
"Here, I'll put it on your dress, all right?" Madge's voice shook and she fumbled as she fastened the pin onto Katniss' worn blue dress. She didn't have enough time to explain the significance of the pin; it would take more than a few minutes to explain everything. A few minutes was all they had. "Promise you'll wear it into the arena, Katniss? Promise?"
"Yes," She nodded before Madge quickly kissed her on the cheek and wrapped her fair skinned arms around her friend. The hug was short lived before the Peacekeepers come to take Madge out, and Gale rushed in.
Madge knew that was all she could do. She had given Maysilee's pin to Katniss. Hopefully it would bring her luck like it had brought her for the last five years.
Well, there you go! There's the Prologue and Ch. 1. If you're wondering what I pictured Madge and some of the uncasted characters to look like heres a little list:
Madge Undersee: Elisabeth Harnois (I know she's wayyyy too old, but she so cute and pretty and exactly what I pictured Madge to look like. She looks so young too!)
Mayor Undersee: Victor Garber (Titanic)
Mrs. Undersee: Kelly Rowan (The OC)
Delly Cartwright: Ashley Benson (Pretty Little Liars)
Nettie: Sally Fields