AN. My very first Gadge Fic!
This was my contribution to this year's MoreS2SL collection.
Back in August I wrapped the story up in a hurry. I've been working at it since then, adding a few bits here and there to round it up. So, what you'll find here is slightly different from what I submitted there.
Hope you enjoy!
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Gale Hawthorne couldn't take his eyes off her. Her blond hair, loosely tied in a messy bun at her nape, shone like spun gold under the relentless summer sun.
He had never paid much attention to the mayor's daughter, only too happy to let Katniss deal with the annoying merchant brat. So, he was surprised to discover that, dressed in her everyday clothes, a worn white button down blouse and faded denim trousers, she looked more like a miner's daughter than the mayor's offspring.
Her simple clothes didn't hide the fact that she was better fed than most people in the district, though.
What gives her the right to act like something she's not? he thought, allowing an angry wave of resentment to wash over him. Is that how she fooled Katniss, he wondered, by acting like she's just another face in the crowd, by pretending we're all the same?
He shook his head, annoyed at himself for letting his anger spill over to his hunting partner who wasn't even there to defend herself.
He knew he was being childish, irrational, but his hatred for the merchant class was a familiar emotion which he understood. And, in a world where nothing seemed to make sense anymore, the comfort of familiarity was the one thing which kept him from snapping into a million pieces.
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Madge Undersee stood on the tips of her toes and scanned the crowd, inspecting the hundreds of heads which surrounded her. Silently, she watched them, bobbing up and down as they followed the thread of whatever conversation they were a part of.
To her right, a field of blond heads shone as brightly as sprigs of golden wheat under the warm summer sun.
To her left, towards the Seam, the much larger group of miners and their children stood together as one.
Typical, she thought, we share a space, but we keep our lives miles apart.
Her eyes reached the front of the crowd. The baker and his family stood ramrod straight on the second row.
Looking past them, she found Mrs Everdeen and her youngest daughter standing a few rows behind. Next to them, Gale Hawthorne's tall frame stood out from the rest of the crowd.
They're not alone, Madge thought with a smile.
With a sigh, she lowered herself back to the ground. She couldn't remember the last time so many people had assembled on the square to watch the show.
The bell on the town clock struck twelve. The two large screens which covered the front of the justice building flickered to life.
The crowd fell silent, mandatory transmission was about to start.
Madge stood still, watching intently as images of horse-drawn carriages racing through the streets of the Capitol filled the screens.
The first ones to appear were the careers, looking strong and unforgiving; their arrogant smiles highlighting their disdain.
The central districts followed.
Teenagers dressed as power plant employees, lab technicians, cattle herders, farmers; they all took a spin around the Capitol's city circle. Some stood tall while others cowered. Their eyes screamed of despair, the smiles plastered on their faces faltered.
Night had already fallen over the Capitol when the last chariot began its journey.
The small vehicle appeared on the screen. Madge held her breath. Something was wrong.
Long tongues of fire wrapped around the carriage, licking its sides. Madge's eyes widened in terror at the sight of the angry blazing ball which went barreling straight for the camera.
All around her, the crowd froze, holding their breath in fear as the flames filled the enormous screens above them.
Suddenly, the fire receded, showing Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark, unharmed, behind the blaze.
District 12 exploded in cheers.
Relieved, Madge laughed. Happy tears welled in her eyes as she took in the sight of her district's tributes looking mighty and powerful in their coal black clothes surrounded by flames.
Even through the commotion in the square, she could hear the Capitol crowds going mad, cheering enthusiastically and chanting Katniss's name.
The carriage took one last turn around the city circle. Madge's heart skipped a beat. There, reflected on the screens, displayed for the whole world to see, was a round bird-shaped pin.
"What an exquisite piece of jewelry!" one of the Capitol presenters exclaimed, her nasal voice ringing loudly over the square.
The audience agreed. Their hushed whispers spread like wildfire across the crowded square.
Madge watched the throng's reaction from her anonymous spot, covering her mouth in a futile attempt to hide her satisfied grin.
The unnerving feeling of being watched caught her by surprise. The tingling sensation spread thorough her body as it ran down her spine.
Intrigued, she turned.
Her breath hitched.
Even from a distance, she could feel the intensity of Gale Hawthorne's slate hardened stare zooming in on her.
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The show was over.
"Time to go home," Mrs Everdeen said with a sigh.
"I could walk with you if you like," Gale offered.
Mrs Everdeen smiled. "Thanks, Gale, but that's not necessary. You've done enough for one night. Go be with your family, we'll be fine."
Gale studied Mrs Everdeen through narrowed eyes. It irked him that he had never been able to figure out what was going on inside the woman's mind. With a slight shake of his head, he gave up. This was probably not the right time to try. If Mrs Everdeen said she was fine, who was he to tell her she wasn't?
"Alright, Mrs E.," he conceded, "Just let me know if you need anything, ok?" Looking to Katniss's sister, he added, "You too, Prim. I mean it."
Prim nodded. "We will, don't worry. See you tomorrow?"
"Yeah."
Mrs Everdeen wrapped an arm around her daughter's shoulders and turned towards the Seam. "Good night, Gale."
"Goodnight," Gale called back.
Gale watched them walking away. As he waited, people passed him by. Their excited whispers hung in the air, recalling the events of the night.
"Did you see how she smiled? She looked so confident!"
"… and what about him, with those arms? Almost as good as a career's!"
"… those flames! Do you think they were real?"
"Oh, and what about that pin? Where do you think she got that from?"
Gale huffed in irritation. He couldn't believe people were that stupid. What was so important about a piece of jewelry when 24 teenagers were being sent to their deaths?
Besides, he knew where the pin came from. He'd seen it before the reaping, hanging from Madge Undersee's frilly dress.
He had also seen the mayor's daughter coming out of Katniss's visiting room in the justice building. So, he knew exactly when the brooch had changed hands.
What he didn't know, and he certainly didn't understand, was why the spoiled brat had parted with it.
Katniss had never cared about fashion or accessories. The brooch was a costly, generous gift, but what was the point of taking an expensive trinket to the arena? Tributes weren't allowed to exchange their tokens for food or weapons.
The only thing Katniss could do with that pin now, was wear it.
"What a senseless waste," he muttered.
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Gale rushed through the woods. It was his last day of freedom and, with Katniss away in the Capitol, he needed to make the most of it.
By the time he reached the fence, the sun was already high in the sky, and he was sweating profusely. He didn't mind, though, his snares had made for a good haul, and he had a satchel full of things to trade.
Just as he was about to go under the fence, he spotted it, a wild strawberry bush laden with ripe, juicy fruit.
Without a second thought, he went over to the bush and picked as many strawberries as he could, fitting them into a small pouch.
With the pouch safely stored inside his hunting bag, he scurried under the fence and went about his business as usual.
It wasn't until much later, when he had already finished trading at the Hob and was heading back home, that he remembered the strawberries he'd collected.
He huffed, muttering angrily under his breath as he considered the situation.
Keeping them was not an option. His shift in the mines was starting in two days, and he needed all the money he could get —especially with Katniss gone. His pay wasn't going to be enough to keep two households afloat.
He thought about selling them at the Hob, but his usual customers had as much use for strawberries as he did. And, even if someone agreed to trade, the conditions wouldn't be great.
No, as much as it annoyed him, he knew what he had to do.
Gale reached the back door of the mayor's house. Softly, he rapped on the windowsill, following the tune Katniss always used when she traded with the mayor's daughter.
A moment later, the door opened just a crack. Madge Undersee's blue eyes peered through the small opening.
"Afternoon," he grumbled, straightening his back to his full height.
Recognition set in. Taking a small step back, Madge opened the door wider. "Gale Hawthorne. What brings you by?"
"Found these," he said, pressing the pouch into her hand, "thought you might be interested."
Surprised, Madge grabbed the bag. Carefully, she loosened the pouch's strings and looked inside.
Her eyes widened as soon as she saw the juicy red berries. "They look good," she said, keeping her tone flat. "How much do you want for them?"
Gale shrugged. "How much do usually pay?"
"Five coins for a full container." Weighing the pouch in her outstretched hand, she said, "I'd say this one's got… three coins worth?"
"Fine," he said, keeping his expression as disinterested as possible.
"Alright." She nodded. "I'll go get your money then."
As Madge walked away taking the strawberries with her, Gale let out a sigh. That wasn't so bad, he thought. Three coins are a lot more than what I would have gotten anywhere else.
Madge came back with the money, and they finished their transaction.
"Thanks for stopping by," she said, ending their conversation and turning her back on him to step into the house.
She had almost closed the door behind her when he called out, "Listen, can I ask you something?"
Madge stopped and turned around, but didn't move. After looking at him for a moment, she shrugged. "Sure."
Gale cleared his throat. "The pin. Why did you give it to her?"
Madge took a deep breath, buying herself some time to consider her answer.
Gale watched, momentarily stunned. There was something magnetic about the rise and fall of her chest as she slowly expelled the air from her lungs.
Her words resounded in the empty porch. "This may come as a surprise to you, but Katniss is my friend. I just… I wanted her to have something to remind her of home."
"Must be nice," he scoffed, "being able to part with something so valuable."
Madge's eyes turned into steely daggers aimed at his heart. "Yes, that golden bird is the most expensive thing I own, but that's not why I wear it to every reaping."
Surprised by her tone, Gale held his tongue. Madge had always defended herself from his biting remarks, but the anger consuming her was something he'd never seen before.
Glad to have his attention, Madge straightened her back. Dropping her voice to an angry whisper, she added, "Not everything is as simple as you think, Gale. Nothing in this world is black and white. That pin is dearer to me that you can imagine. I gave it to Katniss because I know she'll be able to bring it back."
Fixing him with one last glare, she turned around and slammed the door shut.
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"Next!" the civil servant from the labor division called out.
With slow, heavy steps, Gale reached the registration window. Without even looking at the person behind the glass pane, he slipped his folder through the opening.
The civil servant, a rotund woman wearing an ill-fitting gray vest that looked too warm for summer, flipped through the pages of Gale's file.
"Everything seems to be in order," she said. "I just need you to sign your admission papers here," she pointed to a dotted line at the bottom of a page," and there."
Gale's mouth went dry. He had known this day was coming since he was a child, but knowing about it was very different from actually signing his name and giving his life away to the mines.
Reminding himself to keep a steady hand, he grabbed the pen the woman offered and scrawled his name on the dotted line.
With a practiced flick of her wrist, the woman stamped the papers and shoved them into a gray folder with the words "Capitol Coal" emblazoned over the cover. With a mechanical motion, she placed the envelope on top of a tall pile.
Looking up at Gale, she said, "Very well, we're done. All you need to do now is stop by the wardrobe division to get your uniform and show up tomorrow for your orientation session. Do you have any questions?"
Gale shook his head.
A stiff smile curved her lips. "Welcome to Panem's mining workforce," she intoned. "Good luck." Looking past Gale's shoulder, she called out, "Next!"
Gale wandered aimlessly through the streets of town for a while. The collection slip from de wardrobe division was burning a hole in his pocket, but he wasn't ready to collect his uniform just yet.
He wasn't ready to go back home either. He couldn't face his family with their sad, anxious faces, wondering if he was ok or if he was going to have a meltdown right in front of their eyes.
He couldn't blame them for being worried, though. The reaping had turned his life into a wild rollercoaster ride. Dealing with his new life as a miner was bad, but not knowing what was going on with Katniss was driving him mad.
He shook his head, bitterly scoffing at his own stupidity and at the small speech he had hoped to deliver once the reaping was over. Because, even with 41 entries in the reaping bowl, he had felt invincible. He had foolishly believed he was about to be free to love, to live.
He had imagined himself, walking home at the end of the day to meet his family and friends with Katniss by his side. He had never even considered the possibility that she might not be there to share in his success.
But fortune had a strange way of interfering in people's lives; it had taken Katniss away -just as it had taken his father years before- and had left him to deal with the aftermath of loss once more.
He reached the small orchard behind the mayor's house and slowed down his pace, reveling in the cool respite the trees brought from the unforgiving sun.
His eyes landed on the thick tree trunk of an old apple tree. Just what I was looking for, he thought.
With a tired sigh, he dropped to the ground. Stretching his legs in front of him, he crossed them at the ankles and pressed his back against the tree.
Comforted by the shade, he began to relax.
He had been sitting down for a few minutes when a soft melody reached his ears. It was touching and sweet, played with delicate ease.
Captivated, Gale craned his neck to listen more closely.
The haunting melody wrapped around him like a mist, burrowing into his thoughts and bringing a long-lost memory, hidden in the deepest part of his soul, back into his mind.
"Dad," he whispered as tears pooled in his silver eyes.
Gale jumped to his feet. Silently, he reached the open window of the mayor's home and peered inside.
Madge was sitting at the piano, her head tilted in concentration as her nimble fingers danced over the keys.
Enthralled, he watched her play.
She was wearing a green summer dress that was little more than an oversized camisole. Her blond hair, gathered in a messy braid, fell over her left shoulder leaving her back and sun-kissed shoulders exposed. The light sheen of sweat on her skin made her glow.
Feeling suddenly parched and slightly lightheaded, Gale ran his tongue over his chapped lips.
Without even thinking, he reached out and grabbed the windowsill, listening intently to the old song his father had sung so long ago.
Madge swayed as she played, following the rhythm of the traditional country song.
His heartbeat quickened, and he tightened his grip on the wooden frame; suddenly overcome by the need to run his hands over Madge's arms and shoulders, and to bury his face in the crook of her neck.
He had never wanted to touch anyone so badly in his life.
The thought startled him, sobering him up like a jump into an ice-cold lake and immediately bringing him back to the present.
Confused, he shook his head. What was he doing? Following a pretty melody like a schoolboy and drooling over the mayor's daughter? What was wrong with him?
Squaring his shoulders in silent determination, he turned on his heels and headed home.
His feet carried him back to the Seam, but his olive skin tingled under the relentless summer sun as he walked, bringing images of freckled shoulders and bronzed necks to his mind.
Annoyed, Gale huffed and picked up his pace, grumbling incoherently under his breath until he reached his front door.
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AN. I want to thank everyone who donated something to the wonderful MoreS2SL charity. It's a great cause, and every bit we do helps.
I also want to thank the lovely DandelionLass for inspiring me to write this story, and the fantastic EverlarkingJoshifer for pre-reading, beta-ing, and making a beautiful banner for it.
You can also find me on Tumblr. I'm Javistg over there, come and say hi!
The Hunger Games Trilogy is property of Suzanne Collins. No money was made off of the creation of this fanwork.