the way bones rot // opal/ky 85th

Opal Earnest was nervous.

After a decade of evading the spotlight and locking herself away in district one, she was suddenly thrown into the light again. She hated it, she absolutely hated it, but she had felt a need to accept Sardonyx’s invitation to appear on her show. There had been a bit of tension, a spike in the air and a flair of anger and concern as Ky had been dragged into the mess as well.

The past ten years had been to prevent these kinds of things, to give him the chance to live a normal, happy, and healthy life that wasn’t destroyed by the toxicity of the Capitol. It almost felt like the battle had been in vain, a dangerous waltz in and out of the light, hoping that her name would be buried and forgotten. One year, one simple appearance back in the Capitol had shattered ten years of hard work. It was all gone now, the layers of protection she had wrapped him up in.

She hated it, she hated the way the world felt like it was collapsing on top of her. Opal wasn’t strong enough to carry this on her back, not when the news headlines were vicious blades that stabbed at her, cutting into her flesh until the blood loss had her collapsing. She had seen the headlines after Ky had been spotted in the Capitol streets, the way they had proclaimed she had kept him locked away. The ludicrous claims had been a slap to her face and had brought tears to her eyes. Thankfully Ky hadn’t been there when she’d sobbed into her arm, tearing each headline up as they tore into her resolve.

Ky had been the one to convince her that their appearance wouldn’t be that bad. He had promised that Sardonyx wouldn’t do anything to hurt him, after all, she was like a mother to Opal and a grandma to Ky. His argument had helped ease the coiling anxiety in her stomach, but it had not been enough to remove it. The dress she was loose-fitting, picking out by Sampson with her guidance. This was not the kind of stage she wanted to wear something tight, she wanted something gentle and loose, that made her feel comfortable.

Ky, on the other hand, was dressed in a wonderful suit that fit him perfectly. He wasn’t the broadest man, but beneath the looser clothes he normally wore was the muscle he had gained from the years of training with Opal. He was by no means weak, he was a trained career and a capable fighter. “You look wonderful,” Opal said, giving him a tight smile as they waited for their time to step onto the stage.

She wore minimal makeup, and her hair was down, she had tucked some behind her ear, as the rest of it had fallen around her shoulders. Her hands were clenched tightly by her side, as she turned her gaze over to ky for a brief moment, hoping that he might settle her nerves. It didn’t work, instead, she found herself fighting the urge to be sick, willing herself to remain where she was instead of backing out of the entire event.

“I’m ashamed to say that I’m pretty scared right now, Ky,” she mumbled, trying her best to not meet her sons gaze.

The music and lights started up, and Opal found herself reaching beside her, grabbing for Ky’s hand to stop her own from shaking. She had never been a person that had been scared of standing before a crowd, but ever since Potato’s death and her subsequent fall into darkness she had lost a lot of those stronger parts of herself. They felt untouchable now, parts of her personality that she would never reach again. It was the passageway of time, though, a change of who you were and Opal had changed in other parts, but she often wondered if it had all been for the better.

“Are you ready?” She let go of Ky’s hand, and tugged gently at the sleeve of her dress, moving it to cover the scars by her wrists. Her prosthetic leg was very much visible, the dress barely making it to her knees, and more often then not she preferred to have it covered when in the eyes of the public.

“Give it up for… Opal and Ky Earnest!”

Fake it till you make it, right? She swallowed, trying to ease the stiffness from her limbs, and forcing herself to let go of Ky’s hand. Moments later, Sardonyx’s voice was booming over the applause of the crowd, and a stage director beside them was waving them onwards.

Forcing herself to smile she took one step, then another, and then suddenly she was no longer behind the safety of the curtains, but out in front of the entire crowd. There was no going back now.

Waving to the crowd, she gave them her biggest smile, turning to look at Ky as he followed her onto the stage. She walked over to Sardonyx, giving the woman a big hug, hoping that she wouldn’t notice the tremble in her arms as she drew away.

“Thank you so much for having us here, Sardonyx,” she beamed, moving aside so Ky could greet their host for the evening.

“And thank you all for being here tonight!”

Opal turned to face the crowd, opening her arms to greet the room around her.

Isn't it just beautiful? The way gold sparkles under white lights -- that and the way she lights up the stage. 

Sardonyx has never been the best mother, always too preoccupied and too focused on the legacy of it all. It's been four family homes, back and forth since Sampson was a child, and the only one she had really felt comfortable in was the one on this stage. How it breathed not around her, but with her, how the sleek train of her dress practically melts into the granite flooring. The gold of the walls melt with the brown of her skin, monumental thing she is. 

And a bit of her melts as well, as Opal and Ky hug onto her, the warmth of their arms around her neck in a hand stitched scarf. She had only wished Sampson could come out as well -- perhaps she would have to take Opal up on her offer to visit. District One would never be home to her, but neither would this stage be for the three of them. It came in the way Ky protected her, the "go easy on her, gran," in Sardonyx's ear like a secret. 

They waved to the crowd, a feign thank you and Sardonyx sees it in their eyes- how fragile Opal is.

Still, after all these years, and she can't swallow the melancholy that sits in her soul. Opal Earnest had spent a decade away from Sardonyx for a reason, and if she could explain why she invited them tonight, she would. It would be the Fenwick letter as an excuse, it would be Snow's open casket like a roast platter; she knew the script tonight. They both knew how old Ky was, and how tender Opal was, and she only hoped they knew how out of control she was in her own element. 

"Aren't they just precious!" She commands, heavy in her heart and trying to recover. There weren't many victors she felt remorse for, but Opal was different- that was her victor. Her family, her rules, she had worked and built this stage up as if it were built out of her bones and skin, and fuck it. Six interviews in a row and she had bought into each script, lapped up and cashed in each of their trauma's. 

What were they going to do, fire her from both jobs? "Now, I believe brunch is in session," she grins as she claps her hands, trying to get a grip of her own emotions this interview. 

A stage hand comes across, bearing a fur coat from the Le Roux collection, blonde hair to match Ridley's cousin and you could almost see Emmett in his face. He brought a platter of macaroons and she couldn't help but second guess if this was Fenwick's way of bringing up Olivia Montferrat. As if he knew a secret, she eyed them as the platter set was placed between Sardonyx and the Earnests. "And what about their's?" 

She speaks as a trigger, and a plethora of Emmett dooplegangers make their way into the different layers of the auditorium, "that's right! Everybody's dining like Royalty tonight, with our newest hot Recipe Resurgence, the Machaon Macaroon's!" Stupid, stupid, stupid, but they already sold out the product airtime, Sardonyx picks one up and pretends to take a bite. 

"Mmm, j'adore Amador! Tastes like persimmons," she sold it however seriously she could.  

Hopefully, Opal didn't try to kill her after this. She crosses her legs as she takes her place in the stage seat, orange macaroon still in hand. She pats her stomach as if she ate any, and the audience coo's in the way they mimic everything she does. Sardonyx had never heard of brunch without wine until Nico Thorne came along, and she'd been nothing but irritated since trying to sober up. It's a forever headache, in the way the microphone feed bites into her ear. 

She holds the macaroon as she talks, looking to Opal and Ky, "as you both know I am over the moon to have you two on the set," she sold it almost too well, and tried not to think about how monetized Opal must be feeling. "It's been ages since we last sat down! Ky, we've heard all about how you and Sampson reconnected in the district- I'm not jealous! Not at all," looking away from them, hand up at her almost grandson. 

True in it's own right, at least, "but really, it has been so lovely to see so many victors make their way back home in the Captiol, especially my Opal," she was going to kill Sardonyx after this. It was a guilty feeling in her gut and a bit of her smile she just couldn't convince herself was real. She turned to the audience, hand to the side of her mouth, "and even Jacinta." 

Give and take, you hide the lies under the truth and even when the cameras weren't rolling, she hated Jacinta goddamn Salazar. The audience laughs along with it, recalling the nightmare of monotone interviews -- Ex Oh had made a damn edit of it, taking out all the background noise and just leaving Sardonyx awkwardly talking too loud. 

"We have a lot to catch up on, the three of us, but my first question..." Is... she holds her breath like it's a loaded gun, "how good do you think I look! Really, truthfully - they always say family is the most Earnest! Honest?" Sardonyx keeps her ears open to their responses, rebutting as they go for a second.  

The audience cheers as she feeds the hype into them, blushing as the Earnests talk and whether it's faked for the cameras or not, she'll always take a compliment. Pridefully, she moves on, "but really, how has it been coming back to the capitol? Especially after all these years for you, Opal." She motions to her victor, the feed biting into her ear- something something Le Roux,

"alongside Ridley, I may add! Congratulations on that success, darling."