The bright lights of the president mansion dazzled Peeta while he walked towards it with Effie at his side. She was surprisngly quiet at the moment and seemed to be completley captured by the view right before her. Unlike him Effie adored everything in the capitol which shouldn't surprise him since she was born and raised here but still. She would praise every pebble to her feet here if she would have the time for it.
"It looks wonderful, don't you think?" she marveled and let out dreamy sigh.
"Magnificent," Peeta mumbled and stared at the pavement under his feet. It glittered in the eerie moonlight.
Effie shot him a dark look. "Mister Mellark, please brighten up your mood a little bit! This is a very important event. You should show the president a bit gratitude for organizing such a huge party just for you."
Peeta chuckled dryly. "It's not like this party gets thrown every year for every victor."
Effie stopped dead in her tracks and stared shocked at him. "Peeta, get yourself together and smile or I swear to god that-"
"That what?" Peeta and Effie didn't see Haymitch coming. He now stood before the both of them and grinned.
"Haymitch! Thank god you're finally here! Would you please tell our dear Peeta here that he must be on his best behaviour today or he'll regret it?"
Haymitch only shook his head amused. "Effie, you can't blame the kid for not wanting to go to this party. You capitol people might know how to throw a good party but you tend to be really annoying on a longer amount of time."
Effie ignored the obvious insult and turned to Peeta again. Her expression softened. "Peeta, sweetie, I know it's not easy being a victor but I promise you that this is the last thing they ask from you, alright? Only this one evening and then you're free."
Free. Peeta couldn't blame Effie for being so blind to the obvious truth. Now that he is a victor he would never be free again.
The woman who sat across from Katniss at a dark wooden desk watched her with a burning intensity. Since she entered her office and the nurse had left her alone with this woman they had been staring at eachother. Katniss waited for her to say something but the lips of the female politician before here remained closed. Her gaze wandered over Katniss body. Katniss felt like a deer which is being watched by a wolf.
"They were right. You are indeed in a very good condition," the woman finally broke the silence and nodded approvingly. It rather sounded like she talked about an object than a human being. But to her Katniss probably was nothing more than a tool.
"Please sit," the woman said in a commanding tone and pointed at the chair right before her desk. Katniss obeyed.
"My name is Egeria. I am Panems minister of affairs as you probably already could tell from my door," she introduced herself.
"My name is Katniss-"
"I know what your name is. I know where you come from, what you are, where you've been. We know everything about you, Miss Everdeen. Including your impressive archery and survival skills."
Katniss flinched in her seat. How could she know about such things? The only time she ever had used her bow was while being out in the woods. No one except for Gale had ever seen her shoot one single arrow. Not even Prim. Of course her customers at the hob always marvelled that she managed to shoot her prey exactly through the eye but there were no other indications that she is an experienced archer. She never told anyone random about her talent. It always remained her secret. So how could this woman know about it?
Egeria smiled at her. "Do you really think we don't know that some of our citizens cross the fence? It's not only possible in twelve. We also had cases like this in many other districts. You were all really that foolish to believe that our eyes aren't able to watch over the boundaries of the districts? The capitol is in the possession of technology you could never even imagine. Our systems don't miss anything. Not even your little secret trips to the woods with your friend."
"What do you want from me?" Katniss snapped annoyed. She tried to hide the fact how much it scared her that the capitol even had power in the woods. Her little wonderland now looked like a big ugly lie.
"Well, I don't want anything from you. But President Snow does."
A shiver shook her body when Egeria mentioned the name of the man Katniss hated most in the world. This snake of a man who was the leader of Panem. The monster that oppressed thousands of people. The devil himself wanted something from her. "Oh and what does he exactly want from me? What could I possibly give him?"
"You can't give him anything. But you can do something for him," Egeria replied with a nasty grin on her face.
Katniss raised her brows. "And what does he want me to do for him?"
"Are you familiar with Peeta Mellark?"
Katniss swallowed hard. So this is why they haven't cut out her tongue already. They needed someone from the district of the victor to manipulate him or whatever they had in mind for her to do with him. "Yes…we went to the same school." And he once saved my life. But of course she didn't mention that.
"Good. Very good. What we want you to do is keep an eye on him. You will be placed in his household here in the capitol as his personal Avox. Of course you must then also act like one since we won't cut your tongue out. We want you to report everything he does and says to us. We already placed several cameras in his apartment but as soon as he leaves it we don't have that power anymore. That is where you'll be useful for us. You will follow him everywhere he goes, you will record everything he says and give us all the information about him you can gather. Understood?"
Katniss nodded hesitantly. This is not what she had expected. After all her punishment was to be an Avox but now it had turned into something so much more. They made her their personal spy. Their ears and eyes. They forced her to work for Snow which she so deeply hated. There was no punishment crueler than that.
"But...why do you want me to watch him? What has he done?" she asked confused.
"That is nothing of your concern. Do your job well and we might let you return to your family," Egeria said and pressed a red button on the notepad before her.
Katniss bit her lip. As much as she hated what they made her do if it meant that she could maybe someday see Prim and Gale again she would do everything they asked.
Peeta watched the colourful crowd before him. Music swirled through the room and many of the guests already started dancing. Peeta already had been asked many times if he would like to dance but he always used his prosthetic leg as an excuse. It still hurt walking with it but he already got used to the constant pain sparking up his leg. The doctor said it would take time for him to fully adjust to the new leg but after weeks he still felt no improvement.
He sighed deeply and took a sip from the weird green liquor a waiter had given him a few minutes ago. It didn't taste that bad but was too sweet for Peetas liking. He left the glass on one of the many tables in the room and saw Effie coming towards him followed by a familiar looking man.
"Peeta, may I introduce you to Plutarch Heavensbee. He's the new head gamemaker and will organize the 75th Hunger Games!"
Peeta shook Plutarch's outstretched hand and gave the man a slight smile. "We already had the pleasure, Effie. But thank you for bringing him to me. I was already searching for you, Mister Heavensbee."
Plutarch frowned. "Is that so, Mister Mellark? Well then I am happy that I found you just in time."
"Effie, would you be so kind and give us some privacy?" Peeta asked her sweetly.
Effie nodded eagerly. "Of course, sweetie. If you need me I am right here!" She strode away and left them alone. Plutarch nodded towards a small dark hallway to their left. Peeta followed him in a safe distance.
When they finally disappeared for anyone curious to see, Peeta cleared his throat. "Mister Heavensbee-"
"There is no need to call me that, Peeta. Plutarch will do," Plutarch broke him off and smiled.
Peeta nodded. "Plutarch, I have thought about your offer for a very long time and…I still think this whole plan comes with a very high risk but I am now willing to take it."
"So…you're joining us? You will stand with the rebels when the time is right?" Plutarch stared at him in silent excitement.
Peeta swallowed. "Yes, I will."
Plutarch clapped his hands. "Wonderful! This such a good thing to hear, Peeta. If we continue to gather as many victors as possible for our cause we soon will be able to take action against Snow. It's now only a small matter of time."
"Which victors exactly are already in it?" Peeta asked curious.
"Oh, you're probably asking so that you know who you can trust, right," when Peeta nodded Plutarch continued, "Finnick Odair, Beetee Latier, Johanna Mason, Mags Cohen, Haymitch Abernathy-"
"Haymitch also joined you?" Peeta wasn't really surprised but still. Why hadn't his mentor told him anything?
"Yes, of course. Did you expect anything different from him? Snow killed his family. Took everything he loved away from him. He has every reason to join the rebellion."
"We all have our scars, but that doesn't mean we all are willing to risk our life just to maybe get Snow from his throne," Peeta said in a sharp tone.
Plutarch raised his hands in defence. "I'm sorry, Peeta. I didn't mean it like that-"
Before he could continue they heard footsteps coming their way. They stepped apart and stared at the direction the sound came from. To their relief it was only Effie who crossed the corner. "There you are, Peeta! Come now quickly! The president has finally arrived!"
Hope you liked this chapter! I had a really good time writing it. This story is now going into a completely different direction than I originally planed but I hope that doesn't bother you that much. :)