AELLA AND FINNICK SAT ON THE JUNGLE FLOOR FOR TWO HOURS. The only sound that echoed around them was the soothing words he whispered in her ears while she stared at nothing, her eyes fixated and unmoving. He held her tightly, head tucked to his chest, as he gently rocked them back and forth. He could feel the way her entire body trembled as she sat in his lap and didn't utter a single word.

It destroyed him to see her so broken and the only thing he could do was hold her tight and comfort her as her mind slowly released her from such a state of primal fear. The postictal state she slipped into lasted longer than it ever had done before and Finnick held his breath until she moved within his hold all those hours later.

Each panic attack she had was more intense than the last. They became harder and harder to control and each time she slipped and lost her mind he was afraid she would never come back. Sometimes he wondered if the trauma would eventually claim her one day and she wouldn't ever 'wake up' from her panic attacks. It was one of his greatest fears; losing her.

Finnick knew Aella was a fighter but her mental struggles were also great. He fought for her every single day and he would continue to do so as long as he lived but he lived in fear that one day he would lose his Ella.

When her mind returned to her body and she recognised her surroundings she was quick to push herself out of Finnick's warm and safe embrace. The feeling of claustrophobia hit her hard and she stood up silently and walked away. He didn't call out to her as she retreated. Instead, he got to his feet and followed her with Johanna by his side. They kept their distance but shared similar glances of worry as she walked silently ahead of them. When she broke the tree line and passed Katniss, Peeta and Beetee seeking shelter under a tree they stopped talking to watch as she walked straight over to the water.

She didn't even look at the dried blood on her hands, didn't even flinch at the pain in her hand, at the bruising already forming there.

She just removed the hostler from her waist as she walked and dropped it to the ground in the sand. She pulled her machete out from the holster built into the back of her suit and tossed it to one side with her knives carelessly. Her eyes were fixated on the fresh sea water that lapped her ankles and she walked in until she was waist deep. Only then did she fully submerge herself underneath. The cold water shocked her back into reality in the way she needed it to. It kick started her still heart again and when she broke the surface she took a deep breath.

Her fingers still held a small tremble to them but wasn't as bad as it was before. She dragged her hands through her hair, pushing the wet tresses away from her face before she ran her hands down her face and rubbed harshly. The distant cries of help of her brother and Finnick echoed faintly in her ears and she was desperate to get rid of them.

She dropped her hands to her sides and closed her eyes, listening to the sound of the waves crashing around her. She focused on the sun shining against her face...anything to distract herself.

Finnick followed her to the waters edge, picking up her holster belt with her daggers in and her machete and he watched her silently. He knew she needed space but he couldn't stand to be apart from her when he knew she was hurting. He heard her brothers voice screaming her name, knew how hard it must've been for her to hear it again after all those years.

Johanna sat down next to Katniss on the beach and they watched the two carefully. The silence that elapsed between them was peaceful for once but the younger woman was too curious to let it stay quiet. She turned her head to look at Johanna and lowered her voice, "Who's Josh?"

Johanna froze momentarily before she turned to meet Katniss' gaze. She released a deep sigh and looked back at Aella when she responded, "Josh was Aella's older brother."

"Was?" Katniss repeated, her brows furrowed.

Johanna only nodded in confirmation, "Three years ago Snow came to Aella and I with an offer," She said, "We both refused. Aella was just turning seventeen at the time, I was eighteen, but we refused. She-uh—she returned home after a Victory Tour and her entire family were dead." Johanna told her. At a loss for words, she shrugged her shoulders, "Her brother meant everything to her...and when he was killed..."

Having studied Johanna's face the entire time, Katniss finally looked back to Aella and she saw that she had moved and sat within the waves on the shore. Finnick sat by her and Katniss responded, "I had no idea."

Johanna shook her head, pulling her lip between her teeth, "As Victors we know," She began by saying cryptically, "Nobody ever talks about what Snow asks of them...what he does to them but we all know. With Aella it was... well, it was just horrendous, especially after everything Drew did to her. She lost herself that day. That was when the panic attacks started."

"And she and Finnick?"

A small smile graced Johanna's lips. She admired the two from afar. They'd been the Deadly Trio for four years and she'd been lucky enough to see their relationship blossom from best friends to lovers. She always knew it would come. The stars Aella had in her eyes when she looked at him were unmistakable and the way she had Finnick wrapped around her every finger was a testament to what he would do for her. They would both run to the ends of the earth for the other and if they said jump, they would only ask how far. 

"Finnick mentored her in secret in her Games." Johanna said to her, "Taught her everything and when she emerged as Victor they became best friends. They were both young Victors, they could relate to one another well. He kept her head above the water until she could hold it there herself. Somewhere along the lines they weren't just friends anymore." She said. Her words were the truth. Even she couldn't pinpoint where exactly their dynamic changed. 

"Love is weird." She finally said and she confirmed Katniss' suspicions.

Katniss looked away from her and back to the couple. She knew that Finnick cared deeply for Aella. She wouldn't be his weakness if he didn't and after seeing the panic that pulled in his eyes when she was chased off the beach by the Career pack she had her own suspicions. It was only Johanna who confirmed what she thought.

It was a turning point for Katniss. She stopped looking at her fellow allies as tributes and more as the people that they actually were. She reminded herself that these people had known one another far longer than she could ever imagine. Some of them had formed inseparable bonds that were unbreakable. She couldn't blame them for that. They weren't the killing machines she perceived them to be. They were humans... people with lives and families just like her.

Neither of them said anything else. Katniss spent the time that followed watching Aella and Finnick. They didn't seem to be conversing but her head rested against his shoulder and their bodies pressed close against one another.

"I have a plan." Beetee said to them all suddenly.

Johanna turned her head to acknowledge him and from the way his eyes narrowed ever so slightly she knew it was time. With a straight face she pushed herself up from her sitting position and she walked over to her two friends sitting on the beach together. She called their names, watching as they turned around slowly to acknowledge her.

"Beetee has a plan." Johanna said and the undertone to her voice caused Aella's breath to hitch in her throat.

They all knew the plan before he even had the chance to tell them. She felt her stomach twist in anticipation and she shared a fleeting glance with Finnick. They mirrored each others expression and it wasn't long before they got to their feet, weapons in hand, re-joined the group.

Aella thrust the sharp edge of her machete into the sand as she arrived and she leaned on to a low hanging tree branch. Finnick stood on the other side of the branch and Johanna next to her, the trio looked down at the trio on the floor.

Aella could feel Katniss' eyes on her but she didn't meet her gaze. Her eyes were cold and dead—nothing behind them and Katniss couldn't decide if it was a tactic or a result of the panic attack she'd had.

It was Aella's defence mechanism but Katniss didn't know that. The expression was wearily similar to the same one she wore the entirety of the Tributes Dinner the night she and Peeta saw her and Drew break out into a fight.

"Where do the Careers feel safest?" Beetee asked them rhetorically, "The jungle?"

Johanna responded quickly while she shook her head dismissively, "The jungle's a nightmare."

"Probably here on the beach." Peeta shrugged.

Again, Beetee prompted them with another rhetorical question, "Then why are they not here?"

"Because we are." Aella responded monotone. She shrugged her shoulders and added, "We claimed it."

"And if we left they would come."

"Or stay hidden in the tree line." Finnick nodded.

"Which in just over four hours will be soaked from water from the ten o'clock wave." Beetee said before looking around, "What happens at midnight?"

Aella pushed her tongue into side of her mouth. It was starting to feel an awful lot like a school lesson but she understood where Beetee was heading. She could see the whole picture now, the reasoning behind the arena being laid out like a clock...

She decided to wait for someone else to answer his question and Katniss said, "Lightning strikes that tree."

Aella's chin pulled upward ever so slightly. This is it, she thought. They were approaching their last few hours within the arena and she couldn't be any more thankful. Two days of pure hell were nearly over... she didn't think she could've lasted as long as the Games usually did.

It was almost time for them to kickstart the rebellion with one hell of a statement and while she wanted to grin she had to suppress her emotion. They were so close to the end. She was so close to the life Haymitch promised her in District Thirteen with her loved ones safe and the relationship with Finnick she'd craved for two years.

That sheer thought alone caused her fingers to curl. They were desperate to reach out to him but she managed to hold herself back.

"Here's what I propose." Beetee said quickly, "We leave the beach at dusk. We head to the lightning tree. That should draw them back to the beach. Prior to midnight we then run this wire from the tree to the water. Anyone in the water or in the damp sand will be electrocuted."

"How do we know that the wires not gonna burn up?" Johanna questioned him.

"Because I invented it. I assure you it won't burn up." Beetee said in response. Their to and fro conversation to make it all the more believable worked well. Aella sensed the push and pull. They were essentially trying to get Katniss and Peeta to agree to it but in order to do so they needed to respond in the ways they usually would.

Between the three of them they shared knowing glances. The silent conversation that occurred between them was well perceived. They knew that this was the beginning of the end. That it was the night that they'd change Panem for good and it all started with this plan. It was what they'd been anticipating the last few days since the original deal was struck.

This was where it came down to the technicalities. They couldn't mess it up and it weighed heavy on their heads.

Aella tore her gaze away from Finnick's and looked at Beetee. She nodded silently to suggest she was on board. She wasn't a fan of words at the moment, especially when she could feel the slight tremble of her fingers after everything that had happened that day already.

"Well, it's better than hunting them down." Johanna agreed.

"Yeah why not." Katniss said but from her tone Aella suspected she wasn't entirely on board. It was somewhat clipped and she didn't like it, "If it fails no harm done anyway, right?"

Hearing his District partner agree, Peeta nodded, "Alright so we try it."

"So what can we do to help?" Finnick asked Beetee.

"Keep me alive for the next six hours." The older man responded, "That would be extremely helpful."

"Okay." Aella nodded. Her voice was quiet but everyone heard her. Her eyes danced over Peeta's frame for half a second and she pursed her lips before walking away. He was her responsibility and she knew she had to do everything in her power to keep him alive...even if it meant sacrificing herself for him.

It weighed heavy on her head and she pursed her lips, picking up her machete out of the sand before she turned her back to them all and walked away. He didn't need immediate protection and neither did Beetee. Katniss had Peeta's back covered for now and she wasn't planning on going far either. It would only be when they were trekking up to that tree would she have to take him under her wing and pull her guard up impossibly high.

Until then, though, she wanted to spend her last few hours in peace with one man surrounded by the most beautiful landscape she'd ever come across.

•   •   •

The way her heart pounded against her chest was still something she hadn't gotten used to.

Throughout their time of knowing one and another Aella and Finnick had never been particularly physical apart from that one night together three days ago. They would always greet with an embrace when they saw each other after months apart but aside from that being in one another's presence had always been enough—it had to be enough. They weren't allowed to show anything more.

This was all new to them both. They'd long abandoned their resolve to hide the true extent of their relationship. Some distant part of them had forgotten that their every move was being watched. It wasn't like there was cameras pointing right at them and camera men were trying to get their attention. No, the cameras were so well hidden throughout the arena it was like they weren't even there.

And in that moment, they could've been the only two people left on the earth. They couldn't keep it hidden anymore—didn't really care to, either, when they had so much riding on their master plan. They'd be damned if they were going to watch each other from afar in what could be there last few hours alive.

Finnick admired her profile from the side, his head turned. Their faces were mere inches apart and his stomach fluttered in joy. A bright smile encapsulated her face—the purest smile he'd ever seen her wear before and it brought a smile of his own to pull at his lips. In that moment in time, they were just Ella and Fin. They were nobodies.

It was joyous for them both and as they lost themselves in the moment they forgot entirely where they were and the circumstances they were in.

Aella dropped her head back against his shoulder and laughed wholly. The unfamiliar lines creased her otherwise pristine skin and his breath caught in his throat. The sound that followed was something he would cherish forever. Never once had he heard her laugh before—her real one. He'd heard the fake one she had perfected over the years as Victor countless times but her real laugh...seeing the way her face twisted in pure, undiluted joy...

It was like a melody to his ears. She was a siren and he was her wiling victim, walking into her clutches and surrendering to her power. The sound did something to him he couldn't quite explain but he knew it would become a core memory—a moment that would stick with him for the rest of his life. The picture that was her face only confirmed what he felt for her even more so.

His broad frame curled around her smaller one. They fitted together like the two missing pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. Her back pressed flush to his chest with no room to spare and his arm was wrapped around her stomach. In both of their hands was his trident. Their hands overlapped as he guided her into catching a fish for them but they'd failed miserably. It was comical—two highly skilled people such as themselves struggling to catch a fish together.

"Ella.." Finnick breathed her name, a short chuckle passing his lips that stretched into a smile. He shook his head in amusement while looking at her face.

Her laughter came to a soft end, "It's not my fault!" Was her response, her tone filled with happiness and joy as the fish swam away for the millionth time.

"Well it's not mine." He quipped.

Outraged, she turned her head to regard him though was caught off guard when she realised just how close they were. For a brief moment, their noses brushed and she loosened her breath. His sea-foam green eyes sparkled with such intensity it had the power to send her heart racing. The joy on his face, carved deep into his features, and love in his eyes was something she wished she could marvel in forever.

Whatever she was about to retaliate with in defence slipped from her mind. Her lips parted gently and their breath mixed. She couldn't help but glance down fleetingly at his lips and she remembered what it felt like to have them on her skin, pressed against her own. She took a deep breath, running her tongue across her bottom lip lightly. The action sparked him to glance down to hers, so round and full... He remembered how soft they were against his. He was desperate to kiss her again, even if it was just a feathery graze but against his better judgment he didn't.

The opportunity was plucked from his grasp when she quickly turned her head and focused back on the water that lapped their knees. Little did he know she was clinging on to what was left of her self-restraint. It was almost non-existent but she knew as she felt her body beginning to lean she had to turn away otherwise she wouldn't be able to ever stop.

He was left staring into the side of her face and it was something she was overly aware of. It made it even harder to calm her erratic heart. She forced herself to swallow before saying, "Fine. If it's not you."

"It's not," He said though his voice strained and he cleared his throat quickly before repeating himself, "It's not."

"I've never had to catch a fish before," She mused, "Never mind with a trident."

He tusked playfully and said, "You're never lived."

"Clearly." She quipped, amused.

The feeling of her hand moving slightly under his drew his attention back to the trident in their hands. He re-adjusted his grip on the weapon and positioned their bodies slightly forward.

"Do you see any fish?" He asked her.

Silence.... Until, "There!"

The fish swam away from them just as quick as it arrived. Gone in a fleeting glance, he felt her sink back into him somewhat in disappointment. A short chuckle rolled from his lips and he shook his head. He knew she couldn't see him but he was close enough that she felt his movements. He felt like a teenager watching as she pouted in disappointment. It was a face he'd never seen her pull but in that moment serotonin flooded him entirely. Every fibre of his body was alight as they acted like the teenagers they never got to be, behaving like they were on their first date.

"It'll come back." He said to her but Aella only shook her head in response.

"Like a fish is going to come back after we try to stab it with a trident." She rolled her eyes and muttered, "Idiot."

Finnick whipped the trident out of her hands in half a second and he tossed it carelessly toward the sand behind them. He didn't even look and it landed exactly where he intended it to. Instead, he utilised Aella's shock and grasped her hand in his, twisting her to face him. She peered up at him through her lashes, found him grinning like a wildcat, and her eyes widened. One second she was staring into his mischievous gaze, the next he was pushing her underwater.

She fell with a gasp and when she resurfaced her face was red with anger. Her eyes blazed but it was in a way he'd never seen before. It wasn't the pure anger he was used to. There was a sense of love behind her eyes that made it more innocent and not at all threatening.

"What the hell!"

An uncontrollable laugh poured from his chest. He held his hand over his heart as he bent slightly in the middle, overcome with laughter. For three seconds it infuriated her even more until the melodic sound of his joy softened her heart in a way it never had before. Her anger melted exactly like he had predicted it to and it morphed into pure happiness.

It didn't stop her from getting her own back on him, however. While he laughed wholeheartedly she reached forward and grabbed his arm, pulling him toward her and catching him completely off guard. His laughter came to an abrupt end as he was pulled forward and before he knew it, he was fully submerged in the water himself.

Aella stood with a smug grin as she watched Finnick in the water underneath her. He didn't resurface as quick as she did however.

He disappeared around her and her grin fell from her face as she looked for him. Her hair stuck to her face, droplets of water running down her forehead and she pushed it back to see better. She searched the water that by now had reached chest height from after them messing around. She couldn't spot him anywhere and she was just about to duck under to find him when she felt his hands grabbing her leg.

In one quick motion he pulled her under to join him and he held her there for a few seconds. His hands quickly moved from her leg to her waist and he pulled her to his body, his eyes open as he watched her. She slowly opened her eyes though her shock and she met his gaze under the water—felt butterflies swarming in her stomach as he looked at her in pure love and adoration. Her lips stretched into a grin as they stayed under the water.

Finnick gently pulled her up to the surface, remembering he needed actual oxygen and that staring at Aella—no matter how much he loved her—wouldn't keep him alive underwater. When they broke the surface together their smiles remained even as water ran down their faces. Finnick's hands were still on her waist and she clasped hers behind his neck, still loosing herself in his beautiful eyes. The setting sun shone down on them like pure golden light making them both seem angelic—ethereal, as they stood in a beautiful body of water, glimmering under the sun.

Their eyes sparkled in a way they never had before. A mixture of love and a pure iridescent glow had their irises swimming. Cobalt blue met sea-foam green and didn't falter. Aella felt her heart, her her blood, her entire being sing in delight as Finnick looked at her—his hair hanging over his forehead, just reaching his eyes. The thread that tethered them grew and grew, shining bright in their love. It was pure and strong and untarnished and the feeling of it was something Aella was content in giving in to for the rest of her life.

They just stared into one another's eyes, lost in the intensity of their love, until a large wave sounded around them. The loud echo of trees snapping in the far away distance carried over the jungle and the group of six all turned to see the ten o'clock wave taking over the jungle in the same manner it had done twelve hours ago.

For the first time, Aella saw the magnitude of it and her eyes widened somewhat. She was lucky to have escaped it. The tsunami rolled in and down the beach in the sector it originated from and when it reached the Cornucopia the invisible forcefield stopped it from spreading. The water hit the invisible walls and collapsed on itself creating a wave to ripple across the sea. It moved until it reached Finnick and Aella, submerging them again and forcing them both apart and forward with the strength.

The two swam calmly, resurfacing easily at the shore, and they shared a knowing glance. Their moment had ended and the joy that had been ever present on their faces, singing in their bodies, had disappeared. It was time. The ten o'clock wave was their signal and they had two hours to finish what they had set out to accomplish.

"Time to go." Finnick hummed in disappointment from somewhere beside Aella. He was already looking at her when she met his gaze and she swallowed thickly in response—her throat bobbing. Her face was entirely blank—cool indifference, almost, as if she hadn't just been sharing an intimate moment with the love of her life. The only sign that she was feeling any type of emotion was the sound of her fingers cracking around them.

She walked out of the water, leaning down to grab her holster from the sand and her machete. She strapped the holster around her waist, the daggers still safely inside and she gripped to the handle of her machete as she walked up the beach without Finnick. The Ella he knew—the real Aella Barnes had disappeared once more and her alter ego resurfaced for what she hoped would be the last ever time. She knew her face was blank as she met her allies, knew a killing calm shone in her eyes ready to guide her through the final hours of the Games.

Two hours...

It was all she could think about as they began their journey to the lightning tree in complete silence. The tension around the six of them was almost as thick as the humidity. Sharp eyes and quick glances occurring every second they walked. Finnick led the group, completely unawares to the warning glare Katniss Everdeen was staring into the back of his head. Covering them from behind, however, with Johanna at her side, Aella saw every little glance no matter how discreet. She saw the silent conversations Katniss and Peeta seemed to be sharing, knew they were on the cusp of either complete success or total downfall.

Aella kept her silence. She searched the jungle as they moved swiftly through. The higher they climbed the darker it became—both from the thickening trees and the setting sun. A light darkness washed over them and Aella's listened intently to every snap of twigs, every rustle of leaves. She kept herself ready and armed, twirling her machete in her hands as if it was nothing but a toy as they moved.

An unknown amount of time passed between them and their hike to the lightning tree when the sky lit up above them and the loud tune of the national anthem of the Capitol pulsated in their ears. They all drew to a stop, turning to look up as the Gamemakers played tribute to those who had died that day.

Cashmere's face was the first to flash through the sky and both Aella and Finnick grimaced. The way the older woman had gutted Aella was still raw in their memories, as was the pain she had felt. Subconsciously, she lifted her hand and gently traced it over the tear in her suit where her stab wound had been. Her skin had fully healed but the phantom pain still lingered and the faint pink scar would forever be a reminder of what she had endured and survived.

Gloss was next and Wiress followed him. A somber mood cast over the six of them that only worsened when they saw Mags. Aella clenched her jaw in sorrow as the elderly woman's portrait lit up the sky. She hadn't even had the chance to say her goodbye to her—to thank her for her kindness over the years.

Aella had held a lot of love for Mags and she knew a lot of her fellow Victors had also. She had been so gentle and kind. There had never been a bad bone in her body and even though Aella had never heard her story she knew without a shadow of a doubt that Mags didn't deserve what had happened to her, what Snow had done to her.

The female Morphling showed next and then Blight. Aella sensed Johanna tense somewhat beside her as they stared at his face in the sky. The man was never much to Johanna but he was from home and she had said so herself. He had probably been the closest thing she had to family aside from Finnick and Aella.

The music ended there, the rest of the tributes having died the day previously or still alive, and like it had never happened the group of six resumed their trek up to the tree with only the occasional word to one another. The darkness grew heavier around them until the moon shone above them.

Eventually they reached the lightening tree and the six of them gathered around it, all looking and observing. Familiarity gripped Aella and instead of looking at the tree she scouted the space around her. The tree stood alone in tall grass that reached their knees. A circle of trees encased them but she sensed no danger. 

"Minimal charring." Beetee hummed from somewhere beside Aella, "It's an impressive conductor," and then he rubbed his hands together and announced, "let's get started."

• • •

Watching Beetee was boring work, Aella decided. All he did is walk circles around the large tree for what she would guess to be close to an hour, wrapping and cocooning it in copper coil. With no clock it was hard to tell how long he had worked for thus far. She estimated the journey from the beach to the tree to be twenty minutes give or take and she was convinced Beetee had been playing scientist for almost an hour and if any of her timings were correct—and she was pretty damn confident they were—they had forty-ish minutes until the lightening strike.

Beetee moved enough to make Aella dizzy. He wrapped and wrapped and wrapped the tree, so much so, she worried they'd run out of coil before they got it back to the beach. The dark bark was no longer visible and when she thought he had finished he only moved on to wrapping a different section of the tree. She had resorted to cutting at the vines and foliage around her with her machete—giving in to her boredom while keeping a keen ear out.

The longer Beetee took, the more restless she became. She tried to contain it—her anxious thoughts—but she struggled. She became very aware of their time, worrying over each minute that passed but it seemed Beetee wasn't at all concerned by that factor. He just continued to walk lap after lap around the tree, uncoiling and threading and weaving. For every lap he made the pit in her stomach opened further and further until her heart was dangling over the open abyss.

Like Wiress had predicted, the clock was ticking and they didn't have much long left.

For the first time since he'd gotten to work, Beetee turned to address the group. He noticed them scattered around looking both bored but on edge at the same time but said as he continued his careful uncoiling, "Typically a lightning strike contains five million joules of energy. We don't want to be anywhere in the vicinity when this hits."

And then he stepped away, unspooling the coil again. For a brief second he looked at his work and Aella stilled, dropping her arms by her side. Beetee turned away from the tree and looked at Katniss and Johanna, "You two girls go together now." He said, handing the coil to Katniss as if she didn't have a say in the matter. Her eyes widened as such when she took it out of his hands, "Take this. Unspool it carefully. Make sure the entire coil is in the water. Understand? Then head to the tree at the two o'clock sector. We'll meet you there."

"I'm gonna go with them as a guard."

Aella's back straightened as the words tumble passed Peeta's lips. On their journey up—judging by the silent glances they'd been sharing—Aella had begun to wonder if the two star-crossed loves had something secret planned. Peeta had only confirmed that she was right.

Part of her couldn't blame them. She knew they still didn't trust them despite every effort they'd made to save their asses—or at least Katniss didn't anyway. She hadn't wanted any of them as allies according to Haymitch and she'd made it obvious but this was the most crucial part of their plan. She knew that Katniss and Peeta had no interest in meeting them at the two o'clock sector after the coil had been dumped. She also knew that even if Johanna was with them both Katniss would probably try and kill her. The plan was to get them both out, yes, but for this part they'd need to be separated for it to go right.

Aella knew how it looked and it frustrated her to admit she understood their want to stay together. If it were her and Finnick she'd be saying the same thing, especially if she was unaware of the bigger picture like they were. In an alternate universe where the rebellion didn't exist and they were just allies the second the Careers were out of the picture they suspected she, Johanna and Finnick would turn their weapons to them. They were entirely right to have their reservations. If the rebellion hadn't existed Aella would've already of killed them both—or would've been hunting them down. It was just the nature of the game.

Hearing Peeta volunteer himself to go as guard was a spanner they all expected to be thrown into the works but it didn't mean they were prepared do deal with it. How would they divert him without making it suspicious?

"No, no, no," Beetee dismissed quickly before Aella, Finnick or Johanna could think to say anything, "You stay. You have to protect me and the tree."

"No." Peeta said firmly, "I need to go with her."

Aella swallowed deeply watching Peeta's guard shoot up. Beetee only chose Johanna because Peeta was Aella's responsibility and sending Finnick with Katniss was just suspicious. They all knew she's outright refuse but still..

"There are two Careers out there. I need three guards." Beetee argued.

"Finnick and Aella can protect you fine on their own." Peeta said dismissively.

She watched him silently, analysing. It did sound strange that Beetee needed three guards but she wasn't so sure she and Finnick could handle the Careers alone. She, Finnick and Johanna? Yes, without a shadow of a doubt but just them two... If the Careers did attack, Peeta might've been more of a hindrance than anything that she'd have to focus on protecting but—

She honestly couldn't decide which was the best option. They needed an extra person and she wished that Chaff had made it to them because separating like this... it was making her nervous. If the Careers followed Johanna and Katniss what would happen then?

Katniss came to Peeta's aid—further confirming to Aella they had every intention of running off together—and she said, "Yeah, why can't Finnick, Aella and Johanna stay with you? Peeta and I will take the coil."

It was all falling apart right in front of their faces and there was nothing she could think to say to bring it back together.

"You all agreed to keep me alive until midnight. Correct?" Beetee asked her firmly.

The tension that strained between them before grew even thicker. It was stifling now and it unsettled Aella deeply. She'd never been one for tension and arguments and the Games hadn't changed that. She hated conflict, hated feelings of unrest.

She blamed her childhood for it. Her mother had mollycoddled her and kept her sheltered from everything until her father and her brother introduced her to the real world of a corrupt government and a tyrant of a leader. Even then, she'd never seen her parents argue, hadn't witnessed a single act of violence until she watched the Games before her own with her father. All those years later and nothing had changed, she still hated it.

Johanna looked between Aella and Finnick quickly, trying to create some kind of resolve to fix their plan. A quick glance at Finnick and she knew he was thinking the same but Aella stared at the ground with hollow eyes. Johanna knew her female counterpart had never been good at diffusing tension. She either ran from it or instigated it.

Johanna looked at Katniss and said, "It's his plan. We all agreed to it."

"Is there a problem here?" Finnick added, his brow arching as they attempted to keep their grand plan afloat.

The foundations had already began to crumble and they all knew it but they only had to hold it together for another hour. They had to keep Katniss and Peeta separated to stop them from running off together but they had to keep them unawares. They had to remain inconspicuous but Katniss was looking at them with uncertainty in her eyes—she knew there was something bigger going on.

"Excellent question." Beetee responded, looking between the two youngest members of their poorly fused alliance.

Aella could feel it all slipping through their fingers and she swallowed nervously. When Johanna looked at her again to see if she was ready to contribute to trying hold it together she found her looking anywhere but at them. Her body shifted minutely and she rocked gently back and forth on her feet.

"No." Katniss responded quietly, "There's no problem."

Aella focused her gaze back on the younger woman as she stepped toward Peeta and pressed her lips against his. Katniss made her discontent for the situation obvious but Aella never expected her to actually give in.

She looked away as they kissed, jealous that they could even do so. Instead, her eyes found Finnick's and saw he was already looking at her with a similar expression.

"I'll see you at midnight." Katniss said to Peeta as she pulled away but Aella heard the promise in her words. She swallowed thickly knowing their plan.

"All right, let's go." Johanna announced, walking to the pair. Katniss and Peeta parted with one final longing glance and she walked away with Johanna begrudgingly, the coil still safely in her hands. She unspooled it carefully as Beetee instructed and they all watched until they completely disappeared into the dense jungle.

Only, they didn't know it'd be the last time they would be seeing each other...

•   •   •

A/N; So this chapter was 10,000 words and then I had to re-write it which took it to over 12,000 words so I split it in two and I haven't even finished the next chapter. This was supposed to be the last chapter of part 1 but instead the next chapter will be. If I finish reading-writing the end of the next chapter by tonight I'll post it and give you guys a double update ready to start part 2 on Wednesday. If not I'll post the last chapter on Wednesday and start part 2 on Friday.