1. No one out past 7 p.m. unless escorted by Peacekeepers.
2. The Miners' schedule will be changed for the new curfew. Also, due to a shortage in the Capitol, miners will be expected to work seven days a week. Weekdays including Saturday: 5 am to 5pm. Sunday: 5am to 3pm. No Exceptions.
3. Anyone caught making illegal trades or selling illegal items will be arrested on the spot.
4. Peacekeepers reserve a right to check any home that they believe has suspicious activity amongst its inhabitants.
5. No group meetings larger than four. Children do not count.
6. Ownership of unauthorized weapons is forbidden and Peacekeepers will use necessary force if you are a threat.
7. The fence will now be monitored 24 hours a day for safety precautions.
8. Families must pay for all required health care that is given to them by Capitol-run facilities. Neighborhood healers will continue to enforce their own payment needs.
9. If children are not properly taken care of or under Capitol issued weight standards, the children will be removed from the parents' care.
10. If you witness any law breaking or treasonous activity and don't report the actions, you will be held equally accountable for said activity.
If any of these laws are broken, you and your family will be held accountable for treasonous actions. Report any suspicious activity and you will be rewarded. The severity of the law breaking varies from being imprisoned to public whipping. This order of law enforcement has been established by President Snow and enforced by Head Peacekeeper Romulus Thread.
The paper with the new issued laws looms in our kitchen. It's a heavy darkness that I can't seem to chase away. Every time I pull down the paper, crumble it, and throw it away another appears in its place, nailed to our front door like the first one that was posted four months ago. I feel like I'm being stared at by it, especially since even months after the laws were issued Gale continues to break almost all of them. I knew my husband was resourceful but it's absolutely ridiculous to see that he has found a way against almost every single law.
They tell him he can't make illegal trades so they move the Hob to a more discrete location. I don't even know where it is anymore. They man the fence twenty-fours a day, seven days a week but he found a spot where he can slip under. They have yet to turn the fence on in fear of District power outages. Paying for Capitol-run health facilities doesn't affect us since we went to Mrs. Everdeen anyways. The curfew is seven but occasionally Gale doesn't return home until nine, sometimes even later. He tells me it's just little meeting between the miners to find out how they can be paid more with the extra hours but I know my husband. It's something more than that.
I pace back and forth between our living room and the kitchen suddenly feeling very sick to my stomach. It's nearly six o'clock on a Friday and Gale should in fact be home from work by now. He has an hour until curfew so I know he will be home soon. He didn't tell me he would be out late. I look through the kitchen window and watch the February snow drift gracefully down from the sky. There are still children playing and I watch them for a few minutes before turning around to check on my own daughters. I can still hear the children outside from my living room but I don't pay attention to their loud laughs as one of them screams out the rules of the game.
I bend over Eden's little bouncing chair and smile at her. She coos and I run my hand through her already thick raven colored hair. It curls at the tips like mine had when I was a baby and I press a soft kiss to her forehead. Rosie is just as alert but she babbles more than Eden. Her brown eyes look around the room and I kiss her forehead as well. They look exactly the same. Eden is a bit longer, but both of them are still very tiny girls.
Gale and I worry about their size since all the babies I had seen at five months were never this small. Those babies were rolling over or sitting up propped against pillows. Our girls weren't like that though. They were just small and fragile, but talkative. Mrs. Everdeen continues to assure me that when our girls are ready to do all of that, they will but it still makes me nervous. I worry that I can be doing something more for them.
A harsh knock hits my front door and I freeze. The girls are startled and they stop babbling to each other, the silence causes the small hair on arms to stand up. Gale would never knock and neither would any of our friends or family. I'm so used to people just walking into the house that I'm scared to answer. I let them knock a few more times before I can finally work up the courage to actually open the door.
I don't open the door all the way, just enough for me to see outside and them to see a little bit inside. I'm glad I don't open the door wide when I come face to face with three Peacekeepers who I don't recognize. They must be new and that means we can't trust them, at all.
"Can I help you?" I ask and the Peacekeeper in the front smiles at me. It's a fake grin plastered over his wrinkly skin and I straighten my back out. My guard is as high as it can possible get.
"Good evening Mrs. Hawthorne." The man's voice is chilling and I do my best to not show my nerves. "Is your husband home?"
"No." I lick my lips and try to think of a story on the spot. "I think he stepped out to see a friend."
"You think or you know?" the Peacekeeper questions as he tries to step inside. I keep the door just opened enough for them to see that he isn't here, but I don't let them in.
"I think." My voice is steady. "I trust my husband, sir. He'll come home after he's done doing whatever he stepped out to do. I don't need to keep tabs on him."
The Peacekeeper's eyes narrow on me and my grip on the door tightens. They weren't just going to leave but I wasn't just going to let them inside. They had no business here if Gale wasn't around.
"Well, Mrs. Hawthorne, we got a report saying your husband has been a target for suspicious activity. We would like to look around." The Peacekeeper tries to step around me again but I hold my ground, praying that Gale will walk around that corner.
"I'm sorry, but if you would like to question my husband you can come back later this evening, preferably after dinner." I lick my lips again. The Peacekeepers aren't happy with my lack of cooperation but I didn't feel safe with them in my house with just me and my girls.
"I don't think you understand, Mrs. Hawthorne. We weren't asking for an invitation," he says as his smile vanishes. The Peacekeeper on his left pushes open the door and I back up quickly to stand protectively in front of my girls.
"How old are your girls?" the leader asks as he sits on my couch. I stare at the coal dust they tracked onto my carpet and bite my tongue. The two other Peacekeepers search around the room, knocking items off the table and purposely breaking anything that's glass.
"You don't need to do that," I tell them as I watch two of my good tea cups get knocked onto my kitchen floor. "When Gale gets home he'll tell you everything you want to know." One more cup is knocked off the counter and I take a deep breath.
"How old are your girls?" the Peacekeeper asks again and I quickly scoop them both up deciding that it will probably be safer for them in their bedroom.
"Five months," I tell him as I begin to back out of the living room and towards the hallway. "Excuse me as I bring them into their room. I don't want them to be in the way."
"They look a little underfed," he says to me as his eyes narrow on my girls thin frames. I cuddle them closer to me. My arms protectively wrapped around them as I keep them near my chest.
"They're just small for their age," I tell him before quickly turning and disappearing into their bedroom. I shut the door behind me and place my girls into their respective cribs.
I take my time as I change their diapers and give them their favorite rattles. Rosie and Eden babble back and forth to each other between their cribs. I watch them for a few minutes before deciding that I should probably go back out there before the Peacekeepers decide to come in here. I close their bedroom door behind me. I won't let any of them near my daughters.
Gale walks into the house the moment I rejoin the Peacekeepers in the living room. Luckily they seemed to have run out of items to break. The leader of the trio of Peacekeepers stands up but Gale towers over him. My husband doesn't seem the least bit intimidated or nervous by the Peacekeeper's presence. If anything Gale seems annoyed that they're here. He motions for me to come stand by him and I don't hesitate to join his side. Gale protectively pulls me behind him as he drops his hunting bag to the ground. I hang onto his jacket. My fingers grip tightly around the thinning fabric of his coat and I catch the faint smell of smoke and coal on his clothes.
"To what do we owe this pleasure?" Gale asks as he surveys the room. His eyes narrow on the broken and knocked over items that are scattered around.
"Please sit down Mr. Hawthorne. We would like to ask some questions," the leader says and Gale pulls me over to the couch with him. He protectively stays between me and them.
The leader sits across from us and the other two stand at his flanks. Gale stares them down coolly and I can't help but be amazed at how incredibly calm he is. Although every time one of them moves too quickly Gale tenses. I sit as close as I can to Gale, doing my best not to meet the leering eyes of the Peacekeeper. Gale takes my hand into his and gives me a reassuring squeeze. The gesture puts me a little at ease but not enough that I feel safe.
"Mr. Hawthorne, we got some reports that you have been participating in some treasonous activity," the leader says but Gale doesn't flinch.
"What kind of treasonous activity have I been a part of?" Gale asks as his thumb brushes gently over the back of my hand.
The Peacekeeper take a deep breath and eyes us carefully, "There has been numerous reports of you going over the fence and making illegal trades."
"How can I possibly get over the fence with so many Peacekeepers guarding it?" Gale questions and the man frowns. The Peacekeeper has a hard look set in his face and I wonder where he transferred from. He has to be from a District where he's used to the citizens cowering in fear of the Peacekeepers. If he wanted that here, he would really have to work for it. District's Twelve's citizens had an alliance with the original Peacekeepers. As long as they turned a blind eye to the illegal black market and hunting, then the Peacekeepers would continue to have fresh meat and good trades as well.
"We believe we have a few untrustworthy men amongst our ranks. Some of whom are helping you in exchange for fresh meat." The Peacekeeper leans forward and Gale just shakes his head.
"No, I work every day and I'm home by curfew. My wife can vouch for that," Gale says and the Peacekeeper's brown eyes sharply land on me. We stare at each other for a few moments and I expect him to question me but he ignores me instead. The Peacekeeper is too focused on Gale to care about what I had to say. He must realize I would lie for my husband anyways.
"Where were you today after work, Mr. Hawthorne? I heard you're a big family man. I would assume you would want to spend as much time as you can get with your family, considering the new work hours." The Peacekeeper's eyes glow like he assumes he's cornered Gale but I know he hasn't. Gale doesn't tense at his question he just continues to rub his thumb over the back of my hand.
"I had to run a few errands in town," Gale replies and the Peacekeeper takes a deep breath.
"May I have a look into your bag?" He asks and Gale nods his head. The leader of the trio motions for one of his companions to search the bag. I squeeze Gale's hand but he just kisses my temple.
"Where are the girls?" Gale whispers to me as one of the Peacekeeper's unzips the bag. My eyes slowly drift over to the Peacekeeper and Gale just tucks my hair behind my ear before winking at me.
"They're in their room," I tell him once I find my voice. Gale smiles at me before taking my hand back into his.
"There's just some canned food, tools, and medicine in here," the Peacekeeper that's searching the bag says and Gale leans back against the couch, unsurprised by the findings. He's doing his best to fight the smirk that's forming on his face but he's not doing a very good job. Gale is incredibly smug when he's able to prove someone wrong and I can only imagine how he must feel now.
The leader of the trio is annoyed and he doesn't seem to believe his fellow Peacekeepers because he stands up and picks up the bag himself. The Peacekeeper dumps the contents of the bag onto the floor and on the floor falls canned food, a few tools, and medicine, "What are the tools for?"
"Our roof leaks in our bedroom. I have to patch it up before it gets worse," Gale answers smoothly and the Peacekeeper kicks over the medicine pointing at it for Gale to explain.
"It's a cream from Healer Everdeen. Norah has some trouble breathing at night from a cold," Gale explains and then I cough. I don't mean to because I didn't want to seem like I'm faking it, but I cough and Gale has to rub my back for a moment before I stop. The Peacekeeper's eyes narrow on me and the smirk that was on Gale's face a moment ago disappears. Gale stands up slowly blocking my from the Peacekeeper's sight.
Gale and the Peacekeeper stare at each other for what feels like minutes. The Peacekeeper is trying to intimidate Gale but it's not working. If anything I can feel my husband's tense anger building.
After a few moments the Peacekeeper finally says, "I guess the reports were false." He straightens his shoulders and the same fake grin stretches across his wrinkled face. Gale walks over to see them to the front door where he grasps onto the handle tight enough that his knuckles turn white. Gale's angry, but he controls it well. He shares a fake smile with the Peacekeeper when he says, "Thank you for your cooperation Mr. and Mrs. Hawthorne."
Gale slams and locks the door the second the three of them step out. He looks at me but I just shake my head and bury my face into my hands. Gale doesn't make a move to console me. He just picks up his bag and contents that were spilled out and places them on the counter in the kitchen. A few minutes pass and I listen Gale as he moves around the kitchen not really picking anything up.
"Where have you been?" I whisper even though I'm sure the Peacekeepers are gone. I drop my hands from my face to look at him. Gale doesn't turn to look at me or even acknowledge that I said anything to him. "Gale, where have you been?" I ask again, my voice now louder than I intended.
"I already told you. I went into town and collected a few things we needed," he says but he still doesn't look at me.
"Stop lying to me," I say as I stand up and walk over to him. I put my hand on his arm and force him to face me, "You've being going somewhere every single night and I know it's not miners meetings and I know you're still going over the fence. You've been lying to me for the past four months and I want it to stop right now. Tell me where you've been going," my voice is desperate and Gale sighs dropping his head.
"District Twelve has been planning things. We've been in contact with some of the other Districts, thanks to a couple Peacekeepers and Madge Undersee."
"The mayor's daughter?" I ask and Gale nods. I remember her briefly from when I first came to District Twelve. She was quiet sweet and very caring. I couldn't imagine her transferring illegal messages from the Districts.
"There's been uprisings in the other Districts. It started with Four, the year you left. A rebel's daughter was shot in the town square for refusing to participate in Contract Day," Gale explains and my throat tightens. I back quickly away from Gale but he doesn't let me go.
"I was there," I whisper as the image of the bullet that ripped through Elise's skull appears in my head. "She was my friend," I explain and Gale's hand cups the back of my neck as he calms me down.
I take a few steady breathes and ask, "How – how did it spread?"
"Through Peacekeepers and the mayors. People overhear things Norah and they're angry. People want to fight. They want to show the Capitol that we're more than just animals used for breeding," Gale explains and I start to nervously chew on my lip.
This is everything that my father and brother wanted to happen. I can almost see them hunched over tables together looking at maps and notes from other Districts. I can see the black bandanas tied around their arms. Mostly, I can hear their excited chatter and Finnick's winning smile because everything they worked so hard with if finally happening for them. My head begins to spin and I pinch the bridge of my nose.
"Where else is the Rebellion happening?" I ask and I don't mean to sound so scared and little but I do and I hate myself for it.
"Districts Eleven, Ten, and Three. We're working on an alliance with Seven right now," Gale says and I think of Margo and her husband in Eleven. Were they in the rebel group or was she trying to stay far away from it all?
"I didn't want to tell you because I knew how you would react," Gale says gently after a few moments of silence and I try to back away from him again. He pulls me back to him and I struggle out of his grasp but can't break free. He was a part of something that I told him I would never accept. He promised me.
"A rebel group Gale, are you kidding me?" I twist my arm again but Gale has a tight grip on me, "You know how I feel about all of this -"
"Norah," his voice is calm but I don't stop struggling to listen to him, "do you honestly think I would do anything that would put you, our girls, and my mom and siblings in danger?"
"No, but-" I'm still trying to break free of his grasp.
He cuts me off again by saying, "Exactly, we all just want our Districts back. You don't know how bad everywhere else is. People are being gunned down and publicly hung for speaking their minds and being in the wrong place at the wrong time. How long until the same thing happens here? I mean look at these new changes. Look at our new Head Peacekeeper. Things are going to get bad Norah and we have to do something about it."
"No, we don't," I say finally pulling away from him and Gale runs a hand through his hair. He's clearly frustrated with me.
"Norah, I know that all of this scares you. I know that you don't want anything to happen to us, but you have to trust me. You have to know that this is going to keep us safe in the long run," Gale explains and I cover my face, leaning against the counter, trying to breathe.
"Norah," Gale whispers as he tries to pull me back to him. I shake my head and shove his arms away.
"Don't," I snap and Gale nods his head, "Just don't talk to me right now."
Gale nods and gives me my space. He goes back into the hallway to check on our girls and I sit at the dining room table. My eyes study the mess the Peacekeepers left behind. They didn't hesitate to break anything. They didn't hesitate to intimidate me or scare me into thinking that they might want to take our daughters away.
I think about my mother and what she would do in my situation. If the rebels were there to make sure that the people she loved were safe instead of around to just cause trouble, would she stand with them or at least behind them? I can't even imagine District Twelve turning into a place where people are hung in the town square or simply shot down for being out past curfew. The idea terrifies me almost as much as a rebellion does.
Perhaps it's just because my mother just continued to enforce the idea that anything against the Capitol meant certain death.
My sister Kassi and I obeyed our mother. We pitted ourselves against anything that had to do with the rebels. We didn't want to hear it. We didn't want to be a part of it. We grew up thinking the only way to stay alive was to obey and a part of me still believes in that. On the other hand, Finnick and Persi grew up to be my father's children. The two of them could spit venom about the Capitol. There words terrified me, especially when it was Persi speaking them. My little sister was far too influenced by Finnick and my father. They believed that the only way to stay alive was to fight for the things that belonged to them.
Kassi and my mother would call them fighters but looking at Gale now I knew that it wasn't that he wanted to fight. My father, brother, sister, and husband wanted to survive and they would survive. Even if it meant ransacking cargo ships in the dead of night or sneaking out under the fence to make sure that our stomachs were always full. They would do what it took to survive and right now survival meant fighting and I couldn't be mad at Gale for that.
I wasn't scared of the rebellion. I was scared of the repercussions of the Capitol. The thought of any harm coming to my family was too much for me to bear. I know what the Capitol can do because I've seen it first-hand but Gale, my father, and Finnick, have been going against the Capitol for years. They haven't been caught and they have been helping the people who truly need it. If more people joined in then perhaps more of us could become survivors.
I stand up and walk into the girls' bedroom. Gale is just sitting in the rocking chair, holding both girls in his arms. He looks at me and stands up, putting the girls back into their respective cribs. They whine in protest and Gale just brushes their hair back in an attempt to soothe them. I join him and together we're able to calm down the girls before they start crying.
Gale looks at me and I place my hands on either side of Gale's face and take a deep breath. I'm mad at him for lying to me and I want to be mad at him for being a part of something that I never could accept. I really want to be mad at him for that because, I know exactly what my father and brother put my mom and Annie through in District Four. I'm angry with him for keeping all of this a secret from me and going behind my back. He knows exactly how I feel about the rebellion so I can't forgive him, but I won't continue to fight with him over this either.
"You need to promise me that we come first, at least you have to put your daughters and siblings first" I tell him and Gale's hands rub up and down my arms affectionately.
"All of you always come first. I promise," he says and I nod my head feeling a little bit better knowing that at least we're still first. The fact that I even doubted him makes me feel a little bad, but I have to be sure.
"Okay," I whisper and Gale smiles. "But, I don't want any of this talk in my house or around our daughters. You have to respect that and I'll respect that I can't stop you from being a part of this."
"I guess that's better than nothing. I promise nothing about the Rebellion will ever cross the threshold of our front door," he says before places a light kiss onto my lips. "Finnick was worried you would refuse."
"Finnick, as in my brother? I ask and Gale nods his head. My hand covers my mouth and I can feel the hot tears pricking my eyes. The idea of my brother being in contact with Gale is overwhelming. I can only imagine the things Finnick could possible say about me and homesickness that I haven't felt in months floods me.
"He's one of the rebel leaders in Four. We've been in contact for a while," Gale answers sheepishly and I swat his arm, my overwhelmed tears finally slipping down my cheeks.
"Why didn't you tell me?" I ask almost deciding that I should actually really be mad at him.
"I was waiting for the right time," he answers before pressing pepper kisses to my face so I smile at him. "Your family's fine Norah."
"Who else here is part of the group?" I ask, curious because I'm sure it's mostly miners. I wipe my eyes with my sleeves and picture my brother and husband writing secret notes to one another. The idea is actually kind of ridiculous. In my head I picture schoolboys' passing notes in class.
"A few Peacekeepers - Darius, Marianne, and Julius, most of the miners and some of their wives, Katniss and Peeta, Madge Undersee, and a handful of people of town including the butcher and his wife," he explains and I shake my head at him.
"You've been keeping this from me for a long time," I say and Gale nods his head slowly. Eden begins to cry and I jump, turning to attend to my daughter. Gale scoops up Rosie before she begins to wail as well.
As I cuddle my daughter in my hands I'm suddenly fully aware of how tiny our daughters are. The Peacekeeper was right, our daughters are underweight but it's difficult trying to keep them fed when I barely have enough food to keep myself healthy as well. My body didn't provide enough nourishment for them and I can't help but feel as if I'm a bit of a failure of a mother even though I can't control the circumstance we're in.
"The Peacekeeper said our daughters are underweight," I whisper and Gale looks up at me. He eyes flash with worry for a brief moment. Nothing scares Gale more than the idea of his family being ripped apart.
"They're not taking our daughters," he assures me but this time I can't believe him.
"But they can. They've been taking a few children from the Seam and what makes you think they won't take Rosie and Eden?" I ask and Gale shakes his head looking down at Rosie. His eyes trace over her soft features and I wait for him to say anything that will make me believe that everything will in fact be okay.
"We'll figure something out Norah," he says but even Gale who is always so sure of himself and his ability to protect us no longer sounds as confident as he did a few moments ago when we were talking about the rebellion. The fire in his eyes still shines but it's no longer an intense flame.
"Gale," I murmur and he shifts Rosie to the crook of his elbow so that he can wrap his arm around me.
"We're going to be fine Norah. All of us are going to be fine," Gale says and I know the only thing I can do is believe and trust his words.
This chapter took me forever. Sorry guys.
Let me know what you think!
