—A Heavy Heart—

Persephone, from the moment Coriolanus was laid on a hospital bed in a thin cotton gown, refused to leave his side. She turned down all food offered to her and kept her hand clasped over his with her thumb running over his knuckles. Something was calling her, yearning for her to stay by his side and never leave.

She believed it to be dangerous love.

The Ignis girl was supposed to be backstage with her tribute getting ready to present him. In fact, she wasn't even supposed to be with Coryo with her job as a Mentor. Persephone had the intention of staying with her tribute and ignoring the boy in the hospital, but Reaper assured her he was fine to go alone.

And due to the bombing, more Mentors than expected were laid to rest in the hospital during the pivotal point of marketing their tributes. She even heard whispers among the nurses of a boy she knew fondly, Gaius Breen, and the loss of his legs.

Despite her lack of a bond with Felix Ravenstill, the sound of the President's son fighting for his life due to the bombing sent an eerie shiver down her spine. She didn't hate the boy, nor liked him further than classmates, but she worried for his safety.

President's son dead at the hands of rebels? Everyone would know his father's wrath.

When Sejanus leaned on the bed and stood next to the sitting girl, her features tightened in anger. "I don't understand why they're still going through with the Games. Felix and Gaius are dying."

"You should be asking yourself why they even have the Games in the first place."

"That shit doesn't matter now, Sejanus." Persephone's gaze hardened as she looked up at the boy. "Nothing can change the past. The Games have happened already. But now, I mean, Academy Rouges, our classmates, have gotten hurt. One murdered all for this to still go on? Reaper has a life, as well as all of the other tributes, that he won't get to come back to. I just-" She choked up.

His hand rubbed her back, noticing the way she held herself back from spilling tears over a radical idea. "Now you see it? What I've been telling everyone since I became Capitol?"

Persephone could only nod and ducked her face in her hands to shield her cries.

Instead of leaving her, Sejanus dropped down on his knees to her eye level and spread his arms out. She recognized his offer and dove into his embrace, sobbing into his shoulder like a baby. Her coughs racked her body, letting tears spill from her eyes without worrying what her father nor Panem would think of her.

For the first time in her life, Persephone slouched in his arms and just let herself grieve over Reaper's, as well as the other tributes', inevitable ends. She mourned enough for their families and loved ones and anyone who cared for them.

Empathy ate her up alive.

Sejanus Plinth was her most dear friend. He would always hold a spot in her mind, even if he was tucked away and meant to be forgotten. She loved him as if he was her brother, there was no denying it.

She pulled back from the prolonged hug to wipe her eyes with a napkin. The same napkin she gave Reaper a slice of buttermilk bread in. Persephone had to use all her strength in the moment to keep her tears at bay. "And- just... even if Reaper survives it all," her gaze shifted from the napkin to the boy she considered her brother as she shook her head, "he'll never be the same. I can't imagine what he'll go through, fighting for his life in that Arena with nowhere to run."

A mutual silence settled over both of them. They grieved over the tributes, their deaths tomorrow, and themselves—their lost innocence stripped by the Capitol suddenly made Persephone feel so empty.

Humanity was barren.

A dramatic fanfare filled the quiet air. Persephone could faintly hear Lucky Flickerman begin to introduce the District 11 tributes, to which she jumped from her seat to turn the volume up on the television above. Tigris appeared just in time after retrieving a cup of water to watch.

"This is a tribute with a fiery spirit, possibly the strongest contender in the Games. His Mentor is compassionate, but he, however, is not. We bring out District 11 boy: Reaper Ash!" A scattered applause followed as the boy walked out on stage, followed by a few other backstage workers with a few heavy weights and a sword. She could see a vague figure setting up a target, a puzzled look settling on her face. Maybe she should have stayed with her tribute.

"That's your tribute, right?" Tigris asked her, settling on her right to watch the screen. She received a nod of confirmation.

"Good evening, Capitol." His monotone voice didn't fail, causing the corners of his Mentor's lips to perk up in amusement. "In the Arena tomorrow, I fight for my family. For my younger sister and unborn brother and for my parents, I will fight to see you all again. To come home."

Scattered applause again. Perhaps the audience didn't like when they were reminded the tributes they sent to die had lives, too.

Then Reaper began lifting some of the heavy weights, throwing them around and raising them above his head. He received more applause for balancing a few of them at once. He eventually made his way to the sword laid out for him, which she saw even Lucky Flickerman hold his breath, and slashed at the target.

Brute strength usually never fails.

His donation count was going up, more than the other tributes she had taken notice of. Persephone knew the Capitol would bet on the one they believed had a better chance of winning, and she grew very fond of her luck with Reaper's natural abilities. He tipped the scale for himself—the odds were somewhat in his favor.

Before she could wonder for a moment more if she could have helped his stage presence more, Reaper started to flex his muscles. It didn't matter if he did it as a scare tactic or to get their attention, but the live audience began to applaud more.

This was out of character for the boy she thought she knew.

"Do you still care if he performs for the Capitol or not?" Sejanus appeared on her left, brows raised at the reactions to his posing.

Persephone shook her head and admitted an honest truth. "Not one bit. You wanna know why?"

"Tell me."

"That boy, my tribute? He was the one who really saved Coryo. He was the one who lifted the rubble. He doesn't even like Coryo, he just did it for me. Because he knew I cared about him. And he's the one that's gonna die in the Games tomorrow, maybe survive if he gets lucky. But he doesn't deserve the pain, the guilt, of being a Victor. There are no winners of the games, just survivors."

It stung like a wound—especially because it was true.

Even after she settled back into the chair next to Coryo's bed, hand slipping into his like she had before, her sympathy felt like a deadly itch. Persephone couldn't just go back to Capitol life after the Games happen tomorrow.

She couldn't even go back to who she was before she was assigned to be a Mentor. It became all too real that Persephone Ignis simply couldn't live with the fact that she had to send her friend, Reaper Ash, to his death.

Her guilt was choking her.

Oh, the painful burden of a heavy heart.

A familiar tight squeeze of her hand made her wide eyes snap from her lap to the boy in the bed. His eyes flew open in shock. Tigris leaned over with a worried expression, thankful to see him wake up. "Coryo?"

He kept his eyes trained on the girl who still held his hand. "Persephone," he mumbled as he looked between the three of them whilst immobile, "what happened?"

"It was a rebel bombing." Sejanus told him in a somber tone. "They must have been planning it for months. Four tributes were killed." His voice cracked as he added the last part in.

"Felix Ravenstill is on life support. Gaius Breen's legs were crushed completely." He observed the way Persephone's eyes were just a little wider than normal, the poorly cleaned dirt off her face showing she hadn't spent a moment for herself. He noticed everything different about her from her average pristine appearance. He could not find the energy to judge the way she mentioned the two boys as if she cared the slightest about them.

Tigris shook her head and pursed her lips. "Everyone's terrified, Coryo. People are locking themselves inside their houses."

"The rebels released a message, they said they wanted to tear down the symbol of the Hunger Games on live TV. Marcus got out."

When Coriolanus lifted off his pillow in shock, Persephone only frowned. Despite Marcus's escape, there was nowhere he could run where he wouldn't be found by Peacekeepers. The Capitol was too far from Panem's borderlines.

"He's the only one—Peacekeepers are hunting him in the streets, but at least he has a better chance out there than he would tomorrow-"

"Tomorrow?" The boy weakly cut him off with a frown. "They're not still going ahead with the Games..." When Sejanus lowered his head down, ridiculed with guilt at their persistence, and Persephone squeezed his hand, Coriolanus knew the show was supposed to go on. "Oh, no, Lucy Gray. Lucy Gray could have run, but she stopped to save me."

"And then she was dragged away by a Peacekeeper." Persephone noted. She sympathized for the little help she could do without the power she needed—she had stayed to help lift the rubble off him, no doubt. She would have to thank the District girl for it.

"Now our final tribute," Lucky Flickerman's voice faintly buzzed from the television, "I first met this young lady at the zoo, not too long ago." Coriolanus lifted himself off his bed to watch his tribute display her talent. He knew she hadn't completely saved him, but she stayed for him and refused to run in the effort. "Lucy Gray Baird, come out here, you songbird!"

Using her guiding hand the girl beside him offered, Coryo limped to the TV and turned up the volume to hear the words better. Persephone lifted her free hand to graze over his upper arm for precaution, then studied his face. He looked pale with his eyes drained and blonde curls messy. She worried for him more than she worried for herself, he noticed.

He couldn't help but let the hint of a smile grace his lips.

"What?" The girl noticed his staring and slight grin.

"Nothing." Coriolanus brushed it off and looked back up to Lucy Gray singing on the TV. He liked her care, as it reinforced her willingness for him. Persephone would rather put him first than herself—he saw it when she stayed back to set him free in the crumbling, burning Arena.

Then the human part of his mind told him she would rather hurt herself to help him. She ran into danger if it meant she could save him. Deep in his cold heart, he wanted to make sure she would never sacrifice herself for his life, that she was too important.

But that was only a small fragment of his sick, twisted mind.

He refrained from taking advantage of her so soon. He needed to practice immense restraint against his instinct to manipulate her love into submission—and her submission into his power.

If he told her he loved her, Coriolanus wouldn't be able to tell if he loved her naivety or her.

Now, he couldn't deny Lucy Gray's talent for singing. When he peeked down the hall at a nurse watching her performance with tears in her eyes, he knew she had utterly won the hearts of the Capitol. Although every arrow pointed at her death in the Games, she was a spectacle. A marvel. He made her into a Capitol delight.

"Thank you for being here." He turned to Tigris and Sejanus first, giving them a nod. When he looked to his right and found vulnerable and innocent Persephone, his sweet Persephone, he gave her a sickly kind smile. "Thank you for saving me in the Arena."

He would never get sick of the way she melted for him.

His Persephone.

When Lucy Gray was ushered off the stage and Lucky Flickerman wrapped up their broadcast, Tigris rubbed his shoulder. "You should get back in bed, Coryo." He complied, settling back onto the hospital gurney with the Ignis girl slipping into the chair opposite to him. After Sejanus bid his farewell to go home and sleep, Tigris decided she would bring back a warm blanket for her cousin.

Only two were left: fire and snow.

"Are you gonna go home? Get some sleep like Sejanus?" The boy asked, refusing to lay down due to the painful burns on his back.

"Soon, I suppose, now that you're awake and okay." Persephone gazed off to the side, thoughts swimming in her head. It was an uncomfortable sensation to be so bitter about something she was supposed to idolize in the Capitol. "Even if I did rest my head to sleep, I don't think I could."

He pondered her answer and frowned. "Is it because of the bombing?"

"Because I have to send Reaper to his death." She corrected as she tilted her head down and stared at her lap, ridiculed by guilt. "And you have to do the same with Lucy Gray. But also partially because of the bombing. My stitches hurt like hell when I had to lift the rubble off of you."

Coryo's next question was a burning one he had impatiently been waiting to ask. "Why did you stay to help me? To save me, even if it meant you would have gotten hurt?"

Say it, he beckoned in his head as her gaze averted to meet his. Coriolanus was desperate for her to admit the deadly truth, to confirm what he was dying to hear. Say it out loud.

Tell me that you will risk everything for me

Her body grew stiff as he waited for an answer. Persephone knew it, deep in her mind, why she refused to leave him trapped under the threat of death. It was one word, one she feared to say aloud to make it all so true. "I-" she began, then shivered at the way his eyes intensely searched hers for her answer. "I just- I care about you. A lot."

Coriolanus felt a flicker of anger that refused to offer her heart just yet and ignored the flutter in his stomach at her partial truth. "Swear to me you'll never risk your safety for mine, Persephone." Part of him wanted her to follow his order and protect herself, while the other part gloated in the sacrifices she would make for him. He was a king who drowned in the riches of his pretty little Persephone's submission.

If only he could strip himself of whatever emotions he felt for her.

"I can't promise you that, Coryo." The Ignis girl refused, shaking her head with shame. "I won't."

He placed one hand on hers and used the other to tuck her hair behind her ear. "I can't lose you. You're too important to me, Darling."

Love was interesting.

Love made her heart call his name.

But it also made her blind.

Coriolanus had her eating the next pomegranate seed out of the palm of his hand. He loved when her cheeks flushed because of him. If he wasn't careful enough, he would have caved in and swooped her up for a light-headed kiss.

He hated the way his heart felt for her. She was just an input in the equation, not some midnight lover—no matter how much the back of his mind wanted her to be.

For a moment, he studied her features. Her dark hair, deep tan skin, the part in her lips. Coriolanus let his heart control a singular thought in his mind for a split second. He imagined what she would look like with a rounded belly full of new life, the baby morphing into a toddler with her eyes and smile.

Coriolanus could see it so clearly. The child had his blonde hair, a shade between his skin and hers. A child who would run to him with a gleeful grin and jump into his arms. Maybe a few more or so could come along the way. He dreamed of her features changing with age, yet he would love her all the same. With or without wrinkles, she would be his world.

Maybe a cabin by a meadow on a lake, surrounded by lush vegetation all around. They would run away together, away from the Capitol and Districts. A new life was offered. Persephone would stay by his side not as his First Lady of Panem, but as his darling wife. During the day, they would always mingle and by night, she would never leave his side with their bare skin pressed together.

Each day, every night—it would all be the same. Simple and happy.

She would yearn for that way of life among constant love, while he only set his heart out to climb the ranks of power with manipulation to become President Coriolanus Snow.

If she ever knew a small part of him desired to settle down with her, Persephone would mourn every day of her life forced to be his First Lady.

"Coryo?" Tigris interrupted their conversation, glancing at Persephone and growing a kind smile. "The nurse says they can discharge you soon. Perse, you should go home and sleep to prepare for tomorrow."

The Ignis girl nodded and thanked her. "Of course, Tigris, have a good night." Her gaze turned to the boy on the gurney and couldn't help the acceleration in her heart rate. "Feel better soon, Coryo. Don't stress yourself out too much."

His eyes followed her, even as she left his sight they lingered where he had last seen her. A part of him was angry at Tigris for sending her off so soon—just when he had his First Lady hooked like a fish.

Persephone was glad he did not mention the mystery of her brief absence after he was called away with Clemensia. It was a painful memory of vomiting, but an even worse one of Arachne—the source of her problem.

Her time with Coryo failed to make her feel giddy the way it normally did. Persephone found herself failing to fill a rather large ache in her heart, which she could not pinpoint even as she exited the hospital and began walking the short distance home.

A softly lit bakery emitted the quiet hum of an instrumental tune, catching the girl's attention. When she peered at the display laid out in the window, Persephone stopped dead in her tracks.

Bread.

Similar to the buttermilk bread she gave Reaper. Once he was in her mind, she knew instantly what she had been missing. Persephone didn't have to grieve over him yet, not when he was still alive. She craved one last conversation with the friend she made out of a District tribute. A large part of her wished they could have been friends for just a little longer.

But Reaper must be starving.

Persephone entered the bakery with the jingle of a bell at the door. Reaper was a boy who showed her the truth of many things. He sparked her disdain for the Games. He fought against corruption. The tribute assigned to her as a Mentor changed her life. She could savor the interlude before the tragedy, starting with a thick sandwich and a sweet luxury—chocolate.