CW: This chapter contains child abuse, and a fairly large range of it. I don't get into too much detail, but it is there and some of these povs can be very uncomfortable to read.

Baron Margenium V, District One

"I told you didn't I?" BV's father bellowed happily, "We made it after all!"

Baron Margenium IV was a large man, with a voice that was used to carrying down the hallways of the academy. It was a voice that was too loud for the small room that he and BV's found themselves in. The receiving room was a rather elegant place, made particularly for people to wish the chosen tributes goodbye each year. Unfortunately, Lustre was seated in that room and BV was placed in a spare room nearby. It was simple, cramped, and utilitarian. His grandparents were forced to wait outside for their turn, as the room was simply too small to accommodate four people at a time. It was a reminder that while he was going into the games, he was not seen as their prime candidate.

Not that BV was frustrated by that. He was still going to the Games after all. Rather than frustrated or jealous, BV was purely exhilarated. He paced back and forth as his father watched him with his eyes. He was always a physical person, someone who took risks and leapt into action. It was how he beat Amber's alternate when a District One citizen was reaped.

He wondered what would have happened if their positions were reversed, and Verity managed to volunteer first. His father would still be proud of him, of course. His father was always proud of him, even when he held him after hours for extra training or docked him for slight flaws in his form that he ignored in other candidates.

"You did tell me." He said, smiling brightly, "And I never doubted it for a second."

That was not entirely true, though BV felt like it was true at that moment. When his father first told him that he wasn't going to be the chosen tribute for the 74th Games, his first reaction was despair. But that was before he knew why he had been passed over.

Lustre Audemar-Miucca had a strange habit of benefitting from tragedy. Once one of his rivals got in a training accident and dropped out of the Career track. Another one got in a fistfight with Lustre and ended up in the hospital. His rise to top of the class was on the backs of injured classmates. Headmaster Margenium had no concrete proof of any foul play, so merely kept an eye on the boy and declared BV the alternate.

"As I said before, Quells are unpredictable. And here we are! Not only do you get into the Games, but you get to show Audemar-Miucca just how much better than him you are."

That did cheer BV up a little. Whenever he thought about the other boy, he felt a surge of emotions that were too dark and difficult to deal with. He pushed them away in favor of cheerful sportsmanship. "He's capable, I'll give him that." BV said, "He's not going to let down District One. But I'm going to be the best tribute in years. Decades even. I'm going to be the best tribute since Baron Margenium the first."

"I know you are." his father said, "Just remember if you fail, you let down our entire family line. No pressure!"

He was joking. BV's father was always joking. All of the little jabs and criticisms, all of the subtle hints as to how to act and who to be. It was just jokes, just humor. It was nothing to be mad about. It wasn't a problem at all.

BV laughed.

Carnation Banyon, District Seven

Carnation knew that her father was going to be angry, but she hadn't anticipated just how furious volunteering made him. Out of instinct she tensed her shoulders and let her hand wander to where she kept a pocket knife.

"How could you do such a boneheaded thing?" he yelled, "To volunteer is one thing. But to volunteer for your sister? What is wrong with you?"

"I don't mind." Her sister Solstice said from where she was standing in the corner. She rubbed her arm awkwardly, a nervous tick Solstice had done since she was little.

Their father shook his head violently, "You don't have to be modest. Would you apologize to someone who stabbed you? No, you wouldn't. And that's what your sister just did. She stabbed you in the back. This was going to be your year! We were going to have victors from District Seven two years in a row."

"That's still going to happen." Carnation said, "I'm going to win."

Her father completely ignored her in favor of Solstice, like always, "Years of training, wasted. We could have been like District Three, a whole new career district. Your name would have gone down in history. Now you're going to be just another washed up lumberjack with a dead sister. So maybe you should mind, Solstice. Your whole life was just taken from you."

Carnation wasn't sure whether or not he was exaggerating or not. It was true that her actions carried some amount of pettiness with them. Given the twist, she could have volunteered at any time. They both could have gone to the Games and Carnation still would have been able to prove herself. But when she heard Solstice's name called, she realized that she didn't just want to earn her own glory, she wanted to take it from her sister.

It was hard to say that she hated her sister. Her feelings for Solstice weren't quite as personal as that. When she was younger she looked up to her, and started joining in on her father's Games training as a way to be just like her. But as time went on and she was constantly compared to her perfect, hypercompetent sister, resentment began to bloom.

"I'm not dead." Carnation protested, "And I won't be. I'm better than her, you know."

Her father scoffed, "You are not better than her."

"I am. Solstice, tell him."

Her sister looked out of the window and continued to rub her arm in clear discomfort, "We had a fight last week. And she did beat me."

Her father fell silent, and for some reason that was more concerning to Carnation than when he was scolding her.

"You're both completely useless." he said, then left the room.

"I don't blame you." Solstice said after their father's footsteps had faded from the hallway, "I actually should be thanking you. You know I never wanted to go to the Games."

"I didn't do it for you." Carnation spat out.

"I know."

She sighed. "Don't do that."

"Do what?" Solstice asked

"Be nice to me. It just makes everything worse when you're the only one who does it. You can be nice to me after the Games, when everyone else is singing my praises too."

"Except right now my sister is going into a competition where she could die." Solstice said, "You do know that Carnation, right? No matter your training, you could die. This could be the last time I see you. So for once, can we stop being competitors and just be siblings?"

Carnation wanted to, she truly did. It was tiring, keeping after her like she did. Training until her hands bled, watching past Games until the gore didn't bother her. Constantly trying to gain her father's affection. But there was too much history there, too much bad blood.

"We can stop being competitors when I win."

Nate Fowler, District Nine

It was difficult watching a peacekeeper escort his family out of the room. Their goodbyes had been sweet and touching, Nate wanted to hold on to them forever. But the time was up and soon he was going to board the train to the Capitol. Where he may die.

Nate didn't want to think too much about it, and refused to believe it was an outright certainty. After all he was strong, and had more experience with blades than most. But he wasn't a Career. He was just a poor District Nine kid. And that was to say nothing of his Episodes. Nate still had a scar on his back from one back when he was thirteen. This was possibly the last time he would see his family again.

The door opened and Nate was briefly glad to have the distraction. However his demeanor instantly changed when he saw who it was.

"Get out." Nate said.

Peacekeeper Serpentine shook his head, "Rude as always. If you talk like that in the Capitol you're going to come home in a box."

The dark haired man walked in as if he owned the entire building. To a certain degree, he did. As a peacekeeper, Serpentine had a lot of power to do what he wished in District Nine. For some reason, he used it to make Nate's life a living hell. Ever since he started working, the man would pull him aside and force him to do any number of tasks. Often they would 'spar' with each other, though it more resembled a one sided beatdown. Nate got better over the years, but never quite enough to beat the peacekeeper.

"You're strong but you lack stamina." Serpentine continued, "If you don't drop someone in the first few hits, run. They will be able to outlast you. Find allies, enough to make sure you sleep through the night. You know what happens when you don't get enough sleep."

"I don't need your advice." Nate spat, "I don't need anything from you. You're a madman, Serpentine. I'm probably going to be dead soon, so I don't mind saying it. You are a sadistic asshole who gets off on hurting children. I was nine when you first hit me. Nine. Does it please you beat up on someone who can't fight back?"

Serpentine moved to slap him, but Nate was expecting it. He dodged to the right, then threw his own punch. The blow hit him in the nose and he staggered back a few steps, trying to staunch the blood that came dripping out.

"You can fight back now can't you?" The peacekeeper sneered, "Look at the world you're in, boy. You are on the way to the Hunger Games, where twenty-three children will try to kill you. You are poor, starving half of the time, and have been taking out tesserae for your family the moment you could do so. This was always where you were heading. I made you stronger. I gave you a chance. You should be thanking me."

Nate shook his head, "No. I will never thank you. I will never forgive you. And don't pretend like any of this was ever for my benefit. You don't care about me. I was just a nobody you knew you could abuse."

Peacekeeper Serpentine laughed and walked towards Nate, who backed up until he was against the wall. The man leaned forward and whispered in his ear. Nate crumpled to the ground.

"Liar." Nate said, barely above a whisper.

"You can think that if you like. Perhaps if you survive, you'll be able to find out.

Peacekeeper Serpentine left, closing the door behind him. A few minutes later, two different peacekeepers escorted Nate to the train station. By then, he was completely in tears.

AN: We're halfway through! That's exciting, isn't it? Everybody welcome BV by Lunas fanworks. Carnation by Ellalovesmusicals and Nate by Kristileeki to the cast! Now I just had my second Covid vaccine today, so depending on how I feel chapters might slow down a bit. But I wanted to get this one out, so I hope you enjoy. Thank you very much for reading!