Chapter 42: Heart's Grave

Muted sounds of violins and flutes greeted Sera when she stepped back into the ballroom, the sounds of laughter and clinking champagne glasses married with the almost muted music of the orchestra. The ballroom was still the same maze of glistening chandeliers and tables draped in opulent yet simple linens, and her eyes never seemed to stop scanning the room as she effortlessly floated between guests.

She'd expected to be swarmed by some of the guests or any of the curious orphans wondering where she went but to her surprise, the large foyer turned ballroom of the orphanage was emptier than before and if that wasn't enough, most of the guests had cocooned in the opposite corner of the room.

She didn't know if she was glad or concerned that she wasn't the one under the spotlight for once but seeing Finnick smile and laugh as if nothing was wrong in the world almost fooled her.

Like the strings of the violins, she felt a slight tug at her heart when his eyes met hers and momentarily he stopped smiling. She looked away just as Cashmere stepped back into the room as beautiful as she ever was with not a trace of her tears or the mess of a girl that was with Sera upstairs, crying about how much she hated her life.

"Looks like we weren't missed after all." Cashmere crossed her arms around her chest, an arrogant but sympathetic look on her face as she glanced between Finnick and Sera.

"That's a good thing."

"Is it?"

"Would you rather be questioned by everyone about…Consul Droit or where you went or why you were missing for over three hours?"

Cashmere paled.

"Thought so."

Sera feigned a smile and nodded her head at a few passers-by before she spoke. "If I didn't know any better you almost sound jealous, Cash." She lightly teased.

"You're not jealous that he's getting all the attention?" A few guests ran their hands up and down his arms. Sera pretended she didn't see a thing as she smiled and waved at some of the passing children.

"Should I be?" She countered. She hated attention.

"Maybe? I mean this event was to raise funds for these kids and you're the host."

She shrugged. She had more important things on her mind—she needed to kick the Consuls out. Consul Droit was under the custody of the Peacekeepers in another building but he was still on the premises and so was Scarus. She couldn't just leave those two alone. She needed Scarus out and then she needed to go over her plans after she called it a night.

Jealousy was a wasted emotion.

"I'm actually thankful for his…distractive presence."

If Finnick wasn't here, she'd get bombarded with questions and so many inquisitive glances that would make her head spin. She didn't have time for that or the mental capacity to handle the questions. Even if she didn't want to think about it, he was more helpful than she'd ever like to admit.

Cashmere gave her a disapproving side-eye and sighed. "Well, he is distractive." She agreed, turning to look at Sera for approval but Sera had already moved on. She motioned to one of the servers to get Gloss and took a step back. "Sera—"

Gloss stood on the opposite end of the room, near one of the entrances. Next to him was Johanna who seemed to be saying something to the older victor but it was clear to Sera and Cashmere that he wasn't listening. His thoughts must've been focused on his sister. He appeared annoyed and that only seemed to spur Johanna on.

It took him a second to notice the silent messenger in front of him, waiting for his attention. He jolted to life once he spotted his sister across the room and quickly left Johanna behind without even ending the conversation

Sera grabbed Gloss by the arm, pulling him towards a hidden corner of the room where they could speak in relative privacy along with Cashmere. He didn't even notice Sera's touch and just moved like a puppet on a string without any resistance, his focus was solely on his sister.

The string snapped.

His dull gaze sparked with sudden fury before he narrowed his eyes and pulled away from Sera's grips. She let go without a word and took a step back. This wasn't her place to interfere. She did her part and she didn't want to get into a conversation with them at that moment or it would be a long night.

"What…happened?" Gloss grounded out, breathing heavily as he took in Cashmere's almost perfect appearance, too perfect to seem real that even a blind person could tell it was an act. "Cash?"

Cashmere glanced at Sera helplessly, almost pleading for her help but Sera pretended she didn't see her. "N-nothing." Cashmere stuttered out and smiled brightly. "Absolutely nothing happened." She added.

"Really? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." She said, almost swallowing back her tears. Sera patted Cashmere's back and took a step back. "I'm fine." She repeated.

Her golden hair was flawlessly arranged, cascading down her slender shoulders like a waterfall of silk, and her rose-colored gown caught the dim light just right to create an alluring shimmer, contrasting sharply against her pale skin. Despite her beauty and grace, there was something bordering on desperation in her gaze.

"What happened?" Gloss asked again. This time he wasn't looking at his sister but rather at Sera. "Seraphine."

Sera looked away from the wreck. She didn't want to get even more involved with them. Cashmere with her eyes wide threw a silent warning at her. "Cashmere got lost. I had to search the second-floor west wing of the orphanage to find her, only to realize that she was in the other building." Sera lied and waved at a relieved Zephyr who all but skipped over to them.

Sera knew that Gloss wouldn't be convinced. It wasn't her best lie but if she quickly busied herself with her work and left the two siblings alone, she wouldn't have to deal with it. Cashmere would probably be annoyed at her but she'd get over it. She always did.

"She was…lost?" Gloss questioned and Sera nodded with a soft smile while patiently waiting for Zephyr to return. "She was lost." He repeated and looked at his sister's forced smile. "You want me to believe that?"

"Hmm." Sera pretended she didn't hear as Zephyr hurried over with her tablet. "Sorry, can you give me a minute?" She picked up the tablet and scanned through it, slowly backing away while Zephyr glanced between Cashmere and Gloss.

"The donation boxes…" Zephyr hesitantly began, avoiding Gloss' glare. "Were full so Emilia and I had it replaced. Most of the donations were checks and a few were…trinkets like jewelry."

"That's fine. Were the checks properly filled out?" Zephyr nodded while Gloss loudly tapped his feet on the ground but Sera ignored him. "Great. The treasurer can cash it in. I don't have to worry about that but did you make a note of who donated."

"Almost everyone on the guest list except—ah!" Zephyr pursed his lips and stifled a laugh. Sera cocked her head to the side and gave him a dull look. She didn't wish she asked that.

"Johanna and Finnick." Gloss hurriedly answered without letting Zephyr finish. "Now what happened upstairs? I know you two weren't at the other building."

Sera loudly sighed. "Thank you for that." Of course, Finnick and Johanna had to keep sticking out. "Nothing happened. I need to chase—persuade those two to donate or leave." She said, turning to Zephyr for help.

"No," Zephyr said without even letting Sera speak. "Absolutely not. I won't be going anywhere near Johanna Mason, not after how she treated me during her stupid victory tour. She gets on my nerves."

"She gets on everyone's nerves." Cashmere chimed in, an attempt to shift focus from her.

Sera spared her a glance and Cashmere smiled.

"Why is she even here and with him," Cashmere motioned towards Finnick. His laughter echoed through the air, taunting Sera who stood dejectedly beside her. With a hint of irritation in her voice, Cashmere nudged at the topic she knew would upset Sera further. "You know, I heard he might be seeing Johanna now." She said, her gaze fixated on Finnick's carefree figure.

Zephyr scrunched up his face and shook his head before a few laughs escaped him. "I heard that Cashmere has too much time on her hands and I guess it was true." He quipped and rolled his eyes. "Seriously, that's the first I've heard of something like that, and no offense to Johanna, I'm sure she's great but come on…"

"She's not a bad person," Gloss commented. "She just needs to tone down her anger a little but I do agree that—"

Sera clenched her fists and forced herself to ignore everything. Though she was faintly aware of Zephyr and Cashmere's words, she put it in the background with the chatter, laughter, and faint melody of the orchestra. Her eyes were fixed on the guest list.

The guest list.

He wanted to see the guest list.

She sighed and threw her head back. That was another problem in her ever-growing pile of problems. She could only hope that whatever Finnick was up to didn't get in the way of her plans or worse, catch the attention of President Snow.

Plutarch would make her step in to rectify his screw-ups and she didn't have time for that—is what she told herself. No, she didn't have time for anyone and it was all her fault. Still, she couldn't waste time pitying herself.

She also had to worry about Scarus. He was onto her or was trying to mimic her, either way, she was a little nervous about either prospect. She underestimated him and she needed to do something about him before he did suspect her. Unlike her, he didn't need to rely only on the President to stay afloat. Her influence was tied to her philanthropy, and her status as a victor and the President. She was on shaky ground and she was afraid of falling.

"Sera, what do you think abou—"

Sera cut Cashmere off. "I don't. Unfortunately, I have more important things to worry about than this…like collecting donations for the orphanage." She gave a sharp look to Zephyr who grinned and nodded his head at an annoyed Cashmere. "Where's Emilia?"

"Emilia?" Zephyr echoed and then swayed his head from side to side like a palm tree. He wetted his lips, gone was his playfulness and he seemed almost anxious. "She's with a friend…from her University days."

Friend?

Emilia didn't mention any of her friends being invi—

"Right, it slipped my mind." Sera turned to Gloss and Cashmere, both seemed suspicious of Zephyr but Gloss didn't care at that moment, his mind only on his sister. "Why don't you two take a break? There's a lounge area just through that hallway on the right-hand side." Cashmere tried to protest but Sera stopped her before she could even get a word in. "I'll come and get you before I finish up so we can go back to my place together—if that's okay with you Gloss?"

Gloss nodded and took his sister's hand, pulling her away to follow Sera's direction.

She turned back to the tablet and tapped her nails on the screen. The guest list glared up at her. Almost all the names were highlighted in green indicating their attendance as present while a few sporadic names in red were scattered here and there.

"Did you have a look when he was checking the list?" She quietly asked as Zephyr shuffled closer to her.

"I did, and nothing." Zephyr dragged his feet on the wooden floor. "He went through the whole thing and when he was done, he was pretty angry like…"

"Like?"

"Like he expected something or someone to be there but nothing."

She nodded along to his words. "So he was looking for someone, that someone wasn't invited?" She tried to guess, almost putting herself into Finnick's mind. She didn't even need to do this and she didn't know why she was standing here trying to pick apart his thoughts and actions. They had nothing to do with each other.

Unless he got in her way.

'Then you could just get rid of him just like the others.'

On instinct, she grabbed her injured arm tightly. Pain shot through her like lightning and drove away the black fog. Still, she couldn't breathe even though the lump in her chest was gone, the self-inflicted pain was still there.

Zephyr stood by the side and watched her subtle and slow movements with a rough expression. He opened and shut his mouth, wetting his dried lips before looking away like he always did. It wasn't like Sera would ever listen to a thing he said so there was no point wasting his breath.

"Ah, there you are." Emilia's heels clicked in rhythm with the soft melody of the orchestra as she took her place next to Sera. "Where have you been? Did you find Cashmere?"

"Cashmere's with her brother." Zephyr answered before Sera could.

"Are you done with your meeting?" Sera asked in turn, sending the guest list to Dr Jadewell. She'd skip asking Finnick and Johanna for donations. There were enough funds raised. "Emilia?" She called out, looking over her tablet.

Anxiously, Emilia looked around then nodded and Sera bowed her head, hiding her face with her tablet. Emilia bit her painted lips and cleared her throat. Sera looked up at her from the tablet again.

"The...bishop would like to see you." She whispered out, barely audible for anyone to hear but both Zephyr and Sera caught her words.

The two District 5 victors shared a look and shut their eyes, mirroring each other's tired looks. The two wanted nothing more than to wrap up the ball and go back to the training center.

"Is that so?" Sera mused and passed the table back to Emilia. "This works out. I need to see him too."

"Is everything okay?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean. I s-saw Peacekeepers go upstairs and then Consul Droit was led to the outer building."

"I know, I called for the Peacekeepers."

"Why'd you do that?" Zephyr interjected. "It's not like you—"

Sera sighed audibly. She hated questions and she hated how she had no choice but to rely on others. "I didn't exactly have the choice but to rely on them unless either of you wanted to explain a Consul dead from mysterious circumstances or babbling like a madman."

Zephyr and Emilia paused. It took him and Emilia a second before they realized what exactly might have happened as Zephyr stared down the hall Cashmere disappeared off to with her brother.

"How could he?" Emilia gasped, covering her mouth in shame. "His fiancée is here and children are running around. How could he—"

"Well, he tried and failed." Sera cut her off and lightly rubbed her forehead with two fingers to ease an oncoming headache. "That's not the only problem." Emilia raised her brow to question her but Sera held up her hand. "Can you have one of the volunteers, maybe Drusilla Maslof, request Consul Redcliff and Consul Droit to retire for the night?"

"It's a little cruel to make Miss Maslof be the one to—"

"What Consul Droit attempted to do was even crueler." Sera ground her teeth. "Get someone to see them out."

"You want to kick them out?" Zephyr tilted his head to the side and carefully lowered his tone as a few guests came over to greet him and Sera. "You want to kick them out?" He repeated once more.

"I can't exactly have them stay and cause more problems."

"B-but Consul Redcliff hasn't done anything." Emilia rightly pointed out. Even if her assistant didn't exactly like the former Elite Guard, she was fair to him and knew kicking him out with reason would have grave repercussions. "Let's be…logical here." She tried but Sera didn't see even move.

She needed Scarus out more than ever. Plutarch wanted a meeting and if she was to meet Plutarch, there was a small chance that Scarus would try to find her. A small chance but a chance she didn't want to take.

She needed Scarus out and she'd use whatever method she could to get him to leave.

"I am being logical," Sera stated blankly. "Consul Droit was–is a monster and he should be treated like one after what he tried to do."

"I didn't say he wasn't one but Consul Redcliff—"

"Will have his hands full trying to discipline his fellow Consul, even more so given that he's the Head of the Tribune."

Emilia paled while Zephyr frowned. "Head of the Tribune?" Both said at the same time though Zephyr was more confused than concerned. Sera nodded. "I-I'll arrange a few volunteers to kindly ask the Consuls to retire for the night a-and your meeting—Plu-the Bishop and the Rook are waiting at the greenhouse. He's expecting you both to be there."

Sera nodded as the cocoon at the opposite end of the ballroom burst and like colorful butterflies, they all fluttered across the ballroom.

On the other side, a group of volunteers stood with their arms crossed as the children gathered around them before they led them away with a few other orphanage workers.

Dr Jadewell appeared from the cocoon and stood in the center, taking Sera's place. "Dr Jadewell's taking over the hostess role." Zephyr said, relieved and ready to go back to some corner he was hiding in before Sera forced him to take her place.

"She thought it would be best for her as the director of the orphanage to see through the end of the ball," Emilia added. "You two can rest for a few hours."

"Three more hours," Zephyr said out loud, catching the attention of Sera. "It's bedtime for the kids. That means we have three hours till the end."

"I already wasted three," Sera commented, watching the dazed butterflies laughing brightly as they waved at the children. Some of the guests were a little tipsy. "Emilia, don't forget to give the Consuls a gift bag."

Emilia hurried out gracefully to get rid of the Consuls while Zephyr went to get something to eat, promising to return with something for her, not that she was in the mood to eat.

"Seraphine," Some guest whose name she'd quickly forgotten came to greet her. His dull muted gray-blue hair blocked her vision momentarily as she tried to recall the guest's name. "I don't believe I had the opportunity to say that this event was a marvelous idea." The man chirped.

"Thank you for your kind compliments." Sera bowed her head and eyed one of the exits but for a second her attention was caught by the sniffling magenta-haired girl behind the man. "Is everything okay?" She asked even though she didn't care.

The magenta-haired girl looked up. Her unnaturally dyed gray-pink eyes fiercely at Sera. The corners of Sera's lips lifted into a hint of a smile but she fashioned a mask of pity before anyone could notice.

"E-everything is fine." The girl stuttered out. "I'm having a grand time." She said through her gritted teeth while her eyes twitched and she looked away for a second to stare at the back entrance.

The harsh stomping of boots and some raised voices could be faintly heard from the back. The double backdoors rattled for a second before they made a harsh sound and then silence followed.

The troubled girl before Sera started to sniffle even more. Tears escaped her dyed eyes as the man accompanying her glared openly at her.

"Drusilla!" He hissed out, grabbing her arm and tightening his hold on her. "Get a hold of yourself. You're embarrassing me."

Sera pursed her lips and stared coldly at the scene before her. She didn't pity Drusilla or her father, if anything, the two were being a nuisance. She had nothing to get out of them either.

"Perhaps Mr Maslof and your daughter would like to retire for the evening." She suggested, folding her arms around herself and motioning for a volunteer to come over. "I won't blame you for leaving after all the festivities will end soon enough anyway."

"Miss Reza, my daughter is just acting up." The man breathed out awkwardly while Sera nodded along. "It's just one of those days. You know how emotional women can be. She's too much like my cousin, you see—"

"Lady Sayre?" Sera cautiously guessed.

Mr Maslof's eyes darkened and his grip on his daughter tightened, she let out a quiet gasp of pain as she was shoved behind her father. "Mrs Redcliff." He corrected her before letting out a quiet laugh. "Ah, I see she must've not let go of her habit of introducing herself with her maiden name but she's married even if…her father disapproved of the match."

Sera nodded. "I don't like to gossip." Unless the gossip was worth her time. She didn't care about Scarus' family drama.

"Of course. Of course. Gossiping is a waste of time." Mr Maslof's lips stretched wide as he bobbed his head down and up energetically. "A shame my daughter can't learn from you."

"We all have our little hobbies and I'm sure Lady Sa–Mrs Redcliff just misses her family."

"Well, she has her own family and she should worry about them." Mr Maslof glared harshly at the backdoor like he knew what was going on behind those doors. "It's no wonder her son is like that."

"Her son?"

"Scarus. He's too much like that…" Mr Maslof lowered his voice.

"Too much like?"

"Someone we shouldn't be talking about," Drusilla spoke out from behind her father's back and glared at Sera. "Remember, Father?" She added almost in a mocking tone.

Her father scowled and nodded.

Sera smiled and looked up at the glittering chandelier. The light crashed against the crystals and splintered into pretty colors; even Scarus' family thought he was more like the late Minister Thistlewood.

"I'm simply commenting on how alike the two were, even the way he's been acting lately. If he's not careful, he'll end up like him."

"He's only doing what everyone is." Drusilla surprisingly defended Scarus. "We all should strive to be better than who we are."

"You should've told that fiancé of yours that." Mr Maslof spat out and Drusilla bowed her head.

Sera flipped her wrist and checked the time once again. She looked up to search for Emilia or Zephyr; neither was anywhere in her sight. "Why don't you two retire for the evening? We'll be wrapping up soon since the children have gone to bed and I need to leave too since…you know."

The father and daughter pair shared a look and nodded. Drusilla seemed a little calmer and smiled at Sera in gratitude. She couldn't blame the girl but she didn't exactly think too highly of her either. The more Sera looked at her, the more she resembled Scarus even with the faint scent of lily of the valley—

Lily of the valley?

Alarmed, Sera took a step back as Scarus stalked towards her. "Scarus." His mother's cousin icily greeted him. "Where're your manners?"

A few guests paused to stare while a few craned their necks to watch the scene about to unfold. Sera covered her mouth and promptly started to take her place once again as she smiled at the guests gawking, almost daring them to carry on.

Scarus glared at his mother's cousin and Drusilla before he noticed Sera. "You." He spat out. "What's the meaning of this?"

"Meaning of what exactly, Consul?" Sera questioned innocently, tilting her head to the side.

"I understand Tantalus—" Drusilla flinched. "But what did I do?" He almost reached out to grab her shoulders but Sera was quicker, swiftly moving away from the Maslofs and Scarus.

"It's getting late and the festivities will be wrapped up soon so it's only natural that the guests should retire before it all ends." Sera slipped her loose hair behind her ear, looking straight through at Scarus with a hollow gaze and smile.

She wanted him to get out of her sight.

She wished the ground would swallow him right there and then.

"Is that so? We'll take our leave." Mr Maslof breathed out and shuffled out with his daughter.

To no surprise, his mother's relatives didn't even acknowledge him. She didn't care but it was something she put away to remember for later. "My uncle must've wasted your time with his nonsense."

"Not at all. He mentioned how good the event was and I appreciate the feedback."

He narrowed his cat-like eyes at her and took a step forward, reaching out for her. She stayed out of his grasp and he clasped his hands. "That was all?" He asked, searching her face for a crack in her mask. "That was all he said."

Sera nodded before she forced herself to giggle coyly. "Oh were you scared he would share some embarrassing stories of your childhood—"

"No," Scarus said without caring about her words. "Mr Maslof and I were not particularly close." His gaze flicked towards her every so often, a smug smile tugging at the corners of his lips. He always felt the need to strike up a conversation whenever he saw her.

She pursed her lips and turned away, not knowing what to say. He didn't exactly leave room for her to speak.

"Thank you for inviting me." A lady dressed like a lilac flamingo came and shook her head. "I hope there's another."

"Thank you for coming," Sera replied and waved at the woman while watching Scarus from the corner of her eye. He stood there. "Well, I should also thank you for coming as well." She tried to signal to him to leave but he didn't even move.

"I think I might stick around for the end."

Sera's heart twisted and she stared blankly at him, resisting the urge to push him out of the ballroom. "Nothing is exciting going on after hours—I'm not even sticking out till the end."

She pointed out but he wasn't listening and instead had taken out a small silver box. He took out a small brown paper roll from the box and a lighter from his coat pocket.

"You can't smoke in here."

His hand with the lighter hovered over the cigarette in the other hand. The trigger for the lighter was accidentally pressed as fire lit the cigarette. Fire ate away at the contents of the cigarette quickly as thin tendrils of smoke escaped from the fire and dissipated into the air, leaving a faint scent of tobacco and something floral, she couldn't quite guess.

"Shit." Scarus cursed and immediately pushed the cigarette into his wrist, putting it out and leaving a deep burn mark. "I can't smoke?"

"No." Sera frowned and stared at the burn mark on his wrist. He smiled at the thought of her pitying him but she felt sick at the faint stench of cigarette burning. "Isn't the Senate open tomorrow? I'm sure you need to call it an early nig—"

The residue smoke from the cigarette choked her, silencing her abruptly. She resisted the urge to cough and attract attention. She tightened her fists, digging her nails into her flesh, and hoped that the pain would eclipse the urge to cough.

She made a mistake.

The words left her before she could even think.

Sera watched him warily, suppressing the wave of anxiety that rose in her chest. She despised smoking, not just for the acrid smell but due to her fragile heart condition. Her nails dug even deeper into her palms. She eyed the lit cigarette in silent contempt and struggled to keep up her facade. Ah, she wanted to rip Scarus' arm off. She hated this. She hated how weak she was late.

His eyes narrowed on her, ignorant of her suffering over his little act. His focus was on her words, not her stiff movements. "You know for someone who doesn't know much about the Capitol's politics, you do know when the Senate opens." He commented lightly as he decided to relight the cigarette while ignoring the glares of the other guests. He couldn't help but feel powerful with the small flame between his fingers.

"You…shouldn't play with fire."

Scarus took a deep drag, his eyes never leaving hers. The butt of his cigarette released ominous tendrils of smoke. "Is that what this looks like?" Her lungs tightened as she fought to maintain her act, concealing her reaction from him. "How did you know the Senate was open tomorrow?"

"I," She breathed out, ignoring the twisted pain in her chest. "took a guess." She said, shutting her eyes as the smoke began to take over her senses. "I didn't know if it was actually open and I just assumed it was since the Justice Building and the Mayor's office in Five are only open on the weekdays."

"Not bad," Scarus remarked casually, exhaling a plume of smoke toward her. He didn't believe her. She knew he didn't but for some reason, he didn't press her and instead turned around. "Well, I suppose I'll retire for the evening."

He walked away from her, not even looking back to check the damage he had caused. She let out a small laugh and covered her mouth. She couldn't be there. Her chest felt heavy and she couldn't breathe.

Sera gingerly stepped outside, her breath uneven and ragged. With each movement, deep exhaustion crept into her bones, stealing the energy she had mustered for the evening. She didn't dare breathe too deeply, for fear of triggering a vicious coughing fit.

She stumbled towards a stone bench in the outer courtyard near beds of pink camellias, mock oranges, and evening primroses that she had planted years ago. She collapsed onto the bench and doubled over, clutching her hand against her chest as she coughed uncontrollably.

Shakily, she opened her wristlet and pulled a pale green handkerchief out, and covered her mouth with it.

Her coughing fits continued violently; she could feel small droplets of moisture escape her lungs as she struggled to breathe. Her chest tightened uncontrollably. This was Scarus' fault. He did it all on purpose to mess with her.

Her lungs felt heavy and she quickly covered her mouth, muffling the sounds of her coughing. But when she pulled back, she was horrified to look at her handkerchief. The pale green silk was splattered with red drops like poppies had sprung up on a field in spring.

Panic spread through her and she let out a sharp breath. She crumpled up the handkerchief, making a note to burn it before anyone saw the poppies.

Her panic only grew when she heard heavy footsteps behind her, followed by a sudden quiet applause and she jumped out of her seat.

"Congratulations!" Finnick clapped, stopping right in front of her. "You hosted quite the ball. I think you have a knack for these—if I didn't know any better I'd mistake you for a Capitol native."

She straightened herself up quickly and wiped away any signs of blood with a swift swipe of the handkerchief. "How funny. I'll pretend I never heard the second part but thank you for your feedback." She said, clasping her hands over the handkerchief, hiding it from his view.

"Of course, it's just like you to pretend." He muttered under his breath while quietly looking around. "I guess I should just get to the point. "

Avoiding his inquisitive gaze, she flipped over her wrist to check the time. "That would be great." She airily breathed out and sat back down when a wave of dizziness washed over her. She didn't let herself get swayed along with the breeze, she couldn't show her weakness to anyone, especially not him.

"The guest list." He spat out. "What was the point of allowing me to see it if you were going to change it out of spite."

"I wonder if you left your head at home."

"I wonder if you even have a heart but that doesn't answer my question."

Forcing a smile that felt foreign on her face at that moment, she shook with laughter that only served to further exacerbate her labored breathing. "I had to change it," She admitted between sharp gasps, "or everyone would know that you and Johanna were uninvited guests and then that would be a big problem for me. You know I hate inconveniences like that."

Finnick scrutinized her face for any sign of deception but found none. The mocking smile he once wore vanished, replaced by a mixture of confusion and rage. "So you changed it but…"

"I didn't say I didn't. I'm being honest."

"Honest." He echoed back her words, lifting a brow, and looked down at her mockingly. She bit the bottom of her lips and looked away. She made another mistake in choosing the right words. "The moon must've turned into the sun for you to be honest."

It was too late to take back what she said so she played along. "Hilarious." She coldly remarked, tightening her fist around the stained handkerchief. "Who are you looking for?"

"What makes you think I'm looking for someone?"

She rolled her eyes. Did he think she was stupid? Even if Zephyr wasn't keeping an eye on him or everyone else, she could've come to the same conclusion with a little thinking. "I wasn't born yesterday." She remarked, rising from her seat and checking the time once more. "I can read between the lines. You're looking for someone—someone you thought would be important enough to get an invite so who is it?"

He scoffed at her. "Even if," His eyes were cold and distant while his words were slow and drawn out like she was a stupid child who didn't understand a thing. "I was looking for someone I wouldn't tell you." He spat out. "I don't owe you the truth just, like you didn't owe me the truth."

"That—"

"Which is funny thinking about it now when you're the one who asked me to be honest back then."

She did. She was a hypocrite. There was no arguing against him; she decided to cut another line. "But I never said I would be honest with you." She said without remorse and grinned brightly at him though she knew her eyes would betray her. She didn't care anymore.

Finnick hesitated for a moment. His eyes trembled with a range of conflicted emotions. He was the one who wondered if she had a heart. It was unlike him to be so surprised. "Right. You never said you'd trust me. My mistake." His voice cracked painfully, emotions from the tension between them seeping into his words. "I expected too much from you. I made a mistake. I shouldn't have expected anything."

"Finnick…" There was so much she wanted to say. She bit her tongue and looked away like she always did. There was no point in wasting her breath. She didn't want to burden him with feelings that wouldn't matter. It was better this way. "If you have nothing to say, we're done here."

"We are done here."

For once it was him walking away from her. She couldn't even stop him. From the corner of her eyes, she noticed Emilia's graceful figure walking towards her. Sera still had a lot of work. "Oh, before I forget again." She said, stopping Finnick. He turned around. Even though he said he expected too much from her, he still looked at her with some hope. "I hope you and Johanna don't forget to donate."

That hope in his eyes withered like spring flowers in fall, and he breathed out sharply. He did expect too much. "We won't. I'll be quite generous too."

He didn't say another word and stormed off. Sera could only watch him leave, fighting the urge to crumble on the stone bench again. It was the right thing to do. She said to herself as she looked up at the starless sky.

Plant Dictionary:

Pink Camellia – Longing

Mock Orange - Deceit

Evening Primrose - Inconstancy

Poppy - Eternal Sleep