"Evelyn Brinley, better known as Lady Red, victor of the 72nd Hunger Games. Won her games at 15."
"Why Lady Red?"
"Because she always wears red. Oh, and she won her games by burning the remaining tributes alive."
✮
"𝑮𝒊𝒓𝒍 𝒐𝒏 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒆? 𝑯𝒐𝒘 𝒄...
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"I STILL HAD FIFTEEN MINUTES," The Viper snapped at Montell once she had the chance to talk. Cassius had pulled her onto the craft, and Montell had immediately told her to stay silent. He kept telling her to be quiet until they landed in the Capitol and she was back in her room. "I had him right there. If this dimwit," she pointed to Cassius, who was standing in the corner with his arms crossed, "hadn't distracted me Ward would've had his brains blown out."
Montell simply shrugged and showed no signs of caring about her complaints, "If you were an efficient assassin Cassius' voice would not have distracted you. We will discuss this later, you have an hour."
Cassius and Montell left the room, and two peacekeepers took their place. She was allowed an hour of freedom, accompanied by peacekeepers of course. The only time she had a moment alone was when she was sleeping.
She stood up and left the room and they followed her. She turned the corner and they followed her. She walked faster and they followed her. It was the same routine every time. And every time, it didn't work. This time was no different. They were still breathing down her neck when she looked back. What was the point of having 'free time' if they just followed her and made her more nervous? No, nervous wasn't the right word. More like impatient. Or restless. And they weren't even entertaining. They were basically statues. She respected the peacekeepers, they protected Panem, but she wished they would leave her alone. She wasn't going to go on a murder spree or anything.
As they walked past a bathroom, she got an idea. "I need to use the restroom."
They looked at her skeptically, glanced at each other, but eventually nodded. They stood outside while she walked into the restroom and locked the door, then she lifted the cover off the air duct and crawled into it. It was surprisingly dusty for something in the Capitol, Snow usually liked everything pristine even if nobody could see it. Sharp corners started scraping her arms and legs but she ignored them. It looked like she was starting to go down a few levels since she had to slide down a few ducts. Once The Viper was sure she was far enough and couldn't hear the peacekeepers pacing she dropped out of the duct.
There were no peacekeepers around her, and it looked like she was somewhere in the prison levels. It was quiet, so quiet that she could hear her footsteps echoing off the walls, and most of the rooms were empty. She thought that the cells would've been full, especially with the war going on. Actually, they usually just killed rebels on sight.
She came across a few prisoners. The first one was a red-haired girl who stared at her as she walked by. The Viper stopped to look at her for a moment, trying to recall if she had seen her before. There was something familiar about the girl, but she could've been a victor. The Viper didn't remember anything before the rebel attack, but she was sure she would've remembered what the victors looked like.
"Evelyn?" The girl called out in a hoarse voice, and The Viper just pursed her lips. That was the second time someone had addressed her like that. She didn't know why they were calling her that, or how they even came up with that.
