Uncharted Waters [1]

Chapter 14

It was the first training day and Mira woke up with a raging headache. She was in the dining room, where they all sat together and ate breakfast. Lassie was chatting with Finnick, who kept stealing glances at the girl, who was not even touching her food and was looking lost and tired.

"Are you ok Mira?" He finally spokes up to which Mira only sighs.

"She had too much to drink last night." All the sober eyes look at the dark-haired boy sipping on soup.

Mira groaned in pain, closing her eyes to keep herself from vomiting up the remnants of dinner the night before. Finnick grins in amusement at the miserable girl.

"That's part of training girl." Eldoris' booming voice echoes within the room along with his and Adrian's laughter. 

"I don't feel so good." Mira mumbles, placing her head on the table after she puts her untouched food to the side. From her current position, she sees Mags giving her a sympathetic smile. "I feel like a hammer is hitting my head several times."

"That will happen to you if you skip training today." Destan jokes, earning an unamused look from the others. "It's just a joke." He mutters as he shoves a spoonful of soup in his mouth.

Thalassa stands up from her chair and walks towards the kitchen to retrieve something. Mags reached to the poor girl who was groaning in pain, and placed her wrinkled hand on Mira's head, stroking it gently to appease her pain. "Poor thing." She says in a motherly tone. Thalassa returns almost immediately and places a glass filled with green liquid on the table, next to Mira's laying head. "Drink up sweets, it can help with the hangover.", Lassie informs and returns to her seat at the head of the table.

Mira slowly lifted her head from the table, ignoring the throbbing pain she felt the moment she moved her head. She then took the glass' neck and placed the rim on her lips as she drank the sweet, green liquid. Almost instantly, the pain she was feeling subsided and became better the moment she gulped up the whole thing.

"What was that?" She asks licking her lips while placing the now empty glass on the table. Finnick was the one to answer her question, "A tonic for hangovers. It is usually used for people who would like to consume more alcohol sober. It keeps the party going." He smiled, dimples popping from his cheek as he eyed the blue-eyed girl.

"I don't understand why people enjoy such a vile drink." Her face scrunched up in disgust at the thought of how the alcohol made her feel. The others chuckle at the young girl who does not seem to like the idea of hangovers.

"Don't hate the player girl," Eldoris says, tipping his glass her way before gulping his drink in one go. 

"It helps you forget." Finnick says with a small smile and continues to his meal, "And it helps add to the fun." Adrian adds. Mira sighed in response and pulled back her plate and bowl to finally start eating breakfast.

Breakfast was finished afterward, and everybody scampered off to do their business. Mira was in her room, sitting on the bed staring at the figurine that was said to have her mother's face. Her arms were around her legs, head resting on her knees as she let a tear slip from her eye. If only she were like her mother, strong and brave, a victor. Unfortunately, she was neither of those things, and it seems the only thing she inherited from her is her face. She feared the worst when the time finally came when she would witness first-hand the things she only saw on screens. Though she was not afraid to die; she was afraid to kill. And this morning was the first time they would get to hold the weapons used for that purpose.

Finnick Odair found the door to the girl who invaded her mind every day slightly ajar. And decided to peek, hoping to find her in the same state the first time they finally met. He slowly pushed the door, trying not to make a sound, and stuck his head in, only to find her in an almost pitiful state. The girl was crying! He observed, and before he knew it, he knocked on the door to let his presence known.