Over, under, over, under…

The ring shone on her finger as she examined the woven pattern on the band. The stone set on it gleamed in the light coming through the window and Rini brought it to her lips, closing her eyes.

"This ring is special, Rini. I had picked one out for you myself, but this morning your father took me aside and he gave me this. He told me that he was keeping it for you for the day that you got married, and well…here we are. It's your mother's ring."

Renata squeezed her fist tighter as she heard the tenderness that had been in Seneca's voice at their wedding. Even as she tried to abandon the ring, she couldn't. It had been her mother's, and it felt wrong to take it off. It was a part of her; it represented a part of her life that was over now. Seneca was dead.

"It's all your fault," Snow's voice hissed in her head and she covered her ears, shaking her head. No. She hadn't meant for anyone to die. But still, the guilt writhed inside her.

He'd been so willing to die with her. And even when Snow had stopped her, he hadn't fought. Why not?

"God, you were worth it, weren't you?"

She shivered and hugged her arms to her chest, shaking her head. No, she hadn't been worth it.

Under, over, under, over…

The train doors opened and Renata nearly toppled over at the gust of wind that hit her. It was complete sensory overload. The sun was hanging low in the sky, but its rays cast a warmth on her pale skin that reached her very core. Her legs carried her off the platform and down the stone stairs, muscle memory taking over.

She was finally home.

Despite herself, a grin pulled up her lips and she felt tears of relief well in her eyes. She opened her eyes and took a deep breath, the mixture of smells on the wind unbelievable. Her heart fluttered and she remembered that she was staying there. For an extended time, at least.

Renata headed for Victors' Village, seeing her house before she had entered the gates. It was well into the village and she pumped her arms, running as fast as she could. When she made it to the front step, she was a panting mess and she pounded on the door before realizing something.

"This is my house," she mumbled to herself and walked in, pushing her hair out of her face. "Cecil?" she called, looking in the empty living room. "Cec, it's me! I'm home!" She ran into the kitchen and frowned when there was no one in there either. "Cecil! Leona!" She ran from room to room, stopping when she heard footsteps on the stairs.

Leona reached the floor at the same time that Rini came through the doorway, her blue eyes wide and expectant.

"I'm home," she breathed, smiling warmly at her. "Where's Cecil?"

The older woman was silent and looked like she was holding back tears.

"Leona?"

"What are you doing here?" she finally spoke, her voice a strained whisper.

"I-"

"How dare you come back here when all this happened because of you!" Her sudden change in volume startled the redhead and Renata staggered back a few steps. The pain in Leona's voice made her heart beat faster and she looked around desperately for Cecil.

"Please, where-"

"He's gone! They came and they dragged him out of the house, and they shot him on the step!" the woman screamed, advancing towards Rini and landing a loud smack across her cheek. "Cecil is dead! If it weren't for you, my children would have their father! I'd still have him!"

Leona's words had started to fade together and Rini rocked back on her heels. She caught herself against the wall and tried to breathe. No. No… She blinked when she heard a quieter sound, like a kitten mewling.

Polom and Aria were standing on the staircase, holding one another with tears streaming down their faces. She could see the pain on their faces, the memory of their father's death in their heads that could never been unseen.

"Polom," Rini whispered, reaching out to him and his sister.

The boy blurted out a tiny sob and he let go of his sister to run upstairs, away from her. Aria whimpered and she followed her brother, not so much as looking at Renata.

"Get out, do you hear me? Get away from me and my family before you hurt us any more than you already have!"

Every heartbeat echoed in Renata's ears and she turned away from Leona towards the front door, her feet carrying her without any effort. The door slammed behind her and she looked up, seeing that people had started coming out of their houses to see what all the screaming had been about. Her eyes dropped back down to the concrete steps and she felt her blood turn to ice. Blood was splattered over the staircase, caked on and turned brown.

An anguished scream exploded from her and she dropped to her knees, holding her head between her hands. As she stared at the mess she could imagine the scene that had unfolded.

Cecil being dragged out of the house. Leona and the kids racing after him only to catch a last glimpse of him before he was shot like a sick dog.

Renata fell down the stairs and she began to run away from Victors' Village as hard as she could. Tears streamed down her face and she ran nearly blind, going wherever her legs were taking her. She'd run out of the district if she could.

"I won't tolerate any misbehavior."

The air had turned cold now, and the stench of the sea choked her as she gulped in gasps of air.

"I'll be watching you."

All her fault. Everything was her fault.

"I will break you," Snow had promised.

Her knees gave out and she fell in a mess of herself, too weak to raise her head from the sand. She choked and gagged on it as she sobbed, feeling utterly destroyed inside. Gone was the girl that tried to challenge the Capitol. That girl was dead. All that was left was a shell of her.

She was broken.

And here we are, at the end of Undertow.

I want to say a huge huge thank you to everyone for sticking around and staying with me even as i struggle through massive writers block, and I hope that you will continue to read Rini's story as I get to writing it. I've got so so so so much more planned for this lady and I can't wait to share it. Your support is overwhelming and I could not do it without you all! I can't believe I've finished two stories, I'm just baffled.

RIP Cecil Leary and Seneca Crane (wahhh)

And now I'm a bit stuck. I'm wondering if I should go straight into writing the next story...or going back to Disarm and possibly writing it from Finnick's POV! If you would prefer one way or the other, let me know! Your feedback is very well appreciated! Bless all of you, and have a Happy Christmas if you celebrate it!

-Kelsey