The 'Flower of Panem' or 'The Angel of Mercy', Seraphine Reza is the jewel and pride of Panem. One of their most treasured victors in the history of the Hunger Games and a favorite of President Snow.
While she smiles, comforts and plays her part ev...
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Black birds in the misty and dark late afternoon skies screamed while black birds on the floor cried.
Of course, some of the birds on the floor also chattered around, spreading false rumors and lies despite the occasion, they never missed an opportunity to sow seeds of discord.
In some ways, Sera was the same.
Dressed in a short velvet dress with a skirt that resembled the petals of a black dahlia, Sera didn't look so different from the birds on the floor and she felt no different from them either. She felt an odd mix of guilt, regret, relief and in some ways joy just like those on the Colosseum floor.
The impressively large Colosseum of concrete and stone was filled to the brim after decades of being just a mantle piece on the Capitol streets. While the inside was stone with quartz decorating the seat, the outside was much more lavish.
From the outside, beige marble with pale gold veins covered the exterior, almost masking its bloody history as the arena from the first four Hunger Games and its present use as a glorified execution ground-another means of entertainment for the Capitolites.
The Colosseum had three floors. Its top floors were reserved for the elites-victors, senate members, wealthy Capitolites and the President. The bottom two floors were for everyone else lesser than those at the top. If that wasn't enough, the top floor had once again been split into thirteen to accommodate each of the districts and the Capitol.
The section dedicated to Twelve was the emptiest with lone victor Haymitch taking a nap on three seats, that was until almost all of the wealthy Capitolites were moved to that section. Needless to say, Haymitch wasn't happy.
One and Two were the most full sections with Four closely following behind and Three and Five at their tails.
Finnick stared solemnly at the ground in silence with Annie clinging to Mags next to him. When he spotted Sera's gaze on him, he turned to look at her but she quickly looked away as if meeting his gaze would turn her into stone. She had been avoiding him since he tried to question her about Annie's Victory Dinner.
With a sigh, she sat back in her cold hard marble seat. Her seat was smaller and almost hidden away behind the empty elevated white marble throne that belonged to the President who had yet to arrive. On the President's other side sat Plutarch Heavensbee clothed in black just like everyone else. The Senate members and the President were yet to make their appearance.
The two shared a glance before Sera turned away to observe the birds on the floor.
"You look tired." Plutarch commented quietly.
Her gloved hands scratched the marbled surface of the arms of her seat. "And you look happy."
The corners of Plutarch's mouth went up and he coughed a little, covering his mouth with a black handkerchief. "This is the biggest step we've taken in decades."
