Amethyst Beaumont
District One
Granddaughter to Silver Beaumont, Victor of the 12th Hunger Games
Greatness is not a destination, it is a continuous journey that never ends.
Often know for it’s high priced exports such as gems, wines, and diamonds District One’s lesser appreciated export is mirrors. Lined with silver and other precious metals these scintillating fragments are sure to catch the eye of Capitol citizens alike. District One’s tributes have undergone a metamorphosis and are ready to take the world by a storm and crown the newest gem in their collection of Victors.
Elegant, pleasing, and couture all seemed adequate words to describe Petra’s parade outfit. The young woman smoothed down the delicate fabric with a sweet sigh. It seemed like a dream coming true that Petra had the opportunity to adorn the lavish textiles produced by her district. She gazed at these luminous ensembles on television for years with resentment, hoping to one day be that stylish herself. Now that the time arrived, all she wished was that the golden moment came without death looming over her head.
Nonetheless, Petra Jersey followed her stylist toward the chariots with vigor. She held her head high and strutted with outward confidence worthy of Panem’s richest individuals. Continuing down her version of a catwalk, she sighed loud enough for those nearby to easily overhear her sentiments. “Finally. Now, this is what I call class. Aren’t these outfits lovely? I’ve been dying to wear something this tasteful.”
Amethyst watched her fellow tribute, District Eight, saunter around the area like a queen. She did look great, she could admit that. Amethyst knew she should be out there trying to intimidate people such as her District partner was, but that wasn’t her game. Careful observations were her game and she wanted to learn all she could about her fellow tributes.
“Surely you had some fine things back home?” After all, Petra’s district produced all the cloth and material needed to make such fine things. Amethyst had more than enough jewels sitting in her jewelry box back home that were characteristic of her home District. “I wouldn’t use the word dying though,” Amethyst interjected. “There are sponsors around who already think us as good as dead, let not make it easier for them to make the connection? After all, you look far too lovely to be dead or dying.”
Unexpected could not accurately define Reed’s return to the Capitol for the 76th Games. The commentators of the Quarter Quell labeled him agreeable yet troublesome and an entertaining tribute among much more worthy contenders. Yet, Reed Robles prevailed against all odds, which landed him in the Capitol’s velvet-lined pocket for the rest of his days. As a result, his eyes beheld the preparations for the Tribute Parade of the 76th Games, but his mind traveled elsewhere. The newest victor seemed stuck in a vicious cycle of reliving the previous year’s moments in every space he visited in the Capitol. Just now, his previous conversation with Reina before the parade played in his head.
“Huh, what?” Reed questioned, after hearing a female voice speak to him. His mind reeled so much with haunting memories that he hardly recognized his legs moved mechanically to that spot. “Oh yeah, they pull out the works for the parades. You should’ve seen what they had me in last year. Imagine antlers here and a huge fur coat all around here.” He replied with a chuckle, once he found his voice. Reed gestured to his general anatomy to indicate the spots he described. “Excited? That’s good. The people out there will be too.”
“Trust me, I did see what you wore last year.” She pointed out with a grin. To be honest, she had been slightly jealous of the costume the newest Victor had worn because it was original and different than anything she had seen before. Amethyst had hoped her stylists would be up to the job and give her something spectacular to work with her for time in the spotlight.
She nodded. “There are different forms of excitement.” Amethyst wasn’t excited in the same way, but she was excited to prove she was worthy in a world that always told her she wasn’t. In her life, she had never been deemed worthy for anything by even her family members, but if she won... Oh, how she would be worth everything to everyone.
The show of a lifetime? Trixanna had seen near twenty of these shows. They only ever got more extraordinary, usually, every so often there’d be a year that was considered a let down. “Definitely not.” No they hadn’t. She couldn’t help but to think Snow had rigged the reaping, he had to of right? There was no way one child got reaped twice in their lifetime. She shoved those thoughts away, she didn’t need to be thinking like that.
“Trixanna Quartz.” She replied simply, “But you probably already knew that.” If she was anything like the children at the academy in Two, she’d learned all the victors, their tactics and their arenas. Trixanna had found that interesting as a child, it came from being the daughter of a victor (adopted or otherwise) she supposed. “Maybe one or two can win this year. Buckingham came so close last year.” They were all the right words to say.
“I did,” Amethyst assured the Victor politely. As a child of a Victor and a proper academy educated tribute, it would be embarrassing if she did not know each and every Victor at the Games. She was pretty sure she even knew the handful of them that were too old to be present at the Games. “I feel like this is certainly the year for it to happen.” Mostly because Amethyst did not intend to go home without the crown. There was far too much she had left to do in this world for it to end abruptly at eighteen.
She chewed her lip a moment. “I think it will be an interesting year.” Everyone was expecting a let down after the Quell, but it wouldn’t be. “I feel like a lot of things will be different.” For one, she had no intention of joining a Career pack. Two and Four looked weak if she was being honest. “Have you seen what your tributes are wearing for the parade?”
Trixanna’s mind was a mess of anxiety and troubles. She hadn’t believed it when she heard the name pulled from the bowl, her eyes narrowing in on the escort before turning towards the masses for the volunteer to announce themselves. But no one raised a hand. No one dared not after what had happened a few years prior. But Trixie couldn’t let any of that show - a true testament of her poker face.
She was off in her own mind, absently brushing one of the District Two horses as if its fur wasn’t already as shiny as the finest silk, when the girl spoke. She looked up after a moment and raised a brow before giving a small nod. “It is all very exciting, yea?” She didn’t sound excited, she wasn’t.
“It’s the show of a lifetime,” Amethyst pointed out with an enthusiasm that was expected of her as a Career and a legacy. She wasn’t entirely convinced but she had overcome much in the way of expectations and this was just another hurdle in the race. “They haven’t held back,” something her grandfather had worried about considering the year after the Quell was surely to be a let down by nature.
She watched the woman a moment before interjecting again. “Amethyst Beaumont.” Surely she did not need to introduce herself as being from District One as it was a given. “It is nice to meet you.” Amethyst told her with a smile. “I am looking forward to working with you.” She wasn’t sure she wanted in the Career Pack considering, but she wasn’t dim enough to burn bridge yet, and the District Two mentors were as powerful in the Capitol as the District One mentors.
“that’s always good to hear,” enobaria said offhandedly. she was sulking alone by the horses, frustrated with their tributes this year, but she didn’t dare bring it up to trixie or adonis. after all, adonis was still in his sensitive post-victory phase and trixie had locked herself in her room since the announcement. it seemed a bit much for even the most dramatic of the two mentors, but who was enobaria to question her? still, she couldn’t be too mad — after all, they’d still have an okay shot with their boy, and it wasn’t as though it had been too too long since they’d had a victory — adonis’s win was only three years behind them.
Amethyst nodded accepting the compliment as she bowed her head in a polite acknowledgement of the District Two Victor, Enobaria. Like any good District One tribute, she knew perfectly well who Enobaria was, even more so because her grandfather spoke of the District Two victors as much as the District One victors.
“I am sorry about your tributes,” Amethyst said politely meaning more towards their girl than the boy. Admittedly, she couldn’t deny people had laughed in District One, but Amethyst had frowned because she was supposed to ally with that girl. It wasn’t going to happen now, but it was never an okay excuse not to be polite and besides, she had always admired Enobaria growing up. “Where is your boy anyhow? I was hoping to meet him and you too of course. My grandfather has nothing but the grandest of things to say naturally.”
Amethyst surveyed the area around her as the people blurred together as if someone had pressed fast forward. The tribute parade. Her grandfather had told her more than she needed to know and only reiterated what the Academy had taught her. It wasn’t like Amethyst had anything to worry about anyhow, she was from District One. Her district alone was enough to afford her the best stylists and the best costumes in the Capitol. First impressions were what counted when it came down to it and her face would be the first one the Capitol would see.
“This is quite the ordeal?” She asked the person that settled in beside her as she sipped the champagne someone had handed her out of politeness. “I have to say I am quite excited.” She offered up knowing it was what everyone expected her to say.
Diamond liked the girl already. Amethyst was going to do everything she could to make sure she was a legacy, that phrase alone set the girl apart from some others Diamond had mentored over the years, some who had just assumed they’d go in and win well… just because. “I’m pleased to hear it.” She wondered how old the girl was, if she’d have another year or two to secure the family name another victory after this year or not, but she didn’t voice that question. “That certainly is the best anyone can ask for.” But of course, in this case, the best one could do was victory… If they didn’t win they died, so what more could be asked of them?
“Oh, absolutely!” She agreed whole-heartedly. “As long as you are willing to put forth the effort and work, we could most certainly be a wonderful team.” She was always to put forth equal effort into her part as her tributes were, so if Amethyst was willing to work for it, Diamond certainly would be as well.
“I am already putting forth the effort needed to win.” Amethyst knew her days and most likely nights, would not be spent at the academy training. She was already in top shape but there were other things to work. “Training both for the body and mind.” Amethyst was not going to be one of those stupid tributes that died eating poison berries or something. “I have the skills, but I know I need knowledge too. Landscapes, plants, survival skills. I am not the most physically intimidating person.” She knew that. It did not mean she wasn’t lithe and quick on her feet. Well trained and well-fed, she already had an advantage and that wasn’t factoring in her grandfather’s connections and popularity.
She chewed on her lip a moment. “Though, don’t expect me to join the Pack if they’re not all up to par.” Amethyst knew it was a given most years that Districts One, Two, and Four align together, but the group was only as strong as their weakest link. “I certainly prefer a group at first, but I won’t let others drag me down.” If that was going to be Diamond’s only option they might not get along that great. “Any suggestions on what to study beforehand?” Unlike most tributes too, Amethyst knew she was going to the arena well before the Reaping.
“I suppose.” It was said as she brushed long locks back over her shoulder. The Giada name was synonymous with the Giada Luxe label, at least until the Giada family had added a victor to their ranks. An only child, it’d been all or nothing for Diamond. She was desperate to prove herself to her father and so went out of her way to be top of her class at the Academy and with her victory came not only the title of Victor, but also the family company which would have floundered and disappeared, leaving the Giada family as merely memories.
“Hopefully a legacy in the making.” She offered a bright smile and a wink, completely oblivious to any hint of sarcasm in the girl’s voice. She remembered Iolite, she remembered every tribute she hadn’t brought home. She raised the glass to take another sip, washing the thought of lost tributes away even if momentarily. “I do believe I’ve heard your name around the Academy, which must mean you are in the top of your class?” It was a statement phrased as a question as she took in the girl.
“I am sure going to do everything I can to make sure that happens,” Amethyst assured her future mentor. The Hunger Games would be the biggest hurdle in laying her claim to her family’s business. She couldn’t do it if she was dead. Part of her had opened her grandfather would come to his sense and see this antiquated tradition of handing it down to the firstborn was absolute madness. Her brother was no more fit for leadership than her father was. The Beaumont family needed a strong leader ready to fill Silver’s shoes when the aging Victor did eventually pass.
Amethyst nodded because like everything she did, she was the best of the best. This diamond had been polished to a perfect shine years ago. “The creme de la creme,” she attested to proudly. “I will not disappoint you.” She would do her best anyhow. “We could be a good team, you and I, don’t you think?”
Diamond hadn’t been keen on attending the event, maybe had it been a dinner event, she’d have come more happily. But as it was… she slept until lunch most days, waking an hour or two into the afternoon to get a start on her day. She was a creature of the night, not day. However, she’d shown up the perfect picture of the opulence she was known for and a smile on her face to boot. She’d even brought the president a gift, the small box tucked into the small clutch she held.
She’d paused for a glass of champagne as it was passed around the event. Raising the glass to her lips, she glanced at the girl. Amethyst Beaumont. She recognized the name. Victor’s granddaughter, but maybe more than that? Had she heard the girl’s name floating around the academy on one of her recent visits? “Diamond Giada, but you already knew that.” She smiled brightly. She was perfect at playing perfect. She gave a small shrug as she looked around the event. “Nothing’s too much for the president.” She’d thrown events in the Capitol to rival this luncheon, but in her earlier days and usually for her fashion label. “It is his birthday, afterall.” She paused for a moment, it was a little much she’d agree, but she would never admit as such out loud. “You’re Silver’s granddaughter, yes?”
“I did, you’re famous around here after all.” She told the Victor with a polite smile and a nod of acknowledgment. Amethyst listened as they both knew what was at stake for the show of the President. They could say all they want that District Two was the Capitol’s favorite, but no one threw a party like District One. How could you complete with all their fine things, jewels, and glitter all around. If things were different she might have found herself enjoying the party. If her brother had been the one destined for the arena and not gifted with the family business to be handed down to him one day in the future. Oh well, no use crying over spilled diamonds.
She nodded out of obligation. “I am,” she added as an afterthought. No one thought of her as her father’s daughter, it was always Silver’s granddaughter. Not that Amethyst minded, at least her grandfather had made something of himself while her father rode his coattails. It was not unlike her brother was doing now. If she could make it out of the arena, she would make sure her family name meant something. “Another shinning tribute with the Beaumont name,” she said her voice steady, making the undertones of sarcasm hard to pick out.
One of the perks of coming from a Victors’ family was that you knew everyone in one way or another. Her grandfather’s money had been heavily invested in the academy since its inception and anyone that came through it. Not that Amethyst knew “knew” anyone, she was there to just smile and look pretty after all. Now she was there to look pretty and hopefully not die in the arena next games. After all, it was all decided except for the actual volunteering part.
“I am Amethyst Beaumont,” she told the Victor as she came to a stop beside her. They were going to be working together in the games, so she mine as well get to know the woman that would be her mentor. “This party is a little much, don’t you think?” She asked hoping to break the ice. President Snow certainly would expect a party like no other for his birthday in District One. There was a reason they were so loved by the Capitol.
Your life can change in a split second, with no warning. Never take those safe moments for granted.
Gracefully, Amethyst slid into her place beside her brother. He was a bulky man that demanded your attention (or your snicker), but his girth held assurance. It was like Jasper Beaumont was the mountain you sought shelter in and knew would be there tomorrow. His was an appearance that brought assurance into anyone of the many business partners their family possessed.
It was something he inherited from their grandfather Amethyst had decided long ago. Both were strong, dependable, and well... A little bit dense if she was being honest. Only stubbornness and perseverance had carried Silver Beaumont though not only the Hunger Games, but his life as well.
Amethyst swallowed the bitterness on her tongue as she listened to her father introduce her brother and gloss over her presence there. She was just another pretty accessory on the shelf. After all, the Beaumonts would have another male heir to their line and the females would keep dying in that doomed arena.
Had Iolite thought the same of her father as she had stood here in the same place she stood all those years ago?
Smiling, Amethyst nodded to the line of people that passed by offering their trite salutations. Money could by a lot of things in District One and respect was one of them. She could even hear their whispers about how it was as shame their sons would not get a chance to claim her life as their own. If you cannot be born into the Beaumont family, marrying into it was the next best option.
Good. She did not want any of their sons anyhow. Her life would always be her own and it was the consolation prize.
As her grandfather, Silver Beaumont, offered his arm Amethyst rested her hand atop it gently. Poise and grace, a voice whispered in her head reminding her women were supposed to be seen and not heard. Heeding the voice, she kept smiling despite the people that were probably wishing she would trip over her heels.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Amethyst said her voice mellifluous and light. “It will be my upmost pleasure to work with you in the coming days.” She said dutifully as her grandfather introduced her to his fellow District One Victors. Victors that had all come from the Academy he helped established back in his youth.
The official announcement of her candidacy as tribute would not be announced till after the President’s lunch, but it was already official. By what means, Amethyst could only guess. Admittedly, a small part of her had hoped she was safe when the Quarter Quell passed and she was not nominated.
Silver Beaumont, however, had not been pleased with Buckingham’s runner up finish only months previous. Second place was the first place loser and District One did not produce losers.
Only they had for many years now, she thought in her head as her smile never wavered.
“I could win,” Amethyst reminded herself mentally as she took her seat beside her grandfather. She was there as his date, but make no mistake about it, the Seventy-sixth Hunger Games had already started in District One.
This year it was not only about District Pride, it was personal.
FULL NAME — amethyst beaumont.
FACE CLAIM — halston sage.
LABEL — the legacy.
POSITIVE TRAIT — adaptable.
FATAL FLAW — bends to expectations.
TOKEN — amethyst necklace.
WEAPON — bow and arrow.
DID THEY VOLUNTEER? IF SO, WHY? — volunteered, because all second born children are expected to – because the family would be honored to have a second victor in the family.
“And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
When she was a little girl, sick in bed, Moly had loved listening to her father’s stories. They were about princesses in foreign lands so unlike their own, or children that could fly, or simply about a place that lived in peace without fear. The one thing all of them had in common? They ended happily ever after.
Now it was like she had awoken to find herself in a story of her own. The arena shifted like the sands in the desert, unpredictable and a constant stream of flux. Around her now was a vast array of vivid foliage drifting in a hot tropical breeze, but the air was silent and that was what gave Moly paused. Back home, even in the city of Three, the birds were like omens; their songs stopping when something was lurking on the horizon.
Chewing her lip, Moly pulled herself to her feet and glanced around with nothing but silence to meet her ears. Where had Luna disappeared to? She had heard a canon earlier, but that couldn’t have been her ally. There were still plenty of tributes left. Seven or eight, Moly couldn’t be sure anymore other than there was considerably less than what they started with.
However, the name of her ally died on her lips as the ground quivered and trembled with a resounding thud. Thud. Thud. Even the trees knew to shiver under the force of what was coming. Moly wasn’t sure what it was, but she knew it had to be big. You didn’t have to hear it come because you could feel it coming.
Hastily, she gathered her small belongings together which consist of a newly obtained fishing knife and a handful of herbs gathered the day previously. Evanescently she debated whether she should run or hide in the foliage. Camouflage had never been her strong point...
What she hadn’t anticipated was the jaw-dropping sight that slowly emerged from the trees to her left.
Moly’s jaw went slack as her brain tried to comprehend what she was seeing. The reptile was so large two men could stand upon each other’s shoulders and they would not have looked the creature in the eyes.
For a moment monster and tribute’s eyes met in confusion or in awe, one in wonder how big and the other how small or perhaps, the creature was just hungry. Oh, Moly certainly was in one of her father’s stories now...
Stepping backward, Moly tumbled to the ground but she hardly felt the fresh scrapes and cuts the underbrush left on her skin. She needed to go, now! RIGHT NOW!
Then she heard it, what she could only describe as a ‘roar’ that could make the world go silent. Tears sprang to her eyes as she felt the ground tremble with every step as the creature walked forward its head-shaking under the weight of its three gigantic horns.
Back home surely her little brother and sister were yelling at her to run. Get up Moly! Run! She could almost hear their frantic screams echoing the screams in her own head.
Scrambling, Moly stumbled to her feet her mind oddly blank as she turned and darted from the horror behind her. As she ran the branches cut at her arms and tore at her clothing, but Moly felt nothing. The only sound in her head was the rapid inhaling of her breath as it caught in her throat. She hadn’t run this hard since she was a child, since before she was ill.
Moly relished the feel of the wind in her hair as her dark locks whipped around her face obscuring her view. It was kind of like flying...
Snap.
Moly heard it before she felt it. The shooting pain in her ankle as her foot got tangled in a root and sent her sprawling to the ground with a thud of her own. For a moment, she considered just staying there, but some primal center of her brain whispered to keep going.
Stumbling, Moly got up limping away from the dinosaur that was chasing her. One more step, one more step... Only she met a forcefield with a resounding bang.
“Oh, come on!” She cried as she hammered with her fist against the invisible boundary. What had she done to deserve this? She asked herself as she let out an audible cry, pivoting quickly to again face the monstrous Triceratops.
How did you defeat a dinosaur?
Then it came to her... You didn’t need to defeat the dinosaur when you had a larger brain that had 66 million more years to develop.
If Moly had to guess, the entire arena would have felt the tremble and collapse of the beast as it plowed headfirst into the invisible barrier, Moly having dove out of the way moments before.
But the dinosaur wasn’t the only one dazed as Moly pulled herself to her feet and blinked absently at it. She had done it! She had for the moment, beaten the threat to her life. Perhaps she could do it, perhaps she could go home!
Still limping, Moly started walking away knowing her reprieve was only temporary and the Triceratops would be back if she didn’t find a way out. With a broken ankle though, which was starting to hurt now that the adrenaline was wearing off, was not going to let her get far. Hiding was now her best option...
Yet, the odds were not in her favor. The odds were never in Moly’s favor as the resounding thud, thud, thud told her.
Eyes wide, Moly turned her head and was greeted by the sight of a rather pissed off dinosaur Silver would have told her. It was then faced with insurmountable odds, Moly Linux drew in the breath that would go in but never come out.
Was it possible to be scared to death? Moly Linux would tell you yes. Whether it was because of her weakened heart, her recent strenuous activity, or the beast itself, no one would know for sure. The only certain things in life were The Reaping and Death in Panem.
All Panem would know was that the sound of the canon was covered by the eerie roar of a giant predator. Some would call it mournful, but it wasn’t mournful over the loss of a girl from District Three, but that its prey had not gotten up. The hunt was over.
In the end, wise men know that darkness is right and do not rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Moly’s chested heave from the exertion of moving air in and out of her lungs as she ran. Breathing in and out had never felt so hard and yet, she kept running despite every breath burning. Her heart could not handle this.
“Luna?” Moly called out as she ran feeling the brush crunch underfoot. Her ally had been right there, but they had been separated.
Then it happened as quick as a star streaking across the sky in the summer, the lights went out. It was still fairly early, the sky should have been painted in hues of orange and purple with the setting sun. Only now, it was pitch dark...
Several hours later, Moly was still trying to unravel the complex web that had been woven in that hour of darkness. It really was true that things come out when you could not see who was speaking them. Moly was not even sure which tribute she had run into in the inky darkness.
Yet, she had found herself sitting there having a heart to heart with a tribute that was likely to kill her once the sun came back on. The Gamemakers would not leave them in the dark long. There were too many tributes left and they needed to narrow the field. Surely things would be more exciting if the two tributes were fighting instead. Let them provide a little insight and then provoke them to fight. Moly had watched enough games in her seventeen years to know how this went.
Part of her wondered which tribute she had run into to. How many of them had brothers? Moly had three brothers until two days ago that was. How was Cobalt doing without his twin in this world? The two had been two peas in a pod. The twins had always had intertwining destinies and now one would grow old without the other. There would be no one there to finish his sentences and make sure he wasn’t scared at night.
What Moly hadn’t planned on was the sobbing tribute that had sat down what she guessed was only a few yards from her. The same tribute that was telling her how she was scared, how her brother’s death was because of her, and she wasn’t sure if anything was worth it.
Moly had told her it would be okay because she wasn’t sure what else to say. Nothing would be okay and she knew that. It had been a fact Moly had flaunted every day since the Reaping so why was she now telling this to another tribute? Most likely they’d both be dead in a few days. Still, she kept hearing the girl’s words...
“This whole thing is all my fault and I don't even think I liked him that much, but now I feel bad because he's DEAD and this fucking arena keeps throwing random twists at me and I'm going to fucking die”
Her words had lingered in her head even now. Moly was mad she hadn’t offered more words of kindness in the girl’s moment of need.
“He’s your brother...” She pointed out but she couldn’t say more on that because she hated her own sister. Was it the same? Would she have dragged her into the arena to die with her? No, but would she have let Heli go in for her gladly? Probably. It was a hard thought to swallow.
“This isn’t your fault, it’s theirs’,” Moly told her softly so no one else but them could hear. “They did this to us. You might die, I know I am going to die, but it is not anything we did ourselves...”
It wasn’t anything any of them did. They did not want to be there and even the Careers were brainwashed into thinking they did want to be there. This was the Capitol’s fault. The Capitol and their citizens.
“It’s...” She started and as quick as it had come the light was back. Blinking she turned and saw a familiar face staring back at her, threatening her even, Minnow. District Four’s female tribute was threatening her. Before she could voice an opinion the girl disappeared into the jungle greenery.
Moly just hoped by sunset they both wouldn’t be dead.