The Scent of Roses || Coriolanus Snow

Chapter III

Garnett sat towards the back of his cell, his head buried in his hands. It was the late hours of the night, and all the other mentors had given up and gone home to try and think of a strategy, or at least a way for their tribute to talk to them.

You had a strategy, and Garnett would talk to you; however, you had a bigger problem with this boy.

His guilt.

Garnett talked at length about his life in 2. His mother had to raise him on her own after his father died, his younger sisters could barely pick themselves out of bed due to how small and starving they were, and his best friend Orion. He told you one story of when he and Orion made a treehouse in his backyard that they lived in for a few days for fun and because it was nicer than their homes.

You wondered if Orion was his friend that he hugged when he was reaped, but after you asked that question, Garnett stood up and walked to the back of his cell and collapsed into himself.

"Garnett, I'm sorry," you called out to him. "I didn't mean to upset you. I was just curious."

The boy lifted his head slowly from his hands, trying to stay composed. His cell wasn't airtight, but the feeling of compactness could be felt by even you, who wasn't even inside. You'd managed to get him some food and water, but he finished it so quickly you were worried he'd be sick. 

There were a million questions you wanted to ask him, hoping that using the cover of using it to win over the Capitol would keep him answering, but already the asks posed too tricky for him to respond.

"He's Orion's little brother," Garnett finally answered, his body now resting against the wall, his eyes staring up at the rock ceiling. "Orion was shot by a peacekeeper last May. I don't want to talk about why."

You nodded your head, assuming why he didn't want to talk about why, meaning he had something to do with it. "Is there anyone else back home for you?"

Garnett scoffed. "If you're talking about a girl, sweetheart, then no. Kind of hard to get a lady to like you if you can't even see her well enough to call her pretty."

"Well, there are other ways to see beauty," your voice running thin. Why were you giving a tribute relationship advice when he might not even make it home to use it?

He looked up at you, slowly sliding towards the end of the cell. His head rested on a bar before you, his body still resting on the floor.

You leaned close to him, looking over all his beautiful features and wondering how hard his life must've been not seeing the people he talked to, the people he loved.

Then it hit you like a lightning bolt striking through your entire body. A look of hope overwhelmed your face. "Garnett, I know how to make the Capitol love you."

He shook his head subtly. Of course, thinking you were crazy. "I can't see how you're gonna do that when I'm the runt of the litter here," not a shred of confidence left in him. "You can't change me."

You took his hands into yours again, hoping he could feel the genuine excitement through your skin. He suffered at your touch, either from what you hoped or because he didn't expect you to touch him again. "I don't need to change you! But, I am going to need you to lie a little bit."

~~~~~~~~

The interviews had started. The girl tribute from 1 was going first, and she wasn't doing well. You looked at your classmate who was massaging their temples, trying not to lose their patience and act out in frustration against their tribute.

Another change brought to this year's games is that the host, Lucricious "Lucky" Flickerman, would ask each tribute a question. Of course, he had to stand decently far away to avoid the tributes trying to kill him. You had been prepped on the kind of questions he might ask, but they all followed relatively the same pattern.