chapter 2

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[act two; chapter two     -     invisible string]











    The train is cold, she finds. They are secluded, pushed into the back. By their own choice, of course. That doesn't excuse the isolation that she knows lingers like a bad smell.

    Finnick sits across from her on another chair. He is leant back against it, one leg crossed over the other, arms over his chest. He is watching the world pass by them outside of the windows. He watches what could possibly be his last glimpse at reality as it fades into the past, zipped away by the present.

    Leda watches him. Observes him. Admires the curves of his jaw, the sharp yet soft lines. His gentle eyes. His hands, which grip the fabric of his sweater.

    She wishes to cross the space between them, to curl up next to him, to feel his hands in her own; to hear his heart in her ear. To know that he is, without a doubt, alive and real.

    As if he can sense her eyes on him, he turns his head. It falls just slightly to his shoulder, lips pulling up in a smile that is saved—only ever—for her. Just as he goes to speak, the door to the train car slides open, its mechanical whir the only sound to be heard aside from the sound of the train.

    Maxime entered, changed into attire more fit for the world of the Capitol. He sat on a chair, legs crossed perfectly. He looked between the two of them, then, and smiled. It wasn't his "tv smile" as Leda had dubbed it. It was a genuine one. The one that told them both of the grief he constantly hid.

    He looked between them both once again and pointed a finger. "You know what you have to do?"

    They both nodded. They were seasoned, more so than the recent victors. Leda and Finnick had played this game for a decade. People within the districts and Capitol could say whatever they wanted, view them how they wished. But Leda and Finnick would know. So would Cashmere. So would every other victor who had been unwilling pawns in Snow's game.

    But this year would be different. It would not be just as it had been in the years prior. It would not be Career versus civilian. Now it would be victor against victor. Trained killer against trained killer.

    Everything had changed.






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