'Cause you're everywhere to me
And when I close my eyes it's you I see
You're everything I know
That makes me believe
I'm not alone
I'm not alone
-"Everywhere" Michelle Branch
She was twelve when her parents told her about their roles in the rebellion. She can remember it clearly, even years later. They wrapped her in a hug, and told her about the people they killed, they people they watched die. They explain her name- Rue for the girl from eleven, and Primrose for her dead aunt. They tell her why her brother's name is Cinna Marvel (at one point she wonders why she was named after two friends, and he has the name on a enemy). But that passes as she grows up.
She visits their graves sometimes. She brings flowers, and lays them in the graveyard. Pink Primroses and tiny yellow Rue, laying it on the graves of her namesakes. She tells them stories about her parents, her friends, anything. She talks about Finn, and how he grew up without a father. She talks about Gale Hawthorne-and how he might have killed Prim. She talks about the Capital, the Games, and freedom that came with their deaths. She pores her heart out to two dead girls.
One day she wonders about the other tributes in her parents' Games. The finds an old video of the 74th Hunger Games, and settles down to watch it. She sees her parents dodge fireballs, and run from mutts. She watches her mother kill and her father almost die by the river. But mostly, she watches the tributes. The Careers are strong, and the girl from Five is fast. Rue is like a tiny bird, about to fly away. But most haunting is the boy from two.
She grips her chair in terror as he tries to murder her parents. And yet, she cries when wolf mutts with tribute eyes tear him apart. And the, she wonders. If he had a family, if she was in love, if he regretted killing so many children. Sometimes, she considers talking to her parents about what she saw-and then pushes it out of her mind. They wouldn't tell her anyway.
One day, she goes to District Two. She finds his grave, alone in a field of headstones. She talks to him too; or wondering really, because it's full of questions and theories. One day, she meets his sister. His sister tells her everything about the dead Career. How he wanted to win, how she was afraid for him. She tells the other girl about her family, and the unlikely two become friends.
Some days, she has nightmares. They start out simple, her friends dying, her parents having to go back to the games. Then they turn into gray-eyed men killing little girls, and mutts ripping at her skin. She doesn't tell anyone about these dreams, although she tells the graveyard and the trees. She often thinks about life before the rebellion. And then she cries for the dead.
At some point, the nightmares stop. She's comforted by words of the dead. Prim, wrapping an arm around her shoulders, Rue singing the Valley Song. She sees Cinna sewing dresses, asking her mother to twirl for him. She sees all the dead Victors tell her too be strong. Most of the time, she sees Cato. He's her guardian angel, keeping the nightmares away. One day, she promises herself, she'll be strong enough to stand tall.
When she's sixteen, she asks her parents about the other tributes. She tells them about the graves, the nightmares, and the woman from district two. They comfort her, and she cries. Once upon a time, the world was perfect, but that's changed now. She grew up, and lost her innocence. The only thing she kept was her guardian angel. Her sick, twisted guardian angel. Maybe, just maybe, that's all she needs.
Unknown to her, a boy watches as the daughter of his enemies grows up in a broken world. They really do needed each other-she needs comfort and he needs a reminder about what he lost. They protect each other, and while doing so they protect themselves.
okay, i had too! this was floating in my mind, and i might continue it. no, really! if you guys like it, i can do a bring-back-dead-tributes thing, and make Katniss and Peeta's daughter fall in love with Cato. inspired by everywhere by Michelle Branch.