AN: Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games series.
Chapter 4
The Capitol
The president's meeting with the ministers from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has been underway for almost two hours. By orders of President Snow, the meeting is held in one of the many conference rooms in the Presidential Palace instead of the Parliament. And all though the room is one of the smaller ones, its grandeur is visible from the decorative walls to the marble fireplace and the furniture made from the finest wood sorts, that has been polished to the extend that one can see his own reflection in the surfaces that are as smooth as a baby's skin. Papers are scattered on the magnificent table around the large silver plates filled with fresh fruit, the crystal glasses and the crystal decanter filled with cognac. The delicious dark liquid that tempts the meeting's participants.
"I suggest that the distribution of the remaining sources after the Capitol has claimed its share should be divided accordingly to the population size of the districts. The livestock production in District 10 has been very successful." one of the ministers says as he points to the specific calculations on a paper in front of him.
"Wouldn't it be better for the Capitol to store a larger part of the production for the next winter?" another minister argues.
The door to the conference room bursts open and Minister Antonius barges into the room unannounced. "Your Excellency!" he calls out to the president and walks directly up to his usual chair at the end of the table.
President Snow looks at him and rather calmly acknowledges his presence, "Antonius, I do hope that you have a very good reason for barging in unannounced and disturbing our meeting."
It is only now the minister seems to notice the glares from the men in their crisp suits seated around the grand table. "Forgive me, sir, but I must speak with you in private." He leans down to whisper in his ear, "It's about your Excellency's important matter."
The news makes President Snow look at Minister Antonius with great anticipation. He immediately rises from his seat and addresses his other ministers, "Gentlemen, do excuse me. Please continue your work."
As soon as the president and Minister Antonius has reached the president's private study, Minister Antonius proudly and enthusiastically informs the president of his department's accomplishment, "We found him, sir!"
The president is silent for a moment, letting the information sink in. "What are you saying?" he eventually asks.
The minister beams and puffs out his chest as he proudly states, "President Snow, I'm pleased to announce that we located your son."
"Are you certain about this? If this turns out to be a mistake…"
Immediately, the minister responds, "No, no. sir. It's a 100% DNA-match. We checked the data five times to make sure."
President Snow slumps down in a plush armchair, completely awestruck by this information. "Where is he? Is he well?" The questions start flowing as soon as the full content of the information has sunk in.
"He is alive and well in District 12, sir."
"District 12." Snow mutters, then after a short pause he declares, "Of course, how stupid we have been. The rebels hovercraft was shot down in sector 376, they must have walked on foot to 12 where they left him right under our noses. They must have had help from inside the district. Who helped them? Who has my son in their possession?"
"It is as we assumed. Your son has lived with a district family all these years. I took the liberty of retrieving his data from the system for you."
The minister hands President Snow the folder he has held in his hands the entire time. Snow quickly flicks through the folder until he finds what he is looking for; the latest photo of his son, while the minister tells the president of the folder's contents. "Your son has been registered as 'Peeta Mellark', the third son of Wheaton and Aster Mellark. The couple has two older biological sons, Bannock Mellark, 19 years of age, and Rye Mellark, 18 years of age. Your son's birth date is registered as the 2nd of January, the exact same date as the abduction took place. Your son has achieved good grades in school so far and has been a part of the local school's wrestling team for three years. A team that both his older 'brothers' have been assigned to as well."
As the minister proudly keeps on describing their findings, Snow shifts his attention from the photo to the minister. "And what of this family? The Mellarks? Have they showed any signs of an understanding with the rebels?"
Minister Antonius shakes his head, "Their files are clean. The Mellarks live in the town area of District 12 where they run the bakery that has been in the family's possession for several generations. They have not showed any sign of rebel activity, not even illegal activity of any point."
"Besides the fact, that they deliberately kept my son from me and thereby contributed to kidnapping and treason." Snow snaps back at the minister.
Normally, the minister would have stepped back at the president's tone, but after his success of finding the heir, he has the courage to continue, "Mr President, with all due respect, I don't believe that this family had anything to do with your son's abduction. As I read through their files it showed that Mrs. Mellark had been pregnant at that time. For all that we know, she could have lost her own baby and taken in your son instead. For them, your son could have been nothing more than an orphan they had taken in to conceal their own loss."
"Perhaps… we shall see about that when we question them." President Snow once again looks back at the photo, "He looks so much like his beautiful mother. His skintone, his hair, his nose, even his eyes are hers, except for his jaw, he has my strong jaw." Completely lost to the world around him, he sighs "As I said to my wife the day she brought him into this world, 'He's truly the best gift she has ever given me.'
"Sir? What are your orders?"
President Snow stands up and snaps the folder shut. "I think you already know that. I want him back and I will bring him back myself. Send word to Head-peacekeeper Cray to shut down the district tomorrow evening but don't tell him the reason why. Just that he and his local peacekeepers are to stay away as well and not to question anything that happens during the lockdown. We'll bring 30 peacekeepers of our own and go by train. Make the preparations and we'll depart as soon as possible. I want to be in District 12 tomorrow evening."
He walks over to his desk and starts to scribble down orders on a piece of paper. "Wouldn't it be faster to use a hovercraft, sir?" the minister suggests.
The president does not stop writing down the instructions for the chosen peacekeeper squad, "It would. But as much as I would like to have my son back immediately, I want no one to know about what has happened. As far as the people outside the Presidential Palace are concerned, they believe that my son is right here in the Presidential Palace and has been for all his life. Eventually, the people of District 12 will know that my son has lived in the district for 16 years, and when that day come, we'll be prepared for it. We'll use this to our advantage, but for it to work, it is of the upmost importance, that no one knows before that day. The citizens of District 12 will undoubtedly hear a hovercraft approaching. No, we'll go by train."
"And the Mellarks? What should we do about them?"
At this question, President Snow looks up from the paper, his eyes filled with a wrath seldom seen, and growls, "If I suspect that they have had even the slightest thing to do with the abduction of my son, I'll personally make their last days a living hell. On the other hand, if they have known nothing about it, then they have saved my son from a terrible fate, and I shall reward them with their lives – provided of course, that they follow my orders."
District 12 - the next day
Sunday morning is a beautiful morning. When Peeta pulls the curtains aside and opens the window, the morning sunrays light up the bedroom in a soft glow. There is not a single sky in sight and the sky is so full of soft colours of yellow, orange, red, and pink that his fingers itch to grab his sketchpad and once more try to capture the scene in front of him. Usually his drawings are only grey and black, because his main instrument is a plain pencil, but for his last five birthdays, his parents, meaning his dad, had been able to give him one colour pencil a year, and he will only use them for something special. His mother did not think a colour pencil to be a proper present for a boy and she would usually huff at his choice of birthday present. But one time a year, he was allowed to make a wish for a birthday present and every year it had been the same; a colour pencil. Now, his precious collection of colour pencils includes a red, green, blue, yellow, and a brown one, but by mixing them he can create new colours and he can make the colour more profound by pressing the pencils harder into the paper or softer by barely touching the paper with the tip of the pencil.
After having admired the sunrise for a moment he turns his attention to the scenery before him. Town is completely deserted at this time of day as its inhabitants still lie in their warm beds. Only the wind ruffles some of the trees new-formed green leaves but besides that there is not a movement in sight. Some may think waking up at baker's hours is cruel, and it can be during the winter, but on such a fine Spring morning, he can think of nothing better. Except the fact that there is a good chance that he is sharing this particular sky with Katniss Everdeen. It is Sunday after all and she will probably already be on her way into the woods to hunt and then later she will come by the bakery with her haul, granted alongside Gale Hawthorne, but still… she will come.
His thoughts of Katniss are interrupted when the rooster, that is owned by the family three houses down the road, begins to crow as it welcomes the sun and the new day. As the rooster continues to crow, duvets ruffles and the cracking sound from the bunk bed behind Peeta's back indicates that Rye has heard the rooster's 'melodious' song too.
"Ugh, shut the window or I'll personally wring the neck of that bloody chicken. And shut the window too! It's way too early for this!" Rye growls from his bed.
"Glad to see that you are awake and a good morning to you too, Rye... and it's a rooster, not a chicken." Peeta greets his brother while he deliberately opens the window as much as possible, making the cold breeze of the chilly wind flow into the room.
"No, Peeta! I said close it, not open it!"
But instead of giving his brother what he asks for, Peeta walks over to the bunk bed and looks down upon Rye, who is laying in the lower bunk and has drawn the duvet all the way up to his ears, as he tries to keep the cold air away from him while his eyes are completely shut in response to the light.
Peeta smirks when he reaches for the duvet as silently as possible. "Oh, I'm sorry. Did you mean you needed help getting out of bed?"
Rye's eyes fly open immediately when he senses what Peeta is about to do. He tries to hold on to his duvet but his hands only reach for thin air because Peeta manages to swoop the duvet away from him, leaving him completely exposed to the sunlight as well as the wind.
"No, no, no! Give it back, moron!" Rye complains loudly.
From the corner of the room Bannock chuckles at them. He is sitting upright in his own bed, his blond hair sticking out in all directions, and his own duvet lies across his lower half. He wipes the sleep from his eyes and stifles a yawn, "Rye, just get out of bed. I don't understand that you still fall for it. In winter he covers you with snow and on rainy days you get soaked. Just get up in time."
Peeta grins and heads for the bathroom but instead of letting go of the duvet he drags it behind him across the floor like a trophy of his small victory.
Rye sits up and crosses his arms, "Hey! I do that to please him." he bites back at Bannock. "But mark my words, I'm going to get him one of these days and then I'll let him have a taste of his own medicine."
"Then you have to get up earlier." laughs Peeta as he nonchalantly drops the duvet on the floor in the doorway, making sure that it is completely out of Rye's reach.
The fire in the ovens is already roaring when the Mellark brothers enter the kitchen and their dad's hands are busy stirring a wooden spoon in a large bowl while adding ingredients into the bowl's contents. The table is already set for five and the different types of bread that they did not sell yesterday are lying on the table. Stale bread is their usual breakfast but today another plate is sitting on the table, and its contents are far more interesting.
"Sausages for breakfast?" asks Peeta astonished. "Dad, what's the occasion?"
Mr Mellark turns to face his sons and gives them a timid smile. "I'm afraid it is not a festive occasion. Today is delivery day but somehow I have miscalculated the time I need to prepare the order from Mayor Undersee, and I simply wont have the time to do both. So the three of you have to pick up the deliveries for me."
Rye crosses his arms in front of his chest, "So the sausages are bribery?" he states mistrustfully. But only seconds later he shrugs, takes his usual place by the table and reaches for the remarkable plate with the tempting sausages, "I can live with that."
In that very moment their mother walks into the kitchen and it does not take her long to discover the plate in front of Rye. She sends her husband a glare, "Are you letting them have sausages on a regular Sunday? Have you any idea how expensive they are?"
Their dad, who has clearly been anticipating her reaction, is quick to reassure her. "I know, my dear. But it is delivery day and the boys need their strength. If we don't get the supplies, then we cannot keep up with our orders for the next month."
Peeta silently admires his dad's ability to not only calm his mother with a few sentences but also seem like he does not even notice her mean stare. His dad had noticed it of course, but since his dad has a very peaceful nature and no desire for confrontation, he has managed to develop the rare talent of knowing the best way to sooth his wife's temper... most of the time.
A quick look at his mother informs him about her internal struggle. Sausages are expensive and they cannot afford to be wasteful, but on the other hand, if her sons do not have the energy to bring their deliveries home fast enough, then they can loose orders. It is the beginning of the month and their pantry is almost empty. Orders equal income and income is of the upmost importance for maintaining a certain level of lifestyle and respect.
She seems to have come to a decision and tells them sharply, "You heard your father. Eat up, boys!" And instead of water she places a jug of milk in front of them, which makes her sons look at her like she has grown a second head. She tells them briefly, "Just don't be late for that train!"
Nobody has to tell them that twice and they immediately dive into the small feast.
The train from the Capitol carrying all the orders from the merchant families in District 12 has already pulled into the train station when they arrive. It is still early morning, but they are still some of the first merchants to arrive. Around the station and by the train stand some of the local peacekeepers guarding the train, making sure that none of the items "get lost".
Bannock lets the shafts of their wooden handcart rest on the ground and tells his brothers to come closer. In real wrestling competition style he throws an arm around the shoulders of Rye and Peeta and pulls them close as if they are planning a strategy to overcome the opponent. "Okay, let's divide and conquer! Peeta, you go inside the train car and hand me the items. Rye, you load the cart."
"Aye, aye, Captain." Rye agrees and emphasizes his acknowledgement of the plan by standing straight up and saluting Bannock with his right hand flapping up and down beside his head. He then takes hold of the shafts to steer the cart. They get as close to the train as possible so they wont have to carry their goods longer than necessary, but unfortunately they cannot park the cart right beside the train because of the chain the peacekeepers have set up around the train to keep people with no business there away from the train. Rye waits by their cart just on the outside of the chain while Peeta and Bannock continue inside the restricted area where the train awaits them. The local peacekeepers that man the boundary let them pass the check point without further ado, since they know them well as they come here with their dad every month to collect the deliveries.
When they reach the train, Bannock remains on the ground beside the train while Peeta nimbly jumps onto the train car by using his arms to heave him up. Inside the cart he is met by the Capitol official who is in charge of the deliveries from the Capitol to the districts. The peacekeepers that line the walls inside the train cart are not local but one look at their jackets and sleeves tells Peeta where they do service. These peacekeepers all wear the regimental insignia of the Capitol and that must also be the reason why they all seem so stiff and official. They are nothing like the local peacekeepers who at least are able to show some signs of humanity.
The Capitol official looks at Peeta with dull anticipation and Peeta quickly hands him the delivery note from his dad. The official looks at the paper and nods at him as a verification of its authenticity, "Name?"
"Peeta Mellark."
The man scribbles the name into the book in front of him. Not even bothering to look up from the book he asks, "It is just you for the delivery?"
Peeta cannot help but wonder how thick this man can be. The man had held this position for years, and they have met countless of times along with his dad and brothers, but still there is the need to verify everything. It is probably a Capitol thing. But since it is doubtlessly not a great idea to point this out, Peeta just gives the man a polite smile and answers dutifully. "No sir. My two brothers, Bannock and Rye Mellark, stand ready by our cart outside."
The official nods again and signals to a Capitol peacekeeper, who jumps off the train cart to verify his brothers' names and protect their cart as they load it. If something gets stolen it will not be under the Capitol's watch.
The official then gestures to a tall peacekeeper standing by the wall, "Peacekeeper Conley will accompany you to your family's reserved items. I'm certain, that I do not have to remind you that you are only allowed to touch the items within your own booth."
"Of course, sir."
Peacekeeper Conley walks in front of Peeta as he leads the way. On their way they pass different booths reserved for the other merchant stores like the grocery store, the apothecary, the tailor, the butcher and even the shoemaker. It will not be long before the other families show up, and it will undoubtedly be easier to load the cart without having to manoeuvre around the other merchants in the train car, so Peeta makes a mental note to get a move on. As they pass the grocer's pile, Peeta gives a tiny smirk of satisfaction when he sees how large their pile is and he is thankful that he will not have to carry all of that. The peacekeeper must have noticed his smile since the peacekeeper carries a knowingly smirk on his own face when he informs Peeta that the Mellark's booth is up next. For a moment Peeta just stands there and looks inside the booth with the name 'Mellark' written above it while his smile quickly falters. Their pile is huge. It is the largest of all the piles he has passed and of course their booth had to be placed at the back of the train cart. It will take them forever to finish loading the cart and then they have to drag the cart all the way through town.
The peacekeeper steps to the side and gestures to the pile, "You may begin unloading."
Knowing that it is a bad idea to vex a peacekeeper, especially one from the Capitol, Peeta settles for giving the peacekeeper a glare to match the glee in the peacekeeper's voice while he makes a mental note of making sure to trade places with Bannock or Rye the next time they are sent by themselves on delivery day. Still, he knows that the sooner he gets on with it, the sooner they are done, so he rolls up the sleeves of his white shirt and gives a determent exhalation, grabs the nearest first sack and hurls it onto his back.
By the time he is nearing the door opening with the last sack of the lot, his legs are shaking, his arms are trembling and it takes all his will power to not just drop the sack down upon Bannock, but instead to gently hand it to him. Bannock grunts when he receives the sack and positions it on his shoulder.
"That's the last of it." Peeta tells him, and the information alone seems to be enough for Bannock to gather the remaining strength he has left. Peeta lingers in the train's doorway for a moment. He notices how the sweat has gone through Bannock's shirt and how tiny droplets hang in his hair. Rye too must be sweating profusely, as Peeta watches him wipe his forehead with an arm. For a fleeting moment, Peeta is elated that his job is done. No more sacks, no more barrels or annoying free items that seemed to be living a life of their own as they rolled away from him. But then he eyes the cart behind Rye. It is stacked to the brim and he is certain that Rye will not be gentlemanly enough to offer to pull the cart by himself. But if he were able to move that cart by himself, then he would possess supernatural powers. No, they will have to use all of their combined strength to get that cart back to the bakery.
Then he spots some familiar faces inside the restricted area. The tailor, Mr. Ashworth, and his daughter, Rosemary, who is in his own class and her brother, three grades lower than them, come walking towards the train to pick up their supplies. Mr. Ashworth raises his hand in greeting, and Rosemary waves vividly, but Peeta, who is still exhausted, only manages to give a nod in return. "Hello Mr. Ashworth, Rosemary, Emmett. Nice to see you." he greets them.
"Hello Peeta." the tailor replies, "You look like you could use a hand getting down from that train." Apparently Peeta looks as tired as he feels, and he gratefully accepts Mr. Ashworth's outstretched helping hand.
With both feet firmly planted on the ground, Peeta smiles, "Thank you. I guess this month's delivery was a bit more than we had anticipated."
"Yes, I saw Rye struggle by your cart. That's quite the small mountain you have packed there. But with the Spring Festival coming up and the whole district flocking around your table, it is not so surprising. I'm sure your father is pleased to have three strapping young men to do all the heavy lifting." Mr. Ashworth chuckles nostalgically, "Alas, your father and I are not as young as we once were. "
"I don't know about that. You don't seem to have aged a day for the last couple of years."
The tailor pats him on the back, "Ah, Peeta, you're very kind, but I'm afraid your eyes are deceiving you. Is your father here by any chance?" he says while looking around the station.
"No, he's back at the bakery. He had an order he needed to get started on, but I will tell him, that you were looking for him."
"Oh, it's nothing of importance. I'll just speak to him another time." Mr. Ashwood says, but his eyes flicker to Rye and Bannock who are sitting, or in Bannock's case, lying on the ground beside the cart, while two local peacekeepers stand around the cart, just waiting for Peeta to come, so they can get the job done. "Now, I shall not keep you. Your brothers look like they could use your help."
"I guess you are right." Peeta tells him, and bids them goodbye as he starts to walk away. Rosemary, who had not been a part of the conversation but had watched it closely, gives him a bright smile and calls after him, "See you at school tomorrow, Peeta."
When he reaches the cart, Bannock and Rye are on their feet again. They quickly come to the conclusion that one of them should take hold of the shafts and steer the cart, while the other two push the cart from behind.
With much difficulty they manage to drag and push the cart all the way through town and back to the bakery. There had been times where Peeta had wished for the local peacekeepers to be a bit understanding and actually help them out. Instead, they had walked casually beside the cart and talked. Peeta had been swearing lightly under his breath about it, but the peacekeepers had luckily seen it as a frustration of the task at hand. And then Bannock, who had been steering, had with what seemed like determination lead them in a zig-zag-motion. Of course, that gave Rye and Peeta the pleasure of yelling at him from behind the small mountain of sacks and barrels that he was not fit to steer… well, perhaps the exact choice of words had been a bit harsher, but now they are finally home.
For last 20 minutes they have been carrying the items from the cart into the pantry in the bakery's kitchen and Peeta is currently trying to get the correct hold of a sack of flour when he overhears a part of the peacekeepers' conversation. "It's strange, don't you think?"
"Yeah, but you heard Cray. Orders are orders."
Peeta deliberately slows down on his attempt to position the sack right and strains himself to hear what kind of orders that are so strange, of course without being completely obvious about it. The peacekeepers do not seem to have noticed him or maybe they just do not think it will matter if a 16-year old boy hears their conversation.
"When was the last time we had a lockdown of the district?" the first peacekeeper wonders.
The second peacekeeper shrugs, "I don't know. Not in my time. We just have to follow the written procedures when the order comes in later today."
Peeta stops his poor attempts of moving the sack. A lockdown of the district? Today? He has only heard about those as a faint memory from his parents' childhood. A lockdown means curfews and full security installations, peacekeepers controlling every street. No one will be able to get in or out of the district, but then again no one ever leaves the district… except Katniss.
He can feel his blood turn cold at the thought. What if she has crossed the fence and is out there in the woods when the lockdown comes. The fence will be on, and if she by some miraculous deed is able to get back inside the district, she will be in jeopardy of running into a peacekeeper and then all hell breaks loose.
He has no particular way of knowing her daily schedule, but if there is just the slightest possibility that she will be crossing the fence again today, then she has to know about the lockdown.
"Are you going to carry that sack, or do you hope that we will be stupid enough to do it for you?"
Bannock has returned to the cart and is already pulling the next sack towards him. Peeta throws a look in the peacekeepers' direction, but they have not heard a thing Bannock had said. He gives him a faint smile and begins to carry his own sack.
Inside the pantry, Rye is putting all the smaller items in their correct places. When both Bannock and Peeta have settled the sacks on the floor in the pantry, Peeta grabs hold of Bannock's arm. "I just heard the peacekeepers talk about a lockdown of the district." he quietly tells him.
"A lockdown?"
Peeta holds his brothers' full attention now. Bannock's hand still rest on a sack while Rye has turned around on the wooden stool he is standing on. "Yeah, but I didn't hear when it will be initiated. Just that it will be sometime today. Why do you think that is?"
Bannock thinks about it for a moment. "Maybe they are installing some kind of new barrier or something like that. Or maybe they are on the lookout for some of the traders in the Hob."
"Maybe it won't start before night time." Rye says, but then all seriousness leaves him when he declares this it will give him plenty of time to meet up with his classmates after work today.
"You're going out again tonight?" Peeta asks as Rye puts the last can in his hands on the top shelf.
"Sure, I happen to have a rich social life." Rye cheerfully tells him. Then he jumps down from the stool on which he stood and happily skips out of the pantry.
Peeta leans towards Bannock after Rye's little performance. "He's meeting up with a girl tonight, isn't he?"
"Yup. No doubt about that."
About an hour later they are finally done. The deliveries have been collected from the station, returned to the bakery and neatly been placed into the pantry and it is not even 9 o'clock yet. Unfortunately it means that they have plenty of time to work and to complete their other chores for they day, but before they are allowed anywhere near the working tables in the kitchen, their mother had insisted that all of them were to be scrubbed clean from head to toe.
The washroom is located on the ground floor next to the kitchen in the back of the house. This is where all the washing takes place, whether it be clothes, items or themselves. The large wooden tub they bath in has been pulled into the middle of the room and is almost filled up with water. A small and worn wooden table stands next to the tub and placed upon it is a small metal plate on which the soap is lying.
"Coming through! Really hot water coming through!"
Peeta immediately jumps out of the way when Rye comes running into the washing room with a large pot in his hands. As he runs by, Peeta sees the water slosh dangerously close to the edge of the pot. Rye is aiming straight for the wooden tub and pours the content into it when he is close enough. "Whew…for a moment I thought it would spill over. The ovens have already given me the burn of the week. " he tells them.
"Here is an idea. Maybe you shouldn't run with boiling hot water in a pot if you're afraid of getting burned." Bannock mocks him. He has already removed his shirt and undershirt and placed them on a chair and now his hands reach for his socks.
Peeta looks from his oldest brother to the tub and eyes it enviously. It just looks so wonderfully nice at the moment, but he knows from a lifetime of experience that it will look nothing like that, when it is his turn to use it. "Not to complain or anything, but how come I'm always the last one to go in? I have heard this crazy thing that bath water is actually see-through and warm instead of grey and lukewarm."
Bannock just shrugs at his complain and continues to undress. "You know what they say: first out, first in… or in your case, last out, last in."
"That is just gross." Peeta tells him, while he tries to remove the internal image from his mind.
"Just stating facts. You just be happy that no one of us has worked out today."
Worked out? He has got to be kidding. What they had done today can only be classified as worse than a work out. Peeta throws his arms out towards him. "But it's delivery day! We have loaded the cart to the brim and then dragged it through town. You have been sweating just as much as you would have had if you had worked out, if not more!"
Rye walks over to Bannock and invades his comfort zone to inhale to air around him. Bannock looks at him with an utterly confused look on his face, but he does not back away. Not a second later, Rye straightens up, his face contorted. "You know, Bannock. He has a point. You stink… profoundly." He lifts an arm to sniff his own armpit and then wrinkles his nose. "Ugh! It's a bit crass." he states before grinning, "Man, am I glad that I'm not you, Peeta. We'll call when your lukewarm water is ready."
"But that's not fair!" Peeta protests.
Rye walks over to him and takes hold of his cheeks to emphasise his point, "What fantasies they are teaching the children in school these days. You go in last because you're the baby. Your baby skin cannot handle the warm water." And then Rye pinches his cheeks as if he was talking to a four year old.
Peeta shakes out of his grasp and lightly pushes him backwards. "I'm 16 years old now. I'm hardly a baby anymore. And I'm almost as tall as you, Rye. Seriously, we should draw lots on this. Or at least switch to being the first one to use the bathwater."
"Aww, isn't he cute Bannock?" Rye chuckles.
"Sorry, Peeta, your democracy will get you nowhere in this conversation. It's an unwritten rule to maintain the family peace. When you live in your own house you get to go in the tub before your wife does, unless of course, that you are too noble and let her in first… or you could always share the bath, I have heard that should be fun."
His brothers laugh at his expense and Peeta knows, there is no way they are going to yield. There is no point in fighting more about the bath at the moment. So he does the next best thing… he storms out of the washroom and heads for their bedroom.
On his way he stops in front of the full-length mirror in the narrow hallway on the first floor, an old heirloom from before the dark days. As he takes himself in he cannot help but compare himself to his brothers and what they just said. There is nothing 'baby' about him anymore. It is not like there is a tremendous height difference between them anymore. Sure, he is still the shortest of the three, but he is still growing. He might still gain an inch or two. But he certainly does not lack anything according to strength. All those years of lifting flour sacks from the station to the bakery and then carry them to the pantry in the back of the building had had its positive influence on his muscular stamina. In a year or so, he will probably be able to take Rye in a wrestling match. Maybe that is the way to get into the bath water before Rye - to make a bet about it. And he can always race Bannock for his spot as well. He just needs to figure out a way to talk them into it.
He turns his head to the side. He sure does resemble his brothers in his physical build, but not so much in the facial features. During the last year his face had become wider and his jaw more pronounced but his nose had still remained slightly smaller in comparison to Bannock and Rye's. Even his eyes are different; they are as blue as the clear northern sky. But what makes him stand out when someone sees them from a distance is his hair. His hair is not ashy blond like his brothers, but a more golden blond and he knows that his locks have a soft curl to them if he lets his hair grow a bit longer. But that is very rare since his mother is pretty nifty with the scissors. What a horror it would be if her sons' hair were not neatly trimmed.
When he reaches the bedroom, he crawls up to his part of the bunk bed and flings himself down on the mattress, rolls over on his back and rests his head on the pillow. For a moment he hopes that his current body odour does not seep into the sheets, but then he remembers, that it is Bannock who is on laundry duty this week and not him. Needless to say, his worries leave him rather quickly. He stares at the ceiling while the thoughts drift around. Stupid delivery day, stupid Rye, stupid Bannock, stupid house rules. Still annoyed about the whole thing, he tries for several minutes to come up with a plan to conquer the tub, but it does not take him long to feel drowsy. The fatigue has finally caught up with him and he feels his eyelids shut despite his best attempts to stay awake.
After what feels like only a minute, he is awoken by Rye cackling through the door, "Okay Peeta, your turn. There's still some warm water left if you hurry."
"So… is today going to be the day you finally talk to her? That is if she even shows up today."
They have been working for over an hour and it is almost 11 o' clock. Bannock has been out for a while making deliveries and taking orders, their mother is in her usual position behind the counter, while Rye, their dad, and Peeta himself are working in the kitchen. The ovens are blazing and the tables are packed with kitchen utensils, ingredients, dough in bowls, dough in forms and baked goods, loafs and buns. Peeta is currently standing in front of a plate of baked muffins and is trying to frost them.
Rye seems to have lost interest in his own cookie dough and is now doing what he does best, teasing his younger brother. However, Peeta does give him the pleasure of answering his question, "Why don't you just keep focusing on your own task?"
"Come on, Peeta. You know I'm only saying it for your own good." Rye laughs.
Peeta sends him a glare that clearly indicates that he is not in the mood for mockery right now. It is not because he has not noticed the very crucial fact that she has not come by to trade yet, which is odd. Why has she not come? The lockdown is not initiated at the moment… or maybe it did when he was sleeping and he would not have noticed it. No, his mind is playing him a trick. The lockdown cannot have been initiated, he would have heard about it. And besides, Bannock is still out and there are customers in the shop, so it cannot be the reason why she has not come yet. And even if she does come, he will probably not have the guts to talk to her. Not to mention the fact that Gale will undoubtly send a fist right into his face if he tries to get anywhere near her. It is hopeless…
"Aw Peeta, don't look so sad. If you just - "
"Rye, would you mind fetching the powdered sugar?"
Mr. Mellark, having sensed his youngest son's dwindling mood, has effectively cut Rye off and as he grumblingly walks away into the pantry, the baker leaves the table near the backdoor and walks over to Peeta's side of the large table in the middle of the room. He reaches for one of the spoons lying on the table, but instead of returning to his own table he remains by Peeta's side.
"Lady trouble?"
Peeta looks up at his dad and sees nothing but warmness and a slight concern in his eyes. His dad does not continue but instead lets the ball remain in Peeta's court. He knows that his dad will accept it if he does not wish to speak about it. That will probably be the easiest solution, but the calmness that radiates from his dad's presence sooths him. At the moment it is just the two of them in the room, and now seems as good a time as any.
Peeta sighs and stills his hands, "It's just… every time I try to talk to Katniss something goes wrong and…" He does not know how to continue the sentence but eventually his doubts and worries surface. "Maybe it's just not meant to be."
For a long time he has not felt this defeated, but now that he has actually said the words out loud, he feels the painful truth behind them. His shoulders sag, the frosting tube in his hand has suddenly become the most interesting objects in the world, and he has to swallow an extra time to accept the words.
His dad places a large but tender hand on his son's arm. "As your dad I can tell you that words of love are difficult to express. They are like the clouds; always changing and shifting. The only thing you can do is to try, and when you do, I think you will discover that not everything will go wrong. Things will work out for you if you just try. I'm sure of it."
Immediately his eyes find his dad's once again, the frosting bag long forgotten. "Do you really think I have chance?" he asks, his voice no louder than a whisper.
"You always have a chance as long as you don't give up."
Mr Mellark smiles and ruffles his son's hair affectionately as a reassurance that everything will turn out right in the end before walking back to the dough he is currently working on.
The short conversation has managed to erase all doubts from his mind. His dad is right. He does have a chance. Until he sees a wedding ring on Katniss' finger it is not over… and preferably when that day comes, the ring will be his. But why does it have to be so damn hard to talk to the girl you love? Last year, he had built up the courage to ask her to dance with him at the Spring Festival. She was sitting by herself on a bench in the table area and he had even found himself taking three steps towards her when Gale showed up. Then he pretty much ran the other way.
But not this year.
This year he is going to ask her to dance with him.
The knock on the backdoor almost makes him drop the frosting bag on the muffins. His heart starts to pound against his ribcage. It's her.
She's here!
Before he can completely pull himself together, his dad has opened the back door and there Katniss stands with a closed fist raised in the air and the sack containing that catch of the day lying on the ground. Her dark hair is in her signature braid although a few undisciplined locks have managed to escape it.
"Katniss! We were beginning to worry, that we might not see you today." his dad happily greets her as he wipes the flour off his hands in the towel he keeps hanging from his belt.
"Careful Peeta, somebody's liable to trip over your tongue." a voice right next to his ear grins.
Great, Rye has returned.
"Shut up!" he hisses back at him, but Rye just keep mocking him, "You know, that hurts right…here" he solemnly says while pointing at his chest. But only a moment later he chuckles and disappears back into the pantry.
"I see Gale is not with you?" Peeta hears his dad asks her.
Okay, now his hands are really starting to sweat. She is alone. This could be his chance, but how? He dares to steal a look at her and although he thought he was subtle her gaze finds his own in a wonderful, but exhilarating moment. But as always, he acts on pure instinct and immediately looks away. The bowl of icing next to him seems like a good choice to focus on instead of her.
"No. He had to take care of his sister. She has fallen ill, you see." she slowly answers.
It is not fair, he thinks. Even her voice is enough to give him a hard time behaving like a normal person. He is putting all his energy into frosting just one muffin, a task that was literally a piece of cake only minutes ago but now seems to require his undivided attention. He does not know how long he spends on that muffin, probably three times longer than he normally would, but he is brought back to reality when he hears a loud noise from the pantry followed by Rye's call, "Dad?! I think I might need some help in here."
The next thing his dad says makes Peeta freeze, "Oh dear. Rye only asks for help if things are really falling apart. I'm terribly sorry Katniss, but I do believe that I'll have to stop my son from tearing down the pantry. Peeta? Could you please wrap up the loaf and the buns for Katniss while I go and try to save what's left in there?"
'Okay, this is it. Be cool… and most importantly, act normal. Just talk to her, talking is something you are actually good at.' he frantically thinks. 'You can do this!'
"Sure Dad." he manages to say and with his encouraging thoughts he starts walking towards her, picking up a brown paper bag on his way.
She is right in front of him but she seems to be looking at everything but at him while she wrings her hands. He picks out the largest loaf there is and puts it next to the bag but he dares not trust himself to open his mouth. She does not say anything as well. What a great conversation they are having.
His brain is working on full power. 'Say something, Peeta. Anything! "I'm... I'm sorry about Gale's sister." he eventually says.
Seriously? He could have said anything and he goes for Gale's sister. Why bring Gale up when he is finally not around?
"It's nothing serious. She'll be up an about in no time." she responds.
Well, that is good news and although he never meant to talk about Gale or his family, he is happy to hear that the little girl will be all right again. Nothing is worse than seeing a sick child, knowing that sickness in the Seam can lead to something far worse.
Having wrapped up the loaf and the buns he hands the paper bag to her. "That's good to hear." he tells her genuinely and when she reaches to out to take the bag he dares to look straight into her eyes.
It seems like they are staring at each other for hours but none of them say anything. It has never occurred to him before now how pleasant silence can be. All he sees is grey, the beautiful light grey that lights up a winter day. But all too soon she gives him a slight nod of her head and turns to leaves.
In that moment he remembers the crucial information he heard this morning. He has to warn her about the upcoming lockdown. Without even thinking on how to say it, he stackers after her and calls, "Katniss! Wait!"
Walking in a steadfast pace he catches up with her in no time. He is a man on a mission now. She has to know.
"Wait, please. I need to speak with you."
She looks at him, slightly perplexed it seems. A warm wind makes the loose strands from her braid dance and he is about to blurt it all out when he remembers that what he is about to say is best to say in private. And he does not want his mother or anybody else to accidentally see them. He quickly scans the area for people and when he sees none, he reaches for her slender arm and gently closes a hand around it in order to lead her away from the open space. Luckily, she follows him and they end up behind the apple tree in the garden, effectively shielding them from sight.
The old apple tree is bearing the flower buds that will bloom in a few weeks time and seeing her underneath it reminds him that she too will flourish when the summer comes and that is the time of year when she is happiest, when the forest is overflowing with life and thoughts of starvation far away. She looks so lovely at the moment as she is calmly standing there, allowing him to hold onto her…
Hold onto her? Right, the promise he made to himself about acting normal kicks in and he reluctantly removes his hand from her arm. Feeling slightly embarrassed about it, his hand quickly finds the back of his neck and then runs through his hair.
His heart is bursting with joy from just standing in front of her. And although there are many things he wants to tell her, he needs to warn her about the lockdown. Her safety is his first priority. He allows himself to look straight into her silver eyes for him to say this.
"Don't go back out there today."
She looks at him perplexed, like she cannot comprehend what he just told her. But then her features harden. Oh, that is not supposed to happen. She has to understand! "I mean, I know it's none of my business but it's just… that is…". he rambles on before pulling himself together and actually makes a full sentence. "I heard some peacekeepers talk by the bakery earlier. Apparently, there is going to be a lockdown of the district today."
Now, her facial expression reads pure shock.
Please let her understand what he is telling her. He cannot bear it if anything happens to her. His hand twitches to take hold of hers. She has to understand. "Just… don't go out there again today… please." he pleads her, his voice just above a broken whisper.
Eventually she nods in understanding and he lets out a breath of relief and smiles softly. He gives her a nod of his own. This is enough for now. He must not be greedy, and now that he knows he is able to talk to her, who is to say that next time wont go better? Perhaps she will even respond with words? Certainly he will try to talk to her again before the Spring Festival so he wont seem like a creep when he asks her to dance with him.
He remains standing on the spot beneath the apple tree until he cannot see her anymore. It is only when he hears steps behind him that he turns around.
"Was that Katniss I just saw you talking to?" Bannock asks him.
"Yeah. It was."
And then he smiles at Bannock who throws an arm around his shoulders while he grins happily and they walk back into the bakery together. There are sounds coming from the pantry, so their dad must still be in there trying solve out the mess since Rye is back at the main table with his cookie dough and the minute Peeta enters the kitchen, Rye is on him, "So? Did you do it? Did you ask her to save you a dance?"
Peeta shakes his head and picks up the frosting bag. The muffins are not going to frost themselves. "No. I didn't."
Rye looks at him with utter disbelieve. "Do my ears deceive me? You didn't? Peeta! You're 16 not 6 years old. Start acting like it and grow a pair, will you?" Rye runs his hand through his hair, a signal trademark the Mellark brothers share when in distress, "If you can't pull yourself together, maybe it's time you start to move on. Ask another girl to be your partner."
He points a finger into Peeta's face "And by girl I don't mean Delly, who is like a sister to you, but a real girl, you can actually have some fun with. What about that Rosemary Ashwood? I'm sure she is more than willing to dance with you. She certainly was eying you up and down today."
"She was not." Peeta snorts. "We're just in the same class, that's all."
"Yeah, as if. I tell you, if there were a girl that looked at me the way she did you, then you wouldn't see me hanging around here."
"You're delirious. She doesn't look at me that way."
Rye throws his hands into the air in frustration, "That's what you think because you're too obsessed with Katniss Everdeen to notice it. And to make matters worse, I just gave you the perfect excuse to be alone with said girl and you blew it!"
"I warned her about the lockdown." Peeta defends himself. "I felt it was more important than the Spring Festival."
Immediately Rye's attitude changes and once again a big cheeky smile finds its way to his face at the thought of a grander plan. "Ah, good thinking bro! I knew you hadn't screwed up completely. Now she'll have to dance with you out of gratitude. And if you play your cards well, maybe you can sneak a kiss out of her."
"She doesn't owe me anything, Rye." Peeta insists.
From the stove beside the main table where Bannock is stirring the contents of a pot with a spoon, he throws Rye a sharp glance and points the spoon in Rye's direction, "Stop pestering him, Rye."
"Are you threatening me with a spoon?"
As an answer Bannock smacks the spoon hard onto one of Rye's hands, which makes him howl out from the shock. He looks from Peeta to Bannock, "But he's - "
"I know. Peeta will ask her in his own time and in his own way."
The door to the kitchen is flung open and their mother's annoyed face scrutinizes them. "There is no need to shout out like that when we're having customers in the store. Get back to work, or I'll be using your faces to scrub that pot clean."
The rest of the day goes by slowly. Luckily, they have a break from their kitchen duties around noon where they are free to do whatever they like. Peeta had spent the hours wisely. A short nap, spending some time with Delly, discussing the upcoming Spring Festival and about which games they should participate in, and later in the afternoon sitting in his usual spot on the wooden box in the bakery's backyard where he can draw in peace. Needless to say, the subject this time had been the wonderful, but fleeting moment talking with Katniss - okay, talking to Katniss - underneath the apple tree. It was just a quick black and white sketch at the moment, but he had in mind to colour it in when he had the time for it. Now, until the next time he has an hour to spare, the drawing is kept safe in his booklet that currently lies in his private hideaway, underneath the loose floorboard he found in the linen closet on the first floor.
But for the last hour, he and Rye have been back on kitchen duty preparing everything for tomorrow morning and lining up the delivery notes on the board. Their dad is standing by the stove cooking one of the squirrels that they had traded with Katniss earlier that day which he means for them to have for dinner. Their mother, who refuses to cook anything unless it comes from the grocer, has taken up her project of mending the family's torn clothes in their living room upstairs. When you work near the ovens and has three teenage sons the clothes tends to get a scratch here and there.
Peeta is currently peeling some potatoes from their small vegetable garden for his dad when he hears the loud stomps on the stairs and sure enough not a minute later Bannock comes through the door and addresses Rye.
"Yes, dear brother." Rye grins at him, knowing fully well why Bannock has come down from upstairs.
"I'm sad to say that I'm here to relieve you, but by the way you look I suggest you hit the sack instead of chasing girls."
"That's a good idea Bannock, but some of those girls have been waiting for months."
Rye has dropped everything in his hands and is already reaching for his jacket when their dad calls after him, "Isn't there something you have forgotten, Rye?"
Rye thinks about it for a while and when he comes to a conclusion he slowly asks, "Is this about the ovens?"
"How perceptive of you, Rye."
Peeta clearly sees the distress Rye suddenly finds himself in. Finally he thought that he was done for the day only to be reminded of the very thing he 'forgot' was his daily task. How bitter that must be. Rye looks from the ovens to the backdoor and then back to the ovens while he impatiently bounces on his toes so he can be ready to sprint out of the door the moment he gets the chance. "I will clean them tomorrow." he answers impatiently.
But their dad does not let him off that easy. "And will that be before or after you have scrubbed the floors and done the laundry?"
"I… but my friends… I mean…"
Peeta is eagerly waiting for whatever pathetic excuse Rye will try to use this time to get out of his chores since they tend to get crazier by the day. But unfortunately Rye's stammer is cut off briskly by the district's speaker system that booms through the district, entering every street and every house. "Attention. Attention all citizens. All citizens are to return to their homes immediately. No man, woman or child is allowed to be outside their houses during the curfew that will commence at sunset. The curfew will last throughout the night and peacekeepers will be patrolling the district to uphold the curfew. The punishment for breaking said curfew will be… severe. That will be all."
The kitchen is dead silent. Peeta, Bannock and Rye exchange a knowing look. They knew the lockdown would come and now it has, but the initiation of it still brings a gloomy atmosphere.
Mr. Mellark seems to gather his wits first, "Well, Rye. It seems you won't be going out with your friends tonight. Instead you will get to spend time with your new friends, the bucket, water and soap…"
Rye's facial expression goes from disbelieve to shock and he looks so comical right now that Peeta cannot hide the smile that has taken over his face due to his brother's misery. " - and Peeta, you just wipe that smile off your face. Don't you have a school test coming up this week?" their dad continues without even turning around to look at Peeta.
Immediately, his smile vanishes into thin air and now it is Rye's turn to smirk at him. His dad did not even turn around. When did he develop eyes in the back of the head? Unbelievable.
Dinner was quickly turned into a discussion panel about the reason for the lockdown. Everything from updating the security system to the railroad was discussed although their mother was certain the true reason was to flush out the stalls in the Hob and clean out the "Seam trash" within it.
The curfew has already lasted four hours. Mr. and Mrs. Mellark are currently relaxing in the living room before bedtime, while Rye is finding his whole upper body inside one of the ovens. Fortunately for him, Bannock had taken pity on him and decided to help him out. Peeta's head, on the other hand, is buried in a book about the essential chemistry of the coal industry, but his thoughts are drifting towards the Seam instead of the test in two days time. He cannot stop thinking about the lockdown. What if Katniss had not believed him? He had been a mumbling fool after all. The first time he gets her on his own and he cannot produce two coherent sentences. Fortunately she did nod, so he assumes that she understood it. There is no way he will know for sure before he sees her again. But she has to be okay. She simply has to.
He is so absorbed in his thoughts about Katniss that he does not think much about Rye calling out from the kitchen below him. But when he hears the noise of not one, not two but perhaps three or four people stomping up the stairs followed by his mother's small shriek as unknown voices are commanding his parents to stand still, he freezes. Not even five seconds later the door to the bedroom is flung open and he immediately rises from the chair only to stare at two peacekeepers pointing their guns at him. Slowly he raises his hands in front of him to indicate that he will not fight them. He does not recognise any of them. Did 12 get new peacekeepers? Is that why there had to be a lockdown?
Quickly, one of the peacekeepers walks over to him and gives him a small push to indicate that he should move. The peacekeeper does not say anything, but his rough attitude is enough for Peeta to know that he should not question him. Instead Peeta eyes the insignia of the uniform. No, not new peacekeepers. Capitol peacekeepers. As he is guided to the staircase, his thoughts are racing. Why are they here? Did he mess up the deliveries? But how could that be possible when another of the Capitol peacekeepers made sure that he only took what belonged to them.
Downstairs, he is pushed inside the kitchen where he immediately joins the rest of his family that is standing in a small cluster by the main table. Peacekeepers line the three doors of the room and Peeta counts ten peacekeepers inside the kitchen but on his way he saw some in the store area as well even though the lights had not been turned on. How many are there in the bakery? Another odd thing is that none of the peacekeepers are aiming their weapons at them. They just stand there and look out into the air, not looking at anything in particular.
Mrs. Mellark has an iron grip on her husband's arm who tries to stay calm. Bannock is keeping a reassuring hand on Rye's shoulder whose eyes are about to pop out of their sockets. The moment Peeta reaches his family, his dad gently takes hold of him, but keeps his grip firm for Peeta to know that he is not alone. If there is a time for the family to stick together it must be now.
The seconds ticks by slowly. For a moment Peeta feels the time has stopped and he does not even dare to breathe, afraid that he will make a sound. Then a peacekeeper with four ribbons of order sowed onto the uniform's shoulders speaks into a sort of technological watch. "Everything is in order, sir. We have them all."
From the darkness of the store area Peeta sees a silhouette come near the door to the kitchen but when the person steps into the light of the kitchen he is like petrified. In the door opening to the store stands a person that Peeta has only ever seen on screen. A person that he never thought or hoped he would ever meet.
But here he is; President Snow is standing in their house.
And he is staring directly into Peeta's eyes.
Time freezes and Peeta dares not look away. For a moment it is like the president acknowledges no other than him and he wants nothing more than to break eye contact with Panem's leader, but he does not know how. The president's facial expression is like stone but then a contended smile flashes briefly. It is only then President Snow's eyes wander to the rest of the Mellark family, to observe each and every one of them.
All of the Mellarks are frozen in place while the president seems to have taken over their home as he walks to the main table and pulls out a stool across from them. As if this was an everyday event for him, he sits down and folds his hands on the table. A few Capitol officials enter the room as well, but they keep their distance by standing in the back.
"I am sure you must be wondering why I have honoured your family with my presence, Mr. Mellark." President Snow calmly says.
Mr. Mellark can do nothing but nod and Peeta does not blame him for not trusting his own voice.
"The reason for it is of a very important matter, I can assure you of that. Do you have any idea of which reason I'm speaking?"
"No, your Excellency. I'm afraid I don't know." Mr. Mellark manages to say.
"You have had something of mine in your position for many years now, and I would like you to return it to me."
"I… I didn't know that, sir. I'm truly sorry if I have done something to offend you. Whatever it is, it is yours."
President Snow rewards the words with a content smile, "I appreciate that, Mr. Mellark. I have read your file. You are an exceptionally good citizen. You are a hard and honest worker and you are quite the family man, I understand." He lets his gaze wander over the boys. "Such fine boys you have. You and your lovely wife must be very proud of them."
"We are, sir. We love our boys with all of our hearts."
"And they are all yours?"
"Sir?"
President Snow looks at the high ranking officer who with a snap of his fingers orders the five closest peacekeepers to move from their assigned positions and they take hold of the hand of each Mellark. Before Peeta can understand what is happening he feels a sharp pain in his index finger and the peacekeeper holding his hand smears the dribbling blood onto a sort of card. The five peacekeepers walk away as quickly as they approached them, each carrying a card with the blood from Peeta, Rye, Bannock and their parents. They place the cards next to each other on the table and a Capitol official sets a scanning device connected to a small tablet on the table as well.
"It is amazing what technology and a single drop of blood can do." President Snow jauntily states.
Peeta, who does still not understand what is going on, can only look passively at the cards on the table.
"This tablet contains the entire database of the citizens of Panem. From the Capitol to the districts. Every child that is born is registered in this database." President Snow starts as he fiddles with the tablet before he takes hold of the scanning device and it is then that Peeta recognizes it. He has seen such a scanning devise four times already, at the reaping where they scan his blood to register him.
"We have only recently changed the programme to be able to compare DNA-profiles and the result is marvellous."
President Snow scans the first card on the table and immediately a hologram rises from the tablet. The DNA-sequences are shown and it is quickly confirmed to belong to Mr. Mellark as his profile photo shows up in the left side of the hologram. The same happens with Mrs. Mellark's DNA-profile and her profile photo is placed on the right side.
"Now we come to the fascinating part. With this programme we are even able to determinate the family lineage." Snow says as he taps on the tablet and then picks up another card to scan it.
The DNA-profile is Bannock's and a white line is drawn from his photo in the middle of the screen to both of Mr. and Mrs. Mellark's photos. "You see? A clear lineage line."
Then he picks up another card and scans it. Bannock's photo disappears and is replaced by Rye's and the same white line is automatically drawn to both of his parents.
"Fascinating isn't it?" Snow states and he reaches for the last card on the table. Peeta can feel his dad's grip on his shoulder tighten as they watch Peeta's photo take Rye's place in the hologram. For a few seconds nothing is happening. But then a white line to both his parents' photos appear.
But the line is broken.
Mr. Mellark's grip on Peeta tightens further and Peeta might have felt his shoulder is about to break if he had not been in shock of the hologram in front of him.
The room is dead silent.
"It can't be." someone whispers and to his horror, Peeta realises that it is his own voice. He stares at the broken line that is mocking him, taunting him. "It can't be." he repeats.
Bannock whirls around to look at his dad, his eyes already glistening with tears, "Dad! There must have been a mistake. Peeta is our brother!" he latches onto his dad's arm, "Tell them!"
"Yes do please tell, Mr. Mellark. I too am very eager to hear what you have to say." President Snow utters.
Mr. Mellark looks at his three sons and slowly starts talking, "What you must understand - and it is very important - is that Peeta is still your brother… but unfortunately he is not your biological brother."
"What are you talking about? That is bull-shit! Mom was pregnant with Peeta. We have all seen the photos in the family album." Rye cries out.
Mr. Mellark raises his eyes to the president who gestures for him to continue. "A little over 16 years ago your mother was indeed pregnant and on a cold winter night she gave birth to a the child. A baby girl, but she was stillborn."
Peeta cannot believe his ears and he slowly feels his entire world crumble around him. Still his beloved dad keeps talking, keeps on shattering his world, "I left the house with our stillborn baby to bury her in the meadow but on my way back I heard a baby's cry. But the cry came from the woods beyond the fence. I was certain of what I had heard and I knew that I had to find the baby since no baby can survive on its own. So I broke the law and ducked under the fence to follow the cries. I stumbled upon a fallen tree trunk and inside the trunk lay a baby boy wrapped in a blanket, no older than a month. I took him home with me and your mother and I decided to raise the boy as our own."
By the end of the story the tears are flowing from Mr. Mellark's eyes as well as that of his three sons. Mr. Mellark takes Peeta into his arms and hugs him with all of his might and Peeta clings to him like there is no tomorrow. His dad kisses the top of his head, "I am so sorry that you should discover the truth this way, Peeta. But know this, you are still my beloved son. And nothing will change that."
Peeta is still in shock and a tremor runs through his body. This is a nightmare, a cruel and horrifying nightmare, and he longs to wake up.
President Snow regains the attention by clearing his voice, "That is a very touching story. But I too have a story to tell and I have the feeling that I can trust you and your family, Mr. Mellark. Am I correct in assuming that?"
"Yes, sir." Mr. Mellark says, his voice completely hollow, as if he is afraid of what he will hear.
"It is no secret that my own darling wife died shortly after having given me the greatest treasure in life. My son was a mere infant when he lost his mother. The nation is told that she died of a fatal accident, but that accident was in fact a rebel attack in my own home, in her bedroom no less where she and my son slept."
Mrs. Mellark gasps and covers her mouth with her hands.
"Afterwards, it was clear that the rebels were after my son, my only heir. If they had him in their possession, Panem would be entirely at their mercy. My wife suffered the ultimate price when she tried to protect our son from them and their devilry plan."
As he talks, he pulls out a small blade from the inside of his pristine dark blue suit and pricks his index finger, smearing the blood onto an identical card as the ones laid out before him.
"The rebels managed to take my son far away from the Capitol before our own hovercrafts caught up with them and forced them to the ground. But what happened to my son afterwards has been a mystery… until now."
All of the president's movements seem to happen in slow motion at this point. He scans the card with his own blood and his official photo and DNA-sequence appears in the hologram. Peeta holds his breath and his eyes are fixed on the hologram. A single white line appears and connects his own photo with President Snow's. And this one is not broken. He keeps telling himself that it will only be a matter of time before it breaks, but nothing happens.
Wiping off the blood with a beautifully decorated white handkerchief, President Snow looks eagerly, almost hungrily, at Peeta, who stands firmly in the very middle of the Mellark family, "After 16 years of searching I have finally found my son and now I have come to bring him home."
'It is not true.' That is the only sentence that floats around inside Peeta's head. It is not true. Someone is pulling a prank on him, and a very bad one of that. He instinctively takes a small step back, away from the man who claims to be his true father and closer to his dad that still holds onto his shoulders with an iron grip.
"Come now, my boy. It's time to go home." The president calmly declares, officially trying to end the discussion before it even starts.
Every part of Peeta denies the information that he has just been given. He shakes his head and even though his mouth is dry like a desert he replies, "It is not true! You must have made a mistake."
"DNA-results never lie and it's a 100% match." one of the officials from the back states drily.
"No, you're the one who is lying!" Peeta insists, desperate to make them understand that everything is just a mistake.
President Snow, sensing that Peeta has no intentions of following him, gives the high ranking officer a slight nod. The officer immediately steps forward and takes hold of Peeta's arm. "Don't touch me!" Peeta yells at the officer as he manages to rip his arm out of the officer's grasp.
"Peeta, for heavens sake! Stop being so stubborn for once and do what you are told!" his mother shouts at him.
But the officer does not listen and he tries once again to grab him. Before he has even laid a hand on Peeta, Rye brutally shoves him to the side and roars at him, "You heard him! Don't you touch my brother, you stinking piece of metal scrap!"
That's when the mayhem begins. Two peacekeepers step forward in order to pacify Rye, who in return hits out at them. Mr. Mellark tries to protect Rye by placing himself in between them and in result takes most of the blows from the peacekeepers. Mrs. Mellark screams as she is contained by another peacekeeper. The sight makes Peeta loose his ability to move for a moment as he watches his dad and Rye being brutally shoved against the wall, and he does not even notice that the high ranking officer has returned. Bannock, on the other hand, has seen the officer and quickly pulls Peeta behind him, as if shielding him from sight will help. Frantically, Peeta looks around the kitchen and his heart sinks when he sees that there is no easy way out. There are still peacekeepers standing by every door and they will have to fight them to get out. He does not have long time to think of an escape route when he and Bannock are flanked by four peacekeepers. Two of them force Bannock down on the floor and puts him in an armlock and the other two are focused on getting Peeta towards the door to the store area where the main entrance to the bakery is.
Instinctively, Peeta first rips his right arm out of one the peacekeeper's hands and elbows him in the gut. The shock of Peeta fighting back is enough for Peeta to throw the other peacekeeper off him with relative ease. His blood is pumping, his heart is racing and his drive is pure adrenaline at the moment. His family cannot help him anymore since they are all being restrained and to make matters worse several peacekeepers are closing in on him. There is no way that he can get to the door and in pure desperation he grabs the closest thing to him, a glass, and hurls it in a peacekeeper's direction. The glass misses its target and shatters with a loud bang against the wall in thousands of pieces.
"Get away from me!" he screams at them.
A howl of pain takes him out of his desperation tantrum, and he looks over at Rye who has tried to fight off the peacekeepers but instead earned a punch to the ribs. But what makes Peeta see red is when they peacekeepers having had enough of the Mellarks' un-cooperation draws their guns and places them against his family's temples to keep them still. He reaches for everything he can get his hands on as he backs away from the peacekeepers walking towards him: plates, glasses, baking utensils, pots and pans, rolling pens, baking tins, cans… literately everything he can reach, he throws at them. Some he hits, and most he misses but everytime he seems to have made one peacekeeper sink to his knees another takes his place.
Unfortunately, in his despair he fails to notice the bucket that Rye and Bannock had used to clean the ovens with and he trips over it and tumbles to the ground by the sink. Seeing his brother fall down, Bannock tries once again to get up, but that only earns him a hard hit on the head with the handle of a peacekeeper's gun.
"No! Leave them alone!" Peeta yells at the peacekeepers from underneath the sink where he is now trapped like a mere prey. Immediately, the peacekeepers are onto him and four pairs of hands manage to hold him down and he knows that there is no way he can get away now. He feels so lost and he cannot bear the thought that his family is being hurt because of him. Fat, ugly tears start to form and in no time at all they begin to run down his cheeks, "Please don't hurt them." he sobs, "Stop it!".
Still not giving up trying to fight back the best he can, he spots a Capitol official coming closer. But it is the syringe in his hand that frightens Peeta the most. "No, please don't." he begs, "Please don't do this. Please let me go."
No matter how much he pleads the official and the peacekeepers to back off, it is of no use and only seconds later he feels a sharp sting in his neck. "Please…" he tries again, but he can already feel the drug starting to take effect. Whatever there was in that syringe it is clearly a powerful sedative, and he feels his strength leave him and drowsiness to take over. He tries with all his might to stay awake, but it is impossible. The last thing he sees before everything goes dark is his dad's sad eyes and tearstained face looking back at him.
When Peeta has passed out and is lying motionless on the floor, a large peacekeeper gathers the unconscious boy in his arms like he weighed nothing at all and walks out of the kitchen with determined steps. It is only then that President Snow moves away from the chair he has been sitting on.
As if nothing had happened, he stands and puts on his white gloves, while he nonchalantly says, "Of course, I trust you understand that no matter how much my son may love all of you, I cannot allow him to stay here any longer than he already has. Also, as a sign of my appreciation for all what you have done for him, I'll replace the items that my son has destroyed just moments ago and reward you handsomely, provided of course that we can see eye to eye on certain… important matters." He raises his head and looks straight at the Mellark family who are still being detained against the wall or the floor. "Firstly, you are not to tell anyone of what you have heard or seen tonight. Secondly, no one must know of my son's true position in society before his official introduction to Panem on his 18th birthday. And thirdly, when that day occurs, you are to follow whatever directions the Presidential Office might give you. If you fail to uphold these simple rules, I'll not answer for the consequences. Have I made myself clear?"
All the Mellarks can do is nod since no one has the strength to fight back the tears and the lumps in their throats.
"Excellent!" President Snow beams. Before he leaves the kitchen he turns around one last time, "Oh and one more thing. You will of course be allowed to leave this room when my train has left the district, but not a moment before that. I do not need a repetition of what has just occurred. Now, I bid you a good evening. And I thank you once again."
And then the president walks out of the bakery leaving the Mellark family in despair.
20 minutes later the peacekeepers receive a message through their communication devices and they release their hold on the Mellarks before quickly disappearing into the night. Even though the peacekeepers have left, the Mellarks do not even try to get up at this point. The shattered room stands as a painful reminder of the fact that there is nothing they can do to get Peeta back now. He is already far away from home.
AN:
And there you have it. Chapter 4 is finally completed and uploaded! I apologise for the long wait. It took longer time to write than I expected, but as a small consolation this chapter is the longest one to date. I hope that it was worth the wait. I would like to thank all the kind people who have reviewed the three first chapters. You guys are amazing, and your wonderful praise keeps my inspiration going. Once again, all mistakes are mine.
Until next time.
