The Victory Tour kicked off in Twelve since it's their hometown and they're already there. Effie had arranged it based on the train routes making the Capitol the tour's final stop. It's a perfect itinerary. The ceremony was simple. They held a feast for everyone. Well, she likes to think it's a feast for everyone but District Twelve doesn't have that much budget but they did what they could to share to every citizen. It has to happen since Twelve produced two Victors in one season. Feeding them is not much of a consolation but what else can they do?
The mayor spent the entire time talking to her, telling her all good things about Twelve. Maybe he's hoping that some Capitol businessmen would dare to invest in their district now that Katniss and Peeta had won. The two put them on the map with a star. They have the publicity and the mayor wants to take advantage of that to bring income to his district and money to his people. Effie thinks it's a good idea but Snow is not going to let that happen now. He still thinks that Katniss and Peeta are out to start a revolution against him. Funding Twelve is the last thing in his mind right now. Still, Effie went along with the mayor and told him she will spread the word around for him and she intends to keep that promise too.
When the festivities are dones, Effie allowed both Katniss and Peeta to say goodbye to their families before she ushered them to pack up and board the train. Haymitch trailed after her and she can feel his eyes burning a hole on her back. He's been quiet after the interview but it is to be expected. Anything can go wrong with the tour and if something went wrong, it will have grave consequences. They cannot afford any mistakes. That is very much clear in all of them, even the kids.
Once on board, Effie sent the kids in their rooms to rest. The two were exhausted from smiling all day in front of the camera and talking to people. They did well in their interviews and they deserve a good night's rest.
That leaves her with Haymitch by the bar. Cinna and Portia went to their rooms as well to sleep early. They've been up for hours taking care of the Victors looks and the tour is just getting started. He is studying her from across the room and she does not like the way he's staring at her.
"What?" she barked.
"Aren't you tired, princess? You arrived so early at Twelve. You've been on your feet all day and you're still working when everyone else is crashing on their beds", he asked.
She did not dare glance over her watch. She knows it's late and she should probably go to bed but she wants to make sure the speeches are ready for District Eleven. She wants everything to go smoothly so there won't be any problem.
"Just a few more minutes and I'll go to bed", she answered.
She knows every word of the speech. She wrote it and Haymitch revised it earlier. She had read it again and again, she can probably recite it with her eyes closed.
"Cinna said you were partying a lot last month", he mentioned.
She closed her eyes. Of course, they will report everything to Haymitch. He probably asked them to do that.
"It's what I do, Haymitch. You know that", she muttered.
Well, she usually does that to find potential Sponsors but that's not her reason for going to bars during the hiatus. It's more personal.
"How are you doing?" he asked.
With the tone of his voice, she knows he's worried about her but he's threading carefully. He's either treating her like a fragile glass or he's worried there are bugs inside the train. Cinna made sure to remove all bugs inside the carts though so that leaves the former.
"Tired and on edge…but that goes for all of us", she answered.
She did not mention the sleepless nights and the nightmares. There is also this thing called guilt that's been eating her up since Seneca died. Then, there's pressure weighing on her shoulders. She had been called thrice to President Snow's mansion last month about the Victory Tour. She has been made aware that anything should go wrong, it will be her head on the spike. Of course, she's not going to tell him that as well.
"Give the speech a rest. It's the same thing and it will be the same until we reach Eleven. Come on…let's go to bed", he invited.
When she did not move, he took the cards away from her hands and pulled her with him.
Ever since the 74th Hunger Games, he rarely uses his own room anymore. It's safer to fall asleep on her bed than her falling asleep on his. He does not have his knife inside her bedroom so she's safe in case he gets nightmares. Although, when he's with her, nightmares barely come.
He watched her removed her wig, her makeup, her ridiculous dress before putting on her nightgown. He wanted to touch her so badly but he controlled himself. Cinna told him everything that happened during the hiatus. Peacekeepers came to her apartment three times to bring her to Snow. The stylist informed him why she was summoned and the threat Snow gave her. He told her all the partying was to take her mind from the guilt she's carrying from Seneca's death. He told her during one of their phone calls to blame it all on him. It's only fair. He was the one who asked her to set up the damn meeting but Effie refused to do that. She blamed herself even though he knows she will never change a single thing about the past because it brought the kids back to them. Cinna told him that she was not eating right, she's not sleeping and he feared she's back on pills again.
When Effie's all done with night rituals, she climbed the bed and put her arms around him and kissed him deeply. His body reacted too fast. He had missed her and it seems like she had missed him too. Her kiss is demanding, aggressive, and hungry. He reciprocated in the same way because he feels the same way. They fought each other, battled for control, until she moaned and relinquished it all to him. It feels like coming home to her and for a while, they both forget about the Victory Tour and the danger looming just above their heads.
"I wish we can just stay right here, in this moment. Freeze time and just stay here", she muttered once their done, catching their breaths.
"I know. Me too", he agreed.
It will be a nice moment, just the two of them on the bed, keeping each other warm and far away from the darkness.
"Maybe, when this is all over…you can spend time with me at the city", she thought about that for a moment but changed her mind, "No, you don't like the Capitol. I can stay and spend time with you at the Village…like a vacation", she suggested.
He propped himself on his elbow to look at her better.
"You in Twelve? Honey, you will not last a week…even days", he mocked which made her frown.
"Is that a challenge, Haymitch Abernathy?" she asked.
"I am just saying. You're high maintenance, Trinket. You hate dirt and being in Twelve will drive you crazy. It's not colorful enough for you", he answered.
That is true. The Village is quite dull for her taste but she can make it work…hopefully.
"Nothing a renovation couldn't handle. Your house can do some touching up, you know. A fresh paint, flowers outside…the good kind, new furniture, curtains. I can take care all of that and it will be good. You will love it", she envisioned.
He can see the sparkle in her eyes while she's thinking of doing all that redecorating.
"Only you can invite yourself over to someone's house and think about renovating that someone's house", he teased.
She pouted at him.
"Why? Wouldn't you want me to stay with you at your house? It will not be forever…just a little vacation. I would want to impose. I just thought it would be nice", she responded.
He realized that she's not kidding around with her suggestion. She really wants to have a vacation in Twelve with him.
"I don't know what's gotten into you to want that but I'll tell you what…when this tour is over and you still want to have a vacation in Twelve, I will not stop you. I don't know how you're going to pull that off under the radar but I will not stop you. How's that?" he proposed.
She beamed and smiled at him.
"Very good…oh, I'm already excited", she agreed and buried herself further into his body.
It was then the weight of their situation crashed onto the both of them. It's nice to dream about vacation and renovation but those don't have a place in their world…but for the night, they chose not to let their dilemma get the best of them. They will face a lot in the coming days but they have the night to themselves. They want to make it last.
The train arrived at District Eleven. The atmosphere is very different from Twelve. Despite the dullness and obvious poverty of their hometown, the people were happy because both of their tributes were crowned the Victors of the 74thHunger Games. It's different for Eleven. It's Rue and Thresh's hometown and they're both dead.
Katniss and Peeta reviewed the cards Effie gave them. They're meant to read that speech in front of everyone and be done with it. Haymitch thought it should be easy enough. It's a short speech. They just need to keep it brief and simple, nothing too elaborate. The faster they get out of there, the better.
Effie is smoothing things over with Eleven's mayor when Chaff and Seeder went to Haymitch. Chaff talked to his best friend while the other Victor watched Effie carefully with keen eyes. Though the escort's attention is on the man talking to her, her eyes kept darting left and right while her fingers are fidgeting on the sides. The smile on her face never faltered though and it must have been exhausting.
"You're not going to launch on my escort any time soon, yeah?" Haymitch addressed her intense staring.
"Something's up with your girl, Haymitch", Seeder muttered.
"…not my girl", he's quick to say.
Chaff snorted at that.
"Yeah, right", his friend teased.
"She looks on edge and I can understand that but it's a different kind of edge. Never seen her like this before", the female Victor commented.
They took a good look at Effie and saw the same thing. Haymitch had to breathe through his nose in order to control himself. So, it is true then. She's popping pills again. She's only like that when those nasty little things are starting to wear off and she's becoming agitated. It does not help that she can see Katniss and Peeta getting nervous about addressing Eleven's crowd. She is afraid that the kids are going to mess up and that makes her very anxious.
"That's what happens when Snow is breathing down your neck", both of Eleven's Victors turned to him with a frown, "…during the break, she was summoned three times. The guy threatened her if anything goes wrong with this tour, she will be held accountable", he explained.
It's not exactly the reason why she's on edge but it's a big part of it. He's not going to tell them that Effie is popping pills when no one is looking.
"Jeez…no wonder she looks like she's ready to explode", Chaff commented.
She does.
"Don't worry about our people here. Just do what you need to do and we will behave", Seeder said which he greatly appreciated.
The ceremony started with a video, of course, showing the Capitol's greatness. They all noticed how much Peacekeepers are hanging around. It's odd considering Eleven is not a hostile district but they all seemed ready to arrest everyone. Then, the mayor stepped on stage and introduced Katniss and Peeta. Effie stood at the background with Haymitch, Chaff, and Seeder. Cinna stayed inside the Justice Building. Katniss' eyes are fixated on Rue's family standing right below the little girl's image across the stage. Suddenly, Effie was reminded of that time she stood on stage and stared at Martha Locksmith standing under the images of her dead kids during Annie's Victory Tour.
Things were supposed to go smoothly. That was the plan but when you have two stubborn kids who don't seem to care about the plan, things can go south pretty fast.
Katniss and Peeta started going off-script, completely disregarding the cards on their hands. Effie sucked in her breath which did not go unnoticed from the Victors around her. The boy even promised a share from their allowances to Rue and Thresh's families.
"…for fuck's sake", Haymitch grumbled under his breath.
That's when the old man in the crowd put three fingers on his lips and saluted in onto the air. The rest of the crowd followed, halting both Katniss and Peeta from talking. The Peacekeepers came in, dragged the man in front, pushed him down his knees before shooting him in the head.