You Asked For This - Finnick Odair

The Third Quarter Quell

"Haven't you taken enough from me?"
— Unknown

...

Coral Newport and Finnick Odair were twenty-three years old. Blue Newport was fourteen and, though he was still often angry, his relationship with Finnick and Cora had been healed. Annie and Crane Marin were twenty-one and twenty-two. They had a one-year-old daughter named Lyra, who fit her namesake well.

She had sea-green eyes like both of her parents and the majority of the District 4 population. She had black hair like her father as well as tan, freckled skin. While she was only one year old, she was always smiling and giggling. She was the happiest baby Cora had ever seen. Maybe it was because she was being raised by nine people that loved her completely unconditionally (Annie, Crane, Finnick, Cora, Blue, Mags, Johanna, Shelly Marin, and Hermit Marin). Xena and Percy, though they couldn't meet her, adored her from afar.

All things considered, Cora's life had been pretty good. She was still always in the Capitol, away from most of the people she loved, including the new baby. But, when neither of them had appointments, Cora got to be with Finnick. She thought she loved being with him before they got together. But now that they were officially in love, it was so much better.

Everything just felt right. It wasn't always easy, with the way their lives were. Appointments were worse now that they were together. And, while all the sneaking around and stolen kisses were kind of exciting, the anxiety of getting caught was a constant factor.

They'd decided not to have sex unless they were able to get married first. Snow and the Capitol had taken everything from them— every boundary was crossed. They wanted to have at least one normal (in the Districts, it was customary to wait for marriage) thing about their relationship. Besides, for them, sex just wasn't an intimate thing anymore. Not after years of forced-prostitution.

But they always slept in the same bed, no longer having to hide their feelings. This also kept the nightmares away for good. There were no more nights where Cora or Finnick would wake up screaming. They were able to sleep soundly with the other next to them.

By all accounts, life had been as good as it could get in Coral Newport's situation. She was in love with the most wonderful man in the world, she had a good relationship with her little brother, she had friends that she loved and cherished, and she even had a niece that she got to help raise whenever she was around. Time had done its job and finally began to really heal all the wounds of her past. Yes, the wounds healed as scars, but at least they didn't hurt anymore.

All of that goodness, however, came to an abrupt end when Katniss Everdeen, the sixteen-year-old tribute from District 12 in the 74th Annual Hunger Games, found a way to cheat the system. The olive-skinned girl had defied the Capitol by revealing some nightlock, poisonous berries, in the arena.

She and her district partner, Peeta Mellark (also sixteen years old), intended to die together if they both couldn't win. It was the Head Gamemaker's fault, really, for changing the rules in the first place. But that didn't change the fact that she had lit a spark for a, soon-to-be blazing, rebellion against the Capitol.

Cora had seen Katniss and Peeta on their victory tour. The dark-haired girl had a strange charm about her, she wasn't a natural by any means when it came to being in the spotlight. The blond boy was a natural with his easy smiles and engaging personality. No one that Cora knew, seeing as she knew mostly Victors, believed that the two were in love. Not even Xena, but the pink-haired woman was more observant than the rest of the Capitol citizens.

The two newest Victors were so young and naïve, still ignorant to the ways of President Snow. Every district they visited ended up rioting. Including District 4.

The Newports, Finnick, Mags, and the Marins were wealthy enough to buy plenty of food and almost stockpile it so that they wouldn't go hungry during the riots. Crane was out of a job, not that he needed the money with Annie's fortune.

Mags often would go to the poorer parts of the district to pass out food and other necessities to families that were hit particularly hard by the chaos. Someone would always accompany her, but never more than two at a time. With everything going on, it was better if the Victors weren't always in the public eye. At least, not all together.

Snow had sent Cora and Finnick home a few months before the 75th Annual Hunger Games. This games would be special. It was a Quarter Quell. Every twenty-five years, a Quarter Quell would be held. It was supposed to serve as a fresh reminder of the war. It was just a more gruesome torment of the districts.

For the first Quarter Quell, the districts had to hold an election to choose who would be sent off to die in the arena. It was supposed to remind the districts that the games were their fault because of their choice to "initiate violence."

For the second Quarter Quell, as a reminder that two rebels died for each Capitol citizen, the districts were required to send twice as many tributes. That was the year Haymitch Abernathy, a drinking buddy of Cora's, won.

The District 4 Victors, plus their families, were at Mags' mansion to watch the announcement of the third Quarter Quell. Cora and Finnick sat next to each other on the couch, next to Mags and Blue. Crane was holding Annie's hand in silent support on a loveseat. Mr. and Mrs. Marin were standing in the background, Mrs. Marin holding little Lyra in her arms.

"And now we honor our third Quarter Quell," said Snow on the tv. A little boy in white stepped forward, holding out a box and opening the lid. Inside were rows of yellowed envelopes. Snow removed the envelope clearly marked with a 75. He pulled out the paper inside and, without hesitation, read out what was on it.

"On the seventy-fifth anniversary, as a reminder to the rebels that even the strongest among them cannot overcome the power of the Capitol, the male and female tributes will be reaped from their existing pool of victors."

Annie was the first one to react, letting out a terrified scream. "I can't go back, I can't go back..." she began muttering as her husband comforted her.

That's when it registered in Cora's mind what was happening. Two people in that very room would be going back into the games. Without even thinking, she ran outside and to the ocean. When she made it to the shoreline, she just fell to her knees and screamed. She screamed and sobbed until she physically couldn't anymore.

Once she had calmed down, she came to a resolve. She wouldn't let Annie go back into the games. Blue was closer with Mags and Annie than any other Victor. Cora wouldn't let him lose Mags either. She knew that Mags would volunteer in a heartbeat to protect the kids she helped raise, Cora wouldn't let her.

Finnick was the only male Victor still alive from District 4, any of the others dying before the 65th games. He was going into that arena no matter what. The very thought of it made Cora want to tear Snow limb from limb. She wouldn't let Finnick die. She would go into that arena and protect him until her last breath.

About a decade after her deal with President Snow, Cora was once again preparing to enter the Hunger Games.