The Price of Peace (Finnick Odair)

Snow and a Siren

Coriolanus Snow had kept his eyes on Evadine Ripley since the moment she volunteered as tribute. He had hoped she would die in the arena... well he did. 

That was until the first moment she almost died in the arena. 

That knife whizzed past her head as she sauntered towards the cornucopia and he had felt his heart jump to his throat. In a second he was back to being an 18-year-old mentor. He watched as Evadine changed before his eyes, to a young Lucy Gray. She sang and danced, her wild brown curls taunting him just as they had before. 

In his mind, Lucy Gray had returned to him, returned to the arena where he could watch and have power over her. She was back in the cage where she belonged, just within his reach. 

He listened to her songs with wrapped fascination as an old obsession reared its head back to life. 

He had stood before a crowd and crowned her the sixty-sixth victor without saying a word. He knew it was her, it had to be her. His Lucy Gray had returned to him. He had her in the Capitol, just like he wanted. 

The party was in full swing. He watched as Evadine danced with Finnick Odair. 

He strode across the dance floor, nodding to the crowd as they parted. The song ended and Coriolanus found himself extending his hand before the young girl. 

"May I have this dance, Miss Ripley?" President Snow asked kindly, allowing his charming smile to calm those around him. 

Finnick Odair looked skeptical keeping a firm grip on Evadine's waist. Coriolanus couldn't help but see himself in the boy for a moment. The moment quickly died as Evadine gave her boyfriend a lovely smile and turned back to the President. 

"I would be honored to dance with you, President Snow." Evadine bowed her head, accepting his outstretched hand as he led her to the dance floor. 

"I must say you have surprised me, Miss Ripley." Coriolanus began, her hands felt familiar in his own. Though it had been decades since she had danced with him. 

"The odds were in my favor, Mr. President. Nothing more." She answered politically as all the crowd watched in awe. 

"You made quite the sight when you volunteered for your friend... Where did you get that dress? My granddaughter fell in love with the design." Coriolanus lied. 

"Oh well, I'm afraid she wouldn't be able to get that dress anywhere. It's been passed down through my family for generations. It was my mama's and her mama's before her and so on and so on... That dress is older than the districts themselves." She lied right back, smiling as the color faded from his face. 

"How interesting... Covey? By chance?" He asked, his grip noticeably tightening. 

"Yes! We don't keep a lot of the traditions anymore. No more traveling. But we kept some! Singing and dancing, my dress, even my name! Evadine Cyan..." She smiled brightly, knowing that even though the information was false, she was ripping apart his psyche. 

"What was your mother's name?" Coriolanus asked. 

"Mary Ruby Ripley." She answered, adding a middle name. 

"...And your grandmother's name?"

"I never met my grandmother. I hear she was a free spirit, though my father never told me much before he disappeared. Her name was Lucy Gray!" Coriolanus stopped dancing, his grip almost painful as he held her. 

Suddenly his delusion changed. 

No longer was she Lucy Gray. 

In his mind, the story changed. Lucy Gray was pregnant with his child when she ran. Of course she was, she would never have touched anyone else. She had a daughter, their daughter, with his blue eyes and her dark curls. A daughter named Mary Ruby Snow. 

Tired of running Lucy Gray would return to the districts. Not twelve, not where he could find her. No, she would go to four with their daughter. 

Her daughter would have married some district bum named Ripley, with brown eyes. Those brown eyes mixed with his blue would make the sea green before him. 

Sea green eyes with Lucy Gray's curls. 

His granddaughter. 

One minor lie and Coriolanus Snow had run with his delusions, drowning in the fake scenario of his own creation. Evadine watched in mild amusement as Coriolanus Snow jumped through hoops to fit the pieces together in a way that would fit his narrative. 

Evadine had no real reason to lie. It didn't gain her anything, it didn't add to the game, or her plan to take over. But it was so fun to watch this man crumble over a few well-worded lies. 

"It has been a pleasure dancing with you President Snow." She curtsied allowing the song to end before she made her way back to Finnick's embrace. 

Snow watched as her smile changed from something sharp and false to something real and true and beautiful. She had been on display since she volunteered but it was the first time he had gotten a glimpse of the real Evadine Cyan Ripley. 

Her smile was bright, calming, charming, full of mirth and all the beauty of the world. 

Coriolanus Snow decided she inherited that gorgeous smile from him. 

End of Act I