Chapter 2

Phaedra Starling - (44) portrayed by Kristin Chenoweth

As the knife flew towards the dummy, all I thought about was last night. It didn't bother me so much honestly how Finnick was with Annie. What bothered me was Finnick's face. His green eyes widened when he saw me, and on top of that, he stared me down as if he was warning me. It was the same look that Dad always gave me whenever I did something wrong before he scolded me.

"You okay?" I whirled around to find Aqua behind me before she looked at the dummy with my knife implemented in its chest and smirked. "Bullseye every time."

"Yeah."

Even though I didn't like the Career school, it usually took my mind off whenever something was on my mind. There was nothing like taking my anger out on a couple of dummies or sparring with my classmates as I twirled my naginata. It wasn't that heavy whenever I picked it up now due to the single-edged blade at the end that weighed the metal pole down. I remember when I first started Career school at the age of twelve, I couldn't pick it up at first. Now, it was more natural to wield it as it became an extension of my arm.

"So?"

I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion and asked, "So what?"

"Come on. You know what it is. It's the Games, isn't it?"

I didn't want to tell her what I saw last night since it wasn't really any of my business, so I nodded and lied smoothly. "Yeah."

"Same here. My name's in thirteen times."

"What?" It then dawned on me what she meant as I said, "You signed up for the Tessera?"

"I had to. Dad's doing worse with his fever, Mom didn't sell enough seaweed, and you know my brothers and sisters. They can't get a job since they're not old enough.." She then nodded to Gill holding a knife in his hand as she said, "Gill did it too. His name's in five times."

"You shouldn't risk your chance like that. What if you and Gill go in together?"

"Do you have any idea what the chances are of that? And, besides, I'm pretty handy with a knife."

I smirked as I handed her a knife and said, "Okay. Try to hit a bullseye then."

Aqua looked at me before turning back to the dummy as she grabbed the knife and aimed it at the target. I crossed my arms watching her almost pitying her for how long she was taking. There were even times where she seemed like she was hesitating as she swiftly extended her arm only to stop for a split second. Finally, she threw the knife, but it ended up hitting the dummie's arm.

I tried to hide my smirk until Aqua held her hand up and stopped me. "Don't. Not. One word."

"Then I won't say anything."

When I looked at Gill, he tossed a knife already, but it didn't even stick to the wall. It just clattered to the ground. Some of the onlookers smirked at him and shook their heads as they focused their attention on their training. The previous three victors from our district towered over us on a balcony with a golden railing to separate us. The only way to go up there was ascending up the staircase. Muscida Selkirk sat next to Librae Ogilvy discussing something that I couldn't really understand. Probably talking about The Hunger Games coming up. As for Ron Stafford, he was on his feet and observing each and every one of us.

As soon as the door to the balcony opened, I looked to see a familiar face. Finnick Odair strutted inside with his hands behind his back. He nodded to the two victors sitting in their seats, and he shook Ron's hand when he reached the railing. When he turned to the training ground, he gripped onto the railing and saw me right away. His eyes never left me, and instead of the threatening look he gave me before, a crooked grin up his face as if he found me amusing.

He then said something to Ron, which made him chuckle under his breath before he opened the gate and headed his way to us. Everyone stopped what they were doing when they heard his shoes tapping against the wood. Majority of the girls stared at him with admiration as their ears turned bright red, so Aqua and I glanced at each other before rolling our eyes. He then grabbed a trident from where the other weapons were and twirled it.

"Alright, everyone. It's going to be the 74th Hunger Games soon as they're heading our way, so try not to die if you're picked." He then pointed at a boy standing with his arms crossed. "You. Show me what you got."

The boy smirked and turned to his friends as he held his sword by his side. We all surrounded them in the training ground as Finnick stood in one end and the boy stood in the other. When he charged at Finnick, Finnick just stood there, preparing himself. He then brought his trident to meet my classmate's blade as he gave him a cocky smirk by pushing his sword to the ground before kicking him in the rib. He then knelt down at his sparring partner when he tried to reach for his sword, but Finnick had the upper hand as he was too quick by placing his foot on the blade before he pointed his trident at the boy's neck.

"Oof. Tough break." Finnick helped the boy up to his feet as he said, "Don't go for the kill right away unless you know you can beat your opponent." When the boy headed back in line, Finnick looked us all up and down until he noticed me, and I could have sworn I felt a shiver run up my spine when that same wicked smirk appeared on his face. "I think it's about time to see how good the Mayor's kid is, right?"

I heard snickering around me while Aqua and her brother gave me worried looks. I wasn't going to lie that I was nervous too as my palms were molded in sweat. After all, Finnick won his games at an impressive age due to his charm from gaining sponsors and his combat skills. He's known to be the youngest ever to win.

I held my breath in and clenched onto my naginata as I made my way towards him. We stood a few feet away from each other. All I did was wait. Wait to see his next move. Wait to see what his weaknesses were.

When he charged at me, I stood my ground and held my weapon in a protective stance before ducked and rolled out of his way. Just in time before he swung his trident at me. I was crouched to the ground with my weapon in my hands and tried going for his feet, but he jumped out of the way with ease while the girls fawned over him. It pissed me off how he stared me down with a grin that grew. It was like he was messing with me.

As soon as I sprung to my feet, I ran to him and lifted my naginata before bringing it down to him. Instead of avoiding the attack, he faced me head on. He held his trident sideways as our weapons collided against each other. I tried to bring it down further as if it would help me break through it, but it was no use. There wasn't even a scratch on it. I even clenched my teeth together to try to overpower him, which was a huge mistake as he flashed me a cocky grin and barely nudged from his spot as his feet were planted in the ground.

When he tilted his trident, I knew I was in trouble. My blade nearly slid to his left hand side, and Finnick used the opportunity to knock my weapon over to the floor before kicking me in the stomach as I released a loud grunt and was on the ground. At that moment, Finnick lunged his spear at me, so I moved out of the way with a gasp, but that didn't stop him from grazing a thin line just below my ear as I hissed when I felt something trickling down to the crook of my neck.

The metal teeth sunk into the wooden floor, so I used the opportunity to get to my feet and run to my naginata. When I heard his weapon spring out, I leaped and rolled onto the floor as I grabbed my weapon and turned to face him with the blade pointing directly at his neck and his trident just a few inches away from mine. We were staring at each other, and all I did was pant.

The thundering roar of applause filled the room, including the victor's platform. Finnick got off the floor and extended his hand out to me, but I got up on my own as I glared at him. It didn't seem to bother him though as he put his hand by his side and smirked down at me as he leaned in and whispered, "Looks like you're not hopeless after all."

I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion for a minute to get a full grasp on what he meant, but then everyone stopped as the whirring wind grasped our attention outside with the lights flickering on and off for a brief second. We all knew what it meant. The Capital was here for Reaping Day.

"Alright, everyone!" Ron Stafford's voice boomed through the room. "Head home now to get ready. It's time to see which one of you has what it takes."

Everyone turned to leave, but I stopped when I heard Finnick whisper to me with a smirk, "May the odds be ever in your favor."

As soon as he walked away, I watched him leave by going up to the victor's platform. None of the victors seemed keen on going as they stayed there. I didn't really blame them. Who'd ever want to see children getting reaped for The Capital's pleasure? It was just their sick twisted game that they called a punishment for the rebellion a long time ago.

When Aqua and Gill approached me, I heard Gill say, "That looks bad."

I touched my injury that Finnick caused and flinched as it hurt. When I drew my hand back to look at it, my fingertips were coated in red. For some reason though, it wasn't the injury that bothered me. It was the action, and as I looked back at Finnick, I had a sneaky suspicion that it wasn't for training.

"You need to clean that up when you get home." Aqua said, but when I didn't bother looking at her, I felt the intensity in her eyes as if she knew what I was thinking. "Talia. Just leave it alone. We have to go. Now."

"Go on without me. I'll meet you guys at the Reaping."

Aqua sighed in defeat and took Gill out of the training room, so I used the opportunity to go up the stairs and watched Finnick and the other three victors drowning themselves to scotch that Muscida brought in. She did love her scotch after all. When Librae downed her glass in one go, she turned to Finnick and gestured to me as she said, "Looks like you have a visitor."

He turned to look at me and wiped off the liquor at the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand before a grin slowly crept in again when I asked in a serious manner, "I need to talk to you in private."

Finnick put his glass down and nodded to the stairs, so I went downstairs as he followed behind me. We went over to the door so that the other victors wouldn't really hear us. They didn't seem to care enough anyway since they drenched themselves with alcohol while Finnick followed me to the exit, but we stopped by the doorway as I turned back to him.

"What was that?"

"What was what?" Finnick replied with an amused grin.

"You cut me."

"Oh, that. Yeah, you definitely need to be more careful next time."

"Please. You did that on purpose."

His grin grew even further as he replied, "Really? Now, why would I do that?"

"You think I forgot what happened yesterday between you and Annie." His smirk vanished instantly when I mentioned Annie's name, but I still kept going. "What's even the big deal that I saw you anyway. You already have a reputation for sleeping around with the Capital people."

His tone became serious, but his smirk grew as he leaned in and whispered, "Sweetheart, there are some things better left unsaid, and it's times like this when you keep your mouth shut before someone else does it for you."

I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion as I didn't understand what he was implying to. It still didn't make any sense to me. Finnick could sleep with whoever he wants. I didn't understand why that was a big deal. I could understand if it was one thing about privacy, but he made it seem like his time with Annie was much more serious than I thought, especially with the advice he gave me.

Before I could even press him further, I heard the speaker announce, "All twelve to eighteen year old children report to the courtyard in one hour."

"Go on." Finnick said with a small smile, but I couldn't help but notice how there was a mixture of sadness in his eyes. "Duty calls."

I didn't bother looking back as I left the Career school and headed home. Dad and Jonas were already ready. Dad tried to question the mark on my neck, but I simply brushed him off and told him that I wasn't careful enough during training. He dropped the issue faster than I thought. Probably because I had to report myself to the courtyard like everyone else, so I got myself ready by washing up and putting on a short, white dress with brown sandals and a brown belt. When I noticed the mockingjay pin on my dresser, I smiled as I held it between my fingertips and clipped it on my dress to show how pride I am of Grandma Mags's gift before I headed to the courtyard with my family.

All of the children in the district who were of age were gathering around. Dad went up to the stage and Jonas stood by with Grandma Mags which was where other family members usually stood. I saw Aqua and Gill, so I went over to them as they had already finished registration with the Peacekeeper at the desk by taking a sample of their blood. It never hurt much. I remember when I first had to do that, it was more of a jolt as the electricity shocked me for the first time. I then made my way to the group of girls and stood beside Aqua.

We smiled at each other before I looked over at the boy's side and saw Gill in the front row. He didn't look pleased at all that he was there. He was more nervous. I could tell by the way how he clutched onto the sides of his pants where his pockets were as it comforted him when he saw our announcer going to the podium on the stage where there were two large glass balls, one for boys and the other for girls.

The announcer was clearly from The Capital with her scary white grin, pinkish hair, and spring green suit, and she murmured something to Dad when the clock struck two as he rose from his seat to give the same speech every year for the Games as it's required for him since he's the mayor. He limped his way to the podium with the cards that the announcer gave in his hand and read off of them. He tells of the history of Panem, the country that rose up out of the ashes of a place that was once called North America. He listed the disasters, the droughts, the storms, the fires, the encroaching seas that swallowed up so much of the land, the brutal war for what little sustenance remained. The result was Panem, a shining Capitol ringed by thirteen districts, which brought peace and prosperity to its citizens. Then came the Dark Days, the uprising of the districts against the Capitol. Twelve were defeated, the thirteenth obliterated. The Treaty of Treason gave us the new laws to guarantee peace and, as our yearly reminder that the Dark Days must never be repeated, it gave us the Hunger Games.

It was a sick way for The Capital to remind us that we were at their mercy. The message they were sending out to us sounded like "Look how we take your children and sacrifice them and there's nothing you can do. If you lift a finger, we will destroy every last one of you. Just as we did in District Thirteen."

"It is both a time for repentance and a time for thanks," Dad intones.

He then talked about the previous victors. For some reason, with Grandma Mags, he always hesitated and occasionally stumbled on his words. He then took a deep breath in before proceeding to talk about the other victors. At that moment, majority of the girls swooned when they saw District Four's mentor getting on the stage. It was Finnick with his charming smile as he waved at the audience. He then took his seat on the stage, not caring how pompous he looked while Dad quickly tried to pull the attention back to the Reaping by introducing our announcer, Phaedra Starling.

Bright and bubbly as ever, Phaedra Starling trotted to the podium and gave her signature, "Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be ever in your favor!" She goes on a bit about what an honor it is to be here, although everyone knows just how barbaric these Games were as The Capital wanted us to treat it like it's a sports festival.

It's time for the drawing as Phaedra said as she always does, "Ladies first!"and crosses to the glass ball with the girls' names. She reaches in, digs her hand deep into the ball, and pulls out a slip of paper. The crowd draws in a collective breath and then you can hear a pin drop.

Our announcer crossed back to the podium, smoothes the slip of paper, and reads out the name in a clear voice. And it's not me. It's Aqua Seaton.

One time when I jumped off a cliff into the ocean, I nearly cracked my head open when I dove and landed on my back. It was as if the impact knocked every wisp of air out of my lungs as I struggled to breathe for a moment.

That's how I felt at this time. I struggled to breathe, unable to speak, totally stunned that my best friend's name had been called as it bounced off my skull. Why did she have to sign up for the Tesserae? Didn't she realize that there was a higher chance of her going in?

Aqua finally released the breath she was holding in, and all she did was look down at the ground. Her feet refused to move from the spot, and her hand gripped my arm as if knowing I was present comforted her. I finally turned to look at her and noticed the blood drained from her face and her grip tightened when everyone turned to her, wondering why she wasn't moving. Even our announcer beckoned her to come up.

When she muttered under her breath, I snapped back in reality as she repeated, "I can't."

I then noticed that two Peacekeepers marched over to us as the kids made way for them. Tears formed in the corner of her eyes, and at that moment, I did the craziest thing I've ever done as I pushed her behind me almost protecting her from the Peacekeepers and faced them head on as I gasped out, "I volunteer!" When they halted, I shouted to make sure that everyone on the stage heard me to make it clear to the announcer, "I volunteer as tribute!"

"Lovely!" sayed Phaedra Starling. "But I believe there's a small matter of introducing the reaping winner and then asking for volunteers, and if one does come forth then we, um ..." she trails off, unsure herself.

"What does it matter?" Dad told her. He looked at me with a pained expression on his face. "What does it matter?" he repeated gruffly. "Let her come forward."

Aqua screamed in hysterics and cried out as she nearly tugged me back to her. "What are you doing? No! Don't do this, Talia! Please, don't do this!"

"Let go, Aqua!" I said harshly, because her action made me feel worse about the whole situation and I didn't want to cry. When they televise the replay of the reapings tonight, everyone will make note of my tears, and I'll be marked as an easy target. A weakling. I won't give anyone that satisfaction. "Let go!"

I felt someone pulling her from my back. I turned around and saw her father pulling her away from me while she's looking back at him and thrashing in his arms. "No! Dad, this isn't fair!"

He took her away to the rest of their family by the sidelines where she hugged her mother tightly and sobbed like a schoolgirl. When I saw that she was safe with her family, I steeled myself and climbed the steps as the Peacekeepers escorted me to the stage.

"Well, bravo!" gushed Phaedra Starling. "That's the spirit of the Games! What's your name?"

I swallowed hard before replying, "Talia Flanagan."

"My! My! The mayor's daughter, as well as the granddaughter of District Four's first victor, Mags Flanagan, I presume?"

"Yes."

"Mind telling the audience why you volunteered?" Her tone turned more cheerful as if her next line was amusing to her. "Don't want her to steal all the glory, do we?"

I turned my attention to Aqua, and my heart clenched when I saw tears falling down her face as I nearly choked out, "She's my best friend."

"Come on, everybody! Let's give a big round of applause to our newest tribute!" trills Phaedra.

To the everlasting credit of the people of District Four, not one person clapped. Not even the ones holding betting slips, the ones who were usually beyond caring. Possibly because they know me from sailing on the ocean, or knew my father, or encountered Jonas, who no one could help but love, or maybe they knew someone else in my family like Grandma Mags, Mom, or even Kailey. So instead of acknowledging applause, I stood there unmoving while they took part in the boldest form of dissent they could manage. Silence, which said that we didn't agree and we didn't condone it.

A shift suddenly occurred since I stepped up to take Aqua's place, and now it seemed like I became someone precious. At first one, then another, then almost every member of the crowd touched the three middle fingers of their left hand to their lips and held it out to me. The gesture was occasionally seen at funerals. It meant thanks, it meant admiration, it meant good-bye to someone you love.

"What an exciting day!" Phaedra warbled as she attempts to straighten her wig, which has listed severely to the right. "But more excitement to come! It's time to choose our boy tribute!" Clearly hoping to contain her tenuous hair situation, she planted one hand on her head as she crossed to the ball that contained the boys' names and grabed the first slip she encountered. She zipped back to the podium, and when she read the name, my heart sunk into the pit of my stomach.

"Gill Seaton!"

No! No, no, no! This can't be happening! There was no way this was happening. Aqua couldn't believe it either as she looked back and gasped, so her mother held her tightly and murmured something in her ear, probably trying to comfort her, but it was no use. Her teeth clenched together, and she sobbed quietly as did her siblings in the standing lines while Gill walked with stiff, small steps to the stage. His hands clenched to his sides as he stood beside me. We looked at each other for the briefest moment, and that was when I saw it. Fear in his eyes just as mine did when we stared at each other.

Dad then began to read the long, dull Treaty of Treason as he does every year, but I'm not listening to a word. All I did was look back at Jonas and Grandma Mags. They stared up at the stage. Grandma Mags gave me a painful smile, and her eyes were glossy as she couldn't keep her eyes off of me. As for Jonas, he kept breathing in, knowing that he was going to lose either his sister or his best friend. It was a horrible situation to be in. The only reason why I volunteered was because I actually thought I had a chance, but now, I didn't know what to do.

When Dad finished the dreary Treaty of Treason, he motioned for Gill and me to shake hands. As soon as I felt his hand, they were too soft in comparison to mine. Nevertheless, we looked at each right in the eye and gave one another a reassuring squeeze. We then turned back to face the crowd as the anthem of Panem played. At that moment, I thought about how the odds weren't in my favor after all.

There's Chapter 2! I hope you enjoy it. Let me know what you think so far. Stay tuned for more chapters!