The 1st Quarter Quell

Chapter 3 - Guinevere

I leave the centre as everyone else begins clearing up, and make my way towards the Victor's Village to visit my friend Guinevere. A fairly short walk past the lakes. She won the Games two years ago, and Maximilian is courting her at the moment. She's been a life mentor of sorts, helping me with school work where my family couldn't and she taught me how to hold a sword and reload a gun (not that she was allowed to).

I'm getting curious about the games, and what will happen this year, and the way Mason put it, things may be different. If anyone could give advice, it would be Guinevere; she's always been there for me and I can't say Mason's comment isn't worrying me.

"Althea! Come inside!" Guinevere beams as she opens her door after a single ring of the bell. Her dark red hair is in a messy ponytail and she looks quite exhausted; she must have just been running as it was her skill that she was expected to take up after the Games. I never asked her why she chose that over something easy like cooking, or drawing, but the reason must've been good enough.

She pulls me inside her warm home, the golden lights and smooth surfaces comforting me. This luxury is only ever offered to the Victors, and not even one of the 5 Villages could have the right to live in a heated house with constant hot water supply and a constant payroll.

Her house is large and welcoming, huge chandeliers forming warm pools of light that glimmered along the wooden floors and expensive panelled walls. The velvet-soft carpets are soft enough to sleep on and I always had to brush my feet along them whenever I came here, just to get that feeling. She leads me to her grand living room, where all the furniture was an embroidered velvet and everything decorated grandly, and she ushers me to sit down where she begins making tea with the silver set in the centre of the table.

"So, what brings you here, my little prodigy?" She asks as she pours milk into my cup, and I notice her hand is shaking slightly when she pours it. It bothers me, but I don't want to pry, so I try my best to ignore it. My curiosity does often get the better of me, but I don't want to ask her why she's shaking in case she starts crying on me.

"I wanted to ask you...about the Games..." I ask nervously, as I fold my jacket up in my lap, the heat of the house penetrating my woolly sweater. She stayed still for a moment, looking down at the silverware in her hands.

I didn't mean to bring back memories - every Victor has demons from the Games that they spend years burying, whether it can come from smashing rock on a kid's head or watching someone starve to death, anyone who comes out will be scared for life. No one ever wins the Games, they just survive.

"Well..." She inhales, her eyes vacant and distant, sitting back into the chair, "What d'you wanna' know?"

"What...What drove you to do it? To win I mean? Why didn't you ju- just give up?" I ask biting down on my nails, a terrible habit of mine. I don't know how to approach this, as Guinevere and I have never properly spoke about her Games.

"Well...My family, we weren't as rich as you or others, and no one really thought I should be doing it...I didn't want to, I knew how to survive but not how to kill...I was putting food on the table for them, so who was going to take care of them while I was gone? I was on Tessarae every year, and I knew that I had a fair chance of winning...I got bullied a lot at school and so I knew a few things, but more so how to stay alive...I got into that arena, the island, knowing I was going to bring pride to my family, but most of all...prove everyone wrong." She smiles, her eyes lost in the memory.

"How'd you get through the Games?" I ask sipping on my tea. You'd think we'd have spoken about this considering she's like a sister, but I know it hurts her when she is reminded of the Games, so I've never asked until now.