Princess of China by Coldplay
Once upon a time somebody ran
Somebody ran away saying fast as I can
President Cyrus, Capitol
"This is cruel and stupid."
"Oh don't say that, you know it's a wonderful idea, darling," I coo, stroking her cheek affectionately. She slaps my hand away and looks at me with vacant eyes. I knew she would not take kindly to the decision, but what could she expect me to do... after all, the Quells are chosen from the same box as in the before. I am merely filling the orders of Presidents far older than I. Who am I to disrupt their ploys?
"You aren't going to go through with it, are you?"
"Of course I am, it is what was created before I was even made, what kind of human am I to go against the wishes of our ancestors?" I growl, pulling in closer to her.
"You are a man with a conscious, or a heart," she whimpers.
"Please, do not try that route again, my dear. The Quell will go on as planned, the children have been picked up and are being prepared for the big day as we speak, there is no going back I'm afraid," I remind her. She gets up from the bed and pulls on the plush, red robe hanging over the bedpost. I follow suit and push my feet into the slippers beside the bed. She sits at the side of the mattress and I step over to join her, crouching down in front of her so that our noses are nearly touching.
"They're just children, infants even," she breathes and right there and then I nearly give in. But all the preparations have already been made. I cannot go back on my proclamation now, what would the Gamemakers think of me if I force them to remake the plans they have spent months preparing?
"They are district children, the infants of poor families that have nothing more planned for them than to force them into work. We are doing them a favour if anything, creating fame for them where there would never have been any." I hold on to her thin shoulders and force her eyes to look at mine, to understand that what I am doing is good, or at least as good as I can make it to be.
"Tell me how it will work," she coughs and I raise an eyebrow in surprise. It was not just yesterday that she refused to hear anything of my plans for the Quarter Quell. This is a step towards the future, a step towards her acceptance of my decisions and of myself. It will be her first Hunger Games as my wife, she must be ready for every question possible with an appropriate response. If it is discovered that my lady opposes the use of infants in my Quarter Quell then I will lose all the support I have worked so hard to achieve. For the first time in a long while, I feel completely vulnerable to a single person. There has always been the threat of the masses, but no one person has ever held so much power over me, and that must be remedied.
"It is better you not know, not involve yourself if you wish," I say, brushing off her request with the hopes that she will press on.
"No, I am your wife. I must know, Cyrus. I will be asked my opinion and how am I to give that if I am in the dark about your antics?" So she is smarter than I believed, well not exactly. I chose her because of not only her beauty and youth, but of her cleverness. I want her to understand more than anything, and I want her to accept that this is what must go on or else my position would crumble.
"So you are right," I begin. "The card read, in more words be it, that to remind the rebels that even the youngest of children were not left unaffected by the Dark Days, each of the twenty-four tributes will be accompanied by a child between the ages of zero and four. In order for the child to live, their watcher must as well. Though the regular tributes may survive without the accompaniment. It is meant to horrify the districts, it is meant to quell possible rebellion. For the sake of the children who would die within it."
"It is not right," she repeats for what feels like the hundredth time.
"Maybe not in all aspects, but what's wrong is sometimes what is necessary," I say, rubbing her shoulder as if she were a small child in need of comfort. "That, you will understand sooner rather than later, my dear."
"Is there anything that I could say to change your mind, Cyrus?" She asks.
"Not one single thing," I respond.
"What if I told you I was pregnant?" She says, shying her eyes away from mine. My hand clenches into her shoulder and I feel as though I cannot breathe, let alone think or speak. I am shaking, I can feel that clearly. Or maybe it is only because I am holding onto my wife.
"It would not change a thing, I'm afraid."
The Tributes
District One Female: Aquila Titurius, 18
District One Male: Amstel Hafelin, 18
District Two Female: Kiera Wentz, 17
District Two Male: Kilin Shicts, 18
District Three Female: Cosmic McKee, 17
District Three Male: Dallon Argal, 12
District Four Female: Baye Darlucan, 17
District Four Male: Maynor Richman, 14
District Five Female: Briar Elway, 17
District Five Male: Arden Quaid, 16
District Six Female: Jetta Willis, 15
District Six Male: Braden Griffin, 14
District Seven Female: Amita Spruceford, 17
District Seven Male: Ashidel Heprin, 15
District Eight Female: Melinoe Casra, 16
District Eight Male: Violan Jadeth, 18
District Nine Female: Erin Callahan, 17
District Nine Male: Goran Pavlov, 17
District Ten Female: Calic Wefton, 15
District Ten Male: Brett Draven, 17
District Eleven Female: Fleur Aisley, 14
District Eleven Male: Valerian Eldridge, 18
Capitol Female: Arissa Talos, 18
Capitol Male: Cicero Lovett, 17
The blog has now been posted.
cradletothegravehg . blogspot . ca / (-just remove the spaces)
The artist theme for this story will be Coldplay.
Song: Princess of China
From now on, a question or two will be asked at the end of each chapter which I would love for you to answer, and I also ask for a general review on my writing as well, if you would be so kind.
From just the blog profiles, who are your six favourites?
Did you enjoy the prologue? How was the writing this time around?
Yes, I have decided I was a bit cruel to leave the blog unposted as I left for my hiatus which I am still on might I add. I got a lot done for NaNoWriMo today so I decided to post this as well. Please leave your thoughts and PM me any questions. Other than that, I will see you guys when I return in December.