Splintered

Chapter Seventy-Seven: Bread and Circuses

Hazel's gaze bolted to her own glittering jade eyes through the mammoth screen. While her past self mechanically ascended the reaping stage, her present couldn't help but zero in on the unadulterated devastation. She distantly examined it as if it were a separate entity from her, not like a permanent part of her current anatomy, like an extra bone or withered limb, like it truly was.

Yet the expression on her face was nothing compared to the one that surfaced when Indira announced:

{"Silus Starling."}

The rawness that burst from her past's features wounded her in a way she didn't know was possible.

{Her younger self turned to the crowd, eyes wide as she sought out the face of her brother.

And suddenly, there he was. The real little brother she loved. The true one. Not some shadow or dream. Not some watered-down memory of her own making. He was strong, flawed, brave, beautiful, and as she knew now, motivated, convinced of what he would eventually do.

Cameras zoomed in closer on Silus's hardened features and then his stare as he finally looked up at his sister waiting for him onstage.

She saw it now. That stubbornness. That assuredness in the way he met her eyes and squared his shoulders. His intention had been right there from the beginning. Everyone had likely seen the truth. Everyone but her. She'd been too bewildered to see what was staring her in the face.}

Oh, Silus. I should've known.

Hazel nearly jumped from her seat when Snow's presence suddenly blanketed hers as he whispered, "This won't take long, I promise."

Drinking in a shuddering citrus-tinged breath, she didn't pull away, yet she didn't acknowledge the words. Not that her vocal cords would cooperate.

{Harrowing sounds shattered the air as Fern began to weep.}

Hazel couldn't bring herself to look at her mother or the rest of her family. She wanted nothing more than to offer them some semblance of reassurance, but her body was ice, muscles stone, and her form rooted as the scene continued.

{The sobbing faded as Hazel and Silus were escorted to the train station. Once they disappeared inside, there was a slew of rapid-fire scenes.

The tribute parade in the Capitol, Flickerman's introduction of the tributes with the remains of the old stadium in the background, and the ticket auction at the Pantheon.

Most clips focused on her interacting with Silus: hushed conversations, his worried glances, her adjusting his collar, or holding his hand, and his little smile when she probably said something she shouldn't.}

Those moments that should've just belonged to them. The last real ones she had left outside of the arena. Seeing them be handed out like appetizers was almost worse than her mother's wails.

{The pace noticeably slowed at the scene of her dance with Snow during the auction. They'd removed her interactions with Aaron just prior. Her surprised expression and Snow's knowing one contrasted much to the audience's delight.}

In the present, the crowd cooed, while Snow's fingers began to tap a delicate beat over her skin.

It was so bizarre to see the naïve version of herself, unaware of the dangerous and numerous games unfolding around her.

{After Snow released her from their dance, an image of the arena tour emerged.

In a flowing green field, dotted with wildflowers, she stood side by side with Silus and Festus, while cameras absorbed how she took in her surroundings, awed, and like a condemned girl studying her noose.}