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ARYA COULD remember every single minute detail about that woman. From the way her hair would flow within the breeze that ran through the open window. To the scent of lavender and vanilla that swirled around her every time they passed one another. And that smile. That goddamn smile. She could get anything she wanted when she looked at someone with that perfect, stupid smile of hers. Arya hated how much she felt enticed by the woman. The woman who even had a beautiful name. How it would fall so easily from her lips.....

A bang awoke her, her eyes opening as they were met with nothing but darkness. Arya's mind felt like it was floating, barely being able to comprehend what had happened. The last thing she remembered she was in the forest and the dome had been blown out. And now where was she? Had a piece of shrapnel hit her?

Arya's first thought was maybe she was blind. She didn't know why her mind immediately went there, but it would make logical sense if she did get hit. But that didn't explain where she was. And as she sees a sliver of light in front of her, like it was underneath a door, it instantly crossed her theory out. Then where was she?

She went to sit up and that's when she heard something rattling. Almost like metal scraping together. It confused her as she looked around the room. Like that did her any good. Arya tried to feel with her fingers what it could be. That's when she noticed the metal around her wrists and how the small thin loops connected to it.

It couldn't be. Arya yanks her hands toward her, only to be met with a force that prevented her from moving more than a foot. She was chained. That's what the metal sound was. And there was no point of chaining her up unless she was in a place where they didn't want her to escape from. A place where they would lock people up for the smallest of things.

The Capitol.

Was she really back? She hoped it was a dream. Or a really terrible nightmare.  Anything was better than the reality that she was back in that prison. Under his grasp. Arya desperately hoped it was anything other than that. But unfortunately,  nothing else seemed to fit this narrative.

The door in front of her opened, shedding a beam of light in her direction. Her eyes squint, adjusting to the new stimuli. She tried to cover her face with her hands. A large shadow blocked the light from coming directly at her. Arya blinks a few times, glancing around. The person walked toward her, by the outfit, it seemed to be a guard.

Arya instantly sends a glare toward the man, narrowing her eyes. She tilts her head a bit. "You think this is gonna keep me locked up?" She asks the man, moving her hands to rattle the chains. The guard only stares at her, his hands gripping his gun. "What? He's too scared to face me so he sent his little patsy in?" Arya questions, a scoff leaving her lips.

If Snow thought this would scare her, he would have to up his game if he actually wanted to even leave a dent. "Now, now, Ms. Ryker. The poor man is just doing his job." His voice pierced through the air sharply as the footsteps descended into the room. Arya moves her eyes slighty away from the guard, seeing Snow.

Snow had a smirk on his lips as he walked into the room, his eyes solely on her. Arya's gaze only hardened with hatred as she looked at him. "I'm sure you have many questions." He admits as he stops in front of her, just out of reach of where her chains would allow her to go.

Arya did have a question. But only one. Why was she still alive? What was his purpose of not killing her inside the arena or even putting her execution on camera so that everyone could see it live?  That would surely be enough to warn everyone not to disobey the Capitol. But it seemed Snow had a different plan in mind.

"Honestly, I didn't think I'd be alive, let alone able to ask questions." Arya retorts, tilting her head a bit. She wouldve rather been blind, at least then he wouldn't have to see his nasty old self again.

Snow nods his head, pacing around the room. "You see, I thought of killing you." He tells her. It had been his goal since her little interview with Caesar. She wanted to go against him, that was fine. He would just eliminate the threat. "I actually planned on getting rid of you in the arena." Arya was just listening to him, still wondering why. If he thought of doing it, why wasn't she dead?

"But then.... I was thinking and something occurred to me." Snow states, stopping once again, his eyes looking down on her. It's like he felt powerful, knowing she was chained and helpless to the floor. But she could easily strangle him with them if he came close enough.

"You're a heartless sociopath with daddy issues?" Arya asks him with a blunt smile on her face. Snow just takes a step forward, clasping his hands in front of him. The expression on his face, the way his eyes were sinister, it did make her stomach twist in a way. He did have the power to harm her right now, and she should be more terrified but she didn't want to show fear.

The moment she showed fear, he got her.

"That there is a fate far worse than death." Snow informs her, a breathy laugh leaving his lips. Arya watched as his face contorted into a look of pure evil. "And I assure you, Ms. Ryker, you will only wish you were dead." He states, clearly having things planned out for her.

But Arya wasn't going to let what he said get underneath her skin. No matter what he did to her, no matter what he tried to get into her head, she would not break. She would fight back with every single ounce of resistance she had inside of her. Arya would never give in for someone like Snow. She didn't care if he brought her to an inch of her life.

She leans toward him, a taunting smirk forming on her face. "I say, bring it." Arya responds, showing no sign of emotion in her eyes. He forgot that she had become numb to letting pain come forward after she won her games. This would be child's play.  "I will never break for you." She denies, her tone venomous as a firm glare set in her eyes.

Snow seemed amused by her response, raising an eyebrow at her. "We shall see." He says, tilting his head. "We shall see indeed." Snow mutters, turning toward the door and heading toward it. The guard followed in toe, walking out into the hallway and turning to grab the door handle.

The door was sealed shut, a lock turning and once again leaving her alone in the dark. But she didn't care. Darkness was nothing to her. She could be patient, she could be unwavering. And no matter what they threw her way, she would never give in. Not to him. Not to the Capitol.

Not to any self-serving person in power.

➳❦

SITTING ON the hard, cold floor, Arya just moved the chains back and forth. She didn't realize being kidnapped could be so boring. She was seriously thinking of where the action was. Wasn't someone going to come and torture her and some point?

That probably makes her sound insane. She's not insane. Maybe a little bit. But if you're gonna kidnap someone for the sole purpose of torturing them, don't drag it out. That's just plain boring. Arya really just wanted to see what Snow's tactics would be. How would he try to get her to break? Would it be more physical, or a bit of psychological torture as well?

She did sound crazy. Who wishes to be tortured? This seemed like her minds way of dissassociating, really. Arya had to do that so that she could not be thinking of when the actual pain started. If she didn't feel the pain, she couldn't react. Reactions were what Snow wanted. He wanted to hear her in agony. And Arya would try her very best to not give him that satisfaction.

Tilting her head back, Arya lets out a small groan. Luckily, she heard the familiar loud bang, followed by the door opening. It seemed to be the same guard as earlier, but this time he brought a chair. What, were they playing musical chairs or something? He places it down beside her before moving behind the woman and making her stand up.

Arya launches herself at him making the man jump back, grabbing his gun. She laughs at how easily spooked he was. The guard just forces her onto the chair, pressing his hands firmly onto her shoulders. She lets out a whistle, resting her head back with a smile.

Another guard entered the room, holding what seemed to be two buckets and a towel. She now regretted making the comment about being waterboarded on the cornucopia.  "Really? This is all he could come up with?" Arya asks the two guards, raising her eyebrows as she flickers her eyes between them. The guard in front of her just places one of the buckets down on the floor.

Making his way over to her, the guard that was already behind her just tilts her head back. Arya tightly wraps her hands around the chains in her hand as they place the towel over her face. She prepares herself as she hears the bucket being tilted and the water sloshing around.

The water comes pouring onto her face causing her to gasp a little. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to not breath as the towel clung to her face. When the water stops, she just coughed a bit, moving her head around. Arya knew it was basically controlled drowning. She just had to suffer the few seconds at a time and she'll get through it.

The guard presses the towel tighter on her face before the second flow starts. Her hands grip the chains harder as she tries not to move too much because that would be a sign that she was struggling. How could these guards do this to someone like it was nothing? Although, a lot of the Capitol citizens had no sense of morals or what was right and wrong.

They did it a few more times before eventually taking the towel off of her face. Arya breathed in deeply, coughing a bit of the water up that filled her lungs. The guard just pushes her to the floor making her scrunch up her face a bit. They really weren't playing nice.

One of the guards took out a long rod while the other bent down beside her. Arya used this opportunity to wrap the chains around the guard but she was hit with a jolt of electricity causing her grip to loosen. She gasps when it stops, her eyes going to the guard.

"Try anything and I'll do it again." He warns her, holding it toward her. Arya just scoffs as she glares up at him. The one with the keys uncuffs her from the chains before grabbing her arms roughly. Arya tries to fight against him, onlt to be met with another shock.

Her head hangs with a groan, both of them dragging her out of the room, more of the bright light instantly hitting her. "Where are you taking me?" Arya asks, her voice lower as she tries not to be affected by the electric shocks.

"Putting you with the others." The guard answers her which makes her body go completely tense.

Others?

Who else did they have? Her mind instantly went to Finnick. Had he not gotten back to the tree in time? Was he now in the Capitol because of her, because she wouldn't go with him and delayed him? Her heart sunk, thinking of the worst case scenario instantly. But surely Snow would've taunted her if he had others from the arena.

Her body hits the ground with a thud. She was still slightly coughing from the water, her face scrunching up. Arya could feel herself still flinching slightly from the shocks but it started to disappear slowly.

A hand touches her back. "Arya." The voice says and she all but jumps out of her skin as she turns around, grabbing who it was by their shirt. But when her eyes meet where she had the person held, she noticed that it wasn't a guard, it wasn't anybody who would ever want to harm her.

It was Peeta.

"Hey, hey." He says, raising his hands up. Peeta knew he probably shouldnt have just grabbed her like that. "It's just me." Peeta assures her, allowing her to see for herself that it wasn't another guard.

Arya felt her gaze soften, her eyes turning sad as she looked at the man. "Peeta?" She asks him, instantly feeling awful that he was here as well.  "No..." Arya thought that maybe the others had gotten out. That's what she thought when the dome came down. She thought it was an opportunity to escape for them.

"They got you too, huh?" Peeta asks lighthearted. As she looks at him more, she sees a bruise on his temple, along with a cut on the side of his mouth. Arya frowns as she lifts her hand to his face.

"Your face." She says, not liking how he was clearly injured. They must have hurt all of them when they first for here. Peeta shakes his head, offering her a small smile.

"I'm fine." Peeta assures her, moving her hand. Her arm comes up, covering her mouth as she coughs once again. He frowns, his hand resting on her knee. "How about you, you okay?" He asks her, seeing how they dragged her in here. Arya didn't even know if okay was ever going to be in her vocabulary while she was here.

The Capitol didn't exactly ever make her list of being a happy place to be. It mainly just brought up past memories that she'd rather not remember. "Relatively." She mutters as she sighs, sitting up more as she runs her hand over her face.

"Well, I think you look like shit." A new voice says making her furrow her eyebrows. Glancing over Peetas shoulder, Arya noticed that Johanna was next to them in a different cage. She was speechless for a second, her stomach twisting vile.

"Johanna." She hadn't even noticed that it wasn't just her and Peeta. Johanna sends her a wave, tilting her head before her eyes move to something behind her.

"Wesley's here too." Johanna points out. Arya snaps her head around, seeing the man just pressed against the wall, his eyes staring up at the ceiling.

This is what the guard had meant by others. Snow hadn't just taken her out of the arena, he had taken everybody. "They got all of you? I thought I was the only one." Arya admits. Waking up in that dark room, she thought that meant everyone else had escaped. But it seemed no one did

"They're gathering up the other victors as well. The ones who weren't even in the arena." Peeta informs her making her eyes go wide. She glances around the room for a moment, seeing that they were the only ones here. Aryas mind immediately goes to the two people who weren't with them

"Finnick, Katniss--"

"They're not here." Johanna denies, knowing she probably believed Snow captured them as well. Arya had been away from them, maybe it was the same for Katniss and Finnick. They could just be held in another room.

"Maybe you just haven't seen them." Arya suggests, wanting to think of anything other than the obvious answer right in front of her. Peeta didnt want to think about it either, but it was clear that his mind had already went there.

"We think they might be dead." Peeta says, his voice quiet. Arya was silent for a few seconds, trying to wrap her head around that possibility but she didn't want to.

"No, I don't believe that."

"Snow wanted Katniss dead and if Finnick was with her..." Wesley starts, trailing off as his eyes moved to the ground. Finnick could've just been collateral damage but either way, no victor was safe right now. Not here in the Capitol, not in any of the districts.

"I should've went with him." Arya mutters, shaking her head. If she had just listened to him for one second and decided to at least get him and the others to safety, maybe it wouldn't have turned out this way. Maybe he wouldnt be dead. "I could've done something." She says, covering her face with her hands.

Peeta wraps his arm around her, resting his head near her shoulder and he brought her close to him. "Arya. It's not your fault." He denies, not wanting her to blame herself for what had happened. But it was far past that now, because she did. She had been the one to walk off and Finnick was just trying to protect her by going with her.

If they would've stayed near the tree, none of this would've happened. "Finnick is dead because of me!" Her voice cracks, feeling tears well up in h3r eyes. Arya kept saying she didn't like the man and now she was on the verge of crying for him. Maybe that showed that she didn't hate him as much as she thought she did. "Katniss too."  Arya felt horrible for Peeta. He told her he wanted her to get out, and instead, he got captured.

"Snow killed them, not you." Peeta wasn't about to blame Katniss on her either. Brutus and Enobaria attacking so suddenly is what caught them off guard. And no one had been even close to the lightning tree when the dome came down.

Aryas mind went to the other victors. They didn't even do anything and they were getting treated like criminals as well. Her mind went to Xandre, her mentor in the games. She just hoped he of all people was doing all right and thar Snow hadn't just got rid of him. "He's gonna kill them all, isn't he?" She asks, her mind not really wanting to go there but it was a possibility. The only victor who mightve been able to escape it is Haymitch.

"I don't know." Peeta admits with a frown as he stares at the girl. No one knew what was going to happen, all they knew was they were stuck in the Capitol because Snow wanted to punish them. He wanted to show them that he still had power over them.

Arya didn't want to give into the fear, she didn't want to let Snow win. But maybe he already had. If he had killed Finnick and Katniss, then maybe Matthew didn't survive either. Maybe no one did. He probably wiped out anyone who had even the slightest bit of meaning to her except the people in this room.

But it was clear they were hurt as well. Snow would use them against each other, she was sure of it. And she could handle herself being tortured but someone else? Someone like Johanna who she had known for a few years? Arya didn't want to see them in pain.

That's what Snow used though. Because it truly was the people you loved most, that destroyed you.

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