miss americana and the heartbreak prince | katniss everdeen

district twelve.

THE MOCKINGJAY
Twelve | District Twelve
•••

FLEUR HEADED INTO FINNICK'S ROOM WHERE SHE FOUND THE OLDER VICTOR WITH ROPE IN HIS LAP. There were already several knots on it, but Finnick seemed to be adding more to it.

"Hey," Fleur says and Finnick looks up at her with a smile, but it doesn't meet his eyes. Fleur knew she would probably never see a real smile from Finnick ever again. Not until Annie was rescued.

"Hey," Finnick says.

"Hey," Fleur says as she sits down beside him, "So I met President Coin."

"And?" Finnick asks.

"And I am Katniss's accessory," Fleur states, "They want her to go to District Twelve. I'm coming along I suppose. But I figure we do what they say and then we can start making our own demands. Like saving Johanna, Annie, Peeta, and Cashmere."

Finnick swallows and looks away from Fleur and the mention of Annie.

"I wanted to go back for them," Finnick says softly, "I wish they were dead."

"Hey," Fleur says shaking her head, "Don't say that. You were the one who told me that things were going to get better-"

"He has them, Fleur. He's not just holding them to scare us. He's torturing them. He killed your parents. You don't think he'll kill Cashmere too? There's nothing stopping him from getting rid of the victors. This is war. And prisoners die."

"I'm not going to let them die," Fleur says and Finnick looks at her. Fleur meets his gaze and shakes her head, "I'm not. You, Johanna, Cashmere. You're the only family I have left and – and I have to be able to salvage something I can't lose everyone. So, if I have to go to the Capitol myself and rescue them, I'll do it."

"Don't be stupid," Finnick tells her, "You're an accessory. They're not going to let you go."

"I don't need their permission," Fleur says, "Besides, I don't know how I feel about President Coin."

Finnick looks at her curiously, "What do you mean?"

Fleur shrugs, "I don't know. She seems ambitious."

"Leaders tend to be," Finnick states.

"I know that," Fleur says softly as she looks down at the knot in his lap, "I don't know, maybe I just have an issue with authority figures."

"When do you leave for District Twelve?" Finnick asks. Fleur looks at the digital clock in his room. They'd agreed to meet at the hangar at midday and it was nearing noon.

"Now," Fleur says as she stands, "I'll come check on you when I come back."

Finnick simply nods his head and resumes tying his knots. Fleur stands by the door, watching him. When she was down, it had always been Finnick who had put a smile on her face. No matter what she'd endured in the Capitol, the night would end with Finnick telling her things would be okay. She hated that she couldn't do the same for him.

She reached the hangar to find Gale standing there. The two had not formally met. She knew of him after seeing some Capitol footage from where they interviewed families during and after the games. She'd also seen Gale on the few occasions that their paths crossed when they happened to be visiting Katniss at the same time.

While she may not have known much about Gale, she knew that he knew who she was.

She was Fleur Belcourt after all.

"Nice to formally meet you," Fleur says as she approaches Gale.

"You as well," Gale says, but Fleur can tell he doesn't mean it. She gets it. Twelve wasn't her District. There was no reason for her to be there aside from the fact that Katniss wanted her there, "I'm surprised that they wanted you to go to Twelve."