𝚕𝚒𝚋𝚎𝚛𝚘𝚜𝚒𝚜
-𝚗𝚘𝚞𝚗
𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚍𝚎𝚜𝚒𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚕𝚎𝚜𝚜
"Caring too much for my allies had made the loss all the worse, caring too much made the nightmares more frequent. Caring too much would cost me my soul, in the end, I wou...
Dante wasn't having it, "Sensitive, weak, same thing," He shrugged.
"Addison isn't weak, she's strong enough to show emotion- something you're not capable of." I argued, Andante looked to his feet sheepishly at the comment, I nibbled on my lip- knowing I might have taken it too far, "You came to find me today, why?" I asked him as we reached the front of our house.
He sat on the porch swing, beckoning me to sit beside him, "It's strange, I never used to be afraid of the reaping, I don't know what's come over me, Rory." He seemed embarrassed about his confession.
"When I was your age I was terrified as well, I nearly lost my best friend," I began, rubbing his shoulder affectionately, "But I refuse to let the Capitol win by knowing their nation fears them. Fear is the most powerful emotion of all, you can only use it to your advantage if you do something about it."
"What are you going to do about it?" He asked me, cocking his head to the side.
"Maybe I'll create an alternate timeline, perhaps I'll rub a magic lamp and use one of my three wishes, I'll see where the wind takes me." I joked, Andante rolled his eyes before pulling me into a hug, I squeezed the boy tightly before ruffling his mop of curls and making my way inside.
Addison had woken up screaming, something I was used to on reaping day but I still found gave me chills down to the core. Mum was exhausted from taking care of her all night so I allowed her to catch up on some rest as I led my younger sister towards the bath. Asher said nothing when she woke, instead she shut down and turned to her guitar. "It's ok Addy." I whispered, pouring some water over her scalp, she sunk further down into the water, concealing the rest of her body with her special 'calming bubbles'.
"Can you sing?" She asked me, as she slowly gathered herself, "For me?"
I wasn't much of a singer, I left that line of artistic ability to Asher, I could still carry a tune but it wasn't something I overly enjoyed. But I knew to keep Addison happy I would do almost anything so I took her by the hand and sang a line from a song Asher had written, "Just close your eyes, the sun is going down,
You'll be alright, no one can hurt you now
Come morning light,"
"You and I'll be safe and sound." Addison finished for me, I pulled the plug on the water and wrapped her in a warm bath towel, leading her to where her clothes sat, warming up by the fire. Her dress was a conservative three-quarter sleeve white dress with a V neckline, she slid ballet flat onto her feet and move over to the mirror in order for her hair to be done. Asher stood twirling around in the dress I had worn when I was fourteen, smoothing down her dress in the mirror.
I took a short bath, only washing my hair and body, barely giving myself any time to relax, I had eaten into enough of the morning fishing and consoling my siblings that I had barely left any time for myself. Leaving my hair to air dry in its natural wavy state, I found my dress hanging over a chair in my room. The dress my mother found had a beautiful simplicity to it, a strapless white number with a pleated silk skirt that flowed just past my knees, when I spun, it moved so weightlessly it made me ask myself if I was actually wearing anything.
A knock brought my attention to the door where my mother stood with tears in her eyes, "You look beautiful." She whispered, pulling me into a gentle hug.
"Like mother like daughter," I replied, kissing her on top of the head.
She responded with a tired laugh before pulling a package out from behind her back, "It's from Finnick," She explained at the parcel wrapped in brown paper, an envelope, "He wanted to give it to you himself but he had to run off for his duties as a victor." First, I opened the envelope where a message was written in Finnick's beautiful handwriting;
Aurora,
Happy Hunger Games (And may the odds be ever in your favour),
Wishing you and your family the best of luck in the reaping, you all deserve to stay together. Make sure you wave to me from the crowd, I'll be the irresistible victor on the stage if you didn't already guess.
If I don't see you before I head off to the capital, give your family my best. I'll miss you the most Rory, don't fall in love with someone else while I'm away.
Yours,
Finnick Odair
P.S. I got you a little something to go with your dress, I hope to see you wearing it.
I smiled fondly at the message before turning to the package, opening it gently to find a small jewellery box inside, the Hartley Brand stamped onto the box. I chuckled; he'd really kept it close to home with this one. I gasped opening the box finding a dainty gold chain with a singular round white pearl attached to the centre. I smiled, knowing he had thought the gift out well, it had sentimental value as it was gifted by him but also because it was made by my father. I held all those I loved close to my heart.
I brushed my hair aside and let Mum fasten the necklace around my neck, I smile, pulling my mother into one more hug, she places a gentle kiss on my cheek causing a tear to slip from my face. "No tears from you," She whispers to me brushing them away with her thumbs, "How do you expect me to stay sane?" She asks.
There is a bittersweet atmosphere in our living room as everyone hugs each other tightly, tempting not to let each other go. Tears are spilled and my heart breaks as Addison drops to the floor with a fearful scream. To my surprise Andante is the first to comfort her, filling me with a warm feeling. This is my family, I love them, they love me and that was all I needed.
We make our way out of the house, hand in hand, Addison still sobs quietly as she grips my arms tightly. They take our blood as we wait in line, I wince as it pricks my finger, walking into the section on the right that lies second from the back, people gather into the square, holding hands, fearing for their loved ones as Sylvia Rathbone finds her way to the front again. She announces the names of our previous victors, the first and oldest being Mags Flannagan, a kind woman with a face that reminds me of my grandmother. Finnick being our most recent tribute is announced last, waving to District Four as the crowd roars. His eyes find mine and I give him a nervous smile, signalling to the necklace around my neck. He smiles nodding in approval.
The infuriating video of Snow blares as my thoughts are swimming around my head. Sylvia wipes an imaginary tear from her eye as if the video was some kind of inspiring masterpiece, her heels click as she walks over to the girl's bowl, digging her perfectly manicured hand into the bowl and pulling out a piece of paper.
My stomach fills with anxiety as she walks overto the microphone, opening the slip of paper and reading over the name. "Thisyear's female tribute from District Four is..." She pauses dramatically foreffect, "Aurora Hartley."
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a/n
Totally didn't see that coming huh.
Love you guys (do something you love today, just for shits and giggles)
