CECELIA RHEYS (15)

DISTRICT FOURTEEN RESIDENT

District Fourteen felt like a utopian paradise.

Okay, perhaps that was an exaggeration, but compared to the drab, miserable life she'd been condemned to back in District Eight, this place felt like a gleaming haven of wonder, a shining, emeraldine palace where she could feel safe and comfy for the first time in her life.

She sat down on one of the wooden logs surrounding the Hearth, a centralised communal firepit located in a special room designed to mimic an outdoor scene. Large, dark 'trees' had sprouted out of the ground, their fake branches hanging low overhead as Cecelia glanced around her. Ceramic owls and other critters were strategically placed around the room, with tiny, concealed speakers emitting the sounds of the wild around her. Hidden perfume sprayers snuffed out the scents of nature, filling the room with a cosy vibe that the urban and polluted District Eight severely lacked.

In the centre of the Hearth, a young girl, aged perhaps eight or nine, Cecelia hadn't gotten the chance to ask just yet, sat tending to the flames, ensuring they burned constantly. A tray of marshmallows and a billy of tea sat beside her, ready to be hung over the fire in a short while. As for the girl herself, she had wispy blonde hair, reminiscent to that of Lyana Riversong, Cecelia's former abusive employer from the Capitol, but the similarities ended there. The girl's eyes were a warm shade of brown, glowing brightly with a childish look of blissful innocence. Her cheeks were peppered with a spattering of freckles, which were covered by the strands of hair that fell over her face as she tilted her head downwards. She wore a plain grey shirt with dark blue pants and an oversized white cloak that pretty much covered nearly all of her clothing underneath, Cecelia had been told that her name was Hestia, the daughter of one of District Fourteen's toxicologists. She rarely spoke, but when she did, she exuded a soothing calmness and warm comfort, two things she seemed to practically glow as she moved about.

"Want a marshmallow?" she asked Cecelia, an eternal smile pasted upon her young face.

"I'll take one, thanks Hestia," Cecelia replied, brushing aside a wet mop of hair. She had just taken a bath, a rather nice one with hot water in her own bathroom, where, unlike in the Riversong Estate, she did not have to be crammed into a communal shower. It felt queer, having her own room and a bathroom, and it was a nice room, in fact. Yet here she was, blessed with luxuries and privileges that few could enjoy back home.

Of course, in return, she had to contribute to the rebellion's efforts, and she did so duly, helping out at the research laboratories, a place she loved to be in, studying pathogens and DNA and working with the other biologists, zoologists and virologists. They treated her far better than anyone ever did at the Riversong Estate, something she was more than eternally grateful for.

This was her home, this was where she belonged.

Hestia passed her a stick of freshly roasted marshmallows, piping hot, crisp, addictively delicious. Even the few Capitolite rebels residing here admitted that Hestia's marshmallows were unlike any other in the known realms, not too soft, not too crisp, and cooked to the perfect roast. She bit into it, letting the magical goodness soak into her tastebuds. Surrounded by the calmingly natural scene around her, Cecelia felt something she never thought she would feel.

She felt at peace.

"Hey there."

A voice spoke out as the door creaked open. Cecelia turned, feeling not in the least startled by the gentle tone of that voice, a stark contrast to that of Lyana Riversong. The kindred face of Joseph Pravda appeared before her, his shining light brown eyes peering intelligently through a dangling pair of glasses. His dark hair was slick as usual and combed back neatly, much unlike Cecelia's unkempt hair that was fresh from a bath, Cecelia having decided against taking time to dry it. He wasn't very tall, but what he lacked in stature he more than made up for with brains and wisdom. Formerly from District Ten, his mother had apparently been renowned for her wisdom, something even the Capitol sweated buckets over as she could easily manipulate them. So they tried to execute her, but by the time they came knocking, she, Joseph and his sister Nell had already fled to District Fourteen, leaving behind nothing more than a drawing of Joseph's favourite plush toy Toahst, which took on the form of a loaf of bread with a radiant smile upon its face. Unlike most of the adults, Joseph wasn't shy about having a stuffed toy, and Cecelia honestly loved it too. There was just something so nice and calming about its smile, although Cecelia felt ridiculous staring at someone else's stuffed toy.

"Hey there, Joseph," she greeted him, beckoning him over. Joseph obliged, shuffling over and taking a seat next to her. As he did so, Cecelia noticed a small stain on his grey sweater, perhaps one he'd gotten while researching at his laboratory. He worked as Fourteen's leading toxicologist, alongside Hestia's father, and he always recounted his funniest workplace stories to Cecelia, making her laugh and feel welcomed in this strange, foreign land.

A good friend, something she'd never thought she'd ever stumble upon.

"Enjoying Hestia's marshmallows?" he asked, glancing at the half-eaten marshmallow dangling on her stick.

Cecelia nodded. "Yeah, Hestia's awesome at making these." She gave an acknowledging glance at Hestia, whose cheeks flushed as she zipped around the Hearth, busying herself with cooking and writing on some dusty old notebook. Cecelia wasn't sure what she was writing. Maybe it was a diary of sorts? Her own novel? Letters to friends living across the District? She paused for a moment to contemplate the possibilities, but Joseph drew her attention back to him.

"How's your sister doing?" he asked, scooping up an empty cup and beckoning for Hestia to come over with her billy of tea.

"Oh, Tia? She's… adjusting." Cecelia hesitated, trying to format her words to convey what she meant. "I mean, she's still a little shaken, that's all. We came across Ceri Adamos-Cardinal while escaping from Eight, she was the one who gave us this healing salve she stole from some black market. It really helped Tia's injured ankle. Now Tia thinks that Ceri got sent to the Games as karma for helping her or something."

Joseph lowered his head, biting his lip. "Ah, I'm sorry to hear that. But with any luck, Ceri could win and your sister will feel better about things."

Cecelia nodded slowly. "Yeah." And yet, she wasn't stupid enough to know that no one ever truly won the Games. She'd seen enough post-Games interviews and Victory tours to realise that once you went into the arena, you went out a completely different person. It was clear as day, all she had to do was look into their sullen or frightened eyes to catch a glimpse into how the Games had broken them, more than they themselves would admit. Even if Ceri escaped the arena, she would emerge a desolate shell of her former self.

Shuddering slightly, Cecelia instantly decided to change the subject. "So, anything new you discover?"

A twinkle flickered in Joseph's eye. "Ah, as in a matter of fact, yes. You see, we've recently gotten hold of a specimen of a previously undocumented species of venomous spider, and upon studying its venom…" That was the beginning of a long-winded, rather unwelcome lecture that Cecelia would receive about how the venom of the newly-discovered Kurt's Spider, named after its discoverer, a biologist from Fourteen, closely resembled that of an unknown poison used in the Capitol's latest attempted assasination of rebel leaders in Districts Three, Nine and Eleven, as well as their plans on modifying and mixing that venom to utilise it against the Capitol in the upcoming Four revolt. He further droned on about some other stuff that Cecelia frankly had trouble remembering, owing to her less-than-flattering ability to remain focused sometimes. No matter how hard she tried to stay focused to the long strings of complex vocabulary that came spewing out of Joseph's mouth like ashes and lava from a volcano, her mind would constantly drift off to a whole other realm of thinking.

Luckily, she was saved by the boy who came barging in, an envelope in his right hand. "Joseph, I have something from Remus. It's about Esma Cyprus's dad and Peacekeeper Belinda MacRooy and our hovercraft deal." He reached out to pass Joseph the envelope, and that was when he noticed Cecelia sitting next to him, quiet, unassuming. Cecelia knew she had that kind of effect, evading the gaze of most people. It didn't bother her as much as it probably should have, but staying invisible was better than being noticed and getting beaten up at the Riversong Estate.

"Oh, hey there Cece," the boy grinned as he saw her, pulling her in for an embrace, which Cecelia awkwardly returned. Don't get her wrong, she liked hugs, but she'd only known Blight Gavin for a few days and Cecelia had far fewer interactions with him than with Joseph. They could be called friends, but definitely not close enough to warrant a hug when they met.

"Hey there, Blight. Letter from Remus, huh?" she glanced down at the letter, which Joseph promptly took and stuffed into his pocket.

"Yep!" Blight chirped. "We're getting a bunch of super cool new hovercrafts straight from Six! By the time the next Games roll around, Four will be free from the Capitol, eh?"

Joseph studied the letter, then looked up and down Blight. "Remus really does put his trust upon you, huh? You've only been here for a month." It was true, really. Blight, a boy around Cecelia's age with scruffy brown hair and enchanting dark green eyes from District Seven, had shot up the ranks to become Remus Echoen's most trusted personal aides in the span of a month.

Of course he did, he had all the charm and charisma in the world.

Blight shrugged. "Hard work, I suppose."

"I bet you'll be President in no time. I can see it now, Blight Gavin, the next District Seven rebel to take over Fourteen," Joseph told him.

Cecelia chuckled at that. It made her think about the surprisingly numerous similarities between Blight and Oakette. Their personality, their commitment, even, oddly, the way they walked and laughed. Perhaps they were relatives back in Seven.

She could still remember the first time they'd talked. It wasn't something Cecelia was too excited about remembering, if she was being honest. They'd bumped into each other while Ice Mason was taking her and Tia to check out their room on her first day here. Cecelia had made the mistake of complimenting the neat handwriting on the stack of notes he was carrying, which had been her way of saying, "Hi, can we please be friends?" After years of being practically invisible to society, she'd felt like it was the perfect time to try and make some actual friends.

What she got instead was a bunch of snickering from Blight's friends.

Blight had grinned and thanked her, before returning to his friends, a fellow Seven boy named James Silva and a Two boy named Evan Fortis. When they weren't cracking lame jokes and making weird puns they were actually really nice people, and they had tried to teach her how to draw plants and wildlife, with unfortunately little success. But alas, in that moment, they'd chuckled and smacked Blight on the shoulder when he came over, and Cecelia could feel her face go beet red when Evan exclaimed, " Damn Blight, you got complimented by a cute girl, you lucky dog!" Blight was rather handsome, yes, but Cecelia was fairly certain she didn't like him that way.

"Earth to Cecelia?" Cecelia blinked, snapping out of her realm of thoughts. Gosh, she really did need to get a grip on herself. Blight was playfully waving a hand over her eyes, which she suspected had glazed over while she was off thinking about their first meeting.

"Oh, uhm, sorry," she murmured, her finger curling around a strand of her hair. She took a bite of her marshmallow and tried to remain focused on the present.

Joseph chuckled. "We were just talking about the concert tonight. Care to join us?"

Cecelia raised an eyebrow. "Huh? Concert?"

"Oh, the band and I are gonna be jamming some tunes here in the Hearth tonight," Blight replied nonchalantly. "It's gonna be awesome."

"Who's 'the band'?" Cecelia asked. She had a feeling she knew who some of the members were, and Blight's response proved her right, however there was one name she hadn't expected to be on the list of band members.

"Evan, Charles, Juliper, Tusse, Miri, you know her, right? Hestia's sister? Oh, and Ice," Blight rambled on.

"Ice?" Cecelia exclaimed. Her jaw dropped. Her eyes widened in a fit of shock. Blight had to be joking, he couldn't possibly be serious. Ice, the stoic young man with hardly any sense of humour, there was no way he could be part of Blight's merry-filled band.

Blight seemed to be able to read her thoughts. Flashing a wry smile, he assured her, "You just caught him on a bad day, he had a massive argument with Remus when you came 'round. But on most days he's a super cool guy, and a sick guitarist too!"

"Did someone say concert?" Hestia piped up. Cecelia nearly jumped out of her own skin. Someone should put a bell around Hestia's neck or something, because Cecelia had forgotten she was even there. But there she was, looking shyly up at them from where she was crouched, fumbling through a hidden stash of items within the artificial forestry. It was hard to see her from where Cecelia sat, but maybe that was the point, Hestia wanted to remain out of sight so their conversation could go on without her interrupting them.

"Yeah, you excited to see Miri perform?" Blight waved her over, and she did so, carrying that notebook of hers.

"Totally! Miri's got such a lovely voice, and besides, she's bringing her special muffins over!" Hestia bleated, the excitement buzzing through her voice.

Cecelia forced a smile. Muffins had never been her favourite food, since Lyana would often smear her with chocolate muffins and leave her locked so insects would crawl over her. But Miri was an adorable little girl, she figured she'd try and put aside those memories and attempt to enjoy her muffins. Miri Aelwyd was ten, and even though she was visually impaired, it didn't deter her from helping out in the Hearth and at the District Kitchens. Tia adored her and they got along extremely well. In fact, these days Tia spent more time with Miri than with Cecelia, which surprisingly didn't sadden Cecelia at all. It felt good knowing that she didn't have to be an older sister 24/7.

Just then, Joseph glanced down at his watch, a little thing that Nell had gotten for him on his birthday. "Ah, look at the time. I'm afraid I'm going to have to head off. See you kids around."

Cecelia watched him leave, then her gaze shifted to Blight. An awkward silence descended over them, and for a while, no one said anything. What was there to even say? Cecelia sure didn't know how to start a conversation. She wasn't about to pipe up with something random like, 'What's your opinion on apricots?' or anything of that sort.

"So, how much free time do you have left?" Blight asked, a curious look gleaming in his eye.

"About an hour left, then it's back to the labs," Cecelia responded, her words slow, trying to figure out where Blight was going with that question. "Why?"

"Oh nothing, but perhaps you'd like me to teach you how to play the drums?" Blight suggested, a hopeful tint in his voice.

A smile spread across Cecelia's face. "Sure, let's go."

A/N: What did you think of Cecelia, Joseph, Hestia and Blight? Let me know your thoughts in the reviews! I know I aged up Blight, Cecelia, Tia, Evan and James from The Degenerates but yeah. Anyway that was a pretty chill rebel check-in chapter and I don't really have much to say so yeah, see ya'll next time. Cheers