A/N: Thank you to the guest for the review. Im glad to see you were a fan of the original story, and are currently enjoying this new rendition. Please continue to post positive reviews and let me know your thoughts. Some good news to share as well, once this rewrite is complete I will be going back to my sequel and updating some chapters there as well as finally completing the story! Cant wait xoxo
Disclaimer: I dont own
Today was the only day Luce could think of enjoying, or as least try to enjoy. The day of the parade. Everyone getting dressed in their fancy outfits to represent their Districts and brought out by the carriages for all to see. They would put on their best fake smiles and wave to the crowds that would be cheering for their impending death. Whether its meant in that way or not, who knows.
Heading down in the elevator for final touches, she couldn't help but fidget with her dress. It was a bit different than any dress she'd worn before and it made her feel exposed. Her outfit was similar to Finnick's, where he just wore a netted skirt and necklace, she wore a full length dress of the same material. It cut off at the waist and turned into a wrap on her upper torso, revealing her toned stomach as it came upward around her back and over her breasts, tying up around her neck. She also fashioned some fish hook earrings and a bracelet of the same stones Finnick had.
He noticed her messing with it all and grabbed her hand to calm her nerves. "Relax, you look great. At least it's normal for you to wear a skirt. Me? Not so much.." He joked to lighten the mood which made her smile and mouth a 'thank you'.
He continued to hold her hand the rest of the way down until the elevator doors opened and out they went. She could already feel the looks and judgement from those they passed on their way to the horses. Her assumptions were correct as she noticed half of the tributes watching them. She decided to avoid eye contact and focus on the task at hand. Peeking up though she watched as Finnick made his way over to the girl from 12. Katniss.
"Must really suck for her, just got out only to be put back in. Same could almost be said for you, only having been out two years now." A voice said from behind her, turning she saw it belonged to Johanna Mason, District 7. She wore a deadly smirk as she stood watching the same pair converse. Luce could only remember meeting Johanna once before and although she was friendly then, she still held an intimidating demeanor which made her nervous.
Johanna's smirk softened as she placed a hand to Luce's bare shoulder, "You have nothing to worry about from me, I mean you didn't survive your Games by breaking the rules did you?"
Luce shook her head in agreement and Johanna smiled.
"Well there you go, we still get to be friends." Luce couldn't help but smile back and watched her take off to her own area as Finnick made his way back to her side, nodding in greeting to Johanna along the way.
There wasn't any time left for conversation as music began to play, signaling that it was time. Together they mounted their carriage and one by one they rode off through the tunnel into the bright day. The first thing Luce could hear was the cheering and a sound of drums.
Taking a deep breath she held her head up high, and gave the biggest smile she could. Raising her hand into the air she waved a few times to the filled stadium. Finnick held his natural charm as he did the same, some people going crazy when he made eye contact with them.
As they made their way to the front she could see the President standing there stoically. Nodding in his own greeting to the tributes. As she got closer she noticed that his attention was drawn to something else, or someone else. Turning to glance behind she realized that it was District 12. Her gaze lingered a second more before turning back forward and regaining focus. Curiosity building as to why.
The moment the parade was over she gladly went straight for the elevator, jewelry already coming off as she hit the button for her floor. As soon as she was inside the suite she headed quickly for her room to change into more comfortable clothing. Finnick laughing as he found his way inside shortly after.
"Should wear dresses more often! You looked lovely." Finnick quipped making her give a playful glare once she was back out in simple sweats and a tanktop. He responded with a playful wink of his own before getting changed himself.
Mags caressed her cheek to try and express how pretty she looked. Luce only gave a shy shrug in return and went to get a drink. Zachariah then came strolling in, "Don't get too comfortable, the moment Finnick and you are properly dressed it's off to training."
Sighing Luce dragged herself back to her room to grab the provided uniform they were given for the training facility. Meeting Finnick at the door they made their way to said training room and prepared themselves for hours of avoiding the others, at least that was Luce's strategy. Surely Finnick would be going for the intimidation tactic.
Walking through the doors and looking around there were only a small handful that were already inside and practicing. Brutus and Enobaria were next to each other doing simple stunt work, dodging each other's moves. She also noticed Johanna, who was perusing the weapons and deciding which one she wanted to use.
Siblings Cashmere and Gloss waltzed in right behind them and went off in their own directions. Finnick looked down at her, "I'll find you later ok?" before walking off himself and headed toward the larger weapons and picked up a trident, the same weapon he used when he won his Games.
Unsure of where to start first she walked over herself to see what was being provided to them. She knew she was too small for the bigger and heavier set of blades, but moving over to another set she noticed a familiar one. A mix of what seemed to be a dagger and throwing knife, almost identical to the weapon she used for her Games.
Picking one up she bounced it in her hand to test the weight and feel of it. Feeling confident with it she grabbed a handful and found her way to one of the simulation rooms. Going over the settings she chose what best suited her and stepped inside onto a platform. Looking around she tried to familiarize herself quickly with how this would function, and within seconds orange beams of light appeared and generated a target. Steadying herself she watched them move until the timing was just right, gripped her knife and tossed it watching it hit the orange target.
She actually smiled and felt a bit of pride in hitting it first try. But the smile dropped as she re-focused and looked around, the beams moving around before creating more. She was able to nail the next one but was caught by surprise on a hidden third one that jumped out at her causing her to fall back and miss.
Even though she felt nothing when it made a motion of attacking her she couldn't help but give a natural response of a gasp and flinched back. As another came for her she realized that this one looked different. It was flesh and was coming straight for her.
She ran off the platform and away from the ghost, the simulation pausing as she tried to catch her breath. She rubbed at her eyes and looked again to see no one there. It was just her mind, her past. Taking a moment to recover she worked on her breathing, knowing that the last thing she needed was to have a breakdown in front of everyone and showing them that she would be the easiest to pick off first.
Exiting the program she looked around the room to see that all tributes were now inside and doing their own thing. The District 1 siblings were now training side by side. Johanna practicing swinging movements with an axe. Wiress and Beetee off in their own little corner muttering to each other and giggling. Her eyes landed on Finnick next and saw him chatting with Katniss but from the way things looked in her perspective the conversation wasn't going too well. She couldn't help but smile at his failure and when she caught another giving her a look, she simply coughed to cover herself and walked off.
Finding her way to another table she looked at all the materials spread out. Seeing some wire and hook she grinned at the familiar items and grabbed a bit of everything before getting to work and making a hook. Back in District 4 children were making hooks the moments they knew how to use their hands. Living near the water, fishing was one of the biggest pastimes. Mr. Odairs voice in hear ear explaining how if one was going to catch good fish, they needed to first learn how to make the proper tools.
Her fingers moved fluidly as they worked, so focused on the table that she didn't notice a figure had appeared next to her watching. It wasn't until she finished that she noticed and flinched backwards.
"Sorry, sorry. Didn't mean to scare you.. I-I'm Peeta." The boy said holding out his hand. She raised a brow at him, wondering why he felt the need to introduce himself when everyone already knew each other, by name at least. But it wasn't hard to see that he was just trying to be friendly. In a world like this, she knew how intimidating everyone else was, so relating in a way she softened her face and nodded, placing her hand in his for a quick shake.
Her eyes were still on him as she watched him waiting. He stared back as if he was expecting something from her before he finally shook his head and chuckled nervously, "Right sorry, they told me you didn't speak. I uh, I just wanted to say I saw you and Finnick from your reaping. Haymitch told us more about you and-"
She raised her brows once more, wondering what all Haymitch knew about her.
"And I thought it was really brave of you, volunteering like that. Especially after what you already had to go through at such a young age." He finished feeling like he might have said something wrong based on the looks she was still giving him.
She wasn't used to receiving those types of compliments or remarks, besides from Finnick of course. But it almost gave her a warm feeling inside. Luce nodded her thanks before going back to her work and starting on another hook.
"Pretty cool how easily you can make those." He stuttered out in his attempt to make more small talk. Picking up the one she just finished and analyzing it. She could only give a small smile before noticing that Finnick was headed over to them. No doubt to save her from the growing awkwardness.
"Peeta, good to see you again." He said with a wide grin, standing opposite of them. Peeta gave a short hello before excusing himself and leaving the two alone.
Luce gave a look to Finnick of 'That wasn't necessary'. He simply smiled and gave a short, "Hey I'm always here to protect my sister." Causing her to scoff and she leaned over to playfully smack him.
As the day came to an end they were free to return to their rooms and get some rest before a new day of training began. Tomorrow they would have an audience and the thought of others watching her like last time made her nervous. Walking through the front door she chose to worry about it later and headed straight to the couch and stretched out taking up half of its space.
Mid-stretch there was a knock at the door that brought her to pause and look at the door curiously. Sitting up as a servant went to open the door she watched waiting to see who would be on the other side.
A man walked in, flask in hand, and looked around the room. Luce's eyes narrowed as she watched him, wondering what reason he could have for visiting. She would have guessed he was drunk, but the serious look on his face told her otherwise.
Finnick crossed his arms as he stood in front of the man, asking the question they were all wondering,
"Haymitch, what brings you here?"