𝐇𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐆𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬: 𝐁𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬 ✔️

Chapter 1 - Lacie

A/N - Each chapter, I'll leave a picture up top of one of the characters. If you're a fan of the Fire Emblem series, you'll recognize these pictures, but bear with me. If you want to picture any of the characters in a different way, go right ahead :)

^A picture of Lacie!

Also, I usually read Wattpad on my laptop, but if you're reading on your phone, you can tap the header image to see the full image (sometimes it's cut off on mobile)!

~

The District 4 town square is packed. With my small frame, I find myself getting thrown around by the tall people around me. People are beginning to get excited - District 4 actually has a good shot at winning this year. Despite the massive crowd, I can still see the screen at the front of the square.

On the screen, I can see District 4's tribute, Roman Murdock, sprinting through the forest. His face is covered in soot and the trees all around him are burning. He glances around frantically and sprints ahead as a cannon shot booms. Suddenly, a fireball spews out of the trees behind him, hurtling directly at his exposed back. The crowd screams, but luckily, Roman glances back in time, throwing himself out of the way as it passes over him.

At the front of the crowd is Roman's family. He has an older sister who I think is above Reaping age now. She is holding the youngest sibling, a little girl who must be about 8 years old. Roman's younger brother, Soren, stands with him. He's in my year at school, although I've never talked to him directly.

I hear Lydia, this year's Announcer, speaking over the footage of the Games. Ross, the Host, is with her as well.

"With Opal out of the picture, District 1's run has come to an end," Lydia reports. That must have been the cannon shot we heard.

"This is it, folks: our last two tributes. It's all down to Celica from District 7 and Roman from District 4," Ross tells us. He looks ecstatic, as does Lydia. It makes me feel slightly nauseous to think about how the Capitol citizens feel right now - how exciting this moment is for them. It's certainly not exciting for Celica or Roman. One of them is going to be killed, never heard from again. In the Games, second place is no consolation prize.

Roman bursts through the burning canopy to the central area surrounding the Cornucopia. He glances around quickly, spotting Celica. She has her long red hair tied into two messy braids. Roman sighs before sprinting towards her. The volume of the crowd increases as the two tributes approach each other. Celica's pant leg is stained with blood from where it was slashed earlier in the Games, and she is leaning heavily on the other leg. She also has blood running down her forehead as well.

According to my calculations, Roman should come out on top easily. I'm somewhat well-known among the District citizens for my mathematical predictions. Extremely intelligent individuals are hard to find in a fishing District like District 4, so I'm somewhat of a rare find. In the last five years, I've predicted four of the Victors correctly, and I have an 88% accuracy in predicting the top four tributes, so lots of adults look to me to see if our tributes are projected to win. Celica always had a slight edge on Roman, but especially with her injuries, Roman should be able to cruise to victory.

Celica takes out a long sword as Roman does the same. The two clash metal against metal as they collide.

The fight takes longer than expected. Celica pins Roman to the ground, but he quickly knocks her aside. After a long sparring match between them, Celica finally loses her grip on her sword as Roman readies himself for the final blow.

The crowd erupts into cheers as Roman stands, a distant look on his face as he drops his bloody weapon. I'm not one for silliness, but I allow myself a smile. Once again, my calculations didn't fail me. Maybe when I grow up I can get a job as an analyst in the Capitol.

I can barely hear the broadcast over the crowd as Lydia announces the Victor. "Panem, give it up for the Victor of the 124th Hunger Games... Roman Murdock from District 4!"

~

There's Chapter 1! What do we think about Lacie and all the other characters we met in this chapter?

Thank you so much to anyone who's read this far! This is my first published story so any support means the world to me!

See you in the next one-

~S