╔═══════════════════════════╗ REAPER ( chapter six ) ╚═══════════════════════════╝
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IT WAS NOW NADIA'S TURN TO BE ON THE STAGE WITH MILLIONS OF PEOPLE CONSTANTLY WATCHING HER EVERY MOVE. She did not meet her former friend's gaze as she passed by him, instead kept her eyes ahead of her as she walked onto the platform in which Ceasar stood.
He gasped dramatically when he saw her. "Beautiful, absolutely beautiful!" He shouted, turning toward the screaming crowd. "Doesn't she look breathtaking?" He grinned at the cheers of agreement before looking back to the female stood next to him. "Nadia, hello my dear."
Said girl gave him the best forced smile she could muster as she nodded to him in greeting. "Ceasar."
"It's been a while since we've all seen you." He continued, glancing back and forth between the residents of the Capitol and the Victor.
Nadia shrugged pathetically, not knowing what to say; crowds weren't her thing. "Sorry?"
The host laughed along with the people, making the woman slightly furrow her eyebrows. What was so funny? They all settled down and the blue haired man put an arm around her shoulders as if the two were old friends. "This, Miss Martell, is why your one of my favorites."
After making small talk (which she was horrible at) and people laughing at the things she said (which she didn't think was at all funny), the brunette finally left the stage, relief that she wasn't the center of attention anymore filling her chest. She was escorted to her bedroom, where she'd get a good night's rest before the Games tomorrow.
As she lay on the large, comfy bed, wearing a tank top and loose shorts, she thought of how many people she'd have to kill, how many lives she'd have to take. She thought about Finnick. How the hell was she supposed to murder him in cold blood?
The sound of her bedroom door opening made her sit up. Mags entered with a sheepish smile, almost embarrassed for interrupting. Nadia patted the spot next to her, gesturing for the elder woman to come sit down.
The grey haired woman obliged, closing the door and walking toward the Martell girl. She took a seat next to the brunette, wrapping a frail arm around the younger Victor's shoulders in a comforting embrace.
The Latina closed her eyes as Mags stroked her hair, enjoying the moment of serenity. She never wanted it to end.
"Thank you, Mags." Nadia whispered, looking into the older woman's eyes as they pulled away from each other. "For everything."
The mentor smiled at the girl, nodding her head to indicate that she understood the amount of gratitude that she held for the grey haired Victor.
Their moment came to an end far too quickly as a knock came from the other side of door. Finnick's head popped in and he grinned when he saw Mags. "Mind if I steal Nadia from you for a second?"
The elder woman glanced at the last of Martell bloodline, who avoided the male Victor's gaze, before nodding her head. She stood, passing by the sandy haired man as she left the room, and gently shut the door on her way out.
Finnick cleared his throat as he took Mags' seat, next to the Latina. He glanced at her as they both sat in silence, Nadia keeping her eyes on her fidgeting hands.
"I'm sorry." He finally spoke. "About what I said." He tried to fight the blush creeping upon his cheeks, and he thanked the gods that she refused to look at him.
The brunette shook her head. "Don't be."
The male Victor sighed in relief, grateful that she wouldn't hold his words against him. He then noticed the gold ring around her middle finger. He leaned forward to examine it more closely, then looked to the woman next to him in question. "Did you get this from Haymitch?"
Nadia nodded her head with a furrowed brow. "Beetee, Wiress, Johanna and I all have one too." Finnick chuckled, lifting his arm to show her the gold bracelet wrapped around his wrist. "Looks like we're allies."
The Martell girl smiled softly. "I'm glad." At least she wouldn't have to kill him right away.
The sandy haired man smiled back at her. "Me too."
They sat in silence for a few moments longer, just staring at each other in the dim lighting. The brunette turned away from him after realizing how long they'd been gazing at each other, looking back down to her fingers. "We have a big day tomorrow," Finnick sighed at the reminder, "we should get as much sleep as we can."
He nodded in agreement and stood from his seat, glancing down at his former friend. "See you tomorrow, Martell."
"See you tomorrow, Odair." Nadia chuckled, watching the other District 4 Victor exit her room.
The Latina rubbed her tired eyes as she turned the light off and crawled into bed. Though she wanted to sleep, to forget everything for the night as she dreamt, her booming thoughts kept her up.
How was she going to kill Finnick after tonight? How was she going to kill Katniss, who was pregnant? How was she going to kill Peeta, the father of the child?How was she going to kill Beetee and Wiress, the defenseless Victors from District 3?
The answer to all of those questions was simply, she couldn't. Maybe she was going soft, but Nadia didn't think she'd be able to bring herself to murder them when the time came.
She didn't know what was going to happen tomorrow, she didn't know what was going to happen in the arena. She did, however, know that President Snow was going to be furious if she didn't take the Mockingjay's life, but the Martell woman couldn't bring herself to give a damn.
