The Life of A Victor || Finnick Odair

CHAPTER 29

"I see trees of green. . ." During the song, Dove's eyes never left the bird, which sang the cords along. Her mind got clearer as she sang. Once it ended, the bird chirped and walked to the window.

Dove followed and stood next to it, looking outside the window. She was going crazy, first seeing blood where there wasn't and now a bird was comforting her. Glancing back at the mockingbird, she realised her mistake.

At her side there was a Mockingjay. The offspring between the Capitol's mutts, Jabberjays, and the mockingbirds. They were uncommon in Four, but not in Twelve.

During the games, Alder had explained to her how there were Mockingjays all around District Twelve. He didn't specify, but she knew he talked about the woods, which were forbidden to enter. It seemed the Mockingjays were protective of their territory, which got him in trouble countless times.

"Did Alder send you?" Dove whispered to the bird. It only replied with the same first chords of her song. "I'll take that as a yes," she replied with a light chuckle.

Dove looked behind her. Her room was no longer overflowing with blood, neither was her hair. She wasn't sure if she had completely overcome her fear, but it was a step. A good one.

The Mockingjay chirped again as it got to the end of her window. Dove looked back at it. She felt relieved. It could have been her own desires, making her have the biggest hallucination ever. But she felt forgiven. Alder had forgiven her and wanted her to know it.

"Tell him. . . That I'm thankful. I'll owe him for the rest of my life. Him and his family," she said, a few tears escaping her eyes. It may have been her imagination, but the bird seemed to have nodded. As soon as the Mockingjay left, she could concentrate again on her family's yells.

"I did it. . ." she muttered.

Dove ran to her door and opened it as quickly as she could. "I did it!" she yelled. Tears still flowed down her face, but her smile never left. Her mother gave her a lecture about closing her door, and how she had worried everyone.

It seemed Melo, at some point, had ran to Finnick's house to get him. He thought that since he had helped her before, maybe he could do it again. But when both got back there were no longer screams, but dead silence, which worried them even more.

Dove hadn't heard anyone yell for a long while. Once her mother was done with her sermon, she explained her interaction with the mockingjay. How it had helped her and how she was convinced Alder had sent it to her.

An hour had passed since that moment. No one dared to bring up the subject of what had happened again. Dove felt lucky that her family had let what she had explained go. A Mockingjay consoling her because of a dead person's request would generally get her condemned to the mental facility, which was yet another way of saying slavery, just like the orphanage.

A paced and slow knock on the front door startled everyone. They weren't expecting any visits yet, and if it were any of the other Victors, they would just come in. In Victor's Village, privacy wasn't determined by a door. Everyone entered the houses as if they were their own.

If Mags, Muscida or Ron were there, they could pass Finnick's presence as a mentors' reunion before the tour. But none of them were there. Melo grabbed Finnick's arm and motioned for him to follow silently until the backyard.

Meanwhile, Librae gracefully made her way towards the front door, trying not to show how startled everyone was by the sudden visit. Angel and Dove remained in the living room as their mother had told them to do. If the three went to the door, it could seem hostile, like they weren't pleased with the company.

Secretly, both sisters paid attention to the entrance. They tried the best they could to hear their mother's conversation with whoever was there, but they didn't achieve anything. Melo got back from the backyard, sitting next to Angel as he gave a nod to them. Finnick was hidden, and there should be no problem of being found out.

The voices got closer to the living room, making them immediately pretend they were having an engaging conversation about the tour. The door to the room opened steadily, revealing Librae with a worried expression.

"Dove, darling. Someone has come to pay you a visit. It's probably for the tour," her mother said as she tried to smile. Dove stood up from her seat and walked to her mother. A person appeared behind her mother. They were the definition of Capitol's fashion.

The person moved slightly, letting her through as they motioned her to follow them. Everything was too similar to the day of President Snow's visit. But why would he be there? Hadn't she done enough?

Their walk halted in front of the study, just like last year. President Snow is definitely here. Dove thought as she entered the room. And she was, in fact, right.

Just as she entered, the smell of blood and roses registered in her mind. The man was sitting on the chair as if he was in his own house. Dove tried her best not to make any sign of displeasure, but it was hard when she was reviving the start of her nightmares.

"President Snow, such a pleasure to welcome you yet again into our humble home," Dove spoke up, as she got close to the only available chair in the room, which was right in front of the president's.

"Miss Ogilvy, I thought we agreed last year not to lie to each other, isn't that right?" he asked with a smirk plastered on his face. He was enjoying the moment, and it showed.

"What can I do for you?" the president laughed at her bluntness. He remembered last year when she cowered right in front of him, pleading for her sister's safety. Now that she had it, she seemed to get fiercer.

"I'm not particularly pleased with you, Miss Ogilvy." He announced. The smirk was still visible in his expression. "Many people in the Districts think your tragic love story with Alder Caldwell was a setup to survive. And if you could do it and survive, what could stop them from trying the same thing?"

"I thought my interview after the games showed my everlasting love for him," she replied, not sure anymore of what else she could do.

"Oh, it did work for the majority who had doubts. But districts like Eleven and Twelve are still stubbornly trying to see rebellion where there's none, right?" Dove shook her head. Rebellion? That's a mad plan. She thought.

"Of course, I'll expect you to show your feelings for Alder during your visits to the districts. I've conveyed my worries to your stylist. He seemed to agree with my idea. I believe the standard grieving period for a lover's death is between six to twelve months." President let the words in the air. He loved playing mind games with her and seeing her slowly realising his words.

"Then I shall grieve for him properly and dress in black and subdued colours. Will the veil be necessary?" Dove asked as she clasped her hands together as tightly as she could.

"No, there's no need for the veil. However, I would advise you to wear your hair down. People in the Capitol shouldn't forget about your innocence. I'll give you a year of trial. If the rumours are not subdued, I'll give in to the people's demands. I believe you know which ones I'm talking about, don't you, miss Ogilvy?" Dove nodded slowly.

The trial would end just before her sixteenth foundday. It was an event her mother had created to celebrate the children's 'birthdays' more or less, since they didn't know them concretely. Without their birthdays as a reference to know their age, Librae had decided to use their estimated age to celebrate the day she found them.

And once she was sixteen, it would be easy to be sold to the Capitol, like her brother or Finnick. Wait. Finnick hasn't gone to the Capitol yet for the annual visit. Has he not been sold yet, then? Dove thought as her eyes gave up and looked down to the floor.

"Mister Odair turned sixteen recently, am I correct?" President Snow spoke up again. He had read her expression again. Dove nodded again. "I believe the people in the Capitol are waiting expectantly to try him. I wonder how many will pay for the pleasure of his company. Maybe a few? Hundreds? Thousands?" he said.

He was doing it again, giving her the worst probable scenarios, as if it were nothing, only to present the solution seconds after. Dove guessed her expressions would be entertaining for him. But it wasn't too bad. If he said that. It meant she could help Finnick. She could finally pay back a small amount of what she owed him.

"What can I do? There must be something I can do," Dove replied with her confidence back. There had to be something she could do if President Snow had brought it up.

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