𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑩𝑳𝑨𝑪𝑲 𝑫𝑨𝑯𝑳𝑰𝑨, 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒄𝒌 𝒐𝒅𝒂𝒊𝒓

𝑼𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒂𝒓𝒚

"Mama!" Dahlia bursts into her mother's bedroom only to let out the most horrific scream. It echoed around the Victors' Village, more heartbreaking than any sound that had been heard in the Hunger Games. "No... No, no, no!" She couldn't comprehend what she was seeing in front of her. It felt like the worst nightmare she'd ever been haunted with. As sobs escape her lips, she clasps her hand over her mouth and stumbles over to her mother's bed.

Joule Blossom and little Rosie lay motionless on the stained white sheets, with smiles carved into their lips. White roses were scattered around the bodies, leaving no possible doubt for who was behind this. Written on the wall above the bed in a red substance was the word 'UNNECESSARY'.

"What word would you use, Miss Blossom?" Snow inquires, feigning an interest for what she has to say.

Dahlia gives him a truthful answer, "Unnecessary."

The punishment for her behaviour was forever living with the guilt of her family's death. Their blood is now on her hands. Dahlia's knees buckle weakly before she collapses to the floor. She weeps uncontrollably for the people she had killed simply with her words. So driven by her desire for justice for Cove that she lost sight of the family she'd been fighting for all along.

Dahlia feels like she's back in the arena, drowning under the waves as she desperately gasps for air. Her lungs burn and her throat has seized up, breath running away from her too fast for her to catch. Her whole body quivers with ear-piercing wails until a hand settles on her shoulder.

"No! Get off!" She yells, kicking and hitting at the person grabbing onto her. "Let go of me! Stop it!" Her hands, bunched up into fists, hit pathetically at the man's chest as he tries to calm her.

"Breathe, flower." Alaric whispers soothingly, taking every hit she throws at him. "I don't care if you hurt me. I just need you to breathe."

"N-- No! I-- I can't!" Dahlia coughs and splutters, latching onto Alaric because he's her lifeline.

"Yes, you can." Alaric assures her, moving the tangled hair out of her face.

Dahlia shakes her head defeatedly, chest moving up and down rapidly. "I can't! I can't."

"Breathe with me." He orders softly, cupping Dahlia's face with both of his hands. "In and out." He instructs gently, watching as the girl copies his actions shakily. "Deep breath in... Deep breath out." Dahlia repeats the technique, allowing her breathing to even out. They continue this until she has calmed down fully, Alaric nodding proudly at her. "There you are. Well done."

"I-- I'm so sorry." Dahlia mutters out, ashamed that Alaric had found her in such a state.

"No. Never apologise." He commands sternly, helping Dahlia stand on her wobbling legs. "Let's get you out of here." Dahlia nods numbly, agreeing with anything that removes the horrific scene from her sights.

"I don't know where Lavender is." Dahlia mumbles, voice hoarse from screaming and her eyes red and puffy. "She wasn't..." She didn't even want to think about what she'd seen. "I couldn't find her."

"It's alright. She's safe." Alaric informs her, basically carrying all of Dahlia's weight as she leans on him.

"What?" The girl exclaims in shock, not wanting to get her hopes up. "She's-- She's safe? You're sure?"

Alaric guides Dahlia out of the house, leading her across the street to his home. "She's shaken, but alive."

That's all Dahlia needs to hear before she's disregarding Alaric in favour of scrambling up the steps of his house. The door swings open carelessly as Dahlia cries out, "Lav!" When no reply comes, Dahlia's fear spikes again. "Lavender!" The first room she sprints for is the living room, storming in at an alarming rate before skidding to a stop. "Lavender." She heaves a huge sigh of relief at seeing her sister sitting calmly on the couch. Dahlia leaps forward, ready to engulf her sister in a hug. "Oh, Lav. I was so worried--"

"What did you do?" The girl spits out venomously, turning to face her sister. Dahlia is shocked by the burning rage and hatred visible in her eyes, a look she has seen in herself every time she was forced to watch clips of her Games.

"Lav, what--"

"What did you do?" Lavender repeats, jaw clenched tightly as tears silently slip down her cheeks. Dahlia steps back slightly, terrified that her worst fear had actually come true. Her sweet little sister had become her. Bitter, angry and murderous. Fumbling for the right words to say to ease the girl, Dahlia's mouth opens and closes like a fish. But she has no answer. Lavender's face hardens and she lunges for the girl she'd looked up to all her life. "What did you do!"

Dahlia is shoved backwards, stumbling over her own feet to land harshly on the floor. "Lav, I'm sorry."

Lavender doesn't hear the girl's pleas, punching her with an anguished cry as she hits and slaps the Victor. "You killed them! It's your fault! You did something and now they're dead!"

Dahlia curls up in defence but doesn't return the hits. She would never cause harm to her sister. They're just a little too much like each other in how they handle things. Scream your emotions out until there's nothing left to give. She is only granted mercy when Alaric barges in and easily lifts Lavender off of her sister. The petite girl continues to put up a fight but eventually becomes too exhausted to keep going. Alaric places Lavender back on the couch before helping Dahlia off the floor.

"I know this is difficult," Alaric begins, seating the older Blossom across from her sister. "But you need to tell us what happened?"

Lavender's tear-filled eyes lift from intensely glaring at the ground to focus on the two Victors. "Rosie was sleeping in my room when they came. I heard Mama shouting but they took Rosie and I anyway. We tried to fight back but... They just dragged us along the floor."

"Who's 'they'?" Alaric asks carefully, despite already having a hunch.

"The Peacekeepers." Lavender answers with a whimper, picking at the skin around her nails. "They made me watch. Told me to shut up or I'd join them. Then they-- They put a gun to their heads and--" The girl couldn't finish her sentence, being cut off by her own sobs. "They said it was an unnecessary death, but... The Black Dahlia needs to be kept in line."

"Oh, Lav..." Dahlia sighs guiltily, crossing the distance between them so she could embrace the girl.

"No!" Lavender exclaims, flinching away from her sister's touch as Dahlia's heart shatters even more. "Don't touch me. Murderer!"

"Lav... I know nothing I say can make up for what I've done," Dahlia mumbles, kneeling down in front of the distraught child. "But you are still my family. I don't care if you hate me, I will continue to fight for you." Lavender refuses to look at her sister. "We need to stick together, Lav... Please." Shaking her head as the tears kept falling, Lavender pushed away from the only family she had left and raced up the stairs of Alaric's house. "Lavender!"

Dahlia tries to run after her but Alaric intercepts her. "Give her some time, flower." He whispers compassionately, allowing Dahlia's body to relax into his arms. She weeps into the fabric of his shirt, muffling the sound of her cries. Alaric rocks them from side to side, gently shushing the girl and rubbing her back in a soothing manner. "I'm so sorry this happened to you."

"Everything I did... Everything I sacrificed..." Dahlia sniffles, gripping onto Alaric for dear life. "It was all to get back to them. Now Mama and Ro-Ro are dead because of me and Lavender won't even look me in the eye."

Snow was a ruthless man, but Dahlia couldn't deny his cunning. By keeping Lavender alive, he could dangle that above Dahlia's head and use her to keep the Victor under his thumb. He had tamed the wild card with just one action. He knew her weakness lay in her loyalty to her family and he had no trouble exploiting it for his own gain. The Black Dahlia would never know peace.