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The snakes are still wrapped around her when she's pulled out of the arena. Body weak, limbs unable to stop shaking. Voice hoarse from singing. Thick rubber clad hands pulling through the empty arena and to the exit. Yanking the remaining snakes off her as they did. Lucy Gray barely had the energy to lift her head up. To turn her head and see what lie in her wake would be impossible. Nor did she want to. The risk of the dead bodies consumed by snakes was too much.
They don't throw her into the van this time, instead she's set in it carefully. Some small regard to her well being. She doesn't have the strength or the mind to climb onto the seats of the van. Instead, Lucy Gray lays against the cold floor staring at the top. It's only then she stops singing.
She's alive.
It doesn't feel real still. It feels like a trap. Like she wasn't suppose to win. It's as if she cheated death.
Well.
She had cheated death. The empty compact pressed against her chest was proof that. Her mind drifted to Coriolanus. That pretty Capitol boy, so calculated. Yet, so reckless for her. She wonders what he did to get her out of there. She's sure it's something. That those pretty snakes didn't just like her tune.
Whatever it is. He did it. He got her out of that arena. Gifted her with something she'll never be able to repay: Life.
Her eyes briefly flutter shut from the rocking of the van, the exhaustion practically taking over her body. Drifting to a space between the plains of consciousness. Until the van jerks to a stop, sliding her towards the door.
They open abruptly. Peacekeepers, much rougher, pulling her out. She stumbles over her own feet trying to keep up as she's guided through a crisp hallway into a lab.
"He broke the rules—"
"And it worked! Did you not hear the cries to let the songbird out? He was right. They cared. He won, let it go, Casca."
"How many times will you let a Snow cheat?"
"Why stop it when there is so much to gain?" A deep guttural, wicked, laugh follows. The woman speaking turning to look, a creature resting in her hands. "Our songbird straight from her cage and into another!" Lucy Gray stumbles to the floor as the Peacekeepers drop her in front of the woman. Her stomach sinks at the continued laughter and clapping. "Hippity Hoppity, a victor has come to play!"
"You owe your life to your mentor," The man behind the woman, Casca from what she heard, sneers. He pulls out a small vial, downing the liquid in one go as he makes his exit. "Let's hope you can survive him."
She looks back to the woman with the creature nervously, limbs shaking as she tries to pull herself off the floor, "What happens now?"
A sinister grin crosses the woman's lips, "Now, songbird, you sing!"
The feeling of dread fills her stomach as the woman turns at the sound of a door opening. Coriolanus rushes in, eyes wild. His uniform askew, buttons of the shirt undone at the top.
"Lucy Gray?!" For the first time since exiting the arena she feels the damn inside her break. She's hungry and weak, but still she rushes to him. Stumbling over her own feet as she almost falls into his arms. His hands grip her forearms first, keeping her up right. Before they drift to cup her face in his hands. Her hands gripping the lapels of his bright red jacket.
"You did it," Her voice is weaker than she expected, scratchy from the affects of the arena. The singing, the screaming. "You got me out."
"I had to," Coriolanus presses his forehead against hers for a fleeting moment, before remembering who was in the room. "It was the only option."
"Mr. Snow, your victor will be needing tests, before the celebrations begin," The woman's eerie voices floats from behind her. A panic begins to bubble inside her, her eyes locking with his.
"Coriolanus, don't leave me—"
"I won't," His voice is firm, but his eyes drift towards the woman behind her. "Dr. Gaul, you don't want her interviewing like this. Starving, barely able to stand on her own. Let her rest, bathe, be able to look presentable for everyone tomorrow."
That same deep, guttural, wicked laugh echos through the room once again. Chilling her to the bone. Lucy Gray keeps her eyes focused on Coriolanus, desperately studying the unreadable expression on his face.
"So eager to take your prize home, Mr. Snow," She feels a hand lifting a lock of her hair as if inspecting her, goosebumps breaking out across her body. Words she was too terrified to question repeating in her mind. Prize. Home. Not Twelve. Dr. Gaul did not say anything about Twelve. "Very well, you may take your songbird home after my tests. Go tend to something that doesn't interfere with my experiments until she's done."
Even as her grip tightens, he still releases her. Nodding towards, Dr. Gaul. She opens her mouth to object, to say anything. Yet, nothing comes out. Leaving her to do nothing but watch as he walks towards the opposite end of the lab, checking back over his shoulder every few feet.
"What an interesting mutation you'll become," Dr. Gaul hums. "Part district, part Capitol. An example for the future?"
Lucy Gray frowns, daring to meet Dr. Gaul's eyes as a needle plunged into her arm, drawing blood from her, "I won. I get to go home."
A wicked grin greets her once again, "The rebel bombing ruined that. A statement has to be made since you escaped death. Don't be afraid of your cage, your mentor is fond enough I'm sure he won't mind keeping you forever."
She wants to scream, but her voice is too shot. Even if she could physically, she doesn't. It wouldn't bode well for her survival.
Instead her eyes just flicker back to watching Coriolanus pretend to be fascinated by some experimental mutt incased in a jar, "No, I'm sure he wouldn't."
"How'd you do it?" It's the first thing out of her mouth as the doors in the back of the peacekeeper van that agreed to drive them to Coriolanus's home shut. Guess it wouldn't be a good look for their victor to pass out in the streets walking home.
"The snakes won't attack if they know your scent," He pulls the handkerchief he'd wiped her tears with the night before the games out of his pocket. "I put this in the tank."
"And how'd you know about them?"
Coriolanus slides the handkerchief back in his pocket, "An assignment with Dr. Gaul."
"Are you lying to me?" The question leaves her lips before she can think about it, not that she's in any state to think about it. She isn't even sure she'll be able to lift herself up out to the van.
His eyes meet hers curiously, "Why would I lie to you, Lucy Gray?"
"You didn't tell me, I don't get to go home."
"It was a recent development."
Lucy Gray leans her head back against the metal walls of the van, soaking in the cool feeling, "Why? Actually why? Not just because of the bombing."
"People love you, your songs, " Coriolanus pushes a strand of her hair back. "They think you're useful to them."
The first tears escape at that, her eyes fluttering shut to try and stop them, "Sorry. I'm grateful, I am. It's just hard to hear you'll never go home again."
Coriolanus must have pulled the handkerchief out, as she feels it brush underneath her eyes. She instinctively wants to push it away, beg for anything but more bits of the arena against her skin. Instead she just silently allows for the comfort.
"I'll take care of you, just as I have since we met."
Lucy Gray opens her eyes at that, looking at him, "Sure, will be nicer to take care of me with all that prize money you got, huh."
"I would do it without the prize money, too," Coriolanus averts his eyes. "It just would have been more difficult."
"Hope you plan on feeding me when we get to your home, gorgeous. I might start to wither away if you don't."
"I'll send Tigris to demand the grocer open up at this hour if I have to," His hand comes to rest over hers. "I know this isn't ideal, but I think it'll be good. Give us a real chance."
Lucy Gray forces her lips into a weak smile. She didn't want to be thinking about the good in the bad right now. Tonight she should be able to cry to recover from the death she narrowly escaped over and over again.
"You're more optimistic than me," She starts. "But I think I get a pass after almost dying a few times in the last day."
"You know, Dr. Gaul made me go in the arena," Coriolanus admits twining their fingers together, encasing her whole hand with his.
Lucy Gray frowns, "Why? Why would you need to go in?"
"My classmate, Sejanus, he broke in to do a District Two ritual for his tribute. Dr. Gaul sent me in to get him, had to defend myself on the way out."
"So you were what happened to that boy from Eight?" Her eyes narrow at his hand, wondering if it was the one holding her that did it. That killed someone.
Then like a punch to the gut, she remembers. She's killed too. How can she judge when she did the same thing to save herself.
"It was self defense. He attacked me."
"Yours probably more than mine," She closes her eyes, willing the images of the snakes enveloping everyone out of her mind. The screams echoing in her ears still to go away. "I don't want to talk about the arena again, not today."
The doors of the van opened in front of the tallest building she'd ever seen. Fine marble shining back at her. It'd be almost pristine if she couldn't see the damage from the war still on the building. Broken windows, bits of it all chipped away.
Coriolanus exits first, holding onto her hand as she steps out to keep her steady, a nervous look on his face, "We can take the stairs slowly, I know you aren't well."
"I really hope you don't live on the top floor, gorgeous."
"I'm going to disappoint you already."
She's almost certain she's going to die by the time they make it to the top of the stairs. Her limbs shaking more than they had as she exited the arena. Her hands gripping onto him in a way that she's coming to resent. Showing him how much she could need to rely on him feels dangerous.
Yet, she lets him practically carry her into his home. The penthouse as he calls it. It must have been stunning in it's heyday. The blue green marble shiny, ornate fixtures. As she leans against Coriolanus's chest, she can practically see the great Snow home as it could have once been.
"Coryo!" A bubbly blonde woman all but runs through the penthouse and towards them. "Oh! And Lucy Gray! Oh my—Congratulations! I'm so happy you survived!"
"Lucy Gray this is my cousin, Tigris. Tigris, Lucy Gray's going to be staying with us," Coriolanus wraps an arm around her waist, protectively. Or maybe to keep her up, she isn't quite sure.
"That's wonderful!" Tigris grins. "I'm so excited to get to know you."
"They haven't fed her since the arena, I don't know what we have, but break into the grocer's if you have to," Coriolanus's voice has a twinge of desperation. Like her weak state is actually worrying him. Perhaps it would be worrying her, but she's far too exhausted to care.
"Of course, we wanted to celebrate you tonight! I have a stew on, it's almost ready, and Mrs. Plinth brought an apple pie over," Tigris's eyes shift to her for a split moment as if deciding to speak further. "She said it started as a thank you for…you know and turned into a congratulations."
"Lucy Gray, you should wash the arena off first," Coriolanus leads her into a different direction than Tigris ran from. "The waters cold, so up to you if you prefer a cold shower or bath."
"I don't know if I can even stand up alone for a shower," Her eyes skim the hall he leads her through, taking in everything as it blurs past. The holes in the apartment, the dust. Bits of the old legacy of the Snow family.
"Bath it is."
The bathroom's bigger than she expected. A shower in the corner, the large tub closest to the door. She sits on the edge of it as he turns the water on. Bending down to begin undoing her boots for the first time since the morning of the reaping. Her feet practically rubbed raw, aching the instant they're free. She lets out a quiet cry at the feeling.
"I can get Tigris to assist you with your dress if you need," Coriolanus brows furrowed as he watches over her.
"Don't bother," Lucy Gray reaches to lift her hair up. "Just undo the laces for me, it'll be faster."
His hands fumble over the laces as he does so. Like he hadn't dealt with something similar before. She shouldn't be surprised. As gorgeous as he was, he didn't necessarily scream extremely experienced with women, especially corsetry. She stands weakly, letting the dress drop with little care if he sees. Though she catches his eyes averting in the mirror.
As she crawls into the cold bath it jolts her awake. Her achy bones rejecting the bitter feeling. It takes a moment for her to adjust before she dunks her head in feeling the dirt and grime of her time in the Capitol and the arena wash away. Turning the water off with a kick of her foot.
"I'm going to find you a change of clothes," Coriolanus sets soap on the side of the bath before exiting quickly. Leaving her alone for the first time since being pulled from the arena. Would this be forever? Rare moments alone trapped in this dilapidated cage. What would her life be? A life here she never was free again? Never would again sing and dance with the Covey?
Did she really die the moment her name was called? Was this just a sick afterlife? A life with her guardian angel who saved her? Or killed her.
She plunges into the icy cold water again after lathering her hair. Letting the soap wash away everything she'd suffered through. The pain, the death. She starts to scrub as much as she can. Washing away each tragedy. The shooting at the zoo. The bombing. Jessup. Wovey. Reaper. Coral. Treech. So much more than she could even begin to think of.
By the time she finishes scrubbing, Coriolanus has opened the door again setting folded clothes and towel next to the bath, "Dinner is ready if you are."
Gripping the side of the tub, she uses all her strength to pull herself up. Leaving the murky dirt water to drain. She hopes taking all the pain down with it. Though, she knows that's not realistic. Those faces will haunt her sleep.
"Can I ask one thing, gorgeous?" Lucy Gray wraps herself into the towel as she steps out of the tub. "Use some of that prize money for hot water at least once soon. My bones feel as a brittle as glass after this."
Coriolanus huffs a laugh, shaking his head, "If I have my way, you'll never have a cold bath again."
"From your lips," Lucy Gray slides on the baby pink silk night gown over her head, taking a towel to her hair. "You got money for silk nightgowns but not hot water?"
"It was my mothers."
Lucy Gray turns at that, meeting his eye, "From one mothers clothes into anothers, I suppose. I'll take good care of it, I promise." She slides the matching robe on tying it tightly.
"Let's get food in you before you pass out on me."
She doesn't stay in the guest room that'd been so quickly made up for her. She attempts to, of course, she practically fell asleep the second her head hit the pillow. It worked for a bit, until her first nightmare arrived. Waking her in a cold sweat, disoriented. Alone.
Without a second thought her feet took her down the hall, towards the bedroom Coriolanus had pointed out as his. Her fingers wrap around the the door knob pulling it open without knocking. Like a woman possessed. Maybe she was. At the minimum, she was possessed by fear.
Coriolanus's eyes flicker to the door from where he sat at the desk, face illuminated by the candles in the window, "Lucy Gray?"
"Don't make me be alone," It's a pathetic sound that escapes her. Although, she's sure he's heard it before. So similar to one that escaped her lips in the arena when looking at Jessup's dead body. It must awaken something with him. Something in his nature she hasn't been able to completely understand yet takes over.
Rising from the chair at his desk, he approaches slowly. A single arm reaching out to her, giving her the space to fall into his embrace. Deep inside her there's a part of her that says to run. A voice telling her this Capitol boy can't possibly comprehend who she really is. She's been a bird in a cage for him and he just found the key. Her mind is too spent to listen to the voice.
It's easier to fall into his embrace, let his long arms wrap around her rather limply. Like he's unsure how to comfort properly, not that she's entirely sure either. How can you comfort someone after sending them into an arena to death with twenty three other people?
"I won't," He sounds uneasy, unsure in the way he whispered if this was real the other night in the zoo. She's in his arms. In his bedroom. This is as real as it could ever be, yet she still doesn't know if she could answer him. "You can sleep in here if you want."
His fingers make their way to the back of her hair, tangling ever so slightly in her slightly damp curls. Her head pressed against his chest, gripping his robe as she'd gripped his lapels in the lab.
"Thank you, Coriolanus," It's barely above a whisper. Three words that mean so much more than she could ever begin to explain. How could she even begin to express her gratitude for what he'd done? He'd saved her, risked more than she could even comprehend in this state. "Thank you for everything."
She feels his arm around her tighten ever so slightly, as if getting more comfortable with the thought of her in his arms. Tension leaving his body as he adjusts to having her so close, her head settled against his chest. All but pressed against him in his bedroom.
"I told you, I'd do my best to take care of you," The confidence, deserved or not, she's grown so accustomed to hearing when he speaks returns. His head dipping down to the top of hers, resting his cheek against it. "I'll continue to do that. Sharing my bed may be the easiest way to take care of you yet."
A laugh she didn't even know was possible in her current state escapes her lips," Not the rat poison?"
"That's a close second," His body moves ever so slightly like he was laughing silently where she couldn't see.
"And the handkerchief?"
"A bit harder, had to rip my stitches out for that one," She lifts her head. Her eyes instantly meeting his, so close their noses are almost brushing.
"You ripped your stitches out to put that handkerchief in the tank?" Coriolanus nods, the hand tangled in her hair traveling to cup her face.
"It gave me the excuse I needed," His eyes flicker from her eyes to her lips. Watching her as if she's something he needs to study. Maybe she is.
"Kinda funny ain't it?" The corners of her lips upturn ever so slightly. "That you're the one that exited the arena physically harmed."
He huffs a laugh, resting his forehead against hers, "Guess that makes us both the victors."
"Guess so."
Her eyes flicker to his lips. They'd kissed before her games. A desperate attempt on her part to ensure he'd want to fight for her. A selfish one too, for one last kiss before her imminent death. Kissing him now means more. He saved her, but for all she knows he helped trap her here. Wasn't she his prize? Part of it at least.
"Lucy Gray," It's a murmur, a low husky one she wasn't expecting. Her eyes flick up to his immediately, greeted by the same earnest look from the night in the zoo. "Is this real?"
"As real as life gets."
Is she completely sure herself saying it? No. How can she be after everything? Yet there's something in the victorious flash in his eyes that make her stomach flip. Makes her want to believe it is that real.
His lips press to hers tentatively. A much more shy kiss than their previous. It isn't consuming or desperate. It's more akin to a hello. Like two people learning to communicate. A slow, tired, dance of their mouths.
When he breaks the kiss, his eyes search her face desperately. As if trying to confirm it is real, like any micro-expression will tell him differently. For her, that's like a light bulb moment. This is real. There's no choice for her but for it to be real. He wants her, he's her keeper so to speak, so it has to be real. For her to survive this, it's real.
There are worse men to be shackled to.
"You should rest,"His thumb runs over her bottom lip as he walks her backwards towards the small bed in his room. "The next few days will be exhausting."
"Doing what?" They stop as the back of her legs hit the mattress, instinctively lowering herself on it.
"An interview, a victory party at the presidents mansion. Hopefully, starting to fix the damage from the war," Coriolanus shrugs off the robe climbing onto the bed behind her.
"You're gonna patch up the walls before hot water?" Lucy Gray teases, letting him tug her backwards on the small bed. Laying on her side to tuck herself against him.
"Don't worry we'll get your hot bath soon."
"Tell me all your other dreams," Her eyes close at that. Drifting back to sleep to the visions of grandeur Coriolanus Snow has planned for himself. For them.
"Tigris, how could you possibly manage this?" Lucy Gray turns in front of the mirror, admiring the dress Tigris had come running down the hall early in the afternoon with.
"It was easy really," Tigris smiles. "I had the black dress, though it was less full and with sleeves. I didn't think you should be in black though, not with that rainbow dress of yours. So I waited until my boss, Fabricia, was distracted and grabbed as many colors from our trash scraps as I could. I just pleated them into the dress and decided to add the stripes to the top after I cut the sleeves and viola!"
"Oh that's all?" Lucy Gray replies dryly, meeting Coriolanus's eyes in the mirror. She plasters a grin on her lips, the kind she plans on forcing for this interview. "Just some light stealing."
"Is it really stealing if it's trash?" Coriolanus smirks, his eyes leaving hers in the mirror to the descend over her body instead.
"Suppose not, gorgeous," She turns at that, directing a smile at Tigris. "Thank you again, I don't know how I'll ever be able to repay the amount of kindness you've shown me, cleaning my dress, the bread pudding, and now this dress. Thank you."
Tigris just grins wider, placing her hands on Lucy Gray's shoulders, "It's my pleasure, truly. No one else gets to say they styled the victor." Tigris releases her at that, stepping backwards with a turn towards Coriolanus. "I should go out to the audience, make sure I get a good seat."
Lucy Gray watches as Tigris presses a kiss to her cousins cheek and gives a final wave before exiting the small room near to the auditorium they'd been directed to.
"Should we go over it?" Her eyes shift from the door to Coriolanus clad in a nice suit they'd mentioned being his fathers. He nods at her, taking a few steps forward.
"Those snakes?"
"Oh!" Like a switch flips, she slides into the persona of herself that she lets out on stage. "I don't know how, they just loved my singing. Guess you could say I'm a snake charmer."
"But why sing?" He takes another step forward, hands resting on her hips.
"It was my funeral, don't y'all sing at funerals?" She watches as his lips twitch a bit. Amused at the subtle reference to the funerals they'd attended before the game.
"What about your method of avoiding the fight?"
"Never been much of a fighter," Lucy Gray tilts her head up defiantly, eyes focusing on his lips. "I'm more of a lover."
Coriolanus shakes his head, a grin on his lips, "They're going to ask you to sing, you know that don't you?"
"Is it a request or a demand?" The last thing she wanted to do was sing. Not less than twenty four hours of being in the arena.
"A request, you're hoarse still," He pushes her hair behind her ear, fingers dancing along the edge of her face. "You have good reason not to…"
"But I won't when it is a demand," Lucy Gray frowns, but only for a moment. His lips press to hers as if trying to kiss the distaste away.
"Tonight is just an interview, let's get through that first."
A knock on the door breaks the moment, the door opening to reveal a Capitol News assistant, "They're ready for you."
Coriolanus hand drags down from her waist to her hand, fingers twining together with hers. Staring her down in a way that transports her back to the first time she was interviewed. She simply gives a quick nod. Letting him lead them out of the room and into the auditorium.
Lucy Gray tries not to flinch at the wall of sound they hit at they walk in. She didn't do anything to deserve these vocal praises, screams, applause. They were all for her though. Her grip tightens ever so slightly on his hand, looking straight ahead towards the front of the auditorium where a make shift stage had been set up with three chairs, Lucky Flickerman sitting at one already.
As they step up onto the stage, Lucy Gray forces her most showstopping smile onto her lips. A perfect juxtaposition to the terrified death grip she has on Coriolanus's hand. Settling on the chair next to Lucky Flickerman, Coriolanus to her other side.He attempts to pull his hand away, but her grip only tightens.
She has no intentions of releasing his hand at all.
His friends invite them for a victory dinner at a club after the interview. A celebration. Though, she notices the way most of his friends look at her like she shouldn't be here. Not that she blames them, she agrees. She should be on a train pulling up to Twelve by now. What should be reality is a pipe dream though.
Especially as she's staring at the television in the club—though it's really more elite restaurant—playing a recap of her interview, clips of the games and the lead up spliced in. Her eyes zeroing in on the words running along the bottom: A Victor and Her Mentor! Forbidden Love On Display!
It was one way putting it. She took another sip of the disgustingly sweet wine his friends ordered for the table. Making herself tear her eyes away from the screen when clips of the arena begin to play again. Clips of her in the arena.
"Lucy Gray, what do you think of the posca?" The voice that asks is haughty, but there's something kind and curious about it.
"Sweet as a honey bee," She sets the glass down looking at the girl who asked it. She didn't listen to any of their names. She'll learn them eventually, but now? She doesn't care to. "I'm partial to white liquor."
"Sounds…liquor-y," The same girl speaks, letting out a laugh before whispering something to the guy next to her.
"The girls like posca for how sweet it is, to avoid the liquor and get as drunk," Coriolanus murmurs into her ear.
"How convenient," She shakes her head. "It's doing a pretty bad job, gorgeous. Not numbing the pain near enough."
Coriolanus keeps his eyes on her for just a moment, as if trying to figure her out, "Order something stronger if you prefer."
"Your friends ordered carafe's of posca," Lucy Gray glances back at the television. "No need to rock the boat while the news is callin' us a forbidden love story."
He smirks at that, "I think it's actually a government approved and sanctioned one."
"Guess, I should be thankful I'm not in an actual cage anymore," Lucy Gray brings the posca up to her lips again.
"Lucy Gray," Another voice asks from across the table. "Do you plan on singing again soon, your songs have been beautiful."
"I'm sure I will," She winks. Another performance. "Voice is still shot from singing to those snakes though."
She may have to perform every day for the rest of her life. Her eyes flicker to Coriolanus, thinking of those dreams of his. No doubt he'll want her to perform too. Right now, he simply smiles at her, all boyish and smitten. He hasn't asked anything of her yet, but she knows it's coming. He's too ambitious to not.
"I still can't believe you did that," The guy next to the girl who asked how she likes the posca shakes his head. "When did you stop singing?"
"When they put me in the peacekeeper van, it felt like hours but I assume most singing does when you're trying not to die."
It seems to sober the group every time she reminds them what was to become of her. That they all almost watched her die. That they watched everyone else die. She doesn't really care if she makes them uncomfortable with it. They should be.
"Well, here's to never having to mentor or be in the games again," Another one of his friends lifts a glass in a toast.
"Hey, you never know Coryo might have been so good at mentoring they make him try again."
"I highly doubt that," Coriolanus rolls his eyes but lifts his glass. Lucy Gray follows suit, lips in a tight smile to prevent the laughter threatening to escape. No way in hell would they bring him back after the mess of cheating.
"You're probably too biased now, got your own live in victor."
"Does word travel that fast?" Lucy Gray smirks.
"Not every day someone district walks out onto the Corso."
"We're neighbors," Coriolanus leans over, whispering in her ear. "Anyone who's anyone lives on the Corso."
"Silly me," Lucy Gray bats her eyes, not at him but the table. Performing for him the rest of her life would be exhausting, no point in digging a grave she can't get out of. If he intends to keep her like Dr. Gaul implied, he'd have to deal with her even when she wasn't buttering him up to survive. "Shoulda known you'd all be the cream of the crop."
"Coryo, is your cousin making Lucy Gray another dress for tomorrows festivities?" There's something about the question that makes Coriolanus bristle ever so slightly. Maybe the implication that he's not as well off to simply buy her a gown. She doubts his friends are bathing in cold water. Especially the quiet one who offered to the foot the bill of this celebration dinner when suggested, she's almost certain he's the one who broke into the arena. Though he looked more optimistic prior to the games when pleading with Marcus to eat.
"I hope so," Lucy Gray covers, grinning into her posca. Another forced grin as she tries to ignore the clip of Jessup falling to ground in the replay on the television. She can only see it out of the corner of her eye, but that almost makes it worse. Like it's floating through her mind. "She did so wonderful with this dress on such short notice. Don't you think?"
Her head tilts ever so slightly at the girl who asked the question. She feels Coriolanus's hand settle on her knee under the table. A daring touch that makes her eyes meet his. The look makes her stomach sink. He liked her covering that, daring his friends to push back. She can practically see the wheels turning in his head.
"It's gorgeous!" A genuine response is the last thing she expected, but she welcomes it. Her performative grin softening just a bit. "I'm excited to see what she can do next with all your colors!"
"Me too," Her voice comes out an octave quieter. A rush of guilt flooding her that she couldn't even be bothered to pay attention to his friends names.
If she can look past Coriolanus's role in the games and her imprisonment, shouldn't she be able to see past their involvement?
Maybe it's the posca—possibly too strong for someone that had been starving in a cage then the arena for weeks— but she finds herself needing to forget in a different way. To ignore the guilt filling her mind. The anguish bubbling inside her at being locked away like this. Trapped in the Capitol with no way home. Ever.
She presses her lips to Coriolanus's again, willing the thought away. Like she had every time an unwanted thought had entered her mind. An urgent union turning into a slow, lazy, kiss. Like it's a silent conversation and they were trying to memorize each word.
His hand tangle in her hair, thumb rubbing against her cheekbone. The other on her hip, keeping her firmly against him. As if she wasn't close enough, sat on his lap, straddling his waist. Her hands gripping his shoulders for leverage. His back pressed against the wall his bed was pushed against.
It's wrong to want this, she knows that. He goes against everything in her being. His way of life, his goals, his dreams. It was the antithesis of her. Yet, even before she was trapped with this fate she wanted him. Even if it was just a silly fantasy she drifted to in the arena. Him saving her, meeting her at a show of hers. Not that he'd ever be in Twelve. Still it was fun to fantasize, his pretty blonde curls watching her in the Hob. Them sharing a dance after, a kiss like these even.
Until the reality would hit with another horror. Jessup's panic. The sounds of a scream. Reminding her there wasn't a way he could save her. Not like the fantasy in her head. She was doomed. In a way she still felt doomed. This was her cage wasn't it? He her jailer?
She presses her lips to his again. Repeating the processes. Letting his lips distract her from any more thoughts. The rush she feels from his kisses like a balm to her broken heart. His hand running up and down over her waist, rubbing the buttery silk of the nightgown against her skin.
"Lucy Gray," It's practically a whisper against her lips in a pause between his kisses. Getting distracted by their union before he can continue his thought. Fingers trying to pull her even closer to him.
"Hungry?" She teases, getting a frustrated groan in response as she deepens the kiss again. It's lame. They've both been starving literally. Actual hunger can't compare to this sort of hunger. Though there's a point with each kiss that makes her think it could. That she could be satiated by just his kisses for the rest of her life.
"Starved," Coriolanus prevents her for the first time from taking another kiss. His forehead resting against hers. "You're crying though."
She frowns, lifting a hand to her cheek. Shocked at the wetness, "Guess crying while kissing is a bit of a turn off."
He lifts the end of his sleeve to her cheek, wiping the tears away with his robe, "Doesn't inspire confidence."
"Maybe it's that posca," Lips upturning into a smirk, she moved back ever so slightly.
"The posca yes," Coriolanus gives her a look. "Nothing else since we've met could possibly be the reason for your tears."
"Just not strong enough to numb me," Lucy Gray moves from his lap at that, settling next to him on the bed.
"Is it about not going home?"
"Coriolanus, you're gonna need to give me a bottle of liquor if we ever intend on getting through that conversation."
His fingers twine with hers, "Would a guitar make it better?"
It shouldn't surprise her, his innate need to fix whatever is making her unhappy. Her crying while kissing him doesn't exactly bode well for his fantasy. He can't pretend she chose to stay or that this would be happening if she had the choice with her tears. Reality ruins fantasies. This reality, no matter how much she wanted him, would never be what she'd choose. Like her fantasy would never be what he would.
"How about this; when I'm ready for a guitar, I'll tell you," Her eyes flicker from their hands up to his.
"Say the word it's yours, this is the most we will ever suffer again."
She just wishes she could be as sure of that as he was.
The presidents mansion makes her ill. Figuratively speaking. Her stomach is fine sipping posca as Coriolanus guides her from person to person. Group to group. She is fine, technically speaking, fluttering about. Grinning ear to ear, flirting ever so slightly without upsetting the possessive boy escorting her. Consistently shifting from holding her hand, to taking her arm, or having his hand on her lower back. His hand resting firmly on the black silk gown.
She didn't know what to think at first when Tigris was pressing the black silk this morning. Coriolanus looked furious that an old dress had been dyed black. Until after returning from a rather painful meeting at the War Department to see Tigris hand painting a rainbow of snakes onto the dress. It came out beautifully. The rainbow of snakes juxtaposed against the black silk. Calling back to the dress from the interview as well as her victory. It was clever.
Plus it drew even more looks to her if that was even possible. The leering glances and blatant declarations of lust were far more than she was mentally prepared to handle on her own. The possessive way Coriolanus held her, called her his, was almost comforting. Until her eyes would meet Dr. Gaul's from across the room. That uneasy wicked grin greeting her each time. Sometimes with an even more sinister wink.
The message was clear.
She was a bird in a cage.
"Snow, your victor is a vision! Didn't know they made them like that out in the districts. Such a shame you've already made her yours!"
Coriolanus chooses a new way to hold her at that, arm wrapping around her waist. Pulling her to him, "Well, she isn't exactly district. She traveled district to district until the war ended. For all we know she's Capitol and her inclusion in the games was an injustice. Isn't that right, Lucy Gray?"
It's more likely she's part snake than from the Capitol. Despite that, Lucy Gray performs. A perfect smile on her lips as she leans into his embrace, "Could be, but we'll never know. I'm a mystery!"
"A captivating mystery! I do hope we get to hear your songs again soon."
"Likewise," She barely has the chance to wave before Coriolanus is moving his hand to hers, pulling her away from the man they'd been speaking to. "You're planting seeds for everyone to forget I'm district, huh?"
A step in his fantasy of being president one day, with her as his first lady all but confirmed. She can't imagine living in this mansion. Nor can she imagine a forever with her mentor. She was already damned to that though. Maybe she should have run out of the arena, succumbed to her fate shot like Facet and Velvereen. Wouldn't he have died then too? Trapped like his classmates?
The thought makes her tighten her grip on his hand. She couldn't have left him to die. He already had a hold of her then. He has a hold on her now and everyone knows he does.
"Mr. Snow," The terrifyingly familiar voice of Dr. Gaul booms from behind her. "Songbird, are you enjoying your celebration?"
Lucy Gray presses her lips together, "Most extravagant place I've ever been. Just missing some music and dancing."
Coriolanus huffs a laugh, as if dancing at a party was a ridiculous thought, "Anyone who's anyone is here."
"You've made quite the show with your songbird," A terrifying smirk crosses Dr. Gaul's lips. "Two days and anticipation is already bubbling for next years games. I'll ensure you're enrolled in my course at the University. I'll want your ideas."
Lucy Gray brought the posca to her lips, downing as much as she could. She was damned. The way Coriolanus was smiling like he'd won his second lottery of the week. It made her actually ill. Her stomach twisting into knots.
"I'm looking forward to it, Dr. Gaul."
"And your songbird will be crucial to our research," Dr. Gaul's eyes bore into her. "We all know if your victor steps out of line it will only hurt those in Twelve."
She doesn't need to be told twice. The thought of Clerk Carmine or Maude Ivory in that arena is enough nightmare fuel to last a millennia.
"We wouldn't want that now, would we?" Lucy Gray replies with a sickly sweet tone, as if it would coat the wickedness coming off Dr. Gaul.
It doesn't.
"Until next time," That eerily familiar deep guttural laugh escapes Dr. Gaul's lips as she walks away.
"Coriolanus," Lucy Gray murmurs. He turns, practically boxing her in. Eyes searching hers curiously. "She gives me the creeps."
A grin spreads across his face, "I think she gives everyone the creeps, but she's a necessary evil for our future."
How funny a month ago her life seemed so certain with Billy Taupe. Now this gorgeous Capitol boy had essentially captured her. Won her as if she was just an object. Damned to a fate by his side. And as much as she hated everything about this life, her heart still skips a beat every time he smiles at her like that.
"You sure do move fast, Coriolanus Snow."
"I'm simply a man who knows what he deserves," His lips press against hers. No care for the crowd of people around them to see him kissing a district girl. He'd already started the rumor to fix that. He was simply claiming what was his.
What a terrifying reality that is.