Liar Liar, Pants on Fire, Hanging on the Panem-Damned Wires.
Attention. All the attention I had ever wanted was in my grasp, in my reach. Attention is to bloom as the largest rose while the other flowers in the garden are forced to wither.
All this attention is for me since I won; I got it with honeyed words and a mask. A Lie.
So many lies.
"And now for the 10th Quell Reading…."
All of my fellow Victors watched with bated breath, anticipation. Me? I couldn't care less.
"On the 475th Anniversary, to remind the rebels that Victor's loyalties lie with Panem, tributes will be selected from those with close bonds of any kind to the current pool of Victors. Victors themselves are barred from competing."
...
The men were next, the women's race victor sitting next to Fiora, her connection and selected mentor.
Dahlia is quick to pull the trigger…and then they were off.
My own race seemed more harrowing than whatever mess was going on down there this year. Instead of the finest plucked from the Academy is men of every age and year.
Many races pass by, yet when I close my eyes, I only imagine mine from just a year ago.
Eager to win. To bring glory? No.
Security. Something I wanted to, no, had to get in the Games.
None of the other boys in my class could outwit my own steps. Some tried to trip me like others that were left behind but all they were met with was karma.
Pretty faces planted in the ground, others running out of steam; I remember the shadow of a smirk curling onto my face as the race had continued on.
The last leg only had eight boys left, frantic to get to the stage: myself, five unknowns, a very bitter Zephan, and-
"Ahhh, we have a winner! Well done, well done!"
I look down to see defeat, many men lying down on the roads or losing their breath as they did the race.
If these men proved to be not fit for the win, then who was?
"Might I have your name good sir?"
"O-Of course, miss."
Wait...That voice. Where did I-?
I regret looking up at the stage.
"My name is Matteo Roccocas."
...Oh...Oh HELL no.
A heart I broke and left in the dust last year.
The mask on my face was frozen with an unreadable smile. But inside?
Anger. Dread. And a cracking twinge of something else.
But I couldn't care. I wouldn't care. The limelight would still be mine even after this stunt.
Liar.
...
Two sets of eyes met us as we both boarded the train; all I could give was a smile.
"So, you're Miss Era and Mr Razeen?"
"Oh, Razeen is rather formal for this occasion; please call me Raz!"
Farah Diamant and Carmond Knowles were rather refined for being older mentors, but they were at least courteous…well, Mr Carmond was at least.
"Well well, fine and dolled up in your speech, aren't you?"
His voice sounded lower than when he first greeted us, but I couldn't exactly pinpoint if it was genuine. Then again, rumor had it most of them were like this so I wouldn't be surprised if it was true.
Farah was quite focused on the woman next to me; small, forgettable, and all; Her fellow victor didn't question it.
…how interesting.
"We're a bit out of…'touch' with the new Academy mumbo jumbo, so we're gonna do this the old-fashioned way."
"Not this again…"
"On the count of three, you're both gonna tell me your strengths, weaknesses, and your preferred weapon. Aaaand go!"
He turned to the plain one, only to be met with silence. Or rather, silence with a wandering gaze going everywhere but towards him.
How nonchalant, laughable even.
"Oookay, the mute one's yours then." His wrinkly face turns towards me. "Same drill, same spheal, go!"
Thank Panem I already formed an answer while he was distracted. "Ah, I'm not too bright on some things, but I'm not too shabby with a spear."
A Lie. Academy's top combatant with spears, but they didn't need to know that.
"Not too shabby isn't good enough."
Farah's words were dripping in ice. "You know the standards. The Ca-Panem doesn't like it when Career's are low-par."
"Sub-par, dear."
"Oh hush up, Car!"
Thus their squabbling started. Not even dear Praline's escargot could quell their jabs.
I couldn't focus on their words (they talked rather quick for living past their prime); all I would notice was how Era's eyes wouldn't leave me.
I liked it there.
Matteo's didn't either once we reunited on the train.
Silent as she did yet had eyes that bore into me.
I hate it here.
...
Gorgeous, gallant, shining gold and silver we did. Era and I were the King and Queen that snatched the crowd's favor. No…me.
She wouldn't look at me and I would do the same, show all smiles but never reveal our hand.
This crowd was mine after all.
Training had…no one worth mentioning, either. Nothing but our fellow alliance members. The Capitol tributes had rather garish personalities; Dolly, the female tribute, had baby blue hair that was shaped like needles in a pushpin. Tress-something, her district partner was rather short for his age, with eyes as neon green as my escort's dress. Perhaps spreading gossip about them and see them go at each other's throats could be entertaining to watch…at least until I go in to save the day.
The 2's Tydus and Carmen weren't the brightest bulbs in the box (easy pickings for my strings), while the 4's Marin and Nautic were surprisingly more competent than the 2's and the Capitolites combined. They could be useful later…
Unfortunately, it brought me back to my dear, dear District partner. Era still hasn't talked since we had left the train and seemed to fade in the background whenever I planted myself in the 'scenes' between our alliance members. Something about it itched but I merely shrugged.
That wasn't important. What was important was to soothe poor Tydus after he got his butt kicked by Carmen.
"Tydus, are you all right?"
A few honeyed words and a helping hand seemed to release the tension in his shoulders. The outlier ants kept their distance…good.
"I found some band-
I was met with the wall that is his District Partner instead of his hand.
A guard dog perhaps?
"Carmen, it's fine…"
She looked rather pensive when looking back at the both of us. To my relief she looked back at him with a sigh.
"Ok."
A glimmer of something flicked into her eye before standing back, behind him but keeping her eyes on me. Overbearing much…
But at least I managed to crack away what I could from her 'master' these past few days.
That should do it.
"I'll be rooting for you!"
A glimmer of confusion on his face. "For private sessions, silly!"
Another lie.
Another trap set with a nod.
….
This bastard-
"Why did you instigate a fight with their Capitol tribute?"
Matteo only let out an irritated huff. "Probably too prissed about me not joining the Careers."
Liar.
He's unraveling everything- The gossipers couldn't keep their mouth shut about how Bastion called him low-born and his siblings dust.
Too much stress to the weave, this needed to be pulled back. Thank Panem Fiora was as stressed about this mess as I was…albeit for different reasons.
"Matteo, we have standards to uphold as tributes, no, representatives of District 1. you can't just throw them away due to some low-class pettiness!"
Again with the standards… at least she and his District partner could knock some sense into him, actually listen to her. He looked like he would chew my head off if I said another word…this isn't him. Dahlia took the words right out of my mouth.
"I'm sure you can remedy this by going and apologizing to him!"
You're not helping! Just look at him, he think's you've grown a second head!
"And if he doesn't accept it?"
"Well..." She looked rather lost, but was stubborn enough to keep herself going, "then we'll cross that bridge when we get there!"
My voice was supposed to soothe problems…but all it did was make his eyes roll. At least he was smart enough to keep quiet when she said it.
Finally, we…no, I'm getting this under control…keeping this under wraps by distracting society.
How many appearances did I need to make? I'll make as many cameos and interviews as I could, favors or parties to visit..
I had a mentor and personal reputation to keep up…
...
"Please welcome to the stage, District 1's boy-next-door: Razeen al-Mona!"
Shining in rose gold I drew more threads in. All the cheers, all the whistles, the glittering lights…they were all for me, wrapped around my finger.
Blowing kisses to the men sent the whole crowd scrambling for more but alas I had to keep myself focused.
Win the crowd, win Mr. Melodias, win the Capitol. Simple as that.
"So Raz, how are you liking your stay in the Capitol?"
How easy…
"It's been such a pleasure being here. The view from the apartments is lavish and I wish I could share more of my time here with you!"
Such cheerful applause; just what I liked to hear.
"Oooo that must be wonderful! But are there any particular sights you haven't seen yet? Any that you want to visit if you win?"
The crowd is filled with oozing curiosity; nothing too hard either.
"Well, I've been eager to see some of the cafe's around here; just sitting back to drink coffee and chat with everyone can be a wonderful way to pass the time."
Another lie; Learning people's weaknesses is more my speed. But who cared?
The rest of the interview was filled with questions I didn't bother remembering; all I could remember was Melodias's laughter ringing my ears. How pleasant.
Enticing.
But alas-
"Now a final question before you have to leave us. Is there anyone waiting for you back home? Any family, friends…lovers?"
Hushed squeals filled the audience, whispers threading through the crowd. All of it left me with a boyish giggle.
"Well you see-"
"RAZ!"
Reverie fell from my face, a smile turned to a confused frown. Did I just hear a bug? Must be my imagination. Fiora's sour expression said otherwise.
"What?"
Why is everyone looking at me?
"Don't tell me you didn't see it al-Mona!"
A rewind…to Matteo's glittering blue suit and obnoxiously slicked hair.
And all I saw was red.
"Why…he's my lover. He's just been too shy to admit it to you all." Squeals, shock…
"Ooo, that's so sweet! Tell me all the details, who's the leading man?"
"Well…I can't give too much away but I will say this…he's hiding all the kisses I left on his neck with his turtleneck right now."
...WHAT?!
Spitting, Coughing, almost drowning from it going through the wrong pipe.
THAT….LIAR! WHAT THE HELL-
HE'S GONNA RUIN ME-
Neither of us talked to each other that night.
...
Keep calm, Raz…You're still on the gossip's pulse point. Spin it to your advantage. Think carefully. Speak carefully until Matteo drops dead.
He's not with me. Not with me-
"...You have a penchant for lying, don't you?"
Era's first words to me wouldn't leave my head, but I only looked at her, giving her naive confusion through my mask.
Her words overrode my stylist's encouragement…but they couldn't grasp my own thoughts.
I wouldn't.
Focus on the mask. Focus on survival; to kill out there and make District 1 proud.
Make myself proud.
Survival still rang in my ears by the time the countdown went to 60.
60…
59…
A castle made of cards was what I saw first. Towers as big as Capitol skyscrapers loomed above us while white and black checkerboard floors were interlocked beneath our podiums. Large hedges and locked gates separated us from the outside of the immediate space.
The gaps between all 32 of us were larger than in some years; nothing I couldn't handle.
All that mattered right now was reaching the center.
48…
47…
The nobody outliers were situated on both of my sides. District 3 to my left and District 11 to my right, both looking scared out of their wits.
Cowards weren't they? They'll be dead sooner or later, all the more perfect for me.
36…
35…
The shining jewel of a Cornucopia glittered red this year, filled with as much supplies as one could dream about.
Many would die for it, they made certain of it if the closed gates were something to go by.
24…
Era was 3 podiums to my left, the irritating Capitolite (Tess-something) on her left. Tydus was six spaces to my right while the other annoying Capitolite, Carmen, and the 4's were on the other side of the cornucopia.
Not that I cared. The result would be the same.
13…
Many were faced towards the gates. But they were insignificant.
What mattered was who was heading to the target.
2…
My show…my rise to fame…
1…
Starts NOW.
…
It was a blur. A bloodbath, yet I came out near untouched. No reward for getting my hands too dirty and revealing plans too early, no?
The sonnet of cannon fire was music to my ears, all echoing in sync.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
13, rather lucky I-
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
16? No, it was 13. How the hell was it-?!
….
16 cannons had fired, and we were down one of our own with Fiora's girl.
But Matteo...Matteo that IDIOT. How the hell was he even alive?
And then I saw why. Even in the dark temple caves, splotches of blood were all over his outfit as well as the 8 girl's.
The 8's district partner and the woman from 14's bodies had knives in their back and throat…The Career's message to Matteo.
The intimidating man from 2 however laid closer to the surviving group members. His body was cold, unmoving, neck twisted…
Matteo's handiwork.
"Is everyone okay?"
8 was shaken, teary eyed as he kept her in his embrace. The rest of the group (the old hag from 6, the 20 something woman and 50 year old from 10, and the dreary eyed medical researcher from 14) found ways to tell they were still alive and kicking.
For a bunch of outliers, they were all pretty bad liars. At least 8 had the gumption not to say anything.
Further and further away the group tread on, away from the death and blood and reminders of who they lost.
Why the hell did he have to give a damn about these nobodies?
The longer these bastards were alive the more gray hairs and bad gossip I have to hear about.
DONT. UNRAVEL. FURTHER.
...
Two days in and I felt nothing but vigor.
Granted that dog Carmen was dead, as was one of the annoying Capitolites (Tess-will never remember again), but Tydus would follow my words and the 4's did…er, half of the time. Era kept silent as she led the group, but Dolly looked too air-headed to know reality from fiction.
We found ourselves in a dungeon maze, filled with torchlight and what looked to be tiles made out of dominos underneath us.
How hideous.
"Where's the glitter? The glamor? The sparkles?"
Dolly cackled at my jab with an irritating high pitch for the 5th time today. If she laughed one more time I swear I was going to-
CREEEEEAK-
Everyone grew quiet, but our leader yanked us behind a wall.
CLANK. CLANK. CLANK.
Tiny…something tiny….Era was foolishly brave enough to take a peek past the wall we hid behind. One finger…two fingers. Three…six…
Eight?
"Eight what?" Tydus whispered. She tip toed closer to the noise, then gestured with her hands.
G…M…P…A…?
"What's a Gimpa?" Dolly was shushed by Marin's hands to her mouth. Thank Panem, some peace and quiet from her stupidity!
But it was too late. The noises got LOUDER.
CLANKCLANKCLANK-
One turned into our hiding space. They looked curved, larger in the bottom and smaller on top. Each one wore armor, and wielded weapons too small for their forms.
But they grew bigger as they approached us, quickening their pace.
"RUN!"
Pawns. Eight Pawns charged at us but we kept our pace.
But we soon found we had bigger problems to worry about…literally.
DOOOOOM!
A bigger piece seemed to drop from the ceiling, towering over us and its subjects. This piece had a crown on its head…
A Queen.
On and on our chase went; we tried to fight some of the pawns but we found our weapons did nothing to them. Down the left, to the right…
And then we found ourselves split up. Era, Marin and I went left while Tydus, Dolly, and Nautic kept going straight. How I despised feeling like a chicken with their head cut off; Dolly probably was one.
But just as quick as we found ourselves trapped in a dead end, two pawns about to skewer us alive-
BOOM!
They…turned around.
Had the queen called for a retreat?
No one knew, but they scattered from the maze, their steps growing fainter until they had disappeared. The swords they dropped turned to rust as we regrouped to gather our bearings.
"Hah, that'll show em!" Nautic almost whacked himself with his trident.
Marin was getting the bandages from the bags. Era and a very winded Dolly were trying to see what we could use from what they left behind.
Wait.
Nautic, Marin, Era, Dolly-
"Where's Tydus?"
No one had seen him since the start of the mutt's ambush. Surely the cannon was for an outlier…right?
…Right?
...
"Tyyydus!"
"Tydus darling, where are you?"
"Yo Tydus, don't tell me you left us!"
"Do you think he went home from here?"
I am going to strangle-
My face hit the back of Marin's, confusion stirring on my mask. "Marin dear, what's wrong?"
Comfort, show you cared despite the lie you have given.
Her face had paled considerably and she wouldn't move an inch.
And it wasn't until we followed where her finger pointed that we could see why.
Tydus's arm was the only thing we found unscathed…but the rest of him?
Crunched beneath the Queen's heel.
Ok…ok…I can still work with this…the threads are still here…
Or are they?
...
BOOM!
The researcher's body was on the ground, Matteo's whip releasing from his twisted neck.
The Hag and the dad's corpses had purple dribbling out of their mouths, their cannons having already wrung before 14's own. Like usual, the 8 girl looked sullen. Bags were under her eyes now, having suffered from little sleep since her district partner's death a few days before.
The 10 woman (Matteo kept saying her name was Cass; I'd rather call her mud pie) kicked the dirt next to 14.
"Should've known he was up to no good."
No shit.
Matteo simply nodded, focused on taking care of 8 (Fleecia he said; I'll call her sheephead) and calming her down.
"Didn't know much about him either."
Liar. He told Fiora from the first day of how the bastard reminded him of me, down to the tiniest of hairs on his head.
No wonder he didn't hesitate to kill him; he was too jealous at how he looked like me!
If only 14's betrayal could get through his thick head that he didn't need them.
...
A few more days had passed and the 8 girl and Matteo have grown close, so close that she goes to him after Cass's death.
Why the hell is he still with her sobbing mess?
Oh right, because she's small and needs to be protected?
Liar. He probably thinks she looks like his sister, just like his whole alliance reminded him of the family he left behind to make me miserable.
News flash, it's not working!
…or is it?
These gossipers keep crooning how adorable those two are. I thought I even saw merchandise with their faces on it of all people.
But that's not even the most horrid problem on my plate.
"Oooo, Its Raz, Matteo's lover!"
"Can I sponsor this lovely whip to your boyfriend?"
"Lover boy!"
"The sweetheart!"
Where the HELL is my attention? Where's the fans and croons for being a manipulator just last year?
The thing I won for?
The games I…risked my life for?
...
My mind flickers back to the card castle just a year ago...trying to imagine the good parts of my games to keep my threads from unraveling more than they had.
To sleep I thought I'd find in the castle beds. The one that Nautic scouted out after we killed the 12 girl.
No, there wasn't sleep. There was only unwanted feelings on the 5th Day.
Was that where my threads started getting tangled?
But it wasn't my fault. No, no, no…
It was Dolly's.
Unbeknownst to the rest of us…me included…she used my threads to become a black widow…and she thought we were the flies.
How bold to kidnap us…clever of her to tie me up and to keep our weapons away from us.
"Clever…but not clever enough."
Her head was tilted to the side, a Cheshire grin along her face as she kept boot on top of my neck. No…her sharpened heel.
I couldn't give anything away, even under her foot.
But it was getting harder to do so like this...
"Did you really think I'd let you use your little boy toy to control me?"
Her heel dug deeper…something cold and wet started dribbling down it. Era's struggling form held by Nautic while Marin kept a lookout at the door.
"And you…your little girl scout is as blind as she looks if she couldn't perceive your doom...like your boy toy couldn't when I left him to be crushed."
The darkness of the room hid most of her features…but the candlelight we had made her eyes glow red. With madness? With poison?
I didn't know. But…I felt one thing I taught myself never to feel.
Dread. Fear.
I had to get my control back. But how?
…the answer lied in the ensuing madness. A stroke of luck in the form of something whistling, and…
BOOM!
Marin's body hitting the ground caused a domino effect; an arrow from 15 stuck to the side of her head.
BOOM!
Nautic's body fell soon after, Era breaking free and slicing his throat with a knife she hid. Dolly's cries in frustration almost killed me, but the heel was lifted from my neck. I couldn't see much, but I could hear clangs of medal…Era's knives and Dolly's sword.
And then...
BOOM!
Dolly's bloody corpse fell next to me, a knife in her big forehead. Blood spattered as it was, I could see Era in the reflection before she yanked it out.
We said nothing as she cut the ropes off me, nor when we pushed their bodies to the door so they could be collected.
I couldn't remember the words I said, but it was along the lines of offering my ally a partnership…since she knew the truth.
A lie… It was because she saved my ass from certain death by a delusional traitor.
But who cares…we shook on it. We kept going…and…
...
Everything else was a blur. I remembered Card soldiers were all around us, chasing us to and fro within the now collapsing castle of cards. The dead tributes were blocked from our view by the mutts, the game pieces. Did they know our game? Perhaps, but we didn't care.
Era and I knew our plans were moot when we reached the end. All for a gamble to win our lives and the attention we sought.
The Capitol didn't care either; they didn't care when their own tributes died to our lies. They only wanted a show.
A glimmer of a knife, aiming for my chest...and the shine of my spear aiming for her throat.
BOOM!
Short, sweet, simple.
If only it was that simple for that idiot. The temple walls were shaking, the two still heading for the cornucopia. Despair flew out from his body, his voice, calling for Fleecia/sheephead to come back. But she started running, further and further away in excitement. In hope.
All that ended when 8's cannon fired, her head cleaved by Bastion's axe.
The Capitol boy had gone mad, snarling at Matteo as he ducked his now blood covered weapon. I wasn't sure if it was the trick of the light or my imagination, but it looked as if his teeth had been sharpened.
A predator trapping its prey; A dull and overused concept.
But Panem didn't care.
The two traded frantic blows, but I could see Bastion could still keep up with him. What everliving Capitol drugs did he have coursing through his body?
Or was he always like this? Like back in training?
His words though…
"Do you know how much you lie to yourself?" His voice was hoarse from all the dust, but he kept swinging, "Lying was my uncle's game. He knew every art in telling lies and won. But you? No…your lovesick mentor?"
The room grew cold, Bastion's gleaming axe barely missing Matteo's head,
"You're a horrid manipulator and your dear Razeen is a farce!"
...what did he say?
WHOOSH!
"He never loved you…and his game is shallow at most!"
What. Did. He. Say?
WHOOSH!
"He doesn't give a SHIT about you and your sorry-ass sob story-"
WHOOSH!
"And you're a bigger fool for falling for a third-class low-life who whined his way to victory!"
SLASH!
Matteo's whip was sliced in two…and as was my everliving patience with this Capitol rat.
All I saw in my mind was red, red, red-no, wait, MY MASK DAMN IT STOP CRACKING-
I felt a weight along my shoulders…a glance to my left. Light…gentle?
Lucent Carmichael…Bastion's uncle.
He said nothing. There was some frustration, but he revealed a glimmer in his eyes as he turned to me.
One that reminded me to hold. To wait.
In…out…in…out…when the hell did I start taking advice from others?
Whatever it did wiped the red from my vision…and when I returned to the monitors I saw a different story playing out.
Matteo was now holding the bad mouther down. His expression was saddened, but still looked cool, calm, and surprisingly collected (unlike when I first met him and vastly different than before the Games started). Some words were lost to me. And yet…
"...and I'll admit, I'm not good at history…but there's one thing I do know."
Bastion was struggling for air underneath him, trying to reach for his axe but was yanked further and further away by the neck.
Matteo's voice was low…his words full of the vilest poison known to man.
"District 1 did it first."
One last snap echoed in the arena.
BOOM!
"LADIES AND GENTLEMAN, THE VICTOR OF THE 475TH HUNGER GAMES: MATTEO ROCCOCAS OF DISTRICT 1!"
Everything was unraveling…and for the first time in my life…I was dreading it.
Era's final words to me echoed in my ears. Matteo's last words to Bastion's left my mind spinning. They wouldn't leave me during Matteo's Victor interview, not when we returned to District 1.
They reverberated even in my dreams. Dreams? No, nightmares.
"...Lies will catch up to you. To all of us."
...
Everything wasn't unraveled as I found out.
No.
It had been cut by the puppeteer's scissors.
Not my own. Not Matteo's.
But Panem's watchful gaze.
The same gaze on the envelope sealed our fate.
To be in matrimony until death do us part. Where one would go the other would follow, masks in tune to one another…or both our families support and reputation would be lost.
The attention I wanted twisted into something malignant, wrapping around our necks.
We didn't need attention for the sake of attention now…we needed attention to please. To protect ourselves.
To appease or to be thrown away.
...
...
...
A year had passed.
The both of us looked bedraggled when we took a hike through the nearby parks. All the whispers and blessings on us were sour to my ears.
"Should be far enough…dear."
This wasn't…Matteo…this wasn't me. Matteo wasn't supposed to become quiet. He wasn't supposed to lose his gentle nature or the gullibility he had before we broke up. I wasn't supposed to lose my cool, even when he came out of the arena alive…I…I wasn't supposed to want the quiet.
So many lies…yet now we're living one. Forced to love when we didn't wish to be together.
How ironic, as Zephan would say.
Would it have been simpler if he had died in that arena?
Maybe…
Nothing but silence was found on that white picket bench. Far away from the people, the spotlight, we only had our thoughts and birdsong to entertain us.
Sunlight grew lower in the sky, towards twilight and even past it.
"No more lies."
Matteo's words were somber but held some weight despite looking away from me.
Breathe in…breathe out…
Strings could not be formed anymore; they would be cut again.
Compliance? No…
Survival. For our sanity's sake.
I needed a breath…ironic this would be the hardest thing for me to do.
To say. But…
"No more lies."
And for once in our lives, our words were honest.
...
Hello everyone, SakuraDreamerz here!
First off, I want to thank everyone who has read this story to the end! This is the first year I decided to participate in the Victor Exchange event and I had a blast writing for Razeen and Matteo (A 2 Victors for 1 Story Special)!
Razeen al-Mona was originally sent to me by Son of Arryn (Go give him a follow!) and as you may guess, this still takes place in my Eternal Blood Verse! Just a hundred and thirty/forty something years after Where the Lilies Grow; if anyone has any questions about this verse, let me know or feel free to peruse what I have so far on my profile in regard to said verse.
I hope everyone has a good time this year, and please, go and read and support our fellow Victor Exchange authors! They put a lot of work into their stories!