➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳
District Eleven, Clem's home. The largest district of all Panem was also the second poorest, just behind District Twelve. It was bad enough that just the day before, Dove had faced Alder's family, but now she had to face her other ally's family. Too many emotions in the span of twenty-four hours were confusing her, almost causing her to shut them off.
The ride to the Justice Building was suspiciously dark. The car they were in only had one small window next to Dove. It was as if they didn't want the mentors or her to look at the state of District Eleven. However, through the window, Dove saw the fields, the people, and worst of all, the surrounding grilles.
The people working in the fields went from the youngest to the oldest. As long as they were of any service, it seemed they were obligated to work. The people seemed like livestock, trapped between the grilles as the Peacekeepers made sure no one escaped or stopped working.
That day was supposed to be for celebration. The District should have a holiday to commemorate the new Victor, but they were working since the early hours of the morning.
Dove decided not to watch anymore. She was getting sick from the view. She closed her eyes and rested her head on her brother's shoulder until they arrived at District Eleven's Justice Building.
Everything passed in a blur, and before she knew it, it was almost time for her script thanks to the people of the District. Looking at the tribute's families' platform, she noticed Clem's family. They were composed of three women. Probably her mother and two sisters.
The women looked at Dove, sorrow filling their eyes. The two sisters seemed older than eighteen, which made her sigh relieved. They were no longer eligible for the Games. The mother never let her eyes off the new Victor, which confused Dove.
The woman's grey eyes seemed lifeless, yet something burned inside them. They had a soft constant glow in them, but it wasn't only hers, her daughters, and even the people around the crowd, too.
Looking to the right where Hazel's family stood, she saw the same in their eyes. After the incident with Rye's name, Dove no longer wanted to present herself in a district and not even know the name of the ones they were mourning.
On Hazel's side, there were two men and a little girl. By the way the two men interacted with each other, they would be Hazel's parents. The little girl looked between six and seven years old. Maybe older since the family seemed to be heavily malnourished.
As she heard the Major stop talking, Dove knew it was time for her scripted thanks. Delia had written something about Clem's bravery and Hazel's bad luck, but she wouldn't utter such false words.
"Clem was my ally for less than a day," Dove spoke up. Surely Delia would be getting ready to scold her once again for not reading the cards. Something about not making her work so hard if she would ignore them. "And I didn't get the chance to meet Hazel, but from the training days, I can say confidently that she was really sweet."
Hazel's parents stared at her, surprised. They were probably not expecting the victor to say anything about their daughter since she had no contact with her during the Games.
"With Clem, we formed an alliance quite late in the Games. We never spoke about anything because we were secretly expecting the other to betray the other. From the little he told me, I know he was a smart and quick-witted person, traits that I admire." Dove continued to explain.
"He could have waited for me to attack the other two tributes left and then kill me, but he didn't. He helped me get where I am today. I couldn't have done it without him and for that same reason, it'll always be present in my mind." There was silence.
The crowd and the families were watching carefully her every move. Of course, after the uproar with her salute to District Twelve's tributes, everyone would be curious to see what she would do now.
"This is to Clematis and Hazel, District Eleven's 67th Hunger Games' tributes. They will forever be remembered and loved by their families and friends. And I pray that wherever they are, they are happy." Dove declared before showing her left three middle fingers to the crowd.
Everyone in the town square replied with the same action, and again, the symbol was maintained for an entire minute. Apart from that moment, the rest of the ceremony passed by as usual, and before she knew it, she was back on the train towards District Ten.
"Why am I writing those cards for you if you're not going to follow them?" Delia commented angrily as everyone sat on the couches in the sitting room.
"Because you love to work," Dove muttered under her breath as she kicked her shoes off and laid down on the couch. Melo walked to her and let her head rest on his lap as he caressed her face.
"You did good," he told his little sister. Their mother stared at the scene lovingly. It had been a long time since she had seen her children being affectionate to each other like that.
"I'm going to go write the ones for District Ten. Don't you dare ignore them," Delia warned, getting a chuckle in reply.
"Do them if you want Delia, but I'm not going to read them." The escort stormed out of the room, making Dove grimace at the door. "Too far?" She asked Melo, feeling a little guilty for not considering Delia's feelings.
"Nope," he replied with a smile. Dove noticed that while he was caressing her face, he was also trying to keep her hair from her eyes, which was difficult considering the fact that it was a large bushy mess.
"She'll feel better tomorrow," her mother spoke up, causing Dove to glance in her direction. She was sitting on the couch on her right side, while Finnick and Mags sat on the left. All the couches together made a sort of U shape.
"How are you feeling?" Mags mumbled, looking at the two siblings as she grabbed Finnick's hand reassuringly.
"Frankly, it's been tough to face their families, but I haven't had enough time to let things sink in. Ask me in two weeks when we're back home," Dove replied, glancing at the elderly woman with a gloomy smile.
"Maybe some rest would make it feel better," her mother intervened, although she knew perfectly well Dove couldn't sleep peacefully lately. Librae noticed her daughter sneaking out to Finnick's house two days after her victory.
However, she said nothing about the matter. Dove appeared relaxed and rested the day after, so there was nothing to worry about. Especially after a slumber party gone terribly wrong.
The same day Dove came back to Four, Angel insisted on sleeping with her little sister in her room. It was a way to reassure herself when waking up and seeing Dove there. What at one point was a sisters' slumber party ended up with the whole family involved.
As the three children slept, Librae stared at them. It was a blessed sight, her three children safe, even though two had gone to the Hunger Games and the other was almost elected. Even so, the joyful moment ended abruptly as Dove started screaming and crying.
She called out her allies' names in her sleep. It was a tone between begging and frightful. Her eyes shot open and she sat up on the bed as she looked around, confusedly. Dove muttered Finnick's name a few times before realising she was at her home.
"Yeah, I'll get going," Dove announced, causing her mother to return to reality. She kissed her children's forehead before they went to their respective rooms.
Dove's room on the train was spacious, probably more than she would like it to be. The shower was, as always, hard to comprehend with the many buttons it had, but she managed to understand some of them.
With a towel wrapped around her body, she walked to the bed, where her rope and necklace rested. Everything seemed to go by so quickly now that she was a Victor. It had been almost a whole year since she had received both objects, but it felt as if it were yesterday.
At her right, on the table by her bed, there was a small notebook that Delia lent her the same day the tour started. In it, there were all the 67th Hunger Games tributes' names that she had learned that morning. She was determined to send all of them off properly, as she had done with Alder and Clem.
There was one name marked carefully, Ovine Hunter, District Ten's female tribute and also her first kill. Dove wasn't sure how the people from the district would react. Sure, Eleven and Twelve had reacted positively because she wasn't the direct cause of their tribute's death. She just gave the killing blow.
But Ovine was different. Neither Alder nor Dove had given her a chance to join them. They could have just remained hidden until she was gone. But no, they attacked her and killed her with the berries.
What Dove didn't expect was that as she gave her speech to District Ten the following day, they all stared at her and listened carefully. It was silent in the square, making her realise how fast her heart was beating during the last part of her speech.
"This is to Ovine and Jack, District Ten's 67th Hunger Games' tributes. They will forever be remembered and loved by their families and friends. And I pray that wherever they are, they are happy." Dove announced, raising her left three middle fingers to the families, to which they replied with the same gesture.
As the districts passed, Dove repeated that famous phrase with the tributes' names. Not doing it would feel disrespectful to them and their families. Finally, the tour arrived to the Capitol. Many people crowded around just to have a glimpse of Dove or any of the other mentors.
Back again at the old Training Centre, everything seemed to pass at a low pace. It was a mocking reality. Now that she was so close to going back home, minutes passed like hours and hours like days. However, the torture only became worse when her prep team announced her make-over for the interview with Caesar.
At night, on the stage in front of the Training Centre, Caesar Flickerman prepared an interview with the new Victor, as he usually did every year. He started the interview with a few jokes about their hair.
"I truly believe we seem twins. Your hair's red, mine's orange." He commented with a loud laugh, trying to get the crowd to back up his statement.
"A shame it's not red. We would have looked even more alike," Dove replied calmly, but a slight smile never left her lips.
"You just gave me an idea, Dove," Caesar announced, causing the crowd to roar at the idea of Caesar's red hair for next year's Hunger Games. "But, anyway, we're here for you, not me. This is your big moment! Tell me, how are you doing?"
"Well, frankly, sometimes it's a bit difficult. I miss Alder a lot, and sometimes I can't help but feel sad. But, I would lie if I didn't say that I'm delighted to be here," she replied, making the crowd mumble 'aww' in response. Yeah, delighted because in no time I will go back home. She thought.
"I have to say I've been dying to ask you about your outfits. I mean, they're magnificent, but they're all black! Are you mourning him?" Caesar asked, his tone darting from cheerful to a worried one.
"Yes, I am. It's just as I said in District Twelve. I will always have him present in my heart. He was the love of my life, and I can't conceive the idea of not mourning him properly. Is it too weird?" Dove asked, hoping to raise the crowd's spirit up.
"No, darling, of course. It's not weird, it's lovely. Let's move on, shall we?" he commented cheerfully again as he looked at the audience. "The song! During your visit to District Twelve, I believe you sang the same song from your games, is that right?" he chirped.
"Yes, I did. I wanted to show my love for him in my own way," she replied, faking to be flustered as she fidgeted with her hands.
"Can we have the honour to listen to you sing it? What do you say, folks? Do you want to hear Dove, our little songbird, sing?" Caesar asked cheerfully to the crowd, making everyone roar in agreement.
"It would be my pleasure," she wanted to deny. Her song wasn't for the Capitol. It wasn't something to entertain them with, but they were using it as such. They had the upper hand in the situation. Dove Ogilvy was no longer a Godess, a creature stronger than them. She was a songbird, a domestic mascot they could train to sing however and whenever they wanted to.
Dove looked at the crowd, but ended up letting her eyes wander to the horizon before singing. "I see trees of green," during her song, everyone fell silent. They were mesmerised by her singing, and even after it ended, they demanded more.
'Mermaids, although they were beautiful sea creatures, attracted sailors with their voices. Once anyone heard them sing, the ship was doomed to sink.' Ohan's words echoed in her head. Maybe his mermaid idea wasn't as far off as she thought. The crowd was desperate, begging for another song. Although Caesar tried to calm them down, it didn't work.
Dove took the opportunity. If she sang anything else, they would get hooked. Who knew, perhaps her new deal wouldn't be so useless after all. "It's OK, Caesar. Actually, I wrote another song for him after returning to District Four. I can sing that one," she commented. Caesar nodded, giving her permission to proceed.
The part about writing a new song was a complete lie, but if she had come up with the one before, she could again. The crowd stopped their begs, giving her time enough time to think about some lyrics as she closed her eyes. It didn't take long. If the Capitol wanted a love song, she would give them a love song. An image of Finnick popped up in her mind. Of course, who else would the song be about if not him?
Dove didn't realise when, but by the time she paid attention to herself, she felt her mouth moving, lyrics leaving her vocal cords as she sang what could be a beautiful description of young love. In a song no longer than three minutes, she explained her feelings. Her confusion at first, her denial, and last, her deep and desperate love.
"As long as I live," Dove finished the song. The crowd was ecstatic, which confirmed her suspicions. Who knows, maybe I am a half mermaid. She thought mockingly, opening her eyes to watch the desperate people while Caesar tried to calm everyone down.
➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳➳