The Heiress {Finnick Odair}

Defend Yourself

Finnick spent the rest of the games watching the boy from Five. His name turned out to be Ezra, and he mostly kept to himself. He spent most of his games avoiding being killed or doing any killing.

Amara was just as sucked into the Games as Finnick was. Like him, she was rooting for Ezra, and watched his every move. The two of them didn't seem to move from her couch for the remaining three days.

They ate when food magically appeared on the table (Finnick was pretty sure her parents had something to do with it), and only really looked away from the screen to talk to each other. Celeste came and went with a small smile whenever she saw Finnick. If she had any issue with the two of them spending time together, she didn't say anything.

Finnick won over Edwin and Astrid very easily. They were Capitol elite and were thrilled to have the young victor in their home. Amara was just happy they didn't mention her lack of friends to him.

Finnick and Amara fell asleep on the couch every night and woke up ready to watch the games the next day. They played a few board games and chatted when nothing was happening on screen, and waited for the final battle they both knew was coming.

As they sat there lying on the couch, both thankful that Ezra and Ace (the boy from One) were on opposite sides of the arena, Amara remembered Finnick's comment about sponsorship. She glanced over at him. His eyes were red from how much he'd been staring at the screen.

"Finnick?" she asked, pulling his attention away from the monitor. He turned to her, rubbing his eyes as he did so. "How does sponsorship work?"

He blinked, surprised by the question.

"The Capitol, or on rare occasions, the districts, can send in gifts they think the tribute would need to survive. Last year, someone sent me a trident and it's considered the most expensive gift to ever be sent."

"Do you know who sent it?" she asked. Finnick shook his head.

"It wasn't signed. Sometimes there's a note, but there usually isn't. It goes through the mentor so if a sponsor wants to remain anonymous, they can."

Amara nodded thoughtfully and turned back to the screen, watching as Ezra began to nod off and Ace started walking in his direction.

"Ezra has made it through this entire thing without killing anyone," Amara noted, and Finnick nodded. "He doesn't even have any weapons. As soon as Ace finds him, Ezra's dead."

Eventually, it became apparent it would not be a final battle, but a final hunt.

At one point, Amara disappeared to talk to the guard Finnick noticed was always stationed outside her door, but Finnick was glued to the screen. Ezra had to win. Ace was a killer who slaughtered fourteen of the tributes by himself, but Ezra had to win. Someone as pure as him shouldn't have to die in that arena.

"Come on, kid," he said, leaning forward as he stared intently at the screen.

Amara plopped down on the couch as Finnick's knee started bouncing up and down. They were on opposite sides of the arena, but Ezra was getting closer. If he continued in this direction, he would be dead within the hour.

Panem watched as Ace moved closer and closer to where Ezra was sleeping.

They collectively held their breath when Ace turned in a different direction to look for Ezra, but then something happened that changed everything.

Ting.

Ting.

Ting.

The little parachute glided down toward Ezra.

"No no no," Finnick muttered. It sailed right over Ace's head. With a malicious grin, he followed it.

Ezra was stirred from his sleep right as the parachute landed next to him.

He stood, grabbing the parachute that hung from the branches.

"C'mon," Amara said, watching as Ace started running toward Ezra, sword in hand.

Ezra grabbed the package. It was significantly larger than any of the gifts he'd seen.

He opened it.

Inside, there was a single note: DEFEND YOURSELF.

Ezra heard Ace just in time to dive out of the way, taking the package with him. He ripped the rest of it open and pulled out the long sword just in time to block Ace's attack.

"Yes!" Finnick and Amara screamed as they leapt up from the couch. Amara grabbed onto Finnick's hand as she watched the two tributes circle each other.

Ezra might have an aversion to killing the other tributes, but he had a knack for staying alive. It was amazing how resilient he became when he was in survival mode.

They watched as Ezra blocked each jab and swipe. Only one of them was going to make it out of this alive.

"I don't know if I can watch this," Amara muttered. Her hand tightened on Finnick's, but she still couldn't look away, no matter how badly she wanted to.

Then, Ezra did something no one expected. When Ace charged forward, Ezra took a step to the side, and kicked him in the back. Ace stumbled into a tree, and Ezra took the moment of instability to shove his sword right through Ace's back.

Ace managed to push himself away from the tree, and turn to look at Ezra.

"We have a victor," he said before coughing. Blood dribbled out of his mouth, and Ezra took a horrified step back.

Ace fell to his knees and smiled up at Ezra one last time before falling to the ground.

The cannon went off just as Ezra turned and ran toward a tree, heaving over the side of it. Amara and Finnick both flinched, but Finnick understood. He wanted to do the exact same thing when he won.

As soon as he was done, he walked over to Ace and yanked the sword out of his back. He slowly turned and walked back toward where the package fell.

"Ladies and Gentleman," the regular voice announced, "the winner of the 66th Hunger Games."

Finnick and Amara cheered. She turned toward him and gave him a massive hug as the two jumped up and down. From the kitchen, Astrid and Edwin laughed as they watched.

They could hear the screaming and celebrations of the Capitol in the streets even from where they were.

However, the show didn't seem to end like it normally did, and things seemed to quiet down when everyone noticed that something caught Ezra's eye. He leaned down and picked up the note.

Everyone craned their necks as the gamemakers zoomed in on the note.

DEFEND YOURSELF
- THE HEIRESS

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And we get to meet the Heiress! I hope you liked the extra chapter. Merry Christmas!