In the Elysian Fields
Chapter 6 Part 2
I never saw much of Peeta after our shared moment in bed. He was always occupied, it seemed. Or away at Olympus. In our times together before, he was always the one to come to me. He would find me, or send for his servants to fetch me. But I now roamed his realm alone, trying different doors and seeing where they led. Apart from the places I had been to, I discovered dry stretches of endless sand, snowy mountains, as well places that spoke to my emotion. There was a door that led to a bright place where I felt the purest elation while another door opened up so much doubt in me, the fog dragging my mind away from all logic. If the door's contents felt treacherous, I would stay away, keeping my promise to Peeta.
But I was always alone. I always drank my Ambrosia alone and I slept in his bed alone. Sometimes I would dream of him coming to bed, to sleep beside me, but it would be empty when I woke up.
And now, I had drunk the last of the Ambrosia and knew I would go back to the mortal realm soon.
I sat in the soft grass beneath a dark sky. This was one of my favorite places in Peeta's realm, five doors away from his Trivium. There were no flowers growing in the grass and a bare forest surrounded the plain. A ruined wall with columns where vines snaked their way up, covered with the softest moss, stood to my right. I walked over to it and sat on its steps, leaning against one of the columns. There was peace here in the darkness. Perhaps I had seen so many ecstasies and miseries pass in the days, lost my way countless times, that I felt to be kindred spirits with the night.
And then I saw them, my favorite things to observe here. The stars fell from the sky in a bright blaze, shooting to where the ground met the sky.
Then I heard his gait behind me, both the source and the balm to my ache.
"I've been told you're here often. It's interesting that you should choose this," he said. "Do you know what this place is, Katniss?"
I wanted to shout at him that I didn't know much anymore, because he was never here, but I shook my head instead, deflated.
"This is the place where mortal dreams go," he said, sitting beside me. His fresh, clean scent purred beneath my nose. I had missed his presence.
"Every time a star falls and bursts in the sky, a mortal has fulfilled his dream," he explained, staring at the sky with me. We did not speak anymore, but observed as a handful more of stars streaked past against the night.
"You're leaving soon," he stated, looking back down.
I wanted to ignore him, to see if it affected him as much as his absences had stung me. As much as our companionship had been turbulent, it hurt to be ignored. I let the silence fall between us.
When he did not say anything, I swallowed my petty game and confronted him. "I thought we were past this Peeta," I confessed in my bruised voice. I stood up, walking a few steps away.
I faced him. His face betrayed no emotion.
"What do you mean?" he asked, standing too and walking towards me. I stared at his chest, covered by his dark tunic. I knew he knew what I meant. My disappointment hung heavily. But what exactly did I want from him anyway? Did I want him closer to me? Did I want to be friends? But I found that I also could not say it, and if I had not the courage, how was I to ask for it?
"Forget it," I whispered, leaving.
He grabbed my arm. "No, stay here." He lifted my chin to look at him. I let seconds pass before I met his eyes. And I found myself wanting him to look at me differently, even angry, anything but his passive stare. At least I knew his angry side well. But it was not just Peeta that was bothering me. My impending return to the other realm brought anxieties about my family. I wished so much that nothing had changed since my last visit.
I wanted so many things I did not know which one to chase after first.
And my emotions had perhaps flitted across my face because Peeta cupped my cheek and asked me, "Are you afraid of going back?"
I answered him truthfully, tired of playing games and seeing if he would take my futile baits. "No. I'm afraid of what I'll find changed."
"Don't be," he whispered fiercely. "It suits you ill to be afraid." His eyes were as ablaze as the stars but his hand remained tender against my face.
"And when I return here, what will I find?" I asked, my question laced with all the confusion and pain I had endured since coming back here.
"Me," he answered bluntly, and I lowered my eyes. "And everything as it had always been. You can at least find comfort in that remaining unchanged." And he walked away.
And right at that moment a painful thought crept through my mind. Perhaps he resented my presence. It was a possibility I had to accept, that perhaps he never really wanted anything to do with me, that I had splintered something in the grand plans of gods when I volunteered for my sister and I was thrust unwontedly into his domain and he had no choice. It seemed there would never be anything right in my existence as I drifted between the realms. I had foolishly thought, dreamed even for a fleeting moment when I had proposed the truce, that there would be something stable in Peeta I could return to in the underworld, no matter how changed my life in the mortal realm would be. But it seemed it would never come true, a dream stolen from me again, as everything had been for me.
Upon return to the mortal realm, I asked the messenger of the gods if I could alight at a secluded portion of the expansive shore beneath our home.
I wanted a moment alone to myself before I faced my family. And I realized I had never had a moment to myself where I did not think of my sacrifice or its consequences or when I was not swimming in my loneliness. I hadn't yet had a moment to just be.
It was past midday and the shore was still peaceful, the farmers and the merchants still at the agora. I inhaled the crisp air of early winter. I knew the olives had been harvested and the trees had shed their golden hued leaves. Bending forward, I unlaced my sandals and let my toes sink into the damp sand.
I inhaled deeply again, expelling the stale air of the underworld from my chest. I waded into the foamy waters, the coldness spiking up my spine, but I welcomed the sensation. A flock of birds fled above, racing towards the sun. The song of the sea crested and fell, soothing me. I had missed being connected to my senses.
I stayed this way for a long time, standing, thinking of nothing, and only looking out into the sea. I was at last at peace, centered once more, and I felt my fortitude building again. And then I decided it was time to go to my family, and I walked away from the sea before its soft, foamy arms beckoned me again. The thought of seeing my family brought a sense of joy to me, yet at the same time, Peeta's aloofness still hovered over my heart. As I walked up the steps of the cliff leading to my home, as everything that happened to me buried itself in my mind, I realized what a peculiar sensation it was to have both happiness and sadness exist side by side in my heart.
I saw my father carrying his vases as he fumbled with the door. I hastened my steps to help him and took the vases from him slowly, my smile already in my lips at seeing him.
"Katniss!" my father exclaimed in surprise, gathering me in his arms. And as I returned his embrace, the emotions tided over too strongly as I counted how long a time I still had to be with them. Each time I rose from the underworld, my family ran closer and closer to death, far from where I could reach them. I felt a thousand needles on my nose at the thought that there was not enough time left. I could not even see the beauty of the rare sunset that covered us now, a pale gold instead of a fiery fire. My father's arms had not the strength they had before, and his hair was speckled with more white strands.
Father and I stepped into our home. It was empty, yet the sight of our familiar tables and curtains and shelves soothed me. I walked to the kitchen to prepare my father's afternoon drink, my limbs moving in memory. He took the glass from me and sipped slowly, savoring the drink. "You were always the only one who could make this right," he complimented. "Even your mother still can't prepare it correctly," he said.
I could only smile. "Where are they?" I asked.
"They should be back soon. Your sister needed to visit the temple. And she has something to tell you," my father said.
I occupied myself by fixing the vases on the table until I heard voices coming from beyond the door. There was laughter, and it brought a pang to my heart, a selfish one, to think that they could be happy without me. But I chastised myself, for what else were they to do? Their mourning had to pass.
My mother and sister stood by the open door, the soft light framing their motionless stances at seeing me. Mother had not changed so much. Prim had. She was already older than me. My little sister. She was a woman now, lovelier than the first blooms of spring, a perfect blend of honey and milk.
Then I noticed a companion of theirs, a man. I saw Prim talk to him as my mother stepped forward eagerly, and with a cry, gathered me in a fierce embrace.
"I dreamt of you, Katniss," she said. "That you would come back soon, and here you are," my mother said, tears shining in her eyes. She held me the longest and I sighed in content at the familiar smell of her. My mother's joy could not be contained as she set out to cook a hearty meal to celebrate my return.
Then lastly, my sister greeted me. Her hair was so long now, reaching past her waist like a golden veil.
"I have something to tell you, sister," Prim said, eyes full of excitement as she pulled back.
"I am to be married."
They told me the story of the betrothal over our supper. Father had arranged the union with a respectable family in the city who had been trading with him for a long time. Prim's betrothed was an agreeable man. She described me her future home, nearer to the city than our home now. I saw the delight dancing in her eyes. And at that moment, I envied my sister and all the possibilities I had opened for her, everything I would unfairly never have. I kept my bright smile to hide this.
My sister and I resumed our shared chores after supper, and as everyone slept, I went outside and into the meadow where I first met my immortal father.
I had thought seeing my family would be easier now. I thought I had been strong enough for any changes, but it seemed unhappiness would be my shadow henceforth.
Once more, Peeta entered my mind unbidden. And the tears slid out of my eyes, a sob squeezed from my chest.
I felt the arms of my immortal father consoling me.
"Tell me what's wrong, my child," he said after a while, as my heart grew heavier. "Your pain is an ache to my heart too," he said as he rocked me comfortingly and I could not help but cry more. It was better here, in the dark woods, with only the trees and the night to witness the anguish I could not share with my family.
When I was coherent enough to word my thoughts, I confessed everything to my father. His eyes were doleful as they regarded me, his hand wiping my angry tears.
"I feel as though I have no place anywhere, father. As though I exist without any purpose anymore. And I mourn for what I shall never experience, with my family leaving me behind. It becomes more and more real each time I return to them. There is only emptiness waiting for me in my future. Even my home no longer feels like a home."
My father held me tighter, resting his cheek against the top of my head as more of my anguish shook me.
"But my child," he said, after I had quieted down. He looked at me, his silver eyes sharp as ever as his hands held my face, "Everyone will leave you. It is the way the world has been ordained. It may be different with you, but the loss you will feel when they're truly gone will be no less painful than if you never took your sister's place. There is no one who is spared this pain."
Fresh tears coursed down my cheeks and I wished I would run out of them if it made me impervious to misery. But my father held me until I had shed the last tears that contained my emptiness, my acceptance, my surrender, and I watched the last drop fall to the ground.
Fate's strong current always prevailed, and I was but a piece of wood adrift in the sea.
The assembly of the gods was a hastily called one, called solely out of his brother's, the god of the sky's, concern over the recent matter of the Titans.
As Peeta stood up from his seat to the left of the supreme deity, he looked over to see his brother's wife, who was chatting with the goddess of wisdom, fount of strategy. He needed something from the goddess of marriage, lady of the sky.
It was madness, his mind insisted, what he was planning to do. But it was too late.
He had seen Katniss crying again, had heard her softly confess her sorrow to the god of the harvest, her father. He watched as the tears did not stop, and he knew why she shed them.
Peeta knew he was to be blamed as well. He had been distant with her while in the underworld. He had avoided her presence, especially after she had proposed the truce. It alarmed him how easily he had accorded to her wishes. He feared it to be a weakness. So he ignored his instincts when he felt her calling to him. He had left her to herself unless urgent.
But he could never truly stay away from her.
And now, he followed the goddess of marriage, lady of the sky to her dwelling as the other gods dispersed and went back to their duties.
When he had told her what he needed, she scoffed. "Is it for your little pet?"
Peeta ignored her insult.
"She ought to be punished, your little pet, for what she could have done," the goddess scorned.
"Why should she be when it never transpired? It would be as if we were punishing her for thinking badly, which we know you do all the time," Peeta countered. "Do you have what I need or do you not?" he asked, untroubled.
The goddess, after leveling him with a glare, gave him a small copper box.
He opened it. "Perfect," he said. Then he turned to leave.
"So there is some truth to the rumors that have been floating about," the goddess whispered.
Peeta stopped, though not truly caring for what she had to say for he had gotten what he needed.
"You fool," she said suddenly, when he neither denied nor acknowledged her statement. "Do you not know she can be your undoing?" She breathed.
He paid his brother's wife no mind as he went out the door, walking towards the chariot with his deathless horses, going back to his realm alone with only his duties to distract him.
After I had poured out my discontentment to my immortal father that night, it was easier to spend time with my family again. We passed the weeks preparing for my sister's wedding. I would not be here when it happened, so I helped as much as I could to make up for my absence, for my guilt that burned within me whenever I remembered my envy. I would not see my sister riding the chariot driven by her husband as they went to the abode that her husband would build for her, with my sister wearing a veil of red as protection from spirits who wished the bridal pair harm, and carrying ivy to symbolize their endless love. I would not be present in the feast nor witness the ceremonial bath. These were only the beginning of the many things I would always be missing.
In this late afternoon, my mother sewed Prim's veil while I made the nightgowns. We had already sewn the curtains as well as the bed covers and blankets. My mother then punctured our silence with a question.
"Have you met him?"
I raised my head from where it was bent near the cloth and put my needle down. "Who?"
"Your immortal father," she clarified.
I nodded. "Do you still remember him?" I asked, remembering what the god of the harvest had told me before. It felt odd to talk about my immortal father, when the one who had raised me was reposing in the other room.
My mother smiled at the memories she must have been recalling. "I had never forgotten him, though what I had felt had already changed," she said.
"Why did you love him?" I asked, very curious as to her reply.
"For many reasons, which I cannot recall anymore. But I felt as though I would never be left wanting, for I knew how fervently he felt for me."
Then she looked at me. "Katniss, I do not regret loving both your fathers, but it was better this way."
I did not reply, but merely nodded again.
"You've been too quiet again lately. It's your sister, isn't it?" my mother asked kindly. I immediately felt guilty once more.
"Of course not," I said. It was better to cloak the truth. "I wish so fiercely there was something I could do so you always remember me even when I am away or have your love toward me remain unchanged."
My mother put aside my sister's veil and placed her hands atop my cold ones. "Katniss we will never not love you," she said, smiling sadly at me, her eyes pleading for me to understand. "I can never tell the rain to not come, nor the sun to never shine, nor can I tell the fates to reverse their intentions for you. But what is important is that you are not lost to us anymore, even if the time we spend with you is as fleeting as the best of dreams we hold onto before waking, I would take it over losing you completely.
"You must have been so afraid," she said, tucking my hair back, a gesture I would never tire of receiving.
"I still am," I confessed. "Everyday, every moment, of what I would find when I next return. It's what hangs on my mind when I leave and it's the first thought that surfaces before I return. I dread it, mother, not just fear it. I had learned there to be a difference. You fear the unknown, but you dread that which you cannot escape."
My mother smiled sadly at me. In the harsh winter sun, I saw her mouth had gotten thinner, her skin no longer as luminous. But my aging mother was still beautiful to me.
"Don't," she says. "It keeps you from living. And we are in this world to live. Whatever may happen to you, you choose how you feel, how you conduct yourself, and how you deal with your fate."
Her answer reminded me of what my grandmother had instilled in me long ago. Perhaps I needed to hear it once more so it did not drown against my other thoughts. My mother looked so sure of her response to me that I did not have the courage to tell her it would be difficult to live, to return here, once they were all gone.
The season passed too soon and the dreary winter was cast aside by an early, breezy spring. I could only claim small victories of happiness with my family this time. I was to return any day now, and I waited for the signal from the god of the harvest. I spent more and more time with him too, and even asked him about the Titans and the Divine War as we walked along the thin forest atop a mountain. He answered how Peeta and his two brothers were critical to the gods's victory. I relayed to him how I had gotten lost in Tartarus and his words shed light on Peeta's terrifying reaction then. The gods had built a special key that would open the prison of the Titans. As punishment, this key rested in a chest inside their prison. Only an immortal could pass it through the bars and pull it out, but only a mortal could open the chest. I was the rare mix of both, and the opportunity had been too sweet for the Titans. When I realized how close I had been to unleashing their horrors, I shuddered. Perhaps Peeta's reaction had not been unjustified.
I waited in my father's pottery shop again today. He had been falling ill so I told him I would take care of his shop. Every ailment my parents felt had sent my heart jolting in fear. I feared too many things nowadays.
I was about to close the shop when a young man approached the door. He had an easy smile I trusted and kind eyes, and perhaps I had seen him passing by before. He was tall and broad and had reddish hair and a beard. He was perhaps a handful of years ahead of me.
He introduced himself as Darius and he said he would like to purchase a water vase for his mother's home. He looked over at some of the vases still displayed. I had painted most of them. Father proudly told me I was improving. They were the outlet of my emotions and I had only let the brush move as an extension of my heart.
I was so distracted arranging the vases that he had to repeat what he said.
"Would it be possible for you to choose for me instead?" he asked. "I'm afraid I would make a poor choice for my mother," he sheepishly admitted. I teased him that my father never made inferior vases. I smiled most disarmingly just to see him fumble more. The poor man blushed and muttered that he never meant any offense.
I sighed and stopped my little game, selecting a vase suitable to his needs. He dropped the silver drachmas twice before he could hand them over as payment.
"I should go," he said.
"Goodbye then, and thank you for your purchase," I said. I thought nothing of the exchange but the small amusement I had gotten from it.
I was about to close the door when Darius appeared again, breathless, as though he had run up and down the cliffs.
"I've been intending to buy that vase for a week now but I've never had enough courage to approach you," he said.
I could only stare at him and try to make sense of what he said.
"I was hoping to meet your father here so I could ask permission to see you more," he said, blushing again, the late afternoon sun blazing against his cheek.
Perhaps if I were normal, and if my choices had not led me to this path in life, I would have known where this could lead.
And I was so tempted to say yes, walk him to my father, to see where it would lead. It was liberating to feel even just a shadow of a choice, of normalcy. I craved a semblance of a linear life, one that followed a path similar to other mortals.
Darius was handsome too, though he did not have any of Peeta's airs, but nobody ever would in this realm anyway.
I looked at Darius's eager, hopeful face. It must have taken a lot of courage for him to admit those words. So I let him down as gently as I could with a lie. "I'm afraid someone has already asked for my father's permission ahead of you," I said.
Darius blinked. "Oh," he said, scratching his head. "Then thank you for being gracious about it. I hope you'll be happy with him." And he turned and walked away, picking up the vase he purchased gingerly, never looking back.
I watched him go with faint disappointment, hoping that Peeta had not seen this exchange.
But it was futile to hope for even a moment when Peeta did not watch me, for the first stern question sliding off his tongue as I approached his throne, accepting the goblet of Ambrosia was, "Who was that man?"
I sighed and sipped the Ambrosia, taking my time. "Who?" I asked, pretending to be ignorant.
"The man who visited you in your father's shop," Peeta replied bluntly. "Who was he?"
"Why do you ask?" I said, leveling him with a cool stare.
"So I know if I should turn him into a goat for your sister's wedding feast," he said darkly.
"Don't you dare," I hissed. Peeta's moody treatment of me was exhausting. "He's no one," I admitted, perhaps more sadly than I intended.
I looked at Peeta, daring him to challenge me. But instead of any petty emotion, I saw understanding in his eyes. Then they turned gentle when he asked me next, "Would you like to send a gift to your sister?"
I had not expected that, but I clung to such a hope that he would stop being moody with me that I replied only too eagerly, "That would be wonderful."
He took my hand and led me to one of the doors I'd never been through. The rush of a river greeted us, and I followed him up some steps carved out of stone. It led to a mouth of a cave, narrow yet thrice the height of a man. The passageway was dark but the center of the cave was illuminated by light coming from its ceiling. It shined down on a giant, golden horn, its tail curved upwards. It was spilling with gold and silver and jewels.
"This is my cornucopia," Peeta explained. "Take whatever you wish to give to your sister."
And I looked around at the exquisite stones sparkling around me. I picked up rings and anklets and bracelets. I settled for a necklace of gold and creamy ivory delicately braided, reminding me of the colors I associated with Prim. Peeta handed me some papyrus and a quill to write my thoughts down for my sister. When I was done, he produced his blue flames and saw my sister in them, preparing the morning meal with my mother. I felt a pang of longing that I did not think would ever go away. The fire consumed the necklace and the papyrus and it appeared before her. She was startled at first, but perhaps remembered my promise to her that I would remember her while I was gone. I watched my sister read my note, saw her eyes twinkle with tears. It was then that I had also finally let go of my bitterness. Remembering my mother's words, I resolved to enjoy this moment, seeing my sister so happy. It was what I fought for when I took her place in the sacrifice.
She read my note twice, and I memorized her smile each time.
Then Peeta quietly appeared by my side. "And would you consent if I give another gift to you too?" he asked, and there was something in his eyes I could not read. It promised something great, prompting uneasiness in me. I looked around, perhaps his gift was in the cornucopia, but he assured me it was not here.
And he led me away from the cave and back to the hallway of doors, back to the Elysian Fields. We climbed the hill topped with the tree with weeping branches, where we spent much time before. There was a new door by the gray trunk.
But before we entered, I stopped Peeta by his tunic. "What is this Peeta?" I asked, and I could see barely-contained happiness in his eyes.
He moved nearer and gently took my face in his hands. I dared not move, nor breathe.
"I know I've been distant with you, and I apologize. But it'll be different from now on," he promised, leading my hand through the door.
And through the door was paradise, a land of lush flowers and trees and sparkling light.
My surroundings amazed me. Everywhere around me bloomed life. We stood on a path flanked with bowing and swaying flowers, with stems of varied heights. There were delicately curling foliage with soft petals drenched in colors I had never imagined, marriages of colors I had never known. The reds were touched with cool violets, the soothing blues surrounded by the softest yellows and streaked with feathery greens. And I felt warmth from a light in the sky. It was the sun, the one whose absence I had mourned in the underworld. It was here now, but it was so much more. The ever-changing light transformed the atmosphere and beauty of my surroundings.
I looked at Peeta who was beside me, enjoying my reaction.
"Go on," he urged me.
I explored the meandering path towards the frothy-blossomed trees. The light spread over everything, and beyond the trees I saw a sunken enclosure. I walked down the steps to a small garden surrounded by stone arches. And inside those arches were a bed and chairs and tables, with a breezy curtain enclosing them. Everything was charming and quiet, a splendid refuge.
I walked up the steps on the opposite side, Peeta following me close by, his smile never leaving his lips.
Past the trees was a lake with an immaculate surface, but beneath the waters was a splendor of more color, as though billowing clouds of ink, sighing indigos and dancing teals, spilled into endless pools. The lake had two wooden bridges with an island in the center. Trees with drooping branches lined the bridge as the sunlight played with its leaves. Golden apples dropped from its vein-like boughs. More trees embraced the lake, more flowers whose intense hues gleamed in the sun crowned it instead of a shore, and in the distance hills rolled into the horizon. The air smelled of mint and sweet perfume.
I was unable to say anything as I felt Peeta's presence behind me. My words were insufficient to reflect the emotions exploding in me. I shivered from the passing breeze and felt Peeta wrap his cloak around my shoulders, then he whispered close to my ear as I stared at the marble pillars of the island. "I built everything here for you."
I turned and faced him, placing my hand on his cheek. He took this and pressed a kiss on my palm. "This is your home now," he vowed solemnly.
I thought of everything he had done, the polarity, the duality, the goodness that wrapped around the darkness I had accepted about him, and it was as though everything had fallen into place, as natural as stone falling to the earth, and I saw my own possibilities in this realm, with him. Even as everything moved away from me, I had Peeta.
He did not want to let go of her hand resting by his cheek. Peeta pulled her closer with his other arm, closing his eyes as their foreheads touched. He knew why he had built this place for her, why he asked the god of the sun for the orb in the sky and the goddess of marriage, lady of the sky for her golden apples, or for the god of the harvest's help with the flowers and trees, painting everything into a once-empty realm. The answer burned deep inside him, but remained one he would not admit. Not yet. Not even to himself. It was too new, too unknown, too frightening how well wrapped around his heart she already was.
He'd been distant with her as he fought his emotions. It was a curse, and his Titan father had planted that doubt. But it was freedom too. There were so many things tethered to this fragile woman who with one look could scatter his thoughts everywhere.
Then a soft drizzle enveloped them.
"It rains here too?" Katniss asked as she pulled away to look at the sky.
"Yes, because what is above in the mortal realm can be found here. And because you have eyes like the rain," he said.
Katniss smiled brilliantly, looking as though she might cry, and he moved closer. His fingers traced her cheek and stopped by the corner of her lips. Lowering his head, he looked her straight in the eye, so that she may never doubt his intentions from here on.
"May I?" he whispered.
She stilled as Peeta gently held her face. He tilted his head, closed his eyes, and slowly pressed his lips gently against hers as the rain fell like a caress around them. He kissed the bow on top as her lips parted. Then the one below, slowly. He swept his lips over her jaw, trailing a pilgrimage up her cheek, her sigh emboldening him, then kissed both her closed eyes, and back to her lips again. This time she responded by pressing deeper, yet still with the traces of endearing hesitance. One of his hands rested by her nape while the other pulled her closer, settling by the dip of her waist. Then with the softest of kisses, of touches, he taught her to want him. She granted him entrance and their tongues danced. And he felt a monumental desire awakening in him, burning like a thousand tiny torches only she could ignite. Their kiss was shining with intimacy, with fascination, and relentless yearning. Everything about Katniss was thrilling. The sweet puff of breath she exhaled. Her lips that delicately followed his. Her hand that rested above his heart.
Peeta released her lips then moved to the supple skin of her throat, her head tilting to the side, her eyes still closed. Her scent filled all the vacuous spaces in his being. His hands brushed over her back and trailed down her spine as he continued to softly taste the underside of her jaw. Her grip on his shoulder conveyed her awakening desires. Then with a last brush of his lips against her collarbone that earned him a honeyed sigh, Peeta kissed her lips once more, already parted and seeking his hungrily. The fevered rush she ignited in him, against the cool rain, was maddening.
When they parted, she smiled again at him, and for once in his eternal existence, he felt what humans must have felt at their most rapturous moment.
He held her close, but the rush was too much and, taking himself by surprise, he picked her up and twirled her around, her head snapping back in elation as she tasted the light rain.
"Thank you," she murmured, and kissed him again, this time more emboldened.
And he thought, I brought you here, to me…
He pulled back gently and then set her down. "Now go, I know you want to see more of your paradise," he teased.
He had never seen her smile that way before, her eyes iridescent with joy.
I need you here, with me…
And she moved with ease too, a shy giggle escaping her lips as she stepped backwards, holding his hand until their fingers had to part. His arm floated down to his side as he watched her run across the flowering field.
Because I never want to be alone again.
Author's Notes:
I did say the fun would begin after the truce :D More fun to come now that they have their own secret place!
Greek Mythology notes:
- The Titans were the divine beings who reigned before the gods. Their leader, Cronus, the titan of time and ages, ascended to power after he emasculated his father, Uranus, with a sickle his mother, Gaea, gave him. During his reign, a prophecy was foretold that one of his sons would dethrone him. So he began swallowing them whole after his wife, Rhea, gave birth to them. Tired of having her children gobbled up, Rhea gave Cronus a piece of swaddled stone instead of Zeus, and had the god grow up in an island away from his parents. Zeus eventually grew strong and rebelled against his father. He tricked him into regurgitating his brothers and sisters, and eventually, the Divine Wars between the gods and the titans began. The titans were defeated and imprisoned in Tartarus.
- The cornucopia, or the horn of plenty, is Hades's symbol. (When I researched this, I was like, this is fate!) He was also called the god of wealth because he reigned over the underworld and it's where the precious metals and stones "came" from, beneath the earth.
If you had been wondering who the gods are in relation to the HG characters, here they are so far, though some have still yet to make an appearance. Again, the titles are my inventions based on the Homeric Hymns. See if you'd guessed them right:
God of the dead, host of the many: Hades - Peeta
God of the sky, the supreme deity: Zeus - Gale
God of the sea, heir of the trident: Poseidon – Finnick
God of the harvest, bringer of abundance: Demeter - Mr. Everdeen
The messenger, the herald of the gods: Hermes - Cato
Goddess of the hunt and wilderness, protectress of maidens: Artemis – Cashmere
God of light, bearer of prophecy: Apollo - Gloss
Goddess of love, pursuer of passion: Aphrodite - Effie
Goddess of marriage, lady of the sky: Hera - Johanna
God of wine, patron of ecstacy: Dionysius - Plutarch
Goddess of wisdom, fount of strategy: Athena - Madge
God of war, master of battles: Ares - Seneca
God of fire, armorer of immortals: Hephaistos - Haymitch
Oh, and, if you haven't read it yet, I posted a sweet little outtake from the last chapter a few weeks ago on my tumblr. I'm including the link in my profile for those who haven't read it yet:
And if you're still hankering for more Everlark, I also made a one-shot for Prompts in Panem, round 3 called Roman Holiday. It was inspired by Audrey Hepburn's movie of the same title. Read it and lemme know what you think! :D
Thank you sooooo much for reading, and for still sticking with me. I appreciate it! I would also love to hear what you thought of the update. Your feedback is always a welcome treat and it's added motivation for me as well. So, pour them out please. :D
