The heir of Ravinstill // Finnick x OC

Chapter 1

Life in the Capitol was busy, as usual. Even more so, with the Games just around the corner.
It was no secret to the elites that my family had long been against the barbaric practice of the Games, a sentiment only few seemed to share nowadays. As the only remaining member of the Ravinstill dynasty, a descendant of the President that was in power during the first years of the games, back before the first rebellion took place, the legacy lay heavy upon me.

While my parents were still alive, we always used the week of the games to spend a quiet weekend at the sea back in four, snorkeling and playing on the beach. Looking back, I was glad I was not confronted with that kind of violence at such a young age. Yes, I was sheltered, the perfect daughter of the last existing Ravinstill heir. Cornelius, my father, was grandmother's sole reason of existence. It devastated her, to lose him... It devastated us all, but she took it hardest and started wasting away, dying not long after her only son.

And so, it was only mother and I. Until one of the experiments in her lab went terribly wrong. At least father had an open casket, the white rose on top of his chest a stark contrast against the dark suit. Hers had been closed, nailed shut. I could no longer differentiate between the two funerals, the details blended together inside my head. But I would never forget what awaited me when I made it home, the intricate updo of my almost translucent blonde hair impeccable, thanks to the stylist of the victor from the year before.
Looking right and left, I made sure the street was clear before I hurriedly crossed it, knowing I was already running late.
His sparkling white smile, as he sat in father's study, the only room in the vast house I was never allowed in. ‚Miss Ravinstill,' he said, his dark eyes mustering me intensely. 'Sit.'

Apparently, it wasn't enough to lose all the family I had left before I turned ten. I lost everything. 'See, my dear Luna. Your father kept quite the secrets from us all. Expensive secrets as it turns out.'
I had blinked at him in confusion. My father couldn't keep a secret to save his life, as I told him, but President Snow only smiled at me, his too-red lips standing out from his ashen face.
'Not that I would in any way blame you, my child. Your mother's research has been a huge service to the whole of Panem. What a tragedy, to lose both parents so fast after the other, at your young age, nonetheless.' Shaking his head, President Snow gave me a comforting smile. 'And I am afraid, I have to be the one to tell you, due to your fathers' excesses your fortune was lost.'

'O-our fortune?' I asked, small white hands ringing the black seam of my dress. My ten-year-old mind had not often thought about money. No one in the capitol talked about it. It was just... there. Never anything to worry about.

'Yes, dear. Not even the sale of this house and everything inside it will soften the blow your father's missteps brought upon us.' Selling the house? I had not been able to answer him, my voice getting lost. 'And as it is, with no fortune and no home, you have nowhere to stay Luna. But don't you worry, we could never abandon you. After all, if your mind is half as brilliant as your mother's, you will be an integral part of our capitol.'

I hurried past Tigris' shop on the Main Street, cursing the senior professor who made the students stay longer just so they could watch the genetically modified animals he created, rip children to shreds. Their homework was to figure out which alteration they went under, and how they caused the slowest death possible. I rolled my eyes in annoyance. The homework was basically just watching the games he had worked on years ago. I thought we were past this after the academy, but apparently not.
The peacekeeper nodded at me, no need to show him my ID, he knew me well. Normally, an orphaned Capitol child would be taken care of by a governess, or remaining relatives. But there was one fundamental difference between those and me. Their fathers didn't hide the fact, that the train tracks to four, bringing us seafood and other fishing goods, something the elite thought critical for survival, were slowly rotting away. And instead of having them rebuild, my father took the money and let it disappear to god knows where. I never found out the exact number pertaining his crimes, but it was high enough that Snow took the last thing of value my family had left.
Me.
I wasn't a prisoner by any means and I sure was treated better than any of the people in the districts. But I was still property of Panem. And as such, I was property of President Snow.
I made my way through the servants' entrance, waving through the hundreds of staff, that was preparing the large feast celebrating the winners of the 74th Hunger Games. I did not look forward to the Celebrations. Most humans from the capitol were just too loud for my taste, too colorful... Just too much. I should be used to it by now, but the truth is, the only human contact I'm comfortable with is with them on my exam table. If necessary, I can deal with alive well enough.