The Roses and Hibiscus Chronicles - Coriolanus Snow

Chapter 23

During her life, Indila felt betrayed by Coriolanus three times. The first time was when she discovered the truth about the hunger games. That night, she lost all the illusions she had about him and realized that, regardless of his sweetness towards her, Coriolanus was a murderer. This realization became more evident over the years, as she observed him consistently carrying a small vial of poison in his pockets.

The second betrayal occurred when she learned that, despite their seemingly strong relationship, he was involved with other women. It wasn't a frequent occurrence, not at all, but the knowledge of his infidelity hurt her. For instance, the night when Elana was born, although he managed to be there for Indila and Elana in time, she knew what kind of other commitments kept him away in first place.

The third betrayal hit her when she understood that, no matter what she did, she could never affect him the way he affected her. Three years ago, she had gotten involved with a general from District 2, and Coriolanus was aware of it. To her surprise, he remained indifferent. He never discussed it, showed no signs of anger or jealousy. This realization made Indila acknowledge that she could never retaliate and hurt him in return.

It was morning, alone in their bedroom, she opened the book again, one of her favorites. It was an ancient Shakespearean play that had inspired the name of her husband. Page 74 had been subtly modified. Although imperceptible to others, Indila noticed the change. The lines now read:

"There is a way to be good again,

there's a way to be free again.

And so, he shall die

There will be no more poison

Under his dirty, nasty lies.

The rebellion rejoins

Before the hunger of the noon

Maybe it's time to redecorate this room."

Indila understood. There was a rebellion being planned, they wanted to kill Coriolanus before the hunger games. That would be in a month. Julliard was involved to it, she got very surprised, he always seemed very loyal. He wanted to redecorate the rooms so they could leave the circle to talk about it. However, the key was obvious, they wanted her help to kill Coriolanus.

That was a lot to cope. Indila was very sure that the world would be a better place if her beloved husband didn't exist. On the other hand, he was the father of her children, they loved him, and she was sure they were also the only thing Coriolanus truly loved. And what would happen to her, Crassus and Elana? They were, after all, the Snow family, maybe it wouldn't take much time until someone from the rebellion decided they were also dangerous. Or even worst, maybe her own son would grow seeking for revenge.

Perhaps, she could negotiate with them to send her and the kids back home, her grandfather would probably be dead, he was sick the last time they saw each other, she would beg her uncle for shelter, she would really do that for her children, no matter how humiliated she would feel. She knocked this thought out, it was not possible, most people there didn't believe that there was life out of Panem, and, at this point, it was really hard to say if there would still exist. If the rest of the world had had another nuclear war, Panem citizens would never know it, Coriolanus was very careful letting the people know exactly what he wanted them to know, same treatment for her.

Indila could talk to them, that's what she decided, just to make sure of what was their purpose with this revolution. She asked Coriolanus to redecorate and he told her he was talking to Julliard. So, probably, Julliard would be waiting for her so they could leave the circle. That's what happened.

They went to a store of gold decoration pieces. Indila always wanted to know district 1 where they made this sort of thing, but Coriolanus didn't like when she was out of the circle, he would never take her to see what was out there, so she was in the Capitol for a long time now.

"Mrs. Snow I'm going to the restroom before we get started, do you want to accompany me?". She understood. "Right, so once we start picking our pieces, there will be no interruption".

The attendant showed the hallway that ended up to the restrooms. Julliard took a small notebook from his pocket and a pen. He started to write. "Indila, never talk about this, he probably has little wiretaps to all your clothes and accessories". She could see what he was writing and nodded in affirmation. Julliard continued to write. "I understand how hard it is to you, he's the father of your children, but I need you to keep in mind that the sweet man Crassus thinks he is does not exist, and I'm sure you know that". She nodded in affirmation again, this information hurt her, but she knew it was true. "We have it all set, the plan is flawless, he trusts me, you know, but in case it doesn't work, we are going to need your help. If he survives the day of the reaping, you need to grab the poison from his pocket and put an end to it while he's sleeping, he has the no healed sores in his mouths, it won't take long".

Indila could feel her heart breaking imagining the picture of a dead Coriolanus on their own bed, but deep in her heart, she knew that was the right thing to do. "He's making the districts voting for their tributes, so there will be chaos of one against other". That was a very evil idea, it should have come of Coriolanus himself. "We intent to do it before the reaping, but if he comes to lay by your side that night, will you help us to build a new free Panem?".

Indila hesitated; Julliard could sense her reluctance. He continued writing, "Do you remember the nightmare you had about Livia? It was not a nightmare. He really did that to her—tortured her for months and then poisoned her, keeping her away from her child. He has no scruples, he has no love for anyone." This revelation struck her like a knife in the heart. Deep down, she had always known it was not a mere nightmare; it was the dream that revealed the true soul of Coriolanus Snow for her, he was no prince Desiree, she was no princess Aurora. Living with this painful truth, she took the notebook and pen from Julliard's hand.

"Do you swear there will be protection to me and my children?" she wrote. Julliard assent and so did her. She trusted Julliard with her life. They got back to the store and chatted about how the palace would look better after the redecoration was done. Indila was scared.