The Weight of the Crown

The Poisoned Woman

The ceiling was white. Too white. Smooth, uniform, bathed in a harsh light that allowed no shadows, no doubt. A light of truth or of torture.

Auren opened her eyes slowly, as if slicing through a frozen sea. Her mind floated, numb, heavy with sedatives. The world did not return in one piece, but in fragments, the weight of her arms, the sterile scent of medical alcohol, the low hum of an oxygen generator.

And then, suddenly, the clear realization of one simple fact: she was restrained.

Her wrists, bound with firm straps, barely slid against the cold metal of the bed rails. No pain. Not yet. But the humiliation burned, vivid, sharp. They had reduced her. Chained her. Like a dangerous animal.

She tried to move, to pull. Nothing.

A chair scraped quietly to her right.

"You're awake."

Auren turned her head.

Katniss Everdeen was sitting there, a gauze pressed to her temple, her hair tangled, her features hollowed by exhaustion. But her eyes... those forest-after-rain eyes... were clear. Unfathomable.

"You watch me while I sleep," Auren murmured. "Charming."

Katniss didn't flinch.

"I wanted to see what a killer looks like when she dreams."

Auren gave a faint smile, almost amused.

"A killer... Is that the word you're using now for people trying to save what can still be saved?"

"No. It's the word for someone who signs off on executions with poetic speeches."

Auren blinked slowly. For a fraction of a second, the fatigue won. But her mind was razor-sharp.

"You saw the broadcast."

"I heard it."

Katniss stood slowly. The harsh light struck her face. It was marble, expressionless.

"'Panem has known an era of unprecedented peace.' Did those words come from you, or did Snow whisper them into your ear?"

Auren stared back, unblinking.

"They're true. That's all that matters."

"True?!"

Katniss stepped closer to the bed. Every step echoed like a death knell on the smooth floor.

"You speak of peace while bombing a hospital. You smile while civilians are slaughtered. You claim the districts deserve punishment. You've become worse than the people you once feared."

"No" Auren said softly. "I've become what you all feared I could be: useful. Unpredictable. Obedient when needed. Unbreakable. Always."

"You were one of us..."

A muscle ticked in Auren's jaw.

"No, Katniss. I never was. You are a rebellion pretending to be a cause. I am the spine of the system. Without me, it collapses."

"You were a symbol, Auren. Now you're just a tool. And not even a good one."

A long silence fell.

Auren looked at her, eyes empty of emotion.

"You know what I saw in District 8? People waving your symbol while hiding behind children. Women wielding weapons like rage was a kind of justice. They weren't innocent. They were lost. And I did what had to be done."