miss americana and the heartbreak prince | katniss everdeen

fleur's broken nose.

THE MOCKINGJAY
Thirteen | Fleur's Broken Nose
•••

AS A CHILD, FLEUR HAD UNDERGONE INTENSE AND EXTREME TRAINING. She'd learned how to use a spear, to throw knives, and she was proficient enough with a bow that if her life was on the line she'd be able to hit the target. But it was a sword that she'd taken a liking to. She was good at close combat. And she personally felt that killing someone from a distance was cowardly. If you had to kill someone you had to give them the decency and respect to look them in the eyes as you did so.

But close combat was useless for her in the war. No one cared for respect or honor. War was about killing as many as you could with as few losses as possible.

So gone was the weapon that Fleur was comfortable with, and now she was being forced to use a gun, a weapon that she had never fired before. When Boggs handed it to her, Fleur stared at it with disdain. To her, guns were the weapons of the Capitol and Peacekeepers. It was the weapon of cowards.

"Do I have to?" Fleur asks softly.

"You'll likely never see combat," Boggs tells her, "But just in case it's good for you to know."

Fleur swallowed and nodded as she accepted the weapon. Boggs walked her through the mechanics. He started her off with a pistol, which Fleur seemed to get down easily. He then moved her to the rifle. That Fleur didn't master as easily. As she aimed at the target, she found that she didn't make contact with a single one. She sighed as she lowered the rifle to reload it.

Boggs placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, "Not everyone gets it on their first try."

Fleur nodded as she began changing out the mag on the gun. Gale, who had been in the firing range, walks over to her.

"You know," Gale begins, watching as she changes the magazine, "In combat one of those many bullets you just wasted would eventually make contact with someone. However, it's unlikely that will happen before their bullet makes contact with you."

Fleur chuckles as she pushes the magazine into the chamber and looks up at Gale, "Thanks, I'll make note of that."

"Must be hard," Gale states, "Not mastering this."

Fleur shrugs, "It doesn't make a difference to me if I do or don't."

"Yeah, but people in District One are perfect, aren't they? That's why they're the Capitol's favorites," Gale says, tilting his head as he looks at her. Fleur looks at Gale strangely, unsure why he is trying to get a rise out of her.

Fleur sighs, lowering the gun, "What do you want from me, Gale?"

"I want you to know that everyone else may trust you, but I don't," Gale states, "You were working with Snow. You were going to kill Katniss-"

"I protected Katniss," Fleur states, "I spared her even after she killed my sister, and that led to my parents being hung. The only people resembling family to me are being held by Snow right now. I have too many reasons to hate Snow, far more reasons than you."

"Oh, did he blow up your home too?" Gale asks, and Fleur's jaw clenches as she stares at Gale. She had the urge to hit him, but she resisted it. She knew he wanted to get a rise out of her. She wasn't going to give him what he wanted.

"You will never understand what it means to be a Victor," Fleur says, shaking her head as she looks at Gale. He would never understand the things that they went through. Inside and outside the arena. Gale may have lost his home, but his family was alive. And he had a choice. They never chose to go into the games. 

"Maybe not," Gale shrugs. 

"We're on the same side," Fleur tells him, "We want the same thing."

Gale stares at her, "Yeah, I'm sure we do."