The Lucky One

In fact, she had gone so far as to even schedule a meeting with her stylists to go over her plans and ideas regarding her gown at the mentor and victory ball. She wasn’t too confident about her district tributes this year, but she still left a space open in her heart for hope. 

She was standing in the stylist studios looking at what appeared to be the “mostly” finished version of one of her ball gowns being worn by a blank mannequin that posed with one leg stuck out and one hand on their hip. Her idea was to wear it for the victory ball but still wasn’t sure.

Just then, someone came up from behind her as she was just a little startled, “Can I hep you with something?” she asked.

“Thank you.” Cordelia said as she made her way inside the restaurant. First thing she did was taking a look around in search of familiar faces that could eventually become a obstacle to hold the encounter in that public place. The blonde’s cautious eyes studied the room at the drop of a hat only to be reminded of the fact that face-to-face interactions weren’t pretty valuable around there. People had opted for the comfort of their luxurious places a long time ago and would preferably gather whenever an important party or ball came up. She knew that would soon change: wherever the games were televised was a good option to cheer and place bets.

The table was a little set apart and that made it easier to have more privacy both she knew Solara kept in mind just as much as she did that the less said, the better. They had to be careful with their words. Nevertheless, this place was better than any other crowded occasion they had been in before. After placing their order, Cordelia finally decided that neither could continue to beat around the bush any longer. There was something Solara had to take off her chest, she was well aware of. And the nurse was more than willing to listen and help however she could. “Spill the tea before we’re done with this wine…” She suggested, lifting her gaze from the table and looking over at the victor. “There has to be something in store for everyone considering the latest Chariot Parade. What’s under your sleeve?” The blonde asked, seriousness painted on her face as the woman in front of her drew all her attention.

Solara loved the blonde’s eager attitude and tone. This clearly meant that she was interested in what solara had to offer, but, of course, she had to be sly with what came out of her mouth as the numbed avox’s who ran the joint were shooting her looks every now and then. They were probably stunned at the fact that such a wealthy and vintage woman in terms of success was sitting in a heap like this compared to somewhere dripping in gold. But she also noticed the nerves peaking out of Cordelia; the girl was nervous.

“Well, let’s cut to the chase” she began, eyeing the woman in front of her with a look of secrecy, “I just want to point something out. I know what it’s like to be in the arena. I know what it’s like to hear your name ring out across the square as it’s read aloud from what could have been a split second change in a bowl full of others. I know what it’s like to go through the whole process of preparation and literally risk my life and reputation by going against everything me and my family believed in by taking the life of others just so I could live to see another day outside of the games.”

She then leaned forward and put her hand on the young woman’s arm that was resting atop the table, “I have something to show you. Are you ready?”

Victor: Solara Citrine, District 2

Arena: Post-war city

Duration: 14 days

Recap: Claimed to be one of the most unforgiving arenas in Hunger Games history, the tributes of the 95th games were launched into what appeared to be a ruined city held within the confines of a scorched wasteland. With dehydration, infection, and exhaustion being a constant threat, even the strongest of tributes were tested past their true capabilities and talents. The bloodbath was brutal, claiming eleven tributes on the first day alone. Solara’s district partner, however, died the following day due to a deep stab wound he’d received during the bloodbath the previous morning. For the next couple of days, those in the arena were granted a short period of peace. The careers, alongside Solara, made camp at the cornucopia as they kept watch in shifts and splurged within the endless supplies of food, water, and weapons they’d taken. However, on the fifth day, the gamemakers decided to release a large amount of rabid dogs hellbent on human flesh. With carnivorous tendencies, they were out for blood. If bitten, those affected would succumb to lethal infection. Upon being split up from the cornucopia, Solara and her allies found themselves in a stone-like hut as the boys from three and four killed one another after arguing over training scores. The girl from one, Fuchsia, reveals that she had been bitten by one of the dogs earlier on her thigh. On the eighth day, the girls from five and three are killed by a small pack of careers. The following afternoon, Fuchsia begs Solara to put her out of her misery before the illness runs its course. Solara then bashes her head in with a large rock, killing Fuchsia instantly; later that night the girl from six dies from dehydration. However, the tenth day consists of a major heat wave that sweeps over the entire arena, causing the girl from four to die from severe heat stroke. On the eleventh day, the tributes are pushed closer together by a large sandstorm that manages to outrun the boy from six, causing him to suffocate. The twelfth day invites the final five to a feast, forcing Solara out of her hut due to a lack of supplies. She manages to kill the boy from seven to get her items, alongside being allied with Chen, the boy from eight. The girl from seven then kills her ally, the boy from one, by strangling him while on watch duty. With two days left, the gamemakers drop heavy rainfall over the arena, causing the tributes to rehydrate for the finale. However, they’re both ambushed by the girl from seven, to which Chen then reveals that they’ve actually been allies since training and planned on wiping out all of the careers; Solara being the only one left. Having been lured into a trap, he claims that they’ve been secretly watching her since she was in the hut with Fuchsia on the fifth day. She then throws one of her metal sponsor containers at the girl from six, causing her to fall backwards and split her head open on a sharp rock, dying instantly. Solara then hurls a hunting knife into Chen’s chest after fighting him hand to hand for a bit, causing him to bleed out in front of her. Solara Citrine is then crowned the Victor of the 95th Annual Hunger Games.

Scoreboard:

23rd: District 8 male

22nd: District 7 female

21st: District 1 male

20th: District 7 male

19th: District 6 male

18th: District 4 female

17th: District 6 female

16th: District 1 female

15th: District 3 female

14th: District 5 female

13th: District 4 male

12th: District 3 male

11th: District 2 male

10th: District 5 male

9th: District 10 female

8th: District 11 female

7th: District 10 male

6th: District 12 female

5th: District 8 female

4th: District 9 male

3rd: District 12 male

2nd: District 9 female

The days leading up to the most anticipated event were busy ones around the Capitol. The games needed to be a success twice a year now, have more viewers than the last one and be as unique as possible. Each detail had to be organised and that included more than the interviews or arena. The games were a whole celebration and process which needed to be perfectly done in order to have a remarkable results. Before getting on their chariots, each tribute would be beautified according to the Capitol’s standards by their prep teams. However, the medical team’s work went beyond outer appearance and the tributes follow-up was important from day one to keep record of under which circumstances each of them would be in advantage or disadvantage. Even though all of her co-worker focus on this, Cordelia often strayed from the common path to break the rules and make use of her knowledge to help the tributes being at their best but not for the sake of entertainment. If one was lacking a strong physical structure due to a lifestyle of starving, she’d put her mind to making said tribute gain weight as a way to make training pay off. These days weren’t nearly as chaotic as the ones when they received a victor that needed to be at the peak of health but accidents definitely happened and there were other concerns just as important as keeping someone breathing. However, the nurse had made it a top priority to catch up with the one woman that could fill her in on matters that were almost just as important to Cordelia.

The blonde had been only 8 years old when Solara was crowned as the newest Victor of the Hunger Games. It was probably one of the first games that delivered solid memories  — though she’d watch many others and even older ones when she grew older. She recalled meeting the woman from district two during one of the many balls her grandfather would throw to exhibit the precious survivors that had been ‘lucky’ enough to make it out of the arenas and could have the privilege of living among the extravagant capitol citizens. Solara had caught Cordelia’s eyes pretty easily and even though the fact she was from one of the closest districts to the Capitol could be deceiving, the blonde had quickly realised that both were misfits trying to be unnoticed. A peacekeeper knocked on Cordelia’s door the following night, obeying the request of the president’s grand daughter and introducing her to what the president considered someone who owed any special capitol citizen a night of unforgettable pleasure. But this was going to be an exception and as soon as they were left alone, Cordelia revealed her underlying and real intention: exchange of information, getting to walk a mile in the shoes of someone who wasn’t blinded by the Capitol’s bright lights, someone whose upbringing had been far away from Cordelia’s comfort zone.

Cordelia knew just as much as Solara how risky and dangerous it was to keep in touch between the walls of a place where peacekeepers always had their eyes on them for the smallest sign of disturbance that would justify the use of violence. Regardless, the blonde had managed to see the victor from time to time with the excuse of checking on her health as well as her offspring’s well-being. Fortunately, Cordelia had finished with her morning shift just in time to meet Solara just like they had agreed. Standing by the tiny screen that scanned her features, the woman watched the green light that only meant freedom for her give her the authorisation to leave the Tower. The first thing she did was taking a big deep breath of fresh air the moment she walked pass the huge glass door but almost immediately without wasting any time, her blue eyes scanned her surroundings in search of the familiar face. As soon as she spotted Solara, Cordelia’s lips curved into a tiny smile as she nodded slightly and made her way toward her. If they hadn’t been in plain sight, the blonde would’ve followed the Capitol’s cheek-kissing etiquette and greeted the woman differently. “I apologise for the delay, darling.” She spoke sincerely, zipping her jacket and putting her hands in her pockets. “They’re good at making excuses come out of the blue to keep one in the palm of their hands the longest. I hope I didn’t keep you waiting too long…”

Solara still wasn’t used to the thick flow of words that escaped Cordelia’s mouth by now. She spoke with such a poetic tone that Solara had to sometimes pause before answering; her thoughts putting the words together like pieces to a puzzle in order to form a response.

She was shocked, though. It had been so long since she’d seen Cordelia. They’d met many times before when Cordelia was still a recent victor and was talked about much around town. The countless balls that were held here hosted her as a part of them. That’s where most of their conversations remained as she always ended up bouncing back to district two once the games were over. Eventually, however, she stopped coming as she felt that by showing up to everything that was ran by the Capitol, she was in a way supporting the games.

“No, no,” she claimed, “I’ve only been out here for at least five minutes. I just got done speaking with a few of the trainers.”

They then began walking down the street and chit-chatted about their day. Solara mentioned how thick the air was with tension in the tower and how it wasn’t going to leave any time soon. There was so much work that has to be done in terms of the games. Not only revolving around all of the preparations, but the waiting. She was expecting a message soon. They could come in any literal form.

They passed by a wig shop; things like this were very common in the Capitol. She quickly took a glance at Cordelia who strode behind her, the words exiting her lips going over Solara’s head as she wondered how normal they both must look to the rest of the Capitol citizens. Neither of them had funky hair or clothing. None of them had dyed their skin a crazy color or had jewels surgically embedded into their faces or neck. She once saw a woman with a diamond peaking out of her hip.

After walking just beside tribute avenue, their small talk came to an end once they reached the small bar/restaurant that they’d planned on going to. Solara held the door open for her as they entered.

Solara waited outside just near the main entrance leading into the tower lobby. She stared around and noticed how quiet and empty it was out on the streets; a dull look to everything with the lack of life anywhere around. The only people who really seemed to be out were the shop owners or anyone else who had a job for that matter.

She figured that this was the safest option; the tower was too heavily secure and concentrated with peacekeepers. Her and Cordelia had planned to go out to lunch and continue the discussion there. She wanted to tell her so much more at the ball, but it was too risky with so many officers around them.

Just then, she noticed the blonde hair of the woman who was just now coming out the giant glass doors, her head turning in multiple directions trying to spot Solara; she waved her arm over at Cordelia. 

Quiz result:

After losing Graham, being utterly hungover, and seeing bits and pieces of the cruel animal tasks throughout the day, Remy was ready for these Games to be over and to retire back to her apartment. She had no plans for the off-season, which was odd for Remy, who had plans for everything, but having some downtime really appealed to her this time around.

Because of her own stress and general gloominess, Remy carried her largest handbag through the tower, so large that it was actually a cat carrier, which Simon lay snoozing inside. Even though she didn’t want to carry Simon on her shoulder in case she ran into Glitter, she couldn’t leave the suite without at least one of her cats. And she couldn’t stay cooped up all day: not when she had to keep up a smiling face for her team. Being in an empty viewing room was better than being nowhere.

Remy settled into one of the empty viewing rooms, letting Simon crawl out of the carrier and into her lap. She stroked his orange fur absently, watching the human mutts chase the remaining tributes through the Arena. “This is not going to end well,” she murmured, eyes glued to the screen as someone entered the room behind her. 

“Yea, I don’t see this ending so well either,” Solara agreed, “But I don’t get it, though? Every major thing that seems to have taken place in this arena so far is tricky to understand. It seems like the gamemakers are going all out this time.”

She sat down beside the girl and gestured towards her pet, “I love the color of the fur. Did you have it dyed here in the Capitol or is it natural?”

She tried her best to dissect this part of the games, as all major things that came before were just as confusing, if not harder to understand. But this? This one was tricky. Solara couldn’t get it.

Just then, however, while wondering as to whether or not the blood hungry sponsors and game loving citizens here in the Capitol really cared as to the meaning behind such big events actually didn't and much rather wanted to see the blood shed that came out of it, someone came up from beside her.

“Can I help you?” she asked, their dark shadow lingering on her person. 

“I think it goes beyond the Tower,” Surya mused. “Creating hallucinations are one thing, but whatever they drugged the tributes with is intense, and I wouldn’t want to mess with it in a hundred years.”

“Oh, yes,” she agreed, “I can’t even believe that the Capitol has the power to create such a substance. Back in my day, we were just told to hack at one another with weapons till somebody finally won. It all seems to go beyond physical torment now, but rather psychological.”

“It rings bells,” Satine promised. “You won four years before I was even born. Did they make you come back for the 120th then?” She didn’t elaborate on who ‘they’ were. Who else dragged victors from their homes in the districts to help send more children to their deaths? “I’m so sorry. It can’t be easy coming back to all this.”

“Well, I’ve been invited back every year since I stopped attending. But I felt that it was now time to return. I actually stopped showing up a couple years after the most recent Quarter Quell. I just couldn’t do it anymore; I felt like I was cheering the games on, in a way; I was also dealing with issues from my own games and had to take a break for the sake of my own mental health,” she explained.

Before she’d even let Satine respond, she then made strict eye contact with Satine. It was like, for just a moment, she was a different person as she was trying to tell Satine something without anyone else noticing.

“If you really want to know why I returned,” she explained, as she slowly pulled her dress past her collar bone to reveal a small tattoo, “I heard there was finally change. And I wanted to be apart of it.”

Just below the collar bone on the left side of her chest was the small inked print of a black eagle wing.

Satine turned, smiling at the woman and setting her glass down before shaking her hand. “Thank you. You look amazing, too. I could never pull off something like that.” She didn’t like tight dresses. She preferred ones that flared out when she spun around, and she’d told her stylist as much. “I’m so sorry, I don’t think I know who you are. What’s your name?”

“Oh, sorry,” she confessed before going on, “I’m Solara Citrine. I doubt you know who I am, but I’m one of the mentors from two. I won the 94th Hunger Games. Well, back when they were annual, that is.”

Satine turned, smiling at the woman and setting her glass down before shaking her hand. “Thank you. You look amazing, too. I could never pull off something like that.” She didn’t like tight dresses. She preferred ones that flared out when she spun around, and she’d told her stylist as much. “I’m so sorry, I don’t think I know who you are. What’s your name?”

“Oh, sorry,” she confessed before going on, “I’m Solara Citrine. I doubt you know who I am, but I’m one of the mentors from two. I won the 94th Hunger Games. Well, back when they were annual, that is.”

Surya nodded slowly, though she didn’t totally agree. If anything, she believed the arena would only become more beautiful and resourceful, but not without hidden catches. It seemed mostly psychological thus far, and if that was the case, it didn’t really matter what the setting was. The Gamemakers were experts at making the mundane torturous. “They’re brave to play with the tributes’ minds like they did,” she admitted softly.

“They’re used to playing with their minds,” she agreed, “But I wonder what they’ll do now? It seems like none of them have any memory of anything they did while here in the tower. This should be interesting...”

Solara had enough with her outfit; the lack of dress and more skin irritated her. What was her stylist thinking? She understood that one of the seven deadly sins she’d be dressed as was Lust, but she didn’t know they’d go this far with the idea. After having two children, she never imagined being in an outfit like this ever again.

It felt strange attending a ball for the first time in years, though.

She looked across the room and spotted Satine, a Victor from several games back. Solara remembers watching her games and cheering her on at home. She was glad that Satine had taken the crown that year. She was the most humble of them all.

“Well, I don’t believe we’ve met before...Satine, right?” she extended a hand to the young girl after approaching her, “And that dress,” she claimed, “It’s amazing!”