Disclaimer: All I own right now is a cat named Faith.

Rambling Beauty

Chapter Ten

The Snow Mansion

"Miss Snow, what is this?" Charlotte asked, picking up the notebook that Colletta had been studying.

"Notes," Colletta replied hastily, snatching the offending object back. "I'd appreciate it if you didn't go through my things, Charlotte."

The servant girl hung her head, truly looking hurt. Colletta had never snapped at her before, unless she was just joking. "Yes, ma'am. Do you want to where the blue gown I picked out, or the custom Tigris that your mother gave you last month?"

"Which looks better on me?" Colletta asked, feeling guilty. It had been two months since she had discovered the Death Room and she was really on to something now. There was the same group of people at every one of the feasts. Now Colletta just had to narrow it down to who and why and if her grandfather was in any danger. He was already in fragile health as it was. Though he was doing much better than her mother, who hadn't left her bedroom in a week.

"The blue, ma'am." Charlotte answered simply, pulling out the light blue ball gown. It was all sequins and crystals (and real diamonds) in the bodice with a skirt that was made of tulle and feathers that had been dyed blue. "it brings out your eyes."

"Then I'll wear that one." She sighed, rubbing her temple. Colletta really wasn't in the mood to go to any balls or galas or feasts or any party of any kind tonight. She wanted to stay with her mother or do more detective work.

The past two months had been Hell on wheels for the Snow children. Her mother's headaches had been getting worse and there were moments when she forgot who she was talking to. Sometimes she talked to inanimate objects and called them her children's names. It had been most painful for Colletta when the woman had spoke to a potted plant, calling it by her name, and then turned to her and asked who she was. She had learned the hard way not to correct her mother when she was having an episode that day. Her mother's screams still haunted her dreams. Her grandfather tried his best to assure her that she would pull through, but that was probably only so that she wouldn't have another freak out over it like she had at the Victory Tour.

While Charlotte helped her into the blue ballgown, Colletta tried to find something else to occupy her mind. The only thing she could really concentrate on was who would be there and who would be best to pick-pocket. She hadn't done it in a while. Maybe taking her favorite past time back up would cheer her up. And it wasn't like her mother could be disappointed, seeing as she probably wouldn't be lucid enough to hear about it. God, now she was about to start crying again.

"You're thinking about your mother again, aren't you?" Charlotte asked, leading her to the white vanity where all of her make-up and beauty products resided.

Colletta nodded, wiping at her eyes. It wouldn't be good to show that she had been crying. Only Charlotte was allowed to witness that, or even know that she was capable of doing it.

"Well, I know just the thing that will cheer you up." The servant girl said with a coy smile. "There will be a surprise for you at the ball."

"That makes me look forward to it so much more," she said sarcastically. "I just can't contain my excitement."

"Clearly." Charlotte rolled her eyes, pulling Colletta's hair back into an elegant twist. "You will be happy about this, though. I promise."

"What? Did my grandfather have something completely embarrassing happen to Julius? He's supposed to be there, right?"

Charlotte looked up from the make-up she had been picking out. "They didn't tell you what they had done, did they?"

"Why do I get the feeling that you know everything? How did you find out?"

Charlotte smirked at the compliment, for to a servant gossiping was a recreational sport, and said, "Servant always know everything about their employers."

"Oh, come off it." Colletta snorted. "You're not so much of a servant as you are a hired sister. So, what happened to Julius?"

"Avoxed."

Colletta's jaw dropped, making Charlotte huff in annoyance. She had specifically asked for no one to get avoxed in the situation. She hated the completely medieval and gruesome act more than the next person. But then again, he had attacked her. Who knew what his intentions were?

"Miss Snow, please relax your face. You will want your make-up to be perfect tonight. Trust me." Charlotte told her, holding the brush threateningly.

While Colletta was happy to have a distraction from her own problems, she was sick of everything being so doom and gloom. She should, theoretically, have the perfect life as the President's granddaughter and possible successor. She should be rolling in money and dating a new guy every day and going to parties with the rest of the socialites her age. Things should be happier for her, she thought. So why was everything always so negative? She vowed to make the ball her own personal playground and have as much fun as she could, what with there being social parasites and people like Ninette Jones existing. So maybe she wouldn't be able to make everything one hundred percent fun and happy, but she decided that she would still shoot for eighty.

"Done." Charlotte told her, turning her towards her mirror.

Colletta smiled at her reflection. She looked like some sort of ethereal water spirit from mythology. Her hair was twisted up at the base of her neck and her make-up had been done in hues of light blue and silver. Diamonds had been placed at the corners of her eyes and caught the light with beautiful sparkles and a diamond tiara had been placed in her hair.

It really was amazing what this girl could do.

"Thank you, Charlotte !" She squealed, embracing the other girl. "You have done yet another fantastic job. Do you think I should go visit my mother? She would want to see me like this if she were lucid."

"It's worth a try." Charlotte replied, fussing over the way the dress rested. "Do you want me to go with you?"

Colletta nodded and the two girls were off, ignoring the staff members that stopped to gawk at her. Yes, it truly was amazing what Charlotte was capable of.

After discovering that her mother was passed out on pain meds, Colletta was off to the ball in her grandfather's limosine. This was one of the few events that her family didn't host themselves. The Annual Ball was always held a month before the Hunger Games, to signify the start of the bettings and to welcome in another successful Games. Colletta hated it and resented the fact that she had to make an appearance every year. The only perk she could see about it this year was that it marked just another month before she could see Finnick. She wondered if he had gotten any better looking since January. He probably did. Was he still having nightmares? They spoke regularly on the phone when they could, but it was always about inane things, like the weather or what was on tv. No one trusted phone lines to not be tapped. Even if she was the President's granddaughter, being the President's granddaughter's friend didn't seem like it would be a good excuse if either one of them accidentally said something treasonous. And she probably would.

Thinking about Finnick had her buzzing with excitement. She couldn't wait to tell him about her discovery. Maybe, if he had any free time (what did mentors do all day when not getting sponsors?), he could help her go through the files! She smiled to herself, leg jigging up and down, as she envisioned them together acting like spies. And then, since they would be alone, may be he would kiss her... No. She had to get those thoughts out of her head.

"What's wrong?" Nikolai asked in hushed tones. Oops, she thought. She had been shaking his leg with her jitters.

"Nothing," she hissed, blushing. If he had any idea what she had been thinking about, he would never ask her what was wrong again.

"Nikolai, Colletta, stop whispering." Their father demanded. They complied and went back to staring out the window. But that only gave her more freedom to think about Finnick.

"Colletta!" Her father commanded, his voice harsh and serious.

"Yes, daddy?"

"Stop moving the car." He sneered, looking pointedly at her jigging leg.

"I'm sorry," she said, holding her leg still. "I had some coffee while I was getting ready." It was a blatant lie, but hopefully no one saw through it. She didn't need to explain to all the men in her family why she had been excited for Hunger Games season. That was just too... she couldn't even finish the thought. It would be better for Finnick's health if she didn't.

When they finally arrived, to everyone's relief (it wasn't her fault that her damn leg wouldn't hold still!), she waited patiently for the rest of them to exit the car before stepping out into the flashing lights. Within seconds, every camera was trained on her and reporters were hawking at her left and right. At first, she thought it was because of Charlotte's brilliance, and was fully ready to credit her servant to the press, but then she caught a few of their questions.

"Miss Snow!" They would shout. "Can you tell us about your mother's health? Why isn't she here tonight? Is it true that she purosefully overdosed? Is it true that she is in rehab?" She swore that the questions got worse as more were asked. Colletta looked to her brother for support. No one was hawking any of the other Snows, just her.

"They are only trying to get a rise out of you." He told her, putting his hand on her elbow to lead her past them. "Don't give in to them."

Colletta nodded, only enough for him to see, and kept her eyes ahead of her, not even stopping for the reporters that had actual questions about her outfit or something other than her mother. She made it about halfway down the red carpet before anyone became a serious problem. A reporter climbed under the velvet rope that was meant to hold them back and started walking towards her, motioning for his camera crew to follow. She felt Nikolai tense next to her, ready to protect her if necessary. Even her grandfather and father had stopped from up ahead, her grandfather unreadable and her father looking murderous. She saw security rushing over out of the corner of her eye.

"Miss Snow!" The reporter yelled at her. "Colletta Snow! The Wicked Witch in person!" She blanched at the media's old pet name for her. It wasn't her fault that they had a habit of pissing her off. Maybe if they would mind their own business, she wouldn't snap every time they came around. "Tell me," he said, getting close enough to shove his microphone in her face. She had no choice but to stop for him. Next to her, Nikolai had let go of her arm and was trying to get him out of the way. "Is it true that your mother is dying? Is that why you had a mental breakdown at the Victory Feast?" The camera was shining bright in her face, disorienting her as her brother told them to leave her alone.

"No comment," Nikolai said, trying to shove passed the reporter. But the annoying little prick wouldn't move.

"Tell me," he continued to the confused Colletta, "is the reason why she isn't her because she's already dead and your just trying to cover it up? What kind of person can go out to a ball when her mother is dead?"

As if going from slow motion to normal speed, everything started to make sense to Colletta again. She looked down at the microphone and then up at the reporter, his words registering in her brain. "Excuse me?"

"Did you kill your mother?" He asked, his freckled face sweating under the hot lights as he grinned widely, knowing that she would react to that question.

Colletta looked over at her stunned brother, back at the microphone, up at the reporter, and then down at her fist. When had she made a fist? She thought vaguely as she held it up with a considering expression. She looked back up at the reporter and socked him as hard as he could. When he fell back, she stepped over him, making her way up to her grandfather, ignoring the look of contempt her father gave her. She knew that there would be consequences later that night, but for now, he wouldn't dare yell at her in front of the press.

AN: So, another exciting night for the Snow family. Sorry that it took so long to get this out when I promised weekly updates. I don't even know what took so long; it's been written for at least a month. So, my dear readers, if you still exist, I am sorry. It's been a really stressful time in my life right now, though, and I haven't had time to even sleep. I will try to get the next update up before Christmas, but I'm not making any promises.

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