Katniss poured over the pages of a history book, engrossed in the words of horror before her. She was well aware that history was subjective- from the perspective of those who had won, but as she read deeper into the documents before her, she was struck with the feeling that the Capitol had not always been as despicable as it come to be. In the years after the war, Katniss had become obsessed with finding the truth. She no longer trusted those in power unless she could see their reasons for action. Coin had been proof positive that the road to hell was paved with good intentions, and those who sought power were often the least adept to hold it.
She felt a chill of remembrance as she read about the deaths of more than a thousand capitol children. But these deaths had taken place seventy five years before Prim's. These deaths had caused the leader of the Capitol Alliance to respond so violently that district thirteen was all but annihilated. This had been the turning point in the first Great War and it was the justification for the creation of the Hunger Games.
She sighed as she remembered the pitch for the Hunger Games to end all Hunger Games. Had the remaining victors- essentially those who held the most political power after the second war- had they not been able to justify that action, too? Had they not framed it to be retribution for all the generations of children who had lost their lives to the Capitols Games? Katniss could finally see how a society could become some barbaric. People will do almost anything to avenge the lives of those they feel responsible for. Hadn't Katniss done so, time and again, for Prim?
A hand on her shoulder caused Katniss to jump and spring forward, her hands readying themselves to fight.
"Easy," said Peeta softly. Katniss relaxed her stance, shifting her weight before crossing her arms over her chest.
"When did you learn to move so quietly," she snapped glaring at Peeta's prosthetic leg.
"I didn't," he replied. "You were so focused on that book that a heard of elk could have come running through the kitchen and you would have missed it."
Katniss huffed, shutting the aged pages.
"What's that," Peeta inquired as he pulled the dilapidated book towards him. Katniss shifted uncomfortably.
"It's a history book." She paused before adding, "I wanted to know how it all happened- how the world could become such a horrible place."
"And what have you learned?"
Katniss swallowed hard, her throat suddenly very dry.
"That it was all the districts fault. The war. The bombing of thirteen… the Hunger Games." She waited for Peeta's response but he remained silent. She continued. "The war- the districts rebelled because they each wanted to be their own countries. Govern themselves. But the Capitol knew what we learned during the war- No single district can provide for itself everything it would need to flourish. And when the Capitol refused to let the districts secede, war ensued. The districts would have won too, if it hadn't been for a plot to kill off all of the Capitol's children. The idea was to take away the leaders' reasons to live. But it backfired. The leader of the Capitol Alliance, who we would call the President now, retaliated rather than surrender. He bombed thirteen, taking away the strong hold the districts had on the war."
"That doesn't mean that the Hunger Games were justified." Katniss nodded slowly.
"A desperate animal will lash out when it feels like there's no chance of escape."
"I don't follow," Peeta said.
"I remember what it was like when I lost Prim. All the leaders of an entire country had the lives of their children stripped away by the merciless act of a rebel. To them it may have seemed like a fitting punishment."
"Katniss," said Peeta, "even if that were true, the leaders of that first Hunger Games were long dead by the time we went to the arena. They could have put a stop to it, but the chose not to. It became a nightmarish tradition. And, I agree that the districts were just as responsible for the way things came to be," Katniss's head snapped up, "but," Peeta continued, "not in the way you are thinking."
Katniss shook her head, confused.
"The districts, in the early days after the war, they let their shame for their actions take hold and they began to believe they deserved what happened to them. They let their people become weak and impoverished, and the Capitol proved to the first rebels that they had been right all along. No one district would thrive on its own. The capitol cut off more and more ties until the country was at its mercy. And those rebels, almost a hundred years ago, they let it happen."
"So, how can we ever know who was right? How can we make sure we don't repeat the same mistakes if there is no clear line?" Katniss began to pace, anger and frustration causing her face to flush.
"We just have to gain wisdom, Katniss. Nothing will ever happen exactly the same way twice. I think the moral of this story is to be compassionate towards others and have an open dialog. A spoken conflict is better than a physical one, don't you think?"
Katniss raised an eyebrow. Peeta barked out a laugh and crossed the empty space between them to take Katniss into his arms.
"Why the sudden worry about how the Hunger Games started," asked Peeta. Pushing away and holding Katniss at arms-length he asked worriedly, "Have you heard talk of another set of games?"
"No," she replied quickly. Katniss bit her lip and shifted her weight. "I just need to know it won't ever happen again."
"Katniss, it's been over for fifteen years. Panem has never been more stable, the people more vibrant. No one will soon forget the pain of the Hunger Games or the horrors of war. I think we have finally entered an era of true peace."
Katniss sighed and stepped back into Peeta's embrace, resting her head on his shoulder.
"Good," she said. "I needed to hear that."
"But why, Katniss. I haven't seen you so worried about a resurgence since just after the war."
"Because," she said biting her lip again. "I can't bring a child into a world where that might happen."
Peeta pushed Katniss back a few inches to see her face. A slow smile spread across his face. "So, you've reconsidered," he asked, trying and failing to hide his excitement.
"No," she said watching his face fall. She paused a moment longer before saying "it's just too late to reconsider is all." Katniss scowled at the blank face that Peeta was sporting.
"So…" he said, a glimmer of hope touching his eyes. Katniss's brow furrowed, worry lines etched deep into her forehead.
"Peeta Mellark, you had better promise me that our child will NEVER be in the hunger games."
"Our child," he asked ducking his head a little to look better into Katniss's eyes.
"Promise," She repeated.
Peeta stepped back and whooped before crushing Katniss in a hug that made it hard to breathe. He was holding her together, keeping the pieces from fracturing and falling apart again. For the first time all day she felt a little more at ease.
"Our child will be safe," he assured her gleefully, rocking them vigorously back and forth with his hug.
"Okay," she said.
They remained there for another few minutes just holding onto one another. Peeta kept repeating "we're going to have a baby," in a voice that held more awe than anything Katniss could ever even think to muster. But she let the words wash over her and his enthusiasm calm her. And when they finally pulled apart, both of them were smiling.
Suddenly, Katniss was struck with a horrible thought that made her stomach drop.
"What is it," Peeta asked, concerned.
"Haymitch is going to kill you when you tell him."