▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄

SHALL WE RISE?

act one. 

(chapter nineteen, she is numb inside and out)

tribute centre / city circle, 2304.

▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄

A SOFT YELLOW LIGHT was the first thing that Valencia saw when her eyes fluttered open, looking around the room as she tried to adjust to the sight before her. She was lying in a bed, a thick blanket pulled up to her chest. There was no windows or doors in the room and it smelt sharp with a hint of disinfectant. 

Valencia sat up in the bed and started to inspect herself. She didn't trust the Capitol people, but when she studied her right arm and found not even a scar from when Clara threw a knife at her, she had to look back twice. A portion of the wall slid open and a doctor in sterile white walked through

"You've been out a few days, Miss Barlowe," they said, a clipboard in their hands as they wrote down some notes. "That sedative that we gave you was very strong... too strong I think."

"Where am I?" Valencia breathed as she averted her attention from her bicep to the person in the room. 

"You are in the Training Centre." The doctor sighed as they looked up from their clipboard. "You won the Games, Miss Barlowe... we took care of your injuries and you should be fine to go and see Mr Commie."

"Commie's here?"

"Get dressed, there's clothes here for you," the doctor told her as they left the room, leaving Valencia alone.

As she swung her leg out from her bed and stood up, she expected herself to be shaky, but when she walked over to the other side of the room, she was perfectly strong and stable. She kept staring at her bicep, moving her hand around on her cheek where Agnes's nail marks should have been, but her skin felt smooth whenever she brushed her fingertips on it. 

Valencia tried to find a pair of clothes to wear, freezing when she saw what the doctor was talking about. Her attire from the arena was folded neatly into a pile by the end of her bed, but there was no way Valencia was wearing that and so she picked out the undergarments and long sleeved t-shirt that were underneath the puffer jacket and quickly slipped them on with the trousers.

After a minute of trying to figure out how to open the invisible door, Valencia finally stepped out into a deserted, long hall. She looked around and when she saw Commie, Ezra, and Delphine standing in a big chamber at the end of it, Valencia slowly went walking to them. She didn't know if they were mutts that the Capitol had created, didn't know if she truly was still in the arena and it was a dream, but she flinched when Commie let out a barking laugh.

"It's all right," he said as he slowly walked towards her, meeting her in the middle as she surveyed him. "It's us... we're not some mutts."

"That's something a mutt would say..." Valencia muttered cautiously.

"You know, I find it very offensive that you're calling me a mutt." Commie chuckled.

Valencia blinked three times before running into the older man's arms, burying her head into his chest as she felt him run a hand up and down her back. Commie chuckled softly as he leant his chin on the top of her head.

"You did it, Lennie," he told her when he released himself from her grasp, holding her by the shoulders. "You did it."

"Oh, sweetie!" Delphine sobbed as she trotted over to her, arms wide as she took her softly into her arms. "I knew you could do it... I knew it."

As Valencia gave the escort a thin-lipped smile, she released herself from her grasp as she walked over to Ezra, who took her in his arms, but didn't say anything. He just kept rubbing her back as he held her head.

"You've been out for a few days," Commie told Valencia when she took a step back from her stylist. "They're doing the ceremony today... I told them wait a few days because you've just woken up, but the Capitol was persistent."

"So I wake up and I have to face Caesar Flickerman soon after?"

"Yeah, we can't do much about that." Commie sighed. "Apparently the sedative they gave you was too strong—"

"I don't blame them," Valencia interrupted. "I did try and kill one of the doctors."

Commie shook his head as he sighed, Delphine looking appalled. Ezra was trying to hold in a laugh, but Valencia didn't notice as she tried to look around for a certain someone. 

"Where's Terry?"

Commie winced as he rocked on his heels, looking up at the ceiling as Delphine fidgeted uncomfortably.

"Terry... isn't here," Commie told Valencia. "He... well, I'm not sure how to put this lightly, but he didn't want to see you."

"He didn't want to see me?"

"Your brother is a very complicated person, Lennie. He's mourning Bigfoot," Commie said. "I'm sorry... but you won't see him until after the ceremony."

Valencia furrowed her eyebrows as she tried to process that her own brother didn't want to see her. The image that he was probably drunk hanging out with some random Capitol women and crying over Silas made Valencia boil with rage as she was escorted away by Ezra, who wrapped a protective arm around her shoulder.

He guided her down a few passages and then to an elevator that led to the lobby of the Training Centre. The windows were darkened and Peacekeepers stood on duty as the two swept across the floor and into the tribute elevator. Valencia's eyes glanced at the different numbers on the panel when Ezra hit nine. The numbers four and eleven seemed like hideous monsters to her.

When the elevator door opened, the pastel trio immediately swarmed around her. They all chattered over the top of each other as Aria nearly began to weep. Ezra had to be the one to stop their talking, but they all individually patted her on the back and gave her tight hugs. 

Valencia nearly sobbed when they led her into the dining room, where there was a proper meal of roast chicken, boiled potatoes with herbs, and peas laid out. She, however, was only allowed a very small plate of it and she soon scoffed it down in seconds. She didn't realise how truly hungry she had been. Valencia hadn't had a proper meal in days.

"Oh, we barely have to do anything with you," said Bette as they led her back into her room, Ezra disappearing. "They did a full body polish..."

As Valencia stared at her naked body in the mirror, she realised that she looked incredibly different than what she did just a few weeks ago. Her ribs were easily on show and she had lost a bit of the curves that she had on her hips. And her eyes. Her eyes looked like they were dead. The Games had pulled out all life that was in them.

Valencia felt numb as they showered her and started to work on her looks. Aria continuously spoke about how well she had done in the Games as she did her hair, Mateo gushed about different events that had happened as he painted her nails, and Bette told Valencia how nearly everyone in the Capitol was shouting her name when it came down to the top two. Valencia did not reply to any of them. She was too dead inside. 

Soon, Ezra came walking in with a pastel green dress in his hands. The prep team left and it was just Valencia and her stylist in the room. Ezra sighed as he saw the look on her face.

"I know you're tired," he said as he began to slip the dress over her head. "And I'm so sorry that you have to do the ceremony right after you wake up."

"I just want this over and done with," Valencia muttered as Ezra helped her into a pair of white flats.

Valencia couldn't help but stare when she saw herself in the mirror. The fabric itself was a sheer, pastel green that was loose and graceful. There was white straps with large ribbons of the same colour consisting of lace that were on her shoulders. The pale green corset was tight around Valencia's waist and the neckline showed a bit of her chest, making her feel more exposed than the other dresses that Ezra gave her.  Valencia nearly puked when she saw little silvery hearts dotting around the fabric. 

Her makeup was very minimal, her lips painted with a light pink whilst her eyes were dusted with some silver. There was no eyeliner and very small amount of blush. Her hair was tied up in a low ponytail, her locks wavy and shiny as if a hairbrush was ran through multiple times.

"I was given orders to make you seem less... intimidating." Ezra sighed from behind her. "But they still want you to act like you did back at your interview."

Valencia nodded as she realised that the attire made her look like a little girl, like she was harmless. But Valencia knew that they would look back at clips from the Games and it would show how deadly she actually was. 

Ezra led her to the elevator and they rode down to the level where the tributes were trained. It was tradition for the Victor and their support team to rise from beneath the stage. The prep team went first, then the escort, the stylist, the mentor, and then the Victor. Valencia bit her tongue as she was placed on a metal plate, the roar of the crowd echoing even from where she was. And suddenly, the Capitol Anthem started to play and Valencia was transported back to the arena where she would watch the fallen tributes. Her head began to spin as Caesar greeted the audience. 

The crowed applauded as the pastel trio were introduced and Valencia could only imagine them chattering away. Then Delphine was introduced. She had waited six long years for this moment and Valencia did truly hope she was enjoying herself. When Ezra was brought on stage, the crowd roared and whistled for about three minutes until Caesar quieted them down. Apparently, Ezra had become somewhat of a fashion icon in the Capitol whilst Valencia was fighting for her life in the arena. When Commie appeared, Valencia winced as she heard how loud the crowd clapped. Commie definitely would be chuckling away. He hadn't been interviewed since Antares's Games. They all hadn't been, even the prep team who were originally Antares's.

Valencia's heart began to seize as she felt the plate lift up onto the stage. She had been asleep not only a few hours ago and now she was expected to put on a comedic act. Her hands began to tremble as she appeared on stage. 

She was momentarily blinded by the lights that beamed into her eyes, temporarily deaf by the thunderous stomps and screams the crowd gave out. Valencia began to pant as she stared at Caesar, who's arm was spread out to introduce her, his voice fuzzy as she saw that the District Nine crew all sat in chairs. Commie raised his eyebrows at her as he nudged his head in the direction of Caesar. Valencia swallowed a lump in her throat as she forced herself to put on a smirk and walk over to the host.

Caesar gave her a long hug before letting her sit down in the Victor's chair, which always looked quite ornate. Caesar made a few jokes to the crowd before the lights dimmed and the Capitol seal appeared on the screen. The show was going to begin and it was mandatory for all of Panem to watch. It normally lasted three hours.

Valencia tried to control her breathing, feeling a sense of panic as she watched her face appear in a box in the corner of the screen. She tried to put on a smile and tried to chuckle, but the pounding headache was too overpowering. 

She was sure she forgot to breathe during the first half hour of the show, which focused mainly on the Reaping, the Tribute Parade, the training scores, and the interviews. Valencia nearly cried when she heard the upbeat music that played because everyone that appeared was dead except from her. Everyone was dead and yet somehow, she was the only one to survive.

The moment the footage cut to the arena, Valencia felt Commie's hand slip into hers, which forced her to put on a brave face for the cameras. Valencia squeezed his hand when she saw herself fight with Agnes on the screen, gaining the massive red welts that looked much bigger than she realised. The camera followed Valencia as she rushed through the woods, entering the wastelands for the first time. The footage seemed to have cut straight to where Valencia reached the glaciers and when she looked into her bag. The whole thing seemed rushed, even Rome's death and the two Careers' chasing them. 

Valencia felt numb by the time they reached Donna's death, but that was played in full. Valencia's reaction, the axe in the girl's head, the events that followed afterwards. That was all played in full and Valencia was sure that she had cut off Commie's blood circulation to his hand by the time it finished. 

Things began to pick up when Valencia watched herself fight with Dominica, but then her smile dropped the moment they showed the feast and when she died. The crowd all gasped when they watched Dominica's head tumble off of her body. And then Silas's death came on and Valencia swore she could hear Delphine sob into a tissue. Valencia was a corpse by the time they showed Clara's gruesome death. They didn't show how Valencia nearly killed one of the doctors, however.

When the anthem began to play again, everyone rose when President Snow himself took the stage, followed by a little girl who carried a cushion with a crown on it. Valencia had to let go of Commie's hand as she was required to step to the front of the stage to greet Snow.

The crowd roared and cheered when Valencia stepped beside Snow, who had plucked the crown from the cushion. His face was all smiles, but his eyes were deadly as he gently placed the gold crown on Valencia's head.

All Valencia could remember was Snow's eyes as the next few days blew by. The interview with Caesar, the banquet... everything was horrible for Valencia. She had to pretend to be happy and comedic when in fact, the only person she seemed willingly to talk to was Commie. 

Antares was nowhere in sight for those few days that Valencia truly thought that he had caught a train back to Nine. Her rage that she had felt prior was now numbed and she felt nothing. The only emotion she felt was gratitude when she finally stepped onto the train home. And Antares was there. He was on the train and was sitting in the dining cart with a salad in-front of him.

Their reunion did not go to plan because when Valencia first saw him, she plucked a butter knife from the cutlery tray and stalked towards him. She yelled and yelled and was only held back by Commie when she tried to fling the knife at her brother. All Antares could do was apologise repeatedly and even Commie yelled at him. The young man then resorted back to his room and did not go out unless there was a fuel break for the train. 

Valencia was in wrecks for the entire ride back to Nine and only when she saw the grain fields roll into view, she let out a sigh of relief.