Not many people of District 12 knew but Haymitch Abernathy was the godfather of Margaret Undersee. Matilda Donner had wanted no one else to watch her newborn daughter and Silas Undersee had gone along with his wife's wishes. When the babe was born and he went to the hospital scared and sober he had said a desperate prayer that the child would look like her father and not like her mother who was the win of the girl he had loved and let die. Maysilee Donner still haunted him even all these years later and he prayed this child had dark hair and eyes.
instead he was greeted with eyes as blue as the ocean and hair as bright as sunflowers. And instead of running he was drowning in those eyes. Then and there he vowed to love and protect this child. And so Margaret grew with pale skin and bright eyes and wavy hair that was neither straight now curled. And she was his pearl, in the filth of the coal of the Seam here he found his treasure. And so Margaret became Madge.
With a sick mother and a mayor for a father his beloved Madge did not have many friends. But she and the bakers youngest boy had been pushed together in school enough for the little girl to beg to be able to play with the brat named Peeta. And more than once in the summer of her childhood Madge and Peeta could be found playing the the Meadow or the large yard of the mayors manor under the watchful eye of Haymitch Abernathy.
Peeta with his soft blonde hair and light blue eyes was a gentle boy who had compassion running through his bones. He always let Madge take the lead and never laughed at her larger than life imagination. one day they would be fighting a dragon and climbing mountains, other days swimming to the ocean floor to find the treasures hidden in the deep. But one thing the pair would always do when Matilda was not dripped by her migraines and depression and she was able to play a soft melody on her grand piano was dance.
the pair would stumble and laugh with all of the youthful abandon Haymitch never wanted his pearl to lose. They were taught the dances of the Capitol by Silas and the more rough and tumble gigs of the Seam by himself. But more often than not Peeta and Madge would simply hold hands and spin under gravity and dizziness won out.
And even as the years passed and the play dates stopped as Tilda grew sicker and Myrtle Mellark grew nastier the friendship between the pair managed to survive and even thrive. Madge stayed away from Peeta at school as to not alienate all of the friends the boy made. He reluctantly went along.
But more often than not the mayors daughter would secretly be in the kitchen of the bakery helping the bakers boys or just watching Peeta as he made the cakes she loved. She would talk and he would listen as she complained about the tall slowly boy from the Seam. She would listen as he dreamily talked about her somewhat friend Katniss.
Nothing changed even as he was reaped and she was left behind forced to watch. She did not care about the blood on his hands or the leg he lost. She stood by his side and adapted to hide their friendship from the prying eyes of the Capital.
Madge knew the kind of games these people played, she was good at hiding behind courtesies and smiles. Those two had too much history for the Capital to take it away.
and even now when Peeta was hijacked and screaming tied to the bed Haymitch knew his pearl could get through to him. He had summoned Madge despite the protests of Coin and Katniss. He was outside the room watching as the girl with the blonde hair silently entered the room with a scowling Katniss beside him and a glowering Gale beside her.
The boy had come despite protests from all sides. If Haymitch did not know better he would think the boy was mad because Madge has agreed before he could even finish speaking. He knew Katniss thought that Peeta and Madge were friendly but not close. Few knew At the behest of both parties. Peeta to protect Madge from the Capital and Madge to protect Peeta from the ridicule of the Townies and because it was no ones business but their own.
As Madge entered the room he saw her carefully constructed mask crack as she looked at the boy who was staring at her with wild eyes."Oh Peeta." As soon as she spoke with a soft voices the boy froze before his breathing increased and his yells began anew.
With tears in her eyes Madge began to hum a familiar tune. Haymitch recognized it immediately. It was a soft yet lively tune that Tilda would play for the children more often than not. It was the first song Madge could play on her own. It was soft summers day with the wind blowing and birds singing. Madge began to hum louder and soon she began to move. Gently spinning around the room. He heard Gale ask if she was crazy and he heard Katniss move towards the door.
He grabbed her hand before she could move and said harshly, "WAIT. Watch and listen." The boy was no longer screaming as loud. Instead he was watching the spinning figure in front of him. eventually the yells subsided and instead his hoarse voice began to hum along with that of Madge. His voice cracked hitting the notes and it sounded awful. But eventfully Madge stopped spinning and instead ended up side him.
And all watched frozen in shock as Madge lifted her hand to touch his pale and grizzled cheek. And all watched as Peeta chocked out, "Madge." Tears were in the eyes of both as she embraced him and he leaned into her embrace. and so the pair stayed silent even as Madge began to hum the tune of childhood once more.