mastermind | the hunger games

CHAPTER III

"Why are we really going to District Two?" Persephone asked softly as her two mentors pulled her towards the train station in the heart of District One.

The siblings had woken her up early, only letting her get about three hours of sleep. Cashmere had thrown a dress towards her, a short white one with yellow thread embroidered across the chest in the shape of a sun, while Gloss grabbed her sage green converse. Her mentors didn't really say anything to her, other than that they were taking a trip down to District Two to eat lunch with Chiron, but if that were the case, then why did they have to bring her?

"What do you mean?" Gloss laughed off as they got on the train, sliding pass different Peacekeepers.

"If you were just meeting Chiron for lunch, why would you have to bring me?" Persephone asked.

"What if he wants to see you? It would be rude for us not to bring you along, especially since you clearly made a good impression on him last night, and those are big for him," Cashmere said, trying to sound excited.

Persephone just rolled her eyes and curled up in one of the train chairs tiredly. She didn't get a ton of sleep that night. Between sleeping in an eerie new home and returning from the Games, she just tossed and turned through the dark hours.

She didn't notice the anxious looks between both of her mentors, as if this lunch would change her fate.

.

.

.

District Two was cold. District One was full of beaming jewels, loud galas, and shining sequins; anything that showed off wealth. District Two was bitter.

The wind ate at Persephone's cheeks as she was led throughout the district. Even though it was more dark and gloomy, the sounds of metal clashing and fighting echoed all around, making it still blatantly obvious that it was a Career District. Everyone was dressed in the best of fighting gear, students from the Career Academy walking with grim smiles, adults wearing fine business wear.

"No one is smiling," Persephone whispered, clinging to Gloss.

"Yeah, they take training a little seriously here. Mainly why Two has the most Victors," Gloss whispered back.

Persephone stayed quiet, sticking to nodding. She was surprised that, no matter how terrifying and serious the citizens around the district looked, they still gave her nods of respect and small quick smiles.

"They respect you, everyone saw your Games," Cashmere whispered, leading the three of them around a corner and down another winding street.

Persephone didn't know what to say to that. They respected her because of how brutal she was during her Games, but she couldn't even remember anything she did.

"Here we are," Gloss said as his sister led them to what looked to be a small tea shop.

"We're having lunch here, with Chiron?" Persephone asked confused. She didn't even know they had any cute stores to shop at in the masonry district, much less a quaint tea shop.

"What can I say? District Two may be deadly but they do love some tea," Gloss joked, leading the two girls into the small store.

The tea shop contrasted very differently from the outdoor grey-brick appearance. It was decorated in soft pinks, Victorian accents, and soft rugs covering the floor. The smell was heavenly, a mix of lavender and sage.

"There you guys are!" a warm voice called out from their right.

The District One Victors all immediately turned their heads to look over, seeing none other than Chiron Fables standing by a table, wearing a white button up, the cuffs rolled up his arms, and black dress pants.