Marina's (Number Seven) POV
I sit by the window and stare at the city. It looks really beautiful at night, the lights illuminating the infinite black void. I see the lights as stars, each one twinkling, each one a planet that needs to be explored. I really want to know which star or constellation is Lorien...our real home. But I know that with the city lights, you can't see the actual stars. It's sad in a way, I liked staring at the stars, I could even miss the view from the convent. The lights of the tiny town and the infinite diamonds beyond the mountains.
I just wish I was out there enjoying it. I wonder if they had a park that Eight and I could walk through, maybe a lake that we could walk along together. The fresh air, not a care in the world. Of course I'm only dreaming. We're stuck here until we're dropped in the death arena. I really want to get out. The only place where we have a little bit of fresh air and freedom is the roof, but even then, Nine say's there's a force field that throws you back on the roof. It really didn't take a genius to figure out how he figured that out. I start to wonder if he's turned it some kind of game, jumping off and allowing himself to be thrown back. Only Nine could make a game out of something so dangerous and stupid.
I start practising my telekinesis, tossing my pillow from the window and back again. I really don't care if someone is watching me right now, we're being sentenced to death by the Mogs and Setrakus Ra so it doesn't really matter who sees us or not. It's not like they can broadcast our powers to the world without starting riots and the questions about scientific discovery as they know it.
I'm starting to get into it. I concentrate and allow the cold to rise up from my spine and propel the ice forward. Sharp icicles rise up from the floor and go where I want them to. I aim for the wall and send each icicle sailing forward and when I clench my fist, they shatter into harmless crystals on the floor. I don't want to get in serious trouble with the Capitol, at least not yet. I continue forming long ice strips around me reaching towards the ceiling and create an almost labyrinth type cave around me. I feel at home a bit, surrounded by a familiar element. This is the legacy that I need to control the most, it goes insane with my emotions, mostly my anger and I've been feeling plenty angry lately.
I feel refreshed in this little cove I've made, like I've escaped the daily stresses of being in a society's death games and being filmed constantly. I feel like I finally have some privacy. I decide to meditate. Eight's been teaching me some methods to breath and relax so my Cryokinesis can be controlled better. Although it doesn't help much when he's there, his presence alone makes my heart go wild. Last night we were making out in frigid temperatures. I don't know why, but this legacy is harder to control, I assume it's because this is directly connected to my mood and emotions.
I take a few deep breaths and push the stresses from my mind. I decide to try to go into a trance like state. Apparently John, Six and Christina were in similar states when they recalled some of their childhood memories. I've never asked the others if they could recall anything from their childhood besides the invasion. I seriously doubt Ella can and Two too, they were both pretty young when we came here, but I've never asked the others. One told me she can only remember a birthday party and playing on our planet, but that's all. I guess we never really had the chance to enjoy Lorien, we were all so young, the prospect actually makes me a bit sad. Something the Mogs stole from us.
I never really thought to even ask Adelina about my parents or grandparents, which was pretty pointless for the longest time so I was basically out of options for trying to remember my past. I guess now's a good time to at least try.
I clear my mind and take a deep breath. I allow myself to sink deeper and deeper into my unconsciousness.
"Show me..." I say gently.
I open my eyes again and I'm back on Lorien. The colours are so vivid, I've only ever seen them in fleeting visions, but Lorien is so beautiful. The grass is an almost emerald green and the sky is the most amazing and rich blue, I can't even describe it. I'm on the street in a clean neighborhood with well trimmed laws and vibrant gardens. I'm drawn to one house particular. It's a quaint place, painted white with blue shutters and a grey shingled roof. It was my home, I can't believe that I can remember it so vividly. I was only six at the time, but I remember very little of my own home planet.
I see a little girl, about 4 or 5 years old, sitting in the grass. I get closer and I realize that it is me, so young and happy. I seem to be playing with stones or little small trinkets and I'm talking to myself, enacting some kind of scene, laughing and giggling. I look exactly the same only my features are smaller and more mousy. I look pretty cute, in an awkward sort of way.
A young and fitter Adelina comes out onto the front porch. She's smiling too. It's pretty foreign to me, for the years spent in the orphanage, I could count on my fingers the number of times I even saw a tiny grin on her face. She used to smile at me when we first came to the covent, to re-assure me that we were going to be okay, but that stopped really quickly. She pretty much ignored me for years until she realized the error of her ways and sacrificed herself so that I could live. Of course, I didn't make good decisions that contributed to the overall result, Adelina knew she made mistakes and in the end redeemed herself in honour of Lorien.
The smaller me drops the trinkets and runs to Adelina. She scoops me up and swings me around.
"You're getting too big for this..." she says with a smile. It hurts me a bit, but it was nice to hear her voice again.
"I'll never be too big for you Adel..."
Adel that was her real name, we'd had so many identities that I'd long forgotten her true identity. It was nice to finally know, but I was still curious, was she ever married? Did she have children? Unlikely, for most Cepans, the Garde are their children or the closest thing to it. Did she want to have children? I'll never really know, but I wish I did. We'd grown apart in those years in the convent and never really talked much. I didn't asked about my own life, let alone hers.
Adelina puts me down and I bring her over to the toys. I instruct her on what role she is playing and explain who I am and what I'm going to do. We begin to enact a scene together, as happy as ever. It seems like the typical scene that any child should have, something that the Mogadorians stole from us.
Suddenly, a women with grey hair pulled back into a bun steps onto the porch. She holds a plate of what I come to realize is a plateful of cookies.
"Adel! Elia! Come! They are freshly baked!"
Elia that's my real name. It's a really pretty name, I start to wonder what it means in Loric tongue. It's an unfulfilled wish of each of the Garde to know their history and more importantly their name, a name lost by the series of identities we had to embody. I like the name Marina, but this name is one I was meant to have and will wear with pride.
The 4 year old me takes Adel's hand and we run for the porch. My grandmother hands us each a cookie and kisses my forehead. I give a smile before I bite into the warm cookie, I can almost taste its sweetness from here and my mouth starts watering slightly. Chocolate begins smearing on my tiny face with each bite. I realize what I'm doing and ask for a napkin. Grandma reaches into her apron and presents me with a cloth. I wipe away the smudges and thank my grandmother with a hug.
"My young Elia, how quickly you are growing" she says in an almost melodic voice.
My grandmother is a sweet lady, bright blue eyes behind a pair of glasses that keep sliding down her nose. She has the sweetest smile, one that makes me feel safe and warm all over. I'm tearing up again, realizing that I had a safe and secure life before the Mogs took it away. It feels nice to remember, even just a little.
"Marina..Marina..." I hear in the distance.
I open my eyes, my ice fortress is till standing, but I see a familiar face behind a sheet of ice. I take down my cavern and see Eight's smiling face.
"Impressive Ice Queen." he says.
"Why thank you, I owe this ability to you and your courage to stand between Nine and Five."
"Speaking of Five, I've heard from Christina that's he's gotta thing for one of the tributes."
" Really? Which one?"
"The chick with the knives..."
"The one with the herb name?"
"Yeah" Eight says, scratching his arm.
"Lucky him, I guess love comes in different forms."
"I guess so..." He says. He's leaning in really close and taking my breath away. Our noses almost touch before place a finger and trace his sharp cheekbone leaving a trail of frost. He shudders slightly, but the design I've created is so pretty that I know he won't try to wipe it away.
"Want me to thaw that?" I ask before I kiss his cheek and then his lips.
It feels amazing to be close to him again. We'd just seen each other a couple of hours ago, but we never really had the chance to talk. I feel like he completes me. I know this is just a phase, the obsessive connection phase, needing to be near each other every hour everyday. Eventually it will fade with to mutual compassion and trust, but for now I need him. It seems so strange, falling in love in the middle of the war, but John and Sarah, Six and Sam, Christina and Blake did it, Five seems to be pending on it too, why can't we? Love can blossom in the strangest situations.
We begin to kiss harder. He tastes like salt and what I think is either barbecue sauce or something sweet like that. I run my fingers through his long curly hair and he rubs my back and grabs the edges of my shirt. My heart is racing and my face becomes extremely flushed. I want him. I want him...
Suddenly, there's a banging on the wall that breaks us apart. You'll never guess who it is...
"Do your screwing somewhere else! I want to watch this show in peace!"
The temperature drops as my anger boils over. How can she even hear us? I bring an icicle up and fling it in direction of our mentor's voice. Eight reacts instinctively and shatters it in mid-air.
"Careful." He's so patient with me.
"Sorry, she just rubs me the wrong way."
"Gotta be careful..."
"I know, Three said the same thing this morning and I almost gave him frostbite."
"Wanna thaw that out in..."
"You heard her, she'll just want to kill the moment."
"How about we..." he whispers. "Take it elsewhere?"
"The roof?"
"Even better" he whispers.
This makes me excited.
I grab his hand and our fingers interlock. There's darkness and I blink twice and I feel the fresh air hit my skin. I take in a deep breath. I never thought I'd miss the open air so much. Being cooped up in that artificial and hollow building really gets to you. I stretch out deciding to practice my Cryokinesis and I bring a few icicles out of the ground. I launch them at the force field, in which they vanish.
"Duck!" I say as the icicles come flying back and hit the door, shattering.
"Hold my hand" Eight says.
Once our fingers find each other, he pulls me forward, towards the edge!
"Wait!" I squeak frantically, trying to fight his grip.
"Just trust me" he smiles.
We go flying towards the edge and I brace myself, not sure what to expect. Will we be thrown back?
Everything goes black as there is a rush of air that takes my breath away.
"Open your eyes" Eight whispers.
I do so and we're on the pavement beside the Training Centre. Now I feel truly free.
"That was...awesome!" I chuckle.
"Nine gave me an idea, make teleporting a little more fun."
"As if it's not already fun" I snicker.
We walk along a brightly lit street, squinting as the multicoloured lights dance in front of us. The sounds of laughing people in those strange high pitched accents and the clinking of martini glasses radiate from an bar that looks like a house of mirrors with pink lighting. We walk by a casino and hear the sounds of loose change and lots of bells indicating that someone just won, along with the sounds of shuffling of cards and poker chips. It's a little much for us. Eight lived in a quiet cove in India alone for a long time and I was stuck in that orphanage in a small town, we're not used to big city life.
Eventually we find a quaint and relatively quiet park near a small lake. The city lights creates a luminous glow that reflect around the trees. The moon is full tonight, casting the most romantic glow across the water. It is the most perfect place to be. Eight steps onto the water, if it was so easy for me. I have to freeze the surface in order to walk like him, but I manage. We make it about half-way, before he pulls me close and kisses me. I return the passion, running my hands through his hair and clinging onto his shirt with all my might. I never want to let him go, ever since I almost lost him to Five, I'll never take him for granted again. I embrace every moment that I can see him, hold him, love him. His lips are the most delicious thing I've ever tasted and my heart races at an impossible rate. His strong arms hold me tight and I know I will love him need him.
"I love you" I say.
I pause for a moment, realizing what I've just done. I've just declared my love for him, it's unlike me to take such a leap of faith. It's not that I don't love him, I want us to be together, but it was in the moment. I suddenly push him away and my face flushes a bright red.
Eight looks at me, confused. I can't tell if he's confused by what I said or why I stopped our embrace. I look into his eyes. His beautiful eyes meet mine, he can see the fear in mine and I can see the confusion in his. My stomach drops and I can feel the tears rising up in my eyes
"I'm sorry..." I whisper. "I didn't mean to...I...I"
"Shhh...I love you too" he whispers.
My hearts jumps to my throat and I let out a sigh of relief. I laugh and let the tears flow. I kiss him as hard I can and hug him. Suddenly, the frigid water comes rushing up. Both of our legacies have given into our passion and we're sinking into the water. Once the water reaches my face I let my legacy take over. Eight takes a deep breath and joins me. We smile at each other under the dark water and we kiss again. I really don't care that we're wet and cold, we have each other.
Eventually Eight has to go to the surface, but I let myself sink to the bottom. My bear feet find cold, slimy stone and the tickle in my lungs relaxes me. I look up at the surface, just under the pale moonlight I can see Eight's silhouette. He's treading water and I let a spray of bubbles out, which is supposed to be a laugh.
Suddenly, Eight's silhouette changes. His head grows some kind of anomaly, his hands and feet grow further apart with a layer of skin growing between each appendage, becoming webbed. I watch as he does a dive straight down, and swims gracefully towards me. With my night vision, I can see he's some sort of half-fish man with gills that allows him to breath. His skin is more green, but his eyes remain the same. I give him a big smile and he brings me close. His skin is scaly and slimy, but his hair and embrace are the same. Our lips meet.
Suddenly, a voice comes into my head.
Sorry to bother you guys, really I am, but you need to come back. Two and One have made contact and Ella's in trouble!
