The Rebel Victor | I [THG]

Chapter Three| The Mentor

|AUTHORS' NOTE|

Silent readers...tsk-tsk. Please leave me some feedback guys!

Get ready now you guys, things are going to start getting way more exciting!

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Goodbyes were brief, more brief than they were for other tributes. Only two people came to say goodbye to her, Jensen and Rosa. Jensen embraced her into a hug as soon as he had a chance, a hug that felt different than most. Quinn could feel that he was positive she wouldn't win. Rosa was speechless, but she never spoke that much in the first place. But a simple hug from her was all Quinn needed for a goodbye.

"I'm sure you'll do fine." Jensen assured her, "You'll have Mags or Finnick as a mentor after all--they're Capitol favorites." he explained as Rosa let go of Quinn.

Quinn forced herself to nod in agreement. The two of them were Capitol favorites, their tributes were always some of the favorites. But then again, most of the other tributes had some potential. If she had any potential at all it would be her speaking skills, before Mags had her stroke, she had told Quinn multiple times that she had a wonderful way with words when she got into the mood for speaking her mind. But what good would that be in the arena that was full of other tributes who wanted to go home?

Suddenly there was a sharp tap on the door to signal that their time was up. Jensen and Rosa both gave Quinn a thoughtful, apologetic look--a look that seemed to tell her that they had just as little hope in a victory for herself as she did. Then the two of them turned and left the room, just as they left, a peacekeeper stepped into the room to escort her to the train.

The exact train that had taken other tributes to the Capitol...the same train that returned from the Capitol with one tribute left. The train seemed endless, it was sleek and the polished steel shimmered in the sunlight. There were long windows, but they all had curtains drawn across them. Quinn had never been so close to the train, at least that she could remember. She had never even been on the train platform.

A few steps behind her was her district partner with another peacekeeper. Arkon Pency was about her age, if not a year or so older. He was tall and he had a thin face with dull brown eyes, and strawberry blonde hair. The two of them only glanced at each other, they had nothing to say...they knew that neither or one of them would live and they would have to talk in a few hours anyway.

The doors to the train slid open, and Quinn and Arkon were quickly hurried into the train as the people from District Four began to arrive at the platform to see them off. Inside the train...it didn't even look like a train. There was a long table that had a white table cloth on it with dishes set out but no food. There were crystal light fixtures, and a vase on the table with white roses in it.

"Welcome aboard," a door slid open at the end of the train car and Finnick Odair revealed himself. He wore a black jacket over a dark gray shirt. "Nice, isn't it?" he smiled as he looked at the two tributes and then the peacekeepers. "I think I can handle these two." he stated after a moment when the peacekeepers didn't look like they were about to leave. One of them mumbled something under his breath as they both turned and stepped off the train, allowing the doors to close tightly behind them.

"So who's got the pleasure of having you as a mentor, Mr. Odair?" Arkon asked, a bit of hopefulness in his voice. Finnick was the heartthrob of the Capitol. He could tell any woman in the Capitol to jump and they'd ask how high. So asking for sponsors for his tribute was easy.

Finnick lifted a hand and pointed to Quinn, "You're stuck with me, Quinn Maverick. Arkon Pency, you've got Mags..." he said motioning over his shoulder with his thumb back to the door that he had entered through. "She may not be able to talk, but she's still a great mentor."

Arkon glanced down at Quinn, and then back at Finnick and nodded. "Thanks..." he said simply as he went on his way to meet his mentor and leaving Quinn and Finnick in the train car.

Finnick didn't say anything at first, he only pulled out a chair at the table and took a seat. Quinn took a seat as well, and when she looked up at Finnick she had a sinking feeling in the very pit of her stomach. She had always wondered how these meetings went, every mentor knew that there was a good chance that their tribute would be dead soon. But there was something about having someone like Finnick, someone she had known for awhile being the one to help her in the arena.

"I'm glad you're my mentor." she stated out loud, "Mags is great and all..but I know you a bit more than I know her..."

Finnick sighed heavily, the young and energetic Finnick that had welcomed them onto the train was gone. He was replaced with a serious Finnick who looked older than twenty-three. "My job isn't to be your friend anymore, princess," he stated, "It's to get you home."

The statement was a lot more bitter than she had expected. But then again she shouldn't have expected Finnick to act the same as he always had...he was a mentor.

"I know that, but I already know that I won't--"

He held up a hand as if to silence her as the doors to the car opened and a girl with brown hair pulled back into a ponytail walked in. She wore all white, and her lips here pale pink while her skin was just as pale. Her eyes could have been blue or green, but Quinn couldn't really tell because her eyes looked downward. In her hand she held a silver pitcher that had steam billowing out of the top. She first grabbed the white mug by Finnick's set of dishes and poured steaming hot coffee into it. Quinn had never had coffee before, but she had always liked the smell. The avox then reached for Quinn's and filled hers as well. Then she pushed a small bowl towards them and then pushed a smaller pitcher towards them too before she went on to the next car to serve Arkon and Mags.

"She's new..." Finnick sighed, "Anyway--" he said as he picked a few sugar cubes up from the bowl and dropped them in his mug. "Don't give up before the games even begin."

"But there's nothing I can do, Finnick." she pointed out.

He didn't disagree, "Yeah, but...you can be the one that people love. The defenseless tribute that every Capitol person will just want to take home and give a nice meal to." he explained, "The games aren't all about skill, Quinn. Skill helps, of course, but skill doesn't help if you don't have a personality that sponsors like or can relate to."

"So you think I should basically just play the part of the scared, weak tribute?" she asked as she hesitantly took some sugar cubes and put them in her coffee like Finnick had done. "That shouldn't be hard to do..."

Finnick sighed as he took a drink of his coffee, "And you can also use the small pox to your advantage since your whole family died of it." he stated and then thought for a moment.

Quinn took that moment to take a sip of her first cup of coffee. And suddenly the smell wasn't as great as she thought. Because the taste was bitter and acidic.

"Put some cream in it, maybe some more sugar." Finnick said pushing the smaller pitcher towards her. "You get used to the taste." he said as she took his advise and added cream and sugar to her coffee. "Don't be surprised if they bring up your brother either."

Quinn looked up at him sharply, "I barely knew him."

"Yeah, but they don't know that." he replied, "All you'll have to do is talk about how great of a brother he was, how heartbroken your family was when he died...if you do it right, you'll be a Capitol favorite for sure."