Chapter Sixteen: Revelations

The next morning, Marvel awoke because of the searing pain in his chest. It really did hurt now and he had no idea as to how much longer he would last. But he simply had to survive now that he and Lucy could both go home, back to District 1. 

"You District 1's are such wimps," Rookie laughed as Lucy stirred slightly in her sleep and Marvel sat up. "You're always waking up from nightmares or complaining about something or other." 

"Hello!" Marvel pointed to his chest frustratedly. "I think this is something to moan about!" 

"Alright, I'll let you off that...but you're still wimps. I have no idea how your lot almost always win The Hunger Games, that fact I'll never know..." 

"Because we know how to fight," Marvel rolled his eyes. "Besides, the Career group eventually splits up every year. It's not like this year is an exception." 

"But this year it was because of Marvs being selfish, running off and trying to kill Katniss from District 12. He wanted so desperately to kill the one person that would prevent Lucy getting out of the arena." 

"'Marvs'?" Marvel repeated with a sneer. 

"Don't like that one? No? OK, how about Marvykins?" 

"Shut up, District 3," Marvel grumbled as Lucy suddenly shivered and rolled over to face Marvel, although she was still sleeping. Her hair had dried now and had turned wavy. 

"Don't just sit there, idiot," Rookie rolled her eyes. "She's shivering like she's in a fridge, you going to let her freeze?" 

"No," Marvel shook his head and wrapped his hoodie around her protectively. "I'm not going to let her die." 

"Well start caring for her then." 

"I have been, I've been looking after her since..." Marvel's voice trailed off. 

"Since when?" Rookie asked, her voice suddenly sympathetic and Marvel had to look up to see if she was being sarcastic. 

"Since...since my mother died." 

"How did she die?" 

"I don't really want to talk about it, if you know what I'm saying." Marvel snapped, suddenly looking down and not even paying attention to Rookie. 

"Right, sorry...how long have you known Lucy?" 

"I was seven and she was five. Mayor Dime kept her hidden up for a five years, it was just a rumour that he had a daughter. People had had that rumour going round for five years until when Lucy was five. Mayor Dime and his...well you can't call her wife..." 

"Partner." 

"Yeah, partner, took her out on a reaping day. His partner carried her while he proudly led the two to the crowd and then mounted the stage. Mum was still alive then and she took my hand, and led me over to Lucy and her mum. My mother was very fond of children and so she had to go and see Lucy, especially as she was the Mayor's daughter. And even then, when I wasn't eligible for the reaping, I was still dressed in the finest clothing. Mum spoke to Lucy's mum before the reaping began, but all I can remember is the five year old Lucy with stunning green eyes shying away from me. She didn't say a word, she was such a well behaved and shy child, nothing like her parents..." 

"What happened after that?" 

"Well when she turned six and I was eight, mum went and paid a visit to the Dime's. She was going to go on her own but then she decided to take me too. So, we arrived at the Dime's vast mansion and were led in by Mayor Dime where Lucy and her mother were sitting in one of the many living rooms and watching television, and at this point The Hunger Games was on. Tributes were being killed at the minute and Lucy kept hiding from the brutal game, protesting that her mother turn the television off but she replied: 'no, Lace, we have to watch it! It's The Hunger Games!'" 

"'Lace'?" 

"Lucy isn't her real name, me and her changed it on her birth certificate in secret because she absolutely hated the name Lace. Until The Hunger Games, I was the only one to call her Lucy. She was glad that someone finally understood her hatred towards the District 1 inspired name." 

"You District 1's do name your children weird names." Rookie laughed. 

"Could say the same for you, District 3." 

"Anyway, mum spoke to Lucy's parents and me and Lucy soon became bored so we were allowed to go outside. Lucy dismissed the vast garden and sat down on one of the benches, I wanted to explore the whole place — being the curious child that I was — but she sat down and stared at her skirt. Not once looking up or talking to me. I was the one to finally start the conversation and when I stared talking she looked up at me as though I'd come from another planet." 

"Well you do look like you've come from another planet." 

"Thanks, Rookie. Anyway what she finally said to me was: 'I've seen you around before.'" 

"And that's what your first heard her say?" 

"Yes. So I said: 'I don't see you around much though.' She replied: 'I've seen you walk down to the town square with your mother all the time, I see you go by everyday. It must be perfect to have that sort of freedom. To be allowed to simply walk out of your house and do whatever you want.' I gave her a thoughtful look then thought I better explain what I really did: 'I go down to the training centre to practice spear throwing, I'm training for The Hunger Games.'" 

"I bet she went absolutely went mental." 

"You could say that, especially when she had to watch every single Hunger Games with her parents. She hates it. Every year she had to watch every minute of it and now...she's literally entered her living nightmare. I tried everything to keep her out of the games. She didn't ever need tesserae so her name was entered the usual amount of times and the chances of her name being pulled out were very small." 

"But why didn't anyone volunteer for her?" 

"Well, back home in District 1, at school me and Lucy usually hang around with a girl named Glimmer. She was supposed to volunteer for Lucy but never did." 

"What about the other girls?" 

"They won't ever volunteer for Lucy, you see, they're jealous. They're jealous of mine and Lucy's friendship. They think that we're going out and for that reason they hate her. Not only that, she's the richest child in District 1 because her father's the Mayor." 

"Oh...well, being rich isn't what it's all cut out to be really. Is it?" 

"Not really..." 

"So what happened after that day you and your mother went to see the Dime family?" 

"When I was ten years old, my mother passed away. Me and my father — who I rarely saw because he was always in the factories — were shocked, we didn't say anything for days but I know we both cried at night. Mum's death definitely brought us closer together, though. A week or so later it was my mother's funeral and just before it began, I remember Mayor Dime walking in and holding an eight-year-old Lucy's hand." 

"Did she say anything to you?" 

"After the funeral — at the wake — when guests were talking to dad and Mayor Dime was talking to a few people, someone tapped me on the shoulder.  I turned around and saw Lucy. She wasn't really someone to start conversation but then she actually spoke to me: 'I'm sorry for your loss, Marvel. I really hope things get better for you. But in the mean time, if you need any money come and find me.'"

"I bet she has enough money to feed and clothe the entire population of District 12 for years..." 

"She probably has. But I told her me and my father would do just fine, and we did. For the rest of the wake me and Lucy sat down at a spare table and for the first time ever I had a full conversation with her, I learnt everything about her and she learnt everything about me and that's when we officially became friends and I learnt something important when we spoke. She didn't really have a backbone and was extremely shy — like I've said — so like my mother, I became protective of her." 

"But why?" 

"Well, the next day was school and I saw Lucy being teased by a group of girls because she was the Mayor's daughter. So, I walked over to her and confronted the girls. Yes, she still gets bullied but they shut up when I come over." 

"Woah..." 

"And that is the story of our friendship." Marvel finished and reached down and tucked a lock of Lucy's hair behind her ear. 

"You District 1's aren't so heartless..." Rookie bit her lip just as Lucy opened her eyes. 

"Morning," she yawned and sat up. She ran her fingers through her hair before plaiting it again. "Were you two talking about something?" 

"No," Rookie and Marvel both shook their heads. 

"You sure?" 

"We're sure," Marvel nodded as Lucy handed him back his jacket and put her own back on. 

"Oh, Marvel, you're getting worse..." Lucy whispered and looked at his chest. "I really wish I had used that ointment on you." 

"No, it's OK. I wanted you to be healed and not me." 

Lucy sighed in defeat before getting up and diving straight into the water, making Rookie flinch. Rookie now questioned as to whether Lucy and Marvel actually came form District 4...then again, nobody that rich would come from District 4. 

"I think we better camp out somewhere else soon," Marvel yawned, stretching slightly. "Don't want to stay in the same place for too long." 

"We should, but you're going to have to drag her out of the water," Rookie laughed as Lucy swam underwater and then emerged above the water and climbed over to a small ledge near the big cliff that the three had jumped off. "Good luck with that one." 

"I'm not up for that challenge yet, we'll leave soon though." 

"But where will we go? This place is, after all, pretty hard to find." 

"Well then, perhaps we should stay here a bit longer before we decide to move on. After all, it's pretty nice here."

"Yes, for ace swimmers..." Rookie groaned. 

"Surely you must be able to swim a little bit!" Marvel laughed. 

"Not at all, us Distrct 3's don't have swimming pools in our backgarden's. After all, you don't want to get technology wet to displease the Capitol. Because if broken goods end up in their place they'll obliterate us just as they did to District 13." 

"Huh," Marvel said. "If they were still here, I bet they'd have a good chance of winning the games. Don't you? I mean, they made nuclear weapons." 

"But I suppose District 3 could morph into District 13 if needed, we could probably do that sort of thing in our District." 

"I suppose so, but if you were caught doing that the Capitol would go mental because they might think you're starting a rebellion." 

"Any suspicious behavior can be mistaken for starting a rebellion, you never know, we could be starting one right now as we speak..." 

"I hope not, I really don't want to come home to nothing." 

"You certain that you're going home?" 

"Well, I'm not one hundred percent certain but I hope to get out of here. Now that two tributes can go home if they originate from the same District, I might have a chance." 

"Well, I'd rather you go home than me. I don't like the job choices back home: Technical support, Assembly operator, Engineer, Tester or Technician. They don't sound too appealing do they?" 

"Not really our jobs consist of: a Perfumer, a Furrier, a Jeweler, a Goldsmith, a Winemaker or a Hair stylist. That's why I'd rather Lucy return to the District rather than me, none of those jobs sound very appealing...I'd prefer to throw spears all day." 

"Yeah, I can really imagine you as a Hair stylist! You'd be great at that!" Rookie laughed. 

"What you laughing at?" Lucy asked as she swam over to the two. 

"Just imagining your friend as a Hair stylist. Don't you think Marvel would be good as a hair stylist?" 

"Well he can plait, I taught him. One day he got very fascinated by my plaits and I had to teach him." Lucy giggled. "But I don't think he knows any other styles, to the best of my knowledge." 

"Well, I'm sure you could teach him more so he can fulfil his dream when he gets back to District 1. You can even draw a picture of me and stick it up on your wall when you're doing your hair styles as an inspiration. You can use my hair style and call it 'the Rookie a District 3 special, only available at Marvel's.'" 

"In your dreams, besides I'd never be a hair stylist. No jobs in District 1 are appealing. Not for me anyway." Marvel sighed and picked up one of his spears before throwing it into a nearby tree trunk. 

"You District 1's are almost like Capitol people, except you have less crazy styles. Most of you have blond hair and green eyes...you two seem a bit out of place." 

"I've got green eyes..." Lucy muttered. "I get my brown hair from my father, some say he's quite a good exception. But in a good way. My mother has green eyes and blond hair so she fits in quite well, me and my father are different." 

"My hair colour is a mix of blond and brown so I think I fit in well...sort of. I have green eyes but they're very dull, you could mistake them for grey or brown though." 

"Yeah, you're the awkward two of your District," Rookie confirmed as she picked up some edible plants and ate them. 

"No, you're wrong there. I'm the awkward one. Marvel's fine, it's just me. You should see the way all the girls stop and stare as he walks into school, it's ridiculous. Then they go and bully me just because I'm friends with him." 

"They need to sort out their priorities." 

"That's as maybe, but they won't change — OK, they might change if I stopped being friends with Marvel but I don't want to stop being friends with Marvel." 

"The girls at your school sound like the 'too cool for you' types. Besides, I thought you'd have enough money to be homeschooled?" Rookie raised an eyebrow. 

"I was homeschooled until my mother said I needed to go out and socialise with children my age. But as you can see, it never happened. I always get on with people older than me." 

"You're about right there..." Marvel nodded then winced. 

"You should go back to bed," Lucy sighed as she pulled herself out of the water and helped Marvel lay down. "If you sleep you'll forget about the pain, you know that?" 

"Fine..." Marvel muttered. "But you have to wake me up when we move." 

"You don't think I'd leave you, do you?" 

"I would..." Rookie muttered. 

"Attention, tributes. Attention. Commencing at sunrise, there will be a feast tomorrow at the Cornucopia. This will be no ordinary occasion, each of you need something desperately and we plan to be...generous hosts."  The voice of Claudius Templesmith rang through the arena and Lucy froze, she then looked at Marvel. 

"Lucy, no," Marvel snapped. "Don't you dare even think about it." 

"Oh she dared," Rookie nodded. 

"Marvel, I'm going, I don't care what you say. I'm going." Lucy said. "I know that they'll be medicine in that bag at the feast and I want to heal you." 

"I don't need to be healed!" Marvel whined. 

"Yes you do!" 

"No I don't! I'm fine!" 

"You're not fine, Marvel! You're in pain! I'm worried that you're just going to drop down dead any minute! And what would I do without you?" 

"Look, I don't care about the feast thing. I'll be fine without medicine. I can carry on as I am. Before long we'll have everyone else killed and it'll just be us too, we'll be taken out of the arena and they'll heal me." 

"But, Marvel! You won't last that long! You know you won't!" 

"Yes I will!" 

"No you won't!" 

"YES I WILL, LUCY DIME, AND IF YOU CONTINUE TO ARGUE WITH ME I WON'T TALK TO YOU AGAIN." Marvel yelled. 

Lucy stared at him a little hurt, she nodded before getting up and walking towards the forest. She left her bow and arrows and just picked up her rain mac and slipped it on. 

"Lucy, wait," Marvel whispered. Lucy stopped in her tracks. "I'm sorry I shouted but you really can't risk your life because of me, Claudius said that each of us needs something desperately and that means that Cato will be there too. Cato will try to rip you to pieces, and if that happened I wouldn't know what to do with myself." 

"I'd kill him off!" Rookie grinned. 

"Exactly, and do you really want to be killed by Cato?" 

"But I want to heal you though..." 

"Do you want to be killed by Cato?" 

"No, not at all." 

"Then don't go to the feast, don't risk your life for me."

"OK," Lucy whispered as she sat down next to him. "I won't go." 

"Good..." Marvel yawned just before going to sleep.