Chapter Twelve

There is something special about District Twelve. We have always been a quiet people. Back before the war, we were always a people that stuck together. That always fought for the survival of the other. We were coal miners but we were proud of it.

We can see the square approaching and Katniss seems to begin to slow down even more. We hide our bows in our jackets, seeing how Gale is not with us, we are again left to fend for ourselves.

We have always been accepted by the people of District Twelve, even when Katniss was arrested and placed here to await trial. The square is not filled with people but we do walk without making any notice. The stores are open and due to the winter not many people are out.

There is a desire for me to go into the bakery but Katniss holds onto my hand tightly.

"After we get back," she says. "The Capitol would have to make an announcement."

A person walks by us so we lower our voices and turn along with the direction that the person was walking. From over her shoulder I see the couple stop and begin to look back before they shake their heads and continue walking towards the Seam.

Inside the bakery, all I could only see is that someone is sweeping up the inside of the store. We would do that to pass time, either that or do inventory and no one ever likes to do inventory. We walk up the path and to the Victor's village. The path has been neatly up, and even the sign has been recently painted. Once I see our house there is a sense of peace that over takes me.

Walking to the porch we both check the windows sneaking views through the blinds.

All of the sudden we hear a small step behind us.

"If you are here to loot, know that I was trained by both Hunger Games Victors and I have an arrow pointing straight at your head," someone says from behind us.

The small step and the voice and I know who it is.

"Now, if you were trained by both Hunger Games Victor you would know that taunting a bow strings gives a sort of distinct sound, almost like..." I say.

"Music," she and I both finish at the same time.

We both start to turn with our hands up and finally see a girl with blood shot red eyes and a knife in her hand.

"April," says Katniss.

The knife drops from her hand and makes a click sound as it hits the porch. Her face suddenly changes and a smile start to come alive in her face. She takes a step towards Katniss and then finally Katniss opens her arms which causes April to run into it.

She holds her and looks at me. I walk over to the knife and help them into the house. Once inside I quickly lock the door, and see that they are both whipping tears from their faces.

"I knew you weren't gone," she says.

They sit down on the sofa and finally there she takes a deep breath.

"We are not staying long, and where we are going it is too dangerous for you to come. But know this," she says. "That we will be back."

"But," she starts.

"April," Katniss cuts her off. "It will be okay we are not going anywhere."

She places her hand out to me. I grab and sit next to both of them.

"Yes the days of heroes are over," I say. "Have other priorities in our lives."

Katniss squeezes my hand and then a quick smile. It is what she wanted, it is what I wanted, we have come to terms that we have a different mind set now, and nothing is going to change it.

"I came here looking for a friend," says April. "And you have given me and my grandmother more than that, you have given us the ability to be a part of your family. Katniss, I was sorry to hear about your mother."

She nods and tells her that she will be in the stars looking down on us, protecting us. I tell them both that I will get some food started for them.

"Grandma has food, I can," she says.

"April," Katniss interrupts. "No one can know that we are here. We only came by to get some things and leave."

"Please," she says. "She hasn't been the same since we were told of the news that you were probably dead. It would help her so much..."

Katniss looks to me. It seems that the approval of this will fall in my shoulders.

"Please Uncle Peeta," she says.

"On one condition," I say. "And I need your word on this one."

That is the one thing that we all understand here in the District, when you give your word, when you promise something, you are duty bound to complete it. This is me, fighting for my family.

"Okay," she says.

"You cannot come where we are going. No hiding on board, no finding a way to come with...April you have to promise me that you will stay here," I say.

She stands up, obviously we all know each other quite well and this stops her from doing what we all know she was going to do. She finally stomps on the ground, and lets out a frustrated shout.

"Fine!" she says. "I give you my word that I will not go where you are going."

"And," I say.

"And I won't hide or find a way to tag along," she says in a mimicking voice. "There...happy?"

She walks to the front door.

"So," she says. "Coming?"

Katniss stands and I stand slowly, letting out a deep sigh.

"Now I understand," I say to Katniss.

"Understand what," she says.

"What my father meant when he said that when I have my own family I would understand," I say.

She leans in and gives me a kiss on the cheek. I walk over to the closet and grab our black hooded winter coats. The real reason actually was to try and rest before we had to leave in a couple of hours. Guessing that won't be something that we have the ability to do now.

I hand her the coat and she graciously accepts it. In the closet she grabs a small brown bag and places it in her pocket.

Curious, wonder what is in that, I think to ,myself.

We walk quickly through the yard and to my old house. Then grey chimney smoke coming from the house and I know that Sae is out cooking. April runs into the house yelling out her grandmother's name. We pick up the pace and quickly inside the house before we see Sae run out of the kitchen with her apron still on.

She walks over to us and hugs us. She is muttering something into Katniss's ear which causes her to nod. Finally she comes over to me looking at me from head to toe.

"He would be so proud of you," she says.

Immediately I think of him. It has been a while since I have. People that knew him would sometimes say that I am looking more and more like him. I always wonder if that was just them being nice.

"You think so," I ask.

"Yeah," she says. "Well come you two, lets get you fed."

We walk with her to the kitchen where I see that she has been making food. The smells are so intoxicating that I can't help but to close my eyes and try to eat the food through my nose. We sit down and she serves us one of the most delicious foods that I have ever ate.

"Sae," Katniss says.

Sae is still tending to the large pot of beef stew that she has on the stove.

"Hey, I already know," she starts. "If the Capitol hasn't mentioned that you are alive and if you are here then you really are not here. Right?"

"It is...well...it is complicated," she responds.

"But we will clear everything up when we get back," I say.

"Back?" she says turning around. "Don't tell me that you are still letting them control your life. That you are going back out there to some nightmare that they have created?"

She turns around and obviously people from the Seam are very passionate people.

"She, wouldn't want this," she says. "You know that right?"

She is obviously upset. Katniss knows this and can only hold Sae there trying to come to terms of her leaving.

"It is something that we have to do," says Katniss.

Standing I walk over to the living room. April just sits there leafing through a book of pictures. I come up beside her.

"May I sit next to you," I ask her.

She motions that I could. I sit down next to her and can see the pictures of the many get togethers we had at the house. It is weird seeing how young we were and how much April has grown and yet how I cannot see as anything other than that little girl all those years ago.

I stop her hand on a page.

"You remember when this was taken?" I say.

She lets out a small laugh.

"You mean the day you almost burned down the house?"

"Hey," I say. "Honest mistakes."

"For a fifth generation baker," she says with a tone. "As I remember you were distracted."

I was distracted. It seemed that at that moment she decided to sign with April the valley song, which of course didn't help me any. So that night we ate some very burnt bread.

"In my defense, you and Katniss sounded so beautiful that I couldn't help to be distracted," I say.

"You know," she says. "I am still mad at you."

"I know," I say. I lean in and kiss her on her head. "I just love you too much kiddo to put you in danger."

She bumps into me playfully. Turning the page there is a picture of her on my shoulders. These are the moments that I wish to remember forever. Turning one more page there is where I see it, but it can't be.

"You kept this?" I ask.

"It was the first one you made. It was the first one anyone has made for me," she says.

The folded up airplane that I had made for her and Liam all those years ago. She kept it, all these years, here in the scrap book of memories that was holding onto.

"I will come back," I say. "We will come back."

I start to flip through the empty pages of the album.

"We have to still fill all these pages," I say.

She smiles.

"You know, you make it hard to stay mad at you," she says.

"I have heard," I say.

I feel Katniss hand on my shoulder. Looking up and I know that it is time to go. I stand and April stands with me, she holds onto me and then finally lets me go before walking over to Katniss and holds her too. I turn and see Sae there looking at us from the kitchen.

She lifts her hand as a wave and I do the same.

We walk out to the porch and finally begin to walk towards Haymitch's house. I notice that she closes her jacket a little bit tighter. Grabbing her hand she looks at me.

"Just a little cold," she says.

We walk to Haymitch's house and finally once inside we see that the house continues to be well kept.

"Haymitch," I yell out.

We here a commotion in the kitchen and see that Haymitch is grabbing his jacket.

"Ready old man?" I ask.

He tosses me a duffel bag which I have to position as it is quite heavy.

"Weapons you request," he says. "Hovercraft is landing at the edge of the Victor's Village. Your cousin told me that they were be picking us up in an hour. So they should be here in a couple minutes."

This time around I guess we are not hiding ourselves from possible spies. Haymitch grabs another bag and walks out. Seems like the old man is sober and in a mood. Once we are outside I see the hovercraft beginning to descend pass the empty houses. We walk out the porch and see we have another person joining us.

"You made her promise," he says. "You didn't tell me that I couldn't go."

Liam stands there ready to go. The splitting image of Finnick stands before us bag over his shoulder.

"And April is okay with this," says Katniss.

"She actually called me and told me," he says.

Haymitch walks back.

"What is the hold up," he says. "You Finnick's boy no?"

He nods.

"Well come on, where we are going you might be useful," says Haymitch.

Before either of us can object he reminds us of where we are going.

"If we are going to the edge," he says. "We will definitely need someone that can swim."