A/N: Welcome to my first fanfic. I began after I reread the series and I just could get my brain out of the world. I thought I'd dabble in an alternate universe. Come, enjoy and please review...even if it's to tell me what you don't like. I want to become a better write and criticisms are absolutely welcome!
(Even if you begin now, after I've completed the story, please leave your thoughts)
Prim had been living in District 13 for almost four years. They promised to make her a healer when she agreed to their terms. She was finished with her program and was headed to District 2 for specialization studies in epidemiology, cures, and delivery systems. She was excited to leave the familiar caves of 13 and she had a few weeks to spend with her mother in District 4 before her new program began.
She couldn't help but think of the price she had to pay for these opportunities. She wasn't exactly a prisoner, but since her sister, Katniss, killed the leader of this rediscovered district they were keeping close tabs on her. The revolution had been over for almost three years, but the pain lived on in her memory. There was a slow burning sense of dread in her soul and it was fueled a growing resentment for the forces that seemed to control her life. The phony story of her death was a well calculated plan on the part of the Capital that went wrong. When the bombs dropped by the first parachutes exploded, panels in the sidewalk disappeared and she fell out of sight. Those first bombs were just sound effects. A few seconds later, when the panels were returned, the real bombs went off killing anyone in close proximity and the cameras and footage showed Prim as one of their victims.
Prim couldn't remember how long she was hidden beneath the panels or when they let her out from her hiding place. She'd lost consciousness from the fall and she was left in complete darkness. President Snow knew that Katniss would do anything to save Prim. Killing her would end the game, so keeping Prim alive was the goal to draw Katniss in and hold Prim for ransom. Snow hadn't dreamed that this plan would cause Katniss to execute of Coin. Those who witnessed his dying coughing fit said he perished from amusement.
When Prim was found by District 13's Special Forces team, her survival was kept secret. Those holding Prim convinced her that Katniss was so upset about the news of Prim's death that she had a mental break and any attempt to reveal a live Prim to Katniss would do further damage to her already fragile mental state. Reports of Katniss disappearing for hours at a time were very troubling to her, but Prim knew her sister and begged them to them Prim help her sister. "If Katniss knew I was alive, she would get better!" she tried to reason.
Prim was assured by Coin's officers that the combination of Peeta's hijacking and the new of Prim's death truly made Katniss a danger to herself and others. So, it was beyond Prim's ability to understand why they would arm her unstable sister with a bow for President Snow's execution. It took weeks to figure out Katniss' mental state and whether or not she was aware of what she was doing when she realigned her arrow on President Coin. Katniss never missed with a familiar bow. And they gave her the bow designed for her by Beetee.
Prim was given news of her sister's trial, even though Katniss was not present for it. A few days after Katniss' trial they allowed Haymitch to come visit her and explain what the future would hold for both herself and for her sister. He found her sitting on a little couch in a compartment that was sterile looking, but furnished with medical books. She was reading.
"Hey, Honey! Long time no see. Where have you been hiding?"
Prim was elated to hear the familiar voice that wasn't even that slurred. She guess that he hadn't found anyone to make him some white liquor.
"Haymitch!" she squealed as she ran across the small room to give him a hug. "I haven't been hiding. They say that I have to be observed because I suffered a concussion, but I think they're being a little overprotective. They forget that they're training me to be a healer." Prim knew there were other considerations, it had been weeks since her concussion, but she played along. The rebellion had taught her a lot about human nature.
"Prim. We have to discuss some serious business. I've done all I can to convince the judges that your sister is crazier than a loon on tracker-jacker venom," Haymitch spilled.
"Haymitch! Why would you say something like that?" Prim was appalled. She didn't expect Haymitch to be so rude after everything he and Katniss had endured. Of course, Prim knew both her sister and Haymitch well enough to know they drove each other crazy.
"Honey," Haymitch began, "that's best and only defense she has if she wants to stay alive. And where she is right now, she's not trying very hard. With you dead and Peeta hijacked, she doesn't have much will to go on. When she passes out from starving herself, they pump her full of medicines and vitamins."
Prim didn't know what to say because Katniss had never lost her will to survive. Katniss was a survivor. She survived two Hunger Games; three if you count the revolution where the Capital staged the battlefield as an arena and brought out the cruelest weapons they had ever devised. The only question that surfaced through her fear was the most obvious to her, "she has to continue to think I'm dead? So she can survive?"
Haymitch nodded his head and rubbed his hand over his unshaven cheek before he dropped his eyes to the floor. "And, it's part of her punishment. She will never know you're alive or she will be executed for treason. She will return to District 12 and never be allowed to leave it, though I doubt she'll ever want to." He kept his eyes on the floor.
He continued, "and, if Peeta wants to return to the district, he can never know you are alive either because the council knows he will tell her anything," he paused with a wry smile crossing his face. "If he doesn't kill her first as a result of the hijacking." He laughed bitterly at his tasteless joke. Prim knew it was how he dealt with what he saw as injustice.
Prim's horror spread across her fair features. She fidgeted with the belt of her robe. "Does he want to go back?" She hoped that Peeta continued to fight his hijacking.
"He does. He still loves her. He's figured out a way to distinguish the real memories from the false memories and if he can't, he asks. They play this game called real or not real. It was kind of annoying at first, but when I saw how much it helped him I stuck to him like glue while your sister was hiding in closets to help him figure it all out. He just doesn't know how she feels about him. Looking at all the old tapes has Peeta is questioning her sincerity."
"She loves him," Prim stated firmly. "Katniss just needs to figure out what that feels like and then how to express it." Prim thought for a moment. "Katniss isn't a good enough actress to have faked that scene on the beach."
Haymitch was not surprised at Prim's frankness and how true her assessment was. Prim had always been insightful, frank, and almost brutally honest. Her sweetness made her likable even when her honesty was cutting. He was going to steal this nugget of truth she just revealed and use it to help his Victors heal from their wounds. They may both forever believe that Prim is dead, but all truth is eternal.
"What about my mother? Do I ever get to see her again? Are we to be punished as well?" Prim sounded annoyed.
Haymitch looked her dead in the eye, "your mother may know, but then she will never be allowed to return to District 12 and see Katniss. But, she's told me that she can't go back there and be reminded of everything that's happened. It's just too much for her and I can't convince her to drink." The corner of his mouth twisted up in a small smile.
Prim's jaw clenched. These new leaders were just as cruel as the Capital; playing and manipulating the hearts and feelings of its subjects. "So my mother must choose between her daughters without even knowing the choice that is in front of her?"
A wide, sardonic smile spread across Haymitch's tired, sad face. "No, Honey, you have to choose for her. They are forcing you to make the decision for her."
Prim's face reddened. "Those…" Prim raised her voice to state exactly what she felt but Haymitch covered her mouth with his hand.
"You need to be careful what you say and consider out loud. Panam is in the process of figuring out who is loyal to the new regime and who is pretending to save their skin. It is a very unstable time." His eyes were fierce and Prim was not stupid. She guessed they were being monitored in some way.
"I see." Prim could see all right. She could see that the killing was not done and paranoid people were going to use whatever evidence they could to maintain their power. She knew what she needed to do. Katniss had been through enough. She had risked her life again and again to keep Prim safe and now it was Prim's turn to look out for Katniss. The only way she could do that was to look after her mother. If their mother returned to District 12, she would regress and that would not help anyone. Katniss had resented her mother since her father died. And even though things between Katniss and her mother got a little better after the Quell, Prim knew they would never overcome the chasm caused by the loss of her father. Yes, Prim must allow her mother to know that she is alive and not burden Katniss with her care. Katniss could learn how to show her love to Peeta in District 12 and he would take good care of her; she was certain of that.
"Is my sister to keep her house in the Victor's Village and all her winnings?" Prim asked.
"Yes. Katniss' conditions that all Victors receive immunity and keep what they earned will be honored. It actually placates both rebels and capitalites. Where the capital loved their Victors, the rebels admire their ability to survive. No one wants to see Victors harmed or punished."
What Haymitch left unsaid was that punishments were often executed in very subtle ways. Haymitch saw a hardening in Prim's features. He saw the rest of whatever remained of her naiveté drain pulling the pure innocence from her features. Haymitch realized that he was able to communicate with Prim in unspoken way much like he could with Katniss. The sisters were very different in appearance and temperament, but the new set of Prim's jaw made her look much more like her sister. Katniss' flame had burned out. Haymitch could see it ignite in Prim's eye, but it was different. It wasn't the bright flame of the Mockingjay. No, Prim's was the smoldering of long burning coals like Katniss' costume for the Quarter Quell.
"Let's go see my mother," Prim stated resolutely.
A/N2: So I'm in the process of going through to try to edit the many mistakes I made in my first fic. If you see an A/N2 at the bottom, it means I have been through it again.
I still have to write the epilogue, which is why I have not yet marked this story as completed.
Please leave your thoughts on my story. Reviews are worth gold to most of us who write. Thank you -Aretee