𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑩𝑳𝑨𝑪𝑲 𝑫𝑨𝑯𝑳𝑰𝑨, 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒄𝒌 𝒐𝒅𝒂𝒊𝒓

𝑼𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒂𝒓𝒚

Dahlia knew her words in District Four would have consequences. She knew her actions in the Games had sparked anger. And she knew what could happen if she dared to defy Snow. Yet what she hadn't known, was how you could hate one person with every fibre of your being and wish them a thousand painful deaths. But now she did.

The final words of Snow's speech were ambiguous enough to be passed off to the crowd as anticipation for her future, but malicious enough for Dahlia to know there was ill intent behind it. She couldn't relax on the train back to her district. Nobody could reassure her, no matter how hard they tried. Not even Alaric could convince her that the words didn't mean anything. Dahlia refused to be anything but concerned until she saw her family safe and sound with her own eyes.

There were no crowds waiting to greet her this time, which was a relief. She couldn't bring herself to smile and wave, pretending like the anxiety wasn't eating away at her sanity the longer it took to reach her home.

"Dahlia!" Alaric yelled out in distress as the girl practically bolted from the train. She didn't care about her aching legs or pounding heart. Her fear outweighed all her physical pain. The citizens of her district watched on in confusion as their newest Victor sprinted past but she paid them no mind. She didn't dare slow down until she crossed the threshold of the Victors' Village.

Easing to a stop, she was reassured by the sight of the large house seeming untouched and intact. Nothing had changed in the weeks she had been away. The door was still painted black with a festive homemade wreath of flowers decorating it, indoor pot plants visible through the window, the scent of lavender wafting up her nose. But it was very quiet. No laughter, no sibling arguments, no scolding mother... Too quiet.

With a heaving chest and shaking hands, Dahlia pushed her way into the house. "Lav?" She calls out nervously, listening carefully as the sound reverberates through the empty hallway. "Mama?" No replies at all. "Ro-Ro?" Not even the slightest hint of movement. "If you're playing a joke on me, it isn't funny."

Starting in the kitchen, she searches every room on the ground floor. It looks tidy and clean but soulless. There's no life in any of the perfection around them. Their flaws had made them human and unique, which is why they loved their old home so much. It may have been small but there were traces of each individual hidden everywhere.

After investigating every possible hiding place downstairs and having no luck, Dahlia heads upstairs. No one answers to the call of their names and Dahlia grows more frantic and desperate by the minute. "Why are there so many rooms in this damn house?" She growls impatiently, swinging the doors open wildly and letting them smack against the wall. "Rosie!" The baby of the family had a habit of tiptoeing into other beds in the middle of the night, disliking the cold emptiness of her lonely bed. So it wasn't unusual to find her bed neat and unslept in. "Lavender!" But what was unusual, was the chaos of her younger sister, Lavender's, room. She wasn't a disorganised child so this raised some alarm bells in Dahlia's mind. It looked like a struggle had taken place.