Sejanus's POV (Ten Years Ago)
I climbed the stairs to my family's small cottage hastily, seeking the warmth of the glowing fire. The snow that I had pressed to my finger was beginning to turn my hand numb, and my body ached for warmth.
The first thing I did when I got home was make my way to the kitchen, where I knew Ma would have a nice treat prepared for me to eat. She didn't need to go through this trouble every day, but I think it calmed her nerves to keep busy in the kitchen.
With the war only just ending, the world around us is in shambles. I still get to go to school everyday, but that's the only piece of normalcy I have left. My father was never home anymore, he's always too busy in his office making sure he stays on good terms with the Capital. I guess with the war coming to an end only last week, it's best for us if he can stay on the Capital's good side.
I don't think I'll ever forget what the war was like. Every time I looked out the window I saw the blood stained sidewalk. Most mornings Ma had to pull me out of my bed because I was too scared to climb out from under the safety of my blanket. Some days the shooting was so close that I could hear the poor person's body slump to the ground. When this happened I would cover my ears and slowly count backward from ten, mainly to give my brain something else to focus on.
When I got to the kitchen I greeted my mother and wiped the snow that covered my finger into the bucket we had been using for a sink. "Oh Sejanus," my mother exclaimed, hurriedly walking over to where I was standing. "Hunny, what happened to your finger?"
"Oh Ma," I said, shaking my head at the troubled look on her face. "It's a pleasant story, really. I was coming into the classroom this morning and I got my finger stuck in the door. It hurt a lot but I didn't cry, because Father says it's not okay for me to cry anymore. But when I sat down at my seat my finger started to swell up. The boy who sits next to me, Marcus, collected snow from the windowsill to help bring down the swelling." I beamed as I looked into my Ma's worried eyes. "I think he might want to be my friend, Ma. I've always wanted a friend."
"Oh Hunny," Ma said, and pulled me into a comforting hug. "That was very nice of Marcus. Did you make sure to thank him?"
"Yes Ma." Ma was always so worried about me using my manners. She had nothing to worry about of course, I would never ignore someone's kindness.
Ma smiled at me and pushed me over to the table, where she sat a plate in front of me. She must have been able to trade something down at the market, because the plate was filled with apple slices, which we only had a couple of times a year. I wouldn't have thought much of this though, if it hadn't been for the syrup that was lightly drizzled over the apples, the syrup that we saved for Christmas every year.
"Ma?" I asked. "Why are we using the Christmas syrup? Is there something special going on today?"
Ma started to open her mouth but closed it immediately when my Father walked into the room. This was very odd, Father was never home this early in the day. Something must be terribly wrong.
"We don't need to worry about money anymore, Son," my father said. He walked briskly across the room and dropped a stack of papers into a crate next to the door. That's weird, I never noticed the crates when I got home. "Infact," my father said, turning around to face me. "You should go pack up your things. We'll be leaving very soon."
"What are you talking about, Father?" I asked. I was puzzled at the words that were falling out of my Father's mouth. Why would we be leaving? Why would I need to pack my things?
"Strabo, please," my mother begged. "Be gentle with him."
My father paid her no mind and pushed her to the side. "Stand up, Son," my Father said. "This is important." I put the last sugary apple slice in my mouth, then rose to meet my Father's demeaning eyes. "We are leaving District 2 tonight. You will no longer be a student at a poor public school, but instead a star pupil at the Academy for citizens of the Capital. We are going to make a great life for ourselves in the Capital."
I shook my head frantically as tears pricked my eyes. We couldn't just leave, could we? I didn't want to leave District 2. Our family was here, and I had finally made a friend. The Capital was a cold place for sick people, I wanted nothing to do with them and their twisted minds. "Please Ma," I begged. "Don't make me go."
"It's okay, Hunny," Ma said, wrapping her arms around my trembling body. Salty tears started to trail down my cheeks as I began to break in her arms.
"I just made a friend, Ma," I said. My voice started to tremble more and more every time I spoke. "I've always wanted a friend. I wasn't going to be lonely anymore. Please, Ma ," I sob. "I don't want to be lonely anymore."
"That's enough, Sejanus," my Father shouted. "You are a Plinth. We have no time for emotions, especially not tears. Go get ready and try being grateful for this opportunity I've blessed you with."
– – – – –
I fixed my curls in the large mirror in my new Capital bedroom. Today would be my first day at the Academy, and I wanted to make sure that I looked my best. Ma stayed up until ungodly hours of the night ironing my uniform. I had to admit that it looked excellent on me, and it was far better than the clothes I wore to school in District 2.
Still, the new red uniform didn't compare to the comfort of my home. I had only been gone a day but I already missed our old cottage immensely. My father hadn't let me bring many artifacts from my old room, but I didn't manage to bring my old quilt that made me feel safe during the war.
"Sejanus," Ma called from downstairs in the kitchen. "Breakfast is ready." I hurriedly raced down the stairs and sat down at the table. The kitchen still reminded me of District 2, as Ma and I spent most of our time in the kitchen. I noticed there was a small crate tucked away in the corner of the room, which Ma had filled with trinkets from back home. I hope she'll display them soon.
Ma set a heaping plate of eggs and toast in front of me and I gobbled down the food as quickly as possible. Even though I was extremely anxious for school, I wanted to be early to set a good impression.
Ma walked me to the Academy that morning so I wouldn't get lost. The Academy was unlike anything that I've ever seen. The large stone building had to be at least three stories tall, and I wondered if I would have trouble finding my way from class to class.
When I walked inside I found that the Academy was actually pretty easy to navigate. I arrived early enough that I was able to take myself on a tour of the humongous school and find the fastest routes to all of my classes to ensure that I would never be late. I even had plenty of time to get to my first class, physical education, and give an apple to my teacher. Ma told me that this was a nice sign of respect, and I wanted my new teachers to know that I respected them.
My fellow students trickled in slowly and took their seats in the surrounding chairs. I didn't realize when my new classmates started to mock me and call me names, because my eyes were drawn to the person that had just entered the classroom.
His hair caught my attention first. Snow white curls flowed around his head, they were so fluffy that I wanted to reach out and touch them. The boy walked up to the teacher and shook her hand politely. Ma would like this boy, he had good manners.
His eyes hit me next as he turned and looked at me from across the room. They were icy blue, like the color of the icicles that hang off the roof of the cottage. I started to feel my heart beat faster and faster as he made his way across the room. That's when I realized the only seat remaining was the one next to me. I began to panic as I realized the pretty boy was going to sit next to me.
I averted my eyes back to the center of the room and tried to focus on reading the lesson plan. Of course, this was useless as I felt the boy sit down next to me. "Are you new here?" I heard the voice ask. His voice was smooth like butter and sounded like a graceful melody. I wanted him to keep talking, so I didn't have to stop listening to his voice.
What was happening to me? Why was I thinking like this? The boy was still looking at me and I looked foolish for not answering him. "Y-yes," I mumbled, nerves wracking my body. I needed to pull myself together. I extended my hand to the boy and plastered a pleasant smile across my face. "My name is Sejanus Plinth."
"I'm Coriolanus Snow," the boy said, shaking my hand. Coriolanus. Such a beautiful name for such a beautiful boy. I don't know where these ideas were coming from, I've never thought like this before. I knew right here in this moment, that this boy, Coriolanus, was someone special. All I could hope for at this point was to have no more classes with him, or else these next ten years will be impossible to get through.
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Darling, We Were Born to Die
Fanfiction''If you don't control your love for that boy, Coriolanus, it's going to kill you.'' Coriolanus Snow has had feelings for Sejanus Plinth since he first met him, and has been dreaming of the day that he would finally be able to tell him. Sejanus Plin...
