I do not own the Hunger Games, nor Jane Eyre, except for the dog-eared copy I have read 12 times. Enjoy!

Prompt: Jane Eyre What if hijacked Peeta were locked in the attic?

It had been just a few days ago that she had been wandering, trying to escape the loveless offer that Darius had made for her to marry him and go to India as a missionary. He was a good man, so good, but she did not love him. There was only one man she loved, would ever love and she had lost him. They had taken him away. But now, there she was on her beloved moor and it seamed to her that she heard him calling her name, "Katniss! Katniss!", with such excruciating desperation, such wild pain. Her heart raced as she cried "I'm coming! Wait for me!" She left for Thornfield as soon as she possibly could. She knew she must get to him, to protect him from whatever threatened to take him even farther away from her.

Since then it seemed she was on an endless road back to Thornfield. Thornfiled held not only Mr. Mellark, but also a close knit family of servants: Portia, the housekeeper who had been with Mellark forever it seemed; Cinna, the manservant; Lizette, the fox-faced little French maid who spent much of her time with Primrose; Sae, the cook and Haymitch, whose job was quite unclear, but who seemed to lurk in the upper apartments and was almost always in a constant state of drink. When she left last time it was because she discovered that Her Mr. Peeta Mellark, who had treated her as an equal, who had not trampled on her fiery spirit, who had professed his love for her and asked her to marry him, had deceived her to the point where she could no longer stay at Thornfield.

Katniss Everdeen had at that time been employed for approximately nine months as the governess for Mr. Mellark's ward, Primrose, whom she had grown to love like a little sister. She had been hired in response to an advertisement set by Portia in a Yorkshire paper. At the time she read the advertisement, she was teaching at the once infamous Panem School for girls, an orphanage. She had suffered greatly in her younger life, but was dedicated to her students and well loved by them. She had no family and no money to speak of. Yet she yearned to be free.

When she came to Thornfield Hall, she felt more freedom than she ever had in her young life. She could come and go as she liked on the grounds and even walked among the wild moors surrounding them. The moors seemed to call to her with their wild beauty. But more intriguing that the moors, was the master of the hall. Peeta Mellark often called her to his study, where they would engage in conversations on many topics. Katniss, unlike many women of her time, had an insatiable hunger for knowledge and loved to read. She and Mr. Mellark would talk for hours and he even encouraged her to speak plainly to him in all her opinions. She found she looked forward to those sessions with her employer. During that time, Katniss had often been awakened in the night by ferocious screams and loud noises. The mornings after such mysterious happenings no one would be able to explain the events and Peeta Mellark would appear to have left in the night. She feared something evil had happened to him, something other worldly. Still, her fears were always abated upon his return, which also seemed to happen as strangely as his disappearances did.

She had been much perplexed then, not just by the strange comings and goings, but by the presence of the very beautiful Miss Glimmer Ingram. Tall and robust, with golden hair and sparkling eyes, radiant gowns and jewels, Miss Ingram seemed to captivate a room upon her entrance. She was also haughty and proud, never giving a second thought to comments made in Katniss' presence regarding her disfavorable opinion of governesses. Cruelly she flirted and hung all over Mr. Mellark, constantly branding him as her own. For his part, he did not seem to mind the attentions of this shallow, golden creature and in fact gave his own style of flirtation in return. He also commanded Katniss be present at every gathering, forcing her to observe the cat and mouse game till she thought she would scream with the injustice of it all.

But there were many chances for small conversations just between Peeta and Katniss. When she had almost given up hope that she be free from enduring the scene made by Miss Ingram, there was another episode of loud noises at night, waking the guests and causing confusion. Peeta was gone and, as Portia had explained; called on an emergency to see to his ailing brother in London. So the fashionable guests left and Katniss walked the grounds for days, waiting and worried for her mysterious master.

Not only was she worried for him, but she was worried for her own poor heart. She realized, after months of denial even to herself, that she was in love with Peeta. Despite the years of being an orphan and an outcast, from which she had built thick walls around her heart to protect it, she could not turn away from the incredible connection she felt with Peeta. Yes, he was often moody and mysterious, with a shaggy mane of yellow hair and stocky build. But he had piercing blue eyes and an uncanny ability to ask her questions that looked right into her soul, yet always waited for her answer, despite what she felt was her inability to be good with words. She felt truly understood by him and she saw in him an innate goodness and deep sorrow. It seemed impossible to reconcile that beautiful soul of his with the superficial world of Glimmer Ingram. How could she stay on if he married her? She could not.

So lost in her thoughts she was, that she did not even see Peeta as he came around the corner of the garden. Nearly crashing into him, she exclaimed, "Mr. Mellark! You've returned! Thank heaven!" He held her arms to steady her, a smile reaching his mouth for just a second, until his brow became furrowed and he looked to the ground, releasing a gigantic sigh.

" Come sit with me Katniss. I must discuss something with you." They walked together and sat beneath an old oak. "We've been good friends, haven't we Katniss?"

"Yes, sir."

"It's difficult, isn't it when friends must part."

"Must we part, sir"

"I'm afraid so." He paused, looking exhausted in both body and spirit. "You are so very close to me, Katniss, and to Primrose. It's as if we were connected by some string, attached to each of our ribcage. When you leave me, I fear it shall break and I will begin to bleed inwardly. But you, you are young and strong. You will go on without me..."

Her fire would no longer be contained. She stood up abruptly. "How can you imagine that? How do you think I will be able to go back to my old like without you? I love Thornfield! I have lived a full life here. I have not lived in fear. I have not been trampled on! I have been treated as an equal – you have treated me as an equal! I have never known that two people could be so close as you and I, exchanging thoughts, hopes and dreams. I have spent my life trying to not need anyone, and now you say I must leave you?"

"Then don't leave me, Katniss!" He rose and grabbed her arms, drawing her close.

"I Must, sir! You will have a wife soon." Hot tears burned her eyes and she gritted her teeth to keep them at bay.

He held her still, "A wife? Who will be my wife?"

"Glimmer Ingram of course! Do you think me a machine that I could watch you marry her? Watch her send Prim away to some beastly school? Do you think that because I am poor, obscure, plain and little that I have no heart? No soul? I tell you now, my soul speaks to yours, not my flesh. I have a much heart as you and as much soul! And if God had granted me beauty and wealth, I would make it as hard for you to leave me as it is for me to leave you!"

He held her still and closer, "Again I say, don't leave me Katniss, ever. Stay with me, marry me, grow old with me. I have never known another woman as beautiful as you. From the first day I saw you I knew you would do me good. And soon after I knew I wanted to share my life with you..."

"But what of all the attentions of Glimmer Ingram?"

"Glimmer Ingram is the machine. You are my firebird! Your passion, your sense of justice, your loving heart shine through your silver eyes as if touched by Athena herself! You, Katniss are my heart's desire. Marry me?"

Katniss stood in his arms, nearly feeling as if she could collapse. She was his heart's desire? Could she believe it? Could it possibly be true? She said nothing but gazed at him with her mouth open, tears running down her cheeks now. He raised his thumb to gently wipe them away from her cheeks.

"Are you truly in earnest, sir?"

"Call me by my name. Call me Peeta."

"Peeta, do you love me?"

"Yes! By all that is holy and unholy, I LOVE YOU! Will youmarry me?"

"Then yes, Peeta, I will marry you." She threw her small arms around his mighty neck. His lips crashed into hers and his breath was hot. Again he kissed her and again, embracing her as if he would make their spines become one. Holding her head and chestnut hair as gently as a babe may be cradled with love.

At once a summer shower came across the field as if from no where and the ran, smiling all the while, back to the house. Thunder rolled and lightning flashed just where they had been together and a giant bolt struck the very tree they had been beneath moments ago. Katniss seemed to think this was a reflection of the confessions they made to each other, so powerful as if they could shake the world. Peeta kissed her once more and she felt as if she could fly with the joy and longing that filled every fiber of her being in his arms. "You must rest, my love. Tomorrow we will begin with preparations for the wedding. Go now, that we may be together again soon," he said. She shyly reached for one more kiss and then up the stairs to her room, a constant smile on her face. She hardly noticed the glowering Haymitch in the shadows.

Then that night, an enormous crash came from Peeta's room and the animal-like yelling. Katniss rose from her bed and ran to his door. With no thought of her safety she opened the door to see Peeta, like a fierce, wild wolf, breathing heavily and glaring at Haymitch over the shards of a broken vase on the floor. He seemed to be struggling to maintian even the slightest bit of control, jerking his head and gripping the chair with white-knuckled hands. They both looked at her and Haymitch said," Boy, is this what you want for this girl? Doesn't she have a right to know? Tell her!"

Peeta shook his head and seemed to growl. Katniss, although deathly afraid and completely confused knew one thing in the deepest part of herself. She had to go to him. He loved her! She loved him! She wanted to hold him. She stepped toward him, only thinking she wanted to hold him, comfort him in some way. Before she knew what was upon her he lunged at her, his hands around her throat. "Tell her?! Tell this whore, this false girl, this enemy designed to destroy me? All I'll tell her is that I will end her! I will kill her before she kills me!"

Katniss felt his fingers on her throat and the air was leaving her body. She saw Haymitch grab a tool from the fireplace. She closed her eyes, certain that death would come to them both and heard as Haymitch struck Peeta over the head. She felt his heavy body fall on hers as she lay on the floor and blackness washed over her.

When she woke, Peeta was gone. She was in her bed and felt soft bandages on her neck. Kind Portia was leaning over her. "There, child, there. Easy now." Katniss rose, wobbly, but determined. "Where is Peeta? Portia I must see him. I know he is here somewhere!"

Portia seemed in pain, but said calmly, " I will take ye too him."

They climbed the dreaded stairs to the upper regions of the hall. Up those many steps (there seemed to be a thousand) all Katniss could think about was that last night had been some kind of nightmare. But when the door at the top of the stairs opened, she knew her nightmare had just begun.

There he was, shirt ripped to shreds, hair wild as a lions,chained to the wall behind terrible bars. Katniss gasped in disbelief. Haymitch, a flask in his hand and a huge black eye, sat in a chair across from the horrid cage that held her wounded love. "Well, sweetheart," he said, "fancy seeing you here."

Peeta raised his head, his eyes were red, but no longer held the wildness she had seen last night. It seemed as if all the light had left his blue eyes and his soul. He said, coldly, "Katniss, you must go. You must leave this place. I cannot bear to see you and know what I have done to you. I can never marry you."

It was as if an arrow had been shot into her heart. She had opened her heart, against all her self-protection, to this broken man. And now he was sending her away? Now, after they had confessed their love for each other? She felt herself shatter into a thousand pieces. She felt that chord which had connected them snap. She felt herself bleed as if to death. She turned around and went back down the stairs, silently. She heard Peeta curse and yell again. She locked the door. She did not change. She laid back on the bed and did not move for six days. No food, no water, no matter the pleading from Portia, or Cinna, or even Sae. At last she heard Peeta coming down the stairs. She rose, put on her simple, orphanage dress and opened the door. He sat there across the hall, head in his hands. He looked up and and stood to come and embrace her. She stopped him with her small arm as if made of iron.

"Did you mean what you said, sir? That you can never marry me?"

"Sir, again? No Peeta?"

"Answer, please, Sir."

"How can I marry you, when I am taken by such a monster as lies within my skull? What if I hurt you again? What if I killed you?"

"Sir, then I must leave you."

"Wait, not now! Not this minute! I must find you a new position. You cannot leave with no place to go."

Katniss could feel herself fainting from hunger, she felt her knees giving way. She reached to grab the doorway, but Peeta grabbed her instead and lifted her into his arms. He carried her down the hallway and stairs to the study they had shared conversation in so many times before. She felt as if she was being torn in two. She loved him, but he could not love her. He gave her a small glass of port wine, which she accepted. Presently she felt a bit more herself. Small smiles were exchanged.

"Stay. Please," he said. "Portia will bring you something to eat and I will see about finding you a new position." He kissed her hand and held it to his own cheek. She looked into his eyes, but he looked away. He left the room. A moment later Portia arrived with a tray. Katniss did not feel as if she could eat, but knew she had to. The food, lovingly made by Sae, had no flavor for her. She quietly consumed the nutrients, staring blankly into space as she planned her escape. She knew, just as she had known she must go to him before, that she mus leave him now and never let him find her. Haymitch came int the study. He sat down. He looked at her and said, "Girl, I know you're hurtin' right now and nothin much makes sense. But I have to tell you about our Peeta." He told her the story of how after his father died, his mother had sent him to Brazil to see after some "investments". He was stung by a venomous insect, a tracker jacker. He came back to camp delirious, claiming his mother sent him there on purpose, to poison him. Not knowing what was wrong, they had tried to apply compresses and the like, to no avail. The venom seemed to subside after a few days. But when he returned to England, he suffered fits over and over again. His mother, who had never been warm to him, left and went abroad. It seemed he tried to distract himself with all sorts of superficial people, but whenever his mind was triggered by a memory of that trip, he would have another fit. Katniss listened to it all, not knowing what to believe. All she knew was Peeta was sending her away and she felt as if she might die if she stayed too near him.

So before morning, she quietly crept out of Thornfield hall with her few possessions, caught a coach leading who know where and sobbed uncontrollably until the coachman alerted her that her fare would take her no farther. In her haste and delirium, she left her small valise on the coach.

What followed was a sad tale of wandering with no food, no money and no shelter. Lost on her beloved moors, she was sure that she would die of exposure. As she lay on her back, saying prayers to God that she would be reunited with her dear father and mother soon in heaven, she came to know that a man leaned over her. His hair was flaming red and his face was pleasant, but stern. He carried her to his house. His name, she learned later as she recovered was Darius. He was the parish minister in a poor Yorkshire town. As she regained her strength, she asked for work to repay her debt to him, but made an alias to hide her identity from Peeta and Thornfield. She called herself Katherine Gray, instead of Katniss Everdeen. She began to teach school for the farmers' girls. She grew stronger, but often dreamed of her lost love and his wild bewitchment. Restless, she tried to keep herself occupied with teaching and reading. Darius began to teach her Hindi, as he himself was studying the language. One day he came to her and said that he had received a letter from a solicitor in London. The letter was addressed to Katniss Everdeen. She paled as she read the letter as Darius looked on. It appeared that she had a long lost uncle, Plutarch Heavensbee, who had died and left her his entire fortune. It also appeared that Darius was related to her as her second cousin! She was overjoyed to have a family and deeply saddened at the loss of an Uncle she didn't know.

A week later, Darius proposed. At first, Katniss refused, claiming she did not love him. He urged her to reconsider, saying that love would grow and that he admired her strength and intelligence. He wanted her to come with him as a missionary. She could think of nothing more stifling than being in a loveless marriage, having known the height of passion with Peeta, even for the briefest of times. That night she dreamed again of Peeta, he raged in his cage. There was fire all around him. In the dream, Katniss tried to get to him, to save him from the flames, but they both seemed to be consumed by them. She rose screaming from her bed. She raced to the window, called his name and heard nothing. A few months later, as she was walking among the moors, she heard his voice call her and she cried aloud for him to wait. She sped as fast as she could back to Thornfield. So now, as we began this tale, let us continue.

As she approached the stately hall she felt her heart beat faster, as if she would see him now just coming around the garden wall. But as she got closer, alas, she saw what was the hall was now ruined. A fire had gutted it and now all that stood was the shell. Still, she went closer. As she almost entered, she saw Haymitch in an archway, picking up rubble and placing it into piles. He stopped for a swig at his ever present flask. She smiled to herself and the gruff, but lovingly loyal man and called to him. He turned; "Sweetheart! I never thought I should see the day that you would return here." She held his hands, "please Haymitch, tell me where he is. He's not dead is he?"

Haymitch turned to the wall. He thinks he may as well be. He lives in Ferndean, an old hunting lodge of his father's. Only Portia and Cinna are with him now. His fits have gone, but he is wounded in his body and his soul."

"What happened?" Katniss asked, fearful of the answer.

"It were a fire, Katniss. After you left, he seemed to go mad every day, instead of just his fits. One night he escaped from his chains and knocked over a lamp and the whole place went up. He had dismissed most of the servants. He had sent Prim away to school. Only Sae and I were left. I usually was up there with him, but for some reason that night I was downstairs with Sae. I tried to get up there to get him. As I saw him coming down the stairs I called to him, but the stairs gave way and he fell. When he was pulled from the ashes, he was alive, but one timber had fell across his face, blinding him and another across his leg. They...they had to take it off below the knee. He is now blind and a cripple, but no longer subject to that madness that used to plagued him."

As Katniss heard the tale, she felt as sure as anything that his spirit was close to giving up, and she could not let that happen. She asked Haymitch to take her to him and he did. As they entered the house, Portia nearly called out to Mr. Mellark, but Katniss begged her to let her go to Peeta unannounced. Portia gave her the tray with his candle and water and into the den of the lion Katniss went. What she saw nearly broke her heart. He sat in a large chair before a low fire. A cane rested near his left leg from which a wooden prosthesis extended beyond his trousers. His hair and beard were matted and unkempt and his broad shoulders sagged. There was a large scar from his forehead to his left cheek. His right hand was bandaged heavily. He raised his sightless eyes, once brilliant, now clouded.

"Do you have my candle, Portia? Just because I'm blind doesn't men I don't need it." Katniss was silent. She could not find the words to say what she felt at being so near him again. She crept nearer. "Who's there?" demanded the lion, sternly. Katniss nearly spilled the water from her shaking hands as he drank. "Dammit! Who is it?"

"Portia is in the kitchen, sir." He gasped and grabbed for her hand. Catching it he felt each finger, "I know this hand. This is Katniss Everdeen's hand! Her very fingers!" He embraced her and she melted in his arms.

"I've come back to you Peeta." He held her tighter, then broke away a bit. "Are you real? I've dreamed of you often and in the morning you were gone. Will you stay? Or fly away, like your fairy sisters? Say you're real, fairy, even if you must fly away."

"Real, Peeta. I am real." and she kissed him strongly on his lips. "Does that feel real?" He returned the kiss and smiled, sadly, almost at the brink of tears.

"But how? I looked for you everywhere? How are you not in some ditch, destitute?"

"I'm a woman of means now, Peeta. My uncle died and left me wealthy."

"Now I know you are real. I could never have imagined such details." They laughed softly together. Suddenly his smile fell and sank into his chair again. "Ah, Katniss, you cannot be but revolted by me. I am a mere shell of the man I was once."

Katniss took his hand and kissed it gently. "I am sorry for this," she said. "And this," as she kissed his brow. "And this," as she kissed his sightless eyes. A tear rolled down his cheek and she kissed it away too. "And the worst part is one is in danger of spoiling you too much." He chuckled. She looked at him again and decided to stop teasing him. "Peeta I ran from you once, a frightened and confused child. I have come back to you as my own woman, through trials and tribulations of my own. I would cross oceans if needed to get back to you. We had a chord of connection. I will never let that chord break again. I heard your call and I answered it. I am here. I am real. I am yours. Forever."

At once it was as if the light returned to his face, if not his eyes. "You heard me? When?"

"Four nights ago. Across the moors. Did you hear me answer?"

"God save me, I did! Did you answer, 'I am coming. Wait for me?'"

Katniss nodded, words caught in silent sobs. She rested her head on his powerful chest. He rested his cheek on her hair. They held each other, in awe of what they had just rediscovered. After a while, Peeta spoke first.

"Katniss Everdeen, I asked you once before. I shall ask you again. Will you marry me?"

"Yes," she said. "I shall never leave you again."