Yeah, this chapter got a lot darker than I was planning. If you are squeamish or have trigger issues, my feeling will not be hurt if you skip this chapter. There are mentions of noncon/rape and abortion. It's also quite a bit longer than the first one. I blame the plot bunnies. Seriously.
Anyway, for any readers still with me, I hope you enjoy it and I'd love some feedback. :)
And I don't own the Hunger Games or the Princess Bride.
Night fall on the penthouse floor during the sixty-seventh Hunger Games, and it was silent. Haymitch was grimly watching the television; this was the first games in years that his tributes had lasted past sundown. Effie was curled up on the other side of the couch, sleeping. She'd tried to stay awake, but couldn't. He'd promised to wake her if anything happened. There were two Avoxes around somewhere, probably asleep as well. Haymitch didn't sleep well most nights; the nightmares were enough to keep him awake. And since he'd promised Effie to help three years ago, he wasn't drinking as much. Definitely not enough to let him pass out. So he watched and waited.
Over the past few years, Effie and Haymitch had become closer. They weren't together, in any romantic sense, but they were comfortable around each other, friends even. When they were out in public, they were both very careful to keep their masks on. They sniped at each other, and he drank. The public had no clue that most of the time; the liquor was really watered down. If Haymitch stopped drinking altogether, people would notice. And they didn't want that.
This year though, Effie was different. There wasn't anything Haymitch could put his finger on, but something was off. She was a bit distant and startled really easily. She had nearly screeched at him for scaring her on the train. It was odd, and he had a gut feeling something was wrong. They hadn't talked about whatever it was yet. But he was sure they were going to, eventually.
Haymitch looked over at Effie, a smirk on his face. He'd never tell her, but she snored. Not a quiet, lady like sound at all. Then, back at the television, where nothing interesting was about to happen. He was bored.
That changed in a heartbeat when Effie started to whimper, quietly at first, but growing louder. Haymitch looked over at her; her eyes were still closed tight, so she was obviously having a nightmare. A bad one by the sound. It took him a few seconds to react, leaning over to gently shake her,
"Trinket, hey, Effie. It's a bad dream, wake up!" She cried out, mostly incoherently, but Haymitch picked out a few words.
"No. . .Please stop . . . hurts." What the hell? Effie's blue eyes opened suddenly, and she shrank back against the couch. She was shaking from head to toe, obviously still terrified of whatever she'd dreamed about. She was backing as far from him as the back of the couch would allow. Her eyes were glazed over, the pupils huge with fear.
Haymitch was not a stupid man, by any means. It didn't take a rocket scientist to put the pieces together. An avox came into the room. Haymitch turned his attention to the server,
"Tea. Quickly." Then he turned his attention back to Effie, the games forgotten for now. She was trembling, trying to get away from whatever nightmare she was still trapped in. He stayed where he was, not wanting to spook her any further. He lowered his voice, talking softly,
"Effie? Come on, you're safe now. It's me, Haymitch." As he talked, Effie started to calm down, allowing him to move a little closer. He took it slowly, easing his way over to her. She was still shaking, but her breathing was starting to even out. She looked at him, as if she just now realized who he was,
"Haymitch?" He nodded, reaching out slowly to touch her shoulder. This time, she didn't flinch away. He took that as a good sign, and moved a little closer. He saw the avox carrying a tray out of the corner of his eye. The mute girl set it down close by and Haymitch was pleasantly surprised by the small bottle of brandy on the tray. He waved her off, and she left the room. He poured the tea into a cup, adding a splash of the alcohol to it.
Once Effie's hands were steady enough, Haymitch gave her the cup.
"Drink it, it'll help." Effie nodded, her throat dry, still shaken up after the dream. After she'd drank half of the cup, he asked,
"What were you dreaming about?" Haymitch had been awake a few times when she'd had nightmares about her dad being taken away. This one was different; she usually woke up, a little startled and a little teary eyed, but nothing like this. Effie closed her eyes for a second, and took another sip of tea before she answered him.
"It happened the night before I left for the reaping this year. You know all the annual games parties? I have to be there for the big capitol one. I only had one drink, but I set it down for a few minutes. It really hit me hard, and I got dizzy. Then I woke up on a bed naked and there was a man." She stopped suddenly, and started to shake again. Haymitch's eyes grew wide as he realized what Effie was saying.
"He raped you, didn't he?" It wasn't a question, but she nodded, confirming what he'd figured out. Haymitch was furious, but he kept his tone gentle, not wanting to scare Effie. He touched her back lightly, to reassure her and she winced. "Did he do something else?" She nodded again,
"He didn't like it when I screamed and told him to stop." She wanted to say more, but stopped, taking a few deep breaths. She was scared, and she remembered another fact, "He didn't use any protection." She couldn't look at Haymitch anymore, and buried her face in her hands.
For his part, Haymitch was having difficulty remembering a time when he'd wanted to kill another man. Except for President Snow, but that was pretty constant. This rage washed over him, as he kept himself from yelling and throwing things like he really wanted to do. But that would not help either of them, unfortunately. So, he started to think, this was not a normal situation for him. He gently put his hands on her small dainty ones and tried to peel them away from her face.
"Effie, look at me." She shook her head at first, but he was persistent. "Let me help you." Effie wanted to believe him. If she ended up pregnant, the outcome would not be good. She had a few female friends who'd gotten abortions, and the doctors had made a mess of things. One of them was unable to have children. Effie did want kids, eventually. But now, that child would end up as a hostage in Snow's hands. If he didn't force her to get an abortion. She wouldn't put it past him. She mentioned her fears to Haymitch, who understood them perfectly well. Hell, Snow already had one hostage, and the president had no problems with children dying.
"I know someone, back in district twelve. Her parents owned the apothecary in town, and she's been taking care of the people in my district for several years. If anyone knows what to do safely, it would be Lily Everdeen. If you find out that you're pregnant, that is. Give it about a month or so, and then come to the district. You can make up a story, pretend to be furious with me. Let's say I forgot some paperwork that you desperately need and it's somewhere buried in my 'filthy hovel'. You take the train out and we can go from there. No one else will need to find out otherwise."
For the first time in nearly two weeks, Effie felt a little better. She'd been on edge since the attack. The brandy was helping too, no doubt. They could work out more details later. She leaned towards Haymitch, who wrapped his arms around her, making sure to miss the sore spot on her back. She clung to him, holding on for dear life. They stayed that way for several minutes, before Haymitch pulled away,
"Let me see your back, Effie." She was reluctant, at first but Haymitch was persistent. She didn't want anyone to see the welt that bastard's belt had made. Eventually, she acquiesced, letting him see the ugly mark. It had faded some, but still painful and visible. He swore under his breath, not letting himself do any more than that. He rubbed her shoulder tenderly as he looked into her eyes. He was tired, but a long way from being able to sleep. Neither of them was going to be sleeping anytime soon. And watching the games wasn't anything either wanted.
Suddenly, Haymitch had an idea. He got up for a moment, and stretched. Reassuring Effie he'd be right back, he went into his room, rummaging around until he uncovered the one thing, aside from liquor, he brought with him whenever he traveled.
Effie didn't know what to think when Haymitch left the room briefly, returning with what looked like a book. A book that had seen better days tattered and well read from the look of it. He sat back down on the couch, explaining that this book had been in his family for years, being read to the children in the family whenever they were sick. It was one of the only things that the fire that killed his family did not completely destroy. He opened the book, and started to read aloud,
"Chapter one, the bride." Effie leaned against Haymitch, listening to the story. She stayed awake until he'd finished chapter three, soothed by the rough cadence of his voice and the steady throb of Haymitch's heartbeat. Then her eyelids closed, and she was asleep. Haymitch was tired enough that he drifted off on the couch; Effie still curled up against them.
What neither the escort, nor the mentor noticed was the Aula, their avox, listening along to the story. She'd never heard it either, but she was engrossed in the tale. She was also greatly saddened by Effie's story. Horrible things done to people were not new to her by any means, having your tongue ripped out for a, usually minor crime, is enough to make a person realize what a cruel place the capitol was. When Aula noticed the silence, she crept back to her quarters. Even if she could speak, she'd never say or write what she'd seen and heard here.
One month later, Effie Trinket arrived in District twelve, her stomach in knots. She'd taken a simple test, and it had been positive. She hadn't told anyone, not even her closest friends. Hell, she hadn't even said the reality of her situation out loud, for fear of word getting to the wrong person. She hated the thought of doing this, but she couldn't take the risk of falling in love with her baby, only to lose them to the cruelties of President Snow. If he even allowed the baby to be born. It would be better this way, safer. She'd only been able to see her father twice since she began being an escort. He'd looked so haggard and thin, the thought of her child suffering this way broke her heart, in a way she couldn't have anticipated.
Her musings were interrupted by Mayor Undersee, a very pleasant man.
"Miss Trinket, to what do we owe the pleasure?" He offered his hand for her to shake, courteous as always. She smiled at him, her bright and perky smile readily available and on display. Then she rolled her eyes and sighed in annoyance,
"That impossible mentor of yours, he's so aggravating to work with! He lost some very important information he promised to keep safe. So now, I have to go and dig through that filthy rat's nest he calls a home." The lies came easily, as did the mask. After the last few years of hiding how she felt about most things, especially the games, this was a cakewalk. Of course, what was going to come next, she was sure would not be easy or pleasant. The mayor nodded,
"Of course. If you need anything, Miss Trinket, please be sure to call." And then she was alone. It was a quiet afternoon; most of the people were busy with their business. Even if they thought it was odd to see the escort in the district on other days, she'd been there before, to "deal" with Haymitch Abernathy. She arrived at his house, starting to feel the nausea that had been off and on for the past week. She rang the bell and waited. The door jerked open, and a much disheveled looking Haymitch peered out,
"God, what now?" He sighed in fake annoyance. He knew why she was there, but appearances had to be kept up.
"Manners, Mr. Abernathy! If you had not lost those papers in this mess, I would not have to come and find them." Haymitch let her in, slamming the door behind Effie. When the door was closed, he dropped the charade, pulling her into a hug. His house was a bit cleaner now, since he'd known she might be coming. He took the small bag from her,
"I've set up one of the spare rooms, near mine." Effie looked grateful, "Do you want to rest for a bit before I go get Lily?" He asked her after he'd come down from the room.
"No, let's get this over with before I lose my nerve." Haymitch nodded, he could understand the value in that.
"I'll head out in a minute then. Come on upstairs and lay down, try to relax." He led her up to the small room, and headed for the Everdeen's. He was back in half an hour, with Lily following him. It was not uncommon for Lily to treat people in their own homes, it was a normal thing. He showed Lily up to his guest room, and after knocking softly entered slowly. Thankfully, his short trip had given Effie time to wash all the horrible make-up off her face and change into a robe, before removing the hideous wig. She said a quiet hello to Lily, as they had never met in person until now. Without the all the capitol garnishes, it was obvious she had not been sleeping well. Haymitch broke the awkward silence,
"Do you want to tell her, or should I?" He asked, sitting down in a chair pulled up by the bed. Effie shook her head; she had already told Haymitch and didn't feel up to telling the sordid tale again. "You might want to sit down, Lily." He warned her, taking Effie's hand to support her as he told what had happened at the party and the result. He explained why Effie needed Lily's help, how bad the abortion doctors were at the capitol.
Lily looked horrified at these new revelations. While life in the district was often hard, she'd never imagined things like that happening in the more "civilized" capitol. She expressed her sympathy and she mentally started thinking about the herbs and plants she'd need. Thankfully, they were all in good supply, nothing would need to be harvested. She had them back at the house; where Katniss was entertaining little Prim. Sensing both Effie and Haymitch's unease, she took charge; there were things that had to be done. She had Haymitch start boiling some water, while she went home to quickly grab what she'd need to get this ordeal over and done with. Effie was told to try and relax a little, if she could.
After what seemed like an eternity, the preparations were nearly ready. Lily had Effie lay down in the bed, and asked Haymitch to step outside so she could examine her new patient.
"No. Please stay." Effie asked him quietly. She was scared and while she had faith that Lily wouldn't harm her, it was still a relative stranger that was going to be touching her. Haymitch agreed and Lily didn't argue. As long as he was out of the way and quiet.
Lily's hands were gentle, but firm as she pressed on Effie's abdomen. She wasn't showing yet, but Lily knew enough to confirm that the young woman was pregnant. About seven weeks or so, from the feel of things. She spread out towels to hopefully minimize the mess.
"I'm going down to get the herbs, they should be ready now." In a few moments, she was back with a cup of something that smelled absolutely vile, along with a bowl. "Sometimes, this combination causes vomiting. It's not going to taste good, but it's best if done quickly." She handed the cup to Effie, who looked revolted, but determined and with her mind set she drank it down. She managed to not gag, as the foul stuff went down. Then there was nothing to do but wait.
Haymitch picked up the book from the small nightstand by the bed, and set the chair so he was facing Effie. He started to read to her, as Lily listened as well, going back to where they'd left off the last night in the penthouse. It didn't take too long for Effie to get back into the story, and for Lily to be fascinated by the side of Haymitch no one had ever seen before. He was very tender, and from what she could tell, completely sober. He stopped reading abruptly, when he got to the part with the sharks, saying to Effie what his father every time said to him and his brother,
"She doesn't get eaten by the sharks." Then he picked back up right where he'd left off, as he gave Effie's hand a quick squeeze. She gave him a small smile, and he continued reading, until she moaned as the cramps hit. He set the book down quickly, careful not to lose his place. He took both her hands in his, letting her use them to help with the pain. It was not a pleasant sensation, but he took it silently, knowing she had to be feeling worse.
