𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗼𝗶𝗮 ♛ ꜱᴇᴊᴀɴᴜꜱ ᴘʟɪɴᴛʜ

♛𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗻♛

Coriolanus got to her before Grandma'am even could.

As Aurelia crept silently back into the apartment she was immediately aware of her twin brother at the table, still in his uniform from the interviews. A single candle provided a dim light to the room as he sat, pen in hand, with a sheet of paper in front of him, littered with words. His crystal eyes followed her as she entered the room where he was seated.

"Where were you, Lia? You disappeared right after the interviews." His tone was hushed, trying not to wake the other two members of the family.

"I couldn't sleep. I went to the roof to clear my head," Aurelia recited, having practiced an excuse in case someone happened to be awake upon her return. "I heard Lucy Gray's song, it was beautiful," she added, in an attempt to appeal to his pride.

It would have worked on her grandmother or cousin, but her twin was relentless. "And you were alone?"

"Of course," the girl laughed. "Who else would have been up there with me?"

"Don't act as if I didn't just see someone creeping down the fire escape, Aurelia," Coriolanus whispered menacingly. There was a kind of fire in his eyes that she couldn't exactly explain, but it looked dangerous.

"I don't know what you're talking about. Good night, Cori," Aurelia denied, turning around to walk back to her room.

"It was Sejanus, wasn't it?" Coriolanus called out, causing his sister to freeze. She turned slowly, meeting the eyes that matched hers.

She lifted her chin ever so slightly. "I just needed to talk to him. Is that a problem?"

The blonde boy snorted, but with no humor in his features. "Just needed to talk, right."

Aurelia stepped towards him, the fire in his eyes transferring to hers. "What are you implying right now, Coriolanus?"

Placing down his pen, Coriolanus walked towards her, every step seeming more and more threatening. "I am implying that, once again, you are doing exactly what I told you not to," he whisper-yelled, clearly angry.

"In what world do you get to decide what I do with my life? And also, I still can't understand what the huge problem is with Sejanus!"

"He's district, Aurelia," Coriolanus stated firmly.

"He was district. Why do you care so much, anyway? His family has power, they have money, which, if you haven't noticed, are two things we are currently very lacking in. I just can't get why the big problem is with him being from the districts."

"Aurelia, you could have any boy in the whole Capitol if you wanted. Plenty of those boys have money and power. Why did it have to be him?" Coriolanus had raised his voice to a normal volume, and in the silence of the apartment it was deafening.

"And that's been the plan all along, hasn't it? Sell me off to the highest bidder like some prize calf? That was your plan, Coriolanus, not mine. Never mine."

Her brother paused at this, just staring down at his sister. She was older than him by two minutes, and yet over half a foot shorter. Nonetheless, she had stood her ground, and now looked up at him in silence for a moment.

"Also," she began, letting a hint of venom creep into her voice. "You don't get to yell at me for falling for someone from the districts when you have done the exact same thing."

Enjoying his blank stare for just a second, she continued. "Don't think I haven't noticed the way you look at your little songbird, Coriolanus. Difference is, she's still living in the districts, so by that logic it makes it worse. At least I can guarantee Sejanus is going to live through the next forty-eight hours."