A/N: So I finally finished this chapter! My muse has returned! Well, temporarily... anyway I hope you enjoy the chapter ^^ (Unbeta'd though, sorry)
Disclaimer: I don't own the hunger games, if I did I'd have an ego reaching beyond the mount Everest. But I don't.
I wake up in a strange and very soft bed. In fact, I feel like I'm lying on clouds. Of course that's impossible, but it feels like it. I slowly open my eyes, savouring the feeling. Soon, too soon, I remember where I am, what had happened. I shoot upright and take in my surroundings.
By the soft rocking of the room I can tell I'm still on the train. I'm lying on a bed, an actual bed with a wooden frame, sagging slightly under the weight of my body.
The room is filled with expensive-looking furniture, decorations and stuff I don't know which category they belong to. The colour gold seems to be dominant, which makes me suspect Carlo had a hand in decorating it.
I wonder who it was that had carried me here, but I realize it's not important. What's important is that I find my brother and convince him that he's the one going home, that I will protect him and fight for him and die for him.
I swing my legs over the edge of the bed and drop myself on the soft golden carpet. My feet sink in a disturbing few inches, as if I've landed in quicksand. Lucky me, the only thing this carpet has in common with quicksand is the colour.
I make my way over to the bathroom adjacent to the room I slept in (it says so handily on a sign) and eye the shiny construction in front of me with suspicion.
I know what it is, of course, but I've never actually seen one. Now I have the chance to shower, really shower. Not throwing a bucket of cold water over my head but actually shower.
I test one of the buttons inside the cabin and immediately boiling hot water starts raining down, burning the skin on my arm. With a cry of surprise I jerk it back and give the button a death glare. Soon, however, I test out all the buttons (eventually choking on the amount of perfume in the air) and find a combination I can work with.
The warm water is lovely, together with a kind of soap smelling like lavender. The scent makes me think of spring, there'd be fields of those purple flowers everywhere you'd look. You can smell them all the way in the centre of the district.
It washes away the memories of the harsh winter and the colourless days of working underneath looming cumulus clouds, picking and chopping at the dry ground below.
Now, as I breathe it in, I calm down a little, it clears my thoughts. The sense of imminent doom fades a little and the muscles that had even been tense while I slept, relax.
I take as long as I dare to but eventually stop the flow of water. I'm forced to open a window to get some fresh air into the room, since every time I take a breath I breathe in water and perfume and have to cough.
I notice the change in landscape, we're riding in between mountains covered with green and lush forests instead of the flat farmland that I'm used to. I can even see the occasional waterfall and rock-formations made of different shades of grey, red and brown, things I've only seen on pictures at school.
I go back into the bedroom and rummage through the closets and drawers until I find a decent outfit that isn't too much like the extreme colourful Capitol stuff. It consists of a pair of narrow black slacks over which I wear a black blouse together with a midnight-blue jacket that reflects the light a little.
I marvel a little at how clean I feel, cleaner than I've ever been, that's for certain.
I figure it's time I search for my brother, if I won't get lost, that is.
I make my way through the train and eventually find the coupé I had run out of the other day. The woman-whose-name-I-still-don't-know sits there, together with Carlo and my brother, the table they're sitting behind overflowing with food.
They stare at me when I enter the room, and I in turn stare at Joshua. He's almost glowing, his skin smooth and clean. He's wearing some kind of suit made of the same material as my jacket, midnight blue.
I immediately think it suits him, and that he looks like dad. Really looks like dad.
He blinks a few times before he breaks into a grin, startling me.
"You look good, sister." he says.
I can't help but smile at his grin. He has dimples, I never saw.
"So do you, little brother." I say.
"Oh my." someone says with a high voice. That would be Carlo, who is staring at me with eyes as big as the cupcakes in front of him.
The-woman-whose-name-is-a-mystery just smiles as I make my way over to the table, blushing furiously with all those eyes trained at me. Then my stomach decides it's time to break the awkward silence and produces a loud growl, causing Joshua to snicker a little. I hadn't even noticed I was hungry.
"Try the soup." the woman helps, still smiling at me.
I glare at her, mostly because I'm embarrassed, but accept her offer. I reach out for a bowl and fill it to the brim with delicious-smelling steaming liquid. I grab a spoon and scoop up some of the soup, ignoring that it burns my mouth. It's good, there are all kinds of vegetables in it, even pieces of meat.
When I'm done with the soup I give up my decency and dig in, taking pieces of everything, all the while observed by a slightly disgusted Carlo and an amused still-nameless woman. My brother ignores me, he's too busy trying to chew down a chunk of bread that's too big to fit in his mouth.
"What's your name anyway?" I manage through my chewing.
She looks at me surprised and then sighs, "Christabelle Hemingwaysmitheringale-Foster."
I choke on my sandwich and Joshua barely manages to hold in the brown stuff he is drinking.
"You're kidding." I exclaim after I manage to swallow the bread.
The woman sighs, "I'm afraid not. Though I prefer you call me Christa."
I nod weakly and focus back on my sandwich, forcing down the grin that threatens to materialize on my face.. Joshua however isn't as subtle and bursts out in laughter. I'm just grateful she isn't wearing that ridiculous dress any more, I'm not sure if I had managed to stay indifferent if that had been the case. Still, I can't help the smile on my face when I see my brother laugh.
"You two should really smile more, you appear much friendlier." Carlo broke through, an enthusiastic look on his face.
No doubt he meant it as a compliment, but I can't help but feel offended. He has everything, he is never hungry, he never needs to worry about how to survive the next day, yet he has the nerve to tell us to smile more?
The rare smile is wiped from my face and I try hard to focus on my food to prevent myself from punching him.
Carlo now looks confused, not understanding what he did wrong.
"It's true, right?" he says hopefully, looking around for confirmation.
"Carlo..." Christa sighs.
"What did I do wrong?" he says, clearly oblivious to the whole thing.
"Nothing, Carlo. They're just tired." Christa says, she would've fooled no-one but somehow Carlo looks relieved.
I'm surprised that she covers for us. And I suddenly realise that Christa understands, she knows. Of course, she's originally from our district. With the start of the Games there were no victors yet, nobody to play mentor. The major fixed that by choosing a mentor in each district, whose job was to guide the tributes until the district had a victor to take over the job. And well... since our district hasn't won even once in 25 years, we're still stuck with this pawn of the Capitol. I wonder where she lives though. I realise the only time I ever see her is on Reaping day, the rest of the year she's just... gone. Does that means she lives in the Capitol now?
I look up and study her. She's from the Capitol alright, with the too-smooth skin, overdone make-up and strange clothing. But she's nothing compared to Carlo, she almost seems modest next to him. She returns my stare indifferently, almost as if she dares me to ask the million questions that are bouncing around in my head. I don't do her the favour though, and decide to try the steaming brown stuff my brother drank earlier. My eyes widen at the rich taste, I don't remember ever tasting something better than this.
"What's this?" I ask no-one in particular.
"It's hot chocolate, naturally." Carlo says, wondering why I even asked that question.
"Chocolate?" I ask them, I never heard of the word.
"It's a kind of candy, made mainly of milk and cacao." Christa explains.
"That's what we grow! But that stuff is so bitter, how is it so sweet here?" I exclaim.
"The milk and the sugar improve the taste." she smiles.
I shrug and take another sip, it tastes so different from the seeds we grow, that I still can't believe it's the same stuff.
Suddenly the light that shone through the windows of the train disappears. I look up in shock, wondering what happened, but Christa smiles assuringly.
"It's just a tunnel."
I nod understanding, we are going through a mountain. It is a strange thought that thousands of tons of stone and earth are directly above my head. It makes my stomach twist a little uneasy. Luckily it's not long before we exit the tunnel and natural light floods through the windows again.
"So what's our tactic?" my brother says, glancing between me and Christa. I sigh but she smiles encouragingly.
"As you know there are two parts to the Games. The first is the parade, the training and the interviews, the second is the Games themselves." she begins. Me and Joshua listen intently, she is our mentor after all.
"In the first part we'll have to concentrate on getting sponsors. Your tactic how to get them is to your choosing, but I recommend playing nice," she looks intently at me, "and win the hearts of the people."
"So it's a smile and wave game?" Joshua asks, dimples in his cheeks.
"In a way, yes. But the how the other tributes will see you is also important. Do you want them to think you're weak or strong? Do you want to intimidate them or deceive them? Do what suits you best, but trying to make alliances beforehand would be smart. Having allies is a virtue in the arena, but don't trust them too much, only one can win after all."
I eagerly take all this in, only ignoring the last part, and take a look at all my options. Appearing weak has it's advantages, but disadvantages too. While people will underestimate you, you're more likely to be hunted down. Being intimidating makes it less likely to be hunted, but people will likely form an alliance to bring you down, and that would be bad. Very bad.
I also have a little brother to protect, which is a huge problem considering his back. Somehow I need to ensure he isn't a target and I realize the best way to do that is show them not to mess with him, in any way. This also solves the problem of my strategy, I have to appear strong. I wonder what Joshua will do though, I'm sure he won't just agree with me, he never does.
"I'm gonna need a wheelchair." he says suddenly.
"What?" I exclaim baffled.
"A wheelchair, they have to think I can't walk any more." he explains impatiently.
"You'll trick them into thinking you're weak," Christa nods approvingly. "It's a smart strategy considering your condition."
I glare at her but either she ignores it or doesn't notice me. Joshua however throws me a look that begs me to stop protecting him, and for once I hold my tongue.
"And you?" she turns to me.
"I'll be strong, I show them that messing with my little brother is very unhealthy." I say without showing any emotion.
"I think you'll do just fine," Christa smiles amused, then switches to a stern look, "But remember, get the audience to like you."
"Yes, ma'am." I mock her, but she seems satisfied by my answer.
"Carlo," she turns towards the golden figure that had been sitting silently on his chair like a neglected sun, "how much time before we reach the Capitol?"
I suddenly get very nervous, butterflies fluttering around in my stomach, the bad kind. Joshua however throws his head behind his head and leans backwards on his chair, wincing when he stretches his back too far.
"Exactly three-point-six hours." he chatters, happy with the attention.
"Thanks Carlo." she says, smiling grateful. "You two should get some sleep before we arrive, it'll be a long day."
I nod and get up desperately trying to remember where exactly my bedroom was again. I refuse to ask Carlo or Christa, there's only so much beating my pride can get in one day. So I just leave through the door and start wandering around the train, ignoring the fact that it seems completely empty aside from us four.
I finally find my room but I don't go to sleep, my body is way too restless and my brain is still playing different scenarios over and over in my head.
What will the arena look like? Who will the other tributes be? And oh god, the stylist... I hope we don't get one who thinks dressing us as trees or apples is the newest fashion. And the interview, what will I say? Will the audience like me? Will we get sponsors? And most importantly, what will I do during the training? I'm good at climbing, but I've never really fought before. Hopefully I have some hidden talent at archery or sword fighting, it wasn't likely, but I can't rely solely on my climbing skills, I mean, what if the arena was a desert? Or a lake? I'd be dead within a day... not to mention Joshua.
God this is so fucked up.
I never asked for this, no-one ever asked for this. What were those people thinking? Are they really hoping for me to win this thing, they know I won't let my brother die! They don't know if I can fight, hell, I don't even know if I can!
Could I kill someone to protect my brother? Yes.
Could I kill someone to protect myself? I suppose.
Could I kill someone to win the Games? No. I'm not planning to turn into that kind of monster. The ones the Capitol create.
I walk over to one of the windows and watch the landscape flash by. It's hard, but worrying about everything isn't going to help me, I tell myself. I'm going to play nice with the audience, if I even know how to play nice. All I've done in my life is survive, by fighting for my life, not by playing nice and hoping other people will do the job for me.
But that isn't going to cut it now, so I'm going to be the nicest, bright, young, giggling girl that the audience loves.
I sigh.
Well, hell.
At least I will be able to balance it with being over-protective about my brother and punching everyone in the face who so much as looks at him. That part, I think, I'm going to enjoy.
A small smile dances at my lips, but it vanishes when the train rides into an open space, revealing the most breathtaking views I've ever seen. My jaw all but drops as I see the fantastic collection of tall buildings, curved bridges and flourishing parks. And all I can see is just a small part of the entire city, and it's huge.
So this is it. The centre of all our suffering. The Capitol.
For the next chapters I'll get some help from my friend who is kind of a pro in clothing (you know... the parade, the interview, it all needs to be perfect!) so we'll be working at Ellie's and Joshua's outfits, the other tributes will get their fair share too don't worry ;)
Until then!