After the party, life had returned to normal for people in District Twelve. But not for Katniss. She had moved in her new house in the Victor's Village with her mother and Prim. The first weeks, she was anxiously waiting for the Peacekeepers to come, to drag Prim and her mother outside the house by the hair and to kill them right in front of her, a bullet in the head. But nobody had come. President Snow was probably keeping them alive to prevent Katniss from rebelling. And it was working.
Katniss' new house was so vast she would sometimes get lost in it. Her bedroom was as big as her old house, but she hated it. She felt too lonely inside those white bare walls, alone to face her fears. Every night, she would go to bed in her room, but then the nightmares would strike. So she would silently go in her mother's bed and slip herself into her arms. After the Games, her mother had risen in her esteem. Katniss felt like she finally understood why her mother had gone so numb after her father's death, even though she didn't forgive. She wouldn't go in Prim's room, because she wouldn't let her see how frightened she was. Moreover, she needed an adult presence. Protective arms and warmth. Something only her mother could provide.
After two weeks, the television crews had finally gone back in the Capitol, and Effie and Cinna with them. They promised to call her soon. After Effie's departure, Haymitch became sullen again. He would sometimes appear drunk, but not as often as before, though. Maybe having a victor really had a good influence on him. He even started to raise geese ! Sometimes he would be totally wasted, staying in his house for days. But every so often, he would be sober, freshly shaven, and would visit Katniss. He was always very amiable with her mother, and had helped Prim to build a house for Lady in the garden.
For Katniss, things didn't go so well. She had nothing to do, so most of the time she would just lay in the sofa, lost in her thoughts. From time to time, her missing hand would hurt her. She could feel the burn, the flesh melting where the laser hit her, and there was nothing she could do about it. She had thought about stealing some of Haymitch's alcohol, but her mother had made her a syrup that eased the pain, which was better. Or worse, she couldn't say. At least, alcohol would have also made her forget about the arena, about Peeta.
She had never gone to see the baker. She couldn't think of what to tell him, how to explain what she had done. She couldn't find the courage to face his sad and mourning eyes. So she just tried to avoid the part of town where the bakery was. That wasn't hard anyway, since she didn't go out unless Prim begged and dragged her out of the house.
Gale never came to see her. Her only visitors were Haymitch and Madge. Some days after Katniss' return, Madge had come to visit her.
"Katniss, your friend is there", her mother said. Katniss was sprawled on the couch, but she straightened up at these words.
"Gale ?" she asked, a mix of hope and apprehension in her voice.
"No, it's just me, sorry." Madge said, appearing in the living room. Katniss felt relieved.
"Madge ! What are you doing here ?"
"Well… I just wanted to see how you were doing." Madge was shy and awkward. Then, Katniss remembered that Madge was the closest thing to a friend she had, apart from Gale. Madge and her had never been really close, but since the two of them didn't have a lot of friends, they were often pairing together.
From this day, Madge and her had spent a lot of time together. Katniss was glad to finally have someone to speak with, other than Haymitch. Of course, she couldn't tell Madge about her nightmares and her fears, but talking about this and that was good. She could listen to Madge playing the piano for hours. Music prevented her from thinking, and that was priceless.
Once, she had brought Madge in the woods. It was the first time she had gone back in the woods since this morning before the reaping. She didn't have to hunt anymore, and with her missing hand anyway, what was the point ? But Madge was thrilled to go. For her, the mayor's daughter, it must be a great and risky adventure. They had taken a bag of provisions, sneaked under the fence, and picnicked in a clearing. Then, Katniss had showed Madge the bushes where Gale and her used to pick the strawberries they sold to the mayor.
As a victor, Katniss had to work on her talent. Effie had sent her a list of activities, but she wasn't interested in any of them. The only thing she had once considered as a talent was hunting, but she couldn't do it anymore. She doubted the Capitol would accept hunting as a talent, anyway.
"You know Katniss, if you want I can design some dresses" Cinna said on the phone. "Then you'd just have to do as if you had created them."
Every time she tried to think about it, it reminded her that she should have been the one to die in this arena. Peeta could have done it. He could have played the game much better than her. He would have had no problem to convince the crowd that he was proud to be a victor. He would even have had a real talent, painting. He would have become famous in the Capitol because of his paintings and would have certainly had a better fate than Haymitch or even Finnick, forced to prostitute to protect the one he loved.
Suddenly, Finnick's words came back in her mind. "Make them love you. Make them want you." At that time, she hadn't understood what he meant. But now she did.
"Thanks Cinna, but that won't be enough." she replied, determination in her voice. "I know what I must do. Call you back later, okay ?" She hanged down the phone without waiting for an answer and almost ran to Madge's house.
Yes, Katniss knew exactly what to do to protect her family. It had been so obvious since the beginning. Because of Rue, because of Peeta, because of her father.
"Katniss ?" Madge startled with surprise as she burst into her room.
"Madge, will you play the piano for me ?" Katniss asked. "I must sing."