all too well

prologue

IT WAS THE MIDDLE OF WINTER AND THE COLDEST THE LAKEHOUSE HAD EVER BEEN. Lucy Gray and Thalia shivered, a blanket wrapped around their old, fraying bodies as they huddled close together. Sophia Lavender kept the hearth from the fireplace going steady, her eyes constantly flickering back to check on her mothers; if this weather kept up, this could be the last winter they ever saw. She didn't know how she'd live without them. Especially since they were the only people she'd ever known—besides Jasper, the boy she'd met in the forest and the same boy who'd fathered her daughter.

Emma Ivy sat on the floor, singing the song she'd written with her grandmothers. The older women smiled at her softly, closing their eyes and leaning against each other and listening to her soft voice. Sophia Lavender finally stopped her fussing, sitting down next to her daughter and watching her mothers fondly. Occasionally, Sophia Lavender's coughs would interrupt the singing, but the young girl continued, not letting her mother's condition ruin the mood.

"You've got a lovely voice, Mockingjay," Lucy Gray cooed, running her fingers through Emma Ivy's hair soothingly. The young girl smiled toothily, singing with a newfound confidence.

"Sounds jus' like your grandma," Thalia complimented, winking at her wife. Lucy Gray let out an enchanting laugh, snuggling into the now grey-haired woman. They'd both long since lost the colour in their hair.

Leaning her head against her daughter's shoulder, Sophia Lavender intertwined her fingers with the young girl. "It's almost time for sleep, Mockingjay," she reminded. Emma Ivy yawned, nodding and getting up—mourning the loss of her grandma's fingers in her hair.

Sophia Lavender tucked her daughter in, kissing her forehead and blowing out the candle's light, when she heard the soft voice call out, "Wait!" Turning around, a soft smile dawned on her face when Emma Ivy asked, "Can you tell me the story of how grandma won the Hunger Games?" Sophia laughed, shaking her head but sitting on the bed.

"You know this story, I must have told you this a million times," Sophia Lavender chuckled before taking a deep breath in. "But alright. Once upon a time, there was a girl who was in love with her best friend. Knowin' she'd never be able to date her, she fell in love with another boy by the name of Billy Taupe."

As Sophia Lavender continued, Emma Ivy's eyelids grew heavy and her breathing slowed. Soon enough, the young girl was dead asleep—even though Sophia was halfway through the story. That didn't matter, Emma Ivy knew the tale off by heart. "Goodnight, my little songbird," Sophia Lavender cooed, kissing her daughter's forehead.

In the quiet of the night, Lucy Gray kissed Thalia's forehead lovingly and pulled the sheets off of her; exposed to the chilly night air, she walked into the living room. She didn't bother putting on her shoes or a coat, instead journeying outside and soaking in the crisp smell of cold air. She trudged through the snow for as long as her old, fragile legs could carry her.

Lucy Gray knew her time was near, and she no longer wanted to be a burden on her daughter. She found a log, nestling into it and curled up into a little ball—letting the cold snow envelope her. The last image in her mind was of the afternoon, watching how her gorgeous girls had grown up. She smiled to herself, knowing that at least she'd outlived Snow and built such a beautiful life for herself.

In the early morning, Sophia Lavender knocked on her mother's room, a breakfast tray in her hands. She smiled, remembering how it was a gift from Jasper when he'd lived with them for six months before his death. "Mama, Ma, breakfast," she announced. She opened the door, stunned to find only Thalia sleeping peacefully in the bed. The sheets were tucked in neatly as if Lucy Gray had never been there at all. "Mama?" but Lucy Gray wouldn't hear her.

Frantically running outside, Sophia Lavender screamed hysterically, before finding the small body buried in the snow—terrified, she began shaking the cold body of her mother. "No. No, no, no. Mama? Mama! Wake up!" but snow had finally claimed Lucy Gray.