Hello everyone ! Thank you once again for reading and following the story. Every week, a new chapter will be posted. Have fun ! (I also got my first review yayy ! thank you very much)


CHAPTER 4 : HER CHARISMA

Sensing a sudden tension between the boy who had challenged him and Erin, Coriolanus watched them out of the corner of his eye. Did they know each other ? he wondered to himself. Judging from the way she looked at him, they did not seem to be on good terms. After collecting the knives, Erin stood next to Coriolanus. To be honest, he did not know how to react. She did not seem hostile and she was helping him to stand up for himself. Taking the weapons in his hand, he felt them again. These knives could really hurt someone.

"Do you need help ?" the young woman kindly asked him.

She had certainly noticed he was a bit lost. Besides, it was the first time he saw her face in the light. Pale skin, long straight brown hair and brown eyes. Wearing light makeup, she seemed to take care of herself. Her freckles only accentuated her already childish face.

She did not wait his answer to correctly place the knife in the blond's hand. With an insistent look at the target, she asked him to make his first throw. Without thinking too much and especially because he did not know how to do it, he raised his arm then moved it randomly. Barely, the knife hit the edge of the target. Trying to hide his mockery, his opponent covered his mouth and sneered. Erin rolled her eyes, clearly annoyed at the boy's behavior.

"I'm really bad," Coriolanus whispered, turning his head towards her. "Sorry."

"Your position should depend on the distance between you and the target", Erin explained calmly. "You need to be able to turn the knife quickly."

She gave him a whole explanation on how to throw a knife. But, the blond was more focused on the way she spoke and moved. Her words were captivating. Although the subject mattered little to him, he was captivated by what she was saying. Delicately, she touched his wrist to raise it and bend it towards his forearm. She stepped back, signaling that he was ready for round two. Coriolanus visualized the center of the target. Throwing it again, this time the knife hit almost the center. The crowd instantly became excited.

"Well played," Erin congratulated him. "You almost hit the center. All you have to do now is find your balance."

Coriolanus repositioned himself in the same way, this time ready to aim even better. As he was about to do it, the young woman approached him. Now right next to him, she leaned towards his face to look at the target through his eyes. She told him not to move his torso and only to use the necessary strength in his arm. Following her explanations, the blond took a moment to observe the center of the target once again. He stopped breathing, his whole body was frozen. When his third knife reached the target, the people around him started to scream.

"You did it !" Erin said clapping in her hands. "Well done once again !"

A smile suddenly appeared on Coriolanus' lips when he saw the knife right in the middle of the target. He turned his head to Erin, her smile was so intense too. If he had managed not to move, it was not thanks to her explanations but because the sudden proximity had disturbed him.

The game now over, most returned to their occupations and Coriolanus sat down at a table. Sejanus was next to him, half asleep on the table. So, while he was waiting for his recovery, the blond observed the young woman from earlier returning to her work. Always with a smile and with her tray, she passed between customers and served them kindly. Seeing her move this way was almost like a dance.

Remembering his commander's orders, Coriolanus suddenly frowned. He did not forget his real mission : infiltrate the rebels. But, were there rebels at all in the Hob ? Observing the place, he wondered what they really looked like. Those who exchanged prohibited goods in front of everyone were too little credible to be part of an organization against the peacekeepers. Perhaps he had to focus on the same people who gathered at a table every evening ? What were they even talking about ? A new plan to rebel ? While Coriolanus was imagining a bunch of scenarios, he looked at Erin again. He stared at her, remembered her smile and wondered if in reality it was not hiding secrets.

Although he needed to get information about the place, Coriolanus still wanted to thank her. So he waited until the Hob closed to get a chance to talk to her. Sejanus really did not lie about her popularity.

Erin cleaning the last tables, Coriolanus walked towards her. He did not know how to start the conversation so he simply said :

"I wanted to thank you for helping me."

"Oh," she answered surprised, putting down her rag and standing up. "I saw that he was trying to humiliate you and I don't like that type of behavior."

"Forgive me if I'm wrong but you seem to know each other ?"

"Was my hatred so transparent ?" Erin laughed.

Her reply created a slight grin from Coriolanus.

"Is that your friend ?" she questioned him, pointing at Sejanus.

"Yes," affirmed the blond. "We live not far from the Hob and we have.."

"No need to lie," Erin interrupted him."I know who you are."

"Who are we ?"

"You are Coriolanus Snow, you were the mentor of Lucy Gray Baird and you cheated during the Games to make her win. The idea of the handkerchief into the snakes was truly incredible. I wonder, however, how you could have guessed that they rely on their smell because their hearing and eyesight are really bad."

Coriolanus was surprised by her honesty but appreciated it. He strangely regretted trying to lie to her. He noted that she was perceptive and that she had not mentioned any judgment concerning him.

"As for your friend," Erin continued, turning her head in his direction, "his name is Sejanus Plinth. He was also a mentor. What did he do to end up with the peacekeepers ?"

Coriolanus remained silent. Erin raised an eyebrow.

"You try to lie to me then refuse to talk, you don't give me a good impression for a first discu.."

"He couldn't silence his thoughts," the blond intervened coldly.

"Can you ?" she questioned him, approaching him and smiling.

Moving his head back slightly, Coriolanus was suspicious of her. There was something about this girl that strangely intimidated him. Maybe it was her overwhelming self-confidence ?

"Anyway," she continued naturally. "I am Er.."

"Erin. I know about you too."

The young woman took a step back, slightly lifted her dress then mimed a curtsy.

"In good, I hope ?"

Coriolanus was about to respond when someone called out her name. A girl, she looked impatient. Erin had lost her smile and was now looking at Coriolanus almost in panic. With a brief hand gesture, she left to join her. In a corner, the girl whispered in Erin's ear. Erin suddenly adopted an almost angry face. Frowning, she walked towards a door hidden by fabrics behind the bar. Many times Coriolanus had seen people enter it and most of them had been men. Once Erin disappeared behind it, he looked at the other girl. She stared at him, crossing her arms. Maybe Erin was not the only one who recognized him ? More importantly, what was behind that door ?