Innocent Girl - A Hunger Games Fanfiction

Chapter 17: Victor's Interview

A/N: The picture above is a drawing by me of Almond before her interview. I'm so sorry if it looks bad - this is my interpretation of her, and I'm not an artist (I couldn't find any web pictures of what I wanted to show Almond of, as I haven't done many descriptions of her in the book), so I just attempted to draw her. Though there is no colour, so you'll just have to fill in the gaps yourself. Would anyone like me to add colour?

Today is the day of the interview. The replay. But after that... I finally get to go home. Lara-Rose takes me down to the Remake Centre, where Adele and my prep team are waiting. This time, all they do is give me a dress. This time, it's a pastel green and only falls just below my knees. The sleeves have more detail this time, and the collar is white. But it's still simple, and, just like the one from the previous interviews, there's butterflies. Except this time, there's only three, near my shoulder. And one for my hair. They're all a greenish-blue colour, unlike the previous purple ones, and they blend into the colour of the green dress but still manage to stand out. And again, they go for the, 'no makeup' view, which I am beyond grateful for.
"Y'know, the Capitol is split," Junop comments casually.
"Huh? Why?" I ask. Lena smiles.
"They're debating whether or not you're more like a little butterfly, or a squirrel," comes a voice from the back of the room. I turn my head, and see Katniss leaning against the door frame. I stare at her in disbelief.
"Hey," she says, putting her arms up, "I wasn't the one who came up with it."
"We thought, for the sake of your outfit, we'll lean towards the butterfly title more," Adele confirms.
"Personally, I like the butterfly representation. Almond Lin, the butterfly from 12," Lena tells me softly. I smile at the nickname, remembering how my old, loving mother had once called me it.

"Come on, little butterfly, we must not waste time," sings my mother. I giggle and run to catch up to her.
"Little butterfly?" I ask her. She smiles softly at my four-year old figure.
"I used to call my sister that," she explains, "You remind me of her."
"I know," I grin. For some reason, I liked being similar to the aunt I never knew.

"C'mon Almond, time to go," Katniss tells me. I blink, and they're all staring at me.
"Are you okay?" Lena asks me quietly. I nod.
"Thanks," I tell them, and then go with Katniss. We walk towards the elevator, and she presses the button to go up. Outside, a vehicle awaits us. Haymitch, Dean and Lara-Rose are all seated inside already.
"Hey, Almond," greets Dean. For some reason, he looks a bit messy and stressed. Why is there a bruise on his arm? "Nice to see you not in a hospital bed."
"Hello, Dean, Haymitch, Lara-Rose. I haven't seen much of either of you since..." I trail off, not really sure how to finish my sentence.
"What can I say? We are busy people, kiddo," chuckles Haymitch. But I can hear the tension in his voice, and beside me, Dean stiffens. I dont question it though.
"Are you excited for the interview, Almond?" Asks Lara-Rose. Clearly, she had spent time getting her makeup done.
"Er... As excited as I'll ever be..." Katniss smiles slightly, and Lara-Rose clearly accepts it as a good answer. Soon enough, we're at the stadium. My heart pounds as we get out. Katniss places a hand on my shoulder.
"Don't worry, little squirrel. If you can't watch something, tilt your head down slightly, okay?" I nod. "Remember, you're the innocent little girl from twelve, just happy you made it out." I nod again.
"You can do it," Dean whispers. Then Lara-Rose takes me in.

"And now, the star of the night, our victor of the 94th annual Hunger Games, Almond Lin of District 12!" At that cue I walk on, and the moment I do, the lights blind me. Instinctively, I duck my head, and quickly make my way to Cecilia. Is it just me, or does the walk seem further than last time?
"Hello, Almond!" Chirps Cecilia. I smile.
"Hello."
"How are you feeling today?"
"Er... Still nervous honestly. But really, I'm really happy to be here. Being here means I made it out." I force a smile, and the audience coos.
"Ah yes. Speaking of being a victor... Tell me, Almond, how do you feel that you're the now youngest victor in the history of all 94 Hunger Games?" My eyebrows shoot up, and I realise this indeed is true. Cecilia laughs.
"Oh, dear, did you forget?"
"I didn't realise. Well... kinda amazed, honestly?" Cecilia smiles.
"Tell me, Almond, exactly when is your birthday and how old are you?"
Play it innocent. Happy to be here.
I force a smile and try to answer cheerfully.
"Exactly a week before the Reaping. June 27th, so I'm almost twelve years and a month old!" Cecilia looks at me, surprised.
"Really? Wow, I don't think anyone's beating that record anytime soon," she laughs. I nod.
"Hmm... I seem to recall another young girl who had a birthday close to yours..."
"Yup! The aunt you mentioned last time I saw you, if we were born in the same year, she would be a week older than me." The crowd laughs, and so does Cecilia.
"Okay, so let's talk about your games." The crowd goes silent. "In the games, you had two allies: your district partner, and, Blossom from 7. We know you were planning to team up with Alek, but what about Blossom?" I pause, letting the act of being sad over my allies deaths show.
"I mean, before the games yeah, but after that..." I trail off, unsure about what to say. The rebellions in 7 aren't something often talked about.
"And...?"
"Well, Alek said having too much people in an alliance is dangerous," I say, only telling half the truth, "But then after he died... Well, I ran into Blossom and one thing lead to another." Cecilia nods.
"Valid. We in the Capitol saw a strong bond between you and Blossom - and we saw your carvings. That got two questions from us: is carving something you enjoy, and, how did you feel leaving the carvings behind?"
I pause. I was told I would need a victor's talent after the games. Do I really want one of the last things from my father to be for the Capitol?
"I like carving with wood," I say simply, "And I was really upset when I left the carvings, specifically the one of the cedar tree. I made Blossom a promise..." I look down. This time, it's not an act. The audience coos again, and a slight smile creeps over Cecilia's face.
"Well, Almond... How would you feel if we had a little present for you?" I look up, questioning. Cecilia gestures off stage, and an avox walks on, with a small box. He hands it to Cecilia, and promptly walks off. Cecilia grins, and hands the box to me. I stare at the box, and then Cecilia.
"Open it," she tells me, her smile just growing bigger. The crowd waits with baited breath, and I slowly open it, and delicately unwrap the thin paper inside. And then I see three, small, flat pieces of timber about the size of my hand, face down. Could it...? I look up at Cecilia, hopeful, and raises an eyebrow at me. I lift up the first one, the biggest one, carefully, and slowly turn it over.