A fate worse than death~~A Finnick Odair story~~

14. Twelve days

She slipped in and out of consciousness. One second there was flickers of white light and what looked like a doctor's room, the second she was blowing out the candles on her 8th birthday cake with her smiling parents in front of her, and the third she was just sitting quiet and still in what resembled like a waiting room.

Sometimes she heard voices, some were friendly and reminded her of her parents, others were panicked. She was even almost sure she heard Mags once, but the woman she heard was so angry it probably wasn't her.

Then the day came when Elizabeth Whitmore slowly opened her eyes and remained conscious, and she was completely panicked. There were tubes attached to her arms and one thick one pushed down her throat, a tube that made it feel like she couldn't breathe.

She wanted to scream for help, rip the tubes out of her arm and rip it out of her throat, but to her dismay she couldn't. She could hardly lift a finger, and so slowly she remembered how she had ended up there.

She had eaten a witch berry, slowly she had lost control of her body, and, and she had won the hunger games! Swear to god if the damn capital had brought her here, fixed her life and then left her paralyzed!!
No fucking way!

She was ready to scream, even though it wouldn't be heard, but just then a young girl dressed in a nurse's outfit came in with some teams in her arms, and when she saw Elizabeth staring at her, she dropped the ones she was holding and ran out.
"Awake! Awake!! She's awake!! The victor is awake!!"
Well, at least it wasn't Elizabeth who hade screamed.

~~~

"Elizabeth you're awake!"
Finnick came in, stating the obvious. "No shit! You're just too smart!"
The tube she had in her throat had, to Elizabeth's delight, been removed almost as soon as she awoke, leaving her with a raspy and hoarse voice, which she, never the less, intended to use.

"Glad to see you still have a sense of humor."
"And a life, thoug I'm not quite sure how I feel about being left paralyzed." "Paralyzed? Ohh that!! Did no one tell you?"
"Tell me what?"
"It's temporary, just so you don't move too much and ruin their work."
"And what kind of work would that be exactly?"

Finnick sat quietly for a moment before cautiously beginning.
"Do you remember anything from your games?"
"A little..."
She shuddered at the thought of how much a little was, and how detailed it was.
"Do you remember your legs?"
"My legs?"
"Your legs..."
Then it hit her.
"Ohhh you mean the stab wounds!!"

Finnick's eyes widened at her statement and he cleared his throat before continuing.
"Yes, among other things...In any case, the doctors had to patch you up quiet a lot, both inside and out, hence the paralysis."
"So it's temporary, so I don't tear up my injuries?!"

"Yeah, like I just told you, did you evan listen?? Uhhhhhh never mind!" She smiled at Finnick's slightly irritated expression, an expression she had made him achieve all by herself.

"So how long do I have to stay here?" "Just a day or two…."
"Okay, and then we can go home right?"
"Not quite, ther's the interviews, and of course the coronation, so we should be going home in 10 days. or so"
"10 days!!! I was in the games for 6 days, then god knows how long hear and now I have to wait another 10 days!!"
"Or so, it could be less!!"
"Or more!! God I will have bin gone fore what? Three weeks?!!"
"Wait!"
"What?!"

"Did you say your game was 6 days?" "What? Yes 6 I counted!"
"Elizabeth don't freak out, but--." "But!"
"Your game lasted for 12 days."
"No 6 I counted!!"
"No Lizzy listen to me it was 6 days for you in there, but out here it was 12 it's a form of extra torture but you, you should have noticed something weren't you tired?!"

She had been tired, very tired in fact, but she had thought it was just because of the games and that she was getting enough sleep, but now, 12 days, twice as long!! God she had lost twice as much time in there than she originally thought!

She kind of shut down after that. It was as if the thought of staying in the capital for one more second had crushed the young girl.

So for the next two days she was just there. Both Finnick and Mags visited her, Mags cried for her, but Elizabeth didn't shed a singel tear, she was as if empty, completely incapable of feeling a single emotion. She barely even reacted when the doctors judged her fit to move frome the hospital wing and back to the District 4 apartment.

Only when Finnick announced the day after that the president decided he would sit in on Elizabeth's interviews did she react.

First quietly, then a little louder, she asked.
"Why?"
Both Mags and Finnick looked shocked at her sudden reaction, but Finnick who managed to collect himself first answered.
"I don't know. But you don't question the president."
Elizabeth just nodded in response and that was that.

She slipped back into her shell and Mags and Finnick let her. Both of them had their work to do, and perhaps both realized that the young girl needed it.

Later that evening, however, she was not allowed to be alone. They enjoyed their meal in silence, but Mags spoke up as Elizabeth made to leave the table.
"Elizabeth, not tonight, tonight we need to talk."
The young girl froze in her movements, but sat down again. Finnick, who already understood what it was all about, put his fork down on his platr and listend.

"We have to choose a tactic, a role." "Why? I've already won."
"Yes you have but--."
Finnick cut Mags off with an apologetic look and said.
"The games aren't where the theater is most important, it's after. If you want to survive find a role and stick to it, the capital will eat it up." Elizabeth bit her tongue to keep from saying something she later would regret, but then Mags spoke up again.

"Thank you Finnick, a little harch, but thak you. As he said, it's best to have a role, in your last interview you were very shy, but now, with Finnick's help of course, you should be a little braver, I think we could paint you as good-hearted and macke you very lovable, not because you are not already lovable, but just to be on the safe side."
Mags babbled on, but Elizabeth only heard half of it.

She talked about being brave and lovable, but who would love a murderer. Because that's what she was, a killer. She could never be seen as innocent, be innocent after this. She had murdered other children to sit where she sat now and just the thought made her mouth fill with an iron almoste blood-like taste.

But deep down she knew she had to do this. She would make the capital love her, then she would go home. She had to do this, if not for her then for Ian, and for Jamie.
For the promise she made to him.