The Roses and Hibiscus Chronicles - Coriolanus Snow

Chapter 14

Last night was amazing. Snow felt satisfied with how he was gaining more and more trust from Indila. She still needed a little shaping, but he was certain that she would be the perfect first lady for Panem. Snow was also satisfied with the person she had shown herself to be last night. He loved how her innocence would fade away once their bodies touched.

He got up at five, as usual, wrote a note for Indila, as usual.

"My dearest Dila,

I'm out of the circle this morning to pick up someone I want you to meet. I hope your morning is as lovely as the night we spent together.

Love, Coryo."

He took a last look at Indila; she was deeply asleep, beautiful, looking so serene she could be mistaken for being dead. Then he took care of his roses, as usual. He thought about planting them all over the circle gardens; he wouldn't be able to take care of everything by himself. Of course, he would still tend to the ones in the greenhouse and could hire someone to take care of the rest. He made a mental note to tell Julliard to grow beautiful rose bushes for the entire circle; they would look lovely on the wedding day.

He returned to his room to change. Indila was still sleeping. He chose a suit designed by Panem's best stylist, kissed Indila's forehead, and got back on track. He was visiting Tigris today, right after breakfast. He hadn't told her a word about Indila, so maybe it would be a long visit.

Snow took a look through the car's window, feeling proud of the glory of the nation he had built. This feeling was quickly overshadowed by the anxiety he felt every time he would meet Tigris. She was the only person alive who truly knew everything about his miserable past, and in addition, she had developed the bad habit of prying into his matters. The last time they saw each other was a few days before Indila arrived. She came to the palace to see Crassus. She never showed up when not invited.

Snow thought about how he would explain his upcoming wedding. While Tigris would likely be pleased with the news, he anticipated a barrage of questions. Additionally, he needed to ensure that Tigris didn't divulge too much information to Indila. Indila was privy only to the version of his past that he had carefully crafted for her.

Snow arrived at Tigris's atelier, took a deep breath, and entered. "Mr. President, good morning! What an honor!" The girl working there greeted him with a big smile. Snow had slept with her once some months ago, during the games, but unfortunately couldn't recall her name. "Good morning. How are you today? Lovely morning, isn't it?" The girl giggled and asked, "How can I help you?" Snow replied, "I came to see my dearest cousin. I have a special job for her. Is she around?" The girl continued to smile, with a hint of flirtation in her eyes. Snow felt a sense of pity for her. "Of course, she's in the office. Follow me, please."

Snow followed her, and she knocked on the office door. Tigris gave permission to enter. Upon seeing Snow, she opened a big smile and ran to hug him. "See who decided to show up, my favorite cousin. How have you been? What nice suit!" Snow responded, "Hey, you like it? I got it designed from the best I know: my cousin" Tigris asked the girl to close the door, leaving them alone. Snow took a seat. "What do I owe the honor of having the president himself in my atelier?" Tigris inquired. "Well, I have a job only you could do for me." Tigris rolled her eyes. "Come on, Coryo, you've ghosted me in the last six months. I want to know about you first. And how's the cutest thing in the world? I miss my nephew so bad."

"Crassus is unstoppable. We hope he'll walk in a few weeks. He has grown a lot since the last time you met. Look, I have a picture of him in my wallet." Snow showed Tigris the picture. "Oh my gosh, he looks so much like you. Look at those cheeks. He's adorable. I wish I could see him." Snow had a plan for that answer. "Actually, you can. I came here today to pick you up." Tigris showed a discontent expression. "What do you mean? I can't just leave my work here. You should've given me a call first." Snow had anticipated this response. "I'm pretty sure you have work to do, and you'll want to do it in the circle today because of the task I bring to you."

Tigris listened with interest, and Snow continued, "I'm getting married, and I want you to meet my fiancée and also design a beautiful wedding dress for her." Tigris seemed astonished by the news. "What? I mean, congratulations, but what? Why didn't you tell me? I'm so... Persefone is going to be so upset about it." Persefone! That was the name of the girl who worked for Tigris "What does she have to do with it?" Tigris got angry. "She got all delulu about you, and you never gave her a call." Right, that... "I don't know what you're talking about," Snow replied. Tigris rolled her eyes again. "Anyways, it doesn't matter now. Tell me everything about this girl." She sounded excited.

"She's nice," said Snow. Tigris looked disappointed. "Is that all? You're getting married to her, and all you have to say is that she's nice?" Snow didn't want to share too many details. "She's intelligent. Crassus likes her."

"What about you?" she asked. "Do you like her?" Snow remained silent for a moment before answering, "Yes, I do." Tigris was not satisfied with the answer. "Do you really like her, or do you like her the way you liked Livia?" Not this conversation again. That's why he didn't share anything about his private life with Tigris; she was always too critical about everything. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Come on, Coryo, let's be honest. You never got over that one girl, and you keep bringing women into your life for whom you don't have the right feelings and can't truly compromise..." Snow felt furious about this assertion. How dare she mention Lucy Gray in this way and assume he hadn't gotten over her? He felt offended. "What girl, Tigris? I have no idea what you're talking about."

He guessed Tigris could feel the anger in his tone, so she changed the topic. "What is your fiancée's name, anyway?" That was better. "Indila Trastámara." Tigris looked puzzled. "Trastámara? I don't remember this name." "She's not from here." Tigris was surprised. "Oh, is she from the districts then?" "No," she looked confused, "What do you mean? How can she be not from here and not from the districts?" Snow grinned, "This, my dear, is one of those state secrets that I can't tell you." Tigris understood this was a forbidden topic and just lowered her head.

"That leads us, Tigris, to another important thing I want to ask you. She is getting used to life in Panem, and I really want you to meet each other today. We are having lunch together, and I want you to talk to her about the dress. However, you need to be careful about how many details of our life you are telling her." Tigris used an ironic tone to say, "You don't want her to know how much of a womanizer you had been as a single man, I see." Snow was getting impatient, "No, it's much more than that. I haven't even told her about the Games yet. She got horrified when she found out what the avoxes were. Please don't tell her about what we went through during the war and anything that concerns our customs."

Tigris was visibly uncomfortable in this situation. "Are you out of your mind? She has the right to know everything. She's marrying you; she's living here in Panem. It's not fair to her that you omit these things." Tigris would never understand him. "I know it is not. I'm telling her. I just want to do it gradually. She's not in the most comfortable situation as an outsider." Tigris was shocked. "Outsider..." she whispered to herself and fell silent for a minute. She took a look at Snow, then looked at the clock on the wall. She opened her mouth to say something but held back in regret.

"Okay, I guess you're not letting me work here today. I'll grab my purse, and we can go. And I demand to see my nephew." That worked, perfect. She opened the door and told Persefone to cancel her meetings for the day because she would be out.