CHAPTER EIGHT
the vase of white roses

THERE IS SOMETHING SO CATHARTIC ABOUT FINALLY UNVEILING YOUR MASK, ELEANOR EVES REALISED THE MOMENT THE TRIBUTE PARADE ENDED. She wondered how convincing she was, waving her hands and grinning at the Capitol people she so desperately despised. The feeling of those eyes all aching into her made her skin crawl, but her smile never faltered.

"You think they liked us?" Kai mumbled at her. He still looked beyond spooked, slightly shaking and holding onto Eleanor for dear life. He had been the most terrified when the horses began moving, gripping Eleanor as though they would toss him away. He watched her movements, mimicking her animatedly in an effort to appeal to the audience. Eleanor could only hope that their show made them appear more like a brother and sister, thus increasing their appeal to sponsors.

Eleanor gave him a polite smile, dropping the ache in her cheeks. Her smile was no longer artificial, now true and visible in her blue eyes.  "Of course, they all adore us, I know it!" She plucked the rose from his hair, tossing it to the ground with a casted away look. It was a blooming white rose.

"Oh my sweets! You were amazing!" Lucille gushed the moment she made her way over to Eleanor and Kai. She gave each of them a hug, pressing affectionate kisses on each of their heads. Kai's stylist, a flaming red haired man called Jean, fist bumped Kai and gave Eleanor a hug in return. "You are naturals, my sweets."

"Believe me, your designs helped greatly." Eleanor grinned at both of the stylists, who simply beamed at the praise. She could tell they did their best to make them shine and Eleanor seemed assured that the pair stood out. She knew, however, that the role of attracting sponsors did not simply fall on the stylists, but Eleanor and Kai especially.

"You two were spectacular!" Eleanor cringed ever so slightly at the loud, overly excited shrill belonging to Thana Fatale. The darkly dressed woman held a grey fan decorated with golden snakes, fanning herself as her heels clattered on the ground. Behind her, Finnick and Mags emerged, with comforting smiles. "You know what they've dubbed you two?"

"What?" Kai questioned, frowning at the woman. He crossed his arms over his chest, only relaxing when Eleanor playfully nudged him. It seemed as though he still needed the constant reminder to try and be polite around the Capitol woman. He coughed, pressing his lips together in a manner which told everyone that he was still getting used to actually caring about Capitol manners.

Thana, however, seemed to be too thrilled to even scold him. "The siren and her sailor!" Thana fanned herself with a grin, her pointer finger moving delicately to move a strand of hair away from her face. "They simply adore you two, you especially, Eleanor. I bet my pearls that you'll have many sponsors lining up for a piece of you. Dare I say, perhaps more than Mr Odair?"

It seemed as though the comment excluded Kai. However, none of it mattered. Eleanor had already accepted that her sponsors would also be Kai's by default, so the reaction from Thana did not bother her or Kai much. Yet, Kai still gave her a glance, his eyebrows furrowing ever so slightly at the blatant exclusion Thana demonstrated.

Eleanor awkwardly laughed, though, scratching the back of her head with a bashful smile. "That good?" Her question was directed to Finnick, who simply grinned her way. His eyes told her a different story, though Eleanor knew it was better to not pry for answers she did not want to find out.

"Perfect persona." He agreed, a nod solidifying that Eleanor had fooled the Capitol. Though, Finnick knew very well that a large amount of that 'persona' was Eleanor. She was captivating to look at, aesthetically pleasing and emotionally engaging. But, he knew that the facade was more based around her sexuality. Finnick decided to focus more on her dynamic with Kai though. "Safe to say we can easily sell the protective older sister and sweet younger brother image with the pair of you."

Mags clapped at the pair happily, placing a comforting hand on Kai's forearm. She gave the younger boy a smile. "You both truly stood out. Both of you." A smile reached Kai's face, liking the inclusion that Thana seemed to lack. At the emphasis, Thana gave a short sigh but still remained adamant that Eleanor would be the star of the games.

"Now, of course, since you two pearls are from District 4, it is only fitting we have the fourth floor!" Thana's shrill of laughter was deafening as the elevator continued going up. Eleanor felt slightly queasy at the sensation of her body moving upwards and Kai was completely spooked, holding onto her with wide eyes. Neither of them had ever heard of such a contraption, yet alone been in one, and the feeling alone was truly something else. Thana Fatale, of course, did not notice this, and simply went on about how privileged they were. "This is all out of the kindness of the Capitol and hence I humbly remind you both to be on your best behaviour. You are guests here and as guests, you are expected to behave appropriately, not as you would back at District 4."

Eleanor could clearly see Finnick rolling his eyes at the woman's remark, slandering 4 as though they were common animals. His reaction caught Eleanor's eye and she laughed quietly to herself, the playful glint in Finnick's eyes finally returning. Only she knew this would displease Thana even further. Besides her, despite queasy and slightly sick, Kai scoffed at Thana's obvious displeasure for the District.

As the elevator dinged open, the golden doors parted to reveal their floor. Almost immediately, Kai's mouth fell agape as he looked around the floor, clearly in shock with how spacious everything was.

A clear crystal chandelier hung over them as they walked onto the main area, decorated with blue velvet furniture and a large television. Everything seemed to gleam with an unnaturalness, perhaps a bit too artificial. It was nothing like home and that made Eleanor uncomfortable. The air didn't smell like the disinfectant St Magdalene Rossetti smelt like, a heightened smell of roses evident in the air. On the counter was a vase of white roses, where the smell must have come from, and Finnick's name inscribed on a pure white letter in golden cursive. He immediately moved to seize the letter, ripping it open almost animalisticly and scanning it with wide, furious eyes.

The envelop dropped to the ground at his feet the moment he finished reading whatever had been written inside, discarded and worthless to the recipient.

"What does it say?" Eleanor asked with a curious look in her eyes. She could tell whatever he had read alarmed him, perhaps the letter containing something important or something dire. She wanted to know why he had such an averse reaction to it, why he seemed to uncomfortable and defeated by the contents of the pristine white envelope.

It seemed as though Finnick didn't want Eleanor to know what was addressed his way. He shook his head at Eleanor, not even looking her way. Mags placed a comforting hand on his arm, her gaze soothing and truly sympathetic.

Yet, Finnick seemed to flinch ever so slightly.

He pried himself away from her grasp and walked away, marching off to a room and closing the door behind him. The echo of the door slamming shut echoed, leaving three individuals behind with curious expressions and one behind with an eye roll.

Thana scoffed, but continued focusing on her tributes. She watched with predatory eyes at the pair's behaviour, grinning as Kai rubbed his eyes in disbelief at the setting. Her eyes seemed permanently fixed on Eleanor, watching her face carefully.

"Oh my god." Kai gasped, averting his attention away from the scene Finnick made and onto the area around them. He turned to Eleanor with a large smile on his face, one she happily mirrored.  "This is-"

"A luxury!" Thana grinned at the pair, seemingly eager to remind them of the blessings the Capitol brought them through this 'opportunity'. She reached out a black tipped claw and held tightly onto Eleanor's forearm, a grin coating her lips as they turned upwards. Eleanor didn't pull away, but every ounce of her wished she did. "Now, go wash up and sort yourselves out. An avox will get you both when dinner is ready." 

It was clear the Capitol woman was eager to dismiss Kai, though the feeling of her cold hand on Eleanor lingered momentarily, before she finally pulled away.

Surprisingly, it wasn't that difficult navigating the entirely new system of washing the Capitol had. She had immediately rushed off to her room the moment an Avox showed her the way, shutting the bathroom door behind her and looking around for any items she could use to remove the makeup put on her skin. After experimenting, Eleanor had settled on using a lavender fragrance on herself, the scent overpowering yet pleasant.

Back at home, fragrances were difficult to come by. Most the time, Eleanor was grateful to have access to a non-scented bar of soap. Yet here, they had so many varieties of all different purposes.

It was weird not laying down and washing. It seemed the Capitol didn't have bath tubs, a cubicle dedicated to a shower being the only area where Eleanor could clean herself. Though, having warm water was a pleasant surprise that made Eleanor gasp with joy.

It didn't take a while to wash off all the makeup, which honestly had surprised Eleanor more than it should have. Eleanor's face feeling a lot less heavy by the time she had removed all the layers of powder, her smile no longer strained or painful. She flexed her face, relishing in the newfound freedom, making odd faces in the mirror. Thankfully, it seemed to come off really easily. It didn't even stain, which left her in awestruck as she was convinced it would be trapped on her forever. She emerged from the bathroom in nothing but a towl opening a closet to see all the outfits she could possibly wear.   She sat, crossed legged, on the bed as she combed out all the tangles created from the hairspray put in her hair, before braiding her hair into two french braids.

Thankfully, by the time the Avox had come to collect her, she had thrown on a light blue dress she had found in the closet. She turned to look at the girl who had knocked and entered, an overwhelming amount of sympathy drowning Eleanor. It was strange actually meeting at an Avox for the first time, Eleanor quickly realised. Their silence was punishing and made her uncomfortable and it seemed as though they were in too much pain to move their mouth. The person in front of Eleanor was a girl not much older than herself, with shoulder cut blonde hair and beady brown eyes. Her face was twisted in a permanently frightened expression, something Eleanor found haunting.

"Yes?" Her question was innocent, though she realised it was useless since the poor girl couldn't even respond. She could have slapped herself across the face for her question, instead immediately apologising. It seemed the custom of apologies shocked the girl in front of her momentarily. She began wildly gesturing, trying to get Eleanor to understand. It took a bit of charades, but eventually Eleanor could piece together what she was trying to tell her. "Oh, thank you."

She wondered what her name was, it felt rude to just regard to her as an Avox girl. But, was she even allowed to ask her?

At dinner, Finnick was absent.

THIS CHAPTER LEGIT DELETED ITSELF AND I NEARLY SOBBED

I LEGIT WOKE UP, AND WAS LIKE "WHERE IS IT" AND WAS ON THE VERGE OF TEARS

but yeah

rip finnick's mental stability. you will be missed <33333

i wrote a chapter on his mentality and damn he's suffering

rip my dude

also no, he doesn't get sold right here when he's absent. believe me there's a chapter where you are explicitly made aware when he begun being sold and it is not here.