Shattering Secrets [2]

Three

   I stare at her black and blue face, her light brown eyes filled with fear and horror. The Arena must haunt her in her sleep, just like it does in mine.

   "We won't ever get a break, will we?" I ask, sitting down at the edge of her bed. She blinks at me, one eye slower than the other. "We grew up with loss and horror, then we got sent into the Arena where we killed to survive, then we are being shown off like prized possessions to all the Districts. We are trophies of the Capitol, pawns in their game. When will be safe to rest?"

   "When we are dead" Katniss sits down next to me, obviously ridden with exhaustion. "When I was on the ground, getting beaten , I almost wanted to die. I wanted for all of this to be over. I wanted peace in my life again. I wanted happiness. I wanted to feel whole again. When they stopped, I was just left there bleeding on the ground, broken like a mirror. The reality is, we won't get a break until we die, or he does"

   "Then we kill him , before he kills us" I take her hand and smile at her. "No one can break the bond of sisters. If you think about it, the video being sent out was a good thing. Soon enough , President Snow won't be able to control the rebellions, and he will be at his weakest. That's when we strike"

   "That's when we fight"

{~}

   My staff surround me, gossiping about all the new trends and fashion designers in the Capitol. My legs are being waxed, and my face is being stretched into tightness.

   "Coral, dear, do you want any alterations done to your body before we stop at District Eleven?" Alessandra stands before me, her eyes red from crying all night about her lost love. Her once bright colored hair is now a dark shade of grey, almost black. Once styled in an elaborate hair-do, it now rests gently on her sharp shoulders.

   "I want my hair dyed black, for the mourning of my brother" everyone stops what they are doing and stares at me. Alessandra's lips pull into a small smile, and walks away. Two members of my staff hurry to collect what is needed, and the others continue what they were doing , but silently. The gossiping has stopped, flown out the train window like a lost feather of a bird.

{~}

   I stare at my hair in the mirror, once a golden blonde, now an ashen black. It hangs down my back in curls, a veil of remembrance. My clothes are a soft orange, a top ruffled with fabric leaves, and a brown skirt. Simple clothing, nothing too over the top like everyone else in the Capitol.

   Katniss stands behind me, her face packed with makeup , leaving no trace that she was beaten. No trace of the broken girl. She is wearing a similar outfit to mine, but her top is a crimson red.

   "You look like a whole different person" she whispers behind me.

   "That's what the Games do to you, they change you" I look at her once, and then exit the room, ready to be in the fresh air.

{~}

   I sit at the small dining table, stirring sugar and lemon into my tea and looking out at the scenery that is laid out before me. District Eleven has many colors , many crops, many animals that graze the grasses, many workers. The workers look up at the train , tipping their hats at us before going back to work. I wonder how many hours they have to spend in the hot burning sun, working with food that will never touch their plates.

   Finnick sits down next to me, right as we get to the ugly barbed wire fence. Towering over thirty-five feet in the air, casting a large shadow over the train makes my spine tingle with fear. Watch-towers are spread out everywhere around the fence, watching the children and their parents work to mend the crops.