Soli Deo gloria

DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own the Hunger Games. Thankies for the reviews, you awesome people, and here's some more story for you to read! :)

The next morning comes rolling around. I get dressed in my usual clothes and while sitting on the bed opposite Prim's, I watch her as she wipes gently at our father's old shaving mirror. She's done that every morning since he died. He hated the dust of our district, and so to remember him, she keeps his mirror clean. It's her way of making him a little proud, even if it is a small task.

"Prim," I say quietly, and she looks to me, her face still concentrated on cleaning the mirror. "Mind if I braid your hair?"

She shakes her head and she turns so that she's facing one of the side walls, her legs spread out straight on the bed. I stand over her, for this is the only way I can braid her hair now.

"You're getting tall," I say quietly as I brush her hair.

"Yeah," she says shyly, wiping at the mirror again.

I watch her as I brush and I suddenly have the urge to frown. Prim is getting really tall. She was just twelve years old last year, but she's already almost thirteen, and apparently going through a bit of a growth spurt. I wonder why I haven't noticed it before. I suddenly notice that some of her childish face is disappearing, getting replaced by strong cheekbones and a firmer chin.

I have never thought that Prim would be growing up. She is my little sister, my person who I care for and practically mothered. I look back at her hair and fiercely, but gently, braid her hair into two braids. I don't want to think about how she's growing up. I just don't want to think about it. Too many things have happened and the thought of my little Prim being taken away is just something I don't want to deal with.

Once I'm done, I pat her head and say, "We should get to breakfast."

She nods and places the mirror gently onto her dresser before she follows me to the dining room.

Already my mother and Haymitch and Effie and the Mellarks have settled at the table. My mother gives me a faint smile and Peeta gives me a warm smile as we sit down. I load my plate with the wonderful lamb stew and bread and orange and blue melon while Prim eats toast and eggs.

Mrs. Mellark is on the other side of the table, thank goodness, but I can still feel her glare. Occasionally I look over to her, and we share a look for a few seconds before Mr. Mellark notices and chides Mrs. Mellark to stop. I roll my eyes and turn back to my food.

I take another serving of stew and Effie chirps pleasantly, "Oh, Katniss." I turn, having my attention caught, and she dabs at her mouth for a moment with a napkin before continuing, "Guess who's coming?"

"Who?" I say a little irritably. I hope that it's not going to be Capitol reporters or photographers or anything like that, or President Snow. Hopefully he can stay in his mansion and do his usual stupid things and leave me alone.

To my surprise (and Effie's), before Effie can reply, the door to our penthouse opens, and in comes Portia and Cinna. Portia skips slightly, clapping her hands lightly before stretching them out, saying, "Peeta!"

He stands and smiles and gives her a hug. I stand as well, for Cinna's closing the door and looking to me. A real smile comes to my face as I say, "Cinna!"

"Katniss," he says in his calm voice as we bring the distance between us to nothing but a couple of inches as we hug.

Cinna. This is who I need. The one Capitol citizen who is not crazy or diluted or out to kill me. My one true friend. He's who I need to talk to, and hopefully, we'll have an opportunity to talk sometime doing my prolonged stay in the Capitol.

We break up and Effie stands, clapping her hands excitedly as she says, "Oh, goodness! Here already!"

"We had to get here as soon as possible; it's scheduled for eleven!" says Portia, who has separated from Peeta.

Effie's eyes grow wide and she acts flustered as she says, "Eleven? Oh goodness, I thought it was eleven-thirty!"

"No, sorry, Effie," says Portia.

I look, my face concerned, back to Cinna and say hurriedly, "What's at eleven?" I want to also ask, "Why anyone hasn't told me anything!" but I keep my mouth shut.

Cinna keeps cool as he says, "You and Peeta have a scheduled live interview with Caesar Flickerman at eleven because of your big news." He smiles sadly and says, "Congratulations, by the way." I can tell by his tone and the smile on his face that he's not that happy about all this.

My heart pounds. I should have expected an interview, but for some reason, I take this shockingly hard. Though it's not unheard of for the Capitol to have interviews with people on TV at other times of the year besides anything that has to do with the Hunger Games, my stomach falls and I no longer feel hungry.

A live interview? Just like the one Peeta and I had after the Games. I was horrible then. I'm still horrible now. I still have to act very much in love with Peeta, and the thing is I'm still going to have to act in love with him. Acting smiley and holding hands in public is not that bad. It's the talking I'm worried about. Practically everything that comes out of my mouth is vague or spiteful.

Portia claps her hands, thought not as much as Effie, and says calmly, "Peeta, Katniss, we have to take you to get ready now so that you both will be ready for camera by eleven."

"Of course," says Peeta brightly. He turns to our table and says, "You're going to have to excuse us." The two of us and our stylists head out of the penthouse into the elevator.

I turn to Cinna as Portia presses in the button and I say, "Cinna, why weren't we informed of this earlier?"

Cinna sighs softly and says, "Effie apparently never told you. Apparently, she's supposed to have you two on a need-to-know basis."

"Meaning?" I say.

"It means that she's only going to tell you what things you have to do a couple hours beforehand," says Portia. Quietly, "The President told his attendants who told Effie who told us."

"Well, she forgot to mention it," I grumble. I'm already annoyed with everything and not being informed about stuff ahead of time is not helping me. What is the President doing, keeping us on a need-to-know basis? Is he making sure that we are always on edge, always ready to be on TV if we need to be? That is bound to be the reason, and I'm not too happy about it.

"She was telling us at breakfast when Portia and Cinna came in," Peeta points out. "She was going to tell us, just not as quickly as we thought."

We leave the building and get into a small car. Not as luxurious as I thought the Capitol's cars would be.

"We don't want too much attention to be drawn to us," explains Cinna as we settle into the leather seats. "We wouldn't want to be mobbed like you were yesterday."

I nod and Peeta smiles, "Yeah, that would be bad."

We drive to the building where Caesar Flickerman is the host of his show. We get out at the back door to avoid Capitol citizens and go inside.

I'm immediately greeted by my prep team, who are squealing and falling over me like they haven't seen me in days. I know why they're so excited: they finally get to work on me.

"Oh, I can't wait to do your hair!" says Octavia, the most emotional of the three.

"I claim your nails!" says Flavius, his orange curls bouncing.

"We'll take good care of her, Cinna," says Venia, the most mature one, as they lead me to the elevator.

I make eye contact with Cinna and he gives me this calm look that says, "See you later."

I give him a nod of understanding and the elevator doors cut us off.

I get my usual strip down wash. My skin gets scrubbed, hard. I didn't know that my birds were that strong. They rip the hair off me, brush and pull my scalp hair after coating it with lotions and shampoos and conditioners and moisturizers. I smell like a heavy floral garden, and I shiver and shove away the rose-scented shampoo they're about to put on me.

My nails are shaped and filed nicely and all the scratches and bruises I've acquired vanish with a single drop from a bottle of clear liquid Venia uses. This is a new addition; the Capitol must have just come up with it.

My prep team talk as they take care of me. They're awfully proud of the fact that they'll be helping me and attending my wedding. They talk of how jealous their friends will be and how exciting it will be.

"I mean, I just can't believe that after all you've been through, you're marrying Peeta!" says Octavia, a bit of emotion in her voice like she's holding back tears.

"No crying, Octavia, we promised to not cry!" reminds Flavius, "besides, your makeup will run!"

Octavia nods and they finish me up without any more crying.

I enter a room wearing a soft white robe, and I realize that it's the same room I had been in last year. How symbolic. How clever.

Another door opens and in walks Cinna, and I immediately rush to him and give him a tight hug.

"Nice to have you back, Girl on Fire," he smiles as I stand back.

"Cinna, I have to talk to you," I say as we both take our seats.

"Is it about clothes or your wedding?" he asks, his fingers all touching together lightly.

"My wedding. How is it being told about here in the Capitol?" I ask him.

"It's being called the wedding of the year. It's been said that you and Peeta came up with the idea and contacted the President about it, which I know is simply not true." Cinna looks back at me and I almost feel like he knows everything I know.

"It's not true," I say, "Snow is forcing Peeta and me to get married in order for the nation to not rebel because of the berries." I feel like I can trust Cinna with this information. Even though he's a Capitol citizen, he understands me.

"But how does that make the nation not want to rebel when you're dead?" asks Cinna. He looks at me with sympathetic eyes and he says, "Katniss, I know that Snow is not going to want you to come out of that arena alive."

"I know," I say, "I'll most likely get killed by the Gamemakers." Cinna has a point. Snow wants me gone, and it'll make sense for me to get killed in the Hunger Games. After all, twenty-four go in and only one comes out. I only hope that the one that comes out is Peeta.

Cinna nods understandingly and then says in a brighter tone, "Anything else, Katniss?"

I sigh, knowing that there's so much to discuss but we're pressed for time. "Yes. What am I going to be wearing for the interview?"

He smiles and says, "Glad you asked."

We head to the dressing room for the interviews and I can tell that Haymitch has Cinna still playing the innocent in love girl angle for me. I wear a light pink dress instead of a dark pink, and I wear almost silly earrings and bracelets. They're not silly in the Capitol's eyes, but they are to me. They're not elegant jewels or silver or pearl or gold. They're instead glass. I have pink hearts hanging from my ears and lumps of smooth glass stringed into bracelets.

"They're lumpy, like coal," says Cinna, putting the bracelets on me. I smile when he points that out.

"Five minutes!" yells Effie as she appears in one door before she closes it.

"So," Cinna says after a moment. He attaches the earrings to my ears and says, "Are you happy about marrying Peeta?"

I never noticed so many people cared for my happiness. Hazelle, Madge, and now Cinna. Frankly, I'm getting a little tired of the question, because the answer is always long and complicated and it changes every time.

"A bit," I say, "but I'm not happy about the fact that we're being forced into something like this."

Cinna nods sympathetically and I sigh, "Unfortunately, there's nothing I can do about it."

Cinna nods and says, "I'm sorry." That's what I like about Cinna. He doesn't make me feel any worse or tell me things are going to be better. Like Rue, I know he's not going to lie to me. He just takes what I say and lets me vent to someone, which is him.

I step into pink sandals and we head to the interview stage. It's the same one that they've been using for every single interview since the beginning of the Games, though, like last year after the Games, it's set up to be in a more intimate setting. Caesar's chair is next to our loveseat. I wonder what they'll do with that loveseat after one of us is dead in the Games. Bring one of us back once in a while and have us sit in it to remind us of the one gone?

I take my seat on the right and Cinna says, leaning toward me, "Remember. Smile."

I smile at his words and say, "Thanks, Cinna."

"No problem, Katniss," he says, and he walks off the stage the same time I see Peeta approach with Portia.

He looks smart, dressed up in a romantic looking black suit. No doubt to add subtly to the idea of coal. He smiles and takes a seat next to me after Portia gives him a slight peck on the cheek. "Hey," he says.

"Hey," I say. I look around and say, "I guess we're back in the saddle again, huh?"

Peeta nods and says, turning to me, "Ready?"

"Not really," I say. I sigh and say, "I'm not good with words. You, you on the other hand." I turn to him, "You're brilliant."

"You're not that bad," he tells me.

"Have you seen my other interviews?" I ask him.

He laughs quietly and says, "I guess you're right."

"Yeah," I say. I look around at all the people setting up the cameras and lights and say, "How long is this interview going to be? You know at all?"

"Not a clue," he says. He smiles and says, "Just smile and only answer questions when they're directed to you. That's what you did last time."

I'm not sure if my strategy worked last time, but I nod, for it's the only thing I know how to do. Answer questions when asked and act in love. I don't know if I do it correctly, but I know how to do it, kind of.

I suddenly look up when I see Effie running past us, yelling, "Two minutes!"

I see Caesar Flickerman on the right side of the stage, getting powdered and prepped. He laughs as a microphone is pressed into his hand. He's wearing his classic blue suit that he's been wearing for decades and my stomach contracts a little when I see that his wig is powdered gold.

"Seems like everyone got the pin memo," says Peeta, for he sees Caesar too.

I nod and say, "I wish they wouldn't."

"Haven't you heard?" asks Peeta. I shake my head. He sighs and says, "Apparently, your mockingjay pin has become so popular here that everyone is wearing them."

"What?" I say incredulously.

"They're a fashion statement, whatever that means. Portia pointed them out to me as we made our way here," says Peeta. He points to a cameraman and says, "See?"

I squint and see a bit of gold on the man's shirt.

"Can I strangle them all?" I ask, leaning to Peeta so that only he can hear me.

He shakes his head. "Nah. There's too many."

I smile at his trying to make me feel better and I see the head cameraman yell, "Ten seconds!"

I turn, horrified, to Peeta and say, "We don't know what to do!" They haven't told us to be in any positions or which cameras to look at or anything.

"We'll have to wing it," says Peeta, and Claudius Templesmith announces on an intercom just as I see the red light of the cameras go on, "Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce your lovely host, Caesar Flickerman!"

A round of applause sounds as Caesar, smiling, waves and heads to his chair. The place is practically empty. The clapping is recorded. Couldn't get too many semi-civilized people up this early, and the people outside would clobber us if they got near us.

"Ahh, yes, and welcome! We're here today with the previous victors of the famous 74th Hunger Games!" says Caesar as he sits in his chair. He shoots us a warm smile and says, "I hear that you two have some very exciting news."

"Yes, Caesar, as a matter of fact, we do," says Peeta, and I lean against him as he smiles, "We're getting married!"

"Married? My goodness! Congratulations! I knew you had in it you to propose!" says Caesar with a laugh to Peeta.

Peeta nods, still smiling, and says, "Well, after winning the Games and knowing just how much she cares about me, I finally found the courage."

"And you obviously said 'Yes,' Katniss," continues Caesar, looking at me.

I smile like a little girl and looking to Peeta, I say, "Of course I said 'yes'. How could I refuse?"

"I'll tell you both something right now, Katniss and Peeta, and it's that myself and everyone in Panem is so happy for the two of you," says Caesar. I'm not too sure of that as Gale, Cort, and Mrs. Mellark flash in my head. "Congratulations to you both, from me and everyone here at the Capitol, and from everyone in Panem!"

"Thank you, thank you," says Peeta, and I nod enthusiastically with a meek, "Thank you."

"Now, Peeta, this is a question for you," says Caesar, shifting slightly in his seat. He leans forward and says, "How did you manage to get her mother's permission?"

A recorded tape of an audience laughing plays and Peeta smiles until it stops and he can say, "Her mother accepted the idea the moment she heard about it." That was true. My mother reacted a bit, but she knew there was nothing she could do, so she accepted it.

"That's great. So her family approves?" asks Caesar.

Peeta hesitates a moment before he says, "I think so. They're really excited about it."

"Even little Prim? How is she doing, Katniss?" I remember. Prim, the sweetheart of Panem. I sit up and say, "She's doing fine, Caesar."

"She's happy about you getting married?"

"Yes," and after a second, I add, "especially since she gets to be my bridesmaid!" I never thought of it before, but Effie had filled us in on the wedding traditions in the Capitol at dinner in the train. It includes something called a wedding party and has rings and flowers and is actually a bit complicated, just like everything else in the Capitol.

"I imagine she'll look amazing," says Caesar. He looks to Peeta and says, "Does your family approve, Peeta? How are they reacting?"

Peeta calmly says, "My father was the one with me when I first saw Katniss, on the first day of school, and he's happy that my dream came true."

"Ahh, that's lovely, Peeta, perfectly lovely." Caesar begins to look a bit serious as he says, "Now, tell us: did you propose to Katniss before or after the announcement of the Quarter Quell?"

I inwardly feel my stomach plummet. I don't know why, but I find this question to be . . . . I don't know . . . too personal? Thing is, Peeta never proposed to me. It's almost like President Snow did it on behalf of him. I feel like gagging now that I think about it.

"It was after the announcement, Caesar, when the wedding idea came about," says Peeta smoothly, never missing a beat.

"I imagine that . . . that must have and is hard for you two, knowing that Katniss and potentially you, Peeta, are heading back into the arena," says Caesar.

"It is, Caesar, but you know what?" Peeta says, his voice laced with a bit of excitement.

Caesar straightens and asks, very interested, "What, Peeta?"

"I'll be spending the last few weeks before the Games married to the woman I love, and that's all I really want. It's all I've ever wanted, and for that dream to come true," he looks at me know with a soft expression, "is—it's amazing, Caesar." He turns his gaze to Caesar and says, "It really is."

"Wow. Wow, that's all I can really say," smiles Caesar. "A real tragic love story. Are you excited for the wedding, Katniss?"

I realize that he's talking to me. I keep calm as I say brightly, "Oh, I am. I've been so excited it's like I'm on cloud nine."

"I can imagine, Katniss," says Caesar pleasantly. "Now, can you spare us any details before the ceremony?"

"Sorry, Caesar," I smile, "our lips are sealed," and I reached up and brush my finger against Peeta's lips, and catching on, he does the same for me.

"Ahh, you two are so adorable together," says Caesar before he says, "now, anything that you want to say to our audience before we go?"

"Thanks for watching and we can't wait for you to see our wedding!" says Peeta, waving to the camera. I smile and wave at the camera as well before Caesar turns from us to the camera.

"Tune in next Thursday night at four"—of course, for the Capitol it'll be at seven. It'll be even later for most of the other districts and earlier for others—"for a big three-hour presentation of Katniss and Peeta's love life in the Games and the countdown to the big day, live. Good day, Panem!" and Caesar waves to the camera before the light on the main camera goes out and one of the men says, "Done!"

I breathe a sigh of relief and look to Peeta, who looks back at me. Neither of us are sure if we did it or not.

Caesar stands up and so do we, and he shakes Peeta's hand and kisses mine, saying, "Congratulations, you two, really." That's the thing about Capitol people; they actually think that our romance is big, genuine, and real. I really don't get how they think this is real. Capitolians can be so dense.

"Thanks, Caesar," I say warmly, holding onto Peeta's right arm with both of my hands. I hold onto him for support, because I feel like falling back onto the sofa.

Caesar smiles and is rushed away by some Capitol people. We see Cinna and Portia at the end of the stage along with Effie, who says, "Let's head back to the penthouse, now, and eat before we rewatch your interview."

I honestly don't want to rewatch what we just had to endure, but it's better to listen to Effie than to not.

We return to the Training Center and Cinna and Portia introduce themselves to the Mellarks, who pretty much all look a bit stony, and my mother and Prim, who are a bit dazed. Haymitch waves to them as Peeta and I each escape to our own rooms to rid ourselves of all this makeup and junk.

I take a shower, scrubbing off everything on me, while Prim sits on her bed, which is a few feet away from the slightly cracked open bathroom door.

"I think you did well," says Prim.

"Really?" I say, scrubbing at my hair, ridding it of all the oil they had dumped on it.

"You looked really happy," she says.

"That's good," and I wash my hair with simple shampoo and conditioner.

After a few minutes, she says, "Do you like doing interviews?"

I turn off the shower and say, "No, not really. I'm horrible in them."

I put on a towel as Prim immediately protests, "You weren't horrible at all, Katniss. You and Peeta looked fine."

"Says you," I smirk slightly as I come out, dressed in a bathrobe.

"It's true, even Mr. Mellark said so."

I sigh as I gather clothes and say, "Did his wife slap him?"

"She glared at him," says Prim quietly as I pull on my clothes. "She doesn't like you very much. Why's that?"

I don't speak for a moment as I pull on my dark blue shirt and black pants. I finally say, "It's because I'm from the Seam."

"So am I, and Mother."

"Yeah," I say softly, turning to face her, "but you and her look like you're from town, and besides, I'm the one that's messing things around and marrying Peeta. You didn't do anything, little duck."

She gives me a small smile at the nickname and says, "Should we go eat now?"

"Yeah," I say as we head to the dining room.

The Hawthornes are all here and they join us for lunch. Hazelle smiles and tries to make me feel better by saying I did great in the interview. Posy backs her up, and I oddly feel a bit better until I glance at Gale. He has this look on this face that I can't read. He and I have the same face when we don't want people to see our emotions.

We stare at each other for a moment before I seize a cheese bun and dunk pieces of it into the hot chocolate. It tastes quite nice and it helps keep my eyes off Gale.

After we eat, we all sprawl about the small sofa and chairs to watch the interview. Even though everyone but Peeta and I have seen it, they sit around to watch it a second time. I sit nervously between Gale and Prim; Peeta sits on the top of the couch above me. These three make me stop shaking enough to be able to watch it.

I'm not too bad. I come off as ditzy. Peeta is ever gracious and perfectly paced and Caesar keeps things lively. It finishes, and Effie turns off the TV. "I think you both did wonderfully," she says warmly.

"Thanks," I mumble as everybody starts to stand up.

"Time for dessert!" Effie says. The Avoxes have cleaned away everything from lunch and are bringing out our dessert.

People start going toward the dessert but as I stand, I feel someone whisper in my eye, "Real believable, sweetheart."

I face Haymitch, who looks like he managed to score some alcohol. I'll have to tell the Avoxes to keep it away altogether from the building.

"It wasn't that bad," I say in my defense.

"Sweetheart, nobody in the districts is going to believe your face. You look like you're on morphling, not in love. The boy did okay, but you need to pull this off. He doesn't have to do anything; he's already there. You, however, either need to look like you're interested in him or prepare for a hell of a time when this is all over, got it?" he tells me.

I frown. Haymitch has been watching the Capitol TV and lived in the districts all his life. He knows the people on both sides, and he knows that the districts are not going to buy our love story.

"Then I guess the districts are never going to believe I'm in love with him," I spit. "Haymitch, I try, but apparently my efforts aren't enough—"

"They aren't, and you can change that." He shifts and he gestures with his hands. "Here's a new idea. You volunteered for your sister. You earned an eleven. You're the Girl on Fire. Make yourself more of the team of the star-crossed lovers like Peeta. No more leaning against him and acting all dainty. I want you to answer questions Caesar directs to you, and speak in your normal voice, not your damn dazed voice."

"I thought the whole point is for me to act innocent," I object.

"I know," he says, "but it's obvious that hasn't been working, now has it? It seemed almost like you changed your personality change immediately after you won. No, I want you to act like the Girl on Fire, but don't act like you know everything. Peeta knows better than you, and while you must act like you're in love, sweetheart, I want you to be a bigger part of the star-crossed lovers, got it?"

Okay, so acting innocent is out. I'm the Girl on Fire. I have to act like I am part of the star-crossed lovers and I am a big part of it. That it's just not one-sided with me looking dazedly at Peeta.

"Got it," I say.

"Good," he mutters, "don't try to mess anything else up."

"I don't try to mess things up," I hiss as he walks to the dessert bar.

I snarl and gesture for an Avox to come to me. I lean in and pointing to Haymitch, say, "Make sure there's no more alcohol in this building." The Avox nods and hurries away.

I head over and grab a plate as Peeta gets in line with me.

"What did Haymitch say?" he asks me softly.

"He wants me to no longer be so innocent looking and dazed with you, Peeta," I tell him. I look at him straight in his blue eyes and say, "He wants all of Panem to see the fire the Girl on Fire has for the Boy with the Bread."

I hope you liked it (and it all makes sense) and please, let me know what you think!