"Peeta." She whispers hoarsely and her smile widens. "You saved me."
…:::…
Katniss POV
"I did." He says through his smile, which is steadily growing larger and I worry that his chapped lips might crack.
My hand drifts up of its own accord to brush his dirt-dusted cheek. The dirt and dust match that which covers his vest, tunic and trousers. It looks as if he crawled through the dirt. My thumb drifts towards his lips. They are rough under the pad of my thumb; the skin is fragmented from a lack of moisture. It seems the dryness of the season and the dust in air are not doing his usually soft looking lips any favors. He seems different from the Prince I first met. While he used to be a soft and pampered prince, now he is a rough and rugged man. His skin is no longer buffed and polished with fancy smelling soaps until his skin glows with such royal radiance. Now he has calluses on his fingers and cuts and scrapes decorate his skin next to the shiny scars that prove he is a different man.
"Thank you." I whisper, my throat still raw and my voice still strained. I can feel where the rope burned my throat; the chafed skin is sore even without direct contact. Not only that but I seem to have a headache mainly on my left side.
"You're welcome." He whispers and the soft caress of his breath on my hand sends a shiver through my body. The warmth from his lips on my thumb sends waves of heat through my body.
"Peeta I…" I begin without really knowing what I may say but desperate to heal the rift between us. I want to, for once, listen to my heart and not my head. I want to put aside my stubbornness for one moment and tell Peeta the truth. I want him to know the depths of my feelings for him. I so desperately want him to know that I love him. Because I do… I really do love him. My confession is ready on my lips when Peeta's entire expression freezes.
"Hush." He says quickly and quietly. So I do. He focuses intently, obviously having heard something. I hear nothing. Even if I quirk my head to the side, which incidentally doesn't help at all, the room is still silent.
"Do you hear that?" He whispers.
"No." I reply with confusion lacing my tone.
"How can you not hear it? Have you not repeatedly bragged about your hunters ears?"
"Yes I do but I still cannot hear a thing." Frustration fills me at my apparent lack of hearing.
"That is strange. Maybe if you turned your head." He says with a light tone. I scowl at his mocking tone but once he flashes me that smile my scowl fades away.
When he turns his head away to listen again I decide to try his suggestion. I just do not want to give him the satisfaction of seeing me try it.
The moment I turn my head I can immediately detect the sound of numerous approaching footsteps.
"Peeta!" I gasp. He turns to me quickly. Tears begin to well up in my eyes.
"Katniss what is…"
"I can't hear Peeta! My left ear! I hear nothing from it!" A soft whimper creeps into my voice.
His brow creases in worry and he gently lifts his right hand to brush my ear. I can barely detect the sound of his skin brushing against my own. The sound is so faint. I have to focus intently to hear it. My insides tighten in panic.
"Peeta I won't be able to hunt anymore. Or if I do I'll have to only hunt on the right! Oh goodness Peeta what will I do? I'll have no defense on my left side. I could be attacked and I might not even know it."
"Shh." He pulls me close as I ramble off my questions. "Katniss it will be ok. I'll protect you, I'll even stay on your left at all times."
"Do you promise?" My voice sounds pathetic and weak. I immediately scold myself. I'm alive and should be grateful that I am not griping over my ear.
"Always." He whispers just before I push myself upright off of his broad chest.
"Katniss someone is coming. From the sounds of clinking metal I'm guessing it is my mother's guards. Follow me." He says before quickly standing and despite his heavy footsteps he tries to quietly walk away.
"Follow you? Peeta there is only one door or did you miss that fact? And I'm guessing the guards are in the hallway attached to that door." I hiss.
He walks back to me and grabs my hand. "Trust me." With one swift movement he has me on my feet. Not a second later he pulls me back down to the first floor of the library.
He pulls me quickly towards a bookcase in the corner. He pulls on the corner and the bookcase begins to move. Behind it is a dark passage way.
"What is this Peeta?" I say as he pulls the bookcase back into place, sealing us into the darkness.
"It is a hidden passage that my father showed me once." I hear him chuckle somewhere ahead of me. Thankfully he still tenderly holds my hand or I'd be lost. "He loved to hide here from his parents. When my mother would get into her fits we would hide here until she was calmer." A sad tone takes over his voice. "Anyways it seems it has come in particularly handy today."
The hallway is cold and dank, at least Peeta is not deterred by the darkness. Skillfully he maneuvers through the black.
"We're almost there."
"Almost where?" I question.
'The armory. It is lucky for us today that the armory is at the end of this tunnel. Ah. Here we are." We come to an abrupt halt and I can hear him shuffling around in the dark.
A loud clunk echoes in the dark tunnel and a small beam of light shines through the crack. Peeta's silhouette appears faintly near the door and with one pull, the muscles in his arms rippling and sending a strange tingle down my spine, the door swings open. The light floods the tunnel and my eyes quickly clench shut in protest. A surprised groan escapes my lips and I hear a similar noise from Peeta.
"Come quickly Katniss." Peeta recovers quicker than I and I feel his hand grasping at my arm.
When I manage to force my eyes to accept the light I finally get my first glance of the palace armory. It is truly massive. The room is complete with not only a vast array of weaponry, most look like they have never been touched, but also a training area complete with wooden figures.
I move cautiously towards the closest wooden figure and allow the pads of my fingers to graze over the smooth planes.
"It's for training. An opponent to practice against but one that you cannot kill." Peeta explains over my shoulder. He is standing very close to me. With one step backwards I would be flush against him. His breath tickles the fine hairs resting on the back of my neck.
"If you had all of this available to you there is no excuse as to why you fought like a girl when you first came crawling into my woods." I attempt to jest but I'm sure my nervous chuckle betrays me.
"If I recall correctly I did not crawl into your woods. Rather I was captured and forced into them." He corrects me with confidence.
"You were looking to find me. You were desperate for my help." I retort, gaining a bit of self-assurance.
"If you say so." He mutters gently. I stand transfixed.
After a long moment, which neither of us want to break, I break the silence. "Peeta we should keep moving. Your mother's guards are still searching for us."
"Yes of course. Please grab whatever you wish." He sighs and I feel the gentle caress of air as he moves away.
I stride slowly up and down the rows of weapons housed in this room. Occasionally I pick up a blade and weigh it in my hand. I grab a few daggers and strap them to my body over my tattered dress. I pick up spears and axes, all of which feel wrong in my hand.
"I believe what you are looking for is this." Peeta's warm and honeyed voice sounds behind me.
I turn slowly to see his handsome grin lighting up his blue eyes. In his outstretched hands is a beautiful wooden bow. The craftsmanship is exemplary. The ornate decoration and perfection of this bow leaves me breathless.
"Do you like it?" Peeta asks with hesitation in his voice.
"It's beautiful. A real masterpiece." I gasp as he places the bow in my hands.
"I always wondered why we had this. No one has ever used it, no one has even been allowed. It was always more of a decoration than a weapon. When you first taught me to shot I thought of this bow and how you were the only one who I could imagine deserving such a weapon. Perfection deserves perfection after all." His golden tongue spins a beautiful tale and I blush in response.
"Thank you Peeta." I speak softly allowing the gratitude to caress my lips as I speak it. I turn the bow over in my hands and marvel at the craftsmanship. It truly is perfection.
"I have the quiver also. Would you like to test it?" He asks with a bright smile.
I give a sly smirk and swipe the quiver from his hand before marching towards the targets.
I take my stance and knock an arrow. As I drawback the string and breathe I suddenly feel Peeta's heavy hands on my arm and waist.
"A wise teacher once told me you should stand like this. It is the best position for a perfect shot." His voice is quieter since he stands with his head on my left. I blink distractedly.
"Your teacher sounds wise indeed." I finally manage.
"Katniss I…" He pauses and sighs. "Katniss." He begins, softer this time. "I wanted to…"
"Peeta." I jolt with panic as I hear the sound of a troop of footsteps approaching. "They've found us."
The alarm registers on his face and he roughly snatches my empty hand.
"This way." He releases me as we begin to run across the room to another door. As he opens it I hear the door opening across the room. I turn quickly with arrow knocked and ready and fire upon the first of the soldiers to enter the armory. I turn before I know if my arrow has hit its mark but I hear the thud of a falling body and the groan of the wounded soldier.
Peeta winds through the halls and I follow at his heels. I can hear the guards behind us, always a corner behind.
"Where are we going?" I ask through huffs of breath.
"The throne room. That is where my mother will be. She will be determined to hold onto her position in this time. She is typical and will definitely be there." He says with determination. Gone is the soft and kind Peeta I was with in the armory. In his place is the future king with the unbreakable resolve to take his kingdom from his witch of a mother.
The doors of what I can only assume is the throne room are soon before us. Peeta's eyes are ablaze with determination. His breathing is rough and ragged with resolution. I open my mouth to speak but his resolve is clear. He marches ahead and pushes through the door with blade in hand.
I ready my bow and follow. The guards are upon us immediately and as Peeta fights forward I cover his back. He protected me and now I protect him. We protect each other.
All around us guards fall to the ground. If the tragedy of their death weren't marring this moment it would be laughable. The queen's guard cannot hold their own against a mere force of two.
The queen's shrill voice shouts commands at her guards but it does no good. We are a force to be reckoned with.
My confidence dissipates quicker than it came on as more guards pour out from the side entrances.
The numbers grow quickly despite how hard we fight. The panic sets in as they manage to separate us and I quickly lose Peeta amongst the guards.
However no amount of panic could equal the immediate pain that courses through me when a sharp and masculine scream scorches the air. I recognize it immediately and that moment paralyses me for the briefest moment. A guard seizes me. My eyes frantically search the room but I cannot locate him.
His name is frozen on my tongue. I cannot seem to find my voice to scream for him.
"Halt." I hear the queen's icy and commanding tone. The arms of the guard tighten around me. The other guards in the room step back to the walls leaving only the bodies of the dead and one crumpled and heaving figure on the throne room floor.
"Peeta!" My voice comes coursing back laced with panic and worry.
His withered form heaves and wracks in pain filled sobs. I can feel the pain he is in breaking me quickly. The small pool of blood forming beneath him makes me sick. I cannot seem to see the wound or its severity.
The queen strides purposefully towards him with a sneer. "You weak and pathetic boy. You cannot beat me. You never can nor will you ever. It shames me to think that I birthed you. It sickens me to call you my own." She walks over to the nearest guard and pulls his sword from its sheath. She returns to her sons withered body and stands menacingly above it.
My breathing scrapes against my raw and tortured throat. To scream would be painful but I do it anyways. "Peeta!" The guard only tightens his grip on me. No amount of thrashing I do seems to loosen his hold.
"Don't you touch him!" I growl with as much venom as I can muster.
The queen merely scoffs in my direction. She pays me no mind after that. She circles around Peeta's defeated form and I struggle for freedom but find none.
"I cannot have this continue." She says with finality before raising the sword above Peeta's neck.
A/N: Hello all you wonderful readers! My semester is done and Christmas break is finally here. Merry Christmas everyone! I am glad that semester is over with and I only have one more to go! So with Christmas break comes updates! I hope to get a lot of writing done so that next semester when I am busy again I'll be able to still update. Fingers crossed! Although knowing how busy my family likes to be around Christmas I am not sure if that will happen but here's hoping!
Anyways. Thank you all who have stuck with me during this hiatus. Especially that one guest who seems to review every week begging for an update. I hope this one suffices! Please review and let me know if you enjoyed the chapter!