DRESS, coriolanus snow

04, chocolate covered strawberries.

DRESS
( i would stay forever if you say 'stay, don't go' )
▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅

WHEN SHE REACHED home, the tears had dried and her eyes felt as if they were stung by a bee. As she entered the dining room, hoping for a snack, her mom engulfed her in a comforting bear hug. She happily returned the hug, feeling a sense of comfort and warmth seep into her system. She let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding and felt tears threatening to spill again. She blinked them away, not wanting to make her mom worry any further.

"Oh, my girl. How lucky you are," she smiled a sad smile as her hands cupped Charlotte's face. She knew what her mom meant. She knew she was lucky Wovey wasn't a violent girl, she knew how lucky she was when Lucy Gray stepped in when she did whilst they were in the truck. For all she knew, the truck could've dumped the tributes and two dead bodies in the monkey cage that morning. But she didn't tell her mother that, or anything that happened in the truck.

Her mother seemed to not want to let her daughter go, and they stood in that position for awhile. A few minutes, perhaps. They only let go when she heard her father call her from his study. She sent her mom one last smile before disappearing into the hallway. She hesitated to open the door, but swallowed her anxiety as she turned the door handle, making sure to close the door behind her.

"This morning, Charlotte, I am not impressed," her father said sternly, turning around and passing her the news paper. It was the front page, a picture of Charlotte and Coriolanus in the cage, with a big headline in bold.

"Dad, I'm sorry, alright? But she's just a child, I just wanted to make sure she knew someone cared for her out here," she reasoned. Her fathers lips still remained in a tight straight line, but his eyes seemed to show some remorse.

"Charlotte. I wasn't going to tell you until you graduated, but it seems that you should know, as soon as possible. You, my daughter, are the heir to this company. The whole company. Not only the offices in the Capitol, which was the original plan, but to offices ranging from District 1 to 12. It's a new move, and you will need to learn this fast and efficiently. You will be coronated the official head on you twentieth birthday."

"What? Dad — what?" her face broke into a huge smile, unable to contain her excitement. This is what she had waited for her whole life, what she had worked so incredibly hard for. Although his face remained most emotionless, she noticed a slight sparkle in his eye, which told her more than she needed to know.

"Thank you, dad. Really, I won't let you down," she reassured, her face still in a wide grin.

"I know you won't. But you need to be more careful. I can't have you take over if you're dead, can I?" he half-heartedly joked, but she knew he was serious about it.

"Yes, dad. I will. I'm sorry, today was reckless," she apologized again, making her way towards the door to exit, when her dad spoke again.

"Although, I will not say I am not proud," he said, but his body was facing away from hers. If possible, her smile seemed to get wider.

But her smile faltered as she read through the newspaper, recent events coming back into her mind. Her mind drifted back to her afternoon at the zoo, and the horrors it brought. She knew District people could be brutal, but she never knew how brutal. Hunger was a weapon, and Arachne knew it, unbeknownst of the consequences it brought her.

She sat at her desk, looking through her book bag to try and distract herself with homework and class assignments, when she remembered the task Dr. Gaul had specifically requested both her and Coriolanus to complete by the next morning. She didn't know the Snow's house phone number, or if they even had one, so she packed her bags and dressed in presentable clothes before taking the Vanderbilt's house phone to call the Dovecote's. She ringed them once, twice and eventually a third time before someone picked up.