"What the hell were you thinking, Evadine!" Finnick roared as he slammed through the door after her.
"I couldn't let what happened to you, happen to Annie," Evadine argued softly, turning to look at the person she cared about most in this life.
She never felt romantic love in her first life, not outside the pages of a book anyway. Alone in the woods with her parents she never had a chance to make real connections. Finnick loved her and fuck it all if she didn't love him more.
He may have fallen first but she fell so much harder.
He was the sunshine, he was peace and joy and all things good. She would burn down all of Panem for him without a second thought. He may have loved her first but she drowned in her own affections for the victor.
Their love story had saved him from a life of forced prostitution. The Capitol was too invested in his love for her to view her Finnick as a sex icon. She had changed his story and he didn't even know it. She would tear down this broken system for him, rebuilding it to make him happy.
She didn't fear death, after all, she was already dead.
"How could you expect me to sit by and watch my nightmares come back to life? I can't save you! I can't help you!" Tears fell down Finnick's tanned cheeks as he grasped her arms. He pulled her closer, brushing his nose against hers like they had done a hundred times before, "I can't lose you."
She smiled sadly cradling his jaw with her hands, resting her forehead against his.
"You will be with me the whole time, you are my mentor now... We will come home together...I'm going to win, Finnick Odair... I promise... and I never, ever break a promise."
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She had been scrubbed down so hard she was sure the top layer of her skin was gone. Her stylist, Rhys, approached her, brown eyes glistening with an artist's creative glee.
"Oh... You, Panem's Siren... You are going to be my masterpiece."
She prepared for the chariot, her dress was long and flowing, and somehow the fabric looked like water. You could see her golden legs through the fabric, though it was still tasteful. The top was a body suit with intricate pearl designs. She wore a crown fit for a goddess of the sea... No fit for a Siren.
Lowell, her fellow district four tribute, was made to dress in a matching suit. However, it was clear to most of Panem that the true other half of her outfit was a victor with a golden crown and a trident.
Poor Lowell was hidden in the shadow of his partner's fame. He was seventeen, but he was also scrawny and underfed, his chances of survival were near non-existent. He knew that nearly every question asked to him, would be about the little siren at his side.
Finnick, whispered some advice only to her as they walked closer to the chariot. Rhys fussed over her curly hair that grew more untamed by the second.
They came to a stop and Lowell had to fight the urge not to look away as Finnick brushed his nose against Evadine's and rested his forehead against hers. The movement was intimate and well-practiced.
"I love you," Finnick whispered, his thumb tracing her jaw as she placed an innocent kiss on his lips. "I love you too." She returned. Lowell felt as if he was interfering with a private moment by just existing.
"Ready?" The boy asked extending his hand to help her into the chariot.
"I got her." Finnick practically growled, still too young and immature to have a grasp of his jealous nature. Or maybe he was just worried for the girl he loved being paraded towards her death.
Finnick lifted Evadine by her waist into the chariot, keeping hold of her until the others started to move.
"Don't let me fall off... Finn would never let me live it down." Evadine joked, green eyes shining with misplaced joy. Lowell couldn't help but laugh. It was a bittersweet feeling when you understood why everyone was so infatuated with your competition. She was such a light in this dark world. Even if he died in the Arena, he would feel better if someone like her won.
"I won't let you fall, Evadine."
The Chariot started to move and the moment the crowd landed on her they went mental. They screamed her name. The whole of Panem cheered for the Siren, the pretty little girl with an even prettier voice.
She could feel President Snow's eyes cutting through her as if she were a ghost. In a way she was. Evadine Ripley was a wraith, a dead woman sent to tear down all he had built, an echo from his past that still haunted him.
That dress had caused him to nearly collapse out of his seat in his office. The Katniss braided in her hair haunted him with memories of the forgotten victor that had disappeared.
She sang like her.
She moved like her.
Everything about Evadine Ripley reminded the man of Lucy Grey Baird.
Her smile cut through him as her sharp green eyes met his. He hated her. He wanted her on a lease. He wanted to rip out her vocal cords so that no more echoes' of Lucy Grey could haunt him.
She could either be a weapon for him, like Lucy had been so long ago, or a weapon against him. Hope had dwindled with in him and no longer would Coriolanus snow leave anything to chance. No he would not risk another Lucy Grey.
He took a breathe and began his speech, ignoring the green eyed echo of his past.
YOU ARE READING
The Price of Peace (Finnick Odair)
FanfictionWhen Evadine Blackwell died she had no choice in where her soul would go next, if she did she never would have picked Panem. (Finnick Odair x Fem!OC) (Pre-Hunger Games- Post Catching Fire)