2 Weeks Later

Peeta regrets having kissed her. He does. Thwack, his sickle slices the wheat. He wishes he still had the optimism of not knowing. Thwack, thwack, thwack. His strikes on the plants are harsher than necessary, but it's of a therapeutic nature. He had been in the wheat field all morning, harvesting. His shirt was soaked through with sweat; the sun was at its highest point in the sky and gave him no leeway. He didn't even notice his dry throat, for he was so wrapped up in his own thoughts.

His lips still tingled with the feel of hers, and it was like his own personal reminder he hadn't been good enough. Thwack, thwack.

"Peeta, Peeta!" he heard from a distance. It was one of his father's farm hands, Finnick. Thwack. Peeta ignored him. He heard the tap of running feet growing closer.

"Peeta! You won't believe what has happened!" Finnick called, reaching the wheat field and running through the path Peeta had cut. Peeta stopped his work and stood up, brushing the dirt off his knees.

Finnick tried to relay his information, but he was speaking so quickly, so jumbled, that Peeta scarcely caught a word of it.

"Finnick," Peeta said forcibly, grabbing onto his shoulders. "Tell me again, slower. I don't understand you."

"The princess," Finnick heaved. "She's awake."

Peeta's eyebrows shot up. Finnick was babbling, but Peeta heard nothing. He was dizzy.

"Finnick, Finnick!" Peeta shook his shoulders, interrupting him. "Pray tell, when did this happen?"

"Nearly a fortnight ago!" Finnick said animatedly. Peeta was elated, floating. "Two weeks…" he murmured to himself.

"Yes, a prince came to the Capitol, and kissed her, and she awoke! You missed it by only half a day, at most, Peet! You could've been there when it happened, had you stayed but a day more," he explained, not realizing what his words would do to Peeta.

"A prince, you say?" Peeta whispered.

"Yes, a prince, from a far, far away kingdom. He road so far to see her, how could he have not been the one to love her? They're to be married in the coming months," Finnick explained.

Peeta felt a terrible pain in his gut. All the blood rushed out of his face, and he could barely utter a reply. He tried to go back to his work, but was fruitless. He dropped off what he had picked at their back door for his father to turn to flour, and went away to bathe his dirty body in the brook.

He lay on the bed of rocks as the water rushed by him, completely at a loss. He had spent the better part of his life in love with this girl. He was still in love with this girl. He loved not another soul the way he loved her, and found no other thing, not a flower, not a bird, not the moon, as lovely and elegant as she… even the four year old version he had met long ago.

Peeta felt cheated. How could his love not be pure? How could it not be real? Were those not the qualifications to break the curse? Did this prince pass every waking thought on the princess? Was she present in all his dreams?

"I never even had a chance!" he shouted to the day, rolling over in the riverbed and submerging his face in the shallow water.

But he was acting like a child, he soon realized. It was not like him to pity himself so. If he truly loved her, he would want her to be happy. He should not be moping in his defeat, but rejoicing in her gain. Her curse was broken, she had someone who truly loved her, more than Peeta ever had, and that, Peeta felt, was a true blessing.

Peeta wanted what was best for the princess, and if that wasn't him, then he needed to accept it.

One Month Later

Peeta knew that she would be married; it was a universal truth. He hadn't expected it to creep up on him, however.

He had no time for much of anything, really, because his father's bakery (the best, though quite small in comparison to most, bakery in the kingdom) had been commissioned to make a cake. It was a cake for Princess Katniss's wedding. Rather, an example cake. This cake would be examined, changes would be made to fit the princess's wishes, and then, in another month, they would bring the finished product for the wedding.

This entailed nearly twenty days of travel for Peeta and his brothers, but the payment was so grand, and the honor so high, that there was no choice but to accept.

When Peeta had been decorating the cake (for his gentle, artistic hands were the most skilled in this area), he had tried to make it beautiful; something she would appreciate. His mindset was that she deserved happiness, and he was going to bestow it upon her in any way he could. It wasn't characteristically beautiful, it was the beauty he saw in Katniss. The dark green of a forest floor, the gentle grace of a bird in every stroke of his hand.

Once Peeta had finished, he looked upon his work, dubbing it the best he'd ever done, thought seriously about throwing it in the pigs' trough, and decidedly packaged it up for his journey.

He traveled to the Capitol with his two brothers, Phyll and Rye. Peeta had to go, for he was the maker who had to present his work, and his two brothers went because their father didn't quite trust Peeta's emotions in the Capitol.

"What do you think she'll look like?" questioned Rye to Phyll as they walked to the castle gates. Peeta was trailing behind them quietly. He didn't hear Phyll's reply.

The King's advisor met them and directed them to the Great Hall, the very same one Peeta had crept through nearly two months ago. When they entered, everything was silence. He could tell there were many people present, but he didn't dare raise his eyes. Now, he walked in front of his brothers as they carried his work behind him.

When he was close enough, he and his brothers knelt down, as was custom.

"You may rise," came a euphonious voice. Peeta stood, but did not raise his eyes. He was immediately aware of the things that usually slipped his mind. His clothing felt scratchy against his skin. He was in control of his blinking and breathing. His tongue felt too big for his mouth, and he desperately needed a drink of water.

"I bid thee to present thy tidings, young baker," the voice commanded in a soothing tone, sensing Peeta's nerve. He nodded and turned to his brothers, pulling the case off of the cake, as well as meeting the princess's eyes for the first time.

It was as if she was the only one in the room. Her heart shaped lips a pink glaze, her rose colored cheeks flushing before his eyes, at what he could only assume was her joy in seeing the cake. Her dark hair was up elegantly, no longer a disarray of stray curls. She was clothed all in white, a dress of different design, but much like the dress she had spent her slumber in.

She was elegant, she was glowing, she was gorgeous, she was as radiant as the sun, and he had never more longed for her redemancy.

His face felt hot.

She gasped as her cheeks flushed, but she hadn't yet laid eyes on the cake.

"Those eyes," she murmured.

"My princess?" asked the king quietly, alarmed.

"I know you," she said clearly, her voice ringing out like a bird. Peeta dared not breathe. "I walked with you once… upon a dream." She closed her eyes, as if remembering a long forgotten fantasy. They opened widely.

"I know you," she repeated, rising and stepping towards him. The king and his entire retinue, as well as the onlookers, gasped collectively. It was unheard of for royalty to rise in the Great Hall in the presence of peasants. She was mere inches away from him when she stopped her progression, looking at him curiously, as if he was a puzzle she couldn't quite wrap her mind around. "The gleam in your eyes is so familiar a gleam."

Her delicate brow was furrowed in concentration, scrutinizing his next move. He simply stared.

She shook her head, clearing her thoughts. "But perhaps…" she murmured. "I am mistaken." Her steal grey eyes cut through Peeta. They were stunning.

Peeta had not processed a word of what she had said. He could only hear the rapid pulse in his ear.

"Your name?" she asked, resignedly calm, as if she hadn't just broken any protocols.

He swallowed, willing his lungs to function. "Peter Mellark, my princess," he said quietly, bowing his head. Her eyes glanced toward the cake, only for a moment, and then back to Peeta, for she could scarcely take her eyes from him. "And you crafted this?" she questioned. "Yes, my princess," he agreed. "It is lovely," she commented. It appeared that others in the room would have disagreed, but Peeta hadn't made it for them. It was for Katniss. He simply nodded his thanks.

"How many days anon was your trek?" she asked next. "Five, my lady," he answered.

She nodded, turning to her servants. "Prepare rooms for Mr. Mellark and company, please, gentle aides. They must rest a day before their long journey. Take stable for their horses, and be sure to supply them with all they need. Thank you." They nodded and left. No one asked if the Mellarks were okay with this. It would have been a great dishonor to deny the princess.

She turned back to Peeta, eyeing him as curiously as before. Her eyes were bouncing to his every feature, and it appeared as though she was memorizing him. Peeta was beyond comprehending this.

"Princess?" called a member of her retinue, who had just stepped into the hall.

"Yes, Madame?" she returned.

"Sir Cato was wondering if you were quite finished here, and has requested your presence in the great room for tea," she explained. Katniss nodded her assent, and Peeta thought perhaps he saw a glint of disappointment in her eyes, but it was most likely a trick of the light, or his wild imagination, he reasoned. She gave him a last, fleeting glance, and turned to exit, her robes billowing behind her as she left.

I've spent every free moment I've had on this! I have truly been so busy. I'm pretty happy with the turn out of this chapter, though. Usually I have a hard time applying my thoughts to paper like this, but this chapter flowed out easily.

As for coming updates, I am so busy and stressed! So to say updates will be irregular, is an understatement.

Please please please review! It gives me so much motivation.

EmmaoftheValley

P.s. I have found the most flawless (CANON) picture of a sleeping beauty scene. It seriously looks almost exactly as I pictured it. It's on my profile. I'm also going to make it the cover image for this story! If you like this story, please go look at it! You will love it!