Chapter Text
Coriolanus Snow was an incredibly proud father of one Cressida Athena Snow.
He knew Cressida had a very interesting position that almost no one could relate to. Being the president’s daughter was one thing; she had power and grace. Raised to be the perfect model Capitol girl, she was top of her class at the Academy, just like her father before her. She had anything and everything any 16-year-old girl could ever dream of.
Surprising everyone who saw them, Coriolanus Snow was an extremely dotting father. She was all the good parts of him that were no longer there since the 10th Games. The parts of him that slowly but surely melted away under the heat of District 12. But they did reform into her. She was her father’s girl.
But that didn’t mean she was only her father.
Her mother's identity was a poorly kept secret in the Capitol, and Cressida had to guess the districts as well because no matter how her father tried to erase the 10th games from history, it was hard to do when Cressida was a living reminder for the people of Panem who the victor of the games was.
While she had her father's old sweet personality of who ‘Coryo’ used to be. Cressida Snow looked almost identical to Lucy Gray Baird and another 16-year-old girl living under the former Victor's care somewhere who knew where.
From her deep, tanned skin and dark hair to her big brown doe eyes, Cressida was a walking reminder that Lucy Gray Baird did exist and that her father couldn’t get rid of every trace of Lucy Gray.
Cressida wasn’t sure what happened between her parents after winning the games and his return to the Capitol. Still, she knew whatever it was left her father close to emotionless when it came to anyone besides her and her Aunt Tigris.
She also knew getting her father to speak about her mother was like pulling teeth. Over the years, she has learned not to bring up Lucy Gray. No matter how the questions were pulling on her heart and mind like weights.
So she clung to the very few things she learned about her mother years ago. Her father sat her down once and explained what she was like.
When Cressida was seven years old, she had come home from school, a mess of tears and snot dripping down her tiny face. She raced through the mansion, desperately looking for her father before bursting into his office, too distraught to remember the rule Coriolanus had about knocking on the office door.
“ Daddy!” Cressida's small voice cried out as she slammed into the office, catching the attention of her father, the peacekeepers, and other higher-ups who were trying to meet in her father’s office.
With one look at his daughter and seeing her utter distress, Coriolanus quickly dismissed the meeting and shooed everyone from the room as he carefully scooped his daughter up and gently rocked them as her harsh sobs racked her whole body as she hid her face against her father’s shoulder.
“Cressida? Little one, What happened?” Coriolanus asked as gently as he could manage once her sobs slowed down enough for her to talk. Wincing slightly, he felt her wipe her face against his suit.
Pulling back from her Father’s shoulder, she hiccuped slightly as she caught her breath. Coriolanus reached out and wiped the remainder of the tears off her cheeks with his thumb,
“Aurelia Prism and Caelum Solstice were making fun of me all day 'cause I don’t have a mama! I told them I don’t need one, but I got you, Daddy! But they kept saying that my mama probably didn’t want me and that- that-” Cressida cut herself off with another round of sobs, suddenly taking her over again.
Coriolanus took a deep breath as he listened to his daughter’s retelling of her day, trying to remain calm for her sake, but he couldn’t help the rage that was building in his body at the fact his child was being picked on for something he hated to even think about. That Lucy Gray caused this in his mind. She broke their family and betrayed them both–.
“Why don’t I have a mama, Daddy?” Cressida's tiny voice broke through Coriolanus's spirling thoughts, making him focus back in on her.
Coriolanus took in her small face, the doe eyes that matched the woman who hurt them both, and the hair he braided himself that morning, which was now a mess and wild-looking just like hers after the games.
He closed his eyes and breathed deeply before addressing the question he prayed his child would have never asked him.
“You do have a mama, Cressida, she…just doesn’t live with us. She lives somewhere in this world with your sister, Amelia.” Coriolanus explained as gently as he could, even if the words felt like sandpaper on his throat.
Cressida suddenly sat up taller in Coriolanus’s lap, looking at her father with an open mouth and a shocked expression. The two sat like this for a while before she remembered her words again.
“Sister? I have a sister. And Mama is with her?” Her tiny voice was filled with wonder and shock as she leaned closer to her father, clearly awaiting his answer.
Taking another deep breath, Coriolanus carefully removed the hair ties from Cressida’s messed-up braid before he ran his hand through her dark curls, trying to get them back in order, back to Capitol standards.
“Yes. Her name is Amelia. She’s older than you by about 12 minutes, sweetheart. Your mother lives in the nature somewhere with her. I’m not sure where, though.” Coriolanus explained further, focusing on her hair to keep himself in control.
“But…Who is she? My mama, I mean. Why does she live in the woods? Why not with us? Why with only Amelia–?” Cressida pressed on, only stopping when she caught her father’s stern eye. She pouted slightly but settled down.
“Your mother…was a woman named Lucy Gray Baird. She was a winner of the 10th Hunger Games and sang like the best songbird there ever was. I was her mentor throughout her games, and that’s how we met. After her games we went back to District 12 together…” Coriolanus explained quietly, purposely leaving out the details of why they went to the district together.
“We fell in love in there and had the two of you. But…it just didn’t work out, baby girl. I woke up one morning to a note from your mother, who was gone, taking Amelia with her. But she left me you, my angel. But that's a secret; you cannot tell people who your mama is.” Coriolanus smiled softly at his daughter while the lies slipped through his teeth and into his child's ears. Cressida didn’t need to know about the deaths of District 12, the actual length of time he spent there, or how he and Lucy Gray actually parted.
All she needed to know was that Lucy Gray left and Coriolanus stayed. Cressida didn’t need more or less than that for what he was concerned about.
Cressida nodded to her father’s words, tears pooling into her eyes again as she tried her best to keep them at bay.
“So they were right? Mama didn’t want me? Is that why it’s a secret?” Her voice was so quiet Coriolanus had to strain to hear it. But once it did, it hit him like a rock, and he felt his heart break a little. He quickly realized he might’ve fucked up.
“Lucy Gray wanted you, baby. She loved you and your sister so very much.” Coriolanus spoke as softly as he could, brushing the hair further from the young girl's eyes.
“Then why did she leave me? And You? But take Amelia? And why is it a secret?” Cressida pressed on, causing Coriolanus to groan internally, but he put a soft smile on his face for her.
“Because I named you, my girl.” He said like it explained everything, and to seven-year-old Cressida, it did. “And it’s a secret because something special needs to stay just between us? Okay?”
“Oh, okay,” Cressida responded quietly, laying her forehead against her father’s arm as his other hand worked his way through detangling her messy curls.
The two stayed like that for almost ten minutes in silence, and at one point, Cressida’s eyes had slipped closed, leading Coriolanus to believe he was in the clear for the night.
But right before he was about to scoop Cressida up and bring her to her bed for the night, the small girl’s eyes reopened and settled on her father’s face.
“You said mama sang like a pretty bird…Do you have any videos of her singing Daddy? Or photos I could see?” Her voice was laced with sleep but still awake enough to pout at her father.
Inhaling sharply, Coriolanus nodded slightly before clicking a few things around on his computer and pulling up a file called ‘Songbird’ before clicking on one of the videos.
Lucy Gray and Lucky Flickerman’s faces filled the screen as a slight gasp left Cressida’s body. The young girl quickly sat up and moved so close to the screen that her nose almost touched it. Coriolanus pulled her back gently to rest against his chest once more.
Cressida watched closely as her mother greeted the audience and the districts before launching into a song about a boy back in 12, her mother explained.
“When I was a babe I fell down in the holler
When I was a girl I fell into your arms
We fell on hard times and we lost our bright color
You went to the dogs and I lived by my charms”
Cressida’s eyes widened as she listened to her mother’s voice fill the room. The donation number at the bottom climbed quickly, reaching the thousands without a problem.
“I danced for my dinner, spread kisses like honey
You stole and you gambled, and I said you should
We sang for our suppers, we drank up our money
Then one day you left, saying I was no good
Well, all right, I'm bad, but then, you're no prize either
All right, I'm bad, but then, that's nothing new
You say you won't love me, I won't love you either
Just let me remind you what I am to you”
The young girl watched in awe as her mother sang, too focused on the screen in front of her to realize her father was glaring at the screen from behind her with confliction behind his eyes.
'Cause I am the one who looks out when you're leaping
I am the one who knows how you were brave
And I am the one who heard what you said sleeping
I'll take that and more when I go to my grave
It's sooner than later that I'm six feet under
It's sooner than later that you'll be alone
So who will you turn to tomorrow, I wonder?
For when the bell rings, lover, you're on your own”
Far too soon for Cressida’s liking the song came to a close as her mother strummed the final notes on her guitar. Cressida sat on the edge of her seat listening while Coriolanus was grateful the end was coming.
‘ I am the one who you let see you weeping
I know the soul that you struggled to save
Too bad I'm the bet that you lost in the reaping
Now what will you do when I go to my grave?’
The screen went dark, and the room filled with loud silence while the father and daughter processed the video they had just watched. Slowly, Cressida relaxed against her father’s chest once more, the tension from seeing her mother for the first time leaving her body.
“That was my mama?” Cressida asked quietly.
“That was your mother, yes,” Coriolanus responded gently.
The conversion ended there. The duo sat in silence for a little while longer until Coriolanus decided they should start on her homework and dinner. Cressida quickly agreed; the little girl wanted to get back to normal.
The next day, when she got to school, she noticed Aurelia Prism and Caelum Solstice were missing from the class. When she asked, her teacher responded that the two had suddenly moved to the district.
She never saw the two classmates again.
Since that day Cressida slowly learned over the years that her mother and sister were extremely touchy subjects for her father. There were only a few off-hand moments when her father mentioned them, moments that Cressida did hold close to her heart.
But Coriolanus raised her well on his own. She was respectful, smart, and kind. He couldn’t have been more proud once she told him she wanted to one day be president of Panem as well.
Cressida Snow was also well respected around the Capitol. Both Coriolanus and Cressida promptly ignored the hushed whispers on the streets of Cressida's mother. Turning a blind eye to how people would whisper about how Cressida had District Blood in her. Coriolanus did everything in his power to keep these whispers and stares away from his daughter. Punishing anyone who dared say a bad thing about her.
What Cressida didn’t tell her father was that she heard the whispers oh so clearly at the Academy. Why when she answered any question correctly there would be a hushed mutter of, ‘She’s good for the district.’ Or when she walked down the halls there would be quiet chuckles ‘There’s the district girl.’
But Cressida never let these whispers get to her. Cressida knew she was smart. Being top of her class, submitting extra credits of ideas for the games that she came up with just like how her father did in his years at school.
As well as the fact, she was proud of who her mother was, even if she couldn’t talk about it. Now, she would never go as far as to consider herself district. But she loved being her mother’s child just as much as she loved being her father’s girl.
She never told her dad about the late night when she snuck into his office to watch the clips of her mother he had saved, or how she read the notes on the tenth games he kept hidden away from the public as he kept trying to erase her mother from the face of the earth and from the memories of the people of Panem.
Cressida especially never told her darling father about how whenever he was out of the house on business for a few days and she was feeling extremely lonely, she would sneak into the safe he had hidden behind a painting of her grandmother and take out the photos he kept from his time in District 12.
Here were the only photos she had ever seen of Amelia, back when she was a small baby. They looked quite similar as babies so Cressida liked to imagine that they still looked similar now. She hoped they did.
She always felt a slight jealousy that Amelia could see photos of her from the news outlets and see what Cressida looked like now, but Cressida would never see how Amelia looked.
That is if Amelia knew that Cressia even existed.
Cressida always felt a bit guilty after doing this and going through her father’s things, but if Coriolanus didn’t want her breaking into the safe, maybe he shouldn't have made the password her birthday. Honestly, it was like he wanted her to break in.
But now it was just another year of the games coming up, the 27th Hunger Games were approaching and today was the reapings.
So Cressida slowly dragged herself to the living room where her father was waiting for her to view the reapings in each district. Stopping quickly in the library for her book, knowing she’d get bored she made her way into the living room.
Upon her arrival, Coriolanus sent her a gentle smile from his spot on the couch.
“Hello, darling girl.” Coriolanus greeted softly, moving over slightly so she could sit down as well.
“Hey, Dad,” Cressida responded, waving to the peacekeepers stationed in the corners of the room before flopping down onto the couch ungracefully, causing her father to huff out a laugh. The two of them were never as proper as they were in public when in the safety of their own homes. “Am I late?”
Coriolanus shook his head in response to her question as he unconsciously started to braid her hair like he’d done since she was a small child.
The duo sat comfortably watching as the reaping started live from the districts, making small comments here and there on what they thought of the tributes as they were called while Cressida skimmed her book and Coriolanus did some paperwork once he finished her braided hair, until they finally reached District 12.
Once it was announced that 12’s turn for the reaping was upon us, Cressida noticed that her father’s pen stopped moving against the pages, and his body tensed up like it did every year.
“Now it is time for the first tribute!” The escort spoke into the microphone, reaching a hand into the boy's name on her right. Waving her hand around for a moment before dipping it into the bowl.
The tension in the living room was rising in the room as they awaited the name being called.
“The boy tribute is…Mason Slate!” the escort called out. Cressida could hear quiet murmurs among the crowds of District 12 as she watched a tall boy from the back of the crowd make his way to the stage. Cressida guessed that he was about 16 or 17. He had dark brown hair and brown eyes, and his clothes looked a size too small, much like the rest of 12. But still, he's looked stronger than 12 was used to.
Coriolanus muttered to himself beside Cressida too quietly for her to make out but if she had to guess it wasn’t something kind, he hated 12 now. Not that Cressida didn’t understand why, but at the same time, Cressida had a soft spot for the district knowing her mother and sister could be out there.
“Now! Time for the girls!” She called out again, making her way to the girl's bowl. Just like every year Cressida felt her stomach tighten slightly with nerves and she could see the way her father tightens his grip on his pen from beside her.
“This year the female tribute is…Amelia Baird!”
Cressida felt like someone had taken a rug out from underneath her and proceeded to kick her in the stomach repeatedly.
Amelia Baird?
Cressida could feel her throat tighten at the realization that her sister was going into the games.
The games that she did countless assignments on ways she thought she could improve the games.
She was going to be sick–.
Suddenly a scream filled the room, in a voice that Cressida had only heard through videos before and never in this much pain.
Quickly Cressida focused back in on the TV to see two peacekeepers holding a girl who looked almost like herself by the arms and were dragging her towards the stage as she looked around panicked and afraid.
Quickly, Lucy Gray ran down to the middle of the reaping, clearly older than the videos that Cressida watched on repeated but just as beautiful, Cressida left all the air leave her lungs. She always wanted to see her mother and sister but not like this, never like this.
Cressida watched for a moment as Lucy Gray fought against the peacekeepers trying to reach Amelia when she suddenly called out.
“She’s deaf! Amelia’s deaf–besides! I’m a past victor, I can go with her!--” Lucy Gray cried as she fought against the holds the peacekeepers had on her.
“Cut the feed.” Coriolanus's voice suddenly cut through. Cressida could hear the anger in his tone, and his voice was colder than she had ever heard it before. Quickly, she sat up, looking at her father. The feed from the district was cut off, filling the room with a too-loud silence.
“Dad,” Cressida tried to say, but Coriolanus gave her a look that immediately showed her that now wasn’t her time to speak, and she quickly quieted herself. So she watched silently as her father stood up from the couch.
Coriolanus turned to the peacekeepers in the room, who were glancing at each other with confused expressions on their faces. But once they noticed Coriolanus was facing them, they quickly wiped the looks off their faces.
“Bring Lucy Gray and Amelia Baird here. There will be no stops along the way, and you best make sure the two of them arrive here with no cuts or bruises, or you all will face punishment.” Coriolanus spoke coolly, in his calm, collected president’s tone. But Cressida could see the slight shake of his hands and the way his fingers were twitching.
It was one of his tells that he was nervous. He did the same thing a few months back when Cressida had fallen ill and needed an IV for dehydration.
The peacekeepers quickly nodded before rushing out of the room to pass the message from Coriolanus down to the peacekeepers in 12, hoping reaching them beside one of them try to hurt either Lucy Gray or Amelia.
The father and daughter stayed in silence for a great moment after the peacekeepers left, neither speaking nor looking at each other until Coriolanus slowly sat back down next to Cressida, silently pulling his daughter into a tight hug, and taking a shaky breath.
Cressida was quick to return the hug, pressing her face into his shoulder like she used to as a child. She was sure her father could feel her slight tremors from the anxiety of this whole situation.
Finally, after a few more moments of silence, Cressida finally spoke up.
“Dad…What’s going to happen now?” Cressida asked quietly, not moving away from her father for a moment. She felt as Coriolanus sighed quietly and his hand messed with the braid in her hair gently.
“I don’t have an answer for you, darling. But I need to go prepare for their arrival. I suggest you do the same.” Coriolanus spoke softly as he pulled away and pressing a gentle kiss to the crown of Cressida’s head before making his way out of the living room, leaving behind a stunned Cressida.
How do you prepare for your mother and sister, whom you have never met before and who probably hate you?
Cressida groaned and dropped down to hide her face against the plush throw pillows on the couch.
This was not how she imagined she’d met her sister and mother for the first time.