Mors Tua, Vita Mea

Part One // Chapter 1

"There are many things worth living for."

Grand mansions. Marble floors. Silk sheets. Diamond necklaces. Pearl earrings. Sapphire bracelets. Ruby rings. Emerald headpieces. Expensive dresses. Fur coats. Cashmere gloves. Quality shoes. Shiny garments. Gold watches. Delicious dinners. Delightful luncheons. Rich desserts. Luxury.

According to the Vicuna family, the first rule of living a grounded, sane and happy life in District 1 was to always remember that the goods produced in their neighbourhood were not meant for them. Regrettably, their first child never seemed to have grasped the cruel reality she lived in. While her peers had made their peace with it long ago and when most of them were more than a little thankful to have been born in one of the better off districts, if not the best, Satine had refused to acknowledge it as her truth. Her parents were surely to blame for not putting a stop to it and therefore encouraging it but perhaps even they weren't above wanting the greatest for their kids. Satine had often wondered if the way her mind worked about these things was carefully crafted by them to make sure she excelled in life. If that was the case, they had been successful: The girl had never been apologetic about what she deemed worthy of her time and attention.

Courtesy of the First Lady's favour towards it, District 1 had more schools than most of the others and therefore, being a teacher was a job sought out by the ones who weren't skilled in turning mere stones into precious jewellery, much like Satine's mother. She was grateful for never being her student for how humiliating the whole experience would have been. It was better to be acknowledged for who she was than to inevitably hear stupid teenagers gossiping about her mother.

Her father, on the other hand, she was more embarrassed and proud of, at the same time. He was the peacekeeper general and Satine could bet that he was the only one in his field of work who was so proud of being District. Although it was forbidden to have a family while serving, her parents had gotten married in secret when her father came back from Capitol for his first holiday. After a few years of building connections and getting promotions he had somehow managed to arrange a deal for coming back to District 1 in exchange for fifteen years more service than required and less pay than his equals.

They were far from what was deemed "poor", she knew that. They could be counted as "respectable" by the majority, she knew that too. Unfortunately, knowing wasn't enough to keep her content with her prospects. As she was going home from school with her best friend for the last time until fall, her mind started wandering about her future and what it held.

"Do you wanna do something tomorrow, after the Reaping?" asked the taller one of the two, pulling the other out of her thoughts. They had almost reached Satine's house which was at the end of the street.

"Sure, why not? Maybe you can tell me all about Castor, now that you're going out, huh?" Satine said, bumping her friend's shoulder. "I should report you for even considering him to be at your level, but as long as you're happy."

"Oh, shut up." Gleam giggled. "As if it wasn't you who made it happen." Sadly, her moment of joy ended in a few seconds and her face fell quickly. "Tomorrow is his last Reaping, you don't think he would actually volunteer, right?"

Here it was, the same question she had heard for the last month. Something that was understandable at first had become a regularity and with the passing time and her strained nerves, Satine was getting tired of addressing it. What was the point of spending time together if they weren't going to talk about each other?

"Darling, of course not! He's been saying that since, when, the Quarter Quell? The boy's all talk and you must know that better than me." With a light-hearted smile, she tried her best not to sound harsh or annoyed. "Besides, I doubt his sister would let him volunteer when he couldn't even pass Survival class last year without her making a considerable donation to the school. He'll be fine."