Outside, the snow sparkled on the ground, covering Panem in a soft blanket of white. Though she had always hated the snow as a little girl, but now Enobaria had come to appreciate its beauty. She watched from her bedroom window as the snow continued to fall, kept warm by the roaring fire in the hearth. Enobaria brought the glass of wine to her lips, smiling at Cadoc before she took her first sip. "Winter is such a lovely time of year," she said.

Her husband nodded. "Yes, it certainly is. I worry that I don't have many left."

"You aren't that old, dear." The queen tucked her legs underneath her body and rested her head on his shoulder. He had just snaked his arm around her waist when a knock came on their door. Annoyed, she yelled for the maid to answer the door, but before any response came, the door opened, and Mags stepped into the room. "Good evening," Enobaria said coolly. "I trust that your business is important?"

"I came to announce my final resignation." Mags glanced between Enobaria and Cadoc, both of whom's faces wore expressions of surprise. "I no longer have the strength or energy necessary to fulfill the role of Head Sorceress. I believe that Plutarch Heavensbee truly is the best candidate for this position, though of course as the king and queen, you must hold your own counsel in such matters."

Enobaria regained her wits first. "You do not believe that Plutarch Heavensbee was involved in Trogdor's release?"

The old woman shook her head. "No, from what the two soldiers that captured Snow have said, your former advisor was a powerful sorcerer in his own right. I see no reason why he would have needed Heavensbee's help, and after working with the man for months, I have trouble believing that he would be willing to assist in such a violent plan. I am certain he will serve you well, your majesty."

"But what will you do?" asked Enobaria.

"With your permission, I wish to stay in the castle," she looked towards Cadoc, who nodded in assent. "I will devote my time to training my apprentice."

"And spoil the baby of course," added Cadoc.

Mags laughed. "Did that not go without saying? Naturally, training an apprentice is just an excuse to stay close to Finnick and Annie's baby," she joked.

Enobaria raised an eyebrow. "Yes, about that. Do you have an apprentice in mind?"

"Primrose Everdeen. She's been my personal servant for nearly two years now, and I believe she has the potential to one day become a very powerful sorceress."

"You believe that a servant has the ability necessary to harness magic?" Enobaria could not keep the disdain out of her voice. Surely, the old woman had finally lost her mind.

"I do. The girl is already showing enormous progress, and she is far stronger than I was at her age."

Cadoc spoke next. "Then she must train! If we should take one lesson from the recent conflict, it is that those with great abilities must not be allowed to misuse them."

Enobaria was not so willing to accept this Miss Everdeen. She did not usually disagree with her husband in front of others, for legally, he was the ruler, but she could not allow such a violation of the class structure to go without question. "What makes you believe that I will allow you to stay here and train this apprentice?"

"You can't very well do anything to her now, can you?" her husband answered. "She's already resigned her position, and even if you do have her removed from the castle, Finnick will allow her to come back the instant he becomes king."

She glanced towards the other woman, who nodded and shrugged. Ennobaria slumped backwards in defeat. "I suppose that it would be simplest to give you my blessing."

"It is much appreciated, I assure you," Mags said.

"Very good. Now that we have that decided, what really brought you here?" Enobaria looked in surprise towards Cadoc. Was the resignation of one of her most important advisors not enough to warrant a nighttime visit?

Apparently not. "Snow has confessed." Mags's voice was calm, but Enobaria could see the relief on her features. "It is much as we suspected. He released Trogdor, and he has told us the exact method he used, so we should be able to prevent such an occurrence in the future. We already knew that he had threatened Annie and her child, but now he has admitted that he actually hoped that we would evacuate. The man was two steps ahead of us the entire time."

Cadoc's brow furrowed in thought. "Were there any true revelations or had General Lyme managed to infer his whole scheme?"

"There were a few. It seems that he had brainwashed Queen Alma years ago. She may now be a bit more reasonable."

Enobaria snorted in a manner entirely unworthy of a queen. Alma of Elingdale, reasonable? She would have to see it to believe it. "Then it is time for Finnick to take the throne."

A confused silence came over the room. Finally, Cadoc broke it. "Dear? You already planned on abdicating in favor of Finnick."

"Yes, yes, I know. But I have been stalling the actual ceremony itself until I had answers from Snow. Finnick's such a kind, gentle boy, and though that has its place, it does not lend itself to getting information."

Her husband laughed. "So, pushing back a coronation so that you can have a prisoner tortured, yes? There's the woman I fell in love with." He pulled Enobaria into his arms. The queen saw Mags wave and leave, not wanting to interrupt them. The sorceress shut the door behind her, leaving them alone again.

"We must begin planning. There's still much to be done," Enobaria remarked.

Cadoc pressed a kiss to her cheek. "Can it wait until tomorrow?"

She sighed in false annoyance. "I suppose, if the king commands it."

"Yes, the king most certainly does command it."

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.

"Cinna, I think the preparations for this coronation will drive me mad," Annie said as he completed yet another round of measurements.

The modiste laughed. "I'm sure you'll be all right."

"You do know that all my measurements will be off again by the time the ceremony actually comes around?"

"It's only a week, Annie, I'm sure that you won't get much bigger in that time." Cinna put his tape measurer back into his pocket. She doubted him, as this late in her pregnancy her abdomen seemed to grow larger each day, but she didn't respond. "Are you ready to try on what I have done so far?" he asked, holding up a gorgeous violet gown.

She allowed him to help her into the dress, and Cinna guided her to the full length mirror in the room. Annie could not help but smile at the sight that met her there. Truly, Cinna had outdone himself with this design. Somehow, he had managed to create a gown that was formal enough for the occasion but also comfortable enough for a woman eight months pregnant. The deep purple made Annie's skin look almost radiant, and the cut, while it could not entirely hide her pregnancy, minimized her swollen stomach. "It's gorgeous, Cinna," she said as she swished the fabric back and forth and admired her reflection.

"I'm glad you like it, but don't forget that there's another part to it," the modiste said, and he lifted a heavy velvet cape onto her shoulders. Together, the two pieces made an incredible ensemble. Annie felt beautiful.

"Thank you," she said, trying not to cry. She didn't want Cinna to think she was upset with him, but these days, any emotion made her want to sob.

The man seemed to understand. "It was my pleasure, Annie. Would you like me to help you out of it? I don't want your gown to get wet."

Oh yes, her dress. She wouldn't want to ruin it. Together, they removed it, and Annie slipped back into her day dress. "Would you care to stay for tea?" she asked, but Cinna shook his head.

"On any other day, I would, but I have several other appointments this afternoon," he said. "It seems that every noble in the kingdom wants a new dress or suit for your husband's coronation. I will excuse myself, if you don't mind."

"Perhaps another day, then. Thank you, Cinna." She led him to the door. "I do hope your other appointments go as well. If you've made them anything even a fraction as beautiful as that cape, I'm sure they'll be very pleased."

Cinna smiled. "Thank you, m'lady. Have a good day." He bowed and took his leave.

Annie tried to find something, anything, to keep herself occupied. Enobaria was handling nearly all of the arrangements and had expressed in no uncertain terms that Annie was not to interfere, so even with flurry of activity around her, she had been left with nothing to do. Eventually, she decided to see what Katniss was doing. The woman had resumed her position as a scullery maid, and she might appreciate some help.

She found her in a room off the main ballroom, polishing a mountain of silver and humming to herself. "Could you use some help?" asked Annie.

Katniss spun around, clutching a knife. As soon as she saw it was Annie, she relaxed. "I'd be very grateful," she said. "I seem to remember having two people to do this last time."

"Yes, I suppose that's right." Annie took a spot next to Katniss and began to dry the forks, spoons, and knives. "That seems like so long ago," she said softly.

"A lifetime," Katniss agreed. "That was really stupid, looking back on it."

"Very, but it worked out well." She took another fork and began to dry it. "These preparations will make me go mad."

"How is Finnick holding up?" asked Katniss.

She shrugged. "He's all right, I suppose. A bit nervous, as you'd expect, but I think he's a little excited as well. It's such a big change, and neither of us really knows what will happen."

"He'll make a great king," her friend said, beginning to polish another piece. "There's no need to worry about that."

"I know, but I still do. Finnick's wonderful – he's kind, smart, everything I could ask for in a husband or Panem in a king – but I'm worried for him. I'm scared that some unforeseeable problem will come up, and he won't be able to control it, and people will assume that it's all his fault. I want them to love him as I do."

"Not exactly as you do, I hope," joked Katniss.

Annie laughed. "No, I suppose you're right. I would be rather upset if they loved him exactly the way I do." She surveyed the steadily shrinking mound of silverware in front of her. "How long do you think it will take to finish this?"

"I don't even want to think about it," the other woman grumbled.

"We can do it. It'll be fine."

"I certainly hope so."

.

.

He had known for as long as he could remember that this day would come, but now that it had actually arrived, it somehow seemed real. After the ceremony, he would have real responsibilities to the people of Panem. Finnick shifted nervously from one foot to the other, waiting for the coronation to start. He'd woken up early to prepare, and now, fifty minutes before the ceremony began, he was fully prepared.

A pair of arms wrapped around him from behind. "Are you ready?" Annie asked.

"As close as I'll ever be. You?"

"I'm dressed and I've made an attempt to look nice. What more can they ask for?"

Finnick turned to look at her. Annie was radiant. Her dark hair had been coiled and knotted into an elegant bun, bringing attention to her green eyes, and her purple dress was incredible. "I think your definition of an attempt is a bit different from most people's. You look gorgeous." He hugged her and leaned down for a kiss. "Are you feeling all right? Are you well enough to go?"

"I'm pregnant, not an invalid, Finnick. This is an important day for you, and I want to be there for it. The little one's excited too. He's been kicking all morning." She brought his hand to her abdomen, and he could feel their child's movements.

"He?" he asked, looking up at her face.

She blushed. "Naturally, I don't know, but that's what I've been calling it. I'll apologize if he turns out to be a girl."

"I like it." He rubbed her stomach lovingly. Finnick couldn't wait for the baby to arrive. He wanted to meet this little human, who would be part him, part Annie, and entirely its own person.

"Mmm," Annie hummed in content and hugged him. "Do you think we ought to head down? We can avoid any last minute surprises that way."

"Let's. May I have the honor?" He offered his elbow to Annie, who took it, and together they walked to the throne room, where the ceremony would be held.

When Finnick looked back at the rest of that day, he saw little more than a blur of emotions. Some moments stood out: accepting the crown and scepter from his father, sitting upon the throne for the first time; seeing Annie and Mags sitting together in the crowd, but it was the mix of feelings that truly defined that day. He remembered the fear he had felt that he would fail his people, the twinges of excitement as the full power of the law was vested in him, and the amazement of watching the entire court bow before him. The day was far from perfect, but he looked back on it fondly. Many years later, he could still hear the chant that had echoed through the chamber.

Long live the king.

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A/N: Thanks for reading! Special thanks to Nola and bsmj for reviewing – it's great to know what you're thinking of the story. I'll try to have the next (and final!) chapter up soon. Until then,

~finnicko-loves-anniec