"Dahlia Blossom. Don't let the name fool you. She's better known as the Black Dahlia. And she didn't earn that nickname by smiling and looking pretty."
"She sure knows how to perform for the camera."
"Because she knows how to play the game. She alwa...
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Finnick was the first of the rescued tributes to wake up, his injuries being the least severe of the group. Haymitch had been there to greet him, quickly ushering him out of the room before he could notice that there were only two other tributes with him. His mind was still hazy from the explosion as Haymitch officially introduced him to Plutarch Heavensbee. Then the question both men had been dreading left his lips.
"Where's Lia?" He asks weakly, desperate to be reunited with her now that they were free of the Capitol. Haymitch and Plutarch exchanged nervous stares, neither wanting to be the one who had to break the news. The tense silence filling the room makes Finnick's heart rate spike in panic, glancing back and forth between the two men for an answer. "Where is she?"
"Finnick..." Haymitch begins before cutting himself off with a sigh of dismay, rubbing one hand over his face wearily. "She still had her tracker."
Those words were all he needed to hear to confirm Finnick's worst fear. They had left her behind in the clutches of the Capitol to face the twisted wrath of Snow. Shaking his head in horrified denial, tears immediately sprung to his eyes as he pulls away from the table.
"No." He mutters faintly, backing away from the two men like he'd just been burned. "No! Tell me you didn't leave her there! Tell me you didn't just abandon her!"
"Finnick," This time it was Plutarch who spoke up, his voice soft and compassionate towards the distressed Victor. "You have to understand that it wasn't our choice. We couldn't put the entire revolution at risk just for one girl."
"No, you'd just have all the Victors give their lives for one." Finnick scoffs incredulously, pointing out the hypocrisy behind Plutarch's words. The tributes of the Alliance had risked everything for Katniss (none more so than Dahlia) under the belief that their sacrifices could be rewarded with freedom.
"The Black Dahlia was a liability to our cause." Plutarch reasons calmly as Finnick's panic slowly morphs into anger. "Her sanity was questionable and her loyalties unclear."
"You left her behind because you think she's mad?" Finnick spits out venomously, fists clenching at his side as he hears the slander being spouted about Dahlia. "She fought harder than anyone to get Katniss out alive. She's the only reason any of the other tributes agreed to join. Does that not prove where her loyalties lied?"
"Alaric was the one who insisted she be brought into the Alliance." Plutarch tried to argue, Hamitch's head hanging low at the mention of his fallen friend. "I trusted his judgement, but I don't trust her."
"She's a good person." Finnick retaliates fiercely, glaring harshly at the man who didn't deserve Dahlia's trust. "She only did what she needed to do to survive, like all tributes do."
"Don't make excuses for her. Dahlia was a heartless, cold-blooded killer and that's all she'll ever be. We don't need someone like that in our ranks." Plutarch states sternly, not hesitating to let Finnick know the exact reason they didn't want her presence. Evidently, this was the wrong thing to say.
