"You have bewitched me, body & soul." - Mr. Darcy (Pride & Prejudice)

I marched down the hall between the two Capitol guards sent by President Snow. That's how I knew this was the end for me. I hadn't given the puppetmaster what he wanted so I had to be cut off. Like one of the dead blossoms out of his garden. I was a lost purpose and a waste of nutrients so I had to be snipped off from the body.

I was led to a room shut off by double-doors which were quickly opened for me and then closed directly behind me. After scanning the room I checked to see if they were locked.. Just in case this wasn't happening. But it was. I thought President Snow might step out from behind the pillars at the sides of the room but there was not a single movement or sound.

I was alone.

There was a table in the center with an elegant crystal bowl, which held something of a dark color. The closer I got, the more I thought of the possibilities but when I saw the berries sitting there staring back at me it made perfect sense.

Saving an extra tributes life meant sacrificing my own life.

It was ironic that he thought this would be the cure for himself. His cold control would never let him see the truth behind his anger. This end he was putting to me was not due to the mistreating of the previous Hunger Game results. No, it started long before that.

It started with a girl. A young, beautiful girl who stole his heart the second he held her in his arms. She was the only girl in his life since the day her mother passed during labor. 18 years later, she stole my heart as well.

Anastasia's face flooded my mind when I stared down at the nightlock. Her laugh rang in my ears like music. And her smile…. I grasped my chest where my heart thumped underneath. What Snow didn't realize is he was better off taking the nightlock himself. He could see her again that way, but instead, I would. I could be in the presence of her as soon as I was ready.

But I wanted to just think before I acted. So I thought about the one thing that I could. Which was her. And the first evening that I met her…

I was 22 years old when I arrived at my first interview at the Snow Mansion. After a long, grueling discussion with President Snow on the ethics and dynamics of the Capitol industry and Hunger Games tactics, he commanded one of the servants to give me a private tour of the estate. The tall, grand hallways were limitless. Every room, each of which being five minutes apart, were the size of my entire home and perfectly decorated with clean, freshly painted walls.

I was impressed to say the least, every time we turned a corner. The best part was the library, which towered above us at three stories with a dome stained-glass window ceiling letting just a few rays of light through.

Mrs Borges, the maid showing me around the place was looking back at me saying something while I studied the millions of books around me.

"I'm sorry what was that?"

She chuckled at me and waved her hand over her shoulder to continue the tour.

"Let me show you the garden, my boy. Just wait until you see this."

She lead the way down yet another extravagant hallway which ended with a set of crystal double doors, letting dancing, colorful rays of sunlight tease us on the inside of them.

"Wow." I thought softly out loud.

Another smirk came from the maid as she grabbed the gold handles and pulled them downwards, releasing the doors from the jam so that they slowly slid open.

My eyes were blinded by the piercing amount of sunshine that I had been away from for so long, but when the white glaze fell away from my sight, I could see more and more of the green mazes and pillars ahead of me. Some patches were colorful while others were just different shades of emerald and mint. There was a fountain just before the staircase that descended into the beautiful oasis.

"What do you think, Mr. Crane?"

I had drifted off, ahead of Mrs. Borges and was just taking the sight and smell and feeling in when she spoke again.

"It's…superb. I've never seen anything like it." I closed my eyes and a breeze swept over us and the most hypnotic fragrance consumed my senses. "And that perfume….where is it coming from?"

"Mrs. Borges you are needed in the kitchen!"

A voice from within the mansion called for her and she huffed in annoyance.

"It's President Snow's rose garden… You must go see it…. Excuse me Sir, the chefs need babysitting."

I nodded absently and glided towards the stairs so that I could follow the scent of heaven as it strengthened. The trail guided me across the perfectly manicured grass pathways and through the arches of wisteria and morning glories and ivy. There was a stream that came along the path and followed me until I could actually see the rows of yellow roses. I approached it eagerly, dying to smell the sweetness the closest I possibly could. I held a large blossom up to my nose, closed my eyes and took a long, deep breath in, only to be disappointed by a bland, plain smell of the earth and water, which would normally be most pleasant but at a time like this it was mediocre. My eyes went wild, searching around me for whatever else the source could possibly be until I heard a soft, rich humming. A woman's high voice rang in my ears like music, just as sweet as the scent I was experiencing, and now I had that much more to draw me nearer. I came closer to the wall of yellow roses that had disappointed me and peeked through a hole where no leaves or branches could block my vision. My peep hole only allowed me to see two tiny bare feet which were standing, on tip toes, on the second ladder rung. My heart pounded as her long, slender calves led my eyes to the trim of a pastel colored dress just above my siren's knees. It couldn't be a maid, pruning roses in fine attire by herself. I looked down and frowned at my feet, debating on what my next action should be. My mouth still watered for the scent and now my head spun the more I heard the delicate tunes along with the whistling birds and trickling stream. They all created an eccentric effect on me, forcing me to creep along the yellow rose wall to the end of it where I could sneak a view of this goddess.

Four feet from the corner…Three feet…I grab a hold of the end of the row of roses, clasping a blossom between my fingers as I pivoted smoothly on my left foot. My hungry eyes wandered.

Then there she was. There was her glowing silhouette, reaching up to snip down old buds and harvest the perfect ones that she placed in her basket. My feet did whatever my heart told them to then, which was to take one step closer to her the soonest I could. The closer I was to her the more I could see through the glowing light and see her curled, brunette locks and perfectly bronzed skin. She wore an apron on her nearly nonexistent waist and gloves on her equally tiny hands. She could have been Aphrodite for all I knew. I would not have doubted it. Or maybe a faerie. No, non-existent. An angel… Yes, certainly an angel. My personal angel, sent down here to steal my breath away with her voice and who knew what if I got any closer.

Centripetal force brought me just a few feet from her while I was lost in my thoughts. I also forgot to breathe and to stop staring when I was caught dead in my tracks.

Instead of glaring and wondering why there was a strange man stalking her in a garden, she flashed one of the sweetest, most welcoming smiles I was ever prepared to see. My arrival seemed anticipated to her.

All I could do was smile back.

"Hello."

Her voice sang again, but this time it was directed at me which felt like a ton of bricks.

"Can I help you?"

My brain had to kick back in before I answered so I just made a motion towards the roses she was standing next to.

"Oh I was just trying to find where this delicious scent was coming from?"

I managed to not trip on the twigs that twisted in my feet but she noticed the fumbling anyways and giggled at me a bit, which was heavenly just in itself. She batted her lovely lashes at me timidly and looked back at the roses, snipping one off softly, as if you could separate a limb from a plant without making it miss it's young fruit.

"Firefighter." She held it out for me, and I stepped my final length closer, finally able to lock gazes with her. Did she want me to take it?

I reached out and retrieved the rose, brushing her hand ever-so-softly. Her cheeks blushed as our skin touched. She watched me patiently as I raised the rose to my nose to breathe in the sweet, sweet aroma. And that was the one that had lead me there. Straight to her.

"Is it as pleasant still?"

I smiled and rolled the flower between my fingertips.

"It's exquisite."

"Thank you." She said bowing her head a small bit and returning her attention to the flourishing plant. "They're nearly twenty years old. My mother planted them when she was pregnant with me."

I licked my lips and extended my hand out, which she accepted gratefully to help her down from her ladder.

"Your mother is quite the gardener."

She looked back up at me after she had slid off her gloves and untied her apron from around her neck and waist.

"Was. She was."

My throat tied up then, 'Good job Seneca' but I had to carry on the conversation.

"I'm very sorry."

"No worries." She nearly whispered as she had already turned away and begun to fold up the ladder. I rushed to her side and grabbed it from her before she could begin to carry it herself.

"Oh no it's alright. You're clean you have a nice suit on."

I smirked and glanced down over her.

"And you have delicate hands and a dress on."

"Don't worry, Sir. I can get it myself. Thank you anyhow." She calmly laughed our disagreement off and tried to get away with it but I placed my hand on her wrist softly as to dismiss it from the work.

I waited for her eyes to lift up to lock with mine until I responded.

"Seneca." I corrected politely.

She almost seemed taken aback when I said my name. Her face radiated in a pink shade and her expression fell.

"Oh….you're the interviewee for the"-"Yes. I am." I won the ladder over, since she had suddenly become distracted with my identity and was not so focused on our argument.

"And you are?" I proposed, slipping my hand from her wrist to her hand.

"I am Anastasia Snow."

Although my heart sunk with the sound of her name echoing within me, I smiled weakly and bowed down, lifting her hand up gently so that my lips could meet with her soft, perfumed skin.

"It's enchanting to meet you, Miss Snow."

Anastasia returned the smile to me, biting her lip as it fell during our intimate eye contact.

Her mouth parted as if she were to speak to me again and I listened intently but our enticing conversation was cut much too short when a third party came from the corner where I had just been moments ago.

"I see you've found the roses Mr Crane."

President Snow's powerful voice shook us both out of our daze, forcing me to drop her hand and face him.

"Y-yes I did. They are delightful."

He agreed with a nod and sigh, holding both hands behind his back and strolling towards us.

I didn't have the guts to look over at Anastasia to see what her expression was but I knew I was fighting every impulse to look like a little kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

"And you've found my daughter Anastasia as well."

As he passed between us, our eyes locked again, sending little signals through the air. As if we had secrets together even though we had just met.

"Fortunately I have." I replied without taking my eyes away from hers, even after she blushed again and looked down at her feet modestly.

I did feel fortunate for finding her. I FOUND her when I did not even know I was searching for her.

"You must have good luck. It is rare if even I can find her out here."

Finally my eyes found their way back to Snow who was just now turning back around to face us. "Rayna. Take the ladder from Mr Crane."

I twisted around to see someone come from the opposite way I had come to the roses. He must've been there the whole time. Anastasia and I weren't as alone as it had seemed.

The worker marched towards me and grabbed the ladder without hesitation, leaving my hands to unoccupied for comfort.

"I'm sorry if this seems greedy of me but I have just been deprived of time with my precious daughter lately. I must steal her from you."

I smiled even though my stomach turned and shook my head.

"Not at all Mr Snow. I'll leave you two be."

"Thank you. I'll be seeing you."

We shook hands, and as I turned away, Anastasia's gaze caught my eye. We both smirked and she was the first to speak, since I would have never chosen to say goodbye if I could help it.

"It was good to meet you Seneca."

I wanted to close my eyes and savor the sound of the angelic voice that had drawn me here in the first place, say my name with such care and articulation. Instead I kept composure and tried to save myself from exposing everything I was thinking through my eyes.

"It's been my pleasure Miss Snow."

With that I walked away, back to where I had started but I felt four eyes silently speculating every step I took until I was out of sight.