"Dahlia Blossom. Don't let the name fool you. She's better known as the Black Dahlia. And she didn't earn that nickname by smiling and looking pretty."
"She sure knows how to perform for the camera."
"Because she knows how to play the game. She alwa...
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What is beauty?
Finnick Odair would have once answered that question by motioning to the setting sun as it skimmed the watery edge of the horizon. The warm rays dancing with the calm waves of District Four, painting the sky vibrant shades of golden bronze and fiery orange. In those precious few moments, it's like the veil between the Heavens and the earth is so thin that the two worlds begin to bleed into one another. Time seems to stand still and Panem finally feels to be at peace. At least until the darkness descends upon them.
But Finnick now had a different answer.
The dining hall was unrecognisable, lavishly decorated with radiant flowers and autumnal foliage. Hundreds of District Thirteen officials were crammed into rows of benches, each one clothed in the usual bland grey jumpsuits. And Finnick wasn't looking at any of it. They all faded in comparison to the angel walking towards him.
Dahlia, the definition of beauty and his soon-to-be wife.
He didn't know it was possible to find someone so ethereal and bewitching but, as usual, Dahlia loved to prove him wrong. Each step she took made him fall even deeper in love with her, until he was sure he had no more love left to give. His heart was so full of her, he could hardly begin to call it his own. He was hers in mind, body and soul, all that was left was to unite them in name.
As tears of joy pricked Finnick's eyes, Dahlia's smile beamed bright enough to outshine even the most exquisite sunsets in District Four. She didn't care about the cameras capturing each step, she didn't care about the hundreds of eyes following every move. All she cared about was the man waiting for her at the end of the aisle. The man she loved with every fibre of her being. The man whose gaze would forever be fixated on her.
Dahlia refused to tear her eyes away from the beautiful sight of Finnick Odair, not even when Haymitch teasingly whispered into her ear, "Last chance to run, Flower."
"Never." Dahlia quietly retorted, feeling Haymitch stare down at her with a fond knowing smile from the corner of her eye. "I choose him... in every lifetime."
She had never been so sure of a decision in her life. This time, she knew exactly what she wanted, and she wanted Finnick. She felt like she had her whole family at her back, even the ones they had lost along the way.
Mags was with her through the bracelet Finnick had weaved for her.
Cove was with her through the golden necklace she wore.
Alaric was with her through the pins in her hair.
Her mother was with her through the tradition she had continued.
Her sisters were with her through the purple roses and sprigs of lavender she carried.
They were shining down on them from above, watching along with the rest of her family. Annie, Katniss, Haymitch, Johanna... Finnick and Dahlia were loved by many, but none could ever compare to the love they shared with each other.
