HEEEEEY! Welcome, welcome, to this years sequel! (see what I did there;) ) this is a sequel to my previous story To Love The Enemy which I strongly suggest you read before this, as some things will be crucial. Thank you too all those that have read it, and as you've waited long enough, HERE YOU GO DARLINGS x
Chapter One
Once, I made the mistake of envying Haymitch . Posh house, too much money, a life of luxury. He could do what he liked, the Capitol automatically love him for he was the lone survivor.
Do they all envy me?
Almost six months has passed since the torturous events; however, still I have the nightmares. Single arrows pierce the neck of Peeta. Spears fly into the thigh of Cato. I feel myself being thrown to the ground as Clove takes death instead of me.
It is very uncommon for me not to be scared awake by memories, covers thrown off my private double bed as evidence of the thrashing about. Silk pyjamas sticking to my damp body. Eventually I am soothed back to sleep by my little sister, Prim. She would gently stroke my hair and sing the lullaby I used to sing to her when our situation was reversed.
As usual I sit up suddenly, I take a few minutes to calm myself down. Placing my head into my hands, breathing slowly and counting from one to ten. Just as Mother taught me. I glance through the window to my left, the sun is just beginning to rise above the grey lifeless sky.
Perfect.
I dress quickly pulling on the thick wool coat and leather gloves to keep the frost of a winters morning at bay. I all but sprint to the front door and slip into the machine-made shoes. I don't need to bother about telling anyone where I am. They know.
I resent where we live now. It takes a full half hour longer to get to my safe haven. I relax momentarily when I see the small square house appear. I let myself in and lean back against the door. Quickly I remove my wool coat and trade it for my father's old leather jacket. I slip out of the shoes and put on my soft, worn hunting boots. I grab the game back off the table and fling it across my back.
From here, it takes almost no time at all to arrive. I slip easily through alleys. I cross the meadow that creates yet another barrier between us and the outside. Guarding the District is a high chain-link fence that is supposed to be electrified 24 hours a day. The fence is used to keep dangerous animals out of the District. But really its a method of keeping us in. I pause briefly and listen. There is no tale-tell sound of the electric hum therefore I slip underneath a gap that's been loose for years.
Once into the safety of thick trees I retrieve my quiver of arrows and bow from a hollow log. Hunting is different now. I no longer need it to survive, instead I only continue to hunt to provide for Gale and his family. Without me, they would most defiantly struggle.
I start the hour-and-a-half trek it will take to cover our snare line. Before the Games, we had the afternoons to check the line and hunt and gather and still get back to trade in the Hob. But now that Gale works in the coal mines- and I have nothing to do all day- I've taken over the job. I don't know how he stands to work there. Well I do... He stands it because it's the only way he can provide for his mother and two brothers and sister. And I am here with buckets of money, more than enough to feed both of our families, yet he won't take a single coin. It's even hard for him to let me bring in the meat, even though I'm sure he would have done the same for my mother and Prim if I had been killed in the Games.
The only time I spend with Gale is on Sundays. When we meet up in the woods and hunt together. It's still the best day of the week, but it's not the same any more, when we could tell each other anything. The Games has spoiled even that.
I get a good haul from the traps and head back. By the time I make it back to the fence that surrounds District 12, the sun is well up. I wriggle through the opening and come up in the Meadow. I go to my old home, we still get to keep it since officially it's the residence of my mother and Prim. If I should drop dead now, they would have to return to it. But as of now, they're both happily installed in the new house in the Victor's Village.
When I arrive, I exchange my usual clothing to those that my mother deems more appropriate of someone of my new status. I've already stowed my bow and arrows in a hollow log in the woods.
The shoes pinch at my toes as I crunch along the cinder street. Cutting down alleys and through backyards gets me to Gale's house in minutes. His mother, Hazelle, comes to greet me at the door. She smiles when she sees the game. Unlike Gale she has no problem with our hunting arrangement. She pours me a mug of herb tea, which I wrap my chilled fingers around gratefully.
"When I'm back from the tour, I could take Rory into the woods and teach him to shoot." I say.
Hazelle nods. "That'd be good. Gale means to but he's only got his Sunday's. And I think he likes saving those for you."
I am more than grateful that Gale and I were still together as before. The only thing that has changed is Cato. It's true, many people about the District assumed I would eventually settle down and marry Gale. I too had begun to believe it. But the Games altered that in more ways than one.
Hazelle takes the game off me and immediately starts to prepare some for the casserole she has prepared for dinner. I leave quickly after saying goodbye and walk towards the Hob.
The Hob is the place that I used to do the bulk of my trading. Years ago it was used as a warehouse to store coal, but when it fell into disuse, it became a meeting place for illegal trades and then blossomed into a full-time black market.
Although I've never mentioned it. I owe the people who frequent the Hob. Gale told me that Greasy Sae started a collection to sponsor both Peeta and I during the Games. It was supposed to be just a hob thing, but word got around and eventually most people were chipping in. I don't know how much they raised, but even if it was just enough to send me some bread, I am grateful. Anything sent in to the Arena can save you from death.
Like always, it feels odd to be opening the front door with an empty game bag, having no intention of trading anything. This is one of the few times the coin bag against my hip feels most heavy. I pull my coat tighter around me, trying to hide it from view. Not because I'm scared someone would steal it; but because, I am embarrassed. I hate knowing that I have enough money to feed myself, Prim, mother,. Heck, it wouldn't surprise me if I could afford to buy the whole of District 12 a meal for at least a month. This is why when I visit, which for me, is everyday. I aim to spread my coinage evenly around the stalls. I buy three bottles of white liquor from Ripper, not for me, but for my mentor Haymitch. I also purchase coffee, eggs and oil for mother.
When I reach Greasy Sae's stall I perch on one of the counter tops and she passes me a bowl of what looks like bean and meat soup. A peacekeeper named Darius comes up and buys a bowl whilst I'm eating. As peacekeepers go, we have the best share in District 12. from what I've heard from conversations with Cato, ours are very laid back.
"Aren't you supposed to be on a train?" he asks me.
"They're collecting me at noon." I answer.
"Shouldn't you look a little better then?" he asks in a loud whisper. I cant help but smile at his teasing.
"Don't worry, by the time they're through with me. I'll be unrecognisable." I say.
"Good. Lets show the District a little pride for once Miss Everdeen." he says.
Darius walks off quickly to his peacekeeper friends and Greasy Sae tuts quietly about not getting the bowl back. Once I'm finished I place the bowl back on the side and jump down from the counter.
"Katniss." she calls, "Smile. It'll be over completely soon." she smiles to me.
A light snow begins to fall as I make my way to my last stop before the Victor's Village. The bell on the door announces my arrival and immediately he stands up from his small stool ready to serve his waiting customer.
"Miss Everdeen, what may you require today?" Mr. Mellark calls happily from the other side of the counter.
I smile to him. "Just a loaf today sir." I ask, "And, um, this." I stutter passing him over a bag of coins that I have insisted to pay him every week.
Mr. Mellark is Peeta's father. The very same Peeta who I, although unintentionally, murdered. He was quick to reassure me once I was home that he didn't blame me, that deep down he knew his son wasn't coming home. I remember the conversation immaculately. I remember the smell of his cotton shirt mixed with my tears when he pulled me into a comforting hug. I remember him whispering into my ear that he was grateful that it was me who killed him, that it was fast and not torturous as he was scared it would have been if it had been Cato or Clove, or anyone else.
This is my apology. Everyday I buy something from his bakery as well as forcing him to take the money, which could have possibly been Peeta's.
It's about a kilometre-long walk to the Victor's Village from his bakery, but it seems like another world entirely. It's a separate community built around a beautiful green, dotted with flowering bushes. There are twelve houses, each large enough to hold ten of the one I was raised in. ten stand empty, as they always have. The two in use belong to Haymitch and me.
The house inhabited by my family give off a warm glow of life. Lit windows, smoke from the chimneys, bunches of brightly coloured corn affixed to the front door as decoration for the upcoming Harvest Festival. Haymitch's house, however, despite the care taken by the groundskeepers exudes an air of abandonment and neglect.
The snow has begun to stick now and I leave a trail of footprints behind me. At the front door, I pause to knock the wet stuff off my shoes before I go in. my mother's been working all day to get the house perfect of the cameras, so it's no time to be tracking up her shiny floors. I've barely stepped inside and she's there holding out her arms as if to stop me.
"Don't worry, I'm taking them off!" I say, a huge smile on my face. I leave my shoes on the mat.
My mother gives an odd, breathy laugh and removes the game bag loaded with all my purchases from my shoulder. "It's just snow. Did you have a nice walk?"
"Walk?" She knows I've been in the woods most of the day and the hob the rest. Then I see the man standing behind her in the kitchen doorway. One look at his tailored suit and surgically perfected features and I know he's from the Capitol. "It was more like skating!" I fake laugh, "It's getting slippery out there."
"Someone's here to see you." says my mother. Her face is very pale and I can hear the anxiety that she's trying so desperately to hide.
"I thought they weren't due until noon?" I ask her confused. Cinna is never one to change plans at the last-minute, even if it does mean him being early. Not that I'd mind.
"This way please Miss Everdeen." says the man. He gestures down the hallway. It feels strange to be ushered around your own home, but I know better than to comment on it.
As I go in, I give my mother a reassuring smile over my shoulder. "Probably instructions for the tour," they've sent me all kinds of stuff about my itinerary and what protocol will be observed in each district. But as I walk towards the door of the study I feel my heart begin to race. Why is mother so pale? What do they want?
"Go right in," says the Capitol man, who has followed me down the hallway.
I twist the door knob and step inside. As soon as I smell the sent of roses mixed with blood I can register who it is.
A white-haired man is sitting behind the desk looking down, reading a book. He looks up when I walk in and place the book down on the mahogany desk.
What could he be doing here? He never leaves the Capitol; therefore, if he has made the journey down here, I am in trouble. Serious trouble. I look into his old eyes, that remind me so brilliantly of those of a snake, and feel a shiver down my spine.
"Miss Everdeen." he says politely. "I'm afraid we have run into a slight hitch."
I raise my eyebrows, "I don't understand," I croak, my throat has gone dry. I cough quickly to moisten it up.
"Your ordeal involving Mr. Greene has caused something of an outrage in other Districts." he says. Of course it has. Cato and I both survived, no other Games has allowed two winners. Families and friends of those who came 'second' must truly despise us the most. However no one had what he had, have even.
"I am truly sorry about that." I answer.
"Now some of the people of Panem are viewing your act with the knives as an act of defiance, not love. And if a mere girl of District 12 can defy the Capitol and walk away unharmed, why can't they? These thoughts can lead to uprisings Katniss. And uprisings can lead to a revolution."
"What do you want done." I ask weakly.
"I want you and Cato to contain it. Prove to every one of Panem, including myself that your act was done for love. Not defiance." he says, "Do that, and Prim, your mother, your cousins... may live."
I take a sharp intake of breath.
Thank you for reading, please leave me a review, follow, fav anything. Things will become juicer, oh and Cato may pop in next chapter for a bit x