A Rebellious Spirit | Book III

Chapter Two | "I'm still your mentor."

Quinn walked towards Victors' Village on her own. It was all muscle memory, she had made so many trips to and from Victors' Village, that her feet just knew where to go. She didn't even need to think about how she would get there. There were a few kids around her age, ones she had gone to school with before she just stopped going-- they all waved a hello to her or welcomed her back as they passed her. Quinn's response was only half hearted, and she wasn't even really attempting to sound happy to be there. All she could think about was Griffith.

Maybe he's right, she thought to herself. He had told her that the best way to get through this was just staying under the radar. Letting people start to move on from what had happened. But it's too late, she had to keep reminding herself that she had gone to far to just stop. But from here, in Four there wasn't much she could do. President Coin probably didn't know she and Orion had been separated, and there was no way she knew Quinn was back in Four.

She let out a long sigh and then looked the Victors' fountain over. Her name had been added to the list of Victors in District Four. Which in a way, surprised her. After everything she had done, she had almost expected to have her Victor status taken from her, which she wouldn't mind really. She walked past a few houses tempted to go up to Annies or Mags' house but forced herself to just walk past them and up to her own-- which had her two bags sitting in front of the door.

"Welcome home..." she muttered to herself as she remembered the last time she had been there. Orion showed up, out of no where he found her house and that was the last time she had even seen it. Quinn pushed open her door, and glanced across the street at Finnick's house as she picked up her bags. Again, just like before, she was tempted to go over there. But she hadn't seen Finnick for a long time and she wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing now considering everything that had happened.

Inside the house was dark, so as she stepped in and shut the door as she dropped her things, she flipped on a light switch. Light flooded down the entry way, and on the hand carved table beneath a mirror that was in the entry way, instead of her old green glass jar with dried wildflowers from Annie, there were fresh flowers. White roses sat in a new case that had replaced her jar.

Quinn stared at them for a moment. She felt her hands rolling up into fists, but she took a few deep breaths and decided to take care of them later. She'd throw them out like she had with the roses in her apartment when she first moved in. She moved her bags to the side, away from the doorway, and walked into the wash room. She picked up the laundry bin, and decided that would be big enough for everything she wanted to get rid of. At least a majority of it all.

So Quinn started with the roses, and dumbed them into the bin. Then she made her way down the hall and into the living room. Everything was just as she left it, which meant the odds of any morphling she had spread around the house still wasn't moved and was still just where she had left it months earlier. So she pulled open the drawer of the coffee table and moved some of the things in it around and found the vile she had left in the living room.

She turned it over in her hand, eyeing it for a moment before she slipped it into her jacket pocket. She went on to pick up some of the frilly decorations that had been left there and tossed them into the basket. Then she made her way up the stair case, grabbing a few decorations that the Capitol had placed in the house when it was built. Old photos of the Capitol, old pictures of Four-- none of which she wanted at all. So she piled them on top of each other in the basket. From there she pulled open the study door and went directly towards the desk and pulled open the drawer and found a second vile of morphling. Then once she cleared that room, she went and grabbed the decorative towels from the bathroom. Finally that left her bedroom besides the guest room she was never in and the kitchen. However, before she could even get to her room, she heard the front door open and close.

Quinn felt her stomach drop, and she could feel the paranoia starting to settle in. While she had been talking to Griffith, she tried to ignore the thought that he really was working for Snow. But now, someone had come into her house-- the day she came back. Snow already had something going on, something to provoke her into doing something-- just to give him a good reason to get rid of her or someone she cared about. Quinn could feel her lungs full with air, but she couldn't feel her lungs release it much without her breath getting caught in her throat. Her palms began to sweat, and her grip tightened to the laundry basket. She had to force her feet to move back towards the stairs. Then took even more effort to make her feet go down the stairs.

Snow had already been there. He left her roses for her to see as soon as she got home. What would stop him from coming again? Or from sending someone?

Quinn made her way down the stairs, and then she hesitantly looked down the small hall and into the kitchen. Then she slowly began to walk towards the kitchen, preparing herself to see anyone-- even Snow. If it was Snow, she'd have no way to explain the bin of things to get rid of.

However when she rounded the corner, she didn't see Snow. Or one of his henchmen. Instead she saw Finnick Odair, his hair was a bit shaggy looking. But everything else about him was the same.

"Most people knock." she stated simply, "You gave me a heart attack."

He stared at her for a moment, "What the hell is your problem?" he asked abruptly, "Do you know how much trouble you've gotten everyone into? Quinn, when you first left-- they came to me--"

"I'm sorry, I didn't plan any of that...any of this." she said, cutting him off in the middle of his rant.

"We could have-- we would have helped you, we would have gone with you." he stated, "You can't do any of this on your own, and playing for both sides isn't helping you."

"I'm not doing any of this on my own," she retorted as she set the basket on the table.

Finnick scoffed, "Sorry, you and the presidents grandson can't do this on your own--"

Quinn rolled her eyes a bit, "District Thirteen is behind everything, Finnick. Not me, and not Orion."

Finnick stared at her, blankly for a moment. "Thirteen?" he echoed, and then shook his head. "They were..."

"They're completely underground," she stated, "They have everything, hunting grounds above ground, tech labs, food, medicine...a military..."

"When did you find out?"

"When I first left," she replied, "They picked us up just outside Twelve." she said simply.

"So why were you back in the Capitol? Why were you a...gamemaker?" he asked.

Quinn frowned, "It's complicated..."

"Quinn," he sighed, "I'm still your mentor." he said, pausing for a moment. "Trust me, let me help."

"Finnick...Snow's catching on. That's why he sent me back here. He thinks of Thirteen thinks me and Orion are both still in the Capitol they could get both of us, if we're separated they'll need to use more resources." she explained, "All I know is that I went to the Capitol to help Katniss win--"

"Why?"

"She can lead a rebellion," she replied quietly. "President Coin-- the president of Thirteen, originally thought I would be the person they needed to do it but...I'm just good for getting people all...rallied up. People can actually connect with Katniss, they need her."

Finnick sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"So what you're saying is you have no idea what's going on now." he stated.

Quinn sighed and nodded a bit, "Pretty much."