𝐄𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐋 | Hunger Games

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     THE FINAL DAY in the Capitol came and went faster than Aella expected.

The morning was hers to do with what she wished but as lunchtime rolled around and the evening began to settle in she was once again meticulously groomed to within an inch of her life. Her body was sore when Flax and Cayenne decided they were finished with her only to drag her into the chair before the vanity in her dressing room and start the extensive work on her makeup, her hair, her nails... it was never ending and Aella was exhausted.

She hadn't acquired any sleep the night prior, not a single wink and when the sun shone through her window she still couldn't pull herself from her bed. She just laid on her side and stared out the window for hours. Everything was numb. She wasn't plagued with her thoughts or memories for once, her mind was completely blank but she physically couldn't switch off.

Daniel and Clio had let her be for as long as they could. They were both worried about her, especially when they had heard of what had happened prior to the dinner the night before. She had been fragile before hand and both the dinner plus the meeting with Haymitch and the allies of the rebellion had taken it all out of her. She'd barley been able to drag herself back to the apartment. She didn't look at Clio and Daniel as they waited for her on the sofa, instead she passed them wordlessly and dropped into bed. She hadn't moved since.

They were still completely unaware of what it was that had occurred during her individual assessment. Haymitch had paid them both an early morning visit and reiterated everything that was discussed the night prior in hushed tones. They talked about how Finnick was to take Aella as his ally as well as Katniss and Peeta instead of the young woman allying with Johanna for the first night. Haymitch told them everything Heavensbee had said about Aella's perfect twelve, about the bounty on her head and how what she had done hadn't been well perceived.

Haymitch didn't say it to Aella but Heavensbee had warned him that she would likely be punished for what she had done—even if he did commemorate it. President Snow was outraged and Aella was in grave danger. Their President was out for retribution and Heavensbee would be forced to deliver it to her.

Daniel and Clio decided not to tell her. She already seemed too worse for wear when Flax and Cayenne were waxing every hair from her body through the afternoon. Her usual level of protest was absent, as was her cursing when they pulled the wax strip off without giving her any warning. Instead, she had sat quietly all day and hardly uttered a single word.

They didn't know she was savouring her last day alive in a semi-normal world.

She truly didn't know what was going to happen when she stepped foot in the arena. The rebellion would kickstart. Panem would never be the same again after this day had ended. Aella had been promised protection but only if she could stay alive long enough for the help to arrive and Haymitch said himself the night prior that he didn't know when their rescue would occur.

It was a huge task to not only try and keep herself alive to escape but to protect two others with all her being. If Katniss or Peeta died in the Games the rebellion would die and there would be no deal. It was a heavy card to hold. It wouldn't just be the other Tributes trying to kill them. It was the elements, the environment, the pods, the mutts.

Aella felt as if she'd bitten off more than she could chew, especially with a target of her own on her back. There was absolutely no going back, however. She was apart of the rebellion whether she liked it or not. She'd already shook on it, already specified her conditions, already signed her own death certificate and dug her grave in the eyes of President Snow.

There was no turning back for her. She would either die fighting for the rebellion or most likely be killed by the Career packs. Or if the rebellion did work but for whatever reason she didn't make it out with the others the Capitol would kill her themselves.