Ashes in the Snow

Thirteen

I wake up from an awful night of sleeping and head downstairs hoping to find some breakfast. As I walk down I see Coriolanus sitting on the couch, tying his shoes.

"Good morning," I say.

He ignores me.

Maybe he just didn't hear me? "Good morning," I say once more.

He ignores me again.

I walk into the living room and say, "what is your problem? Why are you ignoring me?"

He looks up at me and he looks more serious than he usually is. In fact, he looks angry.

"Did you know?" He asks.

"Know what?" I ask, confused.

"Did you know he was coming?!" He yells, startling me.

"How would I know he was coming!? You know more than I do!" I yell.

He just scoffs, getting up from the couch and just walks past me.

"What the hell? You were so different last night." I say.

He turns around and says, "I was sad last night, Ashe! And today I'm pissed."

"What could you possibly be pissed for?"

He stares me down and quickly walks towards, grabbing my face and passionately kisses me. His lips feel soft, almost like rose petals. They're smooth and flexible, almost like they were made for kissing. I've never kissed soft lips like his before. Eric's we're always rough and sometimes dry from the weather and mining. I love the feel of his hands on my face. His hands make my face feel small, which I like. And I notice his tongue start to touch my bottom lip, almost like he's testing the waters. Which I want to let him into my mouth, but a part of me feels nervous to do anything else. After a moment we both look at each other and catch our breath.

"Do you feel the same way about me?" He asks, sounding self conscious.

"I don't know what kind of feelings I have for you, I'm still trying to sort them out." I pause. "But yes, I do have some kind of feelings for you."

"Why can't you be mine?" He says, rubbing my cheek with his thumb.

"Because I'm just some girl from district 12." I say, sadly.

"When you win, will you stay here in the Capitol with me? Would you be mine then?"

I look up into his eyes, "I don't know."

"What's stopping you?" He whispers.

"Because there's a dark part of you that terrifies me."

"Sometimes that darkness is necessary. Ashe, it's what's going to keep you alive."

"What are you planning on doing?"

"The less you know, the better." He tucks a piece of my hair behind my ear.

"I don't want you to do bad things for me," I whisper.

"Sometimes you have to be the bad guy," he whispers back.

"What do we do now?" I ask.

"The most important thing is that I'm going to keep you alive. You need to listen to my advise, please trust that I know what I'm talking about. And take training seriously. I can only do half the work, the rest is up to you in there."

"What about after? I'm suppose to marry Eric."

He smiles at me and says, "No you're not. I promise you. Now it's time for you to get ready for training. I'll meet up with you later."

He turns around and leaves. I touch my lips and feel the butterflies in my stomach again. This is the first time I've felt hopeful about the games.

——-

I arrive at the training center and see that everyone is scattered in different parts of the center. The biggest thing I need to work on is fighting. Like Coriolanus said, he can only do half the work. It's up to me to survive in the arena. All his work will be for nothing if I can't hide or fight. I feel more determined than I ever have before. Maybe it's because I do see a future for myself and I don't want anyone to take that away from me.

Our trainer says we're going to practice one on one today. She pairs me up with a girl from district 1. I remember her from the interview; her name is Bianca Alexandra. She is taller than I am and has blonde hair that's tied back in a ponytail.

"Hey 12," she says, her voice is raspy.

"Hey," I nod my head.

"Shake hands, then begin," the instructor says.

Bianca sticks her hand out and I shake it. We both shuffle back and have our arms up, ready to defend. We stare at each other and slowly shuffle in a circle. She take a few steps forward and goes to punch me, which I block with my arms. With me being unready, she is able to slide her leg under mine, tripping me. I fall back on my head, and boy did that hurt. Bianca reaches out to help me up, I notice and take her hand pulling me off the ground.

"Thanks," I sigh out.

I walk off the mat and hear Bianca say, "hey 12!"

I turn back around and see her coming up to me. "I can help you practice if you want."

"Why would you help me?" I ask.

"We're both not here because we want to be. Plus, it wouldn't be a fair fight in my opinion. I think it could be good to be allies."

"Why wouldn't you be allies with your district parter?"

"Who? Allen?" She asks. "He's a total idiot. He would turn on me instantly."

I think for a moment. It could be good to have an ally. I'm not the best fighter and she seems genuine. We could help each other, until there was the two of us left. Which I really hope doesn't happen, maybe someone will get to her first so I don't have to.

"Okay, sure." I say.

"Great! Here, let's go to this corner so I can help you a little bit."

For the rest of the time, Bianca helps me with my fighting. She is actually pretty good at fighting. We both laugh and bond over the little things. The Capitol treats us like we're animals, ready to be slaughtered or ready to slaughter anyone we can. But we're all human. We all have different stories and bring a unique light to the world. It feels nice to have made a friend, even if it's only for a short while.