Behind her eyes, sparks of light danced. They were bright, and the girl followed them as they moved across her field of vision. She lay back on the plush ground and looked up at the mesmerising lights, unable to let her gaze stray from the tiny sparks. Every now and then they would form together to make some kind of shape. A star. Then a flower. Then a circle.
As she watched them move, she felt all emotion ebb from her body, flowing outwards from her into the ground where it was absorbed into the earth. Her breaths were slow and relaxed, her movements small and graceful. It was like this place had transformed her. She didn't know what she was like before, but she was certain that this was preferable.
The girl also didn't know where she was, but she hoped it was heaven. It would be nice if this is what heavens like. And although she didn't know how to leave, she didn't feel trapped in that place. Instead it was a warm security she felt, like a thick blanket during the cold winter.
But she couldn't stay there forever. It was like the lights knew she couldn't stay, and soon they started forming together totally, until they were one shining white circle flooding her vision. She stretched her hand forward, and pulled herself out of the void.
Her eyelids fluttered open, and her vision was crowded with unpleasantly bright sparks. Her body felt taut and anxious, her breathing quick and laboured, her arms and legs thrashing in sharp jerking movements.
She still wasn't entirely conscious of where or who she was, until she heard the voice coaxing her out of unconsciousness. Soon Hebe recognised herself as the one who had awoken from the slumber, the girl lost to the heavenly place. She also noticed that the signature sterile spotlighting of the Capitol was responsible for swarming her vision.
"Hebe? Hebe?" The voice said again, cutting through the shouting in her head. She turned her face to the side and was met with concerned eyes of sea-green staring straight back at her, a pretty face contorted with worry.
"Finnick?" She asked, her voice hoarse and her tone confused. She wasn't sure if she fully trusted her judgement at this moment.
"Yeah. Yeah, it's me." He breathed. He sounded so relieved?
"Why am I here? What happened?" Hebe felt her voice break slightly at the end, her desperation clear on her face.
Finnick looked at her pityingly, holding tight onto her forearm. She couldn't tell if it was to ground her, or to possibly restrain her.
"You were in the games, remember? But you're safe now, you're back."
People who survive near death experiences describe their lives as 'flashing before their eyes', however most have never experienced this as purely and rawly as Hebe did that day. Her fantasy was immediately shattered, the foundations of her dream world collapsing as the memories flooded back into her mind. The girl from the heavenly place flitted away from her, snuffed out like a candle. All that was left was her husk, filled with the screams of the dead, the ghosts that would plague her for an eternity.
She felt herself begin to hyperventilate as she watched her games all over again. Luca speared, Niamh beheaded, Ampere eaten, Gaia poisoned, Anise mauled. Each of their own unique cries of agony merged together, creating a symphony that would follow Hebe until the day she died.
Finnick desperately tried to calm her down, holding her down and talking to her, attempting to rationalise. But she couldn't hear him above all the noise in her head. She watched as the doctors began to rush over to her with a needle, witnessing Finnick desperately trying to reason with them, but it was no use.
Hebe returned to her slumber, but this time she was not greeted by the bright dancing lights. Instead all that filled her vision was blood, guts, gore as she re-lived each death a thousand times over.
When she finally returned to the world of the waking, Hebe felt entirely drained of energy. Her body lay limply, and right now she had so little energy that she wasn't even sure she'd be able to walk without help.
Yet her eyes remained firmly glued open, surveying the room she yet again found herself in.
It seemed to be some kind of hospital room, the IV and the heart monitor were pretty firm indicators of that. It must be in the training centre. An infirmary then? The walls were shiny and pure white, the curtains, bed sheets and hospital scrubs all an insipid blue and the texture of paper towels.
As she looked down she saw a golden mop of hair, slumped on the paper towel bed sheets. It was attached to a body that was sitting on a nearby plastic chair. Finnick.
Hebe began to move her body tentatively in an attempt to lift herself so she was sat upright in the bed. She tried to avoid jogging the boy who was currently fast asleep on her, but when her limbs were so weak, it was a tall order.
He soon began to stir, mumbling and groaning slightly, obviously unable to distinguish who or where he was in the morning haze. Finnick eventually lifted his head upwards, gazing directly into Hebe's curious eyes.
"Hebe?" He'd definitely forgotten where he was, "Holy shit, Hebe." He'd remembered.
"Morning." She said flatly, not sharing in Finnick's elation.
He tried to tame the grin splitting his face, but seemed unable to.
"How long have I been out?"
"Uh," He checked his watch, "Since you came out of the arena about two days, but since you woke up, around 12 hours."
"Two days?" Hebe gaped at the boy, almost unwilling to believe him, "What the fuck have you been doing for two days?"
"Sleeping mostly," Finnick punctuated his statement with a well-timed yawn.
"What have you been here the whole time?"
"Sure have. I've gotta keep an eye on my most successful tribute ever haven't I?" He grinned and wiggled his eyebrows like it was obvious that he'd sat in a plastic chair for two days waiting for her to wake up.
"I'm not sure success is quite what I'd call it…"
Finnick's face dropped as he watched his tribute - no, his victor - become overwhelmed yet again by her emotions.
"Listen. I know you think that what you did in that arena was 'unforgivable' but I can guarantee you that your family won't see it that way. They wanted you to come and you did that. They can't ask for any more of you."
Hebe let herself consider his words, and silently prayed that he was right. She couldn't imagine a life in which she didn't have her family by her side.
"Ok. Thanks. For everything that is."
A genuine look of kindness crossed Finnick's face. And then it was gone.
"Huh? What was that sweetheart? Can you repeat it for me?"
Hebe, despite everything, still managed to work up the energy to slap him around the back of the head. Finnick whined and rubbed his head, ruffling his already mussed hair.
"Where's everyone?" She asked, suddenly noticing the lack of her other mentor. She had also secretly hoped that Tigris may have come to see her, although she was most likely busy with some kind of other Capitol engagement.
"Oh, uh, only one mentor is allowed to come and visit their tribute while they're still in the infirmary. Capitol rules, you know?"
His face flushed slightly and he stuttered slowly through the entire sentence. Hebe didn't notice, too busy wondering about other things to be concerned by her mentor's weird behaviour. Although for Finnick this was pretty average.
"Oh ok. So when am I allowed out then?"
"What, so desperate to escape me?"
"Yes. And I want to see Mags."
"Well the doctors should be showing up again any minute. It's only, what, 8 in the morning. They haven't even started their shifts yet."
Hebe paled slightly.
"Does that mean I have to do my interview today?" She asked, still holding out hope that the Capitol might have at least a little sympathy for her. Fnnick winced.
"Yeah, I'm afraid so. It's scheduled for this evening. They're gonna check you over, then they'll send you back to our floor where we'll 'debrief'. Then it's back to the prep team and off to Caesar."
"Oh you've got to be shitting me. Is there nothing I can do-"
Hebe found herself cut off by the sudden arrival of a swarm of doctors, all of them just as extravagantly dressed as the average Capitol citizen. Hebe saw some with the common enormous lash extensions, others with snake skin and other animal patterns inked into their skin.
They all glanced at Finnick as they walked in. Some were curious, some jealous, some in awe, however a few (primarily the lead doctor that buzzed around Hebe) shot him with indecipherable looks as he lounged in his plastic chair. He kept watch over his victor as she was poked and prodded like a piece of meat or livestock.
A few, just like her prep team, remarked on how bare her skin was. They all seemed to want her to get some kind of body modification, but Hebe resisted. Capitol people were so weird.
They also asked her loads of weird invasive questions about herself. What life was like at home, what it was like in the arena, what she thought of the Capitol. All the usual suspects.
She stuck to what she was sure would be President Snow approved answers, saying things like, 'the Capitol's so much nicer than back home!', 'it was such an honour to represent my district', 'all the people here have been so kind to me!'. Hebe couldn't help but notice the way Finnick's body tensed anytime her family was even vaguely mentioned.
Finally, it was over. They gave her instructions to return to her floor, before unstrapping her from the bed. She almost hadn't noticed the leather straps and brass buckles used to shackle her to the bed, until she felt as though her wrists were bare.
Hebe let Finnick guide her out of the room, yet again taking note of the dark looks the doctors gave him.
When she felt they were finally out of earshot, she began to whisper furtively to him.
"Is it normal procedure to strap new victors to the hospital bed?"
"Well, it's certainly not abnormal. The games… the games change you."
Hebe nodded and looked down. It was undeniable that it was true. She remembered the girl she was in her dreams, and wished she could become her again, dancing with the sparks of light. Finnick's voice broke her from her reverie.
"They gagged me after my games." He said, a small chuckle bubbling from him at the memory, almost like it was a fond one. The average person wouldn't have detected the note of bitterness, but Hebe knew her mentor and his situation well enough by now.
"What, why?!" She laughed.
"I kept screaming in my sleep. They got really fed up and I woke up with a piece of cloth in my mouth."
"Damn, these Capitol people really are weird. Did you see all those looks they gave you on the way out?"
He flushed again.
"Yeah. Hah. That was weird."
Hebe eyed him curiously then brushed it off, not wanting to add Finnick to her growing list of worries.
The pair reached the end of the corridor and stopped in front of the elevator. Hebe could feel her stomach begin to churn at the sight of that glass tube, vividly remembering the last time she had stepped into such a contraption. Her mind was filled with visions of Anise being ripped apart, her guts splattering onto the doors of the elevator.
She felt a hand on her arm begin to guide her shaking body away.
"Let's take the stairs."
Hebe felt ill as they began to climb up to the fourth floor, unable to control her trembling. She was sickened by the idea that her family had watched those games. Annie had seen her killing all those people, watched as she stood by and did nothing as her allies and even her enemies were brutally murdered right before her eyes.
It was at that moment that she felt some of the reality sink in. These games wouldn't be forgotten. She couldn't just brush them under the carpet and continue with her life. Because the Capitol would never forget. In fact they revelled in the power they had to torture her, living for the way they would drag her out every year and rehash those events in the arena.
The entire country had bare witness to her every waking moment for the last 3 weeks, and it was safe to say that the Capitol would be there to document her every action until the day she finally died.
By the time the pair had finally reached the fourth floor of the training centre, they were both exhausted and sweating slightly. Hebe buzzed with excitement at the prospect of two things. 1, seeing Mags, and 2, having a nice cool shower for the first time in 3 weeks.
Her bare feet padded down the hallway towards their apartment, and as she neared the door, she began to speed up, Finnick having to quicken his own pace to keep up with her.
She burst in through the doors, and grinned widely at the sight of her elder mentor sitting at the table.
"Mags!" She exclaimed, rushing over to envelop the older woman in what was an eager, but albeit gentle hug.
She returned it gratefully, stroking the girl's hair just like she had before she entered the games.
"It's so good to see you."
They broke apart, and Hebe turned and noticed her escort, who was stretching her arms out for her own embrace.
Ambrosia was dressed in her usual decadence, although it seemed even more extravagant than usual. She was decked out in a brand new monotone gold outfit, complete with a shimmering golden wig. Hebe was glad of the change from the dreary black she had been clothed when she left the games.
She hugged Ambrosia and smiled, surprised at how genuinely glad she was to see the Capitol woman. It seemed those affections were returned.
"Oh, Hebe, I'm so glad you made it back!" I'm so proud of our new victor, so proud!"
"Thanks Ambrosia. I'm glad to be back too."
"We've all missed you so much dear! All of us were in such a dire state, Finnick especially."
Hebe shot her an incredulous look, but pressed no further. She turned back to the kitchen table where Mags and Finnick were both sitting, the younger of her mentors already stuffing his face with a variety of breakfast foods. Hebe felt her own stomach rumble, and was reminded of the fact she hadn't eaten in several days.
She took her seat next to Mags, Ambrosia sitting across from her on the other side. She grabbed several slices of toast and started coating them in all manner of condiments. Thankfully, Ambrosia seemed to have laxed on the etiquette. She allowed Hebe to shove toast in her mouth as indelicately as she pleased.
When she was full, she finally sat back and relaxed in her chair, waiting for someone to start to brief her on the day. Ambrosia stepped up to the role.
"First of all, I think it'd be wise for you to shower. Then, Mags and Finnick will run through the interview and the arena highlight reel. Next, I'll be taking you to your prep team and they'll be preparing you for your stylist. Then it'll be dress fittings and finally the interview with Caesar and the viewing of the highlights."
Hebe nodded in understanding, her body filled with nervous energy at the idea of facing the Capitol crowds once again. Did they not understand what had happened to her? Did they not realise that the girl from before was lost forever, stuck dancing with the lights?
However, she had no choice but to make her way through it, so she excused herself from the table and made her way back to her quarters.
As she walked through those corridors once again she was flooded with memories of before the games. Luca emerging from his room in the mornings, chatting with Finnick on the balcony, arguing with Ambrosia in the living room. Now it was like that world had been shattered, and all that was left behind were their fractured souls.
Numbness spread through her body as she cast a forlorn glance at Luca's old room. She knew that he was what was truly missing, a piece of the puzzle that had been lost. Now her heart felt uncharacteristically empty.
As she entered her own room, she took a quick look in the mirror, turned away, then turned back as her mind processed the image.
She looked like a wreck, like she was some crazy who had just escaped from the ward.
Her dark coily hair hung in a ragged ponytail, large sections of it tangled and knotted. Her eyes were red and bloodshot and deep bags had formed from the sleepless nights in the arena. Her skin was streaked with dirt; clearly the doctor's hadn't bothered to hose her down before they sedated her. SHe was thin too, thinner than she'd ever been even when Hebe and her mother had been in the depths of poverty. Her cheek bones stuck out too much, as did her elbows, and she looked like some kind of misshapen stick figure. The blue hospital scrubs that hung from her frame didn't make matters any better either.
She knew the prep teams were good, but she wasn't sure they could work miracles.
Hebe turned away from her horrifying reflection and walked to the bathroom, shucking off her 'clothes' and stepping into the water.
She sighed as the steady stream slid over her body, watching in delight as the dirt rubbed off. She laughed bitterly at the brown water that swirled into the drain, shocked that the human body could even hold so much dirt and grime. She dragged the large bar of flowery smelling soap all over her body, massaging all of the suds into her skin until it was almost as smooth as it had been before.
It was as she was doing this that she noticed something. She had no scars. There were no scars from the bug bites, or from cutting herself on brambles: nothing. Not even any ligature marks from where she was bound to that hospital bed for two days.
On further inspection she noticed that none of the scars from her childhood were there either. The raised sections of pale skin from where she fell off her bike as a little girl were no longer there. Panicking slightly, she checked her right hip bone. Low and behold, there was not patchy red from her birthmark. It was all the same smooth flawless skin.
Hebe dropped to the floor of the shower. She curled up in a ball, and she cried. At first it was just a few whimpers, then sobbing, then she was practically wailing. Her cries were covered by the rushing water, smothering her sobs.
The Capitol had stolen everything from her. They owned her now, mind, body and soul. All she was to them was a doll to dress up an idolise, and the perfect doll should never have an identity. Her life had been ripped from her, and she was certain that they wouldn't stop taking until she was practically a dried up husk of a girl. Until she had no more left to give and they cast her aside in favour of someone new.
She sat at the bottom of the shower until she looked like a prune, her fingers and toes wrinkling from the warm water. Then Hebe dragged herself out of her meditative state and stepped out of the shower, wrapping the plush towel around her shivering body.
She then blow-dried her hair, grateful for the loud noise to drown out her thoughts. Then she took note of the linen trousers and silken top laid out on her bed. She pulled the dark trousers onto her legs, struggling slightly to wrench the fabric over her slightly damp skin. Hebe then slipped on the navy top, sighing at the feeling of the smooth fabric on her raw body.
Just as she was tying her coily hair into a ponytail, there was a knock on the door, as well as a high-pitched greeting.
Ambrosia was on the other side, still wearing her blinding outfit.
"Good, you're finished just in time," She brushed down her dress trying to remove some invisible crease, "They're reading to start briefing you."
"Ok, thanks Ambrosia." Hebe said, too drained to make any kind of conversation with the woman. She had to be saving her energy for Caesar.
She entered the living room and saw Mags and Finnick sat on the sofa waving her over.
"Hey guys." She said as she sat down opposite the pair of mentors.
"You seem even more tired than when you got in the shower." Finnick remarked.
"As always Finnick, your input is much appreciated."
Mags decided to step in before Finnick was strangled.
"As frustrating as he may be, he has a point. You've got a lot of warming up to do…"
"I know, I know. Let's get to it then shall we?"
"Good idea," Finnick cut in, " So, our game plan for you is gonna be very similar to the pre-game interviews. We're gonna want to play into the 'glory of the games and the Capitol'. It's unoriginal, but it works."
"No problem."
"Yeah, because that's the easy bit. The hard bit is talking about the games themselves. I'm gonna warn you up front. They're guaranteed to talk about Luca. And Gaia."
Hebe stared down at the floor, not able to meet either of her mentor's eyes. She knew this was going to be coming. There was no way she was going to be able to get through this interview without talking about the horrors of the games.
"Ok. What should I say when they ask me about them then?"
"Tell the truth. 'They kept me going through the worst parts of the games'. 'I want to do right by them'. At this point, nothing is too sappy, because you have no one left to intimidate. I can guarantee you that they will eat it up."
The three of them spent the next few hours discussing their tactics for the interview; they were still there right up until Ambrosia came to collect her.
Hebe bid goodbye to Mags, who was feeling slightly ill and would be having an early night. Finnick said he would come and escort her. He also mentioned the fact he would be interviewed as well, so she had that vomit-inducing spectacle to look forward to.
Then she was descending through the floors of the training centre with Ambrosia. She had to confront her newfound fear of elevators; Ambrosia wasn't going to risk breaking a heel on those stairs. Hebe shut her eyes tightly the whole way down to avoid hallucinating those guts sliding down the glass.
Then it was onto that strange cart in that large concrete tunnel. Hebe had to shut her eyes again to stop herself from flashing back to the games.
The whole way to her prep team she felt the distinct absence of Luca. Everytime she turned back to say something to him, he was no longer there.
It had felt as though in the games she had been able to push aside his death, convince herself that it wasn't real. But now that she was back here, redoing all the things they had done together, she felt lost without the boy.
Hebe's prep team were as cheery as ever, continuing their saga of gossiping about the lives of obscure Capitol elites. Sometimes Hebe wondered if they had any concept of what the districts were like at all. However, they did all seem incredibly happy to see her alive, telling her in detail how worried they were when she was in the games.
It warmed Hebe's heart slightly. It gave her some slither of hope that not all of the Capitol citizens were as out of touch as she had originally thought.
However, this gleam of hope was smothered when they began talking about how sensational and exciting all the deaths had been this year, and how tragic and gory the final few hours were. Hebe felt herself sink into herself, blocking out their chittering voices lest she sink into a full-on flashback.
Her heart hurt to think of the friends she'd lost in the games get talked about this way. The closer she got to her interview, the more she became terrified of it.
She was done with her prep quicker than she thought she'd be, and before she knew it she was collected by Ambrosia and being taken to Tigris in yet another hospital gown.
Hebe sat on the concrete slab awaiting her stylist's arrival, anxious to get on with it. Not a minute later she arrived, tail swishing behind her as she closed the door. Her hair was puffed out rather than pulled back in a plait and she wore an uncharacteristically extravagant dress. That's when Hebe remembered that it was not only her getting interviewed tonight, but her stylist and her mentors (in her case, mentor).
Tigris stretched out her arms to hug the girl, and Hebe stood up and gratefully returned it.
"It's good to see you dear. You look well." While it was practically the same words she had gotten from her prep team and Ambrosia, for some reason the tone in which Tigris said it made Hebe believe her.
"Thank you. I'm glad to be back."
"I'm sure you are. Would you like to see what I've got in store for you?"
Hebe nodded eagerly, still finding some kind of childish enjoyment out of the stylish gowns Tigris made for her. Whilst she knew the only purpose was to appeal to the Capitol citizens, it satisfied the urge to be beautiful that had manifested since youth.
Tigris pulled down the zipper on the clothing cover to reveal yet another pearl dress. It looked rather simple, using a pearly fabric with shells encrusted in different patterns all the way down the length of the gown.
"Trust me, it gets better when you put it on."
Hebe followed her stylists advice and pulled the dress on, allowing Tigris to do up the ribbons of the corset detail in the back. Hebe looked at herself in the mirror, confused as to what her stylist meant when she noticed something. Small droplets of water falling down her dress. Then they grew into trickles, until finally there were entire streams gushing down the rivulets created by the encrust pearls.
The streams even melded into the asymmetrical neckline, so it seemed as though water formed an entire side of the dress. Hebe gaped, and Tigris chuckled at the reaction, clearly pleased with her handiwork.
"The idea behind it is to make it look like you just stepped out of the water." She explained, while taking a spray bottle and dampening Hebe's dark curls.
"Well you've certainly succeeded in that."
Tigris gave Hebe a wide range of accessories. Her neck was stacked with pearly necklaces, her arms laden with bracelets that looked like water, and her fingers encrusted with silver and sapphires. Much to Hebe's dismay, the heels also made a comeback, and they seemed even taller than before.
Then the stylist was done, stepping back to admire her handiwork. Hebe did the same, baffled by the idea that the girl she was looking at now had been the same one she had been staring at in another mirror only a few hours ago.
"I believe it's time to go," Tigris said, opening the door for Hebe just as Finnick appeared around the corner, joining them in their walk down to the TV studio.
He was dressed in his own (more revealing) watery attire. He had on a white linen shirt that was practically undone, with its own rivulets of water running down the front, as well as navy trousers and brown leather shoes. In contrast to Hebe, his shirt was covered in so much water that it was practically looked sort of like a pirate that had just been caught in a storm.
"So you're the reason I'm dressed like this!" He said pointing at Tigris and Hebe and then at his own hair, which was similarly dampened.
"I think it's great. Very modest." Hebe deadpanned.
"Fuck you." Finnick murmured to her as they walked, glancing back to make sure Tigris hadn't heard him like he was some naughty schoolboy and not the winner of a nationwide death match.
It was only a few more minutes of walking before they reached the backstage area. The whole room was a buzz with people milling around, and it seemed even more hectic now than when there were another 23 tributes there.
"You nervous?" Finnick asked, having to lean down slightly and speak directly into Hebe's ear because of the noise.
"Sort of. Who's getting interviewed first?"
"First it's Tigris, then me, then you. Although, your interview is going to be longer than ours."
"Then it's the highlight reel right?"
"Right. It'll be just you sitting up there with Caesar watching though, I'll be either in the crowd or on the other side of the backstage area."
"Great. I can't wait for that bit."
"Yeah, it's gonna be really fun for you."
The rest of their conversation was then cut off, as always, by Caesar Flickerman appearing on the TV's.
"Hello folks, and welcome to the post-game interviews, for the 69th annual hunger games! Tonight, we are going to give all of you at home the exclusives on what happened this year. We're going to be interviewing stylists, gamemakers, mentors, and, best of all, our spectacular new victor. We're also going to be watching our never before seen highlight reel, so that you can get a recap of all the games highs, as well as the lows. So buckle in folks, because I can guarantee that tonight is going to be one to remember!"
Hebe grumbled as she watched the man work the crowds, filling up the allotted time with small talk before it was time for Tigris' interview.
"I'm really not sure I feel like much of a 'spectacular victor'." Hebe whispered to her mentor as he kept his eyes glued onto the screen. He turned towards her, looking her dead in the eyes as he said:
"You never really will."
Then he turned back to the screen as Tigris was finally welcomed on, the woman strutting out onto the stage as her 'fur' glistened under the spotlights.
"Tigris, it is ever so lovely to see you! I have been such a fan of your work ever since I was just a little boy watching the games!"
Tigris let out a laugh that was almost cat-like, and when she spoke again her voice came out in more of a hiss than her normal tone would.
"Well Caesar, you certainly do know how to age a woman don't you." She grinned, baring her sharp fangs.
The crowd laughed.
"My apologies dear, I was just going to lead onto how wonderful it is that you've managed to help kindle the bright spark that is our newest victor. Tell us about some of your designs, don't hold back!"
Tigris then explained the ideas behind each of Hebe's looks for the parade and the interviews. Caesar then began to ask the questions that the Capitol citizens had sent in.
"Many of our viewers have been wondering, are you going to be designing for Hebe during the victory tour?" He leaned forward, eager for the woman's response.
"Why of course Caesar! However, I do have some sad news to announce…" Tigris hissed, looking out forlornly into the crowd who all gasped.
"Tigris, what is it?"
"I'm afraid that this is my last year as a stylist. I'm retiring."
All the citizens of the Capitol stopped and gaped at the stage. Then they erupted into desperate pleas for her to stay. She was one of the oldest and most well-loved stylists of the games.
"Oh no! Well, I can certainly speak for our viewers when I say that you'll be terribly missed, isn't that right folks!"
Then they erupted into shouts of support as Tigris bowed and dismounted the stage, climbing down the steps back towards where Hebe and Finnick were.
"Sorry to drop the news on both of you like that. The Capitol never does tire of its overzealous dramatics."
"It's ok, I'm just gonna miss you." Hebe replied.
"Trust me, I'm gonna miss this too."
Hebe had no chance to ask what she meant before the older woman had disappeared into the crowd of people, her tail swishing behind her.
"Weird." Finnick said, following Hebe's line of sight.
"You can say that again."
"I have to go on stage now. Lucky for you, you can watch it all from right here."
"Oh aren't I fortunate."
"Indeed you are," he then leaned down and muttered into her ear, "Although, I've been told the view's much better in real life."
Then he was gone striding with confidence towards the entrance, just as Hebe noticed Caesar beginning his next segue to introduce yet another interviewee. .
"Up next, we have a very special treat for you all. A man who needs no real introduction, and one we all know and love. It's the victor of the 65th hunger games and Hebe Cross' mentor, the one, the only, Finnick Odair!"
Hebe kept her eyes glued to the screen as her mentor walked onto the stage, his most arrogant smirk plastered all over his face as he waved at the crowds. She felt the familiar feeling of bile in her throat that she always used to get when watching his cheesy interviews. She had no idea why the Capitol ate it up everytime.
"Finnick my boy how have you been?"
"Oh I've been wonderful Caesar, I'm so happy that I'm back here in the Capitol, and with a winning tribute no less!"
"Well we're glad to have you back!" The crowd erupted into cheers, "But really we're here to talk about this new victor of yours. Tell us, what were your first impressions of the lovely Hebe Cross?"
Finnick chuckled and looked upwards slightly, like he was recalling a memory from long ago.
"Well, the first thing I noticed is that she didn't really like me very much."
Caesar and the Capitol citizens all looked confused, aghast at the idea anyone could dislike their favourite victor.
"But how Finnick, you're such a lovely young man!"
"That's what I tried to tell her!" The crowd laughed, "But aside from her apparent distaste for me, I straightaway noticed that she was strong, intelligent and beautiful. All the makings of a great victor."
"Very astute of you Finnick, because I know for sure that that's how everyone here in the Capitol would describe her. Tell us, did you two become closer as the week went on?"
"Well Caesar, the ice definitely melted. She can just about stand to be in the same room as me now!" The crowd laughed again, "But no, we are good friends already, I'm glad she made it out of the arena."
"Of course! How do you think she fared in the arena, what was your proudest moment as a mentor?"
"She fared incredibly well, the games were especially tough this year. Not only were the tributes deadly, but so was the arena. I think my proudest moment would have to be when she discovered those tunnels and used them to her advantage. Not many tributes would've been able to pull something like that off."
"Very true! Now, Finnick, our time is almost up, so I have one more question to ask you. Hebe is the first victor you've mentored. How did you feel when she won, what was your initial reaction?"
"My initial reaction? Pride. And joy. As much as we try not to, we all become emotionally attached to our tributes, so to finally have one returning home is more than I could ever ask for."
"Isn't that just so sweet! Thank you, Finnick, and we all look forward to seeing you again during the victory tour. Ladies and gentleman, Finnick Odair!"
The crowd screamed as he walked off, and Hebe could imagine that their hands must now sting from how much they were clapping, their throats red and raw from all the shouting.
Hebe tore her eyes away from the screen to watch as Finnick strode over to her, his arrogance melting into something slightly more genuine as he caught sight of the new victor.
"I think that's the nicest you've ever been to me."
"What?! I'm always nice to you. It's you who isn't nice to me."
"Whatever you say."
"Anyway, luckily for you there's a quick ad break before your interview, meaning we can both take a leisurely stroll over to where you're going to go on stage."
The pair wandered over to the other side of the room and waited for the next ten minutes. The longer Hebe waited, the more anxious she got, and the more she wished they didn't have an ad break.
Soon the assistant came over to tell her they would be on soon, and before she knew it she was about to go on stage.
"You'll be fine. Just act how you normally do and you'll be fine. You're a natural." Finnick murmured as he did his usual ritual of tucking a damp curl behind her ear.
"Thanks." She breathed, her nerves not allowing her to speak above a whisper.
"My pleasure sweetheart. Good luck." Her mentor winked at her before walking away, leaving to find his seat in the crowd.
Hebe stared after him for a split second before her attention returned to the task at hand. She breathed deeply a few times before setting her face into the practised smile she had now perfected.
Then one of the assistants was ushering her forwards, and she was pushed onto the stage. The lights were just as blinding as she remembered, but luckily she could just about make out Caesar. The crowd screamed as she walked over, and it seemed as though they were double the volume than they had been for Finnick.
She seated herself on the chair opposite Caesar as the crowd died down enough that she could hear her interviewer.
"Don't you look fabulous darling! I must say, I'm really enjoying the cohesion between you and your mentor."
"What can I say? Tigris is a genius."
"That she is! Now tell me dear, did you watch Finnick's interview just now?"
"I'm afraid I did Caesar."
"What can you tell us about your first impressions of him?"
"I thought he was rather frustrating. And strange."
The crowd laughed raucously at her statement.
"Strange!?" Caesar exclaimed.
"Indeed! I won't get into it now, but believe me, the man does have his quirks."
"Quirks? I must ask him about that later. But coming away from that, let's talk about the games."
"Yes, let's." Hebe responded, swinging one leg over the other and leaning forward eagerly, trying to mask her nerves as excitement.
"First off, we have to talk about your allies, because you had many over the course of the games."
"I'm a friendly person Caesar!"
"That you are! And I have to say, you were certainly friendliest with your first allies, Luca and Niamh. What can you tell us about that?"
Hebe's heart sank when she heard the name of her district partner, but she pushed through.
"Luca was an obvious choice for an ally. As I'm sure I've said before, he was like a younger brother to me, and I trusted him implicitly. It was the same with Niamh. Many people wouldn't have considered her because she was from an outlying district, but I saw her potential from the beginning."
"Indeed you did! Yet, it didn't work out. Why do you think that was?"
"I think I was so busy acting under the delusion that Luca was certain to be safe that I didn't even consider the danger until it was much too late. His death was a turning point for me; it woke me up to the reality of the games."
"That it did. Next was your revenge plot against the careers. Tell me, was that your plan from the moment you allied with them, or at that point were you more concerned with saving yourself?"
Hebe considered it for a minute.
"I think at that point I was already dead set on revenge, but I wasn't sure on how to achieve it, not until Gaia made her move anyway."
"I have to say, when you eliminated the careers it was one of the most brutal kills I've ever seen in the history of the games. Bravo!" The crowd cheered.
"Thank you Caesar." Hebe couldn't say anymore just in case she threw up then and there.
"No problem dear. So then you went on your own for a short while until you yet again encountered Gaia. You two had one of the sweetest relationships I've ever seen, how did you feel about it?"
"I became great friends with her. It felt like I'd known her for years. She reminded me of my sister Annie back home."
Hebe desperately tried to stop the alarm showing on her face as she realised what she had said. She had broken Finnick's golden rule. Luckily Caesar didn't take too much notice.
"Isn't that just so cute folks? It broke my heart to watch what happened to you both, it really did. My condolences."
"Thank you."
"I'm afraid our interview is now over, however we are at the most exciting part of the proceedings! The highlight reel!"
The lights in the studio dimmed and behind her, the highlights began to be projected. They were going to last for the next hour and a half, and Hebe had to suffer through the whole thing, her reactions being filmed the entire time.
It opened at the reaping, and she watched as a montage of the tributes being reaped was shown, with them of course putting extra focus on Hebe volunteering for Angelina Piscis. The camera even cut to Angelina's mother to show her reaction. The whole thing was narrated by spliced together commentary from Caesar and Claudius as the events unfolded.
Then it cut to the parade, each district emerging from the tunnel in order apart from Hebe and Luca who were put last. Hebe tried to appreciate the glamorous costumes, but all she could see when she looked at them was the way they were killed and how their body looked post-mortem.
Then all the tribute's scores were displayed for their evaluations, all of the tributes appearing in ascending order of their scores. Hebe, yet again, last because she was not only the victor but the one with the highest score.
Next was the interviews, and all the best moments for each tribute were cut together, so each tribute had one long segment of dialogue that best described them as a person. Verity was just as much of a smug bitch as Hebe remembered. She didn't regret eliminating her in the slightest.
Then it finally got to the games.
The video started off following Hebe, but also occasionally cut to what other tributes were doing (mainly the careers). It also showed each tributes grisly death during the bloodbath. After that it felt like the film sped through the events of the games. Luca's death, Hebe killing the careers, finding the tunnels, cannibalism, bugs, Gaia, peaches, mutts, and finally her victory.
She had to look away each time someone she cared about died.
Then the highlights were over. Caesar made his closing remarks, and Hebe smiled and waved. Then the lights in the studio were dramatically turned off, and they were plunged into darkness.