𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗼𝗶𝗮 ♛ ꜱᴇᴊᴀɴᴜꜱ ᴘʟɪɴᴛʜ

♛𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗿♛

Aurelia wasn't completely sure what she did to deserve the boy from District Twelve.

If she thought about it, she was on okay terms with Dean Highbottom.  Her brother did have a nickname for him, High-as-a-Kite-Bottom, but she hadn't created that.  Maybe that's what got Coriolanus the girl, but why she got that boy was an absolute mystery.

Well, at least she had the boy, not the girl.  He might be able to put up some sort of fight, hopefully at least.  

She looked quickly towards her brother as he rose to join the rest of their classmates.  The girl was about to join him, before remembering Sejanus was on the other side of her.  She turned to him to see a neutral look on his face.

But then, he met her eyes, and she could see the misery in his.  Aurelia was overcome with a sense of compassion towards the boy, as she had felt earlier when his name was announced.

"Oh, Sej-"

"Don't.  Please, not here."

"I know, I know.  I'm sorry."

"It's alright," the boy muttered, before dropping his gaze to the ground.

"Maybe you won't even know him..." Aurelia tried, but all she got was a shake of Sejanus's head.

"It doesn't really matter.  I'm still one of them."

The blonde offered him a small, slightly sympathetic smile, which he returned.  Sejanus sighed and turned his head to the roof of the hall.

"I'm sure my father requested it," he muttered, only loud enough for her to hear.  After seeing Aurelia's questioning look, he shrugged.  "Always trying to 'get my mind right,' I suppose."

The girl felt awful for the boy.  It must be so difficult, moving to the Capitol after living in the districts for eight years, and being expected to live like a child of one of the most prestigious families in the country.  To forget his friends and his life before.

Especially now, when he had to help a boy he might have known in a fight to the death.

"God, Sejanus, I'm so sorry."

"Don't be.  I'm not worth it."

Aurelia was about to correct him, say something, when the whole room fell silent.  Everyone had settled into seats, Coriolanus back next to her.  Suddenly, the girl was aware of how close she was sitting to Sejanus, having leaned in when they were speaking.  She pulled back a small bit as a floor-to-ceiling screen was unveiled.  This was where they were going to watch the reapings in various districts.  They went east to west, so District 12 was going first.  Might as well get it over with.

The Capitol anthem blared out, ending the quiet.  Aurelia was aware of her brother singing quite firmly next to her.  She sang, but quieter and more delicate than Coriolanus did.

The President of Panem appeared on the screen.  President Ravinstill read the passage in the Treaty of Treason that detailed the Hunger Games.  The Treaty had only gotten more questionable as Aurelia grew older.  The Games always seemed like overkill.  The Capitol had won the war, that was that.  If they wanted to remind people, give a speech, or even round up kids and kill them.  Why draw it out?

But Aurelia knew why.  If people had the hope that their child might come home, they would be optimistic.  And then watch as their precious kid gets brutally murdered and all the hope is gone.  They remember why they lost, and why they can't ever rebel again.

The television cut to District Twelve.  The cameras displayed the collection of children, boys and girls, and Aurelia couldn't help but look at the faces.  She'd be meeting one soon, after all.

Girls always get picked first.  So when the mayor of Twelve called the name Lucy Gray Baird,  with barely a second glance at the slip, girls distanced themselves from the chosen one.

Aurelia let out a small gasp when she saw the girl.  Her dress was made of layer upon layer of rainbow ruffles, her hair woven with flowers.  

As she passed a redheaded girl, she dumped something down the collar of her blouse.  A snake? A lizard?  Nobody around the girl was sure, but everyone's attention was now on this once-irrelevant girl.

The girl fell to the ground shrieking, and her father, Mayor Lipp, went to attend to her.  Everyone in the congregation was muttering about her.  The look of hope on Coriolanus's face was unmistakable.  Aurelia gave her brother a small nudge accompanied by a smile, and he grinned back.

Aurelia missed the rest of the issue, and she turned her attention back to the screen just in time to see the mayor slap Lucy Gray Baird across the face.  The girl fell to her knees with the force of the blow, and the blonde girl couldn't believe he would do something like that on national television.  

"I bet they rigged it," muttered Sejanus beside her.  "Her name wasn't on that slip."

The quick look at the slip, the attack on the mayor's daughter, and the slap all made sense if that was true.  Aurelia nodded, her eyes still on the screen as she heard something else.

You can't take my past.
You can't take my history.

Lucy Gray Baird lifted her head slightly as a voice carried around the square.

You could take my pa,
But his name's a mystery.

Aurelia watched as the girl on the stage grabbed the microphone on the stage to join in.

Nothing you could take from me was ever worth keeping.

This girl was a performer, it was plain as day.  The way she sang, presented herself, everything made sense.

She got through three more verses before Peacekeepers jumped out onto the stage to grab her.  The girl blew a kiss to the crowd before shouting, "My friends call me Lucy Gray - I hope you will, too!"

Aurelia couldn't help but admire the girl's spirit.  She had some real courage, singing in front of the whole crowd during the reaping, for god's sake.  Coriolanus had really lucked out on this one.  

Finally, the Peacekeepers returned the mayor to the stage, who pulled out a boy's name.

Jessup Diggs.

Better remember that name, Aurelia.  The girl thought to herself.  This boy decides your future.

♛

DID YALL SEE THE TRAILER FOR THE MOVIE

OH MY GOD IM SCREAMING ITS SO GOOD

I CANNOT WAIT TO WATCH IT

they better not butcher it tho

this chapter was literal ✨shitakes✨ but it was necessary for the plot 

btw shitakes is pronounced shit-ah-kees

QOTC: how do we think jessup is going to act with aurelia? is he gonna be nice and responsive or like mean

have a great day or night and drink some water please :)

if you don't i will come to your house with a water bottle :)

-jess