𝔖𝔱𝔞𝔯 ℭ𝔯𝔬𝔰𝔰𝔢𝔡 - Clove and Cato/Clato

I

TW: Eating Disorder

Love is a curse.

The Kentwell's have a bad history when it comes to love. Casimir Kentwell fell in love once and vowed never to love anyone or anything again. When he was seventeen, he met a woman. She was short and frail, delicate like a flower. Her hair was like a dark willow tree blowing in the wind. She had dark brown eyes with flecks of green that resembled moss on a tree. Upon her pale face splattered freckles like stars in the night sky. Casimir loved her more than anything in the entire world.

They married and bore two baby girls; twelve years apart. The eldest, Charmaine, resembled her father. She was a charmer and the most beautiful girl in the entire district. When she was seventeen, she also fell in love. Her love, however, was unrequited. It was a scam; a scam to ensure the victory of her opponent. She died in the hunger games, and the person behind the knife was the one she called her lover.

The girl's mother realized then that she would no longer support the capital and their ways. Having one's own family taken away from them can really bring light to a dark subject. She began to protest and fight the capitol in secret, even kept hidden from her own husband. He, a peacekeeper, would never approve of her treason.

It was high noon on a Saturday when screams were heard in the town square. Casimir Kentwell came running toward the commotion; it was his duty. His heart turned cold that day, and his lover was never seen again.

I was five years old.

——

"Get up," he scowled, interrupting my slumber. It was dark, and I knew the sun wouldn't rise for another two hours. Today, just like every other day for the past sixteen years was a day to be training. My hand felt my cheek; tender from the night before from his blows. My father wanted me to be tough. He wanted me to bring pride to the district, just like many other parents in district two. I knew his real intentions, though. I knew he wanted me gone.

His face disappeared as his helmet slipped over his face. I barely saw my father's face. If he were lost in a crowd, I doubt I would even be able to pick him out. He said nothing as the door closed behind him. He was off to "keep the peace" in the district and he expected me to do the same. That is, if I survived the hunger games.

I got up, not bothering to change my clothes. Though we were one of the richer districts, "rich" means nothing here. I couldn't afford to purchase enough clothes, let alone find time to regularly wash them. I let out a big yawn as I grabbed my bag and headed off to the academy to train. There was no time to eat, not that I wanted to. I saved my food for my father. It had always been this way.

I entered the code to the doorway and pulled the door open as the light flicked green. The lights were still off, but slowly flashed on at the motion of me entering. Like all other days, there would be no one here until at least 7:30. I placed my bag down and set up the dummies. I threw a few easy throws with my knives and sighed. All of them reached exactly where I wanted them to go. It seemed almost pointless. I never miss.

Instead, I decided to try something new. I picked up one of the swords from the weapon station and made my way over to the dummies. I began striking them as my trainer taught me. Not bad. My stomach started to growl and I knew I was exerting too much energy. I dropped the sword by the dummies and went back to my knives.

I began throwing again, the knives effortlessly reaching the target. As I went to go collect them and start over, I heard the doors open. Startled by an unexpected visitor, I flinch and check to see who it was. It was a blond headed boy who I had seen quite a lot of over the years. He was a year older than me and was a star pupil in the academy.