Clove POV:
Katniss is still upset I can tell by the way her eyebrows knit together, she hardly eats any of the rich Capitol food presented to us and before long we're being ushered off the train and into a white car that is longer than any car I have ever seen.
Somewhere at the back of my mind whispers that this sort of car is called a limo but I don't really care that much at the moment. Two long seats line the walls facing each other and I sit close to Katniss trying to give her comfort by entwining my fingers with hers.
Our escorts and stylists sit opposite us while our mentors pile in next to us. I shift uncomfortably when Haymitch sits next to me and a wave of his alcoholic stench reaches my nose, I feel Katniss tighten her hold on my hand and I lean on her, trying to drown out his scent with hers. The peacekeeper driving start up the engine and drives off.
The mayor of eleven is a tall stern looking man with greying hair. I know his type, I've seen plenty of Peacekeepers like him back in district 2,a sucker for the rules and quick to dish out punishments. He gives us a forced smile, his beady eyes focussed on my girlfriend as he holds his hand out for a handshake.
I scowl at him not liking the way he's looking at my girlfriend like she's to blame for everything wrong in the world. Katniss takes his hand and shakes it hesitantly, when he turns his gave to me and offers me his hand I just stare at him not wanting to be anywhere near him.
"Clove remember your manners." Effie nudges me towards him, I shoot a glare her way before tentatively shaking his hand, only touching his fingertips, he raises an eyebrow at me as I continue to glare at him.
We awkwardly stand there while the mayor says some bullshit about how he's so pleased we're there, he smiles at us but it doesn't reach his eyes and we're then whisked off to separate rooms where our stylists will dress us to be presented to District 11.
My stylist drags me to a room at the top of the house and presents me with a simple outfit of a sleeveless dark suit. I try to keep my face straight as make-up is applied to my face and as soon as he's done I return my expression to its usual scowl.
The man rolls his eyes at me and points to the door indicating he's done and I exit the room. Katniss exits the room opposite me and I smile at her. Katniss returns the smile ever so slightly as she crosses the small space between us and slips her hand in mine.
At that moment Effie appears beaming, "Well you two look lovely." She holds up two small white cards and holds them out towards us. "Now I've taken the liberty of writing your speeches for you." Katniss nods and takes the cards.
Effie leads us downstairs and to the entrance hall of the mayors house, a few peacekeepers stand by the huge double doors and I can hear a slight rumble of a crowd outside the doors. "Remember to smile both of you, and read the cards." Effie says, she looks slightly nervous, probably knowing that we are not the most charismatic people.
With that the doors are opened and Effie pushes us though. The crowd is silent as they look at us with guarded expressions.
I spot a couple of raised stages at the back of the crowd, huge screens display the faces of the District 11 tributes. On the stages in front of the screens stand the families of the fallen tributes. In front of Thresh's face stands a man and a women, they stand with their heads up defiantly looking at us with blank expressions.
In front of the Rue's face stand a mother with many children, I can see even from this distance that they've been crying. I glance at Katniss, her eyes are fixed on Rue's face, an unreadable expression on her face.
Taking Katniss' hand I pull her towards the microphone. My other hand fiddles with the speech card. I don't think Katniss is going to say anything and I can feel the people waiting expectantly for us to do something.
"Erm so…" I look down at the speech card taking a deep breath. It's time to be the over confident career the world expects to see. "Thank you, we're honoured to be here with you today and to be with the families of your fallen tributes." I read off the card glancing around the crowd, the people glance at each other but otherwise don't react.
I read out the rest of the card, resisting the urge to raise my eyebrows at some of it. How can Effie write this rubbish? I glance at Katniss to see her looking down her eyes sad. I know she's not going to read her part of the card and I have no idea what is written on it. Time to improvise.
"Thresh and Rue both fought bravely and we should honour their bravery…" The words sound awkward as I say them. "Although they fought for a long time with honour and dignity they did not survive." The crowd start murmuring amongst themselves and I bit my lip in worry, I am no good at this.
"They died too soon and were too young but their lives should not just be thought of in years…They should be thought of…measured in the lives of people we touch around us…" I swallow awkwardly I can feel Katniss' eyes on me and I look down. I have no idea what I'm talking about. I feel Katniss squeeze my hand I glance at her she gives me and sad smile before stepping toward the microphone.
"I didn't know Thresh, but he was strong and like Clove said, he fought bravely. I did know Rue, without her I would not be standing here today and she'll always be with me. Everything beautiful brings her to mind. I see her in the yellow flowers that grow in the Meadow by my house. I see her in the Mockingjay's that sing in the trees. But most of all, I see her in my sister, Prim." There are tears in her eyes and she looks away from the crowd taking a deep breath. I want nothing more than to take her into my arm and kiss her, I hate to see her cry.
"She saved my life and that is a debt I will never be able to repay." She says quietly. I step forwards taking the microphone from her suddenly feeling bold.
"Without the tributes from District 11 I would not be able to spend my life with the girl I love. I will forever be grateful for that, I know it can never make up for your loss, but in honour of their sacrifice I would like to donate one month of our winning, to the families of the tributes. Every year… For the rest of our lives." The crowd are murmuring amongst themselves, I turn to Katniss feeling dizzy with nerves and she smiles at me her eyes warm despite the unshed tears in them.
I return her smile nervously but then I hear a whistle from the crowd. I turn my gaze to the crowd to see an old man touch the three middle fingers of his hand to his lips and then raise it to the sky, towards us. The crowd turn to us and repeat the gesture and look of defiance blazing in their eyes.
The peacekeepers act instantly, drawing their guns and pushing their way through the crowd most people scatter or lower then hands instantly but the eyes of the peacekeepers are trained on the old man, the one who started this.
A peacekeeper grabs him, dragging him to the front of the crowd, he doesn't resist, his face looks reserved, his gaze lingers on me and Katniss, he nods ever so slightly towards us as they force him to kneel before them,
I react before I've even registered that Katniss has moved, grabbing her arm as she rushes towards the man. The peacekeepers point their guns at the man's head and I have to hold on to Katniss as tight as possible to stop her throwing herself in between the gun and the defenceless person.
Arms grab me from behind and I writhe trying to get a grip on Katniss, I can't get out of the grasp and panic starts to build in my chest as the stench of alcohol reaches my nose. I'm dragged back through the doors of the mayor's house. The doors swing shut and I hear a gunshot. My blood runs cold as I think of that man there, blood pouring out of his lifeless body.
I'm dragged upwards, as if going upstairs I continue to struggle but the person holding me is too strong my teeth find flesh and I bite down hard. The person yelps and the arms release me. I struggle away from the person.
I'm breathing heavily, I can't think properly. I try to concentrate I need to make sure Katniss is alright, my heart beat rapidly and I can't quite stop my hands from shaking. Suddenly soft hands are on my face and I find the familiar eyes of Katniss.
"Hey it's alright…." She says softly, pulling me closer to her. I breathe in her scent trying to regulate my breathing. Closing my eyes I concentrate on nothing but her arms around me. She saying something but I can't understand what it is.
I pull away once my breathing has returned to normal and my heart is beating regularly again but keep her hand in mine not wanting to be parted from her completely. I look around to find I'm in a small room probably at the top of the mayors house. Katniss stands close to me while Haymitch glares at me from across the room putting pressure on the wound in his hand.
"What is with you Clovey." He says irritably. Releasing his hand and examining the bite mark. "Are all of you rabid in 2?" He scowls at the blood still seeping out of the wound and I can't help but feel a slight bit of pride, I made him release me after all. A small smirk creeps onto my face without my consent and his glare darkens.
"What? Are you proud of yourself Clovey?" I growls taking a couple of steps towards me, I tense up and my grip on Katniss' hand tightens. "You two just got a man killed!" He points to the window and I see Katniss looking outside, her face pales and she looks away her eyes saddened.
"I just..Rue…" She says softly and Haymitch shakes his head angrily. "I didn't mean to get anyone killed, I didn't mean for any of this to happen he has to know that." She looks at Haymitch tears now flowing freely from eyes that are wide with fear, I wrap my arm around her hoping to comfort her but not knowing what else I can do.
I sneak a glance out the window to spot the people below rioting, the peacekeepers beating them back with batons. I swallow, biting my lip. Shit, I forgot about Snow, I forgot that this was the exact thing we were supposed to prevent.
"What are you talking about, who has to know that?" Haymitch asks in exasperation.
"President Snow." I say quietly turning my eyes to Haymitch. "He came to our house… I think he wants us to stop a rebellion from happening."
Haymitch sighs massaging his forehead with his hand in irritation. "You couldn't have told me this sooner?" He asks his voice a low growl. He shakes his head "What were you two thinking?"
"I was thinking about Rue." Katniss cries, I can see her breaking down as she shakes her head looking at Haymitch pleadingly. "Please Haymitch just help us get through this trip please..." She begs. Haymitch shakes his head, throwing his arms in the air angrily.
"This trip? Katniss wake up, this trip doesn't end when you get back home. You never get off that train." The volume of his voice increases as he speaks. Katniss looks away and I pull her close to me, she buries her face in my shoulder.
Haymitch sighs, his eyes meeting mine. "You two are mentors now and every year they're gonna pull you out and broadcast the details of your romance. From now on your job is to be a distraction so people forget what the real problems are."
I hold eye contact, and purse my lips. "So what do we do?" I ask, Katniss seems to trust him with this so maybe I should to.
"You're gonna go out there, you're gonna smile and you're gonna read the cards that Effie gives you. You're not going to improvise anything…else." He says slowly as if talking to a child. Katniss pulls away from me and nods. I follow suit and agree, it may be the only way to stop this. "I'll see you two on the train…I don't think it's be a good idea to stay here longer than we have to." With that he exits the room.
I turn to Katniss my eyes searching hers. "Are you going to be alright?" I ask, it's a stupid question I know but she nods anyway.
"Are you?" She asks, I nod slowly and we smile at each other, a small sad smile, we both know that we're not going to be alright for a long time.
The door opens and Oriel stand there, she looks between us for a second before speaking. "I resume Haymitch told you what you needed to know?" She asks. I nod glaring at her in irritation she seems unaffected by my glare. "Good, the others are in the car to take us back to the train." She turns indicting we should follow her.