D3 F: Mirellia Shimada

Age: 16

. . .

"Now, I am a lover of tradition, so ladies first, Mirellia Shimada, Mirellia Shimada, where are you dear,"

Mirellia was in a state of disbelief. It was as if her ears were filled with a deafening silence, and Lucian's voice reverberated inside her head, hollowing it out. The world was blurring in and out, and then everything was silent, and there was only her and Ayumi, her twin sister, holding her hand. It was a comforting sight, Ayumi's hand squeezing hers, warmth shared between them.

"There you are, dear girl!" Lucian's voice was so far away it was barely audible. Then she saw her face broadcast across the dome, and her vision went black. It was always considered a jinx when an Escort chose your quarters dome. She supposed the jinx was less than a superstition and more of a required pattern; after all, the Capitol loved seeing the tributes interact with the escorts and with each other. Statically, children from your own quarter's chances of being reaped increased dramatically when the escort was there in person. Why did Lucian have to be in Quarter 3 in person?

The world went black. Mirella woke to her twin screaming, "Why her? This was rigged; Mirella was the best of us; she would be the best; test out of Quarter 3; the Capitol will never let us succeed."

Of course, there were more voices than just her sister; there was screaming and shouting, the crowd of her friends and Quarter 3 children, children she tutored for Panem's sake, fighting in brawls with peacekeepers. She tried to move, to go to her sister, but realized she was already moving, moving away. She was in the grasp of someone and moving towards the stage.

She tried to kick, to stop, but all she heard was a grunt from the peacekeeper who just tightened his hold around her. Suddenly, there was an explosion, and those fireworks were flying through the dome wall.

What in the world was happening? There were shouts and gunshots fired as Mirellia saw parents and armed insurgents flood into the dome. It was pure chaos. Mirellia felt the world fading again. Ayumi was right; Ayumi was always right. The capital will never let them succeed, no matter how much they work.

It was not fair. She did everything right. She studied till her mind broke; she did her chores and then shifts in the lab to fix all the broken robots. Sure, she grumbled and complained, but what the Capitol was doing was not fair nor just. But just because she complained didn't mean she deserved the Hunger Games.

Mirella was a prodigy; everyone told her that. So she worked her butt off for the exam; Why was she reaped? She was not a rebel; she had a future. She could test out of Quater 3; everyone said so, and they all thought she might even test into Quater 1.

Panem above it was not fair. But she couldn't do anything as the world again turned black.

. . .

Mirella woke to being unceremoniously tossed into a room and banging her head on the edge of the table. It stunned her for a second as she slowly sat up and looked around, feeling something wet trickle down her face.

Suddenly, the door swung open with a bang, and Bolts, the winner of the 25th Hunger Games, walked in. She blinked in shock; Bolts was tall and had a fierce glare, and he was currently looking at her like she was the dirt beneath his shoe.

"Your family causes a lot of problems." Blots said with an almost bored tone.

"What?" Bolts scowled.

"Are you slow? They told me you were a prodigy. Your family is causing problems." Bolts said slowly, drawing out each word like she was an idiot.

Her family was causing problems, her family was causing problems. Oh, no, no; They could be killed. Ayumi could be killed for causing issues. Realization must have dawned on her face because Bolts started speaking again, "You want your family to be safe."

Mirellia nodded vigorously; she wanted her family to be safe and sound. A smirk started appearing on Bolt's face; "Good, now for them to be safe, all you need to do is put on a show that will keep the Capitol endlessly entertained."

Mirellia looked at Bolts with blood trickling down her face. "How? How do I do that."

Bolts threw his head back and started laughing. "There you go, asking the right questions. This is the tribute I was promised."

Mirellia stared at him, and Bolts suddenly went silent before grabbing her chin and looking intently into her eyes. "You want to put on a show, you want your family's little rebellion to be overlooked, the first thing you do is smile."

There, sitting on the floor, with blood dripping down her face, and with her mentor grabbing her chin, she smiled, one full of teeth and reaching her eyes.

Her mentor laughed and laughed and dropped his hand from her chin. "There you go, you look insane with that smile full of blood; now, don't fucking drop that smile until we are on the train. Not even when you get your family visits."

So, Mirellia Shimada sat there on the floor perfectly still, with a smile full of blood and the taste of copper on her tongue. Mirellia sat there smiling, baring all her teeth, while Bolts laughed and laughed.

"Dear tribute mine, you look formidable." Bolts was grinning and looked so pleased with her. Mirellia already hated herself, but she would do anything to see her family again. To make sure Ayumi was safe, Panem above she would die if it meant her family would live. So, with tears and blood running down her face, she grinned and smiled and started laughing and laughing alongside her mentor while hate and rage boiled and burned within her body.

. . .

Thank you so much for reading and for all the lovely reviews I have been getting! I am giving a big shout-out to my beta Paradigm for helping me with this chapter! You guys are amazing, and all the reviews and love I have been getting have been amazing motivation! And with this we are a quarter the way through reapings!