The Crowning of Enjolras

[etcircenses]

WHO| All Tributes and Victor, plus a few Capitol guests
WHAT| The Crowning of Enjolras
WHERE| The Tribute Center
WHEN| A few weeks after the end of the Arena
WARNINGS| Forced medical experimentation, needles.

The atmosphere surrounding the Crowning is both tense and secretive. The style teams flutter around listlessly, having received no information from which to draft their designs. Newspapers take bets on when it will be announced where the Crowning is being held, descending into grousing when no press release is given. Peacekeepers pour in and out of the Tribute Center, accompanied by scientists who occasionally pull Tributes aside and look at the veins in their elbows. Even the Avoxes seem jumpier than usual.

Aside from the Tribute Center's new giant marble statute of a nude Enjolras, posed like the famed David, one could almost forget the party is supposed to be celebratory.

When the day arrives, the Escorts and their assistants don't lead the Tributes to their style teams to be gussied instead. Instead, they hush the Tributes and bring them to their bedrooms, where a Peacekeeper, a white-coated citizen and several Avoxes await them. The Escorts instruct the Tributes to lay down in their bed and close their eyes, and a needle is inserted into their arms that the Escorts insist will 'take them to the party'. It's soon followed by a series of sensors taped to the forehead.

Just relax, the Escorts say, and they do their very best to make sure their Tributes feel minimal anxiety. If the Tributes resist too much, more Peacekeepers are called in, and the Tributes are forced into submission.

The first effect is a sort of paralysis - not the terrifying inability to move, but a signal to the brain that says why move? Moving is so much effort. It's quickly followed by drowsiness, and then a chill that radiates from the needle into the body, and finally, unconsciousness.

And that is when the party begins. The Tributes, now dressed in luxurious 1830's French clothing of a quality beyond even what their Stylists could manage, wake up in the front row of a large stone theater setting reminiscent of, simultaneously, Greek and French architecture. The floor of the theater is filled with buffets of every imaginable sort of food. Rose petals fall from the sky, which displays a sunset worthy of award-winning photography.

For his part, Enjolras sits in a throne made of books on the ring of the amphitheater, flanked by Marius, Cosette, Eponine, and bizarrely enough Venus Dee Milo and Ellie, seated on lush pillows and carpets made of dinosaur skin (with the heads comically attached and eyes lolling).

"Welcome, welcome, our Tributes and Mentors, to the first ever somnofestival, sponsored by Hypnogogia!" Caesar Flickerman, noted talkshow host and Games presenter, appears in a fabulous sequined toga in the center of the amphitheater. He doesn't need a microphone; the acoustics here are flawless. "And congratulations to our Victor! Let us hear it for Enjolras!"

He awaits applause.

"As you may have noticed, you're inside a shared dream, due to the just fantastic technology from the Capitol and certain, ah, biological contributions from our dear favorite Aunamee." He holds a hand out and gestures to Aunamee, anticipating wild applause. "We thought that for our most philosophical Victor yet, we should celebrate in a way that's a little bit…cerebral."

Caesar laughs and gestures at all the food, then puts a cheeky finger to his lips. "By all means, enjoy yourselves. Even the most indulgent desserts here won't show up on your hips tomorrow. The party only last three hours, so you might as well get started!"

He vanishes into thin air, leaving the Tributes to celebrate. Occasionally, the Tributes will hear voices in their heads - chatter from the Peacekeeper and scientist and Escort still in their room, in the waking world. Otherwise, this is a party like any other, if somewhat surreal in nature.

-/-

The party begins the same way for all the Tributes. For an unlucky few, however, it soon diverges as they come under an unfortunate glitch in the system.

They'll look around and find only a handful of their fellow Tributes around them. The sky, rather than being a magnificent splay of color, is now blank white, and yet the lighting in the theater seems dim. A sense of panic, detached from any conscious thoughts, surges forth in them like the tide.

For them, this isn't a shared dream. This is a shared nightmare.

Comments

[shinyisfalse]

It took him a moment to understand, and he felt like he'd been punched in the gut with understanding. Here he had thought that they wanted to get married-- no, that wasn't right. They did want to get married. They loved each other, and nothing would stop that.

But they weren't getting to do it on their terms. Not at all. The Capitol had everything planned for them, whether they liked it or not.

"Oh." It was the only thing he could say at the moment, more a word that just came out without much thought. A smaller wedding, a wedding back home, a wedding that was what you wanted, not what others did.

He thought of Katniss' idea, and he felt sick. "I guess not. Tell me, what are weddings back home for you like? I know weddings in District Twelve are a lot different then the ones in the Capitol, what about yours?"

[saisamour]

There was an imperceptible inclination of Marius's head at Peeta's response, although he did not put any further thought or weight into it. He almost sighed in relief when Peeta decided not to pursue the subject of their very decidedly Capitol wedding; thankfully, he managed to control himself in time.

His lips twitched into a soft smile when he thought of home, imagining the possibilities of a wedding in Paris, a day he had dreamed of every single moment of his life ever since he fell in love with the girl by the bench. "We hold our weddings in our homes, with guests that are mostly family or close acquaintances, and there is a simple banquet before the couple is presented on their marriage bed, and then left to their own."

But even that was impossible, wasn't it? Not since his grandfather refused to give his blessings, not since he died in the barricades. His grin faltered, just a little, but he blinked those thoughts away and displayed to Peeta a look of curiosity. "I was unaware that the districts had their own wedding traditions."

[shinyisfalse]

It was a simple wedding that they had back home, for Marius, then. A lot simpler then the one they were going to have here. Some of it sounds like what they did here, in the districts. Not so much the banquet thing, because no one had enough food for a banquet. But being with close friends and family?

"That sounds really nice." Peeta smiled. "It has to be nice, to be able to have all your family and friends there." Maybe when everyone got sent back home, he would be able to do that for real.

Peeta looked at him in surprise. "Of course they do. I don't really know what it's like in others, but you're not going to have the same traditions if you live in a coal mining town and someone else lives in a fishing district." They really didn't have much water around District 12. "Ours is kind of simple. The bride and groom wear something nice, and we go to the Justice Hall to sign the piece of paper."

He smiled. "Then everyone goes to the house that the district gives the new couple, and they build a fire in their new fireplace. Then they toast a piece of bread, and it's... that's what really makes people feel married, is the toasting. Then there's music and dancing after, maybe a little bit of food if people can spare it. It's not big like it is here, but it's nice."

It's home.

[saisamour]

At the surprise displayed, Marius immediately turned red, embarrassed that his question might have sounded completely ignorant. He listened in silence, taking care to avoid making further remarks and instead imagining himself and Cosette in the same position: wearing simple attires, settling into a warm, fire-lit house, with Marius's friends and Cosette's father and the smell of toasted bread wafting through the room. He found himself desiring that sort of wedding. Perhaps even the weddings of the other districts.

Anything but the wedding the Capitol had planned.

He nodded once Peeta was through, and it served to pull him from his daydreams back into the present discussion. "The strongest impressions can stem from the simplest acts. Otherwise, in obsessing over the magic of the celebration, the magic of the unity is lost." Wondering if he had said too much, he hastily added, with the mildest touch of panic in his voice, "I-It does indeed seem a joyous and charming celebration, the weddings in your district."

He observed Peeta for a moment. "You must miss your home." A statement, because he surely missed Paris, even with its slums and muddy streets and run-down hotels.

[shinyisfalse]

It must be different, back home for them. Maybe certain groups of people had different customs in getting married? Drastically different, maybe, and that was based more on people's beliefs, versus where you lived. Here, no matter what, they lived in Panem. Certain customs changed, but Panem. Peeta wasn't going to comment on it, and he pretended like he hadn't even seen Marius blush.

"It is. It's simple, and makes everyone involved happy for the day. It brings the district close together, in a way, because everyone knows everyone. We know how to have fun, when we can. But it's that first step through the home you'll live in together, forever. It's yours, and she's his, and he's hers." He had this look on his face. This would be his perfect life. Together, in love. Living together, having a family.

Peeta wanted it all, but he wasn't sure if he'd even get a little of it. "Yes." He said, bluntly, honestly. "I miss it a lot. I'm grateful for everything the Capitol has done for us, of course, but I miss home very much.

[saisamour]

I am not, was what he almost said with regards to the Capitol. His mouth opened as if to spit out such thoughts, in fact, but only silence came out and he snapped it shut instead.

He wondered whether that was truly what Peeta thought. Surely, he could not deny that many in the districts are of the belief that the Capitol had displayed benevolence by abducting people from other worlds, and forcing them into the Games instead of their own children. But there also must be those who can see the injustice. There must. Was Peeta one of those, instead? And was he simply like Marius, afraid of what the Capitol could deal upon those he cared about?

The guilt that came about from quietly judging and measuring someone struck at him then; Peeta had been so kind and he did not want to cast doubt upon his agreeable opinions of the man. It may be more preferable if he wondered about other things instead.

"Are you espoused, monsieur?"

His eyes immediately widened in horror, and the redness returned to his face. "F-Forgive me for my forwardness, but I..." He averted his eyes and began to pick on the cuff of his suit. "I had assumed, though I was not certain..."

[shinyisfalse]

Peeta was terrified. That was the problem, the fact that the Capitol does have control. They could easily make the lives of his loved ones hell. Or they could kill them, and the killing part might be the better way to go.

That's what their victory tour had been about, him and Katniss. Trying to stop this rebellion that they didn't mean to cause: they just wanted to live. They forced the Capitol's hand, and they were paying for it now. Paying for it in every new person that the Capitol grabbed and forced to play in the new games.

But maybe they shouldn't have tried. And it was trying, because it obviously did not succeed. Peeta wanted to fight, he wanted to join the rebellion. He just wasn't sure how.

The question caught him off guard, and he can't say anything for a moment. "Um." Was all he could say for right then, just because he had to process it. Or not process it. Peeta swallowed tightly.

"No, no, I'm not... I'm not married. One day I would like to..." His back stiffens, and he looks around, his voice dropping low. "I want to ask her, if she would, but I don't... I want it to be for us." What Marius was going through, he didn't want. And Katniss had suggested it, to get attention off of their tributes for a little bit.

But he wanted it to be real. And he couldn't be a hundred percent sure that Katniss wanted it. He loved her, but he couldn't always trust her, and that ate at him daily.

[saisamour]

"O-Oh."

Marius had raised his eyes to Peeta when he spoke, but now he fidgeted again and instead gazed upon the white lilies suddenly sprouting out the ground around their feet, mildly puzzled at their sudden appearance but mostly distracted with his thoughts. Peeta could have declined to answer, after all, but he did so anyway despite his obvious discomfort and that worsened Marius's guilt and embarrassment.

And he understood what Peeta meant. His proposal to Cosette was unplanned, a sudden question raised in a brief surge of passion. The consequences had not occurred to him then, and now the bliss from her acceptance intermingled often with concern and worry for the public spectacle that they are to become. He would wish only the best for Peeta, and this was not it.

Briefly, he considered diverting the subject, but Peeta never seemed the type to think him foolish for believing in love. Love, and certain moments that have already been rooted in the constellations, such as two souls who have always been meant to find each other.

So he said, with a faint smile and a hopeful note, "Maybe you will yet find yourself toasting bread with her by the fireplace, one day."

[shinyisfalse]

It was like he'd been holding his breath, waiting for Marius' response. Once he had it, he blew out the held in air with a laugh, feeling much more at ease.

"Maybe. I really hope so. I really would gladly spend the rest of my days with her." He grinned, looking off to the side. "And children. Do you want children?" It was a question that plagued every district citizen, but maybe it was different elsewhere?

[saisamour]

And that was how it was supposed to be, that people be allowed to spend eternity with the one they love, Marius thought, as he nodded in acknowledgement. The brightness in his smile, however, dimmed a little at the mention of children.

"I do not think we..." He paused, his lips slowly pressing into a thin line, pondering on how to word it without offending those ever-watchful eyes of the Capitol. Then, "We are not prepared to have children." A beat. "I would want to, however. Someday." When we no longer have to live in fear.

[shinyisfalse]

Peeta nodded. "Someday always looks better. I feel like children would be really difficult to have right now? You have to be able to spend time with them, really spend time with them, and everything is just too busy, here."

That was something that made him pause, when it came to thinking about having children. Not that it was so busy here, but there was so much terror involved with having children in Panem. Being a victor did not mean your children were spared from the reapings. And even if the districts didn't have those going on... how to you change an ingrained mindset?

"Maybe when you guys are back home, you'll have the time and energy to devote to having kids." He understands, Marius. He really does, and he's good at saying he does without giving too much away.

[saisamour]

'Busy' was one way to put it, but Marius held his gaze on Peeta, his head canting slightly to one side, wondering yet again if there were things he did not say aloud, and wishing he was better at reading people.

And Marius was never particularly talented in that aspect. Still, he would like to believe that Peeta understood; after all, he still was a victor in a game where no one returned from the dead. Sometimes, Marius was still uncertain which hell was worse. Perhaps they were all the same.

He smiled faintly at the thought of Paris, its muddy streets and the rain and the beautiful, untamed gardens. "Perhaps. Yet I..." I am to die, if I return; we all are meant to die at the barricades, but he drifted off before he could speak it.

His smile faded, a thoughtful look crossing his face as he stared at a random spot to one side. He then said in almost in a whisper, as if almost to himself, "No, it is nothing."