CHAPTER ONE:
EXILE KNOWN AS DISTRICT 12
Her heart felt light as she plunged into the refreshing abyss of the lake that afternoon. Each new moment with Coriolanus seemed to chisel away her torturing memories of the arena. He jumped in after her, creating a billow of water pushing her backward. She dove down into the depths of the lake, exploring its mystery until she heard a muffled voice from above.
"Lucy Gray?" Coriolanus called for her as she popped her head back up. She swam over to him, clasping her arms around him. Her fingers discovered the nape of his neck, and she felt his shaven head. She missed his ivory curls, remembering how they always hung down across his forehead, hiding his piercing blue gaze.
"I didn't know the Covey were such good swimmers." Coriolanus smiled down at her, his entrancing eyes now fully visible for her.
"Most people can't swim here in Twelve, but we were fortunate to have found the lake," Lucy Gray explained, using one arm to tread water beside him. "I bet you had a great big pool to practice in?" She smirked. Coriolanus nodded.
"I had swimming lessons when I was young. I also did swim team in preparatory school."
"So different than any of our lives out here," Lucy Gray quietly spoke, watching her family wading near the dock. Maude Ivory was attempting hand stands in the shallower part. Coriolanus gripped his girl's waist tightly.
"You know, it could be different. You and the Covey aren't district and are much more civilized than anyone who lives in Twelve. In the Capitol, you could share your music with all of the great families there. They'd pay you very well. You'd all be much better off," he urged, searching her face for a response.
"You act like we could just waltz onto a train and be there by the end of the week," she chuckled, a wistful gaze remaining on Maude Ivory.
"Well... I'm not in a good place now to offer you all any assistance, but I could be. Just give me some time to work my way back to the Capitol, and I'm sure I'll be able to buy you out of Twelve," Coriolanus insisted, finally voicing aloud what he had been ruminating about for weeks. He wanted her. He wanted his Lucy Gray, and yet he also wanted his home. His beautiful, shining city that he was ripped away from all too soon. Despite all of the setbacks he had faced, Coriolanus was determined to emerge successfully as the Victor-both winning the girl and his bright future back.
"I'm not some bird that you can buy and feed crackers to, Coriolanus. Besides, what if I don't want to return to the place where I was treated like an animal? Where people gawked at me and made bets on my life in their pastimes," Lucy Gray uttered thickly, her nose reddening under her warm skin. Her dark eyes refused to meet his gaze, and Coriolanus could tell that she was fighting off tears. A pang of embarrassment struck him followed by a surge of pity. His pale fingers caressed her cheek, and he gently tugged her chin to face him.
"Oh, Lucy Gray, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that. I know that you're a person, a truly wonderful person who survived those games. It was your humanity that charmed the Capitol people. I promise you that if you come back with me, I'll never allow anyone to treat you that way again," He swore. Lucy Gray did not respond to his declaration, but pressed her lips firmly to his.
When Coriolanus spoke this way to her, she could hardly piece together conscious thoughts. Everything about him consumed her like fire, even in the fresh cool lake water. She found herself in love with his alluring, protective presence she discovered in him before she entered the arena. It wasn't the right moment to give him a definitive answer nor would she be able to form the correct words. She simply desired his closeness.
Coriolanus briefly forgot that he was awaiting a response when Lucy Gray kissed him. She was so good, so dangerously sweet- They broke when Maude Ivory came paddling towards them. She said that Barb Azure suggested they dry off and settle by the cabin for some supper.
Coriolanus and the Covey threw on their dry clothes hanging on some nearby tree branches. Lucy Gray wandered over to the shore to squeeze out her damp locks and untangle the knots. Her hair soon dried within the hour beneath the summer sun. They all laid out in its warmth, snacking on some goat cheese, pieces of bread, and katniss tubers that Barb Azure had cooked in the morning. Coriolanus found himself enjoying these wild moments away from the grime and steel of industrial Twelve. It felt clean out here in the forest, quiet and yet a bit restless. Everything felt more alive, more free. The wild, albeit annoying mockingjays, the murmuring wind, the ripples of the lake, ardently reminded him of her.
He looked over at Lucy Gray, dozing beside him. Her dark head was tucked under the crook of his arm with her knees pulled up under her violet dress. He admired her beauty in sleep, watching her parted lips usher little breaths against him. The urge to kiss her again was great, yet he restrained himself to allow her to rest. Instead, he thought back to their conversation in the lake. She didn't say no to his proposal, although she didn't say yes either. He couldn't see why she would want to stay in Twelve at all, especially if he could convince her that her whole family could move to the Capitol. Perhaps she was refraining from saying yes because she couldn't think it could actually happen. He just had to prove to her that it indeed could.
In the evening, Coriolanus lingered outside the Covey's little home and indulged in his last few minutes with Lucy Gray. Every time they separated, it seemed to echo their heartfelt yet harrowing goodbye before she entered the arena. He was sorry to leave her, but Coriolanus had to follow orders and return to the base before curfew. If he wanted any chance of succeeding at the top of his rank and earning a train ticket out of Twelve, he had to be on his best behavior.
"I have to go now. But I'll see you tomorrow night for your show," he promised her, leaving with the taste of her lips on his. Twilight emerged over the Seam as Coriolanus wandered back to the base alone. He didn't particularly enjoy the journey. Everything appeared a bit uglier beneath the hazy blue shadows. He eyed the few dingy homes becoming lit with candles, the haggard, coughing children scurrying inside for dinner, a few sickly stray dogs roaming the dirt allies. Everything about Lucy Gray's neighborhood depressed him. It made him long for his elegant and unsullied Capitol streets and, even worse, it reminded him of the war. It was the display of humanity barely hanging on, with no ability to emerge beyond their own sorry state.
God, he had to rescue Lucy Gray from this hell hole.
A faint sound echoed down an alleyway to his left. He glanced over and saw a figure emerge into the dim light. He was a slight man with a half-shaven, somewhat dashing face. His hands were shoved in his pockets as he moved with ease, familiar with his surroundings. He was whistling a tune that Coriolanus somehow recognized. In fact, he thought it might be one of Lucy Gray's songs. The man treaded the opposite way of the path, towards the dead end where the Covey lived. The man's presence oddly disturbed him, and he did not like the direction in which he traveled.
It wasn't like Coriolanus to risk missing curfew, but for some reason he couldn't let this man go. He proceeded to duck into the alley and wait a few paces before creeping along the man's path while concealed in the shadows of some trees. At first, he thought that the man was headed to the meadow, past the Covey's place. But no, he was going straight to their home. The place was dark, and it seemed as though everyone had settled in for the night. Coriolanus knew that Lucy Gray preferred to rise early to milk their goat and prepare breakfast with Barb Azure.
The man crept around to the side of the little house and scooped up some pebbles in the grass. He began throwing them at the lower window, causing the thin glass to shudder. A moment later, someone inside unlatched it and slid it open swiftly. Coriolanus watched two legs swing out of the window and Lucy Gray emerged. She slid down to the ground, wearing a simple white nightgown with her hair braided back. Even in the vague light, he could make out her scowling expression. Then, it all clicked for him. This man was Billy Taupe, Lucy Gray's former boyfriend.
"What are you doing here? I've already told you a dozen times to get," she hissed at him. Billy Taupe removed his beaten hat, clutching it to his chest.
"Aw, honey, I know you keep sayin' that, but your heart has gotta be tellin' you different. Otherwise, wouldn't you completely ignore me? I already told you I was sorry and that I'm givin' up on Mayfair. I swear I am," he pleaded, taking a step towards her. It took everything in Coriolanus not to lounge out from behind the trees and sock him in the jaw. However, for now his reason inclined him to remain hidden. He wanted to hear why Billy Taupe had showed up. From the way he spoke, it seemed as though the two had met in secret before... What really was Lucy Gray's situation with this old beau of hers?
"I only came out because I was worried that you'd wake Maude Ivory," Lucy Gray whispered harshly. "And I'm threw with your lies. I know you just came skulkin' back to us because the mayor probably caught you sleepin' with his daughter again-and under his own roof!"
"You don't know nothin' Lu! You don't know how I've had to scrape by on my own since you dumped me. This is my family!" He pointed to the house. "You're my family! You aren't really gonna leave me alone like this? Not after everything we've been through?" Billy Taupe reached out and clutched Lucy Gray's hand. She regarded him for a split second before ripping away from his grip.
"Don't you try and make me feel sorry! I know all of your tactics, Billy Taupe! I know how you seduce women, shower them with love and affection, layin' it all on and then desertin' them when they don't satisfy your desires," Lucy Gray exclaimed, her lip trembling. Despite her determination to suppress it, all of the old turmoil with him sometimes threatened to overcome her again. She thought she was over dealing with this cheat and the relics of her feelings that he had stirred within her. Billy Taupe saw through to her and took advantage of her weakened barriers. He knelt down in front of her and gripped her skirt as if begging for mercy.
"Darlin' don't cry now. I told you, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I just can't live in this horrid place no longer. It makes me do things that I'm not proud of. You'd do it too if it meant that you got all of the good things that you always wanted. A hot meal, a warm place to stay, even fine clothes. Oh, how I know you desire all of those things, just like I do. I know you. I know you, Lucy Gray," he whispered those last words, grabbing at her hands. She whimpered before feebly shoving him away.
"Listen. Listen to me," he continued, standing before her. "I've been talking to some of my buddies in the mines. The ones who are friends with Lil, you know, that girl whose husband was hanged. They're threw with the Capitol's ways and how awfully they treat us. We're devising a plan to run away. They want to break Lil out of prison and have a bunch of us escape into the woods. We'll go north and start our own civilization up there. I want you to come with me. The Covey, too. I'll abandon Mayfair and everything in else here in Twelve. It'll just be you and me, together in a new place," Billy Taupe proposed, attempting again to take Lucy Gray's hand.
The silence that proceeded between them gnawed away at Coriolanus as he watched his girl consider this. The girl whom he had thought was entirely devoted to him. Would she simply give up on him now? Forget everything that had happened between them? Lucy Gray's dark brows knitted together, and the vision of Billy Taupe's plan dispersed in her mind.
"It'll be awfully dangerous," she murmured. "I don't see how you'll manage it. The peacekeepers catch on to everything."
"That's just it, Lu. I've found someone on the inside who can help us. He seems like an honest guy and doesn't agree with a lot of the Capitol's ideas. He'll help get us out of here," Billy Taupe pressed, speaking urgently and growing in excitement. Lucy Gray shook her head.
"I'm not runnin' away with you, Billy Taupe. You go on, take the Covey if you want, but it's not my time." Coriolanus released a breath upon hearing her words.
"It's because of that Capitol boy, isn't it? You've gone soft on him because he helped you escape that arena. You think he's gonna rescue you now from your sorry fate in the districts? Make you his little princess in the Capitol? He ain't goin' nowhere now that he's a peacekeeper-he's got years on him! Don't throw away what we had for that highfalutin fool! I bet a thousand of his kisses hardly to compare to this..." Billy Taupe trapped Lucy Gray in his embrace against the side of the house, forcing his lips upon hers.
Coriolanus sprang out of the shadows and charged towards them. He grabbed the back of Billy Taupe's shirt collar and yanked him backwards. Lucy Gray gave an astonished yelp before Coriolanus punched Billy Taupe straight in the mouth. He fell flat on his back, his face wild with shock as he pressed his fingers to his mouth streaming with blood. Coriolanus shielded Lucy Gray behind him, daring Billy Taupe with a deathly gaze to stand and face him.