He’s going to be sick I groaned internally. Finch and I had been trying for fifteen minutes to navigate a drunken Elliott down the street, his arms lazily slung around our shoulders. It was a nightmare. That’s not even mentioning the problems we’d had getting him out the Birthday Bar. We’d had to wait at least ten minutes whilst Elliott embraced all his new Capitol friends, all equally as drunk as he was. I have to admit, his affectionate attitude unnerved me a little. He sung merrily at first, skipping down the streets, wobbling on his heeled shoes, but the cold wind was sobering him up. He turned a sickly green colour and slowed down, practically to a shuffle. Then he groaned a little and Finch discretely diverted him to the side of the street where he was violently sick all over his shoes. I wrinkled my nose. Finch was a little more sympathetic, at least. He patted Elliott’s padded shoulder awkwardly while Elliott wiped his mouth.

 “Not far now, kid,” Finch said, blue lips stretched into a garish grin. I hate his accent.

 We managed to get Elliott back to the hovercraft in one piece (the same could not be said for his shoes. One of the heels had snapped clean off.) One of the pilots helped me get him on board and undress him, putting him in pyjamas and tucking him in bed. I watched him sleep for a moment, almost fondly. Elliott was always nicer asleep than awake. As I stood to leave him in peace I caught the pilot glaring at me. I knew what he was thinking. He didn’t want Finch there. I scowled back.

 “He’s coming whether you like it or not,” I said bluntly “Remember who is in charge here.”

 The pilot said nothing, but I wasn’t waiting for an answer anyway. I stormed away to find Finch, who I’d left in the entrance to the hovercraft. To be fair to the pilot, I couldn’t expect him to trust Finch. I didn’t trust him myself. Not yet. He was one of them no matter how different he seemed. But when I caught him looking out the window at the Capitol, something inside me softened.  He was smiling, but his glass eyes were filled with tears. He realised I was there and blinked them away. I stood awkwardly, wondering if I should say something.

 “I’m fine,” Finch insisted, though I hadn’t questioned him. He could clearly tell I was worried for him. “I just…I’ll miss this place. It’s home, no matter what. I…I didn’t have a chance to say goodbye. To the city, my father. My life. Everything…it all happened so fast.””

 I shifted uncomfortably, staring at the ground.

 “You…you can go back. I mean, if you like.”

 Finch tore his eyes away from the city for a moment, mouth gaping slightly “Huh? Are you trying to get me to change my mind? To go back? I thought we had a deal.”

 “No! No, I…the others aren’t due back until morning. You…you have time. I’ll wait for you, I promise.”

 Finch looked at a loss for words.

 “I…I don’t know what to say.”

 “Then don’t say anything. Go on. Go. I won’t refuse you your last night at home.”

 Finch smiled. He approached me and lifted my hand to his mouth. A Capitol tradition, I supposed. I decided I liked it. There were tingles on my spine and his lips were soft. He left a blue lip print on my hand and a flutter in my stomach.

 “You’ve done me another kindness,” Finch said. His fingers still clasped mine “Would you accompany me? My last night here shouldn’t be spent alone.”

 I hesitated. I didn’t really want to leave Elliott on his own on the hovercraft. But then I realised how foul a mood he’d be in when he woke up. Plus, I could keep an eye on Finch, find out more about him. And I never could resist the prospect of exploring somewhere new. I nodded.

“Yes. Fine. OK.”

 Finch grinned as we headed towards the door of the hovercraft, practically bouncing with excitement. He didn’t let go of my hand and I didn’t pull away.

***

 “This will be the best night of your life, I promise!” Finch exclaimed. I nodded solemnly, already regretting agreeing to go with him. The music in the streets was so loud that it pounded through my skull like a heartbeat in my ears. We were still in the poshest parts of town, but if you looked down the alleyways, you could see a different side to the city. A bunch of seedy clubs and bars. I hoped we wouldn’t be going there. But Finch clearly had a different idea of fun to me.

 “Where are we going?” I asked as he dragged me into a huge white building, made of giant pillars and a dome resting on the top.

 “The bank. I’m emptying my account! Nights like this don’t come cheap, honey.”

 Honey? Echk.

 Inside the bank, I waited while Finch got his money. It took a long time, while the man at the marble desk filled a bag with the star shaped coins. Finch is rich I noted. I don’t care what they say, he could buy happiness with all that. And yet he wants to leave.

 “First stop,” he said “A tour of the city for the lady!”

 I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. I could tell he was trying to wind me up, but he smiled to let me know he was only messing about. I followed him out into the streets again and he led me to somewhere I’d only seen on television. The Training Building seemed odd then, knowing that so many tributes had been trained there, and now Katniss Everdeen had changed the Games forever. I wondered whether they’d continue. Will the war be won by the next Hunger Games season? And by which side? I could see the stands where the Capitol people crowded only a few weeks before to watch Katniss Everdeen and her fellow tributes in the chariot parade. A few citizens were milling about, taking photos.

 “I don’t want to go here,” I told Finch “I don’t want to visit anything to do with the Games.”

 “We’re not staying. I’ve got a plan,” Finch said. There was an information desk and Finch requested a chariot tour of the city.

 “Which District chariot would you like to ride in?” the man at the desk asked us. Before Finch could answer, I told him we wanted District 10. My mother’s home District. The man at the desk looked a little surprised. It obviously wasn’t a very popular choice. Finch handed over some money and we were led into the stables where the horses resided. Our chariot was pulled by huge muscled horses the colour of coal. I climbed aboard before helping Finch up, and we took a seat. This is where Mother would have stood I thought. I wondered how she’d felt as she stood there, waiting to face the Capitol for the first time. Was she scared? Probably. Did she hate it? Definitely.

 Finch took hold of the reigns and set the horses moving. He’d clearly done this before, but the horses knew where they were going too. They paraded us around the path of the tributes first before heading out into the city streets. I couldn’t help feeling in awe of the tall buildings, a mix of coloured glass and marble and pristine white brick. I wasn’t used to the towering heights they brought. I was used to being tall in my world, where my home lay beneath my feet, not above my head. It made me dizzy to look. Finch looked pleased with himself, realising his idea had gone down a treat.

 “This is only the beginning,” he whispered, grinning “We’re going to see it all.”

  There were marked stops for chariot riders along the way where you could stop and browse the stores and restaurants for a while. There was a shop dedicated entirely to chocolate, where you could buy a miniature chocolate figure of yourself. I thought it was just about the most pointless thing I could think of, but Finch ordered one of us both. We had a scan taken and the machine set to work creating a detailed miniature of each of us. While we waited, we looked in the other shops, admiring the fancy Capitol furniture and the delicate trinkets sold in a dainty little shop called Memories. There was a shop dedicated to tribute merchandise. It was divided into twelve sections, one for each of the Districts. I saw the autobiography of Finnick Odair, false teeth similar to those of Enobaria from District 2, a poster of Riley Swan from District 7 (she didn’t win, but she remained well loved by the Capitol long after her death.) I even found a t-shirt with my mother’s face on it. Amused, I bought it to take home for her. I thought she’d find it funny too.

 In another shop, Finch caught me admiring a necklace, made of brown wooden beads with a wooden Mockingjay attached to the end. I was surprised to find it in the Capitol, especially with the Mockingjay being a symbol of rebellion now. I didn’t have enough to pay for it, though, and so I left it. But when Finch and I returned to the chariot, chocolate figures finished and bagged up, he produced the necklace from his pocket shyly.

 “To say thank you. For taking me with you,” he said, moving my hair to attach it around my neck.

 “Isn’t this thanks enough? This night?”

 “This night is another favour for me, not a thank you, and you know it,” Finch said, clasping the necklace at the back. I could feel his warm, sweet breath on my neck “I’ll never stop thanking you,” he said softly.

 We proceeded through the city and I saw all the famous places, all the places I’d seen on television. I saw Capitol citizen’s housing, as Finch led us down a small street. Colourful silk curtains draped artfully out the open windows of the white houses, and I could hear someone singing in the shower. Finch brought the chariot to a stop outside a house. Number forty-six.

 “Would you mind? If I went to say goodbye to my father?” he asked.

 “Of course not. Can I meet him?” I asked. I wanted to meet anyone that had been close to my mother.

 “If you like.”

 He dug keys from in his pockets and we entered the house. It was quite small, but ornate, all shiny wooden flooring and white walls. Finch led me through several rooms to a studio where a man sat, his back turned, painting on a canvas. My breath caught in my throat. The painting looked like me. It took me a moment to realise the man was painting my mother. This must be Eli. His hair was a vibrant green, and when he turned, I could see his skin had suffered years of surgeries and modifications. His skin was pasty. I could see Finch admiring the painting. I hoped my makeup would be enough to hide the fact that I looked a lot like the painting. I wasn’t ready to tell Finch who I was. But when Eli saw me, I knew he’d worked it out. He smiled, his mouth barely able to move it was so stiff, his skin stretched out over his bones.

 “Finch. You brought a friend,” he said, his voice fruity, but quiet.

 “This is Karissa,” Finch said “She’s here to take me. Back to 13. She’s promised.”

 Eli’s eyes widened. He stood, tottering on his heels and examined me closely, his hands touching my face. After a while, he kissed both my cheeks.

 “You must collect your things!” he told Finch “Remember the clothes I found you? They won’t like your clothes in District 13!”

 “Yes, Father,” Finch said, smiling. He scurried from the room and I heard him stumbling up the stairs. I was left alone with Eli, who smiled at me.

 “Don’t worry. I won’t tell him. You can tell him Raven’s your mother in your own time,” he said quietly. “I do love to paint your mother. Because she’s often forgotten here in the Capitol. You know the President tried to have most evidence she’d ever existed destroyed. She was an embarrassment for him. So I paint her to remember.”

 “You painted her beautifully,” I said truthfully.

 “Well, she’s beautiful. As are you, dear. You look just like her. Have you any other siblings?”

 “Two,” I said “My brother Elliott. And my sister died in childbirth.”

 “How sad, how sad,” Eli said. He dabbed his eyes and laughed a little, looking overwhelmed “Elliott. I wonder whether your mother had me in mind when she chose that name.”

 I smiled. I felt as though I knew the man, though we’d never met. We were connected. Connected through my mother.

 “I do wish I could have come to 13. I wish I could come now. To see your mother, one last time,” Eli said.

 “You can. I can take you,” I said.

 “No, no, child. I have a wife. I have to stay with her. I don’t belong here, but I belong here more than in the Districts. It’s too late for me to change. But not for Finch. I want you to take good care of him for me, Karissa. You promise me?”

 “I will. You have my word,” I said. Eli smiled tightly, and kissed my head.

 “You are a true Verona,” he said. I blushed. I knew he was attempting to pay me the highest of compliments.

 Finch returned then, his belongings packed in a small rucksack. I supposed a suitcase would look a little conspicuous. All traces of his smile were gone as he slung it over his shoulder. His lip quivered.

 “Come here, son,” Eli said softly, folding Finch into his arms. I couldn’t look then as I heard Finch let out a sob, and Eli’s soothing shushes. They knew they’d probably never see each other again. I fought back tears of my own, swallowing them back.

 Eventually, they silently unlocked from their embrace. They didn’t say anything more to one another, Finch turning his back.

 “Come, Karissa,” he said, walking away. I turned to follow him, but felt something being slipped into my hand. An envelope.

 “For Raven,” Eli said quietly. I nodded and saluted him respectfully, before leaving him behind to deal with his grief.

 Finch was already seated solemnly in the chariot when I got outside, staring blankly ahead. I got in next to him, wondering if I should say something. The sky was dark now. Night was dawning. Finch stared up at the sky, taking in the stars.

 “At least the stars shall stay the same, wherever I may go,” he said quietly. Then he smiled “Time to move on, Karissa. The night is only just begun.”

***

  We did it all. We drank from the best bars in town (or rather, Finch did. I pretended to. I wanted my wits about me) saw every inch of the city, illuminated in colourful lights as the night dragged on. We browsed all the shops, sampled all the foods. We rode on a rollercoaster, a fantastic ride where you sit in a cart and it goes as fast as the Capitol trains. It was built so that it dipped in and out of various buildings, and people at parties waved to you as you went past. It makes your stomach lurch and your head swim, but I thought it was fantastic. We went on it three times.

 But there was a darker side to the city. And I only saw it when I looked hard enough. I saw a beggar on the street, dressed like any Capitol person, yet his makeup was streaked across his face, hands cupped out in front of him, yearning for any money people had to offer. When I asked him what it was for, he said he’d run out of clothes funding. It seemed so stupid, yet it hurt to leave him there. I gave him a few of my star coins when Finch wasn’t looking.

 In a bar, I saw a woman edging up to all the men, talking with them, and then shuffling away. It was only when a man gave her some money and took her hand, leading her away, that I realised she was selling herself. I wondered if she, like the beggar on the street, had spent all her money on so many luxuries, she had to sell her body to waste even more money. It sickened me, but it also made me sad. It seemed the Capitol wasn’t as glamorous as it first appeared.

 I was glad to get out of there in the end. The sun began to rise and we headed back to the hovercraft. And this time, Finch was satisfied. He was ready to go. No tears were shed as he got aboard the hovercraft. The others glared at him questioningly, but I wasn’t in the mood to talk about Finch with them. I offered him my bed and he shook his head.

 “What about you?” he’d said.

 “Oh, don’t worry. I won’t be sleeping,” I told him. And it was true. After all that, I still didn’t trust him. And there was no way I was taking my eyes off him until we got back to District 13.

Hey everyone! I know not much happens in this chapter, I just wanted to explore the Capitol a bit more. I hope you liked it!