Freesia POV
My arms hurt from the pressure of the Peacekeeper's hands and the awkward position they're being held in. I've lost the feeling in my left. They march Jake and me quickly and efficiently through the district, not even pausing when I stumble in a ditch. We get led into the town square, where I realize that the entire district is congregated in the town square. I realize now this is where I should have been instead of in the woods. The audience hasn't seen us. The Peacekeeper holding me jerks me forward so roughly that I cry out in pain, he tells me to keep walking. I move my legs mechanically while Jake shoots profanities at them. We're nearing the stage now, where more Peacekeeper's and the mayor stand, and I can tell people have noticed, because a whispering takes over the crowd and a couple yell out. I decide to keep as much dignity as I can muster so I walk smoothly onto the stage led by the Peacekeeper with my head held high and a neutral expression painted on my face. I stand before the entire population of District 12.
"Hey!" I male voice booms from the crowd. I shift my gaze to see Jake's father, Gale striding through the crowd. "What the hell are you doing with them?" He yells getting closer and then I see my dad following suit, equally angry. A peacekeeper steps in front of them but they both push the Peacekeeper away easily barely slowing down. But once they reach the bottom of the stairs there is really nothing they can do as a wall of Peacekeeper's blocks them. I scan the crowd and see Adam standing next to Lil in the front row, both visibly fuming. I spot my mother near Jake's family, and I know she would be right by my dad and Gale if she wasn't taking care of Rye. He's crying and it really affects me. I want to tell him everything is okay even if everything is obviously not.
"Silence!" The head peacekeeper, who I have no idea what his name is, yells out to the babbling audience. "We have here, our first refusal of the law that was stated earlier, and these two will be our first examples of punishment should anyone else step out of line. These two were found beyond District 12's boundaries in the woods that line the District. As a direct violation of the law they will be trialed in the Justice Building."
I know my eyes are bulging but I just can't believe it. Going into the forest wasn't against the law! I didn't even know we were meeting in the town square today! I look at Jake, but he's hiding his emotions better than I am. I can hear the audience muttering again, disapproving immensely. There's a chorus of "That's Freesia Mellark!" and "This is ridiculous!" and "They didn't do anything wrong!" One person actually yells out "Untie her you fools!" I sneak a smile at that. The town's people don't know Jake well enough to regard him specifically but there dissent is clear enough.
I peer to the side and see Gale and my father struggling with Peacekeeper's again. A couple more men have joined the fight.
"They didn't know!" Dad yells in anger, pushing a Peacekeeper off him. "This is absurd! You can't punish them, they are kids!" I hear the Peacekeeper's nearer to me mutter something about our ages under our breath. They must know we are under 18 though I'm skeptical of how much of a difference that would make.
"Silence!" The head Peacekeeper calls again. He looks to the Mayor in distress but the Mayor is obviously on our side, and doesn't make a move. "These two will be trialed like any other citizen of Panem for their breach in law." He states loudly again. As if to add emphasis the guy holding me shakes me slightly and this really hurts. My arms are too tight and I've lost the feeling in my right now. I let out a low growl that only the people on the stage can hear but I'm hoping he'll loosen his grip a little. These Peacekeeper's are not the usual ones that patrol District 12. I actually knew a few of the old ones personally as did my parents. I'd seen them punish people but never severely, and never for entering the woods. These are new and brutal, sent from either District 2 or the Capitol, though they seem oddly similar to the rebels in both their brutality and manner. District 12 is not safe anymore. At least not with them.
I scan through the people of our District, our small population of 6,500. We all just fit in the square. Their faces are angry and sullen, though apart from my father and a few others none can make a move. I can see part of the Hob and a patch of The Cow Man's land where I stand, and all I want is our district to be normal again. Where I could wander around and not get arrested. Where the country was not teeming with disaster. The audience continues to disregard the authorities and shouts out many things. More people are trying to break free from the crowd and confront the Peacekeeper's. I'm touched they care so much. Soon the Head Peacekeeper realizes that having Jake and I stand upon the stage in front of our district is causing more harm then good and we are quickly escorted inside the Justice Building. Out of the public eye, inhibitions are forgotten. Our parents run in, and then surprisingly Haymitch bursts into the building.
"If you think for one minute-" Haymitch begins to yell. A Peacekeeper tries to grab him. "Get off me you asshole!" He spits back, throwing them off. My heart warms for Haymitch. As much as a bum that he usually is, he cares so much. The Peacekeeper's look about to retaliate when the Head walks in. A strange silence takes the room.
"Arresting these two will do no good." Haymitch says in a milder tone careful of upsetting the wavering patience in the room. The head man turns to him inquisitively. His face open. "You are giving District 12 a reason to rebel! This is Freesia Mellark." He pronounces my name distinctly. "She's the daughter of the Mockingjay! Every citizen knows who her family is. If they see her hurt or jailed, you're going to have your own rebellion on your hands! They aren't even of age." The room is still deadly silent as this is thought over. My arms still haven't been let go, but now I'm too scared to voice it. One wrong move and this will go all south.
"What about the boy? He's of no significance." The head Peacekeeper says coldly. Gesturing towards Jake. Oh my god, how did this happen? I can see Gale looking murderous but he must know right now that his word will not help. I feel like crying.
"Taking action over this is ridiculous!" Haymitch sidesteps the question. "What are you! On the rebels side or our side?" He yells, and this is where he makes his mistake. There's an immediate shift in the room's atmosphere, as the Peacekeeper's regain their attack mode. Jake and I are suddenly shoved toward a room. I scream for my dad but I get forced in anyway. The last thing I see is my father and Gale yelling at our authorities in the white marble building, before the door is closed and I am plunged in darkness.
"Jake!" I hiss, panic growing inside of me. "Jake! I can't see!" Something touches my hand and I nearly scream before I realize it's him. "What's going to happen to us?" I whisper, thinking the worst, death and bad things although logically that's obviously not going to happen. I've never seen in my life people punished by a death sentence.
"I don't know." He whispers back, giving my hand a squeeze and pulling me into a hug. "We can't be jailed when we're under 18." Oh, I hope he is right I think as I lean against him. The lights suddenly fly on, bathing our room in yellow. I notice now that it contains two plush chairs and a rug on the floor. No window. Jake's eyes are inches from mine, and I stare into them for a second before untangling myself and retiring to a chair. He sits on the other.
"Did you know of the meeting today?" I ask him, feeling extremely tired. I rest my cheek in my hand, looking at him. He's a little windswept and shoots me a careful look.
"Yes." He says, offering no explanation. He knew? I jump from exhausted to irate in seconds.
"You knew?" I shriek sitting up and throwing my hands in the air. "So you knew and you didn't think to say 'Hey Freesia, we're supposed to be in the square today otherwise we'll get caught by Peacekeeper's in the woods!'" I think maybe they can hear me from out there since I'm yelling but I just don't care. My voice cracks on the last word telling me I'm being much too loud.
"I forgot okay!" He yells back. "And I didn't know it was illegal." He's not particularly angry unlike myself instead he's slumped in the plush chair. Honestly, I don't care, I continue to yell.
"How could you forget? Didn't it click when the fence was on and we couldn't get out!"
"And how useful was that information going to be then Freesia?" He bites back, crossing his arms.
I falter. He's right and I know it. It's not his fault, I should've known anyway. Why didn't anyone tell me? You think if missing it was going to cause so much trouble my parents might have put in the effort to tell me. I sigh, giving up on the argument.
"Fine, sorry. It's not your fault." He sighs and throws a grin my way. At least he can put up with my temper.
"It's okay." He does that amazing lopsided smile that guys do. And I can't help smile a tiny bit. "They must be arguing our case now." That worries me wiping my smile away. All of the District's situations seem tenuous and wouldn't it be just perfect for them to have the Mellark's acting out. I guess from their point of view we could be dangerous. Fuel the rebellion like the last time. Only they don't understand that we have no plan to fuel it. We want to stop it.
"What if they get themselves into trouble?" I ask him, worried. I couldn't bear it if our family is broken apart. He sees my concern and reaches for my hand. As much as this is intimate I let him do it.
"They'll be fine." He reassures me. "You watch, this'll blow over. It's not like we've stood in front of Panem and declared our uprising. We were just in the woods." I happen to wonder if they would consider that an act of rebellion. I decide to believe it though, whether true or not. It makes me feel better. We sit like that for hours until finally the door opens and in walks the Peacekeeper.
Gale POV
We sit in the cold marbled Justice Building. Katniss, Peeta, Haymitch and I. Sadly, Haymitch is our best bet since he isn't a parent of the "offenders". He's the one that persuaded them to let us state a defense earlier. This was in no way official court proceedings, it was more a casual- well, heated- chat with Head Peacekeeper Penn.
I believe we've toned down the situation, but anything could happen really. Now they are in a room discussing the result. I doubt we couldn't have done half as well if we weren't some of the best known people of Panem.
I tune back into the conversation, I'm meant to be partaking in. "…could be anywhere. Who's to say they aren't in the districts?" That's Peeta and I assume he's talking about the rebels.
"Who's to say they are?" Haymitch counters. "We'll never know. If they've gotten this far they aren't going to be obvious to find. Isn't that right Gale?"
"We have no leads." I agree. "It's odd, being on the other side of a rebellion. Especially when we don't know who exactly the rebels are."
All three nod. "There shouldn't be one. We got rid of the Hunger Games, we stopped starving, what's the goal?" Katniss asks, agitated. She has a point but everyone knows it's not as simple as that. I think she's kidding herself. She wrings her hands.
"Honey, Panem is obviously better than it was but it's nowhere near right. Our rebellion was the beginning not the end." Peeta says wrapping an arm around her. I remember when I used to despise Peeta for gaining Katniss but now I realize what a mistake that would have been. Maybe it would have been right if there were never The Hunger Games and rebellion but definitely not now. I love Kaitlyn.
"Peeta has a point." Haymitch says. "Even if Panem's okay by our standards we are still seriously disadvantaged."
"They're going to pinpoint us, aren't they?" Katniss asks. "To make sure we don't step out of line and rebel along with others."
"Yeah. We're going to be watched, especially after this." I say, gesturing the white marble building. We are all talking in low voices since there are two Peacekeeper's are lining the walls. Though they don't seem interested in us anyway. They're far more casual without Penn looking over their shoulders.
"Well, let's hope it's not as brutal as the last time." Peeta's comment is futile and we all know it. A war will always have casualties. They will need to be extreme to win the game. And by the looks of it they're already winning.
"Well, we are officially shut down now, the district. No going in or out until it all ends." I say. "And even if we were allowed outside, District 6 is down, no transportation within anywhere in Panem. Only through the Capitol and some of the Career Districts."
"So we're trapped." Says Katniss flatly.
"Yes, in other words we are."
The Peacekeeper's and Mayor walk out of their discussion room. I'm hoping the mayor was able to calm the situation. I know he at least has sense and is on our side. We get ushered into a court room- or at least it resembles one- and Freesia and Jake are both escorted inside. They aren't pushing them forcefully anymore, they're being shadowed. Penn takes the front along with the Mayor.
"We have discussed the offence made by Freesia Mellark and Jake Hawthorne and we have reached a decision." We are all tense, though these days' punishments aren't nearly as severe as when we grew up. Even so I wouldn't put it past them to do something rash. "Due to the current state of the country and the state of each district we conclude that it would be irrational to force severe punishment on the two offenders. They will be fined and any other step out of line, any breach in law they commit, will be immediately sentenced with imprisonment without need for trial." Penn finishes his spiel and immediately leaves the building followed by his men, without a single glance in our direction. We all sit still for a moment letting the information sink in. They aren't punished, they are safe. I immediately rise and stride over to Jake grasping him tight. For once, he isn't embarrassed from being hugged by his father.
"What the hell were you doing?" I scold him. "I told you to be in that square and you were out in the woods!"
"I forgot…" He mumbles looking down then glances over at Freesia. She's looking angrily at her parents.
"Why-" She's interrupted by Lily's shout from down the hall.
"Free!" Lily runs into the room at full speed and tackles Freesia in a hug. Freesia hugs her but is still preoccupied by something.
"Why didn't you tell me mum?" She asks Katniss angrily. "I didn't know we were meant to be in the square!" Her voice cracks and she has tears in her eyes. Lily wraps her arms around her supportively.
Katniss just looks confused. "We did! We left you a note and I told Lily to bring you to the square with her because we were out." All eyes turn to Lily and realization dawns on her face.
"Oh no…"
"Lily!" Katniss yells at her. I choose this moment to leave. I push Jake forward, but not before he mutters something to Freesia, and we both head out of the building alongside Haymitch as Lily gets murdered by Katniss. We head out into the afternoon sun and most of the district has dispersed from the square, distancing themselves from this afternoons events. Haymitch leaves in direction of the Hob and I am left with Jake.
"Dad, are the rebels winning?" He asks. Making no move to hide his suspicion. I nod my head as we walk along the dirt street towards our house. A chicken runs across the road.
"Why did they treat us so badly? Was it because of Freesia?" I shoot him a look. He does know that the Mellark's are pinpointed in this whole mess and potentially our family too. I sigh, giving in. No point in lying, he'll find out the truth soon enough.
"Yes. We don't have much information, but from what we can assume the Mellark's and other Victor's are in danger. The rebels obviously don't want them fueling a counter attack and our other authorities don't want them fueling the rebellion. It's not a good position to be in." Jake doesn't answer; he seems deep in thought, staring out to the forest behind the fence. "I'm telling you this because I trust you, Jake." I remind him. "Don't go repeating this to anyone, okay?"
He pauses for a long time before grudgingly admitting, "Okay."