Author Games: The Last Cannon

TASK FIVE: Female Entries

District 1 Female - COSMO CAVALLI [1]

Silence covers the forest, eerie and cryptic. The only sound that echoes is the crashing of my feet on the crackling leaves. My breathing is heavy, more with frustration than panic. My blowgun sits at camp, still snuggled with Sterling.

At the thought of his name, I push myself faster through the trees. My hands cling to my tube of lipstick, Manic Panic being my only savior anymore. "No, Cosmo." Sterling had said, pushing my hand off his thigh. "Stop, I don't want you." He had said, pushing me away from him.

I stop at the edge of the water, my heart beating rapidly in my chest as I catch my breath. My hands hover over the water, craving it's gentle touch on my body. I lean over the pool, inspecting my appearance in the murky water. I can quickly see why Sterling wouldn't want me.

My hair is matted with dirt and weighed down by blood. Sweat covers my body, even though I trained to avoid it's appearance. Dark, bruise like marks have appeared under my eyes. Only my lips remain intact, but lipstick is smeared down to my chin.

I strip my shirt off, inspecting the bruises that form on my ribs. Even the weight loss has made me lose bits of appeal. "I'm ugly." I whisper down at the water, trying to keep my eyes from growing with tears. My hands grip a pebble and launch it down into my reflection.

"Ugly is one way to look at it." I whip around, coming face to face with a hooded figure. I take a step backwards, nearly crashing into the water behind me before the figure wraps his arms around my waist. I lean up, slipping the hood from his face.

Surprised by his beauty, I snuggle closer to his body. His blonde hair is cut close to his head, with a handful of waves on the top. His green eyes are large and they stare into mine intently. His petite nose curls up just a tad, and his lips form a devilish smirk. I let my hands slip under his robe, and feel that he has nothing underneath it. "Who are you?" I ask breathlessly as I slip the robe off his body, taking in his muscular build and other large features.

"The name is Rumple." He tells me as I lean him against a nearby tree. I'm suddenly glad I shed parts of my outfit before his arrival. "And I have something you want."

"I can see that." I reply, leaving a trail of lipstick down his stomach as I push him closer to my mouth. His eyes close slightly, but he puts his hand in my hair to stop me after a second.

I pout, pulling away just slightly. Fear grapples my heart and I can almost see a rerun of my previous encounter with Sterling. "Cosmo, we have to talk." Rumple reminds me, but I just smile innocently.

"Don't worry, dearie, I can suck and listen." He doesn't protest when I put my mouth back on his body. In fact, he guides my head back towards him, sighing in defeat as he lets me have my fun. He leans his head against the tree behind us, his breathing heavy and fast as I move.

The forest is still silent, Rumple's heaving breathing the only disruption to the quiet. "You think you're ugly." He tells me, wiping a bit of lipstick off my chin as I pull away from him. He pulls a mirror out of his robe, and puts it in my hand. It's clearer than the murky water and I can see every flaw on my skin. It's a shock Rumple would even let me touch him.

Rumple slips his mirror from my grip and shakes it. "This mirror can show who is the most beautiful tribute is." Hope prickles in my chest as I peer into the mirror. The reflection turns black, and Rumple sighs. "Unless you're not the most beautiful. Then you can't see anything."

As I peer into the darkness of the mirror, anger boils in my chest. I'm half a second away from smashing the mirror into the ground but Rumple stops me. He puts his lips to my ear, whispering softly. "Fate isn't sealed, Cosmo. Find them." He drops his voice, his hands rubbing my leg. "Kill them."