"Alice! The instructions were to keep throwing until you used all your knives! Why did you stop?" Enobaria yelled. I turned to her my face contorted with frustration and surprise, my hands were gushing blood from grabbing the blades and I had a slash on my cheek from a careless knife handling. Jake's stomach growled halfway through the stare down between me and Enobaria. "Dismissed Anderson!" Enobaria barked and Jake hurriedly rushed out of the cart.
As soon as Jake disappeared, I unleashed my anger. "Why are you picking on me? Oh, because I'm Snow's daughter?" I snapped pointing to Enobaria staining her trainer suit in blood. The train ride wasn't halfway over and I was already hating my mentor.
Enobaria sighed and pursed her lips tightly together. "Alice. I need you to be able to toughen up, be strong" Enobaria said in a soft voice that I had never heard. She led me over gently to the sink and rinsed my hands, I watched as the red liquid faded away off my hands and down the drain of the pretty white glass bowl. "The sponsors least favorite tribute is automatically you, you won't be able to depend on them. This is why I need to make you the strongest tribute out there". I nodded in agreement because even though it hurt, it was the truth, the sponsors hated me.
I nodded and continued listening to her talk as she bandaged my scarred hands. "I understand that it isn't fair that you have to work twice as hard as your fellow tributes but its how it is. But your strong, skilled, and smart, I can tell you that much". I smiled and when Enobaria extended her arms out I went right into them. I snuggled into her arms crying silently because no one had cared about me after my grand father's execution. "I'm going to help you win" Enobaria whispered in my ear, "I promise Alice".
After the rich dinner, Enobaria and I snuck out to the caboose of the train. Enobaria being experienced on coaching knife throwers coming from District 2 gave me a handful of advice but no matter what she said my knives hit the target just slightly off. Finally, after a few hours of throwing in vain, I collapsed on the ground in exhaustion.
"You're distracted" Enobaria stated after studying my face, "What's bothering you?".
"I just feel like no matter how hard I try, even if I do hit the target. The gamekeepers will make sure I die first and in the most torturous way," I mumbled.
Enobaria sighed, "Concentrate on the bulls-eye" she instructed and my eyes followed her finger. "This knife your holding is your weapon, the target is all your troubles. You just want them to go away, to rot and disappear, but the only way you can do that is by stabbing them with this knife".
I followed her analogy and my the insides of me flamed with all the anger that was sealed away for all these months. My hand tightened on the knife blade and my eyes concentrated on the target. Then all of a sudden all my anger flashed before me on the target board. My grandfather's death, Katniss Everdeen, The Capitol Games, Killing people in the games, losing the games, dying, winning, living a solitary life. I wanted everything to stop, my eyes twitched once more with anger before the knife left my hand and slammed into the target board in the center.
"See!" Enobaria said with excitement, "I promised I would help you win".
For the first time since the reaping, a surge of confidence filled me. I didn't need Enobaria's promise to win, I would make myself a blood oath that I would win. I had to win, to destroy everything I hated and bring justice to my grandpa, my family, and myself.