"Here you go, Mrs. Crane," Javier said, holding open the door for Rini.
She stepped through it and found herself on a private viewing balcony, a fully stocked bar with a bartender standing in the back corner. "Thank you," she murmured to Javier, who still stood at the door.
"Will you be requiring any further assistance, Mrs. Crane?" He asked, flashing a smile.
"No, thank you. You may go." She sat down in one of the chairs that faced the large projection of the arena, sighing. "And you can go too," she called to the bartender over her shoulder. She was having enough difficulty trying to remember what had happened the night before without the help of alcohol. She sighed again when the door closed, leaving her alone on the platform. Her brain felt like it was submerged in a fog, and as hard as she tried, she couldn't recall what on earth had gone on the previous night. There had been the interviews, but then everything else had disappeared in to that awful fog.
Seneca had told her that she had drunk too much wine, but she couldn't for the life of her remember drinking anything at all. When she had awoken this morning, her entire body was sore. Particularly between her legs, and it throbbed with every step she took, causing her to limp. Other curious marks had appeared on her skin, and as she examined herself in the mirror, her husband came and kissed all her marks.
"We'll try not to get so out of control next time, hm?" He murmured in her ear.
Despite her strange memory loss, she was happy to finally be out of the apartment. It had taken Fascal an hour and a half to make her over before she was escorted to the box.
She looked over her shoulder when the door opened, and she pursed her lips in puzzlement. "Can I help you?" She asked.
"Oh. Sorry, I think I'm in the wrong box," the man murmured, starting to leave.
"Wait!" Renata jumped up and blushed when he raised an eyebrow at her. "It's just me here…if you aren't needed elsewhere, I would love the company." She swallowed as he stared at her and his eyes flitted to the bar. "You are of course welcome to the refreshments," she added.
The man grunted and he nodded, coming into the room and letting the door swing shut behind him. "You're Seneca Crane's wife, aren't you? Last year's victor?" He grabbed one of the bottles and poured a glass of some drink before returning it to its proper place. "This is my only one, okay? I've got kids to keep alive."
"You're a mentor?" Rini asked as they settled down into the seats. "What district?"
"Twelve. Haymitch Abernathy," He mumbled and held out his hand to her.
She shook it and stared at him a moment. "Renata Crane."
Finnick tapped his foot as he sat on his viewing platform, watching the games unfold on the large projection in front of him. The games were up and in action now, and Alan was already gone. That brutish boy from One had ended him at the Cornucopia.
Stupid boy, he had thought, watching the blood spurt from his neck. He had stressed to them that they avoid going into the Cornucopia, but it obviously hadn't got through to Alan. Ellone wasn't doing much better, although she was alive. Given, it was only the first day. And she was moving, so that was good. Still, he lacked confidence in her.
"Why is Peeta joining the Careers?" Marielle asked Finnick, deterring his attention away from the projection. "They want to find Katniss, and he's leading them to her." There weren't a lot of clients this year jumping to sponsor his tribute. With the Girl on Fire, and her partner that desperately loved her, no one else had much of a chance of standing out. Marielle had been his client for a few years now, and she wasn't a bother to Finnick. She was good company.
Finnick made a quiet little huff of a laugh. That boy had no idea where Katniss was. He was lying through his pretty white teeth. "I'm not sure what he's playing at."
"He's putting himself in danger, isn't he? That Cato is ruthless," she shivered, pulling her shawl tighter around him. "He's an animal."
An animal. Why hadn't Finnick been referred to as such after his victory? He was no better than any other Career. No, he was only doing what he was doing to survive. Cato was no different, was he? He blinked and fixed his eyes on the boy, unable to help but grit his teeth. No. They were not the same. He did not enjoy killing. Cato was parallel to Kain.
The memory of Rini's district partner resurfaced and he clenched his fists.
"Are you alright?" Marielle's voice snapped him from his thoughts and he smiled, relaxing.
"They won't kill Peeta, not if they have a chance of finding Katniss. She's their biggest threat, and if he keep them from finding her, maybe he can keep her alive."
"He'd sacrifice himself to save her?" She sounded surprised.
"He loves her, don't you know?" Finnick smiled, looking at her and winking. "Wouldn't you do everything in your power to save the person you love?"
Marielle's cheeks flushed and she averted her eyes bashfully. "I suppose so…yes." She watched as the light in the arena started to fade and the tributes began to wind down from their first day. By now exhaustion and hunger would be setting in for the lesser tributes. "Should we retire for the night, Finn?"
"I am feeling a bit faint," He chuckled, standing up and listening to Caesar's summation of the first day. He watched as Katniss belted herself into a tree for the night rather than staying out in the open. Ellone was not far away from the girl from twelve, and he gasped aloud when he saw what she was doing. "What are you doing?!" He hissed through gritted teeth.
Ellone's hands were shaking as she struggled to start a fire. She was shivering all over from the decreasing temperature, and he could see tears rolling down her paled cheeks. He swallowed and looked at Marielle, his eyes a bit panicked. "Can you help?" He asked her.
Marielle bit her lip and she looked in her purse, pulling out the little bit of money she had left over from buying Finnick's time. "This is all I have left, but take it."
Finnick landed a swift kiss on her lips before taking the money and bolting from his box. There was barely enough money for a blanket, but he had to send something. "I need a parachute sent to Ellone from Four," He said quickly, throwing down the money.
"A gift has just been sent to Miss Ellone," the man replied, motioning to the screens behind him.
"What? What was the gift, who sent it?" He demanded breathlessly.
"It was a blanket, and the sponsor was…Renata Crane," he read from the panel.
Finnick's eyes grew wide. "She was here? Which way did she go?" He took off running in the direction that the man pointed, and his heart caught in his throat when he saw a flash of bright red hair. "Mrs. Crane!" He called, making her stop and turn. She looked alright…had she heard of the attacks in Four?
"Finnick," Renata smiled, glancing around her to see if anyone was watching. "What is it?"
He swallowed and slowly smiled, "I just wanted to thank you for helping my tribute. I wasn't aware you were attending the games."
"My husband is a kind man," She replied with a little shrug. "I had hoped that she would stop trying to light a fire if she had a blanket…poor Alan is gone?"
He nodded, "I'm afraid so." They stood in silence for a minute, and Rini looked over her shoulder.
"I have to go. See you around, love?"
Finnick stopped her when she started to leave, and he grabbed her elbow. "Cecil is alright," He whispered in her ear. He had contacted the man and his family immediately after catching wind of the bombing. He slowly released her arm and let her walk away, staring after her until she rounded the corner.
"Are you still awake?" Haymitch asked, his gruff voice having a softer tone to it.
"Yes," Renata murmured, curled up in her chair. The courtyard had gone quiet hours ago, but she and the older victor were still awake in their platform, watching the projection screen. Most the tributes were asleep, sans that damn pack of Careers.
"Are you going to stay here all night?"
"I'm thinking about it," She replied, sitting up and stretching her arms over her head. Anywhere was better than being holed up in the apartment. "Why, are you leaving?"
Haymitch studied the screen, grunting. "No way, sweetheart. Unlike other mentors, I'm not exactly desirable. I have to find a different way to find sponsors…" He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I don't sleep much, anyway."
Renata nodded slightly and went back to staring at the projection. What had Finnick meant, that Cecil was alright? Of course he was alright. She furrowed her brow and again tried to think back on the previous night. She had been sitting on the couch, and then had heard a ping from behind her… Rini closed her eyes and put her head in her hands, trying to get through the fog. The sound had been coming from Seneca's desk, and she had activated the message and then…nothing.
"Are you okay?" Haymitch asked, setting a hand on her back.
"I'm just…having trouble remembering things," She mumbled through her hands, biting her lip. What had the message said? And how could she have just completely blacked out for the remainder of last night? "Have you ever heard of such a thing? Having your whole night just…erased from your mind?"
"Besides alcohol?" He inquired, raising an eyebrow. "Drugs, maybe. I don't know exactly what is going around the Capitol, but I remember a few instances of a certain high ranking man being in the news for sedating women and…" He stopped and shook his head. "But that was covered up very quickly, as you can imagine."
A chill of terror went down Renata's spine and she looked at her shaking hands. So this was Seneca's doing. She should have known. Her stomach turned and she wanted to vomit. "I-I see."
"Renata?" Haymitch furrowed his brow, about to prod her further about her inquiry, but a scream of terror rang through the arena.
Her head snapped up to see that the Careers had found Ellone. The poor girl sat frozen in terror, the group standing against her with weapons in hand.
"Oh god," Rini whispered, tears welling in her eyes as Ellone begged for her life. She closed her eyes and blurted out a little cry, turning her head away as her screams disappeared and the cannon sounded. Both tributes from Four were gone. She sniffled and blinked out a couple tears, clasping her hands together. She could have helped if she had persisted against Seneca. She could have helped, she was certain. But it was too late. Two innocent children from her home were dead.
"It's not your fault," Haymitch murmured after a few moments of her sniffling.
"But," She swallowed, looking up from her hands. "But I could have-"
"No, you couldn't have." He didn't say anything more, and Renata dried her face, trying to keep from blaming herself.
She sat up and took a few breaths, watching the screen. "Peeta is with them," she said, watching the blonde boy trail a bit behind the rest of the pack.
"Mmhmm," The man murmured, his arms crossed over his chest.
"Why?" Renata asked, clearing her throat. "He's leading them to Katniss…"
Haymitch made another grunt and he gave the redhead a sideways look. "He's not actually leading them to Katniss. He couldn't find her even if he tried," He chuckled quietly, which turned into a sputtering cough. "He's trying to protect her."
If Renata thought correctly, she didn't exactly need protecting. But she didn't voice her doubt of Peeta. "Are they really in love?" She asked instead. They were the big buzz this year, but Rini was pretty sure that it was just an act to control the audience.
"Of course they are," He answered without any hesitation. "It is young love, but hell if that isn't the most powerful kind of love."
"Which do you think is going to-"
"Don't ask me that," He stopped her. After a moment of silence, he sighed. "Katniss is getting more sponsors. So if that's any indication…" He trailed off and shrugged. "She has a little sister to get back to."
Renata nodded and she stared at the girl in the tree, who was only a couple years younger than her. The footage of Twelve's reaping was still in her mind, and it gave her goose bumps. Young Prim didn't have as much of a chance of surviving as did Ellone or Alan. But Katniss was promising. If there was no help for anyone else, she could at least give the girl a chance to get back to her sister. "If I can be any help…money isn't of any concern," she murmured, turning her head to look at Haymitch and raising her eyebrow.
He raised an eyebrow as well and nodded, a small smile on his face. "Glad to have you aboard, Mrs. Crane."
WOW HI
OKAY SO
AGH
I think i should probably just start off every author's note with an apology but srsly what the hell, me? I had ugh such terrible writers block PROBABLY BECAUSE I HAVE YET TO SEE A TRAILER WITH FINNICK IN IT FOR REAL WHAT THE EHCK. But caps lock aside, ugh. So sorry. Hope this chapter was worth the extremely long wait. I love you all dearly and ugh am so excited for the finale of this story and for the rest of Rini's story! I hope y'all are too because man its so great in my wonderful head of mine. ohohoho Rini gurl whatchu gonna do, spendin a buncha $$$?":PO{! #$ sorry asdfjadlsk just too excited missed this story so much ugh bless all you lovelies and hang around, I'm not giving up on these babies!
Bless~~~
-Kelsey
PS IM GOING TO POOP MY PANTS AND DIE WHEN FINNICK IN THE TRAILER UGH LIKE THEY HAVE NO EXCUSE IF HE AINT IN THIS ONE
PPS IF YOU ARE BORED AND EVEN IF NOT GO CHECK OUT A SLOW HURT YOU KNOW NEW STORY IM CO WRITING AND UGH FAB CHARACTERS SO YES IF YOU ARE BORED WAITING FOR MY LAZY ASS TO UPDATE THIS CHECK THAT OUT YOU WON'T BE DISAPPOINTED PROMISE OKAY BYE FOR REAL XXXX