"Pure as the driven snow, cunning to the very core."
Two mentors sought to prove themselves to the rest of Panem to establish their place in a war-torn country, conjuring up all possibilities yet somehow failing to predict the bond they would come...
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Marcella stared at the mirror.
Not breaking her concentration, she leaned forward until she was only inches away from the reflected surface as she raised the rouge to her lips.
Carefully, she lined the cupid's bow shape of her mouth before slowly filling in the space of her lips. Pursing her lips, she pressed them together and watched as the maroon shade spread evenly, just the way she liked it.
She assessed the finished product of her makeup, trailing her eyes from her perfectly plucked brow all the way to her lined lips. She smiled with her practiced expression, assessing for any imperfections.
She blew out a breath, finally content with her appearance after spending almost an hour getting ready. She began to pack away all her things, choosing a small gold purse to match her chosen jewelry.
Everything about Marcella Aculeus was planned up to the most minute detail. It was one of the things she did after her family had recovered from the drastic effects of the war.
It made her feel as if she had a semblance of control in her life even when her father liked to bark orders and her mother laid sick in a bed.
In a way, it made her an enigma to all who could not see behind the mask. It made many radiate toward the girl for a glimpse behind the perfection only to be more or less held back at the gates.
There would be many eyes watching the chosen students of the Academy, curious as to how much of a role they would play in the 10th Annual Hunger Games. It was only through sleepless nights and years of hard work that she was able to secure a spot amongst them.
She counted herself luckier than most and while others might not understand the value of such a position, she knew what it would mean for her.
A chance to have a life she had chosen for herself.
"Marcella, the chauffeur is here!" Her father called from outside her door, his deep voice radiating command even in his own home.
"Coming!" Marcella answered, hurriedly clasping a simple gold necklace around her neck before grabbing her purse and exiting her bedroom as quickly as she could.
She made her way down the hallway and opened the door at the end of it, knowing that she would always make time for her mother no matter what.
After being hit by a bout of sickness and being left untreated for so long from a medicine shortage, Augusta Aculeus succumbed to a comatose.
Although alive, she was constantly sleeping, fed through tubes connected to her body much too late. A living death, sleeping as the rest of the world passed her by, oblivious to the changes brought about by the years.
"I'll make you proud, mom. I promise." Marcella whispered, pressing a kiss to her mother's pale forehead.
When she had been too young to know better, she would play by her mother's side and wish that she would awaken.
![[CHAPTER I]The Head of the Family](https://img.wattpad.com/721c91c39ff8628cc169d3637e59692f69e3c6eb/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f6d7931386378527a305a505375673d3d2d313339343734373536322e313739616537383539343266623936633232363838313830373630332e676966?s=fit&w=720&h=720)
