ARIA REALLY COULDN'T CATCH A BREAK. The deal was that if Aria won The Hunger Games, she'd get to live the rest of her life in peace, but now, the Capitol were trying to kill her again. She was angrier than ever seeing that Smiley, Bug and Junius were being dragged into it just for helping her, but she was glad that Lucy Gray was safe.
It was insanity though, that there would be two Hunger Games in the same year. The rule was that they were an annual thing. If the rules could be changed by Gaul just like that, then the rules could be changed by anyone. Aria wished she could be that person. If she had the power, she'd obviously get rid of The Hunger Games, preventing future generations from going through the same things as she did.
Coriolanus was thinking of Aria. He wanted to stay by her side in The Games to protect her, but he also knew that with him there, Aria was in more danger than ever. He knew that she wouldn't hesitate to throw herself in front of an arrow to save him. She'd shown that before, when she sacrificed her freedom to save Coriolanus when he was trapped during the arena's bombing. The idea might sound silly considering his feelings towards Aria, but Coriolanus couldn't stay with her when they were back in that arena. It'd kill him, but he thought maybe he should push her away, make her hate him so that she'd have a better chance at winning. Most people would think that having more allies would mean a better chance of winning, but more allies just meant more people you were tied down to. As long as Aria considered Coriolanus her ally, she was endangering herself, as she'd likely risk her life for him.
Coriolanus looked over at Aria, curled up in the corner of her cell. It was the second time she had to participate in The Hunger Games. She'd barely been given a break from the last one. She'd gotten lucky last time, could she do it again? And would the Capitol even allow her to live in peace? It seemed like an unfathomable idea that Dr. Gaul would just allow someone she classed as a rebel to keep their life. Interrupting Coriolanus's thoughts, Gaul's insufferable daughter entered the room.
"So, what d'you think about that?" she laughed. "You get to go and fight again!" Coriolanus and Aria were both not in the mood for her mockery, so they ignored her.
"Oh, come on! We can all be friends! Let's talk about how you're feeling, guys," she carried on.
"Laugh at us all you like. Karma will always give you what you deserve," Aria stated.
"Well, I know what you deserve. You're from District 12, you're barely even human. Everyone sees you as a wild animal, and you'll die just like one," Aryadne hissed.
Her entitlement made Aria's blood boil. She didn't care that Aryadne was from the Capitol, because so was Coriolanus. The difference was Aryadne's entitlement. She truly believed that just because she was born and raised in the Capitol, she deserved more than Aria. She deserved to live, to be happy, whilst Aria deserved to live and die full of sorrow. She didn't deserve a moment of peace.
Aria climbed to her feet, walking towards the bars of the cell even though she felt she might sink back down at any second. She gripped the bars tightly, to the point where her knuckles turned white. She glared at Aryadne, her face full of hatred. There were plenty of people Aria should've hated, but none of them came close to Aryadne.
"You think you're that much better than me? We'll see, in a few decades when The Hunger Games are abolished, who's right and who's wrong. You'll be condemned for your part in all these murders, and everyone who reads about you in the history books will feel disgusted in what you've done."
Aryadne smirked. "That'll never happen, and if it does, it's not happening any time soon. I guess you'll enjoy it when your dead," she gave a sickly sweet smile, walking to the door. "I hope you're excited."
Aria threw up her hands in frustration. "They can't do this to us! It's not fair," she cried.
"It's never been fair, Aria. It never will be," Coriolanus sighed. He had accepted the fact that he was going to die. "We can't change it. All we can do is accept it."
"We shouldn't have to accept it. We're going to get through this, Coryo. We'll do it, somehow."
Coriolanus didn't share her positive mindset, especially when the doors opened again. There were countless people being dragged into cells, but Coriolanus was most shocked when he caught sight of Sejanus. The previous announcement Dr. Gaul has given never spoke of him, and it also meant that there would be 25 tributes instead of the traditional 24.
Once the workers had left, Coriolanus called out to his friends, who were in cells that were relatively close by.
"How are you doing?" he asked.
"I'm great, I've always wanted to be a part of this," Bug said sarcastically.
"Sejanus, what are you doing here?" Coriolanus questioned, ignoring Bug.
"The Capitol caught me yesterday, scheming against them. They didn't know what to do with me, so I was brought here," he explained, a solemn look on his face.
"Why were you being so stupid?" Coriolanus exclaimed. "You can't rebel against the Capitol and not expect them to find out."
"You did it too!" Sejanus said defensively, confused as to why Coriolanus was berating him for something he had done as well.
"And look where that got me," Coriolanus said flatly.
"Can everyone just shut up talking?" An unfamiliar voice shouted.
"Who are you to tell us to shut up?" Bug growled, even though he wasn't talking in the first place.
Something shifted in the room, as multiple voices erupted and began shouting all at once. Not to feed into the Capitol stereotypes of the districts, but it really was like a group of wild animals fighting.
Coriolanus rested his head against the bars of his cell. 24 of these people would be dead soon. He sort of wished that it would come sooner so he didn't have to listen to them all screaming. It was seriously giving him a headache.
He studied each and every one of them carefully. One that stood out to him was a woman, who easily could've been around 70. How could an old woman be expected to fight to the death? She seemed pretty lively, though, getting heavily involved in the screaming match.
Sejanus began talking, but no one was really listening to him. Coriolanus listened intently to what he was trying to say.
"Guys, stop! This is what the Capitol wants," he said, barely audible. Coriolanus held in a laugh. It was almost comical seeing Sejanus timidly trying to calm everyone down. He didn't have to, though, as Dr. Gaul had just entered. She ordered for silence, followed by a crew of cameramen. For some reason, everyone listened to her, becoming silent almost instantly.
"You are all here as examples to the citizen of Panem. This is where rebellion gets you," she said, appearing to be speaking to everyone in the cells, but really, she was addressing the cameras. "All of you have shown how ungrateful you are. Panem is your home, and you decide to rebel? Pathetic."
"Maybe if you didn't kill so many of us, no one would rebel," Aria mumbled. Gaul's head snapped towards her.
"The reason we kill people from the Districts is because of how you all rebelled in the past, killing hundreds of innocent people. If you hadn't started the war, none of this would be happening."
"The tributes you send to their deaths are innocent too, they aren't even the ones who took part in the war! They were all, at best, eight years old when the war finished. How can you justify that?" Aria said, outraged.
"Punishment is necessary," Gaul replied. She couldn't get another word in, as everyone in the cells began screaming profanities at her. She didn't engage with them, she just laughed and promptly left the room, followed by the cameras, however two workers remained in the room, probably to watch over the rowdy rebels, making sure none of them took things too far. One of the workers looked over at Aria pitifully. He went over to her cell, whispering something quietly to her, and then began to unlock the door. Aria stepped out and followed the worker across to Coriolanus's cell, where his door was opened too, and Aria walked inside. Coriolanus felt his heart almost stop beating. It hadn't even been that long since they were put into their cells, but seeing her up-close again made him feel just as nervous as when he had first met her.
"I was rooting for you two, y'know," the worker said, as if their lives were some sort of television show. Coriolanus didn't voice what he was thinking, though, since the man could just shove Aria back into her cel. Instead, Coriolanus welcomed Aria into his arms, wrapping them around her, hoping to offer some sort of comfort. Even though they both clearly felt some type of way towards each other, Coriolanus didn't exactly know what the two of them were. Aria wasn't his girlfriend; they hadn't even kissed since the last time when they were reunited at The Hob.
The uncertainty of their status didn't make it any easier, though, for Coriolanus to make his decision, knowing that in choosing this path, he'd never know what the two of them could've had. Coriolanus was going to enjoy these last few days with Aria in as much peace as they could under the circumstances, but in the arena, he'd have nothing to do with her. He'd watch her from afar, making sure she stayed alive, but he'd have no contact with her. He couldn't put her at risk like that, no matter how much it hurt him.