Venus:
I trembled slightly as District Tens players were called out. The T.V. powered off and Jake snuggled up against as I whimpered lightly.
"Its okay Venus, I'm promise you wont be taken from me" Dad whispered as he embraced me in his arms
"You can never be too sure dad" I whispered back
He shook his head and implanted a kiss on my forehead. Nick had been watching from the back of the room. He walked forward and bent down to the floor where I was sitting with Dad.
"Why don't we make a fire and roast something?" he asked putting a loose strand of hair behind my ear
"Fire!" I said springing up and running up the stairs to get my shoes
For some odd reason I was very attracted to fire. Ever since I could remember I was always kept away from fire because of these sudden urges to touch it and play with it. We only lit a fire on special occasions or when I was down. I grabbed my boots and put them on, almost falling from how fast I was trying to slip them on. I stumbled down the stairs, trying to finish zippering them on.
"Keep her a good distance from the fire, and make sure she doesn't try jumping in it or anything" I heard my dad tell Nick in the kitchen as I walked in
"Wheres the fire?" I asked
"Come on outside" Nick said grabbing my hand and leading me outside
In the backyard was a stone pit with tons of dead branches and leaves. I smiled and ran up to the pit, sitting down right beside it.
"Come on Nick, light it!" I beckoned as Nick took his time getting over to where I was.
"Okay but first you have to promise that your not going to die today" he said, lighter in hand
"I don't have any intentions of dying" I said looking up at him questioningly
He rolled his eyes and bent down and began to light the fire. It began as a low and steady fire in the corner, then suddenly it grew bigger and bigger, cackling and hissing. I laughed as the flames licked my toes.
"How does standing that close to the fire not burn you?" He asked shaking his head
I shrugged and passed my hand over the fire.
"Okay Venus don't do that, Dad is watching from the house" he said stepping forward
"Sorry, cant help it" I said with a 'sorry' look
Then I thought about it. Nicks right, why don't I get burned? I mean I control plants, shouldn't I be like terrified of fire? Shouldn't I be getting burnt from how close I am to the flames? I studied the fire curiously. I thought the fire was beautiful, I could feel its warmth spread through me, giving me a good feeling. Just like plants were my friend, I felt like the fire was my friend. I reached out my hand, getting it closer and closer to the blue part of the flames.
"Venus!" I suddenly heard, just as the fire burnt me
I felt my body go transparent and I looked behind me to see my dad storming over to the fire. I became visible again and hid my aching hand under me.
"Venus how many times have I told you not to touch the fire?!" He yelled at me which made me sulk
"I- Im sorry Daddy, I just couldn't help it.." I said lowly looking down
"Fire is dangerous, it can hurt you severly." He said crouching down and pulling out my hand to reveal the nasty burn the fire had given me
"But this has never happened before.." I said touching my burn and flinching
"Theres a first time fore everything. Nick put out the fire" He commanded
Dad brought me inside as Nick put out the fire. He began to clean and wrap up my burn, which made it ache more.
"Sorry for disappointing you..." I said sadly, looking down at my lap
Dad stopped wrapping and looked up into my eyes.
"You didn't disappoint me Venus" he said soothingly
I heard a light choke in his voice which gave me a the thought that he was lying.
"Yes I did. Im 16 and I still wont listen about the fire. But now I know, Fire is dangerous. I don't ever want to touch it again, that way I wont ever disappoint you!" I said coldy
He looked into my eyes, shaking his head.
"No Venus, you love fire! I'm just concerned with how close you get to it. Stop saying you're a disappointment when your not. Your my crown jewel" He said sternly but sweetly.
He kissed my forehead and got up to put away the first aid things. I looked down at my hand, then down at Jack.
"I don't understand you, you love fire and yet fire is what scares most wolves away" Jakes barked, licking fur
"Yeah well I'm not most wolves... But I cant keep getting close to fire.." I said petting his head
I stood up and went up to the roof where Dad had his telescope. I looked through it and tried to find all the district planets. Just as I got to District 4, I heard someone come up the stairs.
"Oh, hey Nick" I said, smelling his scent come up near me
"You didn't even look" he said
"Don't have to" I said looking up to him and bopping my nose
He nodded as I looked through the telescope.
"whatcha looking at?" he asked
"The District Planets" I said not looking away from the telescope
We stayed silent for a few minutes. I watched as ships flew by quickly, traveling light years away to deliver there product, or smuggle along immigrants from different districts. I suddenly had a brilliant idea to pester Nick
"Hey Nick. If you were to get lost in the woods at night and had to get back home, how would figure out which way to go?" I asked still looking at the sky
"Well, if its night time then I would get a light source. Then uh- retrace my steps or something" He said with a shrug
"The house is north, so you would have to find the North star in the sky and follow it back home." I said in a duh tone
"Yeah I knew that." He said as I looked at him with an eyebrow raised
"Mhm, of course you did. Now lets say in your in the woods and you come across what you think is poison ivy, how do you really know if it is or not?" I asked crossing my arms
"Well, Poison Ivy grows its leaves three at a time" he said studying me curiously
"Well what if you actually haven't encountered poison ivy, but its look alike, how can you tell the difference?" I asked him putting my hands on my hips
"Ummm" he began, rubbing the back of his neck
"Poison Ivy has a red stem" I said shaking my head
"Okay what are you getting at?" he asked crossing his arms
"That your not ready for life and are as dumb as you look" I said with a smile
Just as he was about to open his mouth to speak, Dad came up the stairs.
"She's right Nick, even a 5 year old would know this stuff" he said shaking his head
"Wow very supportive dad." He said rolling his eyes
"Yeah well go read a book" Dad said
Nick clenched his jaw slightly and went down the stair, mumbling to himself. Dad and I laughed and sat at the edge of the roof, looking up into the sky.
"Dad, how come you put more effort and time into me and my education and making sure I know certain things than Nick?" I asked
"Well you are a special girl. If anything were to happen to me, you would know how to survive" he said
"Well what about Nick?" I asked furrowing my brows
"No ones going to be after Nick, hes normal and knows as much as the people in the city. But you, your different. You need to know more to live more" he said looking down on me
I nodded and rested my head on his shoulder. I was different.. Im a wanted person if that's what you mean. I technically need to know more so if Peacekeepers were to come and figure out Dad and Nick were hoarding a special, I could run for the hills and live as they were tortured. I sighed.
"Daddy?" I asked
"Yes Venus?" he answered
"Can you tell me the story of how I got my name?" I asked closing my eyes
"Of course" he said
He cleared his throat and adjusted himself slightly.
"One day, I was looking up at the sky on a night like this. Your mother came up to where I was and sat down beside me. She loved to read books on mythology and we both loved to discuss how the planets were named after the roman gods. As we talked, she put her hands on her stomach and rubbed it. She looked up at me and said 'Timothy, our daughter is going to be beautiful. She is going to have your eyes and my hair'. I smiled at her and put my hand on her tummy and said 'She's going to be the most beautiful thing in the world, no one will be able to resist her beauty'. That's when it struck both of our minds. We both said at once 'Venus' because she going to be as solid and beautiful as the planet and as special and mistouves as Venus the goddess of love. The End" he said finishing the story.
I smiled and yawned. I was named after a the goddess of love AND a planet. Cool right? My eyes began to go droopy and I fell asleep in my fathers arms. His promise ringing in my head.
"No one will hurt you Venus... No one!"
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You guys are fucking AWESOME! How the hell do I have six reads in one day? Yeah I know, not much, but goddamn yall amazing! How do you like this so far though? And the heads up, at the end you will all realize how the hell this ties in with Two Singers, One Stage. Also, Waffle_iz_life764 has already started with the main sequel to Two Singers, One Stage with her Unchangeable book from her trilogy so you can read that. My version might be slightly different from how she puts it down in hers, but then again, Jules likes fucking with peoples lives so who knows what the hell reality actually is anymore. I send all the loving's to you guys!
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xoxo
Zalina ( That crazy person you all know as a writer!)