Happy Valentine's Day!
Solana Parhelion, 18
District 5, six months before the Reaping
If the world was a desert, a prosaic silent ocean of sand, then Solana Parhelion was an oasis. She was the most beautiful thing in all the world, a secluded sector of unfathomable splendor, the envy of the miserable folk who crawled through an endless sandy expanse. Solana was the sparkling crystal waters, she was the lush palm trees, she was the diamond in the rough. Everyone envied her, everyone groveled before her, and everyone begged for an escape that only she could provide.
And of course, she would never grant them respite.
They don't deserve mercy, Solana thought as she flicked her eyes up from her hand of cards, looking at the poor ugly souls that dared attempt to best her.
It was rather late in the Parhelion Entertainment Complex (PEC as it was affectionately called) but that was when District 5 really came to life. When the incessant heat of the day finally cooled and the sun vanished from the horizon, District 5 flickered to life. The power plants from all over pumped energy into the veins of the district, injecting it with a burst of adrenaline spurred by the vibrance of colors and lights that illuminated the desert's darkness.
When the workday was over, entertainment was on everyone's minds, and the Parhelion family was happy to provide. Despite the fact that PEC was located directly next to a nuclear plant, it never failed to attract desperate moths to its flames of luck and lust.
PEC was a sprawling complex of theatres for a variety of performances and of course, its casino. Naturally, the Parhelion family was filthy rich. PEC attracted thousands of souls to its walls, and they were so happy to give their money away. The sexy dancing shows, circus performances, and luxurious casino made it easily one of the most popular night-life spots. District 5's night-life was filled with casinos, shows, and almost any entertainment one could want. It was easy to keep everyone distracted, easy to dissuade any rumblings of rebellion.
The dazzle of light and the spectacle of desire had always attracted Solana, and she of course, was that dazzle and that spectacle. Everyone else were shadows to her, silhouettes unable to escape their dark prisons. The fools in front of her now were such shadows, trying to best her at a gamble, in her kingdom no less. Pathetic.
Solana was sitting at one of the casino's many tables (in a VIP room of course), currently engaged in a game of Spark with three other women. She grinned, knowing that these women had paid top dollar just for this room. All that money just to lose to the one and only Solana Parhelion. How idiotic.
She was sure to win, because she always won. Solana never lost a game, never. There wasn't a world where anyone would get one over on Solana Parhelion.
"Alright ladies, Spark," the dealer called from the other side of the table. Solana winked at him, maybe a little too obviously. Torus Haruto had been someone worthy of her time for years now, and she always made sure he would be her dealer. Solana would never admit it, but the friendly face was comforting to her. Friendly faces weren't something that she was particularly used to. No one smiled at her unless it was out of malice.
The elegant chandeliers glowed brightly, reflecting off of the intricate, polished wood that lined the walls. Beautiful accents of gold decorated the warm browns of the walls, and pistachio-green carpet rested across the floor.
Solana and the other women were sitting around a u-shaped table, facing Torus. He looked particularly gorgeous in his silky suit, framed by an impressive wall of stained glass that stretched just behind him. It was a gorgeous room, and Solana was happy she could crush some dreams in a place so beautiful.
Right as Torus said "Spark," the players were supposed to show their hands. Solana didn't actually know the rules of Spark or what the cards even meant, but it didn't matter. Some shapes and numbers were inconsequential to her. She would win anyway, she always did. The game was rigged for her as always, but Solana easily repressed that. She was just good at everything and especially lucky. That was the truth and would always be the truth. Anything else would be a crime against nature, surely.
She threw her hand of cards onto the table confidently and looked at the other women. Solana smiled a dazzling smile, a gilded maw with a stinging insult ready to flash into existence.
"That's too bad ladies," Solana gloated, not bothering to look at what her opponents' cards were. "Lost again." She laughed scooping up the winnings at the center of the table. It was a measly sum for her, but for her opponents it was probably a staggering amount. How dreadful.
"Loser skanks stay losing, winning hotties stay winning," she said, screeching her chair back and blowing a kiss. It looked like one of her opponents was about to retort, so she immediately shut that down with one of her best methods: a dramatic hair whip.
The women were too stunned to speak. Solana gleefully swaggered towards the door. "Oh, almost forgot." She turned and dumped all her winnings on the floor.
"Have someone send that to the house hun," she called to Torus. He smiled at her and just shook his head. Solana winked and exited without a second glance. She was irresistible.
"Another drink," Solana ordered the sweaty bartender. There were plenty of patrons, but she was the most important. She was the hottest and therefore should put above all else. That was just how the world worked.
She checked her nails (stunning as usual) as the bartender slid a shot over to her. The glass was filled a greenish liquid. Venom. It was a specialty of PEC and the whole entertainment sector. Venom had a sharp bite to it, but it was beloved by all. Its alcohol content was very high and free shots were often handed out because those with Venom in their veins were far more willing to drain their funds for the Parhelion family.
After tapping her nails on the shot glass, she snatched it up and downed it in one go. Solana slammed the glass down and called, "Another!"
The bartender nodded feverishly and dipped behind the counter. He appeared moments later with another shot and ran his hand through his hair.
Solana winced as a large chunk of hair came with it, but the bartender didn't seem to notice. He went back to attend other patrons, but Solana was rattled.
Stupid fucking Lux, she thought bitterly. The Lux Power Plant Company (LPPC) was the nuclear power plant located directly next to PEC, and it was the cause for some of the most terrible things in her life.
Just around a year after she was born, Solana's mother died of an undiagnosed illness, but everyone knew it was because of the proximity to the LPPC. She didn't have any memory of her mother, but the fallout of her death had affected her entire life. Her father, Zain, was supposedly devasted. He had told her that he would take care of her no matter what and would give her everything she wanted. It just so happened that Solana wanted everything.
Thanks to her father's insistence on giving her everything, Solana always got her way. He praised her, doted on her, and instilled in her a surplus of confidence. The rest of the world was not so generous.
In the present, Solana would never, never acknowledge her hard childhood because it marked her as a failure. The truth was that Solana was bad at everything. She was completely inadequate in almost everything she did. It made her the laughingstock of her school. She was an easy target despite being part of such a rich family.
Thus, Solana's life became a cycle of ridicule and praise. Reality became blurred, and the truth wavered every single second. Eventually though, the bullying and ridicule became too much. She needed something glamorous, something that would prove that she was just as good as her dad said she was.
She found that something in the flapper show that PEC put on. Solana was only 15 when she begged her father to be a part of the routine. The sparkling dresses and graceful movements made her envious. Everyone looked at the flappers in awe, watching them dance in their beauty. Solana wanted to be looked at like that, more than anything.
After begging and begging, her father pulled some strings and got his daughter into the show. None of the dancers were happy at her inclusion, but they weren't at liberty to reject her. Behind the curtain though, they belittled her and insulted her, further driving a stake into her heart.
Unfortunately, Solana was terrible at dancing like she was everything else. She never knew her steps, she stumbled all over the place, and had absolutely no sense of rhythm or timing. The dancers begged for her to be kicked out, but her father just paid them more and more. Money solved everything it seemed.
A particularly humiliating performance finally broke her. This incident was pushed to the far recesses of Solana's mind. It's a symbol of failure, of vulnerability, two things that should absolutely not apply to Solana Parhelion.
But, money solves everything. Her father just dumped more and more money, bribing patrons and audiences to cheer her and praise her. An elaborate dream was created for her, and it was so easy to become enraptured by it. Solana let herself dissolve into this artifice, becoming one with the dream itself. She was talented, brilliant, amazing, stunning, and much much more. It was the objective truth. It had to be.
Things were fine for a while as Solana built her oasis, a stunning gem that was better than everyone else, and no one could say anything to tear it down.
Just when she thought she was untouchable, the worst thing that had ever happened to her rattled her gilded dream. The worst thing imaginable, a horrific creature who cleverly disguised itself as a girl named Eulalia Lux.
The name itself almost made her vomit.
Solana slammed through her next shot and quickly stood up, looking for a target to displace her feelings onto. She scanned the room, but her vision blurred for a moment before clearing. Venom was something else.
She cursed a little too loudly, drawing one or two stares. It didn't matter though, she was untouchable. No one else mattered. No one.
Whether it was the drink or the pensive thoughts, Solana felt herself slipping a bit. She needed another distraction immediately, something particularly annoying for Eulalia. Miss Lux wouldn't even know about Solana's revolving door of girls at the moment, but Solana made a note to rub it in her face the next time they had to see each other.
The sound of her heels echoed around the casino as she quickly exited, headed for one of the theatres. She remembered the schedule well; the dancers would be on break for an hour following the most recent performance. That was plenty of time. Surely some nice dancer would be thrilled to worship her in a backstage closet. Anyone was better than Eulalia Lux.
It was a little over a year ago when she met the hellspawn for the first time. While Solana was busy sleeping around, her father had signed a contact with the neighboring Lux Power Plant Company. He was interested in a merger for the financial benefits, and it just so happened that the Lux family was looking to marry off their daughter, the heiress to the company.
The papers had been drawn up and signed before Solana and Eulalia even knew their families had arranged a marriage for them. When the girls turned 19, they would be married, and the merger would be complete. Ever since, Solana felt like a time bomb had been strapped to her, waiting to explode. If only she would die. Death would be preferable to spending a lifetime with Eulalia Lux.
Eulalia was bitter, condescending, bitchy, and just generally an unpleasant person to be around. Her jaded and detached attitude drove her insane, and it didn't help that she somehow knew all the right buttons to press. Eulalia was the unholy combination of all her bullies throughout her life, which made every interaction between the two an explosion of nuclear proportions.
Solana would do anything to get out of this marriage, but what could she do? Leaving her family's fortune was out of the question and arguing with her father hadn't gone anywhere. The one thing Eulalia and Solana could agree on was that meeting each other was the worst thing that had ever happened to them.
The list of things to hate about Eulalia was endless, and Solana was happy to list them all off to her whenever she got the chance to. Dinners were miserable, dates were nonexistent, and every moment they spent together was a recipe for disaster.
Finally, Solana made it to the stage door and slipped inside. It was dark in the wings, the sparkly costumes being the only flickers of color. Just a little way away was the stage, the stage she had desperately wanted to be on when she was younger. Things might have been terrible, but she would take the mean dancers over being betrothed to someone who was able to needle all of her insecurities any day.
For a brief moment, Solana forgot what her purpose for coming here was. The stage was empty, just waiting for a star to bask in the light. She wasn't sure how long she was standing there before she watched one of the stage lightbulbs suddenly blow out in a flash of glory before fading into nothing.
In that flash, reality broke through the dream. She was a flashbulb, burning brilliantly and brightly, blinding all those who gazed upon her. But as quickly as her fire flashed, it withered to a flicker, trying in vain to regain a spark that would never return.
Perhaps Solana Parhelion's oasis was nothing more than a mirage, an illusion of false hope, of thirst that would never be quenched. And worst of all…perhaps she was just another grain in the infinite shifting sands of time.
Eulalia Lux, 18
District 5, one month before the Reaping
If disillusionment could take human form, Eulalia Lux felt that it must be her. Every child had dreams, desires, and hopes for their future, their lives. At eighteen years of age, Eulalia knew that only fools put stock in something as meaningless as dreams. They were intangible, elusive, illusory, and all they did was grant false hope. It was a mirage, an idealistic image of an oasis that promised salvation. From a distance it was easy to believe the lie, but just when you thought you had reached your dreams, your hands would reach out to find that there was nothing there.
Eulalia found that scoffing at the dreams of others was the perfect chaser to a particularly strong shot of Venom. And that was exactly what she was doing on this sweltering summer eve.
Summers in District 5 were immensely hot; only the night offered a bit of respite from the scalding sun. Everyone flocked to bars, casinos, and all sorts of entertainment the district had to offer. Most nights, Eulalia found herself wandering the entertainment sector, stopping for drinks here and there, and bitching out any performer who thought they could be something.
Presently, she was drinking in one of her favorite bars, The Live Wire. It was a small place towards the outskirts of the entertainment sector, but the neon sign flickered invitingly and the drinks were always good, albeit a little cheap. However, the best part was the live music that was often featured. Since the bar wasn't a super popular venue, up and coming talent would find themselves trying to get gigs at places like The Live Wire. It was always some young hopefuls, looking to pursue their dreams of music and performance.
It was pathetic. Half the appeal of the bar was the opportunity to give a reality check to some talentless hack with only a guitar and a dream to their name. And Eulalia was just the person to break the news.
She slammed through two shots of Venom like it was nothing, and turned her attention towards the small stage in the bar. The Live Wire wasn't big at all, just four walls and a roof. It was made out of bricks and was sparely decorated, but the snaking patterns of neon lights made up for it. It was a gorgeous display of luminous prismatic snakes weaving into each other, dancing and slithering across the walls.
The far left of the bar was where the bar itself was housed. It was small, but the drinks were impressive nonetheless. One sitting on a bar stool would easily be able to look to their right and see the small stage that made up the right side of the bar. It was right up against the wall, sandwiched between the brick and the few tables that made up the dining area in front of it.
A boy with light brown hair who looked about her age was sitting on stage. He had an acoustic guitar with him and was fiddling with the pegs.
"Hurry it up amateur," Eulalia called out. The boy flushed and begin to work faster, starting to set up the microphone.
"Real professional," she heckled before doing another shot. It was too easy. These fools who dreamed…she almost felt bad for them. Almost.
The performer mumbled something into the mic and began to strum the guitar. It was slow, melancholic tune, one that Eulalia wasn't expecting. The tempo was slow, and the notes were sorrowful and deliberate. She wanted to call out and berate the boy, but the tune struck a chord with her. Eulalia hated that, despite all her effort to distance herself, music was still in her blood.
As a child, she was reserved, quiet, and introverted. At that time, she still believed in dreams, she still believed that one day she could become a great performer. The passion for songwriting and the playing the guitar entered her at a young age, and it was far preferable than trying to engage with the family business.
She was the only child of Catequil Lux, the head of the Lux Power Plant Company. One might have expected her to follow in her father's footsteps, but she wanted nothing of the sort. Eulalia was jealous of the neighboring Parhelion Entertainment Complex. At night, she would try to listen to the music from the theatres, but it was always so faint, just out of reach.
Her parents were also pursuing a dream. They wanted to move away from nuclear power and create a renewable energy source for District 5 and the Capitol. It was an innovative plan, and her parents worked tirelessly to fulfill their dreams. After all, the nuclear power had been linked to a few deaths in area. Something needed to change.
The Lux family dreamt, and they dreamt hard. It was a nice dream though. The prospect of clean energy was exciting for her parents as it had the potential to solve a lot of problems and make a real difference in the world. They encouraged Eulalia to follow her dreams too, and she did, for a spell at least.
Then one day, they had to wake up. The quest for renewable energy had drained the family's funds, and despite all their detailed plans, nothing had worked. It seemed like they were striving towards an unachievable goal, setting themselves up for sadness and failure.
They were forced to switch back to nuclear power, which ended in tragedy. Eulalia's mother died of radiation poisoning shortly after the switch. She was 14 at the time, and the death hit her hard. Her mother had always told her to follow her dreams, but what kind of advice was that? Eulalia remembered thinking that as she watched her mother's hair fall out, and watched her cough up blood until there was nothing left of her.
What had dreams gotten her mother? Nothing. All of it was a waste. Time, energy, hopes, dreams…all of it amounted to nothing. Why even try, why bother to dream when it was impossible for those dreams to become reality?
Eulalia scowled as the boy continued scrumming his melancholic tune. His visible nerves were gone and now he looked almost serene. That would not be allowed now would it?
She stood up from her stool, making it deliberately screech across the floor. The boy winced and got off beat for a moment. Now, she would pounce.
"Get off the stage you sweltering swine, no one wants to listen to you fat finger all your strings."
That did it. The boy got red in the face and tried to maintain composure, but it was a losing battle. The finishing blow was imminent.
"Why don't you go play for the rats in the alley? They're the audience truly deserving of your musical talents," Eulalia said, practically spitting the last word. One or two people in the audience grumbled, but the rest didn't make much of a reaction. They were regulars. They knew the drill.
Drink, degrade, drink, repeat. A simple cycle, but an effective one.
Even though she had shut down the performer, she decided she had enough for the evening. Eulalia slammed through one more shot before jamming her hands into the pockets of her leather jacket and briskly walking out of the bar, letting the door slam on the way out.
She stepped out into the night, immediately submerged in the ocean of neon lights that awaited her. Even on the outskirts of the entertainment sector, there were still a good amount of people. The night was still young by District 5's standards.
Her pace picked up into a quick walk as she started to navigate the winding streets. Colors, flashes, sounds, and people all rushed by her, as if she was stepping through a wormhole of some kind. The path before her was clear though. Eulalia had a signature steely gaze that made people go out of their way to avoid her. Unfortunately for them, no one could avoid Eulalia Lux if she had something to say.
As she wove her way through the streets, Eulalia made a point to insult anyone whose appearance was particularly displeasing.
"That's quite brave of you."
"How does being a virgin feel?"
"You look like your mom tried and failed to abort you."
She had an infinite cartridge of snarky remarks, all she had to do was pull the trigger at the right time.
It was almost shocking to compare the person she was now to the little girl she was before her mom died. Following her mother's death, something sparked Eulalia into action. She shed her introversion and propelled herself to be the most bitchy and extraverted she possibly could. Everyone quickly started hating her, but that was fine with Eulalia. She hated the world, and if the world hated back, that wasn't her problem.
Perhaps her father could have helped her find a better way to deal with grief, but he was busy dealing with grief himself. He absorbed himself into his work and it left little time for Eulalia. Her father just became another person to hate, another person to curse at.
The dreams that her childhood were built on were laid to ruin. They rotted away, crumbling into the earth as bombs rained down upon them. Eulalia thought that no dream would be able to manifest into reality, and saw herself as enlightened. She scoffed at others who dreamed of better things, of desires, of hopes. They were all fools, and they should be grateful that someone like Eulalia was giving them a reality check.
Eulalia's feet ended up carrying her to the back entrance of the Lux Power Plant Company. It was cold and dark at the moment. The only nearby lights were the glimmer of PEC just behind the tall silhouettes of the plant.
Memory, or even instinct, carried her to a small abandoned warehouse. Many of the buildings near the back of the plant had been abandoned in favor of making sure the more noticeable features looked presentable. After all, it was supposed to be a secret that the Lux family was broke.
The company started having money problems during their failed quest for renewable energy, and things only got worse after the matriarch died. Eulalia's father worked desperately to save face and hide the abysmal financial situation, and it seemed to have worked. But, that didn't solve the money problem.
A solution was reached, but the cost was far too high for her liking. In fact, she considered it one of the worst things that had ever happened to her.
Her father had agreed to a merger between his company and the Parhelion's, a merger christened by the marriage of the two bachelorettes. Just like that, Eulalia had a fiancé, and that fiancé happened to be a creature of abominable character.
Solana Parhelion was the worst person she had ever met, and using the word "person" was already being generous. It was hardly a contest. No one was as deluded, irritating, bitchy, and terrible as Solana was. Eulalia hated her the moment they met, and the feeling was mutual.
She would never forget their first meeting. The fathers and their daughters met publicly to a media firestorm, all the little rats happy to consume what was sure to be a delectable event of the upper class. It was anything but.
The meeting had hardly started when Eulalia started making passes at Solana's father. She thought he was quite handsome, but it was more fun to see Solana lose her fucking mind. It was glorious, and it was only the first of many battles between them. Solana would swing back, and Eulalia would swing back harder. There was no love, no peace. Only war.
It was a match made in hell, but Eulalia would prefer an eternity of hellfire than being married to a rat bitch like Solana Parhelion.
There were so many things to hate about Solana, but the one that always got under her skin was the level of delusion she exhibited. Solana was terrible at just about everything, and Eulalia would have loved watching her flail if she didn't have an unnatural confidence. She skated through the world, unbothered, happy to do anything she wanted even if she sucked royally at it. It was infuriating to see a girl who got everything she wanted. Solana acted as if she owned the world, as if her elaborate dream was real.
Eulalia almost envied that the little delusional mind that she had. Solana's dreams were her reality, and she wanted more than anything crush those dreams and flatten Solana. It would have been easier if Zain Parhelion wasn't so rich that he was able to rig everything for her. He paid off casino workers, customers, anyone who would contribute to the Solana Show, a dance of delusion.
Bitterness had consumed her. Her father had forced her into a marriage for the sake of the company, and she was bound to a girl who was so deluded that she projected her dream into reality. Things had only gotten worse in recent months as the girls got ever so closer to reaching their nineteenth birthday. In a month, Solana and Eulalia would have their final Reapings, and then, the wedding preparations would begin.
She shuddered for a moment, the thought of marrying Solana eating away at her brain like a parasite hellbent on her destruction. The jaded girl tried to push her fiancé from her mind as she made her way into the warehouse.
It was largely empty except for some machinery and crates covered by sheets that may as well have been burial shrouds. Small windows at the very top of the walls let in a bit of orange light from outside, creating a strange liminal glow.
The sound of her leather boots echoed through the space as she walked through. She made her way to the far end of the warehouse where more sheets covering creates laid to rest.
When she was about halfway there, Eulalia noticed a streak of black dash in front of her. She wasn't frightened though. On the contrary, she smiled.
"Veton," she cooed at the black cat who made his appearance at her call. Veton used to hang around the power plant all the time. Everyone said it was bad luck, but Eulalia took a liking to him. Luck was bullshit anyway. She adopted him and took care of him. He reminded her of her mother's cats when she was still alive. It wasn't much, but it was something.
She tried not to scowl at the thought of Solana's pampered fluffy white cats. Veton meowed at her, as if he was telling her to keep that bitch out of her head. He was right of course.
Eulalia scooped him into her arms and scratched his neck, eliciting some immediate purrs. She walked with Veton in her arms over to the sheets at the back of the room. After gently setting Veton down, she whipped off sheets, sending dust to dance in the air and sparkle in orange light.
There, under the sheet, was her guitar. It had been a long time since she touched it, but here it was. Eulalia wasn't sure exactly what made her come back here, and she certainly wasn't sure what made her brush the dust off of it, tune it, and begin strumming a little tune.
Before she knew it, Eulalia was strumming out a melody to an old song she wrote when her mother was still alive. The sound bounced around the walls of the warehouse, reverberating in an almost dissonant manner. If memories had a sound, this was it.
Veton curled up by her feet as she played, apparently soothed by the tune. Eulalia just kept strumming away, and then the lyrics came back to her.
Dream on baby, dream on.
It was like suddenly taking a knife to the back, an unseen attacker striking silently in the night.
She gasped, ending the song with an out of tune strum before hastily throwing the guitar to the side. It clattered onto the floor, making a horrific dissonant sound that rippled through the warehouse. Veton hissed until the sound finally died.
Dreaming was for fools, and Eulalia Lux was no fool. Dreams were born only to wither and die, and placing hope in a mirage of dreams would only ever lead to a slow, agonizing funeral march for a dream that would never be.
Happy Valentine's Day! It's been 2 years since I officially announced the cast for this story, so it seems only fitting that this new update introduces some of the new characters to this story.
I've updated the blog with the new characters, and I'm really excited to get back to writing. I hope this jolt was what I needed to make writing BV fun again. Here's hoping.
I hoped you liked this chapter, and I'd love to hear via reviews or PMs if you're able! I hope to be better at updating and hope that I will have renewed motivation to start working on this story, because I love a lot of my plans and I want to see them come to fruition.