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This chapter is back to Finnick's POV.

XXV. The Deal

"Think of it like this. The trident isn't like an extension of the arm; it is an extension of the arm and it should feel natural. If it doesn't, then it's either too heavy or too light. Get another one," I say. "Primarily, the trident is more of a piercing weapon, rather than one for intense battle. Smack, twist, stab and repeat."

The group I'm teaching is a combination of eleven to fifteen year olds. Several struggle, and others seem to get the jist of it. Out of my peripheral vision, I watch as Shelley teaches how to fight with knives. While I was rather talented with wielding a knife, I wasn't entirely accurate. The two of us had only about ten minutes of teaching left, until we are off for the day.

"And remember that the trident won't necessarily be in the Cornucopia, but it's good practise for attacking with a spear. It's heavier, it's easier. If you can use the trident, you can use the spear."

Bettina, a girl around thirteen struggles to lift up the weapon and heave it into the dummy. I retrieve a lighter trident and swap it with her current one. "Your footing is incorrect," I say, demonstrating how her feet should be positioned. "Lunge forward with one leg – not so much that all your weight is on it – and extend your arm forward."

I take a step back, giving her some personal space as she thrusts the three prongs into the heart of the dummy. It's a weak push but it's a push, nonetheless. "Good, but a bit more force into it."

Watching from afar, I note all the flaws that each and every one of them make, and then point them. Improvement isn't much of an issue in the Training Centre; it's fairly significant with the way most trainees are constantly progressing with their skills.

I look around the Training Centre. There are only two main clusters of groups; the rest of the trainees are either sparring or practicing by themselves. Annie stands in the far end, sparring with Ayden once again. My lips curl up into a smile as Ayden claims victory. Not once have I seen Annie win against him.

My mind casts back to two days ago, when we had visited the cemetery together. I had just broken down in front of her, and to this moment, I still want to believe that it had been a dream. But it wasn't. I'm almost certain that she's broken up with Ayden, and the two of them ended things on good terms.

And when I'd talked to my parents and Maya, I just couldn't help but spill about her. Her name had almost slipped out of my mouth and God, that would have been embarrassing if I hadn't managed to catch myself. I can briefly understand why Cashmere is so opposed to be involved in a romantic relationship. Of course, the prostitution is also part of the reasoning.

I'm brought out of my thoughts as a familiar black-haired girl taps me on the shoulder with the blunt end of her trident. "Your class ended two minutes ago, Odair," she says.

Blinking, I stare at her surprised. "Really?" I cast a brief glance around the centre and realise that the class really is over. "Sorry, I was thinking."

"Obviously."

"How come you're here so often now?" I inquire.

Marlene has been coming to the Training Centre day and night, when she's not at home or at school. It's almost like her second home. I've noticed how she's been putting valiant effort into mastering each and every single weapon. She's worked her arse off, studying all the poisonous plants, how to light a fire, how to net and trap, and how to fight. There's not a second that I don't see her in here.

Her gaze averts for a moment before she looks back at me. "I'm volunteering, either for the 68th or 69th Games."

"What?! You can't bloody do that!" I'm overwhelmed with numerous emotions: anger, hurt, confusion. Why in the world would Marlene Summers, of all people, want to volunteer? Yes, she can be brutal at times and yes, she has the traits of a typical Career but she's not ruthless enough to volunteer – at least, not with how I see things.

"And why the hell not? You can't tell me what to do."

"I can't but as your friend and I can try to talk you out of it. Are you out of your mind?"

"No, I'm not!" she exclaims. "I'm volunteering and that's that."

"And what do you plan on receiving in return?" I argue back. "Victory? Fame? Glory?"

"To avenge my brother's death!" Marlene screeches at me.

"Do you want your gravestone to be planted next to his? It's harder than it seems to win, you know."

"What makes you so fucking sure that I'm going to die in the arena? I've been training every single day because it's not that I want to avenge Maxwell. I need to. Wouldn't you want to avenge Maya's death?"

I stay silent, suddenly aware of how quiet the Training Centre has become. Flickering my gaze towards Annie, I notice her grin falter. Her eyebrows crease together in the middle of her forehead as she trails off whatever she'd been saying to Ayden.

"Oh, wait a second… Of course you wouldn't. You were the one who killed her," Marlene accuses, pointing her trident at me threateningly.

All I can do for the moment is stare at her. "You have absolutely no right to talk about her. You don't understand anything, Marlene."

"Of course I understand," she replies, throwing her arms up in the air as she glares at me. "You're the mentor for next year and the year after, and the reason you don't want me volunteering is because you don't want the burden of my potential death on your shoulders. It's always about you: Finnick Odair, golden boy of the Capital. Well, guess what? I don't want you as my mentor. I'll take Joseph, or Dylan or Amphitrite, because all you do is look pretty and gain sponsors. And then, you killed off your own district partner – your best friend, who volunteered for your sister."

"I didn't kill her!" I roar at her. "Did you not watch? She begged and begged for me to do it. Would you rather watch Maxwell suffer from bleeding to death or let him die quickly? Because I sure as hell would feel even guiltier than I do now, if I had chosen the latter. You can't just go around making judgements about me because of what I did in the arena. I didn't choose to participate. There was nothing else we could do. You can't accuse me of anything, because you don't understand what it's like. You want to volunteer? Fine. Do just that but I won't be here to pick up the pieces if you do win."

A hand clamps down on my shoulder, dragging me out the door before I can further scream profanities at the girl. "Calm down, Finnick," Shelley says.

"Get off me," I snap at her, shoving her hand off me. I storm home, slamming the front door behind me. As I walk into the living room, I'm met with Mags who sits on our couch, knitting away. "Hey, Mags," I greet her, with a half-arsed smile.

She grins a gummy smile back at me and offers a wave, the moment Rhea comes in. She looks flustered, and in one hand, she holds the phone. "President Snow's asking for you, Finnick."

And just when my mood couldn't get any worse.

I frown at the inanimate object she bears and she asks, "Is this a bad time? I can tell him to call ba-"

Fearing the worst, I take the phone. "No. I'll talk to him."

"Hello, Mr Odair."

"Hi," I reply, curtly. "Is there anything you want?"

"There's a train in District Four right now and it leaves it twenty minutes. I expect you to be on that train and once you arrive in the Capital, you'll be escorted to one of my associate's offices."

"Do I need to pack anything?"

"No. But if you want to bring anything, nobody's stopping you."

"How long will I stay?"

"Two weeks or so. Maybe longer, depending on how satisfactory you are."

The line goes flat and I bring the phone away from my ear, slamming it onto the table. Ignoring Rhea's protests, I go upstairs and simply stare at my room, without any idea on what to pack or what to do. Do I pack clothes, or will the Capital supply me with them? And before I know it, twelve minutes have passed and I've wasted that time thinking over useless things and pacing around the room. I manage to pack a few items of clothing into a bag within the next few minutes. I take a quick shower, and throw on a shirt and trousers, hoping that time would go back a few minutes.

"What's going on? Finnick, where are you going?" Rhea shoots question after question at me, as I reach for the front door. "Don't ignore me. What did President Snow want?"

Instead of replying with a legitimate answer, I leave her behind. "I'll see you later," I say, kissing the top of her head softly. "Look after Mags and Annie while I'm gone. I'll be back, I promise."

"Hey, Finnick, where are you going?!" I hear Doctor Audrye exclaim as I walk out the Victor's Village. I look back and the first thing I see is her bloated stomach.

"The Capital."

"Oh," she replies. "But you're still not well enough."

"Yeah, well, I kind of have to go," I say, running a hand through my hair.

"Bring me back some strawberries, Finnick!"

Dean walks up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and kisses her on the cheek. "Sweetheart, you're allergic to strawberries."

"Oh."

I would've laughed if it wasn't for the situation at hand. I bid my final goodbyes to them and scurried onto the train, the moment before the doors shut.

I spend the next few hours, pacing around the train. I don't sit down on the couches, or appreciate the mahogany dining tables. Nor do I bother to touch the food that's been laid out especially for me. I pace, hoping for the best despite the fact that it'll be the worst. The hours seem to drag on and on, and I feel as if my life has never gone by so slowly before.

When the train finally does come to a halt, it's evening and the dusk looks beautiful on the horizon. It's possible that it's an illusion, but I choose not to believe it as one of the chauffeurs drive me to an unknown destination. The Capital is buzzing with excitement. Several times, we almost crash into a few women as they struggle to pull my window down. "Finnick!" I hear the scream over and over again.

"Mr Odair," the driver says a few minutes later, gesturing for me to get out. "The Avox will guide you in."

I offer a smile at the woman dressed in red. She holds a white slip of paper in her hands and gesture for me to come along with her. We walk through the labyrinth of rooms, weaving left and right through the hallways. It seems to go on forever and as we walk, I can't help but think that this could serve as an arena for the Hunger Games. In my lifetime, there hasn't been a maze arena - at least, not that I can remember.

We finally arrive at an empty waiting room. Its isolation causes an unnerving emotion to settle in the pit of my stomach and it suddenly feels harder to breathe; like the walls are closing in on me. The Avox watches me, and I squirm under her intense gaze. Thankfully, the door slams open and Cashmere walks out.

"Cashmere?" I ask, surprised to see her here.

She offers a tight smile and a meaningful glare at me, and leaves without another word. The Avox leads me into the room down the corridor, holding her palm out with her fingers pointing towards the door. She smiles slightly and nudges me to go in.

"Thank you," I say to her before I walk in.

A man in a rather professional suit sits before my eyes. His shiny, black hair is gelled black and his blue eyes stare at me like he's won a grand prize. His lips are curved up into a sinister, yet calm smirk as he looks at me up and down. "Mr Odair," he says. "It's nice to finally meet you. Take a seat. I'm Cordelius Sinello."

The same initials as President Snow. Great.

"Nice to meet you," I reply, shaking his hand and taking a seat.

"I'm sure you're fully aware of the deal you have with Coriolanus Snow, and you start when you're seventeen. Am I correct?"

"That's correct."

"I'm here just for clarifications. If you ever have a question, you come to me, but right now, I'm here to explain to you what you'll be doing over the course of the next two weeks and further onwards." Cordelius pauses for a moment and when he realises that I won't reply, he continues on. "Whenever you come to the Capital, you'll be staying in the Training Center; in your case, you'll be staying on Level Four. You will receive a red slip of paper with an address and a time. When you leave, there will be a chauffeur who will drive you to where you need to go. I'm sure you're aware of any… consequences that may occur if you choose to deny a request."

"Yes, I'm aware of that, sir. Is there anything else?"

"The Capital is well aware that you are not a virgin but the highest bidder, Axelia Whittemore is willing to pay four million to be the first woman in the Capital to have you firs-"

"Four million?" I repeat. "That's crazy!" I don't deny the fact that I'm not a virgin. It's a false statement, but I'll let them think whatever they want.

"When you're not needed," he continues on, as if I hadn't interrupted. "You are free to do whatever you please. I'm sure you saw Miss Delgado just several minutes ago. She'll be staying for the same amount of time as you. Additionally, you are also needed to spend three months here, within the time span of a year. You may choose to stay longer-" Yeah, right. "-but you cannot choose to stay for even a day less than three months. However, you may choose when you want to come: three months in a row, you can split it up into weeks, days - as long as you complete your job. Do you have any questions?"

"No," I reply, instantly. "I understand."

"Then, I have nothing more to say. You're dismissed."

A/N: This chapter was originally going to be a lot longer but I decided to stop it here, because I wanted to know what you guys think. Starting next chapter, Finnick obviously starts going off with Capital women. I definitely won't be writing everything sex-related in detail ('cause y'know, I'm only in high school) but I want to know what you guys are comfortable with. Please review, otherwise I won't be able to know what you guys want with this! Also, I'm not completely sure when I'll update next, since I have exams coming up.