Deleted Scenes: Ring Shopping

She scrolled through the pages online. There were already so many options: she really wanted to go into the ring shop with an idea of what she wanted to get, but there were just so many options… It was terrifying and intimidating, and soon all of the different shapes and gems and cuts and colors started to meld together as she scrolled, causing Helen to give a long blink and look away from the screen for a moment. 

 

There was so much pressure to get it right… She wanted every part of this to be perfect. She had been working away at Ani for weeks about how he felt about marriage, but she wanted this to be a complete surprise. They had only been together for a little over two years, but what two years it had been. She was always wary of big names and faces, especially in the Capitol. She never knew who she could trust, and who would try to sell her out to the press. Helen was a trusting person, but going through the Games will take that right out of you. She had to learn to be that person again, and it certainly took a while. 

 

She wasn’t sure to think of him when she first met him; she’d heard his name before, seen him modelling on magazines and such, but she was wary around him. She didn’t want to be hurt anymore after suffering through so much pain in the arena. Thinking back on that now, it seemed a little silly to be so closed-off. But she couldn’t have known for sure.

It didn’t take her long at all to see who he really was; he was kind to her, no matter how she viewed him. He really did want to do his best for his district. She soon learned even more about him; how passionate he was for justice, willing to do whatever he could for the rebels that were trying to protect kids from a fate like hers. She learned that he was a prankster, never mean, though (unless it was deserved). They were such quick friends, and Helen found herself falling fast. It was scary, but it was exciting. She forgot what it was like to feel like that. She couldn’t let Ani leave the Capitol after the Quell without telling him how she felt. It was such a magical moment, a rainbow moment in a gray sea of misery. That was true of so many of their moments.

 

Creating something beautiful out of such deep pain and sorrow. Supporting each other through the worst of times, and the best of times. Their relationship ignited in an explosion of flames, they both fell fast and hard. Maybe it was soon, or impulsive, but Helen knew that after their friend was killed at the party, she didn’t want to wait anymore. Maybe it was dangerous to make their relationship public, but she didn’t care. She wanted to be committed to him. She wanted to marry him. She couldn’t wait any longer. She wanted to be his fiance. 

 

She was ready to commit to him. She had to know if he was ready for the same. 

 

But that meant first she would have to find the perfect ring. And that was proving to be an impossible task. How was she ever going to find the perfect thing to express the deep love in her heart and the commitment of a lifetime?! God.

 

Suddenly, a small ping of the clock striking noon made Helen look up from what she was doing. Oh! She was so involved in looking at the pictures online, she had almost forgotten that it was her time to have lunch for Ceru! She hurried to fix her hair and put on a nice top (not that he would mind, of course) before heading out the door.

 

Luckily for Helen, it wasn’t a long walk at all to Ceru’s house. She rang the doorbell, watching the lights flash through the window to notify him that someone was there. It didn’t take long at all for the newest Victor to open the door, immediately breaking into a smile when he saw her.

Hi, he signed, and she greeted him as well.

How you? Ceru hit her with, and Helen thought for a moment before answering.

Good. Little nervous, little.

Why? Ceru asked, looking concerned.

Not bad… Happy nervous.

He smiled, back to his chipper self again. Happy nervous why?

Helen stepped in, and the conversation was put on hold for a moment as she knew he couldn’t see her hands. In the doorway, she signed.

I have- she paused, forgetting the sign for a moment. exam for you.

Exam? Ceru looked confused.

“Oh!” Helen said out loud, before correcting herself. Question. Sorry, I have question.

OK! Signed Ceru cheerfully, ushering her into his kitchen, where the food was already set up for them. Helen sat at her normal spot. She was a bit relieved that there were only two place settings today; not that she didn’t love when Clair joined them, but this question was for Ceru, and only Ceru.

Helen sat down and signed Thank you to Ceru for the food.

Your question? He asked, leaning in closer to her.

Yes! Helen tried to figure out where to start. I want- she realized she had no idea how to sign what she was saying. She waved her hands and shook her head to indicate that she was going to start over. I have sweetheart. Helen smiled as she put her fists together close to her heart and wiggled her thumbs.

Ceru made a noise he probably didn’t know he was making with surprise and excitement.

You have sweetheart? He signed quickly, and Helen laughed and nodded. Who?

Helen smiled and fingerspelled his name: A N A K Y N

Ceru made another small squeak of excitement. You and A N A K Y N date!? How long?

Helen smiled and practiced combining the number with the sign, 2 years.

Ceru’s jaw dropped. 2 years you!?

Helen laughed and signed, yes. Ceru was now giggling too as Helen signed. Secret now. But, I want tell people when we engaged.

Ceru stared at her, making the sign for the letter E and tapping her finger.

A N A K Y N propose marriage? He asked, both of them now having their forks on the napkin, too excited to touch their food.

No, signed Helen, laughing a little bit. Not now. I want propose marriage.

Ceru’s eyes widened and he was grinning ear to ear. You propose marriage when?

Helen considered. She actually wasn’t sure when yet, she didn’t even have a ring for him!! She would definitely need that first, then she would need to find the perfect romantic time and place to make a proposal from a fairytale!! Oh… There was so much thought to put into this. 

First I need... R I N G, she signed. Ceru nodded understandingly as she continued. I want you help me find R I N G.

Me? Ceru grinned over at her, pointing to himself.

Yes, I want your help. You help me? She practiced the directional sign that came in towards herself as she was receiving help.

Yes! signed Ceru enthusiastically, grinning and quickly nodding his head as well as a squeal coming from his throat.

Thank you! Helen picked up her fork again to eat the lunch that Ceru made for them. It was simple, but tasted good. With her fork, Helen signed, how you?

Now, I Excited! Ceru signed back, almost getting sauce on his shirt from the sign. We go when?

Tomorrow? If you busy-

Ceru signed, Tomorrow good, I not busy.

Helen grinned. Tomorrow good!

Ceru grinned back, and the two friends ate their lunch, plenty of questions about Anakyn and Helen’s relationship forming in his mind which he would simply have to ask later when they weren’t holding silverware. 

…

Helen was both excited and nervous on the train ride to the Capitol the next day. She was so excited to propose to her boyfriend, but very nervous about picking the perfect ring for her perfect man. She was glad that she had Ceru with her; he would surely help her find something that Ani would love.

Ceru was absolutely bubbly as could be. He signed too fast for Helen sometimes, and she had to ask him to repeat himself or to slow down. A spread had been made specially for the two of them, and Helen didn’t want to upset her stomach too much. But she couldn’t resist the cupcake with tie-dyed vanilla icing and a sugar daisy on top that was practically staring up at her.

You know A N I not here? Ceru signed, just to be sure. It wasn’t like he was going to realize Anakyn was there seeing them on their secret mission.

Yes, he not here. He study in D3.

Ceru grinned at her and signed, OK! with a thumbs up.

The train stopped, and the two friends got out together, both of them giggling with excited anticipation. Helen was sure to look up exactly where the ring shop was that she wanted to go, and the two of them walked together down Main Street.

Usually, she wouldn’t have cared to hide her identity, but she definitely could not have the tabloids reporting about Helen Bethel and Cerulean Elpharae going into a ring store together. She didn’t need any more assumptions about her relationship status flooding the media, and she certainly didn’t want to get him in trouble with Clair either.

The man who ran the store already knew she was coming, and set up a small backroom for her to look at different rings without being caught by the press. 

“Good morning, Miss Bethel,” the man greeted her, and she graciously shook his hand. 

“Thank you so much for having us.” She wanted to sign at the same time so that Ceru could know what was being said, but she didn’t feel confident enough in her ASL to do both at once, so she just signed thank you. 

“Mr. Elpharae, what a pleasant surprise!” he was level-headed, not as starstruck as Helen was expecting as he shook the young Victor’s hand. “Please, have a seat.” He gestured to the chairs in front of a table, and came around the other side. 

“Nice to meet you,” Ceru mumbled and signed. 

The jeweller pulled out a display case with a few rings inside. 

“These are just your simple, typical bands,” he said. “Also a demonstration of the metal options you have for your band. From left to right, you have platinum, a white metal that is durable and doesn’t wear or change color. Next to it is palladium, a kind of platinum that is slightly less expensive. White gold is a combination of metals, and coated with rhodium, which does fade away; however, it is easy to get replated. Here’s the yellow gold; depending on what carat you get, the color may vary. Next to it, rose gold, which may also differ depending on the carat. Here is silver, which is less expensive but it is malleable and tarnishes easier than the other metals so far. Here is titanium, it is durable and a little darker while still being light to wear. Next to it is zirconium that has been heat-treated to give it that black color, which is also scratch resistant. Tungsten is also strong and scratch resistant, but may fracture if dropped or hit off a hard surface.” 

Helen nodded, feeling absolutely overwhelmed with all the options as the two of them looked into the case.

Which one you think? She signed, looking at the option. Obviously, Ani deserved better than just a simple band, but she was looking at the different colors and qualities of each of the metals.

Ceru thought for a moment. Not that. He pointed to the rose gold band. Helen knew it was pretty, but it didn’t feel very Ani to her. She looked at the silver rings, for which there were a few different options. 

I like this one, she pointed to platinum more than these. Thus the palladium and white gold were out, and Helen was given the platinum ring to look at. 

I like gold, Ceru signed, pointing to the gold ring. Helen nodded and requested that one to look at as well. He said silver what? 

Helen thought, not knowing how to sign so she spelled, F R A G I L E.

Ceru nodded. I don’t like. 

Same, signed Helen, eliminating that option. 

Ceru pointed to the black zirconium. He say what? 

Strong, signed Helen. “Scratch resistant,” she said out loud, and Ceru read her lips and nodded. 

I like that, he said, pointing to the dark ring, and Helen agreed. 

“I think we will stay with these three,” she said, looking at each one. She could easily see any of them on Ani’s finger. However, with his work as a mechanic, she was especially liking the durable quality of the zirconium. 

“Here are some ring styles and cuts,” said the jeweler, pulling out a few options. “Once I know your preferences, I can bring out more specific designs that will be to your liking.” 

Helen nodded, and the man went out to work with more customers as Helen looked at the designs. 

She definitely wanted diamonds on the ring, but she also liked some of the colorful gems in the example models. However, she didn’t like the ring designs that were too bulky, as they would definitely get in his way while he was working and modelling. She wanted something that was of course expensive and precious, but not too showy. Something to go with his punky fashion sense, but not something cheap or too typical.

There were some that she hated right away; they were either too run-of-the-mill, or too tacky, or quite frankly, just plain ugly. She would never forget the sign for ugly, as she and Ceru were doing it so much, tittering to themselves over each of the ugly options that were quickly rejected. 

Luckily, Helen was able to find a couple that she liked, and when she showed them to the man behind the counter, he brought out some more specific versions of the make Helen and Ceru chose. 

He was very opinionated, thinking critically through Ani’s eyes, which Helen appreciated as she was soon getting both overwhelmed and excited with all the options. 

She was liking the princess cut gems: they were not too big, but not too small either. Soon, she and Ceru came to the consensus of what they liked, and the options were narrowed down even more. 

Eventually, she decided on the basic set-up of the ring: with the stone embedded into the band so that nothing stuck out too much. As she was looking at the ring, a vision started to come to her, but she wasn’t sure if it was able to come to fruition, as greatly as she could hope. She saw the array of different gems for her to choose to put in the middle of the ring.

“Is it possible for me to have a colored gem in the middle and small diamonds on the sides of the gem?” Helen asked the man when he came back to check on her progress. 

“I can set that for you,” he said. 

Helen beamed. “Oh, that would be great!” She would love to put some color into Ani’s ring. Her mind was going. 

What color G E M you want? Ceru asked. 

Helen considered. Red? Blue? She liked the ruby and the sapphire; ruby fit a little better with Ani’s fiery side, but she knew how he liked his blue: the color of the tattoos that were once frequently on his face. 

I like blue, Ceru signed, giving Helen a grin. It was true, the sapphire would have beautifully brought out Ceru’s bright blue eyes. And Helen couldn’t lie, she loved her man in blue, especially with his dark blue eyes. It was lighter, gentler than the ruby, and for an engagement ring, that was what Helen wanted. 

Same, Helen signed to Ceru, grinning at him. 

“So you want this make, the sapphire inside, and the diamonds on the side.” 

“Yes, please,” said Helen, her eyes wide and her smile wide. “Also… Well, I don’t know if this is even possible, but… Is there a way you could set some gears into the gem?” She knew how he liked the look of gears. 

“Sapphire can be melted,” he said, “we can do that, but they might be small and only able to be seen up close.” 

Helen grinned. “That’s how I would prefer.” She drew up the idea she had, Ceru watching curiously over her shoulder as she drew the pattern of gears with small wings behind them. Ani liked the look of wings, and Helen noticed how sometimes his outfits had the motif of wings somewhere on their person. Often they were black and white, like a mockingjay, so Helen put in that detail.

“A custom ring like this may take a while,” the man warned. 

Just thinking about the perfect ring made Helen full of excitement, which was mirrored onto Ceru’s face.

“That’s alright,” she said, “I want it to be perfect, and I’m willing to wait.” 

Helen beamed as she talked through a price with the man; no cost was too much for this in her opinion. 

As she and Ceru walked out of the shop, Helen couldn’t help but beam ear-to-ear. 

Ani is never going to see this coming!