mastermind | the hunger games

CHAPTER VIII

Persephone Chase was practically the personification of anxiety as she sat beside Gloss on a train that was heading straight to the Capitol. It had been two months since Hades had helped her re-design her home, and since she almost attacked her parents on the street right in front of their own jewelry store.

Hades Grace had been spending much of his own Victor monthly earnings, not that he could ever run out, on train tickets to District One or buying Persephone her own tickets to come to District Two, not that he would ever let her spend her own money if he could help it. But no amount of money would ever seem too much to spend on his sweet girl.

The two hadn't seen each other in two weeks; President Snow having Hades stay in the Capitol for the period, forcing him to help train some of the new Peacekeepers, something about wanting them to have a 'leg-up' on everyone, as there had been a twinge of rebel whispers amongst the loud crowds of the Elites.

"You excited?" Gloss interrupted the girl's chaotic thoughts, smiling down at the teen who sat closely beside him.

"To hear about how I'm supposed to prepare myself to train kids just to send them off to their deaths?" Persephone whispered quickly, eyes fleeting across the room around her, bright windows illuminating trees that the train had swiftly passed.

Truth be told, the blonde teen was scared to not only learn how cutthroat she would have to be with her new tributes to give them a fighting chance for the next Games, but also to meet other Victors who would be doing the same thing. Hades had tried to calm her anxiety, telling her how everyone would either stay clear of her or be polite with her, but she couldn't calm her jittering nerves. The only other Victor Persephone had met, besides her own mentors, Hades, and Chiron, was Finnick Odair, whom the girl had met at her birthday gala.

Finnick Odair was a couple months younger than the teen girl, sixteen years old and winning his Games only two years before Persephone, a little egotistical and very charming, but he approached the girl with grace and a polite etiquette, and Hades seemed to like him so that was enough for Persephone. 

"Just relax, everyone will love you," Gloss tried to laugh off the girl's anxious movements, "Plus, you don't even have to mentor anyone for a couple more months."

This didn't do anything to help Persephone. Feeling the familiar black dots beginning to grace her vision, she closed her eyes as she tried to relax and disassociate for the rest of the train ride, mentally counting down the minutes until she could see Hades.

.

.

.

There was always an invisible dark cloud hanging over the Capitol, something that the bright neon lights and white walls could never outshine. Maybe it was because of the twisted deals and deadly games that occurred in the cracks between doors, or maybe it was because President Snow was always looming over everyone, secret spy eyes watching every decision.

Persephone kept her arms around herself, in a way that looked like she was embracing herself, trying to comfort the buzzing in her head that whispered to her to just black out. Gloss walked behind the girl, making sure she didn't stumble up the grand stairs that led into the heart of the Capitol. Persephone, wearing a black babydoll corseted dress, ruby red platform heels, and a baby pink heart-shaped purse, kept her eyes down as she walked through the white doors, people in business suits rushing past her.

She kept repeating the room number of the conference room that the meeting was going to be held at in her head, as if it would somehow block out the other thoughts. The girl, looking slightly crazed as she whispered to herself and kept her gaze on her shoes, suddenly crashed into another body.