I really do love writing this story! Also, I saw the Hunger Games for the second time yesterday, and when I wasn't having fangirl moments over the Hayffie feels, or the Peenis feels, I was being filled with so much muse for Cadence's story that's it's not even funny.
Thanks to all who reviewed the last chapter: Pergyl (thanks so much for your review, yes, the Careers will have interesting times in the games, I promise!), SuperFunkyGirl1, FanLoveFiction, FezzesRCool25, Arinlianette, HestiaRue14, and Mrs. 11th.
toavoidconversation, do not even THINK about reading this before R & Ring the previous chapter. It seems that when you were catching up, you forgot this one. :P The Daliya feels you got were undeserved! :P I joke, I joke. Sorta. ;D
In this one we get to properly talk to Haymitch, which is fun, and we get a better look at the Careers. For the record, I imagine Jovanka (you will learn who she is during this chapter), as a sort of mix of Foxface and Clove. :P
Enjoy!
Our trio gets separated once we disembark the train as we are all carted off to our own individual stylists. But we have to go through some kind of basic grooming first, it seems. Carlotta follows me as I'm led away, and before the prep team strip me down, explains my unique predicament. Gasps of shock and giggles of excitement burst out, and it makes me want to be sick that these Capitol people can laugh at the thought of my baby being in life-threatening danger.
One of then runs off to fetch my stylist, who turns out to be a willowy woman with flowing green hair. She certainly fits the description of a District 7 stylist. Her black eyes narrow as she regards me.
"Let me see the stomach," She commands, and the prep team take off my skirt. The stylist circles me several times. "Yes, we can hide this easily, it will be no problem."
With that she leaves, and Carlotta gives me a strange excited hug. "We'll reveal it for the interviews," She tells me, "That's when all eyes will be on you."
I am then ambushed by the prep team who proceed to remove all the hair from my body. It's very painful but I don't complain. They also scrub me down and make my nails pretty and identical. Finally they are done and circle me to check their work.
"We'll get Danna now," They said in their strange Capitol accents and return with the eccentric stylist woman. I feel so strange, standing there without a stitch of clothing on, but they act as though it is totally normal.
"Hello, Cadence," Her voice sounded like wind-chimes or something as equally strange. "Now, this year, we're going to make you a gorgeous tree, strong and resilient. What do you think of that?"
I stare at her for a few moments, trying to figure out if she is joking or not. The District 7 tributes are always dressed as trees, without fail, every year. Because the stylists are always the same, and don't change often. Obviously, she must know this. And yet...she is staring at me intently.
"That sounds great," I say weakly. There is no way in the world that I could have sounded convincing, but Danna smiles and claps her hands.
"Brilliant...now, let me explain what we're going to do..."
Hours later, I stand next to Lara. We're both in green high-waisted dresses, and our arms and legs are painted brown, with the patterns of wood intricately painted on. They've let our hair loose but there are a million vines and leaves through each strand.
The boys are more simple, painted all over with leaf-like loincloths as their only real clothing. We would have had a similar fate if it weren't for my pregnancy, I would wager. Neither of them look very comfortable, and I shoot a sympathetic look at Dariand.
Suddenly it's our turn and Lara winds her hand through mine. I must seem nervous. Already, how things have changed since our Reaping. Our chariot rolls out and the crowds cheer, though not as loudly as they tend to for District One. I take comfort in the fact that, as tributes dressed as trees go, we're definitely some of the better looking ones. We keep up the pretense that we started on the train and wave and blow kisses to the crowd, grinning as if we were enjoying ourselves. In reality, we're both so nervous that we're shaking.
I watch the other Districts come out, and spot the older dark haired boy from District Twelve who I had noticed at the Reaping. He was dressed as a coal-miner and carried a pick-axe. Our eyes met for a second and I found myself smiling a little. He nods, as if he is not sure how to react.
It's over quite quickly, and our prep team finds us and tells us that we did a good job. Lara's stylist is a man who looks as though he's at least forty but trying to be twenty. But he seems friendly enough, if not a little too excitable.
We're escorted up a crystal escalator that is strangely beautiful and into the District 7 floor, which is gorgeous and more luxurious that anything I have ever seen in my life. Lara gasps and I find myself laughing at her until I remember that she was from the poorer part of town, and must have never had anything like this before. She had needed tesserae, after all. Of course, it is incredibly unbelievable and different from anything I have ever known either. I'm not really feeling any different from her, I'm just enjoying her awe.
We explore the place and find that there is a room for the two girls and a room for the two boys. I feel briefly sorry for Dariand to be stuck with Geff, who thus far has just proved to be silent, sullen, and unfriendly.
There are a lot of us as we sit down at the large dining table. The four tributes, four stylists, two mentors, and one escort. Eleven in total.
So much food lines the table that we tributes simply become occupied with filling our bellies as fast as we can. Malroy looks disgusted but Karena grins at me as she helps herself to some bread.
"Now," Carlotta says, "The three days of training start tomorrow, so make sure that you sort out what you're going to do with that. Usually it's best to keep your talents hidden until your session with the Gamemakers, but I'll leave that to you."
"What...um...will I be wearing?" I ask hesitantly, and Carlotta turns to me.
"Well, the Training Sessions aren't televised, so you will be wearing regular clothing, as the other tributes and Gamemakers knowing won't affect you."
"Okay...sure," I find myself replying, then turn to Lara and Dariand. "Do you guys want to stick together tomorrow?"
"Definitely...we should probably learn how to catch food or something," Lara agrees, and as usual, I am impressed by her practical way of thinking. It's easy to forget that you're just as likely to die of natural causes as you are to be killed by another tribute.
"Yeah...I guess I wouldn't know much about that, and I probably should." I nod.
"I wouldn't either...good thinking, Lara," Dariand compliments. Karena looks pleased that we're working as a team, and Geff just scowls into his soup. I am really starting to get irritated by him. Does he think that he's better than us?
I manage to stop myself getting angry with him – as my anger is rare but deeply unattractive – and instead force myself to shoot Lara an admiring smile which brings a pleased blush to her cheeks.
Geff pushes out from the table and silently leaves for the boy's bedroom. Carlotta and his stylist make an attempt at a farewell but his reply is indiscernible. Our team continues to make what sounds like pointless Capitol talk to me, and the three of us tributes simply remain silent.
"If we've got training tomorrow, we should all get some sleep," I recommend, standing up, and Lara and Dariand murmur their agreements. We say our goodnights and Lara and I head off to our room. I think that she can sense my growing nerves because Lara watches me with concerned eyes, as if she were the older one.
"Are you okay?" She asks, and I hug my middle as I sit down on my bed with a thump.
"I suppose…the idea that tomorrow 44 people who are soon going to try and kill me are going to find out my biggest vulnerability…it's starting to hit me, and it's not sitting so well in my head…or my gut," I say slowly, looking at my knees.
Lara sits down next to me and puts her hand on my stomach comfortingly. "But it's also your biggest advantage. Sponsors are going to want to send you gifts, because it means that they can save two lives instead of one. Some of the other tributes might think like that too." Her other hand strokes a bit of my hair back and I smile at her, realizing that without this girl my nerves would have already broken me. "Now, you said it yourself, we need sleep. So let's sleep." The youth in her eyes shows as she speaks this time, and I nod.
We both climb into our beds, and while sleep does not come easily to me, it comes eventually.
The showers are our first destination in the morning, and as the water pours over my bare skin, I run my hands across the place where my child is growing, and I think a tear falls from my eye. But if it did, it is swept away by the running water, leaving no trace.
Good. I have to be strong, because if I'm not someone is going to kill me. Not today…but soon.
I find clothes lying on my bed when I return, dark leggings and a moss green tunic with no sleeves. It seems that whoever is planning my clothes has still not let go of this tree theme, which isn't that surprising for Capitol people, I suppose.
I'm the last to join the group at the breakfast table, but Karena and Lara seem genuinely happy to see me. Dariand is rather quiet and I can see the dark bags under his eyes that suggest he got little sleep last night.
We're all ravenous, especially myself, as I'm eating for two, but we stop ourselves from over eating because we need to be able to get through the training and move agilely.
Both anxious and eager, the four of us stand in the elevator as it goes below ground level to the Training Centre. Lara's in a simple but short green shirt the colour of mine and high riding leggings that come just below her knees, while the boys are opposites. Geff wears a shirt that shows off his arm muscles, and Dariand's sleeves are clipped at the elbow. Leggings seem to be the District 7 trend, though.
The elevator doors open to reveal a huge gymnasium full of various weapons and education stations, and most of the other tributes are already here. Everyone has a piece of cloth with their District number sewed to the back of their clothes, and while someone does mine I count who is here and who is absent. Two districts are missing; District 10, and District 12. We wait for them to arrive, and soon they do, the four from 12, and then the four from 10.
My heart starts to sink a little as an athletic looking man explains how the Training Sessions work. Apart from the ones who are clearly younger than me, every tribute, boy or girl, is larger than me. I'm the runt of the litter, the tiny little 17 year old who looks two years younger than she really is.
I vaguely note the instructions: No fighting with other tributes, move around the stations as I like, whether they be survival technique stations or fighting technique stations.
As we move off to different stations, I find that a lot of stares seem to follow me, along with whispers. Despite feeling incredibly self-conscious, I try to ignore it and stick with Dariand and Lara as we head to the station that teaches us how to make traps to catch food. We all pick it up reasonably fast, and within fifty minutes we're moving onto the test on edible plants, which is a must-learn for obvious reasons.
Some of the plants are easy, and others I simply have to guess, and I usually guess wrong. Dariand, however, knows almost all the answers. Lara admits to knowing virtually nothing, but watches us both avidly. I can see her brain absorbing the information like a sponge, and try to do the same, only to be unsure of what I have learnt.
We decide to split up for a bit; Lara wants to try her hand at some of the smaller axes, I decide to stick with survival skills and head to the fire-making station, while Dariand joins some of the Careers at the knives station. I watch him and wish I had his bravery, and get so caught up in my thoughts that I don't notice someone come up next to me.
"You did a good job of hiding that at the Parade," A male voice says from next to me, and I jump a mile into the air. When I turn, I see the boy from District 12, the older one who I had noticed at the Reaping.
"What?" I ask blankly, confused.
He gestures to my rounded stomach and I feel my cheeks get a little warm.
"Oh," I reply mildly, completely unsure of what to say, "My stylist was very helpful." He nods, an unfathomable look in his grey eyes.
We get to work on the fires under the trainers eye.
"I'm Haymitch," He offers after a few minutes, and my eyes flick up to him as I try to figure out what he's trying to achieve.
Eventually, I figure that getting friendly with someone couldn't hurt. "Cadence," I say, and he nods again.
"Well, Cadence…is your man waiting for you back home?" The question is simple enough but it pains me. It's strange though, to hear Deen being referred to as a man, when he is only 17. I know that if he had been here to hear it, he would have puffed his chest out and made a huge deal of it for the rest of the day, and the thought only makes me miss him more.
"Yes…waiting for the both of us," I say quietly as my hand unconsciously moves to rub my stomach again. "Is your girl waiting for you?"
He freezes a little and eyes me warily. "What makes you say I have one?"
My own eyes drop embarrassedly and I busy myself with trying to light the fire as I answer. "Your Reaping…I could see it in your eyes…recognized it because it was exactly what I felt during my own Reaping."
"Observant," He remarks dryly, and his fire finally lights while mine does not.
"I suppose," I murmur, and just when I'm about to give up, my flame bursts into life and dances in front of me with its bright colours. "Yes!" I don't know why I feel so triumphant and happy over a small flame, but some strange relieved laugh escapes my lips and Haymitch joins in with me, seemingly finding it amusing how pleased I am with myself.
We share a strange smile of understanding and I already find myself liking him a lot. Liking people is a dangerous thing to do in these Games, because sentiment can effect judgment. But I won't let them turn me into an anti-social zombie. Besides…if someone from my own District can't win, someone from District 12 should. They need a victor desperately…they don't even have anyone to mentor the tributes they have right now.
Soon it's time for our lunch and we all eat at a large dining table in the gymnasium. The Careers , the tributes from Districts 1, 2, and 4 that have been trained for this their whole lives so that they can volunteer for the Games, have banded together, exuding their superiority over the rest of us. Almost everyone sits alone, but Lara, Dariand and I make a point of being a team. The District 7 team, if you discount Geff, which I tend to do a lot. He was sitting near the District 5's anyway, on his own.
"So…" Lara says as we eat, "I noticed you talking to that boy from District 12."
"Haymitch," I nod as I tear off bits of a roll and put them into my mouth, "He's…nice. Though he's probably only interested in me because I'm pregnant, it's the only thing that makes me different from anyone else."
Lara looks away, towards where the Gamemakers who have been watching us from their elevated platform in the gymnasium have moved to speak with the trainers at the stations. I see of them eyeing me, and quickly turn back to my food, though Lara does not.
"You're going to have to accept that your pregnancy is going to be the reason that people find you interesting…probably…just be glad you have something so individual, because with this many tributes, you're going to need it," She says, shrugging. Not for the first time, I stare at her and wonder how in the world she could be this intelligent for only thirteen. Shaking my head, my gaze drifts back to the Career table.
They are a strange and intimidating lot. One of them, a girl from District 4, seems to be a dumb blonde who people are for some reason tolerating, and her female district counterpart has dark frizzy hair, yet also this sultry demeanor which confuses me. There's a fair haired quiet boy from their District who keeps to the side, again opposite to the hulking dark haired boy who had sent a shiver down my spine just watching him get reaped. Then there is that fourteen year old girl from District 1 who just leaves me with a sick feeling in my stomach.
An unexpected wave of nausea hits me and I am suddenly thankful for the small bins they provided for things like our chicken bones, because I run to the nearest one and use it to empty the contents of my stomach violently. I feel someone pulling back my hair, and look up to see Haymitch throw me a crooked smile.
"I was closer than your friends, sweetheart," He explains, and I frown but take the napkin he's offering me and wipe my mouth. Realizing that all of the other tributes – and the Gamemakers – are watching me, I give Haymitch a grateful but partially forced smile and return to my table.
"Well," I mutter as I sit down next to Lara once more, "There's a lunchtime immediately rendered a waste of time." I can hear Haymitch chuckling from nearby.
"Ah well…you can eat later," Dariand says in an attempt to be cheerful. I simply nod and wait until we're allowed to go back to the stations, and this time I stick with Lara, and show her good techniques for fighting with axes. Axes are my forte, being from the lumber district, and I'm pretty good with them, but I don't want the other tributes to know that. I can stay the pathetic little pregnant girl if they like. It's obvious by the way that the Careers watch me that this is how they view me anyway. There's one in particular, a frightening boy from District 2 with eyes that seem to tell you that they are going to rip you apart like you're a tiny animal. I suppose that's how I would appear to a monster like him.
Still, as I practice sword use with Lara, I can't shake the feeling that this boy is going to hurt me. He keeps staring at me, too.
Eventually, Lara gets sick of how uncomfortable he's making me.
"Oi, you there, whatever you're doing, stop staring at us and go learn something! Leave us the hell alone!" She shouts over at him, and immediately he stiffens, a dangerous glint in his eye. He raises his sword threateningly, and Lara's confidence wavers.
"You got a problem with me, little girl?" He asks loudly. She is frozen.
I step in for my own defence. "We both do. Whatever you're trying to do, stare at me, or scare me, or whatever…just stop. Go mind your own business and tie some knots or something."
"I'll tie you into a knot, you stupid-" He's clearly pissed off but the younger girl from District 1 grabs his arm before he can come closer to us.
"For Panem's sake, Davis, keep it together and stop getting annoyed at anyone who happens to not flinch when you look at them," She snaps, but only seems to irritate him more. He yanks on her dark red hair as if he thinks it will frighten her or hurt her. It does neither.
"I don't have to take orders from you, Jovanka," He hisses. She isn't scared at all, and I can't understand it.
"No," She says flatly, "But it might be a good idea." She pulls her hair out of his hand and stalks off to the archery section. She's done her job well; Davis turns away from us with nothing more than a fierce glare.
I raise an eyebrow at Lara, but she merely shrugs. It turns out that Dariand is the only one of us that is reasonable with the sword, though I could probably use one in emergencies.
Soon enough the first day of training is over and we return to our floor, our luxurious apartment, and we collapse onto the sofa without another word. Karena comes in five minutes later to see us all but asleep on one another, and she smiles.
"How about an earlier supper tonight?" She offers, and the others all agree. I stand up slowly, groaning at my stiff joints from the training.
"Thank you, but I'm not hungry, I think I'll just go to my room," I mumble and head off to do so. About ten minutes after, Karena enters the room with a drink in her hands. She sits down on the end of my bed, which I am lying in, and hands me the drink.
"If you're feeling sick, this will help," She says, and I begin to sip it warily, only to find that she's right, it does make me feel less sick. I continue to slowly drink it as she talks.
She's very pretty, Karena, with her long blonde hair and chocolate brown eyes. She would have gotten a lot of sponsors during her Games. I still find it incredible that she managed to kill no one, just wait everyone out. I can't imagine that the Gamemakers were too pleased with her, though.
"Cadence, what are you good at?"
"I'm good with an axe…alright with knots, I guess…learnt how to make fires today."
"Okay, that's good…now, Cadence, I'm going to give you some advice," Karena says, "The others will be getting the same sort of thing from Carlotta-"
"How did Carlotta win? I was a bit too young to remember it," I interrupt suddenly, and Karena's eyes grow a little sad.
"She managed to get in with the Career pack, and then slit all of their throats while they were sleeping," She whispers, almost to herself, "After that she had all the most lethal weapons, and she managed to pick everyone off."
I find myself staring slightly, and I'm sure that my face must hold total confusion. "Are you sure we're talking about the same person, here?"
Karena laughs, but there's no humour in it. "Yes…she's changed a lot since then."
"What colour was her hair, originally?"
"About the same colour as yours, I think."
I can't hide my surprise. "Really?" I think of the royal blue locks she has now, and cannot imagine her as a normal, let alone violent person.
"Something you have to realize, Cadence," Karena says gently, grabbing one of my hands, "Is that the Games changes a person, even if you make it out alive. Chances are, you will watch your friends die, and even if you manage to get out without killing a single person like I did, you will still be haunted by the deaths. Imagine how it is for Carlotta, when she killed so many of them. She married a Capitol man and moved here, and had a child, and she hides herself under the glamour because if she didn't…she would probably go mad. "
My hands are shaking and I shove them in-between my legs in an attempt to stop them. She keeps talking.
"But there's something else. The Gamemakers don't like to look stupid. Sometimes, the way that you fight in the Games can make them look stupid. I refused to fight, yet still managed to win, making them look like fools. Within a week, they'd killed my whole family."
My head snaps up to look at her suddenly, and my blood runs cold. "What?"
"Look, just…" Karena bites her lip and looks down, obvious pain in her eyes that I had never seen before. "Don't do anything in that Arena which will anger the Gamemakers. Play their game the way that Carlotta did, the way that they want you to. Then, if you make it out, your family and Deen will be safe."
"Okay…thank you," Is all I can manage to say because of the shock threatening to overwhelm me. She nods and leaves me to my solitude, and I feel myself pulled into a sleep clouded with nightmares.
I'm running through tall grass, Lara and Dariand's hands in mine, and I can feel the weight of weapons on my back. I glance behind and see Davis, the District 2 tribute, pursuing us with a sword in each hand.
"Keep running!" I scream at them, but we're not moving fast enough. Just as he is about to catch us, I turn to see him drop to the ground, dead. There is no time to be relieved, because the person who was behind him is now coming after us with even more murderous intent.
It's Carlotta. Her hair is the same colour as mine and flowing free, but she's still dressed in Capitol clothes and make-up. Her eyes, usually so jolly, are narrowed and lethal, and before we can run, she swings her large knife and lunges.
Lara's body drops to the ground as the blood begins to pour from it, and Dariand follows within a second. I stare at my dead friends and feel myself crying, screaming at Carlotta with words that made no legible sense.
But Carlotta suddenly morphs into Karena, and she hugs me tightly.
"I'm not going to be there to save you," She says, and she melts into thin air, leaving me in the middle of the towering grass, alone and sitting between the corpses of my friends.
I wake up in a cold sweat, tears pricking at my eyes, and as my body begins to tremble I hear Lara sliding out of bed and rushing to me. I grab her, to make sure that she's real, that she's alive and breathing, and let out a huge breath I hadn't realized I was holding.
"Shh…" She whispers, stroking my hair and wrapping her arms around me again, "Whatever it was, it was just a dream. You're in your bed, with me, and you're fine." Her lips touch my cheek briefly before I feel her leave my side and get back into her own bed. "Try to go back to sleep."
But suddenly sleep is a terrifying thought, and I lie in my bed with my head pressed against the pillow, dreading its return.
So, thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed the slight insight into Karena and Carlotta, as well as Haymitch's appearance. You might also see another familiar character in the next chapter, if you're lucky! :P
Reviews to let me know what you thought? *looks hopeful*
-MayFairy :)