When Sophie first woke, she was looking into some eyes. They were worried, anxious eyes that Sophie recognised, but couldn't remember who they belonged to. She could hear relieved whispers echoing around the room before it came back with a dizzying rush - the games, the death, the defiance. Everyone swam around her as she fought back against the wooziness settling in, feeling the metal surface of a spoon being forced into her mouth. The world snapped back into focus, and Sophie recognised those eyes. They were ice-blue.

A flash of teal echoed through her mind briefly, but she was distracted by realising how dry her mouth was. Someone handed her a bottle of youth, which Sophie guzzled down, feeling instantly refreshed. 

"Keefe," she murmured, unconsciously reaching for his hand. He smiled.

"Feeling better Foster?" She nodded. 

"What happened to Wylie?" She asked, realising that he hadn't been there when she handed the berries out. She'd assumed he was dead, but now she realised that she hadn't known for certain. 

"Bled to death," one of the adults said without hesitation or a hint of discomfort. She guessed he was one of the Neverseen.

"You and all the other tributes are expected at the ceremony in less than an hour." Tiergan muttered quietly, his voice cracking slightly. Keefe squeezed her hand and walked out so that she could get changed. Edwin waited until everyone else left, then handed her a dress. He also pressed a pin into her hand.

"It fell off when you were fighting Ruy," he explained. "Tiergan made sure that they recovered it." Sophie recognised it as the Moonlark pin someone had pressed into her hand at the reaping. (Ik this is a plot hole, I'll fix it in the edit) Had that been Tiergan?  She shook her head; she'd have time to think about things like that later. Edwin pulled a curtain across, and Sophie quickly changed into her dress.

She scowled when she realised how many frills there were, and it was so puffy she was bound to trip. However, Sophie threaded the pin through, in a more visible place than it was when she'd smuggled it into the arena. 

She arrived in the studio a few minutes before it was due to air. She was directed by a snooty elf to her seat, spotting a few familiar faces in the audience. She attempted to sit next to Keefe, but someone pushed her over to the centre seat in between the game maker and Lady Gisela's seat. 

Discomfort settled into Sophie's stomach as the Capitol anthem began to play, the music so familiar after nights of it playing to announce the dead. It showed the highlights of the games, compressed into a few hours. Lady Gisela was looking at the screen, but Sophie got the haunting feeling she was looking at her.

Amy's death wasn't shown to Sophie's relief, but many others were that turned Sophie's stomach. After it finished, there was a feast, but Sophie felt too sick to eat much of it. It all happened so quickly, as she and Keefe boarded the train to take them back to District 11. Sophie looked out the window as the Capitol crowds drew out of sight, but Lady Gisela was staring at them. It gave Sophie chills.

The train pulled in at the station to cheering crowds, pushing forward to touch them and congratulate them in their victory. Sophie quietly slipped away, walking down the empty streets towards her house. She knocked, but no one was in; she pushed open the unlocked door with a creak, going up to her room. Ella was still on her bed, left there the day Fitz came over. Sophie quickly changed into some plain black clothes, dumping the frilly dress on the floor unceremoniously. 

The door opened slowly downstairs as Grady and Edaline walked in. Sophie raced down the stairs, embracing them in a crushing hug.

"I missed you, kiddo," Grady whispered in her ear. 

"I love you too dad." She replied simply. "And I love you too mum." Edaline smiled.

"You won."

"I know."

AN

Yassss!!!! After 7 months of insanity, I FINALLY FINISHED IT!!!!!! 27 chapters, a LOT of words and 3.5K reads!!! You wonderful people did it!!!!!!!!! I will go back and edit my sloppy writing, but I am so so so happy. 😁 😅 How do I feel?

HdjhhsjsjdbfbxhhdhrydhshgdgdhwuwodbgHhcfhgdhh ST gdhhbfff

That's how I feel.

It feels  weird knowing that I won't write another dedication on this book again, and rather fittingly named, @the_mockinlark . Thank you. You are yet another awesome person who motivates me not to leave this book unfinished for MONTHS and MONTHS and MONTHS. The effort I put into this is worth it.

Now this is all I have to say here. I will be publishing another chapter to thank you all, so what do I have to say? I'm staying up till midnight to get this to you as early as I can. That's UK time, so if your American, that's 7pm on a Saturday? But I'm not waking up at 5 to publish a chapter at midnight in America, OK? That's New York time BTW.

Anyway, thank you for everything. I'll see you in the next book!!