6A/N: I always wanted to know more about the supporting characters of The Hunger Games series, how dangerous Snow can be, and give more strength to characters like Peeta, Gale, and Madge (who tragically was cut from the films). So what better way to delve "behind the curtain" than write a fic about it?
This fic will be as canon compliant as possible but will take elements from the films that weren't in the novels (or did it better than the novels).
*Usually, I will have an A/N at the end of each chapter, my version of "translator's notes," so check it out if you would like.
Also, be forewarned, there will be slash, rape/non-con, harsh/coarse language, violence, etc. After all, Panem is not a happy place. That should be the last bit of house cleaning, so enjoy.
Disclaimer: Everything belongs to Suzanne Collins. I don't own anything. Any text directly taken from the novels is also property of Suzanne Collins and I do not claim ownership over it.
THE HUNGER GAMES – PART ONE
The Tributes
Chapter 1
District 12 was unnaturally silent. Usually, by this time it was much more active, with the streets crowded with tired and worn-down coal miners heading to work or the Merchants opening up their shops in Town. Even the Hob would be setting up for that day's "specialty items" (aka black market items).
But it wasn't a surprise, as this was the day that the majority of the population feared every year.
It was officially known as The Reaping, but most saw it as a mandated death sentence by the Capitol.
At least in District 12, you could die in safety.
Lack of food and resources notwithstanding, even dying from "black lung" disease (caused by long exposure to coal dust, something that easily covered most of the District) was a nicer way to go than being reaped for the Hunger Games.
Margaret "Madge" Undersee, the daughter of District 12's mayor, knew this from family experience. She was currently sitting at her vanity, tying a pink ribbon into her traditional braid.
She paused as she looked down. Her hand slowly ghosted over the Mockingjay pin that lay on the table next to her mirror.
She remembered receiving it the night before her first Reaping. Her mother, Marion, had given it to her. In hushed whispers, she told Madge that the pin was the former token of Maysilee Donner, Madge's aunt and Marion's twin sister. Maysilee was the District 12 female tribute who died during the 50th Hunger Games (the second Quarter Quell). It was the same year that District 12's male tribute Haymitch Abernathy won.
Initially, Madge felt the pin was like a bad omen. If it didn't help her aunt's odds, how would it help her? It also served as a painful reminder to the entire family that Madge looked like a carbon copy of her dead aunt. In fact, she looked so much like her aunt that her mother would treat her as if she was Maysilee during her "bad days."
Her "uncle" Haymitch was just as bad.
In fact, it wasn't until Madge's father had subtly explained the true significance of the Mockingjay that she began to wear it with a bit more pride.
She carefully pinned it to the lapel of her pearl white dress, frowning as she examined herself. To her, the dress was yet another reminder of how well off she was compared to the poverty that ran rampart through most of the District.
And another reminder of how much those in the Seam blamed her for it even though there was no way she had any say in how District finances were allocated (that was left up to the Capitol).
Thankfully, Katniss Everdeen (one of her few friends, if she was honest) ignored all the gossip and instead treated Madge like there was no difference in class between them.
And speak to 13's ashes, she hears the knock on the front door. Based on the time, she knew it was Katniss with her spoils from the woods.
"I got it!" she yelled as she headed downstairs, in part because she didn't want her father to take time out of helping her mother get ready for the Reaping. Due to her mother's "delicate" condition, it took her a lot longer to do things without assistance.
The other part of Madge was just hoping to see if Gale Hawthorne (Katniss' best friend) would be with her. Madge has been pretty much been in love with him since she was twelve.
Madge reaches the door and putting on the nicest smile she can, she opens it to see Katniss and Gale. Katniss gives her a small smile, holding a box of strawberries in her hands. However, Gale's expression immediately turns cold as he takes in her Reaping outfit.
"Pretty dress." says Gale, his words coming out slightly biting.
Madge's expression falters a little. She's not sure if he was insulting her or ironically giving her a compliment. Something that seemed to always happen every time they interfaced.
Mentally shaking herself, she presses her lips together and smiles. "Well, if I do end up going to the Capitol, I want to look nice, don't I?"
From the corner of her peripheral vision, she sees Katniss gives Gale a confused look, one that mirrors his own face. It takes Madge a second to realize that they don't know whether she's serious or messing with Gale.
She's about to speak, but Gale pipes up. "You won't be going to the Capitol. How many entries do you have, Five? I had six when I was twelve." He said coolly, eying the Mockingjay pin.
Madge resists the urge to cringe or petulantly cross her arms. She knows he's assessing the value of her pin and how much it could feed his family if it was sold. She hates that he thinks of her as just some stupid little rich girl. She's tried to show him that she's different but he is just…so stubborn.
Thankfully Katniss steps in, no doubt sensing the simmering tension between us.
"Gale, that's not her fault." She says, laying a hand on Gale's arm.
"No, it's no one's fault. It's just the way it is." Gale says.
Madge's face becomes closed off, stung but trying her best not to show how much the words affected her.
She sighs, not wanting to escalate the argument, and gives the money to Katniss and grabs the strawberries. "Good luck, Katniss."
Completely ignoring Gale, she closes the door after Katniss responds in kind. She hears Katniss scolding him through the door. Madge takes in a few deep breaths to calm herself.
Seeing Gale always put her off balance, something she hated because she had always prided herself on keeping her emotions in check.
Half the time, she doesn't know whether to smack him or kiss him.
But no one said being in love was easy.
A few miles down, Peeta Mellark was doing last minute touches of frosting on the cake made for the "Mellark's Bakery" window display. Already in his Reaping clothes, he had rolled up his shirt sleeves and donned an apron to keep the mess to a minimum.
"Why are you still working? Shouldn't you getting for the Reaping?" Peeta's oldest brother Maze said as he walked in.
Unlike Peeta, Maze was no longer eligible for Reaping, having made it through unscathed. As quickly as he was able to, Maze had moved out of the Mellark house, not wanting to deal with the family drama mostly cause by their mother.
Now 23, he was currently "living in sin" with a young Peacekeeper named Max (who like Darius, was one of the youngest Peacekeepers in District 12) and was attempting to jumpstart his own business ventures.
"It calms me. Plus, I am ready." Peeta said as he finished the cake. "What brings you here?"
"Can't I come check in on favorite little brother?" Maze said as innocent as he could.
Peeta smirked. "Max left early, didn't he?"
Maze gave Peeta a mock hurt expression. "How could you think so low of me, Peeta? It's been too long since we've really hung out, with you being in school and all that."
Seeing Peeta smile, Maze continued. "So I wanted to see how you were, and invite you over to dinner tonight – 8 o' clock sharp. Max is cooking tonight."
"Sure. Sounds nice." Peeta said, letting out a small laugh as he began to clean himself up.
Suddenly, the front door opens and Barm, the middle Mellark child sauntered in. "Peeta? What the fuck is taking you so long?" he said with haughty derision.
Unlike the close bond between Peeta and Maze, Barm was the odd child out. Part of this was due to being Mrs. Mellark's favorite, thus was placed on a pedestal in the Mellark family at an early age. This in turn led to Barm growing up very arrogant and self-centered, causing friction between the three brothers.
"I'm..." Peeta says, unsure what to say without getting himself in trouble with their mother.
Maze thankfully steps in. "Barm. I would say it's nice to see you, but we both know that's a lie."
Barm turns his attention to Maze. "Well, well. If it isn't the disappoint of the family. Back with your tail between your legs?"
Maze's warm expression immediately soured. "Not that it's any of your business, but I came over to talk to Peeta." he sneered.
"Not hear to convert him to your little cult are you? Not like it'll matter. No girl would want him anyway." Barm said.
"Go fuck yourself." Peeta said, speaking up for the first time.
Barm looks at Peeta for a moment, before laughing. "Well, look who's finally grown a backbone? Maybe there's hope for you after all."
He eyes the display cake on the table. "Someone's going to get in trouble..."
Peeta is about to respond when Mrs. Mellark's voice rings from outside the Bakery. "Barm! What is that blasted brother of yours doing in there? Peeta! Didn't I tell you to be ready?!"
Maze tensed as he noticed Peeta immediately paling while Barm looked excited to see what was in store for the youngest Mellark.
Mrs. Mellark slams the door open and immediately notices Peeta's slightly disshelved look and the cake on the table.
"Dammit, boy! Didn't I tell you not to mess with the display cakes?!" She raised her hand to strike Peeta but she stills in surprise when Maze quickly stepped in between them.
"Hello, Mother. Nice to see you haven't changed. Still a raging bitch, I see." Maze said, hoping to invoke his mother's ire so she could forget about striking Peeta.
It worked. Mrs. Mellark diverted her attention to Maze as she glared at her oldest son. "Go die in the ruins of 13, fag fucker. You're lucky you father still likes you. If it were up to me, I would have barred you from polluting my house the moment you left."
"Small mercies that it's not your house then." Maze said, taking a step closer. "Now how about you and Barm run along now? Stay any longer and I might infect you." He smirks as their mother's expression turned furious.
Knowing she can't hit him, she gives Maze one more glare before turning her attention back at Peeta, who takes a step back out of reflex. "Put the cake in the window and fix yourself up. If the Peacekeepers come and punish you for being late, it's your own fault."
She grabs Barm's arm as they exit the Bakery without sparing Peeta and Maze another glance.
A few moments go by before Maze speaks up.
"…That might be the nicest thing she's ever said to me." Maze said completely deadpan, attempting to alleviate the awkward silence that had fallen over the room.
It worked. Peeta let out a choked laugh, looking at Maze like he lost his mind.
"What? It's true." Maze said, shrugging his shoulders.
Peeta laughed a bit longer before composing himself. He gave Maze a fond look. "Thanks." He said softly, grabbing the cake as he walked and placed it on the window display.
"It's nothing. You're my brother." Maze said. He pulls Peeta into a hug.
"And I love you for it." Peeta said, giving his brother a squeeze before letting go.
"Come on, let's go. Don't want to be late for the big big day!" Maze said in a very terrible imitation of their District escort Effie Trinket and her capitol accent as he linked arms with Peeta, heading out of the Bakery.
1:00 PM
People begin to file into the square silently as Peacekeepers "checked people in." For those of Reaping age, it amounted to having a bit of blood drawn, with the Peacekeepers using a small electronic device to match you with your identity. For everyone else, they just simply signed their names in the register.
Madge flinched as the Peacekeeper roughly poked her finger. She could see Katniss from the corner of her eye getting checked in by Darius (one of the nicer Peacekeepers), his bright red hair sticking out like a sore thumb among the sea of blonde and dark hair.
After the scanner beeps, the Peacekeeper in front of her says, "You're good" and waves her to pass. Taking a deep breath, Madge walked into the square.
The main part of the square was broken up in 7 roped off sections, split by gender and marked by ages, with 12 (the youngest) in the front and 18 (the oldest) in the back. Family members and those not eligible for the Reaping are put in the back behind the 18 year olds.
Madge sees Katniss walk a slightly shaking Prim to the 12 year old section, giving Prim one more hug before heading to the sixteen year old section. Since they are still relatively early, she and Katniss end up standing next to each other, and greet each other with a polite nod.
Madge turns and sees Peeta in the 16 year old boy's side and gives him a slight smile when their eyes meet. He smiled and nodded back before turning to talk to the Merchant boy next to him.
Although she and Peeta weren't what you'd call close friends, they did run in the same circles. They also bonded over the fact that their parents had tried to set them up to middling results. He was too in love with Katniss while she had her heart set on Gale. Instead, they became friends of sorts and would always hang out whenever they were forced to attend "society functions" (which they both hated) with the rest of the Merchant kids.
It was nice to have someone who understood her. Even a little bit.
The space in the square gets tighter and tighter as more people began to arrive. While large, the square wasn't built to hold all 8,000 of District 12's population. Madge could see the latecomers shunted off to the adjacent streets, no doubt so they can still watch the Reaping on the giant jumbo screen set up on both sides of the stage.
She can already hear bets on who was going to get Reaped already taking place. Taking odds about ages, Merchant or Seam, or if they'll cry as they walk up the stage. She felt sick to her stomach hearing people gambling on the lives of two children who most likely would die within the first few minutes of the Bloodbath.
"Sick isn't it?" Katniss mutters next to her. "And what's even sadder is that most of them are informants to the Capitol."
Madge took a few calming breaths to let go of her anger. She gives Katniss a small smile. "Kinda pointless, don't you think? I mean, who hasn't broken the law here?"
Katniss smiled back. "Touché."
Madge turns her attention back to the temporary stage that had been set up in front of the Justice Building.
I only have five slips. Madge thinks to herself as she eyes the glass bowls filled with paper slips on both sides of the stage. But Katniss has twenty…
She looks past the bowls to the three chairs on the stage: one for her father, Effie Trinket, and…
She refrains from facepalming in frustration. Haymitch was missing. He should know by now not to screw around on Reaping Day. He was District 12's only living victor for Panem's sake.
Suddenly, the clock strikes two and the entire square falls silent.
It's time.
Madge sees her father stand up to the podium and begin to read his usual speech. It's the same every year, about the history of Panem, the Dark Days, the failed rebellion, and the reasons behind the Hunger Games.
In short, the Hunger Games was a punishment. One boy and one girl every year sent to their bloody death. To show that no one can stand against the Capitol.
As he reads the very short list of District 12 winners (literally only two names), Haymitch finally decides to make his appearance. Madge has to keep herself from sighing audibly. He's very drunk. Again.
On his way to his chair, he tries to give Effie a hug, which she barely escaped as she pushed him into his chair (knocking her wig slightly askew in the process). Madge sees her father rub the bridge of his nose in frustration at the scene in front of him. She knows that he's imaging the entire Panem watching this and commenting how District 12 yet again the laughing stock of the Capitol.
Getting herself under control, Effie strides confidently to the podium.
"Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be ever in your favor." She says, as if expecting applause, something she knows she'll never get.
She'll really angling to get a District with some real winners this year. Madge thinks to herself as she sees the unnatural peppiness radiate from Effie's every action.
From the corner of her eye, Madge sees Katniss turn and look over her shoulder. Madge turns around to see who she's looking at and sees Gale looking surly in the 18 year old section. He glares at Madge when their eyes meet, causing her to quickly turn around.
That's right, he has 42 entries…
Effie makes her way over to the Reaping balls, the clanking of her heels being unnaturally loud compared to the silence in the square.
"Ladies first." She says as she reaches into the ball with the girl's name and pulls out a slip of paper.
When Effy reads the name on that slip of paper, Madge knows things will never be the same.
It's Primrose Everdeen.
General Notes:
Madge's mother – Since she has no canon name, I chose Marion in part because I wanted to keep with the "M" theme (Maysilee, Madge), but also because I'm a huge Indiana Jones fan, with Marion Ravenwood being my go-to Indy girl.
"13's ashes" – Since I'm assuming The Capitol frowns on religion (as it seems most totalitarian regimes do), instead of using phrases like "speak to the devil", etc. I used "13's ashes" as a substitute. This it not something I made up, it actually came from "Spin Control" by Trovia (it's a Haymitch/Finnick fic that is on Archive of Our Own). I thought it was genius so I decided to use it.
Peeta's brothers – Peeta's family also has no canon names, so I made them up myself. In keeping with what I considered a "bread" theme (as Peeta is a play on Pita bread), I also named his two older brothers variations on types of bread. Maze came from the maize (ground corn) used in cornbread while Barm came from barmbrack bread (an Irish type of bread).
Mellark sibling dynamic – Since the novel gives us so little information about Peeta's family, their relationship was my own creation. All we know in canon is that Maze is the oldest Mellark child, and would be around 19-13, as he was too old to volunteer for Peeta when he was reaped. Barm would be about 17-18, as Katniss mentions that one of Peeta's brothers could have volunteered but didn't. That was the reason behind creating Barm's antagonistic relationship toward Peeta (although we don't see much here).
Maze/Max (the Peacekeeper) - Again, something of my own creation. Nothing about Maze's personal life is noted in the novels so I just ran with it. I decided to use a peacekeeper because it plays into a future plot point later (that I won't spoil) but also because the novels noted that others besides Darius were easygoing and willing to bend the rules in District 12. Although peacekeepers must serve the state for 20 years without marriage or children, I don't think it would be implausible for young single peacekeepers to "play house" as long as they keep it on the down low from the Capitol (which is easy since Katniss notes that pretty much nothing "illegal" is reported unless it's something super serious).