Taking an involuntary step back, Gale's mouth hung open as he stared into the eyes of Mercy, the same eyes that had been so gentle and open moments ago, but had become cold and unreadable.
Going into slight denial, Gale forced himself to laugh.
"What a coincidence; that our President's last name is Snow, and yours is too!" He laughed again, raking his fingers through his hair. Mercy's expression remained flat.
"It's no coincidence, that I share the same... surname as our President." Gale faltered.
"What do you mean?" He had a horrible feeling that he already knew exactly what she meant.
"I, I'm Mercy Snow. The only daughter, of... President Coriolanus Snow." She recieved nothing but stunned silence on Gale's behalf, so she continued, her voice suddenly strong and clear, making Gale think that she had been faking the frail little girl act."I have been on the run for four years, since I was thirteen. I have been trained to fight from the moment I could walk, so I know hundreds of ways to kill you right now, and that's only with my bare hands. You don't even want to guess at what I can do with Brytt." She glanced down at the dagger in her hand, and Gale guessed that that was what she had just called Brytt. Suddenly his lip curled up in a snarl.
"You named your weapon? You really are from the Capitol." He pulled his knife out of its holder and glared at Mercy defiantly. "Give me one reason why I shouldn't kill you right now." The reaction he recieved was not what he had expected. Instead of preparing for a fight or running away, Gale heard the dull 'thunk' of her dagger slotting into the ground, and watched as she walked away from it, towards him. He backed away from her advance, but she kept walking, until Gale found himself pressed against a tree trunk, with the Capitol girl once again close enough to kiss.
Gale's hand was shaking as he raised the knife and placed the blade against her slender neck. A million thoughts were racing through his head- should he kill her? Should he let her die of her own causes? Should he hear what she has to say? Why did she run from the Capitol, if she is indeed the only daughter of President Snow? Before he could reach a decision, Gale felt the ice cold touch of her tiny hand on his, pulling the knife away from her throat, thrusting the point firmly against her own heart. The look in her eyes was one of defiance, and, Gale thought, hope?
"Do it." She whispered, her voice rough.
Once again, stunned silence.
"Do it!" She yelled this time, jabbing the knife harder against her skin. Gale kept a firm grip on the knife, not wanting it to pierce her delicate skin.
"Kill me!" She screamed, giving up on the knife and taking Gale's frozen face in her icy grip, her nails dug into his flesh.
"No,"
Slowly, Gale loosened his grip from the knife, one finger after another, until it fell to the ground between them, not slotting neatly into the ground like hers did, but landing clumsily on an angle before dropping to its side and lying there, at their feet. Breathing heavily, Mercy stared wide eyed at Gale as though he was mad. Her hands fell slack at her sides in resignation. She dropped her gaze to the ground, her heavy hair swinging down to shield her face. Gale was unsure what to do next; he had never been good at that sort of thing, so he just stood in front of her, his hand still hanging in the air.
Finally, she spoke.
"Why?" The word sliced through the silence like a knife, like the knife lying on the ground between them.
"Because,"
Haha! I'm gonna leave it hanging!