Annie smiled as she stirred her tea. She enjoyed her afternoons with Mags and Primrose even more now that she did not spend all her time with them. Since the wedding, Johanna and Katniss had also become frequent participants in their afternoon get-togethers. The five women met twice a week to chat and socialize without the pressures of formal court gatherings. For Annie, these afternoons were a welcome break from her new life.
She sighed when she realized it was time to leave. With the coronation fast approaching, her social calendar had become increasingly busy. She had a dress fitting this afternoon and a concert to attend this evening. If she wanted to be even close to on time for either, she needed to leave now. Annie quickly made her goodbyes and returned to the chambers she and Finnick shared. She dumped the teakettle that was sitting out for her. Despite numerous requests, the maid assigned to her always left a full kettle out for the prince and princess to drink throughout the day. Annie's mother had told her that freshly brewed tea was healthier, and though Annie suspected that her mother's words were more folk wisdom than legitimate medical advice, she still preferred to brew her own tea for herself and Finnick.
There was a knock on the door. Out of habit, Annie answered the door herself. Lucy, her maid, would scold her for doing a servant's work, but she had not yet fully adjusted to life as a noblewoman. Cinna, the dressmaker, was standing on the other side. "Hello, m'lady. How are you this afternoon?"
"I'm doing well. How are you faring?" Annie led him into her receiving room.
"Very well, actually. I have this new customer. She is very sweet and wonderful to work for, but sometimes she can be a little bit of a pain. You see, I have been trying to get her to give ideas on a dress for the coronation for weeks now, but she still hasn't told me what she wants."
Annie tried not to laugh. "That sounds infuriating. I am certain, though, that your client would be willing to take any advice you have. You do always make her look lovely."
"In that case, I think we should go with a simpler purple dress but make an ornate velvet cape to wear over it."
"That sounds perfect." Annie let Cinna help her out of her day dress so that he could make the necessary measurements. He worked efficiently, and they actually finished earlier than Annie had expected. "Would you care to stay for a while?" she asked. Cinna nodded, and they sat down on the sofas. "How is your family?"
"They are worried about Trogdor, but so far they have seen nothing of him," Cinna said. "The neighboring village, though, was not so lucky. Three days ago, the dragon incinerated a farmhouse. They still haven't found the bodies."
"I'm so sorry to hear that," Annie said honestly. In the weeks since the failed attack on Elingdale, there had been several sightings of the dragon in the border regions. Finnick had told her that by the best estimates, Trogdor had killed at least forty peasants and destroyed thousands of acres of crops. Mags should be able to re-charm the dragon, but they had yet to find Trogdor's lair. Finnick and a few of the top generals had mapped out the sightings and attacks, but there was no apparent pattern. The dragon was being careful.
Cinna bit his lip nervously. "Do you think they are close to figuring out where he is?" Annie shook her head. She wanted to comfort the man, but in truth she had no idea when they would locate the dragon.
"They are doing their best. I hope your family will be safe very soon." Just as she finished her sentence, Finnick came in. Cinna immediately stood up and bowed to the prince, but Finnick gestured for him to sit down. Annie made the necessary introductions. "Cinna, I would like to introduce you to my husband, Finnick. Finnick, this is Cinna, the modiste who dresses me. He has family in the border regions."
Finnick's green eyes darkened with sadness at the mention of Cinna's family. "I am very sorry to hear that," he said. "I assure you, we are doing our absolute best to locate the dragon so that we can stop him from threatening people like your family."
"Thank you, sir." Cinna glanced at the grandfather clock in the corner. "I think I will take my leave now. It was very nice to meet you, my lord." He bowed again towards Finnick, then turned to Annie. "M'lady, it's always a pleasure." With that, Cinna nodded to Lucy, who guided him out of the couple's chambers, leaving Finnick and Annie alone.
Finnick pulled Annie close for a quick kiss. "How has your day been?" he asked.
"Good. I saw Mags for tea. She says that you need to come and visit her."
"I know, but there has just been so much to do lately. I'll make a point of stopping by in the next couple days." Finnick lowered himself onto the sofa gingerly.
Anne moved to sit on his lap. "Sore today?"
"Yes. I think I did something to my back in training yesterday." Annie shifted off of his lap so that she could rub the stiff muscles on his back. "Oh, thank you, that feel fantastic." Finnick's eyes closed in pleasure.
For several minutes, the only sounds were small sighs from Finnick when Annie loosened a particularly tight knot in his back. "Finnick, when do you think that your group will find Trogdor?" she whispered.
"I have no idea. Everytime we think we have a lead, it turns out to be nothing. I worry that we are searching in the wrong places, that we are missing something obvious, and won't find him." Finnick turned to look into her eyes. "Annie, I want to help people like Cinna' family, to show them that I have their best interests at heart, but I don't know how."
Annie wrapped her arms around her husband and rested her head on his back. "I know," she said. "I feel so guilty planning a giant celebration for your coronation while the peasants in the border regions are suffering, but I don't know what else I can do." They stayed in that position for long minutes, neither one wanting to break the embrace.
Finnick looked across the room at the clock. "Annie, what time does the concert start?"
"Seven thirty," Annie answered. "Why, what time is it?"
"Seven ten." Annie jumped up and scurried into her room to get ready. Finnick followed her. "May I help you get dressed, m'lady?"
Annie smiled at him. "No, your abilities as a maid leave something to be desired."
"Such as?" Finnick raised his eyebrows in mock confusion.
"Well, you do quite well at getting me out of my first set of clothes, but you seem to have a hard time helping me into the second set. We're in a hurry tonight. Could you fetch Lucy for me?"
"What if I promise to only make us fashionably late?" Finnick took another step forward.
"Then I suppose that would be fine," Annie giggled as Finnick shut the door behind him.
A/N: Hello everybody! Can you believe we're already 25 chapters in!? I'm sorry that I've been updating less frequently lately, but I don't know if I'll be able to return to the almost daily updates. Thanks for reading, and special thanks to Odestalovebaby for reviewing! I really do appreciate reviews – I love to know what my lovely readers think of my stories. Thanks again for reading!
~finnicko-loves-anniec