The anthem of gemstones and wood

The Attack

The party went well and everyone had a great time. The tributes also blossomed more and more. Lucy Gray still had half an hour to go and was very nervous. Coriolanus stood with Gilian and talked to some of the deputies. When he noticed her look, he smiled at her. She was sitting on a stool at a bar with Tigris. Tigris pushed a glass of red liquid towards her. ,,Here. That helps with the excitement," she said with a wink. Lucy Gray smiled mildly at her. "No, thank you very much." Tigris looked at her skeptically. ,,No? At your wedding reception you could hardly keep the wine out of your hand." "I know, but... I don't feel like it today." Tigris nodded, but still seemed surprised. Gilian came towards her. "Lucy, the band is ready." Lucy Gray took a deep breath and stood up from the stool. She came onto the stage and greeted the band. The music stopped and the party guests applauded. Lucy Gray stood at the microphone. She cleared her throat "Hello everyone. First of all, thank you for welcoming me so warmly. I haven't been on stage for a long time. I hope it won't be too terrible." It felt strange being on stage without her band. The song started. It was very fast and made the room shake. Coriolanus danced a jive with Gilian (Lucy Gray believed) and Tigris and Ivy danced together. Lucy Gray had missed singing so much and she could see that people enjoyed it. When the song was over, people burst into applause. Coriolanus beamed happily at her. As she came down the stage, Gilian hugged her and Ivy jumped into her arms. "Mommy, you were so great." Jago came on stage next. "Hello everyone. Thank you Mrs. Snow for the great song. Her voice is awesome. She's not the only one with a band though. I have one at home too and if I have to go out in two days, then I at least want to perform again. I hope you like it." There were occasional laughs. The band started up and he sang a rocking song. They all enjoyed it, bobbing and clapping to the beat. There was loud applause for his performance. He thanked them and left the stage. "Wow, he was good," said Lucy Gray. "True," replied Coriolanus. The band continued playing alone and started a slightly slower song. Coriolanus gave Lucy Gray a hand. "May I ask for this dance?" She put her hand in his. "Sure." He pulled her into a dance. "You're getting better and better." She smiled. "And you sang wonderfully." ,,Thanks. The party is really great." She looked at him embarrassed. "Listen... I..." Suddenly panic broke out. The music died down and the dancing stopped. "Coriol, it's burning!" Gilian shouted. Smoke poured into the hall and it became more stuffy. "Ivy! Ivy, where are you?!" Lucy Gray shouted. She couldn't see anything through the smoke. "Ivy!" She coughed and put her hand over her mouth. Coriolanus held his jacket over his mouth. "Lucy Gray, we have to get out of here!" "Not without Ivy!" They looked around. The other guests ran around them, trying to find the exit. Lucy Gray coughed worse and worse. Coriolanus grabbed her arm as she coughed. "Come on." He pulled her towards the exit. Lucy Gray became less and less able to breathe and collapsed. Coriolanus tried to lift her up, but two peacekeepers came from the sides. They wore helmets with visors. One pulled the president with him and one picked up Lucy Gray. The studio was ablaze. Everyone was covered in soot. Coriolanus was immediately surrounded by emergency responders and Lucy Gray was taken to an ambulance. His vision blurred until he collapsed, too.

Coriolanus woke up again in the ambulance. He had a breathing mask on. A paramedic was leaning over him. "Oh, Mr. President. You're awake." Coriolanus sat up suddenly. "Where is my wife? Where is my daughter?" The paramedic wanted to touch his shoulder, but noticed who was in front of him and stopped. "May I ask you to stay lying down? We would examine you again in the hospital." Coriolanus had a coughing fit and lay down again. "Where are my wife and daughter?" "Your wife is in a car right behind us. She is in good hands. I can't tell you anything about your daughter, I'm sorry." Coriolanus wanted to jump out of his skin, but his strength was failing. Another coughing fit followed. "Has anyone been hurt?" "As far as I know, not. Only the studio is completely destroyed." Coriolanus remained silent the rest of the way to the hospital.

His examination went largely well except for one or two coughing fits. He escaped with a minor smoke inhalation. His strength returned more and more and he demanded to be able to see his wife. "I have to ask you to lie down a little longer," the nurse simply said. "Listen to me, I am the President of Panem and I am now asking you to take me to my wife. Do you understand me? !" he hissed. "Okay," she said anxiously and led him out of his room down a long hallway. "Your wife was more affected than you. But she'll recover." He nodded, genuinely worried about her. They reached another patient room, where she quietly led him inside. Lucy Gray lay asleep in a bed covered in yellow. There was a breathing mask on her face. His heart sank. "Is she really okay?" The nurse smiled despite his harsh words. She reached for the clipboard that was hanging on her bed. "I'll take a look." She leafed through the few pages. "Yes...all values are OK so far. She just needs to be supplied with some oxygen. And the baby is fine too." "Excuse me, what did you just say?" he asked, believing he had misheard. "Well, the baby. She is three to four weeks pregnant." The nurse put the file back. "I apologize, I still have work to do. You are welcome to stay here with her." He nodded resignedly. "Thank you." She left the room and closed the door quietly behind her. His heart was pounding as he sat down in the chair right next to the bed. She was pregnant. They were going to have a second child. He didn't know how he should react. He kept staring at Lucy Gray. Would she be happy? Did she want to tell him at the party? Lucy Gray opened her eyes "...where am I?" "You're in the hospital. You collapsed in the smoke." Just then there was a knock on the door. A man in a white long coat came in, a clipboard in his hand. There was a stethoscope around his neck. "Ah, Mrs. Snow, so, the tests have shown that you have moderate smoke inhalation. Logically, I can't tell you anything about the long-term consequences. Everything is fine with your baby." Lucy Gray stared at him. "My what?" "Your baby. You are three to four weeks pregnant. I can't say more than that, I wish you a speedy recovery." So the doctor left the room again. Lucy Gray stared at her husband. He looked at her too. "Did you know that?" he asked. "No... well not sure. I... suspected it," she said. "Did you want to tell me that at the party?" She nodded. "I didn't know for sure. I was afraid of how you would react. Whether you were happy...or..." He cleared his throat. "Well...it's a shock...are you happy?" She shrugged her shoulders. "Yeah...another child like Ivy is great." Then her eyes suddenly opened. "Ivy! Where is Ivy?!" "I don't know. I couldn't be told anything." There was another knock and Gilian's head looked inside. "Hello, may I come in?" "Yes," said Coriolanus. "Do you know where Ivy is?!" Lucy Gray shouted immediately. Gilian's expression became sad. "No. I'm sorry to tell you this, but you are the parents and should know immediately." Lucy Gray reached for Coriolanus' hand. "There is no trace of Ivy. When the panic broke out, Tigris wanted to take her outside. Someone knocked her down from behind. A peacekeeper carried her out, but Ivy was gone. The search for her is in full swing, including in the other districts. It's suspected kidnapping and arson." Lucy Gray held his hand tighter. "I'm sorry I can't say anything better." Gilian hung her head. Tears ran down Lucy Gray's face. "How is Tigris?" she whispered. "She's doing okay. She had a gash on her head and a concussion. She'll definitely have to stay here." "And you, Gilian?" asked Coriolanus, who was seething inside, but didn't let his wife show it. "Nothing happened to me. I was out in time because Jago Portshore pulled me out," she explained . "I'll leave you alone. I'll check on Tigris again." Gilian left the room. Lucy Gray covered her face with her hands and sobbed. Coriolanus put his other arm around her and pulled her to him. She let him and cried against his chest. " "It'll be okay. We'll find her," he said calmly, although inside he was anything but calm.

Against the doctors' advice, he had left the hospital and was on his way home. He had to confront Sejanus. He threw open the front door as Sejanus stormed towards him. "I saw everything on TV, is everyone okay?" Coriolanus sprinted towards him, grabbed him by the collar and pushed him against the wall. "Where is she?" Sejanus panicked. "Where is who?" "Ivy. She was kidnapped. Tell me where she is!" he shouted. "I...I have no idea." Coriolanus gripped the collar tighter. "Why didn't you tell me there was going to be an arson attack?! You just talked about the games!" "I...didn't know anything about that!" "Listen, it could get very uncomfortable for you if you don't tell me where my daughter is right away. There are methods of torture worse than being hanged." "You can torture me however you want. I didn't know about the attack or that they were going to kidnap Ivy." Coriolanus let go of his collar and Sejanus breathed a sigh of relief. The president paced back and forth. "Do you think she's still alive?" "I hope so. I can't tell you more than I've already said. All they said was that there would be attacks in the districts and one during the games. I never would have expected them to kidnap a child." Coriolanus said nothing. "How is everyone?" He reported what had happened to everyone. He left out the pregnancy. "I'm glad everyone's alive. I'll do everything in my power to help you find Ivy." he said. Coriolanus had another coughing fit and felt his strength weakening again. Sejanus supported him and took him up to his room, where he lay down. "Do you need anything?" "Water," he said between two coughs. Sejanus ran downstairs and brought a carafe of water. Coriolanus drank. "Thank you," he said breathlessly. Sejanus nodded and left him alone. The President fell into a deep sleep.