Chapter 32 – Vala's POV
Snow was here, in this building, on our floor, in our room.He was the murderer, the reason why so many people were dead, yet he had the nerve to stand here like he owned the place. I'll kill him, I thought madly, I'll kill him!He seemed to realize what I was thinking, because he then clicked his fingers, and a pair of Peacekeepers came through the doorway. I couldn't lay a finger on him now. Ha, he thought he needed protection, I thought happily, but still slightly mad I couldn't make him be as tortured as we were. At least he knew we were a threat. But was that a bad thing?
Snow just walked up to us slowly, enjoying our fear. It was almost as if he could taste it, since his tongue kept flittering in and out of his mouth, just like a snake's.
"President Snow!" Hermia gasped. She walked up to him and curtsied deeply, so deep she was almost sitting down. I would never do that for Snow, I thought.
"What – what are you doing here? Please join us for dinner!" Hermia stuttered.
"I am fine, Hermia," President Snow said in a deep, scratchy voice. "I am here to talk to Adrielle and Vala. Just here to greet them."
It sounded completely harmless, but everyone in the room, including Snow himself, knew it wasn't.
"May everyone please be kind and exit the room?" He asked, although it was obviously an order.
Adrielle and I were the first to unfreeze, and we sprinted towards the door, only too happy to oblige. Snow began to laugh, an evil laugh. It was raspy and deep, and at the end it wheezed, like the dying cow I had been placing him with earlier. He was a mix of a cow and a snake, two animals I couldn't stand.
"Not you girls," Snow purred. Make that a cat too, I thought.
Adrielle and I froze on the spot, while everybody else hurried out of the room. Finnick was the only one to take his time. He stopped by me, and breathed into my ear, "Try to find out what Snow knows about you,"
I nodded, feeling very panicked. How could I find out if Snow knew it without bringing it up in the first place? Well, if Snow did know, he'd most likely brag about it and make it known…not necessarily a comforting thought though, I thought.
Snow chuckled, probably at the sight of my displeasure, as Finnick exited the room. The door was shut, and Snow cleared his throat with a raspy, hissing noise.
"Adrielle," he purred. Adrielle flinched at that.
"Vala," he said in a steelier purr, with a lot more hatred in it. I shivered, just as Adrielle had.
"I have come here to talk to you girls. But first, I must ask you, are you enjoying your stay here at the Capitol?" he said cheerfully.
"Like you even care," I spat out. "Why do you even bother asking?"
"Aha, excellent question," Snow said happily, as if he was hoping I'd ask that. "I always like to make sure that my Avoxes are performing well…if they're not, bad news for them."
"Great, just kill some more people," Adrielle said sarcastically.
"My plan exactly," Snow said, licking his lips.
Adrielle and I shuddered in unison, causing Snow to cackle.
"Now, I have high hopes for you girls…I wish you luck in the Arena this year. It's going to be tricky, very tricky indeed. My best advice is to stay alive."
Wow, that's sure going to help us, I thought. Adrielle, on the other hand, began to crack up.
"What's so funny?" Snow asked dangerously.
"Oh, uhm, nothing," Adrielle said, gulping in air nervously.
"Aha, I knew you were a special one. There's something so unusual about you…it's obvious by your choice in friends that you're different," Snow said, his beady eyes boring into my head.
"Hey, leave her alone," I snarled, although I was actually selfishly defending myself more than Adrielle.
"But I was just getting started!" Snow said with mock disappointment. "You, you're unusual alright, but for different reasons than your little friend. Stubborn, intelligent, athletic…all those traits could be put to good use, if you know how…"
Snow took a step closer to me. Adrielle and I tried to step back, but the Peacekeepers were behind us in an instant, 'keeping the peace'. Snow took another step, and then another, until he was inches away from my face. I gagged on the scent of blood, not to mention the roses, but tried to stand strong.
"How's Pearl?" Snow asked quietly.
I fell down onto my knees, shocked that Snow had known. How had he found out? I thought it was a secret. We had kept it a secret! How was this even possible? I felt scared and confused, betrayed and hurt, and most of all like I was going to barf. Adrielle just looked plain confused.
"What?! You mean Vala's starfish?" she asked.
Snow laughed his raspy laugh. "How naïve," he purred. "Didn't you realize that friends don't tell you everything?"
I saw the shock and hurt hit Adrielle's face. She looked almost mad too, but all she did was cover it up, and try to help me up off of the floor. Snow pushed her aside, saying, "Allow me,"
I sat on the floor, cold as stone, feeling as pale as I probably looked. I shivered, and broke out into a cold sweat. Snow swooped down above me. "Let me help you up," he said, with an evil glint in his eye.
He bent down, and grabbed my arms. He pulled me up, very swiftly for an old man. When I was standing, he pulled me into a hug. The smell of roses overwhelmed me, but that was soon replaced by the blood. I realized he was whispering into my ear. "You didn't tell her? My, my, are we in for some trouble…"
He shoved me hard, and I would've collapsed onto the floor, but Adrielle was there. She caught me under the arms, and then put my arm around her shoulders, supporting me.
I heard Snow saying something. "Take care of her…" Snow was saying to Adrielle. "Good luck to both of you. May the odds be ever in your favor."
With that, he left the room, the Peacekeepers following him swiftly. The instant the golden elevator doors closed, the door Finnick, Annie, Hermia, Cassia, and Fiona had left out of swung open. I didn't take any notice though; I just wrapped Adrielle up into the tightest hug in the history of hugs. I didn't care about anything else at the moment, I just cared that we were safe.
Adrielle let loose a big sigh, and I felt crazy. I started to mumble things to her, trying to apologize for not telling her the secret, which she still didn't know. I tried to tell her how scared and sorry I was. Most of all, I just babbled about Snow.
Adrielle didn't seem to understand my insane rambling, she was too shocked herself. I felt someone pry me off of Adrielle, and I turned around and saw Finnick.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
All I said was, "He knows," and I hugged Finnick even tighter than I had hugged Adrielle. He looked scared, but he stroked my hair and whispered, "It's okay, it's going to be alright. We'll figure something out. Are you ready to tell me yet?"
I buried my face into his shirt and shook my head 'no', feeling sick, scared, and confused.
"You know," Finnick said slowly, "Sometimes the truth is easier when it's shared with others."
"Or it just gets worse," I said before bursting out into tears.
The next thing I knew, I was put onto a couch, and some water was poured down my throat. I choked on it a little, before swallowing it. The water seemed to help me focus, and control my emotions. My head slowly cleared, and I sat up and looked around the room. Adrielle was sitting on the couch, near my feet, a glass of water in her hand. Finnick and Annie were sharing one of the mini couches, casting us worried glances. Cassia was running after an Avox, asking for some chocolate for whatever reason. Fiona was seated in a wooden chair she had dragged out of the dining room, and Hermia was pacing around the room, exclaiming about how exciting it was that Snow had been here.
"Oh, I just can't believe he was here! He was in this room!" She squealed. She turned to Adrielle and I, saying, "You girls are so lucky to have met him, it must've been such an honor!"
She twirled around the room a bit, giggling like a girl who had just been asked out for the first time. Or, to make it even more realistic, like a girl who had been asked out by a celebrity.
"Hermia, are you completely oblivious to what he has done to them?" Finnick asked angrily.
"Of course I am!" Hermia said. "Oblivious means excited, right?"
Everybody burst out laughing, leaving Hermia with a bewildered look on her face. She probably didn't know what the word bewildered meant either. Poor, uneducated Hermia.
I sat up slowly, allowing the dizziness to leave me before I scooted across the couch until I was sitting right next to Adrielle. I gave her a small smile, and then pulled her into a hug. She squeaked a little, and pulled her hands to her ribs.
"Sorry," I said quickly as I pulled away. I must've bruised her ribs earlier during my really tight hug. I did that sometimes…whenever I hug somebody, a feeling goes through me, like a little shock of realization. The feeling tells me, hug them while you can, as tight as you can, because when you let go, anything could happen. Sadly, that feeling comes from experience. But I don't want to think about that right now, I've already thought about it enough.
"It's ok," Adrielle said softly, although her eyes were a little watery.
All of a sudden, Cassia burst into the room.
"I brought chocolate!" she squealed.
"What?!"Adrielle said.
"Chocolate! You know, the sweet candy that tastes all yummy and chocolaty and stuff?" Cassia said slowly.
"Duh, we know what chocolate is!" Adrielle said, rolling her eyes.
"Yeah, what Adrielle meant was, why did you bring it," I said, exaggerating my words.
"Oh! Of course," Cassia said, slightly flustered. "The doctors here in the Capitol have proved that chocolate is the best medicine for when you are scared or nauseous," said Cassia.
"How about both?" I mumbled.
Cassia broke off large chunks of chocolate with her perfectly manicured nails and handed them to me and Adrielle. I bit into it, and let it melt on my tongue. It was dark chocolate, so it was slightly bitter, but I still loved it. As I swallowed it, it left a trail of warmth running down my throat and burning, but not uncomfortably in my stomach. As I ate it, it seemed to sooth my body and calm down my overly active brain. I kept eating and eating until all that was left was small smears of melted chocolate on my finger tips and palms. Adrielle and I finished at about the same time.
A drowsy feeling fell over me, and my eyelids drooped. Adrielle let out a big yawn. I yawned too, my mouth opening up so wide that my throat made those weird little embarrassing noises.
"Why I am so sleepy?" Adrielle said between large yawns.
"Was…sleep…sleeping drugs?" I managed to say in a low tired voice.
"Yes, sorry guys. It's the best way for our tributes to fall asleep on their first night…it really does help with being scared and nausea though," Fiona said apologetically.
"Fine with me," Adrielle said.
I nodded my head in agreement, and then slumped against the back of the couch, as the swirling world of blackness and nightmares hit me.
Hey guys! Sorry we end most of our chapters with Adrielle/Vala falling asleep…we'll try to change that. Oh yeah, and sorry for taking so long to update! KatnissTheGirlOnFire19 and I have been really busy. That's one of the reasons that this chapter is so short. Thanks for reading! Please PM or review!
-ArianaWeasly