Chapter 14: Pogrom

I stand in my best dress by the fireplace in the living quarters of the mayoral residence, watching my twin sister and her new husband share a bit of Toasted bread and exchange their vows. I personally think it was a hurried engagement, but Kaydilyn and Merle have always complemented each other quite well. They may be a bit young also, to be married at 16, but Merle is well established, his career mapped out before him. I trust that my sister will be well taken care of.

With a beaming smile, Kaydilyn steps close to Merle and the pair embrace and kiss, eliciting cheers. Also smiling radiantly, I clap, even as I try not to become uneasy over where I am.

The living quarters of the mayoral residence were where I was held after first being Reaped almost six months ago. Where I thought I was saying goodbye to my loved ones forever. To her credit, Kaydilyn had been mortified when I gave her a gentle reminder, and even went so far as to try and change the venue. I had told her and Merle not to trouble themselves. Besides, Merle's father, the Mayor, would be officiating; it is only proper that they be wed here, inside the Justice Building. My sister and new brother-in-law will be living here, with Norman Undersee, for the time being.

Thank the State that the reception at least allows us a change of scene. Merle and Kaydilyn had expressly requested this for my sake, as a sort of compromise – besides, the after-party will be longer than the actual ceremony. It's an open-air event, right in the Square, and I can hardly wait for Mayor Norman Undersee to give the benediction so I can get out of this godforsaken room.

I must be giving my distress away a little too clearly on my face, for I feel a strong arm drape over my shoulder.

"Hey." I breathe in Danny's warmth as he nudges me. "You OK?" He's clearly also remembering what we were doing the last time we were in here.

Turning my head to gaze up into his handsome, sweet face, I smile weakly. "Yeah. I'm fine. Just a little… stuffy in here." I fan myself a little. Danny smiles softly, although I can tell he doesn't believe me. He nods towards something at the opposite side of the ceremony hall. "Can't imagine how he made it onto the guest list."

I follow his gaze. Over by a small punch table, Belle Foley is chatting quietly with Glen Everdeen. I remember Kaydilyn saying something about not wanting to invite him, but Merle overruled her. Merle apparently quite likes the man, which I have to respect him for: Glen is the only Seamer in attendance.

Nursing a small tumbler of punch, my best friend laughs musically at something Glen says. I lean into Danny's side a little bit, my turn to comfort him.

"Everything…. OK?"

Danny sighs. "I don't know anymore. You haven't been around for a while." He smiles wanly. "I fear that I'm losing her to him."

I gawk, letting out a shaky little laugh. "Glen Everdeen?" I can't quite believe that. Belle and Glen only met in the summer, during my Games. I'm ready to tease Danny about his paranoia, but one look at his heartbroken and clearly jealous face as he keeps Belle and Glen in his sights, and I know it won't help.

Mayor Undersee has by now given the benediction, and the entire congregation streams out the oaken double doors of the Justice Building into the Square. Tents have been erected to house tables upon tables of food and good wine. Capitol wine – I had ordered some from the city using part of my Victors' pension, as my wedding present to Merle and my sister.

Danny is still tracking Belle with his eyes, looking crestfallen. I smile, and hold out my arms to him. "Come on. Dance with me."

He blinks, taken aback but grateful too, and sweeps me into his arms. Smiling at him gently, we lead off with a lively waltz, light on our feet, as Eli Cartwright strikes up a tune on his fiddle. Danny is a wonderful dancer, spinning me delicately, and I soon find myself laughing radiantly, forgetting my own troubles and cares.

But his mind still seems to be elsewhere, as every now and again, he can pick out Belle in the crowd like a heat-seeking missile. She is dancing with Glen. Reaching up a hand, I tenderly cup his face, turning it back to mine.

"Don't worry about it," I croon. "Focus on me… and not stepping on my feet." He gasps out a surprised laugh and dips me with no warning in retaliation, eliciting from me a startled and happy squeal. The trouble still lingers in his deep blue eyes, and for one mad second, I consider kissing him as an old joke, get him to loosen up when –

There is a sudden crash over by the chocolate fountain and sweets table, as several Peacekeeper officers overturn the spread my father and mother spent hours preparing, in addition to being the parents of the bride. Frowning, biting my lip, I hardly register Danny lifting me out of the dip as we watch Cray and a contingency of his men storm the reception hall like it's some kind of battlefield. Gasps of shock and then screams go up as several Peacekeepers shove guests out of the way. Just off my shoulder, an old woman makes a strange crossing gesture over her chest and utters a word in one of the old, forbidden languages:

"Pogrom."

Danny is wincing in both fear and barely repressed outrage. He squeezes my hands. "Stay here." I nod wordlessly, even as I can also feel myself burning up with anger. This is my punishment – for killing the deceased Head Peacekeeper all those months ago. Maybe even for coming home alive from the arena. I should have foreseen something like this! I should have brought my naginata with me, and hidden it in my garter, just in case I had to use it.

As I watch in growing horror, I see Danny approach one of Cray's men. "Hey, Officer! What is the meaning of this?!"

Danny's tone might be a little tight, but he makes no move to attack. It doesn't matter – the officer answers him by punching Danny full in the face. My dear friend gives a cry and staggers back into the sandwiches cart.

I gasp. "Danny!" Lifting up my skirts, I rush to his side, trying to help him get up. All around us, the yells and grunts pitch higher and louder, and I follow the sound: something is happening over by the DJ booth. I spot Belle getting roughly shoved into the stereo system, the officer who is pushing her laughing. Then –

He's on the ground, and Glen Everdeen is wailing his fist into the Peacekeeper's face like it's a piston. Cray, the Head Peacekeeper, is alerted to the disturbance and he dashes over, bringing the butt of his gun down hard on Glen's skull. I gasp again as Glen crumples, Cray kicking his body so that the brave Seam man rolls off. I remember my training with Proximo: a blow to the back of the head with a blunt object, even when applied without maximum force, can knock someone unconscious. Maybe even fracture their skull.

"GLEN!" Belle's cry is stricken as she races to her…. friend's side, deliberately getting in Cray's way. The Head Peacekeeper growls and swivels away, his fierce stare locking onto me. I stare him down, and even find the chutzpa to pantomime swiping at the air with an invisible naginata. The message is clear: You may threaten my family and friends, but I'm the Victor of the 50th Annual Hunger Games. You're just the despot of a backwater district.

To my satisfaction, Cray is the one who blinks first. I think I catch a little bit of fear in his eyes, for he calls off the little…. pogrom (was that the word?) immediately thereafter. By this time, though, the reception has been pretty much ruined. Daddy, Norman Undersee and Eli Cartwright set about righting the tables and cleaning spilled food.

I support Danny as I help him to his feet. Aside from his right eye, which he is covering with a massive paw of a hand, he appears no worse for wear. I still ask him anyway, "Can you walk?" Perhaps he sprained something in his fall.

He nods gamely, and we trudge over towards Belle, who is doing her best to keep the head of an unconscious Glen elevated. To my ever-growing intrigue, my best friend looks to be increasingly closer to hysterics.

"I can't carry him!" she warbles. "He's too heavy!"

"Is he alive?" Danny asks, and I think only I detect a strange kind of hopefulness in his voice. I fight the urge to glower at him.

Merle and Kaydilyn have now joined us. "Calm down now, Belle. Let me… here, Mellark, help me!"

Danny starts to go forward at Merle's request, but I shake my head. "We have to make sure you haven't broken anything besides yours and my feet." Thankfully, he gets the joke, laughing.

Kaydilyn fills in for Danny, and between the three of them, she, her new husband and Belle manage to get the handsome Seam man onto his feet.

"Where can we take him?" Merle asks.

"My shop. I have the key," Belle rasps. And they hobble away. Danny and I follow a short distance behind, and when I feel my friend's hand brush my own, I don't hesitate to lace my fingers through his.

Belle unlocks her parents' shop and we all steal inside. I finally let go of Danny so he can help Merle manipulate Glen into a casket's hoist and heave him onto the front counter that Belle has rapidly cleared away.

"Kaydilyn, the pillow over by the loveseat, quick! We have to keep his head comfortable!" Belle orders. Here is where my best friend is in her element. I know she will make a remarkable Healer one day.

"Does he have a concussion?" Merle asks.

"We won't know for sure until…. he wakes up," Belle's voice falters for a moment, and she wipes at her eyes. My brow furrows; even Merle and Kaydilyn look at each other. "Merle, turn his skull to the left for me – gently! I have to look at the wound."

Merle obeys, and I get a clear look at the back of Glen's head. His head doesn't appear to be cracked open – I flash back to at least one instance while re-watching my Games when a tribute's head was burst like a melon by one of the Careers. I must make a disconcerted noise for I feel Danny's arms around me again, a question in his eyes. I nod grimly, telling him I'm fine.

From where she's been examining him, Belle comes to a similar diagnosis. "No cracks or openings in the skull. And I'm fairly certain there's been no internal bleeding – we would know if there was, even without having access to Capitol scanners."

"Coma?" Danny manages.

Belle shakes her head. "Unless something really weird happens and he takes a turn, I doubt it. He might come to feeling a little dazed, maybe not even remember the fight."

She flits about for approximately ten more minutes, stopping between every few tasks to glance at Glen's cadaver form anxiously. Finally, there is a groan as the strong Seam man begins to stir.

Belle is at his side as if by magic, brushing the chestnut bangs out of his eyes.

"B-elle….." Glen grunts.

She smiles wetly at him, tamping down a sob. "Ssssh…" she rests a finger on his lips. "You just lie still and stay quiet."

Merle hovers hesitantly over by the first row of shelves. "Is there anything else we can do?" Kaydilyn nods vigorously, her face still concerned; I can't help but be proud of her, considering she's never liked Glen very much, for reasons unexplained.

Belle shakes her head. "Go home, Merle. You and Kaydie need to have some kind of wedding night."

This cues Glen into remembering how he got here in the first place. "Hey, man," he tries lifting his head in the direction of Merle's voice. "Many happy returns."

Merle just chuckles with fondness. "Well, you're just a little devil, aren't you? Devil in a miner's helmet."

Glen smirks good-naturedly. "Shame it fell apart at the end. Cray's such a dick. I was warming up to give you my wedding present."

Kaydilyn actually giggles. "Warming up? Whatever for?"

And despite the fact that he might actually be concussed, Glen Everdeen opens his mouth and begins to sing:

"Did you ever see a lassie, a lassie, a lassie, did you ever see a lassie go this way and that? Go this way and that way, go this way and that way. Did you ever see a lassie go this way and that?"

I recognize the tune – it's a silly children's ditty. But I've never heard it sung quite like this. Glen's voice is close to operatic. In all my life, I've never heard a sound so beautiful, except for maybe Haymitch's laugh.

Belle, meanwhile, has become close to catatonic. She is absolutely entranced by Glen's beautiful music. When he finishes, Glen smiles sheepishly. "I had a better one in mind, but I forgot all the words."

Merle chuckles, though he seems to be covering for a sob. There are actual tears in Kaydilyn's eyes. And Belle is still staring at Glen with sheer wonder. Tearing her gaze away, she catches sight of the black eye swelling up close to half of Danny's face, and starts, seeming to remember for the first time that he is there.

"By the State! Maysie, darling, can you help him with that? Here are some bandages and a cool cloth."

She doesn't voice it, but I can tell she needs to commandeer most of the space to heal Glen. Taking the supplies, I nod and slip a hand into Danny's.

"Why don't we get you cleaned up at the bakery? It's just across the street."

He nods, though he's still staring at Glen and Belle with an absolutely shattered expression. It's almost cruel how neither of them appears to notice. I've got to get him out of here. Letting Danny lean on me, we trudge across the street to his home. But when we get to the front door, it doesn't give way. Danny curses.

"Locked! And Dad has the key."

"Do you think they'll be back anytime soon? We can't stay out here – it's freezing!" The wintry air nips at my bare arms, and I shiver; I should have listened to Mama when she told me to bring a wrap for the reception.

Danny shrugs. "They're probably still helping Mayor Undersee clean up."

I quickly make a decision. "Come on," I tug at his arm. "We'll go to my place."

And even though it's a longer walk across Town, the whole of the Seam and up the hill, the biting cold behooves Danny and I to make great time back to my mansion in the Village. Procuring the key that Norman Undersee presented to me upon my arrival home, I let us both in.

Danny's jaw drops at the sheer expanse of my foyer. "Wow," he breathes. He notes the pile of suitcases stacked high just off the entrance hall. "This all for the Victory Tour?"

"Between all the planning for the wedding, I thought I'd pack ahead," I prattle to him, crossing into my Capitol-style kitchen to fetch the water pitcher from the fridge. "I leave on the train the day after tomorrow."

"Shame you'll miss the Winter Festival, though," Danny's voice floats over to me as I cross back, my dress swishing at my ankles, and direct him into the sitting room, onto the sofa. "Let's just hope the Peacekeepers don't crash that party, too."

I smile sadly. "It's my fault Kaydie and Merle's reception was ruined," I admit. "They can't arrest me for murdering the Head Peacekeeper who executed the Abernathys; I'm a Victor. So they had to get back at me some other way. And I wouldn't be surprised if it's my fault when they go after the Callans and the Berryhills…."

"NO!" Danny's voice, sharp and forceful, makes me sit back, blinking. I feel him grasp my shoulders. "Don't ever say it's your fault, Maysilee." The interior lighting highlights how he is blinking back tears, and his next words are strangled as he gets out, "Do you hear me?"

I nod slowly, feeling quite grateful that he is here. "Would…. Would you like something to drink?"

Danny's smirk is bitter. "Got anything strong?"

I smile weakly. "Other than water, all I've got is left-over Capitol wine. I have a date with the greengrocer tomorrow."

"A date, huh?" Danny waggles his eyebrows.

"Shut up." I swat at him, oddly flushing pink. "You know what I mean." The prudent side of me is saying this is a really bad idea, but I double back to the fridge anyway, and break out the wine. I pour two flutes and sit daintily beside my friend, passing him one of the champagne glasses. "Now: let's take a look at that eye, shall we?"

Danny leaves the right side of his face open to me, and I hiss through my clenched underbite when it catches the light. A gash over his right eyebrow has crusted over with dried blood. "Sweet Panem, what a state!" Dabbing some water onto the cloth Belle gave me, I start by wiping away the encrusted blood. Danny hisses in pain, and I pause.

"I'm OK, I'm OK. Keep going."

I nod, moving the cloth with tender, smooth strokes. Every couple of minutes, we pause to sip from our flutes of wine. Before long, I am dangerously tipsy, and Danny is very, very drunk.

"You know," he half-giggles as I continue wiping away the last of the blood, absently listening. "I should have known that she was falling in love with that Everdeen. He's got everything I haven't got!"

"That's not true," I chide gently. "Two years together is not nothing; Belle wouldn't just throw that away because Glen has a beautiful voice."

Danny chuckles bitterly. "Have you ever heard the story of The Little Mermaid?"

I blink, befuddled. "The what?"

"Haymitch told it to me once. I don't know where it's from, and it certainly sounded like something that wouldn't be on the Capitol's approved reading list. Anywho, there's this prince, see, and a mermaid rescues him from drowning. He wakes up all waterlogged to her singing to him, and BAM! – falls in love instantly. Then, this evil sea witchy…" (OK, he is definitely drunk, if he's using a word like witchy. Then again, I'm pretty sure I'm drunk too, so I really can't judge) "…. who gave her a pair of legs, steals the mermaid's voice and starts singing so that the prince falls in love with her. And he almost dumps the mermaid for that chick!"

I chuckle, smoothing back the golden bangs from his forehead. "How does it end?"

"They all die. Don't ask me how, I don't really remember."

I snort. "Charming."

He cocks his head, allowing me to really dab at the black eye, hoping that the water will slow the swelling. "We're not so different, you and I, Maysie," he murmurs. "We both lost someone we love to someone else. Or maybe…. someone else got to our love first, I don't know."

I swallow a lump in my throat, briefly turning away to down the last of my champagne flute – almost a third of the glass. The alcohol rushes to my brain and my vision starts to swim. By the light of the fire going in the hearth, I complete my work on Haymitch's… no, not Haymitch, Danny. But wait… is it Danny?

I draw away from my friend, my big blue eyes sparkling, my lips slightly parted. Danny or whoever this is seems to transmogrify from Haymitch to Danny and back again. The man across from me seems to be having just as hard a time focusing on me too.

A giant paw of a hand brushes the long golden tresses away from my face, and I feel my heart start to hammer in my ribcage.

"Belle…." The voice of this man is husky.

I gulp. "Haymitch."

And then his lips are on mine, and my mouth is opening for him. He sucks my tongue into his mouth and twines it about his own. I've never been kissed like this – hard, desperate and sloppy yet cute – and my mouth is worked open further in a hot, messy rhythm. I take Haymitch's bottom lip in between my teeth and nibble, causing him to moan. Then he's pushing me down into the couch cushions and brazenly straddling me.

"Mmm…. Wait – Hmmm…. Wait," I manage to get out around his insistent lips. "Not here. I….. oooh….." I tilt my neck to grant him better access as he dive-bombs his lips into my collarbone. "Bed – bedroom," I pant.

He sweeps me off my feet as if I weigh nothing and carries me grandly towards the staircase. I'm barely able to provide him with coherent instructions with how frantically we're kissing. My azure eyes have drooped closed, the lashes there fluttering.

He throws me down onto the bed, and I spread my legs for him. As soon as he crawls between them, I clamp both of my powerful thighs around his middle and we begin to rock insistently.

"Uhhh….. Ugggh….. Huhhh…. Haymitch….." My breathing has become labored, shallow, and I feel large fingers roll back the hem of my dress, pushing my skirts up around my hips. Those same talented hands fumble for my panties, and I move to help him.

When he pushes into me, I groan with the impact. Feel the beauty of being filled and my head lolls back into the pillow. My arms loop about his neck, clutching at the slick ripples of his shoulder blades as he undulates above me, groaning, grunting. I cant my hips back into his in perfect time; the tiny cries being torn from my lips are like nothing I've ever heard.

"Huhhhh….. Guhhhh….. Ohhhhhh….. Ahhhh….. Mi-Mitchy, darling, I'm gonna cum…. Yes….. yes….."

My cunt clinches.

"HAYMITCH!" I scream for the rafters as I explode in a glorious orgasm.

"Fuck, Belle!" My lover above me slams into me weakly one more time, again, before he cums hard deep inside me. With a final grunt, he collapses on top of my thin frame and lies still.

I fall asleep that night stroking his golden hair, vaguely wondering why Haymitch would call Belle Foley's name, and not Digger's, while in heat with me.

I wake up the next morning with a raging hangover and with Danny Mellark lying half-naked in my bed.

With the clarity of the morning, and the night's events rushing back to me - getting drunk, tending to his wound, kissing and making love – I steal, mortified, from the bed we shared and into my bathroom, where I hide like a coward until I hear Danny waking up, fishing for his clothes. I don't emerge until I hear the front door to my mansion slam.

I fix myself a meager breakfast with the last egg in my fridge, unable to register the taste of it fried on toast. I can't believe I got drunk and slept with my dear friend. It would be worse if Danny was still with Belle, which I'm still not entirely sure of. It's bad enough that he and I kissed – twice – around the time of the Reaping.

I finally shower and dress, my thoughts a whirlpool as I try to sort out how I felt about last night. I surprise myself when I come to the conclusion that I…. liked it. But is that just because I liked what the man who I thought was Haymitch was doing to me? Was the pleasure I received only in my imagination because my mind tricked me into thinking I was making love to someone else?

Still, I have to concede, Danny might be no Haymitch Abernathy, but the baker's son is a hella good kisser.

Brutus calls me with last minute details about the Tour kicking off tomorrow. He'll be taking the red-eye train from Two and arriving first thing in the morning. Dolly and my prep team have reportedly already left an hour or so ago, and will arrive by mid-afternoon tomorrow. I am brief when speaking to my mentor, hanging up quickly before I head down into Town to stock up with food from the greengrocer. It should keep well enough in the fridge while I'm away, and I check the labels of my purchases to ensure the expiration dates are spaced out far enough.

I am just ringing up at the register when I feel a warm hand clasp mine. I turn, startled, only to find that it's Danny as he drags me into a deserted aisle.

"Danny! What on earth?... What are you doing here?"

He looks to be in rough shape from the drinking last night, but clearheaded enough to tell me, "I needed to talk to you before you leave."

I shake my head, absolutely not wanting to have this conversation, although he's right, we do have to clear the air at some point. "Danny, it's fine. You were wonderful, but I have to apologize for both our sakes – we both had too much to drink…."

"Can I see you again?" Danny blurts out. I blink, thrown by his eagerness. "When you get back from the Capitol, can I see you again?"

I stare at him, shaking my head, blinking back tears. "Danny, please don't ask that of me," I whimper, my heart breaking as I realize how much I care for my dear friend. "Are we really going to do this? Be each other's rebounds? Danny, it was one night!"

"And it was amazing," Danny tells me. I turn fuchsia at the praise, even as I rapidly shake my head again.

"It won't do you any good to get involved with me. If you do, we –"

His lips descend on mine, crushing them to his. My brain rapidly switches off, and I feel myself swoon against him with a moan, closing my eyes and deepening the kiss. Kissing him back.

When he finally draws away, I am staring at him, awestruck – both at his nerve, and at myself for enjoying it.

"I had to do that, just once and have it mean something real," Danny murmurs. Dipping his head, he kisses me again, softer this time, and I hold it.

"Good luck on the Tour. I'll see you soon…. I love you," he whispers against me, his breath tickling my mouth.

And leaving me in that supermarket aisle, touching a hand to my kissed lips in wonder, he strides out the door, the bell tinkling in his wake.