Dew of the Sea [Finnick Odair]

[11. Game Day]

Rosemary

They went straight to their rooms once they got back to their floor in the Training Center. Rosemary wanted to get all the makeup and glitter off of her and wash off the nervous sweat that had coated her body since she had gotten dressed that evening. Using the heavy-duty makeup remover that Cinna gave her, she painstakingly cleaned the chunky glitter from the corner of her eyes and then the rest of her face before jumping into the shower. She scrubbed her body until her skin was pink and washed the hairspray out of her hair.

Once dried and dressed in a pair of silk pajamas, Rosemary left her room for dinner.

It was their last night together and therefore the last meal that Rosemary and Rye would eat with Effie, Haymitch, Cinna, Vina, and Larkin. The food served was especially luxurious; roasted lamb, filet mignon, rich smashed potatoes with truffles, sauteed garlic green beans, and brown bread with the lightest whipped butter Rosemary had ever seen. She had bits of all of it and then forced herself to eat a second helping of each as well. She needed every possible calorie available to fuel her in the arena.

Rye had the same idea but fortunately, his stomach was bigger than Rosemary's and he could eat as many helpings as he wanted without getting bloated. Eventually Rosemary had to move on to dessert, indulging in some black tie mousse cake that was so delicious she never wanted to eat anything else. She could remember the taste long after it was gone.

While everyone ate, they spoke about the interviews, going over Rosemary and Rye's first.

"Honestly, you had me worried for a second there, Pipsqueak," Haymitted admitted as he took a bite of creme brulee. "I thought that maybe the audience would be put off by your vulnerability, but they found it refreshing and honest. Now, could any other Tribute do what you did? I'm not so sure."

Rosemary would take his commentary as a compliment, relieved that she had appealed to the Capitol in the way that she and Haymitch planned.

"It was very touching," Effie agreed. "All the other Escorts just thought you were so lovely."

Rosemary gave her a grateful smile and stuffed another bite of cake in her mouth.

"And Rye, you did swimmingly," Effie turned to her brother now. "You were so charismatic, everyone loved you."

"I was very impressed," Larkin told him and then added, "with both of you."

Vina nodded. "You both had the audience eating out of the palms of your hands."

"You guys did good, there's no doubt about that," Haymitch stated. "My concern is that so did a lot of the other Tributes."

"This has been the best bunch of Tributes that we've had in years!" Effie trilled; Rosemary rolled her eyes and shared a look with Rye. "The competition will be intense, that's for sure."