The Ivory Rose| Finnick Odair

Sold to the Highest Bidder

[Trigger warning: references to abuse and assault].

Evil. An abstraction invading so many forms; not one person can live without being punished by its whip. However, it is important to question whether evil truly exists, or if it is something we have created to live with the fallacy of righteousness?

Eudoria had never thought herself evil, but after her victory in the Hunger Games, this was the the brand she wore; she disgusted people in the Districts, and even those in the Capitol who praised her every movement, were only doing so because of their own corrupt morals. When labelled something over and over again, it is hard not to believe it.

Perhaps that is why as Eudoria found herself laying next to the man, who she now regarded as an incarnation of pure evil, that she wondered whether she was deserving of what had been inflicted upon her.

She quietly sat herself up, not wanting to wake the monster next to her. The only clothes she had available to her were the ones she had arrived to the Capitol in . As she passed the large window on the way to the door, she stared at the glistening moon; whilst beautiful in its own right, what made it all the more magnificent was how it continued to shine in the ocean of ebony surrounding it; it could be viewed as a metaphor, or a source of irony, either way it was something to behold. Recentring her focus, she carefully pulled on the door's handle, cringing as she pushed it open, and it creaked. She quickly looked back to the man, his eyes still peacefully shut: an anger boiled in her blood, one that remained as she walked past a small collection of peacekeepers that guarded the penthouse. She wanted so badly to scream, to show them the pain she felt, the way her heart had broken when he forced himself upon her; but she was resigned to it. Snow's hands had found his way onto her body several times after that party during her Victory Tour, each time he had held somebody's life over her, and now she knew there was never going to be a way out. She would be his slave for the rest of her lifetime; arriving to the penthouse of yet another hotel, leaving in the early hours of the morning, all to protect his reputation, but provide him with pleasure simultaneously.

As she waited for the elevator, the shame of it all, the conflict she felt, consumed her. So much so that when the doors finally opened and she slowly stepped inside, she didn't notice that the person stood next to her was someone she knew.

She went to press the button for the first floor, however before she did, her eyes quickly darted to the person, and as her eyes met his, she realised he was not a stranger.

Finnick also appeared as if he had only just realised this, consumed by thoughts of his own. Eudoria found herself tongue-tied; she hadn't seen him since that dreadful night, and whilst she had enjoyed his company, there was something about the frown on his lips, that indicated that somehow he had already registered the situation. One that Eudoria was not eager to discuss.

A silence fell upon them; both of them wanting to speak, but not knowing what to say.

As the elevator doors opened onto the third floor, Finnick made a move to exist, before stopping himself halfway out.

Finnick sighed: 'I should have warned you. I'm sorry' he stated, pity and guilt invading his tone.

He said nothing else as he disappeared down the corridor.

As his words struck her, she felt sick to her stomach, and her lungs fought for air. Had Finnick known what Snow was going to do?

She looked back down the corridor, this time her eyes being greeted with the sight of Finnick passionately kissing a much older woman. She watched as they broke this kiss, an arrogant smile appearing on his face as they both entered a hotel room.

This exchange shocked her, for more reasons than one: not only was she discovering that the rumours about Finnick were true, but that given what he had said to her, and what she had just witnessed, what else could she concluded other than that Finnick was one of them, he had to have known about Snow's plans, he was not her friend, but rather Evil's right-hand man.