As a young child growing up in the Capitol, Juno Moneta had always felt like she had the world at her fingertips. The sky was the limit for a girl like her, nothing was out of reach. Anything she wanted, she got. But the one thing she yearned for more than anything had evaded her all her life. She longed for a purpose in life. Something to feel truly passionate about.

Fashion quelled this desire for a time. The freedom of creating and designing her own outfits brought her a sense of satisfaction that she hadn't felt before. Yet she never truly believed that what she was doing made much of an impact. She wanted to make something that would last, something to inspire. The gods listened to her prayers and took pity on her naive plight. They sent her Dahlia.

Although watching the girl go from hopeful Tribute to traumatised Victor broke the stylist's heart, it made Juno wake up from the oblivious dream she had been trapped in for years. The Capitol was not the perfect paradise she'd been told it was and the Hunger Games was not the way to keep the peace. When Alaric approached her the night before the Quarter Quell and welcomed her into the Alliance, she knew it was her chance to finally make a difference. This was what she'd been waiting for.

Juno became a secret benefactor of the revolution. By slowly selling items from the stash Dahlia had stolen, she could raise money to support the rebellion in its fight against Snow. She built a network of support from the ground up and funded the Mockingjay cause with the fortune of the Capitol's richest. Finally, she found something worth dying for...

Sadly, it was something she would end up dying for.

Wrenching her blade out of Juno's body, the Black Dahlia delicately plucked the flower pin from the stylist's hand with wide eyes. Its wrinkled petals had wilted even more over the years and the colour had faded from its once striking black. But it was the same flower that landed at Finnick's feet. The same flower she'd left on his doorstep. The same flower he'd treasured for years as a memory of her.

She could almost feel Finnick's love and adoration for her seeping through her fingertips. Like his soul was embedded in its petals to remind her of who she was. My little flower, his voice seemed to whisper in her ear. Don't forget who you really are. Suddenly it all came flooding back. She wasn't the Black Dahlia. She was Dahlia Blossom.

As Juno collapsed to the ground, Dahlia could only stare at what she'd done in horror. It was as though the flower had awakened her from the hazy spell of the Black Dahlia. Like the fog had finally lifted and her memories had broken through. She remembered it all. The good moments and the bad, the happiness and the heartbreak, the betrayal she experienced... and the betrayal she had just committed.

"Oh, Juno." Dahlia gasped out, dropping down next to her old friend with her wide eyes fixated on the blood pouring out of her stomach. Hands shaking in fear and regret, Dahlia tore the mask from her face and put pressure on the wound to stem the blood flow. Her chest heaved with panicked breaths as she whimpered in disbelief, "What have I done? What have I done?"

"D-- Dahlia." Juno panted heavily, vision blurred with tears and body convulsing weakly.

"Shh, it's alright. It's okay." Dahlia shushed her softly, unsure whether she was trying to convince Juno or herself that everything would be just fine. The blood was now seeping through Dahlia's fingers and creating an alarming pool of red on the once pristine floors. "There's-- There's so much blood. Why is there so much?"

Juno knew it wasn't looking good for her. She could feel the strength being drained from her body with each second that passed and, despite Dahlia's frantic attempts to halt his approach, the cold hand of Death was inching ever closer. She finally realised that this was her life's purpose. To die for a cause she was truly passionate about. To die in the name of freedom.

"Dahlia..." Juno mumbled sluggishly to the girl who was desperately searching for anything to help tend to her friend's wound. "Please."

"I just-- I need to find... bandages or something." Dahlia was muttering to herself, keeping one hand firmly pressed to the injury as her head whipped wildly to find any medical supplies. "I don't-- I don't know what to do."

"Petal." Juno quietly exclaimed, bringing a halt to the girl's frantic actions with her urgent tone. With watery eyes, Juno had to tell Dahlia the dreaded news, "I'm not going to make it."

As if Juno's words had confirmed what Dahlia already feared, the girl shook her head stubbornly. "Yes, you are." She declared, staring down at Juno with such determination that she could almost be convinced her words were true. "You have to." Dahlia whispered less assuredly this time, persistence melting away to reveal her vulnerability. "Please, you have to."

"It's alright." Juno murmured pitifully, eyes burning with tears as she gazed upon her tribute for the final time. "I forgive you... if you can forgive me."

"There's nothing to forgive, Juno." Dahlia finally broke down, devastated sobs escaping her lips at the forgiveness she knew she didn't deserve. "I'm so sorry." She cried pathetically as Juno's trembling hand crept down to cover hers. "I didn't mean-- I didn't want--"

"I know." Juno assured, squeezing the girl's hand as tightly as she could manage in her feeble state. Dahlia's head fell forward in defeat, tears slipping freely down her cheeks in a never-ending waterfall. It pained Juno even more to see Dahlia so distressed in her final moments. Yearning to see her friend's happiness one last time before she went, Juno softly muttered, "Hey." Dahlia's head snapped up in concern, eyes red and puffy with emotion. But Juno had a smile lighting up her anguished face as she whispered, "Remember, this isn't a goodbye..."

A melancholic grin forced its way onto Dahlia's features as a shuddering breath ransacked her body. "It's a 'see you later'." She finished mournfully, recalling the phrase Juno had said to her before she went into the arena for the first time. Although this time, Dahlia would be the one left behind and there was no way for Juno to come back.

But the former stylist's infectious smile never wavered and her satisfaction outweighed any of her fears. She had been lucky to have survived this long, but now it seemed her luck had run dry. But her life had meant something, her death wouldn't be in vain and she had a friend by her side as she goes. It was more than she could have hoped for.

"Will--" She started before her teeth clenched tightly and she hissed in pain. It was getting more difficult to ignore the burning heat in her stomach, her wound stinging like a thousand needles stabbing into her skin. More tears pricked her eyes as she sensed the end was drawing nearer. Glancing up at Dahlia with a pleading stare, she weakly whispered her last request, "Will you stay with me?"

Dahlia nodded immediately, shuffling closer to Juno while still clutching her hand firmly. "Of course." She promised the woman, knowing it was the least she could do after being the one to cruelly steal her life away. "I'll stay with you until the very end."

"Thank you, Petal." Juno murmured, eyelids fluttering faintly as she grew heavy with exhaustion and discomfort. Her head drooped to one side, limbs slumping limply as she wearily hummed, "Thank you for everything. You were my greatest masterpiece."

Dahlia would've liked to say that Juno passed easily from the earth with a smile etched on her face. But that would be a lie. Her death was not quick, nor was it painless. It was agonisingly slow, torturous almost. Death toyed with her for as long as he could, prolonging her torment until she begged for him to claim her. The last words to escape her lips were desperate pleas for Dahlia to finish her off, to get the pain over with. Dahlia couldn't bring herself to do it.

In the end, Juno Moneta bled to death on the floor of an apartment that never belonged to her, in the arms of the woman who killed her.

Dahlia stuck to her word, staying by Juno's side even after the last breath of life had left her body. It was as though Dahlia was her guardian angel, ensuring nothing would ever disturb her newfound peace. She would've remained diligently at Juno's side until the end of her days, content to watch over her for all eternity. But the Capitol would come looking for her. They would never allow their new pet to wallow in remorse over what they'd made her do. Instead, she did what could to put Juno to rest.

She cleaned up the blood as best as she could, washing much of the gory murder scene out of sight. Then she intertwined Juno's fingers together and let her hands lay calmly over her stomach. It would've tricked Dahlia into thinking the woman was just sleeping if she hadn't watched her die.

She wanted to take inspiration from Katniss' display for Rue in the 74th Hunger Games, to create a halo of wildflowers that would envelope Juno's body. But all she could find in her old apartment was the black dahlia hair piece Juno had given her to prompt the return of her memories. Juno had been the one to pin it in Dahlia's hair before her first ever parade, it seemed only fitting that the treasured item be returned to her.

And so, that was how Juno Moneta was left. Hands folded gracefully across her midriff with a black dahlia tucked beneath her fingers. A beautiful soul destroyed by a savage world.

"See you later." Dahlia whispered wistfully as she slowly closed the door on Juno's temporary resting place. Backing away from the room, she heard the pounding footsteps of peacekeepers storming into the hallway outside her apartment.

She knew they would come for her and she knew there was no possible escape. So she had already made her decision. She wouldn't try to run, she would allow them into her old home and she would let them capture her once more. But she wouldn't give in easily. Dahlia was going to take as many peacekeepers down with her as she could. In Juno's memory, she would have one final stand against the Capitol before the woman was wiped from her mind again.

Unsheathing her black blades, Dahlia steeled her nerves and prepared for the imminent attack. She was able to use her newly-taught skills of stealth to blend into the shadows as the peacekeepers started to break down the door. It didn't take them long to burst into the apartment, guns raised and heads swivelling to find the girl. But she found them first.

In a flash of steel, one peacekeeper cried out as he collapsed to the floor. As an onslaught of bullets were unleashed in the direction of their fallen comrade, another two soldiers were slain without mercy and drowned in their own blood. Nervous whispers were exchanged among the remaining troops, many fearing they were being ambushed by vengeful spirits.

Alas their worries were proven to be almost true as Dahlia emerged from the darkness, like a ghost rising from the dead. Her infamous swords were drenched in the blood of their fellow peacekeepers and a murderous glare was present on her face. "Are you ready to join your friends?" She asked tauntingly, wiping the blood from her blade and drawing the Black Dahlia smile on the corners of her lips. "I don't care how many of you cunts have to die, justice will be served."

For Juno.