Amethyst Dior
District 1 Female Tribute
District 1 was the richest district in Panem. Its wealth was comparable to even the Capitol. The richest people in the country were Capitol. The richest people in District 1 were a class below them in wealth.
Those people were the five Founding Families. They owned all of District 1, from the factories to the houses and even the public parks. Every piece of machinery, every mine, nearly all the land belonged to the Founding Families. The Capitol approved all of it.
During Thirteen's Rebellion, the founders of the Founding Families were traitors. They betrayed the district and sold it to the Capital. They sabotaged defenses, arranged for the rebels to be gunned down, and even poisoned the population. All in return for One itself. Those five bastards founded the new District 1.
Well, half of it. Then Fortune Céline won the Eighteen Annual Hunger Games, and the district became hers. Fortune was District 1's first Victor. It was hard to believe. A career district didn't get its first Victor until the 18th Hunger Games? By that point, Four had two Victors, and Two had three.
That's the truth. Fortune master-minded District 1 joining the alliance. By that point, Two and Four had already engaged in tribute training. Then Head Gamemaker Coriolanus Snow was in the middle of revolutionizing the Hunger Games as the greatest form of entertainment when Fortune made him the offer.
The rumors said the Head Gamemaker met privately with Fortune after her victory. She left his office with paperwork giving her the rights to a plot of land.
When Fortune returned, she founded the Academy for Beauty and Excellence, or ABE. Fortune went around all the community homes searching for the most attractive children. She brought them back to her school and trained them to murder.
The schooling wasn't limited to murder. Sex appeal was the best way to get sponsors, so Fortune's students became seductors.
Seduction was an art, and there was more than one reason to make it a large part of the curriculum. Not every student could volunteer for the Hunger Games.
Fortune Céline had more than one business. All the Pleasure Houses in District 1 belonged to her. The desirable students who didn't volunteer had a place in the Pleasure Houses. Unless the student was from a Founding Family, they didn't get a choice.
The ex-students made good money from whoring themselves out to the rich and powerful. Those whoring jobs made more money than most jobs in One.
The poorest families were eager to enroll their children in ABE. Even if their kids never went into the games, the money they made in the Pleasure Houses was a lifeline.
The most desirable graduates were bought by Capitol citizens as private sex slaves.
The strong middle class of District 1 sent students as well. Winning the Hunger Games meant wealth and status. Not even Fortune and the Founding Families could control Victors.
Victors belonged to the Capitol. They protected their families from the Pleasure Houses and the creditors.
What most people don't know about District 1 is its rebels. It was the wealthiest district, and the Capitol babied it when you compared it to someplace like Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven, and Twelve.
But like every other district in Panem, they were slaves. In some ways, One had it the worst. They weren't mere slaves; they were sex slaves. Their children went to work in the Pleasure Houses for money. If they weren't attractive enough for the Pleasure Houses and ABE, the children were worked to the bones in factories and mines.
In District 1, everything was for sale. The citizens were another commodity. District 1's people knew that better than anyone else, so they created one of the largest rebel cells in the country.
Amythest Dior didn't know anything about rebels or the resistance. She didn't know much about the Founding Families, Fortune's empire, or the geo-political state of the district.
What Amythest knew about was being poor. Amythest knew that the poorest families sold their children to the Pleasure Houses so they didn't starve.
Sometimes, the debt collectors would kidnap children. Sell them to ABE or the Pleasure Houses for loan repayment. Amythest heard rumors that people in the Capitol went to Debtor's Prison. No screaming children were stolen from their homes in the Capitol.
It was lucky she stole from one of ABE's recruiters. He got her into ABE, and the monthly stipend saved her family from starving.
Lustrous winks at her. "You should dress like this more often."
Amethyst wasn't naked, but it was a close call. A pair of pink panties and a bra kept her dignity intact.
Amethyst rolled her eyes. Her body had been spray-painted the same shade of pink as her underwear. Diamonds, rubies, sapphires, pearls, emeralds, and amethysts. Along with dozens of other precious gems.
It made her uncomfortable, but she hid it behind a veneer of indifference.
Unlike her, Lustrous embraced it. He only had a pair of boxers to protect his manhood from TV, but the cocky little shit didn't seem to care.
Why would he care? Lustrous was Fortune's creature through and through. He got taken from his parents to pay back a loan before he could walk. He didn't remember his family. All he knew was ABE.
Lustrous looked at himself in the mirror. "Tell me how handsome I am."
"Half as handsome as Finnick Odair."
Lustrous laughed. "That hurts, my dear Amythest."
"Then ask something else."
"Is it true you got expelled from ABE?"
That was a sore spot. She got kicked out for thievery and insubordination. On one hand, it spared her from being sent to a Pleasure House after graduation. Or worse, being taken to the Capitol.
On the other hand, it put her family in a bind. Amythest ran for it at the reaping, even though she never made Duchess.
That was a mistake. Amythest got a visit from Headmistress Fortune after the reaping. Amythest almost got discarded from the beginning for that stunt. If Gloss de Lune hadn't taken a liking to her, she'd be here without a mentor. Amyhtest could kiss a spot in the Alliance goodbye.
"It is."
"Then how did you volunteer?"
"I ran."
"It's against the rules."
"It's against ABE rules. I've read the Bylaws of the Hunger Games. Anyone can volunteer."
Amethyst had never heard about someone volunteering who wasn't a duke. She was the first in her lifetime.
Before he could ask another pointed question, the escort snapped his fingers. "Alright, that's enough. We can't be late for the chariots."
Where would the people of the Capitol be if they couldn't gawk at the tributes wearing silly costumes?
Amethyst was doing this for her family. It was the third time today she told herself that.
Lustrous stared at himself in the mirror as they went down. His parents should have named him Narcissus.
When they arrived, only the Twos and Fives were missing. Most of the tributes were waiting for their horses. A few of them were speaking, but it was mostly silent.
Lustrous pointed at the two from Four. "Let's go meet our allies."
"We might as well. Two isn't here yet," Amethyst agreed.
The tributes from Three got dressed in neon wires. They were nothing special. Four had a better showing. Both tributes looked like fish mutts. They could have passed for mutts in the arena.
The pair from Six were trains. The pair from Seven were trees. The pair from Eight wore multi-colored rags. Nothing flattering there.
Nine looked like grain. Yesh.
Ten were cowboys. It wasn't original, but it beat being cows.
The kids from eleven got painted bright colors. Were they supposed to be fruit?
And the kids from Twelve were coal miners. What a surprise there.
So far, One and Four were the best showing.
The boy from Four turned to look at her, and Amethyst froze. He was handsome. Very handsome. He wasn't a demigod like Finnick Odair, but he was the best-looking guy there.
When he winked at her, she blushed.
Damn it, Amethyst. Get it together! she thought.
The boy offered his hand. "I'm Aqua Tyde. We'll be allies."
Four girl rolled her eyes. "Catalina Grey. Don't mind Auqa."
"Lustrous Bellerose," her partner introduced himself.
The Fours turned to look at her. "Amethyst Dior. A pleasure."
The manners drilled into her by ABE were still there.
Lustrous cleared his throat. "I'm leading the pack this year. Anyone want to challenge me for leadership?"
As far as Amethyst cared, he could have it. When the pack broke, leaders tended to become the first target. The Capitol saw them as the strongest, so it was good to kill them immediately.
Amethyst didn't want that target on her back. So Lustrous could have it.
He had the skills to back it up. Despite how he acted, Amethyst remembered seeing him in mock combat. He was the best in his year. The way he swung a scythe could be eran wartform.
The look passed so quickly Amethyst might have imagined it. But for one second, she saw Aqua's eyes narrow. He had eyes like knives, sharp and easy to pierce. The look he gave Lustrous made her freeze. It wasn't hatred or jealousy but something more.
Something sinister.
But it passed too quickly.
Catalina chucked. "It's yours, big guy."
"I don't care," Aqua said. "Take it up with the Twos."
Lustrous nodded. "I will. Whenever I see them."
Time was ticking down, but they weren't here. Had something happened?
Catalina looked her up and down. "You'll have to let me borrow that outfit sometime."
"You can keep it." Amethyst wanted some real clothes on.
Off to the side, an elevator dinged. The tributes from Five appeared, and Amethyst did a double take. That wasn't fair. She got a middle-aged man who stared at her breasts like a viper, and the outliers got that?
District 5's industry was power. It had to be hard to make a costume that symbolized power. Most of the time, tributes from Five wore power plant uniforms.
The pair from Five were wearing white suits. Surges of blue electricity coursed across their costumes. She could hear the electric crackling from across the Remake Center.
Catalina whistled. "I wish I had that outfit."
Amethyst looked down at her exposed skin, and she agreed.
The boy from Six fell over, and the girls stopped long enough to help him. Amethyst eyed them. Was the girl being kind? Or was there something going on between them?
Were Five and Six allied? Or was she looking too far into that?
Lustrous shrugged. "I don't see what's so great about them."
Aqua gave him a look. "Five's stylist gave them with lightning. How can you miss how it looks? Sponsors will be lining up for them."
Lustrous snorted. "Yeah, until the games start. Once I kill Five, they'll line up for me."
For me? Not for us, huh, Lustrous? Amethyst thought.
"Who said you get Five?" Catalina asked.
"I do. I'm the leader, so you'll listen to me."
Amethyst didn't know Catalina, but she respected the Four girl. Did the Four girl have the skills to back it up?
Lustrous stared at her, but Catalina didn't back down. She was stupid or crazy.
Catalina shrugged. "Fine. You can have them.."
"Damn right, I will."
The elevator dinged again, and the two from Two appeared. They were painted to look like statues.
And they wore togas. Amethyst would give much for a toga right now?
Before Lustrous could get a word in, the opening music began. It's easy to hear, blasted around the Capitol. Massive doors slide open, revealing the crowd-lined streets. The ride lasts about twenty minutes and ends at the City Circle, where they will welcome us, play the anthem, and escort us into the Training Center, which served as the tribute's prison until the games started.
Amethyst grabbed Lustrous hand and dragged him onto the chariot.
The crowd roared for them. Why wouldn't they? District 1 was always a favorite in the parade. Amethyst learned that in her Hunger Games Studies class back in ABE. Spray-painted pink to match the lingerie, they practically glistened.
The crowd cheered when Two came out behind them. Now and then, Amethyst would watch the giant screens when a new district appeared. One, Two, and Four were always crowd-pleasers, but when Five came out, they stole the show.
Amethyst was officially jealous. District 5 had good stylists this year. The stylists had gotten ahold of the chariot beforehand because it surged with electricity as Five's costumes did.
The cowboy and cowgirl from Ten did get a little attention, but District 5 stole the show.
"Five goes at the cornucopia," Lustrous said.
"What's wrong? Are you mad Five stole the show?"
Lustrous sneered at her.
She chuckled at him. Lustrous was dangerous. She didn't want to make him too angry. Amethyst knew she couldn't take him in a fair fight. She'd need allies when the pack broke. Until then, she didn't want to upset him.
Last year, the Alliance gutted the pair from Five in the bloodbath. Five did well in the 70th games until the arena got flooded. Like everyone else, they drowned.
Amethyst couldn't recall the last time Five had a Victor.
"They're just fodder."
"I don't care. Fives die first."
"Seven, Nine, and Ten die first," she corrected him. "Didn't you listen to what Gleam told you?"
"Why would I listen to that old bat?"
"That old bat won the Hunger Games. Unlike you."
"Lustrous Bellrose will be the Victor of the Seventy-Second Annual Hunger Games," he declared.
Great. Lustrous is talking about himself in the third person.
"Seven, Nine, and Ten are the districts we kill in the Bloodbath. It's tradition."
"So what?"
"Last year, we didn't kill Johanna Mason! Look what happened! Johanna got crowned Victor!
Lustrous waved her away. What a jackass.
"Gleam told me to kill the pair from Twelve."
"What? Why?"
Twelve never wins.
Lustrous shrugged. "Her sister lost to Twelve in the Quarter Quell. I think the old hag has it out for them."
The president gave a welcome from a balcony above us. It is traditional to cut away at the faces of the tributes during the speech. But Amethyst can see on the screen that Five was getting more than our share of airtime. The darker it becomes, the more difficult it is to take your eyes off their flickering. When the national anthem plays, they do make an effort to do a quick cut around to each pair of tributes, but the camera holds on to the District 5 chariot as it parades around the circle one final time and disappears into the Training Center.
The doors only shut behind them when they were engulfed by the prep teams, who are nearly unintelligible. As Amethyst glanced around, she noticed the other tributes were shooting Five dirty looks, which confirmed what she suspected; they'd literally outshone them all.
When she and Lustrous pried themselves away from the prep team, the pair from Two were waiting for them.
The girl offered her hand. "I'm Laverna Reyes. It looks like we'll be working together."
She wasn't smiling, but that wasn't strange. They'd all be trying to kill each other soon. She was friendly enough.
She had more muscles on her than Amethyst did. She looked like a young peacekeeper.
The boy was dark-skinned and built like an ox. He was a giant. "I'm Quirinus Freeman. You're Amethyst."
Quirinus grabbed her by the ass and pulled her right up to him.
If this was any other time in any other place, Amethyst would've slapped him. Or she'd wonder what the hell he was doing.
Gloss had already briefed her on the strategy. The girls from District 1 tended to play a certain role. If you wanted to be unkind, you'd call it mean girls.
And mean girls hooked up with the popular boys. Who was more popular than the boys from Two? This flirtatious strategy had become a time-honored tradition between the girls from One and the boys from Two.
They didn't always go with that strategy, but it paid off when they did. Sponsored loved the dynamic.
Well, if some horny bastard wanted to see her act like a whore, Amethyst would oblige. She'd do anything to get home.
Amethyst pressed herself so close to Quirinus that he might as well be wearing. "You're a big one, aren't you, boy?"
Quirinus smirked. "You're tinny."
"I'm perfect."
Lustrous coughed. "We have to get one thing clear."
Amethyst rolled her eyes and pulled away.
"I heard from the Fours," Quirinus said. "You want to lead the pack? Go ahead."
Laverna nodded. "By all means."
Amethyst guessed the two from Two weren't stupid.
Lustrous puffed out his chest. "What, not going to fight for it, Two?"
Quirinus put his arm across her shoulder. "I don't want to step on any toes."
With that said, Quirinus walked away. He dragged Amethyst with him.
Laverna took up the rear.
"What an asshole," Quirinus muttered.
"Just figuring that out?" Amethyst countered.
"Lustrous would have fit in back home. He's got a pride streak bigger than the cadets in the Insitute."
"What Insitute?" she asked before she could help it.
Curiosity got the better of her. Information about the other districts was restricted. One and Two were in the same Alliance, but she didn't know about them.
"It's the school we train at."
"So your institute is like ABE."
"ABE?" Laverna questioned.
"Academy for Beauty and Excellence. It's our school."
Once the elevator doors closed, Quirinus released her. "I'm sorry about that, ma'am."
He was polite if nothing else. He even pressed the button for her.
"Thank you."
"Oh, just wait until he starts talking about his duty. You won't be thanking him then."
"Enough, Laverna. There's nothing wrong with doing my duty and representing our district. You should know that better than most. You're here with me."
Amethyst looked between them. Trouble in paradise?
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