An Ode to Her - Coriolanus Snow

Chapter 15

Coriolanus took a long swig of the white liquor Bug had scored them from the market. He hadn't seen Carolina in several days, and he really wanted to talk to her about running away. He had decided. He couldn't do it. He certainly couldn't do it. Which meant she had to come back to the Capitol with him.

Or they'd never see each other ever again.

He shook the thought away. Tonight was going to be alright. She'd understand. Coriolanus sat himself in his usual seat and grinned as the Covey took the stage. Carolina bounded to the mic, smiling from ear to ear as she spoke.

"Good evening, everyone!" she shouted. The crowd yelled back greetings.

Little Maude Ivory joined Carolina's side. "Who's ready for some tunes?" the girl asked. The people answered once more, some moving into a circle for dancing. The buzzing feeling that the Covey's magical voices were about to serenade the ears of all those close enough to hear filled the room. Coriolanus felt himself grow giddy as Carolina began to sing. He just adored the sound of her voice.

Layin' my heart down on the line,
Hopin' you'll someday soon be mine.
Prayin' for a star to come my way,
Hopin' I'll see you during the day.

Coriolanus shook his head lightly. Agh. Probably another song about Spruce. This could be a long night. But he'd suffer for her.

Waitin' all damn night,
Hopin' you'll see right.
Wishin' you'd stop running by,
Hopin' for some sort of sign.

Hidden in the meadow, under the moon,
You told me you loved me, it wasn't too soon.
I'd hoped you would stay put in my arms,
But you ran off with my shattered heart.

The beat slowed, and Carolina started to look almost sad. Did this song make her sad? The lyrics suddenly dawned on him. Was it about the night he left her in the meadow? He was annoyed now, not in love.

Layin' my heart down on the line,
Hopin' you'll someday soon be mine.
Cannot explain the way that you feel,
That's alright, I've never never been much for the real.

Prayin', wishin', waitin', oh, Love.
I've looked for you in all the wrong places.
I know that you care, I know that you care.
I'm starin' straight into your many a faces.

Coriolanus felt the need to remind her that words shouldn't be cut short like that, and it's waiting, not waitin'. But she wouldn't like that. But he didn't like this song. This dreadful song. Did she not care for him at all? Did she not appreciate all he sacrificed to be with her, to come to this godawful, filthy district?

Coriolanus downed a glass of liquor and wiped his mouth. This was absurd. Whatever.

He was relieved when the song had ended, and Lucy Gray took the mic for the next few songs. Though he hated to admit it, Carolina was starting to make him question what it was he really wanted.

But as he held her in his arms after the show, the smell of her aroma filling his nostrils, he found it hard to stay mad.

"Every time I'm up there, and I see you in the crowd, my heart just soars." She leaned up and pecked him on the lips. "Soars!"

He smiled meekly against her kiss. "I'm glad," he mumbled. "But I think we should talk."

She knitted her brows. "Is everythin' alright?"

"Yes," he insisted, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. "Just think we have some things to go over."

Carolina nodded, and began to lead Coriolanus to a small pathway in the warehouse, but he stopped ehr when he noticed Sejanus and Smiley conversing in a curt manner behind a pile of wooden panels that were left lying about. Coriolanus sent Carolina to wait for him as he listened in:

"It's no use," Smiley started, "I think we should just give up now. I'm nervous. It's getting too dangerous."

Sejanus sighed as he rubbed his temple. "If we stop, then everything I've—we've worked for, will mean nothing. Don't you want to make a difference?"

Smiley shook his head. "Not like this... not like this."

He reached down and grabbed something out of a duffel bag. Coriolanus held his breath as he realized what it was. The glimmer of a trigger could not be mistaken for anything else other than a gun. A very big gun.

"I'm getting rid of this," Smiley stated, staring at the thing as if it were foreign. "I can't be tied to it anymore."

"You aren't understanding," Sejanus groaned. "It has to be that gun. It's a Capitol symbol. Don't you see the outrage this will cause within the people? There'll be another revolution, and this time, we'll win."

Coriolanus slipped away from the argument before he could be noticed and took a deep breath. What were they planning? The start to a revolution? This was not good. He needed to report it. But there was something else he had to do first.

"I was startin' to think you'd run off," Carolina said as he rounded the corner to greet her.

"Just had to use the bathroom."

"What is it you wanted to talk about?" she asked.

"Running away," he replied quickly. "I think we should do it."

"Now?"

He shook his head. "Not now. There's some things I need to take care of first. But soon. When the time is right."

Carolina squealed and kissed him, wrapping her hands around his face and giggling.

"I love you, Coriolanus Snow. I love you."

He left without saying it back.