The Capitol was in an even bigger frenzy than it usually was as the games approached. Parties ran from sunrise all the way through the night, and Valeria could hardly afford to miss a single one. She wore her most outrageous outfits and daring shoes. One pair almost sent her tumbling into the fountain, and she was forced to slightly tone down her choice of shoes in favor of saving face from embarrassment.
With the exhaustion seeping into her body before the night even fell, she wasn't sure how one could party so much without losing their mind as many of the Capitol citizens seemed to be doing, but the drinks did get people talking. Most of it was random gossip that gave Valeria some form of entertainment, but every once in a great while she found someone who blabbed something they shouldn't have.
Most of the time it was a harmless comment, but Valeria was like a starving shark hunting for its prey. Just a small drop of blood in the sea of overflowing parties was all she needed to attack. With some compliments and a few more drinks, she found out everything she needed.
Plans in the making and information she didn't have access to kept her focused on why she was at these parties. It seemed that next year's Quarter Quell was going to be quite the entertainment, and she had sworn to the particular gamemaker who spilled its secrets that she wouldn't whisper a word of it to anyone.
A lie, obviously, but who was he to question her. She was, after all, the president's granddaughter.
It wasn't until the morning of the tributes' parade that Valeria finally found time to escape the parties. She didn't even slip out of her uncomfortably tight fitted dress before passing out on her couch. Not even her nightmares could follow her into her deep slumber as she slept until the sun had started to set beyond the horizon, woken only by the sound of knocking on her door.
Valeria pushed her hair out of her face, ignoring the way her body screamed as she pushed herself off the couch. She shifted uncomfortably in her dress, the itchy material leaving her pale skin with red marks. When she finally made it to the door, she opened it to find nothing but a small box sitting at her doorstep.
Rolling her eyes at her great-aunt's inability to stick around long enough to say hello, she grabbed the box before slamming the door behind her. A tired yawn escaped her lips as she trudged to the kitchen, throwing the box onto the counter before taking a seat. She leaned her head against her hand, feeling herself doze off again before another knock startled her awake.
Releasing a loud groan as she buried her head into her arms, she stayed there for several moments as the person outside her apartment knocked again. Knowing it would continue until she answered, she forced herself back down the long hallway of her apartment as a third knock came.
She threw open the door to find a sheepish boy on the other side, who was unfortunately faced with the wrathful glare of Valeria Snow as she narrowed her eyes at him. He held up the bouquet of white roses in his hands, each one more pristine than the next and Valeria didn't need a message to know who they were from.
"Your grandfather says-"
"I know what he says," Valeria muttered as she snatched the flowers from his hands, wincing as she felt one of the thorns prick her finger.
She felt bad has she watched the boy's face drop, a flash fear crossing his eyes as she remembered who her grandfather was.
"Thank you," she gave the boy the most genuine smile she could muster, watching his face morph into confusion as she shut the door.
Her head dropped down to stare at the roses in her hands, wishing nothing but to throw them in the trash and never be forced to look at another hideous rose in her life. Eventually, she shook the thought from her head as she returned to the kitchen, her eyes landing on the vase of slowly wilting flowers. Her grandfather was many things and most of them horrible, but Valeria had to admit he had a certain tenacity around roses that would almost be impressive if she didn't hate them so much.
Valeria took a certain joy from throwing the wilting flowers in the trash, wishing she could do the same with the new flowers her grandfather sent her. Doing so would only anger her grandfather, and only grow suspicion of her sudden hatred for the roses, so she was forced to keep them for when her grandfather would no doubt drop in on her.
It didn't take long for her to find her meager rose pruners in her kitchen drawers, always having them on standby for when her grandfather dropped by roses with thorns on them. He thought it would teach her something useful, having to cut off the thorns herself, but Valeria believed he just had a weird fascination with roses that wasn't shared with the rest of the world.
Her hands worked faster than her brain, years of instinct taking over as she tried to get through them as quickly as possible. Valeria had put half the roses in the vase when her tablet went off, signaling someone was trying to call her.
One glance sent her into an even more foul mood, but she forced herself to look happier as she answered the call. The screen projected the video call above the tablet as her grandfather's back became visible as he ordered the staff around him for last minute preparations of the parade later that night.
"Ah, darling," Snow greeted when he realized she had picked up his call. "I wanted to call and see if you received my gift, I see they were delivered in pristine condition."
His eyes signaled to the rose she was trimming in her hand, and she simply smiled in response to her grandfather.
"Yes, this batch is quite lovely," Valeria complimented her grandfather, who seemed pleased by her comment.
"Good," Snow nodded as someone came up and whispered in his ear, only to received an acknowledged nod and swift wave of the hand before his attention turned back to her. "I know how you quite like your roses, I assumed you'd want a beautiful one for tonight."
Valeria felt her grip tighten around the rose, digging into the throne as she felt it dig into her skin, but the smile never left her face.
"How thoughtful of you," Valeria managed to keep her voice pleasant as she thanked her grandfather.
"I'm sure whoever receives the rose tonight will be eternally grateful," Snow commented as his eyes caught on to something behind the camera. "Darling, I must go. Trouble with preparations for tonight."
"Of course," Valeria nodded in understanding. "I'll see you there tonight, then."
Snow nodded at her words before he was called away, leaving the screen open for Valeria to see the hectic room with staff running around in a panic. She hung up the call, knowing if she left it that no one would notice until hours later. She released a sigh, lifting her hand up to reveal her blood stained skin from the thorn. Not caring about her outfit, she wiped it against the satin fabric as she set the rose down on the counter.
She turned the kitchen faucet on, allowed the cool water to run over the wound as she threw her head back in exhaustion. That night would be another long event that she would be forced to smile and pretend everything was okay. Valeria hoped Heavensbee would be to relieve some of the burden, if only for the reassuring thought that someone else like her was forced to live through it too.
When her wound had stopped bleeding, she turned the water off and returned to the counter. She picked up the rose now covered in blood, intending to throw it away when she paused, staring down at the red stained petals with a thoughtful gaze. Valeria set the rose back on the counter, giving it one last glance before turning her attention to the unopened package on the counter.
She reached forward to grab the box, wondering what her great-aunt had dropped off for her that evening. Nothing too outrageous, Valeria hoped as she lifted the top of the box, knowing her great-aunt held quite the fashion sense for being overdramatic. That was exactly why she was so surprised by the lack of fabric when she revealed the dress inside the box.
Valeria tilted her head in confusion as she reached down and pulled the dress out of the box to fully reveal the simple dress. The top was simple enough, a beige colored corset that Valeria was sure would make it difficult to breath throughout the night, but she could appreciate the colorful flowers embroidered into the front that brought it to life.
What caught her most off guard was the ruffle of rainbows making up the skirt of the dress, so bright and colorful that Valeria almost found it hard to believe her great-aunt Tigris had made the dress. She wondered how Tigris had ever come up with such an interesting design, so simple yet Valeria loved it more than any of her overextravagant dresses hanging up in her closet.
Valeria had never been so excited to change into a dress before, slipping it on and admiring how beautiful it was in the mirror. The corset was just as tight as Valeria had feared, but she had to admit it made the dress look flattering on her body. She had been worried her pale skin and snow white hair would contrast against the beige colored top, but Tigris had someone been able to make it work.
Her great-aunt was a miracle worker and she would have to make sure to drop by for a visit to thank her soon.
Valeria grabbed a simple pair of heels to match the dress before heading back out to the living space as she prepared to leave. She stopped by vase of roses in the kitchen, her eyes trailing to the single rose tainted by red on the counter.
Her decision was made as she reached forward to grab the rose, knowing exactly who it would be going to tonight.