"So, little mermaid," says Finnick, "Are you good at anything?"
It's the day after the Opening Ceremonies, and it's also the day when our training starts. We're eating breakfast, but I don't have much of an appetite. "Tying knots," I answer truthfully, because it's the only thing I'm good at.
Finnick stirs his hot chocolate as he says, "Anything besides tying knots?"
Mags was having a similar discussion with Davis, but it's clear to me that they weren't really getting anywhere. Especially with Mags's speech difficulties.
"Swimming," I say after a pause.
"Well, there obviously won't be a swimming pool in the Training Center," Finnick points out. "A knot tying station is likely, but we want to save your skills for the Gamemakers. I suggest that you learn anything and everything you can from the different stations. Edible plants, knife throwing, anything that can be useful."
I poke at my scrambled eggs without eating it. "I doubt I'll get a decent score from tying knots," I counter.
The only answer Finnick gives me is, "We'll see," because that's when it's time for us to go to the Training Center.
Davis and I are the first ones there. Dakata, the woman who runs the training, begins telling us about the different stations when Monika and the boy tribute from her district, Don, arrive.
"Annie!" Monika cries excitedly, waving at me.
"Making friends already?" Davis remarks.
I glare at him. "Allies are important in the Games."
He shrugs. "Well, just remember that your allies shouldn't be people who can't even take care of themselves," he warns, then turns and heads toward the knife throwing station. Despite it being childish, I stick my tongue out at him.
Monika giggles, not having heard his earlier comment.
"Want to train together?" I ask her, trying to sound as excited as she is.
Her eyes shine as she answers, "Of course!"
More tributes begin arriving then. The girl from District One, Karat, takes a step toward me, before she hesitates and goes off to join Davis. I know they're deciding whether they want me in the Career pack, and that's something I'll never accept.
Doing my best to follow Finnick's advice, I actually learn some of the edible plants and insects. I attempt to throw knives (once the station's clear of the other tributes, that is), but my aim is poor.
I even give the knot tying station a regretful look as we pass it.
"How old are you, Monika?" I ask we sit down at the camouflage station. The trainer, a woman named Dia, offers me some mud. I gingerly take it in my hand.
"Almost thirteen," she says, focusing on the task at hand. She takes some red paint and mix it into the mud, then expertly smudges it onto her arms.
It's not fair that someone so young is part of the Games.
Monika takes a few leaves and sticks them onto her arm. "Look, Annie. I'm a tree," she announces, holding up her arm for me to inspect.
"Are trees supposed to have red stuff in it?" I joke, poking her in the arm.
"Some do," she insists, "if you look closely enough."
"If you say so," I say doubtfully.
"Hey, Don!" She calls out. He turns as he hears his name. "Those trees in our district have red stuff on the bark, don't they?"
"How should I know?" He says coolly. I wince at his tone—it's like we're already in the arena, and he's our enemy. Monika blinks, looking hurt, as he continues, "My mother tells me that the red stuff is blood from those who defied the Capitol."
"Oh, Annie," Monika wails, scrubbing her handiwork off, "Why do we have to kill each other?"
I take her hand and squeeze it comfortingly. "I don't know, Monika, I don't know," I whisper, but I do know. It's because the Games is a way the Capitol reminds us of our status in Panem. That they have control over us.
Trying to distract her, I point to the archery station. "Let's go there next, shall we?"
The day passes by quickly, thanks to the training, and it's not long before night has fallen. I'm exhausted, yet I couldn't fall asleep, so I decide to explore the Training Center building.
The only place that I can go to is the roof, and so I do.
"Why does this always happen?" I groan as I see Finnick Odair staring up at the night sky. It's not the first time I walk in to find Finnick already there before me.
"That first time we met is when you found me on the beach, wasn't it?" Finnick echoes my thoughts.
"It's only been two days since then," I grumble.
The wind blows loudly, causing me to shiver. I mentally kick myself for not bringing a jacket.
Finnick must've noticed, because he drops his own jacket over me. And when he does so, I realize that he's wearing nothing else underneath. "Put some clothes on for once!" I snap, aware of my cheeks burning.
He smirks at me. "Aw, but you like it, don't you?" He teases, reaching a hand out to brush a strand of hair out of my eyes.
A part of me tells me to move away, but a part of me wants to stay. I stand firmly as his hand touches my forehead.
"Are you helping me only because Ellie asked you to?" I blurt out. This is a question I've been dying to ask him, but we've never really gotten a chance to be alone like this.
His hand lingers above my eyes. "Partly," he murmurs. "I have my own reasons too, you know. For helping you."
I frown. "Your own reasons?"
"Yes, my own reasons," he nods. "Why do you think both you and Davis were picked as the tributes?"
"Coincidence?" I suggest.
Finnick lets out a sad little sigh. "No, Annie. It wasn't a coincidence. It's because you were with me that morning."
My blood runs cold as I remember the words he had said to me on the train, "If anyone is to blame for both you and Davis getting Reaped, it's me."
"What's that got to do with anything?" I ask carefully.
"I should start from the beginning," Finnick decides quietly, "so you'll have a better understanding...You know that I was the victor of the Sixty-Fifth Hunger Games," he begins. "I was fourteen, then. The same age Davis is now.
"Nothing happened directly after my winning. My family moved into the Victors' Village, and we lived there peacefully, hoping that we've seen the last of the Capitol. But we were wrong. It was my sixteenth birthday when the first letter came." Finnick takes a deep breath before he continues, "The letter was from President Snow."
I can tell how much his past has shaken him. But I remain silent as he tells his story.
"Do you know why I'm so popular with the women?" he lets out a humorless laugh. "It was all Snow's doing," he spits out, clenching his hand into a fist. "In that letter, he told me to return to the Capitol. 'Mr. Odair, because you are so popular, and because that popularity can be beneficial to us, you are to spend time with the lovely ladies of the Capitol in exchange for money.' I've memorize those words."
"Don't tell me that...he forced you into prostitution?" I ask, horrified that Snow could force Finnick to do something so awful.
He smiles without emotion. "You're pretty smart to figure that out, huh? Yes, Annie. He forced me into prostitution. It's very common for us victors, you know. At first, my family was scared. My father burned the letter and refused to answer it. We thought we had gotten away. Of course, there's no hiding from the Capitol. A few weeks later, the second letter came.
"Then the next. And the next. We couldn't get rid of the letters. Then, about two months after the letters first started arriving, my father was 'accidentally' killed in a boat accident. There were no questions. It had to be the Capitol's doing, reminding us that there's no escaping from them. And so, without much discussion, I comply to Snow's request, leaving my mother and Davis back in the District. Not knowing how they were doing. Not knowing whether they were still alive, or if the Capitol had killed them, too."
I don't know what to say. I'm not very good at comforting people, and I don't think saying "I'm sorry" will be enough for all the pain Finnick has suffered until now. The only thing I do do is to reach forward and touch his arm gently. He takes my hand holds onto it, as if my hand gives him the strength to continue.
"It was terrible, Annie. The Capitol women." He shudders, and his grip on my hand tightens. "I couldn't stand it. I've even considered killing myself a few times, but the thought of the Capitol punishing my mother and Davis was too much, and so I had to bare the burden."
What can I say? I bite my lip. Just listening to Finnick's story is painful enough.
"So for the last three years, I've been going back to the Capitol whenever I had new 'clients'. Until now. It was Davis's fourteenth birthday, and I wanted to stay for him. I ignored Snow's request to return to the Capitol. And then, on the morning of the Reaping, you stumbled upon me on the beach."
"But I didn't even know you then!" I protest. How could the Capitol do this to him? "I mean, I know you, but we just haven't talked till that day..."
His hand squeezes mine so tightly that it hurt. "As long as the Peacekeepers see me with anyone when I'm not supposed to be in District Four at the time is enough for Snow."
"How did they know you were with me?" I ask.
"Spies, Annie," Finnick answers.
"I didn't see anyone on the beach besides you." I recall that morning when I found him sitting on the beach.
Finnick smiles sadly at me. "Oh, but that's sort of the point. You're not supposed to see the spies."
We stand, with him holding my hand, and did not exchange words for a long time. Finally, Finnick says, "You must hate me for what I've done, Annie."
And, for some reason, I can't bring myself to hate him like I've used to. "It's not your fault," I reassure him gently. That is also when I figure out why he's actually mentoring me for the Games, and why he wasn't so concerned with Davis winning. "That's why you want me to win, isn't it? To get back at the Capitol? To tell them that they can't control you as much as they think they can?"
"You really are smart, little mermaid," he says. "Yes, I suppose that's part of the reason. And also that I...I want to save Davis from having to go through the same as me. I sometimes wish that I had died in the arena instead. But then I wouldn't get the chance to meet you, would I?"
I involuntarily blush. I'm glad that it's dark on the roof, so he can't see my blush.
"I guess the payment for spending time with the ladies is good," he comments as an afterthought.
I can't believe that he can joke about it like this, but I play along to lighten the mood. "How much do you charge them, anyway?"
He smirks at me. "Not with money. I don't have any use for that. I charge them with secrets. Well, my little mermaid, do you have any secrets worth my time?"
"I don't hate you anymore," I blurt out before I can stop myself. "At least, not as much as I used to..."
Oh, great. Way to go, Annie, for telling him something so stupid.
Finnick leans in, and for a wild moment I think he's going to kiss me. Instead, his lips brush my cheek lightly before he pulls back and murmurs, "Thanks, little mermaid. I needed to hear that."
He turns and begins making his way back inside. "Goodnight, Annie," he calls to me, and then he's gone.
I stand in the same spot he left me, a hand reaching to the place where his lips had touched my cheek.
Only then do I realize that I've forgotten to give him back his jacket.
Disclaimer: I am not from the Capitol, so of course I don't own the Hunger Games.
I have been planning this chapter even before the story started! ;) hope you enjoy it as much as I did! Leave a review?