Happy May! Guys omg, May 8th marks the official one-year anniversary of my creating A Flower from the Ashes, isn't that crazy! Thank you all so much for reading this story, following, favoriting it, and sending me reviews, it's all meant so much to me! I'm not sure if all of you know, but this story is a rewritten version of a never completed story I wrote in middle school, which is terrible. I'm so grateful to have you all encouraging me to write a version of this story I actually like, and better like a few years from now because I am not rewriting this again. Just to put this out there, I am not sure how long this story will be, as you may or may not know I barely plan these chapters, I just write what comes to me. So, because of that, I don't have a set amount of chapters or timeline for this story. I'm telling you this because I don't know how regularly I'm going to be able to update this come late August, since I'll be going away to college. I'd love to write and ending and be able to wrap things up in a way that makes sense, but if I don't get to it in time just know that I will do my best to keep this story alive. We'll talk more about it when the time comes, but for now, let's get into some reviews!

counselorofcabinsix -Oh, gods. This next chapter is gonna be loaded, isn't it? I'm so excited; I just now realized Lily doesn't know Annie and Finnick were in the games. Or Johanna, either...Anyways, great chapter! Really looking forward to the next one!

Haha yea, Lily doesn't even realize how many people in her life have been affected by the Hunger Games, it's gonna be pretty wild for her. I'm hoping to reach the emotions of all my Finnick lovers (wink wink), so I'll try my best!

Guest18- Hi I just found your story and I'm really enjoying it. I can not wait for next chapter, I love the scenes when they watch the tapes and I'm looking forward to hearing what they have to say about finnick and the quarter quell.

I'm so happy to hear you've been liking the story, it makes me smile every time I read that! As much as I like going back to the tapes, I'm definitely excited to explore Annie and Finn's characters.

Guest07- Great job! I really loved this chapter, especially Annie and Finn. Finns description goes with the timeline really well, good job with that! I'm anticipating the next chapter when Annie talks about the games with Lily.

PS. You're a wonderful author, I absolutely love this story!

Thank you! Yea, I figure Finn's probably around thirty years old at this point, maybe a tiny bit older. Omg I just realized Finn is now older than Finnick ever was, someone kill me. I hope this lives up to your expectations haha, thanks again!

Alright, let's get into this chapter! Also this is gonna be kind of short, I'm super sorry!

~Jillian

Xoxo

(Lily's POV)

I stare ahead at my Aunt Annie and Finn, practically in shock. That can't be right. They've been impacted too? How many people in my life have been touched by the games?

"What are you talking about?" I croak.

Finn steps forwards, sensing my hesitance, "Would you come into the living room with mom and I?" For a second, I'm panicked, not knowing how much information I can handle anymore. At first, I was desperate to learn as much about the Hunger Games as I possibly could, but now it's like it's consumed my life. I shoot my mom a look, one I'm sure is filled with anxiety and the single question 'Should I?'. My mom, tucked under my dad's arm, smiles sympathetically before nodding, encouraging me to go.

Looking back at Finn, I let out a small sigh, "Alright," and receive a bright smile from my cousin as a reward. Finn places a gentle yet strong hand on my shoulder, making me notice how tense they've been, and guides me into the living room. Casting a quick glance over my shoulder, I catch sight of my mom guiding dad away through their joint hands, leading him upstairs with a calm smile on her face. While all this has been hell for me, I can tell it's been even worse on my mom, so I'm glad to see her taking these developments better now.

Aunt Annie and I sit on opposite ends on the large couch, while Finn sprawls comfortably on the plush leather chair I usually find my mom reading in. Tucking my legs under me, I look to Annie expectedly, and she takes her cue. "So, we've been told that you've learned of the 74th Hunger Games, the one your parents were first reaped in. Do you know of anyone else who was in a Hunger Games? That you know now of course," Annie asks.

Immediately, I think of my grandpa Haymitch and our conversation on his back porch. "Yes actually, my grandpa Haymitch was in the 50th hunger Games. Oh! And my Nana Effie was the one who pulled the names out of the glass bowls at the reaping, she was the.. The-"

"Her job was to be the Capitol Escort of District 12," Annie explains, "to bring the tributes into the Capitol and get them where they needed to be. And you're right, your Grandpa Haymitch was in the 50th Hunger Games. But he's not the only one."

I feel my stomach drop to my shoes, dreading to hear any confirmation of what I know suspect, "Oh God, don't tell me…"

Annie nods sadly, getting a distant look in her eyes, "When I was 18, I was reaped from District 4 to go into the 70th Hunger Games. Finnick, my Finnick, was my mentor. After I survived the Games, I was different. We all were."

I nod in understanding, sad but not surprised. "So Finnick, your husband, must have been in the Games too right? Since he was your mentor?"

"That's right. Finnick was one of the youngest ever Victors, winning the 65th Hunger Games at just 14 years old."

My eyes are blown wide. Fourteen?! I'm fourteen! All of my friends are fourteen! The thought of any of us going to the Games before we've even finished puberty makes me want to shudder. Wrapping my arms around myself, I look at Annie incredulously, "Fourteen?"

"That's right, he was an incredibly skilled fighter, and many of the women in the Capitol found him to be quite… charming," Annie says with a grimace.

"What's wrong?" I ask, "Why did you say it like that?"

"They thought he was extremely attractive," Finn says, chiming in for the first time, "Which got him enough sponsor money in order to get a trident sent into the arena. Once he had that weapon in his hands, the Games were practically older."

I notice Finn casting quick, yet worried, glances at his mother. Annie's clammed up, knuckles white as she clutches the sides of the couch, but she seems to be keeping herself calm.

"He was a fighter, and he went through Hell after winning the Games. But at least he eventually found mom," Finnick continues, his last words making Annie smile slightly.

The question pops into my mind, the one I never dared to ask growing up, too afraid of upsetting my aunt or my cousin. When I was around eight, I asked my mom what happened to Finn's dad. After that, she shut herself away in her room for a few hours, and my dad gave me the simple answer of "He's not with us anymore."

I can feel it on the tip of my tongue, I'm just about to ask when-

"Your Aunt Johanna won the year after me, in the 71st Hunger Games," Annie blurts, releasing her death grip on the couch and relaxing against the back. She looks so casual, you wouldn't even know she had dropped a fricken bomb on me.

"What?! Aunt Jo too?" Once the words leave my mouth, it all becomes clear to me. Her rough exterior and over-the-top bravado. The small scars that cover her body in a way that could have never occurred in nature. Her close friendship and understanding with my mother. She was in the Games!

"Mhm, and oh of course there was the Quell-"

"Mom." Finn cuts his mother off, but it's too late. She's already captured my attention.

"What Quell? What about it?" I ask, my eyes moving rapidly between the two. Annie seems to have realized her mistake, green eyes looking over at Finn nervously.

"Um well honey, you see-" All of a sudden Annie goes quiet, staring down at her fingers and fidgeting with them. I've seen this before, I know Aunt Annie sometimes shuts down when she gets stressed or nervous. Dad mentioned it's some sort of trauma response that developed before she had Finn. Apparently, she's recovered a lot since Finn was born.

"Mom," Finn says softly, brushing Annie's shoulder with his hand, I'm gonna go get Kat and Peeta, okay?"

He doesn't wait for a response and goes to get my parents upstairs. I see why he's not worried though, these usually only last for a few minutes.

Finn's heavy footsteps going up the steps are the only sound I hear. It is late at night after all. Huh, now that I think about it, I should have come home a bit earlier. At this rate, I won't get to bed until midnight.

"Lily?" I turn my head at the sound of my mom's worried voice, finding her standing at the bottom of the stairs, now walking quickly to Annie and me. Her gray eyes stop to scan Annie, taking notice of her silent state, and I see her worry double. "Finn, what happened? I thought she was okay."

My dad gets to Annie's side as fast as he can, his leg slowing him down, and begins gently taking her fingers into his hands. The three of us, Finn, my mom, and I, as he plays with her fingers, lightly massaging them and pushing on pressure points. Slowly yet surely, Annie comes back. Her shoulders drop, her back straightens, and her eyes fill with awareness.

"You alright Annie?" My dad tests, a calm expression masking the concern I know he has for his best friend.

Annie nods, "Yes, oh yes, I'm sorry Peeta. Sometimes it just happens and well, you know…"

"Yea, I know." He sends her a reassuring smile, and she squeezes his hands quickly. I see her tug slightly, and my dad bends down so she can speak into his ear. He swallows nervously, catching my mom's eye across from him. Annie releases him, looking back over to her son, while my dad speaks to my mom in a low voice.

I can't help but let out a frustrated sigh, "You know, it would be real nice if someone would tell me what's going on, instead of whispering about it around me."

I see my mom roll her eyes, while Finn chuckles with a shake of his head. "It was like this for me too, growing up. All the whispered secrets, slow reveals. It sucks when you're the kid but I promise you, it's done to protect you."

I scoff, "Protect me? From what?"

"From knowledge. This knowledge." Mom sits down next to me, taking my hand in hers, "Ignorance is bliss, Lily. But it wouldn't be right to continue keeping things from you."

Finn settles back into the chair and my Dad places himself on the couch across from the rest of us. "Lily, Annie says she mentioned a Quell."

I nod, "Yes she mentioned a quell, but didn't specify. Were you talking about Haymitch?"

"No, Flower. The Quell Annie meant was the 3rd Quarter Quell. The 75th Hunger Games. The second Hunger Games we were in."

I swear I go deaf for a second. I no longer feel my mom's hands touching my own. I lose sight of my dad's blue eyes, a pair that matches my own. I'm floating, flying down a river of "No." No, not another Games. Not another arena. I knew about the 3rd Quell, hell, I bought the tape, but that was because it was the last Hunger Games! Not because my parents were reaped for that one too.

How could they be reaped for two Games? They were Victors, why would they have to go back?

Through all of my thoughts, the only thing I manage to say is, "How?"

"People in the districts were unhappy. They saw Katniss as an inspiration to go against the oppression from the Capitol. It was about time," Annie answers.

"And President Snow didn't like that," my mom says, "He saw me as an enemy. Someone to be eliminated." Mom's eyes tilt up slightly, like she's revisiting a memory, "I remember him coming into my home here, my old home in the village. It was a few months after the Games and he wanted to intimidate me. His reasoning was, if a girl from district twelve, of all places, can stand up to the Capitol and get away unharmed, what's to stop the districts from revolting? He saw me as an accidental creator of an uprising, and I guess I technically was." At some point, I must have regained feeling in my hand, as my mom's ever-tightening grip on mine is getting painful. It's strange how someone can still feel fear even after the threat is long gone. President Snow has been dead for thirty years, the war has been won, yet my mom is nearly trembling, and her skin is flushed. Fear, being a survival instinct, can't help but linger, even when we don't want it to.

"So, even if you won the Games you could still be reaped? That's what they did for the Quell?" I ask.

My dad shakes his head no, "Not entirely. Instead of the whole district being the reaping pool like usual, only previous Victors of the Games had a chance of going back in for the Quell. And, your mom being the only woman…"

I look at my mom, feeling devastated, "You were destined to go back. No matter what."

She swallows stiffly, patting my hand. "Snow wanted me gone. He found a way where he wasn't directly responsible for my death and I would almost certainly meet it."

"But she didn't," Annie says, "Instead she met Finnick. And Johanna. And many other Victors that would not live to see the end of the War. The beginning of New Panem."

"I see…" I say, still feeling curious, wanting to ask more questions but-

"It's late," Finn says, flashing his watch that reads 11:47 p.m. Mom gasps, pulling me off the couch.

"Lily, you have school tomorrow! Go and wash for bed, and then your dad and I will come up for our talk in a few minutes." Ever since my parents and I made that 'deal', we've been talking practically every night. At least, every drama-free night. But I'm dreadfully tired now, and there's no way I can be even more emotionally drained.

"Can we skip tonight? It's already so late." I ask, dragging my feet on my way to the stairs, as if that proves my point.

Mom looks over to Dad, shrugging. "Fine," my dad answers, running a hand through his hair, "But don't expect to get out of explaining why you came home so late!"

I cringe, holding back a nervous laugh as I walk up the steps. "Goodnight Finn, goodnight Aunt Annie!" I call out, smiling at their shouted replies. I know my parents would rather stay with Annie and Finn tonight than discuss their traumas with me, so I'm glad they weren't stubborn this time. Annie and Finn used to visit more often, but ever since Finn started dating his now fiance, he's needed to keep a steady job in order to help pay for the apartment they share, and Annie has a hard time traveling alone. The good thing is though, that means we get to visit District Four a few times a year, which is always super nice. When they do visit though, they stay up late talking to my parents, sometimes inviting Haymitch or going over to his, before staying the night in a Victor's Village house. It's not technically theirs nor is it technically ours, but we've never had a problem. It's the house closest to the gate, with a great view of the hills and the town.

After washing my face clean of any makeup, I practically collapse onto my bed. As much as I love my family, and Annie and Finn are family, I miss when my life was less hectic. I miss the long stretches of simplicity, and being happy with that simplicity. Nowadays, I feel like I don't get a moment of rest, a second to process anything. I learn new and horrible information practically every day, and I'll be honest, it's kind of wearing me down.

Like that isn't obvious.

I miss my brother. I miss afternoons spent reading by myself. I miss tossing flour at my dad while he baked. I miss going on hikes with my mom. I miss when my biggest worries were getting my hair to curl properly and managing my raging crush on Adrian. I'm just tired.

But, who can I blame? I'm the one who wanted to watch the tapes. I'm the one who practically begged to be told everything all at once. I'm the one who hides things from her brother and hasn't spent time with him. At least he has that cat, Trixie. Who I've also barely played with, which is so unlike me! I love animals, I mean, I practically cried every time my mom brought home a rabbit or a deer. But no, instead I've spent all my time watching children murder each other and my parents fight for their lives. Oh also, I got a boyfriend, at least that was something good.

I'm so tired, but I have to keep going...right?

Xoxo

So short, I know! But with the school year coming to a close I've been way too busy lately and this was the most I could squeeze out in between my job and school and extra shit blah blah blah. I hope you guys liked it, please let me know in your reviews! Make sure to follow for any updates, the next chapter should be out by May 15th!