A Blooming Rose (hunger games fan-fic)

Chapter 2 (the Train)

Rose sat on the train that would take her to the Capitol, staring out the window. Before she was put on the train, she was allowed to visit with friends and family. Her parents and brothers had visited her, each with tears rolling down their faces. Rose had given them her bag to take back home. She would have no need for it now. A few of Rose's patients came to see her, wish her luck, thank her for what she had for them.

Rose watched as the fields passed by and disappeared. Rose kept her emotions inside the best she could. She wanted to just go and cry somewhere, but she was sure someone would find her and discover her secret. She couldn't afford that to happen.

Rose heard the door open and someone walk into the room, approaching her. She could faintly see their reflection in the window.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

"I just wanted to introduce myself to you, Rosalinda," the voice said. "My name is Chaff."

Rose turned and saw her new mentor standing behind her. He was tall and very well built. His lack of one hand did not bother Rose; she had seen so many different injuries that she was no longer bothered by it. Chaff walked over to her, sat down next to her, and stared out the window. They waited a moment before either of them said anything.

"You can call me Rose. Is there anything I can do for you?"

"No, no," Chaff said. "I just prefer to know my tributes. I take time to get to know them, know their strengths, learn what we should work on once we're in the Capitol. I've already talked with Jonathan."

So that's his name, she thought. Jonathan.

Chaff looked at her. "What's there that I should know about you?"

Rose thought for a moment, trying to think of things that Chaff should know about her if she was to trust him with her life.

"I'm sixteen," she started. "I have four younger brothers, three work in the field with my father and I. After working in the fields, I'm a nurse. I take care of those who need help." She paused, unsure what to add next. "I'm not your normal District 11 girl."

"What do you mean by that, Rose?"

Rose looked at Chaff. Should she tell him? Was it safe? Was it worth sharing if she was going to put her life in his hands? For the first time since the Reaping, Rose allowed a tear to roll down her cheek. Chaff stared at her. She knew it had happened. Her eyes changed from their normal bright blue to a dark blue.

"Your eyes," he said.

"I know. They do that when my emotions change. I try to keep my emotions contained, keeping my eyes one color. There's more, though."

Rose stood up and walked to the center of the room. She closed her eyes and when she opened them again, she found herself on her hands and feet. She looked at herself. She was a white wolf. She looked up at Chaff and saw him surprised expression. He was stunned and appeared almost terrified. Rose turned back into her normal self and joined Chaff back at the window.

"You can change your form," he said, still shocked.

"Yes. I'm one of the very few left. I was able to research about my kind once in school. When the Capitol took over, they were afraid these things - mutants, my kind - would try to overthrow them. They hunted down the mutants and either destroyed them, 'turned off' their mutations, or experimented on them. Mutants were the next step in human evolution, but the Capitol stopped that. Somehow, I kept the genetic mutation, giving me the ability to change form and change my eye color based on my mood. No one knows about this except for me, my family, and now you. You can't tell anyone about this. Not Iris, not Jonathan, not anyone in the Capitol. Promise me you won't tell a single person."

Chaff nodded.

"I promise, Rose," he said.

Rose studied his face. His eyes still showed the shock he felt, but also that he wouldn't tell a single person he encountered.

"Alright, then," Rose said.