Hebe sat on the plush sofa on the train, her head buried in her hands as she tried to come to terms with what had happened.
She'd been so foolish, so focused on Annie volunteering that she hadn't even considered the possibility she'd be reaped. Snow must've rigged it and she was certain that every slip in that bowl had her sister's name on it.
Finnick had to hold her back when they called Annie's name. She'd tried to say something, so shout for someone to volunteer in her place, but she couldn't. Snow would punish her even more if she did that.
For a moment she'd been hopeful that someone would do it off of their own back, and that some academy hopeful would leap at the opportunity. But no one had. They'd all clapped as she went up there. And that was when Hebe realised they weren't volunteering on purpose. They were happy for her, after all, this was every career's dream.
Annie played off her shock decently well, striding up to the front of the stage like she was meant to be there. Meanwhile Finnick kept a hand wrapped firmly around Hebe's arm to stop her from interfering.
She'd wanted to go and see her afterwards, but she wasn't allowed. The mentors had to go straight to the train after all.
Her mother was there, waiting for her, tears streaking down her face. Her mother had held out her belongings for her to take, whilst she reassured her that she would bring Annie home safe. She promised her that they'd both come back, and that she'd do anything to make sure of it.
Then they were on the train, and Hebe was forced to wait for her oldest friend to join them, and pray that it wouldn't be a one-way journey.
Finnick looked just as nervous as his fellow mentor, his leg bouncing up and down with nerves.
"We're gonna bring her back." He said suddenly, sitting up straighter and staring determinedly at Hebe.
"You can't guarantee that." She said, breaking eye contact to stare at the plush carpets instead.
"No, I can't. But I believe she can win, and I know you believe that too."
Hebe thought about arguing with him, but she realised he was right. She had always believed Annie could be a victor, at points more than she believed it about herself. And she had to choose to trust in that feeling. She wouldn't get anywhere if she didn't at least believe.
"Finnick, look, about-"
"No," He cut her off, looking at her with that same intensity he had moments ago. "Now's not the time. We can sort out whatever's been going on later, but right now, we need to focus on helping Annie."
Once again, he was right.
"Ok."
At that moment the doors to the dining car slid open, and in came Ambrosia, Annie, and Victor. Hebe struggled to restrain herself from running over to her friend and hugging her tight, or from shoving her off the train completely.
For a moment she considered that, opening the train door as left 4, and pushing her out when it was at a slower speed. By the time anyone realised, they'd be well on their way to the Capitol without Annie. Although, when they did realise, Annie would probably be in front of the firing squad. Or they'd just send her on a later train.
She was broken out of her thoughts by Ambrosia's shrieking voice.
"Oh, what are you two doing here!" She exclaimed.
"Well, uh-"
"We wanted to at least greet our tributes before dinner." Finnick said quickly, standing up from the sofa, Hebe following suit.
"How lovely! Annie, Victor, meet your mentors, Finnick Odair and Hebe Cross!"
Annie gave a shy wave, acting like she hadn't spent the last year in close proximity with the both of them. Victor on the other hand didn't seem so pleased to see them, rolling his eyes bitterly.
"We already know who they are." He mumbled.
"What was that?" Ambrosia asked, looking over at the boy curiously, "You really should speak up, I don't enjoy mumbling. No matter, now that introductions are over, let me lead you both to your quarters!"
The escort quickly rushed them both away down the corridor, and Hebe narrowly stopped herself from following behind. Instead, she turned back to Finnick.
"So, now what?"
"Well, normally I'd go to my room until dinner. But you need to go see Annie."
"Yeah, I do. I'll see you at dinner." She said, so eager to extract herself from the awkward situation as well as soothe her anxious mind that she didn't even look back at him.
Hebe walked down the corridor towards where she knew the rooms were. Luckily they were marked with signs that said 'mentor' 'escort' and 'tribute' so it was only a decision between two rooms where her friend might be.
She eventually made her choice, picking the room that had once been here, and knocking on the wood of the door.
"Annie?"
"Yeah, come in."
She quickly slid the door open, stepping into the familiar room. Annie was sitting on the bed like she had been waiting for her to arrive. But more unnerving was the fact she was smiling.
Hebe rushed forward, sitting beside her and giving her a tight hug, breathing in her familiar smell.
"Are you ok?" She said, her face contorted in concern.
Annie didn't appear to share any of the same worry.
"Well, it was a bit surprising, but I always thought I'd end up here anyway. So I'm feeling pretty good."
"Are you sure? I mean, I volunteered, but I was still a bit shaken up about it?"
"Yeah, but you didn't have your oldest friend as your mentor. I don't have anything to worry about with you around." She said, nudging her friend (and now mentor) playfully.
Hebe didn't say anything more, but she couldn't help but grow even more concerned with Annie's lack of care for the situation.
"That's true I suppose. But, I think for now we should act as if we don't really know each other, ok?"
"What, why?"
"Well, if it gets out to the Capitol how close we are, it'll put a target on your back. Yes, it'd probably guarantee you sponsors, but it's not worth it if the careers are hunting you down. Besides, they'll be paying closer attention to 4 anyway because I won last year."
Annie considered it for a moment before nodding in agreement.
"You know, Hebe, you don't have to be so worried about me."
"I can't help myself, Ann. It's my-"
"Yes, yes I know, it's your job to worry. But I've been training my whole life for this. And I know I can win."
"I know you can too." She said softly, brushing her fingers through the red waves that fell around Annie's shoulders.
By the time dinner rolled around, all the fear and sadness Hebe felt had been converted into something she felt to be much more productive. Anger. Anger that was mainly directed at president Snow, but also to all of his advisors, and that rich upper crust of the Capitol that believed they were beyond reproach.
She had hardened herself once again, just like she had during the games. The past 8 months had consisted of her wallowing in her sadness and guilt. Guilt for what she was doing to Finnick and for putting Annie in the firing line, and sadness for the way the Capitol had exploited her.
But now it felt like a slate had been wiped clean. All that work she had put into protecting Annie had clearly been for nothing, so now it was time to work harder. Hebe had a clear goal in mind: get Annie through the hunger games. She would emerge victorious if it was the last thing Hebe did.
She sat down at the dining table and felt more confident and assured than she had since before the games.
Annie and Victor hadn't arrived from their rooms yet, and Ambrosia had only just left to collect them, so at the moment it was only her and Finnick sat at the table, waiting for their tributes so they could begin eating.
"You look better." Finnick remarked, taking a sip of his drink.
"I feel better. You were right. I just have to believe, like I always have, that she can win."
He nodded, but didn't reply. Even though they had decided to park their 'issue' for now, the questions Finnick clearly had still lingered between them. Hebe was just grateful that he could still stand to be in the same room as her.
"Ah, they're both already here! What good timing." Ambrosia said, sweeping her way around the room to sit at the far side of the table, leaving the seats opposite Hebe and Finnick for the two tributes.
Victor quickly sat down opposite Finnick, pausing from his usual scowling to take in the food. That left only Annie to take her seat, smiling at the group as she did so.
"Well, go on you two, eat up!" Ambrosia exclaimed, motioning for them to begin. They both quickly accepted, stuffing their faces with food just like Hebe and Luca had.
The dinner seemed to go well at first, quiet, but well. Ambrosia made polite conversation with the two mentors, remarking on how much she'd missed them since the tour and so on.
The tributes of course stayed quiet for the first part, trying to shove as much food in their mouths before it disappeared. But, as soon as Victor had had his fill, he immediately got down to business.
"I want Finnick as my mentor." He said firmly, that familiar scowl on his face.
"Normally the mentors do it together at this point-" Finnick began, but Victor cut across him.
"But this isn't normal is it?"
"Don't be rude, young man." Ambrosia said quickly, focused more on his interruption than the words he actually said.
"Sorry," He snarled, "But I intend to win, and I can't do that if she," He pointed at Annie, "Is getting special treatment."
Hebe groaned inwardly. She hadn't thought that the one to put the target on Annie's back would be her own district partner.
"Special treatment?" Ambrosia asked, finally catching on to the topic of conversation.
"Yes. They're best friends. They like, live together or something." He responded.
Finnick pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb in exasperation whilst Ambrosia began interrogating the pair.
"Really! Hebe, you should've told me before!" She scolded, "But now that you mention it, I do remember you from the family interviews…"
Ambrosia continued to fire a flurry of questions at Annie, the girl trying to answer them all as well as she could.
Victor continued glaring daggers at the whole table, "That's exactly what I'm talking about! No ones going to sponsor me if all they care about is her!"
Hebe struggled to resist rolling her eyes at the boy. She was fairly certain the real reason he wouldn't get any sponsors was because he was a whiny brat.
"Fine," Finnick interjected, finally piping up to try and resolve the issue, "If it's really what you want, I'll mostly work with Victor, and Hebe with Annie. Of course, if that's alright for you Annie?"
Annie shrugged, "That's fine with me."
A triumphant smirk wriggled its way onto Victor's face, although it dropped slightly when Finnick continued talking.
"However, we'll still be working together on our main strategies. So everyone knows what's going on." Finnick finished, looking around for confirmation.
The two women both nodded in agreement, and eventually so did Victor.
"But, are we going to reveal Annie and Hebe's relationship? The Capitol would love to hear-"
"No. Not yet." Hebe said firmly, cutting swiftly across Ambrosia, "We might at the interviews, but for now, no."
Ambrosia seemed a bit disappointed, but didn't cause an argument, which she appreciated.
The rest of the meal went decently well, returning to the familiar small talk whilst Hebe sampled many of the Capitol desserts. If there was one thing she liked about the people of the Capitol, it was their food.
"Right, now that we've all eaten, it's time for the reapings!" The escort declared, standing up from the table and leading the way down the corridor.
Victor and Annie followed quickly behind her, eager to survey the rest of the competition. That left Hebe and Finnick to bring up the rear.
"I assume you'd planned to keep the family connection quiet?" He asked, peering down at her.
"I had," Hebe grumbled, "But I hadn't considered getting stitched up by my own tribute."
Finnick mused for a moment.
"Maybe it's for the best that they're training separately, then you don't have to pretend you care about them equally."
"That's true." She said, "I just hope he doesn't try anything else. He already seems to hate her."
"I get the impression that hatred is a common sentiment for that boy."
Hebe let out a small, bitter laugh at that.
The pair joined their tributes in the end car of the train where they always watched the reapings. Hebe desperately tried to push down memories of the last times she had been in this room, sat with Finnick talking and laughing. The memory of her birthday resurfaced in her head, how happy he had been to give her that present, how grateful she had been ro receive it.
She stole a quick glance at her fellow mentor, and the look on his face was just as severe as she was sure hers was. She tried not to get stuck back in her guilt, and to focus on the present moment. And her goal to save Annie.
But she knew she was going to have to speak to him about it sooner rather than later, before all the feelings she'd kept repressed came bursting out at the wrong moment. She decided that tomorrow evening, after the parade, she'd explain everything to him.
She set her face into a neutral expression as Ambrosia switched on the television, trying to put her mind into a more analytical mode to examine the tributes.
The careers from one and two were just as terrifying as last year, if not more so. However the ones from the outlying districts didn't seem too bad this time, most of them being 15 or younger, so they didn't seem to pose as much of a threat as last year.
The only exception to this rule was a boy from 10, who was 18 and muscular.
Hebe also paid attention to the way her tributes presented themselves at the reaping. Hebe could see that Victor, as much as she had taken against the boy, would be very intimidating to the other districts, due to that scowling expression.
Annie looked less terrifying, but no doubt seemed to be confident, smiling as she climbed up to the stage. Hebe was just glad the camera hadn't landed on her at that moment, as they would've seen her being held back by Finnick, which would almost certainly have raised some questions.
"So," Hebe began, "Who are your threats?"
"The careers." Victor stated lazily, almost like he couldn't see the point in this exercise.
"That boy from 10 as well," Annie said, "He's our age and pretty menacing. And I guess you can't rule anyone out at this stage. Even the little ones could do some damage if they were really put up against it."
"That's true," Hebe said, as Victor scoffed. She gave him a harsh glare.
"Victor, what are your strengths and weaknesses?"
"I'm good at most weapons, especially tridents and swords. I'm strong and I'm pretty fast." He said, puffing out his chest as he grinned smugly.
"Weaknesses?" She asked.
"I'm not great with a bow. And I don't know much about survival skills outside of knot-tying."
"You'll have to work on survival during training then. Most tributes die from exposure, so don't underestimate their importance." Finnick interjected, taking the words right out of Hebe's mouth. Of course, Victor nodded firmly. He seemed like the typical member of the Finnick Odair fan club.
"What about you Annie?" Finnick asked.
"I'm best with knives and a spear, but I suck at using axes. I'm pretty fast, but I'm not very strong and I'm not great at hand to hand. Oh, and I'm really good at survival skills."
Hebe smiled proudly at the girl, knowing that she had sold her skills slightly short. Sure, she wasn't great at hand to hand without weapons, but that didn't matter much as any attackers would have a knife between their eyes before they could get that close.
"Hm, good. Annie, you're pretty and likeable, so stick with that for now. That way, hopefully the other tributes will underestimate you. Victor, you go for a more intimidating angle. I'm thinking of the strong and silent type. Anything to add, Hebe?"
"Nope, I think you covered it all. Now, the both of you should get some rest before tomorrow. We don't want you so tired you fall off the chariots."
Hebe looked over to Finnick as she said it, him giving her a small smile as they both remembered back to only a year ago when he had said the exact same thing.
Ambrosia was quick to hurry them off to bed, Annie giving her friend a quick wave before they all left the room, leaving Hebe and Finnick on their own again.
They both stood for a moment, lost in their thoughts about games strategies and the past.
"I'll, uh, see you tomorrow, yeah?" Hebe said quickly, walking over to the door.
"Yeah. Sleep well."
"You too." She moved to step out the door before turning round once again, "I really am sorry. I'll explain everything tomorrow, I promise."
He didn't respond, just nodding at her.
She walked back to her room, considering dropping in on Annie for a moment before deciding against it. She needed her sleep for tomorrow.
She took off her outfit for the reaping and pulled on a pair of pyjamas that she found in the dresser, before trying to go to sleep.
For a moment Hebe wished she was back on her victory tour, and that any minute there would be a knock at her door, with Finnick on the other side. But, of course, through only her own fault, he wasn't there. And unless he was happy with her explanation, which he really shouldn't be, then he wouldn't be there ever again.
Eventually she felt herself nodding off, and as she did, she could've sworn she heard music through the thin walls of the train. And it was a soothing, sorrowful melody that she recognised as her own.