Chapter 11: The Task at Hand

I sat at the window that overlooked the Tribute's Center. It had been six months since I had last been out of this cell, and I was starting to feel cramped from the lack of being away from the prison. Everything was routine. True to his word, in the morning Ada, the elven word for father, would teach Prim and I Sindarin Elvish and the history of Middle-Earth, wherever that was. We would eat lunch. In the afternoon, occasionally the scientist would take Ada for some experiments on him.

On the days where they needed him, Prim and I would try and remain calm so that we could bandage him up when he came back. However, on the days when he was not needed, he would drill me in fighting. Under him, Prim mastered primary healing that she often used on Ada. We would end and eat at twilight. Then at night, while Prim was asleep, I would listen to some of his stories that took almost all night for him to tell me because of the constant question I would ask him. The routine started at sunup and ended at sundown.

During the summer, it got a little unbearable for Prim, but now that it was winter, she was getting more sleep that she needed. At times, Ada would dismiss her to rest and work more closely with me.

Today was one of those days where the scientist needs Ada for something. I sat waiting to patch him up after they did whatever they wanted to do to him. In the living room, Prim poured over some if the healing incantations that Ada wrote down for her attempting to memorize them. Within a day of trying, it was evident that I was not a healer like Prim.

I kept watching the progress that got completed at the new Tribute's Center. The building was more massive and more complicated than the way it was last games. I couldn't wrap my head around why they were starting now.

"Katniss," said Prim as she walked over to me.

"What is it little duck?" I asked her using the nickname I gave her.

"When do you think they will finish the Tribute's Center?" she asked looking where I was watching.

"They will have to finish within the next few months," I answered looking her in the eye. "I just don't understand why they have to remodel it."

"It is a quarter quell," she answered.

"Of course it is," I answered her with the same amount of cynism that I had when the games were brought up.

Prim turned around and went back to the living room. Soon afterward, Ada walked into the room appearing as though nothing happened. I let go of Prim as she went to him.

"Those fools did not visit me," Ada said as he grasped Prim.

"Who did you see then?" I asked him.

"Snow," he answered as he gently stroked Prim.

"What was it he wanted?" Prim asked as she pried herself away from him.

"It has to do with your sister," he answered looking me in the eye.

Dinner that night was silent as we ate. We usually talked to each other since lessons began. Typically, Prim and I would try to maneuver the conversation to get Ada to speak about his past. However, he could move the discussion away from that particular subject.

I left waiting for Ada to come into my quarters. If it had been Effie in his place, I would be preparing for a lengthy discussion. Prim walked past me on her way to her room. I turned my head to see Ada lingering in the doorway.

"What did Snow want?" I asked him trying to keep my voice steady.

"It has to do with the Victor's Tour," he answered as he slid into the room.

"What does that have to do with me?" I asked.

"He wants you to attend with Peeta Mallark."

"What if I don't want to attend?" I asked him.

"You will find out tomorrow," he answered as he sat across from me. "Snow wants to hear your answer from you."

"You make it sound as though it is a request from him for me to attend, but knowing Snow, it is not as though he cares what I want," I rambled on in front of him. "Either way he would make me attend these celebrations if it is for or against my wishes."

"Katniss, I fear that something is going on that we do not know," Ada reflected.

"There always seems to be here," I scoffed at the notion as I looked him in the eye.

"Katniss, there will always be something going on that we do not know whether it is insignificant or not. I have had enough experience to know that."

"Why are you always so cryptic?" I asked him.

The following afternoon, two Peacekeepers came to collect Ada and I. Ada's relaxed hand folded around my wrist. The guards motioned for us to go with them.

My mind was absent from the walk to Snow's office in the research laboratory. No matter how hard I tried, my mind looped back to what Ada had said about his suspicions last night. What could have I started in the arena six months ago? Or could this have been going on for a long time, and it is only coincidence that it happened got worse around the same time as the games? We stopped outside another door. The doors opened forcing us to enter the room.

Snow sat behind his desk like the snake he always was. His serpent eyes gleamed as he caught sight of his prey. Ada's own eyes narrowed in a defensive manner that could make anyone cringe. Neither of them backed down from each other.

"I see that your daughter complied to come with you today," he greeted him.

"It was hard to deny your invention," I answered referencing the Peacekeepers that escorted us here.

"I see your father has failed to teach you to show respect when talking to adults."

"I find that her temper reflects my father's," Ada answered cooly.

"I see where she gets her hostility from, elf," Snow said addressing Ada. "Now to get to the matter of business. As you know the Victor's Tour is coming."

"How could I forget?" I mocked him.

Ignoring my comment, Snow continued addressing me, "Mister Mallark has requested that you accompany him."

"Did he personally request me, or did you feel I would be good company for Peeta?" I asked.

"Miss Everdeen, it is not the point," Snow bellowed slamming his fists into the desk.

"I won't do it," I answered bluntly.

"Do you know what has gone on in other districts?" he asked me. I glared at him in silence. The obvious answer was no.

"It seemed to have started by what you did for Mister Mallark in the games. That with his profession of love, it seemed to have had sparked ideas of rebellion in the minds of the Districts."

I looked to Ada on what I should say. He stood against the wall with his arms folded. His only response was a cocked eyebrow.

"What were your motives?" he asked me.

"It was simply to repay a debt that I owed him," I griped at him.

"I only want you to convince the districts that this was the only reason that you did what you did."

My clenched my hands at my sides in frustration. How can I prove something that is hard to justify? There is no convincing way to show the districts that I did what I did to repay the debt that I owed Peeta.

"What is it you want me to do then?" I asked.

"I ask that you occupy Peeta on the Victor's Tour. If you can't prove that you did it out of obligation, default to mask your actions were out of love, and the true motives would become clear."

I stood watching the world zoom by on the train ride to Twelve. I fought Snow to get out of going with Peeta, but he managed to change my mind. I stood in the last car on the train reflecting on what Snow wanted me to do. Then Ada gave me something that he wished for me to do for him.

I was in my quarters packing for the two weeks that I was going to be gone. Ada walked into the room while I was laying some clothes into the case. My mind was too preoccupied to notice him. I turned around and nearly jumped out of my skin when I saw him.

"Ada, where did you come from?" I asked him.

"Something must be on your mind for me to sneak up on you this easily," he commented as he passed me a pair of leggings. I took them and placed the clothing in my suitcase.

"It is just everything that is going on," I answered as I packed a few tunics.

"When you are in the other districts, keep your eyes out," he instructed as he handed me a few leather straps that I use to tie my hair back.

"Why?" I asked as I took the straps from him.

"Snow had said that things have escalated in districts. I want you to see if what he means is correct."

I swore to him I would do what he asked or him. That evening, Effie came to take me to the beginning of the Victor's Tour. That ride to the train station had been slow and silent. When I got onto the train, I ran to the last car, and I haven't left since then.

A knock sounded on the door of the cart. I took a deep breath realizing that it was most likely Effie who was there. I folded my hands behind my back and stood as straight as I could.

"Come in," I said keeping my voice steady.

"Oh Katniss," said Effie as she walked towards me, "you look more regal since I last saw you six months ago."

"Is that all you wanted to tell me?" I politely asked though I was trying to rid myself of her.

"Oh no," she answered, "I wanted to tell you that we will be arriving in District Twelve in a few minutes."

"Do you know why Peeta has asked me to accompany him?" I asked her as she started walking out the door trying to use Snow's lie against him.

"I can guess," she said. Her voice sounded like she remembered a love she had once. "You and your father may not want to admit this, but I don't doubt Peeta's love confession to you that he made. He had relayed the request to me, and I then conveyed it to Snow."

"I still don't understand why he would ask me."

"I wouldn't understand why you don't have a secret little crush on somebody. It is perfectly normal for a girl at your age to like some boy."

"Effie, I don't come of age till I am one hundred years old!" I exclaimed relying on a piece of information Ada gave me.

"Ceasar was right about you and him," she sighed. "You and Peeta are truly star-crossed lovers."

She left the car as I turned back to the window. Shaking my head, I don't even know how to get through to people that I don't have anything towards him. The Capital must believe I love Peeta. The poor, ignorant people are delusional. I should have listened to Ada and not been too stubborn to want to repay the debt I owed Peeta.

I knew the trees that surrounded the train as we kept moving. They were the same trees that grew around Twelve. The trees were an indication that we were almost there.

Haymitch's story came to mind as I thought about the forest that surrounded Twelve. Could the elf he saw be the Elvenking of Mirkwood that Ada frequently spoke about? If it was then why would he come all the way down here? There was something Ada refused to tell me.

The train stopped outside the train station of District Twelve. Peeta's stylist and crew gathered in a gaggle as the train came to a stop. Effie came and stood next to me like an overprotective parent to their child.

"Are you happy to be home?" she asked sweetly.

The statement caught me off-guard. District Twelve had always been my home for as long as I could remember. The dream from the jabberjackers came back. I recalled the darkness of that forest. It made the last day in the arena look like a sunny day.

I stepped off the train first waiting for the gaggle of Capitol people to exit. The trees surrounding appeared greener and more alive than the ones in the from the games. However, the town seemed to be grubbier and dead. Had the city always been this way, and I am now noticing it?

"Come Katniss," Effie said as she directed me to the Victor's Village. I watched as I saw my old friends from the Hob starring at me. It was as though I had changed so much to where I am indistinguishable from who they knew I was.

"Effie, may I go and explore Twelve?" I asked her before rushing in a, "I will be back before dark."

"Of course," she replied as clueless as she has always been.

I sprinted to the place in the wire that I would sneak into the woods to illegally hunt. There was a sick feeling in the woods as I explored through my old hunting grounds. The animals did not fear me as I walked around. They would act this way because Gale would have started working in the coal mines by now.

Around midafternoon, I crawled back through the fence as I made my way back inside District Twelve. Memories of sneaking in and out of District Twelve to get food to feed Prim, my foster mother, and I. I spied several other people watching me as I maneuvered across town to get back to the Victor's Village. No doubt Effie would want to work on my appearance a little bit before the openings for the Victor's Tour started.

The people looked at me strangely. I knew these people for a long time. I would sometimes trade my game to them in exchange for something that needed necessities. However, they looked at me as though I was a stranger to them. I spied Gale among some of the coal miners. Even he seemed to stare at me as though I a stranger. I might of well be a stranger.

As I kept moving, he started to follow me. I did not register it as a threat until he crossed my path. His eyes seemed heartbroken looking at me.

I moved passed him. I kept walking because I did not want to know what would happen next. He grabbed my arm and spun me around. Within a second, he kissed me and let me go.

I staggered forward before asking, "Why did you do that?"

"I had to do it at least once," he responded before vanishing into the group of miners that spectated what had happened.

Gale's kiss haunted me as I journeyed to the Victor's Village. Why did he feel like he had to kiss me? That kiss showed a side of him that I never knew was present. Haymitch guarded his doorway with a bottle of some alcoholic beverage when I arrived at the Village. His swayed to me and took another sip before acknowledging that I was there.

"You look, good sweetheart," he answered before taking another sip. "I see Daddy has been taking care of you."

I rolled my eyes at his comment. He was drunk again. Then again he is always drunk, so he could not have changed in the six months that I did not see him.

"After thinking that he might never find me, what would you expect," I smarted off to him.

"After seeing what the Capital did to him, didn't know if that would be happening to you."

"Why do you care?" I yelled.

"I was your mentor," he answered, "and you are no more than a girl compared to my experience. I doubt that your father would view you as an adult either. Sweetheart, come inside," he stated to direct. "Peeta does not know that you are here. He has not gotten a reply concerning you, and he started to assume that he would see you in the Capitol."

I followed him inside to wait till we had to leave to go on the tour. I sat in his living room telling him what went on over the course of the week. First, I learn that I potential started a spark for rebelling. Then I discover that Peeta wanted me to accompany him on the Victor's Tour. Upon seeing Gale for the first time since I left for the Capital, he kisses me.

"Sounds like you have had a busy week," Haymitch commented.

"My next few weeks are going to be worse," I confided in him.

I looked at the window to see that it was dark outside. The door to the house across from Haymitch's opened, and Peeta walked out. Based on his stumbling, I conjectured that he has not yet mastered his mechanical leg.

Haymitch gently guided me to the door when the cameras started to deactivate. I took a deep breath as I proudly walked out to him. Peeta was a complete shock when he caught sight of me. I patiently waited for him to finish what he wanted to tell me as he stumbled over his own words.

"Katniss, you look great," he smiled as he finally got the words out.

"Is that all you wanted to tell me?" I teased him a little bit.

"No," he stumbled before being interrupted by Effie.

"We are leaving in ten minutes," she hollered.