Prologue Pt. 1
"No."
The answer left the woman's lips in a single breath, her eyes- one silver, one gold- intensely staring into what seemed to be the man's soul.
She was almost tragically beautiful, if not for the fact that she was obviously the kind of woman who made her intelligence know the moment she walked into a room. She wore an all-white suit, save the handful of gold rings winding around her fingers and the silver pins scattered throughout the sides of her platinum hair.
"Be reasonable, Annalise," the man pleaded. "We have done this the past eight years. Our message has been sent. We need not do this anymore."
The man was of looming stature and stood tall over the woman, but it was clear she held all the power in the room. The man was handsome- no doubt- but more so in the traditional manner. He appeared to lack any of the extravagant Capitol fashions which had recently begun to come into style and could have easily been mistaken for a district man, if not for his sharp, expensive suit and the intricate, Capitol-made band around his ring finger which made it clear he was a taken man.
There was a moment of silence as the woman crossed her arms. The tension in the air grew thicker as each silent moment passed, the man unable to read the woman as she revealed none of her inner thoughts.
"Edward..." she finally began, her voice as emotionless as ever. "...you are not my adviser, so do not advise me on how to run Panem. My message may be clear, but they most certainly have not paid for what they have done and I promised they would pay. They rebelled; now they pay the price. It's as simple as that, Edward. And need I remind you how to properly address me as President? Or do you need another visit to The Room? I'm sure it can easily be arranged."
The man instantly paled as he swallowed. "No, Madame President, The Room is not necessary at all. Just a slip of old habits...my deepest apologies, Anna- I mean, President Clarith."
"I'm glad we are clear, Edward. It's always such a shame when I have to punish people...especially the ones I am closest to." she responded, her voice dripping with steeliness, "But be it known that I do not appreciate being questioned. You of all people should know better."
"Of course, once again, I apologize."
The woman nodded in acknowledgement, her features still refusing to relax as she spoke. "You are forgiven. Now if I'm not mistaken, are your services not required at the new Gamemaker headquarters?"
"Indeed, but not for at least another hour," the man shrugged, as he walked around the desk that had separated them through the duration of their entire meeting.
Glancing over at the man, for the first time, her lips quirked upwards; not nearly enough to be considered a smile, but it was a stark change from her previous stoicism. "Good."
And with that their lips met for nothing short of a searing kiss.
a/n: So these two lovelies are Annalise Clarith- President of Panem and overall ice queen and Edward Rollo, Head Gamemaker. So some real juicy stuff happening! So are these two married? Or it is an affair? Find out all this and more in the Prologue Pt.2! Anyways, all that aside, welcome to my SYOT- Bloodshot: The 9th Annual Hunger Games. All the info is on my profile and the due date for tributes is November 14th. It was be amazing if you submitted! I hope you enjoyed this short chapter and I do promise chapter length will increase as we go along. As always, reviews are greatly appreciated! - Cass