Hey guys, okay my aim is to do at least a chapter a day, and if I don't then i may be busy, but I will try my best.
Another tribute list is at the bottom of the story!
This is District Seven tributes, meet Eilonwy and Nathon! Enjoy, please Review!
Eilonwy Mayers POV
I am awake from the screeching of my alarm, 5am, sigh, training time.
I sneak out of my room, taking care not to aggravate an already grouchy group of cousins and my sister. Sharing a room with Moonlight, Gardenia and Marigold isn't what I'd call the most luxurious thing, but even in victors village thee houses can't support a family of thirteen, so adjustments have to be made. Once I've made my way out of the room, stepping over piles of clothes and cuddly toys that Marigold has thrown over the side of her bunk onto the floor, I start on my morning routine.
Getting ready for the day and then heading to lumbers park, a huge field that is directly behind our house. Every morning for 5 years I've been coming to this field at this ridiculous time, having to do three hours of training every morning, on the weekends four.
Why do I do training? Well, unlike every other person in District 7 I have been training for the Hunger Games, I don't intend to volunteer but my Grandfather, Vince Mayers, insists on training me, Castor, my younger brother of fifteen, and Blade, my eighteen year old cousin, to fight. This is because when I was 11, my mother, father, three uncles and their wives were all brutally murdered when there was a big dispute with gamekeepers, I'm not entirely sure as to why the dispute happened but my family weren't the only ones to be killed. So me, Castor, Moonlight and my nine cousins went to live with grandfather. He made it his priority to train the three eldest of us, in case we're ever reaped, so we have a fighting chance. He's a good trainer, this probably has something to do with him winning the second ever Hunger games when he was 18, and that was with no training, he stuck to the shadows and used both common sense and a knife to make his way to 'Victor Vince'.
Training has given me a bitter view toward the capitol I admit, it's made me realise how tough the games are for one. Also it has made me see just what the districts have come to because of the capitol, having to kill off children when they may not have even trained, having to work to keep their family alive instead. Some districts, like ours is lucky, even if we are one of the poorer districts most of us have been trained to cut trees with an axe our entire life, so that gives us some fighting chance, whereas other districts, like district 8, are trained with a needle and thread…
Once I reach the field I see Blade and Castor are already there, running laps, ergh laps, that's what I know I'll have to do for the first half hour, every reaping morning calls for intense training, starting with warm up, without waiting for my granddads signal, who's too busy shouting for Castor to go faster, I start jogging at a steady pace. The half hour passes slowly, but it's nothing strenuous, I have been doing laps a third of my life, it's not the hardest aspect of training. After laps I'm doing the basics alongside the boys, weights, lunges, squats. Then the fun part comes, weapons. I start with basic sword fighting against Blade, who lives up to his name, I lose every time, but then again short hand is definitely not my thing. After a tiring half hour of using short hand I move onto range, I get my favourite throwing knives and aim them using the trees a distance away from me and throw, I don't miss a single time. Looking at my grandfather I get an approving nod, then return moving across my weapons, stars, arrows, javelins, spears, not once do I miss a tree. Proud, I move onto my next activity, my last activity, a gruelling hour of studying berries, tying nooses and making traps, along with everything else imaginable.
Once I'd finished training I returned home to shower then start making breakfast for everyone, and when that was sorted I sorted everything I needed for reaping day, including my locket, which when opened had a picture of me and my family, taken when I was eight. Although I may have thought it to be lame when I first got it, ever since my parents had died I have been wearing it every day.
The morning seems to fly by, and reaping lurks inevitably near. I Kansas and Moonlight with their hair and chatting with them, avoiding the conversations that would just make us sad.
"When we get back from reaping can we get some ice cream?" Kansas chirped, her brown curly hair bobbing up and down.
"Be still! I'm trying to tie your hair up! You'll have to ask Grampy, but, I don't see why not." I laugh and so do the other two, conversation goes on like this, talking about things we want or like, not about negatives.
Shortly after we start to head out to the town square, where the reaping takes place, it looks –as much as I hate to say it- magnificent, the decoration the capitol had done, the bunting, stage and camera seem to take up half the square, with the large population of district Seven bundled into the second half, along with us Mayers family, all of us stay glued together nearer the back of the crowd, like every year.
"Good morning to you all." Cries our Capitol representative, a young but rather large lady by the name of Goltrain Riddlesbee, she has long blonde hair with streaks of awful colours in and is wearing an awfully unflattering dress.
"Welcome to the 37th Hunger Games, and my isn't everyone excited?"
I look around, I don't know where she got that from, no one looked particularly excited, more terrified…
"Now, I'll save the speech this year, how about we get straight to picking tributes!" She chirps, "Lets get started, ladies first!"
I can't get a clear view of her but I can picture her going through the glass ball, rummaging through names, picking the life to be sacrificed.
"Kansas Mayers!"
All my family react in different way, Blade swears loudly, grabbing hold of his cousin for dear life, the younger ones start crying, not really understanding what's going on… Me, well, I just think, making the most important decision of my life.
"Any volunteers?" Goltrain shrieks with glee as Kansas approaches the stage in floods of tears.
"I volunteer!" I cry out, before walking, nervously but calmly up to the stage. It's weird how whenever you walk to somewhere you don't want to get to, but you know you have to, the walk seems to extend.
Eventually I reach the stage and am welcomed by Kansas, who's now sobbing into my arms.
"Eilonwy, thank you, thank you so much!" She sobs, whilst being pulled off of the stage.
I figure it's the right thing, Kansas wouldn't stand a chance, she's never had proper training, much like anyone in our district, bar Blade, Castor and myself. Plus she was only twelve, it just didn't seem fair to have your life taken from you at that age. I stand a fighting chance.
"Name?" Goltrain grins wickedly, peering down at me.
"Eilonwy Mayers."
Nathon Rowe POV
CHOP
I take my axe from the tree, checking the dent made and ready for my next swing,
CHOP
The daily routine of my life continues, except today is one of those rare occasions when there's a change, for once I'm not working through from six in the morning till six at night, today I am working till ten, then it's off to the reaping. My last year of having to go through the ordeal that is reaping day, nervously waiting whilst in the back of your mind your screaming 'It's gonna be you!' repeatedly, no, after this year I'll be free of the games.
What would I do if I get picked? I'm not so sure, I think I'll be okay, I'm strong, I'm good with an axe, it's not like I would have no hope. It's more if one of my friends get picked, Grant, Stef or Fran, I think I'd break down, I don't know what I'd do without any one of them. Poor Fran has three more years of this yet, and Stef has two, I'd hate to be them. Grant, Stef and Fran are my closest friends, they've stuck with me through my darkest times, which was getting bullied when I came out for the first time when I was fourteen. Although, to my surprise at the time, people usually left me alone, but there's always got to be a couple of people who disagree, and they can have their opinion, it doesn't effect me.
Now what would hurt me most is if Brandyn gets reaped, Brandyn is my long term boyfriend. If he gets picked I will be so crushed, I think I would volunteer, I'd like to say I would but you never know till you're actually in one of those situations. I'd certainly have a better chance than him in there, he isn't the most athletic of people and he works as a papermaker, which is a good job nonetheless, but it doesn't get you used to weapons such as axes.
I realise that in while being lost in my thoughts I've practically finished the tree, it's a wonder it's staying up and not hurt me yet. I finish it off and watch it fall to the ground where I proceed to keep chopping it up into sizeable logs which are to be carried back into the District by load pullers to be separated off into the different sectors such as carpentry, furniture building and papermaking. I take a moment to wonder what this tree will end up as, maybe a book, with untold stories written inside, maybe a rocking chair that's shipped to the capitol, where kids dressed in their ugly frocks will play about on it, rocking back and forth.
My morning repeats exactly like that for the next few hours, chopping trees whilst thinking about the reapings, first off praying that Brandyn or any of my other friends are chosen, and then about how unlike almost every child there I won't have any family to come and comfort me. My mother will be working, like usual, I barely ever get to see her as she works, well appears to work constantly, sometimes I don't see her for days at a time, the last time I saw her was yesterday morning, where she didn't even say anything about the reaping, just told me absent mindedly to Have a good day, Dear. Then left. She won't let something as menial as reaping day stop her from work, it never has done in the past.
Then of course there's my father, well, he won't be coming to see my fate later either, a few years back he caught a nasty disease, I don't know the name for it, not many people do, it was one of the worst cases of a disease that had been rapidly spreading through the district, killing a fair few people. Unfortunately my father had been one of them. My father was a great man, I'd learnt all of my tricks from him, he was a lumber jack too, and had been one since he was very young. He also was so accepting when I announced that I was homosexual, unlike my mother, who seemed to get even more wound up in work than usual afterwards, and once he had died, she was even worse.
After I've finished my shift I get pats on the backs from my colleagues, with wishes of luck. I head back to my home which I share with my mother to quickly get into my Sunday best, well, a shirt and some black trousers which make me feel like I'm going to school again. After having gotten ready I realise that I'm going to be late for the reaping, so practically jogging to the town square I get there just as it's starting. I manage to pick Stef and Fran from the crowd and head over to stand with them.
"Hey Nate!" Fran cried, looking nervous compared to her usual chirpy self. I give her a quick hug and then look around.
"Have you seen Brandyn?" I ask, I need to find him before the names are withdrawn.
"Welcome to the 37th Hunger Games, and my isn't everyone excited?"
Well crap, I had literally minutes to find him.
"Haven't seen him, sorry sweetie." Fran sighed and Stef shook her head.
"He didn't come to mine like we arranged this morning, neither did Grant, I think they must've left late." Stef said, grimacing.
"I've need to find him, good luck guys," I walk off before they reply, peering over the crowd to try and spot Brandyn.
"Well let's get started! Ladies first."
Why can't I be tall? Being 5"4 in this situation is not good! I can barely see over anyone.
"Kansas Mayers!"
Well thank goodness it's not Fran, or Stef, but this means that I have literally moments to find Brandyn.
"Any volunteers?"
Course there's no volunteers! This is district seven after all, if you're looking for volunteers why not head over to the career districts?
"I volunteer!" A voice cried out. I momentarily stop and look up towards the stage to see a tall girl, around sixteen, calmly walking onto the stage, with long, long red hair that reaches her hips, freckles dotted over her face and golden eyes. She stands tall with a scary fierceness about her…
There! I spot him standing literally metres away, although Grants nowhere to be seen.
"And now we shall pick the lucky gentleman."
I shove my way through the crowd till I reach Brandyn, I can see he's been crying and I take his hand for support, he jumps and then sees it's me and smiles weakly.
"You'll be fine, don-" I start saying.
"Nathon Rowe!"
Is it weird that even as my names called out I don't feel a thing? I don't feel scared, nor am I happy, I drop Brandyns hand and without looking at him start my ascent to the stage. It seems a lot longer than it is but it doesn't bother me, I don't seem to feel anything as I walk up to the stage, almost as if I'm in a dream state, except it isn't as good as a dream, no where near.
"Congratulations!" A strange lady, wearing a pink and turquoise playsuit that clashes dreadfully with her burgundy pigtails, says whilst moving me to a specific point on the stage.
"Now," she says, "Do we have any volunteers?"
I immediately look up to find Brandyn in the crowd who's looking straight back and about to volunteer, I shake my head an inch and he nods, crying still.
"Very well, happy hunger games everyone!"
I hope you all enjoyed that. As always reviews are welcome, as is constructive criticism! :D
So the tribute list...
District 1:
Girl-
Boy-Xeno
District 2:
Girl-Saffra Fairborn
Boy-
District 3:
Girl-
Boy-
District 4:
Girl-Crystal Pierce
Boy-Travis Oceanous
District 5:
Girl-
Boy-
District 6:
Girl-
Boy-
District 7:
Girl-Eilonwy Mayers
Boy-Nathon Rowe
District 8:
Girl-Thalia Lucas
Boy-Seth Parker
District 9:
Girl-Avis Clayton
Boy-
District 10:
Girl-Erica Wein
Boy-
District 11:
Girl-
Boy-
District 12:
Girl-Shannie Dilworth
Boy-
Once again, keep on submitting, goooo! The next chapter up should be District 4, and should be up tomorrow! :D
And a huge thank you to the ShinyShannie, Eserth, Phantasia515, ThisAwesomeKid and .Remember(sorry I got the user wrong last chapter ¬.¬), Saxby, AthenaGal101 and BrownEyedWriter22 for submitting already! Excited to write more chapters! Ciao :3