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MY LITTLE DOVE.

epilogue. 

tigris's shop / the president's rose garden, 2313.

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IRONICALLY, THE ONE THING Dorothy hated was snow. She hated how the coldness made her feel so weak, hated how it made her shiver. Even now as she strode down the packed street that was filled with refugees. They all moved so slowly and it took a lot of self-control to not push them all at once.

Tigris's shop was only around the corner, but since the streets were filled with slow walking people, it took longer than it did to get there and Dorothy had no patience. Even after sixty-five years, Dorothy had no patience. Sixty-five years. That made Dorothy sound old. Well, she was nearly eighty-four.

But for nearly eighty-four, Dorothy could move much quicker than the people in-front of her. Sick of their slowness, she charged through and finally ended up at Tigris's shop. Furry underwear. Not the best look, but it was about as good Dorothy's cousin could do. Well, she was a stylist in the Games, but of course, he had to ruin it. 

"Tigris!" Dorothy called out, shaking the snow off her cloak. "God, it's freezing out there. Packed with people. Obviously, none of them can move fast."

"We have visitors," Tigris immediately said as she appeared out of the shadows. In her youth, Tigris (in Dorothy's mind) was always so beautiful with her golden brown eyes and clear skin. Now, with the influence of plastic surgery, she did not look like the old Tigris. This new one was plagued with old age, but she had her face stretched back and was tattooed all over with black and gold tiger stripes. Her nose was flattened, looking like a snout whilst she had implanted whiskers in. And a tail. In conclusion, she did not look like the Tigris Dorothy grew up with.

"What kind of visitors?" Dorothy asked as she shrugged her outerwear off. 

"Visitors that won't like you."

"No-one likes me, Tigris." Dorothy sighed as she began to move down to where the basement was. "I'll be up in a second, I just need to get something from down here."

"Dottie—"

"Yes, yes, I know." Dorothy waved her hand. "I'll try and not bang my head like last time."

Dorothy mumbled to herself as she began to walk down the stairs, reaching out for the hanging chain. When she pulled it, the lights flickered on and she had to stifle her scream when she saw five figures sitting down on pelts. And at her sudden arrival, a woman picked up a bow, aiming it at her. Of course, Dorothy thought to herself. Of course Tigris would look after these lot. Probably Plutarch's doing. Sometimes, Dorothy did miss Hilarius.

"Oh, goodness," Dorothy grumbled as she eyed Katniss Everdeen. "I'm assuming these are the visitors you're talking about, Tigris?" She did not answer. "Well, hello."

"Who are you?" Katniss Everdeen demanded. The other four, Dorothy did not know. Well, except Peeta Mellark. He reminded her of someone. 

"Oh, of course you don't know who I am," Dorothy told her. It was true. After what happened, Dorothy Snow went invisible and soon, she became a lost face in history, a forgotten name. Of course, her brother moved to become something great, not that Dorothy was jealous. The president of Panem. He really outdid himself this time.

"Who are you?" A male man repeated the exact words. He looked like the male version of Katniss. 

"More specifically," Dorothy began. "Who are you? Except you two." She gestured to Katniss and Peeta. "I know who you are."

"Cressida," a woman with a bald head said. "I know you..."

"I highly doubt that."

"No, I remember Plutarch mentioning you," Cressida said. "I remember him saying something about a woman living with Tigris... I don't remember your name."

"She's with Plutarch?" Katniss asked. 

"I wouldn't say I'm with Plutarch." Dorothy sighed. "I just knew a family member of his, brought us together. Hilarius Heavensbee. God, do I miss him sometimes."

"Well, this is Gale." Cressida pointed to the man that looked identical to Katniss. "And this is Pollux."

"Nice to meet you." Dorothy nodded at them. Pollux gave her a nod and Dorothy had met many Avoxes in her life to know that he was one.

"Now, who are you?" Katniss demanded again.

"If I tell you," Dorothy muttered. "You won't like it."

"Dorothy Snow."

Peeta studied Dorothy, his eyes looking exhausted as everyone raised their weapons, aiming it right at Dorothy's heart. At this, she sighed. In the past, she would be praised for having the Snow name. Today, she would be killed. 

"Snow?" Katniss growled. "You're related to Snow?"

Dorothy shrugged as she said, "Apparently... how did you know me, Peeta?"

"I heard Snow mention your name back when I was in the Capitol," he explained. "He mentioned his sister... Dorothy Snow."

"Coriolanus still talks about me?" Dorothy scoffed. "We ended things years ago. Well, more like I left, but still. We haven't spoken in decades."

"Wait, Snow has a sister?" Gale asked, his gun still raised at Dorothy.

"Twin, actually," Dorothy said. At this, their weapons tensed even more. "Oh, goodness. Tigris! Are you going to come down and save me from getting shot or what?"

"I'm right here," Tigris purred as she descended the steps, her tail  flicking behind her. Dorothy could never get used to that thing. "Don't worry, she's with me."

"How can we trust her?" Gale snapped. "She's a Snow. His sister. She's probably gone to tell him where we are."

"I can confirm me and Coriolanus haven't spoken in decades, like I said." Dorothy sighed. "Whatever my brother has done, I have had no part in it. Willingly."

"How can we trust what you say?" Katniss asked her.

"Go call up your little Plutarch," Dorothy said. "He'll vouch for me."

"He doesn't have to," Peeta mumbled. "I heard Snow saying that you two haven't spoken in years... that it was a shame you weren't by his side."

"Did he really say that?" Dorothy asked and when Peeta nodded, she added, "Goodness..."

"Wait." Katniss held up her hand. "How come you're in here and he's the president? I mean, no-one knows who you are."

"And that was on purpose, dear." Dorothy sighed. "Long ago, I was eighteen and in love. But the aftermath of the war and the Hunger Games wouldn't allow such things and so the man I loved died. And I loved him dearly and I couldn't move on, so I disappeared. Coriolanus, on the other hand, moved up in the ranks of society. He was power-hungry, much like I was, but Sejanus taught me otherwise."

"You, power-hungry?" Cressida asked.

"Oh, yes." Dorothy nodded. "I was young and wanted everything. And children have a way of thinking everything is possible. I was also the creator of many terrible things... you're beloved Tribute Parades, and your stylists, and prep teams, and escorts... those were my ideas."

"But you weren't credited for it?" Katniss asked.

"Oh, no, I was offered to be credited," Dorothy told her. "But I didn't want to be. Of course, it was all theoretical, I never really intended for such a thing to be created. I hated myself for thinking of cosmetic torture. But it did get you a job, Tigris, so..."

"Before I got banned."

"Well, yes," Dorothy said. "But I suppose all friendships go sour towards the end."

"Peeta?" Katniss turned her head to the boy. "Do you trust her?"

Peeta blinked at Katniss and then at Dorothy. "I don't know her, but Snow holds you in low regards. That's enough for me to trust you."

And so, somehow, the five of them began to trust Dorothy. It seemed easy, in her opinion. There should have been screaming matches and attacks because Dorothy knew the torture her brother had put them through. But they didn't. They just accepted it and moved on like the adults they were forced to become. 

This was how Dorothy found herself in the president mansion. She had visited the mansion before when Coriolanus had first been deemed as president and whilst she hadn't lived in the place for decades, the memory didn't escape her. As Dorothy stood in its halls, everything came washing back to her. The screaming matches between her and Coriolanus. The tears that were spilled. The blood. The poison. 

Whilst no-one could find the source of the poison, Finnick Odair had claimed it to come from Coriolanus. It wasn't above him taking life, for he had killed Bobbin all those years ago. But then Dorothy would remember the victims of poison. Festus Creed. One of Dorothy's closest friends. He had climbed the ranks and was Coriolanus's right hand considering they were best friends. But Festus got too powerful, too close. The poison had been perfectly placed that even the morgue couldn't determine Festus's cause of death. But Dorothy knew that silver trickle that escaped his mouth that night. It had come out of Wovey's. And then Livia. But no-one cared for Livia, even when she had married Coriolanus. And whilst Dorothy should have been enraged by this, she knew her brother saw Livia as nothing but an accessory.

But poison didn't shock Dorothy, really. Poison was used by Lucy Gray, no wonder he would keep a little bit of her close. Or maybe it was easier. Either way, it didn't shock her. But there was one little question that was in the back of her mind. A little question that could change everything. A question that would leave Dorothy destroyed.

"He's in the greenhouse," Plutarch Heavensbee told Dorothy, walking up beside her. "If you want to talk to him."

"Of course I do, Plutarch." Dorothy sighed. "But what do I say? We haven't spoken in decades."

"Well, you start with the simple greeting." Plutarch chuckled. "Saying hello would be nice."

Dorothy gazed into Plutarch's eyes before saying, "Hilarius would have loved you."

"After all these years, I still don't know who Hilarius is."

"Maybe that's a good thing," Dorothy said. "He would have been offended at that."

As Plutarch shook his head, Dorothy gripped the purse that was in her hands. She didn't intend to stay long. She would see Coriolanus and then hurry home to Tigris, who had displayed displeasure at seeing her cousin once more. And whilst Dorothy knew she was right in that her Coryo would never come back, she still wanted that little question answered. And so, she took a big leap of faith and walked down the steps in the back garden of the mansion, heading towards the greenhouse. The intoxicating smell of roses filled her nose. They smelt nothing like the late Grandma'am's.

"Dottie."

Dorothy nearly puked as she entered the greenhouse and also nearly fainting as she saw her brother turn a corner, smiling sickly at her. He definitely didn't look like what he did all those years ago. His curly hair was tamed and his athletic build sagged in old age. He resembled an old man whilst Dorothy resembled an old woman. They were both old and so much time had passed since their last meeting.

"Coriolanus." Dorothy nodded. It had been decades. "You look well."

"Yes, considering the state I'm in." Coriolanus smiled as he sat down on a bench slowly, patting to the empty space next to him. "Come, sit."

"I'd rather not," Dorothy said. "I'm not staying long."

"You won't even spare a few minutes of your life for your twin brother?" Coriolanus teased. "How is your life? I haven't seen you in decades, Dottie."

"Well, there is a reason to that," Dorothy mumbled. "I'm doing fine. So is Tigris, if you care. She owns a fuzzy underwear shop now, such a trend."

"A big difference between a stylist in the Hunger Games and an owner of a fuzzy underwear shop."

"Oh, and who's fault is that?" Dorothy snapped. "You banned her, Coriolanus. She was your cousin, the one thing that kept you and me going during our youth and you tossed her away."

"Have you seen what she's become? She was never beautiful when we were younger, but I much prefer her back then to now," Coriolanus said. When he saw her face, he added, "Let's talk, Dottie. Like we used to do all those years ago."

"What's wrong with you? You're never the one to look back on the past," Dorothy asked. "And I can't have a conversation with you without being reminded what you've become. You killed people, Coriolanus."

"That you knew," Coriolanus said. "You watched me kill that boy all those years ago. You know I've killed people."

"Not just people! Our friends!" Dorothy cried. "Festus. Livia. And I know you were the one to kill Dean Highbottom." His face morphed into that of confusion. "Don't act innocent. I may look old, but my memory is not. I remember you looking down the alleyway of Pluribus's nightclub where rat poison lay and you had just visited Dean Highbottom."

"Dr Gaul wasn't wrong when she said you were smart."

"Well, she's dead now so it doesn't matter what she says," Dorothy said. "But there is a reason why I came here, Coriolanus. There's been a little question at the back of my head ever since it happened. Ever since Festus died. Ever since Livia died. Ever since Dean Highbottom. Ever since that Finnick boy called you out."

"What's the question, Dottie?"

Dorothy felt tears run down her cheek. It was so long ago and yet it still effected her. Of course it would, she loved him, loved him more than anything. And the fact that her brother may have been the cause of their parting was enough to break her. "Did you kill Sejanus?"

The question seemed to shock Coriolanus as he looked taken aback. Of course he would. He figured Dorothy had forgotten about the love of her life after sixty-five years. But she hadn't. She could never forget Sejanus Plinth. Or Sabyn Peterson. The duo haunted her dreams.

"Why do you ask now?" Coriolanus said slowly.

"Because I need to know," Dorothy told him. "I need to know before my dying breath. I need to know the truth about his death. Too long I've been kept in the dark."

"He died because he was a traitor. It is not my fault you fell in love with a rebel—"

"Answer the question."

Coriolanus went silent as he looked at his sister, his sister who was pleading to know the truth. Too long she had been kept in the dark and whilst the question had caused many sleepless nights, now she needed to know. "I didn't know it would kill him."

"Oh..." Dorothy felt faint as her knees went weak. Coriolanus had killed Sejanus. Her brother had killed her lover. He was the reason. And whilst the death of Festus and Livia destroyed her, this was another feeling she couldn't explain. Her heart was shattered. "Tell me how."

"Well, you know how Sejanus was always open with his thoughts," Coriolanus began to say, eyebrows furrowed as he looked down at the ground. "I was in the lab with a jabberjay and you know how they record... well, Sejanus was talking about some rebel plan he was in on. And I got scared. If I heard the plan, I was as good as the rebels themselves. Therefore, I pressed record on the jabberjay and it got sent to Dr Gaul. They caught him and executed him for treason."

"Is that it?"

"Yes," Coriolanus said. "But, Dottie, you must know I felt so guilty—"

"I don't want to hear it." Dorothy's voice trembled as her body shook, a sob escaping from her throat. "I don't want to hear it."

"No, you must," Coriolanus begged, standing up and reaching out for her hands. She took multiple steps back. "I'm so sorry, Dottie. I wouldn't have done it if I knew how much pain it would cause you... I'm really sorry, Dottie."

As Dorothy looked up, she saw tears glistening in her brother's eyes. And whilst any person would have said he was lying, trying to slither his way into her heart again, Dorothy knew they were wrong. Dorothy had been by his side since birth until their feud. She had seen him in his highest and lowest. She knew when he was lying and this was not an example of this. 

"I know," Dorothy muttered. "But that doesn't mean I can forgive you."

"Dottie—"

"Don't Dottie me!" Dorothy sobbed. "You do not get to call me that after all you have done! You have murdered my friends and family! You've taken everything I have ever loved. You've taken you away from me, my twin! You are no longer the Coryo I used to know. You are not who my twin brother used to be. You are a stranger to me, Coriolanus Snow. You are a monster."

And whilst Dorothy sobbed, Coriolanus began to laugh maniacally as he said, "It's ironic, isn't it? Your lover, Sejanus Plinth, died from being executed. And now me, your brother, Coriolanus Snow, is going to die from being executed... are you going to be sad, Dorothy? When I die?"

"Of course I will be. You were my twin, my best friend. Of course I'm going to be upset!" Dorothy cried. "But I know that your death is a simple necessity for life to go on. And so, I won't stop them."

"That's sad to hear, Dorothy," Coriolanus said. "It's sad it has come to this."

"It is, isn't it?" Dorothy continued to sob. "But this is your fault. It's all your fault. All of it. You had everything, you had Lucy Gray—"

"Don't talk about Lucy Gray!"

"I will talk about whatever I like!" Dorothy yelled back. "You do not tell me what to do, Coriolanus. I am not some puppet of yours just because everyone else was."

"Well." Coriolanus sighed. "I hope you know that you could've had everything if you only accepted Dr Gaul's requests of you becoming a Gamemaker and studying at the University."

"Maybe." Dorothy shrugged. "But I have morals, Coriolanus. I was not going to be a part of the thing that killed Sabyn and Sejanus. I will not. Even now, I am not credited for the creation of the Tribute Parade simply because I do not want to be."

"You still haven't let go?"

"Of course not," Dorothy said. "If I had let go, I wouldn't have asked you that question."

At this, Coriolanus sighed and Dorothy knew she should leave. She should go home to Tigris and tell her everything, if she even cared. Her tail always flickered at the mention of Coriolanus, but Dorothy knew she would be upset at his death. But his execution was a necessity. It had to be done. But still, mourning would still plague them. Not mourning for President Snow. Mourning for Coryo Snow.

"Goodbye, Coriolanus."

"Goodbye, Dorothy."

And with that, Dorothy exited the greenhouse, wiping away the tears that remained on her cheeks. And whilst she exited the greenhouse, she did not look back over her shoulder. She had said her goodbyes and now it was time to let Coryo go, for there was a distinct different between President Snow and Coryo. Coryo was gone and President Snow about to be as well. 

But as Dorothy left, she couldn't help but feel ashamed of herself. How could she have let her twin brother fall this deep? She would always remember the Coriolanus that she grew up with, the boy who had a good heart, but just didn't use it the right way. She would remember the happy face he would make whenever he was with her, the face he would make whenever he was with her, Lucy Gray. But Dorothy would always remember the happiness she felt when she was with him, the man she loved.

She would think about this until she reached back to the warmth of the mansion, where she would greet Katniss as she walked out, but unknown to her, a small dove would fly across the sky and land on a branch that was covered in snow so much that the little bird was invisible to the eye. It would watch her as she left the greenhouse, watch her as she walked down the path and towards the mansion, up the stairs. The dove would keep its eye on the woman as it had done all these years until it knew that she was safe, that, in some world, she was content with her life.

And then, it would fly away from her, just how Sejanus Plinth flew away from his lover, Dorothy Snow.