To Be Home Again (Hunger games/Clove)

How Did We Get Here

The doors closed tightly behind me as I stepped onto the long silver train. I took a second to take in all my surroundings of the tight hallway, the pitch black walls adorned with small gold accents and details, a single chandelier hang over my head and to my right, the few steps leading up to a door. I reluctantly started my ascent and as I reached the top step the door opened before me. A quiet gasp left my lips as I looked around the train car. The walls were painted a rich emerald green, the floors were carpeted in a deep brown colour which matched all the furnitures upholstery. The furniture itself was made of dark sturdy looking wood, every piece embezzled with details.

The chandeliers on the ceiling matched that of the one in the front room, only larger and all the other decorations from cutlery to statues to artwork were all made of gold and glass. I cautiously took a step in, suddenly becoming very aware of how dirty my shoes were on the perfect carpet and made my way over to where Rowan and Queenie were sitting. On the couch they were accompanied by out mentors for this year, Blight Jordan, the winner of the 57th hunger games and Desdemona Leif, winner of the 68th. When I took a step into the cart the floor squeaked quietly pulling all their attention towards me. "oh there she is, we were just telling Rowan about what to expect, join us." Blight said, smiling kindly at me.

I nodded, feeling my cheeks heat up at all the attention I'd pulled before quickly making my way over to the couch and sitting beside Rowan. The second I sat down he pulled me into his arms and I hugged him back tightly, "God Bri, how did we get here." he laughed humourlessly to which I shook my head, "I don't know Rowan, what are the odds, right?" I smiled half-heartedly as I pulled out of his embrace, "clearly not in our favour." he said only loud enough that I could hear it and for some reason it caused me to laugh. The 3 others in the room looked at us, the confusion evident on all their faces. "Briar and I have been friends our whole lives." he explained as I adjusted to sit up properly on the couch, crossing my legs and placing my clasped hands in my lap.

They nodded before Desdemona began to speak again. "I think the best advice I can give to you is that you need supplies to survive. If you see a pack or a weapon close to your podium, grab it then get out of there as fast as you can. The cornucopia turns into a bloodbath very quickly but you don't want to be left with nothing either because once the bodies are cleared out, the careers will claim that area and you'll be at the mercy of the sponsors. Just know when to fight, when to fly and above all else, when to stand your ground. Some of these other tributes expect their opponent to just lay down and die once they have a weapon pointed at them but if you think you can handle the situation, it'll make you less of a target and less of a long shot for the sponsors; pick your battles carefully."

Rowan and I sat in silence while the three of them threw information at us for almost 2 hours until dinner was called. It wasn't until I stood for the first time that I realized we'd been moving the whole time and almost fell over only to catch myself on the arm of the couch. "You get used to the motion quickly dear, don't worry." Queenie said as she walked past me and took her seat at the head of the table. I didn't realized I'd been looking her up and down until she sat, making me blush, which only worsened when I caught Rowan staring at me with raised eyebrows and a knowing smile. From when we were young I'd always known that I'd been interested in girls, more than a regular girl looking for friends was that is.

I had crush after crush on girls in my classes but kept it to myself until one day it just came out to Rowan. Despite how close me and my sisters are, I was never able to tell them about that part of me and I don't know if it was because that's not really talked about in 7 or if I liked having something all to myself. On the table sat 2 baskets, each containing different bread rolls beside multiple glass bowls of different spreads, some of which appeared to be made with fruit while others were different variations of butter. There was a bowl of roasted vegetables, creamed corn, a thick white soup and at the center of it all sat a large rack of lamb which was dripping in a dark glassy glaze and made my mouth water just looking at it.

I hardly paid attention to a word the mentors said thought out dinner as I was too focused on how good everything tasted. What can I say, when you grow up eating only things that can be caught, grown or made from things you grew, you appreciate a good meal. Besides, if I'm going to die I might as well enjoy everything the capitol has to offer. I shook the thought away quickly, I'm not going to check out, I need to get home to Sylvia and Maggie, I have something to fight for and I will fight with everything in me. "What do you think Briar-Rose?" Queenies voice pulled me out of my deep train of thought. I looked around and realized that everyone was looking at me, "sorry i was deep in thought." I dipped my head in embarrassment, wanting nothing more in that moment than for the floor to swallow me whole.