As the officer took his hand off the lever, a wave of relief swept through the tense atmosphere.
"Y-yes, sir," he stammered in response to President Snow's intervention.
Lucy Gray, standing beneath the Hanging Tree, felt a mix of emotions surge within her.
"Oh my god," she thought, a sense of disbelief washing over her. It couldn't be him, not now, not here – the unexpected appearance of Coriolanus Snow.
As Lucy Gray was being untied, and the rope was taken off her neck . The weight of the situation, combined with her weakened state, proved too much for the sick girl. Lumi's fragile form swayed, and she passed out. Fortunately, Lucy Gray, ever vigilant, reacted swiftly, catching her daughter just in time. If Lumi had fallen forward, the outcome could have been far more dire, Lucy Gray held her close, grateful for the timely intervention. Lying there, cradling her sick daughter, Lucy Gray weighed her options.
The presence of Coriolanus Snow added a layer of complexity to an already challenging situation. In a moment of decision, Lucy Gray took a calculated risk.
"Help! Please, my daughter needs a doctor!" she called out, her voice carrying a desperate plea. It was a strategic move, using the urgency of Lumi's condition to divert attention and gain assistance. The peacekeepers turned to Coriolanus, seeking permission.
"Don't look at me, go!" he commanded. As the peacekeepers rushed towards Lucy Gray and Lumi, Coriolanus turned on his heel, walking back toward the waiting train. The weight of the moment lingered on his shoulders, but duty called him away. He signaled his assistant to approach.
"Notify a doctor to meet me at my apartment, and make sure my wife isn't there," he instructed with a sense of urgency.
"Yes, sir," the assistant acknowledged before promptly leaving to carry out the orders, leaving Coriolanus to grapple with the aftermath of a reunion that had unraveled far more than he could have anticipated.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
The peacekeepers, in their determination to manage the situation, ushered Lucy Gray and Lumi into the same cabin as Coriolanus. The confined space, shared by the three figures from different chapters of Panem's history, became a stage for an uncomfortable reunion. Lucy Gray, still holding onto her daughter, regarded Coriolanus with a mixture of caution and defiance.
As Lumi slept soundly on her mother's lap, Lucy Gray found solace in the rhythmic rise and fall of her daughter's breath. The tense and awkward atmosphere in the cabin pressed upon her. The silence between them was palpable, broken only by Coriolanus's hesitant words, cutting through the quiet like a whisper in the wind.
"Is... she mine?" Lucy Gray's eyes shifted from Lumi to Coriolanus. Lucy Gray's scoff cut through the tension in the cabin, a mixture of defiance and a hint of bitterness lacing her words.
"Isn't it obvious? Have you seen her? She's an exact copy of you. I should be the one being asked that." Lucy Gray, in her guarded stance, awaited Coriolanus's reaction, challenging him to acknowledge the undeniable connection that Lumi bore to the man from the Capitol. Coriolanus, his tone laced with a cold calmness, responded,
"Well, Lucy Gray, forgive me if I find your word alone insufficient evidence. After all, trust has never been your strong suit, has it? I'd like some more concrete proof before jumping to conclusions."
Lucy Gray, meeting Coriolanus's icy demeanor with a steely resolve, retorted,
"Concrete proof? Look at her, look at yourself. The proof is right in front of you, and if you can't see it, that's your problem, not mine." Her words carried a mixture of defiance and frustration, a reflection of the years she had spent navigating a world that often demanded more than she was willing to give. The exchange between Coriolanus and Lucy Gray escalated, each word a sharp arrow in the air.
"And what do you know about trust? You're the one who tried to shoot me in the woods," Lucy Gray accused
"Well, I wouldn't have done that if you hadn't tried to kill me!"
"I didn't try to kill you; it was a harmless snake! I wanted to see if I could trust you!... and you failed" The heated argument filled the cabin, leaving no room for compromise.
Lumi, rouse from her nap by the sounds of screaming, looked from one face to the other, confusion etched on her. Lumi, rubbing her eyes in confusion, asked,
"What's going on?" When she saw him, her eyes widened, and she pointed with a trembling hand. She looked as if she had witnessed a revelation, exclaiming,
"Who's he?" The shock in her voice conveyed the profound impact of recognizing someone significant, an unexpected twist in the unfolding narrative of their reunion. Lucy Gray hesitated, a pang of unease settling in the air as she glanced between Coriolanus Snow and her daughter. With a deep breath, Lucy Gray began to unravel the complex thread of their shared history,
"Lumi, this is... your father. Coriolanus Snow." The weight of those words lingered. Lumi's eyes widened, the revelation sinking in. She looked at Coriolanus Snow with a mix of surprise and confusion.
"You're my pa?" she asked, her voice a blend of curiosity and uncertainty. The air in the cabin thickened with the weight of the revelation, and Lumi's gaze shifted between her mother and the man she had just learned was her father. Coriolanus flinched at the way Lumi called him, reminded by the old friend he betrayed.
"Yes, I'm your father," Coriolanus replied, a hint of uncertainty in his voice. Lumi's eyes lit up with a blend of excitement and nervousness.
"So, like, you're really my pa? That's kinda cool, I guess," she said, attempting to conceal her uncertainty behind a subtle smile. The sudden reunion stirred a mix of emotions within her, and she eagerly anticipated discovering more about this unexpected family link.
Lucy Gray wasn't thrilled with the situation, but her daughter's happiness took precedence, and that's all that mattered to her.
Lumi kept trying to talk to her father but only got dry responses, when she couldn't' take it anymore she excused herself to he bathroom with clear disappointment on her face
Lucy Gray turned to Coriolanus.
"Can't you be nicer to her? She wants to talk to you. Do you not know how to talk to children? Don't have any?" Lucy Gray pressed.
"I don't," Coriolanus replied, his tone carrying a mixture of bitterness and avoidance.
"What?" Lucy Gray couldn't believe it.
Lucy Gray studied Coriolanus for a moment, her eyes narrowing. "You don't have any children? Not even after all these years?"
Coriolanus avoided her gaze, a flicker of discomfort crossing his face. "No, I haven't."
Lucy Gray shook her head, a mix of frustration and disbelief written on her features. "And here I thought you'd have built some sort of family, a life beyond the Games and politics."
He shrugged, an unspoken admission of the life he had chosen. "I've been occupied with maintaining order in Panem, and..my wife never gave me any children."
Lucy Gray's voice softened, carrying a hint of disappointment and longing. "Your wife... It seems like you've completely moved on with your life while I've stayed exactly where you left me."
Coriolanus met her gaze, his eyes betraying a mix of emotions that he struggled to conceal.
The train rumbled to a halt, and Lucy Gray felt a knot tighten in her stomach. The doors opened, revealing the bustling chaos of the Capitol. Lumi and Coriolanus's assistant stood by the doorway, awaiting their exit.
"We're here," Lumi announced, her voice tinged with uncertainty.
Lucy Gray took a deep breath, preparing to step back into the world she had fought so hard to leave behind—the world of the Capitol.
YOU ARE READING
The President's Hidden Legacy
Romancewhat if Lucy Gray had survived? what if Lucy Gray ended up pregnant and raised the child alone in the woods? Part 1: Lucy Gray is met with a difficult decision to go back to district 12 to get her daughter medical attention only to be caught by the...
