ACHILLES' HEEL 1
━━ pull the strings, puppeteer
The morning of the reaping. The annual event in which Juno Gaul would wish for every child in the districts to save themselves somehow, by pulling any stunt they could, so they could succumb to their destinies in a less painful way. She could barely understand how killing children would be able to put each district in its place after the war, but inside the Capitol, logic worked exactly like so. Call it a Treaty of Treason. People had short memories. By reminding them every year of the power they withheld over them, they sure would never pull a stunt against them again like 13.
She had to learn how to suck it up.
Ten years had passed since the Capitol's victory and during the anniversary, Juno Gaul had been preparing herself for her one chance to excel and demonstrate to her insane grandmother she deserved a prize and more. Mentoring a tribute from any district at the Hunger Games was the final task for the 24 chosen seniors at the Academy, and she couldn't be more sure of herself and her abilities.
She was strategic and a fast thinker. She was a top-performing student like every other senior in the Heavensbee Hall, she was sure she could easily get her hands on the Plinth Prize. But as much as she tried being placed over top, in barged Coriolanus Snow to steal the spotlight she hardly worked for. With no doubt, he was a prospect for the Plinth Prize. In Juno's eyes, a nearly unbeatable one. She only hoped to be a better mentor than him at the moment. She basically did have an advantage, through her grandmother of course, even though it'd be dirty work and Dean Casca Highbottom wouldn't enjoy any part of it.
Then again, Coriolanus Snow had an advantage himself.
His tailored suits, his silk white curls, his posture, his brightness, his last name, painted him as the most charming young man at the Academy. Clearly, a teacher's favorite. Juno could tell from a mile away, just as he walked past people in Heavensbee Hall, throwing compliments in the air and swishing posca into his mouth. She watched as he approached the group that stood beside her and Sejanus Plinth, a classmate of hers whom she considered a close friend of hers.
A snap of fingers broke her gaze from the man that stood a few meters from her. "Will you stop watching his every move?" He murmured under his breath. She sighed at his remark and took a sip of her posca. "You look like a predator hunting its prey." He suppressed a smile as her eyes widened.
"Sejanus!" She slapped his arm, "I'm only looking at my rival." She crossed her arms over her chest, eyes landing back on Coriolanus. "He can't possibly outshine me in this," She nibbled on her lip as her eyes scanned him from head to toe. "Right, Sejanus?"
The boy swirled around his drink, "Don't know," He shrugged, "He's very persistent about getting the prize, you know that," He reminded, avoiding the deadly eyes she looked up at him with.
The communications professor abruptly dragged the two into the conversation by waving them over. "Oh, Juno! Sejanus!" She drawled, "How smart you look over there," Satyria Click. Unpredictable persona when drinking. She grabbed Juno's and Sejanus's forearms and forced them into the circle alongside Coriolanus. She placed sloppy kisses on their cheeks and drunkenly retrieved herself to glance at her three scholars. "Oh! Look at you!" She grinned, "Beautiful shirt, Coriolanus. Where did you get such a thing?"
"The Snows have deep closets," He smiled sharply, stealing glances at Juno and Sejanus. "I was trying for respectful, but celebratory."
"Elegant." She commented. Her attention was quickly driven to another professor on the other side of the hall, leaving the three faster than she had arrived.
Juno sighed and silently dozed off as Sejanus and Coriolanus engaged into a conversation about Professor Sickle. She had heard enough about his whereabouts with the gymnasium mistress. She silently sipped her posca while she scanned the room, constantly boring her eyes into Coriolanus's profile. She had never felt so interested in his character. Sure, they had their fair share of projects together, but it didn't go as far as a casual hello, how are you in the hallway. She had never been so attentive about his demeanor or his style whatsoever, and it made her feel uneasy how she suddenly had gained a strange interest in him during given circumstances.
Maybe it was fear speaking for her.
Her eyes would also travel to her grandmother, who stood in the corner as she spoke with Dean Highbottom. Their eyes met, and nothing could've prepared Juno for the scowl on Volumnia's face.
She frowned and watched Volumnia return to her task. The woman brushed off their encounter by turning away from the girl. It was weird for them to share such a weird moment. It felt out of place. Volumnia had looked at Juno with disgrace behind her stare, when she'd normally spare her a small smile and a wave of her long fingers.
"Juno," Sejanus placed a hand on her shoulder. "You alright? You zoned out again," He frowned as the two peered down at her.
"Yeah, I think the posca is a bit too strong," She replied, ignoring the look Coriolanus gave her.
Sejanus nodded. "Have you heard about the new law?"
"What new law?" She frowned.
"The new tax law. To get more money for rebuilding the city. The Capitol's residents didn't have property taxes before, but now they do."
From the corner of her vision, she noticed the way Coriolanus's face was drained of color. He had turned paler than ever, and his big blue eyes could speak for themselves. They screamed fear in every way possible.
"You too? You turned as white as a sheet." Sejanus peered at him, puzzled.
Coriolanus cleared his throat and regained his composure, "No, no. It's the posca, it's too strong," He reminded, locking eyes with Juno.
Just as she was about to excuse herself, the bell rang, and the student body converged in the hall. "I guess it's time to assign us tributes," Sejanus shrugged. He stepped away from Coriolanus and Juno, leaving them to face each other.
The white-head studied her sculpted face. He extended his arm for her to take, "Shall we, Gaul?" He nearly whispered, a smirk on his face as she peered up at him through her lashes and complied with his proposal. She sneaked her arm through his and pulled him along with her, heading to the special section of chairs up front for the mentors. She could feel his strong stare burning into the back of her head and watching her every move as she took a seat.
"Why so eager about it, Snow?" She trailed off, her eyes fixing on her grandmother as she spoke to him. "Think you might win the glory and prize?" She teased.
His muscles tensed and he fixed his posture. "You and I know we'll do anything to get our hands on the prize," He said nonchalantly, "Even if it meant raining blood."
Juno scoffed, "Oh, come on. You need it more than I do. Why should I dirty my hands when all I have to do is make sure you don't outshine me?" She purred in his ear.
His eyes fell on hers as she spat out those words. You need it more than I do. Had she found out? Had she been told about the need he had to get the prize? She couldn't possibly know that his family couldn't pay the University's tuition.
Dean Casca Highbottom, credited for the creation of the Hunger Games, and in charge of overseeing the mentor program at the Academy, presented himself as his shrunken physique and morphling scent strolled to the front of the Heavensbee hall. "Hello there," He slurred as he waved a crumbled piece of paper. "Reading the things off now." The students hushed as Highbottom trailed off, "Read you a name, then you who gets that one,"
"District One, boy, goes to..." He fumbled with his glasses and perched them up on his nose, "Livia Cardew."
And he had begun. He stumbled through the list and assigned each district's boy and girl a mentor. Juno had hoped for a District 1 or 2 since they produced more victors, but her hopes were buried six feet under as the Dean read off every name and none of them involved hers. It nearly insulted her. Being one of the Academy's high-honor students and being dismissed seemed like a joke to her.
Snow was stuck in the same situation. He had believed they had forgotten about him. He, as Juno, had gone unrecognized. Perhaps they were giving him a special position, he thought. He shared the same horror on Juno's face when Highbottom reached the District 12 girl, knowing neither of their names had been called and only one tribute remained.
"And last but least, District Twelve girl... she belongs to Coriolanus Snow."
It had landed like a slap on her face.
She scanned his reddened face as he attempted to remain composed, but the scratching of her name from the list could barely keep her focused on his reaction. She gulped down a bundle of nerves as she dared to speak, "There must've been a mistake." She met his and Volumnia's eyes. "What about me? My name was not called out."
Dr. Gaul suppressed a laugh. "Oh, Dear," She clicked her tongue and stepped from the dais, "You get a special assignment. You're my right hand, aren't you?" She told, almost threateningly. Juno nodded hesitantly, feeling the stares of every student boring into her. "You get to choose who you'll be working with, Gaul."
The Hall erupted with gasps and murmurous complaints as Dr. Gaul's words bounced off the walls. Juno could feel a headache striking her as her own classmates whispered to themselves about such an unfair and outrageous. Even Dean Highbottom seemed at discomfort with the Head Gamemaker's decisions.
No doubt she got the best position. Choosing from which district you'll be mentoring a tribute? Everyone had wished for such an easy life. But Juno despised every moment of it. It felt like her food had been spoiled. Her plans had been ruined, and she couldn't do much but comply with her grandmother's request.
Mentorships were supposedly based on merit, strings had clearly been pulled for Juno and Sejanus.
The students rose from their chairs to chat among themselves. As much as Juno tried to pretend it was of no consequence, she seemed incapable of speaking and moving. She could tell Coriolanus was just as humiliated as her, yet he managed to dismiss it better than her.
Sejanus, who had taken the seat next to Snow, stared into the distance with barely concealed misery on his face. Coriolanus had turned to congratulate him, but after seeing the look on his face, he gulped down his words.
"What is it?" He asked, "Aren't you happy? District Two, the boy — that's the pick of the litter."
"You forget I'm part of that litter," He mumbled. Juno's heart throbbed. Ten years after arriving at the Capitol, and starting a new privileged life, he still thought of himself as a district citizen. "I'm sure my father requested it. He's always trying to get my mind right."
Strings had been pulled.
Curtains were pulled from the back of the dais, revealing the floor-to-ceiling screens that would air live the reaping from each district. Juno felt she could barely watch it now after being told the disgraceful news of her special and privileged mentorship program. She'd doze off in a trail of her own thoughts that made her wonder how she had gotten there, what had gone wrong for her grandmother to nearly excuse her from the assignment she had been training all her life for.
"The District Twelve girl tribute is Lucy Gray Baird," It boomed into her ears and snapped her from her trance. She turned to Coriolanus, who studied the girl's ruffled rainbow dress, her dark curls, and how she weaved through the girls on her right instead of making it straight to the stage.
The dip of her hand into the ruffles at her hip, the wriggle of the bright green snake as she deposited down the collar of a smirking redhead's blouse. It happened quickly. The Heavensbee Hall erupted in chatter as the redhead crumbled to the ground and pawed at her clothes.
"What did she drop down her dress?"
"A lizard?"
"Did she kill her?"
The District 12 Mayor instantly threw himself to help his daughter, alongside Peacekeepers. Everything was a blur for Juno. From the moment the tribute passively attacked another girl to the Mayor flattening a girl he'd just sentenced to death.
Coriolanus jumped to his feet as she came in contact with the ground.
Not even he was reassured about Lucy Gray Baird's sanity. Juno caught him looking around nervously and mumbling "don't cry" to himself as he watched the girl's lower lip tremble after being slapped in the face by the Mayor. Juno wondered what went through his mind at the moment. Was he losing it, for having such a peculiar tribute with no chance of survival at all? Or was he glad she had captured the Capitol's attention for good with the show they never expected her to put up?
A sweet melody from the crowd carried across the silent square. It pulled a smirk on Lucy Gray Baird's lips — much so, that she managed to push herself to her feet and lose herself to the mic.
It nearly convinced Juno of the potential she held to put on a good show for everyone at the Hunger Games by singing her way out of it, but she knew it wasn't possible. Even Coriolanus no longer found her so disconcerting. Something about her singing excited everyone, and it caught Juno wondering if, like her, they wished she'd kept on singing.
"Nothing you can take from me was ever worth keeping!"
Whispers about how lucky Coriolanus had been to get her. Some gave him a thumbs-up, some resentful looks, but he glowed on the inside.
Juno watched as he sat back down next to her. A smile nearly tugged at the edge of his plump lips, and she could tell he felt victorious. Who would've guessed he, at that precise moment, was already scheming his plan for Lucy Gray to claim victory, and most important of all, for him to win.