A/N: TW - Mentions of rape. No explicit content is featured.
KATNISS POV
The Capitol meant the wedding, which meant that Peeta and I were almost immediately separated as soon as we arrived. I'd had a bad feeling that that would have happened, so I held his hand as tightly as I could until we were forced to let go of each other. "I'll see you tonight," he whispered into my ear, giving me a chaste kiss on the cheek, and the entire time I was being led - or rather, dragged - away, I kept my eyes on him, and he smiled hesitantly at me and waved. I was brought to a different place than I was expecting - instead of the Tribute Tower, I was brought to a place called Victors' Hotel, which was where the victors stayed during the Games, apparently. I suppose I did wonder where Haymitch had gone off to when Peeta and I were tributes. It had fourteen floors - the ground floor was the lobby, floors one through twelve were for the victors to stay at (only one victor ever stayed on the twelfth floor since the Second Quarter Quell) and the top two floors were the Victors' Lounge, where they'd congregate when they weren't watching their tributes, and the Victors' Suite, where the most recent victor (or in our case, victors) would stay during the Games. It was the Victors' Suite where I would be preparing for my Capitol wedding to Peeta.
When I arrived, I was not at all surprised to see my prep team already there waiting for me, but I was surprised to see Glitter Pash and Johanna Mason sitting on the sofa staring at me. I was surprised to see the two women, the District One victor from the previous year and the District Seven victor, when Venia answered my question for me. "It's time to get the bride and her beautiful bridesmaids ready!" the very vocal Capitol woman exclaimed.
"Bridesmaids?" I asked, confused.
"Yup, bridesmaids, Brainless," said Johanna Mason. "Don't you know what the hell a bridesmaid is?"
"'Fraid not. We don't have them where I'm from," I told the two women on the couch - or rather, girls, I suppose. Glitter Pash was fifteen when she won her Games, making her sixteen this year - the same age as me, and Johanna was sixteen when she won her Games, which meant that she was now twenty, if not almost twenty.
"Bridesmaids sort of... help the bride, I guess, get ready for her wedding," Glitter tried to explain, and I nodded.
"Ah, I see," I replied. "Well, it's... nice to see you both again." Johanna snorted.
"You'd be perfectly fine never seeing either of us again, you liar," she said, and then she stood. "I'm gonna go get a drink from the lounge. Have fun with Brainless, Boobless." I raised an eyebrow as she left - I suppose 'Boobless' was Johanna's nickname for Glitter, and she rolled her eyes.
"She's not actually that bad," Glitter tried to explain to me. Glitter was very pretty, with golden blonde hair and beautiful emerald green eyes, a similar shade to my mother's. She was tall, tanned and had a beautiful figure, but Johanna's observation was correct - Glitter did not have very developed breasts.
"She hung all over Peeta's arm when we stopped in District Seven," I replied.
"She's just pushing your buttons. I learned that very quickly from mentoring with her this year."
"This was your first year as a mentor, yes?" Glitter nodded, and I moved to sit down on the couch a couple of cushions away from her, awkwardly grimacing. "I'm... sorry... about your tributes..."
"It's the Games, isn't it?" She shrugged, and I nodded. Glitter was, surprisingly, very amiable and easy to talk to for a District One girl, something I certainly didn't expect. We kept our talk minimal, to things that girls talked about because we both knew very well that the suite was bugged. She sat back as Venia, Flavius and Octavia did my hair and makeup talking about her family. "My brothers want to volunteer. I only volunteered because I wanted a chance to escape my mother."
"Not for glory?" I asked her.
"Well, glory is certainly a good thing, but the main thing for me was getting away from her. She was cruel to me and my brothers. Abusive, neglectful, downright evil. Every day, she told me she hated me and wished I was never born, so I volunteered for the Games so that she wouldn't have to put up with me. I wasn't expecting to make it out, but I guess I channeled all my anger at her into winning, and... I did. I didn't even know there was only one tribute left when I... won."
"Are you and your brothers safe now?" She nodded.
"She didn't come with us to Victors' City. That's what we call our Victors' living quarters - Victors' City. There's a lot of us and we each get our own building. We actually ran out of buildings so they had to build another one when I won." She chuckled sadly. "You know, you're brave for having a baby. Prodigy Prelius was my mentor and she had a daughter in the 70th Games. She says she's proud of the glory her daughter brought to our district, but she loved her daughter a lot. I can't imagine it felt good watching her own daughter drown."
"I don't think so, either," I replied. "Will you have kids someday?"
"I'm afraid of having them. Not because of the reaping. They'd bring glory to the district and to their family... but because I'm afraid I'm going to turn out like my mother," Glitter confessed. Was that not the same fear that I had had once, before the Games? Not that I'd turn into my mother per say, but that I'd shut down like Agnessa.
"You won't. Your mother's treatment of you has made you so much stronger and better than her," I told the girl who sat on the bed, and she smiled sadly.
"Thanks. I'd like to think you're right, but I can't trust myself. I'll never find anyone I want to marry, anyway. The man I want to marry, well... his family won't let him."
"Really? Why's that? You're a victor, after all. They wouldn't have to ever worry about him."
"Because he's from the upper class, and I'm not. Victor or not, they can't see me as anything but gutter trash." It was just like myself and Peeta - the merchant boy and the Seam girl.
"Peeta and I were like that," I told her. "He's from our upper class in Twelve, and I'm from the lower class, on top of being a refugee, so two strikes there." We shared a quiet chuckle. "But we didn't let that stop us."
"His family will cut him off, if he marries me, and I can't have that. But thank you for the encouragement. I'm sure I'll find someone in the future. I've got my whole life, don't I?" I hadn't realised that District One was equally as complex socially as we were in District Twelve. They had their class systems as well, and they had their expectations of their citizens, same as we did. It's easy to forget that the people in the career districts are human, too, even though their tributes are generally known for loving the Games and those districts support the Capitol and what they do. But not all of them are like that - just like how not all merchants hate Seam folk.
The dress I was expected to wear was large, white and extravagantly Capitol. It had been voted on by the Capitol citizens and that would be the dress that I was expected to wear. It made me glad that Peeta and I had legally married on our own back at home, in a simple dress with me wrapped in my family's tartan and only our closest friends and family present. This dress was meant to hide my bump, as it wasn't the style for a bride to be six months pregnant. Glitter and Johanna were both dressed in silver dresses wearing glittery Capitol makeup, same as me. As I looked at my reflection, all I wanted in the world was for Peeta to take me into his arms and assure me that everything was going to be okay, but he wasn't there.
Instead, I was joined by Cinna, who had been busy in the Capitol when the Games weren't going on. "You look beautiful," he told me, and I gave him a nervous smile. "You ready, girl on fire?"
"As ready as I can be," I told him. He pulled me in for a tight embrace, one that I found comfort in, before leading me out of the suite and down to the cars that were waiting for me to take me and my bridesmaids to the President's Mansion, where the wedding would take place. This was it - this night would tell me if we kept up our end of the bargain for Snow.
PEETA POV
I can't go into much detail about the wedding because frankly, I don't remember much, and compared to my real wedding to Katniss, this one didn't matter. All I knew was my 'groomsmen', whatever that was, were Finnick Odair, Rodney Fuller (the most recent male victor other than myself) and Haymitch, they were dressed in silver suits while I was dressed in white, and despite the Capitol makeover that she had been given, Katniss still looked like the most beautiful woman in the world. When she walked to me down the aisle, I couldn't help but smile at her as she placed her small hands in mine, and I hardly listened to the officiate as he spoke and had us repeat our vows. I repeated the vows, of course, and so did Katniss, and before I knew it, I was told to kiss my bride, and I did. I kissed that woman to the best of my abilities, but not as passionate as I would have liked - that would be saved for later.
There was a big party after, and Katniss and I were forced to mingle with and dance with all kinds of Capitolite people. Eventually, we got to dance with each other, and I saw her glance over my shoulder, her eyes wide and glassed over, and I turned my head to see what she was looking at. It was President Snow, on his balcony, watching over the party. He was sneering at us, and Katniss and I both silently asked him with our eyes if what we'd done had been enough. Slowly, he nodded his head, and then he tapped his wristwatch. Katniss happily pulled me into a tight hug and I returned it equally as tight, burying my lips into her hair.
"We did it, honey. Our baby is going to be safe," I whispered to her, kissing the side of her face. She was fighting off tears of joy as she held me, not wanting to ruin the white of my suit.
"I'm so glad," she told me, and I knew that she meant just that - glad. Glad that we'd pacified the districts, but not happy. Not in the slightest bit.
As it got later, I noticed Katniss seeming a bit more reclusive, so I snagged Effie's arm and pulled her aside. "I think Katniss is tired, I'm gonna take her back," I told her.
"But there are still so many people you both have to meet! This party isn't just to celebrate your wedding, dear boy, it is to celebrate your victory!" Effie exclaimed.
"Effie, she's pregnant," I reminded her. "I'm taking her back." Effie let out a frustrated huff.
"Well, you can certainly be kinder about it! Very well, I'll arrange it," she replied.
"Thank you. Really, Effie, thank you, for everything," I told her, giving her a smile, and then I sought out Katniss, who was standing off to the side looking a little pale. "Hey, are you okay?"
"I'll be fine. I probably just ate a bit too much," she replied. "Are we leaving soon?"
"Effie's arranging a car so we should be out of here within ten minutes," I told my wife, whom I've now married twice. She wrapped her arms around my neck and drew my lips in for a kiss.
"Perfect. That gives us more time for a wee bit of fun tonight." I snorted just a little. "What? Any excuse to get Peeta Mellark into bed, I'll take."
"You don't need an excuse for that and you know it, Mrs. Mellark," I reminded her, kissing her nose. Soon, there was a car to take us back to Victors' Hotel, where we would be staying on the top floor - the Victors' Suite. We would also get to stay here during the next Games, but I tried hard not to think about that. I helped her get out of that hideous Capitol dress - I know Katniss liked it because Cinna, her stylist, made it, but it just wasn't her, no matter what she said - and she stood before me in just a slip. She thanked me for my help by kissing me, and then suddenly doubled over as if she had a stomach cramp. "Katniss? Katniss, what's wrong?" I asked her.
"I don't feel so good, Peeta..." she muttered, and then she took off towards the bathroom, emptying the contents of her stomach into the toilet.
"Katniss!" I exclaimed, running after her and kneeling down beside her to rub her back. "You're okay, honey, you're okay... Do I have to call for help?" She shook her head.
"No... I'll be fine," she said, and then she vomited again. She was not fine, not after continuously throwing up for half an hour, so I summoned an avox to call for help. My poor Katniss was so sick, she had to go to the hospital, and until they ruled out some kind of contagious disease, they wouldn't let me see her, so I spent my wedding night alone and pacing the room, unable to sleep.
The next morning, after I'd gone to shower, I came out and there was a white card on the bedside table with a name on it that I didn't know. Serous Magnificent, 4:00PM - who the hell could that be? As I stood there questioning the card, there was a knock at the door and Haymitch entered, his bloodshot eyes looking somber. "The President wants to see you," he told me, his voice laced with sadness.
"What for?" I asked, now nervous, but Haymitch shrugged.
"No idea, but he's demandin' your presence now. There's a car waitin' for you downstairs," Haymitch replied. As I passed him on my way out, he patted my shoulder and gave it a squeeze, and I tried not to think too much of it.
When I arrived at the Presidents' Mansion, I was escorted down the lavishly extravagant halls to a set of large oak doors, then led inside. President Snow was sitting at his desk, hands clasped and patiently waiting for me. My eyes must have been wide, and Snow waved off the peacekeepers and motioned for me to sit. "Have a seat, Mr. Mellark," he told me, and I did as I was told.
"G-good morning, President Snow. To what do I owe the pleasure?" I said, trying my best to not show him that I was afraid, but I knew he could see right through me. "He smells fear, I swear of it," Katniss had once said, and suddenly, I longed for her to be by my side.
"I'm disappointed in you and Miss Everdeen, Mr. Mellark. Surely, Miss Everdeen - excuse me, Mrs. Mellark, now - told you about our agreement?" Snow asked me, and I swallowed nervously and nodded.
"Yes, sir. Forgive me but we thought we did well in pacifying the districts. There was no sign of discontent," I replied.
"Oh, you and Mrs. Mellark certainly did your jobs in pacifying the districts. Now everyone believes that the romance the pair of you fabricated in the arena was genuine, with no malicious intent."
"There never was a malicious intent. Katniss and I really are in love, and we weren't trying to start a rebellion in the arena." Snow held up a hand to stop me.
"I believe you, Mr. Mellark, however, there are certain behaviours that you and Mrs. Mellark are expected to uphold. You and Mrs. Mellark left the party early last night."
"She wasn't feeling well. President Snow, she's six months pregnant. She tires out very easily."
"And though you were not aware, there were many buyers who purchased the chance to witness the wedding night between the two star-crossed lovers, and they were sorely disappointed when it did not happen."
"...what? What are you..." People bought the viewing privilege of our wedding night? And we didn't even know about it? I knew I couldn't be angry about that, not to Snow and not to anyone who might rat me out to him, so I pressed on. "President Snow, she was sick... She had to go to the hospital and everything! I wasn't going to force her to do anything when she felt so unwell!"
"Then you and I both have a problem, Mr. Mellark. I have ten buyers who paid good money to witness the wedding night of Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark, and they did not get what they paid for. You also have Mrs. Mellark's agreement with me to protect, so I propose a... suggestion... of what you can do, otherwise the agreement is off, and your children will most certainly be reaped the year they are eligible." My stomach dropped and my heart rate quickened. After all we'd done to protect our children, all of it was about to be flushed away all because of one thing that was out of our control.
"Please... Please, President Snow, I'll do anything. Please don't cancel the agreement," I begged him.
"Anything, you say?"
"Yes, anything! I'll do anything!"
"Then you will satisfy these ten buyers, Mr. Mellark. Tell me, have you become acquainted with Mr. Odair? He's very sought after here in the Capitol, and you are, as well. But you are off limits, due to your marriage to Miss Everdeen, hence why your wedding night was so profitable." I felt sick to my stomach - I hoped against hope that he wasn't about to suggest that Katniss and I perform as escorts for the people who paid to watch our wedding night. "In order to save mine and Mrs. Mellark's agreement, you must meet with these ten buyers, over a period of ten days. Give them a show, Mr. Mellark. Make sure they get what they paid for."
"Katniss doesn't have to participate?"
"Mrs. Mellark will be sent back to District Twelve as soon as she is able. If you will check the card that you found on your bedside table this morning, you will find the name of your first buyer. Do not disappoint, Mr. Mellark." With that said, I was dismissed, the peacekeepers coming in to fetch me and bring me back to Victors' Hotel. God, I felt sick, but if this was what I had to do to save Katniss and our children, well... then so be it.
HAYMITCH POV
I took a long swig from my flask, trying hard to get the bitter taste of what I knew that poor boy was gonna have to do out of my mouth. Poor kid... It wasn't the girl's fault she got sick, but I knew Snow had no mercy. He was pissed he couldn't sell either the boy or the girl to people in the Capitol so he saw an opportunity and he snatched it up. He knew the boy loved the girl so much, he'd agree to anything to protect her. God, that girl was so lucky to have that boy...
I was sitting in the lounge, waiting for any news of either of my two kids - they're my kids now, I guess. I never wanted kids, but these two sort of became my unofficial kids as soon as they came out of the Games alive. I heard a sound, and when I looked up, I saw the boy and that ratchet ass Serous Magnificent, with his stupid mint green hair and lavender-tinted skin, grope that poor boy. "Thanks for a great night," said that purple idiot, and he finally left. The boy looked at me, all the innocence gone from his sky blue eyes, and I gestured for him to come on over, which he did. I stood and sat him down, then handed him my flask, which he took a big swig of, trying not to let the tears that were building up in his big blue eyes fall.
"She can never know about this," he said quietly, not looking up at me, and I nodded. What happened to this boy was something that would break that girl, and it was better if she didn't know. These poor kids had so much fight in them when I first met 'em on the train six months before, but now, they were both empty shells of the people they used to be. Snow had wanted to suppress the flames that had once burned inside both of them, and he succeeded. Their fires were out, and with it went any hope of a rebellion.
PEETA POV
It was day three in the Capitol - three suitors down, seven more to go. I was told that I wouldn't get any more after that because I was considered 'off limits' thanks to my marriage, but I still had to bed these ten fuckers who paid to watch Katniss and I make love on our wedding night. I did it for Katniss and I did it for our child. Katniss could never know. She'd be so angry and so distraught that it was better if she never found out, and I would make sure she didn't.
Katniss was being discharged from the hospital today and I was going to pick her up from the hospital and take her to the train station, where she'd be sent home. Meanwhile, I had to stay in the Capitol for another week. I had to think of something to tell her, anything. Maybe... something to do with art supplies, yes. I was filming a commercial for art supplies and I had to stay in the Capitol for another week, but Katniss had to go home because technically, victors weren't allowed in the Capitol unless they were given special permission, and Katniss's permission had ended and she had to go home. That should work. She'd have no reason to not believe me. When I got to the hospital, I made my way to her room, where she was sitting up being checked by a nurse. She met my eyes and smiled at me, reaching out a hand for me to take, which I did.
"Good morning, beautiful," I said, kissing her forehead while the nurse checked her blood pressure. "How're you feeling?"
"Much better. They diagnosed me with hyperemesis gravidarum," she told me, and she giggled at the confused expression on my face. "It means severe morning sickness, love."
"Ah... That's terrible! You'll have to rest when you get home, I'll call ahead to your mother to make sure you're in bed as soon as you get home," I told her, and it was her turn to look confused.
"Are you not coming with me?" she asked me, and I could see the gentle flash of fear in her eyes, but I gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. I could not give myself away.
"They want me to film a commercial for art supplies. I'll just be here another week and then I'll come back home and never leave your side again," I told her, giving her a smile.
"I don't like that," she told me, her other hand now resting protectively on her belly.
"Don't worry, honey, it'll be okay. Haymitch is gonna stay here with me, make sure things run smoothly. Effie's gonna escort you back. It's gonna be okay, I promise. I'll be home before you know it." The nurse took that moment to finish up her work and leave the two of us alone, and Katniss reached up with both of her arms to pull me into an embrace.
"I just can't shake the feeling that something's wrong. Peeta, is there something you're not telling me?"
"You know I'd tell you if there was," I assured her, pressing a kiss to her cheek. I then pulled back from the embrace and smiled at her. "It's just a commercial. Nothing to be scared of."
"I just don't like the idea of you here by yourself."
"I'll have Haymitch."
"Without me."
"You need to rest, and you and I both know that you can only do that at home." She let out a sigh, looking away from me, and I kissed her forehead. "It'll only be a week and then I'll be home."
"A week too long."
"I know..."
"And it takes two days to travel, Peeta. That means you'll be home in nine days, not seven!"
"And I'll be counting down each of those days until I'll be home and in your arms again. Honey, I promise you there's nothing to worry about." She wasn't reassured, she knew me too well, but I refused to tell her the truth about what was happening. I went with her to the train station and gave her a long and passionate kiss just before she boarded the train and waved her off as it pulled out of the station, and I knew that the next nine days were going to be absolutely unbearable.
But I had to do it, for her and our child.
EPSILON POV
I sat at a round table with many other people. When in this room, we called each other by Greek alphabet code names. Alpha sat and watched the screen, watching as Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark gave a speech about how they were 'madly in love' and 'eternally grateful to the Capitol for allowing them both to live'. Alpha believed it was all a ruse, that they were forced to keep it up to prevent a rebellion.
"We were relying on her to speak. She didn't say a word. This is not the girl you promised me, Beta," Alpha said to Beta, who sat beside her.
"I'm telling you, that's the girl!" Beta exclaimed. "She's probably scared out of her mind right now. She's got people to protect, you know."
"And she's pregnant. I'm sure Snow threatened the baby," I chimed in, and both Alpha and Beta looked at me.
"Is that so, Epsilon?" Alpha asked me.
"Mothers will do anything to protect their children when they're desperate," I told her.
"She looks broken, Alpha. Both of them do, just look at them," said Gamma. "Those aren't the eyes of someone with a fire left in them to fight."
"Then we find another," said Alpha.
"She can do it," said Zeta, and he and I shared a glance.
"We both know that she can," I chimed in. "She needs a push. Target Peeta Mellark, he's the only one she'll listen to."
"But she's stubborn," Zeta continued. "Things might progress a little bit slower now, we weren't expecting her to be pregnant, but if she's anything like Mum, that fire will never be put out. You just have to fan the embers."
"So what do you suggest we do then, Zeta?" asked Delta, leaning forward over the table, and Zeta and I both looked at her.
"Target Peeta Mellark, just like what Epsilon said," Zeta replied.
"Get in touch with Kappa and Theta, then, and it wouldn't hurt to reach out to Iota, either," Alpha said, and she stood. "I don't want things to progress slowly. I don't want to wait, but I trust your judgement, Zeta and Epsilon. You've given me no reason to doubt you." She nodded to us both, and then she left the room. Zeta and I exchanged a glance - this wasn't going to be easy, but we both had faith in Katniss Everdeen.
A/N: Who is Epsilon, and why do they have so much faith in Katniss? Will Katniss ever find out about the sacrifice that Peeta made for her and their baby?
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