HEARTBURN ➭ THE HUNGER GAMES

001

ੈ♡₊˚•. ˖⋆ ━━━━━⠀HEARTBURN !
▅▅▅▅▅▅▅ ⋯ ▅▅▅▅▅▅▅ ˓ 𑁍ࠜೄ
𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐎𝐍𝐄 ・*:·. ⇌ ஜ  .·:*

   When Julianna was a little girl, she liked to pretend she was a princess.

   To dress in the most elegant of dresses, spinning and twirling around in a grand ballroom. To live in a fairytale– in fairy tales, you meet prince charming, and he's everything you've ever wanted. To wear a crown made just for her, studded with jewels and sparkling diamonds. To live in a beautiful, grand castle filled with elegant paintings and shimmering chandeliers. She wanted to be a kind princess, like the ones in movies whose hearts were pure. She never wanted to be feared, for people to shiver at the sound of her name. She wanted to fall in love, to give her heart away and trust it wouldn't be betrayed.

    Julianna Hart had big dreams as a child, she wanted a future that was never meant for her.

Julianna had been training since she could walk– even before that, her dad would sit her down in a crib as she watched him break a man's jaw. She learned how to hold a knife before she learned her ABCs. It wasn't long before Julianna realized what she was truly destined for– destruction.

She supposes she was one of the lucky ones, getting to live in luxury while the rest of the districts rationed their food just so they could survive. Spending most of her days and long nights in training rooms, where she was taught how to kill a man in more ways than she could count. Where her arms and shoulders were littered with whip scars for making a mistake, and nights when her father wasn't really her dad.

But yeah, she supposes she was one of the lucky ones.

"Is that supposed to be . . . soup?"

Julianna padded down the stairs, over to Tristan who leaned over a pot on the stove. Her wet hair tickled her exposed back, making her shiver. Tristan ignored her remark, fully concentrating on the cook book in front of him. Julianna hummed, standing on the other side of the counter. The food smelt of moldy potatoes, making the redhead scrunch her nose and breathe through her mouth.

"I don't understand, I did exactly what it says in mom's book," Tristan mumbled, eyebrows pinched in distraught. Julianna clicked her tongue, stirring the soup– which turned out to feel– and smell more like oatmeal than soup. "My god, that is rancid– how did you mess it up this bad?" She remarked, cringing.

"Shut up and grab a bowl." He grumbled, Julianna's eyebrows shooting up. "I feel more inclined to take a bite of my own flesh than eat that."

Tristan huffed, smacking her hand away with a sharp glare as he turned off the stove. Julianna snickered, strolling towards the cabinets and pulling boxes out of them. "Cheese buns or applesauce?" She held them out, a slight grin on her lips as Tristan pondered.

"Applesauce." He decided, a quiet 'damn it' from his sister as she put the cheese buns away. She slid him a spoon and cup across the counter, the two of them hopping up on top of it to eat. It used to make their mother furious, going on and on about how disgusting and improper it was to sit where the food went. The dining room hasn't been used in years, truthfully Julianna doesn't even think they've been in that room since they died.

Julianna swung her feet back and forth like a child as they ate in silence, a bad habit. The stink of the soup still filled the house, making it difficult to enjoy the applesauce. In fact, she'd only taken two bites by the time Tristan licked his cup clean. They didn't always eat such plain meals, but given Tristan was a terrible cook and Julianna didn't always want to– applesauce would do.