Author's Note: I have three announcements! Firstly, I decided that I won't have Effie as the escort because it won't make sense if she was the escort for District 12 for a long time and hasn't moved on to higher districts. Secondly, after I publish the last chapter (which will be the next one), I'll take some time to edit this book (most likely three weeks or a month). Thirdly, when I finish editing it, I'll post a list of things that changed so that you won't be confused when you read the next book.

Hope you enjoy today's chapter! Don't hesitate to write reviews of this story!


Light.

That was the first thing Heather saw. Sunlight, to be more specific, peaking through the curtains.

Whoever said that light was good was a filthy liar. It was an annoying beam that brought pain to her sight when she looked at it. Heather preferred darkness. It brought solitude and silence with it. Something that she seemed to want at the moment.

"Go away, please," she whimpered even though she knew that nothing could be done as the sun continued to shine brightly.

Suddenly, it hit her.

Nola would be coming any moment and god knows what a fit she would throw if she saw Heather lying on the floor. Hurriedly, she got up from the floor and went immediately into the bathroom. Looking at her reflection in the mirror, Heather touched the red marks on her neck and cursed herself. There was no denying the fact that the necklace she wore was the cause of this. It took a long time to take off her dress because of how tight it is. A small piece of paper fell down when she managed to get it off. It was Finnick's phone number.

Steadily, she kneeled down and picked it up. She then took off her mother's necklace and opened it. What most people didn't know was that it was a locket rather than a charm. Heather didn't reveal that bit of information because it held a photograph of her mother. It was the only thing she had of her and she didn't want to share that with the world.

Heather looked nothing like her mother. Just like Aeson and her father, her mother was blonde and had an easy smile. The only indication that they were related was their baby blue eyes.

Sometimes Heather wondered if she was even from this family. Of course, her father and brother wouldn't hesitate to reassure her that they were her biological family. But they still wouldn't answer her question about why she looked different. Why she had light red hair rather than being blond.

Sometimes, Heather wondered if her mother would have loved her. If she would have been proud of her. She probably would. Until Heather was reaped into Heather Games that is.

With a sigh, Heather placed the paper into the locket and closed. She folded the dress and took the time to take out the hair accessories so she wouldn't have to listen to the moans of disappointment from her prep team.

Last but not least, there was the bracelet that Nina made on her wrist. Heather thought of Snow's proposal and the way she responded. Would he really kill off her family?

Part of her wanted to go to Haymitch and tell him what happened. But she didn't want to trouble him. He already did his job as her mentor. She brought this issue upon herself and she was going to solve it on her own.

Besides the beds, Heather was going to miss the showers as well. Under the shower head, she felt as if she was under a warm summer rain.

Drying her hair with a towel, Heather stepped out from the bathroom just as a knock sounded from the door. Not a few seconds later, Nola entered the room as if she owned the room.

Despite the growing ache inside of her to sneer at the woman, Heather's lips curled up in a dazzling smile, "Good morning, Nola."

"Good morning to you too, my dear," Nola greeted in her chirpy voice. "I just came here to wake you up but it seems that I don't need to do that anymore. Anyhow, I also wanted to tell you how wonderful you were yesterday."

"Oh, thank you," Heather stopped drying her hair. She knew that Nola didn't come here just to congratulate her.

"Let me help you with that," Nola went on to approach her and took the towel away. She led Heather towards the vanity table and sat her down on a small cushioned chair. Opening a drawer, Nola pulled out an object that resembled a gun. Heather watched her curiously as Nola proceeded to turn the machine on. "It's going to feel a little bit hot in your head so don't freak out."

Heather nodded her head mindlessly and Nola was right. It did feel hot in her head. Still, it seemed that Nola forgot to mention the deafening sound that the object made. Heather flinched at the loud obnoxious noise.

Finally, after a good five minutes her hair was dry. She touched it, amazed at the fact that she didn't have to waste forty minutes to dry her hair when she could do it in five minutes.

Heather ran her fingers through her now warm scalp as Nola returned the machine. "By the way, dear, I saw you leave the party with President Snow yesterday. What did he want to talk to you about?"

Ah, so that was what she wanted to know.

So, just to spite her, Heather decided to tell her half the truth. "He just wanted to talk to me about a job offer here in the Capitol."

Before Nola could respond to the revelation, the door was slammed open by none other than Azalea. Cerise and Sorrel were right behind her and they didn't hesitate to kick Nola out of the room to get Heather ready for her final interview.

As soon as Nola was out of the room, they didn't waste any time in preparing Heather. Cerise was rubbing her skin with cream until it began to glow, Sorrel was pulling her hair into half a bun, and Azalea was painting her nails in purple.

It didn't take long before Heather found herself in a knee-length chiffon lilac dress. To her relief, they didn't cake her face with make-up.

"You look beautiful," Zedoary said behind her. He came after her prep team dressed her to check up on her appearance. "As always."

"Thank you. But, I do owe it to you for making me fabulous dresses," Heather told him.

"No, my dear. It's all you," Sorrel came up and pulled Heather into half a hug. Soon, she was joined by the others in the hug.

"I'm going to miss you all," Heather exclaimed.

"Oh, but you'll see us every year. Not to mention your Victory Tour months from now," Cerise pointed out.

"I'll be spending my time designing new dresses for you," Zedoary added.

"Would you look at the time, you have to hurry up or you'll be late!" Azalea announced. Immediately, Zedoary took hold of her arm and they fast walked to the lounge that the interview was being held in.

Surprisingly, she found Haymitch downstairs drinking something from a mug. Heather doubted that it would be alcohol because Haymitch usually drank it straight from the bottle instead of pouring it in a cup. So just to spite him, Heather went over to him, took the cup from his hands, and drank from it. However, her plan backfired as her face cringed when she tasted the bitterness of the drink. Haymitch smirked and chuckled at her reaction while she pouted at him.

Hearing someone calling her name out loud, Heather turned to Caesar strolling towards her. Instinctively, Heather grinned at him and they hugged.

"Are you nervous for the interview?" Caesar asked her.

"To be honest, I'm just anxious to get back home," she told him.

"Missing your brother?" He led her by the hand to the chair she was supposed to sit at.

"You have no idea," Caesar laughed at her remark and it wasn't long before the cameras were rolling.

For the first few seconds, Heather had to sit and smile properly like a princess while Caesar addressed the viewer. It wasn't hard, all she had to do was act like Nola. He started off by asking about her feelings during the pre-events of the games.

"I forgot to ask you this last time, but what did you do during your session with the Gamemakers?"

Heather narrowed her eyes at him in a playful way, "Caesar?"

"Yes?"

"Are you sure you watch the games?"

He gave her a confused look before responding, "I'm positive."

"Then watch it again. You're a smart man, I'm sure you'll be able to figure it out. Besides, the answer will probably be in one of your next questions."

"If you say so," he went along with it. "So, did you plan on running away from the Cornucopia before or after you found out that the arena was a desert?"

"Oh, before. Definitely before," she answered. "Um, I didn't actually intend to go back to the Cornucopia. I just wanted to run, find a water source, and build my own weapons so that I could kill the last remaining tributes when I come out of hiding."

"But you did find a water source," Caesar pointed out.

"I did, but only after I got the necessary equipment," Heather reminded him.

"So, you didn't plan on raiding the Careers?"

She shook her head. "It was just a back-up plan."

"But how did you deflect the set up traps?" He continued to inquire.

"Ah, would you like to guess the answer?" Heather smirked.

Caesar put on his thinking face then glanced at him, "Can I get a hint?"

"I closed my eyes and took off my shoes."

A few seconds passed before Caesar sighed and looked at her, "I give up."

"Thought so," Heather remarked before exhaling. "When I was fifteen, I went to the meadow to collect extra herbs that my dad needed. On my way back, I came across this plant that I've seen before. My curiosity got the best of me and I went to inspect it. In the end, not only did I gain a bunch of nasty burns but I also became blind. I only got my sight back three months ago. During the time that I was blind, I depended on my ears and barefeet to know my surroundings. I would listen to different types of noises to associate them with a particular location. I would look out for the people's footsteps. The soft rumbles one would make when they'd walk. And when things got too loud, I'd go hide in a tree. Listen to the beautiful melodies the birds would hum. Feel the smoothness of the leaves. And I still depend on my other senses. When I was walking through those traps, I didn't anticipate their presence with my eyes, but rather with my feet."

"Did you ever regret approaching that plant?" Caesar asked after a while. He was still amazed at the load of information she revealed to him.

"No," Heather responded. "When I was blind, I began to appreciate things that aren't usually given attention to. And they were beautiful. I didn't need to see them to know so."

The interview seemed to go on and on. Caesar would ask her question after question and she'd answer them honestly. After all, she had nothing to hide.

He asked her about Rust, and she told him how she had been angry at his death. How she refused to talk to anyone but her brother and her father. How she isolated herself. How she began to think irrationally. The only part she didn't mention was the fact that she still hasn't recovered from his death.

He asked about Mason.

"I'm going to tell you what I told him back then," Heather started. "You don't have to have a reason to do something that feels right. Thinking isn't necessarily bad but we always rely on our minds to do the right thing. It's not ...wrong, but, sometimes, we should shut our minds and listen to our hearts because mostly likely, that's where our inner voice is."

"Heather, I swear, if there was a competition for the most inspirational person in Panem, you'd win it in a heartbeat," she laughed at his remark. "What about Lavender and Gaius? What made you intervene between them?"

She was prepared for the next question before he asked her. " I saw how they struggled to kill the other. And, one way or the other, I would've eventually faced one of them. So, I thought, what was the point of hiding anymore? If one of them was going to die, it would've been better at my hand rather than on their hands. Lavender was the closest to me, and the rest was history. Anything else?"

Caesar shook his head and signed his hand for the camera to stop recording.

Next thing she knew, Heather was surrounded by hugs, kisses, and tears. Finally, when she entered her room, she found a bag that was never there laying on her bed. She searched through it and found a pair of knitting needles along with yearns of various colors. Inside, there was also a note.

To my beautiful Heather,

I remembered how you told me that you loved to knit when you're nervous. Maybe knitting during the train ride might lessen your anxiousness to see your family. Also, you'll find the dress you wore in the reaping along with your mother's necklace and the bracelet I found in your bathroom (I'm not sure if it's important to you or not).

Till we meet next,

Zedoary


Cameras followed Heather as she jumped into Aeson's awaiting arms. She was home. She was finally home. She couldn't help herself from bursting into happy tears as she buried her head into her brother's neck. Her hold tightened around him and she refused to let go of him, not that he complained. Aeson just stroked her hair and whispered to her about how much he missed and how proud he was of her.

Knowing that she was being filmed for the sake of rich people who wanted to see her reunion with her brother, Heather stepped away from him and reached out for June, who was holding a fair-headed baby.

June was about to hand the baby over to Aeson but Heather stopped her and took the baby instead. The baby was on the verge of crying until he came face to face with Heather's freckles. Curiosity took over him as he reached out his hand and placed it on her nose. Slowly, he began to trace her freckles. Drool was coming out of his mouth as he opened it mesmerizingly.

Heather chuckled and looked at June who was about to cry. Her sister-in-law pulled her into half a hug as the baby was still in her arms.

"His name is Luke," Aeson told her.

At the sound of his name, Luke looked at his father and extended his arms towards him. With a smile, Aeson took his son from Heather's hold which allowed June to fully hug her.

Noticing Haymitch from the corner of her eye, Heather didn't hesitate in approaching him and hugging him. She heard a few gasps from behind her but that didn't stop from embracing the man. Even though he seemed surprised at her act of affection, it wasn't long before she felt him hug her back. "Thank you, for everything."

Looking up at the small smile that decorated Haymitch's face, Heather said in a teasing voice, "Don't miss me too much, I'll come to annoy you sometime later."

"Looking forward to it," came Haymitch's sarcastic reply.

Heather laughed.

It felt good to be home.