Spring of the Forty Second Games:
It was starting to warm up in District One when I was next called to the Capitol, the invite had been less clear over my purpose there but I truly hoped they were finished hurting me. After all in only two weeks time we'd be reaping twenty four more tributes and they'd get a new victor to torture.
I'd been speaking to Jewel about my trip the night before and she'd promised to keep an eye on Satine for me if I was gone for more than a couple of days. Satine had been forced out of her warehouse hideout a few weeks ago by an enthusiastic young peacekeeper who'd left her with nothing but her baby again. She'd reluctantly moved in with Jewel, Livia and Charm but it was hard for them with their two bedrooms and a screaming child keeping them up all night. I really wanted to do something more permanent for her.
As I sit alone on the train, I think about the other people I've met since becoming a victor and find myself wondering when I'll next bump into Mason at a Capitol event; I should really apologise to him for fainting when he was asking me a question. The moment before my collapse was rapidly coming the most vivid memory of that night. Of a scared boy asking for my help and me just turning off on him. It was probably too late for him now though, he'd have an answer to his fears and by the way the magazines were talking about him, he was the new Rock. The sexy silent killer, with the rockin' abs.
Demi doesn't meet me at the station like usual, instead it's some man I don't recognise, he isn't an Avox but still leads me silently to a car in the usual spot, he opens the passenger door and I climb in as he gets in to drive. "Where's Demica?" I ask coolly, professionally. Inside I'm worried, why wouldn't Demi come get me, she always gets me. I feel the car take a sharp left turn that I didn't recognise, something wasn't right here.
"Busy" he grunts in reply, Busy doing what? I'm her job! I mean I hadn't actually been to the Capitol since my final meeting with Pollux, but I figured she would be waiting for me the next time I did. Yet it didn't feel like a relief not to see her stern face and I didn't like people keeping secrets from me, so I decide to probe the man further.
"Well I'll need her to be there for the job, she knows all my needs" I play the snob card, this man doesn't know me; he might even spill if he thinks I'll go all psycho on him.
"She's busy" oh two words this time, this time next month I may get a sentence, I up the antsy.
"Do you not know who I am sir! I am not happy being driven Panem knows where by Panem knows who without a chaperone!"
"Shut your cakehole Diamond" he snaps "I spend enough time with whiney snappy victors to know when ones faking it, and you my love are faking it"
"I can go psycho if you want me to sir, that I don't fake" I snarl at the man, he just laughs.
"Try all you want darling, I've been in this business too long"
"What's your business then Mr?"
"Names Orias and you don't need to know my business"
"Okay then Orias now where getting somewhere" I smile and pretend to relax a little "Where are we going, who are we meeting?"
"We are going out of town and you have some people to talk to"
He doesn't speak again, even though I try some more questions, either he's really good or he knows nothing else, just a little underling. But whose?
The car pulls up outside a large warehouse; it looks nothing like anything else in the capitol I've seen and reminds me instead of one of the many warehouses back home. Where the patrols of peacekeepers guard the luxury products to be transported to the capitol and where Satine lived. I wonder where this man lives, how many Avoxes he must have sold to get me alone in this dark place. It was at this point I decided he was definitely going to kill me out here.
Orias opens the door for me and I step out of the car, narrowly avoiding a large puddle as I do Orias turns away from me and begins to march towards a warehouse. I could run now I think, but to where; "Hurry up" he barks and my curiosity gets the better of me. Maybe this really is the end of my story, maybe I'm going to die tonight. I feel almost calm with this thought, as if I were still on my pills. I must really be losing my mind now. "Hurry" he repeats and I try to pick up my pace to catch him up, something was still not fitting in the murderous intentions idea and I had to find out more.
The large doors of the warehouse open and as I make a move to step through them Orias stops me, "Before you enter keep this in mind, what happens in here tonight stays here. You tell a soul and dying will be the last of your worries." He passes me a round plastic disc, "put this on" I look down, it's a mask, a plain one two eyes and no mouth I slide it onto my face and turn around to him to see he's also put on a mask, his however does have a mouth. "In" he tells me pointing through the door.
"Keep your hat on" I quip but find my words muffled by the mask.
"Silence" he says and strides off ahead, if he were going to kill me why cover up my face I wonder. I follow him into the dark room and hear a clang as the large door shuts behind us. At first it feel as though the building is crowded with people but I as I orientate myself I can only count eight other dark shadows including Orias.
At the end of the darkened rooms a small stage is lightened by a crack in the roof, a woman stands on the stage and I know instantly who it is. Maggie Sedna, even with a mask the same as Orias' her wild red hair isn't hard to miss. "My brothers and sisters" she calls removing her mask "step towards me into the light"
The others all step forwards and in the light I can see that all their masks have mouth holes, none of them remove them though even when Maggie encourages them too.
"It's too soon" calls an older female voice "say your piece girl, before we are found" girl? Who are these people, other victors maybe but Maggie is one of the oldest victors we have alive still. Who could possibly be senior to her?
"The time is now my fellow victors" she states, confirming my suspicions "The time is here for us to begin our fight. Our fight against those who forced us into arenas to fight for our lives. Forced us to kill and tried to keep us down when we won their games. We are taking a stand and we are going to bring an end to the games for good!" I study Maggie closely, she won the tenth games, was born before the rebellion, if anyone was to be telling me the truth it's her.
"The forced us from their society, we stand on the periphery now, only slaves for entertainment and produce" she continues with her inspiring speech. I'm blown away by what she says, it's the truth, it's the truth we all knew but none of us would dare to say Her words could get her killed and just being here the rest of us would probably go down with her too. I begin to feel less inspired and more terrified. Through the others continue to stare up at her stuck on every word. She's getting through to them, whoever they may be. The words she speaks echo my recent doubts about the capitol about how they are ensuring Jewel gets the minimum number of shifts to survive and little else and how they allowed Satine to be thrown away once her child was born.
"We must fight the injustice my brothers and sisters, we must fight the capitol"
"But How?" the voice pipes up from a dark corner of the room, its male, dark and rough with the hint of a District nine accent.
"How indeed, we cannot do it alone, we must make them see the truth. That every games they hold kills twenty three of our young children!" Maggie responds.
"It'll never happen" another voice calls "We can't change them" "we must fight them" more voices join in the shouting.
"Let me finish" Maggie demands her voice strong "No we won't convert all of them, but we will convert some and when that happens we will have allies."
"So that's why we're here" calls another voice "to be pawns."
"No!" calls Orias stepping up to stand next to Maggie "We will be allies"
Allies, that word means more to some than others. Yet even though I won the games alone, I'm fed up of the loneliness that has followed. The loneliness that two years later I have only just begun to combat. I want allies and I want the games to end. I decide to make myself known to the crowd, to show them who I am and that I fear nothing.
I rip off my mask and march to the front of the room "I'm in" I tell Maggie who smiles and looks out on the rest of the room.
"The rest of you?"
There are a few moments of silence before another voice speaks, it's from a dark corner of the room, and a figure I hadn't counted earlier.
"I'm in"
Even as the young man removes his mask and stands beside me it takes me a moment to realise who he is.
Beetee of District Three won the games the year after me, by being clever. I hadn't seen him much since, I don't think many people had. He's not like me and Mason being paraded around the Capitol. I have a feeling he's smarter than that.
There is another moment of silence before the rest of the room begins to applaud. I look around and frown.
"What.." I begin before spotting one of the people under the masks, her long blonde hair and sly smile "Silk!" I run into my mentors arms, before remembering how she'd vanished during the previous months again and letting go "You abandoned me, is this another cruel trick?" I step back and notice how large her pregnancy has made her now, how I hadn't spotted that earlier I'll never know.
"Never Diamond" she replies resting her hands on my shoulders "You passed all your tests, even those we didn't tell you about and here you are."
"Ryam?" asks Beetee "is he not here?"
Silk shakes her head and looks at the boy "he isn't with us. Are you still?" I wonder why he and I were chosen and not any of the other recent victors. As Silk said and everyone knows I've been tested and I've been pushed. But Beetee, hasn't all he done since winning is go back to work in one of the labs in District Three.
Of course I think cynically kids smart, he can build things. He'll be useful to them, probably more so than me.
Beetee looks worried for a moment, before he hardens his face "I'm with you" he says. The other people in the room have begun to remove their masks also allowing me a good look at them all.
Silk is the only other District One victor besides me and I can't see anyone from District Two, I spot Shad Carp from Four, his son did die in my games after all and now his new baby daughter is at risk, all for their entertainment. Two men from District Nine stand in a corner Bryant Cull and Barric Emmer both of them with the same sun tanned skin and sandy colored hair. Bina of District Five walks over to join them as she grips tightly onto Bryant's hand; the two of them talk intently as Barric looks over towards me. I wonder if I should go say hello but I'm taken aback by the final victor to remove their mask.
She was the older voice I'd heard chastising Maggie, Wilda of District Seven, victor of the Eighth Hunger Games. I've never seen her in the capitol before and only on TV in a few old interviews I watched years before my own games, rumor had it she was crazy, rumor was apparently very wrong.
"It's a pleasure Diamond" she smiles. She's missing a couple of teeth and her white hair is cropped short and spiky but I can see in her eyes that she's as sane as the rest of us here.
"I don't know what to say, this is an honor" I respond, Wilda was the second oldest victor we had remaining. Behind Cobb who lives up in District Two and is apparently very weak now, no-one likes to talk about him much.
"The honor is mine" she replies "I've been following your progress"
"We all have" adds Maggie joining us "your kindness to that young lady in the market place is what truly swung us though"
"You saw that?"
"We heard through the grapevine" Silk says with a smile.
Wilda laughs "I told them they were being harsh with you Diamond" she says "but Mags here always has a plan"
"I hate it when you call me that you know that" Maggie says "But yes as you say I had a plan, one that now requires your help"
"Good night ladies" interrupts Orias with a little bow "I shall see you all soon"
"May I have a word" says Silk "privately?"
"of course" Orias responds as he follows Silk out, I want to follow and see what Silk was keeping from me now but first I had questions.
"I have to be going too my dear, I'm supposed to be at a hospital appointment my grandson will worry if I'm late back on the train.
"How far is Seven from here?" I ask curiously
"Close enough for him to worry" she smiles and pats my hand "until next time"
"I'll be in contact" Maggie says as Wilda walks from the building, I look up and notice the others have all gone too leaving us alone in the large warehouse,
"So what now?" I ask. "What do I need to do?"
"We need to take it slowly" Maggie tells me "this may take years"
"Years!" I protest "I thought we wanted to make a change now!"
"We can't do that" I'm told "if we rush we will be defeated. Right now those you saw here tonight are the only ones who know."
"So this was all your idea" I gasp, the idea of an uprising, another rebellion thrills me, a chance to show the Capitol what real pain feels like.
"Wilda helped" she smiles "We had a few hushed conversations years before you were born, then Barric joined us and Orias found out. He's a Gamesmaker you know"
I shake my head
"Well he helped us recruit Shad, Bryant and Bina. Then Silk after she started asking certain questions. She was the one who recommended you. That's why I spoke to you that time in the Capitol mall, but I have to admit I wasn't sure of you at first."
"I understand" I say remembering our first encounter that strange dreamlike day after my first meeting with Wellington Masters.
"Good" she smiles "But now I see what she sees in you and I hope you understand why Beetee is with us too"
"He's a smart kid" I say "knows how to build things"
"He's also lost people Diamond. His sister was killed after he won his games"
I gasp "but why, he played by the rules didn't he!"
"He did, but Crag and Hermes weren't happy that he wiped out our careers. They had a word with the Head Gamemaker, who in turn must have spoken to Snow"
I gasp "Hermes got his sister killed. That's sick." Would he have done the same to me though, killed Dad if I displeased him.
"That's life" Maggie says with a hint of resignation "But if you truly want to help us now, I need only one thing from you."
"What?" I ask, at this point I'll do anything to help.
"We need you to mentor in the next games."
"Why?" I ask "Brandi was going to do it, with Calix I think"
"We need to keep someone on our side this year" she says "We can't promise District One a win this year but we need you to help us get another District victory."
"So you've been tampering with the games through Orias?" I ask "Picking the winners"
"No nothing as illegal as that, just getting the right tributes into the right places that's all"
"I don't know, if I'm caught they'll kill me and then probably Dad and Jewel too for good measure"
"Nothing will point back to you" she says "You have my word in that"
"I'll help you" I say, an idea forming in my mind "if you will help me with something in return?"
"What?"
"Bernard Wellington-Masters, do you know him?"
"The name is familiar yes, he's the man who bought your vaginity yes?"
"Yeah that's him" I growl "I want him to pay you see, I want to hurt him but I need to get him alone and I'll need to have a weapon"
"Harming a Capitol citizen is a grave crime Diamond" she says "They'll take it out on more than just you."
"That's why I can't be caught" I say "Will you help me?"
"I'll see what can be done" she says as I see Beetee walking towards us.
"Ms Sedna" he calls out "I have some questions"
"And I have some answers I suppose" Maggie laughs "till next time Diamond"
"Till then" I reply as I leave the two of them to talk, a smile on my face. I step out into the daylight again where Silk is waiting for me; "Did you speak to Maggie about the plan?" she asks
"She won't tell me any details but I apparently have to mentor again this year though I'd rather not"
"Well that's more than I know" she says walking towards the car waiting for us, an Avox drives it this time and I wonder what he knows about the treason happening behind these doors.
"What did you speak with Orias about?" I ask Silk as I let her slide belly first into the car.
"I can't say now" she tells me strapping herself in "But when the time is right I will"
"No" I protest loudly as I join her "No more secrets Silk, If you really feel I'm ready to know about your little rebellion then I deserve to know everything."
She sighs and pauses a moment "I asked him to begin the process of transferring my citizenship to District Two."
"What!" I exclaim "But we can't it's impossible"
She shakes her head "There's an old law, Orias told me about, from the early days of the games before Troy when Victors had a greater freedom to move"
I frown "What freedoms to move?" I ask, Victors had no more rights than other District Citizens as to their movements unless the Capitol needed them.
"You know of Troy of District Twelve don't you?" she asks
"Of course, killed all them Capitol kids and they chopped off his head" I say, referring to the most notorious Victor ever, guy was more nuts than the rest of us put together. He's probably the reason Twelve still haven't got another victor of their own.
"Well before him Victors had the right to move between Districts and the Capitol, that's how he was able to get access to his victims. After his execution they stopped that freedom, that's when they built the Victors Villages to keep us all in one place. Now before Troy Victors could choose where to live and in extreme cases could change their citizenship to a different District. Orias thinks that this piece of legislation is still law so I could move to be with Rock"
"So you're pregnancy is extreme enough for them to just let you move?" I ask "They won't just redact the law before you have a chance to ask."
"The Capitol are a funny lot, Diamond surely you've noticed how they love and fear us at the same time. That's why I know this thing we're doing here will work. That's why I trust Orias and know he will help me."
"I don't want you to leave me" I say "Not with the others, you're the only other Victor who I really feel gets me" I'm more honest than I expected to be.
"You don't need a mentor anymore Diamond" she says "You have friends now. Oh look the station." She says as the car pulls to a stop and I hear the click of the doors unlocking. Diamond thanks the driver and climbs out of the car. This conversation isn't over yet I think as I follow her into the busy station where a train back to One awaits us.
Two weeks later and I'm still no clearer on what exactly they want me to do during the games this year but one rainy evening my resolve to help do anything I could to end them was firmly secured. Arriving back in the village from a visit to check up on Satine and little Diamond I notice the door of Silks home is wide open. It's a tradition we have in One to keep the door open when a birth is occurring to invite neighbours in to celebrate or help if they can. I run over to her front door and step into her hallway from upstairs I hear screams of pain.
"Diamond" I look through into the kitchen to see Calix, Hale and Paris sharing a bottle of wine, I walk through to join them.
"Is she okay?" I ask "Is it the baby?"
"It sure is love" Paris smile "You want to join the women upstairs."
"No thanks. I'll stick to the wine thanks" I reply helping myself to one of the glasses "Where's Hermes?"
Calix shrugs as he slides the bottle over to me, as I the wine pours into the glass the screams of Silk from upstairs stop and are replaced by the cry of a new born baby.
"To another unlucky child for the reaping bowl" Paris sighs as he raises his glass.
Saltey's Fun Naming fact of the week: Orias is named after a Deamon of hell with 30 legions of Demons under his command. He is well known for being able to metamorphose a man into any shape and if that doesn't give you a clue as to whose pulling the strings here nothing will. Then again I could just be lying because I may have just thought it was a cool name.
Also I've had the majority of this chapter written for ages I've just been waiting for the perfect point to introduce this part of the story and it's finally here.