Celeste Visser was always considered the Capital's princess. Well, after she was reaped in the 69th Hunger Games. Before that, she was just a girl from District 4 who spent her days working on the boats and trying to take care of her sisters.
Once she reached the Capital though, she became so much more. Even her entrance at the Tribute Parade made everyone's eyes turn to her. She became an enigma that the Capital was infatuated with, earning her many sponsors. Everything worked in her favor even more when the arena turned out to be by the water, killing many of the tributes instantly.
Celeste, clearly trained in water, excelled in her arena, making everyone fall in love with her just that much more.
She was smart, cunning, well-trained, and kind. Something the Capital loved about her, despite the fact that she had now become a killer. She became their princess, something to be admired. And President Snow, although unhappy at the amount of loyalty towards Celeste, used this to his advantage. He invited her to every function and made her the center of attention all the time to satisfy the Capital and give the districts a sign of 'hope'. He made sure she attained her unattainable status by punishing anyone that got too close to her.
And he succeeded for years. Celeste was a pawn for the Capital to pacify the districts. Every year, she was dragged to the big events and made a spectacle of. And in return, her family's safety was secured.
She never liked being used the way the Capital used her, but she would do anything for her sisters. So, she chose to be silent, even if it meant that she had to spend a good chunk of her time surrounded by insufferable idiots.
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Unlike Celeste, Cato Hadley grew up training to be in the Hunger Games. He was ruthless and arrogant. And by the time the 72nd Hunger Games came around, he was ready to volunteer.
The Capital feared Cato rather than love him, but Cato didn't really seem to mind. He knew he was going to win. And he made sure everyone knew that.
And he did win. Not that anyone was surprised. Cato was one of the older and more advanced tributes at the ripe age of 18. And he didn't seem to mind killing anyone that got in his way.
Thankfully, the Capital loved Cato's ruthlessness. They ate up his intimidating aura and found enjoyment in his aggression, making Cato's victory party all the more luxurious.
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Celeste was once again forced to attend another Capital event, this time honoring another victor for slaughtering other children in order to survive. She hated the way the Capital citizens laughed and celebrated all the while the victors lived in agony and regret. And she hated the way Snow made her relive her guilt every year by forcing her to come to all of the victory parties.
Nevertheless, Celeste found herself handing out desserts to the crowd and making small talk with the other guests.
"Hello, beautiful," She suddenly heard from behind her, interrupting her thoughts.
Celeste turned around with a planted smile on her face, trying to mask her disgust at the thought of another man from the Capital hitting on her. To her surprise though, she wasn't met with any Capital citizens, only Cato.
"Cato Hadley, what an pleasure it is to be talking to the guest of honor," Celeste shot back before offering a cupcake. Cato gladly took one and laughed.
"I may be the guest of honor but you sure know how to grab everyone's attention, Butterfly," Cato countered, gesturing towards Celeste's decked-out, pink butterfly dress.
"Oh? You don't really seem like the type to like butterflies," Celeste jokingly responded, raising her brow in amusement.
"Maybe I wasn't before but I surely am now," Cato noted with a smirk. But, before Celeste could even respond she noticed Brutus and Enobaria making their way over to the two.
"Cato! I see you've met Celeste. She's the victor of the 69th Hunger Games. Remember we watched her games while training for the arena," Enobaria cuts in, gesturing towards Celeste.
"Yes, of course, you're the fastest victor to ever win their games," Cato answered in awe. Celeste just nodded.
"Most of the tributes didn't know how to swim. I was just one of the few that could," Celeste retorted.
"Nonsense, you still fought off the last two tributes really well. You killed both our tributes," Brutus jumped in with no bitterness in his voice. Celeste could tell he viewed the arena as a game and his tributes as mere players. Something Celeste would never be able to do.
"It was out of mere necessity. Not something I enjoyed doing," Celeste responded, trying to hide the discontent in her voice. Though, she was sure her true feeling shined through.
"Well, we should continue showing Cato around the party. We'll see you soon, Celeste," Enobaria cuts in.
"It was nice meeting you, Butterfly. Hopefully, I'll see you again soon," Cato spoke before walking away with a smile.
"I'm sure I'll be seeing a lot of you, Mr. Hadley," Celeste joked as he walked. Finally, once the three were out of sight, Celeste got back to work chatting with the guests with a fake smile.
Hopefully, everything would be over soon.
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"She seems nice," Cato spoke up once Celeste was out of earshot.
"You have to be careful around Celeste. She's the Capital's princess, but that whole princess act is all fake," Brutus warned, pointing towards Celeste again who seems to be back to chatting with the guests.
"She's very clever and she's got the whole Capital wrapped around her finger. Just be careful. Snow's got a very tight leash on Celeste and he won't hesitate to kill anyone that gets too close to her," Enobaria added.
Cato turned his attention towards President Snow who was watching the crowd from his balcony. The man seemed to be observing the crowd very closely.
"She's a lovely girl, don't get me wrong. But the Capital adores her a little too much for you to want to get close to her. It's best to just keep her at a distance. Besides she's from District 4 so the only time you'll see her is during the Hunger Games," Enobaria finished.
"Anyways, enough of that. Let's just enjoy this party," Brutus cuts in before Cato could respond.
Cato nodded before turning his attention once more to Celeste. A moment later, she met Cato's eyes and sent him a small smile before turning back to her conversation.
There was no way in hell Cato was going to be able to stay away from her.
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a/n: Hi!! Thank you for reading the first chapter! I hope you enjoyed it! Look out for more chapters coming shortly <3