Aww….quality moment with Liz and Cato! Now she can say she's had 1 with each parent. Ha ha! Seriously, it would seem that's the way these people are. Not much drama yet, but trust me….there will be. Mwa ha ha! Oh yes, there's someone coming that is going to change EVERYTHING! Not telling who. Just enjoy the chapter and tell me who you think it is. OK, here it goes. Review when you're done! Please! And I still have yet to get much publicity from my Twilight story, A Human Glance. Come on, I know that there are at least a few people reading this that like Twilight. So please, read it. It's pretty good. And it's something people haven't seen a lot. Please, at least check out the first chapter. Review it, just so I can stop bugging you. Speaking of reviews, I have yet another question to ask- if the Capitol brought back one of the tributes from Liz and Luke's Games, what tribute should be brought back? I'll let you ponder that whilst you read this chapter. Hopefully it won't be disappointing. I won't know unless you tell me!
"Elizabeth? Elizabeth! You need to get up!" Effie screeches. I groan and throw a pillow in a random direction. I don't hear any crashes or bangs. "Liz! Wake up! Come on, lazy! Get. Your. Ass. Out. Of. Bed." Now Haymitch has joined the conversation. Great, it's like a district 12 convention in my room. I groan again and throw another pillow. I'm going to run out of these things if I don't stop. And there's only so many pillow between them and my head, which I have buried underneath the mountain of pillows.
I feel my blankets lift lightly, and then settle again, meaning someone just got into my bed next to me. Oh my god, I swear if Haymitch got in my bed, I am going to scream. I unbury my head and slowly turn my head, looking at the person who has invaded my bed. And I see Luke looking right back at me. Alright, this is ok. This is fine. I don't care if he gets into my bed. "Let me guess, you want me to get up and go wherever it is Effie and Haymitch wanted me to?" I ask. "Well, your parents are flipping out a little. Like their screaming and yelling, and their all….jittery. There were these thumping sounds coming from their room for like an hour straight last night." He says.
Jittery? I know what this means. My mom and dad decided even though their adults, it's still ok for them to act like they did when they had me. God, my mom better not get pregnant. I am not in the mood to have a little brother or sister.
I jump up and run toward the compartment that I can hear my parents yelling from. It's not at each other, which is good. But they are yelling at something, that's for sure. I walk in and see my dad staring at the huge TV on the wall. My mom points a pale finger at me, shaking it, and shaking herself. "You. You did this. Oh my god, what are we going to do?" She's saying. My dad sits her down and rubs her back. "Mom, dad, what is going on here?" I ask. "Listen to the news. It's all over the place. People are getting really mad at you." My dad says gently.
He presses a button on the remote and the volume increases on a news show. The voice on the show is talking in a scene where people are rioting about something. Same old same old. "I'm Valetta Stone, here in District 5, where people are outraged at the newest teen girl to graze the paparazzi, Elizabeth Hirsch. On her last stop on the Victory Tour, she and her fiancé and fellow Victor, Luke Mellark, had a nice conversation with the mayor. That is, until Elizabeth took it to a whole new level, saying that the tributes of District 4 had been amazing allies, and that if she could have stopped their deaths, she would have. Now, people all over Panem are rioting, ready to send the popular teens plummeting down the ranks with the belief that she is playing favorites." My dad flicks off the TV, and the picture goes black. "How could they think that? We were just making an opinion. And MaryAnn and Micheal were amazing allies, and I wished that they were alive right now. They deserved to come home. They did everything out of love for each other, and I know, because it came straight from MaryAnn's mouth in the Arena! I was trying to comfort their district. I didn't make any connection with their family, mostly because they didn't seem to be there, but I am not playing favorites!" I yell. "I know, honey, its horrible the way people can twist these things around to make it seem like you said something horrible." My dad says, stroking my hair. Luke walks in and sits next to me, holding my hand. "Liz, we weren't doing anything wrong. You can't blame yourself on this." He says, running his arm along my arms. I pull my knees up to my chin, burying my face in my legs. "Aw, sweetie, it's going to be ok. You just need to do a little damage control in 5. That will solve everything. We'll find something for you to say." Effie says, standing over me. "That's right sweetheart. You'll be fine." Haymitch says.
Argentina, Algeria, Vilnius, Melody, Flo, Norlina, and Octavia come in. "So…should we go get some breakfast? I'm starved." Norlina states. "Yeah, girls like my sister and I that have names after previous countries need food." Algeria says. I swear, if she says that one more time, I'm going to slap her.
"Yeah, we should get some breakfast." My mom agrees. We all head to the dining hall, sitting down at our huge table. Avox's surround us with platter upon platter upon bowl of food. In other words, there is no way we are finishing all of this. But they have yet to diminish the amount of food they bring. The Capitol has an almost never ending supply of food.
I stop caring, and shove a fork in three pieces of sugary, buttery French toast. I put a forkful in my mouth and sigh. This tastes so wonderful. I could make an entire day of meals from this. I could eat it for every meal of every day. It is that tasty. I scoop out some scrambled eggs with red and green peppers, broccoli, tomatoes, and cheddar cheese mixed in, which is also amazingly yummy. I continue to pick my way through a bunch more things. A blueberry bagel smeared with strawberry cream cheese, an apple cinnamon pastry, and then just when I think I'm full, I turn to Luke next to me, who holds a chocolate strawberry in his hand.
He coaxes it toward my mouth, and I open, allowing him to feed it to me. So sweet! The strawberry and Luke are extremely sweet. And sexy. OK, just talking about Luke there. Melody and Vilnius are yelling at us now to go and get ready, because we'll be arriving in District 4 in an hour. And we need to get ready, physically, am mentally. Effie accompanies me to make sure I know what to say.
We go to the styling compartment, and Melody brings 2 garment bags out from a rolling cart layered with all our clothes. She shoves mine at me and I hesitantly pull them out. In District 5, they create muttations, so I have a black knee length dress with a faux fur trim around the bottom. It's strapless, and strangely informal. It's sexy, but in a vicious way, like what I wore to the Reaping. I'm handed a fur shawl to drape around my arms. I look so…sophisticated.
I see Luke wearing a pair of black jeans and a red shirt. He also is handed a black hat with grey faux fur around the rim to match my dress. We look amazing. Then I pull on my black sequin stilettos and we're ready to go. "Now, Elizabeth, do you know what you're going to say?" Effie says. "Yes." I groan for the fifty zillionth time today. "Prove it." My mom says, rolling her eyes. "Pretend to be the mayor." I say to Luke. He clears his throat and in a low voice, says "We hope that you shall remember our district in a fond way." I take a breath, thinking. "Your tributes were great, like every district. We all express our wonder and splendor in honor of the Hunger Games our Capitol so graciously gives to us." I say, smiling. Effie claps. "Perfection dearie! You'll do wonderfully." She says.
Luke and I go back to the styling to get our hair and for me, makeup done. They apply hot pink lip gloss and black eye shadow. Mascara is a must, and then they are adding feathery fake white eyelashes that look like fur. My hair is put into a curly bun and they add some gems around my hair, casting a glittery aura all around as the lights reflect off of them.
I look in the mirror, drinking in how cool I look right now. I'm ready to get my rep back. The train lurches to a stop, and Luke and I step out into the sunny district with four Peacekeepers who have dangerous looking guns. Oh wait, any gun is dangerous here. It's Panem!
My parents, Katniss and Peeta, Haymitch and Effie all walk behind us, talking in hushed tones. We reach the place where we wait for the ceremony to start and then my dad comes and gives me a quick squeeze. Oh god, here comes a pep talk. But, to my surprise, he only says "That dress is far too low cut." I smile and yank it up a little.
He looks me up and down and opens his mouth, but his phone rings before he can. He snaps it open and holds it to his ear. "Cato Hirsch…..no…..well, that's very kind. ….no, I don't think that's necessary…..she's fixing it…..well, if she doesn't then we'll talk again soon…..ciao!" He hangs up the phone with a snap. "What was that about?" I ask. "Nothing. Don't worry your pretty, vicious little head about it." He replies.
I am still a little suspicious, but I need to go on stage. Luke and I walk out with the accompaniment of clapping and cheering. They love us here and I don't know why.
We didn't kill their tributes, but we didn't help them either. Drake and Jarrica weren't even that involved with us. Jarrica nearly killed me, but she was shot with an arrow through the throat. And Drake was killed by Vale. None of that work was mine. Anyway, the mayor and a lady I guess is his wife are standing and clapping as well. We walk out and stand next to them. "Welcome to District 5." The lady says. "Thank you for competing so valiantly against our tributes." The mayor says. I look off stage to see if anyone is giving me a signal. Haymitch makes a go on with it motion, so I decide it's time. "You are quite welcome. Everyone did amazingly, from every district. We were always on edge, because everyone gave us a challenge. And we all express our wonder and awe at the hands of the Games the Capitol so graciously gives to all of us." I say.
Then, to show Snow Luke and I are in love, I lean over and kiss Luke on the lips gently. I should have used lip gloss. I stop and then look out at the crowd. They look shocked. Surprised. Happy even.
The lady hands us each a rose and places a rhinestone covered tiara on my head, and a crown like a king's on Luke's. This must be the royal treatment. We wave one more time, and for fun, I make a small curtsy. Luke bows, and we walk off stage hand and hand.
"That was amazing. You were amazing." I breathe, staring into his perfect, clear eyes. "You were better. What's a king without his queen?" He says, pulling my into his arms. I kiss him again and my mom clears her throat.
We pull away and face her. "Stand the way you would if you were at Prom." She says. Luke looks confused. "Like this." I say, standing in front of him. I take his hands and put them on my hips. "Now just smile. Like this is the happiest day of your life." I say. I put on a smile and see my mom snap a photo. Luke's hands slowly drop away from my waist. "Is something wrong?" I ask him. "No. Nothing. I just, well, I don't want this to ever end. I want you Liz and nothing else will do." He replies, looking at his shoes.
I place my fingers under his chin and gently push up, making sure he's looking in my eyes. "We have a future together Luke. It's been decided for us. You heard Snow, he wants us to get married and have kids. And we have to do what he says." I say. He shakes his head.
"When you left, I stayed behind. Snow and I talked a bit. He told me that I had better not screw up, because if I did, it would be the end of Panem as we knew it. We would have a rebellion, and he said if we failed, the rebellion would be my fault." He replies. "Why would it be your fault? If we fail, it would be because of both of us. We're in this together." I say.
"He knows about the thing Dr. Langford told you. Except, he hasn't found out it's a lie. He still thinks you're pregnant with Miklisho's child. That's why he didn't think we were in love. That's why he wants to bring Miklisho back." Luke says softly. "BRING HIM BACK! What do you mean bring him back? Miklisho is DEAD!" I shriek.
He wraps a hand over my mouth and pulls me back to the train station and from there, into my compartment, away from everyone else. "Yes. President Snow wants to bring Miklisho back from the dead, so that he can be with his baby and its mom. But you're not pregnant, so he doesn't need to come back."
"Luke! Snow doesn't know that! You just said that! You…how could…didn't you tell him I wasn't pregnant?" I scream. "I didn't get the chance to." He replies. "Ha! Didn't get the chance to? Or didn't want to? Luke, you're supposed to be my boyfriend. My lover! Defend me, would you? God, he thinks I'm pregnant with that pervert's child and you didn't tell him the truth. Thanks Luke, because when Miklisho comes back, maybe I'll date him instead of you. Because you know, according to you, I'm still pregnant with his child. Maybe I should make it the truth. How does that sound? Maybe I'll go have sex with him! And make a baby with him!" I shriek.
Then before he can say anything else, I go back to the compartment where we were this morning and flop down on the couch. I cry my eyes out. And after that, I cry some more. I hear the soft shuffle of feet behind me. I look up and see its Luke. "Get out! Can't you see you've done enough?" He flops down next to me.
"Elizabeth, I'm calling the Capitol right now. I'm going to make it up to you. I know you were mad, so I'll ignore what you said before. I am your boyfriend, and I am your lover. I'll be with you forever, and you won't be able to get me to leave your side." He says. He pulls out his cell phone and presses 2. It rings and he puts it on speaker. "Hello?" I hear Effie say. "Hey Effie, it's Luke. Just wanted to let you know we're on the train and waiting for you. We needed to talk something over alone." Luke says. "That's fine dearie. We'll be there as soon as we can. Kisses!"
He hangs up and presses in another number, still on speaker. It rings for a moment, and someone picks up. "Capitol Industries, how may I help you?" A woman says. "I need to speak with President Snow immediately. It's an emergency." Luke says urgently. "What should I tell him?" The lady asks. "Tell him Luke Mellark is ready to confess to that secret." Luke says with a bold voice.
The phone beeps for a moment, and Snow's gravelly voice blares at us. "Ahhhhh, Luke, I was wondering when I would hear from you. Now, what is the secret you were holding back from me?" Luke takes a breath. "Elizabeth isn't pregnant. She was told that, but the doctor lied. He told us himself that it was for revenge. You don't need to bring back Miklisho, because there's no need for him here. I have Liz, and she has me." Then he whispers something in my ear. He holds up a finger, counting to three. "AND WE ARE IN LOVE!" We shriek into the phone, pressed right up near our mouths. Snow screams and we hang up, laughing our heads off. Then we switch from laughing to talking and talking to kissing, and kissing to sleeping. I rest my head on Luke's chest, and I wrap my arms around his neck, laying there, entangled together.
"GET UP!" A woman screams. I've never heard this voice. I flutter my eyes open and see Argentina standing over me, hands on her hips. Wow, she can talk. "What is it?" Luke asks. "Um…we have 20m minutes until we get to District 6, and your still not styled and dressed. And what in heaven's name are you going to say?" She exclaims. We get up and follow her, yawning, back to the styling compartment.
Melody immediately hands me a garment bag, which has my outfit- a plaid mini skirt, a super tight somewhat low cut, strapless black tank top, and studded belt, and knee high black boots. I look in the mirror. Damn, I look like a slutty schoolgirl. Fun. "What should I say?" I ask my dad. "Just…say whatever feels natural." He says.
I shrug and walk away before he can yell at me for my clothes. We stand with the Peacekeepers, dressed in their blue and grey uniforms, and one of them gets close to me. "Hey gorgeous, how would you like to make out with a real man?" He asks in a somewhat young voice. Maybe he's…16 years old. "No thank you. I'm just fine with my boyfriend." I say, linking my arm through Luke's.
The boy scowls and shoves his sunglasses down his nose, and smiles at me. "That's too bad. I could do so much for you." He says. My head snaps just in time to see him wink and cover his yellow eyes with his sunglasses. "Miklisho! No…this isn't happening." I say. "Well, you're having my baby. I have to be here because of that. But I don't remember having sex with you. Did you have sex with me?" He scowls. "No, I would never, EVER have anything to do with you." I say.
I kick him with my boot, hard. He flinches and clutches at it. "You were dead! I killed you! And the Capitol brought you back here. Now you're a Peacekeeper. Act like it then. Accept the fact that I am betrothed now and be peaceful with that." I smirk back and here as Luke and I are called to the stage.
We walk to the mayor and people boo as we smile and wave. "Thank you for welcoming us to your beautiful district." I say. The mayor nods and shakes my hand and Luke's. Then…the unexpected occurs.
"DRAKE SHOULD HAVE WON!" Someone shouts from the crowd. I look out and take a breath. Don't do anything hasty. More and more people join in, until they are chanting. "DISTRICT 6 FOR THE WIN! DISTRICT 6 FOR THE WIN!" I can't contain my anger any more.
I see the microphone there on the pedestal, and I go to it. "HEY! Listen up, and listen good- Drake was a horrible tribute. He made it into the top 6 because of his sheer luck! He made only one kill. The rest of us that were alive had killed twice that at least, and someone killed him. Get over it!" I yell. My voice blares out to all the people, and they start shouting and shrieking louder.
A Peacekeeper that isn't Miklisho escorts us back to my parents and then we're back on the train. My dad dials a number and holds the phone up to his ear. "About what we discussed before, I think that is the perfect idea. When she gets home, we'll start that. We can handle it until the end of this. Alright….perfect. We'll see him then." The phone shuts with a snap.
"Dad, what is going on? Who's coming? Please, you have to tell me." I say. "I can't. You'll find out soon enough." He turns and starts walking away, but I grab onto him and pull him back to face me. "Daddy, you have to tell me. I'm your daughter. And I need your help." I say. He stares at me and narrows his eyes. "No. You need help from someone who can actually help you. I'm sorry, Elizabeth, but you got yourself into this mess, and I can't get you out. You're going to find a way to fix it, and I have someone that is going to help you when we get home, just in case you haven't fixed it yet. You have 8 districts to make everything alright again. Do what you have to." He says. He jerks me hand off, and it falls limply to my side. It's over. This is worse than the Hunger Games. Miklisho is alive. All of Panem hates me, and I have no way to stop either one of those dilemmas. This was what Snow meant, if we fail. Except we haven't failed… I have.
That was pretty deep, right? I cried when I was writing that last paragraph. It hurt me so much to make Cato just give up on Elizabeth like that. Please, review and let me know what you are thinking? Who is coming to District 2? And are they staying for a while? Who knows! Well, I do. But please, review and rate this so I know what everyone is thinking. Tell me your opinion, and if I really like your review, I'll mention you in my note in the next chapter. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I know I had a lot of fun writing it. Drama overload! Delicious Love, MrsLukeCastellan