The next couple of days passed without much action. Katniss had dropped a nest of tracker jackers onto the Careers and had only narrowly managed to get away with a few stings herself. Thinking of Glimmer's grotesque, nearly unrecognizable body from all the stings she had suffered made bile rise in the back of Rini's throat, and she struggled to swallow it back down.
There was another matter; Peeta had fought off one of the Careers to ensure Katniss' safe escape. Indeed, these games seemed to be a great bigger hit than the previous year.
"Is she awake yet?" Renata asked, helping herself to a plate off of the little food cart they had ordered. The young girl had fallen unconscious after running from the scene of chaos, and no sooner than that had she been taken into young Rue's care. "Could there have been lasting damage from the tracker jackers?"
Haymitch grunted in response, shrugging. She could tell that he was panicking, though. He wiped his hands on his pants and sighed as Rue changed Katniss' leaves. "There isn't much that we can do but watch." He made a disgruntled noise and sat back in his chair with a small huff.
It amazed Renata at how some people in the arena completely lost themselves. Every shred of their humanity was abandoned as they allowed their primal instincts to take over. Kain had been just that.
She, of course, hadn't known what he was like before the arena. Even in the time they spent together in the Capitol, she didn't see what he was like. Could he have been a very caring, good person? He had a family that loved him, she assumed. Although, how one could still find love in their heart after watching his madness on screen was beyond her.
Her eye pulsed and she raised her hand up to gently press against it, remembering the unbearable pain she had endured at the climax of her games. She could feel the weight of his body on hers, holding her down against the bitterly cold snow.
"Shh, don't cry. I'm giving you a new look is all, Rini. How do you think they'd like you with no ears? All your fingers and toes hacked off?"
How long would he have dragged out her torture after he had cut out her eye? Had she not killed him, would he have stopped there and given her mercy? Goosebumps appeared on her arms and she rubbed them away, shaking her head.
Would it have been worse if he had been kind? She tried to fathom what it might have been like if he had professed his undying love for her in his interview. The thought made her purse her lips and shake her head. It was ridiculous.
There were people that kept their humanity, though. For Rini, she had the luck of Averie. A kind girl, she had saved her from death and stayed with her until the very end. The two girl had had the same goal, to defeat Kain. What exactly was it that had possessed Averie to pull her from her icy grave? The girl had said that she had been glad that she did, for the parachutes that were sent to Rini had been enumerable. But that kind of person, a truly good person, was rare in the arena.
Rini swallowed as she tried to remember what had happened to Averie. She could remember the cannon going off when she was trapped beneath the snow, but had never found out how the girl met her end.
"What's this?" Haymitch asked, his fingertips brushing aside her hair making her jump with surprise.
"What?" She asked, furrowing her brow.
"There are bruises on your neck," He observed. His lips were tight as he examined the finger shaped bruises, sighing when she arranged the way her hair fell so they were covered.
"It's nothing," She murmured reply, waving her hand as to further dismiss the subject. She had better things to focus on than to speak of Seneca's taste in the bedroom.
Renata quickly wiped her cheeks when she heard the door to the apartment open. She had had to get away from the viewing center after Rue died. Her whole body ached from controlling her tears and she had graciously taken Haymitch's invitation to retire to the apartment for a bit. She sniffled and sat up when Seneca strolled in, his fingers hooked on his belt loops. "H-hi," She managed, swallowing back another onslaught of tears.
"Are you crying over that little girl, baby?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. He walked over to her and tilted her chin up, able to see the tear streaks on her cheeks from the faint light coming in through the windows. "You knew that she wouldn't last. How could she?" He absentmindedly swept his thumb over her cheekbone before turning away and going to his desk. "Besides, she's just created a shit storm of problems for me." He messed with his desk, grumbling every so often, and he jumped a little when Rini was suddenly beside him. The screen cleared with a wave of his hand and he turned to face her, "What is it?"
"Will…will you come lie with me for a little while?" She asked, hugging her arms to herself. "I understand you're busy…"
Seneca sighed and he rubbed his nose, nodding. "No, it's okay. What kind of husband would I be if I ignored you in a time of need?" He stood up and led her to their bed, crawling in behind her and wrapping an arm around her. His breath on her neck ruffled her curly hair and he caught sight of the healing bruises on her neck that he had inflicted on her. Gently, he swept her hair out of the way and kissed the marks, his stubble prickly against her fair skin. She was trembling ever so slightly in his arms. "Hush, now," He mumbled against her throat. He began to soften as he held her, as if he suddenly remembered that she was his eighteen year old bride. Still a child.
"How did Averie die?" She asked.
"Averie?" Seneca furrowed his brows.
"The girl tribute from Two. She saved me," She swallowed and cleared her throat. "When the avalanche came on us, we both got swept away…I didn't see-"
"She broke her neck," He replied, his tone casual. "Nothing too spectacular. It was quick." As if he were trying to make light of a girl's death. "No one really thought about it, since the finale was somewhat worth watching the other tributes freeze to death." He moved back from her to allow her to turn over and face him, letting his fingers go to her brow. "And you gave us a show, didn't you?"
Rini stayed quiet as he looked at her, watching him in return. He looked exhausted. His beard was starting to grow back in the patches that were so elegantly shaved away, making him look disheveled. "I wasn't the one that gave the show. I was just a participant," She whispered, closing her eyes as he grazed his fingertips over the lids.
An involuntary shiver went down her spine and she opened her eyes, half expecting to see Kain lying beside her. Seneca had stopped stroking her face and he had his eyes closed, looking much softer and less threatening like this. She slowly sat up and stroked his face, which made him murmur and burrow closer to her.
The apartment was quiet now. Renata pursed her lips as she stroked her husband's head and listened to his slow breaths. He still didn't trust her enough to listen to her. She could try and get him to bend to her will. He'd broken the rules for her once before, so what's to keep him from breaking them again at his wish? Her eyes flitted down to him once again and she sighed, shaking her head and carefully getting out of bed. She began to take off all her clothes, keeping her eyes on him at all times. His eyes stayed closed but his brows furrowed when she tossed her panties at him.
"What are you-" He stopped when he opened his eyes and found her crawling onto the bed.
"I want you," She purred, running her hands up his thighs and to his belt.
"Rini," He mumbled, swallowing and moving her hand away. "I'm too tired." But even as the words left his mouth, he began to stiffen.
"I can do all the work, you can relax," she reassured him, pulling down his pants. "Please, Seneca…"
"I said no!" He yelled when she pulled down his underwear. His body was shaking now and his chest rose and fell quickly. He watched her shrink back from him with a pitiful look on her face.
"Are you going to hit me?" Renata asked in a tiny voice, just daring to raise her eyes to meet his. "Punish me for being disobedient?" She turned around and got onto her hands and knees, looking over her shoulder at him. When he just stared at her, she rose from the bed and sucked on her lower lip. "Please don't…don't hurt me, don't touch me," She whimpered, switching to a different tactic.
"You're my wife," Seneca grunted back, narrowing his eyes at her. "I can touch you whenever I want." He watched as she did a very poor job of trying to cover her naked body. "What? Changed your mind, then?" He sat up and kicked off his pants, yanking his underwear back on with difficulty.
"D-Don't!" Renata pleaded, backing away from him. "It hurts!" She let out a cry of fright when he started towards her and turned to run across the room, knowing that she had him now. He grabbed her by her hair and swung her around, landing an open handed slap across her cheek. A loud wail had him kneeling above her, flipping her onto her stomach and pressing her down against the carpet. "No! No, please! Don't!" She protested, putting up a good fight and wincing when he smacked her bum. When he entered her from behind, she gave a loud scream and earned a bite on her shoulder.
"I love when you scream," Seneca growled, pinning her wrists to the carpet as he made sporadic thrusts. "That's it, lie there and take it, you whore."
That took Renata a bit off guard. That's essentially what she was doing, wasn't it? Coercing, or trying to at least, him to do her will with sex. She whimpered and her lip trembled with the pain of it all. "Please, stop," she pleaded weakly. "You're hurting me!" This little game went on for a few more moments before her husband was spent, and he rolled off of her onto his back, shivering with bliss. She slowly sat up and looked at him, ignoring the pain of sitting upright. She rested a hand on his chest and he took hold of it without opening his eyes, pressing it to his chest. "I'm sorry that I got you in so much trouble," she said finally, making him open an eye.
"You're worth it for the most part," He murmured, his lips twitching up. "I'd probably do it again."
Rini took a breath and hesitated before starting. "I want Katniss and Peeta to win."
He snorted and opened both his eyes to look at her. "And people in hell want ice water, sweetheart."
"I mean it. Can you imagine?" She straddled his stomach and rested her palms flat on his chest. "Two victors from the same district. It's unheard of."
"Exactly. It's never happened. There's only one victor."
"The games are supposed to be about the Capitol's generosity, right? What if…if this year, you were to show that by sending two home instead of the one?" She spoke cautiously, not wanting to infuriate him. He was still coming down from his high from his orgasm, so this was relatively safe. "And can you imagine what everyone would say about you?" She put a coy smile on her face and licked her lips. "Seneca Crane, the greatest Gamemaker in the history of the Hunger Games. A brilliant, cunning…merciful man."
Seneca grunted quietly, but she could see the idea buzzing in his head behind his blasé façade. "Just how would I get this to happen? It's not my call."
"You're a smart man, my love," She purred, leaning down and kissing his lips. "The president likes you, I love you…you'll think of something."
He was quiet for a few moments and he gave her a brief nod. "Go get in the closet, Rini."
Her eyes widened and she swallowed, "What? Why?"
"If you think you're going to try and play without any repercussions, you're wrong. So you can either go get in the closet yourself, or I'll put you there," He warned, raising his eyebrow. He pushed himself up after she got off of him, stretching his arms above his head and sighing when his back popped. He closed the door when she got into the closet and he locked the door, going to retrieve the machine. As he fed the tube through the bottom of the door, he heard Renata call his name. At least she wasn't screaming like the time before.
"What is it, love?" He asked, stuffing the bottom of the door with rags.
"Do you love me?" She asked.
Seneca pursed his lips, taken aback as he poured the mixture into the top of the machine and switched it on. "Why do you think I'm doing this, love? There isn't one person I love more."
Man oh man have i missed this story. Ugh I apologize for waiting so long, I've started reading a book series called Outlander and that's been ruling my life aghhggh. Also writers block. But alas, here is the chapter. Rini Rini Rini, what can I say about you, baby? Poor thing. That's usually the common thing. But she can be pretty convincing when she wants to be, eh? I'm slowly but surely finishing this story up and then it's onto the next one...whoo, boy. Ugh I don't have much to say this time, just that this chapter is kind of eh for me and I'm thinking that the next one will be a pretty good one, hopefully. Possibly some Finn in there. Ooh, baby. Two months until the movie oh JESUS IM GONNA BARF. Sorry again for the long wait and thank you endlessly for following me and reading what I have to offer!
-Kelsey