First chapter! Yeah. That's about all I've got to say. Thanks for reading!

Travelers

(FINNICK)

"Twinkle, twinkle, little . . . something-or-other. I don't know the words to this song. But I'm singing it anyway. Something about the sky and lights. Please stop crying and fall asleep. Shut up, my dear Cillian. La, la, la, la . . . go to bed."

Thankfully, by the end of my poorly-improvised song, my son is asleep.

I look out the train's window and watch the thinning trees whoosh past. In a few minutes, we'll be able to see the mountains. An hour after that, we'll be in the Capitol.

Annie's still fast asleep, curled up in a nest of blankets. Dodge is probably sleeping, too.

I'll explain. For the 76th and final Hunger Games, all the victors have been called to the Capitol to attend. And by all victors, I mean all victors: Katniss, Peeta, Haymitch, Johanna, Beetee, Enobaria, Dodge, Annie, and me – and our son, Cillian.

Absolutely everyone agrees that it'd be better to leave Cilly back in District 4. But everyone also agrees that at five weeks old, he's much too young to leave his mother.

I set Cilly down in his makeshift cradle and sit on the bed beside Annie. "Come on, sweetie," I say, stroking her hair. "Time to wake up."

Annie pouts and rolls over onto her stomach, spinning the sheets even tighter around her. "No."

"Yes." I carefully tug her up into a sitting position, supporting her with my arms as she leans against my chest. I start pushing her disheveled curls away from her face as she rubs her eyes. "So, how did you sleep?" I ask.

"Good," she replies after yawning. "I think that's the longest I've slept in a month."

"Mmm," I say. "A full three hours."

She starts peeling the blankets away from her. "How's my baby?"

"He's asleep."

She looks up at me with those huge, green doe-eyes. "And how are you?"

"Nervous." I kiss the top of her head. "And very hungry."

We get up, get dressed, and have breakfast. Ninety minutes later, we arrive in the Capitol.

Annie carries Cillian and the baby bag, I carry her suitcase and mine, and Dodge carries his own. As soon as we step off the train, we're greeted by a woman in her thirties.

"Hello," she says in a thickly accented voice. "My name's Angharad Hoel. I work in the household in which you'll be staying."

The rest of us introduce ourselves.

Angharad has pin-straight, chocolate brown hair that ends just above her slim shoulders. She's about two inches taller than Annie, with a curve-less body. It's clear she's been surgically altered: her skin is an unnatural yellow-brown, and her irises are metallic bronze. She's not unattractive, but she's nothing extraordinary.

She insists on carrying the baby bag for Annie, and even offers to hold Cillian; Annie thanks her and lets her take the bag, but holds on to the baby.

Annie's a great mother. She never complains about sleep-depravation or how often Cilly cries. She absolutely adores him, and he adores her.

I put my arm around her as we walk. Angharad leads us through an upper-class residential neighborhood and talks about different spots we might like to visit. "There's a quiet shopping area about ten blocks east. There's a book shop, coffee shop, clothing store, and even a little skin- and nail-dying parlor."

Dodge and I exchange a look.

"So where exactly are we staying?" he asks, running a hand through his short brown hair. "Is it like an inn or something?"

"No," Angharad replies. "You'll be staying in President Snow's old mansion."

"Why?" I ask.

"I'm not sure, sir; I never thought to ask," she says. "But you'll all have your own private rooms – though no one will be staying in the president's, or his family members'. We've everything you'll need for the baby, too. A cradle, bassinettes, diapers, and even some clothing."

Once again, Dodge and I glance at each other. Family members? We knew Snow had a family – almost all of whom have been imprisoned – but I never pegged him as the kind of guy who'd live with them.

We finally come up on a big, off-white house. There's a high fence all around the front, with an ornate gate. Then there's a massive front lawn. The house itself is off-white, with massive windows. It has to be five floors at the very least.

And so we enter the grounds. And then the marble threshold of the house. I've been here a few times before, but only when it's all decorated for feasts.

"The other servants are Citlalli and Osiris," Angharad says, shutting the door behind us. "You can leave your bags here and we'll take them to your rooms. The others are in the library."

"Others?" Annie asks. "Other victors are here? Already?"

"Yes," she replies. "Beetee, Johanna, and Enobaria have already arrived."

And so we go in.

It's a big, high-ceilinged room with wooden pillars. The walls are lined with books. There's a large chess table. Two coffee tables. A desk. And as many leather chairs as you can possibly dream of. Beetee is picking through a bookshelf, Enobaria is filing her nails, and Johanna is pouting.

Dodge clears his throat, and they all look up.

"Ah!" Beetee says. "So nice to see you!"

Johanna stands up and walks straight toward me. I smile and open my arms to hug her. "Johanna!"

She slaps me straight across the face. "What the eff is wrong with you, you stupid little mother effer!" She shouts, but she doesn't say eff. "How could you effing do that to me?" She shoves me. "I hate you!" she shrieks. "What is wrong with you? Why the hell would you pretend you're dead? You stupid –" shove "–little–" smack "–son of a–" punch in the arm "–bitch!"

I just stand there, straight-faced. I know she was trying her best to hurt me, but we both know she didn't succeed.

"Oh, Finnick!" she says, and leaps at me. She wraps her arms around me and starts crying. When we finish our hug, everyone is staring at her like she's just come at me with a knife. Johanna sniffs, wiping her eyes. She walks over to Annie, pulls something out of her pocket, and holds it out to her. "I made this for your kid."

Annie takes it. "Thank you," she says quietly. The present is a little wooden sea monster she must've whittled. "It's lovely."

"Hey, Jo," Dodge says brightly.

"Don't even talk to me you freaking turncoat," Johanna says in a neutral voice, wiping her eyes.

Annie, who retreated when Johanna attacked, comes back to me. Beetee and Enobaria come over and say hello. Everybody coos over Cillian and complements him excessively.

The library door opens, and in comes a woman in her mid-twenties. I assume she's Citlalli, one of the other servants Angharad was talking about. She's gotten surgery, too. She has silvery white hair that she keeps in a ridiculous shape on top of her head. Her irises are silver, too, but darker. Her lips are light purple, her skin is completely white. She's tall, with an unnaturally tiny waist.

"Right through here," she says, gesturing into the room.

And in walk the rest of the victors.

Katniss looks tired, but better than last I saw her. Peeta seems infinitely better – there's light in his blue eyes again, some shine in his blond hair, and he looks physically healthy. Haymitch's hair is a bit longer, but other than that he's the same.

Beetee hugs them first. Then Johanna. Enobaria shakes hands with them. Dodge embraces Haymitch, and introduces himself to Peeta and Katniss. And then Katniss opens her arms, walking for me. I recoil a bit; she drops them.

"What's wrong?" she asks.

"Last time I saw you, you were watching me get attacked by a pack of mutts from the only escape route," I say neutrally. "Forgive me if I'm not ready for a hug just yet." I shake hands with her instead. In fact, I shake hands with all three of them.

I'm not mad at her anymore. But I'm not about to get all buddy-buddy again.

Then they turn their attention to Annie. She gets a kiss on the cheek from Haymitch and Peeta, and an awkward one-armed hug from Katniss. "And this is Cillian," Annie says, raising him up a bit.

Everyone else crowds around to stare at him; they begin a debate on whether he looks like me or Annie.

Ten or so minutes later, Angharad comes back in. "Lunch is ready. If you will follow me." And we do.

"Did you work here when the Snows lived here?" Enobaria asks.

"Yes, madam," she says. "Citlalli, Osiris, and I have been working here for about seven years each. There were also two others."

"What happened to them?" asks Peeta.

"President Coin had them executed early on in her reign." She stops in front of a set of white carved doors with elegant silver knobs. She throws them open and directs us to our seats. "Mrs. Odair," she says to Annie. "If you like, I can take Cillian for a nap. He'll be just next door."

Annie looks at me; I nod. "Sure." She hands him over, and off they go.

Osiris – a tall, slim man with neatly combed evergreen hair and chartreuse eyes – brings in lunch. Beef burgers, fresh fruit, mashed potatoes, and a mess of things that even victors have only had a few times. In the Capitol, this is a regular meal. In the numbered districts, this is a feast.

As we eat, the lovebirds try to acquaint themselves with Dodge, who they never knew was a person.

"Which Games did you win, again?" asks Peeta.

"Seventy-first," he replies.

"And why didn't we hear anything about you being alive up until now?" Katniss asks, adjusting her braid.

Everyone awkwardly adjusts themselves or clears their throats or scratches a nonexistent itch.

Haymitch is the one to break the silence. "I think that's a story for another time."

Annie and Dodge are civil to each other. She won't let him touch Cillian, and she doesn't trust him with anything. But at least she's not at his throat anymore.

We spend the rest of the meal mostly in silence.

Nine victors. Having a friendly lunch in the dead president's old mansion. Waiting for the reaping to be televised.

I haven't missed the Games.