It's just then that it dawned on Effie why Snow summoned her and questioned her about the rule change in the game. He's clearly not happy about it and he just made sure of her involvement of it. Once satisfied she was not the one who persuaded Seneca into making that decision, he had that rule change revoked. He wants only one Victor and now, Katniss and Peeta are facing each other.
"Oh god…" she muttered in horror.
She watched as Peeta urges Katniss to fire the shot and kill him. He wants her to win. He wants her to live even if it means killing him. He's giving her the only way out of the arena. It's lost on her that tears are now heavily flowing from her eyes. One of them is going to die by each other's hands.
"Fuck", she heard Haymitch cursed beside her but she cannot bring herself to look away from the screen.
Those are her kids in there deciding which one is going to survive. Katniss obviously does not want to kill Peeta and Peeta will never hurt Katniss. The star-crossed lovers will end right in front of everyone.
Then…Katniss showed Peeta some berries on her palm.
"What are you doing?" Haymitch asked like the tributes are going to hear him.
Effie blinked. She does not know what's going on. What's with the berries? Why is Haymitch so close to losing it?
'Are you sure?' they heard the boy asked and the girl nodded.
Poison, it's the only thing that comes to Effie's mind when the two popped those berries into their mouths before…
'Stop!' there is a pause, 'the winner of the 74th Hunger Games are Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark from District Twelve!'
She recognized that voice. It's Seneca's. The Head Gamemaker never uses his own voice to make announcement so it's clear that Seneca had grabbed the mic and declared her tributes the winner of the game. Katniss and Peeta spat the berries out and hugged each other in victory.
Meanwhile, Effie remained frozen in front of the TV while Haymitch sighed in relief. What just happened? It's like someone is playing with her heart, playing with hope in her heart. First, one has to survive and then, two can survive, before they pulled it back to the first one and now, both of them are coming back.
"Effie", her name being uttered by Haymitch pulled her back from her trance.
"They won", she muttered like the words are so foreign to her own lips.
She couldn't believe it even though she already saw it. Why can't her brain believe it?
"Yes…" she felt his hands on her shoulders. "What happened?" he asked.
He's been meaning to ask her but with whatever's going on inside the arena, he couldn't.
"Nothing…" her brain slowly catches up as to what it means to have a Victor…Victors, on hand. "Gosh, I have so much work to do. We have Victors, Haymitch. The paperwork! I have to reschedule everything. They will demand tons of interviews. I have to adjust the time so the kids can rest before they get bombarded with cameras. My lord, the Victory Tour. I don't know which one to do first!" she panicked.
He grabbed her harder and forced her to look at him.
"Breathe, princess. Take a deep and slow breath or you will pass out", he said.
She's panicking. Why is she panicking? She should be rejoicing right now. She should be jumping in glee but why can't she bring herself to do so.
Nobody ever wins the game…
"Haymitch…" is all she managed to say but she knows he will understand.
The danger Katniss had put them into…the girl defied the Capitol right in front of everyone's eyes. Snow will not take that lightly. Seneca defied Snow by allowing them to live not because he's afraid it will ruin the game but she knows it's because of her. He knows that if they both died, she will die too. He could easily let the two die from poison and it will be a tragic love story that will be remembered for the ages but he let them live. Snow will be breathing down their necks and that is not winning at all.
"We'll get through this, sweetheart, together…yeah?" he asked.
He knows what she's thinking right now. He still has no idea what Snow said to her but she's shaking in his grasp which tells him a lot. He expected Effie to be in celebration right now but she's trembling in fear and he can understand why. Things are about to get ugly if they don't act carefully.
"Someone has to get the kids", she muttered.
Haymitch ignored her and pulled her into his arms to calm her down. She cannot go out there while shaking. She needs to breathe or people will sense her panic.
"I'll call Cinna and we will get them, okay? Portia will be here and she can help with the preparation for the interviews and other publicity things. Don't worry about the kids. I will deal with them", he whispered and she finally relaxed.
Katniss was hysterical when he found her. The girl rushed into his arms and thanked him before asking about Peeta. He told her that the boy is doing fine and getting treatment for his wounds. Cinna greeted her too and congratulated her. Once the boy was cleared, Haymitch brought them back at the penthouse where Effie and Portia are waiting.
"Oh my darlings…" Effie breathed out upon seeing them.
Peeta rushed into her arms while Katniss glared at her. Haymitch saw Effie frowned at the girl's reaction but she bit her tongue. She did not force the girl either. She understood they've been through a lot.
"Well, you two can use long hours of sleep. Your beds are ready and prepared. If you're hungry, I can have the Avoxes prepare something…"
No one saw it coming. Katniss launched towards Effie before Haymitch can hold her back. Luckily, Peeta is standing next to the escort who stood between them, shielding her from a very angry Katniss.
"It's all your fault! This is all your fault! You're a monster! You did this to us! You made us into killers! You're a monster! You're a monster!" the girl screamed hysterically, desperately trying to claw Effie's eyes out or her throat.
Effie stood there, wide eyes as Peeta and now Haymitch and Cinna grabbed Katniss away from her and forced her into her room leaving her with Portia inside the living room.
"Effie, she does not mean that. She's still in shock…" Portia tried to help but the words are already in her brain and it hurts.
She smiled at her friend.
"That's alright. Will you excuse me for a moment?" she responded and walked away.
The boys managed to get the girl inside the room despite her thrashing left and right. Haymitch can understand her reaction but no one thought she would lash out on Effie. She had encountered Capitols since they left the arena and she chose Effie to unload her frustration. Of course, it's given considering it's Effie who drew out her sister's name and it will be a lost cause now to explain to the girl why Effie is not the enemy. He needs to give her time to rest and recover before he can talk to her about Effie.
"Will you stop throwing tantrum now?" he snapped at her and she glared at her.
"You're taking her side?" she asked.
"At this moment, I am taking all of our sides because there are more important things right now than your fits…like, how you defied the Capitol by pulling that berries stunt", he answered.
Peeta stiffened on the side while Cinna turned to him.
"Maybe not now, Haymitch…" the stylist muttered.
"What are you talking about? They're going to have us kill each other. I have to do something", the girl explained.
"Yes, sweetheart. We get it but they will not understand. You humiliated them on national television. They will think of this as an act of rebellion and that will not bring you good fortunes. Trust me…I know", Haymitch said.
Katniss stared at him and remembered the tales about the lone Victor who lived alone at the Village. People in Seam talked about how his entire family died because of the Capitol and after that, he kept himself isolated from everyone else. He defied them once and his family paid for it.
"What do you want us to do?" she asked in understanding.
Haymitch sighed.
"For now…nothing. Rest. I will have to talk to Trinket first about how we're going to spin this whole situation in your favor. First, I will have to tell her you don't mean lashing out to her because you don't. You're angry and you blame her even though you know better. Now, behave and get some sleep. The next time you go out of here, don't try attacking your escort again", he answered and left the room.
Katniss watched him walk away in confusion. She cannot understand why he would defend Effie. She's Capitol and she's an escort. She understood that she had helped them before they went inside the arena and that she's not like the other escorts they've seen but she's still one of them.
"Don't be too hard on Effie. She's been working very hard while you're inside the arena. Haymitch wouldn't be able to send you those foods and medicines if it was not for her", Cinna explained like he can read what's on her mind.
Peeta knows that too and he likes Effie. That much is clear.
"That's her job", Katniss spat.
Cinna simply smiled and shook his head.
"I don't think you can find anyone else who will go the same mile she went for the two of you. There's no use trying to understand that now. Get some rest, alright. You survived. It's important we keep it that way", he replied.
Haymitch found Portia in the living room alone. She said that Effie excused herself earlier so he went to check her room which is empty. There's only one place he can think of where she will be: the rooftop.
Effie is sitting on the ground while smoking her cigarette. She always scolded him about how unhygienic it is to sit on the floor at the penthouse and right now, she's doing the same…on the roof. There are few cigarette butts around her which means she's been going at it since she got there.
"Princess…" he sat next to her despite the strong smell of her cigarette, "The girl did not mean it", he muttered.
He knows deep in his guts that Katniss did not mean those words. The girl is simply angry. She's looking for someone to blame for the things she was forced to do inside the arena and she chose Effie.
"It's all true. I did what she accused me of. I reaped her sister's name. I reaped Peeta. I sent them into that arena where they were forced to do things they didn't want to. I am a monster", she said as smoke comes out of her mouth.
"Stop that", he growled.
It's not supposed to be this way. Winning is not supposed to be this way. Of course, he is aware that there's no winning in the Capitol. It's just surviving but it's not supposed to be like this. Things should be easier now but it's not.
"You have to prep Katniss. I don't think she will respond to me well. The Capitol will think of her as a rebel and we need to sway them from that thought. The berries…it's an act of love and desperation, not rebellion. We tell everyone that she's afraid to lose Peeta so she would rather die with him than survive in a world without him. It's much more appealing and quite touching. People will buy that. It's going to sell", she expressed.
Her tone is business-like but he cannot deny how brilliant her plan is.
"Sweetheart, what did Snow tell you when you were summoned?" he finally asked the golden question he's been holding out.
She blew out a puff of smoke before turning towards him.
"He asked about us which I denied obviously. Then, he asked my involvement about changing the rules inside the arena. When he's convinced I did not know anything about why Seneca did it, he let me go. I doubt it will be the last time I'll be summoned though", she answered.
Whether Snow bought her lies about her and Haymitch, she will never know but for now, they're all alive.