Beren sat on her bed, her body numb. Why did she have to get into messes like these? And this time, Rose wasn't there to comfort her.
Rose's words she whispered were still ringing in her ears.
"I know that we've had a rocky relationship, but if it comes down to the three of us, I'll get rid of myself and let you do whatever you need to. Win. For me. Please."
Win. Could she do it?
She jumped out of the bed, the feeling coming back into her body. Beren realized Rose missed her, just as much as Beren missed Rose. Beren had to find her, had to apologize to her for being such a horrible friend. Beren ran to Rose's room just as Rose was coming out.
"Ow," Rose mumbled.
"I finally found you!" Beren said through giant gasps of breath.
"What do you mean you finally found me?"
"I wanted to say something to you before the Games."
"What did you want to tell me?" Beren's heart pounded in her chest as she looked into Rose's blue eyes.
"I wanted to say that–" Beren's voice cut off. Darn it! Why couldn't she get this one sentence out? All she had to do was apologize for being such a jerk, so why wasn't her head cooperating? They stood together in silence for a while until Beren just had enough. If she couldn't say sorry today, she would say it tomorrow. Right now, her stomach was empty.
"I guess we should meet your mom and the others in the dinner car now."
"She's not my mother anymore, she's our mentor. Now, I address her as Katniss, not mom." Wow. Beren was not expecting that. Rose really loved her mother, so it really shocked Beren to know that Rose didn't even see Katniss as mom.
They walked together to the dining car, where Atlas, Abum, Caroleene, and Katniss were already waiting.
"Took you both a while," Caroleene commented.
"Sorry," they said in unison. Rose took a seat next to Abum, letting Beren sit next to her brother.
"So," Katniss said, "What skills do you have that can help you win the Hunger Games?"
"I can do hand-to-hand combat," Abum said immediately. Beren needed to know how good Abum was, since her specialty was close combat too.
"I can lift really good," Atlas said.
"I can set snares and I can sword-fight," Beren said.
"You all probably know this, but I can shoot." Rose said.
"Okay, so during training," Katniss instructed, "Stay clear of those strengths. It's for learning something new, not for showing off, got it? Oh look, my favorite course is here!"
The lamb and plum soup was set down on the table, and Katniss immediately dug in, her eyes lighting up with delight.
Abum warily looked at it, as if it might explode, but ate it anyway. Beren was tipping the bowl back, gulping down the delicious hot soup. It tasted like fruit and meat and the cure for hunger. Beren quickly finished hers, and Atlas poured his soup into her bowl, letting his younger sister inhale his soup as well. Beren glanced up to see Rose slowly eating the dish.
"Good right?" Katniss said. Everyone nodded. "Enjoy the amazing food while it lasts. Now for tomorrow, you'll be getting your costumes for the parade. The stylists are amazing, so don't worry about that, okay?" They nodded again.
"Now, this is serious," Katniss said gravely, "Whatever those stylists do to you, do not say no to them."
"But–" Abum started.
"No," Katniss said forcefully, "You will not say no. Okay?"
"Okay," they replied. Abum pursed his lips, clearly disagreeing with Katniss's orders.
"Caroleene, why don't you go to your room and get some sleep," Katniss suggested, "It must have been a long day, coming from the Capitol." Beren could tell something was off by the way Rose was staring at her mother.
"Great idea Katniss! I'll be off now!" Caroleene said cheerfully.
Katniss carefully watched as the escort disappeared. "Okay, so in this year's games, we aren't allowed to watch the other districts' reapings, so we can only see them during training and the parade. Only, I didn't feel like obeying the rules, so I watched them and figured out that the Careers aren't as strong as they usually are. That's an advantage, so use it."
Beren remembered the stories that Katniss used to tell Rose and her. About how the Careers were usually extremely skilled, coming from the rich Districts.
"Now, you're the ones that are actually tired, so get some sleep before meeting your stylists and prep team tomorrow."
They said their good-nights and went to their rooms. Beren hugged her brother so tight she could feel his heart beat. Beren noticed that Rose waited for her.
"Do you think we'll survive until the final eight?" Rose asked once Beren had caught up to her.
"Probably," Beren said, "Coming from the poor District is actually an advantage in the Games. Since, you know, we have the harsh conditions. Oh, and we know how to survive when we're hungry."
"True," Rose said, "I'm sorry about your brother getting reaped."
"It's fine really-"
"No, I know that you are not fine. I watched you break down and now I am supposed to believe that you are fine. You can lie to anyone else but you can't lie to me Beren. And…I think it's partly my fault."
"Okay I'm not fine. I'm scared and I don't know what to do, Rose! I may have to kill my own brother. But it's not your fault Rose. It's the Capitol's"
Rose dropped her gaze to the floor, as if she were hiding something. "I don't know, but for right now let's just sleep."
"Yeah…okay." Beren said, too tired to ask Rose more about her guilt.
Beren went into her room and sat down. Something was tugging at the corners of her brain, but she couldn't tell what it was.
Was it Katniss? No, Katniss didn't bother her that much anymore. Beren had forgiven her.
Her stylist she was meeting tomorrow? No, the girls' stylist was trained by Cinna, so she didn't need to worry.
Was it her brother being reaped? No, she was sad, but she had time to process it before dinner. What was it that was making her feel like this?
Beren sighed, and went to lie down in her bed. She sat there laying not knowing what time it was or how long she had been there, just thinking…
Before she knew it, she was being called to meet her stylist and prep team. "Beren, you need to get out and go meet with your stylist." Caroleene yelled.
"Okay give me a minute." Gosh, Beren's head was pounding so hard. Why did she have to stay up all night? Beren sat up slowly, gradually making her way to the door. She walked off the train car and followed the path that was made for her. She made her way to a very weird looking room that had way too much pink for her liking. She knocked on the door, and a very happy looking girl around Beren's age opened the door.
"Beren right? We have been waiting for you for a while now! My name is Pricille and I will be getting you ready while Pollena is getting the other female tribute ready."
Beren sat there looking around so confused on what was happening when two more older ones walked in.
"Oh and I forgot to mention these are Lilac and Ruin. Ruin will be on the hair, I will be on makeup, and Lilac will be on waxing, 'cause girl you are hairy." Pricille spoke with a slight accent, the kind that the people in the South usually spoke with.
The trio got straight to work, not wasting any time. The experience was one Beren would never want to go through ever again. Beren bit her tongue to keep from screaming as she felt the burning sensation of the hairs being ripped off her body, the sharps tugs on her hair as Ruin styled it, and the torture of the makeup Pricille patted into her skin.
The only thing she actually found cool was the dress. It had black sequins that sparkled in the light, and it had a fade from the top to the bottom. The first two-thirds of the dress were gray but the last third was dark red. The dress went down just below her knees, not too short but not too long either.
As soon as she was prepped and prepared, Beren got into the chariot and stood next to Rose. Their dresses seemed to have a theme. Rose looked like she was the glowing red embers after a fire.
Rose looked beautiful in her outfit. The red streaks in her hair, the phoenix pin, the beautiful necklace. The wings that surrounded her eyes gave the impression that Rose's eyes were on fire. The golden flakes on her eyelashes fluttered in the air every time she blinked. Rose's blue eyes stood out against the red make-up, and whenever Rose looked at Beren, those gorgeous glaciers cut straight through her heart.
Beren was quickly dragged back into the moment as the chariot started to move. The sweat was trickling down her back as her heart pounded in her chest.
"And there she is! The daughter of TWO victors! It's Rosemary Everdeen! Standing next to her, Beren Hawthorn." The announcer said.
Beren felt a twinge of sadness after she realized that she was worthless next to Rose. The real star of their chariot was Rose, not Beren. Beren caught one of the pale red roses and blew kisses, trying to make it seem like she was unbothered by the announcer. No one cared to look at her. They featured Rose on the big screen for a while, but then they shifted to an extremely unexpected person. This person was supposed to be dead.
Peeta Mallark was standing on the screen.
Shock washed through Beren as this man was standing there right in front of her eyes. She looked to Rose who looked to be having a mix of emotions wash across her. Fear, relief, anger.
"Rose's father, Peeta Mallark! You all thought he was dead correct?" boomed the announcer, "Well, we thought this would be an interesting plot twist in your Hunger Games story! Isn't it?"
The crowd shouted, agreeing with this abomination of a situation.
"Peeta Mallark is now joining the Hunger Games, not as a mentor! This means that Abum Doil is off of the tribute list and is no longer able to compete for victor."
Beren filled with rage that they would put Rose in that situation. Beren also was sad because they decided to take out Abum and still make the siblings fight against each other and possibly have to kill each other.
Out of the corner of her eye Beren saw Rose ripping off her heels, and she knew that Rose would do something dumb. As soon as she saw Rose jump on top of one of the horses, Beren knew exactly what she would do. She wanted to follow Rose but she didn't; she just watched as Rose chucked the heels at the announcer, the first hitting him in the middle of his forehead and the second stabbing him in the foot. Perfect aim.
Beren heard a girl from district 5 laughing and making fun of Rose, "She's overreacting, like, it's not even that serious. She's just trying to get more attention."
For some strange reason, this enraged Beren. Three days ago, she would have said the same exact thing, but now she can barely stand the thought of the words.
The girl just kept on mocking Rose, and soon Beren couldn't stand it anymore.
Beren jumped off her chariot and lunged at her. Throwing punch, after punch, after punch, until all Beren could see was red. She heard yelling, and screams from behind her but she didn't pay any attention to any of it. All she was focused on was the girl. Suddenly she was ripped backwards.
"Let me go!" Beren screamed.
"Not until you calm down." A struggling female voice muttered. She recognized this voice, but at the same time didn't know who it was. All she wanted to do was beat the girl.