-ˋˏ [ EVERMORE, ] ˎˊ-
𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐄 ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯
❛ CAREFREE CONVERSATION. ❜
THE MORNING LIGHT STREAMED THROUGH THE OPEN WINDOWS. It cascaded a soft, gentle glow in Selah's room, creating a comforting sensation. Though the girl in the room felt anything but comfort. She had barley slept. Anytime she would drift off, she immediately woke back up with a jolt, gasping for air like she was running out of it.
The house had been eerily quiet all night. Selah's parents had never arrived home, leaving the distraught girl alone with her thoughts and fears. She wasn't even sure where they were or the last time they were home. Selah hadn't seen them in days, but neither one bothered to check up on her. So she didn't bother either.
Forcing herself out of bed, she headed straight to her bathroom. She picked up her discarded clothes from the night before off the ground and through them into her clothes hamper, making a mental note to do laundry sometime later in the day.
Her reflection portrayed a sight of misery. The bags under her eyes had very noticeably darkened, and the area surrounding them were swollen from all of the crying she did. Selah looked at herself in disgust. Angry at the fact she had let herself feel so weak. Angry that she had felt pity for Arachne, when everyone knew she deserved it. Usually, when someone died, it was nothing to Selah. It was not her who had succumbed to death, so why should she dwell about it? Arachne's death awoken something inside of her.
It made her realize that even though they are Capital, they are not immortal. No one is.
Today all mentors and tributes would tour the Game arena. They all hoped to scope out hiding spots and discover potential advantages. Selah knew she had to look well put together, so she splashed ice cold water onto her face in hopes to make the puffiness go down.
A door downstairs shut with a deafening thud. Selah jumped slightly, suddenly aware that there was another presence in her house. Footsteps trudged up the stairs before the girls bedroom door swung open and in followed her mother.
Leslie Ravens was a very polished and well respected woman—just as her husband was. Everything about her was neat and tidy. Not a hair out of place or a smudge of lipstick on her face. She was intimidating to most.
"Selah, get in here now!" She shouted.
Selah swallowed harshly before straightening her back out and clearing her face of any emotion. Her mother was surely going to shame her if she was to show the same weakness she had last night. Timidly, Selah exited her bathroom.
Leslie's face was one of anger as she looked at her daughter. "What the hell happened at the arena? It's all anyone's talking about!"
God. She didn't want to talk about it. "Arachne got stabbed in the neck with a broken glass bottle." It was blunt, and it maybe a bit harsh to speak of the dead that way, but it was better than showing pity. Especially to her mother.
"By her tribute, Selah!" She threw her hands up in a frenzy. "Do you understand? You are not safe! I want you out of this whole mess now!"
Selah's teeth clenched hard. Throughout all of her teenage years, her Mother and Father were hardly ever there. Unless it was a holiday, or a dinner with another Capital family, the Ravens never spent time together. Not even on birthdays. So why was Leslie trying to be a parent now?
"What?" Selah asked in bewilderment. "No, you can't have me pulled from the competition. This is my future on the line."
If Selah was to get released from the competition she could kiss the Plinth Prize away. Not to mention Charli would be left high and dry without a mentor to help her through the Game. Without Selah there, Coriolanus was unstoppable, and who knew what lengths he would go to just to win the prize.
"You don't get a say in this matter!" Leslie snapped loudly, furrowing her eyebrows as Selah suddenly tensed at the shoulders. "You're Father and I will discuss it over dinner tonight. I assume you'll be out."
"Yes," Selah answered. "We're spending time with our tributes today."
Leslie rolled her eyes heavily. "Might as well tell 'em goodbye."
She left the room in a flash, closing the door behind her. Selah exhaled a rigid breath, taking a seat on the end of her bed as she tried to steady the shaking of her hands. This wasn't fair at all.
Selah was going to everything in her power to win this Prize—even if it meant hurting people along the way.
THE AIR WAS TENSE. After attempting her hardest to look put together, Selah had managed to slip out of her house without running into either one of her parents. Her father had arrived home not long after her mother had left her room. Luckily, he hadn't bothered to come up and speak to her, because Selah didn't know how much more she could take.
Now, Selah stood in front of Charli's desk, back straight and eyes unmoving as she listened to Dean Highbottom. Everyone in the room was still, no one daring to utter a word about yesterdays events. Some of them mourned for Arachne, but most only feared for their safety.
"In spite of yesterday's tragic events, our President has decided that the Games must go on," Highbottom sighed. "Show everyone that the Capital is unafraid of such acts of terror. To which end, Dr.Gaul wishes you preview the arena this afternoon with your tribute. Later this evening there will be a special televised presentation of each tribute."
Selah snapped her eyes away from Highbottom at the sound of Charli taking in a deep breath. She looked panicked, frantically glancing around to spot Wovey.
"You may begin."
All of the students took their seats opposite from their tribute. They were all provided with their notebooks and a pen, in case they needed to write any strategies for the Game down. Though, Selah wasn't interested in strategizing at the moment. Her mind was racing with thoughts, anxiety consuming her whole body, but she tried her best to look calm.
Charli tried her best to reach her chained to Selah's out of comfort, though it didn't quite reach. "Selah are you okay? You look a bit tense." The young girl wanted to provide comfort to her mentor even if she was anything but okay herself.
Selah exhaled a breath, grasping Charli's outstretched hands with her free ones. "Of course. Just didn't get much sleep." True, though her main concern was the information her mother had revealed to her earlier. If this truly was her last time to ever see Charli, she wanted to make it special. So she decided to block the Game out of her mind, and attempt at having a carefree conversation. "Tell me about yourself, Charli."
A small smile came to the child's face—one of joy. It made Selah wonder if anyone had ever asked Charli to tell about herself. "I'm the oldest child, got three younger siblings. Two boys, one girl. Usually, I'm the one taking care of them. Ma and Pa are always working. When I'm not watching my siblings, I like to go swimming in the ocean. It's only a few minutes from my house and I just recently learned how to dive."
"Swimming? Sounds like fun. Always have wanted to try it," Selah exclaimed.
Charli let out a soft gasp of surprise, "You ain't never been swimming?" Selah shook her head, a small laugh escaping past her lips at the look of astonishment on Charli's face. "Well, maybe if I make it out of this thing alive you can come swim with me."
Her heart stopped for a moment, instant guilt filling the pit of her stomach. Such a fun, care-free moment turned into something so dark in the matter of a few words. Though it seemed to be a reality check to both of them as both of their smiles had slipped off their faces.
"Big if though," Charli chucked sadly, trying to make light out of her situation. Spending the past few nights in the cage made it difficult for sleep to come, so Charli mostly found herself alone with her thoughts. In that time she had come to terms with knowing she didn't have a high chance of making it. But she promised herself that she would try her hardest to get back to her siblings. She sure as hell wasn't going to go down without a fight.
"Look, Charli, I know you think that you can't win this thing, but you can," Selah whispered, leaning in closer to Charli. "You're smart and strategic. You have what it takes, I promise."
"And I have a pretty good mentor." Selah smiled softly, a hint of sadness hidden in it. Not knowing if this was her last interaction with Charli was eating at her, but she couldn't bring herself to tell the girl the news.
A few seats down Coriolanus watched the way Charli and Selah interacted with each other. A weird sensation filled him as he watched the auburn haired girl laugh lightly. He wanted to look away but he couldn't. It was as if he was in a trance.
"You like her, don't you?" Lucy Gray smiled, twiddling with her fingers.
Coriolanus's head finally snapped away from his classmate, eyes wide as he now faced his tribute. "What are you talking about?"
"Oh, come on, Coriolanus. I see the way you look at her. Like she's the only girl worth watching." It was silent for a moment. Coriolanus clenched his jaw, unnerved with the sudden claim. "You're blushing."
He ran a hand through his hair, emitting out a scoff. "No, I'm not. And I can assure you, Selah is just a friend." Coriolanus tried his best to keep his voice from wavering, but Lucy Gray had caught the slight squeak in it. Like it was a painful thing for him to have to admit that they were only friends.
Coriolanus soon got lost in thought, shutting out Lucy Grays endless questions. He had to focus back in on the main goal—win the Plinth Prize. Even if that meant he had to betray Selah—a meaningless price to pay.
But if it was so meaningless, why was he beginning to have second thoughts about the whole thing entirely?
( ୨୧ OLIVIA SPEAKS, )
finally feeling motivated to
continue writing this 😍
i luv charli & selah <3
(UNEDITED!!!🤣)