The Roses and Hibiscus Chronicles - Coriolanus Snow

Chapter 1

Indila was a princess, though not the most conventional one. She wasn't particularly fond of monarchy, but we can't choose where we are born.

If you asked Indila to introduce herself, she would say she was a mistake, and indeed she was. From the beginning, we can all be many things, but Indila was aware that the first thing she represented in this world was a mistake. She loved her mother, and her mother loved her back, which doesn't discount the fact that when she came into the world, she had disrupted her mother's life. Her mother was the Royal Princess, another unconventional one, much like Indila but in a more irresponsible way. In Indila's country, princesses had a very defined role: to get married to powerful men who could provide advantages to their people. However, it was not the fate of Indila's mother.

Indila had never met her father, which probably was the biggest regret of her mother's life, a scandal that the crown tried to hide. Her mother got pregnant after a night of fun with some random guy who would never show up again. She knew she could have had an abortion, and in many ways, Indila believed that would have been better for all of them, especially for her grandparents. However, her mom fell in love with this guy; she was so delusional. Deep in her heart, her mother hoped that if she kept Indila, one day her father would come back. He never did. He left the country; he was a rebel. During her childhood, she had some moments with her grandma, the mother of her father. She lived in a small house full of hibiscus, and her father was never mentioned. After she turned 10, she never heard of this grandmother again.

Her mom never got married; not many powerful foreign men wanted to get married to a princess who already had a daughter. They used to say that the world had changed completely since the nuclear war, but it was not entirely true everywhere. She lived in a small country in South America. Dictatorship took place in many nations, just as her grandpa did—he was a king, a dictator. She was not proud of it. In fact, she would consider herself a rebel if it weren't for...

Her mom died some months ago, poisoned by a rebel. Indila felt betrayed, and now there was no place for her to stand. Dictatorship was not good, of course, but the rebels also didn't seem to truly care about people.

Well, nothing mattered now since she was also leaving forever. Her country had seen better days; dictatorship brought about many embargoes, and the only option to feed their people would be negotiations with other countries supporting what her grandpa was doing. The surprise came when Panem offered help. She knew very little about that place, only that it was once North America, and their president was now a young widower. Indila saw his picture on TV when they announced worldwide; it was very surprising to have news from Panem. She remembered learning something about it in Geography; they were divided into districts and did not allow foreign people to know more than that. The president was truly very young, especially for a widower; he shouldn't be thirty yet. He looked powerful, not the type of guy who would offer anything without taking some advantage. And what Panem asked was very simple; they wanted a princess for their president. Indila always knew that this moment would come; a princess doesn't get married to any guy she falls in love with. She had many adventures, many lovers, but kept in her mind that when the time comes, she would marry a prince she had never seen before, or a president, in this case. "President," because she doubted he was truly elected.

Tom insisted that they should run away. What was the point of running with her boyfriend if she could never live the life he did? Tom was a worker; he had a family with many siblings. He was inviting her to a calm life; they would leave the country, hunt, fish, and collect for food. They would live a happy life out of civilization. However, Indila really enjoy her privileges; she recognized that, in so many ways, she was a hypocrite. The unknown president of Panem seemed a better escape now. So she kissed Tom goodbye and got ready for her last duty to her country.