Iris
I slip of my sandals and put my feet up on the velvet chair. Someone had been kind enough to light a candle that spreads the warm scent of cinnamon and orange around the room, delicious. The door opens and my Mother walks in. She sits on the chair opposite me and just stares. Mother has weird eyes, their green, grass green, and have a dark brown rim around the edge. One of her eyes is glassy and I know from tales she was blinded by a rattlesnake. I avoid looking at that eye.
"Mother," I say, breaking the uncomfortable silence. I've always found it difficult to talk to my Mother; I never know where to start.
"Iris, why did you volunteer? You and Morpheus made that agreement last year and you know you can't just break promises."
"He should have volunteered years ago if he wanted to be a victor so bad-"
"No Iris. You were selfish and I do not like selfish people. He tried to volunteer many times but he was always beaten to it, you know there are all sorts of competition to become a tribute in District 2." I look down at my feet, ashamed to meet Mothers gaze. She's right of course, Mothers are always right, I was selfish and now one of us is going to die.
"I'm sorry…" I mumble, Mothers hugs my tightly and says it's ok. A peacekeeper tells us her time is up and Mother walks swiftly out of the room. No one comes to visit for 5 long minutes before the door opens and Father rushes in.
"I am very disappointed in you, Iris. How could you steal your bothers thunder, it's extremely cruel of you." I look down at my feet; did my little toe always look so squashed? No, it couldn't have, I don't wear shoes half the time. Running bare foot is what I like to do best, feeling the hard stone pavements of the District town square under my feet and the harsh sun, I almost feel Greek!
"Iris, did you even hear a thing I said?" Father shouts, his face red and flushed.
"Yes I did," I lie, Father sighs and sits down next to me. He gives me a brief hug and gives me good luck before leaving the room. Wow, I feel so loved. Five more people come to visit me; a boy in my training school who's had a crush on me ever since he saw me, I never felt the same way. My friend Ana Sophia, who gives me her pretty heart shaped locket and tells me I have to use it as my token and I'd better give it back when I win, my instructor tells me to remember I am fast and I cannot throw spears or swing maces. Like I need to be reminded I'm not strong, the last time I lifted something heavy I smashed it down on my head and was knocked unconscious for 6 hours! Also, an old woman, who tells me she's an old family friend though I've never seen her in my life. My last visitor was my brother's best friend, Marcus, who tells me I'm selfish, accidently knocks into me and steals my headband. Wow, I really hate that guy. After about an hour I am free to leave the justice building and am taken to a train.
I don't like trains. I don't like how the trees blur past and I feel like I can't stand up properly, Morpheus loves them. As soon as the train started moving he stuck his head out the window and laughed telling me the wind felt good against his face. Sometimes I wonder if he's actually sane, he can act really stupid. I know I don't have to stay on the train for all that long; it only takes a day to arrive in the capitol from District 2. Electra tells me dinner will be served at 7:00 PM sharp and I'd better not be late. Late, I am always late. I walk into my room and wash off my make-up, before hunting down some new supplies. I manage to steal a few supplies from Electra's room and start painting my face again. I put a thicker line of black eyeliner and speckle green and blue glitter on my eyelids, I also paint my lips ruby red. I pick out a glorious outfit. White with thousands of tiny blue green stones, I spotted it when I first entered the room and I knew it was meant for me. I pile my hair up into a twisty bun and decorate it with shiny hairpins. I'm only 5 minutes late for dinner, a record for me! Electra says I look pretty, Morpheus says I look stupid, Ophelia, my personal mentor, says I look Egyptian. Oh well, Egyptians can be cool. We eat with gentle chatter; I tuck into a delicious feast of smoked fish, feta cheese and roasted vegetables with a delicious spice I can't place.
"We will be one of the first districts to arrive at the Capitol so you have extra time in training, use it wisely. Don't show the exactly what you can and make sure the very best people join your alliance, District 1 and 4 are normally the best fighters." Ophelia tells me, I nod and keep eating. After about an hour the conversation has fizzled out and I leave the table. I walk into my room and lock the door; I wouldn't want any unwanted visitors now would I? I slip of my silk dress and wander around my room. It's a small room, with one large window that takes up most of one wall. There's a white dresser with a big mirror, one large white wardrobe and a small bathroom area that smells slightly damp. I'll complain about that in the morning. I lie down on the bed; it's a single and has a creamy white bed spread with one thin pillow. One thing I hate is thin pillows. At home my pillows are thick and made of feathers, they prop my head up well above my mattress, just the way I like it. I trudge out of my room, hastily wrapping a silk gown around myself and go in search for another pillow.
"Sneaking out? And here I am thinking you wanted to be in the games, after all, you broke our promise." I sly voice calls from the dining table.
"Oh give it a rest Morpheus and go to bed, it's late. Are you actually drinking coffee? You won't sleep tonight!" Morpheus rolls his eyes and takes another sip. Like I said, I have no clue why he got named Morpheus when I don't think he's ever had a dream in his life.
"What are you doing, Iris, looking for Greek gods in the cupboards again?" My cheeks flush bright red. Once when I was seven, I had a dream all the Greek gods were hiding in our kitchen cupboard, so I snuck out of my room to go and find them. I made such a racket Mother, father and Morpheus came to see what I was doing and of course they thought I was crazy when I told them what I was doing inside the cupboard. I had forced Morpheus never to mention that again, but of course, he was going to break all promises he had made to me now.