────── #five
word count: 3.8k
❝ not so different ❞
POV: CARIAD
Samson Landas' exhibit flourished with snooty Capitol folks that studied his artworks with a quizzical brow, the atmosphere reeking of pretension. It was a miracle that his work was even allowed to make a home in such a luxurious gallery, but money made the impossible within a person's reach. Samson's artistic endeavors were a work on the side, his more 'practical' occupation being the overall manager of the apate factory at Six -- taking trips to his home district to oversee its production from time to time and reporting back to his wife.
He had quite an important job. He did he best to compensate those who were affected by its poor conditions, he truly did, but Laverna would always turn a blind eye. Most importantly, Samson believed his main job was protecting his children from the deceptive nature of the woman he married. If his art could paint a world of safety and security for Cariad and Corwin, he'd create until his hands could no longer hold a paintbrush.
Cariad had her camera ready, capturing the humane essence of her father's portraits in the click of a button. While they weren't looking, Cariad also captured her brother and Thessaly as they examined the artwork, too. Once she developed them, she'd place them on her brother's desk as a gift with an ominous note beside it: I'm watching you...
They loved each other, they really did.
A woman with a blonde bob cut approached her parents with a wide grin on her face. Trailing behind her was the one and only Arachne Crane. Cariad concluded that this woman as Arachne's mother, and her suspicions were proven correct when Laverna Landas approached her and shook her hand. Mrs. Crane recently became good friends with Laverna, and she wondered what the catch was. No one was just good friends with the transplants from the districts, there had to be a catch. With Strabo Plinth, Sejanus' father, it was the Plinth Prize. To keep her curiosity piqued, she joined her parents as Mrs. Crane rambled exaggeratedly.
"Samson, I've seen the catalog!" Mrs. Crane gushed while pulling him into a light hug -- close enough to seem friendly, but far enough so that his district scent didn't rub off on her. "Your work is so impressive for someone district! It's so similar to that of the umm, Capitol artists here. Right, Arachne?"
Arachne's lips thinned into a fine line as she nodded, but her eyes bulged out of their sockets as Cariad neared her. Time for Caroline. "Nene. It's so good to see you here!" she exclaimed while opening her arms and moving closer. Her classmate took one large step back, but 'Caroline' was persistent, and pulled her into a tight embrace. "I didn't know you had an appreciation for the arts. You don't really appreciate a lot of things!" Cariad let the hug linger as Arachne discreetly attempted to wrestle out of her iron grip. But Cariad was stronger.
How she loved to cause her peers great discomfort.
"Thank... You," Samson replied uncertainly as he placed his hands behind his back.
Mrs. Crane hid a grimace as Cariad pulled away slowly from Arachne. "How's the Academy treating you, Cariad?" she asked the young girl. "Is it hard? I understand that Academy curriculum is much different from district."
"I haven't been in the district education system in seven years, so I'm on the same level as the rest of my classmates," Cariad beamed confidently, observing Mrs. Crane's inconspicuous eye roll with a sweet, yet condescending, smile. "I'm doing so well, Arachne cheats off me in calculus!" Arachne sent her a warning glare as the rest of the group fell quiet. 'Caroline' let out a shrill laugh as she lightly shoved Mrs. Crane's arm. "I'm kidding! We're so serious here."
Laverna placed an arm over Cariad's shoulders and squeezed the exposed skin on her back, causing her to tense up at the pinch. A warning. "She's on track to head to University, Danae," she informed the Crane girls. "Just as her brother did."
Corwin was the first district citizen to attend the Capitol University, the same year they increased security on campus when they found out he had a younger sister enrolled in the Academy alongside the Plinth boy. He studied for a four-hour long entrance exam, only for it to follow with a two-hour long appeal to the school board to even consider him. He walked the halls under the watchful eyes of his peers with his head held high and a one-track mind. They waited for him to slip up, fail, falter; anything to kick him out.
He ranked fifth overall in academic performance, everyone sixth and below grew bitter at his placement. While Cariad was held to a similar standard, Corwin already proved that district people were capable of matching Capitol intelligence. She didn't have much to prove after him, and thus was given more freedom. So, while her brother was an excellent academic, she thrived socially. Cariad gained a reputation for being the more tolerable district-born in her year, with many preferring her company over Sejanus'. Little did they know, she preferred his company over theirs.
"I see." Mrs. Crane only nodded slowly, then clasped her hands together in an eager attempt to change the subject. "Well... The reason why I've come here, aside from admiring your work, is to ask you a favor."
"A favor?" Samson echoed.
"My husband, Thaddeus, is reopening some of our resorts. You know how awful it's been for business since the war," Danae said while shaking her head. "However, we're partnering with other organizations and an esteemed curator to create a charity auction at our own hotel! It's to help others get back on their feet after the war."
Mr. Landas furrowed his brows. "Like the districts?"
"No, like us, silly. Capitol businesses!" Mrs. Crane barked with laughter, and Laverna joined her with a quiet smile. "Samson, your paintings are gaining traction. The Capitol resonates with them." She looked between the Landas pair with excitement. "With your newfound popularity, we were wondering if you would like to be a part of this auction?"
Samson hummed in consideration. "That does sound like a wonderful opportunity," he replied quietly.
Noting his uncertainty, Mrs. Crane continued. "It will take a while, but I'm assuming that we'll have this up in a year or so." Arachne let out a scoff at her mother's desperation. The travel industry was in shambles since the war; who would want to visit the people that rebelled against them? Cariad found the catch to Mrs. Crane's friendship with her mother. "Will that be enough time to scrape together something from the archives?" Mrs. Crane asked.
Her father nodded. "I'll be honored to have my art go to such an important cause."
"Which resort will this event take place, Mrs. Crane?" Cariad asked. Please be a resort in Six. "I like to prepare my closet a few months prior."
"How do we feel about District Seven?" Mrs. Crane sighed dreamily. "The Creed family is sponsoring us, you see, but Seven's scenery really is beautiful."
"Well, at least it's not Six," chuckled Laverna.
Cariad grinned as she excused herself, making sure to place a hand on her classmate's shoulder before leaving to join her brother and Thessaly.
The three of them stood in front of the largest painting in the gallery, a woman hiding in the dark as she cradled her infant child close to her chest with a desperate sort of protectiveness in her green eyes. A piece of lace cloth covers the bottom half of her face while her black hair runs wildly in multiple directions. The brush strokes were dark, messy, but the eyes stood out. From the sclera to the irises, they were purposefully painted with a brighter hue. It was her father's most popular work, as it held the most amount of people congregated around the portrait.
Little did they know, that this was a district person. Someone from Six, to be exact, wearing a lace outdoor mask. They were admiring a district person. Cariad could holler in laughter.
Each painting held a resemblance to some part of culture from Six with a Capitol twist: polka dancing in stilettos and over-gelled hair, outdoor masks made of luxury materials, and even the playground in Traveler's Square that she used to play in with Chassis was decked out in gold. Samson Landas was proving a point. Capitol people couldn't tell the difference between their customs, and that of the districts. At the end of the day, they were more similar than they were different.
"Hey, big baby," Thessaly cooed when the younger girl's tall, lanky figure collapsed into her arms. "What happened, now?"
"The Cranes are planning an auction to save their dying business," Cariad grumbled. "It's boring."
Corwin scoffed. "Care. There's sensitive Capitol people here. They don't like being reminded that they're poor," he reminded her, motioning his head around the large crowd.
"Where's Dolion, by the way?" questioned Thessaly as she smoothed out Cariad's hair. "You said he'd come by to check out the exhibit."
"Here I am!" said a familiar voice from a distance. Dolion joined the group and snaked an arm around Cariad's waist. "Sorry for being late. I had to run an errand for my mother." His eyes moved up and down her figure with an unreadable expression on his face.
Corwin's jaw clenched. "What are you looking at?"
Dolion jumped at the slightest at his voice. "Nothing," he replied. He pulled Cariad closer and pointed at the painting of the golden playground. "I'd like to check that out. Walk with me?" he asked her.
"Don't stray too far," Thessaly reminded her. "And no hiding in closets!"
"Tess!" Cariad laughed before Dolion led her away from them. She noticed the grip on her wrist tighten, and she could barely keep up with his pace. "Dolly, slow down," she muttered after stumbling in her heels. "Dolly--"
"Why are you wearing that?"
Cariad chuckled. "I'm sorry?"
"I told you not to wear those heels," Dolion explained softly. Cariad blinked rapidly in confusion, which urged him to continue. "It's emasculating, babe."
The heels added two inches to her height, allowing her to be just an inch shorter. She tilted her head innocently. "It's not my fault I'm tall," she muttered.
"But it's your fault for wearing that," he replied in a playful manner. Something in his voice told her that he wasn't joking. "And don't get me started on your skirt--"
"What about my skirt?" Cariad asked slowly. It was a plaid, red skirt that reached just past her knees. She chose it because it flowed when she moved; so that when she turned around to move from painting to painting in the exhibit, the fabric would follow after her beautifully. "It's a very pretty skirt."
"Everyone knows it's from Quintessa."
This was getting absurd. "So what if it's from Quintessa?" Cariad massaged her temples. "I don't get what the problem is, Dolion!" she hissed under her breath, looking around the exhibit. Luckily, no one was paying attention to the argument at hand.
Dolion poked his tongue into his cheek, his smile dropping the second she showed a sign of frustration. "You're not letting my hard work go to waste," he muttered.
"Hard work?" she repeated questioningly. He turned around to leave to another part of the exhibit, but she took his wrist and dragged him into the hallway. Once they were out of ear shot, and the buzzing of the crowd faded, she stopped in her tracks and crossed her arms over her chest. "What hard work? Tell me!" Cariad pleaded, the empty hallways giving her the freedom to raise her voice slightly.
Dolion placed his hands on his waist while nodding to himself. "You know, I tolerated the fact that you were district when no one else did," he said, pointing a finger at her. "Don't forget that."
"Tolerated?" she parroted.
"But everyone got on my case for dating you. All because I'm this guy who can't even buy you a gold necklace from Mintz," he continued exasperatedly. "I don't have a legacy, Care. You do, and you're district! How does that look for me? They ask me, 'Are you really going to let a district girl outshine you?' When you parade around in your fancy dresses, and get me things that I can't even afford, I get humiliated!"
Just like that, her worst fear came true. "Is that really such a big problem?" Cariad stood her ground and raised her chin to meet his eyes. "Would it have been different if you dated a Capitol girl?" she challenged with a shaking breath.
"Maybe," he replied. Softly, insecurely. "At least they're Capitol, and they don't hang around Sejanus--"
Her lips thinned into a line. "I'm sorry--" she began, then raised her voice. "No, no... I'm not sorry! What does Janie have to do with this? Are you jealous? I'll have you know he's never made any advances, and I hang around Clemmie, and Lyssie, and Persephone more--"
"I had to prove you were like us to make them stop bothering me about being with you!" Dolion exclaimed. "How can I do that while you're prancing around with the guy that hates us?"
"So this entire thing was one big power trip for you?" she laughed while hiding her face in her hands. Her palms weren't pressed to her face, it would damage her make-up. "That's all this is? That's all I am? All I gotta do is dampen my sparkle, and-- and listen to you, and act Capitol, and drop Sejanus, and then I'll be a good girlfriend? Only then?"
"It's not like that--"
"I would've been happy with just a handwritten card, Dolion!" she interjected, stomping her heeled foot on the ground. "I never cared about your status, I just cared about you! I never wanted anything else, I just wanted you, and you couldn't even want that from me."
Dolion grew quiet as his brows knit together. "Why are you using past-tense?"
"Because I don't want this anymore," she replied. "I don't want you anymore."
"Well, unfortunately for you, Cariad," he said, moving one step closer to her, "no one here wants you."
Cariad giggled, shoving his chest as tears welled in her eyes. "That's the least of my concerns, Dolion!" Her laughter grew as she slapped his arm, then she flailed her hands around exaggeratedly. "Least of them!" Dolion looked her up and down one more time, scoffed, then turned on his heel to leave. She lingered in the hallway to watch him storm out of the museum.
She sucked in her sobs and smoothed out her dress before turning around to walk back to the exhibit, only to see Thessaly and Corwin at the arch, sympathetic looks on their faces. Cariad jutted out her bottom lip, which began to quiver the second Thessaly opened her arms. "My baby's first heartbreak," she cooed as Cariad placed her chin on her shoulder. "I'm sorry, Care-Care."
"I-- I thought he was different," she wept as her brother rubbed her back. "I didn't think he'd want to have so much control over me-- I thought he was like you, Tess!"
"Care, that's really rare," Corwin responded with a slight chuckle. Out of the corner of her eye, Cariad saw Thessaly elbow him in the chest. Corwin bowed his head in response, "Do you want me to send someone after him? We have connections."
"Darling, that is a child," muttered his girlfriend.
"Not in a few months," he resonated. Corwin gave Cariad one last stroke of the hair before he let out a sigh. "You can leave, if you like."
"We can go shopping!" suggested Thessaly, moving Cariad's chin so that the young girl faced her. "Do you wanna go shopping with me? Let's go to Quintessa."
Cariad nodded her head rapidly. "I wanna shop." She peered up at Corwin with mascara-filled eyes. "Can we?"
Corwin scrunched his face in disgust at the black tear stains that ran down her face. "Fix yourself up, first," he muttered while handing her his handkerchief, which she took gratefully and wiped his face. "Keep it. I'll cover for you later," he continued while rolling up the sleeves of his collared shirt.
"What are you doing, Winnie?" Thessaly whispered.
"Dealing with him," answered Corwin, "without connections." It took a moment for Cariad to realize that Dolion was interning at her mother's office, and that Corwin could have him transferred to a different business in a second. She could already envision the letter he'd write:
Mr. Dolion Vespertine,
I'm pleased to inform you that we will remove you from the Landas Inc. internship program effective immediately. Might I recommend you to Yarrow Oil Company? I believe that they share the same beliefs as you do.
Disrespectfully,
Corwin Landas
⋆
Shopping healed her temporarily.
Thessaly urged Cariad to buy the dangling ruby earrings from Mintz, and it took her only a second to cave in. She imagined herself walking around the halls of the Academy with them, the compliments she'd get, and Dolion observing bitterly as she flaunted. By the time they left the shopping avenue, the girls had five shopping bags on each arm. Thessaly dropped her off at her place, and with her family still at the gallery, she had the house to herself for a few more hours. Corwin was likely covering for her, she'd thank him later.
Cariad checked the mailbox for a letter from Chassis. The districts were restricted when it came to sending mail, but the two found a way around it without a Peacekeeper needing to open their letters. Ginnee's mother, who they've began to call Mama Gretel, was an importer for the western districts, and thus made stops to the Capitol. She offered to slip in Chassis' mail with the rest of the Capitol mailing pile since the train station was near the post office. They were eternally grateful for the woman.
She smiled brightly when she saw the yellowed parchment messily sealed with black wax. Once she entered her home, Cariad took a lengthy, and much needed, shower. The parchment went everywhere she went to ensure that the letter was for her eyes only. By the time she was finished, the sun was beginning to hide behind the horizon, and Cariad sat in front of her vanity. She scrunched her hair with a soft towel, then ripped the seal open to read Chassis' letter.
My lovely Yads,
Burn this after reading it. No one can know!
"How pleasant," she muttered under her breath. Just what she needed after a heartbreak.
So much happened since our last letter. My heart's beating a million times per second as I'm writing this! I used that mascara you gave me, and he noticed. Hermes, he noticed! The boy's name is Reaper and he's the sweetest, handsomest boy I've ever met. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure Dolion is absolutely gorgeous too, but Reaper... He has such beautiful eyes. He doesn't need mascara! And, according to him, I don't either, but I'll still use it since I like how it looks on me.
"Dolion's actually the ugliest boy I've ever laid eyes on," Cariad grumbled. She was in denial, of course she thought he was handsome. Perfect, even. But for now, with her broken heart, she'll allow herself to be angry at him and make him out to be the most vile creature she's ever seen. Even worse than the mutts in Dr. Gaul's lab that the class was able to see during a career day field trip. A smile broke out of her lips when she read the rest of the paragraph. "Bad timing, but good for you, Chach."
She was certain Reaper was gorgeous, she trusted Chassis' judgment. Her own? Not so much after Dolion. Cariad was ecstatic to see her writing about a boy for once instead of complaining about her job, her family, and the occasional Ginnee.
Now, for the thing that's worth burning. The reason why I couldn't send this is because... I'm technically not supposed to do it. I box illegally. For money. That's how I was able to extend the call time by a lot, and why I got a black eye during said call. But don't worry, that's my only injury along with a sprained ankle! Actually, Reaper gave me something for my ankle to soothe the pain, and it helps a lot. He's so sweet. Did I mention that already?
In case you're wondering, I won my first match! I hope you're proud of me, because I am. It's not a good life to lead, but I'm making the most of it. The announcer called me 'promising'. I don't know what promises I kept, but the Peregrine people said it was a compliment. I'm saving up to be able to move out of the building by the time I'm eighteen, and I'm so excited! No one else is supposed to know this, but so far there's only two. I can't keep anything from you, so now it's three!
She made a note to herself to tell Chassis she was proud, even if her heart pounded anxiously in her chest.
My next fight is scheduled in the next two weeks, so Big Guns said we should increase the training. Word has it that my next match is with a man, and a tall one at that, so my height won't give me the advantage that I had with the last girl.
I hope you're okay over there, and I really am sorry about the bracelet and its chain. I thought it would be more secure if I made it into a necklace, but at least I still have the other half of the charm! As always, I miss you. I know you're worried for me, but this boxing stuff is really helping me out.
Now, burn this... Please.
Love you lots,
Chach
After reading, Cariad rummaged through the refrigerator for the half-empty bottle of posca. She popped the cork off, had a maid light a fire in the living room, then took large gulps from the bottle while following the maid. Once the fire was prepared in the fireplace, she threw the letter into the dancing flame, and remorsefully watched it wither away. The heat of the flame against her skin contrasted the cool liquor that worked its way down her throat. The room was filled with the scent of burnt paper, with traces of soot and gasoline.
She closed her eyes, tied her damp towel around the bottom half of her face like an outdoor mask, and breathed in the 'fumes'. She was home.
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Aww, Doriad broke up... Next!
Wow, I wonder what beautiful
sights Cariad is gonna see in
District Seven. Stay tuned to
see how she copes with her
break-up, and for a little bit
more Chassper.
I have a TikTok! It's "disk4rte_"
and I post stuff relating to my
fics there. Check it out, or not.
I'm not your mother!
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