Pride

"Seems like Seven didn't have much better stylists either," Elowen remarked, almost with relief, as the carriage of District 7 drove out onto the square.

As with the Reaping, the career Districts had left an unpleasant impression. They had brilliant stylists who knew exactly how to present their tributes. Dressed in gold, silver and diamonds, they had attracted the attention of all the sponsors. With the remaining Districts it was balanced. From what you could tell under all the colors and layers of tulle, some seemed to have a pretty good chance, while others seemed hopelessly lost from the start.

"The poor dogs from Nine," Haymitch murmured as he took a sip from his silver flask. "With all that straw, it must have been really itchy."

The camera zoomed in on the couple in question, and one could tell from their contorted faces and tense body language that their hands would rather be somewhere else. To his surprise, Elowen laughed. "Yeah, it really must have been."

As quickly as lightning, Effie's eyes shot to Haymitch, who looked back at her coldly. Contrary to his expectations, the corners of her mouth formed a small smile. She looked away, casting a caring glance at the girl sitting right beside her.

Again, her behavior left a questioning blankness in Haymitch's mind. He couldn't draw any conclusions from her. One second she was Capitol through and through, but then for those few moments she transformed into a completely different person. Haymitch hadn't meant to be funny. He had just wanted to make a sarcastic comment like he usually did, after all, he did that all the time. He certainly hadn't meant to make his tribute laugh.

"There you are at last." Petunia's disinterested comment brought Haymitch back to reality.

The carriage pulled out of the tunnel and the sunlight hit the two tributes. Elowen looked completely distorted in her red sequined dress. Her eyes were wide, and she looked as if she would be led to the slaughter at any moment. The fear was clearly written on her face. Ramon next to her radiated the exact opposite. His gaze was dark and anger burned in his eyes. He did exactly what he had done the day they arrived at the Capitol: he ignored the roaring crowd.

Effie sighed to herself. "And, how was I?" Elowen asked, raising her eyes towards her. Haymitch followed Elowen's gaze and tried to read Effie's thoughts in her eyes. For a moment he saw a flicker of resignation, but the expression disappeared as quickly as it came.

Effie opened her mouth to answer the girl, but Petunia beat her to it. "Nothing special for District Twelve. You will not be remembered, child," the older woman explained unimpressed and crossed her legs without even looking at Elowen.

For a moment, Elowen simply stared straight ahead, the television reflecting in her green eyes. Haymitch could only imagine what was going on in her head right now. Petunia could have hit her in the face with the palm of her hand and the pain would have been the same. The pain Elowen was feeling right now was probably even worse. Death suddenly seemed even more real to her than it already did.

"Why, no," Effie blurted out, her voice rising several octaves. She turned to Elowen and stroked her shoulder reassuringly. Then the corners of her mouth turned up into a small smile. "This was your second time in public and you certainly were not just average. We will coach you until the interviews and then you will convince them all."

Petunia snorted indignantly and Haymitch couldn't help but grin. The old woman was a dragon and treated everyone condescendingly. Even Effie. Until now she had always endured it with friendly manners. It was the first time that she contradicted her predecessor, although not directly.

"How do you know that?" Elowen whispered, barely audible, but not in an unfriendly tone. A tear rolled down her cheek and she bowed her head. Her fingers played with the corners of her dark gray dress.

Effie was silent for a while, watching her tribute. Her blue eyes sparkled with compassion and uncertainty.

She's overwhelmed by the situation, thought Haymitch. But Effie proved him wrong a moment later. "Because you have already convinced me," she replied in a soft tone.

The heads of the three other people in the room abruptly turned in Effie's direction. Not good at all. Not good in the slightest. Haymitch could only sigh. Either Effie was the perfect actress and able to charm everyone here, or she was actually serious and would fall flat on her face at the end of these Games.

"Are you serious?" asked Elowen, almost speechless.

"I am." Slowly the girl returned Effie's smile. "During interviews, we women always have an advantage if we know how to play it right. So you do not have to worry."

"But only if the designers do not ruin everything for you," Petunia chimed in. Her dress fluttered as she rose from the couch and turned in Effie's direction. "I have seen enough for today. I will definitely stop by from time to time. If you need anything, Effie, you know where to find me."

In no time, Effie jumped up and lightly touched her predecessor on the forearm. "I will walk you out." Petunia just nodded and then the two women left the living room.

oOo

"The timing is probably not right for you," Effie began in a soft voice as they walked down the hallway toward the elevators. "But I want to apologize to you, Petunia. You have helped me in the last few days, and I did not appreciate it appropriately. Without you I would not be standing here now. Thank you."

Effie remained silent, waiting for the older woman to react. She meant every word she said, even though she was unsure of how to win Petunia back. She might be angry with Effie, but no one could resist the triumphant feeling of superiority. Especially not Petunia. She enjoyed every moment of recognition. Effie knew that.

For a moment, Petunia pressed her lips together in a thin line. Then she sighed almost theatrically to herself and turned her gaze to her young apprentice. "I do not approve of the way you have trampled on my commitment to you, Effie. Nonetheless, I accept your apology. After all, I am here to teach you something and I see you still have a lot to learn."

The women reached the elevators. The clacking of their shoes echoed through the empty hallway. Warm lights turned on automatically when a motion detector noticed the two. Petunia pressed the elevator button and together they waited. It would only take a few seconds.

Effie wanted to knit her eyebrows together, but she knew that as a decent lady that wasn't appropriate. Her mother had drilled this into her often enough. Effie had a very friendly and courteous nature, but moments like these made her doubt the meaning of politeness. A woman has to bend, Euphemia. Ignore your feelings. Do what will move you forward the most.

Effie swallowed her pride in a second. With sparkling eyes, she looked at Petunia, a smile gracing her face. "You are right, and I am proud to call you my predecessor."

Petunia didn't hesitate for a moment and returned her smile. Effie was relieved that she had been able to maneuver herself out of this awkward situation. "All is well, my dear." The elevator announced itself with a quiet whirring noise and a moment later the glass doors silently opened. Petunia walked in and turned to Effie.

"I have one last question," Effie suddenly said and took a step towards the elevator to keep the door open. The thought had come to her out of the blue, now that she had to go back to the others alone.

Even Effie, who tried to ignore any rudeness, could hear Petunia's silent sigh. "Well then, since you are blocking the door anyway, you might as well ask." Her tone didn't sound dismissive, just tired. Like she was tired of having to play teacher.

"What should I proceed with Ramon?" The question silently stood in the room for a short time.

"In my opinion you should leave it at that," Petunia finally explained. "You just risk confidential information ruining his image in the arena. Even though he does not stand a chance anyway. But that is just how we handle things here."

Effie's breath caught in her throat. She felt it tighten at the thought of doing nothing. "But he attacked me. Who knows what he would have done if Haymitch had not arrived in time."

"Well, I would not rely on Haymitch anyway," Petunia remarked pointedly and then shook her head. "Effie, this are the Hunger Games. This is a matter of life and death, you knew that beforehand. What did you imagine the common folk from the Districts would be like?"

Effie remained silent and then took a step back so that the door could close. "You are probably right. I just have to find my place here. I thank you for your advice and goodnight." Petunia just nodded.

oOo

"Well, if the old dragon says so, then it's certainly true," Haymitch remarked mockingly, taking a sip from his silver hip flask.

Effie shot him a meaningful look. "She has a lot of experience and knows what the right thing to do is."

After the replay of the Opening Ceremony had ended, Elowen had retired to her room. Effie had waited a few minutes to make sure the girl was out of earshot before telling Haymitch about her conversation with Petunia. Haymitch didn't really want to talk to his new escort, but he had already noticed on Reaping day that Effie could be very bossy when she set her mind to something. Close your eyes and get through it.

"Oh please, she was the escort of District Twelve for almost thirty years, and I was her only victor." He took another sip. The cold liquid ran down his esophagus and seemed to set every cell it came into contact with on fire. Haymitch had already forgotten what alcohol he had bottled this time. "Thirty years and sixty-one dead children. I was just lucky," he murmured, feeling the alcohol eating through his veins. Excruciatingly slow and yet he enjoyed every second. It hurt at first, but in just a few moments it would obscure his vision and ease his senses.

Only after a few minutes of silence did he notice that Effie was still sitting on the couch a few steps away in silence. It took an effort to turn his head in her direction. But it took even more effort to focus his eyes to even see her.

The hair of her white wig flowed gleamingly over her back. Her blue eyes rested on something in front of her; the look told him that her thoughts were elsewhere. The expression on her face was almost petrified. Except for the dress, the makeup and the hair, she looked nothing like Effie. Haymitch had already seen her without all that stuff and ever since then he kept wondering why she went through all this beauty madness in the first place. Without all the layers of artificiality, she would have turned heads in the Districts. She would have been an attractive woman.

"Stop thinking," he suddenly snapped, surprising himself at his reaction. He hadn't seen it coming. Neither had Effie, who jumped and jerked her head up.

"Then let's just do it the way the dragon said." Haymitch shrugged and leaned against the couch.

"He could do it again," Effie whispered, and he realized she was actually scared. He had just watched her at the table trying to hide her outburst of panic. She was young, she was fresh meat. If she didn't adapt quickly, the Hunger Games would destroy her.

"You have to deal with this risk," he slurred and tried to get up. Standing on unsteady feet, he leaned towards Effie. "He could do it again at any time. He could do a lot worse." Haymitch shrugged again, and for a moment he enjoyed watching Effie's face contort in fear. Just as he had always enjoyed tormenting Petunia, even if she had already been an experienced escort.

"He could be planning your death right now and ambushing you as soon as I leave the room," Haymitch whispered, moving his legs to actually leave the living room.

"Very funny, Haymitch," Effie whispered frostily, shaking her head as she watched him go. As soon as he was out of sight, her features slipped. Basically, Haymitch was right. What would her mother do in such a situation? Lately, she found herself wondering that constantly.

Effie's mother was a values-oriented woman and when it came to her children she could be very strict. From the beginning, Lyssandra Trinket had had a clear idea of what she had wanted her two daughters to become. Over the years, Effie's older sister Aurelia had perfected the art of reading her mother's every wish. While she had been her mother's desirable flagship, Effie had always had to compete for every ounce of attention. Her effort had never been committed enough, her looks had never been pretty enough, her goals had never been sophisticated enough.

Effie sighed at the thought of her family. The young woman had come to terms with the fact that she was not her parents' favorite child years ago. And yet her every decision in life had been closely monitored and criticized. Effie had studied at the most prestigious university in the Capitol, something her mother had never approved of. Her father, on the other hand, whose reputation as an architect preceded him in the Capitol, had been visibly proud of it.

With the full support of her mother, Aurelia had taken the classic route and become a model. Naturally, the bar for Effie's career choice had become a lot higher when she had finished her studies. Her true wish had been to become part of her father's well-known company.

And yet here she was, sitting in the Training Center, looking after tributes for the Hunger Games. The job as an escort was incredibly coveted and had been made possible for her solely through her father's influence. Of course, Effie had been more than proud of her position, and to her surprise, her mother had shared that pride. Now Effie just had to make sure that pride actually lasted.

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Please let me know what you think! If you want to know how I imagined all the characters, take a look at my Pinterest. My name there is ccskyllen. :)

Skyllen