𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑾𝒉𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝑳𝒐𝒕𝒖𝒔; 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒄𝒌 𝒐𝒅𝒂𝒊𝒓

𝑮𝒓𝒊𝒎 𝑹𝒆𝒂𝒑𝒆𝒓

A couple of months later, it's the night before the Quarter Quell Reaping. Lilith has had trouble sleeping these past few nights. The thought of being thrown into the Games again is daunting.

After finally falling into a shallow sleep, Lilith yells and jolts awake from another nightmare. Her breath is shaking and her palms are sweaty. A couple seconds later, her door is flung open.

"What happened?" Silas demands, there is worry in his voice.

"It's just a nightmare. I'm fine," Lilith's voice comes out shaky.

Silas walks over and sits on his sister's bed. He pulls her in closer, trying to comfort her. Lilith takes a deep breath and leans her head on her brother's shoulder.

"It'll be okay," Silas mumbles.

"I'm scared, Sil," Lilith whispers. "If something were to happen to you-"

"Don't. Nothing is going to happen."

This does nothing to calm Lilith's nerves. She can't help but think that something horrible is going to happen. She finally gets to sleep, but the morning comes too soon.

The morning of the Reaping, Lilith dresses herself in a white satin blouse, black dress pants, and black flats. Her hair is curled and a light coat of makeup is dusted on. Lilith's heart is beating in her ears as she is escorted to the Justice Hall. She tries her best to keep her expression stone.

The District Two Victors stand on the stage, overlooking the crowd. Girls are on one side and boys are on the other. Lilith stands with her hands at her sides, fighting the urge to fidget with her fingers.

Ember stands in the middle of the glass bowls filled with names. She wears a dark purple dress with a huge collar behind her head. Her hair is pulled into a side bun.

"Welcome, welcome. Thank you all for joining us for this year's Quarter Quell Reaping," Ember says joyfully into the microphone. The crowd claps and cheers at her.

Lilith's stomach is in knots. She just wants to get this over with.

"As usual, we'll start with the ladies." Ember walks over to the glass bowl with the girls names in it. She swirls her hand around a couple of times before plucking a paper out. Ember smiles and struts back over to the microphone. "The female tribute from District Two will be," she unfolds the paper. She opens her mouth to speak, but is taken aback. Regaining her composure, she smiles. "Lilith Monroe."

Lilith plasters a fake grin on her face and walks to the microphone. The crowd cheers as Lilith waves. Although she looks thrilled, she's dying on the inside. The only thing that would make this worse is Silas being the boy tribute.

"And now, for the boys," Ember says into the microphone before walking over to the glass bowl by the boys. She picks a paper and walks back to her place. "The male tribute from District Two will be," she unfolds the paper. Ember takes a deep breath and looks down. She looks back up after a moment and smiles. "Silas Whitlock."

Lilith's stomach drops. Her head whips to her right. She watches Silas walk to her and stand next to her. She turns her head back forward, bringing back her smile.

"May I present," Ember grabs Silas and Lilith's hands, "the tributes for District Two!"

The crowd goes wild. Silas and Lilith wave at the crowd as they go into the Justice Building. As soon as the doors shut, Lilith is in her brother's arms. He stays quiet as he holds her tightly.

"You said..." Lilith begins.

"I know. I'm sorry," He responds.

"What are we going to do?" Lilith asks, pulling away from the embrace.

"We'll figure it out, okay?" Silas reassures her. She nods in response.

Lilith hopes they can survive this. But, there can only be one Victor. Well, last year's Games strayed from that rule, maybe this year's can too. If possible, Lilith is hell bent on her and Silas getting out together.