Welcome back to the 12th Hunger Games!
You guys have fully blown me away with the amount of interest in this story, I wasn't expecting spots to fill up so fast! If you reserved a spot, don't forget to send your tribute in! The sooner, the better, if possible.
In the meantime, I have another prologue for you guys! This chapter should give some more context as to what the mentor system will be like, as well as introduce them all! The focus will mainly be on Mags, who, while still maintaining her canon kindness, isn't quite as positive as she is by the time Catching Fire rolls around. Recent memories of the arena will do that to you.
Enjoy!
Mags's heart ached as the train pulled away from her home of District Four once again. This feeling had become far too familiar for her liking; a year ago, she was ripped away from her home to be forced into the Hunger Games. Six months go, she was embarking on the very first Victory Tour, and now, here she was, back on it again. Mags prided herself on being able to look at the positive side of almost any situation, but these constant trips to the Capitol were wearing on her. It felt like she had just gotten back home.
Mags had no choice but to acknowledge the pit in her stomach as each minute passed by, taking her closer to the Capitol. She hadn't done anything wrong; when the Peacekeepers barged into her new home in the Victor's Village, she was fully cooperative. All they had told her was that her presence was needed in the Capitol immediately for a meeting with Head Gamemaker Dr. Gaul. Mags did not relish in the idea of meeting the notorious woman; anyone who found joy in suffering wasn't high on her list of people she was dying to meet. But it's not like she really had a choice.
At least, she wasn't alone. Mags turned to look at the older boy sitting next to her, Hull Bermuda. Hull was the winner of the 7th Hunger Games, and although he had no impact on Mags's victory, the two had quickly grown very close, being the only two citizens of District Four who had gone into the Games and lived to tell the tale. Hull was a striking young man, with dirty blonde hair, stormy blue eyes, and a healthy, sun-kissed glow to him. Although he was quite handsome, a shiver went down her spine as she observed him; sitting on this train, he looked scarily similar to the boy who had entered the arena with Mags just a year prior.
And now, that boy was dead.
Trying to remove the image of her district partner's dead body from her head, Mags looked down at her hands and tried to guess what the meeting with Gaul could possibly be about. She wanted to discuss it with Hull, but he was more of the strong and silent type. If he wanted to make conversation with her, he would initiate it. That was one of the things Mags liked most about him, was that he wouldn't change for anyone. She had always been too nice for her own good, and was eager to please.
Based on both of them being whisked away for this rendezvous, Mags deduced that the other victors would also be present as well. After all, there weren't too many of them, and tracking them down likely wouldn't be an issue as everyone had moved into their respective Victor's Village. There were ten victors in total, as the girl from District 12 who had been crowned the Victor a year before Mags had vanished. There was an endless amount of theories as to what had become of her, but Mags didn't like to participate in discussions about it; if the girl really was dead, she should be able to rest in peace. Deep down though, the idea of the Capitol eliminating her for disobedience would occasionally find it's way into Mag's head, which is why she wouldn't dare to go against their wishes.
Mags had already met the other victors during her tour, so she wasn't at all nervous about the possibility of running into them. Although some of them were a bit rough around the edges, they were all bonded by their experiences in the Games, so they at least had that much in common. As Mags pondered the other Victors, she began to start hoping that other winners would in fact be present at this meeting, as she specifically loved talking to Rhea Tilth, a woman from District 11 who was crowned the victor of the 3rd Hunger Games. Rhea was the first girl to win, and it wasn't much of a surprise. Long days in the field had turned her into a formidable young woman, with muscles that rivaled even some of the men who had won. Rhea was ten full years older than Mags, so Mags saw her as the older sister she never had. Their meeting had been brief during the tour, but they had clicked well.
As each hour on the train passed, Mags's desire to see Rhea grew more and more. As they neared the Capitol, Mags dozed off, and soon after found herself being shook awake by Hull. "It's time." He said blankly, helping her to her feet.
Mags smiled at him and followed closely behind his large frame. As the pair of victors stepped off the train and into the station, Mags realized that it was nighttime. The station was completely empty, aside from two older women who squealed at the sight of her and began to dash toward the two District Four victors, their heels loudly clicking on the pavement. Hull took a defensive step in front of Mags.
Mags noticed the women holding flyers with her own face plastered on them, as well as pens. Mags quickly pieced together that they were fans and grabbed Hull's arm with a smile. "Hull, it's fine."
Mags smiled and intercepted the women, putting her signature on the flyers as the two of them caught their breath. Each released a barrage of questions onto Mags, who did her best to answer them before the Peacekeepers finally forced the women to go away.
"Victor Bermuda, Victor Flanagan, follow us this way." said one of the more authoritative Peacekeepers. Hull and Mags did as they were told, following the armed men through the twisting streets of the Capitol. Mags reflected on the two women who approached them, finding comfort in the interaction. Now those two knew that herself and Hull were in the Capitol, so if Gaul had the intent of making the two of them disappear like Lucy Gray Baird, those women would know they had been in the city.
After a few minutes of silence during the walk, Hull finally spoke up. "Quite the little fan club you have here."
Mags laughed weakly. "They only know me because of the tour. If they knew you better, they would love you just as much."
Hull stared straight ahead. "Something tells me the Gamemakers will make sure Panem knows us with these Games."
Mags took a moment to process his words. It was definitely strange that they were being forced to visit the Capitol a day before the Reaping. Did they intend to run some kind of special with all of the Victors? Would this become her reality? Being paraded around the Capitol every year like some kind of animal?
As the thoughts began to overwhelm her, Hull spoke up once again. "I'm not trying to scare you or anything."
Mags nodded. "I know."
"Just trying to be realistic." He locked eyes with her now, and Mags offered him a genuine smile. She grabbed hold of one of his large hands, and Hull squeezed hers back in return. Mags felt comfortable with the platonic contact, as although Hull was undeniably attractive, he was 22 years old, about to be 23, and she was only 17. He definitely just saw her as a kid, and she viewed him more as an older brother than anything else. Besides, if the Capitol did in fact plan on turning them into celebrities, she had no desire to ever give the Capitol a love story to root for.
So, the pair finished their trek in a comfortable silence, hands intertwined. They stopped for a moment in front of a very impressive looking building, much larger than anything Mags had ever seen in District Four. Mags couldn't help but be impressed as they ascended the steps. Once they reached the interior, Mags's awe ceased as she remembered that they still didn't know why they were here.
The Peacekeepers lead them to a large conference room, and the two of them stepped inside. As the Peacekeepers slammed the door shut, the first person Mags noticed was an older woman at a podium, with gray hair and mismatched eyes; Dr. Gaul. Behind her stood two blondes, a boy and girl, neither who could have been much older than Mags herself. She recognized the boy from the broadcasts over the past couple of years. Mags couldn't quite place his first name, but she was confident that his last name was Snow. She had no guesses as to who the girl was, however.
Mags peeled her eyes away from the Gamemakers and locked eyes with a woman with dark skin and kind eyes who sat at a table by the podium. A bright smile quickly spread across Mags's face as she realized it was Rhea. Next to her, Mags's suspicions were confirmed as the other victors all were there, seemingly waiting on her arrival. Rhea beckoned her and Hull to take the two seats next to her.
"It's wonderful that the two of you finally decided to join us." Dr. Gaul stated, clearly bothered by their lack of punctuality.
"Mags probably had to deal with hordes of adoring fans." a bitter voice from the left side of the called out. Mags turned to see it belonged to Vera Vernier, a stunning brunette who had won 6th Hunger Games. Next to her was an equally attractive man, with perfectly tousled brown hair, Culet Marquise. Both from District One, they won back to back games. Mags could tell neither liked her very much, as both made it blatantly obvious that they were jealous she had embarked on The Victory Tour and they hadn't.
Mags wanted to defend herself, but the guess Vera had ventured was correct. So, she just ignored them and took her seat next to Rhea, with Hull right behind her.
"Don't worry about them." Rhea encouraged. She nodded her head in the direction of Dr. Gaul, who was whispering something to the two blonde teenagers behind her. "Something tells me we have bigger problems."
Mags agreed and took in the sight of the other Victors that were present. Further down the table was Cuff Cameron of District Eight, who had won the 2nd Hunger Games. He was the oldest of them at age 28, although by looking at him you'd think he was at least a decade older, as the arena and guilt that followed had taken a toll on him. Cuff had tried to leave the Games behind him by getting married and having a daughter, but sitting here in the Capitol, he looked miserable. Mags could tell he hated every second that he had to spend doing victor business.
On the other side of Rhea was Fenella Flux, a redheaded woman with a small frame and a vacant smile on her face. She had won the 8th Hunger Games, and no one really knew how. She was weak and always seemed to be daydreaming. Being from District Six, she didn't really have any skills that had worked to her advantage in the arena, especially given the barbaric nature of the first nine iterations of the Games. From what Mags could remember when she watched coverage of all the Games during her tour, she basically just watched as the other tributes took one another out. Although she wasn't super well liked by any of the other victors, she had been nice enough to Mag's during the tour, so Fenella was good in her book.
Across from them sat Pylon Newton, a District 5 Victor who won the year after Fenella. He was easily the smartest of all the Victors, although Pylon himself admitted that his strategy to win was just an updated version Fenella's. In the arena, Pylon had played dead while a vicious boy from District Two massacred the others. When the boy had thought he had won, Pylon snuck up behind him and stabbed him.
This shameful victory did not sit well with Ellias Orion, the Victor of the Fourth Hunger Games, who sat directly next to Pylon, staring him down. Although Ellias didn't love the idea of the Games, he was still stubbornly loyal to the Capitol, typical of many District Two citizens.
As Mags's eyes landed on the man sitting to Ellias's left, she felt her stomach turn. There sat Alder Elowen, a man from District 7 who had won the very first Hunger Games. While the other tributes hadn't taken the Games seriously, thinking it was some kind of sick joke, Alder knew that the Games were real. As a result, he was the first to spill blood, killing a small boy from District 9. After that, all hell broke loose, but Alder emerged victorious. Mags felt a slight amount of sympathy for the man, as the other victors despised him for being the very first person to play the Capitol's Game. However, she could also see the logic of the other winners; if Alder hadn't spilled any blood, maybe none of them would be sitting there.
Mags's train of thought was interrupted by the voice of Dr. Gaul. "Now that you are all here, we can get started. My goal is to make this as brief as possible, as I don't have time to be wasting." She gave Mags a pointed look. "Although I'm sure we'd all rather forget, I trust that you all remember the 10th Annual Hunger Games, and how we gave out bright Academy students a chance to serve as mentors for our tributes."
Gaul stepped aside and allowed the gaze of the ten victors to fall on the two blondes. That's where I recognize them from. Mags thought to herself. "Whilst that had largely been a failure, that was because most of the students were simply not suited for the job. But the concept of mentors had potential," Gaul continued. "Which is where you ten come in. Who better to bring out the best in our tributes before the Games than those who have experienced them first hand?"
Mags knew where this was going. The Games were going to be her life forever. She glanced away from Gaul for a brief moment and saw a large range of emotions flickering across the faces of her companions. Cuff looked like he was going to faint.
"From now on, each year, you Victors will give our new crop of tributes the best advice you have for the arena," Dr. Gaul's voice rose with excitement, pleased with the plan her and her Gamemakers had concocted. "You will also be responsible for sending the sponsor gifts to your tributes."
Pylon raised a hand. "How will it be determined who gets assigned to what tribute? There's only ten of us-"
"By District, of course." the blond boy answered, stepping forward. "You will simply serve as mentor for your home district. The Districts with multiple victors will be forced to fill in for the others." He beamed with pride as he continued his explanation. "Myself-Coriolanus Snow- as well as my," he hesitated, turning to the girl next to him. "partner, Livia Cardew, have also been entrusted to fill in as mentors for the remaining Districts."
"As if they'll care about what happens to District children." Rhea muttered quietly.
"Well I don't know about the rest of you," Vera started. "But I won't be mentoring anyone that isn't from District One."
"Neither will I," Culet agreed.
"Well, if we are in the business of making demands," Pylon began. "I will obviously mentor the District 5 Tributes, but could I also take on the kids from District 3? They're smart enough. 3 and 5 are more alike than they are different."
Gaul pondered his proposal. "It makes no difference to me." She decided.
Culet shot up from his seat. "That means me and Vera can both mentor for District One, then!"
"Sure." Gaul said flatly, quickly growing tired of these antics. Mags wasn't phased, as District One almost always got special treatment.
Livia was livid, however. "But I wanted District One again!" she whined. Coriolanus rolled his eyes at this. She's lucky she gets to be a mentor at all.
"At least now you'll get a proper chance to produce a victor." Coriolanus reasoned, trying to remain cool.
"I suppose your right. I'll take what I can get." Livia said, settling down. Coriolanus passed her a paper with the mentor assignments. The only District's with no representation were 9, 10, and 12. "I'll take District 10." Livia decided. "Sometimes they send in some strong boys."
Coriolanus added her name to list, and winced after realizing there was a 50% chance he would have to mentor District 12 again.
Thankfully, Mags was the next person to chime in. "I'll take District 12."
Everyone in the room looked shocked at her volunteering to take perhaps the weakest District of all. Mags didn't mind though. Although she loved District 4, she wanted Hull to have their home district. Besides, she would only have to do this until District 12 produced another victor, and under her guidance, Mags was confident she could make that sooner rather than later. At least, I'll try to. She thought to herself, vowing that she would do everything to help her pupils, while also simultaneously rooting for the District 4 tributes. She did her best not to dwell on the two malnourished kids that represented Twelve last year. They hadn't lasted long.
With that, it was decided. Coriolanus carefully wrote Mags Flanagan on the blank line next to District Twelve, and added his own next to District Nine. He was neutral on the assignment, as in his mind, District 9 was one of the most forgettable. But as long as it wasn't 12, he wouldn't complain, and he certainly wouldn't be tempted to cheat ever again.
"Well that's all I have for you." Dr. Gaul announced, seemingly over this meeting entirely. "The Peacekeepers will guide you to the train station and give you further details on what is expected from you. But for now, you must begin the journey to your assigned District at once."
Dr. Gaul nodded and left her podium, adjourning the meeting, and all of the Victors got up from the table and filed out of the conference room, down the halls, and back out onto the dark Capitol streets. A larger group of Peacekeepers took them all back to the train station. A few of the victors discussed their thoughts on the matter, but Mags and Hull kept to themselves in the back of the group.
When they arrived at the now-entirely empty station, Hull wrapped Mags in a long hug. "Good luck," he whispered as the Peacekeepers hurried them along.
Exhaustion was all Mags could feel now as she was placed on a train. It had been a long, tiring day, and she had what felt like an endless amount of information swirling around in her head. How was this going to be her life now? Mags knew she would find a way to live with it, but for now, she needed time to take everything in, and she needed sleep.
As she made herself comfortable on the train, she wondered what District 12 had in store for her. As she began nodding off to the consistent sound of the train rushing across the tracks, the memory of the two District 12 tributes from last year appeared in her head once again and became her final waking thought.
Hopefully, they'll fare better under my care this year.
Hope you guys enjoyed another prologue chapter, I had fun writing this one! I'm excited to write the interactions between these victors as the story progresses.
Here's the list of Victors in this canon, as well as their winning and current ages, in case you had a hard time following.
Victor of the 1st Hunger Games: Alder Elowen (District 7) [Age: 16 - 27]
Victor of the 2nd Hunger Games: Cuff Cameron (District 8) [Age: 18 - 28]
Victor of the 3rd Hunger Games: Rhea Tilth (District 11) [Age: 18 - 27]
Victor of the 4th Hunger Games: Ellias Orion (District 2) [Age: 18 - 26]
Victor of the 5th Hunger Games: Culet Marquise (District 1) [Age: 15 - 22]
Victor of the 6th Hunger Games: Vera Vernier (District 1) [Age: 16 - 22]
Victor of the 7th Hunger Games: Hull Bermuda (District 4) [Age: 17- 22]
Victor of the 8th Hunger Games: Fenella Flux (District 6) [Age: 15 - 19]
Victor of the 9th Hunger Games: Pylon Newton (District 5) [Age: 16 - 19]
Victor of the 10th Hunger Games: N/A
Victor of the 11th Hunger Games: Mags Flanagan (District 4) [Age: 16 - 17]
Let me know what you think of this chapter! And if you reserved a spot, try to get those submissions in as soon as you can! Depending on when the earlier District's are fully submitted, we may be able to start the Reapings as soon as next chapter! But we will see. In the meantime, let me know if you have any questions!