Finding Finnick

Till Death

The morning of my wedding, I'm more excited than I've ever been in my whole life. The prep team is here, getting me ready. They seem happy to be doing their work again, becuase they're all smiling and chatting animatedly to me and each other. They throw compliment after compliment to me.

"You are going to be the most beautiful bride ever."

"Finnick won't be able to take his eyes off you. No one will."

"I miss being young and beautiful like you!"

"You've got to be the prettiest thing here in District 13!"

I smile and nod, grateful that they're helping me look my best. No one was ever this nice to me back in District 4.

After what seems like forever, the prep team finally finishes. I get into the green dress I got from Katniss; it fits perfectly.

"Now, come look in the mirror!" Octavia bounces up and down on her feet excitedly.

I make my way over to a full body mirror, and what I see is even better than I expected. The prep team worked wonders with my hair, which is soft and shiny and pinned up in an elegant style. They've done my makeup to what they call "Beauty Base Zero." It makes my face look perfect. I turn back to the prep team, who is looking at me expectantly.

"It's more than I ever could have hoped for. Thank you so much," I say.

They say it was no problem at all, and that they enjoyed it. Fifteen minutes later, they're leading me to the front of the door that leads to the room Finnick and I will be getting married in.

"Go in when you hear the music start to play."

"When will that be?" I ask, suddenly nervous. What if I have a flashback in the middle of the wedding? What if Finnick changes his mind?

"Probably in a few minutes," they tell me. I wait for what seems like hours, then I hear a fiddle playing and children starting to sing. The prep team opens the door and ushers me into it. The room is filled with about 300 people, all standing along the edges of the room. The room is decorated to look like autumn, and it's beautiful. Finnick stands in the middle of the room, looking more handsome than ever in a suit. I walk towards him in a daze, not sure if this is really happening.

When I reach Finnick, he holds out his hand to me, and I take it. We look at Dalton, a man from District 10, who will be guiding us through the ceremony. He smiles at us, and we begin. Most of the wedding passes in a blur, from us saying our vows draped in long grass, touching our lips with saltwater, and singing our District's wedding song. It's all traditional in District 4. What I remember the most is this, the part that seems so final:

"Do you, Finnick Odair, take Annie Cresta to be your lawful wedded wife?"

"I do."

"And do you, Annie  Cresta, take Finnick Odair to be your lawful wedded husband?"

"I do."

"Do you take each other, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness, in health, to love and cherish, till death do you part?"

"I do," We say together.

"You may kiss," Dalton says with a smile.

Finnick takes my face into his hands and leans down for the kiss. It's long and lingering; we wrap our arms around each other tight and kiss until someone clears their throat. We break apart, everyone laughing. The fiddler starts to play his instrument and before I know it, the whole room is dancing. Finnick and I spin around the room together, various strangers congratulating us. We dance until we're both our of breath, then we sit down at a table.

Our wedding cake is brought into the room. It's the biggest cake I've ever seen, with blue waves made of icing along with little icing fish, boats, seals, and flowers. It's beautiful, so beautiful that I don't want to eat it. However, I have some anyway, feeling like I'm destroying a piece of artwork as I go. I can't help but wonder who here decorated the cake, who is that talented?

"I still can't believe this is happening," Finnick says, interrupting my thoughts. "I've dreamed about it for so long."

"I never thought I would get to spend my  life with you Finnick, now I can't wait to get started."

"We'll have a family," Finnick says without any hesitation.

"I would love to, but I don't think I could bring any child into a world like this. Not until this war is over, not until the Hunger Games are gone for good," I say. I can't condemn a child to this cruel world. It would be inhumane, and I don't think either of us would be able to stand seeing one of our children going off to an arena to fight to the death.

Finnick nods. "I understand. We should wait. For now, we have each other, and that's good enough for me. We'll be together till death do us part."

"Till death do us part," I agree.