I do not own the Hunger Games series okay? While working on a chapter of Between Love and Apathy I was listening to Linkin Park and the song "Leave Out All the Rest" was playing and I felt like it was something Katniss would be thinking or would want to say to Prim before she is shipped off to the Games. So yeah I came up with this. It may not be long, but this is eating at me. Anyway, enough of this A/N, on with the fic!
Primrose Everdeen sat on the couch with her mother, curled up, looking at the dress her mother was wearing more than she was the television. It was the mandatory broadcast of the Games that every citizen of Panem was required to watch. They had the option of watching in the public square, but Prim could barely contain herself at home let alone in public. Having to see her older sister go off to be the Tribute in her place was hard enough. Katniss offered to die for me. I cannot watch this! Prim thought as she replayed the Reaping in her mind over and over again. Hearing her name come out of the bowl, Katniss yelling that she would be the Tribute, seeing her that one last time, all played in her mind over and over again and making her feel worse and worse.
"Prim, it will be okay. Katniss will come back to us." Her mother said.
"No it won't and she won't come back! Defiantly not alive anyway!" Prim cried to her mother. It was not like her to do that, but this was how she expressed her feelings.
"Don't say that. Katniss is doing so well." Her mother said to Prim. "Well, she seems to be hiding from those Careers pretty well."
"It's all my fault she is there!" Prim wailed.
"No, it's not…" Her mother tried to reassure Prim, but she knew better. Even if her name wasn't picked and Katniss volunteered to go in her place, their situation made her go in for tesserae and she had very high odds of being picked. "Katniss loves you so much she was willing to go in your stead. And you have to admit she is smart on her feet. In a way you are helping her."
"How?" Prim asked.
"Because if she didn't go hunting with Gale, she would not have the skills she does and she would have been killed right away. She went hunting so you could eat. She got Lady for you by her hunting. Don't you remember? Everything she does, she does so you will have a better life than she has. Don't you ever forget that." Her mother said hugging Prim, causing her to cry even more.
Prim ran off to her room and laid on the bed and bit down on her pillow. In a district with stricter Peacekeepers, she may be punished even for that. District 12's didn't care, as long as you were somewhere you could see the Games. In fact they didn't even really patrol the area as they were too wrapped up in what was going on anyway. Many took bets on who was going to win. Many of these bets were placed on Tributes from Districts other than District 12 anyway. Years upon years of watching the games made them believe that District 12 could never win anyway. This year was different though. Katniss and Peeta were showing talent unheard from before. The star crossed lover angle was also really helping them along as well.
Prim could barely contain herself. When Gale brought them a few rabbits he had shot for their dinner, she ran off to her room. It was reminder that Katniss was always looking out for her. Anything that reminded her of Katniss just caused Prim to break down and cry. She looked in the mirror and noticed that her ribs were sticking out more than they usually did. Prim was normally a skinny girl, but now, she was losing even more weight. The worry and guilt she felt made her stop eating and eventually she lost so much of what little weight she had that she was beginning to look like an unhealthy skeleton.
"Prim," Her mother said coming into her room. "Mr. Mellark is here to see you."
"Peeta's father?" Prim asked looking back to her mother.
"Yes, Peeta's father." Her mother said.
Prim got up and headed to the front door. If there was anyone who had any idea how she was feeling, besides her mother, was the baker Mr. Mellark. He had given her a box of cookies at the Reaping while they were at the Justice Hall seeing Katniss and Peeta off. He had whispered to her as he left to see his son off, I am here for you. I know how you must be feeling and a little girl like you should never feel that way. You need not to feel guilt. You should feel only love. Those words rang in Prim's mind but they were hard to really put into practice. Seeing your sister who was more like a mother to you than your own mother was at times on the television out in an arena for entertainment of death was something that no one could hardly face and keep her hopes up with love.
"Hello Mr. Mellark." Prim said wiping away her tears.
"I want to talk to you Prim. I haven't seen Peeta for a while and I know that you seeing Katniss all the time on the television can't be helping you much." He said.
"No, no it is not…" Prim said looking at her feet.
"It's okay to feel sad. I do." Mr. Mellark said. "I know my son has a very good chance of being killed and I don't know what has happened to him. They just like showing the Careers and they like showing your sister. Not that I am mad at her!" He added seeing the look of guilt on Prim's face. "It's great to see someone from District 12 doing so well!"
"Yeah, that is good to see." Prim agreed.
"I have something for you to see." Mr. Mellark said as he dug in the pocket of his jacket. "It is a letter Katniss slipped to me before she was taken to the capital. She wanted me to give it to you."
Prim then opened the envelope that bore her name and read the letter.
"Dear Prim," Prim began to read aloud yet slightly under her breath so that only she could hear.
"I know that you are feeling really scared about me leaving for the capitol to be a Tribute in the Games. I am scared myself too. I am worried I will never see you again, never give Buttercup the entrails I bring from the animals I bring home for us to eat. I have made sure that you and mom will never go hungry. I do not want you to sign up for tesserae ever. Please promise to me that you will go on to do good for the community in District 12. Mother says Healers are born not made and from what I can tell from when she gets a patient and I see you with her working on assisting the healing process that I cannot stand to be around, I know you will make a great healer. Read the book I have of medicinal herbs. Who knows, maybe if you feel brave enough, take Gale with you and he can help you gather them. But you need to live your own life and work on being the young woman I know you can be. Live on, even if I do not. When my time comes, and I fear that it might here real soon, forget any wrong I may have done to you. I don't want you to miss me, but I want a good reason to be missed. Don't forget me but keep me in your memory and leave out all the rest, all the bad memories. You are a star and you are stronger than you think you are. Take my memory and move on and make your way. I love you and will always remember you till my dying day. Everything I do, I do for you. It would all be in vain if you didn't live on and make a good life for yourself. Please do this in remembrance of me.
Wishing you all the best,
Your sister Katniss." Prim then held the letter close and hugged Mr. Mellark. "Thank you for giving me this letter.
"Why don't you take your sister's advice there?" Mr. Mellark said. "I heard you on accident read it. Sorry." He said apologizing for eavesdropping on something so personal.
"I think I will." Prim said.
"I have to go and stay with my wife. She needs me too. I just wanted to make sure you were okay Primrose." Mr. Mellark said.
Prim then waved Mr. Mellark off and headed to her mother who was hypnotized by the fire that Katniss had to evade in the games. Prim then gulped and sat on her mother's lap. She remembered the observation Katniss wrote to her about the gift she seemed to have for being a healer. "Mother, can you teach me all you know about being a healer?"
"Sure, but why?" She asked.
"Whether or not Katniss makes it, I want to be able to help people who need it. In her memory or something." Prim said.
"Yes, you can learn that. I will start tomorrow teaching you. Now please do not talk like Katniss is dead. She is doing well. She may even win." Her mother said as Prim looked at the television.
I am taking your advice Katniss. Now please do me a favor and win. Win and come back to me alive. Prim thought.
Well how was that? Good? Bad? Sappy? I want to write a multi-chaptered fic but have no ideas. If anyone has some, let me know. I love this series and I seem to only be able to write one shots. Anyway, remember to read, (well you just did) and review. Well ciao for now,
Otherrealmwriter
Aka
Realm
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