A Victor's Ally - The 73rd Hunger Games (Fanfiction)

twenty

He took me off to the side, his hand placed on the small of my back. It was a tiny gesture, but it felt threatening. A middle-aged man stood to the side, drink in his hand and a sly smile on his face. He was surprisingly free of the normal Capitol fashion enhancements, besides his pastel hair and smoothed, plastic looking face.

"This is Blade Maximus, one of your biggest sponsors and supporters throughout the game as well as a close friend of mine. I promised him I would arrange a meeting between you two." President Snow put slight emphasis on 'close friend', causing me to immediately put on my politest smile. Everything he said sounded like a threat, and I didn't know what his intentions were, but I was smart enough to realize I had to play along. The President stepped away slightly, removing his hand from my lower back. I suppressed a sigh of relief.

Blade took a step forward, grabbing my hand and bringing it up to his lips. "It is a great pleasure to meet you, Miss Juliet." I nodded politely in response, and then we were interrupted.

Luke cleared his throat, causing Blade to drop my hand and step back. He placed a hand on my back in the same spot that President Snow did, but this time it was a comforting gesture and I allowed myself to relax. His hand warmed my back and calmed the shivers that were making their way up my spine. Blade looked at Luke curiously before looking back at me.

"That really is a lovely dress." He stated, making me mumble a quick thank you and shift uncomfortably as he looked me up and down. "I hope we can arrange to meet again soon."

Luke took another step, placing himself closer and slightly in front of me. "If you want to talk to the stylist, Saffra is over by the refreshment table." His voice was flat, but his expression was hard as he stared down the Capitolite. Blade stared back for a moment, a smirk on his face, but nodded and excused himself from the conversation.

"President Snow." Luke nodded a greeting to the President, who had been watching the exchange with amusement present on his features.

"It's lovely to have the two most recent victors here together. You must be awfully proud to have back to back victors from District Nine." Snow smiled, but his words were dripping with insincerity.

"It's so fortunate that the two of you have gotten so close in such a short amount of time. What a shame it would be for all the love-struck men out there, Juliet, if you happened to be off the market. And it makes me unhappy when my people are unhappy." He took a sip of his drink before continuing. "But I'm sure that's not the case, right?"

"Uh, no sir." I answered after an awkward second. Luke stayed silent beside me, but I could feel the tension and hatred radiating off of him. Why was Snow trying to market me to the people of the Capitol? The thought made me queasy and I wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.

"Oh, and I have something for you Luke." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small envelope, sealed with the symbol of the Capitol. Luke took it slowly, putting it into his suit jacket without breaking eye contact with the President.

"Enjoy your party." President Snow winked at me before turning away to chat with a group of Capitolites nearby. Luke all but yanked me away, dragging me through the crowd, anger set on his features. We found Barrick and Hilda, both of whom seemed startled by our sudden arrival.

"We're leaving." He said angrily, grabbing Barrick's arm. Barrick glanced at his watch then nodded, motioning toward a limo that was waiting by the entrance.

"I have some business to attend to, but I'll meet you back there later."

Luke nodded in response to his previous mentor, his grip on my wrist still firm as he ushered me into the limo. I was surprised I had been allowed to leave, but it must have been later than I thought. We rode in silence, and while I was a mess of emotions myself, Luke seemed ready to burst. We get to the Training Center and rode up to the ninth floor. It felt like a dream because I had never imagined that I would be back here, virtually unscathed physically - thanks to Capitol technologies - but mentally in an emotional turmoil.

The elevator door opened, and we were barely four feet into the apartment before Luke turns and punches the wall, hard enough that it splinters and caves in under the force of his fist.

I jumped back, terrified and skittish. I knew that he would never hurt me, but after spending twelve days under the constant threat of death, my body went into self-defense mode. Pushing my body against the wall, I watched as he stormed through the apartment knocking things around in his anger.

"I'm going to kill him, I swear to god." He shouted. Besides our brief hug before the recap of the Games, this was the first time I was alone with Luke since I got out of the arena, and this was not what I was expecting. It wasn't until a glass shattered and I let out an uncontrollable small yelp that Luke finally noticed me by the door. He turned toward me suddenly and I flinched, causing him to stop in his tracks.

"What are you talking about?" My voice came out as a low whisper, and my eyes filled up with tears at his aggression.

The anger in his features disappeared and he looked at me with worry in his eyes. The tension left my body and I lost it, crumpling to the floor and letting out a choked sob. I had been holding it in for so long that once I started, I knew I wouldn't stop for a while. Luke came over, sitting beside me on the floor and slowly pulling me to his chest as if he was afraid I would flinch away again. I curled into him, sobbing harder. The only reason I was able to be with him again was because twenty-three other people were dead, four murdered by my own hands.

I cried for my fallen allies, I cried for those who would be in this position next year, and I cried for myself. In this position, I was more comfortable than I had been in weeks and I needed to let out all the stress and overwhelming sadness.