CHAPTER 1
A GREAT KINDNESS

BEX had never been able to shake off the Capitol for very long. The fake smiles, the flirtatious giggles – it all stayed with her, even when she was back in her own home. She was reminded of the Capitol everywhere she went: in her dreams, in her own reflection. Sometimes when she approached the old mirror in her bedroom, she didn't see what was really there. She saw Bex Nassar: the Capitol's Flower Girl with the perfect dark curls and white roses in her hair.

It felt like weeks, but it had been months since she returned from mentoring with Johanna for the 74th Hunger Games. Just a couple of days in that place could feel like a lifetime. The parties, the glitter, the food – it was enough to make both of them go insane, but this was their new normal, and Johanna still hadn't gotten used to it. Bex couldn't blame her. She had been the same way: completely unaccepting of her duties as a Victor. They were granted a life of peace after winning, but peace never came and the Games didn't end. Their lives were now owned by the public.

Bex tried not to think about that too much, especially when she was back home. District Seven had always been quiet, but something about the Victors' Village was even more peaceful. Sometimes the only sound that could be heard was the birds chirping outside. Bex usually found solace in chopping wood with her father's axe in the forest outside her home. These trees weren't exactly like the ones she grew up with – the ones that went on for miles and she was pretty sure didn't stop at the clouds – but the forest in the Village was endless and serene.

Her brother, Keaton, liked to sell their wood at the market down by the square. He usually cut down the trunks and Bex liked to separate them into smaller pieces to sell. Keaton had made quite a name for himself, but his competitors like to say it was because he was a brother of a Victor. He didn't think of her that way, though. Bex was still Bex. She wasn't the cold-blooded killer and Capitol princess he saw on TV. Bex prayed that someday she'd think of herself the same way.

She was starting to break out in a sweat as she brought the axe down on a large piece of wood and it split in two at her feet. She wiped her forehead and threw the pieces in a wheel barrel to her right. Using her father's tools made her feel closer to him – wherever he may be. Even when she brought out his old wheel barrel, she remembered when he used to cart her along with it and her laughter would fill the air. Now, she used it to pass along firewood to her fellow Victors. Bex had made it a weekly chore while she was back in Seven: whatever wood that Keaton told her was extra scrap, she would cart it along in the wheel barrel and dump portions of it on the stoops of her Victors' mansions.

It was kind of like a contribution of friendship, although she had never really been the best of friends with them. Bex didn't talk to the other Victors once they were back in the District. She may have known them all for years, but she didn't exactly want to be their friends once she was back home. Friendly neighbors would suffice. They just reminded her more of the Capitol, and then the Games, and even the blood still crusted underneath her nails that she bit down to the nub.

But she was entirely an ass. She did want to help.

With a wide smile on his lips, Keaton stalked into the long grass behind their house to where Bex stood, grabbing two more split pieces of wood from the ground. As she tossed them into the barrel, she turned to see Keaton approaching, a large glass of water in his hand. Bex immediately took it from his calloused grip and downed the whole glass. Wiping the excess from her mouth, she muttered, "Thanks."

"You're working overtime," Keaton laughed, taking the glass back. "Seriously, Bex, you've been out here for hours. Why don't you come outside and rest?"

Bex allowed her arm with the axe to go limp at her side. "There's no rest for the wicked, Keaton." She tilted her head to the sky and watched the clouds begin to gather. "Besides, it's a nice day out. The air is cool, but not too cold. This all feels nice –"

"It looks like it's going to downpour," he added, looking in the same direction.

Bex rolled her eyes and set another stump on the chopping block. Readying her axe on top of it, she replied, "I'll go inside when it starts to rain."

Keaton suddenly put his hand on the handle. "Bex, come on now."

She eyed him skeptically. "What do you want exactly?"

"Was it that obvious that I wanted something?"

Bex sighed, placing their father's old axe against the chopping block. She waited for him to continue with her hands on her hips.

"I was – well ..." Keaton sent his best puppy dog eyes. "I was wondering if you'd make beef stew tonight. Mom's old recipe."

She scratched the back of her neck and wiped off the sweat that was piling up. "I'd have to go to the market to get the ingredients ..." She looked at the sky again. "... Like now before everyone closes their stands for the storm. What's so special that you need this tonight?"

Keaton blinked rapidly. He had been gifted with their mother's pretty blue eyes. "How could you forget?" He asked. "It would've been mom and dad's thirty-second anniversary. That was their favorite meal."

Sighing through her nostrils, Bex nodded. "Oh," she muttered softly, "sometimes I forget."

He arched a brow.

"Yeah, I'll make it tonight." She agreed, walking over to the wheel barrel and hauling it up. "Let me just hand some of the extra out and I'll meet you inside before I leave for the market."

Keaton grinned big and began to sprint back to the house. She really couldn't believe that she almost forgot, but to her defense, she had been forgetting a lot of things lately. Her mind would be forever stuck in Capitol-Land and her brother still wouldn't know the difference.

Perhaps ... ignorance was bliss.

Shoving the wheel barrel forward, Bex first stopped at Nico Cadoc's place with the dead rose bushes in the front. Nico mentored her with Blight during her Games, but she hardly ever saw him leave when Johanna took over his position with her. He had always been quiet and a homebody, but he was getting worse as time went on. Bex heaved out a sigh and placed a stack of wood right by steps, looking off into the distance at the wreckage of Blight's old mansion.

Bex didn't know how long he had been gone at this point. Seven? Maybe six years? It was probably a good thing she couldn't remember. Blight shot himself a few months after Bex won her Games, and his house was slowly decaying as the years went on. She could still see the crack in the bricks from where the bullet went through his head and then through the wall, landing somewhere in the Victors' Village. He had shot twice for good measure. The second bullet was found in his skull. Bex walked in the opposite direction to get to Johanna's house, just to rid herself of the memory as quickly as possible.

Johanna Mason lived in the last house on the right. It was still slightly in good shape, but she clearly didn't water the rose bushes as much as Keaton did. Bex didn't fault her really. It was just Johanna living in that house. The pixie-haired girl could talk for hours, ranting violently about whatever was on her mind at the moment, but she didn't dare utter a word about what happened to her family. Bex didn't share about her own either. Still, she was curious and wanted to know if they suffered the same fate of her parents: lost in the void forever, no trace left of them.

Bex tilted the wheel barrel and let the rest of the chopped wood fall right near the stoop. Bending down, she began to carefully stack them together so they would be easier for her fellow Victor to carry in. As she placed the last piece on the top, Johanna's front door slammed open, and out walked the woman herself with a fresh buzzcut. Her dark skin was shimmering against the last light before the storm, and her dark eyes were fixated on Bex as she stood up. Gripping the barrel handles tightly, Bex sent her a quick smile before heading back to her house.

"Hey!" Johanna called, taking two steps down the stairs with her arms crossed over her chest. Bex looked over her shoulder. "Why are you always delivering firewood?" Her tone was harsh and demanding.

Bex huffed under her breath and slowly stepped backwards to face Johanna. She suddenly remembered why she didn't talk to her that often. "Well, unlike some people, I can actually be nice once in a while. That seems to be a difficult task for others."

Johanna lifted her top lip into a snarl. "Are you serious, Bex? You don't talk to any of us, so sorry if I think it's unexpected. You don't even speak to Nico once you both leave the Capitol."

"You don't talk to Nico either," she argued, a stern finger pointed in her direction. "Nico doesn't speak to any of us. That's just how he is now – how all of us are now. This is our balance, so don't screw with it."

"That doesn't mean it's a good balance," Johanna retorted, glancing off into the distance with a knitted brow. "No wonder Blight offed himself right after you won –"

The wheel barrel slipped out of Bex's grip and collided with the stone path. Bex's blood ran cold as she stalked towards Johanna, seething, "Maybe it's time for you to shut –"

"Hello, girls!"

Confusion flashed across Bex's face instantly. She stepped away from Johanna and turned around. Walking through the entrance of the Victors' Village, beaming from ear to ear, was District Seven escort, Phoenix Demi. He was dressed head to toe in bright orange, a complete contradiction to how the sky looked at that moment. Their stylist, Iliana, tried to match his pace, but her ten-inch red heels were making it a little difficult. The two were followed by an entourage of Capitol-folk, all carting along suitcases filled to the brink with who-knows-what. Bex wasn't sure if she wanted to know.

Johanna chuckled behind her. Bex watched the group quickly make their way up the path with confusion rattling her brain and hands on her hips. With a big smile, Johanna walked down the stoop and halted right behind Bex's ear. "I can see you have a Capitol gala tonight," she giggled. "Try not to let President Snow get too handsy."

Bex sent Johanna a glare and elbowed her in the stomach. The other Victor coughed when Bex's elbow hit her gut and took a step back to her home. Phoenix approached Bex with his hands out. "I really am the brightest spot in this gloomy weather right now," he complimented himself, grabbing her hands and lifting them up. "It's a good thing we're getting you out of here. The sun is so perfect in the Capitol right now. It's warm and delightful. We're doing you a great kindness."

She feigned a smile as Iliana copied her escort's expression. Bex glanced to Johanna over her shoulder, who was chuckling away until she shut the door in her face. She, again, had completely forgotten something important, and it was Capitol-related. Keaton was going to be furious.

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A/N: aaaaaand there's chapter 1! surprisingly, I've been prewriting this story SO MUCH, and I'm so excited to post more chapters 😁 I'm trying (again) to not stick to a word count with this fic. doing that has really bogged down my writing and I'd rather end a chapter where I want to and be satisfied with it rather than pushing to achieve a certain word count. so some chapters might be short, some might be long. whatever it is, I just want to be satisfied. and so far, I have been!

this is just the beginning 🤪 and I'm already so excited for finnick to show up lmao. all in due time 😔