Bellona scoffed as she noticed Festus send her a scheming grin. Of course, he was happy about this. He liked anything that made Bellona miserable.

Bellona watched bitterly for the rest of the reaping as she saw who everyone else would be paired with. At one point, Bellona even cursed under her breath as she saw Vipsania Sickles's tribute. Not only was he handsome, but that would mean she'd get to work with Pup Harrington rather than stupid Festus Creed.

"She's so lucky," Bellona muttered to Lyssie as the boy from Seven grazed her screen, "I mean look at him."

Festus loudly scoffed at that, rolling his eyes as he eavesdropped on their conversation.

"Beauty won't win him the games, Bellona," Festus muttered, but Bellona ignored him.

Maybe she could convince Vipsania to switch.

No one else seemed to intrigue her for a while, though the boy from Eleven did look like he'd be a strong contender. There was no way Clemensia Dovecote would switch though.

It wasn't until the very end, that Bellona found herself engaged again.

"Oh you're going to love this one, Ms. Crane. District 12 girl. She belongs to Coriolanus Snow."

Soon, the camera panned to a girl with bright makeup and a rainbow dress. She looked angry as she walked to the stage, but she seemed to be taking it on the chin, holding her head up high as a man called out in protest.

"Look at that makeup. Is she some sort of a circus clown?" Arachne taunted with a laugh, before turning to Bellona, "She looks just like you."

"Bite me, Arachne," Bellona shot back, blowing the girl an exaggerated kiss and laughing when Arachne turned away in disgust.

But what happened next immediately drew Bellona's attention back to the screen.  Within a split second, the girl from Twelve, Lucy Gray as they called her, broke away from the crowd for a moment before releasing a snake she must've hidden into another girl's dress.

Bellona let out a loud laugh as she watched the scene, quickly covering her mouth as she noticed people turn to her.

Coriolanus's tribute continued to cause a scene for quite a while, giving the performance of a lifetime as she sang into the microphone before screaming 'kiss my ass' toward the camera.

Once again, Bellona broke out into giggles, finding the girl to be quite amusing. She'd do well in the Capitol.

-

After Lucy Gray finished, the reaping swiftly ended and Bellona quickly made her way over to Vipsania.

"Vipsania, my love. You need to save me," Bellona cried out as she clung to her friend. Vipsania only chuckled.

"I'm not switching with you," Vipsania answered before Bellona could even ask, causing Bellona to frown again.

"Why not?" Bellona whined, clearly desperate.

"We're all sick of you and Festus fighting so much. Maybe this'll force you two to finally get along," Vipsania joked before walking away. Bellona only groaned, shouting in her friend's direction.

"Just you wait! We're going to argue so much you'll wish you switched with me!"

"Trying to get rid of me this early, Bellona?"Festus teased as he snuck up behind her, causing her to jump. Bellona let out a loud grunt as she turned his way.

"I can't believe I'm with an imbecile like you," Bellona muttered, causing Festus to raise his eyebrows.

"Alls fair in love and war, Bellona," Festus taunted, winking as he walked away, "See you tomorrow."

Why was he acting so smug? Did he really get that much enjoyment out of seeing her suffer?

-

"I cannot stand him," Bellona complained as she and Sejanus made their way home, staring out the window in annoyance. It was only when she noticed the lack of response from Sejanus that she turned toward her brother who seemed to be lost in thought as he stared at his hands.

He must be taking this really hard. Having Marcus.

Instantly, Bellona reached for his hands, squeezing tightly as he looked up at her.

"I'm sorry about complaining," Bellona whispered, "I know how hard this is for you. Are you okay?"

Sejanus remained quiet for a moment before shaking his head.

"Every year it's hard. But Marcus? We knew him, Bellona. And now I have to mentor him in a game I know he won't win," Sejanus muttered, clearly distraught as his eyes began to water. Bellona let out a gulp as she scooted closer.

"Switch with me then. I can handle it, Sejanus. Let me handle it," Bellona suggested. And this time, she wasn't even thinking about Festus Creed and his annoying attitude. All she could think about was protecting her brother.

Sejanus may not be blood, but he would always be her brother. And she needed to keep him safe.

But of course, Sejanus felt the same way.

"No. No way, Bells. I'm the one that's meant to protect you. This is my punishment," Sejanus shot back, instantly shutting down her idea.

"But Seja-"

"No, Bells. Don't you dare think about talking to Father about this. I won't do it," Sejanus instantly replied, allowing no room for argument, "Promise me."

Bellona let out a sigh before holding out her pinky, smiling as Sejanus intertwined their fingers and connected their thumbs.

"There. It's sealed. No going back now."

"You're ridiculous," Bellona joked, smiling slightly as she pulled her hand away.

"It's your tradition," Sejanus replied with a laugh before shifting again, "How are you feeling? About seeing Sabyn?"

Bellona froze for a second, gulping as she took a moment to collect her sadness before smiling at her brother.

"I'm okay," Bellona whispered back with a convincing smile, "There's nothing I can do."

"Bells, you don't have to lie to me," Sejanus muttered, but Bellona didn't budge, causing Sejanus to shake his head.

"I think it'll be a good idea to bring food to the tributes when they come. You should join me," Sejanus added when he noticed Bellona's lack of response.

Bellona swallowed the lump in her throat before nodding. It was the least she could do.

-

A few days later, the tributes arrived. Turned out, that the Capitol decided to keep them in a zoo until the games. Treating them like the animals they believed them to be. Bellona wondered if they secretly wished she was in there as well.

Of course, as she promised, Bellona accompanied Sejanus as he attempted to feed the tributes, complimentary meatloaf sandwiches made by Ma. Bellona made sure she dressed as plainly as possible, hoping not to flaunt her wealth in front of her old friend. If she could even still call her that.

As the two reached the zoo, Bellona hesitantly made her way toward the fence. How would Sabyn react? Did she even remember Bellona?

Of course, she did.

"Bell? We thought you were dead. Had a funeral and grave for you and everything," the girl from Two called out as she made her way over to the fence, scoffing when she realized her eyes hadn't been deceiving her, "Guess you've just been living in luxury in the Capitol."

Sabyn's words seemed to cut Bellona like a knife, instantly causing her usually strong demeanor to falter.

"Sabyn. It's not like that-"

"Then what's it like? How could you betray your District like that? Was all that money really worth it?" Sabyn shot back, not letting Bellona finish.

"I didn't choose this," Bellona tried to explain, "My parents were dead and I had nowhere to go but the Plinths."

But Sabyn did not want to listen. In her eyes, Bellona was a traitor to her people. She was no longer District. She was a Capitol brat.

"We all lost family, Bellona. But we didn't abandon our district," Sabyn argued back. By this point, Bellona's eyes began to water against her will as she gripped desperately on the bars in front of her. She didn't care who was watching. Everyone in the Capitol already knew she was District and the tributes were going to find out sooner or later.

"You think I wanted to leave my home? You think I want to be here? I don't," Bellona shot back as she let a tear fall down her cheek, "All I wanted to do was go home. But that no longer existed and I had nowhere else to go."

Again, Sabyn did not want to listen to reason. And Bellona couldn't blame her. The Plinths would always be traitors. Thanks to Father and his greed.

"Well, I guess you lucked out then. Have fun standing out there with them," Sabyn mumbled before walking away from the fence, refusing the food the Plinths offered.

It took Bellona a few minutes to recover, recharging only when she noticed Coriolanus and a camera crew appear. Instantly, the girl wiped her tears and grabbed more food to put on a show.

If she wasn't going to get anywhere with Sabyn, she might as well get some screentime.

-

a/n:

hi guys !!! I'm so interested to know what you guys think about Bellona. I honestly really like her,,, I know she can be a bit more flawed (and I kinda like that about her) but I hope she's not too much for you guys

also !! I moved tiktoks so if you wanna see my updates i'm using @/seungiel0vebot now,,, come be moots with me <3 anyways I also updated my code on the act chapter so if it's easier you can scan there as well !!

anyways, I hope you guys like this story so far !! as always, thank you for supporting me !! I really appreciate it <3

love you guys,

hannah <3