Katniss goes on a wild adventure in what was supposed to be a smoothly scheduled trip to show her mother support. However, there is a re-emerging idea about how Katniss can use the power and influence she has for people all over the Districts.

Royal Treatment

The first place they take us to is the Medical Center, where my mother is waiting for us. The building is already filled with workers dressed in medic uniforms, like Prim's the day she died. But they were all scurrying back and forth to get the place ready to open for patients. All I had to do to find my mother was follow the trail of delivery workers pushing carts of items, towards someone who'll tell them exactly where it belongs. There she was, looking younger than when she did the day before my father died. There she was, the only family member I had left in this world, a spitting image of what my sister Prim was supposed to look like if this stupid war let her live out her years. Suddenly, the heavy weight of carrying all of the dead of District 12 fell upon my shoulders as I took in her lonely stance. My strides quickened before my legs could give out, and just when it couldn't take the distance anymore, I caught sight of her eyes. Once hollow, blank, and lost, they were now bright, like Prim's, blue like the alluring beach waters we passed by on the train, purposeful and focused like those moments she was healing the sick at District 12, and the shape of the upturned corner of her eyes—were just like mine—a part of me, I was able to see in her for the first time—my blood, my mother, my reason for existing and living. I fell into her, and let this indescribable sound come out from deep inside me. Johanna had the sense of shoving us into a room, closing the door shut, sealing us from the forever prying world out there, while I cried in my mother's arms in the dark.

I could feel an unfamiliar strength in her arms, I could feel her crying, kissing the top of my head, allowing me to shed tears that seemed to never stop flowing. When I was able to form a few words, the first thing I say is, "I brought your plants."

We both laugh and I continue to wrap my arms around her lap. I owe myself this, recapturing the childhood I don't remember having. "I don't want to let go."

After a while, she leads me into the healing garden, which was still quite bare, but I hardly noticed it as it was perched on the edge of a cliff that had a breathtaking view of the crashing waves of the ocean. I have a flashback of the last arena, dark and foreboding, but I also remember the sound of waters rushing to the shore over and over again as Peeta and I kissed long and beautifully. I was proud that I was getting good at that, training myself to block out creeping dark thoughts by thinking of him.

We take a long stroll along the beachside after taking a slow winding downhill private path from the center. I promise myself I would allow my mother the pleasure of having a doting daughter, to be the way Prim was with her, when I had always kept my distance because I hated her. According to Effie's schedule I only had two weeks here, and every moment was already accounted for. After the public dinner galas, I would crawl up in bed with my mother, and we'd talk until the wee hours of the morning. It was then that I would share with her all the juicy news from all the districts, new young people I met, but it was also then that I would learn about her true feelings about me.

It was the first dinner party where I joined Plutarch for an interview with Cressida, Johanna, and Annie who was surprisingly lucid. It was a somber reunion, until we heard a disturbance by the entrance. I quickly saw the source, walking in taller than ever, in every sense of the word was Senator Hawthorne. He was strikingly handsome, in a suspicious prep team way. His facial hair was curiously similar to Seneca Crane's. I chuckled a little relishing on a thought that Panem may have a new Head Gamemaker in their midst.

"My apologies for my late arrival…," he was saying when I did a retake, wondering if this was actually Gale. And when did he start speaking with the Capitol accent? "I was at the medical center, discussing funding matters with Director Everdeen."

He just answered my question, not answering any of us in particular as he spoke into the rolling camera.

He took all our hands and kissed it, then sat beside us. After the interview, he didn't waste any time apologizing for his abruptness, but his schedule basically did not allow him to be subtle. He was off to another meeting. I returned to my mother's beachside home about to retire when I heard a sound in the kitchen.

"Thanks, Mom!" I heard Johanna of all people say. Was she talking to my mom, I was about to ask, but it seemed so as my mother answers, "Remember Johanna, you have to stay out of situations that will compromise your health, and that means, control your temper. It would be wise to take a bag with you at all times so you can store the Nitroviles."

I spy on them behind the kitchen door left ajar. My mother was hugging Johanna, and a wave of jealousy sets in. I've had it! Johanna keeps intruding on everything in my life. It's going to end now, with my mother. I'm about to thunder in, but Buttercup's meowing causes everyone to turn towards the sound. Wait a minute, it's not Buttercup rubbing against my leg, it's another cat, a nice white fluffy furry cat.

Johanna immediately runs out and scoops it from the floor. "Georgia," she calls the bundle of fur, and squeezes the poor cat tightly. "We have a friend for you. His name is Buttercup. Let's find him shall we?"

Now I had to take a step back and ask myself. Does Johanna live here? With my mother? I asked her as we readied for bed.

"As an inpatient, Katniss." She tucked me in next to her and whispered, "I had to take her out of 13. They were trying all these experimental drugs on her, which caused complications with her heart. The trackerjacker serum used to help her deal with memories of her torture, produced good results but as usual had riskier side effects. When her heart first stopped it was pinpointed to a memory she had of her torture. Nothing can completely erase what's trapped in her subconscious mind even though they erased true memories and gave fake ones. We will never know what triggers them. All we can do is give her the antidote. It's a good thing Peeta isn't afraid to ask about his past. Johanna wants to forget it."

I reply, "Peeta has me. She doesn't have anyone, except for a guy in her district."

"I'm glad you're here, and so is Gale. He misses you. He still manages to take time out and see how I'm doing despite his busy schedule. Underneath it all, he's still the same sweet boy from district 12. He's really making great changes in Panem, you know. He wants to open more medical centers in Panem, and call it the Everdeen Medical Center, and suggest we name the Children's Center, the Primrose Everdeen Center."

I get up after feeling like my heart is going to explode, not from Gale's touching intentions, but from pure anger, that comes from a betrayal that keeps on going. There's nothing touching about his intentions at all. I can't escape the feeling that he's exploiting our family, the family name, and my sister who he had a direct hand in killing. And this is how he thinks he's going to make amends to my mother, who is falling to pieces, for it!

"Where are you going?" my mother asks.

"I need to check on Haymitch. You're not the only one with someone to look after. I'll be back." I change and I leave. The hotel is not so far from where my mother lives. Besides, the hotel was built to accommodate the people flocking to District 4 for medical reasons. They also built several hotels close to the beach already, and the nightlife was bustling. Thanks to the scarf the prep team gave me to hide the scratches on my neck, I was able to rub off the excess make up and appear like a battered outpatient no one would want anything to do with.

Haymitch opens the door for me, and I don't waste a second expressing my disgust. "You won't believe how much I want to kill someone right now! I want to kill him! He acts like he doesn't know what he did to me!"

When he closes the door, I see he has company. "Katniss, who scratched you up?" Gale asks, leaping off the chair.

I was completely thrown off. He approaches me holding my chin to take a closer look. "What are you doing here?" I ask, but he asks me instead, "Who hurt you?" and presses a button on his ear piece about to dispatch his men. I grab his hand, but Haymitch joins in too, prying my hand off Gale's. Haymitch knows me too well, perhaps Gale's already shared with him his glorious vision.

"It's nothing Gale. We brought the cat, Buttercup. He isn't too fond of travelling." Haymitch explains, giving me a look.

Gale takes my face in his hand again. "Or her, if I can, remember." He catches me glaring at him and drops his hand.

"Well, it was nice seeing you again Haymitch, Katniss. Just think about what I said Haymitch." Gale says as Haymitch sees him out the door.

"Why did you butt in? I was this close to his neck." I say.

"I kind of had a feeling you weren't talking about the cat, but the famed Senator from District 12 who manages to woo everyone in his path including your mother."

"You figured that too, huh?" I pace back and forth. 'Haymitch, I want to hurt him…"

"No hold on now, sweetheart. We're not in the games now."

"Gale thinks it's a game still."

"That's right. Now sit down and let me tell you what my take is. He is a politician Katniss and what they do is negotiate to those who will listen. So you steer clear of the politics, and steer clear of him so you don't go upsetting yourself and make it bad for any surviving victor."

"What am I going to tell my mother? She doesn't know that his bombs were the ones responsible for blowing up the Capitol and my sister. She adores him."

"Then tell her now. She's stronger than I 've ever seen her."

"That's what makes it harder," I say.

The next day, Effie has planned a scheduled day to lounge on the beach. Johanna passes, but Effie, Haymitch and I can't resist. My mother promises to join us later in the afternoon. The beach is absolutely crowded, with umbrellas and small tents pitched up all over the place. A section for us has been roped off, but people slowly approach me more times than I can bear. I'm so tempted to jump into the water to avoid them. Pale Plutarch relaxes beside us while his camera crew holds up foil mirrors and umbrellas recording his every move. I see Annie and Finnick's child playing in the sand. She looks so put together. Seeing her amazes me, and makes me think about the different ways people respond to living after the death of a loved one. While I clammed up, Annie here rose to the challenge of pulling her mind together to give her child the stability one would have, raised by both parents. Suddenly, I feel a gut-wrenching pain, looking at a part of Finnick, his little boy's curly locks. I'm so terrified of such a loving scene, I stay put, having wanted to play with him earlier. He could be my child, and what if this uncertain world would find a way to take him away from me. I make a run for it, for the water to block the creeping dark thoughts again.

I dive in and feel the cool water. There are still too many people beside me. I want to escape farther into the deep, where the waves are just swells. I see a sand bar not too far away so I swim for it. When I break to the surface for air, I see a trident fly right over me. It hits its intended target, a large grey fish with rows of razor sharp teeth and a large triangular fin on top.

"You shouldn't be swimming too far out in these shark-infested waters."

I squint my eyes as I'm pushed into the shore by the waves. I may be hallucinating because I think I'm seeing Finnick. "Come on, get on and I'll take you back," the man says, and yanks me on a thin canoe with riggers jutting out on one side. I wasn't planning on heading back to civilization so soon, but there's no way I'm going back into the water with that kind of fish lurking underneath.

I stare at him, as he paddles using such strong muscular arms. His catch is so fresh, the fish are literally jumping at my feet from a weaved basket. As we make it back to land in no time he introduces himself. "The name's "Aris," he says, and helps me off his canoe.

Just then, Annie's boy comes running towards him. "Uncle Aris! Uncle Aris! What did you catch? Did you catch a shark?"

He bends down and lifts him up. "No, but I killed a small one to save this young lady." I couldn't help but think Finnick's little boy could also pass as this man's son. Suddenly the little boy leaps off his arms and lands right into mine, so trusting that I would catch him. "You saved the Mockingjay, Uncle Aris."

I couldn't help but breath in the milky scent of this young pudgy baby boy. "How do you know who I am?"

"He sees your photo at your Mother's house," Annie answers from behind. My mother must also be behind why Annie is so much better mentally. "Katniss, I see you met Aristarchus Odair, Finnick's cousin."

We shake hands, and I catch myself staring deep into his eyes. There's a mystery in there waiting to unfold.

I am not surprise why my mother chose to live in District 4. The ocean makes you forget, it just takes your breath away. But no matter where she goes, people seem to need her help. There's never a quiet moment at her house. She graciously invited those at the beach to wash off the sand at her house, then one snack led to another turning into a full-blown seafood barbecue. Mom asked me to start a fire, and Aris turned it into a barbecue area, grilling his catch. He sliced some raw meat from a huge fish and elegantly spread it out on a leaf. Melting in my mouth, it made me recall all the raw fish Finnick caught which we devoured in the arena. "I hear you were close to Finn," he said while turning the fish on the grill with his bare hand.

"In District 13, he helped me cope with things. He really loved Annie."

"Yeah, that was a surprise because before that, he couldn't love anyone more than himself."

"He had to keep his feelings a secret or they'll use who he loved against him. I've seen it myself." I defended Finnick. He wasn't a bad guy at all, just a victim of his good looks.

"Finnick made it clear, his heart belonged to one by marrying Annie."

"I've always been sure of my feelings for people, too. They know how deep my loyalty is." I didn't mean to sound a little too defensive, but I did.

"But you're a young woman, Katniss, and for the first time in Panem, we have choices, and the freedom to not make any if we don't want to."

I like what Aristarchus was saying. He's an easy-going guy, and a devoted Uncle. Just then, Johanna reappears with her cat, Georgia. "Looks like we may be having kittens soon."

"Gross! More Buttercups?" I say, chowing down on some grilled fish. I didn't notice until then, a line of young men following behind her, dressed in medic uniforms.

Johanna feeds her cat with my left-overs. "You look pretty friendly with Aris Odair, twice the size of Finnick, hairier and handsomer. Didn't I tell you District 4 men are the hottest in all of Panem. It must be all this ocean air, making their skin all tan and crisp. Hi Aris!"

He comes over, and practically shoves a huge oyster shell in front of my mouth. I take it and tip my head up to swallow the cool slimy meat. This one has a bit of lemon juice that perfectly chases down the flavor of the sea.

"Aha, you've eaten one of these before."

"Yeah, in the Games. Did you watch the last one?" I ask taking another oyster and chugging it down.

"Must've been out at sea for that one. Sometimes, I'm gone days at a time."

"Days, huh?" I say, thinking how excruciating it must be being on that small canoe.

He looks over behind me, and lifts up his plate of oysters. "Ahh, just in time. Katniss would've finished it all if you'd come any later."

I turn, and almost choke on the oyster, as Gale reached for one himself. "Mmm, you know what they say about these. They're known to be aphrodisiacs."

"Well, you must be carrying'em in your pockets because women seem to follow you wherever you go." Aris says, and points his eyes to a row of female medics all swooning for Gale, but he doesn't even look their way, just at me.

"Katniss should know, I am very focused on the work at hand."

Suddenly there's music, like the music they played in the square in District 12. Gale takes my mother by the hand and dances with her, and she dances and laughs, twirls and sways to the music. I get all caught up in the moment and take Haymitch by the hand and pull him in. He's laughing too, and for the first time I really can feel what the rebellion has given back. I feel truly fulfilled in a sense that there is so much love surrounding me, whether it be from strangers, acquaintances in the four corners of these walls, a house on a hill or it be mountains and forests away. I feel Peeta's having a good time like I am, while looking forward to the day when we touch again. We switch partners after every round. I take Aris's hand and Haymitch takes Annie's. We switch again, and Gale grabs my hand. As he sways me around, he wastes no time in telling me what's on his mind`. "Look Katniss, whatever happened to us at District 13 we should put behind us so that a new tomorrow can begin, and I'm not talking about everyone in Panem. I'm talking about you and me. To finally live the dream we both shared together in the meadow. Don't deny it Katnip, we're very much the same passionate people, trying to make sense of our place in this world. We mean more to each other when we're together, and nothing when we're apart. Don't you think that's what you've been trying to tell yourself all this time."

As I back away, he grabs my hand and twirls me keeping me in his hold. I tell him, "I love Peeta, Gale."

"Do yourself a favor, before you devote all your love to one person for the rest of your life, trying freeing yourself of any heavy emotions for once in your life, and use the love the people of Panem has for you to keep them hoping, as you get the New Order in the Capitol to work and fund anything in your favor.

"I don't have any power, Gale, I can't even leave District 12, remember? After this is all done I go back home."

"But it doesn't have to be that way. I can get you out. You see Katniss, if you seek for the seat of Senator, the New Order will be at the mercy of the people who want you to continue to be the Mockingjay. This happiness you see around you will quickly spread through all of Panem."

I feel dizzy and I haven't had a single drop of wine in me. Gale has tapped into my heart, feeling for the people of Panem. The desperate looks they gave me during the Victory Tour bombards my mind, and so does Haymitch's advice. Why doesn't he want me to hear this? I need to know.

The time has come to switch partners, and I try to grab Haymitch's hand but as usual, Johanna is there to steal my thunder. I hate being left to my own thoughts because now they are finding ways to agree with Gale, as I can relate about how District 12 could still use more sprucing up. What got me all preoccupied now, was that he wasn't the first person to mention this to me, Aris was—to be free from heavy emotions.

I sneak away, and walk down the private path to the beach. I miss Peeta again, and I wish he was here to help me think this through. But then another thought flashes into my head, Aris and Gale's words. I have never felt truly free. I would've never have fallen in love, if I wasn't forced to in the beginning. He's right, I need to be free to convince both Peeta and I that our love was forced. I need to let it go, and let it develop on its own. Or maybe not love someone so deeply for a while. My mother would agree, she told him once. But once those thoughts escape from my head, I want to take it back. How will I get by at night when he's the only one who can soothe me from my night terrors? What if he finds someone else to kiss? The last question drives me blindly mad, I quicken my pace and clench my fist.

In the distance I hear sounds of something in the water. I walk closer to the beach and see that it's Aris canoe moving away from the shore. I yell for him. He turns around and waves at me.

"Where are you heading in the dead of night?" I ask.

"This is the best time to catch. Look, the moon is full."

I see it, just over the party at my mother's house. I also see Gale looking over the ledge. I need space to think about what he said, which makes me look at things so differently now. "Any room for one more person on your canoe, I can hunt, and tie knots you know?"

Aris laughs and after a moment, waves me to come over. I wave at Gale who I know is watching me like a hawk, as I take him up on his advice to feel free, and so I do, and jump into the canoe. He hands me a trident and a rope, and tells me to make a knot as he paddles out.

Let me know what you guys think, so far….the games in the arena may be over, but not the big game of love that's about to happen in District 4.