what the flowers have sung ✿ VT [paige&teddy]
Sept 10, 2017 14:30:41 GMT -5
Post by gamemaker 🍒 maryn hale on Sept 10, 2017 14:30:41 GMT -5
There's a crown of roses on her lap.
Red petals fading to brown, thin stems linked together and stripped of their thorns, and this is a certain kind of poetry that she cannot name. The death in her hands is not her own to claim; it never has been. Not when they took Saffron away and only brought her shell home, and not when her cousins were shipped back to Ten from the arena without any air in their lungs. With their eyes closed and hands folded over their chests and a fake flush on their cheeks. Emberly's never got that red, and Myara's were never that pink. She hates how familiar birch-wood caskets have become.
Paige knows that she didn't get the chance to love Emberly as much as her kin had(do?)— too busy dealing with her own selfish agenda — but she does care, truly. She's just good at holding back her tears. When she opened up her heart to her cousin the day she left for the Capitol, she had meant every word that she said. Emberly was, and always will be, family to Paige. And someday she'll learn to deal with the years she had spent pushing her newfound relatives away when she should have been holding them closer. Saffron, too. Everyone that she always kept at an arm's length. What counts is that she's bettering herself. Finally sober and less nights spent crying herself too sleep. Shaky steps, but the finish line is in sight.
This moment isn't about her, though. She reminds herself of that. She's alive, and she's never killed in the true sense of the word. The forthcoming feast is one that has been prepared for murderers and ghosts only. She will attend, but she knows that she doesn't belong. What's a mourner to do? She waits. Hair in a messy knot atop her head, wearing a suit for the formal occasion — she doesn't want to draw any attention to herself tonight. Where flames normally dance across her scalp, she does her best to keep them contained. She's not the sister of a victor in this moment. Neither is she the girlfriend of a boy born from a golden lineage. She's just the cousin of a girl who was taken far too soon. That's all.
The stars haven't yet arrived, but the sky starts to shift from blue to violet as she watches from her perch on the wooden fence. Her legs dangle off the edge without a care, but she keeps her torso tightened to maintain her balance. When she looks over her shoulder to the ranch house belonging to her aunt and uncle off in the distance, she can already see the early glow of candles that have been brought out. There's a faint scent of food drifting on the wind, but she can't place it by name. Surely they spared no expense for their guest, but who much cares about eating during a time like this? Her stomach growls at the irony of the thought, and she's laughing to herself when his figure appears on the horizon.
She waits for him, sitting in silence as he makes his way up the walkway to his destination. No escorts accompany him, trusting his life in the hands of the family that he stole from, and Paige respects him for it. If she had been younger, she would have spat on him. Would have leapt from her elevated position and punched him square in the jaw. But that cycle of her rage has steadily come to its end, replaced by a fatigue she's only just waking from, and she does her best to smile for the young man when he gets close enough to look her in the face. He's handsome, with curls and dimples and good intentions, and she can't hate him. The Paige of her childhood would have placed the blame on his shoulders, but it's not his fault. None of this is. Better Emberly's killer win than someone else. At least she died for something.
"Teddy, right?" Paige starts, dropping down to the ground from the fence. The soft thud of her boots landing against the dirt accompanies her. She adjusts herself from the impact, tucking a stray strand of red hair behind her ear and holding the flower crown protectively at her hip. "They say you prefer that to Theodore." She bites her lip awkwardly, looking away just long enough to shake her head. She turns back with a grin that is caught in the place between being genuine and forced. She's not sure how she feels, but it is kind. There's a type of warmth around him. She does not feel troubled. No fear; no sadness. "My name is Paige. I'm Emberly's cousin." Should she switch to past tense? Too late now. She has to keep going. "I wanted to meet you personally." A sorrowful breath gets caught in her throat, but she sucks back it in with a soft gasp."Congratulations, Teddy.
I'm very proud of you.
No matter the circumstances."
