Finding comfort in the baker's son

by DrWandel

More than seven years prior to the 74th Hunger Games, Peeta's oldest brother Rye meets Primrose and her family. Everlark is going to happen in the background, but the main story is about Rye and Prim. Starts close to canon, but rebellion will be somewhat different. The story, including the games, is entirely told from Rye's point of view.

34. Chapter 34 - Quarter Quell announcement

Chapter 34: Quarter Quell announcement

[Winter/Spring after 74th Hunger Games]

Christmas was close once more, and the bakery was operated overtime to make sure that we got enough of the Christmas cookies ready in time for the holidays. Philip, the apprentice, helped a lot, and Primrose also made herself useful from time to time, after school and homework, and specifically during the December weekends.

Prim told me that Gale visited Katniss secretly on a more regular basis. She was of course not supposed to know, but Prim probably knew and observed much more than her sister was aware of. Gale seemed to talk to Katniss a lot at the front door of her house, but whispered most of the time so that Prim could not understand what they were saying. Prim asked me when we had time to talk:

"I do not get it, Rye. If Katniss really prefers Gale over Peeta, why did she get engaged to Peeta? How does that make sense?"

"First of all, Prim, we do not know if this is about love. Maybe they are having some secret, like about something outside of the fence, and they need to discuss it. Second, we do not know if that engagement was fully voluntary. Do you recall Katniss hinting earlier about President Snow insisting that the love story between Katniss and Peeta being played out to the full extent? Maybe he considers that important to entertain the Capitol citizens, and maybe he dictates how this is to be done. Katniss and Peeta may not necessarily agree."

"True, Rye," my girlfriend admitted, "I saw my sister's face on the screen when the engagement was announced, and she did not look like a happy bride. She tried to appear smiling, but I could clearly see that it was a forced smile and not a real one. But, can they not just ignore the President? He is there and we are here, so what can he do?"

I was not sure if I should mention that, but I did: "Prim, do you know anything about Haymitch' family?"

"He does not have any family at all."

"Sure, but he used to have some. Did they teach you at school about the time when he was in the Games?"

"Yes, we needed to learn that – he won the 50th Hunger Games, the second quarter quell."

"Indeed, and although the books are not very specific on that, he must have done something to displease the President. A few weeks after he had won, his mother, brother, and girlfriend were suddenly all found dead."

"What?"

"Quite true; Dad told me. The cause of death was not fully clear for all of them, but they all died in the same night in different locations in our district. The message was clear – the President had not liked at all whatever he, Haymitch, had done, and he got punished."

"But, this is..."

My girlfriend looked shocked and was at a loss for words, which was quite a rare situation.

Despite all of the worries, we celebrated the Christmas holidays and tried to be happy. This year, Peeta invited us into his large victor home for December 25th, Christmas Day, but we still started the holidays in the evening of December 24th in the bakery's living room, with some singing, talking, and handing out of presents. Peeta came over to join us, and so did Primrose.

Contrary to past Christmas holidays, Peeta was not quite his usual self again. He tried to look happy, and maybe this deceived those who did not really know him, but at least we in the family could tell the difference, and we knew at least one reason why he wasn't.

There was not really much we could do about Katniss' behavior, and it would be up to Katniss and Peeta to find out in which direction their relationship was going to develop. At least we managed to get both of our families and the Hawthornes together in Peeta՚s home on the 25th of December. I had arrived very early and was in charge of cooking, together with Mabel Everdeen and Hazel Hawthorne. We shoved Peeta out of his own kitchen after breakfast, which he did not really mind. He was brilliant in baking and decorating, but not very good in cooking, and he decided to go for a walk.

Somebody had risked hunting recently, obviously taking advantage of one of the few times when the fence had been off, and we had two geese to prepare. While I took care of those and started to preheat the large oven, Mabel and Hazelle – she now insisted that I call her by first name as well – began working on the sides. We had found a recipe for potato dumplings, and we were also going to prepare a bowl of savoy cabbage and some green salad. The cabbage actually grew in one of the vegetable patches, and the salad had been grown in the greenhouse. We were going to have tomato soup first, and the ladies also prepared some desert. With all of that, we were busy for quite a few hours, and lunch was going to be served at 14:00.

When the two geese were in the oven, I had some time off, and I grabbed Prim to go for a walk outside. The scenery was almost like a winter wonderland. Snow had fallen a few days before, not enough to be a big problem, but enough to cover almost everything under a white blanket.

On our way back we picked up Leevy, Wheat's girlfriend, and Lizzy and her parents, who were also invited for lunch. All together, we were more than a dozen people – four Mellarks, three Everdeens, five Hawthornes, three Andersons, and Leevy. Leevy՚s parents had also been invited, but they had declined as they already had other plans. Even the big dining table in Peeta՚s dining room could not fit all of us, but we just moved another table into the big room and also found a few additional chairs, so that we could all sit together.

Through the big open doors into the living room most of us had a nice view at the Christmas tree, which we had decorated a few days earlier, and we lit the candles on it before starting to eat. We almost felt like being at a big party, but with pleasant company only. Even Katniss seemed to be softening a little, and hopefully she got to enjoy the lunch at least, rather than thinking about her worries all of the time. Peeta sat next to her and served her, and once or twice she even smiled at him and touched his hand.

My father had a short speech before we started to eat:

"My dear family and guests, let us celebrate Christmas today and not think about everything outside in the district for a few hours. I am happy that we can get together like this, and I am particularly happy that both my son and my future daughter-in-law survived the recent Hunger Games and can celebrate with us."

He looked at Mabel Everdeen, who was next to him, took her hand, and continued to speak:

"There is also something else I want to mention. Since this was publicly announced during the Games, you all know that Mabel and I had been close when we were young. She was always my first choice as a partner, and I was sad for quite a long time when she chose the miner over me. However, since I have noticed the two wonderful girls the two of them have raised, I came to accept the situation."

Both Primrose and Katniss blushed a little, and my father talked on:

"As it looks like, both of Mabel's daughters will eventually be my daughters-in-law, which makes me very happy. But in addition, as I got divorced some time ago and Mabel has been a widow for quite a few years now, we slowly started to get closer again. Today we are proud to announce that we are together again, and while we do not know yet where this will lead to, we intend to approach and hopefully master the future together!"

A lot of cheers erupted, and lost of hugs and kisses were exchanged, before everyone calmed down and we could finally start to serve lunch.

In the evening, when Prim slipped into bed next to me, she giggled and told me:

"You know, this is going to be funny when we get all married. Your Dad will be both my father-in-law and my stepfather, my mother will be both your mother-in-law and your stepmother, and your brothers will be both my brothers-in-law and my stepbrothers."

"And Katniss will be both my sister-in-law and my stepsister" I added and smiled back at Prim. "And hopefully we will be one big and happy family!"

Late winter was a hard time specifically for the Seam residents. After Christmas we had shared some of the excess food we had with the poorest families, but we needed to careful with that. Some Seam families still considered that 'charity' and were not going to accept gifts, and the peacekeepers also did not like the concept. I had actually suggested to Mayor Undersee once to set up something like a public food kitchen for the poor, and although this seemed to be a good option, in particular to make sure that the coal miners stayed well fed, he declined, saying that the Capitol would not approve.

The fence was powered most of the time nowadays, and even when it was not, nobody, not even Gale, dared to go out again to hunt. The monthly food shipments we were entitled to got delayed more and more often, and the amount of food being delivered also decreased, explained by general shortages. More and more people were close to starving, and as a result the amount of coal being mined dropped from week to week. According to what I heard, the coal miners' wages, not being high at all to start from, were also cut further. The Everdeen family was not affected this time, of course, as Katniss fed them whenever needed; taking care of closest family was accepted for victors. In addition, Katniss also made sure that the Hawthornes did not have to starve, by getting Mrs. Hawthorne hired by Haymitch as housekeeper.

When I worked with the mayor in the Justice Building, he looked grim most of the time, and while he did not go into details again, I could see that he was quite worried. Of course the situation in the whole country was unclear, but as a good person he worried specifically about the well being of the district's citizens.

We had public whippings in the main square at least once a month, and most of those were for coal miners not meeting their quota or for stealing coal. It was not their fault, of course, as they were not fed properly and had to do something to avoid freezing at home, but that did not bother the peacekeepers. The next monthly food supply arrived mostly spoiled and rotten, and the situation was really getting critical.

At one day in early spring, Prim told me when we met on the meadow for a few hours together:

"Katniss is gone!"

"What do you mean, gone?"

"A big package arrived yesterday, and once she had it unpacked, she got real furious and angry. During the night, she left, and I suspect that she went outside the fence again. She has not returned since."

"Do you know what that package was?"

Prim nodded: "Yes, it's still their in her home, and I had a look, of course. It is her wedding dress."

"Oh, sent by the Capitol?"

"Yes, and that really got her unsettled."

"Because she wanted to pick up a proper dress on her own?"

"Not sure," Prim replied, "but I think that she has not really accepted the upcoming wedding to Peeta. This is such a mess!"

My girlfriend sighed, climbed on my lap, and closed her eyes. I did not know what to say, and thus we just sat silently for some time, our arms wrapped around each other.

Katniss was back a couple of days later, as I heard from Prim, with one of her feet injured, so that this needed to be taken care of by her mother. One week later she had the photo shooting in her wedding dress, with both Prim and her mother attending, and when Prim and I were on our meadow one week later again, she had some news for me:

"Katniss looked really nice in that wedding dress; can you believe it? This is so different from her usual pants and shirts. Oh, by the way, Octavia, Venia, and Flavius, her prep team, talked a lot about various shortages in the Capitol. They complained about lots of their fancy clothes they had ordered were late or not being delivered at all, and Octavia mentioned that she couldn't get shrimps or any other seafood for weeks because of the bad weather in District Four."

"That's odd" I responded. "When I was in my final year at school, we watched a few educational videos on work in other districts. One of them was on District Four, and they showed a few basins where they grow shrimps in what they call 'aquacultures', some of them on the coast, and some others even inland in big basins. At least for the latter, they should be able to harvest even in adverse weather conditions."

"But there's more" Prim added. "I also heard that they could not get new music chips in the last weeks, and they actually may need to clean up data on the chips they have."

"Music chips? That would be District Three, I guess" I replied.

"But, manufacturing of electronic chips does not depend on weather, or does it?" Prim asked.

"No, that's all done indoors, I believe."

"Haymitch came in for some time, too, and I have overheard him mentioning something about trouble in Districts Seven and Eleven. Rye, what is going on?"

"Honey, I do not know. The mayor does not talk about such things, and I do not have any real sources. But I understand better now why the Capitol sent more peacekeepers to our district and enforces rules more strictly."

"But, how is this working? If they wanted to get more coal, wouldn't it be better to feed the miners properly and make them happy rather than starve them and do public whippings even for minor offenses?"

"I fully agree, but obviously President Snow has different ideas."

"Rye, I am really worried."

"So am I, but I am afraid that there is not much we can do."

Based on what Prim had reported, there were some kind of issues in Districts Three, Four, Seven, Eight, and Eleven. What kind of issues there were, I could only guess. There were some rumors about rebellion, but nobody discussed those openly, and of course we did not really know anything.

On the evening of the same day there was a public announcement telling us that there was going to be an important mandatory viewing on the next day, Sunday, and it would include a concept for the upcoming quarter quell.

At the designated time Prim and I joined Peeta in his living room to watch, and the show was run by Caesar Flickerman himself. He introduced Cinna, who had designed the wedding dress, and both of them outlined the process where several candidates for the final wedding dress had been presented to the Capitol citizens, and they had been able to vote and bet.

That part of the show took about one hour, and than President Snow came up. He announced the 75th Hunger Games and 3rd Quarter Quell and spent quite a few minutes repeating why the Hunger Games were justified, in his and the Capitol's opinion, that is. He said:

"For the 25th anniversary, to remind the districts of their choice to initiate violence and have their children die, each district was to elect their tributes and vote on their tributes."

He took a sip of water from a glass and let that settle in, and he continued:

"On the 50th anniversary, as a reminder that two district citizens died for each Capitol citizen during rebellion, twice as many tributes were sent into the arena; two males and two females from each district."

There was another break, and a boy approached the President with a small box in his hands. The President spoke on:

"Now, we are going to learn what the special rules are going to be for the 75th Hunger games and third Quarter Quell."

He turned towards the boy, opened the lid of the box and presented a row of envelopes in there to the cameras. Assuming the each envelope had special rules for a Quarter Quell, the supply might last for five or six centuries into the future, and Prim whimpered:

"When I see that, I can suddenly understand my sister and her claim that she never wants to have children."

I nodded and replied: "Yes, this is really not something to look forward to."

Meanwhile, the president had picked one envelope, opened it, and started to read from it, or at least that's what it looked like:

"And now, as we prepare for the third Quarter Quell to remind us of the violence initiated by the districts 75 years ago and to emphasize the fact that even the strongest rebels cannot overcome the power of the Capitol, the special rules state that the male and female tributes are reaped from the existing pool of victors, and there will be no mentors this time."

Prim and I looked at each other and at Peeta, and we were shocked to hear that, of course. Victors were always exempt from further reapings, and this was changed now? Prim got pale and stated:

"Wait a second, how many victors do we actually have in our district? Is there any female except my sister?"

Peeta shook his head: "No, there is not, and for the males, there is only Haymitch and myself."

"So at least you have a 50:50 chance..." I suggested.

"Not really" my brother replied. "I will not have Haymitch go, and of course I will stay with Katniss."

Prim realized what that implied for her sister, and she decided to run over to the Everdeen victor home to comfort her, so that I stayed alone with Peeta. Same as for the last games, he did not look so sad, and I asked:

"So, your relation with Katniss is still not going as you'd like it, right? You are even looking forward to being in the Games again?

He nodded and replied: "Kind of, yes. The Katniss I have seen in the last Games was the most considerate one yet, and all of the time since she has been somewhat distant. Even the upcoming wedding is a farce from her point of view, and we rarely get to spent some time alone. Considering that, being with her in the Games once more does not sound that bad."

"Actually, about the wedding – is that still on now?"

"I have not heard any different. I would not be surprised at all if President Snow decided to get us married just a couple of days before the Games start and makes us have our 'honeymoon' in the arena."

"Wow, that'd be cruel."

"Just like him, isn't it?"

We could not discuss the topic further, as Prim came back and looked excited and worried:

"Katniss is gone again!"

"What do you mean, gone?"

"Mom told me that she ran off as soon as she heard the announcement and knew that she'd be in the games again next time. We assume that she's out in the forest, if the fence is not on."

That was like her, of course. Katniss Everdeen, as I had learned, usually needed to be on her own and far away from others to cope with her own emotions, and I just hoped that she'd be back. Of course, we knew that this was not entirely selfish. Despite knowing that I was there to take care of her sister, Prim was always going to be the little sister she had to be there for, and her mother also needed guidance from her. Prim was of course concerned about her sister, but we'd have to wait and see.

The day was a Friday, and my little girlfriend was quite happy that she could spend the night with me and find comfort in my arms. While Katniss running away was not the first time, knowing that she would have to go into the games again was an unpleasant thought, to put it mildly. Same for me, with knowing that my dear brother would have to compete again, and not only that, they'd have to fight victors from other districts, probably including some of the worst and cruel careers ever seen. I shuddered when I thought about it, and I wondered what an outlook like that would do to further sparkle unrest which might already be happening in some other districts. I also wondered if the special rules for the upcoming Quarter Quell had really been picked randomly or they were specifically selected to impact Katniss and Peeta; probably I would never learn.

During the night, I woke up from Prim moaning next to me. At first I thought that she was having a bad dream, but she she was awake and squirming, and before I got a chance to ask what was wrong she dashed into the bathroom. I was still half asleep and just waited, and my girlfriend only came back after quite some long time; actually, I was asleep again and did not even notice.

When we woke up in the morning I asked her if everything was all right, and she replied candidly and without the slightest hint of embarrassment:

"Oh, I just started my first monthly bleeding."

Not having any sisters, and with a mother who cared more about controlling and sometimes hurting her children rather than providing a proper education, I was slow to understand and asked:

"Monthly bleeding? Where? What are you talking about?"

"You know, silly, a girl's moon cycle, coming with the transition from girl to woman."

Now I got it, and I blushed a little; of course she had to call me 'silly' again. Prim noticed that and laughed:

"No reason to get embarrassed, my love. Although some women do not like to talk about it, that is perfectly normal, and I do not have any issue talking about it – with you, at least."

"I heard you moaning; was it painful?"

"Kind of, yes; somewhat like a stomach ache. Also, it feels real odd to be bleeding down there. I guess that is what we girls have to go through, but fortunately Mom knows how to mediate the effects. I will run over to her after breakfast and get some proper herbs. Oh, and I am afraid I got some blood on the sheets – I did not know that this was coming today."

"Blood stains on the sheets is the least of my worries – I care about you!"

Prim hugged me and smiled: "I am all right, being with you. But, you will have to accept this as a kind of regular event in future, and I have been told that quite a few girls and women are acting strangely during those few days each month."

"Hey, we will go through this together, like through everything else, right?"

"Of course we will, my love! And when you notice that my behavior is somewhat off, just give me a tight and long hug and a few kisses, and maybe a cookie or two, and this will make me feel much better."

A couple of days later Katniss was around again. It turned out that she had not left to the woods, as the fence had been on, but had hidden in Haymitch՚s house, and she may or may not have shared a few bottles of liquor with him.

Over the next weeks, we found Katniss and Peeta to spend an awful lot of time with Haymitch, but they did not really tell what they were doing. However, when I was spending time again with my girlfriend on our meadow, we talked about that, and I mused:

"I wonder what they are doing together all of the time. I hope that it's not just drinking."

"No, it is not" Prim replied. "I assume Peeta can be very secretive when he wants to, but my sister cannot really hide secrets from me."

"Yes, I know, when you start pouting and go into 'little sister mode', she cannot resist you."

"Neither can you, by the way, most of the time at least. But not only that, but I have known her for all of my life, and she is a real bad liar. So, I do not know everything, but I do know that they are training together."

"Wow, that actually makes sense. And because training for the games is not allowed, except for the Career districts, they need to be hiding when doing that."

"Exactly."

Prim՚s 13th birthday was around the corner, and she was to become a teenager. I started to think about a proper present for her. I spoke to Mrs. Everdeen about that, and she suggested:

"Ryan, Prim is growing, not as much as some other girls, but enough to ensure that her summer clothes from last years are getting too tight and too small. You could get some clothes for her, if you want."

"Thank you, Mabel, this is a great idea."

Mrs. Everdeen gave me some information on sizes, and a few days later I found myself in the tailor's shop, browsing the selection of girls' clothes. I felt a little lost, but Mrs. Brown, the shop owner, soon approached me, and once I had told her what I was looking for, including the sizes, she guided me to the shelves where they had clothes for girls in Prim՚s age. I knew that Prim liked to wear skirts and I picked a few of them, not too short, as she should be able to wear them to school, adding a few shirts and blouses. I also did not forget to buy a couple of robust pants for gardening work, including overalls with many pockets. When I saw the shelve with underwear, I hesitated, and I realized that I did not really know what kind of panties she preferred and which were most comfortable for her; thus, I decided to skip those. Similar with the bras; Prim՚s boobs were still very small, and as far as I knew, she did not wear a bra most of the time, but I got a few tank tops which I thought might look nice on her.

I'd be quite willing to get back here together with Prim if she wanted, to give her a choice, but I was not entirely sure that she'd want to select underwear together with me; on the other hand, she probably would. Anyway, I was quite happy that I was able to find a nice selection of clothes for my girlfriend, and thanks to my good job with the mayor, I easily had enough money to pay for that.

On Prim՚s birthday I had taken a day off, so that I could pick her up from school. Naturally, I had a cake for her, with decorations done by Peeta, and the cake was already waiting for her at the Everdeen home. As usual, the Hawthorne family came over, minus Gale, who was working, and the person who looked most happy about the cake was little Posy. She danced around the table and could not stop looking at the wonderful decorations from all angles.

Rain was pouring down outside, so that there was no chance for us to go for a walk or spend time on the meadow. Rather, we stayed indoors, although the room was kind of crowded, but with Prim being on my lap and Posy being on her brother's lap, we managed and enjoyed the little party and celebration.

When Prim unpacked all of the clothes I had bought for her, almost everybody around was in awe, and Posy had her mouth open. I had noticed before that Posy also started to like 'working' with plants, and Primrose had taken her to Peeta՚s greenhouse a few times already. I had, on a whim, also purchased a set of overalls for Posy, and I now handed this over. She almost could not believe that she also got something, but she was a four year old and did not hesitate to accept the gift. Her mother told me:

"Ryan, it is really sweet of you to also have a gift for Posy. A few years ago I would have probably not allowed her to accept it, but knowing you as I do now, that's all right. You have a good heart."

Just before dusk, the rain stopped, and we used the opportunity to step outside and observe the setting sun. It was visible through a gap in the clouds, and seeing the clouds illuminated and partially turning red was quite a sight. Hazelle Hawthorne sighed and said:

"It really is a hard life here in our district. But, views like this one remind me that it is our home, and it can be beautiful at times."

[Author's Notes: I realize that girls in real life would not normally talk about their first period that easily with a male person, potential boyfriend included, but this is Primrose, a healer's daughter, and above and beyond that, she and Rye share practically everything.]