｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆
𝔤𝔞𝔪𝔢 𝔬𝔣 𝔰𝔲𝔯𝔳𝔦𝔳𝔞𝔩
un. — may the odds be ever in your favour!

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

The sun rays broke through the shelter of trees in trickles of light, slowly and then all at once. As the light hit the leaves they turned from a deep and looming juniper to a brighter emerald — the light dancing over each leaf delicately. Mallory blew a strand of hair from her face, her messily done ponytail practically useless as her thick locks strained against the weathered old hair band. Placing a hand on her forehead for a moment Mallory gazed up at the all encompassing treetops and the rays of sunlight that trickled through. It was a new day.

A reaping day.

Rubbing the sweat of her head she let out one final grunt and swung her axe down on the wood before her — the birds hiding in the trees above squawking loudly before fleeing into the sky. Carrying the chopped wood back through town she gazed at all the solemn faces of parents and teenagers — and even children who were much too young to understand the significance of that day but who could still feel the upset in the air. She offered her usual smiles and upbeat greetings before finally making it home.

Dropping the firewood at the front door, Mallory grimaced at the sight of her sore dirt covered hands. It was too late to have a bath so she cleaned herself as quickly as possible with a bowl of water and a cloth before changing into her reaping dress — it was soft and cream in colour, the dress having belonged to her mother before her. Making her way to the front door Mallory frowned, sure she was forgetting something, "Shit," calling up the stairs her voice bellowed through the house, "Kaleb, Violet! Are you two ready?"

At once two sets of footsteps could be heard trampling down the stairs, both trying to be the first down as they pushed one another, "You're actually ready?"

Mallory questioned sceptically, their hair was brushed and they were dressed in their nicest clothes, "Dad got us ready."

Her eyebrows shot up in surprise. Her father was a good hardworking man, but after losing his wife in childbirth — Violet's birth — eight years prior he had taken a backseat when it came to parenting. He was always too busy throwing himself into work or in his room, that meant that Mallory had taken the lead parenting her siblings, not that she minded but she never felt like enough between school and her own small jobs.

Shaking out of her thoughts, Mallory found that Violet was gesturing for her to crouch down. The little girl pulled out a small handkerchief — violet in colour of course — and wiped a smidge of dirt from her nose that she must have missed, "Thanks, Vi." Soon her father was beside them at the door and they were off.

The town square was packed and before Mallory could be coaxed off into the line of seventeen year olds she ruffled a nervous Kaleb's hair and kissed her sister on the cheek. Her father muttered out a stiff, "Good luck," before disappearing into the crowd with Violet.

After signing in she squeezed into her space with the rest of the seventeen-year-old girls, she held her head up high as she scanned the square for her brother's anxious form stood with the other thirteen year olds. When she found him standing with one of his friends she let out a breath of relief, though Mallory was usually a social girl she and the rest of the seventeen-year-olds stood in a tense and stiff silence, after this they just needed to make it one more year. Freedom seemed so close within their grasps and they could hardly breathe.

Just as the town clock struck two, Mallory was pulled from her thoughts, the mayor — a short and rather stout man with a somber face — stepped up to the podium and began to read. It's the same story every year. He would recite the history of Panem, the country that rose up out of the ashes of a place that was once called North America. He listed the disasters, the droughts, the storms, the fires, the encroaching seas that swallowed up so much of the land, the brutal war for what little sustenance remained. The result was Panem, a shining Capitol ringed by thirteen districts, which brought peace and prosperity to its citizens. Then came the Dark Days, the uprising of the districts against the Capitol. Twelve were defeated, the thirteenth obliterated. The Treaty of Treason gave the people the new laws to guarantee peace and, our yearly reminder that the Dark Days must never be repeated, it gave us the Hunger Games.

The rules of the Hunger Games were simple. In punishment for the uprising, each of the twelve districts would provide one girl and one boy, called tributes, to participate. The twenty-four tributes would be imprisoned in a vast outdoor arena that could hold anything from a burning desert to a frozen wasteland. Over a period of several weeks, the competitors had to fight to the death. The last tribute standing would be declared the winner.

( BUT WERE THERE EVER TRULY ANY WINNERS? ALL MALLORY SAW WAS SURVIVORS )

Taking the kids from each district, forcing them to kill one another whilst everyone watched — it was the Capitol's way of reminding them of their omnipotent control. How little chance they would stand of surviving another rebellion. Mallory often wondered what would have happened if they had won the rebellion all those years ago, would her life be different? She honestly couldn't picture a life different from the one she led.

At last the previous victors were welcomed onto the stage, well the ones that were in fact still alive now. Blight who was in his early thirties and whose games she could not remember having been a baby at the time and Johanna Mason. Mallory remembered the girl from school and couldn't quite believe she was the person who was stood on stage just a year after her games, it was like looking at an angry hollow shell of a person — which was to be expected, everyone in District Seven knew of her family's death, many speculating that the president had a hand in it.

Johanna, Blight and the mayor looked entirely stiff up on the stage as the clinking of Missy Lexington's heels broke the silence that had overcome the area. Missy was the capital representative for District Seven, and embodied the glitz of the capital perfectly. Her mocha skin shined brighter than a diamond, while her iliac coloured knee length hair certainly made a statement — Mallory often wondered whether it made the woman's head feel heavy — her makeup was always immaculate and she appeared to always have a line rhinestones dotted above her uniquely coloured eyebrows, "Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be ever in your favor! How wonderful it is to see all your bright, shining faces smiling up at me!"

Mallory looked around. Nobody was smiling and their faces could most certainly not be described as bright or shining. The eccentric woman went on for a while, her high heels no doubt killing her feet, Mallory wondered how she could stand in them for so long. She was pulled back to reality by the dreaded words, "As usual, ladies first!"

Her name was only in there six times, she had nothing to worry about. When this was all over she'd go hunt in the woods, maybe she'd finally teach Violet how to swing a small axe. And yet she couldn't help but feel a burst of anxiety as those lilac talons grasped a piece of paper after what felt like years. A blindingly white smile befell the woman's pristine features as she enunciated the poor unfortunate souls's name clear as day.

"Mallory Ren!"

Her eyes conveyed her shock but she did not allow her body or face to flinch or tense as the camera panned onto her. Clenching her fists, Mallory managed to walk onto the stage with her head held high, though her ears were ringing so loudly she could barely make out the cries of her family.

By the time she had reached the stage the crowd had gone completely and utterly silent as they stared at the girl who seemed to always have a smile on her lips and a witty reply on her tongue, "My, my aren't you a beauty?" She barely contained a flinch as Missy pinched her cheek, her gaze met her father's teary one as she gave him what she hoped was a reassuring nod.

"Now onto the gentlemen." The clacking of her heels was starting to irritate Mallory who wished for nothing more than to be back in the woods where she was safe. One more Missy let a dramatic pause hang in the air before calling out the name, "Titan Green!"

A boy stepped out from the section of eighteen-year-olds and Mallory briefly wondered if he could even be considered a boy and not a man. He was at least six foot with arms like tree trunks that could most likely snap her in half, as they shook hands she wondered if she would be able to land a solid hit to his knees with an axe in the arena.

His grip on her hand was strong, firm and she wondered almost absentmindedly if he was thinking the same thing about her — if those dark eyes were picturing how easy it would be to snap her neck. Before he let go she flashed him a wide smile, all teeth and malice — she had read that most species bared their teeth as a threat, as a display of aggression, of leadership and could only hope that he got her message.

Mallory would be the one coming home.

AUTHORS NOTE!
First chapter is here my loves!! How'd you all like it?? Mallory is the absolute loml I swear, we stan a confident girl.

Also Johanna has my entire heart and deserves much better.

Remember to vote, comment and or share please lovelies if you enjoyed <333

unedited
-summer