Road to Glory {D1 Train 95th}

Road to Glory {D1 Train 95th} Oct 4, 2023 19:51:28 GMT -5

Post by Jorg on Oct 4, 2023 19:51:28 GMT -5

Sacrifice boards the train, hoping to shed the screaming match she just had with her mother.

"I did not name you that absurd name, so why the hell would you walk up there when your name wasn't called?"

"Check the damn blood samples they take when we line up, Mother. There is no mistaking that it's me. I don't know how the hell they knew about that name, but it doesn't matter anyway; it's not like anyone volunteered for me, unlike they did with that Nobody kid."

"When you get back, Andromeda, you and I will have long conversations about what you've been hiding from me."

"If I get back, mother."

"You may not be a damn, brutish career, but I taught you how to throw parties. I taught you how to charm those who hold power. I taught you ways of surviving to ensure that others give you what you need. You better damn well use those skills to get sponsors."

Sacrifice hated when her mother was right, but even she had to admit that that was a good strategy. But granted, there was no question about it either. She was coming home. At least, that's what her mother declared. She had to admit, though, even though she was only pissed off, it was nice to have her mother's support.

On the train ride to the Capitol, she sits in the train car with the girl who volunteered, who didn't even bother to give her name. Sacrifice can only assume that the girl has a Career, but why was she acting like this was a television show she could come home from once filming was done? She was an odd one, Sacrifice decided. But it might not hurt to have a Career on her side, at least on her side, until their hands were forced. She thinks back on everything she saw in One, all of the TV shows and entertainment from Saturn City. The various texts about the history of the Games, because even if she wasn't a Career, the history of the Games was still taught, and Career bloodlines still hold some weight.

"Arcadia! That's her name!" Sacrifice thinks to herself as she grabs a snack from the table. She thinks about approaching this conversation and bringing forward the idea of, well, maybe not an entire alliance but a deal where they don't kill each other immediately. Her mother trained her to be the perfect hostess, the perfect image of what it means to be a socialite from the wealthiest District outside of the Capital. So, how does she break the ice?

"So Arcadia," Sacrifice starts to speak before having a fully formulated plan. "What do you hope to gain by winning the Games? People would think that you are already enough, no?"

Fuck, that came out wrong.

ELEGANT

Road to Glory {D1 Train 95th} Oct 12, 2023 8:13:20 GMT -5

Post by ines izar d11a 🖤 cait on Oct 12, 2023 8:13:20 GMT -5

a r c a d i a

After the longest farewell party in the history of probably ever, I finally make it onto the train. The Peacekeepers came to pull me away three times without success before finally caving and leaving me to say my goodbyes in peace. By the time the visitor line had dissipated, enough time had passed that I was half convinced the train would have left without me. But of course that wasn’t the case – luckily or unluckily, honestly, I’m still trying to figure that out. Everything still feels so surreal. The past hour doesn’t feel like it happened to me at all – it’s the strangest out of body experience and it’s kinda making me feel a bit woozy.

I raid the sparkling water from the fridge and gulp it down quickly before flopping into one of the many empty chairs in our allocated train compartment. Sacrifice is the only other one in the room, which doesn’t really surprise me. The District One Victors are notorious for going M.I.A when the Games come around. Maybe that’s why we haven’t had a Victor in almost fifteen years. I wonder what better things dearest Justice has to attend to that would rank more important than catching up with his little cousin, but it’s honestly probably been years since I even saw half of the rest of the family. He probably doesn’t even know my name, truthfully.

For a family that’s supposedly as renowned as ours, that’s kind of a sad thought.

I’m about to mention the obvious lack of mentors to Sacrifice, but unfortunately, she doesn’t seem like she’s in much of a talkative mood. Maybe she’s pissed off that I kept her waiting so long.

All I have to say to that is: oops!

I’m in my head, weighing up the pros and cons of being the first one to break the silence. I don’t have a problem with striking up a conversation with a stranger, but this girl has also literally just been told she’s going to die in a few short weeks.

Not to mention she’s probably just finished crying her eyes out in the Justic Building and is more than likely exhausted.

Not to mention the last thing she probably wants to do is make small talk with the enemy.

All very reasonable.

Taking an oath of silence seems like the best way to go, so I take another sip of my sparkling water and turn to the television screen in front of me to watch the replays of the other Reapings.

The quiet lasts exactly seven more seconds before it finally breaks.

“So Arcadia, what do you hope to gain by winning the Games? People would think that you already have enough, no?”

Oh.

Rude!

But hey, I’m an understanding gal! I don’t take myself too seriously and I approach the world in a similar way. And I guess my reputation precedes me; I can’t blame her for her prejudice. So I don’t get mad, like I probably should. Instead, I turn to her, warmth settling in my eyes, a playful smile on my lips.

“I mean, isn’t it obvious? The fame and the glory, of course!” My voice drips with saccharine sarcasm, but honestly, my answer isn’t far from the truth. It was almost expected that if your last name was of significance, you’d end up in the Games at one point or another. Surely Sacrifice knew that. Surely she understood I was merely fulfilling my duty as the youngest Lumiere-Fray sibling.

I was making the family proud.

But names are complex things. Just ask the girl who doesn’t have a last name to call her own what she thinks about legacies like mine – I bet she probably has a thing or two to add to that discussion.

“Sacrifice. That’s an interesting name. Is there a story behind it?”