Days suddenly became a blur for Effie. She was doing fine before she was arrested the second time or at least, she was trying to but being put back in prison caused her to setback quite far. She started to lose hours and then days. She was surprised to hear that Katniss finally woke up and Peeta is being discharged. Johanna monitored her closely when Haymitch was not around. She said he and Chaff are taking care of Katniss and Peeta since the two are on the edge. She wants to point out that she's on edge too but the children always come first. She was informed of Dalia's involvement in her release. She meant to thank the woman but she cannot bring herself to step out of her room. She's scared that if she goes back, there will be soldiers waiting for her again to arrest her.
Haymitch told her the condition Coin laid out for her immunity. She needs to step into the role of an escort one last time for Katniss. He said Snow is going to be executed publicly by the girl. She frowned at that because as satisfying as that would be, she doesn't want Katniss to carry that on her conscience. Shooting an arrow on a man tied up to a post. That's not justice. That's just plain killing but then again, it's Snow. It's not like he hadn't done it in his days but Katniss is not Snow. She did not object. She knows the purpose of that condition, why Coin wants her to do that. It will not make her popular to the people but she gets to live. That's the main reason to do it. Besides, no one knows Katniss better than her team.
Effie was given all her proper tools to put on her mask. She started putting on the dress and it felt heavy. Perhaps, it's her weight loss but it's more than that. She's not the same person anymore. She used to care about her appearance but she no longer care about it. Her movements are automatic. Her body recognized what she wants to do and it moves on its own. Before she even knows it, her escort mask is back on. One thing it is lacking is her famous escort smile which she cannot muster any longer. She stared at her shoes for the longest time. They're a bit high but compared to what she usually wore, they're not that high. The thing is her ankle. The doctor said she can never wear those again but they've given her high heels. It's not like she can walk out there on bare foot. No escort makes public appearance without any shoes on.
She put her good foot first before she attempted the other one. The moment she put her weight on it, she hissed in pain and grabbed the wall to prevent herself from falling on the floor.
"What the fuck are you doing?" Johanna spat when she saw her clinging to the wall for support.
"Language", she calmed herself by breathing slowly. "Help me, will you? They gave me one with straps and I cannot…it needs to be strapped", she requested.
Johanna took a good look at her feet and realized why she's hugging the wall.
"There's no way I am going to let you walk in those. Do you want to lose your foot or what?" she refused.
Effie rolled her eyes around.
"It's not like I have a choice here. They sent me these and I can't walk out of here without shoes", she explained.
Johanna can just kill Coin right about now. Of course, sending Effie with high heels was on purpose. She knows about her injuries and she's trying to make her suffer.
"Fine. Wear mine. We've got the same size anyway", she took off her shoes and tossed it on her, "This is not the time to be picky. You ain't walking out of this room only to lose your foot few hours from now", the girl insisted.
Effie wants to protest that the shoes don't match the dress but they look comfortable and she does not want to be in pain the entire time so she agreed. She let Johanna helped her taking off the heels before putting on her shoes.
"Thanks…" she muttered before taking one last glance of herself on the mirror.
"You look like a clown again", Johanna snorted.
Effie smiled a little.
"Well, everyone has a role to play in this game. This is mine", she said.
"The game is over, Trinket. Snow is going to die today", Johanna reminded her.
She turned to face the girl and closed the distance between them to fix the collar of her shirt.
"Game is never over, dear. You, of all people, should know that. We're just in a different arena with a different set of gamemakers", she replied and left to tend to Katniss.
The girl is stoic in front of her. She's wearing Cinna's last creation which she modified to the best of her abilities. She ignores the girl's eyes burning holes on her and keeps working on polishing the girl's look. The last touch is the mockingjay pin but instead of gold, she made it black to blend in with the outfit. It's also fitting with the occasion.
"Effie", she almost startled but hid it very well before meeting Katniss' eyes, "Are you alright?" she asked.
She has no idea how much Katniss knows about what happened to her or what Haymitch told her but she's not going to burden the girl with her problems. It's not for her to carry. She got enough of her own herself.
"I'm fine, dear…just fine", she lied.
She has no idea who she's trying to convince. Whether it's Katniss or herself, she has no clue. She doesn't know if the girl bought her lie either, for sure she didn't.
Before she went on stage to be with Plutarch and Fulvia, she met Peeta backstage. The boy looked a lot better than the last time she saw him.
"It's alright. They told me. I'm just glad you're okay now", he said when she's about to apologize to him for not keeping her word in visiting him in his room.
She met Chaff's eyes and realized it was him who informed the boy about what happened to her after her last visit.
"Well, I am glad to see you finally out. You two should go join the other Victors. After this, it will all be over", she responded.
She took her spot on stage and saw Haymitch looking at her from below. He's standing next to Enobaria and Johanna when Peeta and Chaff joined them. Beetee is on stage with them. He flashed her the bangle she gave him and it put a smile on her face even for a brief moment. Katniss walked the path towards Snow armed with her bow and arrow. The girl is dead set on her task. Effie hoped that maybe, this will give her closure.
Coin started her speech and she felt like she's about to get sick. Everything that comes out of her mouth is pure lies but she kept her mouth shut. One more thing and they're free or as free as they can be.
When Katniss fired her arrow, it missed Snow. No. Katniss never missed. It was intentional, her plan all along. She had shot Coin instead and the woman fell off stage. It shocked everyone but not Haymitch. No. He knows she's going to do that. He knows and he didn't tell her. Johanna smirked while staring at Snow. She took out her axe and she just snapped. She took giant steps and hit him again and again. The crowd went wild. People are torn who to support. Snow is dead. Coin is dead. The Mockingjay just killed the interim president and they're confused.
"We need to go now", Plutarch said to her and ushered her off the stage.
She does not know where he's taking her but she ended up inside the conference room with the other Victors except for Katniss.
"Princess, are you alright?" Haymitch asked her right away, checking her for any injuries, but he can never see those.
"You knew…you knew she's going to do that", she muttered in disbelief.
Peeta, Beetee, Enobaria, and Johanna are all staring at them in confusion but not Chaff. He always trusted his best friend.
"I have a feeling she might. The girl knows how her sister died. She knows Coin tried to put you on trial and have you executed. Katniss is not the forgiving type", he confirmed.
That's why Katniss had asked her earlier if she's alright. She avenged them from Coin and Johanna axed Snow for all the things he did. She's still covered in blood.
"Well, your bird beat me to it. I am this close to axing that bitch but at least, I got to gut Snow…one of the happiest moment of my life", Johanna declared.
Enobaria rolled her eyes on her while Chaff scoffed.
"You're lucky I don't have any weapons with me. I would have beat you to Snow", he said.
"…like hell you can. You're old", Johanna spat.
Effie looked around.
"Where is Katniss? What have they done to her?" she asked.
"They arrested her. She was about to kill herself too but I stopped her. I grabbed the suicide pill from her and just pinned her to the ground and they took her", Peeta answered.
Katniss had lost it. Prim's death hit her hard. She loved that girl so much. She volunteered to take her place for goodness' sake.
"What now? You know they're going to put her on trial. It ain't going to be pretty", Chaff asked.
They're going to make her pay for Coin's death. They might order her execution.
"They cannot execute her, right? She's the Mockingjay", Peeta added.
"She shot an arrow to the rebels' president on stage. That's not going to go away just like that", Johanna commented.
Haymitch leaned against the wall as he lets the other banter about Katniss. Enobaria said she's done helping. She said she already done enough and Coin's death is Katniss' mess, not hers. Beetee was wise to remain quiet.
"Insanity…we plead insanity. We tell them that she's not mentally well during the execution due to her sister's death and the injuries she sustained from the bombing. She's traumatized. That should sway the jury. Everyone knows of Katniss' efforts during the rebellion and that's bound to take toll. We can use that for the girl", he suddenly said.
Everyone stopped and turned to him.
"Well, I'll be damned. You should be a lawyer, Haymitch. That mind of yours actually does wonders sometimes", Johanna mocked.
The others chuckled while Effie held his hand in support.
The trial was fast. They stayed at the Mansion while Haymitch and Chaff did their best for Katniss. Effie was drifting away but doing her best not to let it show in front of Johanna and Peeta. The boy is seeing a therapist and Johanna decided to help Annie with the baby. She said it's the only way she can repay Finnick for saving her life and that Annie would need help eventually. She even suggested for all of them to move in Four so they can all be together and drive each other crazy.
When the verdict was given, it also happened fast. Effie was in the bedroom she was given when Haymitch found her. He looks tired, exhausted and ready to crash. He's been working nonstop to save the girl and it's not sitting well with his sobriety.
"Have you eaten yet? I can get you something", he did not answer her. He just went to her and hugged her tight. "Okay, Haymitch. You are scaring me. What is the verdict? Are they going to execute Katniss?" she asked in panic.
He pulled back and looked at her.
"No, princess. They're not going to execute her", she sighed in relief, "They're shipping her back to Twelve", he answered.
"What?" she asked too quickly.
"That's the condition for her release. They deemed her to be dangerous and they want her far away from the Capitol so they're sending her back to Twelve and she needs to be accompanied by her guardian since she's underage and all", he answered.
"Oh…that's too bad. Dalia wanted to live in Four but they have each other at least", she muttered.
He shook his head and held her hands tighter.
"Dalia bailed, sweetheart. She said she couldn't bear to go back to Twelve after what happened. She took off leaving Katniss without a guardian…"
"Haymitch, what did you do?" she asked, her heart pounding fast in her chest.
"I assumed the role of Katniss' guardian. I am going back to Twelve with her…tomorrow morning", he answered.
Effie can almost hear her own heart breaking but he couldn't.