Prologue Summary
Chapter One- Spitfire
The curtain opened onto Tempestas Clamor, the television host that runs the most popular broadcast in the Capitol. The day is the 39th anniversary of former President Io Vici's addendum to the rules of the Hunger Games, rules that include changing the ages of the tributes to be 16-22, and the Victors' Dinner is quickly approaching.
The Victors' Dinner is a party where all of the victors from the past forty games or so gather together in an event that is highly anticipated by those living in the Capitol. It is the year of the 114th Hunger Games, a couple of months before reaping day.
Tempestas introduced the victor of the most recent games, Ezekiel Branch, a young man from district seven. This is his first interview since his victory tour concluded, and the capitol is eager to see what he's been up to since then. Press photos of Ezekiel and Crescent Houndstooth, a victor from eight, are shown on the screen, and Ezekiel implied that Crescent is more than a friend.
Back in District Eight, Crescent watched the broadcast from the comfort of her home in the victor's village, and she is furious. In reality, Crescent despised Ezekiel, and is upset that the Capitol now thought that they were together. The Capitol had portrayed Crescent as a quiet bookworm during her games, but she actually had a bit of a temper.
After angrily stomping around her living room, she decided to go and visit Hilbert Metts, the only other victor from district eight and one of her close friends. It was a short walk through their district's Victor's Village to get to his house, and Crescent immediately started telling Hilbert about the broadcast as soon as he greeted her.
Chapter Two- Deep End
An announcement about the death of Headgamemaker Lullaby Amadeus is broadcasted to the districts. In District Five, Foil Ivernos was woken up from falling asleep at his desk by the news. Worried that he's going to be late to his appointment in the Justice Building, Foil ran out of his workplace and out into the streets of the district.
His virtual sessions with Mnemosyne, a woman from the capitol, occur every friday at seven, and every appointment is pretty similar. He was asked questions, which he then answered, mostly about his life in the districts and his feelings about different subjects.
However, Foil found that a different person greeted him when he turned the laptop on. The man, in his mid twenties with teal hair styled into tiny horns and piercing orange eyes, informed Foil that he was called Ors and that he'd be taking over Mnemosyne's sessions with him.
Foil was unsure about these new arrangements, but went along with it, still worried about Mnemosyne's wellbeing. Ors surprised him by asking about his feelings on the games, a dangerous question that the young man can't be completely honest about. He responds by saying that the games scare him, which is truthful.
Ors tried to reassure Foil, and then asked him about his feelings on one of the rules of the games. Since district seven won last year, they only have to have one tribute in the games this year. District five, on the other hand, had their tributes die first in the 113th games and now have to select three tributes for the games.
Foil is within the age range of being reaped, and is concerned about being selected. Knowing that the games are a death sentence for those in the poorer districts, Foil also knew some of the numbers about how many of district five's tributes have died in the past years, and the stats about their performance in the games.
After being asked about why he knows so much about the deaths in the games, Foil revealed that he has an interest in the games, and that he had notebooks at home with information he'd learned about the games written down in them.
He also is close friends with Gerald Turbine, the district five victor of the 74th Games. Foil usually helps him with his chores, and the two often talk about the games. The session ended, the time allotted being up, and Foil left the Justice building. He was still concerned about Ors and Mnemosyne, but went back home for the night.
Chapter Three- Oxygen
A woman woke up in the hospital with no knowledge of who she was. She found herself in a sterile room, no memories in her mind, and no idea where she was either. The only notable feature about her that she noticed was a series of tattoos on her arm, many stylized eyes done in deep purple ink.
Two doctors entered the room, and told her that she'd been in an accident several months ago. She was told that she'd be moved to a long term care facility, and not to ask questions. Before the doctors leave, they tell her that her name is Rosehip, disclosing no other information to her.
Two men stood on a train platform in the capitol, wearing matching iridescent suits. One had green hair, while the other had multicolored hair, and both looked to be related to one another. They talked about the death of the head gamemaker, one of them more sad about the death than the other.
The one with the rainbow hair had met Lullaby in the past, due to being a stylist for the games. His name was Vale Viridis, his brother being Kirston Viridis, and he worked as a stylist for district seven. He and his brother were going out to dinner at the insistence of their mother.
Vale didn't know who was taking the place of Lullaby as the head gamemaker, and wondered about the circumstances of the death. He distracted his brother from asking more questions by bringing up his job as a food critic, and the two get onto the train. The two don't talk while on the train, and when they reach the restaurant, someone that Vale recognizes but can't place bumps into him as he enters. There are only two weeks until the Victors' Dinner, and two months until Reaping Day and the games begin.
Inside a capitol club, the district one escort and the district six escort sat together. Apsis Tenebrae, the district one escort, is performing a reading with his deck of special cards for Deis, the district six escort. Deis drew The Angel, and Apsis used the card to analyze and intimidate Deis.
He didn't use the cards to predict the future, instead using them to put meaning to different aspects of people and as a tool to read people with. Apsis finished the reading for Deis, who then proceeded to leave the club. After he turned on his phone and saw that he had a few messages, he left the club, heading outside to the back alley to take a call.
The voice on the other end told Apsis that they'd found someone that they were looking for, after they'd been looking for six months. Apsis knew that the results from the previous night were a factor in how they'd found her, as he knew more information that he didn't disclose. According to the caller, the person they'd found was in bad condition, and the caller was unable to get away to find more information. After he reassured the caller, albeit not with complete confidence,
Apsis asked whether the woman they were looking for was in the districts or not. The caller's father was another factor to consider in the operation, and wouldn't do anything to help or hurt their goals. Having a plan, the caller thought that they could get her back by the end of the games.
The voice on the other end became slightly emotional, and then hung up the phone. Apsis left the alley and called his chauffeur, heading back to his apartment with his mind spinning about the new information that he had learned. He pulled another card, the card coming out being the card representing home, and considered his own position in life and all of the events that had been occurring recently.
Chapter Four- Sanctuary
Crescent awoke from a nightmare about her arena. Because of her frequent nightmares, she kept a wooden staff under her bed, and checked her house for potential dangers when she woke up. After finding her fridge empty, Hilbert and his husband Sylvester show up at her door with blueberry muffins for her. They all went to Crescent's living room, sitting down and commenting on the broadcast with Ezekiel. Crescent turned on the television, and was met with the news of the head gamemaker's death. Lullaby had been the gamemaker during Crescent's games.
After talking about the death, as it wasn't done in the typical way gamemaker assassinations were, the conversation topic moves on to that of the victors' dinner. Hilbert promised Crescent that he'd step in and help if Ezekiel bothered her. She was dreading the thought of having to see the other victors, especially the career victors. Sylvester distracted Crescent by talking about his shift at the factory that week, and she relaxed for the time being.
Back at home, the day after his session with Ors, Foil was making breakfast for his two younger siblings. Fizz, the youngest of the three, didn't want to eat the grain that Foil had cooked into his breakfast, but gave in and ate the small meal. Foil went to his room once they finished eating and took out the journals that he'd written about the past games in. He had documented much of the games in the past several years within them. He thought about the tributes from five in the 110th games, and then decided to leave the house in search of his friend Scope.
He found Scope on a bench outside of the other boy's house. The two talked about Foil's appointment the night prior, and Foil chose not to tell Scope about the entire session. Scope always had ridiculous theories about Mnemosyne, the woman that had formerly run the sessions, and wanted to try and figure out who Ors was.
Talking about their plans for the weekend, Scope revealed that his mother was returning home that evening from the main hub of district five where she worked. Foil's mother was long since dead, and his father worked most of the time, meaning that Foil had to take care of his siblings.
A striped cat appeared nearby, and Scope attempted to get close to it. He petted the cat for a minute, but when more people walked by, the cat ran away. Neither Scope nor Foil had the resources to support a pet due to the district being so poor. Foil left to go and check on his siblings, the sun high in the sky as it beamed down on the warm district.
Chapter Five- Medicine
Rosehip had spent the past few days in her own room, which consisted of a simple bed and bathroom. No new memories had resurfaced, and a constant stream of doctors visited her.
Two doctors entered and asked her a series of questions to try and see what she remembered about the nation of Panem and her past. They asked her how many districts were in Panem, to which she answered that there were twelve, and asked her about the current president of Panem. Then, she was shown a series of pictures, none of them being familiar. Rosehip, when asked the year, thought that it was 113 AD, a year prior to the actual date. After being asked about the significance of her tattoos and being unable to answer, the doctors concluded their questioning and left.
Vale was working overtime, preparing for the Victors' dinner that was now only a week away. Because the district that he had styled for produced a victor that past year, his work was in high demand. After going over the outfits that he had designed for district seven at the victors' dinner, he looked at a photo of his family.
One of the faces in the photo was scribbled out, the other two faces belonging to his mother and his brother. Vale reminisced about his former girlfriend, Imelda, who he hadn't seen in a few months. Before he left his studio, he looked back at the photo, thinking about the scribbled out face and the person it belonged to.
Apsis was visiting district one for the usual survey of the potential career volunteers before the games. He entered a room that contained the victors of district one, all present minus Luminary. Confident and unbothered, Apsis caught up with the victors on how the process of the volunteer trials had been going, a process that was more specialized in district one. Tannin, one of the mentors, had run the tests that year.
Luminary finally showed up, entering the room late, and the victors along with Apsis went to take a quick tour of the training grounds. They then proceeded to go to the trains, where they'd then head to the Capitol for the victors' dinner.
After being in a car with Mascara and Tannin, Apsis and the two mentors boarded the train. On the train, however, Luminary was complaining about Apsis, and confronted him when the train began moving. Apsis took a knife out of his pocket, towering over Luminary and threatening him. He was tempted to let the knife fly, but contained himself.
Unlike most escorts, Apsis wasn't an ordinary capitol citizen, instead being someone with a high amount of training and status. He hadn't been the one to kill Lullaby, however. He sent a message to his contacts in the capitol, and then entered another carriage of the train.
Chapter Six- Cruel
The night of the Victors' Dinner had finally arrived. Crescent was uncomfortable in her fancy clothes, riding in a car with Hilbert and their district escort Nera as they approached the building that the party was held in. Being worried about seeing the other victors, Crescent wasn't looking forward to the dinner, instead dreading it.
After making it through the entrance and the barrage of cameras that greeted them, the two victors from district eight entered the building. Nera led Crescent to Ermine Paget, a victor from one that was around Crescent's age. The two got along, tolerating each other. They spotted Eren Tidesurf passing a paper to Ezekiel.
Eren Tidesurf was a victor from four, and had won his games at a young age. According to Ermine, Eren and Ezekiel had made a bet, which is what she thought the paper was. Eren came over to talk to Crescent and Ermine, complimenting Crescent and causing her to freeze. The two hadn't talked all that much in the past, so this was a surprise to her. Overhearing the conversation, Emmery Nichols from district nine came over and jokingly threatened Eren. Ezekiel then joined the group, requesting to talk to Crescent alone. Crescent agreed, and the two walked away from the small group of victors.
Ezekiel then apologized to Crescent for what he'd said on the broadcast, saying that he'd only done it out of necessity and hadn't meant to hurt her in any way. Crescent knew that Ezekiel was trying to protect his family by allying with another victor, but still didn't believe him and felt no sympathy for him. She had seen his games, and knew how calculating that he could be. Whether or not he was telling the truth remained to be seen.
He then brought up a group that he couldn't name, a group that Crescent had dealt with in the past and was responsible for something after her games. Apsis walked by, and Crescent shivered.
She hadn't returned to district eight right after her games, her injuries being too severe, but she hadn't been in the capitol. While Capitol technology was advanced, the months after her games had been a blur, and she'd healed remarkably fast. Crescent agreed to help out Ezekiel, and at least tolerate him. Ezekiel said that they could also let Emmery and Ermine in on their plan, and that Eren already knew. Crescent would be mentoring, but she'd spend time with Ezekiel to protect both of them.
While on her way back to the group with Ezekiel, she was stopped by Apsis, who wanted to do a card reading for her.
Apsis drew the card "The Wave" for Crescent, and advised her to be careful in the future. He told her to stay with her friends, insinuating that he'd heard her conversation with Ezekiel, giving Crescent a piece of paper with prime numbers on it. Knowing that Apsis was working with them and that she might be in danger, she went back to the group, where they talked about their readings that they'd gotten from him in the past. Eren had heard a rumor that the arena that year would be all indoors. Crescent began to feel short of breath, the other victors going to dance with each other.
After Ezekiel made sure she was still okay, Crescent shooed him away, then Hilbert came over and brought her some water. After the evening concluded, Crescent left with Hilbert, and took off her mask, which she always wore out of the house over her nose and mouth after her time in the arena. Her thoughts drifted to the paper Apsis had given her, and the place that she'd been after her games. The capitol was dangerous but there was something else running things behind the scenes. District Prime.
Chapter Seven- No Luck
Foil was visiting Turbine's house, and was greeted by Turbine looking extremely somber and much more serious than he normally looked. This was odd behavior for Turbine, as Foil had never seen him like this. Brought into the house, Foil was sat down on the couch, and Turbine told him a revelation that shocked Foil deeply.
Mnemosyne, the woman that had previously run his sessions, was now the head gamemaker, having been a gamemaker when she'd run his sessions as well. Foil was horrified, and wondered why Mnemosyne would have bothered with him in the first place.
This allowed him to come to the conclusion that Ors was also a gamemaker. Knowing that the sessions would probably end now that he knew, Foil feared for his safety, along with the safety of Turbine if he asked around about why the sessions had taken place. Seeing himself as expendable, he still wasn't sure why he'd been chosen.
As they panicked, the phone began to ring in the other room. Picking it up and answering it, Foil was met with a man's voice, a voice that was extremely familiar to him.
Rosehip was getting used to her room. She spent most of the days sleeping, when she wasn't visited by a parade of doctors. However, that day, instead of a doctor, a woman dressed in dark clothes with dyed red hair came into the room. She introduced herself as Iv, a friend of Rosehip from before she lost her memory. Iv was overjoyed to see Rosehip, but was surprised at the full degree of memory loss she had experienced.
After accepting that Rosehip didn't remember her, Iv showed her a photo of the two of them and another woman named Ostia in the Capitol.
Iv promised that she'd bring Rosehip things to make her more comfortable, and told her that she was glad to see her again. Iv revealed, after being asked, that Rosehip had been in the hospital room for about a month. Before that, though, she'd been missing for almost a year. Iv had connections high up, but didn't know where Rosehip had been. Promising to be back to visit, Iv left, but gave Rosehip the hope that she'd one day be able to leave the small room and figure out who she was.
Back in district seven, Ezekiel Branch was in the middle of watching the tapes from his own Games. He was attempting to fix the nightmares that he'd been having where the games appeared odd and warped, and wanted to refresh his memory on the events that had happened. He'd been watching the interviews and pre-game events for the past twelve hours, alone in his room, and it was now almost dawn.
The footage of the games themselves was only beginning now, and it was the long version of the footage that had originally been aired and not the cut down footage that focused on him.
Receiving a phone call, Ezekiel was met with the sound of Eren Tidesurf's voice, who was checking up on him to make sure he was okay.
It had been a couple of days since the Victors' dinner, and all the victors had traveled back to their districts. Eren confirmed that they all had made it back safely, including Crescent. Eren asked if Ezekiel would go to the capitol a week early before reaping day with him, as they weren't mentoring, and Ezekiel agreed. Eren had to hang up for his early morning swimming with Rubicon, leaving Ezekiel to go back to sleep, turning the television off but still pondering the beginning of his games.
Morning (Chapter Eight)
The air of district four always smelled like the ocean. The scent of the sea carried on the breeze, the salty tang of the waves lapping at the shore enveloping the coastline. Like most other residents of the districts, Maera Juranovic had lived in district four her entire life, and the smell of the ocean was so normal that she didn't even think about it anymore. To her, the seaside district was home, and that would never change. The rise and fall of the waves was as natural as breathing. Having not experienced any other districts, it was hard to imagine life without the constant scent of salt.
Most of district four's population lived by the coast, making their living off of fishing and exporting other ocean products. There was a small subsection of people that lived further inland, packaging and transporting goods, but the district made most of their money off of the ocean.
Once a family settled somewhere, they were unlikely to move, taking up their niche in the ecosystem of the district. If someone was unlucky enough to end up in the poorer sections of four, that was their lot in life. The richer parts of four weren't as wealthy as the Capitol, but they still enjoyed privileges and an easier life than those in the poorer parts.
Maera stood at the edge of a cliff, the back alleyway behind her opening up onto a small overlook that surveyed the ocean. It was a small space, but big enough for a few people to stand, and the cliff's edge was bordered by a rickety iron railing. This was a good place to get away, especially when she was waiting for a friend.
As she stood, she took a piece of a seaweed snack out of her pocket, swiped from a stall earlier in the day. Her eyes drifted to the horizon as she chewed on the crunchy snack, the taste familiar in her mouth. Very few people knew that the alleyway led to here, but she still was vigilant about anyone that might have entered.
With tanned skin and blonde hair, she looked similar to most of the residents of four. No one would doubt her district upon seeing her. Her muscular frame suggested the many days she'd spent training, her brown eyes not betraying the spark of keen intelligence that lay beyond them.
Stretching slightly as she leaned back on the wall behind her, Maera finished the snack, all evidence of it gone with the last crumb. The young woman checked her watch, the face cracked and broken yet still functioning. It was getting later than she would have liked, the sun already having reached its peak. Kimmie must have gotten off of work late.
"Hey, Mae!" came a voice from the alley, making Maera spin around. Just as she had wondered where her friend was, she'd shown up, holding a bag full of something that couldn't be identified. The blonde smiled, waving a hand at the other girl as she came closer.
After making sure that no one had followed her, Kimmie opened up the small bag, revealing three vivid oranges. Upon seeing the fruit, Maera's grin widened. These were a rare treat, and it was hard for them to get their hands on fruit of this variety. Some rich person must be scratching their head in confusion somewhere else in the district.
"Got these over in the harbor. Figured that we'd have more use for them than they did," smirked Kimmie, tossing an orange over to Maera. Catching it, she shook her head playfully, knowing very well that the original owners of the oranges wouldn't even know they were missing.
Together, Kimmie and Maera made a formidable duo, able to snatch whatever they needed from those that were in a better position in life than they were. Beginning to peel the orange as her friend did the same, the two looked down the alleyway just to check that no one was coming. Seeing that they were safe, they tore into the juicy segments of the fruit.
"Nice job. How was work today? Anything interesting?" Maera asked, waiting until she'd finished her mouthful before speaking. Kimmie worked on a salmon farm, harvesting the fish and making sure that they could be sent to the packing plant. The job was hard and didn't pay well, but at least gave Kimmie's family a little more of an income.
Maera herself had spent most of the day out on the water, using her free time to enjoy the waves. She would have to go to the career institute for training later, and had wanted to make the most out of her time. It was easier to get away when the trainers weren't always poking around what she was doing.
"The usual. Tomas was being his usual self, and Mr. Caul was dealing with back pain again. A couple of quality control surveyors were there, but they didn't find anything wrong. I saw some fancy looking guys heading over to the marina, too. I'll have to see if they're worth following another day," Kimmie took another bite of orange, the peel long since discarded back into the bag. The sweet juice was a welcome refreshment to Maera, especially after the seaweed she'd eaten previously. Her stomach had been rumbling earlier after not getting to eat anything before she went out swimming.
"I'll keep an eye out, too. It can't hurt to find a new target. I think the last person I was talking to got a little suspicious, so I'll probably move on from him," replied Maera.
Knowing that she could use her looks to her advantage, she took pride in the way she was able to mess with those that were higher up on the food chain in four, her years of practice making her extremely formidable in her line of mischief. After all, she hadn't been caught, and neither had Kimmie. She was confident and proud, and doubted that anything could get in her way. Kimmie nodded, taking another segment of orange.
"I heard that there was something going on down at the career institute. Have you heard anything recently? There was a small crowd gathered outside when I walked by it earlier," said Kimmie. Her curiosity piqued, Maera raised an eyebrow.
There was only a month left until reaping day, so the career volunteer candidates had been training harder than ever. Maera had trained with them, not because she intended to try for the games, but because she needed to keep up her skills. If she let herself get rusty, she'd be in a precarious position, especially since she often needed to defend herself from the other inhabitants of the streets in the district.
The way the career institute worked was that it allowed teenagers from all across the district to come and train. The more wealthy students either trained at their parents' wishes, or wanted a shot at getting into the games. The poorer students, like Maera, mainly trained as a way to keep themselves safe.
Every year, before the games, a list of volunteer candidates was posted outside of the institute. Those candidates would have the chance to volunteer, often dueling each other to get the coveted spot. It was a lot more complicated in the other two career districts, what with their career trials, but district four did things a little differently.
"I bet that they posted the volunteer candidate list. We should probably go over and see who made it. The trainers have been watching us for the last few weeks, taking notes and talking to some of the better students. There aren't a lot of us this year, but there's always those few people that really want to get into the games," responded Maera.
She had never intended to volunteer, which the trainers knew well at this point. Still, seeing which of her peers had the opportunity to volunteer would be interesting, so she motioned for Kimmie to follow her and began heading back down the alleyway.
As they walked down the streets, the houses slowly became less dilapidated and more fancy as they got closer to where the career institute was located. The justice building wasn't nearby, and they had always joked about the confused city planner that had put the career institute so far away from the rest of the district hub.
As they walked, Maera and Kimmie joked about some of the students at the institute, pitying whoever would end up in the games. District four had better chances at winning than most districts, being careers and allowed to train, but the games still were closer to death than they wanted to go.
Approaching the outside gates of the institute, Maera spotted one of the victors and usual mentors for the games talking to a few other students.
Net Temms had won the 99th games, and had been mentoring for a few years now. Seeing her, he gave her a nod, which confused her. Normally, the victors didn't take much notice of the regular students, preferring to help train those that had better chances of volunteering. Sidestepping a few people, Kimmie and Maera finally got close enough to see the list of candidates. It was short this year. Scanning the list, not paying too much attention to it, she paused.
There it was. Right between Lidia and Penny. Her name, listed amongst those that had the chance to become a volunteer for games.
Maera was surprised, and almost laughed aloud. The trainers seriously thought that she would potentially volunteer? She hadn't thought that they would put her on the list, given that she only trained to better herself. Maybe they were that desperate. Maera had no intentions of actually volunteering, but this meant that she was required to train extra hours in the weeks before the games. More training couldn't hurt, but it would be annoying. Kimmie had spotted her name as well, giving her a gentle nudge.
"Wow. I guess they thought you'd be able to have a chance. If you wanted to, you'd definitely be a good candidate, but we both know that the games aren't your thing," laughed Kimmie, drawing a few scowls and whispers from those around.
Maera giggled, enjoying the discomfort of the others gathered at the gates. They all took the games so seriously, but given that they lived in a district where people lined up to volunteer, there wasn't much of a risk of her being chosen against her will. She'd watch whoever ended up getting through the institute duels volunteer, and there would be two less students next year.
Ignoring the crowd, Kimmie grabbed Maera's hand and pulled her away, the two beginning to walk out of earshot of the rest of the students. As they walked, she spotted two men standing in a shaded spot, looking around furtively. As they passed, one of them seemed to recognize Maera.
If she had to guess, they were probably some of the few remaining people around district four that engaged in rebel activity. Everyone knew that almost all of the rebels in the districts had been wiped out years ago, and those that continued to secretly oppose the capitol couldn't change anything. Her father participated before she was born, but not anymore.
"Let's head down to the harbor and get away from all this. Who knows, maybe we'll see something worth taking," said Maera.
Originally, she'd only stole to help her family, but now, she craved the rush of adrenaline that came with it. She didn't view herself as a bad person, only as someone who needed to do what it took to survive. The rich businessmen of Four were morally corrupt, and what they didn't know couldn't hurt them. In district four, people had to fend for themselves, but facing the consequences wasn't something she had to worry about.
After all, she'd never been caught, and intended to keep it that way.
Chapter Eight Part 2
The end of the day was coming ever closer, the sun slowly going down from its position high in the sky. In district twelve, workers were coming home from the mines and the other jobs that they performed, exhausted after a long day of hard labor. Families greeted each other at the doors of their homes, heading inside to cook a warm meal out of the limited grain rations that they had access to.
District twelve was one of the poorest districts in Panem. Some struggled to eat, while others barely scraped by. There was a sense of community within the district, but generosity could only go so far when resources were limited.
Unlike other districts, there was almost no upper class in twelve. There were the peacekeepers, and a few wealthy families, but the majority of their citizens worked hard from day to day to ensure that their families had enough to eat. Even hard work wasn't always enough. Families were large, more mouths to feed also meaning more labor to support them. Work in the mines was hard and often dangerous.
If one was lucky, they'd have a job in town, helping provide for the basic needs of those around them. Twelve was a district largely ignored by the rest of the nation, and it showed in the way that they lived.
Serafin didn't have the easiest life, but that didn't matter to him. His job allowed him to help others and care for the community that he was raised in. As a doctor, he treated all sorts of ailments, from broken bones to migraines. He had known from a young age that he wanted to be a doctor, and was in a position that allowed him to pursue his dream.
Working in his father's practice from early in the morning to sundown, he did his best to treat others with the knowledge that he'd acquired over the years. His relative youth at almost 22 meant nothing in a district where life couldn't be wasted.
It was less than a mile from the practice to his home, and as he walked, he occasionally gave a nod to the other workers going home nearby. He was slightly frustrated, as one of the other doctors kept testing his patience. The air of twelve wasn't the cleanest from the smoke, but being outside did a lot to help him clear his mind.
His heavy boots trod the well-worn path back towards his house, his pace steady but quickening when he thought of the meal that would await him. A bird flew overhead, causing him to look up and watch as it disappeared out of sight. It was probably heading back to the forest at the edges of town.
A small cottage came into view, the roof patched up from old holes and the windows showing the flickering of candlelight from within. This was where he and his family lived. It might not have been the grandest place, but it was home, and allowed him to keep his family safe from the elements. A silhouette was visible through the other front window, causing Serafin to smile slightly. Approaching the door, he took out his keys, undoing the lock and creaking the door open.
He was immediately greeted by Katherine, his wife, putting down the bowl she was holding and coming over to give him a hug.
"Hello, Katherine. Where's Grace?" asked Serafin, returning the hug and then looking around the room when they parted.
A small figure came toddling towards him, grinning widely and clutching a worn plush dog. Scooping her up into his arms, Serafin gently hugged his daughter as well, who waved her arms and nearly hit him in the face. Laughing, he ruffled her hair, the two year old giggling in response. Grace was her parents' pride and joy, the energetic toddler bringing light to the family and their small home. She had dark hair and gray eyes like her mother, and the same smile as her father.
"Da-da!" exclaimed Grace, the stuffed dog in her hands resting on Serafin's shoulder. Twirling her around, he set his daughter back onto the floor, making sure that she was standing before going back to his full height.
This was the highlight of his day, getting to come home and see his daughter. Katherine stood behind him, returning to the kitchen to set down the bowl and pouring it into a larger container. Their grain rations typically made up part of their dinner, but they normally had enough money to spend on food that they could have a vegetable as a side. As a doctor, it was important to Serafin that they ate healthily.
"How was work today? Some of the other parents had their kids over to play this morning, Grace did pretty well with the other young ones. She's starting to walk much faster, almost running at times. Dinner is almost ready, just give me a second to finish roasting this corn," replied Katherine, checking their old and worn stove to ensure that nothing was burning.
Serafin made a mental note that they were running out of firewood, and that he'd need to collect some later. Pulling out the highchair one of their family friends had made for Grace, he picked his daughter up again and placed her in the chair.
"Work was the same as usual. One of the other doctors didn't wrap one of our patient's wounds correctly, so I had to do it again. You know how I feel about wasting bandages," Serafin said with a furrow of his brow. They only had a limited supply of bandages, and normally they could reuse them if the wound wasn't messy, but in this case the wound had been open. The practice tried to keep their services as cheap as they could after accounting for the doctors' salaries and cost of supplies, but the visits were still pricey for the average citizen of twelve.
Serafin did some side work on the weekends to help basic ailments for free, however.
Katherine took the roasted vegetables out of the stove, setting them on a tray to let them cool. She then took the bowl of mashed grains and put it on the table alongside three wooden plates, one in front of each member of the family. As the corn cooled, Serafin started dishing a plate for Grace, making sure that the serving he put on her plate was easy enough for her to eat.
His wife sat down with them, most likely going to get up and get the roasted corn once it had finished cooling. She took a heap of grains for her plate as well, and Serafin did the same. The family then dug into their food, eating in silence for a few minutes.
""This is delicious, Katherine. Thank you for preparing it," said Serafin in between bites. Living his entire life on grain rations and the other basic foods that they had access to in the district, he'd come to appreciate the simple things in cooking, such as the way that Katherine made the texture of the grains more bearable.
Noticing that Grace wasn't really eating, he took her spoon and loaded it up with a small bite, his daughter's eyes following the spoon as he held it up in the air above her. This was a frequent occurrence, and something that he knew how to deal with.
"Here comes the bird! Quick, eat it before it flies away!" Serafin slowly moved the spoon towards Grace's mouth, which she promptly opened. He gently let her take what was on the spoon into her mouth, and she soon swallowed the contents. He repeated this a few more times, and then set down the spoon to let her digest for a minute.
In this time, Katherine had taken the corn and placed it in the center of the table, dishing out some to herself and her husband. Serafin gratefully accepted it, happily consuming the food. Grace twisted around in her chair, looking at her plush dog that sat a few feet away in her woven toy box.
"Doggy! Dada, give me doggy!" complained Grace. He shook his head, knowing that the toy would only get food on it if he brought it to the table. By this time, he and Katherine had both finished their plates, and he fed Grace a few more spoonfuls of her portion to finish it. No food was wasted in their household, as every tiny bit counted. The couple stood up, pushing in their chairs as Katherine collected the plates and dishes. Serafin lifted his daughter out of her high chair, putting her near her toy box so she could grab her favorite toy. The dog had been a gift from his parents when she was born, and had been sewn by his mother.
Grace picked up the toy and hugged it in her arms, causing her parents to smile. Katherine went to watch her as Serafin cleaned the dishes, using their jug of water to wash them off with a bar of soap. He used as little as he could, but still enough to fully clean the plates and bowl. Soap was a luxury and a necessity, conserving it was important.
As he scrubbed, Katherine had sat down on the floor with Grace, taking out an old book with hand drawn pictures of animals in it. She opened it to a page and pointed at the animal featured, a badger. Grace had a focused look on her face, squinting, and then put her own small finger on the page.
"Badge! Badge!" she exclaimed, proud of herself for identifying the animal. This was a frequent part of their nightly routine, as she was still too young to go to school but old enough to start learning about the world around them.
Serafin found it important that his daughter learned about the natural world, as appreciating the animals and plants around them was a big part of his mindset towards their home. Katherine gave a little clap for Grace, then started reading the page out loud. Grace understood few of the words said, but still listened intently as her mother went through facts about badgers.
Once Serafin had finished cleaning the dishes, he took a seat in the old armchair that had been passed down from his father. Katherine had moved Grace to her lap on the wooden chair, and was finishing the page about badgers. The book wasn't necessarily a children's book, but those were hard to come by, so they made do with reading to her from books that had least had pictures. The sun outside had almost gone down at this point, and the candles were the only source of light in the house.
Grace let out a yawn, cueing her mother to take her into the bedroom that they all shared.
"Goodnight, Grace," said Serafin, following them and giving Grace a kiss on the forehead before Katherine set her down in her tiny bed. He went back into the main room to check that the door was fully locked, his wife returning into the room once Grace had settled down. Since the room was small, the candles illuminated it well enough that they could see clearly, but soon it would get even darker and the time would come for them to go to bed as well. Serafin had to wake up rather early in the morning and often went to bed early. There wasn't much of a point to staying up later than necessary for them.
For the next thirty minutes, Katherine and Serafin caught up on their days with each other, speaking in hushed tones to avoid waking up their daughter. This was a part of their nightly routine, as they didn't get to spend much time together during the weekdays. There were still a couple of days left before he got time off, work being intense and constant for most of the week. As he sat with Katherine, he smiled, content to spend time with his wife.
Even in a world of hardships, there were always small joys that could be found.
The beginning of this chapter is the prologue summary, which I've included to make it easier for people to read without having to go through all eight prologues. We've also finally made it to the first two intros! Submissions are still open, and I'd like to get more tributes soon. There's no set deadline yet, however. I'm hoping to have more tributes by the time I finish the first three chapters of intros, and at this rate, I'd like to have all of my tributes by the end of July. That's still a while away, but it's been a slow process. At some point, I will close submissions and make this a partial if we don't have enough tributes, but I'd prefer not to do that unless absolutely necessary. I'd love some more tributes for the outer districts, especially for 10 and 11, but I'd be happy with tributes from any of the spots that are still open!
Here's the intro order:
Chapter 8- Prologue Summary, Maera, Serafin
Chapter 9- Baroque, Margot, Sienna
Chapter 10- Zucker, Kimba, Johan