by Queen Elsa » March 17th, 2015, 9:18 pm
(Haha. Okay. I was trying to combine the last two stories, but I don't have enough time to do so. I'll try finishing it up in the next post, and then we can skip to the Reaping if you want.)
Pearl Mellark
The day was a boring, uneventful one. Everyone was still talking about the revival of the Games, but I was more focused on the story Mom had told me. I couldn't stop thinking about it, no matter what I was doing. Including trying to sleep. After trying for about two hours that night, I went downstairs to get tea like I had the night before, and was surprised to see my mom sitting at the table.
"Couldn't sleep?" she asked. I shook my head. "Neither could I. Do you want me to continue the story?"
"Yes. Just give me a second," I replied, making the tea before sitting at the table. "All right. I'm ready." She smiled for a brief second, and then continued from where she had left off.
"When we returned here, your grandmother, aunt, and I moved into this area of the district, along with your father and his side of the family. For six months, nothing exciting happened. But then, when the sixth month came around, that's when everything began picking up pace. I had just come back from hunting in the forest the day I was supposed to go on the Victory Tour with Peeta. When I walked inside the house, there were two men there who led me to a room in the house where President Snow was waiting. He told me that the act with the berries had started a fire, and that I had to convince him and the rest of Panem that I did it out of love, not out of rebellion. I told Haymitch about it, and he told me some important information. That this whole 'star-crossed lovers' thing didn't end after this trip. Now that we were mentors, everyone would be wondering how we were doing. He implied that I would have to marry your father if I wanted to keep everyone I loved alive. I kept the meeting with Snow a secret from your father at first. I didn't know how dangerous not telling him would be.
"When we arrived in District 11, your father began his speech, although he didn't pull out any of the cards Effie had given us. Instead, at the end, he offered the tributes' families to receive one month of our winnings every year for the duration of our lives. I told the story of how the boy from that district had saved my life, and how Rue became a valued ally for me during the Games. After that, an old man whistled the four-note tune that signaled the end of a day in that district. And then they all did the three-finger salute. The mayor led us into the Justice Building, and that's when I remembered the bouquet I had left on the stage. Peeta and I went back to get it, and that's when I saw two Peacekeepers bring up the old man and shoot him.
"Haymitch took us up to a private room in the building, and that's when Peeta found out about the conversation I had with Snow. He was angry, as you can probably guess." I nodded. I had seen what he was like when he found out someone was keeping a secret. "After that, we continued going from district to district. When we arrived at the Capitol, as our last act to try and convince everyone that the act was out of love, not rebellion, your father did a fake proposal. However, it wasn't enough for Snow or anyone else.
"When we arrived back here, I had seen something in the mayor's office. I looked and saw that it was a taping of District 8 rebelling. I told Gale Hawthorne and Peeta about my plan to run away, and asked if they would join me. Peeta agreed, but Gale said he was staying here to start his own rebellion here. Things became worse around here, though. More Peacekeepers came here. They were stricter than the previous ones. Then they kept the fence around the district on all of the time, so I wasn't able to go out to hunt.
"One night, while they were showing the different wedding dresses so that Panem could vote on which one for me to wear, Snow came on with the announcement for the third Quarter Quell - the tributes would be reaped from the previous victors. I went back into the Games.
"During the interview before we were thrown into the Games, Cinna, my stylist during the Games, had me wear the wedding dress that had won to be worn for the wedding that didn't happen. When I spun around, it changed into a black dress with feathers on the sleeves to resemble a mockingjay. Cinna was killed for that." She paused, calming herself down, before continuing. "Then your father came on stage, and he announced to everyone that I was pregnant, so then during the Games everyone who was on our side protected me and made sure I didn't overdo it. As a final gesture, all of us grabbed hands and raised them high in the hair so everyone could see.
"The beginning of the Games wasn't very eventful. It was the normal routine. That is, until your father walked right into a force field. Finnick Odair restarted his heart. My reaction to that had been what Snow was looking for when he asked me to convince him about the whole act. And it's what led to later events."
"What was your reaction?" I cut in. She thought for a moment on how to describe it.
"Panic mixed with sadness," she replied. I nodded, and she continued on. "So, the four of us continued through the arena, with me leading the way because I had lied and said that my fixed ear had been how I knew the shield was there, so that I didn't give up the District 3 tributes' secret."
"Wait, four?" I asked. I had only counted three.
"Yes. Me, your father, Finnick, and then Mags, an elderly woman from Finnick's district," she explained. "We decided to stop and rest for a few hours. But when I woke up, there was a fog around us. Poisonous fog. There were many blisters all over our skin from it. Mags sacrificed herself and walked into the fog so the rest of us could get to safety. We were able to escape the fog and detoxify our bodies from the poison, but that was it, because right after that, a whole group of monkeys attacked us. The next day, we were joined by Johanna Mason and the two tributes from 3. They were drenched in blood. Johanna told us that it had been raining blood in the jungle, and that's how they got soaked. The female tribute from 3 kept repeating the words 'tick tock.' Johanna thought she was in shock, but really, she was giving us a clue. The arena was a clock. With every hour, there came a new obstacle to face if you were in that hour's wedge.
"There were a few other obstacles we ran into, and at one point the Cornucopia turned so we couldn't tell what time it was until we either saw the wave or lightning strike the tree. The wave always happened at ten, and the lightning at twelve.
"The last night in the arena, Beetee, the male tribute from District 3, came up with the plan to tie wire to the tree and put it in the seawater, that way, when the lightning bolt hit the tree, everyone on the beach at that time would be electrocuted. The plan sort of failed. Peeta had stayed with Finnick and Beetee while I went with Johanna, carrying the wire down to the beach. But along the way, the wire was cut by someone. I was about to take out my arrow and shoot whomever it was when Johanna hit me and cut my left forearm.
"I went back to the tree to try and find your father. When I reached it, I found a piece of wire attached to the tree. I tied the wire around an arrow and shot it up into the air, damaging the force field. The lightning strike had a big impact on me, as well, and I was knocked unconscious. The next thing I knew, I was on a hovercraft with Beetee, Finnick, Haymitch, and the Head Gamemaker of the Quarter Quell, Plutarch Heavensbee. Your father and Johanna had been taken by the Capitol. Because I tried attacking Haymitch for not saving Peeta, I was knocked out with an injection. When I fully came back to consciousness, Gale was there, waiting for me. He was the one who told me that District 12 had been bombed."
She looked out the window to see the sun was rising. "Well, you better start getting ready for school. I'll finish up the story later. Have a good day." She kissed me on the head before walking out of the kitchen and into her bedroom. I sat at the table for a few more minutes, taking in everything she had told me. This is what we were going back into?