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"So it really was poison," Librae muttered as everyone in the room glanced from Dove to Finnick, worriedly. Both had barely arrived a few hours ago from their eventful week in the Capitol. Melo and Angel sat surrounding their little sister on a couch, while Annie and Mags did the same with Finnick on the one right in front of them. The rest of the Victors sat on the one facing the television or on the armchairs.
"The Capitol cameras caught you fainting, and later they said your illness complicated. Although I don't think many bought that crappy explanation." Ron, who was seated next to Librae, explained with a bitter chuckle.
"How did he give you the poison?" Dove glanced from her siblings to her mother, who had asked the question, she was embarrassed. It was so obvious, yet I fell for it so easily. She thought, clenching her hands tightly.
"He first told me to decide between what he called 'company' or 'reminder of illness'. And then he refused to explain what they were about. I panicked. I didn't want to be sold off, and I chose the latter without thinking about it properly." Dove confessed, lowering her head to her hands as she closed her eyes.
"Then he gave me some sort of brownie, which most likely contained the antidote, and then he poured me a glass of wine from his own bottle. I can't believe I still didn't get it after all that. . ." Dove muttered, a hand rubbed her back, trying to comfort her, while another rested on her shoulder, squeezing it gently.
"And then? Did you perform right away?" Muscida asked, shifting to a more comfortable position on her seat. Dove shook her head, which was still hidden in her hands. She was ashamed to have fallen for the president's trick and didn't want to talk about it, even though she knew she had to.
"We talked for a few minutes before President Snow asked her to perform. Then, she drank the wine and went to the platform." Finnick explained after seeing how difficult it was for Dove to answer the questions. "She sang, coughed blood, and then fainted, just like what you saw on the news," he added.
"Dove, it's OK. Even if you knew what was happening, you still had to drink the poison." Angel reassured her little sister, which caused Annie to look at them weirdly. The new Victor didn't know Dove's personality fully well yet.
Of course, Dove was scared of having drank poison. But at the moment, it wasn't her primary worry. After all, before she fainted, she hadn't got the time to fear what would happen. The only thing she couldn't understand was why she hadn't realised sooner.
I could always catch on to President Snow's schemes, so why couldn't I that night? Moreover, when it was so fucking obvious! She thought, lifting her head from her hands to run her fingers through her hair in an attempt to calm down her anxiety, although they ended up getting tangled in it.
"Did you meet him again before you came back?" Her mother asked, before grabbing a hold of Ron's hand. Dove shook her head. She only woke up for her last performance, and it had to be cancelled because of her slightly damaged throat. She had been passed out for almost five days.
"I caught a glimpse of him when Dove fainted. He was smiling from his balcony, and he raised his glass in my direction." Finnick spoke up, getting everyone's attention on him. "It was as if he was taunting me, mocking me silently. . ." He muttered, causing Mags to rub a hand on his back to comfort him.
"This will happen again, won't it?" Dove wondered out loud, looking at her mother, who was the best at predicting the Capitol's decisions. Librae only glanced at her feet, but it was enough to reply to her question. It would. It would most likely happen again.
"If he's doing that for his own entertainment, it's probable," Ron said, side-hugging Librae as he glanced at Dove, worry clear in his eyes. "Everything's a game. We're still in the Arena. It would be better for all of you to remember that. Our lives are no longer our own," he added, looking around at the younger Victors.
"You can take the Victor out of the Arena, but not the Arena out of the Victor," Finnick commented bitterly as he rubbed his hands on his knees to calm himself down.
An awkward silence filled the room. Everyone wanted to change the subject, bring up something livelier, but how could they ignore the direct life-threatening moment Dove had just experienced? She was the first Victor to go through that, from what they knew. Normally, her sister would have been the one punished, not herself.
"Why didn't he poison me? If he wanted to entertain himself, why didn't he announce something about me while they were in the Capitol? Just like what he did to Melo on his tour," Angel asked as she placed an arm around her little sister's shoulders.
"Angel. . ." Librae tried to say, glancing at her oldest daughter as she squeezed Ron's hand. No one had told the oldest sister the truth of their deals. Angel only knew they were protecting someone they love, without specifying who that was, which she guessed was herself, since she was the only one who wasn't a Victor.
"Because you're not in danger. My deal basically means I die before you. I'm an obstacle in his way before he can hurt you. Any mistake, any stupid thing, will only get me killed." Dove interjected, glancing at her older sister with a bitter smile. "And once I'm dead, you'll be in danger."
"Since when?" Angel asked desperately, looking at Dove. Her arm fell from her little sister's shoulders as she turned to face her.
"Melo's Victory Tour. The illness bit wasn't just for show, but to keep you safe," Dove replied, looking straight into her older sister's eyes. "And I'm not the only one. Mum, Melo and Finnick are trying to protect my life too. And when I'm dead, it will change to you."
The three Victors Dove had pointed at, nodded to show she was right. All of them were protecting her life, not Angel's, at least not for now. "Me too," Ron said, glancing at the siblings with a bitter smile.
"He knew of my feelings for your mother and used it to his advantage. Now that we're a couple, I fear it'll only get worse," he explained to them as Dove stared at him, surprised. She didn't know that Ron had confessed his feelings to her mother.
"Oh, yeah. You don't know. He confessed horribly, believe me, Angie and I were there," Melo declared, taking advantage of the subject to lighten up his little sister's mood, which Angel caught on rapidly, although it took her a few seconds to put her thoughts into place before joining in.
Angel's thoughts were a mess. At first, she felt happy she wasn't the one everyone was suffering for. But when everything Dove said processed in her mind, she couldn't be more horrified. Her little sister at thirteen years old had traded places to protect her, even if that meant being exposed to die, not only in the Arena, but also after.
Not only did Dove volunteer for her in the Reaping, but now she was calling herself an obstacle. Just a rock in the middle of the road, an annoyance that would be taken care of at some point if President Snow felt like it.
Angel shook her head. It wasn't the time or place to have such thoughts. For now, her little sister needed to receive her full attention after a horrible week in the Capitol.
"Yeah, he was consoling mum, and out of nowhere, he said 'I care because I see them as my own children, because I love you so much that being their father would make me the happiest man in all Panem'. So, I guess we should call him dad now." Angel commented mockingly, glancing at Ron, whose face was as red as Dove's hair.
"Took them long enough to get together," Dove said with a chuckle as she tied her hair with her rope to keep it on her back.
"So. . . Quick question, can I consider you my own children?" Ron asked nervously as he fidgeted with his hands, looking straight at the three siblings while they glanced at each other to decide.
"Yeah," said the three in unison, causing Ron to let out a relieved sigh as he let his head rest on the back of the couch.
"Told you so," Librae commented, with a smile on her face as she caressed his arm reassuringly. "They're good kids. Although, it would be better not to expect them to call you dad right away. Much less Angel, it took me almost two whole years to hear her say mum."
"You made me repeat it like five times because you couldn't believe your ears," Angel remarked with a chuckle as she remembered that day.
"They've grown so much since then," Theo muttered, holding his husband's hand as they sat on two armchairs next to one another. "I still remember when Dove was more hair than body," Rhett joined in, glancing at the youngest Victor.
"That sounds so cute," Annie muttered, a smile still present on her face as she glanced from her friend to the older Victors. "Do you want to see some photos?" Angel blurted out. She was weak to Annie's smile.
"No, don't you dare," Dove warned, grabbing a hold of her sister's arm before she could get up from the couch to go look for the albums.
However, Melo got up quickly before she could grab him as well and went to the bookshelf, where at least three albums were full of the siblings' photos. "Oh, this is a good one. It has photos of our first years after being adopted. Dove's photos start on page six." He said as he left the album on the table in front of Annie.
"And this has the photos between your games and hers." He added, lending Finnick the album. "The third is not so interesting. It's the one in between those two. Not many interesting things happened." He stated, although Mags took it gratefully. She was in some of those photos, teaching Dove how to create the perfect fishhook, or just casually being in the middle of the siblings' antics.
"Oh, so cute," Annie whispered, as she kept flipping pages filled with photos of little Dove and her siblings surrounding her. "Aw, her hair got tangled while making the birdhouse."
"I still can't believe you took a photo at that moment," Dove commented, glancing at Melo, who had a proud grin plastered on his face. "No, seriously. What the fuck."
"Oh, I remember that dress. You looked quite striking with that one. Neon green dress and bright red hair, it's quite the combination." Finnick stated, glancing from the photos to Dove with a mocking grin.
"My mother picked it. Glad you like it, because I'm wearing that to my wedding." She answered, the same grin present on her face as she watched him almost choke with thin air. However, he composed himself rapidly.
"I'm sure the groom would love it," he replied, leaving the album on the table, which accidentally landed on the television's remote, turning it on in the middle of one of President Snow's interviews. However, in this one, he was next to a doctor.
"I understand everyone's worries. Frankly, I'm worried about her as well." President Snow said, followed by a sigh. "Many specialists have agreed this is the best method to stabilise her illness. So, I'm convinced it'll work. Dove Ogilvy has been informed to stop taking her medicine, and we'll contact her as soon as possible to accord her visits for her treatment." He added, directing the doctor to continue the explanation.
Dove got up from her seat, grabbing the remote without taking her eyes off the television to raise the volume. Her brain wasn't working properly, she couldn't hear anything but the president's words. She didn't even feel it when her sister grabbed her free hand, trying to get her attention back to reality.
"We've determined Dove Ogilvy suffers from an irregular illness. If controlled, she will only have occasional trouble during heavy tasks, but if it doesn't get under control, the most probable outcome is death." The doctor announced.
It's a warning. He's warning me to stay in line. Dove repeated in her mind, not being able to concentrate on anything else, not even the grip on the remote. Without noticing, she let go of it, making it slam against the floor with a loud thud.
"There's a treatment that's still in experimentation. It's not a definite solution and must be received at least every two months, but it could maintain the most severe symptoms from showing." said the doctor, clenching their hands together as they explained the situation in more detail.
However, no one in the room was listening. Dove stared at the television as Melo got up quickly, taking the remote from the floor and turning the television off. I'm going to the Capitol every two months. I'm going to be alone in the Capitol. For how long? What will they do to me? Was this really better than selling my body? Her thoughts didn't stop.
"I should have accepted to sell myself," Dove muttered, covering her ears with her hands as she backed away from the television and her sister's grasp. Her living room was getting too small for her, almost causing her to feel the stuffiness, not letting her breathe correctly as tears streamed down her eyes. Her whole body was shaking while still walking backwards towards the wall, hitting her back on it, which made her stop.
"Dove. . ." Melo whispered, trying to get close to her to calm her down. It was the strongest panic attack she had in years. Her legs almost gave out, causing her to stagger and nearly fall to the floor.
"Dove, please. . ." Angel implored, standing next to her brother as they approached their little sister slowly, which only made her scream in fear. Dove didn't recognize her surroundings, much less her family. The only thing she could see were silhouettes. They were getting closer to hurt her, or that was what she thought.
"Guys, stop," Finnick interjected, stopping the two siblings in their tracks. He knew if they tried anything else, Dove could take off running anywhere or harm someone while trying to break free. "Let me," he said in a whisper, walking to Dove, who kept on screaming.
"Dove, it's me. I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to get near you, OK? I won't harm you." He continued to say as he got near her. The closer he got, the slower his steps were, and the lower he spoke.
"Finnick. . ." Dove muttered under her breath, her eyes landed on him, studying his every move as he kept approaching her. When he finally was right in front of her, he paused, waiting a few seconds to make sure she didn't show any negative reaction to the closeness.
He knew Dove wouldn't purposely hurt him. However, during a panic attack, it wasn't abnormal for the person being comforted to go nuts while trying to break free from the comforter's grasp. It had never happened before, but her panic attacks had also never been as strong as that one was, so he wasn't sure.
"Dove, can I touch you? I won't do anything rash, just let me hold your hand, OK? Can I do that?" Finnick asked in a begging tone, to which she nodded repeatedly. "Thanks," he said, holding her left hand with his. He waited a few seconds to make sure she was comfortable with the situation before continuing.
"Perfect, you're doing amazing. Now, I need you to copy my breathing, OK?" Dove did as he said. Paying attention to his breathing, she did the same, causing her respiration to calm down in a few minutes. "Better?" Finnick asked, his free hand wiping away the tears that remained on her face.
"Yeah. . . Yeah, sorry. I must have scared all of you. . ." Dove muttered, closing her eyes tightly as she tried to keep tears from flooding her eyes again. "I just. . . can't believe it."
"Hey, it's alright to be scared," he whispered, rubbing her hand reassuringly as he bent slightly to her high. Finnick tried not to do any rash movements to not scare her, but everything was meaningless once Dove threw herself in his arms. His hand, that once caressed hers, stroked her hair as the other was wrapped around her waist.
"Tell me it's going to be OK, please. . ." She implored in a whisper, receiving a kiss on her forehead before he replied. "Everything's going to be OK, I promise."
"I love you," she whispered against his chest. Finnick deepened the hug, burying his lips on the top of her head, kissing her hair. "I love you too, never forget it or doubt it for even a second," he replied.
"Are you feeling better, Dove?" Angel and Melo spoke up, getting the couple's attention back to reality. Finnick let off his grip on Dove's hair and relocated himself to be next to her instead of in front of her. His left arm continued to be around her, not wanting to let her go for even a second.
"Yeah, sorry I scared you. I don't know what happened to me. . ." said Dove, her throat was sore from the screaming, not letting her talk louder than a whisper.
"Don't worry, it happens to me a lot, too. It's like you lose yourself for a few minutes. You're not alone," Annie commented with a sad smile on her face as she approached her friend, hugging her and obligating Finnick to let go of Dove as the two girls continued their embrace.
"I hope I could do something about that, too." Dove muttered, accepting Annie's hug as she wrapped her arms around her friend to reassure her.
Hours later, Dove stared at the sea, her eyes lost in daze. She had barely escaped her family's worried slumber party, which consisted of her mother, two siblings, and the new addition of Annie, Ron and Finnick. They had to lay two mattresses on their mother's room floor to fit everyone in one room, since it was the bigger room in all the house.
"Why am I not surprised you're here?" Finnick spoke up from behind her, his shoes on his hand as he sat next to her, tossing them to his left as he hugged his legs.
"Because you know me too damn well," Dove replied, a chuckle leaving her lips. "Although, I prefer the stalker theory." Finnick let his head fall to his knees as he laughed slightly at her comment.
"Not again. I thought you had finally forgotten about that nickname," he replied, glancing in her direction before talking again. "How are you feeling?"
"I feel like I should have agreed to be sold off." She said plainly, her eyes glancing from the sea to him. "I fucked up. Because I got scared, now I'm going every two months to the Capitol. Not knowing for how long or what they'll do to me. . . I think I underestimated President Snow, he found a way to break me while breaking all the people whom I love as well."
"It's not your fault. If I had been in your position, I would've done the same. Don't blame yourself for being scared, blame him. You aren't the one who got yourself in this situation, he was. He played you, like he plays with me, Melo and the rest. We're his game, Dove." Finnick revealed, holding her hand with his to comfort her.
"No. We're not his game, we're the players. We are playing his game, trying not to step on a landmine and kill ourselves or someone we love. We are the pawns, Finnick. Easily disposable, easily tradable for stronger pieces, completely powerless." Dove stated, leaning her head on his shoulder as her eyes darted to the sea again.
"A king alone can't win at chess, Dove. Pawns might be overlooked, but they're the soul of chess." Finnick whispered, laying his head on top of hers as his eyes stared at the horizon.
"But, sincerely, I don't care if I've got to play his game, just as long as you're safe in my arms." He muttered under his breath, not loud enough for her to hear.
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