𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝘽𝙇𝘼𝘾𝙆 𝙎𝙒𝘼𝙉. coriolanus snow

𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙚

—Let the Games Begin—

In the early hours of the morning, Persephone sat on the edge of her bed with a blank expression—she was preparing herself to watch the Games and pretend to be perfect. At first, she shut her eyes and hoped for sleep until she realized the only dreams she had were restless and caused her to wake up in a cold sweat.

She realized quite quickly that she could choose nightmares or dark silence.

When the sun began to rise and the Capitol sky glowed dimly, the Ignis girl ran a quick shower to scrub her body of any dust and debris from the day before. Persephone had not taken a moment for herself since the bombing of the Arena and cringed at the dirt on her body.

She scrubbed at her naked body. She ran her fingers through her soapy hair. Just as she was about to shut off the running water, she hallucinated for a moment. It was a scene from out of the zoo that fateful day when Arachne was killed.

An eerie shiver ran up her spine when she realized the sight did not have the same effect as it did before. Had she made her peace or had she been desensitized?

Later, she stood in front of a mirror and straightened her uniform. Persephone combed her hair and pinned back one side with a thin metal clip. Within an instant, she jumped into the role of a Capitol sweetheart, Miss Persephone Ignis. A smile replaced her frown, followed by a dazzling look over her eyes. Her skin impossibly radiated a light glow.

She played the part of a true white swan, just as she imagined her mother did.

With a knock at her door, Dunamis stepped through with a scowl plastered on his face. "Persephone. I heard from Missus Price across the street that you didn't get home until late at night. Where were you?"

The girl was partially relieved he first saw her after she presented herself in a better state. "Dad." Persephone greeted him curtly and pursed her lips. She refused to admit that she visited the zoo. "The bombing happened at the Arena and I spent the rest of the day in the hospital, where Coryo was."

"Yes, I know about the bombing." He brushed it off as if she did not sob and pulled rubble off of the boy she loved while he was on fire. Dunamis took a step closer to his daughter and scowled. "Rebels were responsible. They bombed the Arena on Capitol property, do you understand? Any one of them could be in the streets, right now, waiting to strike and kill us."

Her lip trembled, blinking rapidly to rid herself of the tears pooling in her eyes. She never liked it when her father got angry, especially when it was directed to her. Persephone would always feel as if she let him down—like she let him down among all the expectations he set.

Settling his brow bone between his fingers and shaking his head, Dunamis began to form the words in his mind before he released them to the girl. "You have to be careful, Persephone. Don't stay out in the dark, maybe don't even go out at all. There is too much of a risk, too much at stake."