The Daughter of the Sea

▬▬ 𝟏𝟒 ∙ 𝝩𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝗻𝗱

･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽

˚✩ ⋆｡ ✩┊ 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐞𝐚 ┊✦ ˚ · .

▬▬ 14 ∙ 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙴𝚗𝚍

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"Mila!"

"Cory! What are you doing here?" Mila ran over to me with a smile on her face, embracing me with open arms.

I pulled away, confused. "What do you mean? Where am I?"

"This is heaven, Cory."

"Heaven? Does that mean that I died?"

Her smile fell. "I suppose it does. But... But you promised."

I frowned. "I'm sorry."

But Mila wouldn't stop. "You promised me, Cory. You promised me that you would win! You broke that promise! You betrayed me!"

I burst into tears. It was my fault. "I'm sorry, Mila." I kept apologizing on and on, just like I had done when Mila died. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

Mila crossed her arms and turned away from me. "You better be sorry; you let me die."

"No... no... no... I didn't mean to... no..." I suddenly yelped, feeling a sharp pain run through my body. Everything went black, and blurry dots swarmed my vision.

"Mila?" I asked, but there was no answer. I was laying on the floor - I had fallen out of the tree during my dream - wincing at every movement of my body that brought a new wave of pain. I propped myself on my elbows, then my arms, until I could properly sit up. My fingers flew to my back, massaging the bruise that was forming. I stumbled up to my feet, pacing around in circles, and continued putting pressure on my back.

It was a dream, only a dream. I wasn't dead and Mila wasn't mad. Well, if she was mad then I wouldn't know.

It was nighttime now, and I stared up at the sky, knowing the pictures of the fallen tributes would appear soon enough.

I wondered where the other tribute was. Was he looking for me? Was I safe where I was? The anthem began, and I swayed on my feet, mentally debating whether or not to watch. I do not know why, but for an unknown reason, I look up.

Both tributes from District 2 showed up, looking as ferocious as ever. All I can think about was how the female tribute killed my ally.

Then came Mila. Her hair was parted down the middle, hanging down her shoulders. She looked so much younger than she really was, so much more innocent, so much less exposed to the horrors that came by the day. I lifted up my arm, my fingers reaching out. If only I could reach her, pull her back down with me.

But I can't now. And I would have to learn how to deal with that. Someday.

My eye caught a luminescent object in the dark, lackluster sky, descending to the ground directly where I was standing. It got caught in between the branches of a tall tree, and I quickly climbed up the thick trunk to retrieve it. There was a long length of rope inside it, made from the sturdiest material we had in District 4. Looking at the rope hanging from my hands, I struggled to comprehend why Finnick had chosen to give me this instead of something more useful. "I don't know what you expect me to do with this, Finn. Some instructions would have been nice." I imagined him watching with a smile on his face, knowing that I would figure it out somehow.