I know I said I'd try to have this up yesterday... But I lied! D: Anywho, enjoy! As always thanks for the reviews/ favorites/ alerts, I hope you enjoy this chapter!
"Oh you're going to love your dress," Octavia gushed applying a thick layer of paint on my face, finishing it with a gold eyeliner and eye shadow. Peeta had been done for about an hour by the time they even began touching my hair. First they decide on a style called a French Twist which gives me a small poof of hair at the top of my head.
"Here…" Flavius pulled out a small black box inside were two gold hair clips with small gold mockingjay's. He uses them to fix some stray bits of hair to my head. Besides the dress, which I haven't seen yet, the final touch was a thick layer of gold lipstick, "Perfect…"
"Now… This isn't one of Cinna's… Viena designed this one," she takes a bow as Octavia unzips the garment bag. The dress is form fitting and hung off my one shoulder. It was made of a silky gold fabric that closer to the bottom developed a pink like bronze color.
"It's beautiful…" I twirl around on the matching gold heels. The last and final touch is my pearl ring.
"Now you're perfect…"
There's a force field between the stage and the crowd, not as dangerous as the one that almost killed Peeta, but dangerous enough. Peeta gives a speech about how this night symbolizes a new beginning, how this year will be the first year Panem is ruled by a senate, giving each district equal representation in government.
"Oh my you're made of gold," Caesar puts his hand on my arm and I smile adjusting my dress nervously.
"Thank you, my one stylist Viena designed it for me," fashion talk, good, easy and I could.
Caesar smiled, "Well, I'm sure she's going to have much more business after tonight, am I right?" there's a cheer from the crowd, when he turns back to me his face is grim, "Now, I must say, my heart stopped when you collapsed back in eleven," Peeta was holding my hand and I felt his grip tighten.
"Was there… any warning?" he asks, his hand still on my arm. Talking to him was becoming easier, more natural.
I looked over the crowd which had gone silent, they were all dressed in their crazy Capitol outfits, though more-so than usual tonight, "There really wasn't, we got up on the stage and I started feeling like I was coming down with the flu," I looked up at Peeta through my eyelashes, "Then I started feeling shaky all over and weak, Peeta was the only reason I stood as long as I did. Then all of a sudden I was on the floor and the next thing I knew I was in the Capitol hospital…" I shivered a little, the realization of how close I was to death would never cease to shock me.
Peeta pulled me close to him and kissed the top of my head, "I'm not sure there's ever been a time where I was more scared," he says quietly though the microphone carries his voice all through Panem, it's filled with sorrow and affection, "Her heart stopped once while we were still in Eleven, once on the way to the Capitol, and then again while we were here…" he rubbed my arm as I leaned into his chest, "But every time she came back," there were tears in both our eyes as we shared a kiss.
'It's ok…' I mouthed gaining a nod.
"A little less eager for those who want you dead to 'bring it on' now?"
"Well, we kind of just want to go home, so…" we both chuckle a little.
"Back to the quiet life eh? So tell me, when's the wedding?" Peeta and I exchange looks, to be honest we never even discussed it.
"After this I think we're going to just spend some time for us before we start thinking about the wedding, because let's face it, there's going to be a commotion and like you said, we want to go back to the quiet life," I kissed his cheek after he finished, it was perfect.
"Now, what do you two do about the onslaught of people claiming to be romantically involved with the both of you?"
I laugh, honestly laugh, "We sit there in the morning, read the paper and laugh. There isn't a moment while we've been here that we haven't both been at least in the same building. We can't leave our home unless escorted. They just want attention," I look up at Peeta, "Plus, why would I go for anyone in the Capitol?" I stroke his hand with my thumb, "I already have everything I could ever ask for," I kiss his hand. This seems to have brought Caesar to tears.
He made a few more comments about how beautiful that was, gaining aw's from the crowd, "Now, I've seen the pictures of you and your entourage at the Tribute Monument," I freeze a little, holding Peeta's hand tighter, "What do you two think?"
"It's beautiful… Absolutely perfect actually every single tribute and victor is represented, but it made us realize something, actually, Katniss put it better than I ever could."
I looked at him confused, me better with words than Peeta Mellark, I'd like to see the day. He elbowed me all the same all attention was on me, "The hardest part about winning is surviving," I hear gasps from the crowd. Really? After all of this, did they think it was easy? "After our first games, after we went home… It's hard to let your guard down, hard to sleep at night without fear. Once your reaped your life as you know it is over. You walk with this weight," I pull my hand from Peeta's and make a motion as if something is being rested on my shoulders, "of everyone who died, whether it was by your hand or by someone else's but they never leave you…" I had no idea where these words were coming from. Things I only talk about with Peeta uncontrollably coming from the mouth, but they were all things I needed to say. Before Johanna told me to introduce the world to Katniss, well, here she is. In all her damaged confused glory.
Caesar seems shocked by my words, I've caught him off guard, "Oh that's horrible…" he looks concerned, genuinely concerned, "How do you… any of you cope?"
Peeta's arm is around me once more, which is good, I need his support so I can remain strong in the hot lights and camera, "We've seen some turn to drugs, some to alcohol… We just try to be there for each other, through the nightmares, the breakdowns, the arguments," he pulls me closer and I rest my head on his shoulder, taking in his scent, they've had him wear a musky cologne since we got here, I couldn't say I hated it, but I definitely didn't enjoy it.
The interview was pretty much over at that point. It was now time for Peeta and I to take center stage and bring in the new year. The crowd counted down from twenty with the big clock above the stage. At midnight Peeta pulled me in for a kiss, "Here's to a positively mundane new year…" he whispered against my lips before we kissed again.
It was then that all hell broke loose. We heard screams from the crowd as the power was cut to the square, Peeta's arms wrapped around me protectively before I felt forceful hands at our backs, "Peeta! Katniss!" Gale shouts over the panic, now that the power is out the force field is down and we're pushed inside the dark Presidential Mansion.
"I knew it!" Paylor swung her arm knocking over a priceless vase, "I knew those bastards would try something tonight!"
"My mother!" I gasp, "She's on a train back to four what if they get her!" all of a sudden I feel like I'm being choked.
"They don't want your mom Catnip, they want you two," Gale forcefully takes my arm, his face dark in the emergency lighting, "We need to get them out of the city…"
Paylor thinks for a second, "Take the tunnels down and head north until you reach the end. I have a bunker no more than a mile from there," Gale nods and takes the keys she hands him.
"What about you?" Peeta asks as Paylor straightens out her dress.
"With you two… all our work lives on…" her voice is grim and soon we hear an explosion not too far away blowing smoke into the hall, "Go! Now!" I watch Kierra take Peeta's arm the same way Gale has mine and they half drag us to a closet with a ladder into the underground of the Capitol.
"Johanna?" I ask looking behind me for my friend/ body guard.
Gale doesn't look at me, "She's to stay behind with Paylor and Haymitch," I pull myself free of Gale and head for the ladder. Unsure if I'll ever see those three again. If whoever wants me dead can shut down the power in the Capitol of all places, who knows how much control they have. Control they should never get back. I freeze and take hold of Gale's arm, who seems to only want me down that hole.
"Gale… Wait…" Paylor's words resonate within me and I watch as Peeta and Kierra descend into the underground, "We'll catch up!" I shout down the hole.
"We have to hurry, Katniss there's no time." I don't budge.
"Gale, if it comes to it in the end you need to choose Peeta," I blurt out in one breath, he looks at me dumbfounded, "Peeta can move the nation with his words, I cause war and without him I'd just curl up and die… He'd turn his pain into power. Gale if there's a choice where only one of us can be saved… It needs to be him. Promise me Gale!" I sob, taking hold of his arm, tears running down my cheeks, "Promise me!" he looks at me shocked before composing himself.
"I promise Catnip," he hugs me tightly before pushing me towards the ladder. Peeta and Kierra are already nowhere to be found. We run after them, a little slower than normal because of my heavy dress and terrible heels, which after some awkward hopping I toss to the side.
Everything's so dark I can barely see a foot in front of my face. Maybe that's why I ran full speed into Kierra. She roughly pushes me from her and with a flick of a switch the area becomes illuminated. At her feet is a black bag about the size of a grown male, next to it is an empty one, "Where is Peeta?" I ask through my teeth twice as she refuses to respond, "Is… is that a body bag?" I ask backing up into Gale.
I watched the grin grow on her face as she cocked her gun, it was trained on my heart, "Clever girl… Hold her still," Gale's hands found my arms, pinning them to the side, "One… One's empty," I stutter realizing quickly that the mass in the bag is Peeta sized. I feel the cool metal of her gun on my chest, right above my heart, "Where's Peeta!" I scream thrashing against Gale trying to escape, I feel the gun slap the side of my face… Hard. Immediately I begin to taste blood in my mouth, "One's empty… one's empty…"
"Let's see what we can do to change that… Mockingjay…" I hear the gun click, so this is it, this is how I die? I can't break my eyes from the body bag containing what's left of Peeta.
"Look at me when I kill you!" she snapped, slapping me once again with the gun. Out of spite I spat blood in her face. Gale had since let me go. Do I fight? Do I accept my fate? Unfortunately my choice is made for me.
"Kierra… Give me the gun, we agreed that I could have this one if I let you kill him…" he nudges the bag with his foot I throw myself onto what I assume is Peeta sobbing my apologies before the gun at the back of head stops the I'm sorry's and brings me to violent sobs before I'm drawn to my feet again.
"Why Gale… Why!" I yell as he drops the clip from the gun, for a second I feel hopeful.
"Explosive bullets, you remember ammo like this right Catnip? Blow up your heart on impact…" he snaps the new clip in place and aims for my heart again. I hear the gun go off once, but I register it long after I hit the ground. He gives me one more shot for good measure. I'm still conscious as I'm dragged by my arm over to the empty black bag. I manage to lift one hand up to the mass and rest it there.
"I'm sorry, Peeta…" I mumble. He was still warm.