The anthem finally ended and we were escorted to separate rooms by the Peacekeepers. As I looked around at the fancy room I was lead to, I heard the door click behind me. The carpet was very thick and my feet sank with every step. Every inch of the chairs and couches were covered with velvet. I only saw it once when the Aphrodites decided that it was 'chic' and wore it absolutely everywhere. I ran my fingers over the couch arm as I took a seat. I waited to see what was supposed to happen, when the door opened.
Percy and my mom walked in and closed it behind them. As soon as they saw me, they ran up to me and gave me a huge hug. I felt crushed under the hug and I was only able to muster up "Can't...Breathe!" They let go of me as I gasped for air. "What were you thinking?!" Percy yelled. "I was thinking you would turn into a sad sack if your girlfriend died." I shot back. He blushed. "Calm down, kids." Mom intervened. She turned to him and said "Percy, don't yell at your sister. She made a huge sacrifice for you and Annabeth. Be thankful." Uh oh, I thought to myself, She's in 'Mom Mode' again. "And Andi," she started, turning to me. "That was a very dangerous thing you did, but it's your decision, so I will support you completely." She pulled me into another hug. "Be careful." she whispered in my ear. When she pulled back, I looked back at Percy. He looked like he was on the verge of tears. "Percy, I WILL make it back. You're not gonna get rid of me that easy." I teased, trying to lighten the mood. I failed miserably. "How do you know?" he asked me, his voice breaking. "Look if it makes you feel better, I swear on the River of Styx that I will make it back alive." I told him, giving him a serious look. He hesitated, then gave me one more hug. "Ok, time's up." The door opened and 4 Peacekeepers came into the room. They each took one of their arms, and lead them out.
It was about a minute before the door opened again and Annabeth came in. "Oh my gods! Andi!" she yelled. She tackled me in a hug, causing me to stumble. She was practically choking me, so when I tried to tell her to let go, all that came out were grunts. She got the hint and backed off. I coughed and hacked, trying to get my breath back. Her eyes were kind of puffy and she was trembling. "Why did you do that for me?" she asked me. "Well, for one thing, Percy would have probably turned into a mopey git." She gave me a weak chuckle. "And I couldn't live with your dead body on my conscience. I wasn't going to let you die and have me be the girl who could have done something." She gave me a smile. "Hey, I got something for you." She shoved her hand into her pocket and pulled out a leather necklace. When she opened her fist, a little wooden owl charm sat in her palm. "Chiron told us about this thing called a 'tribute token'. Apparently, you can take one think with you from your district. Please, take it." She placed it in my hand and closed my fist around it. "It's my way of saying 'Thank you.'" "Your time is up." I heard a Peacekeeper yell from outside. "See you soon." I told her. She turned and walked out the door.
About 2 minutes later, a Peacekeeper walked in and escorted me to the train station. The place was so packed with reporters and cameras, some of the Peacemakers had to use their staffs to keep them back. I caught a few TVs around the station and saw my face. I had held up pretty well. Then came Leo's. He was a wreak, his eyes puffy, his curls even messier than usual, and oil splotches all over his clothes and face. We met up at the train doors, stood there for a while, and let the cameras soak in our image. After a minute of just standing there, they finally let us inside. I was relieved to get out of view of the paparazzi.
When the train started, I almost fell over, but I was able to grip the corner of a nearby table before hitting the ground. When I regained my footing, I got a glimpse of just how awesome the train was. We had our own bedrooms, our own bathrooms, even our own dressing rooms. Zeedee told me we can do pretty much anything we wanted as long as we got back for dinner, so the first thing I did was change out of that gods-awful outfit. I took a hot shower and changed into this.
When I came back out, a petite girl, about my age, with long, caramel hair was setting the table for supper. She looked vaguely familiar, but I couldn't put my finger on it. I ended up just pushing it to the back of my mind, sitting at the table, and waiting for them to show up. The only problem with that plan was that I couldn't shake the feeling that I knew that girl, and watching her flutter around with plates and glasses didn't exactly help me forget
After 5 minutes of fidgeting, Zeedee finally came to the table with Leo close at her heels. They sat at the table and waited some more for our food to come in. The girl came in and gave us each a plate of lamb stew. I told her "Thank you.", only to receive silence. She scurried out with her head ducked low. "Well, THAT was kind of rude. What's her problem?" I thought out loud. "Oh, she's an Avox. She can't speak." she explained. "Why?" I asked. She gave me a 'really?' face before saying "She has no tongue." Oh. We sat in silence for a while, eating our stew, when a loud voice pierced through the awkwardness, screaming "WHAT UP, CUPCAKES!" A short, fat man with a baseball bat in his hands strolled toward us, singing under his breath "I'll whack you in the head with my baseball bat." His hooves stamped the ground as he happily skipped into the room. Yeah, he didn't have feet. He was half-goat from the waste down.
Zeedee let out an exasperated sigh and said "What do you WANT, Mr. Hedge?" "Oh, I was just walkin' by and- Oh! Is that lamb stew?!" He jacked my plate and chomped it down, china and all. If he hadn't eaten MY food, it would've been pretty funny. She cleared her throat and said "Kids, this is your mentor, Mr. Hedge. He will be helping you with the Games." Oh, Hades no! I jumped up and said "You're going to leave us in the hands of that?" I made a huge hand motion at his face. "You're not so pretty yourself, cupcake." That was in. I judo-kicked him, took a steak knife from the table, and held it at his neck. "Don't mess with me, goat-man." I grunted through gritted teeth. He then had the nerve to laugh right in my face. "Well, you're a feisty one now, aren't ya?" I dug the blade deeper into his stumpy little neck. "One more word and I swear to gods that I will spill your blood all over the train!" Zeedee and Leo pulled at me, and I reluctantly got off the little shrimp. "I like this one." he told her. "What can you do?" he asked Leo. He lit his hand and threw it at a house plant sitting nearby. It got seared, as well as the wall around it. "Eh." he said with a bored face. I swear to the gods that he will not make it out of here alive.
After that, the awkward silence returned. When the Avox came and replaced my food, Leo's eyes went wide. She briskly walked away with her head down. I still had the nagging feeling that I knew her, and I think that Leo felt the same. After we finished our stew, I pulled him off to the side while Zeedee was lecturing Hedge on 'proper table etiquette'. "I feel like I know that Avox, and I sure as Hades know you do. Do you remember anything about her?" I questioned him. He went really stiff before whispering "Calypso." Just the name sent it all flooding back to me. "Son of a Centaur." I mutter.
(3 months ago)
I had just gotten out of the infirmary about 10 minutes ago and there I was, again, with a broken leg. Just my luck. We were dropping like flies, with more of us in the infirmary than the battlefield. I thought we were royally screwed, the Fates playing a cruel trick with no way out. Then, as I watch the failing battle go down, something crashed from the sky, into the middle of the fight. A girl with long, caramel hair and almond eyes had just flown into battle. She was kickin' butt like there was no tomorrow, BOOM! Enemy demigod, dead, BOOM! Cyclops, decapitated, BOOM! Kronos, stabbed in the foot. I was really impressed. Until she got tackled by 3 Peacemakers and got arrested.
Leo was fighting one of the traitors from the Hermes cabin when he noticed this girl getting taken away. He dropped everything and tried to stop them from dragging her away. He left his guard down and didn't see the manticore until it was too late. He was stabbed with the monster's scorpion tail and was sent to the infirmary immediately to remove the poison.
When he was strong enough to stay awake for more than 5 minutes, I decided to ask him a few questions. Turns out that her name was Calypso. Yes, THE Calypso, as in the one from Ogya. Wait, Ogaya? Ogygia? Whatever, it was some enchanted island she could never leave. Well, apparently, Leo washed up on the shore and couldn't get off. They had this really complicated relationship and he ended up kissing her before he left. I didn't really care, though. I just wanted to know who she was to him. I'm not jealous! You're jealous! Oh, whatever. Either way, thanks to her, we survived the war. I told myself I would never forget her for saving my home.
(Right Now)
Why do I insist on lying to myself? I look at the poor girl picking up our plates and mentally punch myself for not recognizing her sooner. I shook it out of my head, knowing that I couldn't change anything, and joined Zeedee on the couch to watch the Reapings. At about District 5, I kind of dozed off and had to get cold water to the face to see our district. I have gotta say, I was killin' that dress! Leo, though, looked even worse on TV than he did in person. He slumped as he walked, a dumbstruck look on his face. He looked like he was really surprised and on the verge of tears. It cut to my face and I realized that I had a far away look in my eyes as I flashed back. The whole Reaping, I was either watching Leo mess with his spring or staring off into space. I pinched the bridge of my nose, hating my ADHD for making me look like a complete bimbo on national TV.
When the anthem ended, we split off into our own rooms, Hedge going Zeus knows where and me going off into my room. I shuffled through the drawers and found a nightgown. I brought it into the bathroom and changed, feeling the smooth silk against my fingers. I hopped into my huge bed and tried to sleep, but the roar of the tracks kept me wide awake. I just sat there, staring at the canopy my bed and thinking about life. Dangerous, right? I was confusing myself way too much, so I got out of bed and snuck out my room. I tiptoed through the kitchen and out the door to the back of the train. The wind whipped in my ears as I stared at the open fields. I climbed the ladder to the top of the train and crawled to the front of the train. I shakily stood up and let the wind billow around me. My gown blew behind me and my hair flew in all directions as we sped down the track. I just stayed there, letting the cold air sting my face.
"Couldn't sleep?" I jumped and spun around, almost falling off the roof. "What are you doing up here?!" I whisper-shout at Leo. "What about you, huh?" he asked. "I don't think that has anything to do with why you're up here." I shot back. "Oh, but I think it does. Next time, you may want to be a little quieter." He stomped the roof and it vibrated over the rush of the wind. "Hey! Keep it down!" Someone yelled from under us. I snickered while Leo just stood there with one of those Oh looks. "Now, why are YOU here?" he asked. I turn my head around, looking at the open fields as we hurtle along the tracks. "I just needed some time to think." I say. "By doing a scene from Titanic?" he chided. "Oh shut up!" I laugh, nudging him aside as I walk back to my car.
I just realized how cold it was up here. I literally couldn't feel my fingers. The dress was really thin, so I didn't get much help there. I felt goosebumps form on my arms and legs. "Hey, you look cold." he said behind me. I hadn't realized I'd been shivering. "Here." He took off his army jacket and draped it over my shoulders. "No, I'll be fine." I say, taking it off and giving it to him. He was wearing a tank top stained with motor oil. "No, I insist." he said, pushing it back. "Stop! Really, that's enough!" I shout. "What's your problem?" he yells back. "OH! I'm sorry! Is the fact that we're supposed to KILL each other not enough for you?!" I yell. There was a thud under my feet. "HEY! Didn't you hear me?! KEEP IT DOWN!" "SHUT UP FOR GODS SAKES!" I scream. "YEAH! YOU SHOULD!" Oh gods, that is it. I stomped as loud as I could on the roof and stormed off. Screw that guy, screw Leo, screw the Hunger Games, and screw Panem. All I care about now is leaving with my life and my drama card intact.
I collapsed on the bed and stared at my canopy again. I was exhausted and ready to pass out. "Andi!" someone yelled from outside my room. I let out an exasperated sigh. "Go away!" I yell back. He started banging on the door, trying to get me to open it. I just shoved my face into my pillow and rolled over. The muffled sound of his constant knocking eventually stopped, letting me drift off to sleep.
I was back at camp, sitting on the beach, looking over the waves as they crashed on the sand. A certain peacefulness filled my being as I looked at my father's kingdom. "Hello Andi." someone said behind me. Just from the saltiness in the air, I could tell who it was. "Hey Dad." I say, turning to face the sea god. His sea-green eyes sparkled, his jet black hair cow-licked in every direction, and his smile crinkled his eyes and cheeks. His teeth were blindingly white and I had to squint to look him in the face. "Long time no see." he chuckled. I rolled my eyes.
"So, how've you been?" he said casually. "Well, let's see. I got picked for a fight to the death, I can't stand the guy that's going with me, and I'm just meeting my dad for the first time through a dream." I said, rolling my eyes again. "Well, actually, I'm not here to just catch up." "That figures." I mumble. "I'm here to tell you that demigods and mortals alike are in grave danger." he said solemnly."Of course. As soon as one danger dies, another rises, all of that crap." First Gaea, and now this. Gods, the Fates INSIST on being difficult. "You must do your best to stop this great evil." "Dad, let's face it, we all know the drill. We learn about it, we figure out the prophecy, we slay it." I tell him. He chuckles and says "Ah, if only it were that easy. I don't have much longer, so I just want to say the Gods will be ever in your favor." Huh? Before I could say anything, I was looking at my canopy.