Chapter 11

Peeta

"Okay okay okay!" I give in and throw my hands in front of my eyes. "1... 2... 3... 4... 5..." I hear how Prim starts to run, her pink patent shoes with small heels starts to fade out in the big castle when she's out of the room.

Prim has been nagging a hole in my head. She really wants me to play hide and seek with her. I don't want to, but she didn't stop nagging, and besides she's my baby sister and I would do anything for her. Why I don't want to, is because I'm mad at my mother. She's arranged this big big royal ball and everything, only for me, she told me. God she makes me so angry. I know that she means well, but it just doesn't turn out right. And now she's made a big scene of me being single. God I'm seventeen! I'm not in a hurry to get married any time soon!

Question: When am I going to be only a teenager?

Answer: Never!

I have this big responsibility because I'm the crown prince and all, I have to take care of Prim and my mother is forcing me to fine a wife. That sounds stupid, doesn't it? Find a wife. And I'm only seventeen. God! I want to live. I want to see the world. I don't want to get married at age seventeen or eighteen or twenty even. I'm too young! "...98 ...99 ...100! I hope you've hide good Primmy because here I come!"

I start running and seek after her.

I run in and out of so many rooms I've lost count on. God our castle is big and I'm surprised that I haven't gotten lost in it, or better yet that Prim hasn't.

I come up to a room, where I've actually never been before. I open the door and I raise my eyebrow at what I see. It looks like an old guest room or something. There's a big kingsize bed and a crib. I walk up to the closet and find old mans clothes, kings clothes and some very small baby princess clothes. These clothes, I have never seen before, they don't look like Prim's old baby clothes.

Why would mom even keep this room? It's dusty in here, so the maids doesn't clean this room... Weird.

I spot a box inside the crib. I walk up to the crib and pick up the box. Something is written in the box ... With my mothers handwriting. So she's the one putting the box here?

King Rupert and little princess Katniss

King Rupert and little princess Katniss? Now who the hell is king Rupert? Is Katniss his daughter? I open the box, and the first thing I find, is a golden stuffed mockingjay toy, with the name Katniss, on it. Then I see a photo of a man. He's got brown hair, olive skin, kind and grey eyes, and a happy smile. He has a big king crown on his head, and the typical king clothes. It's a lot like my clothes, but not the same, I have prince clothes, so it's not the same, and they don't look exactly the same, it's a lot of differences.

He looks kind. Is he dead? I mean I think so, I've never heard of some king named Rupert or a girl named Katniss. I look down in the box again and find a photo of a newborn baby girl. The painter really did a good job on this one. I look at the back.

Katniss. Newborn. 1289. May 8th.

1289? What? I'm also born in 1289. Only April 20th. Spooky. So she's also seventeen? It's year 1306. Hm...

What is this? If I didn't think that mom knew this king, who's probably the one who sent the baby photo, I'm sure of it now. But why wouldn't my mom just tell me about this? I look down again and find another photo, but this time on two babies. The first one in a baby prince outfit with a blue little royal hat and the other one with a cute little princess outfit (a lot like the once in the closet) and a bow in the little hair she have.

Oh my. This baby has blood red lips, they're so red, and the color of her skin is as white as snow and her hair is as black as ebony. God these colors... How can anyone have these? I've never seen anything like it! But I do recognize the baby boy. I look at the back to get my thought confirmed. It's me. And Katniss, it says.

Katniss and Peeta's first meeting. 1289. December 13th.

Katniss was eight months and I was nine months. I still don't understand why my mother hasn't told me anything about Katniss. Or King Rupert.

"Peeeeetttaaaaaa!" I hear and angry Prim scream all too close. I look up and see her stand in the doorway. Oh god! I totally forgot about Prim. "I'm lying in a small and black closet, and here you are, not even looking after me!" She says angry and walks inside with her arms crossed over her chest.

"Oh I'm so sorry Primmy, I forgot, I found this and I just forgot", I say with a puppy face. "I'm so sorry".

She stares angrily at me. "I hate you, you're mean!" She says. "Why aren't you as fun as before?"

"Because mother is forcing me to get married Primmy, and I don't want that", I say. "You know I don't, and you know that she won't listen to me, so I'm stuck to get married".

"I know, but still!" Prim says and sits down on the bed and when she jumps down on it, dust flies all around her. "What is this place anyways?" She coughs and looks around in the room from the bed.

"I don't know..." I say.

Suddenly I hear a terrified low scream. I jump and so does Prim. We look to the doorway and find our mother with her hand to her mouth and the big queen crown on skew.

"What are you two doing in here?!" She asks terrified.

"It's not like the door was locked or anything", I say short.

"Out!" She says.

"No!" I say. "I want some answers".

"Peeta!"

"Mother!"

"Do as I say!" She says angrily.

"No! If I'm old enough to get married, I'm old enough for answers!" I say holding up the baby photo of me and Katniss.

My mothers eyes widen.

"Aww cuuuuutteeee, who are they?" Prim asks smiling from the bed.

"Me and Katniss", I say looking at mom.

"Who's Katniss?" Prim asks confused.

"Why don't you ask mom? Because I have no idea myself", I say.

Both of us looks at mom, waiting for answers. Mom looks from me to Prim and then back again. She sighs. Mom closes the door and then walks up to a dusty old chair and sits down. She looks so sad now. "King Rupert was the king of our neighbor kingdom, I was a good friend of his wife, queen Vera. They got a baby daughter, Katniss. Oh she was so beautiful even as a baby, lips red as blood, skin white as snow and hair black as ebony, so beautiful. But queen Vera died giving birth to princess Katniss and Rupert was left alone with her", my mother says. "Then... And then he married a new woman, a very beautiful woman. King Rupert came to visit with princess Katniss a lot of times, we wanted the two of you to bond, because you were betrothed since birth, but then when princess Katniss was two, king Rupert suddenly died, and I never heard from Katniss again, until her seventh birthday and an annoucment was made to tell that princess Katniss had passed away after a long time illness, and that's when the engagement broke". I only look at my mother. I was betrothed with this girl? God I hate to be royal! Why do we have to be betrothed but not regular people? They can fall in love and marry who ever they want, while we're stuck marrying someone our parents choose for us even before we're born. Is that why mom let me choose for myself this time? But it doesn't explain why she pushes me to get married. Princess Katniss is dead? "She would've been seventeen and so beautiful if she had lived today", mom says and a tear drops down on moms dress.

Suddenly I feel a bit guilty. I shouldn't have forced her to tell me. But then again, she is forcing me to get married, so we're not even yet. Prim jumps down from the bed and runs up to mom.

"Mother don't cry", she says and wipe away moms tears with her small thumbs.

Mom picks up Prim and stands up. "Anyway, just forget that this room exist and just prepare yourself for the ball on Friday", mom says and walks out of the room.

"Yes mother", I say.

I look back in the box and see a paper clip.

I take it up and read.

"Our beloved princess Katniss, has today, after a longer time illness, sadly passed away and left us. She's going to be forever remembered in our hearts and we hope that her next journey becomes a good one".

As I think of Katniss, and of what she would look like now, start to feel a strong connection. Like she's alive. I know that she's not, but it still feel like it.

Who were you Katniss? Or better yet, who are you?