Evelina ran to the lake, her dark hair swaying behind her. Coriolanus's laugh could be heard not more than a few steps behind her. She turned to look at him once before diving head first into the water, the coolness ripping against her skin. It was refreshing, to say the least. She was finally free.
Of course, not really.
Coriolanus had convinced the Capitol to allow the tributes to have some leisure time before they had to kill each other the next day. So, Evelina asked for him to take her somewhere.
"Something fun," she had said. Remembering a place he had spent summers at years prior, he decided to take his girl to the lake, one of the only remaining natural features of the Capitol. He was glad he did, too. He admired Evelina's slim figure in a swimsuit gifted from Tigris, and the way her hair fell over her eyes when she arose to the surface of the water.
She laughed as Coryo went to jump in, but slipped slightly and fell in. When he came up, he was not as pleased as Evelina, and splashed her in the face. This only increased her giggling, to which he felt that warmness from earlier that day grow. What was this feeling? he wondered. It was something entirely new, something otherworldly to him. Perhaps it was a sibling love, something shared between brother and sister. Coriolanus mentally shook his head. It was too strong to be a brotherly love. It must be pure attraction. She was certainly not an ugly girl. She had sharp, sparrow-like features that seemed to only soften when she spoke of her home.
However, her demeanor never matched her face. She was a kind, sensitive being. Yet, she was funny. She made self deprecating jokes that Coryo found himself relating to. How could he relate to one of her kind? If only his father could see him.
Evelina clambered onto the bank of the lake, to which Coryo followed. He nestled himself next to her, their legs just barely touching. That familiar mellow, warm feeling crept it's way into his stomach once more. Could she feel it too? It wasn't until the girl spoke that his attention was brought back to reality.
"Snow..." Evelina had mumbled, her gaze fixed on the still water.
"Coryo," said he, cutting her off. She looked to him expectantly, her head tilted to one side. "You can call me Coryo."
To this she smiled, and then continued. "Coryo..." she tried the name out, and hearing his nickname roll off of her tongue made him cringe, but the embarrassment was replaced with a new emotion. Fondness.
"Yes?" He asked, inching closer. He never realized this before, but her hair has a golden hue in the sunlight. Usually it looked plain dark, almost black, but now it was glowing a deep golden.
"I'm frightened," she admitted.
For some reason, it was not the conversation he was hoping for. "Why?" He questioned.
"How ignorant..." she muttered, tossing her damp hair to one side. "I can't be expected to just kill people."
He sighed, and turning his body towards her, he felt a twang of pity. His hand reached for hers, their fingers intertwining.
"You're right, forgive me." A blush swelled on her face, and she noticed his leg bouncing nervously.
"It's okay," she stated, scooting next to him completely and resting her head against his. "I forgive you."
The couple sat together until dusk, when the air became too chilly to stay in swimsuits, and the sun had almost faded from the sky. Dressing in their normal clothes, walking hand in hand, Coryo and Evelina said goodbye in front of the zoo. The other tributes had already arrived, most staying inside the cage all day because their mentors couldn't bother to take them anywhere. Although it was too dark to see their faces, their soft murmurs could be heard among the night. Before sneaking back in, Evelina grasped ahold of Coriolanus's hands. Then she reached up and gently touched his face, her fingers brushing the stray locks of blond hair from his eyes. She mumbled a thank you, but it was almost too unintelligible to hear.
"What?" He whispered, leaning closer.
"I said-" she paused, her eyes fixed on his lips. She seemed to be thinking, or waiting for something. She nervously fiddled with his suit jacket.
Deciding not to think anymore, she leaned in and pecked his mouth with her own. "Thank you," she repeated, a small grin hidden beneath her nervousness.
His eyes grew wide, but he regained his composure quickly. "Evelina," Coryo started, his voice shaking slightly. "When you enter the arena, I want you to run. Find somewhere to hide. The weapons placed in the center are just there to trap you, to lure you in. Your best bet is to hide. I'll get people to sponsor you, so I can send you resources while you're in there, but... there's only so much I can do for you."
"Okay," she said plainly. What else could she say? Then she climbed back into the zoo, nestling herself between two rocks in the dirt. She saw Coryo walk away, his hands tucked deep into his pockets as he sped home. As she was drifting off to sleep, she felt someone shaking her awake. She sprang up, her eyes struggling to adjust to the darkness. She dropped her fists when she realized it was Jodi, the blonde girl from earlier.
"I saw, you know," Jodi announced. "Just now."
"Shh!" Evelina hushed, dragging Jodi to a corner of their shelter. "What do you mean?"
"Kissing a Capitol member?" Jodi hissed, glaring at Evelina.
Evelina checked over her shoulder, afraid everyone else would wake up. "It was hardly a kiss," she scoffed.
"I cant believe you're working with them," said Jodi. "He put us here!"
Evelina glared back, her hazel eyes pouring into the other girls' sapphire ones. "He's different," said she, folding her arms. "He's kind to me. And I'm not working with anyone!"
Now it was Jodi's turn to scoff, and she leaned forward to whisper, "he's no different than the rest of them." She then marched away, her hands balled up in fury. Evelina watched as the other tribute settled against a tree, her head leaning back, but her eyes never fully closing. From this small interaction, and the fight from the day before, Evelina deduced that Jodi would be a hard opponent in the arena. How would Evelina kill her? Brick to the head? Knife in the throat?
Evelina sat, suddenly feeling very cold. She wrapped her arms around herself and cried. Conscious of the other tributes, her cries were silent, the occasional sniffle slipping out. How could she ever kill someone?
꧁༒☬.☬༒꧂
Coriolanus headed home, his head full of thoughts, wishes of holding her, kissing her once more. When Tigris asked him how his day was, all he could do was smile, kiss his cousin on the forehead, and go to sleep. At night his dreams consisted solely of Evelina Sanders.
"they will say that we're crazy
but you are so much more than beautiful to me"
YOU ARE READING
Panem Forever
Fanfiction"hope. it is the only thing stronger than fear." Anyone would tell you that Evelina Sanders was not a "go getter". She was a gatherer, not a hunter. She wasn't particularly good at anything, though she could fancy herself a painter if she were aske...
