Mistrust

When the Capitol finally appeared before them in all its glory, even Ramon jumped up in surprise. Huge skyscrapers, their windows reflecting in the morning sun, lit up the skyline. A sparkling city that rose between the mountain masses like a diamond surrounded by stones. As the train pulled into the station, Elowen and Roman stood at the wide windows and stared out at a cheering crowd of colorfully dressed people. When Ramon saw the people celebrating, he immediately turned around and sat down in disgust on one of the chairs. Elowen remained standing, but one could see the discomfort on her face. Rightly so.

"You'll have to get used to that from now on," said Haymitch, absently watching his whiskey without even glancing at the world outside. He already felt a little foggy, but it wasn't enough to forget. "You're animals being led to the slaughter, and they're just waiting to see you bleed." There was nothing but disgust in his voice. He hated the Capitol. He hated that they brought him here every year just to remind him that he would never escape them. He was nothing more than another puppet in their games. Perhaps he hated himself even more than he hated them. Because he lacked the courage to do more than dance to their tune, even though he had nothing left to lose anyway. Perhaps.

Elowen had her back to the window and was staring at him through the car. Her eyes sparkled with fear.

"Haymitch," Effie hissed, walking through the door at that moment. "Do not say that. You will only alienate every sponsor with remarks like that."

She didn't look good. Her eyes seemed tired and Haymitch was sure she had dark circles under the layers of makeup. Effie was wearing a lot more makeup than she had yesterday, probably because she was now back in the Capitol. Her face and wig looked ridiculous enough, but her pink dress was so covered in ruffles that he couldn't help but burst out laughing at the sight of her.

Effie's look told him she had no idea why he was laughing. She raised an eyebrow in stress, and he shrugged. "You look awful."

She reacted to his words as if she had been slapped in the face. Instinctively, she straightened her back and pressed her lips together. Here, it seemed that no one bothered to tell her that she looked awful. Of course not, as it would contradict all the etiquette the Capitols self-imposed during their carefree leisure time. If one didn't have any real problems, they had to invent some. And although Haymitch's comment should have been completely irrelevant to her – considering he was a District citizen and a nobody with no clue about anything – it still seemed to hurt Effie.

"You do realize, Haymitch, that you do not have to vocalize every thought in your head, right?" Effie shot back defensively, turning her back to him as she walked past him toward the tributes. "Even your underage tributes are capable of that."

Haymitch, who hadn't missed her slipping tone – far from the Capitol's friendliness – had caught her glance for the briefest of moments before she donned her emotionless and closed-off mask. He wondered how she could change her entire facial expression in a matter of moments. Over the years he had learned to keep his emotions under control and isolated from the outside world. His emotions had only ever caused him trouble, so he thought it would make sense if one couldn't read everything on his face. But what reason did she have? Compared to him, she practically lived on the rainbow, while the thundering rain brought him to his knees.

But there was no time to dwell on such trivialities. Effie was already herding the tributes towards the exit of the train, prompting Haymitch to sluggishly move along behind them. Instead of getting involved, he left it to Effie to tell the two what to do. This was her playground. And his thoughts were already at the penthouse bar anyway.

"Forget what Haymitch said. There are potential sponsors out there that you need to impress. You have to attract attention," she rattled off a memorized list of things the children had to do. "Elowen, smile at the men. You can wave to them every now and then. Walk slowly enough so that they do not see your nervousness and so that the press can take their photos. Ramon, it is best to leave your grumpy attitude until we get to the car. A charming smile here and there should do the trick. Of course, you too could–"

When Ramon almost imperiously raised his left hand to put an end to her stream of words, she actually kept her mouth shut, as Haymitch was surprised to see. He would have to try that sometime. Ramon took a step towards Effie and smirked down at her arrogantly. She could have taken a step back but judging by the barely noticeable flicker in her eyes, she wasn't going to engage in this little game. She was tougher than she appeared, that much was certain.

"Nothing but Capitol-scum," Ramon sneered, shooting a warning look over Effie's wig at Haymitch, who had already approached the scene in alarm.

Effie, who seemed unwilling to tolerate this behavior any longer, raised her chin and fixed the boy with a stern gaze. Her painted lips twitched, as if she were about to scold him, when at the same moment, the train door opened, and radiant sunlight flooded into the cabin. The wind carried the screaming of people to them. A moment later, Ramon had already disappeared into the blinding light.

"Eyes bright, chins up, smiles on," she whispered to Elowen before nudging the girl to the exit. Then, for a second, she turned to Haymitch, a distant look in her eyes. "We have to get the boy under control." Then she too hurried out, following her tributes.

She was probably still upset about his comment from just now. With a sigh, Haymitch followed her outside.

A red carpet had been rolled out for them and behind the barriers, people were standing tightly packed in a colorful heap. Cameras flashed and people even threw roses at them. Haymitch put on his most arrogant expression and strolled, appearing unapproachable, along the red carpet. The crowd went wild for him. People celebrated their victors and Haymitch, who, for his thirty years, looked quite handsome, still made the women in the Capitol scream, although he didn't spare them a glance. At least as long as there wasn't a more coveted victor present. A blessing and a curse at the same time.

Effie had stopped and posed for the cameras. She told the media about her two tributes and how sure she was that they had made a good catch this year. A fake smile graced her lips and she tried to sound as motivated as possible. Haymitch had to suppress a roll of his eyes as he passed by her. She was putting on quite a theatrical performance. This was Effie Trinket's dream, and she was obviously relishing every second of her spotlight.

Elowen, on the other hand, had trouble getting used to the many people following her every move. You're animals being led to the slaughter. Haymitch had been through all of this once; he knew what he was talking about. Despite his words, she made an effort to ignore the camera flashes and to wave here and there with a shy smile.

Ramon seemed to enjoy it more than she did. Like Haymitch, all he needed was his arrogant smile to win over the Capitols. He smiled and yet he didn't look at them, as if he didn't even see them. And when people noticed that he was ignoring them, he only became more interesting to them. Haymitch didn't know if it was a tactic or a simple rejection of the Capitol, but it certainly worked. At the end of the day, they would remember him more than Elowen.

oOo

Effie gave Haymitch the cold shoulder the rest of the day. They were all sitting at the table together, dinner was being served and Effie was talking to Elowen in a low tone. She ignored him completely. Not that he cared in the slightest. The silence was much more pleasant than the grating of her annoying, affected accent. Still, Haymitch couldn't understand how this woman could cause such a scene because of a single comment. He didn't even know why he had come to dinner in the first place, and now this. She was probably expecting a proper apology from him, ever the Capitol.

She can wait a long time for that, he thought to himself. He took another sip of his whiskey and leaned back in the chair, exhausted.

"My stylist has no idea what he's doing," Elowen complained, taking another bite of the meat on her plate. The two of them filled their bellies mightily. Haymitch highly doubted they'd ever had anything similar on the table at home.

"Wait and see, dear. I am sure they will pleasantly surprise us," Effie tried to reassure her in a mild voice. "The stylists are doing their best to make you look fabulous."

That wasn't entirely true. The stylists had no idea how to present District 12 in a favorable light. Every year they dressed the tributes up as miners. Haymitch vividly remembered how Effie had expressed her own doubts about the stylists last night and shot her a narrowed glance.

Effie saw it out of the corner of her eye and her eyes flashed a silent warning. Haymitch let it go, she was already angry enough, for whatever reason.

He didn't hang around the table with the others any longer than necessary. As soon as he had eaten, he got up and went back to his room. There, he poured himself a real drink and vegetated slowly, while the feeling of numbness took hold of his body more and more. Alcohol made being in the Capitol more bearable.

Haymitch didn't know what time it was when he woke up from one of the dreams that haunted him night after night. Looking out the window, he realized that it was already the dead of night. His head was buzzing and when he stood up, he wasn't sure how long he could stay stable on his feet. His sight was limited, the edges of his field of vision had already darkened ominously.

The pounding in his head wouldn't stop until he had something normal to drink. So he staggered towards the dining room to order a coffee from an Avox. Halfway there, a hallucination began to haunt him. A faint murmur reached his ears from a distance. Confused, Haymitch stopped and tried to reorient himself.

Only then did he see the petite figure sitting slumped on the sofa. He made a cautious leap towards her and for a moment he was afraid that he was still dreaming and that this figure was a rival in the arena who wanted to kill him. Then he recognized Effie. Her hands were leaning on her documents that were lying in her lap and the wig on her head looked quite askew and was pulling on her head like a weight. No doubt her neck would hurt as soon as she woke up. She looked as if she would fall forward onto the floor at any moment.

Haymitch couldn't suppress the sudden spark of pity that arose within him. Effie looked utterly drained, as if the past few days had taken a toll on her.

Why do you feel sorry for her?, sneered a voice distorted by alcohol in the back of his mind. She chose this job. She deserves much worse. To his own surprise, he didn't wish her anything worse. Despite her childish absurdity and her fake pleasantries. She wasn't Petunia or Snow. Then wait a few more days if you need certainty about her character.

As Haymitch approached, he heard Effie murmuring in her sleep. It was a jumble of words about the Hunger Games. He was surprised when he heard Elowen's name. So surprised that his feet abruptly froze under him, as if they had turned to stone. He listened in silence to make sure he hadn't misheard ... And yet ... It was clearly the girl's name she was murmuring. How could that be? What did it mean? What was she planning to do with the poor child?

Could the outlandish scenario that Effie had taken the girl to heart actually be true? Impossible. Unthinkable. Something was off here. Haymitch stood in the middle of the room, frozen in place like a statue. Thoughts raced through his slow-working brain, searching for sense, for logic ... There was neither. That was just not how Capitols were. They didn't feel, only pretended interest, only cared for themselves.

Whatever Effie was dreaming about, it had to revolve around a plan in which Elowen was just a pawn on the chessboard. A means to an end to achieve something greater for herself. At least that's what he told himself because any other conclusion would have dangerously shaken the pillars of his worldview.

Haymitch didn't know if he should just wake her up, but he didn't want her to make a scene like she did on the train again. Then a thought flashed through his mind. Confused with himself, he took a step back. But he couldn't just leave her here, could he?

Of course you can, she is Capitol. The voices in his head would never leave him in peace. His throat went dry as a new conflict took hold of his mind. This wasn't Snow, this was Effie, and she hadn't said a bad word to him yet. Her behavior towards him and the tributes was strange for a Capitol. Effie didn't treat any of them condescendingly, as other escorts often did. She had already made it clear to Haymitch on the train that she wanted to go through the Games with him. As equals.

Haymitch sighed as he made a decision that was utterly foolish and undoubtedly attributable to the alcohol. In a matter of seconds, he closed the distance to the sleeping Effie. As quietly as he could, he pulled the clipboard and stack of papers from under her arms, steadying her with one hand so she wouldn't wake up. The next step made him hesitate, and the voice in his head cursed relentlessly at the last remaining, good-natured shreds of his character. He picked her up effortlessly. She weighed almost nothing at all.

Effie's mumbling stopped and Haymitch stood bolt upright. Her head rested on his shoulder, and he could smell her perfume. To his surprise, it reminded him of home. She smelled like the flowers in the meadow that used to grow behind his old house. His mother had often picked them to visualize a little of their beauty. His heart began to ache at the thought. Unfortunately for him, his drunk brain liked it.

Haymitch wasn't sure on his own feet, nearly stumbling twice on the way to Effie's room. She must have a deep sleep. Of course she had, she had nothing to fear after all.

Having arrived in Effie's room, Haymitch cautiously laid her down on her mattress and observed her for a moment. She looked peaceful. In sleep, she couldn't wear a mask, and a soft gentleness lay on her features. There was no trace of the sharp, false façade. Now he could clearly see just how fake it truly was.

Haymitch was annoyed with himself for not regretting this.

Some time later he was sitting on the roof terrace of the penthouse, a coffee in his hand, waiting for the coming sunrise. It wasn't as beautiful as in District 12, but it was one of the few things here in the Capitol that were real.

This year was strange. This year was different, and he wanted to tell himself it wasn't her fault, but it was. He didn't want to admit that he liked her. She was Capitol. And he only knew the dark side of the Capitol. Trusting her was a difficult thing. And yet, every time she stood in front of him, he couldn't treat her badly. Haymitch was sure that she would cause him problems ...

The coffee had been empty for a long time, the cup had given off its last warmth to the surroundings and Haymitch was dozing off. The first rays of sun rose above the horizon and illuminated the Capitol in a dazzling light. Since almost all of the skyscrapers were made of glass, it looked as if the entire city was glowing. Like a single crystal held up to the light.

"Haymitch." Her voice was husky and quiet.

Haymitch squinted against the sun's rays and opened his eyes. Effie stood in front of him, leaning over him, watching him with a strange look in her eyes.

"What's up?"

"We will be leaving soon," she explained. The Opening Ceremony. She wasn't wearing the same dress as yesterday. Today she was dressed a little more discreetly and Haymitch couldn't deny that red was her color. Except for the make-up and hair, of course.

He staggered to his feet and froze for a moment. Effie stood with her back to the sunrise. Behind her, one could make out the glowing city and the sun, rising towards the sky behind her shoulders. Her cornflower-blue eyes sparkled in the bright light, an expression in her pupils that made him forget the Capitol and the Games for a brief moment. As if neither existed.

The moment passed when she raised an eyebrow at his stare. Haymitch turned his head to the side and wanted to slap himself for his thoughts. What was wrong with him? He should hate her; she was one of those who had killed his family. She was part of the Hunger Games and that voluntarily; he must never forget that.

His eyes hardened and he banished all emotion from his face. "Shouldn't have bothered looking for me." His voice was cold, almost dismissive. He left her standing and made his way to the stairs when she suddenly grabbed his arm. As if there were no manners up here. She always surprised him with her behavior.

Haymitch turned and saw actual pain flash in Effie's eyes as he recoiled from her touch. But instead of letting him go, she confidently lifted her chin and looked him in the eyes. Confrontation she could handle. "I wanted to thank you," she said, her voice sounding friendly. Not artificially friendly, but real. It felt a little like Haymitch was speaking to the real Effie Trinket for the first time in three days, as if she had been hiding beneath the facade of the Capitol all along. "You didn't have to do that for me."

Effie left him standing and hurried past him down the stairs. Haymitch was flabbergasted. How could he hate her? She was indeed part of the Hunger Games, but she hadn't done anything reprehensible so far. He was aware that she might be hiding her true character from him, but it somehow seemed far-fetched. Nothing but a gut feeling. Not even asleep had she seemed guilty to him. And one was never more vulnerable than when asleep.

Maybe she was different from the others. If that was true, then she played the role of the innocent Capitol doll perfectly. This woman confused him from day one. He should give her this chance to prove to him who she is really was.

-

I hate to admit it to you Haymitch, but is Effie maybe slowly getting under your skin? ;) 

Please let me know what you think about this rather eventful chapter by liking the chapter and/or commenting below! :)

Skyllen