The Price of Peace (Finnick Odair)

Uh oh.

One less than fond memory that remained vivid in Evadine Odair's mind from her first life was the hunting game. 

On a random night, her stepfather John would drag her out of a deep slumber and drop her in the woods. Barefoot and freezing she would shiver before him as he explained the rules just like every time before. She would have a one-minute head start, she could run or hide, she could go north or south, and she could fashion a weapon for herself. 

When the minute ended John would hunt her, tazer in hand. The only catch of the game was not to get caught until the first morning light. She was told to do anything to survive the night, even kill John before losing the game. 

He wanted to prepare her for the most terrifying monster of all, men. 

When she was little she always lost the game. But the more she did it, the more she recognized her stepfather's patterns. Sure he was a raving paranoid lunatic, but he was still human, and humans had habits. 

For instance, he almost always looked in the direction opposite where he was facing when he gave her the rules first. 

Evadine Blackwell had hated the game, Evadine Odair however had grown to appreciate it in her second life. 

As she ran through the darkened forest, Evadine couldn't help but remember the days before she died. She ran silently through the brush, trying to avoid breaking branches or scuffing mud from muscle memory. 

Peeta Melark however had no such training. 

It made it easier for her to track him down as she followed the train of little inconsistencies. It was the first time she was playing as the hunter and not the prey. 

It had all gone to hell in a handbasket only minutes prior.

The plan was laid out, they would escape the games tonight. Or at least that is how it should have been. 

She had whispered the plan to Katniss and Peeta, keeping it vague in case the camera's overheard. They had gotten the wire and wrapped it around the lightning tree. They were all going to stay together. 

Blood coated her hands from where they all simultaneously carved out their tracking chips from their arms. Finnick had stepped away for just a moment to grab their supplies when something unexplainable happened... 

The ground started to shake and the earth beneath their feet began to shift. Trees sprouted up between them and the arena changed around them. In seconds they were no longer together and Evadine was alone, cradled in lovely tropical foliage that had not been there moments prior. 

She could hear the faint call of Finnick screaming her name into the dark forest. 

Much closer to her left, she heard Peeta calling out for Katniss. She was on her feet in a moment, determined to reach her ally so that the horrifying events from the books would not repeat. 

She had been trying so desperately to ensure they all made it safely to District Thirteen. She was pregnant after all, she wanted some peace. 

During the entire 75th Hunger Games, Evadine had been held back from her usual shenanigans. She was crippled by the fear that something might happen to her baby. Her bravery came from a lack of fear when it came to death, after all, she knows for certain that death is not the end. 

She was however terrified of killing her child.

She wondered if her own mother ever felt like this. Her schizophrenia and paranoia may have corrupted the primal maternal urge but she wondered if all of those years of abuse came from that fear. 

"The angels told me what I have to do. The price I have to pay so we can all be safe, all know peace...Don't worry baby, I'm next. Then they can't get us."  The final words her mother ever said echoed through her mind as she raced through the forest toward Peeta. 

It had been so long since Evadine thought about her mother. 

The mother that had killed her to save her. 

Motherhood was its own form of madness, Evadine Odair was learning as she placed a hand on the minuscule bump forming in her abdomen. 

Her eyes flicked across the forest floor, noticing the dirt out of place and the palm leaves hanging broken on their stems. She raced in the direction Peeta was, hoping to reach him so that they could escape with Katniss and Finnick. 

"Peeta!" Evadine called out when she heard the break of stride. 

Before she could reach him, the arena exploded in a flash of light...

A groan involuntarily crawled from Evadine's throat as she felt herself come to. The moment her eyes opened she slammed them shut again, saving herself the pain of staring into the obnoxiously bright light overhead. 

"Mrs. Odair?" A foreign voice sounded muffled in her ringing ears as Evadine tried once more to open her eyes, enduring the blinding headache. 

"Mrs. Odair, can you hear me?" The female voice called once more, beckoning Evadine's spirit back to her body. 

Her sense of smell was the first thing to return to her, the smell of roses assaulted her senses along with the musty smell of an old house. 

The next was her touch, she could feel the soft sheets draped across her body. Acting as a shield from the rest of the world. She would feel a stranger's hand, lightly placed on her shoulder, trying to rouse her into a more alert state. 

All at once she was awake. Her sea-green eyes scanned the ornate room around her. It was elegant and expensive, like the Victor quarters just before the games or like the... the rooms in the president's house where she would perform her private concerts. 

She could see the vase of white roses on the side table next to a glass of water. The nurse's voice echoed in her ears as she asked a million questions that when unanswered as she brought that cup of water to her lips. When the glass was empty, Evadine could feel her head clear slightly. 

"Where am I? Where's Finn?" Her voice cracked from the strain. 

"Don't worry Mrs. Odair. You are safe. You are in the Capitol, safe in the home of President Snow himself. The rebels attacked the arena and kidnapped your husband but we were able to safely extract you. I'm sorry we have no way of knowing where they took him." The nurse said pleasantly, the compassion evident in her tone. 

Ah yes, poor, fragile, Evadine Odair. Attacked, husband abducted, but at least she was safe in her lovely gilded cage. 

Tears flowed down her face as she played into the scenario. 

"W-why? Why would the rebels do such a thing? What would they want with my Finn? Our baby! Is our baby okay?!" Now that panic wasn't an act at all. Her hand reached for her stomach, praying to feel the slight bump. 

"Your baby is fine. You are healthy and safe." The nurse assured. 

"That you are, my dear." A voice boomed through the room as President Snow sauntered in.

He made his way to Evadine, his scent of roses and blood drowning her in his presence. He gingerly lifted his gloved hand, tucking a single dark curl behind her ear, "You are safe here in the Capitol, where you belong." 

Uh Oh... Finnick was gonna be so mad.