24: Rule Change
Katniss POV
The sound of the final cannon echoes through the arena and my mind dimly registers what this means. Gale and I have won the Hunger Games. We are the only tributes left. I jump up and hug Gale. "Gale we won!" I shout. "We can go back to Twelve together and..."
I am cut off by an announcement from the Capitol over the microphones. "Tributes! Tributes of the 74th Hunger Games!" the voice of Claudius Templesmith fills the arena. I look at Gale unsurely, this isn't what was meant to happen. When a tribute wins the games, the announcement is 'I give you (name), Victor of the (insert number) Hunger Games'. Then they play applause and Capitol hovercraft come to pick up the Victor. Not this.
Gale seems just as surprised as I am. "There has been a slight rule change regarding our previous rule change," the voice continues. "Closer examination of the rule book has revealed that there can only be one Victor. Good luck, and may the odds be ever in your favour."
It takes a few moments for the message to sink in properly. I heard the words, but they didn't register in my brain. Then I see it. Gale and I can't win together. It was all a plot for a show, with Gale and I as the puppets that they jerk around on strings and throw away once they're finished with.
Closer examination of the rule book, right. I think that even a four year old child knows that the rules of the Hunger Games- no, the only rule of the Hunger Games- is that everyone fights to the death until a lone Victor remains, in the words of the Capitol. I highly doubt that Seneca Crane didn't know this.
A white hot anger fills me as I whirl around to look at Gale again. He looks crushed at this discovery, but pulls out the backpack and takes out the bottle of cyanide pills that we never properly used. He slowly unscrews the cap and picks up a capsule. It finally hits me what he is about to do.
"Gale, what are you doing?" I shout.
"You're the Victor, Katniss," he says simply. "The purpose of me coming here was to protect you and I've done that. You go home, back to Prim and your mum."
For some reason, this makes me incredibly angry. "No way," I insist forcefully. "We've come through this far together, I can't bear to lose you now."
"Katniss, listen.." Gale starts out.
I interrupt him. "No, Gale, you listen. I'm not going back to Twelve without you. Give me the cyanide."
"Katniss, I can't go back without you," he says. "Please.."
"Together," I mutter.
He looks confused, but I give him a look. Trust me, I say through my eyes. His face relaxes in comprehension and I know that he has understood my idea. The Capitol need a Victor. If we have enough support, they'll think it better to have two Victors than no Victor. And I love Gale. I won't be able to live with myself if I just let him sacrifice himself for me.
"Together," he agrees and hands me a capsule.
"On three," I say, lifting the capsule to my mouth.
"One," he says.
"Two," I continue, letting up the capsule to my mouth.
"Three," we say together, bringing the capsules to our lips.
"Wait! Stop!" a rather panicked voice from the sky calls. "Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Katniss Everdeen and Gale Hawthorne, the winners of the 74th Annual Hunger Games!" he announces. My hand falls limply to my side, dropping the cyanide capsule on the ground. The plan succeeded: we won.
I wrap my arms around Gale and wait for the hovercraft to arrive. It comes quickly, giving me very little time to enjoy the sensation of Gale's arms around me for the first time in a long time without any danger or need to kill him. The electric ladder descends and I follow Gale up it, the current numbing my arms and causing them to clench around the ladder.
We are pulled up into the hovercraft; inside is a first aid space and some chairs. There is a man with dark hair that I assume is a doctor and the red haired avox that I noticed before. The one that I couldn't save in the woods. I give her an apologetic look and she gives me a small nod.
I don't know if she recognised me and accepts my apology or if she is just congratulating me for my victory. Maybe she sees it as rebellion- which for part of me it was. I admit that my actions weren't all for love- undoubtably they were fuelled by my burning anger towards the Capitol as well.
The doctor starts to examine me- I don't really know why, he must have seen everything that happened on live TV. He seems satisfied that almost nothing is wrong with me- the only wound that I have is a shallow wound on my arm from fighting Clove. Little more than a scratch really.
He wraps a small bandage tight around it. "That should be better in a few days," he tells me. "You're lucky, you know. You're one of the least injured victors ever to come out of the Games." I shrug. I can believe this, I've seen Victors with horrible scars and times when they very nearly didn't survive in the arena at the end.
Victors who've gone insane. This was the thing that really scared me, that I might go insane in the arena. It's happened before, to Titus- the District 6 cannibal, to Enobaria- the career who tore a tributes heart out with her teeth, and most recently to Annie Cresta (who only won because she was the only District 4 tribute when her arena flooded).
The doctor moves on to Gale, who is in much worse shape than me. He has a long and medium depth leg wound that must be killing, his left arm got pretty mauled during the games too. The doctor takes out a needle and injects a liquid into Gale's leg. I recognise it from seeing my mother work.
It is morphing, a powerful painkiller. It's also a drug that can be bought at high prices from dealers in the shadier parts of the Hob. I always feel uncomfortable going there to collect some for my mother, even though Gale always came with me. It makes me worry about Gale, my mother only used it for patients in huge amounts of pain.
Maybe they use it more in the Capitol because they can afford it. He then starts to stitch up the leg wound, neatly and precisely. For once, I am glad of the presence of a Capitolite. Left untreated, Gale's leg would probably have to be amputated. I look away from Gale until the stitching is done.
"I'm OK, Katniss," Gale reassures me, sensing my discomfort. "The doctor told me it wouldn't need to be amputated or anything. It'll take about a month for me to recover, but that's all." I sigh in relief, I expected it would take more than a month to recover, the wound looked pretty serious.
The helicopter moves quickly back to the Capitol, where we are taken straight back to the tribute rooms. We are given a few hours to relax with each other and let Gale get used to the numbness of his leg, then our stylists come in. Gale is walking slowly around the room, I am lying on my bed.
I sit up suddenly as Cinna comes in. He hasn't changed much, he still dresses in a fairly regular way with only a bit of golden eyeliner showing that he is, in fact, a Capitolite. Portia is with him, dressed a bit more in the traditional Capitol style. Her hair is in fiery tones, probably inspired by the tributes on fire theme.
"I have your outfits for the interviews tomorrow," Cinna explains, gesturing towards a bag. "We wanted to see if they fit properly and if you liked them. Portia and I will be back in about half an hour- that gives you plenty of time to get cleaned up and try on the outfits." I nod and they leave the room.
"Have you thought about what to do for the interview tomorrow?" Gale asks.
"No, I've been a bit busy with staying alive," I respond. I head into the bathroom with my dress, leaving him with his bag of clothes. I take a long shower, relishing the feeling of the dirt melting off my body in the warm, soapy water. After drying myself, I slip the dress over my body and examine myself in the mirror.
It is beautiful. Simply beautiful.
Not so bright and in-your-face as my first two outfits, but in my opinion, the best. It is knee length, but there are long sleeves with cover my arms. It is a soft, golden yellow colour that reminds me of candlelight. As I turn around, it shimmers slightly. I wonder what Cinna made to go with it.
I reach into the bag again and withdraw a few small items with a note from Cinna. It tells me to wear my mockingjay pin with the outfit, so I clip it on and there is a golden headband which I put on my head to keep loose strands of hair out of my eyes. There is also a necklace, silver with a small amber gem.
I open the door of the bathroom and walk back into the small living room, where Gale is sitting on the sofa. He is also dressed simply, in a smart, charcoal grey suit with buttons with small, golden flames running through them. He turns around to look at me.
"Katniss.. You look amazing," he says.
"It is beautiful," I reply, giving him a slight twirl so that he can see the shimmer effect. "You don't look so bad yourself."
"Not yet," Gale says. "But Portia's doing something with my hair tomorrow morning, to give me golden highlights that will apparently go with the fire theme."
"She probably knows what she's doing," I say. "They did a good job with everything else."
"True. Cinna and Portia should be back soon."
Almost a minute after he says this, the door opens and Cinna and Portia enter. "The outfits seem to fit well," Cinna says, examining Gale and I. "How do they feel and what do you think of the look?"
"It's beautiful," I respond. "Thank you Cinna."
"You're welcome, girl on fire," he answers. "How's your outfit Gale?"
"Good... I guess," Gale says. "I'm not sure of the hair thing though."
"Don't worry- you'll look amazing," Portia assures him. "The Capitol girls will be all over you."
"Was there anything else you wanted?" I ask, yawning. "Because I'm a bit tired after the Games and all."
"That's about it," Cinna says. "Get your beauty sleep- you need to be fresh for the interviews tomorrow." I nod and wander into the bedroom, changing out of my dress and hanging it up in the wardrobe. He's right- I do need to be fresh for the interviews tomorrow. What Gale and I did probably had be big impression and we need to play it exactly right with the audiences.
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Only two chapter left now! Hope you enjoyed the chapter, and as usual, please review, follow or favourite. Thanks.
-MoonOfPluto