Chapter 58: Initiation
The day they are required to return to the Capitol comes around much too quickly…for Katniss, for Peeta and for Haymitch. Paylor has been in touch and informed them that there has been no further word on Snow, in spite of the prisoners being made aware that the Games are going ahead. The Tributes have been informed of the Reaping and will soon be transported to the Tribute Centre. The prisoners will be allowed one visit with them before the Games begin. Beetee has engineered communications so that any word of Snow's whereabouts can be transmitted to them.
Gale has an apartment organized for Peeta, Katniss and the children in a Village beside the Tribute Centre. This is where they will be staying with the other Mentors. Annie has decided to leave Finn with her mother and has the apartment next door to Peeta and Katniss. Haymitch is on the other side as Katniss wants to keep an eye on him. She hopes Prim being with them will help remind Haymitch what is important and why he needs to stay sober.
Katniss, herself, has entered the Capitol with a renewed sense of defiance…the same sense of defiance she displayed when they were forced to return for the Quarter Quell. This is the moment when Katniss will take back what is hers…the peace that Snow has tried to rob her of. This is also the moment when Snow and his Rebels will know the suffering of the people in the Districts. Ultimately it is the moment Katniss no longer feels ashamed. In fact, Katniss feels empowered. Empowered by Gale's plan, and Peeta's part in it, to bring this whole thing to an end. Katniss is empowered in the knowledge of who the real enemy is and will tell Paylor that she wants it to be her arrow that will bring Snow to his final end…again. Katniss means to redeem herself this time and she hopes Paylor agrees.
Peeta senses the renewed strength and defiance in Katniss. He is grateful that she will finally have the chance to overcome her demons and stop blaming herself for what has happened to Pik. He has his own ideas around Snow's demise, but he won't share them just yet. First they need to draw Snow out of hiding with these Games and Peeta will do his best to make sure that's what happens. The more drawn out the Games are and the greater the suffering, the more likely Snow's hiding place will be revealed. He needs to mentor his Tributes well.
The general population has been informed of the Reaping. They have been told it is a consequence of the Capitol Rebels actions and is being used as a means to put a stop to their Rebellion. It will also force the Capitol people to finally confront what the Districts had suffered for three quarters of a century and hopefully bring them to a better understanding of the District led Rebellion. These Games will serve many purposes….just as they were originally designed to do.
It has been decided that the Capitol Tributes will be paraded before the people, just as the District Tributes had been, and following this there will be interviews with both the Mentors and the Tributes. The prisoners and Rebels will be forced to watch the suffering of their children in all its cinematic glory. Plutarch has decided that these Tributes will mimic the Districts in their attire for the Parade as a way of ensuring they are stripped of any Capitol pride. Peeta is assigned District 12 and 11, Enobaria 10 and 9, Johanna 8 and 7, Haymitch 6 and 5, Annie 4 and 3, Beetee 2 and 1. The Victors will meet with the stylists over the next couple of days to determine how their Tributes will dress. In the meantime the Victors are required to meet with the children for the first time.
The meetings take place in separate rooms and the Tributes are marched in by Peacekeepers who are also required to stand guard in case of any untoward reactions on the part of the Tributes or the Mentors. Peeta remembers how it felt to be thrust into this situation and to be hungry for any kind of advantage. He also has to face these young people knowing that some of them are going to die. Before the meeting, Katniss has assured him of her love and reminded him of the purpose of the Games, all the while hoping that they will not need to be responsible for any more deaths. Peeta walks into the room with the conviction of a man who wants to hold Coriolanus Snow responsible for his actions.
There are four Tributes waiting for him when he arrives, two boys and two girls. The Peacekeeper makes the introductions. Ladies first. Ottilia is around the age Katniss was when she volunteered for the Games. She is tall and lithe, timid and teary. Verity is thirteen, defiant and slouches in her chair. Ramsay is seventeen and decides to look bored while Lorcan is an intelligent looking fifteen year old who gazes on Peeta with a sense of awe. They all know Peeta and Katniss' story, but Lorcan has real admiration for him and hopes Peeta will like him, even if he has to die in the Arena. It is the only thing Lorcan has to cling to as his life is put on hold.
Peeta begins.
"You know why you are all here. Your parents are Rebel prisoners and we need them to provide us with information so that we can put an end to the Capitol Rebellion. It has been two years since the Districts revolution was won and still the fighting continues. We are going to end it now and the Rebels need to provide us with information so we can make that happen".
The room is quiet. Peeta goes on.
"You are not responsible for the actions of your parents, just as the people in the Districts were not responsible for the actions of their forebears. District children were still being reaped long after the instigators of the original Rebellion were dead. You all know the Capitol used this as a means of keeping the Districts in line. We don't intend to do that, but for the first time, Capitol people will know how the people in the Districts felt".
Verity pipes up.
"Two wrongs don't make a right…didn't your mother ever tell you that?" she sneers.
"My mother is dead" Peeta tells her. "She was killed when Snow firebombed District 12 and razed it to the ground".
Lorcan is the only one who looks somewhat ashamed, while Ottilia begins to cry. Ramsay continues to look bored. Peeta wants to confront him, but knows that is not what this meeting is about.
"My job is to mentor you as you go into the Games. Answer any questions you have and find out what your strengths are. I don't want you to die, but the outcome is not in my hands.. It is in the hand of your parents". Peeta knows this is the only way.
Lorcan decides to speak.
"What advice did your mentor give you going into the Games?" he asks.
"The first piece of advice he gave us? "Embrace the probability of your imminent death and know, in your heart, there is nothing I can do to save you"".
Ramsay doesn't look quite so bored now and Ottilia is sobbing out loud. Peeta thinks it would be a good idea to let this thought sink in and tells the Tributes he will see them tomorrow to go over the details of the Parade. The only one he holds any hope out for at this stage is Lorcan, but Peeta doesn't want to become attached to any of these Tributes. Like he said, the outcome is out of his hands.