A/N: Just in case it wasn't clear in the last chapter, Haymitch was killed for being involved in the failed rebellion, but the Capitol's official report on his cause of death was alcohol poisoning.
Prologue 5: Valancy Thorill
District 12 was a small place. One could spend their whole life among the same people every day. Your best friend would most likely be your close companion for life. That was the case with Valancy Thorill and Flint Arryn. They met on the first day of school, and were inseparable from then on. When they were old enough for the reapings, they comforted each other ("It's only your first year, even with tesserae you won't be chosen.").
Valancy was an only child, so she only had herself and her parents to worry about. Flint, though, since he turned twelve, had taken out tesserae for himself, his parents, and his siblings. He was the second of five children to do so.
The 132nd Hunger Games was the year Julius Flickerman became host. It was also the year Valancy and Flint turned sixteen—-and the year they were both reaped. Valancy put on a brave face when her name was called, but it was all she could do to keep from breaking down when the escort read Flint's name. She would be going into the arena with her best friend, and only one of them would come back out alive.
When they met their mentor, Bryce Gregor, he was aloof to them. He told them it was best for him not to get attached to yet two more tributes that would die in the Games. Despite his bluntness, Valancy was determined to learn all she could from him. She milked him for advice on staying alive, basic survival skills, tips on likability, anything she thought she'd need to know. She and Flint worked together to squeeze the information out of Bryce.
The two vowed to stick together, no matter what. Valancy insisted on not allying with any other tributes. "You never know who you can trust. Anyone else, we don't know them, they could turn on us at any moment. We only have each other. That's all we need." As it turned out, both of them ended up being completely consumed with the other during the Games.
In the bloodbath, Valancy was attacked by the District 2 male, who came at her with a mallet. He struck her in the back of the head, and she collapsed like she was dead. He had not killed her, though; no cannon had sounded for her. Flint dragged her away to safety and stayed with her until she woke up again several hours later.
When she did, her head and limbs seemed to weigh two tons each. She looked up into Flint's worried gray eyes. "Val! I thought I lost you!" Valancy just stared at him, confused. Flint raised an eyebrow. "You don't remember?"
"No," Valancy whispered hoarsely. She had no memory of the bloodbath. "All I know is we were standing on our plates, and the countdown had just ended."
Flint explained what had happened to her, but in the middle of his story, Valancy felt something strange. The only way to describe it was like leaving her own body. Her muscles tensed up, and she doubled over in her position on the ground. When her eyes rolled back in her head, Flint started to panic. For a few minutes, she lay on the ground, jerking occasionally. Flint watched helplessly until the episode passed.
When Valancy regained consciousness, he anxiously tried to make her stand up. "What was that? Are you alright?"
For a few seconds, Valancy didn't remember who Flint was or why they were in a strange place together. She reached for her knife and slashed wildly. Flint ducked out of the way, wondering if his district partner had gone crazy. "Val!"
When she heard her name from his lips, Valancy froze. The knife slipped from her hand. "Flint. Oh my goodness, what did I do?"
Flint's eyes were as wide as saucers. "You collapsed on the ground and had convulsions, then when you woke up again, you went savage! You freaked me out!"
That was the first time Valancy "went savage"-inadvertently, that is. After that first incident, she noticed gifts of food coming to them. Someone must have had sympathy for the poor, brain-damaged girl from District 12—-or her agitated partner. Valancy wondered what would happen if she were to "go savage" again. Could she keep up their supply of donations by playing into the drama?
She thought about the 74th Hunger Games. That was one of the more famous years, and a favorite to talk about in school. The District 12 tributes had pretended to be in love to survive on sponsor gifts, and it had gotten them a long way. Valancy supposed she was copying their strategy. Acting would get her to the finish.
She never told Flint that she was faking it. It would have ruined the appearance of unpredictability. So he had to deal with her "mood swings," and he felt completely helpless. Some days she'd be her normal self, others she'd leer at Flint with a murderous gleam in her eye. She'd lunge at him, but then "snap back." Then there were the days she'd have seizures. Those were undeniably real.
Valancy did a lot of private crying. People must be believing her insanity charade, because food kept coming in. She felt like she was lying to Flint (and in a way, she was), but she needed this act to work if she was going to make it to the end. Besides, she really had been injured in the bloodbath. She should have died from that blow to the head, but instead she was left with some sort of seizure issue. As the days dragged on, she kept track of how many tributes were left in the Games. Just as long as she outlasted them all, she could go home.
But Flint would not be going home with her. When he saw that it had come down to him, Valancy, and the District 7 female, he had eaten a mouthful of poisonous berries rather than face his district partner in combat. After overcoming her momentary shock at Flint's suicide, Valancy steeled herself to face the other girl. She turned on her "murderous psychopath state" and prepared to fight for her life.
All she had was a small knife against the District 7 girl's sword. She didn't want to get too close and risk being injured, but the only other option was to throw the knife. Her aim wasn't good, but she didn't need a perfect hit to inflict a mortal wound. She managed to nick the other girl in the neck, and she bled out while Valancy kept her distance, snarling to remind the audience of her "feralness." Give them a good show. That's what they want.
It had been eighteen years since her victory, empty as it was. Capitol doctors had confirmed that she now had a seizure disorder as a result of her head injury. As a Hunger Games victor, Valancy received the luxury of a service dog that could detect when a seizure was imminent. Bella had become her closest companion. Nevertheless, she was told she would not be excused from her mentor duties.
Now, as she watched the reapings with Bella by her side, she dreaded having to watch one more child than usual meet their end.
And that's the end of the prologues! Next time we'll meet the first three tributes of the 150th Hunger Games! Plenty of spots are still open to submit a tribute, so send some my way!
