The Mentor. (Cato Hadley)

Chapter Twelve.

Rewritten 03.20.2023

Dawn breaks as Cato and the Careers sprint through the woods, more than likely back to their camp at the Cornucopia. The boy from Three is on the edge of the woods, dangerously close to those who would like to murder him.

I spend a good amount of my time in my new bedroom at the Gamemakers Headquarters, due to being busied with Snow making appointments for me. Sometimes, he even sends them straight to my room here.

The birds in the area stop chirping, and I know something is coming. There hasn't been a death since the District Eight girl, and I hear the Capitol folk speaking of their boredom as I stand in front of the Headquarters, greeting thousands of citizens. Today, I get the chance to be a mentor instead of Snow's slave.

After a tap on my shoulder, I turn around to see Caroline, one of the District Five mentors. "Hello, Caroline," I greet, unsure as to why a mentor I'm not even friends with is taking a seat next to me. Johanna and Finnick are my closest friends, and then I'm quite friendly with Cashmere. Gloss is an acquired taste, I can take him in increments. That may have more so to do with him and I frequently being forced to sleep together though.

"I heard a rumor," Caroline is in her early thirties, which leads me to question why she is involved in petty, unnecessary drama. I keep my eyes trained on the big screen in the City Circle, the cameras panning from the Careers over to Katniss, who has a huge wall of fire descending on her. The Capitol wants action, and they want it now.

"And what kind of rumor might that be?" If it's that I'm a prostitute, yeah it's true. Maybe that I am extremely tempted to enter the rebellion that Plutarch Heavensbee informed me of? I take a drink from my glass of whiskey, waiting on her response.

"A rumor that you're having quite the affair with the tribute you're supposed to be mentoring," I spit out my drink, turning to face the woman I have hardly had a conversation with.

"You made me waste my whiskey," I say calmly, making an effort to gain composure. These people don't need to know I have a weakness. I look through the crowd, trying to get any indication of who said that. That's when I see Gloss, smiling in my direction. "Did Gloss tell you that?"

"I'm not going to mention any names-," I pound my fist on the table, gaining the attention of quite a few people.

"No, you're the one who decided to come over here and question me about something incredibly outrageous. So you're the one going to give me names." I might be all for rebellion, but I'm still the deadliest Victor that ever stepped out of that arena.

"Yes," the woman sighs, her eyes glancing over to where Gloss stands with his sister.

I push my chair back, drinking the rest of my whiskey before standing up and walking over to the District One Victors. "Hey, Gloss," I smile at him sweetly, before changing my expression over completely. "I heard you're spreading rumors about my tribute and I?" Rumors like this could affect Cato's game, make it so sponsors don't want the 'taken' tribute. I don't care what he said at his interview, he still appears available, unlike the Twelve tributes star-crossed lovers storyline. Well, I guess that ended with Peeta siding with the Careers.

Gloss, who stands well over six feet tall, glares down at my five foot five frame. "So what if I was, Marblyn?" In the corner of my eye, I see Cashmere smirk, as if she knows what's coming to her older brother. It hasn't been all that long since the sick, sick Capitol citizens forced the three of us to perform for them.

I stand toe to toe with the District One Victor, smirking at an incident last year where we had a fight, 'entertainment' for the Capitol. "Then I'll knock you on your ass just like I did last year," his cheeks reddening, proving that he remembers.

The excited screams from the citizens around us draw our attention back to the big screen. The District Three boy is desperately trying to start a fire with two sticks, still extremely close to the Cornucopia. Cato, Clove, and the District One tributes appear behind him, leaves crunching beneath their feet. The boy looks right at them, fear in his eyes. Of course, they laugh at his fear.

For a split second, I wonder where Peeta is, knowing that the Capitol wouldn't be this anxious about a kill if they had gotten one today. Soon, the camera flickers to him, holding a knife and guarding the supplies. I never would have thought Cato would trust him with that task.

"Please don't kill me!" His pleas are like deja vu, those being the exact same words as Peeta and the girl from Eight.

Clove smirks, holding her knife up. "I want this one, Cato." The Capitol knows as well as I do that District Two is running these Games.

"No, I can help you!" Clove and Cato glance at each other while Marvel and Glimmer stand there, dumbfounded. Clove gestures for him to continue, and I know exactly where he's going with this. After all, Beetee is his mentor. "Your supplies, at the Cornucopia. I'm sure you know that in Three we deal with electronics, I could uh, redirect the landmine so that only certain steps could get you to the supplies."

The three excess Careers look at Cato for an answer, to which he nods yes. "He's in," before the storyline can continue, it flips back to Thresh, eating plain wheat from the field. Rue is jumping from tree to tree, and the District Five girl is walking through the woods. Then, the crowd cheers with excitement as the camera flips back over to Katniss running from the fire.