cursed | finnick odair

two

word count: 1.8k

~

The door to the room Conway had been sitting in swung open violently and in stumbled Conway's father and her grandmother, both with deeply sunken expressions. They had given her a private room in the Justice Building to say goodbye to her family, as they did with Caspian. They had five minutes to say everything they needed to say. It wasn't the first time Conway had been in this situation.

'I'm okay!' Conway said as her father wrapped his arms around her. 'I'm okay. Don't cry.' She rested her head on his chest as his quiet sobs shook his body. He covered his face with his hand before brushing the back of her head, flattening her hair.

'I'm so sorry. I would volunteer for you if I could,' he told her as he pulled away from one another. 'You know I would.'

'I know, I know you would... It's okay,' she said to him and offered a small, yet shaky, smile. She had zero confidence left to spare, but if she was going to come back to her family, she needed to find it rather quickly. 'I'll have Nana with me at least.'

Mags grabbed Conway's firmly hand and smiled.

'You need to try and win this, Conway,' her father said sternly. As she thought of an appropriate response, her father added, 'For your brothers...' He placed his hands on either side of her face, squishing her cheeks.

Conway swallowed the sudden lump in her throat. 'I will... I promise I'll try,' she muttered and held her family's hands to her chest. 'For the boys?' Conway asked, her voice trembling as her eyes brimmed with tears. She never spoke about them often, nor did she go out of her way to reminisce about them. It was easier for her to cope with the loss.

'For the boys.' Her father pressed a firm kiss into her forehead. 'I love you, Conway.'

'I love you, dad.'

He pulled away from her and opened his palm to reveal a small golden ring. The metal twisted and turned to create the image of small waves overlapping one another. It belonged to her mother.

She took it with a small smile and slipped it onto her finger, admiring it closely. Her family grabbed her hands and squeezed them.

When the door swung open, Conway let go of her father and grandmother before placing her hands on her hips and exhaling deeply. The Peacekeepers ushered her family out of the room before closing the door behind them.

Conway ran her hands through her long hair and cleared her throat. How was she going to win this? She had no physical advantages. Sure, she could hold her breath for an extreme amount of time and swim like a fish, but how would that be of any use to her? She had no idea what the arena would be. She was completely in the dark. Her mind began to swarm with endless questions, ones she had no answer to.

Within the hour, Conway found herself standing in the middle of the High-Speed Capitol Train, marvelling at the amount of luxury items before her. The furniture was like none other that she had ever seen. All brightly coloured and covered in velvet, or even gold. Glass chandeliers hung from the ceiling and they shone in a rainbow of colours when the light reflected off it.. The reflections danced across Conway's skin. She couldn't help but smile at it.

Solaris placed her hands on Conways and Caspian's shoulders as the doors in front of them opened. She announced, 'You two, this is Finnick Odair. I'm sure you recognise him.'

Finnick approached them and clasped his hands behind his back. His smile was painted rather largely across his face. It left Conway feeling unsettled.

'Caspian... Our fathers used to work together on the trawler.' Caspian shook Finnick's hand firmly. 'I'm sorry about what happened to him.'