Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games and I am not, and am not affiliated with, Suzanne Collins. There is no financial profit gained from this nor will any be sought.
Hung for a thief with my bones cast to the starving fingers of the mudlarks. I could imagine the sickly feeling of the cold, foul fingers as they would dig at my skin and break apart the brittle bones hidden beneath.
I clenched my fists and squeezed my eyes shut to get the image of Astrella's broken body and empty eyes out of my head. I took a breath to steady myself before reaching out a hand and gently rubbing the horse's head.
"Hey, boy," I said as he nudged his nose toward me, looking for food. I slipped a carrot out of my pocket and held it out for him to eat. "Are you ready?"
When he heard the familiar creaking of the stall door opening, he let out a soft neigh and I urged him to quiet down, offering him a second carrot to give his mouth something else to do.
"We've got to be quiet, Jax," I whispered as I patted his back before slipping a halter on him, attaching a rope to it.
I urged him forward, hurrying him out of the dark, eerie stable and into the cool, night air.
He whinnied again, wanting more food and I shushed him.
"Later, Jax," I promised but he lowered his head and found the rest of the carrots in my pocket and pulled them out and neighed again, pleased with himself.
I was exasperated but had to bite my lip to keep from laughing at the whole thing. I let him eat another one before pocketing the rest so he wouldn't get a stomachache and then, when we'd left the abandoned ranch behind and reached the dirt path, I pulled myself up onto his back.
He shifted, waiting for my signal, as I leaned forward and when I lightly urged him forward, he took off like a bullet, shooting forward so fast I'd almost fallen off but I retained my grip and grinned against the wind that whipped my pale blond hair around my face.
I flew down the road, passing the lake and my family's ranch and leaving them far behind, before veering off of the path and heading toward the plateau in the distance. When we neared the plateau, I urged Jax into a light trot and then a walk, stopping at the edge of the crowd of people, shouting and laughing amongst one another.
I slid off Jax, guiding him forward to a water trough set up at the edge of the group in an patch of grass and loosely tied the rope to a nearby wooden pole hastily stuck up, letting him rest.
I offered him another carrot and had just begun to pat him on the back when someone emerged from the rowdy sea of bodies and jogged toward me.
"Rowan! It's about time!" My brother shouted, wearing a crooked grin. He threw something toward me - a bottle - and I caught it, sniffed it, recognized it as alcohol and then, when he'd turned away, abruptly tossed it behind me.
"Kota! Kota, where did you go?" A voice yelled from behind him. "Kota, you son of a -,"
Mieka approached from behind him and jerked to a stop at the sight of me.
I stared at her for a second before bursting out in laughter.
"I'm impressed," I told Kota. "What'd you do to get her to come? Tie her up and drag her here?"
Kota laughed but before he could say anything, Mieka crossed her arms over her chest and huffed.
"He might as well have," She muttered.
Kota snorted. "Oh, please. That is not what happened -,"
"Well, in any case, he gave me no choice -,"
"Well, technically, I did give you a choice -"
Mieka turned to me, exasperated. "He climbed onto my roof and said that if I didn't come, he'd jump off."
I rolled my eyes. "Mieka, you live in a one-story house."
She threw her hands up in the air. "I wasn't thinking straight, okay!"
I raised an eyebrow and Kota grinned, throwing an arm over Mieka's shoulders.
"What she means is that she was too overwhelmed with worry for me, that she couldn't think about anything else except my safety and -,"
Mieka shoved him away. "That is not true, you - you self-absorbed, arrogant -,"
Kota clamped a hand over her mouth. "Caring, kind-hearted and all around good looking specimen of a man."
"Man?" Mieka repeated incredulously after prying his hand away. "You're hardly sixteen."
Kota waved her away. "Sixteen? Twenty-five? What's the difference?"
"Nine years," I supplied.
Kota glared at me, the hint of a smile playing on his lips. "See, Ro. This is why I like Jax more than you."
There was a roar of laughter behind us and Mieka flinched.
"This is a bad idea," She said. "This is a very bad idea. We're all going to get caught."
I pretended not to hear her.
"Rowan, listen to me," She said, quickening her pace next to me. "Do you know what will happen if you get caught? They'll cut your tongue out and -,"
"I'll be an Avox for the rest of my life," I cut her off. "I get it."
"No," She said desperately. "No, I don't think you do."
"Oh, lighten up, Mieka," Kota said, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"No, I will not lighten up!" She snapped, nudging my older brother off of her. "And I can not believe that I'm here! If anything happens, then -,"
"I'll swear you had nothing to do with it and that I forced you to come by holding you at knifepoint," I promised.
Someone shouted, coming near us.
At the edge of the bonfire with only the light of the moon, it was hard to make out much except for the flat expanse of land that stretched out around us and the looming outline of the plateau in the distance so it took a moment to recognize the boy who'd jogged toward us, with his patched shirt and scruffy jeans, as Lark Haverell, who worked on the ranch behind ours and was one of Kota's friends.
When he noticed me, he snickered.
"Nice dress."
I scowled. "Shut up."
I'd forgotten to hide spare clothes under my pillow and so hadn't opened the chest at my foot of my bed to get any before I snuck out of the window in my room, in fear of waking my younger sister Cassia, who had been asleep across the room.
The hem of the cotton nightgown brushed against the skin just above my knees and probably looked ridiculous paired with my father's rubber boots that were much too large for my feet.
Lark took one glance at Mieka and burst out laughing.
"Farrow?" He asked, clearly amused. "I didn't take you for much of a gambler."
Mieka glowered at him. "Neither did I."
I could hear Kota laughing beside me.
"Did you bet?" He asked Lark, who stuffed his hands in his pockets and leaned back on his heels as he nodded at me.
"Yeah, on Rowan," He said. "So she better win or your sister here's gonna owe me."
I snorted.
The sound of shouting and shattering glass rose up from behind us and Lark peered over his shoulder.
Lark groaned. "I thought that not making a mess was a universally accepted rule when it came to illegal gatherings," He complained. "But apparently, some people still need to be reminded."
He excused himself, hurrying off toward the two fighting men and shouting at them
Mieka's eyes widened at the sight of the brawl. "We should just leave, Rowan. If my father knew I was here -,"
"Oh, I forgot to mention," Kota said to Mieka, nodding toward a cluster of men on the far side of the circle. "He's over there."
Mieka's eyed widened as she whirled around.
It was true, actually.
Horse racing in District 10 was banned years before I was born, but the gambling over it - despite that it was terribly risky - was so popular and could prove to be so rewarding that the races were still held in secret.
District 10, with its patches of rough desert and stretches of land, was too vast for the Peacekeepers to patrol every corner of it so it wasn't hard to arrange the races at night, in some secluded area away from the eyes of Peacekeepers.
Besides, Kota and I needed the money. We were better off than most in our district, considering that our family owned one of the larger ranches, but District 10 was still a vastly poor place and the medicine we needed was too expensive.
Our mother got sick two years ago and we thought it was just a passing thing but when she failed to get better or respond to any of the medication we'd tried, we realized it was something much worse.
So we paid some haughty Capitol doctors who came once a year for a health clinic to look at her and they told us there was something wrong with her heart and the medicine was only available in the damned Capitol.
So, naturally, it cost more than we had and, even with the ranch, we've been struggling to afford it, which makes the racing all the more necessary.
Lark was the one who arranged it all. Every other week or so, whenever he could manage it, the date and location was spread through District 10.
Everyone knew about it, though they pretended not to.
There were nearly two hundred of us that always showed up and although it was supposed to be a quiet event, the older men and women always made it a big ordeal, starting a large bonfire and passing around drinks.
Mieka's father was one of them but it was something that neither of us addressed when we saw one another.
"Dad!" Mieka cried at the sight of him doubled over in laughter at something the man next to him was saying.
He looked up at the sound of Mieka's voice and paled.
"Mia!" He shouted, clearly bewildered. "What are you doing here?"
"What am I doing here?" She roared, marching off toward him, her arms flying up in exasperation. "What are you doing here?"
As she began to berate her father, Kota fought back a grin.
"You didn't have to point that out to her," I said. "She probably never would have noticed."
The corners of his mouth twitched and his green eyes danced with amusement. "I know."
Unlike Kota and I, who had been sneaking out to the races for a few years now, Mieka, who'd I'd been friends with as long as I could remember, had never been to one.
I'd tried to get her to come on multiple occasions before but she was adamantly against it, which was why it was so surprising that Kota had gotten her to come tonight.
"I guess that's my cue," I said, reaching for rope I used to lead Jax.
Kota leaned over to ruffle my hair, because he knew how much I hated when he did.
"Good luck," He said.
Kota used to race but I was faster than him, because I was smaller and lighter, so now he was the one who placed the bets.
There weren't many of us that raced. Nine or ten, usually. It had started out with a larger amount but had wheedled down to the fastest.
I slid my father's boots off, leaving them on the ground because it was easier to ride without them.
I began to lead Jax over to the crowd of people, who were forming a half circle around the starting point, with Kota falling in step beside me, muttering about who else had showed up to race under his breath.
"Why is Arlen here?" He was saying. "He's been last for months. And Bran's horse has a limp. If you don't win, Ro, I may disown you."
"But Theron and Elvira are here," I pointed out.
He waved my comment off. "Jax can outrun their horses in his sleep."
"For someone who has a lot of money riding on this, you're pretty confident," I observed.
I led Jax to a stop beside Ashlar, a boy I recognized from school because of his injured leg that consequently made him walk with a limp, and his horse.
I slipped the bit that Kota handed me into Jax's mouth and adjusted the reins.
Someone shouted for Kota from behind us. A group of boys from his class at school.
"Alright," He said as I pulled myself up onto Jax's back. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do."
"That's terrible advice," I said as I tied my hair up with a ribbon.
Kota only laughed, taking a few steps back as he went to join his friends.
"Just don't lose!" He shouted over the sound of the clamor of people. "Catch you later, kid!"
Then I lost sight of him in the crowd that was forming around us and sighed, turning to face forward just as Theron Halstead shouted something from the other side of Ashlar.
"Rowan!" He shouted. "Mind if I borrow that dress sometime?"
"Shove off, Halstead," I called back as Lark materialized in front of the line of horses, carrying a torch.
"You know the rules!" He shouted. "No foul play! And don't try to cheat yourself out of the course. Talon's at the other end to make sure you turn around there."
There really weren't any rules aside from not pushing anyone off of their horses or sabotaging one another.
Just ride straight, turn around and try to cross the finish line first.
Judging by the light in the distance, where Talon, one of Lark's friends, was waiting - the race wasn't a very long one.
I shifted on Jax's back, leaning forward and gripping the reins tightly in my hands.
It wasn't a rule but it was generally accepted that none of us would use saddles. The social classes in 10 varied considerably and with regard to that, we all had opted to ride without one - even those, like myself, who had saddles - in order to make the race fairer.
Lark started the countdown and melted back into the crowd, out of the way of the horses that would have ran him down.
The chant was taken up by the rest of the people, who had crowded around the horses, forming lines on both sides.
I could see Kota, next to a fuming Mieka, and he shot me an enthusiastic thumbs-up.
Then the countdown ended in a roar of cheers and shouts as we all flew forward.
The thundering of hooves slamming against the hard earth was deafening.
Clouds of dust billowed around us and I had to squint to be able to see Theron, just ahead of me.
The light in the distance was growing closer and I couldn't see Ashlar beside me anymore.
"Come on," I pleaded with Jax.
Theron reached the boundary moments before I did and had shot back toward the line as I reached Talon.
I cursed under my breath as I took off after him.
I took a deep breath, leaning further forward and squeezing my legs into Jax's sides as he picked up speed. The momentum it whipped the ribbon out of my hair, sending my hair flying behind me with the force of the wind.
I could see the end of the race, a line marked by two barrels.
Jax rocketed forward and suddenly, we were neck and neck with Theron.
I pressed my toes down further and then Jax was inching ahead, unearthing chunks of dirt around us by the force of his hooves digging into the ground.
And then, for just a few moments, the world blended into a muted blur of sound and color.
It was only this. It was always this.
I was the wind. I was flying.
I wanted to laugh and cry all at once. The feeling was intoxicating.
I hadn't realized I was grinning until we shot past Theron, charging for the finish line where I pulled back on the reins and Jax skidded to a stop.
First to finish.
It was only then that I became aware of the sound of the crowd's tumult of shouting and screaming, pulling away from the state of determination I'd been in.
And then Kota was there, pulling me into a hug as soon as I slid off of Jax.
Kota was saying something that I couldn't discern with the uproar of the people around us, who were still cheering on the rest of the riders.
I looked up just as Ashlar finished fourth, after Elvira.
Kota had taken to shouting something at a boy I didn't recognize, who glumly handed him a pile of wrinkled bills he pulled from his pocket.
After the last horse crossed the finish line, the crowd exploded in a frenzy of movement, collecting and handing out money and shouting after one another.
I wasn't as social as Kota, who was already plunged into the center of a crowd of people, laughing loudly at a comment Lark made, so I walked Jax over to the edge of the circle, sitting beside him for a while as he ate grass.
Eventually, those who were more wary about being caught had since cleared away and the crowd had dwindled to a few dozen, maybe fifty or so, who settled in small groups around the large bonfire blazing in the center.
It was things like this that made me believe the Peacekeepers had to know about all of this. It was blatantly obvious that something was going on by the noise and the bright blaze of the flames but nobody ever bothered us about it.
I knew a few of them partook in it themselves. I'd seem them a few times, but they went to great lengths to conceal it.
As I made my way toward the group, I nearly bumped into Mieka, who was staring at the spectacle around us with wide eyes as a few men lined empty bottles up on a propped up log and took turns trying to knock them off with knives.
It was a game Kota and I had grown up playing. My mother had hated it, but we would still spend hours trying to see who could hit the most bottles.
"This is absurd," Mieka commented and the light from the flames twisting out of the nearby barrels made her red hair look like fire. "I can't believe you do this."
I bit back a smile, nodding at the men throwing knives. "Want to play?"
"No," She cried in astonishment. "I certainly do not want to play -,"
But I had already grabbed her arm and dragged her along.
"Rowan!" One of them called, a hand on my family's ranch named Thom. He lifted his drink toward me, in a sloppy imitation of a toast. "You just made me rich, girl. I could kiss you!"
"Please, don't," I said, squeezing around him. My remark was met with a roar of laughter by the cluster of men.
"Mieka wants to play," I announced with a grin, pulling her in front of me.
"No, I really don't -," She started to say but Thom laughed and pressed a knife in his hand.
"Of course you do!" He called out with a grin. "Alright little lady, you can be on my team. You're up."
Mieka looked at me, her face contorted with horror.
I shooed her forward. "Go on, make friends."
As Thom set up a row of bottles, someone nudged my shoulder.
Kota had had too much to drink and I wrinkled my nose at him.
He looked past me, to where Mieka looked stupefied, gaping at the bottles, and burst into laughter.
"Well, go on!" Thom shouted at her.
Mieka looked from the knife in her hand and then back at him.
"How do I hit it?" She asked.
The men gathered around the game roared with laughter. Mieka scowled at them.
"Just aim and throw!" Thom instructed. "It's as easy as riding a bike."
"I've never ridden a bike," Mieka cried in exasperation.
Thom's brows knit together, before he shrugged. "Ah, well. What's the difference, really? You'll be great. Just go for it."
Mieka, looking characteristically uncomfortable, fumbled with a moment of indecision before taking a deep breath, squaring her shoulders and sending it flying toward the bottles.
She looked away in fright as soon as it left her hand, squeezing her eyes and turning her head away.
It flew toward Thom, narrowly missing his ear. He shouted something and fell backwards.
"Did I make it?" Mieka asked in a small voice, opening her eyes.
"Yeah," Thom said, clambering to his feet, the knife in his hand. "If it was my head you were trying to hit."
Mieka's shoulders slumped and she sighed in obvious annoyance.
"This is stupid," She said, marching toward the bottles. She pulled the knife from Thom's grip and reached out and slashed at the bottles. They all fell to the ground and shattered.
"That's cheating!" One of the men yelled out. "Foul play."
Mieka shrugged. "I didn't cheat. I just made it easier."
She pressed the knife back into Thom's grip and then stormed toward me. "I hate this game. Let's leave."
"But Mia, you're a natural," Kota protested with a grin.
Mieka ignored him. "What do you see in that game anyway?"
I shrugged. "It can be fun."
Kota threw an arm over my shoulder.
"Ella and I are on a thirteen month winning streak," He boasted.
"Then you two clearly need to find some other hobbies," She snapped. "Other than throwing pointy things at empty bottles."
"But I like throwing pointy things at empty bottles," I defended. "Also, I can ride a bike."
Mieka pressed the knife into my hand. "You go then, if you're so fantastic."
I shrugged and spun to face Thom, holding out a handful of bills as a wager. "I bet you double or nothing that I can take them all out in one go."
"I know you're good, Ro. But you're not that good," He snorted. "I'll take that bet."
I grinned, turning and facing the line of bottles, bouncing on the balls of my feet as I lined up the shot.
"Can you actually do that?" Kota inquired.
I shrugged. "No - I don't know. I was just being cocky."
I curved my wrist, throwing the knife in a violent arc to the side. In a sheer moment of dumb luck, it careened into the bottle on the edge with enough force that, like dominos, the rest toppled down. I'd been imagining something much more impressive but shrugged, deciding to act like that was my intention.
I threw my hands up in victory and Kota let out a cheer, running over to high-five me.
The men all stopped to stare at me and then Thom and then back at me before bursting out in laughter.
"I've been practicing," I told Thom sweetly as I held my palm out and he grudgingly dropped some bills in it.
Mieka scoffed, folding her arms over her chest in a display of obvious annoyance.
"I'm going to pretend that I am not annoyed," Mieka scowled. "And say that we should go."
"Alright," I said with a half-laugh. "I'll get Jax and -,"
"What?" Kota intoned. "But we just got here."
"Three hours ago," I said as Kota opened his mouth to say something else, I grabbed his shirt and started to lead him away. "Oh, come on. We've made Mieka hate us long enough."
Kota sighed but didn't protest as I pulled him away, stopping to jog over and grab Jax before joining Mieka and Kota again.