This is how I think Katniss and Peeta's kids find out the truth about their parent's past. Hope you like it!
Rue (Daughter)'s POVI plop down my backpack alongside my little brother's as I walking into our family's bakery. I walk into the back room to see my mother chopping up strawberries and my father taking out a cake from the oven.
"Hi sweetheart," dad says with a grin. "How was your day?"
"Ok," I shrug. "Tomorrow we're having this big assembly talking about the big Rebellion that happened years ago. The rebels' faces are finally going to be shown! The face of the rebellion is going to speak. I know the name of one of the speakers, Gale Hawthorn from District Four. That's the only name they gave us."
"Gale Hawthorne, hu?" Dad growls a bit.
"G-Gale Hawthorne's in town?" Mom stutters. Her gray eyes widen in surprise and she grips her knife even tighter.
"Did you know him or something," my little brother, Haymitch, asks while looking up from his book.
"How would she know him if he's from District 4," I ask, honestly wanting to know.
"Maybe he changed districts after the Mockingjay Rebellion was over," he shrugs. I nod my head in recognition since that is a probable answer.
"Mom, do you know Mr. Hawthorne?" I ask.
"Know him?" Dad snorts, "if I wasn't around, he would've asked her to-" He's cut off by a knife lodged into the wall where his head was seconds ago. Dad gets up from his squatting position and glares at mom. She sends another knife at him, but this time she takes off a few wisps of his blond hair.
"What the hell, Katniss!" Dad exclaims. "What was that for?! Gale's back in town and now you're trying to kill me off?!"
"You know what it's for," mom glares at dad. She turns around to leave room, but stops at the door way. She flings another knife at dad, earning her another few hairs off of his head and a glare. "I've had several chances to kill you, Peeta, and I haven't taken any of them. Just because Gale's back for a while doesn't mean I'll leave you."
With that, mom leaves the room. My brother and I exchange shocked glances and look to our dad for an answer.
"Nope, I'm not getting killed just to answer your question. Katniss is capable of a lot more than knife tossing," Dad says with a shake of his head.
"Will we get our answer?" Haymitch asks.
"You will tomorrow." Dad tells us. "Until then, Rue, finish decorating this cake, I need to go see your Grandpa Haymitch and Grandma Effie."
I nod my head and pick up one of the frosting dispensers.
…
"Hey Oliver," I say while slipping into the seat next to my best friend, Oliver Odair. "Are you excited for the assembly? We finally get to see the face of the people who won the Mockingjay Rebellion!"
"Yeah," he nods with a slight shake of his golden hair. "My mom says she was alive during it, but she refuses telling me anything other than that and we're originally from District Four."
"My mom started chucking knives at my dad when I mentioned this rebel named Gale Hawthorne. Apparently the three of them have a history and dad ended up with her instead of Hawthorne."
Oliver smirks and amusement lights up his sea green eyes. I fight the blush from my cheeks, he's so handsome. I think he knows the effect he has on people and loves it. Damn that handsome face of his. Thankfully, there's a tapping on the microphone and a handsome man with dark brown hair, olive skin, and gray eyes immediately grabs the school's—especially the girls'—attention. From the looks of it, he is from District 12.
"Hello, my name is Gale Hawthorne," he introduces himself. There are a few cheers from the senior's section of the auditorium. I shake my head in amusement; those girls sure are dauntless, aren't they?
Hawthorne grins at the crowd and chuckles. "I know I'm handsome, but please, I'm old enough to be your father! I don't look it, do I?" He gives us all a wink and a smile. I can feel Oliver straighten up. I can tell that Oliver has an automatic liking to the man. Oh lord, I can't have two Oliver Odair's around, it'll be too much!
"Moving on to the point of this assembly," Hawthorne says with a slight hardening of his gray orbs. "Thirty years ago, Panem was under a cruel tyranny, as you've read in your history books. Every year, one boy and one girl from every district were forced to go into the Hunger Games and forced to fight to the death under severe circumstances. Of the twenty-four kids that went into the Games, only one was able to come out victorious. That is, until the Capital had to deal with Katniss Everdeen, the Girl on Fire and our ultimate symbol of hope." No, it couldn't be my mom. It must be someone else. After all, Katniss is a common name Panem now. "I'd love to tell her story and how it lead to the Rebellion and much more, but I'm sure she would like to tell it herself. Welcome up the strongest person I know, Katniss Everdeen- Mellark."
I stare in awe as my mother comes from behind the certain of the stage adorn in a somewhat tight black v-neck, a black jacket with red lining, green jeans that grasp her waist but fit loosely on her legs , and a pair of brown combat boots. On her back is a quiver of arrows and a very impressive-looking bow.
"Hello," she says lightly. "As my old friend introduced me, I am Katniss Mellark, formerly known as Katniss Everdeen. I'm one of the few remaining tributes who survived." Mom grips the podium a bit and tilts her head down for a good minute. "I'm sorry, I haven't had to say that aloud in so long."
Hawthorne stands up from his seat behind her and places a hand on my mother's shoulder, "Katniss if you don't want to you don't have t-"
"I'm fine," she lightly brushes him off. She takes in a deep breath, "I won the Hunger Games when I was sixteen with who is now my husband, Peeta Mellark." My eyes widen even more, if that's possible and Oliver squeezes my hand for a second. My dad, of all people, was in those cruel games? He couldn't even hit a fly!
Mom takes a jagged breath, "my sister's, P-Primrose's, name was called in the 74th Hunger Game's reaping. I wasn't going to let my little angel go into those dreaded Games. I worked so hard to make sure she survived, so I wanted to save her one last time. I was the first volunteer for District 12 in the history of the Hunger Games. Then Peeta Mellark, the boy who saved my family's and my lives with a simple, kind act when we were eleven was picked to fight to the death with me." Mom gives a bitter chuckle, "it's funny how he's the one who gave me a new reason for life and I was prepared to take his in the long run, isn't it? If it was to make sure I came back to Prim, I would do anything. I didn't give it a second though. Apparently, he did. He, alongside our mentor and the victor of the 50th Hunger Games Haymitch Abernathy, devised a plan to help me get out of there. Though I was annoyed and even made Peeta bleed because he made a public confession of his love for me in front of the whole continent. I felt like I was going to look weak, so I lashed out on him later that night. It turns out, he saved my life, once again. He made me look like something I never was, desirable. That got me sponsors and stirred up the Capital. They were full of pity for the Star-Crossed Lovers of District 12.
"During our Games, Peeta joined the Careers to protect me. He knew where I'd hide and he wanted to make them go the other way. At the time, I just thought he was just one other person who wanted me dead, so I sawed off a hive full of tracker-jackers, poisonous wasp-like creatures that kill, depending on how much venom you receive. Though Peeta didn't die, a Career tribute named Glimmer did. She held the weapon that would lead me to victory, a bow and a quiver full of arrows. I snatched my precious bow in the mists of my hallucinations since I got stung by the jackers, too. Then a Career named Cato came back to get me. Peeta told me to run and distracted Cato. That earned him a stab in the leg by the brutal Career." I cringe, I can just imagine dad crying out in pain. I think that's why dad has a very realistic fake leg now.
"After that, I ran and passed out. A little angel named Rue found me and took care of me while my body fought off the poison." Oliver squeezes my hand, that's the girl I'm named after. "She gave me herbs that sped up my healing and I allied her. Not because she helped me, but because she was so small, innocent, and pure. I honestly loved her, she was perfect. One day we decided to blow up the Career's supplies so they'd starve. Rue was to set off fires as a distraction and I'd light their things on fire. I discovered from watching the girl from Five dance through the trap, the boy from District 3 bobby trapped their things so they would only be able to get it. Luckily for me, they had some apples on the top of their pyramid. It took two arrows, but I cut through their bag and sent the apples topping to the floor. The whole thing blew up into bits. It even blew me back out of my tree and messed with my hearing for a while. I hid as some of the Careers came back and saw what happened. Cato snapped the boy's neck as I thought he would.
"After they left and I was able to come out of hiding, I heard a scream that still echoes through my nightmares to this day…Rue. That was the only thing I could think, Rue. She was screaming for me and I was foolishly screaming back for her. I didn't care if Cato or his district partner Clove, that was undeniably good with knives," I wonder if she was better than mom is now, "heard me. I wanted to save the girl I basically adopted as my own sister. When I reached her, she was caught in a net and Marvel, the boy from District 1, threw a spear into her stomach. As soon as he released his weapon, he dropped to the floor dead by my arrow. This may sound cruel, but his death is one of the ones that don't haunt me. No, he took one of my angels, so I unremorsefully returned the favor.
"I sang Rue to sleep and plaited her hair with flowers. I knew that they had to show the tribute being picked up out of the arena. That was when the outer rebellion began. My love for Rue, her lullaby, her decorating, and my three fingered goodbye started it all.
"Later that night, they announced that there can be two survivors of these Games. I hunted Peeta down, nursed him back to health, and did everything in my power to make sure we survive. The next days pass by. I'm almost killed by Clove when retrieving medicine for Peeta's leg, Thresh, Rue's District Partner, kills Clove as a payment for avenging Rue's immediate death. Cato kills Thresh the next day and we're all forced to the Cornucopia, where the Games first began. We all scramble to the top for safety from the Mutts and that's when our final battle happens. Cato gets Peeta in a choke hold and says if he goes, Peeta goes with him. I didn't know what to do. Then Peeta carved an 'X' on Cato's hand. Before it clicks in Cato's mind, I shoot his hand and Peeta elbows him below to the Mutts who cruelly nibble at Cato. They wouldn't kill him, so I took mercy on him and shot him through one of his icy blue eyes.
" I was so happy, the Games were over! That is, until they announced that there really couldn't be two victors and we had to fight to the death. Peeta and I argued for a good five minutes, trying to convince the other to kill the next. That's when I pulled the Nightlock. It's a poisonous berry that will kill you before it even really rests in your stomach. We both were about to swallow when it was announced that we could both survive.
"The next few months were hell. We toured the districts, looked families in the eye even though we killed their children. Well I killed their children. Peeta indirectly killed a girl I dubbed Foxface by unknowingly picking Nightlock and put them in a pile. Foxface was clever and stole from people, but not enough to notice. And as I told you, I was the one who ended Cato." She says it so calmly.
"Anyway, during our touring to Rue's district, they kissed their three middle fingers and raised them to us. I did the same back and the next few things happened in a blur. There were guns ringing out, people falling, and an old man being dragged on stage. We were ushered into the Justice Building just as the trigger was pulled and the old man's blood was poured onto the floor." I cringe a bit at the description and Oliver squeezes my hand for support.
"On our next stop, President Snow told us how we've caused an uprising and we need to cover it up more by acting madly in love. Peeta was forced to propose and we were going to get married after the next Hunger Games." Mom chuckles, "I don't think he had a problem with me only being his, he's loved me since we were five. But I did, I never wanted to get married and have children in such a fucked up world." She chuckles again. "I'm sorry for my language, but it's the only way I can describe it. Anyway, I played along with it. I knew that if I didn't, more people would die and I knew that Snow would personally have my sister Prim killed and make me watch the whole time.
"When we were done with the tour and doing photo shoots for the wedding, it was announced that the next Hunger Games tributes would be victors from after the last Quarter Quell. When I heard that, I wasn't even all that surprised. I knew Snow wanted us—well more specifically me, no one has ever really wanted Peeta to be—dead. So I began training and getting ready for my Games. This time, I knew there wouldn't be any Nightlock to bail me out either. So I decided that I was going to be a ruthless killer and make sure that Peeta and I got to the final two. If we refuse to kill each other again, we'll definitely survive. After all, the Capital couldn't kill one half of the Star-Crossed pair and not get any back lash, could they?" I smirk; my mom has always been tricky, hasn't she?
"It came down to the reapings and Haymitch stayed behind to sponsor us and work to the best of his abilities to get one of us out. We did our interviews and Peeta made another confession after my interview was over. He said that we were so under pressure with the big wedding that we eloped and I was pregnant. If there's one thing I can guarantee Peeta to do is save my butt before it's even in danger. His little white lie caused all of our fellow tributes to join hands in front of the entire country. That caused uproar in the Capital and the districts.
"We went into the arena and joined up with some of the greatest people I've been blessed by knowing. In my alliance was Johanna Mason, Beetee, Blight, Wiress, Mags a-and…" Mom puts down her head on the podium and I can hear her sniffling. I now notice Oliver's mom, Annie Odair, sitting behind mom in the chairs. She walks over to my mother and squeezes her hand.
The next words out of mom's lips are barely heard through the speakers, "F-Finnick Odair." Mrs. Odair looks Oliver dead in the eye and nods. Now I squeeze his hand. Mrs. Odair never mentioned Oliver's father that often and she's never said his name. She and mom only said he was a blessing of a person.
After a few minutes, mom speaks again, this time with a restrained voice. "Though, as usual, no one informed Peeta and me that we needed to stick with them, we automatically got together. Maybe it's our personalities. Maybe it was the fact we all saw we were suffering. We went through with the Games, not all that many deaths at first. Wiress was killed and Mags sacrificed herself for us. A few days later, we blew up the arena and the rebels rescued F-Finnick, Beetee, Blight, and I. Peeta and Johanna were captured by the Capital. That genuinely drove me on the brink of insanity. But Finnick helped me through it. When District 13 and the rebels decided that I was going to be their mockingjay, I wasn't sure if I could do it, but they had faith in me, though they showed a rough way of showing it." Mom shakes her head and chuckles, "Mockingjay, it was a hyprid bird that failed the Capital and it served as the perfect symbol for the people who were about to screw them over. I guess my friend Madge made the right choice by giving me this mockingjay pin." Mom holds up the pin from on her jacket. "The Capital forced me to kill again, they took away my district and bombed 12, killing thousands, and they took one of the only people that actually loved me. I have to admit, he grew on me and I wasn't going to let him go. Not then, not now, not ever."
"I was done being simply a tribute." Mom takes a few steps back and makes a sharp spin in a circle. Her tribute outfit goes up in flames and is replaced by a flexible leather suite with a white chest, just like the bird she was nicknamed after.
"I decided that for all the people I loved that I'd be their Mockingjay. For all the people who were forced to go in the Games, for their families forced to live without their children, and even for the people who won the Games but were still in the Capital's clutches. I started to fight back. I went to District 8 and tried to help the people after a bombing. I gave them some hope then the rest of the bombs started to come. Gale and I took out as many planes as I could and we cleared the skies of those bastards. That made me declare war on the Capital, and anyone who is against us. I told them that fire was catching and that if we burn, they burn with us. And I meant it wholeheartedly."
I exchange looks with my brother from across the room and I know that he's equally impressed with our mother as I am.
"Soon Peeta and the other victors that were captured were rescued. I was so happy I sprinted through all of District Thirteen alongside Finnick to get to our loved ones. Well at the time, I loved Peeta, but I wasn't in love with the loving blond. No, not yet. When we got there, Finnick got to wrap Annie in his arms and I couldn't wait for my reunion too. I was in Peeta's grasps, but not the way a girl would hope to be from her Prince Charming," Mom snorts. "The Capital brainwashed him to make him think that I'm the most evil thing in the universe. That I killed his family and everything he loved. When I left, I had a bruise mark on my neck and I couldn't talk for two weeks. But that gave me time to think, plot. If I was determined to take down the Capital before, you should've seen me then. For the first time in a year, my hands lusted for my enemy's blood. I felt evil and determined to put an end to it all.
"When the time came, I went into the now weak Capital alongside Finnick and some other brave soldiers to put an end to it. So much death happened on that mission. So many people sacrificed themselves for me. Not the mission, but straightforwardly for me. The last sacrifice that was made for me was Finnick Odair's." I squeeze Oliver's hands and he intertwines our fingers. There's a single tear streak that falls down mom's cheek. "His last words were 'take care of Annie and my baby boy! Tell them I love them and I love you, too, Katniss!' I got to tell him I love him before I fled with the others. He reminded me so much of my father and he was so precious. I only have fond memories of him, and it'll stay that way until I die." Mom sniffles and so does Mrs. Odair from behind her. Oliver clutches my hand so tightly. I can see he's fighting to let the tears fall from his eyes too.
"We escaped to someone Cinna, my stylist and one of the people I've had the honor to know, trusted's house and hid out there for a day. The next day Gale, Peeta, and I along with the others went to the streets of the Capital to sneak into the mansion. The Capital was letting their citizens into the mansion for safety and that's the way we were going to end it. But then the bombs rained down and medics came to help. Among those were Prim, my little sister and the best damn healer I've ever seen. The next round of bombs sprinkled from the sky and my name was the last words on her lips before they went off. I kept going until I blacked out.
"When I woke up, it was all over. I was allowed to heal from my injuries and they bestowed the honor for me to execute Snow in public. Finally, a death that wouldn't haunt me or make me feel guilty. Before the execution, the former victors, a few rebels, and President Coin of District 13 and the rebels, had a meeting. Most of us voted and decided that there was going to be one last Hunger Games, the one for the Capital's children." Mom clutches her hands until her knuckles are white. "I'm not proud to say that I voted for it. I was upset about all the people that were taken away from me in this war and the fact that Rue had to die for me to win. They needed to feel that pain too."
"When it came to the time for the execution of Snow, I finally realized something. President Coin was going to be the next dictator. I played back everything that happened and how she wasn't all that concerned if I died or what happened to soldiers without big titles. I decided to really put an end to this; I had to stop the next dictator. I pulled out my single arrow and aimed it at Snow. I whipped around and shot it through Coin's eye like I planned to do to Snow. I only kill animals like that and I knew once she was put in charge, she would have undoubtedly been a monster. After I killed Coin, the crowd killed Snow for me.
"I came back with Peeta and we started our lives over again. This time, I was the one chasing him. And, as you can see, I finally got what I wanted. Together, alongside other survivors, we rebuilt the destroyed districts and our lives. Finally, Panem is safe and just under an appointed President. We split up power and influence. It's been so long and nothing has gone wrong. If I can help it, nothing will be going off our path. No, not while I'm alive and breathing."
There's a silence. Then…there's a roar of applause. I join in until my hands are sore and red. Mom ducks her head in humility and dad comes on stage and holds her hand. Mrs. Odair joins in next to mom… then Grandpa Haymitch, then a woman mom has shown me once, Enobaria, then Auntie Johanna, then an old man in a wheelchair (I think that's Beetee), and Mr. Blight that I've met once years ago.
It clicks to me, the victors are uniting once again. This time, it's because they're safe and sound. They've fought and won a new, better society.
I grin up at my mother, I'm proud to be called her daughter.
…
When I get home with Oliver and Haymitch in tow, I see mom nervously pacing the room with Mrs. Odair sitting on the couch, wringing her hands. The boys and I exchange looks, why are they so nervous?
"Do I look any different now?" Mom asks us in a whisper. "Am I different now that you know I've killed in cold blood and enjoyed it a few times?"
"Not at all," Haymitch says.
"I'm proud to be your daughter," I tell her, "Even more so now than before."
Relief washes over her face and she takes us all, even Oliver, in a tight embrace. Neither of us hesitate to return it. Mom lets us go and places her palm on Oliver's cheek, "you look so much like him. You've grown up to be such a great person and I'm glad I can call you a part of our family." A wicked smile graces her face, "hopefully in the future I'll be able to call you son in more than one way." Oliver blushes and mom places a kiss on his temple. Without another word, she strides out of the room and into the back yard. Blood rushes to my face, my mother just basically stated I have a crush on him!
"O-Oliver," Mrs. Odair stutters. "I-I'm so sorry I didn't tell you. You shouldn't've had to find out that way."
"It's ok," Oliver says while reaching out to hug his mother. She collapses in his strong arms. "I know how much dad being gone affects you and Mrs. Mellark. I'm proud to be an Odair; my father did so much for us all. I'm going to do my best to continue helping people for him."
"He'd be so proud of you," she says while caressing his face. She lets out a light chuckle, "he'd probably feel sorry for you though."
"How so," He asks, clearly confused.
"You've got the famous Odair good looks," She grins. She backs away from her son and grins the same wicked smirk my mother did seconds ago. "He was deemed a sex god for his looks and much more, Rue, to give you something to look forward to." My face flushes even more.
Oliver growls and his mother darts out of his reach and towards the back yard, yelling, "Kat', Pet', Oli's going to kill me!" Oliver and I exchange glances and decide to chase our mothers. My brother just chuckles at us as we dart out of the room.
Once we are outside, we play a game of basically tag until Oliver hauls his mother over his shoulder and I've managed to grab my mother by her stomach and sink her to the floor.
"Careful now, Rue, you wouldn't want to hurt your new baby sister," dad says, making an appearance. I gasp and let mom go.
She melodically giggles at me as she sprints behind dad, "that card never fails to work!"
I puff out my cheeks at my mother and she just giggles again. I grin. My mother's a woman of many different personalities, all fitting a certain purpose. And, honestly, I love them all. I don't see why she was so afraid of what she thought we would think. When the truth comes out, you can see who someone really is and I've seen that my mother is the bravest and strongest woman in the world.
So, like it, hate it, how would you rate it? I know it was basically a summary of the series, but I had fun—somewhat-writing it. That's all that counts, right? Sorry for any and all typos!
Review if ya feel like it,
K-Chan!