No Good Way Out *** [Beautibbs]
@exsgttibbs
It was early morning. The sun just cracking over the skyline like the yoke of an egg. Everything was still, quiet.
Belle was scurrying through the backstreets of District Six like a field mouse.
She should not be out at this time of day, but she had to gather her things or risk being late to class. Belle couldn’t keep anything at Hades’ house in the Victor Village. Not a hair pin, not a footprint. Even if he was her husband, if she was caught by anyone spending the night with him, her every move would be carefully scrutinized.
Being the wife of a Victor was not a low-profile position to hold.
Not to mention, if the Capitol got wind of their relationship, they could use her against Hades--make him do terrible things, like mentor children on how best to die, like sell himself. She didn’t want that. She’d die before she let herself be used as leverage. Or--her child. That wasn’t a life for a child to live.
So, she snuck, because even though she loved someone, this wasn’t a world where loving someone was easy.
This was a path she had walked many times before over the last two years. At all times of day--early morning, late in the night, whenever made the most sense, whenever she could sneak away. She missed the winters, when snow kept them inside the house for days and no one was looking for her, or missing her back in her small one room hovel.
“Hey!” someone called and Belle stopped, because running was stupid, and Belle was not stupid. She was only just outside the gates of the Victor Village, there was only one place she could have been coming from. With Milori gone at the games, it was either Varian’s house or Hades’ house. Though the peacekeeper was probably too stupid to figure that out.
She turned on her heel, chin lifted defiantly, staring right into the black shield in front of the peacekeeper’s helmet. “Yes?” she said, as sweetly and as innocently as she could. This was a dance she had done many times.
“Where are you going so early in the day?”
“Home.”
“From where?”
“I was out for a walk, what does it matter?” That was said much more tersely.
“No one is out at this hour.”
Belle looked pointedly over her shoulder to the teams of men marching towards the mines and the forest. “No women, you mean.”
“Unauthorized citizens--” Belle rolled her eyes as the peacekeeper droned on. She was feeling sick and just wanted to be home, so that she didn’t chunder all over this nice peacekeeper’s shoes. “--cannot be out during--”
“--unauthorized hours,” Belle finished for him. “I’ve heard it all before.”
Hades had told her not to mouth off to anymore peacekeepers, but when had she ever listened to what someone told her to do?
“Then why were you out?”
“Because I wanted to be. It’s a nice morning.”
“I will need to check your bag, miss,” the peacekeeper said, stepping forwards.
Belle stepped backwards and clutched it closer to her.
“You will do no such thing,” she snapped. There were books in there. Illegal ones, as usual. Belle hadn’t gotten caught in a while, but with the games gearing up to start--the tributes already training in the Capitol-- she knew punishments would be swift and brutal.