Author's Notes:

Hallelujah, I updated! With two chapters! They're both connected, so I suggest reading them one after the other, with a short break in between :D

I would also like to thank my betas HGRomance and Katnissinme for their indispensable contribution to this update. And thanks also to the amazing Ro Nordmann for the banner :D

In the Elysian Fields

Chapter 6 Part 1

The end of my braid fell back to my shoulder as I absorbed what Peeta said. He had agreed to my truce. I had expected more resistance from him and I had prepared myself for more arguments but after his initial refusal, none came. I did not know whether to be elated or wary.

I watched Peeta's hand slowly return to his side. He was perhaps waiting for me to respond. I wanted to reach out to his hand, a sign of goodwill, of newfound friendship. I had no words yet. So I lifted my eyes to look at him, and swallowed a gasp.

His eyes were hardened pools of blue and they rooted me to the soft earth. They probed me. They made me feel as though I did something wrong. I had foolishly hoped that things would return to how they were, when I did not know his identity and we spent time freely and openly. But when the tightness of his mouth did not dissipate, I felt him slipping more, creating a chasm between us. I did not understand. Was this his interpretation of a truce? My fingers began to curl and my hand wanted to move to touch his cheek. It was unsettling that he was acting this way. His stormy eyes grew colder and my heart sank lower. Yet I never stopped meeting his stare. I yearned to pull him back, tell him that this truce, these unchartered waters frightened me too.

But before I could do anything, Peeta straightened, breaking the enchantment.

"I need to leave. The boatman will be arriving soon, and the souls need to be judged," he said curtly. He stepped away from me quickly before I could respond, like a gust of wind that suddenly blew in the opposite direction. My eyes settled on the golden coins that fastened his dark cape to his dark tunic. They traced the leather-braided belt by his taut hips. I did not look at his face as he turned away. I watched him retreat to his Trivium, the ends of his cape floating with his gait. The sound of the falling rivers masked that of my pulse pounding in my head.

I was hurt by his reaction.

Disappointment was an emotion I often felt with Peeta, yet the tiny rip at my heart stung anew.

I needed to walk away from this place too. Only looking out at the vast underworld, where I could see everything from this vantage, where the wind moved the stalks in the Asphodel Meadows, and the mists covered the Elysian Fields, I did not know where to go.

I sighed. Perhaps it was time to explore.

I chose the closest door to the one I exited in Peeta's endless hallway. Beyond it was a bridge of rope suspended over a gray, steep gorge. The rocks of the mountain were jagged and porous, spiking upward like lances piercing the clouds.

I fleetingly wondered whether I should turn back, but this place drew me toward it. It was more ruthless in appearance than the other parts of the realm.

My foot took its first step on the bridge. It shook. The light wind swayed me to my right. My sweaty hands held the rope tightly.

A thought swooped into my mind that perhaps Peeta would be upset if he found me here. But then again, he had never expressly forbidden me any part of his realm. I took another step. And another, until the wind no longer made me hesitate. But as I looked down, I gripped the ropes until my knuckles were strained white against my hand. I needed a distraction. Standing at the halfway point of the bridge was not the best place to doubt myself. So I hummed a tune I had never heard before, knotting random melodies together in an attempt to keep my mind occupied.

I reached the end with a triumphant step onto the gray rocks. I stretched open my hand, letting the blood flow back. The way, disappearing to my right, was narrow, wrapping around the mountain like a treacherous embrace. I treaded this even more carefully. The path seemed endless, and I did not know if I proceeded upwards or downwards in the mountain.

I briefly wondered, looking downwards to the abyss once more, if Peeta would be able to rescue me should I have the unfortunate happenstance of falling. I knew he was occupied, and it could take some time for him to arrive, so I placed my next step with even more caution. My chest trembled with every breath.

I wanted to turn back, but the path was so narrow that there was hardly any room to even turn. No matter, I only had to move forward. There had to be another way out. Or it was possible that there was another door somewhere among the rocks that would lead me once again to Peeta's adamantine hall. I now wished that I'd taken the door next to this, the one that enthralled me with the lagoons.

Besides, Peeta did not seem in any mood to keep me company. Though I'd probably pushed him to that. I had not exactly been amiable towards him, remembering my small act of defiance by cutting him with the dagger.

I trudged more, the little pebbles denting my sandals and getting between my toes. All I could see now were thick clouds.

Then curiously, a melody reached me, a sensuous strum of an instrument that quivered through the air, providing an unlikely source of direction.

It was faint but it was enough to make me hope that there was an end to this path. My gait hastened as much as the path allowed, my hand never leaving the wall of sharp stone. When I turned the corner, I saw three gargantuan statues of men in their armor, with two flanking a massive opening in the mountain, and the other standing on the opening's roof.

The statue nearest to me held a trident, and had eyes that boasted of assertiveness. The statue on the other side wore a majestic helm, and held a circular shield carved with a triangular horn. He had waves in his hair and he seemed familiar. Peering at the angles of his jaw, I realized I was looking at Peeta's statue. The likeness made me smile, and I was awed by his commanding stature. The last statue bore an eagle on his shoulder and held a bolt of lightning in his right hand. I must be looking at the three gods, the three brothers who ruled all the realms of our world. The sky, the sea, and the underworld.

I walked towards the opening and immediately felt diminutive. I did not even reach Peeta's ankle.

The melody increased.

The air became humid once inside and a louder sound drowned out the melody momentarily. It was an even purr, an exhalation. And it came from a monstrous three-headed dog slumbering to my right.

I froze, my mouth agape. I was certain my galloping heart would wake them. I stood for uncounted moments, unable to move forward out of fear. Their breaths blew the wisps of my hair that had fallen out of my braid.

When they did not wake, and when I had convinced myself that they were sleeping soundly, I took a tentative step on the jagged stones. I was mentally berating myself, yet thrilled at the change of pace. It felt like the time when I almost fell from a tree but at the last moment had been able to grip a bough.

I must have made too much noise because the head nearest me opened its eyes, its intensely blue eyes that stilled my movements. Then its brothers woke, too. One had eyes so green, like the shallow waters of the sea. The third, in the middle, had steely gray eyes, much like mine.

Three pairs of very different, very penetrating eyes regarded me. The head that possessed the blue eyes pierced me—and I had seen that look before. It lowered its mountainous head closer and I could see its rows of sharpened teeth like knives. It moved its body and blocked the path from which I came. I took another step towards the melody pulling me. When I heard a growl rumbling from its chest, I ran, quick-footed as a hare. I wanted nothing more than to get away from this beast.

I saw another chamber within the mountain and wrenched open the massive doors. The melody grew louder and seemed to emanate from within.

Inside, I found myself in a cavernous, measureless hall, with nothing but arches of gray rock above me. It felt very cold.

I wished Peeta were here, despite his callousness.

Again, there was no way to move but forward, for I was sure that monstrous dog waited for me outside. The path was damp. Boulders littered the walls, as if a mighty thunder had caused them to fall.

When I reached what seemed the middle of the hall, I saw what was at the end. It was a very dark and perilous-looking gate of iron. Sharp cones bolted the bars together. I knew it was a prison, yet for whom, I was unsure.

The melody only became sweeter, pulling me onward, and I could not fight it. It spoke to the loneliness in my heart. And when I drew nearer, I saw those who were imprisoned.

They were massive beings who bore likeness to humans, yet brute, slow, and deliberate in their movements. Some reposed against the rocks, some sat on the ground, while others were standing, so tall it seemed they grew from the ceiling. Yet it was their eyes that were most frightening, many sets of sensuous, wicked eyes.

I saw where the melody came from. One of the beings played a beautiful instrument, a lyre, carved out of smooth, iridescent tortoiseshell, plucked with unexpected almost irreverent tenderness. I was mesmerized. Then the others crept out of the shadows. They all looked curiously at me.

The one nearest me pushed a wooden box towards the bars. The skin on his hand was as dry as crumbling limestone. The music bade me to accept the box, which passed through the partition as if it were air. The melody soared. The beings inside the prison stirred. But before I could open it, my arm was yanked away from the box and the music stopped, as though a taut thread had been cut.

I was faced with the very blue and very angry eyes of Peeta. But he was not looking at me. He was looking at the entities inside the cave.

Then a deep laugh rumbled from within, almost maniacal with rage and irony.

And I saw him, surrounded by the many livid eyes that glowed inside the prison. He was bigger, taller, and more frightening. And it was a surprise when Peeta addressed him.

"Father," Peeta curtly acknowledged.

The monster smiled. And he was beautiful and his aura entrancing.

"My son," his voice was raspy. "Such a delight that you could spare us a visit. Though I must say, your timing is most impeccable as always. Do try to be tardier next time, especially when we're being entertained by your splendid companion," he crooned.

My blood ran cold. I now knew who resided within the prison, saw it in the memories Peeta showed me before. The imprisoned beings were the Titans.

Then the man turned his eyes to me and smiled. "And who is this plaything of yours? Why not let her play with us while you attend to your godly responsibilities? We are so famished after thousands of years of your graciousness."

"She is none of your concern," Peeta replied icily. His grip on my arm tightened painfully.

I turned my attention to the Titan who spoke to Peeta, the Titan of time and the ages. He possessed a wide, thick beard that was as white as his hair. It glowed inside the prison like snow that gleamed with the sun's brilliant rays

"Ah yes, still so charming and ebullient and irascible, much like your old father."

Peeta still had not released my arm. He stepped forward in front of me, his arm stretched behind him to hold me back, as he addressed the Titans.

"Enough games. You are imprisoned here in accordance with the terms of your defeat and unless you wish to be punished more, I suggest never making another attempt to escape," he said, pushing the box I had accepted back into the prison. The iron bars swallowed the box and it stopped by the feet of Peeta's father.

His father looked at us again, at the hand that had locked like a claw around me. The titan laughed. "Foolish, foolish boy. Do you and your brothers still enjoy being children playing a man's game?" he probed.

Peeta sneered. "If we're foolish, then why is it that you're the one imprisoned and we are the ones with the power to rule?"

"If you think it shall remain that way, you are truly a fool for forgetting so quickly. I unseated my father before me just as you and your brothers usurped my seat. I think you are smart enough to know what to expect. The spark I started, the fires of fate, will never be contained," the Titan finished savagely.

"Enough of your lies!" Peeta hissed, and his blue flames burst at the prison bars, the lower portion swimming in flames.

The Titan of Time continued to look at Peeta with merciless eyes, with his face so near the bars it looked as though the flames were licking and distorting his face. "They are not lies, my son, until you have found the truth with which to refute them. There are truths to this world that you have to accept, and I am disappointed that you have not, after so much time. Oh, but what good are the lies of a forgotten deity imprisoned by his own sons?" he mocked, then turned to me.

"And she!" His glee reverberated cruelly among the stone walls. I felt Peeta stiffen beside me. The Titan shook his head while regarding Peeta. Then he began to laugh a cold, mirthless laugh.

Peeta straightened his back. His eyes were full of cold fury. The blue flames only crawled higher along the bars until they had reached past the height of the Titans and into soaring arches of rock above. The flames had severed everything, sight and sound. My eyes darted to the god beside me. I had never seen Peeta this enraged, and I knew some of his ire was directed at me, at my foolish actions. I dared not breathe.

He continued staring at the flames, breathing heavily. My sharp intake of breath caused him to look at me, as if he only just remembered that I was still with him. Those cold eyes pinned me; within them swirled the turmoil of the darkest storm, as he whispered savagely, "Have you lost your mind?"

I yanked my arm out of his grip and moved backwards. His steps matched mine, moving forward, so that I never really placed much distance between us. I felt his raw, angry energy rolling off him in waves. "Do you not remember Pandora and her foolishness and the memories I showed you? Do you know how close you came to freeing those monsters?"

"I did not know…"

"You weren't thinking!" he spat angrily.

"Well what am I supposed to think? There's nothing to do. You never forbade me to go anywhere. You never tell me anything!" I defended.

"Well, then, let's start, shall we?" His head dipped toward mine as the wall stopped my retreat. "Roaming the realm freely is not a privilege that has been extended to you, because you are not a guest here," he said, his last words punctuated viciously.

"Then what am I?" I exploded in return, my hands gripping my hair, my frustrations spilling, challenging him in return. "What am I to you? Am I a prisoner? Should I just confine myself in a room, locked away until I return home?" My finger slithered up his neck in mockery. "Or should I play the role of your little plaything, as you so cruelly did not deny moments ago?"

Peeta took a step back, as if my touch burned him. I felt that wall come up again instantly, his anger deflating, the indifference returning. I would have preferred his earlier outburst to this distance.

We stared at each other, rife with so many unsaid sentiments. But I would not be the one to reach out first this time.

"Come. I've been away from my duties for too long," he said in a calm manner that unsettled me. He took me by my elbow again and I did not resist, wanting nothing more than to leave this place.

He let go of my arm as soon as we entered the Trivium. But we were not alone. I had never seen it so full of people, of souls. They stood in rows upon endless rows, and I could see all of them from my vantage high above, not far from Peeta's throne.

Peeta strode purposefully back to his seat, ignoring me. I walked closer to have a better view. Down the steps, directly below Peeta, sat his councilmen. I saw the flames where the souls stepped forward to have their actions recounted. The boatman stood by the door to the far back, his chin resting upon his upright oar. The frightening and formidable Erinyes stood ground in front of a door to the left, no doubt leading to the place where the wicked were sent, perhaps another portion of Tartarus. The dandelion rain from the Asphodel Meadows blew through one door to my right while the mists of the Elysian Fields floated in from another.

He'd stopped everything, for me, to rescue me from the Titans.

I felt inferior and ashamed for my earlier actions. The souls looked at me curiously as I sat on the topmost step, an arm's length away from Peeta's throne.

I looked at Peeta, sitting still and upright. His hard, disinterested eyes settled on nothing as he gazed on everyone. His profile was majestic, his angled jaw sharp against the background of the flames against the wall. The hem of his cape peeked out from the edge of his glassy adamantine throne. And at that moment, I saw none of the livid Peeta earlier, nor the Peeta who laughed with me in the Elysian Fields as the crown of flowers I weaved for him dropped to the ground. Here, he was the God of the Dead, fulfilling his purpose. An impartial judge who reigned over the souls of the departed. Omniscient. Powerful. Fearsome to behold.

I watched as each of the soul's lives were played in the flames. There were so many souls, weary men and young children alike, women who had passed from the earth giving life to their children, old men with stooped backs. Scores of them, standing, awaiting their next fate. I watched most of them, before I started feeling fatigued.

A hand rested on my right shoulder just as I had yawned discreetly. I had only realized that I had not slept yet, not since coming back from the mortal realm. I turned and saw one of the masked servants handling me a goblet of Ambrosia. I drank it tiredly. Suddenly my body was heavy with exhaustion and I yearned for sleep.

When I finished the goblet, the servant whispered to me that it was time for my rest. I was thankful, for I did not think I could keep my eyes open any longer. She led me away from the Trivium and I dared one last glance at Peeta. He never looked at me during the judging, but I thought perhaps he would at least give a nod my way just to acknowledge my departure.

He gave me none and I turned away, ignoring the pinch in my chest, letting the servant lead me back to the hall of endless doors.

When I had been cleaned and dressed, she led me to a familiar room, with silver stairs and grass-covered walls. I knew this room. I had been led here the very first time I was deceived by Peeta. This was his chamber.

I had my reservations, my memories alerting my mind to what had happened here, but I was too tired to protest. Besides, we had agreed to a truce. The past was to be forgotten. So I sank my body into the soft bed and fell asleep immediately.

And I dreamt. It was a rainy night in my dream. I ran in the cold wet streets barefoot. The water trickled from the bended rooftops and into my hair. I knew I was supposed to go to the house with three windows beside its green door. I knew this house to be at the next street to my right. I ran and ran, surprisingly agile despite the slippery street. Something important to me was inside that house and I had to find her. When I reached the green door, I pounded my closed fist onto the rough wood, scratching the side of my palm as I continued. When it opened, I saw my sister Prim, but she was younger, much younger. The same age she had been when I offered my life for hers as sacrifice. She was screaming in tears at me but the rain was too loud and I could not hear her. I tried to enter the house but I couldn't. And Prim only cried more desperately. Then the livid eyes of the cruel Titan, Peeta's father, appeared beside my crying sister. I shouted at him to stay away but he only laughed. He slammed the door close as an arm wrapped around my waist and I saw the old seer dragging me away into a cage. We were suddenly on a trek upwards. The disfigured faces of the priests who perished on the day of my sacrificed flanked my cage, chanting. Then the fumes of the volcano surrounded us and before my cage could be dropped into its infernal depths, I awoke with a jolt.

My dream was too vivid, too real, too close to my fears for me to forget and go back to sleep. The noises still played in my head as I lay on my side. I clutched at the thin cotton blanket that covered me, let myself feel it against my skin and to confirm that I had returned from the land of dreams and that somewhere far away, my sister was safe. I tried to calm myself, but my breaths still came in short intervals.

Then something rustled behind me. Someone breathed against shoulder.

I turned my head and I was greeted by Peeta's sleeping face.

The shock made me swallow, my dry throat hurting. My instinct was to push myself away, but his peaceful face halted me. I had never seen him like this. I did not even know that gods slept. He lay on his side too, facing me. His arm was propped beneath his head, as though he had been watching me first before he slumbered. I felt my cheeks blossom in heat as I saw his torso bereft of his tunic, the planes of his chest exposed to me as if sculpted from marble. The cotton blanket hid everything below his waist and I berated my mind, imploring it not to wander.

I looked back at his face. And I was confused as to why he was with me. But a part of me was also grateful that I was not alone, with the tremors of my nightmare still coursing beneath my skin.

Thoughts of my dream once again turned my blood to ice. How Prim screamed. How I tried to get to her. It seemed everything in my life was about me being separated. I wanted to go back to sleep but I could not calm myself.

So I turned to my side and faced Peeta.

He was still sleeping deeply. Perhaps he was also tired from judging countless souls. At once, my hand reached out to brush an errant wave of hair that had fallen to his forehead. The strands slipped between my fingers, soft as the underside of a young leaf. I tucked it gently back to its brothers. I wanted to touch his cheek too, but I was I afraid it would wake him, and I still wanted to luxuriate in this moment, when I could be close to him without being guarded. I looked at his slightly parted lips and remembered them on me, even though it was to deliver the pomegranate seed in trickery. But the phantom feeling surfaced on my lips, and in remembrance, my finger just touched the pillow of his bottom lip.

I found myself moving nearer, our elbows and forearms almost touching. I was close enough to feel his breaths flutter against my collarbone like a butterfly's wings. Slowly, I tried to match his breathing to calm myself, to banish the lingering howls of my nightmare. I breathed in when he did, watching his chest rise. I exhaled as he did, watching his eyelids flutter in dreams. This moment felt both forbidden and fragile, and slowly, my body relaxed again, awash in the undercurrent of this peacefulness. I closed my eyes and let sleep claim me, and I was sure I moved even closer to Peeta, and I felt the weight of an arm by my waist, encircling me.

I awoke in warmth, and in the moment between dreams and waking, I remembered that Peeta slept beside me. I found that I did not mind as much as I thought I should.

"Are you awake?" he asked me quietly. I opened my eyes then. I was on my side still, facing him, but Peeta lay on his back with his arms pillowed behind his head. I was close enough to see the rippling lines of muscle on his stomach. The intimacy of the moment was not lost on me, and I also could not say, despite my earlier confusion, that I regretted his presence.

I sat up, letting the thin cotton blanket cover my chest even though my dress was still on me. It felt too gauzy a cover for when a man was bare beside me. Peeta remained lying down.

Then he began to speak quietly, a confession whispered in the peaceful moments after waking. "I had been so tired after the judging of the souls. I always am, and I find myself in need of repose. My brothers do not see as I do, nor do the other gods. They do not see every moment of the lives of mortals, do not relive it with them, do not wonder how they felt, do not see every memory recounted. They do not know the humans as much as I do. And every time it's over, I feel aged, and I'm often alone, letting everything sink into me and be a part of myself. And when I saw you, in my bed, sleeping so peacefully, I could not resist."

I bit my lip at his pronouncement, remembering my earlier actions while he had slept. I welcomed this rare moment, when Peeta confided his undisclosed thoughts, from a side of his that had yet to step into the light.

"Well if you need to rest more, then I should go," I said, looking at his exhausted face, as I began to push myself out of the bed. I needed to get away and clear my head before I did something foolish. But it seemed Peeta did not want me to go. His arm tugged at the cotton blanket, the fabric stretching between us and restraining me. He turned and his left arm settled on my right side. His torso hovered over my upright one, his head angled as his eyes bore into mine. There was a teasing glint to them, and I knew the Peeta who had quietly confessed moments before was gone. There were so many sides to this god. Peeta swung his other leg so mine were between his. Then he rose up and up with his arms supporting him, the nearness between our bodies a delicious temptation, until the blanket fell away from him and he was now bare in front of me. My eyes flitted like a thief to the muscles that rippled at the base of his spine, then to the ones that emerged from his arms, and I felt him observing me. Blood flowed to my cheeks as I felt his breath there. It was a sorely difficult task to bring my eyes back to his face and lock them by the bridge of his aquiline nose. The delicateness of the moment intoxicated me. My heart slowed in its rhythm and my breathing became shallow. My pulse pounded hard between my ears.

His cheek brushed against mine as his mouth hovered near my ear. "I just remembered," he said in a voice alluringly low, "that we have yet to settle the terms of our truce."

I felt vertiginous in response to his actions, but I replied as best as I could.

"I may need more time to think about it."

He withdrew. "Let's start simply then." He leaned in again and kissed me gently on my cheek. Then he whispered, "Will you allow me to do that?"

I nodded.

"Good," he smiled at me and moved away, sitting on the edge of the bed.

When I had recovered my senses, I looked at Peeta again, his back to me.

And I saw them, littered across his back. Scars. Some were raised welts, some were merely shadows of dark skin, the remnants of deep gashes he suffered. I gasped.

"They're from the Divine War," Peeta murmured, knowing exactly the reason for the sound. "The Titans fought mightily, and the war lasted for a long time. They unleashed monstrous creatures too, before we defeated all of them and drove the Titans to the pit of Tartarus."

My hand moved forward and my fingers traced the patches of skin.

"And I have a request, Katniss." My hand stopped and my palm rested near his shoulder. "Please do not go anywhere near Tartarus again," he whispered fervently, his head turning to look at me. I nodded slowly, still hypnotized by our shared moment.

Peeta stood up and walked to a chair where his dark tunic rested. He was naked, and I turned my head to look away. But his teasing voice reached me. "You can look," he told me. I resisted.

He chuckled. "I had forgotten how pure you are," he said as I heard the rustle of the tunic against his skin. I looked down at my fingers that gripped the cotton blanket tight.

This was a most odd moment. Peeta flitted between serious and mischievous and I did not know what to make of it. And how I reacted, so imprudently. I ought to be berating myself, but if I were honest, I would not know how to react well. I had never been in this position before.

Then Peeta left, going down the silver steps of the stairs, the sound of his footsteps growing fainter and fainter, my heart mirroring the rhythm.

Author's Note:

If this were a play, this is the part of the intermission. The time for champagne and refreshments. It's also the time to get a box of chocolate truffles because the next chapter is intense :D