WARNING: This story contains quite an amount of OCs. However, majority of them will tied to cannon characters. Example: In this chapter, you will meet Lace Jaeger of whom is the daughter the canon character Rooba, the butcher from District 12. That being said, enjoy the chapter.
LACE I: The Night Before
DISTRICT 12
The day before the reaping is always filled with more tension than the day of. It's the last day of normality. Ma doesn't like to think about it much. Rooba Jaeger was a strong woman, but there were some things even she couldn't handle. Her children being reaped while all she could do was watch was at the top of that list.
She's made it through twelve years worth of reapings and didn't lose a single one of her boys and, after this one, her daughter will finally be safe as well. We're luckier, I suppose. Despite living in Panem's lowest district, Ma's made a life for us as the butchers of 12.
District 12 is small enough for us not to have any competition when it came to business, allowing for us to be one of the few families of this place to not have to be permanently covered in coal dust or worry about where we'll find our next meal.
"I feel like I'm doing all the work." I hear my brother, Pax's, strained voice complain. I realize I'm letting my half of the deer carcass drag along the ground before I yank my side up a bit.
"All the work?" I question, "I could have sworn I was the one who shot an arrow threw its head."
"Details, details." He responds. Ma was going to be pleased. She hated having to haggle prices down at the Hob. The deer would bring us a good profit and, if we're lucky, relieve some of the tension that had settle in the house.
We continued to hide in the shadows and duck behind trash cans as we made our way back to the shop. Peacekeepers are rather laid back here but pooching was still illegal and punishable by public whipping. It's better to be safe than sorry.
We eventually found our way through the back entrance of the shop, the rapid chopping and smell of meat instantly filling my senses.
"Brought you a present, Ma." Pax jokes as we lay the carcass down on the table. She lets out a grunt of acknowledgement and barely looks up from her chopping as she says, "There's some dishes in the sink waiting for you, Pax, and clean off the arrow you's used while your at it."
My brother suck his teeth but does as told. Typically, washing up the dishes was my job, however, Ma always becomes more lenient with her kids who are facing the possibility of being reaped. Since it's only me this year, I've practically become a Princess while my brothers have been made to wait on me hand and foot.
"I washed your dress for tomorrow, Lace." Ma tells me, "It's on your bed."
"Thanks, Ma." I respond, placing a kiss on her cheek. I place my bow and it's arrows in the cabinet before joining my brother at the sink.
"Has her majesty actually deigned herself to help us lower folk out for a change?" He mumbles to me and I splash some water on his shirt.
"Shut up, Pax. This time last year your feet barely touched the ground." He rolls his eyes but doesn't respond. For the past six years, Pax would act like he was practically bound for the arena despite his low odds. Still, Pop and Ma waited on him hand and foot along with making our elder brothers, Jared and Moot, act as his personal servants.
"Are you nervous?" He asks me suddenly, midway through finishing the dishes. His voice devoid of all traces of his usual sarcasm and replaced with one of seriousness. The question catches me off guard and it takes me a few moments to respond.
"I'm not sure." I answer, "Just trying not to think about it."
"On the bright side, after this year, we won't have to worry about this for awhile." He breathes and I nod in agreement, not mentioning the unspoken words lingering between us. Jared, our eldest brother, has a five year old daughter named Lottie and a baby on the way. I don't even want to think about that. Being in the shoes that my mother is now expect this time is my niece's life on the line. The thought scares me more than entering the arena myself.
"Why don't you two head upstairs for the night?" Ma says out of nowhere. Pax and I turn to face her but all we are met with is her back. "I'll finish up down here."
"You sure, Ma?" Pax asks, "We don't mind."
"It's fine. Big day tomorrow. You'll both need your rest." She mutters. We say nothing else as we make our way up the stairs, knowing there's no use in pushing the matter. Our house, like most other merchants in the area, resided in an apartment above our shop. What once felt spacious as a child now feels as though the walls are closing in.
My eldest brother, Jared, had to move back in along with his pregnant wife and daughter. Ma said that they needed some space of their own making me move into Pax and my other brother, Moot's, room.
I tried not to complain. My parents work hard and it's not Jared's fault that his family fell onto hard times. However, I would give anything to not have to listen to Pax and Moot's loud snoring every night.
Moot's asleep by the time we enter the room and I do my best not to wake him. The same can't be said for Pax who stomps around the room noisily as he changes his clothes.
I can't find it in me to do the same. So, instead, I lay down on my bed in the same clothes I've been wearing all day that still smell strongly of the woods.
The blankets shift next to me and suddenly I am face to face with wide gray eyes.
"Couldn't sleep, Lottie?" I say and my niece lets out a tiny giggle. It wasn't an unfamiliar thing to find her waiting for me in my bed. She was the best thing about Jared moving back in.
"Daddy was snoring again." She tells me.
"Louder than Uncle Moot?" I wonder and she shakes her head yes in response. I wrap my arms around her and pull her close to me. Her body's so small compared to mine.
I lay there for awhile just listening to the sound of her breathing. I can't even imagine what I'll do in a few years when it's her that might be reap. What if she is reaped? What will I do to save her? Our District's only ever had two Victors. Haymitch Abernathy, the drunkard of whom I occasionally see slinking into Victor's Village, and Tully McKinnon, that mean old witch who finally had the decency to die a few years back.
"Promise not to leave tomorrow, okay?" I hear Lottie mumble quietly in to my chest. I wasn't aware she was still awake. I can't find it in my heart to respond to her. Promising her that I won't be chosen could turn out to be a lie. You never know when it comes to reapings. So, instead, I place a kiss to her head and hold onto her tight.
