"Do you like candy?"

The sweet-faced boy sitting opposite me on the train gave me a wobbly smile as he held out a paper bag. When I heard his name called earlier that day, I'd seen a mini version of Drew appearing from the crowds. His hair was curly and he had a gap in his front teeth where a new one was growing.

Decimus had been chosen moments after me, and he'd cried as he took to the stage. While my face stayed dry, my heart was aching. He was just a kid. I guessed he was around thirteen or fourteen, but he seemed younger somehow. It humanized him far too much for my liking, knowing I'd likely see him die in a few weeks time.

"I do."

"Do you want some?"

"No thank you," I told him. He looked surprised.

"For real? Because I never get sweets. Mom bought me them for reaping day. She said they come from the Capitol."

I didn't tell him that in the Capitol, sweets are more common than dirt. I couldn't count the amount of times I'd sat up in my bed, watching TV and scoffing sweets without even tasting them. I probably even did it while watching the Games sometimes. It made the idea of even tasting a sweet feel sickening.

"That's okay. You keep them for yourself. You deserve them."

Decimus smiled sweetly and popped a striped hard candy into his mouth. I didn't even want to look at the kid. Every interaction with him made the idea of us going into the arena together harder. I just wanted to keep my distance.

Which is why I was relieved to see Valeria and Drew enter the train compartment. Now that the excitement of the reaping had passed, I felt a little more normal, and I took the time to admire how Drew looked in his Capitol clothes. He'd changed into a teal silk suit with black lining, and the material shimmered like an iridescent fish. Whether by choice or by requirement by his stylist, he'd rimmed his eyes with dark eyeliner, making his eyes stand out even more. I felt a strange pull toward him that I'd never felt before and worried that it was because with each passing day, he looked more like a Capitol man to me.

"Aurelia..." Valeria said, approaching me tentatively. Her features were softer today, and I saw in her gaze that she didn't hate me quite so much as when we first met. "The way you volunteered for that girl...that was admirable. It takes guts to throw yourself into the arena by choice."

I nodded, not bothering to point out that my plan had always been to go into the arena voluntarily. Still, it was good to finally be on the right side of Valeria. She was a woman to be feared, and I didn't want her to condemn me when I got to the arena. I'd need her help getting sponsors, after all.

"We have decided it's best to train the two of you separately," Drew said, glancing between me and Decimus. "It makes the most sense. After all, you're both very different. Valeria will be working with you, Decimus. She's highly trained in combat and will be able to show you the ropes. Aurelia...since you have a background of training already...we'll focus on survival skills with you. Plus, we'll need to focus on what your image is going to be..."

I understood what he meant right away. Volunteering had put me straight in the spotlight, and my seeming defiance as I glared into the cameras made me seem aggressive. If I was going to present myself in any other way, it would take some work, for sure. But I kind of liked the way I'd been when I took to that stage. I liked feeling powerful as I made my stand.

Whoever I presented myself as, I was glad Drew was my mentor. I felt closer to him since the previous night. Plus, he'd saved my skin by letting me stay with him. If I survived the Games, I knew I'd find a way to repay him for all he'd done for me.

"I think that makes sense."

"Of course, the third member of our team will help too," Valeria said, "Eli is going to be very useful when it comes to your interviews."

"Did somebody say my name?" Eli asked, flouncing in with his back straight and a cocktail delicately held in his hand as a faithful prop. He sat down beside me on the sofa and flicked one of his legs up high before crossing it over his other knee. The move was so flamboyant that I almost laughed, but I didn't want to be rude. Besides, not so long before that day, I was more like him than not. Even if he was the most Capitol of the Capitol, he was still one of my own.

"I'm Aurelia," I reminded him, offering my hand for him to shake. His green lips spread into an eager smile as he took my hand.

"A pleasure, my dear. An absolute pleasure! Finally, a tribute with some manners." He leaned in closer to me. "Did you know young Drew over there was an absolute nightmare to train?

I smiled ever so slightly, glancing over at Drew. "Oh, I'm sure I can imagine."

Eli clapped his hands in glee at the joke. "Oh, we're going to get on like a house on fire. You hardly seem like you need to be trained at all! Now don't be afraid to speak up, young Decimus. We want to hear your voice loud and clear when you do your interviews!"

Eli began attempting to coach Decimus right there on the spot while the young boy sat there, nodding attentively and sucking on the sweets his mother had given him. I almost told him that he'd have as many sweets as he wanted when he got to the Capitol, but I didn't know much about the protocol for tributes. Now that I was past the reaping, I was already dreaming of the creature comforts of the Capitol - a warm bed to sleep in, mulled wine and cake that melted in the mouth. Somehow, on the most stressful and dangerous day of my life, I'd worked up an appetite.

As Eli and Decimus talked, Valeria made her move on the drink's cart, pouring herself a generous amount of whiskey. I caught Drew's eye and he nodded toward the door, so I stood up and slipped away before Eli could snare me back in for some kind of a pep talk. Drew led me through the train quietly and showed me to my quarters.

The room I'd been allocated on the train was something like a condensed version of what I was used to at home. It didn't come as a surprise that there was a panel for ordering food and drink within the room. I supposed President Snow felt it was generous to offer the children a taste of the Capitol before forcing them to fight to the death.

I clicked some buttons on the panel easily and ordered two mulled wines. Drew raised his eyebrow at me, his arms folded.

"Feeling at home, I see?"

I shrugged. "I guess a little. I may as well enjoy it while it lasts."

Drew pursed his lips. "I've never cared much for your culture in the Capitol. Your drink is too sweet. Your food is too rich. Your fashion is over the top."

I almost rolled my eyes. "Well those are some strong views to have, for sure."

"I'm not being a snob. It just seems indulgent when people in the Districts have nothing. Every time I go to the Capitol I just eat the plainest food I can have."

I frowned. "Don't you think that as a Victor, indulging is something you should allow yourself? You brought glory to your home District. You won the Games. At least take some pleasure in the things it's brought you."

Drew sighed. "You don't understand. I didn't think you would. Perhaps you will when you win the Games."

"When I win the Games?"

Drew said nothing. A few moments later, an Avox arrived with our drinks, bowing her head silently as we each took a glass from her.

"Thank you," I said as she left. I turned back to Drew. "Try it. You wouldn't want to be wasteful now, would you?"

A flicker of a smile played on Drew's lips. He knew I'd run him into a corner, and he didn't try to argue for once. I sat on the edge of my quilted bed, feeling the luxuriously soft fabric beneath my fingers. I'd missed it. Drew's house was modern, but other than his Capitol issued furniture, everything else was homemade or older than the Games themselves. The blanket I slept under was old and scratchy and smelt so different to the perfume scented sheets I was used to back home. It was a rebellion of his own, I gathered, to reject the ways of the Capitol. But having known such wealth all my life, it was all I could do not to sink back onto the pillows and bask in my old ways.

"The reaping went well. You looked good up there. Like you belonged," Drew told me. I cocked my head to the side.

"Meaning?"

"Meaning you looked prepared for the Games. Meaning you looked suitably angry about your lot in life...even if you did volunteer yourself for it. You looked District up there."

"Well, I might not be District, but I am angry," I told him, sipping on the warm wine. The notes of cherry reminded me of drinking wine with President Snow and I spat it back into my cup. "The President's policies have never been of concern to me before. We're taught to think that the history of Panem we know from school is complete and final...but I'm not so sure it is anymore. Not when I know the deals the President does behind closed doors. He runs the whole show. He rigs the Games sometimes, you know."

"I could've told you that," Drew said tiredly, sitting down beside me. "You know, Aurelia, it's hard to know what to make of you. You see yourself as a revolutionary, don't you? You came here on your own accord, but you think the world is against you. You chose to sacrifice your life for your mother's, but do you even know why?"

"Why what?"

Drew sighed in frustration. "Why you're doing it, of course! Do you know what your mother did to get her in such trouble? What if she's not redeemable? What if she goes against everything you stand for?"

"She would never do that," I told him quietly. "And I'm still learning what I stand for. My eyes are being opened...slowly, I'm learning. I want to leave my prejudice behind and learn to think for myself. If I gain one thing from my time in the Games, I want it to be that."

Drew watched me closely, clearly trying to tell if I was joking. After a while, he looked away and took a sip of his wine.

"Are you scared?"

I scoffed. "Of course I'm scared. But I've had time to prepare for this...I've accepted that this is my fate. Being forced to volunteer today scared me all over again. But I'll keep my nerve. I'll be okay. I'm more worried about what might become of your mother."

Drew nodded solemnly. "I'm sorry about saying I don't want you to win. I think you're brave, doing what you're doing. I just...it's hard. You've got to understand...you come from a world where you had everything. It's hard for me to understand someone like you. Someone so willing to give it all up and play on my level."

I didn't really understand what he meant at the time, but looking back later, I got it. I could've stayed in the Capitol and accepted that my mother was gone. I would've gone on with my life in some ways, mourning her loss, but accepting it as the 'right thing'. I could've made something of my fashion career, married rich and stayed rich for generations to come.

But my choice opened up avenues I'd never thought to explore until now. By choosing my mother, I'd chosen poverty, fear, disdain, the possibility of death and a life of blood on my hands. I'd chosen to put myself into a fight I could've walked away from. Drew could never have made that kind of choice to escape his own fate. My privilege had allowed me some wriggle room, but it would only get me so far. Now was the time to make the decision of who and what I stood for.

I sighed. "I don't want to be a stereotype anymore. I don't want to fit under the category of a Capitol girl...I don't want to turn out like Eli."

Drew snorted. "Amen to that."

"I'm sure he's a lovely man...but he doesn't have a single thought of his own. I can tell from the way he talks. He feeds off the Capitol and whatever they tell him to feel. I don't want to be that way anymore. If I live, I want to do better. Maybe I can tell people my story. Maybe I can find some way to change what happens in the Capitol."

Drew smiled. "You play dangerous games, Aurelia Thorne. I like it. You're not so bad for a Capitol girl."

I cocked my head to the side with an innocent smile. "And you're not so bad for a District boy."

We smiled properly at one another for the first time and I felt my heart racing in my chest. Something about being with him made me feel good. The Victor of the 29th Games was growing on me with each passing second, and I felt the urge to do something dumb like reach for his hand. Fortunately, I've always been good at self-control. I stared into my glass and swirled the scarlet liquid around it, pretending not to notice that Drew was blushing. He cleared his throat, nodding to my glass.

"Are you going to drink that, hmm? You're the one who told me not to be wasteful..."

I grinned and downed the drink in two gulps, forgetting the sinister taste it laid on my tongue. Drew copied me with a short laugh that made my skin tingle. We set our glasses aside and Drew patted my arm.

"Get some food. You must be starved. Come find me later if you like, or take the opportunity to rest. It's a long way to the Capitol yet."

I knew that myself after my journey in the back of the truck, but he was right. I shouldn't have been focussing on flirting when so much was at stake. As he left, I thought of my mother and about what Drew said. He'd asked if I knew what she'd done to get herself in trouble and I'd been quick to defend her. But as I got to know people from the Districts, I realized my sense of good and bad was blurred. I'd always seen the Districts as the enemy, but what if I couldn't trust my own people?

What if good and bad meant more than the divide between the Capitol and the Districts?