The Crash of the Tide // [Rhodes]
May 11, 2016 11:23:10 GMT -5
Post by admin kay on May 11, 2016 11:23:10 GMT -5
NAVYA SACHDEVA
Navya stepped off the train onto the sand of District Four, and held her breath. Though Harbinger avoided the televisions in their compartment, Navya couldn’t but stand, enraptured. There, already, Kirito walked through the ruins of the district. There, already Kirito reached out to the soaked citizens and offered them warmth and comfort. Is that really you? she mouthed. She had good reason to wonder; the last conversation she’d had with the victor was more Kiri than Kirito. She could still hear the dead dialtone ringing in her ears.
Even so, she scanned the horizon for Kirito, refusing to be caught in awe of the terrible ocean. A Peacekeeper greeted Harbinger by name and then demanded her papers.
She had been dreading this moment.
He leafed through a copy of her birth certificate, a declaration of every Reaping she’d entered, a notice of her status in good standing at the local school. He turned the pages over once and then lifted his shiny mask to her. “And your reason for being here?”
“To help the survivors, of course,” she said, and it was the wrong answer. She knew instinctively that he was about to lay a hand on her; Harbinger would never allow that. Navya swallowed the lump in her throat and produced the last paper.
It was both her salvation, and in that moment, her undoing.
The Peacekeeper threw the other papers at her and turned to the crowd of white uniforms. The Keepers detained them until a camera crew showed up. Before she really understood what was happening – even though Harbinger had warned her – a woman with silver facial tattoos had one hand in Navya’s hair and another pressing powder to her chin. The stylist arranged Navya at Harbinger’s side.
“No rings?”
Navya flattened her gaze. “We’d wanted to keep it a secret.”
The woman laughed as the flashing cameras clicked away.
“How long have you been married? A secret wedding – can you imagine anything more romantic? What did you wear? Do you have just one little photo for us? We want to hear all about it! And you must tell us about your plans here for your honeymoon.”
“Honeymoon?!” Navya echoed, absolutely horrified. Of course, the papers didn’t print the tone of her voice, the lift of a question. They only printed that Navya Sachdeva Rhodes confirmed her marriage to Victor Harbinger Rhodes with a wedding certificate, and that they would be staying seaside while in Four to enjoy their time as newlyweds.
It was only after, ensconced in the seaside cabin (which was really more sand-and-driftwood-side now), wrapped around Harbinger that she realized she hadn’t even seen Kirito, and Katelyn had gotten lost in the chaos of the moment. “We can’t stay here,” she declared, even as she nestled into his shoulder. “We need to find Kirito and Katelyn. And then we need to find a telephone and call our families. You were right. We should have told them before we left.”
The persistent sickness in her stomach turned to tears. “What will they think of us?” She sobbed quietly. Perhaps the Rhodes, Miristiomas and Persimmons would understand, but the Sachdevas never would. They would be horrified to discover the wedding had occurred with only the officiant and the two witnesses, and that Navya hadn’t even worn red or had her hands painted. They would never understand that there was no good way to bind themselves to each other; either they did so in secret, for themselves, or they did so publicly, with everyone they loved, and everyone they hated, too. Today’s cameras had only been one small moment in comparison to the circus the Capitol would have paraded them through.
It still felt right to her, to them, to have been married in a small and unmarked way. But now, she felt the full weight of that decision.
They lingered in the cabin until evening. When they emerged, Navya had changed to a simple brown shift, reminiscent of Eleven. She’d dug out her golden flower engagement ring and simple gold band. They shined as few things in Four did. She laced her fingers through Harbinger and reminded him of their mission: “Kirito. Katelyn. Phone."
