CHAPTER 1: The Victor From 12 (Part 1)

She knew that Coriolanus had descended into madness. She could tell by the look in his eyes back in the cabin. She knew that he was lying to her about the third person he had killed. She knew about the boy in the Arena. And she knew about the mayor's daughter. But who could the third person have been?

It definitely wasn't his old self. This supposed new version of Coriolanus had apparently just been the same thing he always had been, just no longer suppressed.

There could have been a multitude of reasons why he descended into this madness. He was ripped from his home in The Capitol, just as she had been from 12 in the beginning of the Reaping. He sacrificed a lot to see her win the Games. Coriolanus had seen to it that she was protected from those snakes. She didn't know how, because she saw how the snakes killed all of the other tributes. But somehow, she just knew that he had a hand in protecting her from them. Then there was the recent execution of his best friend, Sojanus Plinth. They supposedly went to the academy together, then joined the Peacekeepers together.

Wait a minute.

It all made sense now.

It wasn't the look of grief over a friend that haunted Coriolanus' face in recent days.

It was guilt.

Lucy Gray didn't quite know how, but she suspected now that Coriolanus had a hand in Sojanus' death. That was the third person that he had killed.

If he was willing to kill his own best friend, for whatever the reasons may be, what could ever keep him from killing her? She was the only other witness to his murder of the mayor's daughter. She alone knew what really went down that night. Spruce, Billy Taupe, Mayfair and Sojanus were all dead now. If ever she turned against him, she could testify her knowledge of murdering the mayor's daughter. As the realization and horror dawned upon her in an instant, something caught her eye. It was Coriolanus.

He was paddling out in a boat to the lake, particularly the parts that were deeper; she saw him wrap the rifle in his hand in a cloth and toss it over into the water. In that one act, he had absolved himself of any hand in the crime he had committed. He then rowed back to the shore, gathered his things, and walked further into the forest, beginning to disappear from her sight.

Lucy Gray watched with a mixture of sadness, heartbreak, anger, and remorse as someone she thought she may have loved and wanted a future with faded into the distance; she would never forget him, for all the things that he did, both good and bad. She was forever grateful that Coriolanus Snow saved her life in the arena. But Lucy Gray could never forgive him for what he became.

He was no more different now than the rainbow-colored creatures that wiped out the remainder of the tributes back in the Arena.

Lucy Gray Baird was a songbird, and Coriolanus Snow was a snake.

FIFTEEN YEARS LATER

Lucy Gray Baird was dead. Gone; nothing more than a tale of a woman from the coal miner's district who survived against all odds because she sang to the snakes.

While the name was dead, however, the woman was still very much alive.

She went by Laylah now, and Laylah had appeared back in District 12 not even 2 weeks ago. She was saddened to find out that the former members of her band had been tried and hanged as punishment for the suspected murder of the mayor's daughter, Mayfair. It was believed that since Mayfair had wrong Lucy Gray on the day of the reaping, that her band took justice into their own hands, allowing her to escape so that she would not be harmed for the crime. She wept for them, in privacy. She wouldn't let their deaths drown her in misery, however; she would honor them by continuing to live out her life.

Much to her dismay, the Hunger Games were still a reoccurring thing. They continued without any problems whatsoever. Worse, now, they actually built new arenas for the tributes to fight in. Some new, twist each year with each Hunger Games. She was horrified to learn about what had happened in the current year's Games, which had just occurred a month ago.

The tributes weren't selected at random, as they normally would have been. No, these reapings were much different than the ones she had experienced. Rather, the people of District 12 had to vote on who to send to their demise. Eventually, she learned that the two who were selected were people deserving of it; the boy, who was 17, had raped someone the week prior, and rather than execute him in the hanging tree, he was sentenced to the Hunger Games instead. The girl, who had stolen medicine from the apothecary, had indirectly killed many who needed those medical supplies; she was a morphling addict, and it wasn't a difficult choice to make in either case of the tributes. Still, the thought horrified Laylah; how could anyone willingly vote to send someone to their own death, knowing that they were going to die? And both of them died, immediately, during the opening bloodbath. The boy had been killed by the girl from District 2, and the girl improperly used a chain mace that resulted in it coming back and hitting her in the head.

Laylah went to her old stomping grounds where the Covey used to perform. Now, it was a marketplace known as the Hob. It was here that she happened to bump into a man and accidentally dropped her items that she bought onto the ground. After the two of them picked up said items, she looked at him and could've sworn that her heart skipped a beat. He had facial features that reminded Laylah of both of her past loves. He had the sharp and distinct eyes of Coriolanus, and the hair color of Billy Taupe. He had a smile that seemed shy but welcoming warmth. "My apologies miss, I didn't mean to bump into you," he said. Laylah stood there, mouth slightly agape at the sight of this mystery man. "Are you okay miss?" he asked again.

"I- I'm fine," the words stumbled out of her mouth. "You just remind me of someone that I once knew, that's all." He smiled gently, before speaking, "Well, allow me to introduce myself then. I'm Marcus. Marcus Everdeen." He extended and offered his hand to shake, then she took it, saying, "Nice to meet you Marcus. I'm Laylah. Laylah Lakenwoods." It was the first thing that came to her mind from her time in the wilderness, the lake in the woods that she and the Covey would go swimming in for hours at a time. Marcus' smile grew, and he spoke, "That's a unique name, but I like it." She felt her heart flutter at his words. "Since I made you drop your things, could you let me make it up for you?"

She smiled and asked, "What did you have in mind?"

She was 31 when they met, and he was 32. Laylah ended up marrying Marcus when she was 33, taking on his last name. She definitely didn't mind that part, as anything connecting her to Lucy Gray Baird was further driven away. They had welcomed their first and only child, a little boy named Philip Troy Everdeen, when Laylah was 34. He took after his father in looks, but little Philip had his mother's singing voice from an early age. It became clear as he got older that he developed such a lovely singing voice that even the birds would stop to listen. Marcus taught Philip how to hunt in his later years, after he had survived the reapings. It was after his last reaping as an 18-year-old that his father had began to teach him all of these things, while he began his work in the district's coal mines.

When Philip was 22, he met the love of his life in the form of Helen Ross. She was best friends with Maysilee Donner, the poor girl who died in the 50th Hunger Games. She had managed to survive all of her reaping years, but had gone into a depressive state after losing a friend that she considered a sister. Having been gifted Maysilee's songbird after her death, Helen took good care of it. It would always sing a sweet tune, with happy chirps and worbles. The day that Helen met Philip, Philip had been whistling a tune that caused the songbird to stop and listen. Immediately the two were into each other.

Laylah couldn't have been happier that her boy had found someone similar to how she had found Marcus. She was thrilled for him, as was his father, who had unfortunately taken a decline in health in recent months. He had developed a nasty cough and was beginning to cough up blood as well. Laylah knew what it was, as a girl in the Arena had developed tuberculosis before she was reaped. And sadly, she knew that no amount of medicine was going to save her beloved Marcus. Between working in the coal mines and having his diagnosis, he was taking the hits heavily.

Philip and Helen got married in the Spring.

Marcus died the following Winter.

It was on his deathbed, in the final hours, that Laylah confessed that she was Lucy Grey Baird to him; he knew, as he had suspected it the first time he heard her sing. Marcus died happily, knowing that his wife had finally been safe and at peace enough to give him this revelation about her past. It was much needed, and he could see the relief on her face upon her confession. As he took his final breath, he took comfort in knowing that he could provide for one final thing for his wife.

That was Winter. And now it was Fall, and Laylah was expecting to be a grandmother. It was welcome news after Marcus' passing.

"Mom," Philip said, "I was talking with Helen about it, and we've come to a decision," he said. "We want you to name the baby. If it's a boy, we're naming him after Dad. If it's a girl, we want you to name her." Laylah thought about it and thought back to a day buried in the back of her mind, when she was still Lucy Gray Baird, and the snake was actually still just Coriolanus. She thought back to the day when her friend from the Covey had brought her those swamp potatoes. A gentle smile came to her face then, and she uttered one single word, gently.

"Katniss."

Katniss was born that following summer. In the timespan before she came into the world, however, Laylah had fallen ill. She could feel it in her bones and throughout her body. Something didn't quite feel right. She couldn't quite figure it out, but she knew that she was dying. She took it upon herself to do two final things though.

The week after Katniss was born, while Philip was at work in the mines and Helen was at home with the baby, Laylah walked towards Victor's Village, to the one house with its lone occupant. She had brought a bottle of white liquor, which she was told he enjoyed, and knocked on the door.

A rumbling was heard from within, with the sound of bottles rattling around on the floor. A figure could be seen approaching the door before it finally opened, and standing before Laylah Everdeen was the other surviving District 12 Victor, Haymitch Abernathy. He reeked of the liquor, although he looked as if he had recently had a bath, giving the slight dampness of his appearance. His eyes focused in on her, as if realizing that he wasn't seeing things because of the alcohol and was actually seeing an older woman in front of him.

"Um, is there something I can help you with miss..?" he slurred his words.

"Actually, Mr. Abernathy, there is," she spoke. Laylah pushed past him into his house. "I'm Laylah Everdeen, and I've come to ask you one simple question. Have you ever heard of the story of Lucy Gray Baird?"

Haymitch was tentatively drinking from the bottle that Lucy Gray had brought him, as he wanted to stay sober for what she was telling him. "I know that I haven't got much longer in this world. I'm dying Haymitch. I can feel it in my body and my bones. But I wanted to have the chance to talk to you, and for you to talk to me. I know your pain from the Arena. I know the loss, the anger, the injustice of it all. I just wanted you, someone who would understand me, to know my real identity instead of the one I've carried ever since I ran away all those years ago."

Pain, agony, remorse, and anger were seen in Haymitch's eyes. It hadn't been but 4 years since he won the Second Quarter Quell, the 50th Hunger Games, and here was this woman claiming to be THE Lucy Gray Baird, the only other Victor from District 12. Her age checks out with the story she told, and she seems to have her knowledge of the 10th Hunger Games down to a tee. He didn't want to believe this old woman from the Seam, the mother of the charmer Everdeen. But something in his heart and mind told him that the words she was speaking were nothing but the truth. After all, what reason other than trolling would an elderly woman have to come and regal him with a story such as this?

"You know what happened when I came home from the Games?" he finally spoke up. "They killed my mother and brother within the first week, then killed my girlfriend within the second week. President Snow said it was my punishment for using his Arena against my fellow tributes. He said that I made the Capitol look dumb, and that if a boy from District 12 of all places could outsmart the Capitol, then anyone could. Ever since then, I have continued to climb to the bottom of these bottles, and it's never enough. How did you manage your personal demons, after all of this time?"

Lucy Gray smiled sadly, then spoke, "I still carried them with me. I still remember the names of every tribute that went into that Arena with me. They will continue to haunt me until the day that I die, which will probably be sometime sooner than later. But living is what kept me from succumbing to whatever the hell this is." She waived her hand around the house, indirectly pointing out the many empty bottles of alcohol. "I know that what Snow did was cruel. Believe me, I knew him when he was younger. I know what that snake is capable of."

"But you never had it happen to you," Haymitch spoke finally. He was tired of this conversation and wanted to so badly crawl into a bottle. He believed that she was who she said she was. But it didn't change the fact that he still hurt, and that his mind was focused on his dead mother, dead brother and dead girlfriend. His mind was always on them here recently.

"You're right, I never did. I had to endure something far worse. I had to run away from everything that I have ever known, just to survive. But the reward in the end was worth every minute I spent in exile. I now have a wonderful son, who has a wife that loves him, and a beatiful granddaughter, that I hope will live to see the end of the damned Hunger Games."

"Who knows? She might grow up to win the Games herself, just like her grandmother."

Lucy Gray strode forward and slapped Haymitch, hard enough to knock some sense into him.

"Haymitch, if there is anything that you take from what I say, it's that no one ever wins the Games. Ever. There are survivors; but there are no winners.

And with that, she got up and left the house of the drunken Victor, never to return.

Lucy Gray Baird, the woman, finally passed after before her granddaughter could turn 1.

It was as she was beginning to fade that she saw the light at the end of the tunnel. Except at the end, waiting for her, wasn't Marcus, nor Billt Taupe, but instead was Coriolanus Snow; at least the Snow she remembered him for. He outstretched his arm for her to grab ahold of, guiding her into the light. Finally, she was at peace.

Annnnnnnd that's a wrap on Chapter One! I really hope you all enjoy this story. The next installment will also be an interesting one for y'all. Please comment and review below, as I appreciate any constructive criticism you may have. Thank you!