A/N: It's been a while since I've uploaded anything. Here's a chapter of something to let you know: I've moved to Archive of Our Own! You can find me there under the same name: thedemonledger , and I'll be posting all or a lot of the same stuff. Please catch me on that flipside. -B
Horns were the first sound Katniss heard all day aside from the rattling and rumbling of her carriage. Horses whinnied in dismay at the loud, brassy noise - as they stomped and rallied, the cart swayed back and forth in its stopped position. The midday sun was occluded by treacherous rain clouds which threatened to burst forth and douse her party with their seething brood. It seemed the weather was unaware of its impertinence; today was Katniss' eighteenth birthday, though of course, the celebration planned for the day was not in regards to that. Rather, today was the official declaration of her betrothal, and in two weeks time, she would be married to Lord Gale Hawthorne II of Bergenon. Her home of Panem was a small spot of land locked neatly against the coast by other, far more auspicious countries. Celebrations such as this were monumental occasions. Clouds, and the rain that fell from them, had no business rearing their lamentable bodies against what should have been her bluest skies. The door to her carriage swung open, revealing the castle in Bergenon, where she would spend the next two weeks celebrating a fourteen year engagement. Her feelings of ill disguised petulance bubbled just beneath the surface of her well practiced smile as she accepted her footman's helping hand and descend the stairs from her coach.
"The Princess, Katniss!" called a voice to her left. Those people who lined the cobbled path in front of her bowed, knelt, and curtsied until she had passed.
"The Lady Primrose!" the same voice bellowed; Katniss glanced over her shoulder to see Prim exiting gracefully, and smirked to herself. If only their roles were reversed; Primrose would make a far better princess than Katniss. Her sister shimmered in the light of the court, full of the youthful grace that Katniss felt she herself so obviously lacked. Even as she straightened her posture and clasped her hands demurely in front of her sweeping skirt, it felt wrong. As if every fibre of her being was straining against this one task set in between her and rest. God, I hope it rains. She thought to herself, dismissing her earlier, childish annoyances at the weather.
Her mother waited just inside the main gate. Katniss curtsied and bowed her head as she knew was proper. Her long, full gown hid the shaking of her knees as she waited for her mother's hand upon her shoulder. It came, instead, to her chin, and guided her space to look upwards.
"My beautiful princess," said her mother, eyes soft. "Stand." Katniss did as she was told, standing just to the side of her mother, who wound her fingers through Katniss' trembling ones. Her mother leaned towards her, turning her head downwards to whisper into Katniss' ear. "Are you nervous to see your betrothed? It is not as though he has not spent time in your company before."
"No, mama," replied Katniss faintly. "Simply hoping against the rain." The queen nodded slightly at this, squeezed her daughters fingers, and released her. Prim was curtseying before them. Their mother touched a hand briefly to her shoulder and brushed past them both.
"The queen," said Prim politely, weaving one arm through her sisters and falling into step beside her. "Seems to keep your highness, the Princess in her favor today."
Katniss appraised her sister before responding, glancing swiftly between her and their mothers disappearing form in front of them. "Perhaps," she speculated, tone light. "But perhaps if you were to be married in two weeks time, you would also see the very," she stressed the word with a pressured squeeze of her sisters wrist, "faint light of Her Majesty's love as well."
Prim laughed, a tinkling noise that set Katniss more at ease than any generic gesture from their mother. "Perhaps indeed, dear sister. " They continued forward through the castle grounds, skirts rustling. "Do you think I will ever be married, as you are?" asked Prim in an undertone. Katniss nodded slowly.
"You do not have the duty of bringing an heir to our throne," Katniss whispered, "as I do. But I'm sure our mother will find a man to wed you to."
"If only to empty my estate for her own," Prim reasoned. Katniss laughed now, a lower sound than that of her sisters. A drop of water hit her face, and she looked up, squinting at the dark grey clouds.
"The rain is upon us," said Katniss, squeezing her sisters hand before releasing her arm. "We would do best not to dally, your grace."
Another blast of horns guided them into the castle, the yellow light of flickering torches cast mutable shadows over them. The rain came down in sheets moments after they both made it through the wide double doors. Katniss heard one of her ladies shriek in surprise; soon the rain was creating vast and opaque waves of rain that swept through the grounds with the wind. It soaked their party through, who had followed the sisters at a respectful pace and were now running to get under cover. Katniss ushered them in, placing one hand on her maid, Madge, who's hair stuck to her forehead and neck where it had come out of her perfectly pinned updo.
"Is everyone as wet as you are?" asked Katniss. Madge nodded.
"If not worse, my lady." She looked out the front doors, away from the princess, towards the girls still running into the castle. She wore the standard that all Katniss' ladies-in-waiting wore: dresses whose colors matched those of her own. Today, blue of varying shades, all darker than her own, and a navy cape buttoned at the throat. Her hair had been pinned away from her face and neck; this gave Madge a doeish look. All the girls had different shades of blue ribbon running through their hair, denoting position within her party. Madge's ribbon was almost black, so navy was its hue.
"Please escort everyone to change their skirts and cloaks. Take down your hair until it's time to get ready," said Katniss firmly, squeezing Madge's shoulder. Her lady nodded and ushered the other girls away as Katniss turned back to her sister. "I am hopeful your quarters are near to mine."
"As am I, dear sister," replied Prim with a smile. "If they are, perhaps I can steal your chambermaid, as mine seem to grow more useless by the day." They both laughed.
Quick footsteps from behind had hand Katniss turning. A man stopped in front of her and bowed deeply.
"Your Highness," he said, kissing the ring on her proffered right hand.
"Sir Thomas," she replied with a smile. "Primrose, this is Sir Thomas Cobb, of Yon." Prim curtsied gently as he bowed deeply to her.
"Your Highness may just call me Thom, if you wish." Thom stood, offering his arm to Katniss. "I've been sent by Lord Hawthorne and Her Majesty, the Queen to escort you to your chambers." Katniss looped her arm delicately over his and smiled back at Prim.
The castle seemed to Katniss a great deal smaller than how she had remembered it to be in her yearth. Then again, she had been a great deal smaller herself as well. Free reign hadn't seemed like such a luxury then, either; though now Katniss doubted whether she'd ever had such a thing, or rather if her spatial confinement has been limited slowly over the years. Like a water brought up to boil, she thought blithely. Any child of hers would have to be brought up differently. She would insist on it.
"So, Thom," said Katniss, breaking the silence between the trio as they made their way up yet another flight of stairs, "how are you wife and child?"
"They are very well, madame," replied Thom with a smile.
"Do you remember her, Primrose?" asked Katniss over he shoulder. "She was one of mother's ladies. Forgive my rudeness but I've forgotten her name."
"Dahlia, Your Majesty. But you may have known her by Delly," Thom reminded her patiently.
"Quite right- oh," simpered Katnissm pulling a smile onto her previously blank countinenance. "And the sex of your child?"
"A boy, ma'am," he replied warmly. "Name Charles, after my father." Katniss' smile deepened and she patted his hand. He stopped, moving from her grasp to gesture her towards a large set of double doors. He bowed again. "It has been an honor, Princess." Katniss' curtsies slightly and put one hand on the handle to the door.
"Your Highness," said Thom as he straightened, "your sister's room is immediately to your left." Katniss nodded.
"Show her, if you will. And who should I elect to notify my mother when we are dressed?"
"I shall have some of your ladies within to assist you posthaste." Thom stepped lightly away from her, one arm extended towards her sister. The princess pushed open the door to her quarters. She had grown used to overly elaborate rooms - so much to the point that they bored her. Her four poster bed sat squarely in the heart of the room, a looming requisite pushed against the far wall. It was made up with silk sheets and a downy comforter embroidered with no small amount of gold thread. Pillows of all sorts and shapes sat against the headboard, too many for her to count. Exhausted from her ride and the requirements of conversing as a princess, Katniss moved to the large bed and sat lightly on the edge. The balls of her feet still pressed against the oak flooring, and one hand rested on the bedpost beside her. She reached up with her free hand to the pins in her long dark hair, removing them and letting it fall in soft waves around her face.
A light knock came from her door.
"Come in," she said. Madge entered, followed by a fox-faced, red-headed girl whom Katniss did not yet know the name of. They both curtsied lightly, then took their usual places beside the bed. Katniss took as deep a breath as she could against her stays and stood. "I must change from my travelling clothes," she said, keeping on hand on the banister. She pressed the other to her stomach. "I understand my dresses were sent ahead."
"Yes, my lady," said the fox-faced girl. Madge came around the bed and stood in front of Katniss, already beginning to undo the hooks that gathered the front of her gown.
"Cath," she said. "Will you fetch a pitcher of water to wash the lady's face with?" The fox-faced girl - whom Katniss now knew to be named Catherine - nodded and hurried from the room. Madge pulled the light yellow gown off Katniss shoulders and draped it gently across the bed. "Would you prefer the green or blue gown, my lady? I see no reason to remove your stays and petticoats."
Katniss grimace. "I should like to rest a while," she replied, removing her silk kerchief by pulling it from beneath her bodice.
"Perhaps not just now my lady," replied Madge with a tentative smile as she began to unlace Katniss' skirt. Catherine entered again with a large porcelain pitcher clasped in her hand.
"I'll collect your dress while you wash." Madge moved around the back of Katniss, to remove the skirt fully and drape it gently across the bedspread.
"Yes, of course," Katniss paused, "well, if we must now, the green, as that is the one with the shorter sleeves." Katniss leaned down, allowing Madge to pull the skirt off over her head. Her lady nodded and removed the few remaining hair pins from her dark brown hair.
"Would my lady prefer to wear no farthingale tonight?" asked Madge with a knowing style?
"If you must require me to wear three petticoats to fill out that skirt, I should rather do that by far," Katniss replied. Katniss moved to the table where Catherine stood beside a bowl of water. The bowl was beautiful - another piece of porcelain painted a deep blue. She cupped the cold water and brought it to her face. It shocked her skin but she did it again, hoping to revitalize herself from the long carriage journey. Still bent over the bowl, she accepted a linen cloth from Catherine and patted her face dry with it.
"My lady," said Madge quietly, "I require your involvement." Katniss sighed, but bit the inside of her cheek and forced a smile.
Elsewhere in the castle, Gale Hawthorne was pacing his quarters, awaiting audience with the queen. There was a hard rap on his door that made him jump a little, breaking him from his concentrated memorization of how he wanted to beseech Her Majesty.
"Enter," he said impatiently, pausing only to see who it was. Thom entered, bowing hastily before shutting the door behind him. "Are the preparations ready?" asked Gale, resuming his pacing.
"Yes, my-"
"And the queen?"
"Well, you see, sir -"
"Yes?" Gale cut across him, and his tone was harsh, unyielding in its vitriol.
"She does not which to take audience with you at this time, my lord." Thom bowed his head, avoiding Gale's eyes, which flashed cruelly. The smaller man took a breath. "She says she is tired from her journey and will see you in only two hours for the festivities tonight, but wishes to remain undisturbed until then." Gales face was set in a discordant sneer, and he tuc ked hi thrumbs into the tied waste of his breeches, then reached up to straight hi black jerkin's collar.
"Leave me," gale replied with a wave of his hand. As soon as Thom was gone from the room, Gale pulled from his pocket an ornately carved wooden box. This held Katniss' betrothal ring; it had been his mothers, and her mothers before her. An old tradition - a family heirloom. He needed to seek council with the queen.
"Your Eminence," called Gale, hurrying to catch the white-haired cardinal before he entered his private chambers. "I was hoping to have a word with you, in regards to the queen."
"My lord," the cardinal replied. He bowed, then opened the door to his chambers, allowing Gale inside. "What do you wish to commune with me?"
"I beseech you to find me audience with Her Majesty before this evening's gallantries," Gale said, crossing his arms over his chest as the old man took his seat across from him. "In regards to my engagement with the princes."
"You are aware I am only here to oversee the wedding which - I hope = will be done in two weeks? I am not Her Majesty's advisor," said the cardinal, shuffling he parchments in front of him.
"I am aware," Gale said, teeth gritted. "But I also know the queen takes your opinion in high regard." The cardinal paused halfway to putting on his glasses, lifting his eyes without lifting his head.
"I shall see what I can do. Now if Your Grace has no further issues, I should wish to return to my correspondence and have you summoned to Her Majesty's chambers should she allow it." Gale nodded and stalked from the room, chewing his lip as he went.
He didn't return to his chambers. The over decorated room gave gale the feeling of being trapped inside a large play chest. No, he couldn't stand to be within that room longer than what was absolutely necessary. He ventured instead down the long hall he knew held the room of his betrothed. He rapped lightly, almost tentatively on her door.
"Enter," came her commanding tone. He opened the door slowly, and edged in. She was still wearing only her underdress, and his eyes scanned her form as he made his measured way into a deep bow.
"Your Highness," said Gale, attempting to keep the laughter from his voice.
"Lord Hawthorne," Katniss said. There was a rustling of skirts. Gale's back was starting to ache. "Leave me, girls." One of her chambermaids hurried from the room; the other whispered in a low tone, but he couldn't make out her words. Katniss huffed impatiently. "Go check on my sister. Her ladies are not so competent as you." There were more skirts rustling and Katniss' hand appeared before him as the other woman disappeared from the bedchamber. The hand Katniss offered did not hold the signet ring so telling of her position as princess, but was bare. Gale glanced up at her as he pressed his lips to her knuckles. "My lord knows he is not meant to be in my chambers, yes?" She squeezed his hand. "Oh, please stand."
Gale stood, a smirk etched onto his face. "How are you, Catnip?" Katniss pressed forward, winding her skinny arms around his taut frame. She shook her head. They stood very still for a moment, one of his hands smoothing down her hair, the other smoothing slow, steady circles into her back.
"Promise me one thing," Katniss said. Gale grunted in affirmation, stepping back from her. "When we are married, cease calling me by your peevish childhood nickname for me."
"Of course, Your Highness," Gale said, reaching one hand up to trail down her cheek, "but until that day-"
"Which is only but two weeks away," Katniss reminded.
"Two weeks in my castle," Gale goaded. Katniss smiled and pressed her cheek into his hand. "With me around every corner."
"Ah yes," said Katniss, closing her eyes against the cloying smile that threatened to overtake her. "Two weeks of watching you try secretly to sneak my ladies from my chamber to yours."
"Your Highness has me wrong," Gale frowned, hand moving to grip behind her neck. "I am loyal only to you."
Katniss reached one hand up and pulled his arm gently from her. "Loyalty is nothing to do with it, my lord." Katniss opened her eyes finally to search Gale's face. It was impassive, though it edged towards teasing. She sighed.
"Katniss," Gale lamented, sliding his hand down her face and to her collarbone. She stepped back and bowed her head.
"You ought not to be here, my lord. I shall see you in only two hours time." Katniss looked up at him through her eyelashes, then glanced at the bed, covered in the scarves she was meant to choose from.
"You might think to not be so formal with me. We are friends, are we not?" Gale asked, stepping closer. His hands went to grip her waist. Katniss pursed her lips and scowled at him. She set her hands gently on his wrists and pushed them away.
"Perhaps we are," she replied, "in which case you should mind your manners, and the princesses boundaries." She brushed herself off, and turned to pick a scarf. "Go now. I must finish getting ready if we really are meant to be engaged tonight." Gale stood looking at her for a time, backed out of the room, bowed, and left.
The ladies were waiting just beyond the door, and bowed their heads, stooping to curtsey when the door opened. Gale looked at them, and Madge looked up. He winked at her as a smile crept onto his face. "I'm sure the princess requires your assistance more within her chambers than without." He set off back down the hall, whistling gently, his hands clasped behind her back.
Katniss was fiddling the edge of a light blue voile scarf between her fingers when her ladies re-entered the room. "I should not pretend I am comfortable," she said quietly as Madge made to remove the scarf from her. She picked up a boars hair brush from the bed and began brushing it over Katniss' gown, removing any stray threads and flattening it. She picked up the long overskirt, a dark evergreen, and moved around Katniss' front.
"I'm unsure what you mean, my lady," Madge replied, stooping to wind the skirt and underskirt ties together before gathering a handful of straight pins off the bed. "Would you like a different room?"
Katniss picked up a silk scarf, a pale yellow embossed with blue flowers, and rubbed the material between her fingers while Madge continued to pin her skirt in place. She turned her attention to Catherine, who bowed her head at the severe look on Katniss' face. "Will you alert Her Majesty the queen of our readiness, then go see the other girls about changing you into something more appropriate?" She eyed Catherine over as she nodded and turned from the room. "Green will wash her of all color, unfortunately," Katniss remarked offhandedly. Madge stood stooped, brushing Katniss' skirt with the flat of her hands in a vain attempt to get it to fall straight. Katniss offered Madge the silk scarf, which Madge draped over Katniss' shoulders, tucking it down into the hard line of her kirtle. There was a long silence as Madge picked up Katniss' shirt and stepped behind her.
"My lady, please tell me if there is something I can do to or ask for to improve your comfort. I know how you dislike these embellished rooms," Madge said softly as Katniss slipped her arms into the shirt. It was a light green, matching the underskirt. She bit her lip.
"It is not the room," Katniss replied. "I am just eighteen. I do not want to be married." Her voice was tight, and she cleared her throat, blinking away tears that had just started to form. "But perhaps it is not my age. Hmm," she hummed as Madge began to work the eyes and hooks together on the front of her garment. "Perhaps it is the man. Why should I marry if not for love?" Katniss tugged at the edges of her sleeves, which fell just past the elbow, and looked at Madge, who pressed two hands gently into Katniss' shoulders and brushed any stray dirt, dust, or debris away.
"My lady will forgive me, I hope, but…" Madge adjusted Katniss' scarf, "perhaps your station does not permit you to love." Katniss smiled sadly at her lady's words. She reached up and placed one hand against her old friends cheek.
"I suppose you are correct, as always. What would I do without you?" Katniss asked, moving to the vanity to begin pinning up her hair.
"Struggling to dress - or worse still," Madge paused, watching Katniss with her head tilted to one side, "having Catherine attempt to dress you." They both laughed.
"You will have to get married in love for both of us, Madge," said Katniss, looking at her in the mirror. Madge's smile faded and she nodded courteously. "Go have the girls help you dress. There is not much time left to prepare oneself for the engagement of a princess." Madge wrinkled her nose and shook her head, then curtsied gently and left the room, pausing only to give Katniss one last, firm smile.
Madge was right, as she always was when Katniss confided in her. She pressed a hand to her forehead, tears threatening at the corners of her eyes again. It would not do her any good to cry now, so soon before a celebration in her honor, But she felt plagued by her apprehension. It stuck in her throat like the astringent smell of tannin. What she wouldn't give to be spending the next two weeks in her own bed, in her own home. Though Gale had been her friend all her life, she could not shake the feeling that the love between them was only that: friendly. Katniss shook herself off and went back to pinning up her hair. She was so ungrateful of her position as princess. How could she possibly make do as queen?