Heart of Gold • Finnick Odair

-45-

Days blended together for Rosalie May, she had no clue whatsoever how long she'd been in the Capitol for and she didn't care. She just knew one thing: she wanted out.

She was sick of the routine there. Wake up, eat a slice of bread and watery soup before having to wait until you'd be taken by the men in white suits. Half the time she'd end up vomiting the little food she had eaten anyway.

Johanna, with her shaved head, would be soaked in water and then tortured with electric shocks. Her body was now littered with bruises and scabs. Despite this, she still shouted sarcastic remarks at them every time they came to collect and/or drop her off.

Rosalie was either taken to a room to be relentlessly beaten by peacekeepers for information or, on occasion, she had to revisit her prostitution days. Snow's head peacekeeper, Donovan Praule, came in to collect her every now and then and every time she saw his face she would get shivers and feel the urge to vomit on the spot. She flinched every time someone came near her, even when Johanna reached a hand through her cell to Rosalie's she couldn't help but flinch before accepting the action.

After what felt like a long time, Peeta started to be brought down to the cells as well. He was, for the first time they saw him, in almost perfect shape but over time they noticed bruises begin to appear and his eyes began to sink and darken. They heard peacekeepers discussing his torture and pieced together that he was beaten and hijacked, using tracker jacker venom. They discovered Snow was altering his memories and therefore had tried to help him remember but after a certain point he gave up.

It had been hard to see the once lovesick boy turn into someone who feared Katniss so much that he wanted to kill her.

Enobaria had also been captured but was quickly released when they released she knew nothing of the plan and was considered still loyal to Snow and the Capitol.

The death of Chaff at the start of the games felt so far away now yet the pain was still fresh. And then there was Mags too. And now, she is here in the Capitol alongside her best friend Johanna and ally Peeta being tortured by the President for information she wouldn't ever dream of giving up and she doesn't even know if Finnick is even alive. There's been no proof. Snow said he was dead, but could she believe him? And what happened to Luna, who is basically her un-biological sister, is she alright? These thoughts circled her head like piranhas every day and it was becoming extremely tedious.

Rosalie sat in her cell absentmindedly picking at her fingers til they bled, staring at the walls that were once pristine white but are now smeared with her blood from all the times she's been thrown into the white room. The peacekeepers hose them down with cold water every now and then but the blood always reappears eventually.

She hears a few doors in the distance open and close along with the firm footsteps of one person. She leans her head back against the wall, closing her eyes and sighing, here we go again.

Johanna is still passed out in the cell beside her from a shock session and she assumed Peeta isn't even in the room as he was taken earlier and she's almost certain she hasn't fallen asleep since he was taken.

One single peacekeeper comes in and bangs on her cell, "wake up."

Rosalie flinches at the abrupt sound, she'd gotten lost in her head again. She forced herself to stand but almost falls immediately as a result of her shaky and weak legs. Exhaustion pulled at her entire body despite how much she sleeps.

Before she can hit the ground as her legs give in, her body is caught by the peacekeeper who, with almost sympathy, says "let's get you cleaned up."

He takes her to another room where two woman are. The peacekeeper goes outside to guard the door, Rosalie is unsure whether its incase someone tries to come in or if she tries to get out. Surely not the latter, she can hardly stand let alone run away. The nurses would be able to stop her before she got a step to the door. They undress and bathe her in a lukewarm bath with lavender scents.

She's suspicious by the treatment, the only person who has been cared for like this at all is... Peeta. Shit.

She's being taken for an interview then? Or worse, will she be 'prepped' with tracker jacker venom first?

She doesn't even realise she is now dressed in a robe after having some sort of cream on her injuries. It lessened the pain slightly, probably only temporarily too, but did hardly anything for her appearance.

The two women frantically work around her, they must've been ordered to leave her bruises visible because they didn't apply any makeup, and her fragile and malnourished body is soon covered in a dress.

The dress is simple and a deep purple colour with long mesh sleeves and beads around the neckline and waist. It is padded to make her look a little more fed but there's nothing that could be done to cover the hollowness of her face, the visibility of her cheekbones, her cracked lips.

Despite all this, the head peacekeeper still looked her up and down as she passed him whilst being escorted by the man who had taken her from her cell.

She is taken to a room with two sofas: one single which Caesar Flickerman is seated on as a man adjusts his hair and one double for, who she assumes, will be herself and Peeta.

To answer her question, Peeta is soon dragged into the room though not alone. He's followed by Johanna who has a peacekeeper on either arm. Peeta seems so doped up on tracker jacker venom that he looks like he's in another world entirely, well he supposedly is.

Johanna looks mad, no, infuriated. Her mouth is covered by multiple layers of tape and she seems to have some sort of cloth in her mouth too making it out of the question that she'd be in the interview, so why is she here?

Rosalie's second question is answered when Snow walks in and stands before her with a look of intimidation in his eyes, "good afternoon, Miss May. It is lovely to see you in a dress again, just like old times. Now you are going to do something for me. You're gonna sit in that chair with Peeta and read whatever is on these screens behind the camera. Are we clear?"

"Why would I do that?" Rosalie surprises herself at how strong her voice sounds under the circumstances.

"This." As he says the word, the two peacekeepers holding Johanna lift a gun each and point them at the girl's head. Johanna just shakes her head at Rosalie as if telling her not to do it.

"Okay, okay! You don't have to do that, i'll do what you ask." The president smirks.

Rosalie knows she'll get an earful about this from Johanna later but that's fine by her, she can't let her friend die. Johanna may think nobody needs her but she's way off.

Rosalie and Peeta sit on the plush white couch and Caesar begins the interview, greeting the audience (or camera) in an uncharacteristically solemn way, before introducing his guests.

The camera zooms in on Peeta's face first, as he is the first to be mentioned, and then on Rosalie, who glances behind the camera at where Johanna sits in between the two peacekeepers who are still gripping their guns tightly in their laps where she can still see them.

Johanna still shakes her head every time Rosalie meets her eyes. The bald girl is sat with her mouth covered and hands tied so she has no way to escape. Rosalie either speaks her heart and watches a bullet go through her best friends head, or she lies and possibly damages the rebellion to protect her friend.

She knew what she'd do, what she always does, protect the ones she loves. Because life isn't worth living without them.

As if reading her thoughts, Johanna drops her head in defeat as she leans back in the chair slightly, her every move being watched and followed by the peacekeepers.

"Rosalie?" Caesar's voice brings her from her thoughts as her eyes go back to the host.