𝚑𝚞𝚛𝚝𝚜 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚕 (Finnick Odair)

𝚟𝚒𝚒.

𝚑𝚞𝚛𝚝𝚜 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚕

𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛: 𝚟𝚒𝚒.

𝚃𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚌𝚎𝚛𝚝𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚕𝚢 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚞𝚙 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐. It was a blur of activity after that as everyone was prepped for the day. Saffreen tried to think of what she could do or say.

Once they were aboveground, Katniss requested that Cressida ask her about Peeta. She sat on the marble where she'd had her breakdown.

"How did you meet Peeta?" Cressida asked.

Katniss took a breath and started speaking. "When I met Peeta, I was eleven years old, and I was almost dead." She talked about how she was trying to sell Prim's baby clothes, how Peeta's mother chased her away. How Peeta took a beating in order to give Katniss some bread. "We had never spoken. The first time I ever talked to Peeta was on the train to the Games."

"But he was already in love with you," Cressida said.

"I guess so." Katniss smiled softly.

"How are you doing with the separation?"

"Not well. I know at any moment Snow could kill him. Especially since he warned Thirteen about the bombing. It's a terrible thing to live with," Katniss answered. "But because of what they're putting him through, I don't have any reservations anymore. About doing whatever it takes to destroy the Capitol. I'm finally free." She looked up at the sky, following a hawk as it crossed overhead. "President Snow once admitted to me that the Capitol was fragile. At the time, I didn't know what he meant. It was hard to see clearly because I was so afraid. Now I'm not. The Capitol's fragile because it depends on the districts for everything. Food, energy, even the Peacekeepers that police us. If we declare our freedom, the Capitol collapses. President Snow, thanks to you, I'm officially declaring mine today."

That seemed to get the wheels turning in Plutarch's mind. He called over Saffreen and Finnick and Haymitch. Haymitch tried to argue, but Plutarch won out. Finnick was pale. Saffreen bit hard at her lip. He wanted them to talk about what the Capitol made them do.

"You don't have to do this," Haymitch told the pair.

"Yes, we do," Finnick said, Saffreen nodding along. "If it will help her. We're ready."

Finnick went first in a flat tone. "President Snow used to...sell me...my body, that is. I wasn't the only one. If a victor is considered desirable, the president gives them as a reward or allows people to buy them for an exorbitant amount of money. If you refuse, he kills someone you love. So you do it." Saffreen clamped her teeth down on her lip, tasting blood as he continued. "I wasn't the only one, but I was one of the most popular. And perhaps the most defenseless, because the people I loved were so defenseless. To make themselves feel better, my patrons would make presents of money or jewelry, but I found a much more valuable form of payment. Secrets. And this is where you're going to want to stay tuned, President Snow, because so very many of them were about you. But let's begin with some of the others."