There was a hush in the Hob. The quietness seemed deafening to Gale. On looking back, he supposed that he should've found it mildly suspicious but at the moment, he was too busy looking for Sae to trade in the two squirrels he'd caught and skinned. Posy was literally sick with hunger and Vick had acquired a pale tinge. Even Rory looked like a bag of bones, though he didn't say much, Gale could tell. His mother and him had shouted down Vick's feeble suggestions and Rory's braver ones to help with the household- perhaps submit their names for tesserae. But that was one thing Gale was clear about- he'd rather take fifty more whips from Thread than let any of his siblings do that.
Gale finally saw Sae and to his surprise, saw her sitting morosely. "Didn't know you were one to move with the crowd, Sae," he said putting down the squirrels on her table. "What's going on?" Sae smiled grimly. "Not much talk goes on down in the mines, eh?" Gale stopped fiddling with the produce of Sae's table and looked up blankly. "What? Am I missing something?" Sae sighed and looked down.
"Mayor Undersee's dead, lad."
"What?"
"Why yes. As I said, not much talk goes on down in the mines. Wouldn't expect the news to reach so soon anyway. The execution was only this morning. Shame. Admitted, he didn't do much, but it wasn't his choice either. And he was executed on the grounds of 'crimes against the government'."
"Crimes against the government?" echoed Gale. "That's right, laddie. And the way they killed him off wasn't pretty either. Him and his wife were whipped to death. Right in front of the the daughter too."
'The daughter...'
"Pretty little thing, Madge Undersee.."
'The Mayor's daughter'
"Pity. Girl doesn't deserve such a fate."
Gale knew what Sae meant by 'fate'. And his heart plunged when he thought of Madge in the custody of the Capitol, probably man-handled by filthy rich business tycoons for even filthier means.
And he couldn't let that happen. Not after what they had between them. And definitely not after what he'd started feeling for her.
After being risen out his stupor by Sae, he hurriedly cashed in the squirrels left the Hob. He ran as fast as he could to the former Mayor's house. His idea was crazy and he knew it. But he couldn't do nothing.