The Life of A Victor || Finnick Odair

CHAPTER 1

Hey everyone! I just wanted to say that English is not my first language, so you might find some errors. Please let me know if there's anything that could be improved.

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It had finally arrived, the reaping day of the 66th Hunger Games. There was no way of escaping, or so everyone thought.

What good would come from escaping, anyway? Having to fight for survival in the wild for the rest of your days, struggling to get food or discover any traces of freshwater. If you asked anybody, they would tell you that escaping seemed like an extended version of The Hunger Games.

Dove Ogilvy saw it differently; she saw respect, pride, and a dignified death. Not the show the Capitol made of the poor children chosen for the Games.

Fluttering her eyes open, she smelled the freshly cooked District Four's typical salty bread from her room. If she paid attention, she could hear her older sister ordering around everyone.

Dove felt the tension of everyone in the house. She understood. No one wanted to go as much as no one wanted for their loved ones to go. Sadly, at least two families would lose someone today to the games. Her family had accepted that one of the three siblings would take part in this year's games. After all, the Capitol loved when Victor's children became tributes, just like their parents once were.

Muscida Selkirk, one of the District 4 female victors, was one of those unlucky ones. Her son was thrown into the games a long time ago. She had to be his mentor. Unfortunately, her son didn't survive. Dove wondered how someone so broken could act as if nothing was wrong perfectly.

She always studied her mother's once mentor, sometimes without even realising she was doing it. Occasionally, the victor's eyes would drift off to her own thoughts, and her lips would curve into a small smirk. A true smirk; one full of love, compassion, and sometimes sadness. Not one of those which she put on for the Capitol cameras.

"Dove! Are you awake?" She heard her older sister shout from what would probably be the kitchen. Their mum surely had tried to cook breakfast, something she wasn't good at. However, it was weird for her sister to call for her, since their brother took care of the cooking chores.

"Yeah! I am. Need any help?" Apart from the training their mother gave them to prepare them for the games, Dove always felt her sibling's inferior. Even when training, she was as skilled as her siblings. In fact, she could manage the net traps considerably better than them, but she still couldn't do anything else without her siblings trying to protect her from 'overworking' herself.

No response. That's odd. Dove thought. I guess she's too focused on the mess mum must be making.

Without any hurries, she got up from her bed, tying her bushy red hair into what was supposed to be a braid. She stood in front of the mirror for some seconds. Wondering if she was taller, more built up, or chubbier. Perhaps she could win the games.

But, the one in the mirror was no victor. Before her, it stood a pallid-looking kid. She wasn't skinny, nor was she chubby. She was fairly short for a thirteen-year-old, and her long bushy red hair only made her stand out more, making her an easy target. Dove knew she had no chance, not in getting sponsors, nor in overtaking another tribute. The odds were simply not in her favour, but when are they in anybody's favour, anyway?

The door to her room burst open. Dove's eyes glanced from her reflection to the rude intruder, who didn't even care about knocking before disrupting someone's morning of self-hatred.

"Dove, Angel is going crazy in the kitchen about the reaping. Could you come down, please? She usually listens to you," her older brother, Melo, was the intruder. I should have guessed it, thought Dove. No one in her house was as carefree as her brother was.