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The Flood Games
Chapter One: Fathoms Below
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Annie stretched in front of her makeshift target, reveling in the way her muscles slightly burned after her workout. Her cool-down stretches were typically her favorite part of training, as it meant she would soon be able to spend the rest of the day swimming freely. School was still out for the summer, giving the Career trainees a chance for extra one-on-one time with their future mentors before the Games as well as giving the other teenagers time to take up apprenticeships or help with their family businesses. In a sense, Annie supposed that her little routine could be considered both.
The seaside cave she currently inhabited was one of her very favorite places to spend the long summer days. She would start her days combing the beaches for shells to give to her sister or running the odd errand for her family and the victors, but after lunch was when the real fun could begin. As soon as her afternoon chores were finished she would make a mad dash to her cove, and she would typically stay there until dinnertime. It took a fair bit of swimming to make it to the cove from her grandfather's beach-side cottage, but it was always worth it. After all, it had been her late mother's special place first, and Annie would take anything she could get her hands on to feel just a bit closer to Marissa.
Many corners of the cave had been dedicated to her mother's belongings. A repurposed broom rack from a restaurant that closed when Marissa was Annie's age held several of her old foam-tipped training tridents and spears, keeping them safe yet easily accessible for Annie's usage. A chest heavy enough to avoid being swept away by the tide held training mats and some nets that Marissa had hand-woven many years ago; the chest was far too heavy to carry it whilst swimming, but as the story went a friend of Marissa's borrowed his father's boat and a group of their friends managed to team lift it into the cave. A dry area that was far back enough that the tide never reached had a small table and some rickety chairs, as well as a water-tight chest filled with novels, notebooks, and cups filled with pens.
Afternoons were never long enough. Annie longed to spend all day splashing in the waters her mother once swam in, training with the very weapons she used to train for her Games, and rereading every word her mother ever wrote (published and rough draft alike). She would live in the cove if her grandfather gave her the option, but unfortunately he wasn't too thrilled with the idea when she brought it up with him. Such was the sheltered life of a victor's daughter. Or, rather, the life of any teenager with guardians who actually cared, but Annie's teenage hubris liked to ignore that fact. Annie's teenage hubris liked to ignore a lot of things, actually, but so did the teenage hubris of virtually every Panem citizen still eligible for the Reaping. It just came with the territory of being, well, a teenager.
As her stretches were now finished, she took a moment to polish the training trident she had used that afternoon. She was always sure to handle her mother's weapons with the utmost care, and that meant taking the time to ensure they were maintained perfectly. Not a single smudge or scratch would do. These weapons were part of Marissa's legacy, and that legacy deserved to be protected. Annie always felt a sense of pride when cleaning the weapons at the day's end. She knew she was lucky to be Marissa's daughter, even though they only spent three short years together. After all, Marissa didn't have to take her in, yet she did because it was what any decent person would do after finding an abandoned newborn swaddled up in the sand. She had every intention to raise Annie as her own, just as she had taken in her late best friend's orphaned daughter, until her time with both girls was cut tragically short.
Annie bit her lip. She didn't like to think about it.
She hung the trident back in its place, admiring it proudly for a moment. She knew she couldn't stay as long as usual today, so some swimming time had to be sacrificed for the sake of extra training. It wasn't the choice she normally made, but the day to enact her brilliant plan was drawing closer by the minute and it was important to be strong. Judging by the position of the sun, it was already time to go home and get cleaned up before the victors' banquet that night. She lingered for just a moment, as she always did, running her hand across the front of the chest that held her mother's manuscripts. There was a part of her that dreaded the night's festivities. After all, there would be certain people there who she was never really sure if she wanted to see again, and the whole thing was just a macabre prelude to the Reaping. They could pretend all they wanted, but at the end of the day the victors and their families all knew that at least one of the children set to leave the district the next morning would only be able to return in a casket.
"Do it scared," she whispered, taking a deep breath. "Do it scared, but do it."
Annie always felt braver after her mantra. She strapped on her sandals and took a running start to jump back into the water. The waves embraced her, enveloping her in a blanket of turquoise. She loved the cove more than life itself, but the sea was her true home. Annie had always identified strongly with the mermaids and selkies in her mother's stories. She too was a creature of the sea. As her birth parents had never been found, many in the district believed that she was born to the waters themselves. The pointing and whispers were mostly from the older citizens, peers to her grandfather and Auntie Mags, but she was certainly aware of the way her own peers looked at her. It bothered her when she was little, but as she grew older she learned to be content tagging along with her sister's friends rather than making her own. And perhaps at the end of the day, the ocean was the only friend her heart really desired.
If Annie was being completely honest with herself, she didn't want to leave the water that night. She knew that in the hustle and bustle of the next few weeks, she wouldn't be able to return to the cove or even the ocean for a long time. She tried to stay positive. At least she got one more normal day, and she would be able to end it surrounded by friends and family. Maybe if she reminded herself of this enough, the knots would dissipate from her stomach. She hoped it wasn't a bad sign; after all, her intuition was pretty good. She was too stubborn to change the current course of her actions, though. She knew what needed to be done, and she had every intention of carrying on.
All too soon, her return trip was over. Her grandfather's cottage grew closer and closer, and she began to feel the sandy ocean floor whenever she kicked her legs. She took a moment to simply sit and rest in a shallow pocket near the shore. She was going to miss this, but at least she would be back soon. The busy atmosphere of the Games always faded as quickly as it came, so why would this year be any different? Everything would return to normal in the blink of an eye. That she was sure of.
The calling of the seagulls snapped Annie back to attention. How long had she zoned out for? She jumped up from her spot, doing her best to brush the sand out of her clothes and wring out her hair. The waves lapped at her calves, begging her to stay just a little longer, but as always she had to pry herself away. She raced onto the shore before she could change her mind, kicking off her sandals by the cottage door before heading inside.
The fans in the kitchen granted some much welcome relief from the July heat, though not as much as the sea could provide. Annie did her best to brush the residual sand off her legs in the doorway, but inevitably she always tracked some in. She took a bowl from the cupboard and some previously frozen mackerel that was thawing in the fridge. As much as she wished she could stay in the ocean forever, she did have her responsibilities on dry ground- not that she would trade Ripley for the world, of course.
"Ripley! Here kitty, kitty!"
She could hear the bell around her cat's neck jingling whimsically before she could even see her. The spotted feline pranced into the kitchen gracefully, leaping onto the counter in a single bound.
"Ripley, no! You know better than that," Annie sighed, scooping up the cat in one arm.
Most cats would've protested being held before their owner could dry off, but Ripley had become accustomed to this since kittenhood. Instead, she nuzzled her head against her owner's shoulder, waiting patiently for her to finish chopping up her dinner. She was more than content to be carried around as Annie returned the rest of the mackerel to the fridge for tomorrow's breakfast, swapping it out for some slithers of chicken to act as a garnish. Ripley may not have been as spoiled as her Capitolite brethren, but Annie was determined to make sure she was fed well.
After setting down both the cat and her food, Annie cleaned up the small mess she made as Ripley munched away. Once she was sure everything was to the cat's liking, Annie slipped out of the kitchen and ran through the shower. Muscida would've been scandalized if Annie showed up to something as important as the victor's banquet without being perfectly spotless. Even a grain of sand would be one grain too many. The banquet was a matter of district-ly pride for Muscida, so for just one night Annie was happy to humor her. That and the fact that Seille was likely to make an appearance, and Annie really wanted to avoid doing anything to draw attention in her presence.
Once she was clean, it was time to choose a dress. Typically this was a difficult decision, but this year Annie had planned her outfit months in advance. She was going to wear her favorite dress- the one she usually saved for Reaping Day. The dress was a lovely shade of carnation pink, with little white beads sewn on the straps and throughout the skirt. She had a different outfit in mind for this year's Reaping, so the banquet provided an opportunity to still wear the dress on a special occasion.
A knock at her bedroom door startled Annie. She must have zoned out while combing her hair.
"I'm decent!" she called.
Attina, her older sister, walked into the room briskly while carrying a small box under her arm. She plopped down on Annie's bed and began to rummage through the box.
"Okay kiddo, let's see what you're wear- don't you usually save that one?" she waited for Annie to shrug before continuing. "Okay, let's see... pink and maybe some pearls... oh, okay, got one!"
Attina held up a necklace made of small white shells. Little pearls and pink beads molded from clay were interspersed between the shells, creating a pattern. Annie made a show of marveling over her sister's creation as she fastened it around her neck.
"They're always so pretty!" she gushed, running her fingers along the beads. "Have you looked through the shells I found you this morning? There's a really pretty spiral one I found- no snail in it this time, of course, but I think it'll make a really good one! It's kind of a pinky orange color."
"I'll give it a look over when I get back tonight," Attina said, smoothing down Annie's hair. She began to weave the strands framing her face into braids, preparing to join them in the back. "We made some pretty good ones these past few weeks. Kai told Ari that he'd take a big box of them to the Capitol while he's over there for the Games. They always eat this crap up, you know. It's so "exotic" and "authentic"... stop laughing, it's their words, not mine."
"I believe you."
"Anyways, if we can make enough money for repairs to the eastern training academy without dipping into too much of Mom's savings, I'll be happy. The two of us could always start working when it runs out, but Gramps is getting kind of old. I'd like for it to at least last until he's gone, that way he doesn't have to worry about anything. But I am kind of worried about merging the academies long-term. I don't know how Dad and First-Mom did it with just the one. We've got way too many kids in training for that to work now."
Attina paused, fastening Annie's braids together with a small comb.
"There, all done. Come on, Gramps is probably already at Mags's place by now. Thanks for letting me ramble. I've had a lot on my chest since I took over for Triton."
"Any time," Annie said, smiling politely. She held open her door for Attina, and the two of them walked down the steps to the main floor of the cottage. "Is Caspian coming tonight?"
"Yeah, he said he'd meet us there. Man, I can't wait for the festival tomorrow night. That's a real party. This thing is always such a slog to get through."
"I don't know, I kind of like it. It's quiet and peaceful," Annie said, giving Ripley some much-deserved goodbye scratches under her chin.
Attina scoffed. "Yeah, we'll see how peaceful it gets if Seille or Euphratus show up. Or Finnick, for that matter. I have some choice words for him."
Annie frowned, following Attina out the door. Attina locked the door behind them as Annie strapped on her dress sandals.
"I really hope Seille isn't there. I know she's volunteering tomorrow, but I just want one more banquet where I don't have to worry about her picking on me."
Attina sighed. "Yeah, I get it kid. Just grin and bear it, this might be her last night in Four. I still think Nyla would have a better shot at winning, but there's not much I can do about that. The other instructors made that decision before I took over, you know?"
Annie's frown persisted.
"What do you think would happen if someone else volunteered? I mean, if Nyla decided to give it a shot anyways before Seille could get the words out?"
Attina was silent for a moment as she mulled over the question.
"Well, I guess Seille would just have to volunteer next year then. She's only 17, she's still got another chance."
"Soooo, you wouldn't be mad at Nyla, then?" Annie hummed innocently. "Wouldn't there be consequences for volunteering out of turn?"
"Nah. I mean, some people would probably be a little ticked off for sure, but it's out of our hands at that point. It's happened before and I'm sure it'll happen again. Why? Did Nyla say something to you?"
"No reason. Just curious."