If you're interested in Nelia's Games, I've just begun writing them in her POV. It's called Meat Cleavers. It won't be updated as fast as this but I'll try to update at least every week. Enjoy!
Katniss's POV
Ring ring. Ring ring.
"Hold on I got to get that." I say to Prim before getting up to answer the phone. She's been here all morning because I'm helping her organize some things that she needs to take to her new house.
"Hello?" I say to the phone.
"Hi Katniss. How've you been?" Duncan's voice replies. Duncan-good, I had been wondering when he was going to call. Usually he calls exactly a month after the Games end, but then he should have called a week ago.
"Good. How are you?" I say back.
"I'm fine. Just working on some new stuff. I won't bore you with the details." Duncan assures me, and I have to smile at that. I wouldn't understand his medical stuff even if he did try. Prim might be able to follow it better than I could because she's a healer, but both her and our mother are far more familiar with the herbs they use than real medicine.
"Thanks."
"So how's Kennie?" Duncan questions me.
"She's doing good. Right now she's trying to spend as much time outside as she can before school starts in a few weeks. She's with Gale right now." I tell him. I'm actually sort of dreading her going to school because she's going to learn about the Hunger Games more than she already knows from just observing and us trying to not answer her questions. Because I'm certain they will give her answers and I don't really want to deal with the repercussions of that.
"That's great. I can't believe how big she is already." Duncan says.
"Me either." I answer. I can't believe she's already five. When did she grow up so fast? "So what are you doing now?"
"Oh you know, just making lunch." Duncan exclaims.
"Beef sandwich like always?" I ask hopefully. There's a slight pause on the other end before I get a reply.
"Nope, chicken this time. Thought I'd go for a change." Duncan tries to say as casually as he can. All it does is make me freeze. So…not beef? That bastard Snow is trying to screw with us again!
Once Snow told me that I could only have one child ever and offered birth control once a year after Makenna was born, Gale and I decided that we shouldn't really trust him. After all, he had tricked us before with the birth control-neither of us really believed that he would give it to me and that was that after we defied him. So every year after I had the birth control given to me by Dr. Simulus (Dr. Musa had been…taken care of after Snow blamed him for giving me the wrong thing when I switched the syringes), I had Duncan take a sample of my blood to check. Every year he checks it and calls me a month after the Games to get an update on Kennie and I ask him casually what he's having for lunch or dinner. Our code is that beef is birth control and chicken is nothing. Every year it's been beef…until now.
"I've found a way to make it really good. Maybe I'll even send you some to try." Duncan offers, and I relax slightly. He can send me birth control. We can evade Snow's wrath once again.
"I think I'll take you up on that. I'm sure Gale would like it." I agree. He idly chit chats with me for a few minutes before we say our goodbyes, and when I hang up I find Prim staring at me with a suspicious look.
"What?" I say to her.
"What was that about?" Prim questions.
"Nothing. Just talking." I reply innocently, but I can tell she doesn't believe me.
"I'm a big girl and I'm married now. You don't have to protect me anymore." Prim points out. Yes, I can't believe my little duck is married…to Rory. It was probably the strangest thing to think of for Gale and I but I guess it made sense. I mean, they've lived in the same house since we got married after all and they've always been close (but not as close as us). But I can't tell her really what's going on-after all, I'm sure there's cameras and bugs in here somewhere.
"I know. Sorry." I smile sadly at her. "Maybe later okay." Luckily Gale and Makenna chose that moment to walk in the house so I don't have to have this awkward conversation right now.
"Hi Mommy! Hi Aunt Prim!" Kennie says cheerfully.
"Hi sweetie. Did you have a nice time?" I ask her, grateful for her being here. I need that birth control sent to me-I couldn't possibly let anything happen to her, and apparently that was Snow's intention to try this year.
She nods. "Daddy taught me how to tie stuff."
"She's pretty good too." Gale smiles. I'm sure it thrills him to teach Kennie snares just like his father taught him. We've been teaching her snares and archery a few times a week just to start teaching her. She already knows how to climb trees and swim courtesy of Johanna and Finnick (well, that's where she started learning anyway) on Nelia's Victory tour, and Prim and my mother have unknowingly been teaching her plants and herbs when she goes over to 'help' them. I hate that we have to think of this as training, but that's really what it is. "What did you do today?"
"Helped Prim pack. Duncan called too." I say nonchalantly, realizing that Prim is watching me for some indication of what that phone call was about.
"What'd he want?" Gale asks. He knows as well as I do what the call was for but for Prim's sake pretends he doesn't.
"Just checking up on us." I reply, "He's also sending us some chicken." I inform him, looking at him right in the eye. His go wide at first and then I can see him trying to hide his anger from Prim, who is watching our whole exchange with suspicion.
"Well I'm sure it will be good if he's cooking it." Gale finally manages to get out almost casually. Prim clearly knows something is going on with us but chooses not to push it right now thank goodness.
"Well I better get going." Prim finally says, picking up one of the boxes that we packed stuff in. "Want to help me Kennie?" Kennie nods with a smile and grabs one of the smaller boxes, and the two of them go out the door with Kennie excitedly telling Prim about her day. As soon as the door shuts I start walking towards the back door and Gale follows me, knowing it's far safer to talk outside.
Once outside, Gale doesn't take long to let out his anger. "That fucking bastard is trying to fuck us now? What the hell have we done?"
"You have to ask?" I question him. What haven't we done not to make Snow hate us? Aside from Vick we've avoided punishment or angered him at every turn, after all. Gale is still shaking his head and looks like he wants to punch something (probably Snow), and I try to calm him down, gently pressing on his arm.
"Gale, it's fine. Duncan said it will be here next week and we'll be alright." I explain to him.
"We shouldn't have to check in the first place. There shouldn't even be a reason to have Duncan involved but there is." Gale sighs in frustration, but I can tell he's simmering down.
"You don't think I know that?" I point out. "But we do, and the important thing is that we have a way to help it."
He lets out another sigh, shaking his head. "You're right. But that doesn't make it much better." I just shrug at that. Honestly, I can't find it in myself to disagree with him.
Plutarch's POV
"You really think it will work?" I question Horatia in our safe room. She and I have endlessly been trying and failing for years to think of a way to get Seneca Crane fired so one of us can take over as Head Gamemaker for the rebellion. Originally we thought that President Snow would be angry when a District 12 tribute won, but that came to play a few years ago and no such luck.
"I don't see how it can't work honestly." Horatia replies confidently, "President Snow will not look very kindly on Seneca after that." Well, I guess she has a point. I certainly would fire my Head Gamemaker if that happened.
"Alright then let's do it." I agree. "We'll have to run against each other so the others don't catch on. And that we're certain it's one of us."
Horatia sighs, "I know. Some are already suspicious that we're together because we always agree with each other. That has to stop at some point so we might as well start now."
"Alright then." I answer, "Let's figure out some ways to do this then."
Gale's POV
"He's doing pretty well." I whisper to Katniss. We're at the interviews for the 83rd Hunger Games and my tribute Colton, an almost 19 year old who works in the mines already is doing far better than I thought he would at the speaking part. As soon as I saw him I knew he had a fighting chance-Rory (who works in the mines even though I didn't want him to. What need is there when we have all this money) told me he worked with him from time to time and he was a beast, chipping away at coal and never tiring. With a training score of eight that proved his skills pretty well, but he's sort of a silent, distanced guy. But in this interview I told him he could play on that some but he needed to make sure he talked too. And he is-happens to be a pretty nice guy when he opens up like Ceaser apparently is getting him to.
"Yeah he is." Katniss agrees. I look over next to her and see that Makenna is watching the interviews intently and I sigh internally. Ever since she went to school and found out that we were all Victors here and for some reason she knew everyone because she came to the Hunger Games every year, she's wanted to pay more attention. Cecilia had told me that Lucy was stubborn and wanted to learn, but I bet at six even Lucy wasn't this stubborn. Makenna refused to believe that we were just coming here for watching the Games and she decided that she's going to watch this year. I suppose we could try to distract her still but it's pretty hard to do when she's in the heart of the action. Even if we got someone to bring her to the training room or something there are televisions everywhere-you really can't escape it here in the Capitol.
She also started asking questions to not only us, but the tributes this year. And unfortunately they don't protect her from answers like we do. Nelia said she walked in to talk to her tribute (a fifteen year old Seam girl named Sarah) a few days ago and Makenna was already there firing away at the questions. Makenna had told us that she was just going to the restroom during breakfast and instead went to Sarah's room. Sarah apparently looked relieved to see Nelia walk in because Makenna had just asked her where people went to sleep when they lost and she really didn't want to answer it. Luckily Nelia walking in and shooing Makenna out of the room helped but Sarah evidently cried after that because she doesn't think she has a chance.
We asked Makenna what she was doing in Sarah's room and she said, "Well, you and Nelia and Uncle Finn and everyone don't answer my questions so I found someone who would." And then she told us that she wanted to figure it out for herself. Makes me hate Snow a little more that he's given her such a nice seat to find out. Nothing Katniss, Nelia, or I can do can distract her for long all week from watching the televisions or asking more questions.
So here we are on the first day of the Games, and instead of doing the puzzle or reading the books that we brought in small hopes that she would look at them instead of the bloodbath, she's in her own chair looking at the screens in front of her. Katniss and I are fighting with ourselves to cover her eyes with our hands or lock her in a closet (which I'm pretty sure is the only place without a television but I would never put her in a closet) and grip the sides of our chairs instead.
When the bloodbath begins I half watch the screens and half watch Makenna's reaction, knowing that Nelia will be watching both tributes for us so I don't feel as bad. Both of our tributes run for the Cornucopia this year. Colton goes in and grabs a pack and a coal pick (probably a decent advantage seeing as there are a lot of steep cliffs in the arena and he actually knows how to use it from the mines) and runs for the nearest mountain, barely avoiding a spear thrown at him but not missing a knife. Luckily it only hit his upper arm and he grits his teeth as he sprints and pulls it out. I sigh internally at that-well at least he has a knife now. If only he wasn't injured so soon.
I watch Makenna's reactions now and she has a mix of fascination and horror on her face, clearly not trying to hide her own eyes from the bloodbath. When Sarah gets pummeled by one of the Career boys and he plunges his sword into her chest, Makenna winces and I see a tear roll down her face. I think she just realized that the losers don't in fact go to sleep. I really hope she doesn't ask me that question because I don't know if I have the heart to tell her the truth after what she's witnessing now. After what she wanted to see. But I guess she had to learn sometime. And I think grudgingly, it will only help her when Snow reaps her to know some of the inner workings of the Games.
When the bloodbath is mostly over, I think that Makenna is going to start the questions one after the other on what she just saw. But it appears that she's not going to for a while. Instead, she looks at the screen and appears to be thinking on something, or maybe just going over the horrible things she just saw. When she finally looks up she finds that Katniss, Nelia, and I are all watching her, waiting for her to say something. I can't even imagine what's going on in her mind right now.
"I don't like it." Makenna finally says.
"You don't have to watch." Katniss offers hopefully. Almost pleadingly.
Makenna thinks about it for a moment and then shakes her head, "No, I want to know." I actually sigh out loud at that. Great, my too stubborn for her own good daughter still wants to know everything after the most horrible thing she's probably ever witnessed. Makes me almost wish she wasn't so much like Katniss and I sometimes because I suspect we would have been the same.
"Well not much will happen for a while. Do you want to get some lunch with me?" Nelia asks her, and luckily she nods in agreement. But before she gets up, she looks at me.
"Daddy, they don't go to sleep like Sleeping Beauty, do they?" she asks me with an almost calculating look that looks strange on her little face. It makes me almost want to cry to see it, but I don't.
Instead I shake my head slowly. She's going to find out soon anyway. "No sweetie, they don't." With a nod of her head and obviously thinking again, Makenna takes Nelia's hand and they go out of the room. I bury my face in my hands and sigh, Katniss doing the same. I have a feeling this is going to be a very long, hard Games. For us anyway.