A/N: sorry this chapter's so short, but the next one will be longer!xoxo
It's two days until the Reaping. I'm dreading it because I know the result. I know my sister is going into that arena. And I trust her. I know she's trained hard and I know she has the potential to win, but what I don't know is what the Gamemakers will do. You can't plan for that. And I know they're not on our side this year – the odds are not in our favour. Tia was right.
I haven't shown Annie that article. It's not because I don't want her to know that Tia's on our side but I know she'll blame herself for her death. She saw it on the train, the shot woke her up. I heard her screaming. She was clawing at the window when I got there, tears streaming her face. She blames herself enough without reading that article, too.
I've left her with Regan at the moment. It was a rare moment when Annie seems more like the girl I met at the marina wall a lifetime ago. She's in the pool with him, splashing each other and laughing. I left them to it because I'd only spoil the moment. Regan and myself are civil with each other, it's not awkward, but I know we'll never really be friends again. I didn't expect anything else. So I've come out to go to the market and pick up a few things, see a few people. I'll see if I can't find my sister lurking around here. Unlikely, she's probably getting in as much last minute practise as she can. I don't blame her, she'll need everything she's got.
Harper's sitting in the back of the marketplace, as usual, boots kicked up onto the table, looking casual as ever. There's a strange sensation in the market, I can't quite tell what it is but it's not normal. There's a strange hush when I enter but not the kind I'm used to. Not here. This feels like awe, admiration… but what have I done to deserve it? I swallow and try not to look as nervous as I feel. But it's eerie in here, I can feel everyone's eyes on me. Someone stops me at a stall to shake my hand, then another person, and another. I don't know what's happening. All I can do is smile and thank them but I honestly don't have a clue what's going on. I spot Lukas trading with someone. He's someone who'll know what's happened here and I can trust him, he's friends with Cat.
I flash him a smile as I approach the stall. He takes the trade from the stall owner and smiles back with a friendly nod. But he looks like he knows something else, too. There's something I'm not getting.
'Hey, Lukas, how's it going?' I'm trying to act normal but when you're trying to it stops being normal.
He shrugs. 'Not bad. Yourself?'
'Yeah, great.' I say quickly. 'Anyway, can I have a word with you? Y'know, outside?'
'Have I done something wrong?' He asks warily. I just roll my eyes. I know he's close to Cat but that's her choice, unless he actually has done something wrong, he's fine. And I mean seriously wrong. Cat can take care of herself, I have no doubt.
'No, no, of course not.' I assure him as I lead him out of the market. More people shout a greeting or shake my hand as we leave the market, which seems to bring an unreadable smile to Lukas' face. It's starting to scare me how different this all is. It's not as if everyone ignored me before, it's more like indifference. They knew who I was but it didn't matter to them, their lives are still the same. But this is too… different.
'Lukas, what's going on?' I ask him straight out once we get outside. He glances back at the market before his eyes meet mine again.
'Don't be angry, Finnick,' Well, that's not a good start. 'but Cat got sent this article…' Oh no, please don't be what I think it is- 'by some Capitol journalist who went on Tour with you and Annie. It was so full of truth, we just… we couldn't waste it… so we passed it on.'
'You passed it on?' I hiss at him, seizing him by the shoulders and dragging him out of public view. 'What were you thinking? Do you want to get yourselves killed?'
Lukas raises his eyebrows like there's something I'm not getting. He glances back to make sure no one can see us anymore before he continues. 'Cat says it doesn't matter. She's going into the arena anyway, she might as well-' and I can't stop myself. Lukas is a good kid, I know, but he's being so naïve. I grab him and shove him against the wall with a little more force than I intended. He makes a pained kind of noise but I don't apologise.
'Do you have any idea what you're messing with, Lukas? This isn't just your life at stake! Cat's reckless, everyone knows that, but did you stop to think about everyone else? About Annie? Or anyone else mentioned in that article? Harper in the market?' I take a moment for that to sink in and see his eyes widen. 'And do you know what happened to the journalist who wrote that article?' He shakes his head meekly. 'She was executed. Executed in front of our train just before we left.' I roughly let him go and straighten out my shirt. 'You can't take back what you've done, Lukas, and maybe it is for the best. But don't you dare dishonour Tia's memory.' And with that I walk away feeling far more angry than I feel I have any right to.
Who in their right mind would send my sister that article? Anyone who knows her would know what she'd do with it! She's Caitlyn Odair, everyone knows she's reckless… Oh. Maybe that's the reason she was sent the article, because whoever sent I knew she'd do something like this. They wanted it distributed. I need to find out who sent it and persuade them to keep Cat out of this. It certainly won't help her case with Snow and the Gamemakers. But I'll need to talk to Cat, I have to know what happened.
It doesn't take me long to find her. She's out on the deck at my house, sparring with one of the neighbourhood kids, another one who trains, I presume. She sees me and stops the spar. The boy she was fighting with seems a little disheartened by it but he sees me and gives me a friendly wave. Cat makes her way over and sits with me at the table, a safe distance away from other company. The noise from the few kids on the deck will be enough to make sure we're not overheard. You can't be too careful now.
'I know about the article.' I tell her, keeping my voice quiet. She pales a little but shrugs anyway.
'Alright.'
'How did you get it, Cat?'
'It was in my locker at the Training Centre.' She answers slowly, glancing up to look at me. 'I just finished training, opened my locker and it was there. I'd had the key tied to my wrist all day – and no, Finnick, I don't know how it got there.'
I just sigh and nod. I suppose I can't ask her any more than that. If she doesn't know then what else can I say?
'You shouldn't have passed it around.' I tell her calmly. She nods but doesn't seem convinced.
'I know, but what more can they do to me? I'm already going to fight for my life.' The resignation in her voice hits me harder than I thought it would. We've both known she was going into the arena for a long time but hearing her say it like that really stings. She looks back after I don't answer, she knows it's getting to me. 'I am coming home, Finnick.' She tells me determinedly. 'I don't care if the Gamemakers hate me, they are not better than me. I will outsmart them.' She takes a deep breath and takes my hand in hers. 'I'm going to get home.'
'I know.' I manage to whisper. 'You'll have every kind of help you could need while you're in there, Cat. Food will be sent every day and water, too. Any weapons you want. Anything.'
'I know.' She echoes with a grin. I can't help but smile back. She'll always be my baby sister, no matter how old she is or what kind of situation she gets herself into. 'And I'll have you and Annie looks out for me.' She squeezes my hand. I hope she doesn't see the worry in my eyes when she mentions Annie. I know it's mandatory for her to do the first year of mentoring but it's not going to be easy. She'll be in such close proximity to Snow that I'll have to keep my guard up full time. I'm not just looking after Cat in the arena, I'm looking after Annie, too. Fortunately, I don't doubt that Cat can take care of herself.
While I count the hours until the Reaping that will call my sister to the arena, the prep team arrive again. They do this every year to give us the Reaping day outfits for the Victors who'll be mentoring, I'm used to it. But it's when I see Ricardo that I notice something's amiss. He's quieter than usual, subdued even, and he looks like he hasn't slept properly for weeks. He avoids meeting my gaze every time I look in his direction. He has another member of the team fit my suit. He never lets anyone else fit my suit.
'Is Ricardo alright?' I ask Lavinia as she takes a tape measure out and starts whipping it around. I don't bother trying to keep track, I just stand there and let her move me around as needed.
'Of course.' She answers, forcing a smile. Her hair's orange this time round and she's dyed the tips of her eyelashes the same colour.
'Only, he's acting a little strange…'
'He's fine.' She insists, taking the tape measure away abruptly and packing up her things. And with that she sweeps out of the room. I'm more confused than I was to start with. Her reaction clearly indicates that something is wrong with Ricardo, otherwise she'd have been asking why I was questioning her about it. They're suckers for gossip in the Capitol. So, I set off in search of Ricardo.
I find him up in Annie's room, while she's in the bathroom changing. I tap him on the shoulder and he looks almost forlorn when he sees that it's me. It's a little hurtful since I thought we were actually friends. I nod towards the window and hope he follows me. He does, and we gather across the room – safely away from the bathroom door so Annie won't hear.
'What's going on?' I get straight to the point. A muscle by his eye twitches and I know he's anxious about something.
'Finnick, I can't talk about this.'
'Can't or won't?'
'Both.' He hisses at me, glancing back across the room to make sure we don't have an audience.
'I know something's wrong. You can either tell me or I'll find out for myself.' I warn him. I don't know how I'd be able to find out but the threat is still real. I'd do whatever I could.
He narrows his eyes at me, like he's trying to work out if he should tell me or not. 'I know you're not good at understanding the word no, but I mean it, Finnick. I cannot talk about this.'
The door opens to the bathroom and both myself and Ricardo flash a fake smile at her. She smiles but gives me a look all the same. Ricardo goes back over to her to work out a few more parts of her dress while I drop into the window seat and wait. I want to know what's going on with Ricardo. If he can't talk about it then it seems likely Snow's involved somehow. Which means he's in trouble. All that I can think of is Annie's dress on the first day of the Victory Tour. It was subtle but perhaps it wasn't subtle enough. Maybe it earned him a warning from Snow… actually, no… Snow doesn't give warnings.
