Ups! Tento obrázek porušuje naše pokyny k obsahu. Před publikováním ho, prosím, buď odstraň, nebo nahraď jiným.
Ups! Tento obrázek porušuje naše pokyny k obsahu. Před publikováním ho, prosím, buď odstraň, nebo nahraď jiným.
OCTAVIA FIDGETED with her hands nervously. Her mother stood behind her—curling Octavia's hair.
Today was the 10th annual Hunger Games. The games were created to punish the districts for turning against the Capitol. Twenty-four tributes would participate in the hunger games and fight each other until one was left standing. Her Father had overheard that the academy students would mentor the tributes this year. This meant that Octavia would have a role in whether her assigned tribute came out of the arena dead or alive.
Her mother had noticed Octavia anxiously fidgeting as she stopped curling her daughter's hair. She stared at the mirror—smiling encouragingly at her eldest child.
"Octavia, Your entire life has been planned out for you—all you have to do is play your role."
Her mother's words did not encourage her as intended to. Octavia had always felt the pressure to be someone that she did not desire to be. She is destined to be in a loveless marriage for power and have children who will grow up to never see an example of true love. Octavia's parents had been arranged to marry when they were children—they were lucky enough to find love with one another.
Once Aurelia had finished with her hair—Octavia stood in front of a large mirror in her room. She wore a black lace dress that went just past her knees but she found that she was missing one final touch. She places a matching headband with a large rose in the middle on her head.
Ups! Tento obrázek porušuje naše pokyny k obsahu. Před publikováním ho, prosím, buď odstraň, nebo nahraď jiným.
AS SHE STEPS into the academy she is met by Clemensia Dovecote and Coriolanus Snow, who Octavia had been avoiding since last week after the incident.
"Octavia you look gorgeous! Doesn't she look gorgeous Coriolanus?" Clemensia turns to her friend as she awaits his response and it's now that Octavia can feel his eyes on her skin as if he's analysing every part of her body and she shrinks under his burning gaze.
"You look beautiful Octavia."
"Excuse me, I see Felix over there—I'm going to say hello!" Clemensia grins largely at her two friends as she departs and Octavia wants to scream for her to come back. Ignoring the awkward tension between the two, Octavia brushes down her dress and links her arm with Coriolanus'.
"Shall we make our way in?" Octavia suggests and places a smile on her face before Coriolanus begins to pull her inside the hall. Before entering, Coriolanus bends down to her ear.
"I see you've covered up the marks I left." He whispers and Octavia wants to wipe the shit-eating grin off his face. How could she have been so stupid to get absolutely wasted at Arachne's party? She had nearly dropped dead when she had awoken to see a familiar blonde boy in her bed and hickeys covering her neck. Though she had spent the entirety of the morning covering them up—Octavia had left many of her own marks on his body but they were now perfectly concealed by Coriolanus' dress shirt.
She pauses in her tracks to face Coriolanus.
"What happened between us was a one-off—we were both intoxicated and it was a mistake." She attempts to convince him and also herself—If Claudius were to find out about how Octavia had seemingly cheated on him then he could end their marriage and create a large scandal that could ruin her entire family's reputation and everything that Octavia had been preparing for her whole life would all go to waste.
"Whatever helps you sleep at night, Princess." He laughs and leaves Octavia to stand alone as he joins Arachne, Festus and Lysistrata. Octavia catches Claudius stalking towards her in the corner of her eye. For a moment—Octavia wishes that some part of her could love Claudius Hawthorne and that her marriage would actually bring together a loving couple instead of a partnership. She has tried many times to fall in love with him yet she has not had any luck.
"Octavia, My doll!"
Octavia attempts to hide her disgust at the nickname. Dolls are something that you play with and Octavia Belcher refuses to be played with like a toy—Claudius moves closer towards her and she is grateful when the loud cackle coming from Dr. Gaul interrupts his attempt to kiss her. Claudius intertwines their hands and drags her to a seat beside Sejanus Plinth who she quietly greets as she sits beside him.
Dr Gaul steps onto the podium. Octavia squirms uncomfortably in her seat as the woman speaks. Something was unsettling about Dr. Gaul. Maybe it was the way she always spoke in riddles or the things she created in her laboratory. She introduces Dean Highbottom as he makes his way through the crowd of standing students, stumbling every few steps he takes.
"I can't believe he's still alive," Claudius whispers in her ear. She does not have the energy to engage with Claudius at the moment or any moment at all in fact. Octavia attempts to shift her focus on the Dean.
"The plinth prize will no longer be determined by who had the best parades but by who is the best mentor in the Hunger Games." He announces and there are loud gasps in the crowd. Confusion is written on Octavia's face. The plinth prize is a cash prize usually awarded to the student with the highest academic record. The amount of cash is unknown but it was more than enough to pay for a university tuition. Octavia's eyes fall on Coriolanus who looks as if he is in disbelief—Everyone in the academy knew that Coriolanus was the top student, whether they liked to admit it or not—he was going to win the plinth prize this year.
Arachne begins to complain, "What if I get a pathetic runt girl for District 8 or 12, they're just going to die like last year and the year before."
"Your role is to turn these children into spectacles Miss Crane, not survivors. Oh! And I must tell you anyone caught cheating to give their tributes an unfair advantage, will just have no future at all." The man warns. The noise begins to blare from the TV. Dean Highbottom takes a seat on the steps in between Arachne and Claudius—he takes out a slip of paper from his pocket.
"Let the reaping begin..."
"District One Boy—Claudius Hawthorne."
"District One Girl—Octavia Belcher." Octavia feels a hand on top of hers and Claudius presses a kiss to her cheek to congratulate her. Octavia's eyes are fixated on the small screen—A blonde girl has her head held up high and she looks into the camera then smiles tauntingly.
Ups! Tento obrázek porušuje naše pokyny k obsahu. Před publikováním ho, prosím, buď odstraň, nebo nahraď jiným.
AUTHORS NOTE OMG!!!!!!! the first chapter I'm so excited and I hope you guys are too!! please comment with your thoughts i would love to hear what you all think. <3
