"Seraphine!"
Sera's heart skipped a beat at the sound of the familiar voice. She quickened her pace, trying to escape the persistent calls of her former guard, Scarus. The cacophony of music from the floor below was the only thing masking his shouts. Her heels echoed on the marble as she hastily rounded a corner, hoping to lose him.
"SERAPHINE!"
She pushed herself to move even faster, feigning deafness to the voice that haunted her. Desperation set in as she checked each room she passed, all empty. It seemed that everyone, even the children, had stayed in the ballroom.
"Seraphine-Sera!"
Sera's heart pounded louder as the violins and clarinets surged, drowning out Scarus' calls. She silently praised the musicians as she rounded another corner.
To her unfortunate luck, he was faster.
Without a warning, Scarus grabbed a hold of her injured arm to stop her. His touch triggered burned her, making it difficult to breathe or focus on her task of finding Cashmere.
"Seraphine..." His voice was hushed as if savoring the syllables of her name.
Her already flustered composure almost shook in fear when he called out her name, and again tried to push his grasp away from her. He could feel her trembling under his touch, almost like she was in pain.
Sera wrenched her arm away from Scarus' grasp, trying not to gasp at the pain it caused. He stared at her arm-the one he had just released-as she cradled it tenderly.
"I didn't mean to hurt you," he said, his voice slow and forced, the false gentleness making his words nearly slurred.
"Accidents happen." She dismissed, trying to hide her anger.
"It's been a while," he started, clasping his hands together, but his gaze focused on her empty ones. He yearned to hold her hand, a romantic notion that made Sera's stomach churn.
"So it has, Consul," Sera replied, doing her best not to sound disinterested or annoyed. "How can I help you this evening?"
"I just wanted to see if you were alright, considering...Finnick Odair and Johanna Mason caused a scene after trespassing. It's a crime to trespass, even for victors."
Her irritation with the mentioned victors dissipated as Scarus spoke. Despite her strained relationship with them, she didn't appreciate him speaking ill of them.
"What made you think they were trespassing?" She questioned. "I invited them. I'm aware that neither of them frequent charitable events..." Her voice trailed off, growing softer and more tender, nearly resembling a child's tone. "But the children," She said, gazing at him. "The children were eager to see them, and I knew it was a long shot, so I sent out some last-minute invites. I was simply surprised that they showed up."
Scarus frowned. He didn't expect her to respond that way. "You...invited them?" Sera nodded. "For the children?" She nodded again.
"And the children were very happy." Which they were, she saw many about to flock to both of the victors while she was leaving even Johanna had some admirers.
"You're fine with that?"
"As fine as I can be." Thirty minutes had passed since Sera last saw Cashmere. She glanced down at her wristwatch and replied absentmindedly to her former guard. "Did you need something? I'm quite busy at the moment."
Scarus noted her aloof demeanor, and his expression hardened. Again, she wasn't paying him any attention. Her focus was elsewhere, and although he spent the majority of his time disregarding others, he despised being ignored himself. "...Busy enough to leave your post as the host and come up here."
And she hated how his sights were always on her. "I'm looking for Cashmere. Her brother couldn't find her." It wasn't like he cared about what she did as long it wasn't anything suspicious or had anything to do with Finnick.
"Cashmere?" He echoed, cocking his head to the side. "...Cashmere?" He repeated the name of the other victor. Though he was relieved that it wasn't who he thought it was, he was still surprised. He didn't think Sera cared for other victors or other people who weren't her family but she was freely looking for Cashmere. "You're...helping other people?"
So he had noticed.
Sera remained still, not even a twitch of her fingers or a shift of her gaze. She studied him briefly, then lied with a smooth, practiced tone typically reserved for cameras or Senate members. "I always have." She flipped over her wrist subtly to check the time. "I mean I am the patron of Iaso Emley Clinic and the Orphanage for a reason."
"Yes, yes of course." Scarus shifted, frowning. "I'm sorry again...I was just trying to find out if you were okay." He said sheepishly.
Forcing a coy smile, she threw her head back and laughed. "So you had to follow me up here and grab my arm...just to find that out?" She asked as her vision dulled a little.
Eugene's twisted face appeared beside Scarus as he loomed over her former guard. His long spider-like limbs towered over her former guard and he opened his frostbitten mouth. Black blood ran down his chin as he choked back on his muffled words.
"Didn't mean to startle you." He brushed a hand through his hair, obviously uncomfortable. His words inadvertently banished the specter.
Sera sighed, swinging her arm a little to show she was okay. It hurt when she moved it, but she ignored the twinge of pain and smiled through it. "I'm fine," She said, voice a bit flat. "Ah, before I forgot congratulations on your re-election."
Scarus was taken back and tension lifted a little as the corners of his lips turned up. "Th-thank you." He stammered out. "My opponent was a tough one this time."
"Fabius Harada? I might be wrong-"
"No, you're surprisingly right." Scarus smiled, though he was a little suspicious, he put it to rest. Sera was always busy with her charitable works-that was the truth everyone knew even he. She didn't have time for such things nor interest at least that's what he thought. "...Fabius was a tough opponent and an incumbent at that-I'm surprised I even managed to gather enough votes."
"An incumbent?" Sera asked, moving her head to the side. "What does that mean?"
"He had won a few elections before."
"So you replaced him?" He nodded with a proud look. "That must've been hard."
"I suppose it was, I am the youngest Consul ever, though I almost wasn't-" He stopped to study Sera before carrying on. "If only he wasn't involved with some alleged rebel activities, he'd have won again." He said quietly and Sera paused in her steps.
He chalked it up to her being surprised. She was surprised because she didn't even know Fabius was part of the rebellion and Plutarch had never mentioned it nor had she heard about it.
Sera knew who exactly was working for Plutarch. Not that she cared about them but Plutarch had insisted on telling her on the condition that she'd inform him of President Snow's suspicion of any of his contacts. She found it all too annoying but she complied and she watched them when she had nothing to do.
Fabius Harada was not a name she remembered. Fabius was either a scapegoat or her former guard was lying.
She stayed rooted in the hall thinking of her options, wondering whether or not she said poke around for more. Scarus was smarter than her usual clients and that was something she hated.
Sera spared a look to her former guard whose face still had that ugly proud look. "I didn't see it on the news."
"It hasn't been reported yet since Fabius used to head the Consular Tribune, extra care needs to be taken."
She didn't know that either.
"Is that so?" Sera mused. "How terrible." She sighed and looked away, saying just the right words to tug at the strings of his heart while keeping her tone light and sympathetic. "I suppose there'll be an...election to decide his replacement?" She added, a little unsure, not knowing much of the process of how the Capitol was run. She knew little and only as much as she wanted to, knowing too much was never a good thing.
As if she said something humorous, Scarus chuckled, trying to muffle his laughter by biting down on his lower lip. She resisted the urge to glare at him and only blinked innocently at his response. "Ah, no. It's all internal-though, the Senate has a hand in the selection."
"I didn't know so...have they made their choice?"
"Yes. It just hasn't been announced."
Sera nodded and made a mental note to keep an eye out for that. "Well whatever is the outcome, I'm sure it will benefit us all."
"Oh, the outcome has already been decided." Scarus turned around and stood in her path with a smug look. He clasped his hands together and he looked at her expectantly like he wanted a compliment.
Oh.
It took her a second before she understood why he looked so happy. She pursed her lips and wanted to sigh. She didn't care about this at all but it might be useful to know. "Congratulations once again. It must be an honor."
He beamed brightly so unlike him that she had to check if it was her former guard. "I've officially become the youngest head of the Consular Tribune. Even my father didn't manage to become the head in his long twenty-year career as a Consul."
"The youngest Elite Guard and now the youngest head of the Consular Tribune-your achievements are...quite remarkable and..."
"Surprising?" Sera opened and closed her mouth, not knowing what to say. "It is, isn't it? My hard work was only part of the equation."
"What's the other part? Luck?"
"No. Just some hearsay."
Sera paused. She didn't expect him to say something like that. "Hearsay?" She echoed and he shrugged uncharacteristically. For once, she decided to look at him instead of dismissing his appearance.
The Consul in front of her was not her personal guard. His outer appearance wasn't the only thing different. He stood straighter, his head was held high and he looked people in the eye. Most of all, there was confidence in his gait that didn't seem like an overestimation of what he lacked.
There was something else different about him.
She noted that there was a nauseating floral jasmine-like watery scent coupled with a sweet and spicy scent coming from somewhere.
The scent was familiar, so familiar she could almost picture where it was coming from. She took a shocked step back and forced herself to not show any of her emotions when she realized that the scent was none other than the poisoned flower she made him gift her years back: lily-of-the-valley.
As if that wasn't enough, Sera snuck another look at her former guard and her breath was caught in her throat. No. No. No. There was a reason why Scarus appeared so unfamiliar to her, so disgustingly different that it made her want to run.
That arrogant blind ambition in his eyes and the way he walked and talked-it all mirrored his dead godfather Minister Thistlewood a little too much like he had been possessed by the spirit of the dead man.
Before he seemed too quiet and too easily angered yet forcefully calm. It almost reminded her of Huxley if she ignored Scarus' ambition.
Now that she thought about it...she didn't know him much. She knew his family was loving. She knew his godfather was the former confidante of the President and perhaps the only one who cared for her. Other than that, she didn't know him and honestly, she still couldn't bring herself to care as long he wouldn't get in her way.
She almost wanted to laugh at her misfortune. At one point, she wanted to poison him or herself and make him suffer with the lily of the valley. Now it seemed, she was the one inflicted with the poison.
"Hearsay..." Sera repeated quietly. "Like what?"
"Nothing much, just Capitol folks being superstitious."
"I d-didn't realize that was possible." She wanted to curse herself for stuttering. "What kind of superstitions?"
The corners of Scarus' lips turned upward into a childlike grin. "Oh, just a silly little curse."
"Curse?"
He nodded. "They believed that...the position of the head of the Consular Tribune was-is cursed. It's ridiculous."
Sera forced herself to laugh quietly with doll-like movements. "How so?" She quietly asked, starting to walk again.
"Oh just-the previous heads didn't end up so well."
"Like?" She pressed.
"Consul Talcott, Consul Astbury, and now Consul Harada."
Sera froze as her heart dropped and her breath got caught in her throat, nearly choking her. Her hands felt clammy. Two familiar names and one unfamiliar. That couldn't be a coincidence. Scarus was studying her movements and expressions so she had to be careful not to show a sign of weakness.
"How tragic." She commented, doctoring feigned concern in her voice and face as Scarus nodded in approval. "Personally, I don't think it's a curse."
"It's not." He confirmed nonchalantly without elaborating as he sped up but still kept a slow enough pace for Sera to follow him. "Ah, you know I never really thanked you." He said, suddenly changing the topic, surprising Sera.
"For what exactly?"
"For everything." He replied, stopping abruptly and turning his head over his shoulders. He grinned at her but his eyes were so cold yet unfamiliar. "I learned a lot during my time as your guard, so much so that I don't think I can ever repay you."
Thorns around her neck squeezed lightly as she smiled tightly and nodded. "I don't understand but thank you. What did you learn from me?"
His grin grew bigger and Sera paled. She felt as if the floor was crumbling underneath her and the vines that had wrapped around Scarus were withering. "I learned...that sometimes you have to think and watch before you act. I learned that there are many different ways to be strong." She nodded, all of those seemed harmless. "But most importantly, I learned the virtue of listening to those around you-there's a lot you can learn if you just...listen."
Sera's face grew paler and paler. Her head felt lighter. Lights above her danced along to the hum of the orchestral music and she fought off the sudden bout of dizziness that overcame her.
She didn't want him to continue as she feared what exactly he learned from her but she had to know.
"What-"
He didn't let her finish before he had already started speaking. He didn't care if she knew what he had done or would do. He didn't see her as a threat but a mere bystander, a passerby to all the mess that was in the Capitol. "Fabius shouldn't have even thought about rebelling if he didn't want to be caught. His young son was very concerned about his father-it almost reminded me of something so long ago. I don't know if you remember..."
"Remember what?"
"Consul Talcott's young son? Kaia? Kaelus? Kae-"
A bone-thin and deathly pale little boy ran into the field of her vision. His cheeks were hollowed and he was so gaunt that the hospital gown that she had last seen him in barely hung on to him.
His strange red eyes looked up at her innocently before he smiled a toothy smile and ran off into the shadows.
"Kairos." Sera breathed out.
"Kairos!" Scarus said as he clicked his fingers together. "That's who I was thinking about. Consul Harada's son was similar to him...very concerned and I remembered how kind you were to him to lend a dying child some comfort."
"You lent him an ear."
"And a shoulder to cry on." He added softly, reaching out for her and tucking a stray piece of her hair behind her ear. She shivered at his cold touch and he smiled. "He had aspirations to be an Elite Guard."
Her eyes trembled as she bobbed her head down and up. "I thought the Elite Guards were all dismissed."
Scarus took back his hand as her words had burned him. He let out a deep heavy sigh and shook his head. "No, they've been delegated to guarding the borders of the Capitol and the Elites-Peacekeepers can only do so much. I'm overseeing them now."
"That's a big responsibility." President Snow wouldn't just hand over something like that to him, not with his connection to the dead Minister Thistlewood.
"I proved myself to the President." That was all he said, frustrating Sera.
He was giving her as little as he could without letting her know too much. She hated this. She hated that she wasn't in control for once. The vines around him had all but withered completely.
"Consul Harada was a threat like Consul Talcott," Scarus stated, he was looking at the ornate clock lined against the hallway. "It just so happens that the son knew better than the father." There was a dark look on his face that was gone as quickly as it had come.
The thorns tightened around her neck and her dress felt too tight for her body. She was suffocating the more Scarus spoke. Forget Cashmere, she needed to get out.
He mimicked her.
Scarus learned from her.
She never really cared about what happened to the people around her but knowing now that her former guard had turned his obsession into something so vile, she felt sick.
Bile rose in her throat as the thorns loosened. He mimicked her. He was watching her and she knew that but...
She dug her nails into her palms as her smile grew stiffer. Her nails pierced her flesh and she might've drawn blood. Eos wouldn't be so pleased if she managed to get even a single drop of blood on her dress. "I-I have to find Cashmere, you can ask one of the Peacekeepers or I don't know someone to find the Consul-"
"Serap-" The loud sound of glass shattering nearby cut him off.
Chilling screams, uncannily similar to Cashmere's, pierced the air. She stole a fleeting glimpse at her Scarus before bolting towards the source of the terrified cries, with Scarus hot on her heels, the tension escalating with each stride.
"Cash-" Her words were cut off once she took in the sight in front of her.
Shattered pieces of a crimson glass vase were scattered across the floor of the powder room. Furniture was turned over and a floor lamp lay in two pieces on the ground.
Only a single wall light dimly lit the room but it was enough for Sera.
Sera let out a soft gasp as she stepped into the room. Her eyes found Cashmere's. She wasn't even there, sitting as still as a living corpse.
She wasn't alone.
Cashmere lay crumpled on the marble floors and there was a man on top of her squeezing her neck, trying to cut off her airflow. His face was flushed while hers was pale. There was a strong nauseating stench of sweat, vomit, and alcohol in the air that made Sera stumble back and almost double over in disgust.
Before Sera could say a word, her vision was covered as Scarus blocked her sight with his rough hands. She scowled and swatted his hands away. Anger simmered under her skin and flesh as she glared at the man in front of her. Scarus attempted to block her sight again but Sera gracefully moved out of his path and turned the light switch on.
Light flooded the room, exposing the man. He shrunk back into himself like a mole while Cashmere jolted to life. The older victor found her friend and looked up at her with teary eyes, silently shaking her head and trying to tell her it wasn't her fault.
Sera pursed her lips and nodded blankly. She had nothing to say. She did have the urge to flay the man in front of her.
Shame, she didn't bring any blades with her.
She blinked away the dark thoughts as her vision darkened and the overfamiliar face of Eugene clouded her vision. He grinned at her and tilted his head to the side.
"Oh look more company. Come to...join us? I can...h-handle another." The man slurred with a lopsided drunken grin and unfocused gaze.
She said nothing and studied the man. He only squirmed like a pathetic worm under her gaze.
Flushed cheeks, disheveled chartreuse colored hair with black roots peeking, and annoyingly vibrant jade eyes with eggplant purple flecks that seemed artificial, the man's appearance was through and through Capitol-like. There was even a tinge of pale shimmery cyan on his skin that was muddied up by his magenta-colored sweat and the revolting stench of alcohol around him.
"Consul Tantalus Droit!" Scarus spat out as he glared at his co-Consul in fury as he crossed the room and grabbed the man in anger. "What do you think you're doing?"
Tantalus Droit.
Where had she heard that name before? She wondered while she apathetically watched the scene though she was a little relieved that Scarus took the first step and she didn't.
Consul Droit's face paled and his confident aura was gone once he noticed Scarus' appearance. "C-C-Consul Scar-Icarus-"
"Scarus. Consul Scarus Redcliff."
"Consul R-Redcliff. This isn't what it looks like." The man stammered out, struggling to get up, only to fall pathetically to the floor like a dying insect. "Th-that wom-no! That whore tricked me!"
Cashmere's eyes widened as she let out a pained bitter laugh before her laugh turned to a strained cough. "...I tricked you?!" She spat out while gasping for air and clutching her bruised throat. "You followed me! YOU FOLLOWED ME! I wanted some air and you followed me!"
A bruise on her delicate swan-like neck glared angrily at Sera and she grimaced looking at it.
"Because you tricked me! You're a who-"
Sera sighed audibly, reminding them all she was still there. Though she was still flighty and anxious from her conversation with Scarus, she had to take back some control. She turned her wrist over and checked the time before her cold gaze settled on the pathetic man.
With an icy smile and a bright voice, she said. "Consul Tantalus Droit. I do believe we haven't had the pleasure to meet before!"
"Ah, yes. Yes, we haven't." He swallowed nervously as his fingers twitched and he looked back at Cashmere, a grin hiding beneath the nervous facade. "I n-never really had the honor."
Honor.
Sera wanted to laugh at the choice of his words. "I keep myself busy looking after the needy and less...fortunate...of course the orphaned children-many of them are running around and you keep yourself busy doing..." She trailed off.
"My job." He answered, a little sober. "I look after the people who...elected me."
"The people?" She repeated. "Well I can't speak for them but I know the children here would be...troubled to find a Consul like you in this compromising position."
He swallowed nervously and turned to glare at Cashmere. "Believe me. I-I was tricked...seduced even-"
She hummed in response. "Those poor children." She said airily, not really listening. "After what the previous Director did-President Snow had to step in and 'take care' of the problem-those poor children. They've been entrusted to me-well partly and you've just been elected."
"Y-yes. I've been elected by the people of Panem-"
"The Capitol." Sera corrected. "You and Consul Redcliff were elected by the people of the Capitol, people like me from the Districts, we didn't choose you."
The districts hardly ever got a say in how the nation was run. They were lucky if they managed to pick their own mayor. She knew Five was one of the lucky districts, the rest, she wasn't so sure.
"But I represent the people-"
Sera eyed his appearance in disgust and only smiled in response before raising her brow. "You represent the people?" She echoed, motioning to the wreck of the room and the crumpled Cashmere in the corner of the room. "Tell me, did the people want this?"
"She sed-"
Tantalus Droit. That familiar name kept repeating itself. Where had she-
"Oh. How silly of me." Sera said to herself. "I never congratulated you on winning the election and on your engagement to the lovely Drusilla Maslof-"
"Thank you for-"
"I'm not the one to gossip but I heard her father almost didn't allow the match."
"No, he was-is a careful man."
Scarus grunted in response, displeased by the news. "Maslof?" He said the name like a question and looked between Sera and his fellow Consul. "You're engaged to a Maslof."
Consul Droit nodded and drunkenly tried to get up, only to fall back down. His head fell against the wall and he leaned back with a satisfied smile. "Why! C-Consul Redcliff you sound a little jealous."
"I have no reason to be. I'm just confused why my mother's cousin would allow an unfortunate match." Scarus coldly answered.
"Ah, you don't have to worry, cousin-in-law." Scarus' eyes darkened and Sera's lips twitched up a little.
The vines that had withered around Scarus sprung back to life and coiled around him like thin green serpents only she could see.
Sera stood there and watched the two Consuls, debating whether or not to add more fuel to the fire but one look at the helpless Cashmere was all it took for her to make up her mind. "I heard that Mr. Maslof only allowed it on the condition that you stay faithful and loyal to his daughter-I might have misheard it."
His face paled and he sat up. "You know Drusilla?"
She nodded, her gaze flicked to Scarus who seemed so confused but he was very much focused on the conversation. It seemed less tense and lighter than before, Cashmere knew better. She covered her mouth and silently watched Sera.
"Drusilla started volunteering at the orphanage a few months ago."
"She did?" Sera nodded. "I-I wasn't aware, she...um said something about me."
"Drusilla was overwhelmingly happy about the match, she was telling us all the other day that she had a very promising future husband that pledged himself to her and to her only-"
"I didn't mean-"
"She told us that her father was generous enough to sponsor your Consul election campaign-" She cut herself off and spared a fleeting glance to Scarus. "Congratulations by the way on your election. You must be so proud after all the people chose you."
Cashmere's brows knitted together in a frown as she looked from Tantalus to Sera. The Consul didn't even look at Cashmere anymore, his beady unnatural eyes focused on the ground.
Sera carried on, ignoring both Scarus and Cashmere. "Drusilla and her father are truly the most generous of them all, she said something about persuading a tribune-I don't know. I'm not well-versed in Capitol affairs." She said with a soft laugh and eyed Scarus who should've been paying attention to her words but it seemed his mind had gone numb with anger and shame.
"How generous of them," Scarus rumbled, taking her bait and stepping forward. His temper was still the same and that made her a little relieved. "Persuading the Tribune..." He carried on. "...sounds a little like bribery. You know...bribery is illegal, don't you, cousin-in-law?"
Scarus held out a hand for his fellow Consul but stared at Sera as she stood off to the side, almost out of his view with a concerned look on her face. She watched in sudden silence as the tremors of her words caused Consul Droit to gasp for air like a drowned man being pulled deeper into the depths of the ocean.
"You were recently elected too..." Scarus mused as he watched the man squirm under his touch.
"Nothing illegal!" Consul Droit all but shouted before covering his mouth. "It was just a dinner-a dinner!" He repeated. "And it doesn't matter!" He turned to Scarus. "You got elected because of your father and even before that you became the youngest Elite Guard because of your traitor of a god-"
Crack.
In the blink of an eye, Scarus lunged forward, his hand clenched into a menacing fist aimed directly at Consul Droit's face. The sickening sound of something shattering echoed throughout the room.
Sera winced in shock, hesitantly opening her eyes just in time to witness Cashmere struggling to crawl away from the horrific scene. Scarus towered over Consul Droit, his battered and bloodied figure lying defeated. His eyes were bloody and bruised, puffed up from all the abuse as blood trickled down his forehead and nose.
Still, that wasn't enough for Scarus.
Overcome with uncontrollable rage, Scarus seized the man by the collar, shaking him mercilessly before violently hurling him into a nearby marble column. His head hit the marble with a sickening crack and both Cashmere and Sera were sure he was dead if he didn't try to weakly get up.
Sera covered her mouth in shock and horror while hiding her smile and watched as Consul Droit's head cracked a little. Blood gushed out of his wounds. Cashmere let out a quiet yelp while Sera stayed frozen where she stood.
The blood stained the pristine pale rose gold marbled floors as Sera's vision began to darken. She folded her fists, digging her nails in to hold onto her sanity while she watched Scarus senselessly attack Consul Droit for exactly twenty minutes before she ran out without a word to call over some Peacekeepers.
Cashmere dragged herself across the room and watched Sera apprehensively as she returned with a dozen or so Peacekeepers. The Peacekeepers poured into the room and rushed toward the two men. It took a half dozen Peacekeepers to separate both with some even looking towards Sera for some help.
Sera playing the part of a frail victor merely looked on with pity. While Cashmere nursed the bruise around her neck, no longer paying attention to the two men but rather to Sera. She didn't even care to watch as Consul Droit was taken out of the room in a stretcher or as Scarus reluctantly left on his while apologizing to Sera.
It took ten minutes for the storm to clear and when it did, Cashmere and Sera were all that remained amid the drying blood and the strong stench of alcohol, sweat, and vomit. The Peacekeepers vacated the room with a fleeting glance at Sera but she didn't, choosing to stay behind with Cashmere.
"Thanks..." Cashmere croaked out weakly, looking up at her friend while clutching her throat.
Her makeup was smeared. Her rose-colored dress was a mess. One of the pearl straps of her dress was falling off her shoulders. Her normally pale and flawless skin was bruised and scratched. She looked sadly pathetic and she knew it.
Without a word, Sera took off her cape from her dress and draped it around Cashmere's shoulders before hurriedly pulling up her single sleeve to cover up her wounds. "I'm sorry." She said, sitting down on the floor next to Cashmere despite feeling sick of the room's appearance and stench. "I should've been extra careful with the guest list."
Cashmere cracked a tired smile and leaned her head on Sera's uncovered and uninjured arm. "It's not your fault." She rasped out and let out a tired sigh. "It's mine. I-I shouldn't have come. It's always like this no matter where I go. I was stupid to think that they'd take a break for a single night just because kids were running around. Who was I kidding?" She let out a labored laugh before covering her mouth to cough. "I should've known better."
"You can't blame yourself for that, Cash."
"Can't I?" Her eyes were red and tears welled up in her eyes as she cupped her face. "I mean, it is my fault. That's what they said. It's my fault. It's all my fault. I should-"
"Cashmere." Sera raised her voice and leaned over to look at Cashmere in the face before she slowly peeled away her hands to reveal her tear-stained face. "It's not your fault."
Cashmere swallowed back her tears and tried to smile her normal prideful grin but she couldn't even muster up the courage or energy to do a thing. She couldn't. "You-you're being nicer than usual." Cashmere cried out instead. "I don't like it-it's like you're pitying me."
"I'm a nice person."
The older victor let out a throaty laugh between her cries. "Only on the surface." She gasped out. "I know you, Sera." She said. "I've known you for a while. I've watched you a little. You're only as nice as you say you are."
Sera let out a sigh. She wetted her dried-painted lips and hung her head low. Cashmere was right. Her words made her feel worse than she did already which was unusual. Maybe it was Scarus' sudden mention of Kairos or maybe it was the realization that her impure actions had caused devastating effects on everyone around her.
But it was too late to regret, she had built a home with lies and all she could do was take shelter inside.
"I don't," She clasped and unclasped her hands, being careful not to flash Cashmere her injuries. "Pity you."
"I know," Cashmere whispered. "Or you wouldn't be here." Sera nodded. "I appreciate that. I know you've had a rough night too."
"Not as rough as you."
Cashmere wryly smiled. "Something happened." She guessed, checking Sera's expressions.
"I guess it did."
"Do you want to talk about it 'cause I don't want to talk...about this." She said, motioning towards the havoc around them and at herself. "Can we just talk about anything other than this? I'm just so sick of it all."
Sera nodded. "Sure. We can talk about anything you want."
"Thank you." She laid her head back down. "So what happened between you and that mutt?"
Sera's eyes widened a little. Cashmere was the second person to call Scarus a mutt. The first didn't want anything to do with her and she wondered if one day Cashmere would do the same.
"Sera?" Cashmere called out to her, lifting her head.
Sera let out a tired breath and took a seat on the marble floors of the powder room next to Cashmere. "Nothing happened but I wish I could go back and change everything. I'd actually be a real kind person. Someone who actually cares."
Cashmere giggled tiredly. "You're still kinder than the rest of us. If I was in your place, I wouldn't last a day-I don't even know what you do apart from watching those unfortunate kids and those wealthy dying idiots. I think I'd go mad. But if you were even kinder than you are, you wouldn't have survived this far. You'd be just like the rest of us-used and rinsed and left out to dry and wither."
"At least my conscience would be clear." There was a lump in her throat and she felt like she couldn't breathe for a second. The pain shot down to her heart as she threw her head back in pain. She made no sound or change in expression, just stayed still as a corpse.
"Who gives a damn about that? If people like us have to live like dogs and step over these dumb..." Cashmere lowered her voice. "...Capitol people, I'd do it over and over again. At least you're in control."
"Am I?" Sera wondered out loud. The pain ebbed and flowed. Was she really in control now? Scarus was clearly slipping out of her reach and she didn't know how his actions would affect her. The chessboard was changing and she would have to rethink her strategies. "Maybe I've gotten too confident with the way things were."
"Who knows? As long as you're making those Capitol bastards miserable, it doesn't matter to me."
Sera smiled at Cashmere. She liked the older victor out of all the victors she was acquainted with, Cashmere was one of the few who understood her. She didn't ask questions and was patient, sticking around when Sera needed her, and in turn, Sera stuck around her.
"Be nice, Cash." She breathed out and stood up. "I'll cover for you and tell people you weren't feeling well."
Cashmere let out a sharp breath and shook her head. "No." She rejected Sera's offer and dragged herself to the set of mirrors and faucets on the other side of the room. "I-I can't go ho-back to my apartment. Someone will be waiting for me inside."
Water from the faucet occupied the silence as Cashmere ran her fingers through the warm water. She cleaned her wounds before she took some soap and soaked her handkerchief in it. She wiped away her messy makeup and the grime that had built up on her face, frowning and lightly complaining about the state of her appearance every so often.
"Then where are you going to be sleeping for the night?" Sera carefully pressed. She didn't really want to suggest her apartment, she wasn't going back, not if she didn't want to bump into Finnick.
Blue eyes trembled as tears welled up in her eyes. "Probably wandering the streets," Cashmere said with a sad laugh.
"That's dangerous. Aren't you a mentor this year?"
"So I am but I can't." Cashmere shook her head. "I can't go back to the training center, not while I'm-I look like this. The kids will think something's off. They're perceptive...those kids, I told you about the Career Academy in our district, didn't I?" Sera nodded. "It's good. Really good." She swallowed back her tears.
The Career Academy was indeed good.
When Sera was still a tribute, she used to envy the careers for being so adept with the Hunger Games, already having the necessary skills needed to survive while those like Sera from the non-Career districts were left to fend for themselves with little to no prior knowledge or skills.
She used to think how fortunate they were that the Capitol looked the other way while they trained their young for the games.
Looking back, Sera was stupidly naive and bitter for not seeing through the fog. She was young but she was so stupid to think that the Career Academies were a good thing when Gaius first mentioned them back during her games.
The only thing those academies did was sell a broken dream while preparing lambs for slaughter. Glory, honor, and fame were not worth it in the end, they never should've been. There was no honor in killing children like themselves and what followed after was enough to make someone beg for death.
At least, the non-Careers like her knew what we were expecting. Careers thought it was all a game until they were in the arena-only a few were really aware of the true nature of the games.
"Those kids don't know what's waiting for them." She mumbled under her breath.
Teary-eyed, Cashmere cracked a bitter smile. "No." She croaked. "They don't. Like I said, the Career Academy is good. I wish...I wish I never volunteered."
"Those kids that you're mentoring, did they also-"
"It's our district's tradition." She said with a laugh. "Almost everyone volunteers. They-no, we think it's such an honor for a shot at glory but we don't know a thing. Like Glimmer-Augustus' tribute, she's a real piece of work, a real fool who thinks too much of herself, and the Academy didn't exactly help."
"How so?"
"I can't even begin to explain and it's getting late. I don't want to hold you up."
Sera sighed. She really didn't want to return to her apartment but looking at the state of Cashmere, she decided otherwise. "Do you-do you want to sleep over at my place?"
Cashmere took Sera's hand. "Are you sure?"
Sera shrugged. "Don't forget to tell Gloss about it."
"I will and maybe steal a few bottles of wine along the way." The color seemed to return to Cashmere's cheeks as did life in her eyes. "Drink with me?"
Sera gave her an incredulous look and shook her head. "Are you trying to kill me?" She joked.
"Yes because life's too short so let's make it shorter and sweeter." She grinned and strutted over to Sera. "And we both know we need a drink after the hell of a night we've both had."
"I'll think about it."
Sera's life was getting shorter already. She didn't even know how long she had left. All she knew was that she was living for a limited time. She flipped over her wrist to expose the watch on her wrist and stared at it intently.