i am my fathers daughter.

Glory will never feel alone in the Capitol. They were watching her, watching everyone through the black lens of hidden cameras. Never allowing her to feel content, just confined. But she doesn't think she's ever known contentment. From the moment she was born there has always been pain, brutality, and pent-up exhaustion. She wouldn't know what to do with herself if she felt even the slightest hint of relaxation, so she was quite alright with the knowledge that some Capitol mogul had their eyes trained on her every move. Uncomfortability made her alert- which kept her alive. Even in a supposedly safe place such as the tribute parade.

The tribute parade was something Glory didn't enjoy; it was one of the few times when both tributes and mentors were together with minimal room for escape. Tributes tried to catch the first glimpse of their competition, and mentors who were not in the capitol crowd subtly play with each other's minds, for fun mostly. She had stayed well away from it last year, focusing solely on her teary-eyed tribute but it seemed this year had something else in store for her.

Finnick Odair was weaving his way around chariots and tributes, steadily moving closer, his focus solely on her. She took her eyes off Katniss and Peeta and turned to greet the charmer from Four. It was oddly uncomfortable being able to see him in person, she didn't need to know his cheeks were freckled, or his eyes were at least four different shades of green. The closest they had ever been to each other was the purple-lit lobby of some rich Capitol apartment. Which, she was sure they would both rather forget.

"Nice to see you again Glory, up close and personal," Or maybe he'd rather bring it up. He tossed something small from hand to hand, smiling. Glory walked away from her tributes to meet him. They didn't need to hear anything he might overshare. "Tell me, did you take my advice?"

Her mind went straight back to that night, which was almost a year ago now but she could recall it like yesterday.

Glory was waiting for an elevator listening to the air conditioning hum. An elevator from across the wide lobby slid its doors open and out stepped the victor from Four. When their eyes met, which they inevitably did, it was the first and only time she had seen Finnick's face look anything but handsome. It was almost ashamed. Almost afraid. But he recovered composure quickly and assumed, out loud, that she was there for the same miserable reason he was; to pleasure the people of the Capitol. It wasn't an unjustified assumption as a glance at what she was wearing would have been enough to convince anyone she was there for one reason only, but an unreasonable amount of hostility filled her over his presumption so she turned away from him to the elevator; which stopped on level ten. Ignoring him was key, but she could feel him inching closer and closer and when his voice spoke to her back. 'May I offer you some advice?' She couldn't disregard him. 'When you become tired of dealing with money, ask for secrets.' 

"I did." Glory replied stopping by his side. 

They looked on as the chariots moved forward, out into the view of the Capitol. "-And has it proved, fruitful?" It was a strange expression that rolled off Finnick's tongue. She hadn't heard it before, but she caught the gist. 

"Quite."

She watched her tributes' heads move in wonder as they caught sight of the crowd, their black suits flickering with the tiniest of flames; threatening to catch. She hadn't been thrilled when their stylist said he was changing their outfits to something a little more daring. Her tributes- Katniss especially- didn't need any more negative attention from the others. She had already stolen the spotlight by volunteering for her sister and now they were stealing it again, this time in front of sponsors- the people who actually matter.

Finnick chuckled, spotting Glory's afflicted expression. On one hand, she was worried that the attention would put a target on their back, but on the other, she was hopeful that it would increase sponsor interest. It had been lacking.

Finnick dipped his head close to her ear. "Looks like you could use this," He passed what he had been tossing from hand to hand to her then slid away as if never there, leaving her to listen to the crowd roar as her tributes raised their clasped hands into the air, embers burning bright in their wake. She looked down at her open palm. A tiny knotted piece of rope. She heard other mentors around her murmur quiet complaints, she could feel them looking at her as they shared distasteful glances.

If Katniss and Peeta didn't have a target on their backs already, they did now.

Looking at their faces on the projected screen an idea began to form. They looked united, strong together- perhaps they could become friends or allies, so they could look out for each other in the games. Previously her tributes only wanted to play for themselves but these two were bound to know each other. They were in the same age group and if they didn't know each other from school, then from around the district- it wasn't huge.

Glory would need to deliberate on it more but it wasn't a terrible idea, especially if they were going to continue making enemies out of everyone.

After the president's short speech, the tributes were brought back and Glory directed Katniss and Peeta away from the others. Tension was running high between tributes and with only a few mentors and peacekeepers around she didn't want to risk anything.

The male and female from Two were glowering at her frazzled tributes from only meters away and she was glad they hadn't realised. They didn't need to worry about that yet.

The entourage arrived quickly; consisting of Effie, the stylist, the prep team, and a slightly sober Haymitch. "We are all anyone is going to be talking about!" Effie was ecstatic as she greeted them. Her comment was true. Her voice drew more eyes their way and Glory was itching to move to someplace more private.

Haymitch followed her gaze to Two; who appeared to be creeping closer with each passing moment and disengaged from the banter he had started with Katniss to suggest they go up to the penthouse. Effie looked to Glory to see if she agreed and when she saw the raven-haired girl already walking she grabbed Katniss and Peeta by the shoulders; who had finally noticed the staring and ushered them to the elevator. 

"Why were they-" Peeta began to ask but a look from Haymitch told him to save the question for later. The elevator dinged and being the last one in Glory pressed the button for level twelve. She stared back at the blond male, partially blocking the view of Katniss and Peeta from him. There was no reversing his bloodlust.

The elevator moved silently and in a matter of seconds, the doors were opening to level twelve. She could breathe easy again. Effie weaved to the front of the small group and suggested everybody wash up before dinner. She walked through the penthouse like it was her own home, and as everybody else dispersed trying to find their way to their own rooms, Glory grabbed Haymitch's wrist wanting to ask something she would have earlier had he not been suffering from a hangover.

"Do you know which one of them has been assigned to you?"

Haymitch blinked slowly, visually repeating her question in his head. "You have the easy one-" She assumed he meant Peeta. "But we'll keep them together for now," Glory agreed and opened her mouth to speak to him about her idea but he was already turning away so she let him trot off to his room. She would get his opinion later.

Then she found herself alone, standing in the cold hallway with the rope knot in her hand and her mother's coin tucked safely away in a pocket of her dress. She put the knot in her pocket and pulled the coin out. She toyed with it as she began to walk. It had become a habit a long time ago to step lightly, she could thank her father's endless drills for it. Watch your feet! If they hear you, they'll kill you! It was a mere echo in her mind now; it had been so long since he exerted that sort of energy towards her or anyone, for that matter.

Glory distracted herself by looking out a floor-to-ceiling window. The Capitol masses swarmed below. She knew some were heading home to turn on Ceaser Flickerman's all-night show, and others were heading out to celebrate the beginning of the games with their friends. Her breath fogged the glass, it was the only remainder of her presence as she continued walking.

What was she going to say to Katniss and Peeta tomorrow morning when they started training?

How was she supposed to keep them alive? 

She couldn't squeeze all her father's training into them in the small amount of time they had. She would need years. But they were helpless. They didn't know how to keep themselves fed, or how to find water- or even how to protect themselves, maybe Katniss had some idea- "Oh! Glory!" Effie's voice broke through her thoughts. "Could you fetch Katniss and Peeta for me? I'd ask one of the Avoxes but since you're here..." Glory didn't bother responding to Effie; knowing it wasn't a question.

She could only guess where Katniss and Peeta's rooms were. After a few wrong turns, she was outside of Katniss' room. Glory could see her sitting on her bed playing with a remote that displayed scenery. She seemed to be looking for something so Glory didn't go in or make herself known.

Katniss had undone her hair from the braid it had been in all day leaving it wavy. Blanche would have killed to make Glory's straight hair look that way- it was unwilling to hold a curl. She never cared as back when she was training it was always tied up and she had bigger things to worry about than what her hair looked like.

Katniss flicked to the next image and was taken aback. Literally flinched away from the image. It was just a forest to Glory, but it was something more to Katniss. She stood and took a few steps forward as if to walk into it. Katniss had done the same thing earlier that day. Passing through the fence to the forest outside Twelve. What could she have been doing out there? Hunting? Exploring? Trying to escape the reaping and then thinking better of it? The brown-haired girl snapped out of it as if realising she wasn't at home and turned to see Glory standing in the doorway. Katniss's lips were parted as though she'd been winded, and her eyes, guarded.

"Dinner is ready in the dining room." Glory announced just loud enough for her to hear. She was trying to figure out if she could see tears in Katniss' eyes or if it was just the light. Glory couldn't tell before she had to stop looking and walk away.

When she found Peeta he was sitting on his bed, back against the headboard staring down at his hands. She knocked from out in the hallway. She had gotten used to people wanting their space from her- she didn't think Peeta would like to be an exception. He didn't look up, instead, he shook his head mumbling something Glory couldn't quite catch. She'd have to get closer if she wanted to hear him, but she didn't want to frighten him. So she stood unmoving for a moment, faintly able to hear Effie welcoming Katniss to the table. Glory took in a breath of air. "I'm coming in."

Two steps into the room and he glanced up. Glory froze, she'd never been alone with a boy her own age before. She shook that from her mind. "I can't kill anyone." She frowned at his statement. Of course he can. Anyone can kill anyone.

"You're capable," Peeta shook his head in disagreement. "I'll make you capable." She was his mentor, that was what she was here to do, right? She stood still- tense. Waiting for him to say or do anything. Her chest felt tight as though the silence in the room had weight, a heaviness that was pressing down on her. His head had only sunk further. Her knuckles were white from strangling the coin. "Dinner is ready, follow me." She didn't wait for Peeta to slip on shoes before she was out of his shrinking room and briskly walking down the hallway to meet everyone.

The pressure didn't ease up.

One morning after Glory thought she'd finished her training, Father decided to see how much she had left in her. Her fingers were clasped behind her head, elbows wide and eyes closed, she was trying to calm her heart rate, struggling to take in air when her back hit the ground. Fathers face blocked her vision, lips moving in a blur. All she could hear was her own weezy inhale and exhale. Her head looked to the side. Through stems of weeds, the wooden porch steps were half rotten. She was on the ground. Dirt on her cheek. She knew she had to keep going. To get out from underneath him. How long do nightlock berries take to kill? What? He repeated himself asking her how long. She focused on his question, not on her lungs, not on the thought of how long she'd run for and how exhausted she was. She knew how to get out of his hold. She knew the answer. She just had to keep going.

So that's what she did now. Kept going. She sat down at the table beside Haymitch and nodded along to the conversation. The food was rich and far too much for Glory to fit in. The mushroom soup, greens and tomatoes, and roast beef were all she could stomach, there was no space for pesto noodles or cheese and wine or cake, even though the cake was impressively flambéd. Father would love the roast beef. Good meat was scant in Twelve, you could get the occasional rabbit, squirrel, very rarely deer, but nothing ever as good as what she had just eaten.

Unlike last year, Haymitch was sober so Glory left it to him to explain to Katniss and Peeta how training was going to go tomorrow; how they should keep to themselves and not display any skills or weaknesses to the other tributes. Glory had yet to divulge her idea to Haymitch but in case he disagreed with her this was not the place to do it.

As the conversation came to a troubled close Haymitch added something she was sure was supposed to be reassuring. "We've got three days to get you ready," Haymitch met Glory's void gaze. "We can do it, but you've got to trust us- especially this one." He nodded towards her like he knew how Katniss and Peeta felt towards her, how Twelve felt towards her. His gesture was almost fatherly. It was unusual.

"She's your best shot."

Katniss and Peeta's gaze met the side of her face. She would not look at them. There would be remnants of objection, or worse they would be hopeful and her heart would break for them. She didn't need to go through that again. Her eyes focused on Haymitch's chin, on the blond uneven stubble there. Understanding that Glory wasn't going to acknowledge what Haymitch had said; Peeta looked away down to his half-eaten food but Katniss' gaze remained. Almost daring Glory to meet her eyes. But she wouldn't because if Haymitch or herself failed them in even the slightest way they would end up dead and dead is dead and she didn't want to accept any part of that responsibility.

On the other hand, if she neglected them there would be another two lives on her conscience. Glory knew she was tough, but she wasn't tough enough to cope with that. Not with these two. The kids that could have been her friends. So the choice became clear to her as she sat there staring at Haymitch; she was going to help them- to mentor them to the best of her ability.

With the price of failure on her mind. She slid her chair back, slowly not to scrape the floor. Nodded goodnight to Effie and headed off to find her room, but before she was out of earshot she heard Peeta ask what her problem was, and the response from Haymitch was chuckling.

"She's sensitive."