"Not bad." Sera rubbed Faline's shoulder as she got off stage. "You did good."
Faline bowed her head in appreciation as she scanned the passing crew and threw a fleeting glance at the baying crowd of Capitolites. She'd never see them again and the thought of it made her smile. A bittersweet feeling.
Her interview was forgettable and Faline liked it that way. She didn't care, speaking to Caesar only about her skill, not a single thing about her family or friends.
She didn't want them to get nothing from her, not one piece more. They were already taking her life.
It was tragically admirable for her. Maybe if Sera hadn't been so damned determined, she might've done something similar—no, she wouldn't have.
She'd be more like Haymitch or Johanna. Bitter and sarcastic, baring her real life to them all, mocking them. But she wouldn't. Her family would suffer in the end and she would never put herself above them. They were all she had.
Sera would never ever show or say what was really on her mind.
She couldn't afford to.
They would always get part-truth mixed in with lies.
Maybe that was why she was drawn to Peeta Mellark.
She didn't bother to watch any other interviews apart from the ones from District 12 tributes. None of the others really caught her eye.
She did catch a brief glimpse of the girl from Eleven. So small and weak, she looked like she'd break like a twig.
Katniss was surprisingly ordinary yet so nervous. Blurting out how she liked the lamb stew made Sera smile and the Capitolites chuckle. She didn't really know what to say—not a people person. Someone like Huxley.
But Sera's mood soured instantly when she heard those laughs.
There was also Katniss' show stopping dress. A nice touch, nothing too interesting to Sera, too unnatural on Katniss. The girl she'd met on the rooftop was nothing like the girl on the stage in the flaming dress.
The poor girl didn't belong on that stage.
But Peeta. He was someone Sera didn't have any expectations at all.
She didn't even bother to remember his name until that interview.
"Handsome lad like you. There must be some special girl. Come on, what's her name?" Caesar was up to his usual tricks again.
He took one look at the boy and thought he was too attractive to be lonely. He almost did the same to Zephyr during his year and actually did ask Huxley the same question in his year.
Sera was lucky that she was too young to be asked if she had anyone back home.
Obviously she didn't.
Sera felt bad for the poor boy but Zephyr didn't. He was just glad he didn't have to go through with the awkward dance.
On the screen, the boy from Twelve sighed, almost dramatically. Sera's lips twitched and she shared a look with Zephyr. "Well, there is this one girl. I've had a crush on her ever since I can remember. But I'm pretty sure she didn't know I was alive until the reaping."
"He knows how to play the game." Zephyr remarked and Creon lifted a brow in confusion.
The crowd made sounds of sympathy and Sera resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Please, they hardly cared.
"She have another fellow?" Caesar prodded.
"I don't know, but a lot of boys like her," The boy from Twelve played along.
"So, here's what you do. You win, you go home. She can't turn you down then, eh?" Caesar encouraged and Zephyr let out a quiet laugh. It was ridiculous.
"I don't think it's going to work out. Winning... won't help in my case,"
"Why ever not?"
The boy's face turned a deep red and he stammered out. "Because... because... she came here with me."
Blood rushed to her head and for a second, all she heard was silence. The silence cleared and she could hear distant cries of a heartbroken Thyme mixed in with the sound of the cannon.
Coldness seeped into her heart as she dug her nails into her palms.
No. No, she shouldn't think about it—she shouldn't think about them. She shouldn't...
Thyme's cold frozen face looked up at Sera, frost covering his lips as he mouthed something before looking down at the body he was holding.
For a single moment, Peeta disappeared and Thyme, still so alive and full of life, laughed at Caesar; he joked about how he accidentally fell in love.
Acadia's faint flushed cheeks as Sera watched her walk back to her floor with her head down, muttering about Thyme.
But it was all gone as quickly as it had appeared.
"There's no way, he's telling the truth." Barked out Creon, a little too passionately.
"What makes you think he's lying?" Emilia asked, exasperated with her predecessor. "He's got nothing to gain from lying."
"Apart from sympathy points and potential sponsors." Guessed Zephyr. "Not to be pessimistic but his partner just got the highest score in recent years, nobody topped her this year. Maybe he wants to attach himself to her—you know, for sponsors."
"It's a stupid idea." Faline remarked, getting up. "What if the sponsors don't care about him?"
"There's no harm in trying." Celsi said. "We could've—" He clamped his mouth shut when Faline turned around to glare at him.
"He's telling the truth." Sera found herself saying without really thinking much.
Reddened cheeks and that sad boyish smile, it almost reminded her of Finnick when they were both younger and so much more naive. She could still picture themselves back on that train heading to their homes, their faces flushed in anxiety and fear of the unknown while they huddled close, trying to hide from the Peacekeepers.
Peeta meant what he was saying. It was easy to lie but the truth was heavier to tell. She didn't understand him. Nobody probably did. These Capitol people, they were wolves—vultures. It was a terrible idea for him to bare his soul and heart to them but why—
"An idiot. Absolute fool." Zephyr murmured. "He's an idiot."
"No." The games brought out desperation but come on, he couldn't be that stupid. "He's not an idiot. Don't be rude, Zephyr. This could be his last chance to tell her that he loves her."
She didn't believe a word she was saying.
"Then it's an act." Emilia chimed in and Creon made a sound of disagreement. "What? You really think he's being honest?"
"We don't know and we really shouldn't look too much into this." Creon tried to turn off the screen but Faline was quicker, grabbing the small remote off his hands.
Like nothing had happened, Faline just sat there watching Peeta's interview.
"Surprised Haymitch even came up with this." Zephyr remarked quietly.
"He didn't." Haymitch was smart but he wasn't this smart. "He's clearly focusing more on Katniss." And Sera couldn't help pity Peeta. Like Eugene, he didn't have the best luck but Peeta was smarter than Eugene and more unlucky.
That desperate but sad look in his eyes—he really did love Katniss or cared for her. He'd never try to kill her in her sleep. He'd never hurt her.
Wordlessly, she grabbed the remote of Faline's hands and turned the screen off. Faline and Celsi looked up at Sera, ready to fight.
"It's over." She put the remote down on the table as Creon motioned for an avox to switch off the fireplace. "Caesar's just gonna do a little rundown of the entire line of events so far—nothing about the interviews. You two freshen up and get ready for dinner. We'll discuss last minute strategies or anything that you want to talk about."
The two tributes nodded. Celsi, despondent as ever, slinked back into his room with his stylists following after him. Faline lingered, her cat-like eyes trained on Sera before she focused on the room. Her lips twitched like she was bursting to say something.
But she never said another word and neither did Celsi.
The two came back, ate and went back to their rooms in silence. Zephyr's face crumbled and so did his heart. He'd never really cared much but for some reason, he couldn't shake off that feeling of dread.
Sera even caught him lingering outside of Celsi's room, his hand raised in a knocking position before he drew back and turned to her, saying. "Let's go back to your apartment for the night? I wanna have a drink." Didn't even let her answer as he was pulling her away.
"You know I don't have any alcohol in my apartment—you have better luck trying the mentors' lounge." She said, being dragged to the elevator.
"And watch Haymitch try to stay sober? It's more embarrassing than him losing himself and tripping all over the place."
"I have a feeling Haymitch's not going to be there tonight."
"We'll see." He pressed the button to go down but stopped. "You have mail."
"What?"
"Mail for you." Zephyr picked up a small package and handed it to her. "I think it's a birthday gift probably from..." Snow. He didn't say it but she knew what he meant. "Surprised it's not roses."
"He probably sent the roses to my apartment. I'll find them outside, I know it." The package came easily undone in her hands, revealing a smaller box. "This isn't from Snow." She breathed out.
"Then who?"
"I-I don't know." But she was nervous.
"Maybe it's Cashmere or Estelle?" Sera's eyes flickered to his. "Maybe not Estelle. She's more of an in-person gift giver and Cashmere knows you don't like surprises."
Surprises were one of the few things she hated. Always outside of her control and plans. She hated them.
Her shaky hands reached for the small velvet ash blue box at the bottom and pulled it out, dropping the remnants of its shell. With a nervous breath, she opened the small box.
Red petals fell out of the small box and landed at her feet like droplets of blood. Her throat tightened at the sight. It was only a second but when her vision cleared, she noticed.
"Red tulips."
"There's something in the box." Zephyr pointed out as he bent down to clean up the mess and gather the petals for her. "Are you sure you weren't expecting any gifts?" Sera shook her head.
Inside the small velvet box rested a small chain of silver with two yarrow blossoms bigger than they usually were and inside were two pearls.
With trembling hands, she picked up the delicate chain and stared at it. She couldn't help but let out a small laugh.
"There's a small card at the bottom of the cardboard box." Zephyr held up the card and she took it, unfolding it eagerly.
'I don't know a lot about flowers or you but these ones are the only flowers I know apart from tulips.
I'm sorry and Happy Birthday.'
No sender.
Nothing to indicate who sent the card but she knew. She knew it was him. Warmth blossomed in her chest and the stuffy nauseating feeling she'd felt dissipated.
Even if he was sorry. She'd settle for this.
She felt Zephyr's heavy judgemental gaze on her. She pocketed the card into her coat and muttered. "Not one word."
"I got a few like what were you thinking? It's him, isn't it?" When she didn't respond, Zephyr only let out a sigh and said. "Don't get caught. I don't want you to end up like him—you won't last long."
"Noted."
Zephyr's face distorted and he reached out for her, regretting what he said before he pulled himself away. "Cashmere and Augustus wanted to see you tonight. I think they're free."
She nodded and let him lead her to the mentors' lounge at the basement of the Training Center.
Neither spoke a word to another but Zephyr's careful glances at her direction were piercing. She wanted to go back and climb into her bed again.
Muted classical music greeted them, filling in the silence between the two. Quiet muted chatters could be heard but no laughter.
There was never any laughter from the mentors' lounge. Sometimes quiet and bitter arguments that turned into fights that were broken up by the Peacekeepers stationed outside the lounge. But never laughter. Unless she counted Haymitch and Chaff's drunken tirades.
She spotted Cecelia from Eight henched over a corner with her fellow mentor, pen in her hand and sheets of papers in front of her. She was busy scribbling away to notice anyone entering or leaving, probably writing letters to her children. Poor thing.
"Haymitch isn't here." Zephyr broke the silence between them as he scanned the lounge. "He's sober."
"He's taking things seriously this year."
"Is he even..."
"No, he's not—he's too..." She paused for a second as a Peacekeeper passed by them. She smiled in greeting, letting them pass before carrying on. "He's too much of a liability at the moment." She whispered.
"Still, he's sober this time around."
"Doesn't change much unless there's actual results." She retorted. "Besides, staying sober is painful. I give him this season before he relapses—whether it's because of another set of losses or the weight of success, who knows? Feel free to take a guess or a bet."
He took a seat in the darkened corner of the lounge, usually occupied by Chaff or Haymitch. "Feels wrong to make a bet about those things."
"Never stopped them." She sat down next to him and moved her head towards the screen where a group of Capitolites appeared for a minute as the anchor on the television spoke about the impact of the games. "They're already betting on the lives of those poor kids."
"That's not new at all." Augustus slid into the seat across from her with Cashmere, sitting down next to her. "I remember seeing some of those odds during my game."
"And your mentor let you?"
"It was an accident." Cashmere said slowly with a quiet groan. "I was just checking the odds. He snuck up on me." She didn't regret it at all and waved her hand over for a drink.
"So what were the odds of Augustus back then?" Zephyr grabbed a bottle that one of the avoxes brought over and poured himself a drink. "I'm guessing it was pretty high."
"I'm surprised you didn't check the odds of the past few games."
"Didn't really think about it and my mentor..." He raised his voice and glanced over at an apathetic Sera who was staring at the door, wondering if Haymitch would actually come or not. "Didn't really tell me that checking the odds on the bets was a thing."
"Because it's not accurate." Sera took her eyes off the door and smiled at Zephyr. "Huxley told me not to bother during my year so I didn't bother to tell you about it and he was mostly right. If I remember correctly, the ones that were most likely to win in my games all obviously didn't make it. I didn't have the lowest odds but I also didn't have the highest—I was just there."
"And that worked to your advantage." Gloss added in, taking a seat next to his sister. "Sorry, I'm late. Um, someone screwed up again so I had to take over. Some senator's daughters wanted me to spend the night."
"I'm sorry." Sera pursed her lips and she meant it. To everyone around them, Zephyr, Augustus and her were the luckiest in that lounge; Sera had no intention to brag about it. Never a good idea to cross her fellow victors. "But at least you're here."
Gloss smiled wryly and finished Cashmere's drink. "Yeah, well. I got lucky that they called...Odair in as well."
Her throat felt sore and her chest tight. "Did...they?"
He nodded. "Yeah, she wanted both of us—" He paused to check on the Peacekeepers. "Spoiled brat." He commented, pouring another glass for him and Cashmere. His sister patted his hand in comfort. Both knew there was nothing either could do for each other. "And she got us. She had him since last night. I was the late one."
"She's got some nerve." Cashmere fumed. "Two victors not one. Who does she think she is?"
Augustus held her back as Zephyr glanced over to check on Sera who had gone very still. She should've expected things like that. She really should've and separated her emotions but she didn't.
"Well, she's probably living it up before it all comes crashing down." Zephyr commented airily. He handed Sera a glass of ice water and leaned back into the plush leather seats.
"Ah," Augustus made a sound and leaned closer. "I did hear Senators have been dropping dead more often than lately."
"And some have even left their posts, early retirement and everything. It made things so much harder for me over at the Lab since some of them deal with the funding and all..."
"How's work down there at the Lab anyways?"
"Same old. It's just me, some victors from Three and a bunch of scientists. Some Gamemakers drop by every now and then to get samples for tech or mutts."
"Sounds nice. Nicer than..." Gloss trailed, a distant look on his eyes and face devoid of all expressions. He let out a painful, heavy breath and tried to say something more but no words came out.
His sister squeezed his hand. "Any hints for the upcoming game?" Cashmere asked with a sly smile, trying to ease the tension and Zephyr chuckled.
"What do you think?" He asked in turn with a playful grin.
"They would be a little silly to leave things out in the open for the next games in front of mentors for the game." Sera said with a soft smile, forcing the cold water down her throat to quell the rising anxiety in her heart. "But it would be nice if they did."
"Wishful thinking." Augustus mused. "And here comes the cake."
A small two-tiered mango and passionfruit cake with sprinklers instead of candles was brought forward before being placed in front of Sera. Cashmere clapped enthusiastically and Gloss laughed fondly at his little sister's antics.
A few victors spared a glance towards them before promptly looking away. If Sera cared, her cheeks would've flushed in embarrassment but she bowed her head and smiled a little, thanking her friends around the table while trying to scrub thoughts of Finnick off her mind.
Cashmere didn't hand her a blade to cut but instead passed it to Zephyr. Sera stared at the blade blankly, her hands itching for it but she tightened her fists and smiled, watching Zephyr cut the cake before passing her a slice.
"Oh, how cute. A birthday party in the middle of a Hunger Games season." Johanna didn't bother with pleasantries, simply pulling a chair over to the table where Sera sat. Her eyes flicked between Seraphine, Cashmere, Gloss, and Augustus, her tone laced with a hint of amusement.
"Johanna." Augustus greeted tensely, pulling back and moving away from her.
She grinned and swiped his plate of cake before forking some cake into her mouth. "Mango and passionfruit, not my favorite."
"Well, it's not your birthday." Cashmere retorted.
"I don't really celebrate my birthday." She said nonchalantly, her mouth full of cake. "I didn't think any one of us did but I guess I was wrong. Some of us still have a lot to celebrate."
"It's called taking a break, Johanna," Cashmere snapped. "Something you could probably use from that attitude of yours."
"Ouch. Your bark is not as bad as your bite but you know whose bite is just as bad as their bark—Enobaria." Zephyr pursed his lips, scraping his fork against his plate. Johanna shot him a glare before carrying on. "With the company you keep Seraphine, I figured Enobaria would be part of your little group."
"If you want to stay and eat cake then just say so." Sera said with a sweet smile and cloyingly sweet tone that made Johanna flinch. "I don't mind inviting you and for the record, I don't celebrate like celebrating my birthday either but rather I prefer to mark another year that I managed to live through."
For a moment, Johanna's mask crumbled. Her chewing slowed and the spark of mischief in her eyes dimmed. She didn't say anything and poured herself a drink, her eyes on Sera and Sera's eyes on her.
"Pretty necklace." She pointed at Finnick's gift around Sera's necklace. "A gift from your...friends or maybe the President."
"From someone."
"Someone." Johanna echoed before she nodded. "Aren't you two adorable." She said, resting her head on her right hand. "But it looks like you two aren't the only star-crossed lovers on the scene anymore." She motioned her head towards the screen behind them where Katniss and Peeta's face appeared, a clip from the parade being replayed as Caesar's voice talked about the start of the Games tomorrow.
"What are you talking about?" Cashmere asked, exasperated and confused.
"The pair of District 12 tributes apparently." The ice in Sera's glass had melted and water had formed at the base of the glass. "Everyone's got their eyes on them—poor things."
"Poor things." Johanna snickered. "Please, it's all an act. The boy was probably desperate so he had to come up with something."
"I think it's real."
"Aren't you a romantic." Johanna said with a sly grin, clearly pushing buttons. "Are you speaking from experience?"
Without taking her eyes off Johanna, Sera said. "Yes. Actually I do."
"W-wait. What?" Cashmere sputtered out, letting out a laugh but Sera wasn't laughing. Her eyes widened in betrayal. "You never told me, you were in love."
Johanna grinned wider and Zephyr bowed his head, his eyes darting side to side, keeping an eye out for Peacekeepers. Sera's smile didn't fall.
It was cute, Johanna's attempts to push her buttons.
"Oh. I was talking about the patients at the clinic and the hospital I volunteer at." She said with an awkward laugh. "Some of them have that look that Pe–that boy from Twelve had. The sad lovelorn look. It's even sadder when you remember that his partner is the one he'll never have."
"Only one's coming out." Augustus remarked sadly and the other victors nodded.
"Unless they change the rules." Johanna said in a nonchalant tone. "But that only happens for the Quarter Quells which is next year. Wonder what interesting things they'll cook up for that but that's next year, another problem for another time."
"They could rig it." Zephyr mumbled out, drumming his fingers on the table. "The gamemakers could rig the Game this year for those two."
Gloss chuckled. His chuckle spurred a laughter out of his sister and Johanna while Sera awkwardly smiled, an expression Augustus mirrored.
"If anything, they'll rig the games against those two." Johanna bit out. "I mean the girl on fire got a eleven. I wonder who she pissed off."
"Or maybe she's that good." Cashmere mused.
"Then you must've been terrible." Johanna retorted.
Sera's eyes widened and Zephyr let out a choking sound before clamping his mouth shut.
"Come on, be serious for a second and use your head, Princess. If careers like you, your brother and your former tribute can't get a score higher than a ten in the history of this stupid game, do you really...really think some girl from Twelve of all districts...could best people like you with whatever skill she has up her sleeve. Think about it."
"She's right." Zephyr couldn't help but agree.
Even Augustus agreed. "Statistically, no one has ever gotten a score higher than ten. If that girl was that good, she'd get a ten at best not eleven. She must've upset someone."
"Probably the Head Gamemaker."
"Seneca does have a lot of pride." Sera commented.
"So it's Seneca. Someone's a little too friendly with the Head Gamemaker." Johanna quipped. "Might want to take that thing off your neck, the next time you see him."
"It's strictly business, nothing personal."
"I'm sure. I just hope the game's not rigged towards Five because your tributes for this year suck."
"So they deserve to die?"
Johanna leaned in closer, her eyes locked onto Sera's. "No one does but someone's got to so one can make it out alive."
The tension around the table was palpable, and Zephyr, who had been quietly observing the exchange, couldn't help but shift uncomfortably in his seat. Music in the room seemed to get louder and time ticked by as they all stared at the half-eaten cake in front of them.
Johanna didn't let the tension bother her. She cut herself another four slices of cake, taking three for herself and placing one Sera's plate.
Cashmere watched her with narrowed eyes but said nothing, poking at her slice in front of her before she rose from her seat. "I'm calling it a night, I have to prepare for tomorrow."
"Got a long day ahead of you." Johanna remarked.
"We all do." Cashmere snidely retorted and left with her brother and Augustus following her.
Zephyr lingered for a minute more before he drained his glass of champagne and stood up. "I'll wait for you outside."
Sera nodded and turned to Johanna, raising her brow in question. Would the girl move or maybe she had more to say.
"Some company you keep." She said slowly, pouring herself a glass of champagne in Cashmere's empty glass. "One of these days, they might stab you in the back or maybe you'll stab them."
Sera's facade cracked just a little, her irritation showing through, but she managed to keep her cool. "I think we got off on the wrong foot here." She began.
"We did." Johanna agreed. "Not your fault really, I just don't like the company you keep. Not so sure about you. I can't really tell if you're...real."
"What doesn't that mean?"
"I mean, I can't tell which one's the real you."
"Does it matter?"
"No, but it does suck that I did everything you did and I still didn't get to keep them." Sera drew in a deep breath. She didn't expect Johanna to say that. "I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. It's not fair that you got things the rest of us didn't. What kind of deal did you strike with Snow? Something like Porter's? You know, I heard about her, I heard she was getting girls and boys and sending them to the beds of whoever was the highest bidder."
Sera's eyes narrowed. "Don't ever compare me to her!" She hissed out.
"So you're not like Porter." Johanna bobbed her head and took a sip from her glass. "But you do have a deal."
"It's not a deal." Sera muttered. "And I got lucky." She added in, half-expecting a snarky remark from Johanna.
But there was none. She just stared at Sera with a myriad of expressions on her face before looking away to the side.
"You don't...look very lucky." She said softly, the softest Sera had ever heard her.
With a thin smile, Sera said. "It's a double-edged blade—my luck."
"So there's no way to win." Sera shook her head. "Maybe I was envying the wrong person. Wow..." She let out a breath, throwing her head back. "We're all screwed."
"That's one way to look at things."
"The only way." She said, springing up from her seat. "Happy Birthday, I guess." She left as she had come, unexpectedly.
Like she was stuck there, Sera stayed there and could almost feel dust collecting as she poked her slice of cake with the fork. She could feel time just tick by and the lounge gradually became emptier and emptier until only she and the morphling mentors from Six were left in the darkened lounge.
"Seat taken?"
"Not at all. I was just about to...leave." In the dim lights of the lounge, she could barely make out Finnick's face. His tired eyes and sad smile made her sit back down. "You're late."
"I'm sorry." He almost reached out to take her hand in his but drew back. "I bailed on you."
"You did but it's okay. I know you had your reasons."
He chuckled and let out a pained breath. "Nothing gets past you, does it?"
"Well, Gloss told me." He stilled. "He doesn't know. I didn't tell anyone about us. I don't want to put either of us in trouble and he didn't go into much detail."
"I'm sorry but I'm here now." She heard him say and she smiled at him before glancing over at the entrance. "They left—shift change and all." He said, talking about the Peacekeepers.
Sera glanced at the clock and then back at him, torn. They had their own roles to play and neither could just abandon everything. She had the most to lose. "I should leave too." His shoulders sagged and his eyes dimmed. "I have a long day tomorrow. First day of the game and all. Then there's also dinner with the President tomorrow evening."
"Sera...look I was going to show up."
"I know." Sera reached out to touch his arm, a gentle caress that was gone as soon as it came. She retreated and stood up. "Besides, it wasn't that important."
"It's your birthday, it's important to me..." He trailed off, biting his lips but never saying what he wanted to.
Sera knew what he was going to say. She didn't need him to finish. Her chest felt tight and she finished what little water she had in her glass.
"And I promised you a lot of things that I never held up. It happens."
He stood up and waited for a moment for her to leave before following her to the doors leading to the staircase. They both stopped under the staircase.
"I'll make it up to you." He said, his hands around her wrist, pulling her in.
She brushed her fingers against his cheek, her touch tender. "It's okay. I got your gift, it's more than enough. I don't want you to get caught and lose more because of me so please don't do anything reckless."
He chuckled. "Because you're reckless enough for the two of us." She smiled and he couldn't help it. His lips met hers, a silent apology for his absence on her birthday as his fingers locked onto hers, not wanting to let go.
Reluctantly, they parted and he touched the necklace hanging from Sera's neck with a fond smile. "You don't know what these flowers mean do you?" She asked with a sly grin and a hazy gaze.
He shook his head. "I just know them 'cause they grow by the sea in Four and it's something I know. It's not something bad, is it? "
"No, on the contrary, yarrows mean 'healing'."
"Really?" He murmured, leaning closer to her before capturing her lips once more as she nodded, kissing him back. "Then I'm glad." They parted again with Sera leaving him behind in the darkness under the stairs.
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Plant Dictionary:
Yarrow - Healing