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I'm coming back with an experimental portrait of my oc, Novalyn.

I was going for a very soft, otherworldly look and I believe i succeeded fairly well.

A very simple portrait of my OC Mei Shu.

Wuthering waves has been my favourite game recently, so of course I had to make an OC.

While she's lived in Huanlong all her life, her parents aren't from there.

She's a spectro resonator, a researcher and a half-time medic for the midnight rangers.

I believe it turned out very well.

Meet Nali, coloured this time ☺️

So I hardly post any of my traditional art anywhere, but I'm proud of how this one turned out.

I tried a bit of a different style and it came out well. This is meant to be a portrait of a new character of mine, Nali, for a book I read recently.

Here she is, the queen of Zyphrys under the patronage of the goddess of the sun, Tokana.

Nephthys during a Piltover party ✨

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TW: Blood, death, violence

Zyphrys, the land of sun, where the arcane courses through the earth and the blood of so many of its inhabitants. Resting in the middle of the huge sea, the island was prosperous and undeniably beautiful, decorated with magnificent, marble buildings, that coexisted with the wild nature. Even the palace, standing not too far from the cliff-end side of the coast, harmonized with the various trees and flower fields surrounding it. Vines crept up the walls, flowers coloured white and yellow decorated the entrance leading to the square of the royal residence and wild animals were a constant part of the court. Many old tales say, that when a mage from Zyphrys dies, they turn into a blossoms petals to become one with their land again.

While the national celebrations in Zyphrys could be counted on one hand, there was one day in particular that was important to each citizen, the day of Aktisieia. It was a centuries old ceremony, marking the day when Tokana, their beloved goddess, decided to bless the people with the arcane. The square was lit up with orange lanterns, while deep purple banners were hanging from the walls. 

Young Princess Nephthys was being prepared for the ceremony. As per tradition, she was dressed in a delicate, cream gown, with accents of purple and gold. The palace was filled with servants, however Queen Andromeda insisted on doing her daughters hair every day, this one was no different. She parted her hair at the front, holding one part with her hand, before slipping it into two golden rings. The older woman had a similar hairstyle, only her hair was put up into a bun and the front pieces of her hair were decorated by five, not two rings. Her mother was also similarly dressed to the Princess, only her attire was more extravagant and coordinated into it was the ever present spear cover on her back.

"Finished" the woman said with a smile, as she put her hands on the girl's shoulder.   "Are you excited for the ceremony? " Nephthys nodded eagerly, before turning her head to her mother.

"Will I get to put the flowers into the lanterns this year?" her eyes practically gleamed with excitement. 

"You will, sunshine" Andromeda caressed her cheek, before moving away from the little vanity. "Come now, or do you want to be the first princess late to a ceremony?"

The Princess stood up and joined her mother, walking alongside her. The young girl mimicked the woman's pose. From the beginning of her conscious life, she looked up to her mom, wanting  to follow in her steps and be just like her. 

The dawning light was seeping through the various windows in the hall leading to the ceremonial balcony. At the end of it King Kiernan waited for them, with a servant by his side, who was holding a long pillow with a crown and a tiara on it. The entrance to the balcony was guarded by two soldiers dressed in gold armor. They put their fist to their chest when the Queen and Crowned Princess approached.

"Why, you both look absolutely stunning" said Kiernan, reaching out with one hand for his wife to take and then bringing their intertwined hands to his mouth, kissing the back of Andromeda's palm, only letting go of it after that. The servant was already putting on a tiara on Nephthys' forehead, before moving to carefully place the crown on top of the older woman's head. "The sun has almost fully set already, we should walk out already." the man put his hand on the top of his daughter's head, smiling down on her.  "Lucky you, you don't have to do any speeches yet" he said quietly to her, as if no one else was supposed to hear it.

"You don't have to either! Mom does half of them" the young girl responded with an accusatory tone, although an amused smile was on her lips.

"Of course, but I still have to do the other half" seeing that his wife was ready to leave, he offered her his arm, which she gladly accepted. The grand door was opened by the two guards and the royal pair walked out with Nephthys at their left and the servant following behind.

When they came onto the balcony, all of the people gathered raised their heads and put their fists to their chests in the same gesture the soldiers made. The whole square was silent and dark, with the only light being the lanterns held in the hands of the civilians.

"Dearest people of Zyphrys" Andromeda started her speech. "Each year, we gather here to pay respects to our goddess Tokana and show how grateful we are for her blessing. I am honoured that-" her voice was silenced by the loud sound of a horn echoing through the air three times. Everything came to a halt, for a moment everyone was stunned into silence, disoriented by the interruption of the ceremony.

The initial confusion quickly gave into terror when the people realized what the horn meant, that it wasn't just a new part of the ceremony. People squirmed around, some tried to flee, before being stopped by soldiers who were executing the evacuation of civilians. The silence that came with the beginning of the night was now broken by frightened voices and shouts of people trying to get to their loved ones through the crowd.

The royal couple looked at each other for a split second, before ushering inside with their daughter. The thick, wooden door was immediately closed behind them. The servant was already running off to where the rest of the staff will hide through the duration of the crisis. Nephthys looked at her parents with fear in her eyes. As the heir, since the beginning of her life she was prepared to be next ruler, her grandfather even wanted her to be the army leader too. She knew exactly what this meant. The horn was a specific one, one only used by Noxus. They were under attack, they're going into a state of war right now and the realization of that left an empty pit in her stomach. 

Andromeda told her husband to gather the most trained mages to protect the island, she sent the two soldiers to inform her second in command to gather the army at the ready, before she grabbed her daughters' hand and began walking towards the heart of the palace. The building had many hidden passage ways, corridors and hidden entrances. Nephthys was trained to know all of them like the back of her hand. 

The halls were emptied of all soldiers, their silence no longer comforting like on any normal day, now the quiet was eerie. They moved quickly, all of Andromeda's senses on high alert, for the older woman hearing nothing but herself and her daughter was a good sign. Corridor after corridor, turn after turn, it was going as swiftly as it was supposed to, just as the Queen planned. Soon her daughter would be safe and she could go command her army.

However, her hope for that was quickly ruined by the sound of footsteps coming from the next hall they were going to go into. Andromeda quickly came into a halt, her sight fixated on the direction from where the sound came from.

"Run." she hissed to Nephthys, causing the girl to look up at her with a petrified expression, but her mother did not look down on her, she just let go of her hand. "You know where. Run, hide and don't come out until your father or I come to get you. Go" despite her state, she listened to her mother's command and ran off towards another entrance to the hidden corridors. 

It wasn't long before she could hear the sounds of metal clashing against metal, signifying a battle. They echoed through the halls, every clash, every fall and groan accompanied her until she reached the hidden passage. She ran into it and then through the many twists and turns until she ran into a room that looked like a dead end to anyone who wasn't familiar with the building. The girl pressed one of the bricks and another path opened. She walked through it and ended up in another room with only floorboards and a small window looking out on the square in it.

She quickly came up to the window and looked out of it. What she saw resembled nothing of what she saw just a moment ago. Soldiers were fighting in the dark, only illuminated by the torches, brought by the opposing army, and the discarded lanterns. There were dead bodies on the ground. Civilians who were unfortunate enough to not evacuate and the people of the Zyphrian army, already so many were dead. Nephthys slid to her knees, her hands clutching her chest. She looked down, trying to calm her breath, that picked up terribly, but it didn't seem to work. 

You won't be any help in a state of panic. She tried to think of everything her grandfather taught her. To remain cold-blooded and rational is what matters in war. That coldness makes way for ruthlessness. She didn't know how to be ruthless, not yet. 

Time passed incredibly slow in this small room and she found herself looking out of the window again, perhaps in the worst moment possible. So much crimson seeping into the ground. The Noxian general was already with her army, surrounded by the people who were meant to be the most skilled mages. She couldn't see her mother commanding the soldiers, fighting amongst them. She couldn't see her father either, putting on barriers or holding back the enemy with the power of the arcane.

A thought stroke her already high on adrenaline mind, they were dead and if they were dead, no one will come to get her. The palace will be taken over and she will either rot here or someone will find her and murder her, that was what made her get up from the floor and leave the room.

The palace is still empty now, she still has a chance to escape, to flee her country and stay somewhere until she comes of age and can come back to claim her rule. Through the basement and the underground tunnels, she will escape to the north of the island, she could find some boats there and sail to the neighbouring country, then go from there.

There were no more clashing sounds in the halls now, no footsteps besides her own. Whoever was in the palace, now must have left the place where her mother fought them, if they came out alive. When she turned another corner, the same way she ran, Nephthys saw that they indeed leave.

They left her mother's dead body behind too.

The metallic stench hit her like a brick wall. Blood was staining the marble floor, blue flower petals soaked in it, the colors mixing together. The Queen laid with her scythe still in hand, her crown discarded by the opposite wall, broken in half. For a moment, the young girl froze at the end of the corridor. Her eyes fixated on the body, her brain registering what happened. Slowly, she walked over to the woman. She kneeled next to her and turned her over, only to be met with Andromeda's empty gaze and a gaping wound in her chest. Steeling herself, she sucked in a whistling breath and then closed the green eyes of the deceased queen.

Biting the inside of her lip, she took the spear away from her hand and then stood up, allowing herself a second more to look at her mom. She wanted to say goodbye, at least, but her throat was too tight for any words to come out. More petals appeared, sinking into the red puddle, when Nephthys decided she had to move.

It wasn't far from the basement, she reached it quickly. The entrance to the tunnels was sealed with the arcane, so she used magic to open it as well, from there everything became a blur.

She didn't know when she reached the end of the tunnels and how she ended up with her back pressed against a rock wall in the small port in the north. She was looking far ahead, as if in a trance, when a scream of agony reached her ears and she snapped out of it. Her clothes were covered by sand that she was seating on and the spear was laying next to her. The sound was faint and clearly carried by echo, perhaps it wasn't even real, but it was enough to remind her that if she truly wants to live through this invasion, she must take a ship now and set sail. 

A small, black petal carried by the wind rested at her feet before she stood up.

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Hello hello, my dears. I come back to you with another piece of what I wrote. It's a part of Nephthys' backstory, a bit from where she comes from.

Meet Nieve. I recently read the Folk Of The Air Series and I have to say that I quite liked it. As per tradition, no franchise that I like can get away without me making an OC for it.

Meet Nephthys ✨

I recently started watching arcane (I don't know why it took me so long to get to it, because this show is peak) and of course I had to make an OC, because that's how it works.

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The room made her feel cold, even though it was quite warm inside. The atmosphere made her shiver, while her heart was racing. When she got there, her eyes were frantically scanning the room, now her gaze was turned towards the floor. The people that brought her here told her that she was in district thirteen, that she was safe and no longer in harms way, but Nicole simply couldn't believe them. The woman was sure that this had to be some sort of trick, some kind of mockery arranged by President Snow just to bring her hopes up, and then make her fall apart again by bringing them down. Her hands were shaking, placed on her lap. District thirteen couldn't exist, the people who brought her there were Capitol slaves, ready to torture her any moment now, she was sure of that. One good thing that came out of this, was that she was sitting on an actual bed, instead of the hard, cool floor of her cell.

The other Capitol captives were here as well and Nicole couldn't help but wonder whether they intended to use the same sick tactic on all of them. Only a blue hospital screen separated her from everything else, which made it perfectly easy to stand up and try to warn the others of what she thinks is happening. She would, if only she didn't know that Johanna was still asleep because of the influence of the morphling and Peeta was in another room. She could try to run, but she was sure there were soldiers everywhere in this building, she saw them when they brought her here. Besides, she wouldn't even know where to run, how to escape the maze of corridors that this place was. However, she'd still try, maybe then they'll finally kill her instead of making her suffer again for who knows how long. The prospect of death was much more appealing to her than being tortured again, it seemed almost merciful.

Nicole used all the strength she had left to stand up. She tugged away the strings connecting her to the IV and slowly moved along the side of her bed, her hand still on the white bed sheet, supporting her. She was almost at the end of the hospital screen, when one side of the large doors swung open and a group of people marched in.

- Nicole?! - a voice called out for her. A voice that she recognized, that she has yearned to hear for these past months. Her head subconsciously turned towards the sound and her throat instantly went dry when she saw his face. Finnick stood right there before her for the first time in two months. Nicole couldn't let out a word, even though her mouth opened, she only looked at him with her eyes wide open. They made her believe he was dead, yet he was alive and presumably in better condition than her. Conflicting emotions took over her, she wanted to reach for him, but her paranoia made her stop and question if this was a hallucination caused by something that they injected into her body.

Finally, she took a step forward, closer towards him, as she decided that even if this is a hallucination, it is a nice one and she was starved of anything close to pleasant. In his frantic search, Finnick finally noticed her. Not a second has passed and he already captured her in his embrace. Instinctively, she put her head in the crook of his neck, feeling his warmth for a moment, before leaning back to look at him again.

- You're alive - Finnick breathed out with a hint of a relieved smile on his lips, while his hands cupped her face.

- They said you were dead - Nicole finally let out, her voice was quiet and slightly hoarse from it's disuse. - You were dead. - her disbelief was obvious in her expression. 

She was so confused. It was too much for her. 

- I'm not. They were lying to you, Nicole. You're safe from them now. - he reassured her softly, his voice low and gentle. - They won't reach you here. 

Her hand reached out for his cheek. She wanted to check if he was there, feel his skin under her fingertips as a confirmation that this was real, that this was her Finnick and she truly was safe. When her palm met with his face tears welled up in her eyes. She looked at him and finally let herself believe his words. She was safe and he was truly alive. This wasn't a trick prepared by the Capitol and Snow. The corners of her mouth raised in the smallest of smiles as the realization set in. Nicole leaned in and kissed his lips softly, as the world seemed to fall silent.

All of their emotions poured into the kiss. The longing, grief, confusion and finally the happiness of their reunion. They were in the comfort of their embrace for the first time in what seemed like forever. Everything else seemed to blur. The other people in the room disappeared for the two, neither of them caring about their surroundings now.

When they pulled  back from the kiss, they met eyes and there was some sort of unspoken understanding between them, a reassurance coming from one to the other without needing to use words. Both of them went through terrible things over the course of last weeks and both of them knew that, but neither of them wanted to speak of that, not right now. Nicole wanted to say something, but during her time as a captive, words started to blur in her mind, gradually making it harder for her to recall them.

- I was so worried - she said in the end, but even if she could think of words quickly again, she wouldn't be able to find one that would describe how she felt.

- I know. I was too, terribly. - his eyes were teary now too. - Finally I know you're safe - there was a relieved smile on his lips as he breathed out those words.

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Hello hello, I haven't been active here for a while now, but I came back with a snippet of Finnick and Nicole as an apology. It's a bitter sweet reunion, after Nicole was rescued from captivity in the Capitol.

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The soft ambiance of low music could be heard from the inside of the main studio room. The lighting was dimmed, with the exception of one lamp above the desk, that Nicole was currently working on. Humming to herself, she sketched away on one of the many pieces of paper on her desk, only occasionally moving away to stretch her back. She took a sip of her coffee, getting ready to resume, when she heard the creak of the door, suggesting her assistant was already leaving.

"Bye, Ozzy" she called out to him, leaning back in her chair to see the door.

"Goodnight, Nicole" he called back to her with a wave, before walking out of the building, which was a sign for her to resume with the current agenda. She didn't even get to pick her pencil up again, though, since her name was called from the door again.

"Finnick?" she asked, a smile appearing on her face, as she took of her half- lens glasses. "Hi, you're earlier than I expected" the stylist turned around on her chair to face him.

"Thought I'd drop by earlier. Ozzy let me in on his way out" he walked in, closing the door and meeting her halfway when she stood up to hug him in greeting. It was usual for her to greet people like that, she was a very affectionate person by nature. However, with time, with each of their shared hugs, it became harder for both of them to pull back. 

"Tea?" already knowing the answer, she made her way towards the counter, which had a kettle on top of it. 

"You know it" Finnick sat on the armrest of the sofa closer to her desk. He liked to watch her work. Even when he preferred to just relax, it was endearing to watch her in a creative haze. Nicole took out two cups for the both of them and started some water in the kettle.

"We can go upstairs in a bit, I just want to finish this thing I'm doing here. I'm super excited about it and honestly? I might not go to sleep if I don't get it finished" she explained with a smile, to which the man chuckled.

"Must be a big deal, then. I'm perfectly fine sitting here, don't worry" after pouring the tea, she handed him one of those cups, causing him to hiss a bit at the temperature. "Hot" he proclaimed, but decided to try and take a sip anyway.

"No way, it's hot" her sarcastic remark was met with a playful eye roll from him, to which she just laughed softly. The other cup in her hand, she sat back down behind her desk, her eyes already on the papers, as he tried to peek in  from behind her and see what she was looking at.

"So..." the sound was practically a hum, as he tilted his head "What is it you're working on?" Finnick was aware what this question would probably bring on, given that she mentioned how excited she was. One of her rambles will be in session. It's not like he minded, though, quite the contrary. Not many of those had to happen, for him to start adoring them. The way her eyes seemed to light up and she automatically lost herself in a world of her thoughts and excitement. For him it was just too sweet not to love.

"Well" Nicole began softly "I'm working on a suit"

"A suit?" he quirked a brow up. There weren't any events coming up soon, so he had no idea for what she could be making a suit for. Usually, when it was quiet season, as she would call it, Nicole didn't make any suits. Was it for her assistant? Well, whatever the case, he was sure to find out in a second, as her eyes had already brightened up at his question.

"Yes, a suit. I've recently gotten my hands on a material I wanted to work with for the longest time." her voice picked up an upbeat tone. "My mom adored it, she had so many clothes made from it. Wait." she cut off and stood up to wander through the many textiles lined up on one of her shelfs. Once she found the one she was looking for, which didn't take her long, she rolled out a sea green piece. "Come here, this is the one. You can feel it if you want." 

Naturally, he wanted to, so he gave in to her proposition. "It's soft" he noticed when he took the material between two of his fingers.

"Right? It's so soft and warm, yet so thin at the same time. I think I could say it's one of my favorites." after he was done touching, she rolled it back up and went to lean on the edge of her desk. Her enthusiasm became even more apparent and she got lost in her thoughts, words flowing freely. "So, my mom mostly had dresses made of it and that's what I was thinking at first too. However, then I decided it might not be a good idea for a first time, since it's so thin and easily torn." her gaze was on the desk now, trailing over the various designs, most of them scraped. "Then, I thought about the color and after that, I thought of you. The next thing I know, inspiration hit me and I decided I'll make a suit. I don't really know why I thought of you then... Maybe it was the color, that's similar to your eyes, or simply the fact that I love you so much, I can't stop thinking about you. Either reason will do, probably."

Finnick was positively stunned at her words and the air suddenly felt too thick to breathe in normally. At first, he wasn't sure if he heard right, since she said that so casually, like it was the most normal thing. Then, he trailed back her words and he was certain, he heard her right. She must've been very deep in her exhilaration and simply stopped paying enough mind to her words. He could still hear her speak, but it didn't reach him, as he was in an entirely different place now. She loved him. The realization dawned on him and he couldn't stop himself from grinning like an idiot. Nicole must've asked him a question, because she briefly looked at him in confusion, before what she said hit her as well, causing red to flood her cheeks.

She didn't have enough time to speak, though. In one long stride, he crossed the distance between the sofa and the desk, to capture her in his arms. Finnick hugged her tightly with a huge smile on his face and a hue of pink at the top of his ears. Nicole looked like a deer caught in the headlights, but she hugged him back.

"You said you love me" he let out in a soft, but very obviously happy voice.

"I-I did..." stammering, she confirmed, not sure what else to do in this situation.

"Gods, I can't believe this" he chuckled quietly, as he continued to hold her tightly. It was a miracle she wasn't suffocating yet. "Nicole, I love you too. I have, for a while. I just... I thought you wouldn't..." before he finished, she pulled back to look at his face, a smile on her lips and her eyes wide as she registered the information.

"You're serious?" the question was genuine. Nicole couldn't believe he reciprocated her feelings, the same feelings she fought for so long, because of fear of rejection and the consequences that might've occurred.

"Do I look like I'm joking?" Finnick asked slightly amused by her bewilderment and still beaming.

"No" she laughed. "No, you do not" with that, she let her head fall onto his shoulder.

"Exactly" he leaned his head on her own. The room fell into a comfortable silence, that was only disturbed by the faint music that was still playing. They stood like that for a moment, relishing in emotions, that the confession brought on. It was like a weight lifted from their shoulders and all of a sudden, everything felt extremely light. As if the only thing grounding them both, was the embrace. 

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Well, I didn't post anything for a while, that's for sure. Sorry for that. Anyway, here's another snippet of mine, I hope you enjoyed this sweet confession <3 I'd love to hear your feedback on it

I am Nour from Gaza

.I need your help if you can

Please donate to save my life and the lives of my children

I'm asking for a small donation of $25 from each person. $35 will save my kids from death

Through the link (please see my CV) https://www.gofundme.com/f/donate-to-help-nour-and-his-family-escape-the-war-in-gaza

My account has been verified by @90-ghost

TW: mention of torture, mention of death

Three weeks already passed since her capture, so much time spent in this hell of a prison. While sitting on the cold, tiled floor, her hand absentmindedly raised to touch her neck. How it hurt to feel nothing resting on her collarbones. There was no comfort of the cold, white pearls under her fingertips, no pendant from her grandmother to clutch in her hand.  Right after she got there, they stripped her of the comfort her jewelry always provided.  Her hand brushed the thin material of her white hospital gown, that was now two sizes too big for her. Anyone could notice how much weight Nicole has lost. Every time she looked down on herself, she wondered, would she be more resilient now, if she had listened when Ozzy told her to eat more. Maybe then, she wouldn't be wilting so quickly. Who would've thought at that time, that a silly reprimand could wage her chances of survival now. 

 With that another line of thinking came into motion, is Ozzy still alive? Have they also decided to capture him and torture him somewhere else, because he was associated with her? It was unpredictable, what exactly the Capitol was capable of. They might've just killed him for speaking well of the victors, the rebels. She hoped he didn't do that. He couldn't have, he wasn't stupid.

  In this little white room, there wasn't much more left to do, than to think. Nicole was sure it was designed to drive it's resident into madness, as there was nothing else to stare at but the door and nothing more to hear, besides the screams coming from the other people held there. The worst part was she recognized the voices nearest to her. They kept Johanna and Peeta somewhere nearby. The peacekeepers told her about a rebel plot unwinding during the end of the quell, but they wouldn't tell her more. They didn't talk much about what actually happened during the games, especially not near her. She almost regretted that she as always didn't watch them, it could've helped her understand the situation better.

Even if they told her anything more, it wouldn't really matter. Nicole didn't trust their words, the only thing they did was mess with her head. At first, they told her no other victor survived, besides the two kept there. However then, news broke out that Katniss was alive. They still kept up that everyone else died, though. The peacekeepers said, the rebels took Katniss out of there first to be the symbol of rebellion, no one else survived. Everyone else is dead. Finnick is dead.

The thought of his passing was eating at her all the time there. Conflicting thoughts were rising in her head. She didn't want to believe them, but at the same time she knew it was highly possible. Wouldn't he also be there if he was alive? Was he with Katniss and the rebels? Her final thought always ended up being about how he is probably six feet under, as good as gone.

 Nicole tried to swallow down the saliva, hoping to drown the taste of soap in her mouth, but it remained constant. Sleep was rare for her in that place, if not impossible, she usually passed out of fatigue. During one of the times that happened, she dreamt of her mother. It made her sure she was nearing her demise, it seemed as if her mom came to take her away from that place. Her end didn't come, though, not even after a week. However, knowing how the only two people she had left might be gone, she sometimes wished for it to finally arrive. 

Many minutes have passed with her just staring at the door, trapped in her own thoughts, when it opened. Two peacekeepers came in, standing on both sides of the entrance.

"Stand up. You have a visitor" one of them announced. She didn't even know they allowed visitors here. Nicole began to think this was some trick played on her, some kind of manipulation. Neither of these peacekeepers were assigned to her before, which made things weirder. After three weeks, she recognized most of the people that had to do anything with her. One face stuck to her in particular, since the man went easier on her than the others and provided her with the most information. She wished he'd be one of the two peacekeepers.

She stood up without a word, her gaze switching between one face and the other. The peacekeeper who hasn't spoken cuffed her hands. They were the type of handcuffs, that'd shock you, if the supervising soldier wanted that to happen. 

They led her out through the corridor to another, slightly bigger room. This one had white walls as well and a table with two chairs in the middle, much like the interrogation room. The fact it looked so similar to the room, where they did all those terrible things to her, made panic bubble up inside her and her breathing became more shallow. 

The door on the other side of the room opened. It was as if everything stopped when the President walked in. Her eyes widened as much as they could and the air was knocked out of her lungs. Only in her worst nightmares, had she imagined ever coming face to face with this man. The stench of blood and roses flooded her senses as he came closer, it was terribly unpleasant and strong.

"Nicole" he addressed her as he sat down on one of the chairs. "Have a seat" Snow invited her with a gesture of his hand. 

One of the soldiers pushed her in the direction of the seat. She also sat down and now looked at him with narrowed eyes. 

"I don't believe that's the face you greet your family with" he added when he saw her expression

"What do you want from me?" Nicole asked lowly, her voice strained.

"I thought that perhaps a familiar face might get some sense through to your head" he looked into her eyes, his voice eerily calm. "Why do you so stubbornly insist on sticking with the rebels? Do you think they give a single thought to you?"

"I don't care if they even know who I am" she kept her voice low and tried to keep it steady. The pause was caused by her having to find the right words. During last weeks, it became harder for her to speak and losing words, or stumbling over them, was frequent now. "I'm staying true to what I think is right"

"Just like your father. Always sticking to your principles" he said the last words almost mockingly. "However, he's not with us anymore, precisely because of that. I believe, he would have wanted you to make a smarter decision than he did, Nicole."

At the mention of her father, only one image appeared in her head. His grave. She remembered so vividly how she stood with her grandmother in front of his and her mother's grave. An eight year old girl, dressed in a black dress, who has just laid a bouquet of flowers in front of her parents' tombstone. Her grandmother was crying, while holding her hand. She wanted to cry too, but it was impossible for her, as if her consciousness was still repulsing what happened. Only in the evening, when it fully dawned on her, she started crying and couldn't stop for the whole night.

"Then you didn't know him. I doubt he would want his daughter to let go of her morality" her voice was still mostly monotone, with only an edge of spite.

"He'd want you to understand that you'll end up dead, if hypothetically the rebellion wins. Do you think they'd spare your life? Naturally, they wouldn't. I doubt my nephew would want his cherished daughter to keep her self-proclaimed morality, but end up laying in a coffin" he kept his cold eyes on her.

"They wouldn't spare my life and understandably so" she swallowed and gathered her thoughts, anger coursing through her being at the manner of how this man spoke about her father. "and you don't have the right to talk about my father, when you were the one who ordered to kill him"

"He committed treason and wanted to run from the Capitol" Snow reminded, pleased with how she seemed to slowly lose control. 

Another painful memory struck her mind. One of her parents leaving her at her grandmother's house, saying their goodbyes. Her mom was on her knees, embracing her for what would be the last time, assuring Nicole of her love, while her father consoled her grandma. 

"He voiced his opinion and wanted to run because you made him fear for his life" she spat out at him.

"As the president, I can't turn blind eye on any crime, especially one committed by a relative" he ignored her comment.

"But somehow no one ever got convicted for the convenient disappearances of your opponents" her tone was accusatory, eyes remaining narrowed.

"Those were terrible accidents, we humans are fragile beings after all." he stood up from his chair, his gaze not leaving her. "As much as I hoped for it not to be the case, the rebels have completely messed up your brain. There is nothing more I can do for you, only wish that you'll realize the truth in time" he then turned to the peacekeepers. "Wash out her mouth with soap. It must be incredibly dirty, after all the nonsense that came out of it "

Her eyes widen at the words and one of the soldiers came up to her, restrained her and picked her up from the chair as the president was leaving.

"No- No!' she screamed, as she wrestled against the peacekeeper, panic engulfing her wholly. "Please, let go of me! Let go" the grip on her remained firm against her protests and she was dragged out of the room, the echoes of her screams ringing in the halls.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

So, here's another snippet of my OC, Nicole. This one takes place during her time as a prisoner in the Capitol, where she was taken to be interrogated (read: tortured) and imprisoned for allegedly speculating against the Capitol with the rebels. In truth, she was just bait, but that's how they covered it up.