Author's Note: Hey everyone. To the people who are following this story, I'm sorry I haven't updated until now. As I mentioned in an earlier note, I'm in university so I've been busy with that and honestly, sometimes I don't feel motivated to write quickly and meet deadlines. I enjoy writing and do it gladly, but because no one is reviewing or giving me the impression that they are enjoying the story and looking forward to following chapters, I take my sweet time doing it. If I knew that people were waiting on me to write, then I would probably feel that bit more driven and guilty to write faster and update. This is not blackmail to review. I will write regardless of whether or not people review but this is just to let you guys know that if you enjoy the story and want me to update faster, then you'll probably have to start giving me that impression. Anyway, sorry for the long A/N and here is the next chapter of "A Dirge for Courage".
Talon shuffled his feet restlessly as he stood amongst the people of District 1 awaiting the Reaping for the 31st Hunger Games. As was customary, the citizens of the district had to endure at least an hour of Mayor Onyx droning on about the benefits and necessity of the Hunger Games. The great Capitol liberated us from our own greed and evil. They have bestowed countless blessings upon us and all they ask from us in return is to provide two of our finest warriors with the chance to become nationwide champions. Truly it is an honor to serve such as a kind and benevolent master. Bakh, the pompous liar. Mayor Onyx wouldn't know honor if it slapped him in the face. Talon had personally met the overweight, two-faced man when his parents had died, leaving him an orphan. Not that the mayor had cared much for his plight. 'Throw him in one of the orphanages or a foster home if you feel sorry for him,' he had said, not aware that the boy was listening and committing to memory his every word. Where was honor when he was a starving, young orphan being brutally attacked in the street? Where was honor when an orphan becomes someone's responsibility only for them to treat them like a stray dog to find a home for? So for that bloated, loaded frog to stand on the podium and preach to them of honor made Talon's blood boil. He clenched his fists angrily and tried to calm himself. As if his intimidating scar was not enough, the last thing he would need is seem angry and closed to the Capitol public. He would need their money to help him survive the Games and no one wanted to sponsor a rebellious and bitter hothead.
Finally, the mayor finished his long-winded speech and seemed a little winded himself. Not that the audience noticed. They were too busy cheering and clapping, oblivious to the fact that they were celebrating a sacrifice of at least one of their youngest and most talented fighters to a needless slaughter. Their chanting and applauding slowly died down as the Capitol anthem played announcing the movie detailing the Treaty of Treason. Talon had no particular love for the Capitol and its Games unlike most of the other citizens. He only saw them as a means to an end to achieve his vengeance so he did not bother raising his hands to clap with the other idiots of the District.
As the mayor stepped away from the podium on the platform, the Capitol escort stepped forward. The escort, a skeleton thin woman named Rosie, was an air-headed bimbo who annually wore the strangest of clothes to the Reapings. Today Rosie was wearing a bright pink top streaked with black and red along the arms as well as a skirt colored a disgusting shade of yellow not very different from the color of bile. On her head, she wore a fur skin bonnet under which her blonde hair framed her face which was caked with makeup and a nauseatingly orange lipstick. Curiously, she always managed to start a trend in District 1 despite the obvious discomfort her clothes put her in and their unappealing colors which often clashed with each other. Talon put it down to the fact that the District was made up of simpletons who were obsessed with looking like everyone else and following what was in and what was cool. He shook his head at them and strained his ears to catch what Rosie was saying.
"…And so, ladies and gents, that's why we have the Hunger Games!" Rosie cried, "And now, without further ado, we can move on to the selection of our 31st Hunger Games tributes! Ladies first!"
Talon glanced at the 18 year old section and caught sight of Sapphire and Alanna standing together. Alanna had a sullen, bitter look on her face as she knew that she would never enter the Hunger Games. She was so close, but yet so far. In contrast, Sapphire had a triumphant smile on her face as she was no doubt contemplating her participation and subsequent victory over him and the other tributes. Well, she shouldn't get ahead of herself. Although he would have preferred to have someone weaker as his competition like Alanna or Courtney, he had learnt quite a bit from the final tryouts about Sapphire's weaknesses. For all her faults, Courtney had fought bravely and came close to victory as she almost overwhelmed Sapphire with small but numerous injuries which reduced her fighting capabilities. He had to remember to thank Courtney for that if he came back as a victor. Speaking of Courtney, he looked around, expecting to see her at the very back of the 17 year old section for girls playing with her hair or something when, to his surprise, he noticed her standing at the very front. She had an odd, serious expression on her face which did not suit her personality. It was all very strange and he wondered what was going on. Did Rosie reap someone from her family? No, she was still making her way towards the glass bowls which contained the potential tribute names for girls and had not yet picked out a slip so what was making Courtney so tense? He had no time to ponder the issue anymore as he heard Rosie's annoyingly high pitched voice ring out in the square.
"Orchid Price!"
Talon turned towards where Sapphire was standing, anticipating her declaration of her intent to volunteer and saw her proudly opening her mouth to say the words…
"I VOLUNTEER!" A voice blared out from the other side of the square before the reaped girl could even make herself known, causing shock to spread throughout the square. Talon turned to see none other than Courtney rushing her way towards the platform, taking the stairs three at a time in her hurry to get there first. He didn't understand what was happening and, apparently, no one in the audience did either. They were all aware of the selected trainees to volunteer and stood stunned at this new turn of events. Out of the corner of his eye, Talon could see Sapphire glaring murderously at Courtney who seemed somewhat nervous and blanching under the hostile glares she was receiving from her and other members of the audience. What made it all the worse was that this act of betrayal of District custom was now irreversible. The District could not afford to give the Capitol solid evidence that they were training specific people to volunteer as it was illegal to do so. Of course the Capitol knew all about it unofficially, but they would only accept it if it remained under the covers and out of the public eye so Sapphire could do nothing about Courtney stealing her place. Rosie, being a Capitolite and unaware of who was the real tribute, just assumed that Courtney was the selected tribute and began to offer her the microphone as she was introducing her.
"So what's your name dear?" she asked with an oblivious look of joy on her face as she took in Courtney's toned legs and arms as well as her good looks.
"My…my name's Courtney." Courtney stuttered back at her, obviously still a little shaken up at what she had seen from the crowd.
"Welcome Courtney and good luck. Well, now all that's left is the male volunteer. Get ready for it ladies and gentlemen, this year is looking good already." With that Rosie moved to the other glass bowl and stuck her hand in it, pulling out a small slip with her. Talon tensed and bent his knees as he readied himself to fight his way to the platform in case there was a repeat of Courtney's little stunt. Rosie glanced at the name and called out, "Jay Williams!"
Talon burst forward, yelling, "I volunteer!" as he ran. He pushed another boy into the ground and accelerated up the stairs not slowing until he was almost upon Rosie.
"Oh my, we've got a feisty…Eek! Uhm…so ladies and gentlemen..." Rosie flinched and yelped as she took in Talon's scarred face and quickly tried to cover up her faux pas. She turned Talon and Courtney towards the audience and raised both of their arms in the air "Overall, I think, based on our two excellent tributes, this year's the year for District 1. Whaddya say folks?"
A chorus of boos greeted her as the citizens of District 1 gazed upon their two tributes. In their eyes, they saw a pitiful, disfigured orphan and a thief who had stolen another's rightful place. There was no love lost between Talon and District 1, but this was the first time a district's tributes were jeered as they were selected so this was a new low, even for them. Of course some of the vitriol was directed at Courtney who was doing her best not to show the tears in her eyes as she looked out at her neighbors, her friends and her family all shouting abuse and venom at her. Talon was less concerned with what the District was doing and more with what had possessed Courtney to volunteer as tribute. Didn't she realize that this would happen, that the whole district would hate her? As Rosie motioned for them to do the customary handshake, he looked into her bright, emerald eyes pointing a question at her. Why Courtney? Why? She just shook her head in sadness and bowed her face as they were led by a squadron of white clad peacekeepers to the Justice Building to give their final goodbyes. They stopped at a door with a panel inscribed in capital grey letters MALE TRIBUTE and Talon was shoved unceremoniously inside onto a lavishly carpeted floor. He heard the door slam behind him and looked up to see Ruby, smiling down at him as she offered him her hand.
"Well son, you've gotten what you wanted. I hope it turns out to your expectations." Ruby told him unhappily as she helped him up from the floor.
"You know why I have to do this. The police told you the day you adopted me what happened that night." Talon replied firmly.
"I know. I know...Even though I don't agree with what you're doing, I'm not going to waste possibly the last 3 minutes I have with you." Ruby said with tears glistening in her eyes. "I just wanted to tell you that I love you like a son, and that, even if you come back a victor with a shiny new house in the Village, you'll always have a place in my home and heart."
Ruby suddenly threw her arms around his neck and clung tightly to him. Talon's throat constricted as he fought to keep tears from springing to his eyes and he rubbed her back comfortingly.
"Thank you…Mom. I won't ever forget all that you've done for me and, once I come back, I'll make sure that you and the other children all get to live comfortably with me in the Victor's Village. It's the least I can do after everything that you've done for me." He sniffed and rubbed his eyes on his sleeve trying to stop his eyes from clouding. It would not do for the sponsors in the Capitol to see him bawling his eyes out after being reaped.
They stood there, in a comfortable silence as they enjoyed each other's company until a peacekeeper roughly banged the door open and called, "Time's up. Let's go Miss."
Ruby took one last look at Talon, stroked his face where his scar traced a line across his cheek and whispered, "Be safe my son". With that she left and the only thing anchoring Talon to District 1 was gone.
He shifted in his place and went across the room towards the couch which had been arranged for tributes to sit and wait till they were called upon. He put his head in his hands and thought about what awaited him in the Capitol. He thought about the other tributes and whether his skill would be enough to make him the victor of these Games. Thinking of the other tributes led him to Courtney and he, once again, pondered why she had done what she did. She had never displayed a genuine interest in the Games despite her skill with the knife and he thought that she came to training more because of the boys rather than the chance to become tribute. Looking back, he realized that there were many things that simply didn't add up. The way Courtney had fought like a tiger in the final tryouts, the utter look of devastation on her face when she had finally lost and the serious, determined expression on her face right before the girl tribute was reaped. All of those things pointed to the fact that something strange was happening and foreshadowed her volunteering. The only problem was he had no idea why she did those things. He supposed he would have to ask her but he doubted she'd give him a real answer.
Talon was jerked out of his thoughts when another squadron of four peacekeepers entered the room and stood silently awaiting him to get up. He shook himself as he got up, trying to shake the feeling of unease he had about Courtney's volunteering and the Games, and made his way towards the door. As he walked, the peacekeepers took up a formation with two ahead and two behind him. It was undoubtedly to prevent him from trying to run away, as was common in the outer districts, but it was hardly necessary in a Career district, much less when the tribute in question had volunteered to participate in the Games. Left, left, right, left they went, following a path unknown to Talon that they seemed to have memorized when, suddenly, they found themselves in front of an open door facing large train tracks. As they exited the building, bright rays of light began flashing at Talon with a distinct chink sounding simultaneously with the flashes. He realized that the Games had already begun and the Capitol was getting their first view of District 1's volunteers after the Reaping.
Talon flashed smiles towards the cameras', emphasizing the right side of his face as to not intimidate the viewers and, out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Courtney emerge from a similar entrance and make her way towards the tracks where a huge train awaited them. He had never seen anything like it before. An imposing behemoth of steel and black paint, it towered above them and threatened to engulf them completely with its shadow. A small ramp led up to its entrance which was located slightly behind the front of the train and was as dark as an abyss. It appeared as if no lights had been switched on and Talon felt uneasy as he contemplated walking through those doors. It reminded him of the gaping mouth of a beast and he felt as if he was walking right into it. As he and Courtney approached, he motioned to her to go ahead of him. She seemed to have composed herself slightly as her eyes appeared to be dry and he bowed and gestured forward as if to say "ladies first". It would never hurt for the female population of the Capitol to be impressed with his chivalry and manners. She smiled sweetly, apparently she had not been completely out of it when the trainers in the centre were explaining to them how to win over the Capitol viewers, and walked past him into the train where he swiftly followed her.
Once they had both entered, a glass door slid behind him almost silently locking them into the train. Despite this, the interior seemed to be welcoming enough. A beautiful red carpet shielded their feet from the floor and motion-sensitive lights had switched on as they had come in. He saw Courtney begin to walk through the corridor and he grabbed her before she could get very far. As he turned her so she was facing him, he saw her face in an unexpectedly hostile expression, her bright green eyes boring into his own.
"What is it? What do you want?" she said defensively as she shrugged his arm off.
"What I want is for you to explain to me what the hell you're doing! You weren't supposed to be the volunteer for this year. Why did you steal Sapphire's place?" Talon yelled in her face, unable to keep in his emotions any longer.
"It's none of your business. I did what I had to do." she replied curtly and made to turn and continue down the path.
Talon slipped past her and blocked her way before she could make a single movement. "Uh-uh. The hell it's not my business. You're my partner now in the Games. I need to be able to trust you or we're both done for."
Courtney sighed as she realized that she wouldn't get anywhere without giving him an answer. "If I tell you why I volunteered, will you let me through so we can get to our mentors and actually focus on the Games?"
"Fine." he huffed, confused by her surprisingly submissive stance.
Courtney leaned past his face, put her lips to his ear and whispered, "I stole Sapphire's place and volunteered for the Games because of one reason." her voice dropped even lower, "I have a great debt that I must pay."
With that, she glided past him, leaving him shocked and bewildered in her wake. He wanted to grab her and shake more meaningful answers out of her but she was long gone now and was probably about to reach the mentor's cabin. It would probably not be a good idea for him to antagonize them by fighting with his partner barely five minutes after they had entered the Games. He stared back through the hatch from which they had entered and noticed the faint outline of the district fading away, and he wondered what was waiting for him in these games of destiny and deceit.