"It's strange what desire will make foolish people do."
- Chris Issak, Wicked Game
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Young Coriolanus Snow x Fem OC
Based off of the Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes movie
Full summary in introduction
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"I used to think one day we'd tell the story of us, how we met and the sparks flew instantly"
- Taylor Swift, The Story of Us
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Belladonna Winslow had been one day away from freedom when her name was pulled from a list of names. The mayor had read her name out in front of all of the children of district 11. They had all turned their heads to Belladonna as the girl had gotten out of line and walked with her head down all the way to the stage.
She could hear the screams of her two elder brothers, yelling at her to come back, that they would find a way to stop this. But in truth, there was nothing either boy could do. Callum Winslow had turned eighteen at the beginning of this month and Noah Winslow had turned twenty-one five months before. Neither brother could have volunteered themselves and even if they had been able to, Belladonna wouldn't have allowed it.
The Winslow sons had been the ones to raise Belladonna, even though her mother had died when she was twelve, she had always thought of her brothers as the ones who had helped her into the women she was today. She had always known that her brothers had done everything in their power to never let Belladonna's name be pulled from that pile of names. She could remember the boys promising her mother as she lay dying that they would keep her only daughter safe, that she would live a long and prosperous life.
Now as she stood on the stage in front of district 11, she could see them and the despair in their eyes at watching their younger sister stand with the other tribute.
She looked around, her eyes fearful. She stared at her brothers in the crowd and suddenly felt the need to do something. She bolted for the microphone, not sure what she would even say, all she knew is that she had to say something.
"I'm a day away from turning seventeen." She began, her voice shaking. "I am a day away from freedom. And yet my name was just pulled. I will most likely never return to this place." The mayor watched her, and yet he didn't call the peacekeepers on her. "The boy who's standing beside me will most likely never see home again." She said, directing her gaze to the other tribute.
"How is that fair?" She asked, her voice quiet. "How is sending children to die fair? How is the capitol allowed to watch us die for entertainment?" She heard the mayor whisper behind her for someone to get her off the stage. "This had been going on for ten years too long, it needs to end!" Belladonna screamed. "The children of the districts shouldn't be punished for actions they had no control over! We should be free, just like the people living in the capitol are!"
Belladonna was suddenly pulled back, her body falling backward and hitting the floor with a thud. The wind was knocked out of her as she stared up at the blue sky, two peacekeepers grabbing her arms and hauling her up. She was taken away from the microphone as the mayor began to talk again, first by apologizing.
