The Era of Midnight Pentalogy - Part 1 - Tyranny (The 230th Hunger Games)

TBE

WARNING: Contains swearing and mature references.

Tyranny is the first part of the Era of Midnight pentalogy of events, written by Billie.

(Comment from Billie) These Games will not be like those that I've written in the past. I guess this is the turning point of my writing style, more mature and less childish.

The history of the Midnight family/dynasty and how they came to be
Leona Midnight, the founder of the Midnight family (later presidential dynasty), was a poor yet beautiful girl from District 14. She was born sometime before the Second Rebellion of Panem, which she survived.

Leona was one of a kind. Despite her upbringing, she was intelligent and political savvy. Hardly anyone else in 14 was like Leona, only a rare few were.

(Just imagine Leona to be the poorer THG version of Margaery Tyrell)

20 years after the end of the Second Rebellion, life was about to change for the girl.

It was this intelligence and political savviness that got Leona noticed by then Commander of District 8, Rhearta Stone, who wanted someone to teach so that they could carry on with her work when she dies.

Stone was visiting District 14 when she saw Leona and how talented she was at political manipulation. She thought that Leona was destined to be her protégé. Leona had beauty as well as brains, making her deadly and a useful weapon for Rhearta to use against her political opponents.

Rhearta introduced herself to Leona, before requesting Leona to become her protege. Leona was reluctant at first, but after realising all the potential benefits that come out of this, she accepted Rhearta's offer.

Leona moved from District 14 to District 8 to be with Rhearta. She was used at first as an advisor fo Rhearta, helping her to fend off District 8 invaders and defeat her enemies in negotiations.

For over 40 years, right up to Rhearta's death from old age, Leona remained a loyal advisor, as well as the only friend Stone had.

After Stone died, Leona took the opportunity to succeed Rhearta as Commander of District 8. She had only one goal: to complete what Rhearta had never been able to finish. She did just that. She also listened to the citizens and made sure they had the necessities of everyday life (food, water, comfortable clothes), making her well-respected by the people of 8.

Sometime after taking up the position as Commander, she fell in love and got married to an unknown man. She also gave birth to his child or children, how many they had being unknown. This was, unknowingly to Leona, the start of a family that was to play a major role in the history of Panem.

Events up to present day
Leona's trait of political manipulation was passed down to generations and generations of Midnights. The easiest way to identify a Midnight family member was by how persuasive and manipulative they were politically.

Eventually, sometime after Leona's death, the Midnights moved to The Capitol.

Using the natural political manipulation, many Midnights were able to gain jobs of high power, up to the point that the family would become some of the President's trusted advisors.

However, there was one Midnight who was extremely power hungry and wanted more than to be classed as the President's trusted advisors.

Jeremiah Midnight wanted to ''take over as President. ''It took extreme planning, the assassination of the President and the gathering of those who believed that Jeremiah could change Panem for the better for this goal to be achieved, in which it was.

The Midnight presidential dynasty was born and it was to have a major impact on Panem for years to come.

Present day
The Midnight that was currently President was Adon Midnight, The Capitol victor of the 168th Hunger Games at just 12 (these Games was after a rule was established allowing The Capitol to compete in the Games for extra "entertainment"). He used to be a charming, caring boy but like most victors, the Games made him into a completely different person.

He went on to claim Presidency, marry three times and have a total of fourteen children (7 daughters, 7 sons).

By this point, he was tyrannical. He didn't care about the welfare of the citizens of Panem, he didn't care about his family, he didn't care about Panem at all. The only thing he cared about the Games and whether people was watching them or not.

His ignorance has led to riots. Adon dismisses this as nothing, when it isn't "nothing". His presidency is under threat, by his own son.

Jason Midnight, Adon's fourth bon son, who was permanently blind in one eye, currently resides in District 5. He has secretly always been outraged by his father's ignorance with what should matter most, his people.

And so it wasn't long before he vowed that he would overthrow his father and deal with the issues in Panem, including the Games, once and for all.

Rules (Please read, to save yourselves from trouble)
(Comment from Billie) There are three things I will be when it comes down to the Games, that I haven't been for other Games: organised, strict and extremely detailed (My Games have always been detailed when I come to think of it but this time, I will be extremely detailed).

I know that there are many rules but these must be put in place in order to maintain a good Games.

Submitting tributes

 * 1) No reservations, but if there's an emergency or you desperately can't submit a tribute right away, a 24 hour reservation will be arranged for the desired tribute spot(s). But if the tribute(s) that will fill the spots are not submitted once the 24 hours are up, the spot(s) will go to someone else.
 * 2) You can only submit four tributes each. This number may change, depending on the circumstances.
 * 3) I can reject tributes. I will mainly reject Mary Sues (see the example if you're confused as to what I mean by Mary Sue), tributes that are missing information and basic tributes with hardly any detail.
 * 4) Speaking of the latter, if your tribute(s) has/have a lot of detail, they have a better chance of winning the Games. Detailed tributes also make it easier for me to write the Games.
 * 5) Only links to tribute profiles allowed.
 * 6) If there is anything else I need to know about the tribute(s) that has been/are submitted, please message me on my Message Wall.

The Games

 * 1) The Capitol and the Districts (up to District 14) will participate in these Games.
 * 2) Please note that anything could happen to your tributes. I am an unpredictable person so be aware of unexpected surprises and twists.
 * 3) Don't threaten me or other users if your tribute(s) dies/die. If you do so, an admin will be contacted and they'll deal with you.
 * 4) I did warn people that there will be swearing and mature references in these Games so if you are sensitive to either swearing or mature referencing (or both even), please don't join these Games.
 * 5) Have fun and enjoy reading the Games.
 * 6) Also, any feedback (positive and negative) on these Games and the writing of them will be highly appreciated.

Sponsoring and pledging

 * 1) Every day, you can pledge four tributes. Who you pledge is entirely up to you. I don't control that aspect of the Games. But one thing I will say is that at least pledge other people's tributes as well as your own.
 * 2) Each tribute starts off with $100. They gain more sponsor money through pledges, doing well in training, killing tributes and surviving a certain amount of days in the arena,
 * 3) Instead of a sponsor gift lift to refer to, just tell me the gifts you want to send to your tribute(s) and we'll negotiate on a price. Once a price has been agreed on, it will be taken out of the tributes' money and I'll write it into their POV (if they get one) or into the summary of the day they get that gift.

Backstory

 * 1) Your tribute(s) must be supporting either the President Midnight or Jason Midnight. Please tell me what side your tribute(s) will be on when submitting them.

Tributes with missing information

 * Name: Bla bla bla


 * Age: 14
 * District: 3


 * Gender: Male


 * Weapons: ?


 * Backstory: Bla bla bla bla...

Mary Sues

 * Name: Bla bla bla


 * Age: 18


 * Gender: Female
 * District: 1


 * Backstory: Bla bla bla... I have much more experience of fighting and using weaponry than other tributes and I will win.


 * Strengths: I'm good at everything.
 * Weaknesses: Nothing.

Basic and undetailed tributes

 * Name: Bla bla bla
 * Age: 17
 * Gender: Female
 * District: 2
 * Backstory: She was born in District 2. She got good in weaponry. When she was old enough, she volunteered for the Games. She hopes to win.
 * Weapons: Sword.

Arena
This information will be revealed the night before the Games.

Chariot Parade
The two main themes for the chariot parade outfits this year is transformation and color. The tributes will have two outfits: a beginning outfit and an ending outfit. Also, each district (and The Capitol) has been assigned a colour. The ending outfit will be in the assigned colour.

Introductory POV - 3rd Person
It was that time of year again. Only a matter of days before the reapings were to take place.

The white and fluffy clouds of The Capitol sailed through the pastel blue sky. Sunshine beamed through any cracks in the clouds, onto the metropolis below.

As it was lunchtime in The Capitol, most of the citizens were packed into cafes and restaurants for a meal that would provide them with energy to last the rest of the day or for a quick coffee and a chat.

The rich children were in school, most likely preparing for their own lunch, whilst the poorer children wandered around the slums, which were hidden away by glistening skyscrapers, and got themselves into petty shenanigans as they knew that they could get away with it.

To someone who didn't understand or have any knowledge of what was really going on, The Capitol seemed like a utopia.

However, The Capitol was far from a utopia.

In the Presidential Mansion, specfically the lounge, President Adon Midnight, his silver hair combed over and wearing a raven black suit, sat in his favourite leather chair. He rested his arms on the arms of the chair.

The chair was facing a 100 inch TV, which had been mounted to the wall. The TV was currently showing the interviews of one Games.

The interviewer of the tributes for that year's Games stood in the middle of the stage, in between two pink chairs. He looked very dapper as he was dressed in a sequinned red suit. He also looked around the age of 20.

"Ladies and gentlemen, citizens of Panem, put your hands together for the beautiful Capitol female, Darcia Bosethon!" cheered the interviewer. The audience was suddenly in an uproar of wild cheering. The interviewer reached his arm out, gesturing towards Darcia's entrance.

A slender girl with curly lime green hair and violet eyes made her way up to the stage. She picked up her golden dress to prevent falling, revealing golden high heels in the process.

As soon as she was on the stage, Darcia offered her hand out, to which the interviewer kissed.

"You're beautiful."

"Thank you." Darcia smiled and giggled before sitting down.

Darcia turned out to be the President's district partner for those Games. He sat and remembered the things that he had learned about Darcia; Darcia was fifteen, she had a love for music, her aspiration was to become a famous singer and she wanted to win the Games to see her boyfriend again (much to the sadness of most males that watched).

The President crossed his arms when he remembered how Darcia was trying to portray herself as a sweet, innocent girl who wouldn't harm a fly. The majority of The Capitol believed this as back then, there were more citizens that were pro-Games and pro-government. Now, defiance is too close to home.

Darcia turned out to be a secretly ruthless killer, managing to be a respected Career tribute and be responsible for the murder of five tributes before getting murdered herself.

"Thank you Darcia. Ladies and gentleman, give it up for Darcia Bosethon!" The audience cheered as Darcia was helped down the stage by one of the security guards. The interviewer waited until Darcia left to introduce the next tribute.

"Now, you've all heard about the young sword dynamo. Please welcome our next tribute, Ado-"

The sound of the interviewer's voice was overpowered by the sound of someone running. Adon swiftly turned his attention towards the entrance of the lounge, where the running was coming from.

The person running turned out to be one of Adon's servants.

"President." The servant stopped running as soon as he was in the lounge. He stood like an obedient soldier whilst panting.

The servant was carrying a message, which had been intricately tied in a blue ribbon.

"You've brought a message." Adon took the message from the servant and untied the ribbon. He threw the ribbon away and opened up the message. The message read:

Check the news.

After closely examining the message, the President coldly glanced at the servant.

"Who wrote this message?"

"The Head Gamemaker, Leonicus Amberly, President." replied the servant. It was obvious to see from the servant's face that he was intimated by Adon. After all, Adon is the victor of probably the most captivating Games ever, at just 12 years old.

"Right, take the tape out, turn on the news and then you can SCRAM. Also, take the tape up to the archives." The volume of Adon's voice when saying 'scram' made the poor servant jump in fright.

"Yes, President."

Nerve made the servant act quickly. He took out the tape, turned on the TV as quickly as he could and ran off with the tape containing the interviews.

The President went back to sitting comfortably in his chair. Or rather uncomfortably, as soon as he saw who was on the news...

There, live, was Adon's fourth born son, Jason Midnight. Jason was a lanky, thin young man, with light brown hair and a blue eye. He liked to dress in white. Due to being blind in his right eye, he liked to fashion a white eyepatch.

He currently resided in District 5 with his girlfriend, who appeared to be the brunette girl cuddling into him. Jason put an arm around the girl and then turned his attention to the camera, whilst microphones were being shoved near his mouth.

"Is it true that you are the son of the President?" asked one of the reporters.

"Yes, I am the fourth son of the President." Jason replied angrily. He was coldly staring at the camera, never taking his eyes off it.

"Is there anything you would like to say to the President?" asked another reporter.

"Yes, in fact, I'd like to give a speech towards my father. Father, I hope you're watching this because you need to hear this once and for all. Things are going to change from now on.

But before I address the changes that will take place, I need to tell you straight. You're a terrible President and when you go, you'll be amongst the deceased Presidents that are remembered for all the wrong reasons. You're neglective to the people that should matter the most to you, the citizens of Panem. In all of the years that you've been President, you've done nothing to solve this nation's major issues, the main one being starvation in the outlying districts. People are getting tired of your neglect, even people in the districts that are traditionally allies with The Capitol are rioting and rebelling against you. All you've contributed to is the making of the annual Games. Come on father, hardly anyone watches the Games these days. It's just the same thing every year, children getting unnecessarily slaughtered. No matter what measures you go to to gain more followers, it's always going to have the same outcome. Tributes die, the remaining tribute/tributes in the arena is/are crowned victor/victors, they go on a victory tour and then depending on how old they are, when you've had enough planning the next Games, you either wait for them to become eligible to your disgusting manipulation and sexual exploitation or right after the victory tour, you throw them right into the deep end of it all. If they refuse or defy your orders, other people suffer because of it. Every President that has done this have all suffered brutal deaths. If you keep on doing this father, you're eventually going to die a horrible death. And no one will mourn your death, not even me.

Not only are you neglective towards your people, you're neglective to your family too. You don't care about us. You've never shown love towards any of us, not even when we were born. From my observations as a little boy, whenever any of us interacted with you, you were completely abusive to us (and still is to this day, but towards everyone). Luckily, I'm not living under the same roof as you as I had the common sense to pack my bags and leave, as soon as I was old enough to. I took Jocelyn, Banor and Salina with me so they could grow up in safety. I don't know whether my other siblings and my half-siblings are okay or not, but regardless, I wish for them to be able to live the wonderful lives that they deserve, without the crap and abuse of you Father. Despite being blind in one eye, I've managed to raise Jocelyn, Banor and Salina from when they were infants. I was only a teenager when I left the house and I'm an adult now. Banor, Jocelyn and Salina are now beautiful, wonderful kids who are well-liked and are doing exceptional at school. I'm their father figure, as well as their brother, because you didn't give two flying fucks about them. I've shown them the love that you never had for them-"

Adon smirked and rose out of the leather chair, before walking out of the room. However, he still left the TV on.

"So Father, live on national television, I am officially declaring war on you. Panem will overthrow you and make me President. I, however, don't want to be President to carry on the Midnight 'dynasty'. I want to be President so I can resolve the issues that have troubled this country, once and for all."

Reapings
(Comment from Billie) I will be writing about the reapings through the POV of one of each district's tributes. However, please do note that the reapings will have a twist. This twist is that seven of the tributes will come across a particularly valuable object. These seven objects will hint towards the events of the finale of Part 1 and the beginning of the events of Part 2.

Bridget Idylwyld, The Capitol Female
Reaping day. I knew what I was going to do. I was going to volunteer. And as of the Games, I'm going to win and become a victor. I will bring more power and honour to my family. I will be a proud Idylwyld victor.

According to the silver clock, above my TV, the time was 8:45am. I was in my bedroom, taking one last glance out of the window before I left the mansion.

The sky was a mixture of red, orange and yellow. Fiery colours. But this was always the case in The Capitol. After half an hour, the sky would change to it's usual pastel blue and the sunshine would begin it's shift.

I felt refreshed, from my shower earlier, and prepared. I was more prepared than the sky was for the upcoming day.

Once I had finished looking out of the window, I turned towards my walk-in wardrobe. The brown jacket that I liked to wear hung on a white coat holder. The coat holder was always next to the rack for my elegant dresses.

I grabbed the jacket from the coat holder, put it on and walked out of my room. I strutted down the narrow corridor, which was lavishly decorated with paintings that depicted historical figures and past events, as well as a glass chandelier, until I had reached the main staircase of the mansion.

I made my way down the staircase, to be met by the presence of my parents. They smiled at me, with pride in their eyes.

"Here she is, our future victor." My father remarked. I giggled a little.

"I know that you'll be the best in that arena, sweetie. You're going to bring so much honour to this family." My mother commented. I knew that these comments were true. I'm will be the best in that arena and I will emerge as the victor.

I hugged my parents, thanked them for their support and made my way outside. Father had informed me that he had hired a limousine to escort me to the Presidential Mansion, where the reapings were to take place.

I thanked Father for hiring this limousine for me, before getting inside it. As soon as I was inside, the limousine drove me away from the Idylwyld mansion.

The limousine was illuminated in neon lights and there were blinds covering any shred of daylight.

In front of the sofa that I was sitting on, there was a drinks cooler. I peered inside to see that it contained cans of different sodas. I took two cans of cream soda from the cooler and placed one in a pocket of my jacket. The other, I opened it and took a sip.

The perks of being an idylwyld.

I put my legs up on the sofa and continued drinking the can of cream soda, when a memory hit me.

''"Where is Camiren Idylwyld?!" I yelled angrily, as I arrived. Everyone in the Career Academy of District 2 fell silent and moved as far away from me as possible, in either fear, respect or surprise. They had recognised that I was an Idylwyld. An Idylwyld who wants to find Camiren fucking Idylwyld.''

''I was clutching my prized chain whip. ''

No one uttered a word, so I spoke up again, this time in a sarcastically sweet tone:

"Let me rephrase what I just said: Give us Carmen Idylwyld, or die a painful death. The choice is yours."

''And still, nobody uttered a word. That's when I noticed a particularly scared man, trembling and worrying. I went up to that man, wondering if he knew anything. ''

"Please", "Don't hurt me! I don't know any Carmen Id-"

''Before he could finish his sentence, I smacked him with my chain whip. One blow to the head killed the man immediately. The people around me shrieked and gasped, as they had witnessed for themselves the deadly Idylwyld wrath.''

''One of the people came at me. I smacked him with my whip as well. And after that, shit went down.''

By the time the flashback had finished, the limousine arrived at the Presidential Mansion.

"Miss Idylwyld, we have reached your destination. Do you, by any chance, have money for me?" The driver asked me.

"Didn't my father pay you?" I asked the driver, wondering as to why he was asking me for money when he should have been paid by my father for taking me to the reaping.

"No." He replied, looking at me sweetly so that I'd give him money. After a while, because the look irritated me, I threw a bag of 20 Panem coins at him, some of my own pocket money. The bag was made of purple velvet and it was tied with golden ribbon at the top.

"There. You'd better spend it wisely or I'll persuade my father to never hire you again. That was out of my own pocket money, so consider yourself lucky. Also, people who use cutesy looks to try and get me to do so something is one of my biggest pet peeves, so don't do it again." I replied to him.

"I won't, Miss Idylwyld. And thank you." He smiled.

"Welcome." I briefly responded, in a dull tone, before getting out of the limousine. The driver drove the opposite direction from the way we came.

Still clutching my can of cream soda and keeping the other can in my jacket, I took one glance at the Mansion. Despite seeing it almost everyday, I still liked to observe it.

It was a mansion/arena. A flag with the Midnight family sigil flew wildly on a flagpole, on top of the roof on the mansion. The mansion was square and marble. Inside it, where the yard would normally be, was the arena, where the reaping and the chariot parade took place every year. Most people think that before you can get to the arena, you have to get through the mansion first. However, a few years back, a tunnel that took you straight into the arena was built. This was so that the Mansion didn't accidentally turn into a place for the public to visit.

I made my way into the Mansion and walked through the tunnel. Some annoying 12 year olds were giggling and gossiping behind me. I was tempted to throw my cream soda at them, but I didn't.

At the end of the tunnel, the Head Peacekeepers of The Capitol sat at the desk. They scanned the fingerprints of those eligible for being reaped, like always.

When it finally reached my turn...

"Name."

"Bridget Idylwyld." I replied, simply. He (the Peacekeeper sat on the left) scanned my fingerprint and doing so came up with some information about me; mainly my name, my age, my odds of winning the Games and what my predicted training score would be.

"An Idylwyld, huh?"

I nodded. After I nodded, the Peacekeeper who sat on the right took my can of cream soda away from me.

"No drinks allowed in the arena, kid."

"Give me back my fucking drink." I yelled, reaching out to retrieve my drink.

"Hey, do you know who this is?" The Peacekeeper on the left elbowed the bastard who was preventing me from getting my drink back.

"An Idylwyld. Still, she's not the most influential one so I don't care." He replied. I snarled at him, making him laugh.

"But she's dangerous and a force to be reckoned with. All Idylwylds are dangerous. So I suggest you give her back her drink."

"Eugh. Fine."

He finally gave me back my can of cream soda. The other can was still in the pocket of my jacket, and the Peacekeeper hadn't even looked to see the other can.

"Go ahead." The Peacekeeper gestured towards the end of the tunnel with his hands. The Peacekeeper placed a white sticker on me. The sticker had my age on it; 16.

I mischievously smirked at the Peacekeeper who stole my drink from me, before exiting the tunnel.

The end led me to the section which contained seven doors. Above the doors were LED signs which displayed nothing but an age (from 12-18). Every kid that was eligible for being reaped had to go through the door which displayed their age. Go through the wrong door and "serious consequences will follow".

I had time to take one single sip of my cream soda, before I was led through the "16" door.

The door led me to the part of the arena that was reserved for the female 16 year olds. I was glared at upon arrival, but I necessarily didn't care.

The atmosphere was loud as fuck. But I wasn't here to care about the atmosphere. I was here to volunteer.

On a balcony, which was a few feet above the stage, sat the President, the tyrannical old man who wanted nothing more than people to watch the Games, but we all know that the Games nowadays are boring. Next to him were who I assumed to be the Head Gamemakers.

The wild cheering and talking finally stopped when The Capitol's escort walked onto the stage. The previous escort, Dana Morrisson, died a few months ago, so we had a new escort. No one knew who the escort was and what they looked like, until now.

Mens' jaws dropped and boys began to drool. I looked towards the stage to see what the escort looked like.

It was like I was looking at a goddess.

She had long, flowing blonde hair, that sparkled in the arena's lights. Her eyes were sapphire blue. She wore a floor length, white gown, with droplet shaped cuts at each side, and high heels that matched the gown's colour.

"Hello citizens of The Capitol, my name is Astarlia Narushi and I will be The Capitol escort for this year's Hunger Gam-"

Suddenly, a group of men, who were obviously pissed off criminals, burst through and stormed down the track that divided the part of the arena that was reserved for the males that were eligible for reaping and the part of the arena that was reserved for the females that were eligible for reaping.

The group of men carried guns. Astarlia and most of the citizens looked traumatised and scared for their lives, where as others were angry or buzzing with intrigue.

The President rose out of his seat on the balcony.

"Peacekeepers, get those men!" I could hear him shout, whilst pointing towards them. Five Peacekeepers jumped from the balcony and rolled as soon as they hit the stage, before sprinting towards the group of men.

The men started shooting at the Peacekeepers, whilst shouting the words "Long live Jason", in support of the President's son, Jason Midnight. He was the guy who liked the white eyepatch and declared war on the President a few days ago, live.

Two fell dead, whilst the other three managed to disarm the men.

"I want all of them imprisoned and then, they shall be hanged tomorrow morning!" The President commanded the Peacekeepers. The surviving Peacekeepers nodded and took the men, who were now handcuffed, away.

However, the atmosphere didn't stop there. A fight suddenly broke out in the male part of the arena. The fight occurred higher up in the part, where the eighteen years old were. In a matter of seconds, most of the males eligible for reaping were brawling with each other, even some of the twelve years old were in scuffles.

And the same happened here. I don't know why most of the people were brawling, but I assumed that it was over the whole Jason vs President debate.

The President looked really horrified and tried to get everyone to be silent, but this was to no avail.

The constant brawling between my fellow Capitol citizens gave me time to get to the stage to volunteer, but I just had to make my way down the area first.

I rose from my seat, taking a few gulps of my cream soda. The soda was nearly running out and I still had the other can in my pocket. That can, surprisingly, was still cold and yet the temperature in the arena was very hot.

Still clutching the near empty can, I leapt seats from row to row. The fifteen year olds were too busy pulling each other's hair and kicking each other to notice me, the fourteen year olds were pretty much doing the same thing as the fifteen year olds and the thirteens looked too traumatised to even stop me.

It was after I had gotten away from the thirteen year olds part, when I had met unexpected and unwanted competition...from a twelve year old.

I was preparing to leap out of the whole female section and get onto the track, when I felt a hand grip my ankle.

"I don't think so."

I turned around to see that a girl, who didn't look or sound like your average twelve year old (she looked much bigger and nastier, with scars and acne spread all over her face, and her voice sounded much more masculine than feminine), wanted to volunteer too. But this girl couldn't beat me. She didn't know just how deadly it is to mess with an Idylwyld. "Hahaha, are you seriously going to try and stop me from volunteering?" I asked her, laughing.

"Yes. Just watch me." She replied, attempting to drag me off the edge of the barrier for the female section. She tried punching me, but she gave weak punches.

''This was just an ugly looking girl who couldn't fight to save her life. She would have no chance of survival in the arena.''

I threw the now empty can of cream soda at her face, before climbing the barrier and jumping off it, allowing me to land on the track on my feet.

After sprinting towards the stage, I grabbed the microphone from Astarlia's clutches, trying not to pant.

"I volunteer as female tribute."

Astarlia took the microphone from me, as soon as I made my announcement. I could hear a lot of girls groaning, as they knew that it was too late to volunteer. They had been too busy brawling to notice.

"Looks like we have a volunteer and the reapings have not even started yet. Tell me, what's your name?" Astarlia asked. Her voice sounded very...soothing.

"My name is Bridget Idylwyld."

And just like that, the brawling stopped. Many of the faces before me turned white, when I had revealed who I really was.

Astarlia turned to the Peacekeepers, who told her to thank me for "my sacrifice" and to just reap the male tribute. No annual showing of The Capitol's film about how glorious it was to win the Games and all the benefits that come with it, as well as some of Panem's history explained.

"Okay then, urm, thanks Bridget for your honourable sacrifice. Now, time to reap the male that will be representing The Capitol in this year's Hunger Games."

I watched her grab the first slip she could retrieve in the male reaping bowl, before walking over to her microphone.

"Ron-"

I looked towards the male part of the arena. One of the 12 year old males had just climbed onto the edge of the barrier of that part. I could make out someone trying to stop him, but to no avail. He ran towards the stage and took Astarlia's microphone from her, like I did, but whilst panting.

"I...volunteer...as...male...tribute. My...name...is...Lyssander...Ghan."

Astarlia retrieved her microphone from Lyssander. I was correct in knowing his age as there was a white sticker on him, with '12' on it.

"Thank you Lyssander. I think you should