The Lady Of The Lake
So here we are with Chapter 45, a bridging Chapter between the Post Quell fallout and the crescendo towards the Final Assault on the Capitol.
I am once again accepting questions for the characters themselves as well as Questions about the story at the tumblr located on the profile or at
thgladyofthelake . tumblr . com
This chapter features Cato and Sky and the rebirth of their relationship, District 13, the disaster of District 2 and an adorable interlude.
There are no review responses at the end of the chapter, HOWEVER there are some general comments so enjoy!
Enjoy!
Chapter 45
The rest of the day is lost in a flurry of activity.
My trip to the Districts is postponed, Cato insisting that I stay in District 13, safe and sound, while he heads off to a warzone. A part of me is bitter about it, but the larger part understands, even if it bristles against the smothering.
The part of me that understands knows that Cato doesn't want me in danger, not if he isn't there to protect me. Finnick, Gloss and Sefir are all well and good, but he is a man of action. If I were to die, if Teesa were to die, and he was not there to keep us safe, he would always blame himself. He will never be able to trust someone else to do as good a job as he would
Which is exactly why he has to go to District 2.
I make my rounds as they pack, stopping in first to Enobaria.
She glances up at me as she finishes packing, and arches an eyebrow. We've never been as close as I am with some of our other Victors. She has walls up, prickly walls, and she keeps people out with threats and sharp smiles. But I trust her, I trust her to watch Cato's back, and she trusts me to watch hers.
I give her a weak smile and she shakes her head, straightening up.
"Worried?" she asks, hefting her pack onto her shoulder.
I nod and she shrugs.
"You should be. War is scary and bloody and fucking messy." She walks forward and rests a hand on my shoulder. I meet her eyes, looking away from those gold tipped fangs in her mouth. Her eyes are a lovely dark brown, steady, firm, "I can't make you any promises," she murmurs, "But you can be sure I'll watch their backs. Especially Cato. He's a puppy, but he's my puppy, and no one fucks with the alpha bitches pups without her tearing their throats out with her teeth. Okay?"
Strangely I am comforted.
"Just don't make too much of a mess," I just say and she gives me a small feral grin, "Oh god what am I even saying. Just…be careful?"
"No glory in careful," Enobaria reminds me, walking on out the door, "Later kitten."
"No glory in death either." I call after her, rolling my eyes at the District 2 attitude.
"Depends on the death, doesn't it." She yells back, "Go pet your puppy."
"District 2 is so weird," I mutter, and then jump as someone snickers nearby.
"Sweetheart I'm concerned if you're only just realising this now." Haymitch informs me, strolling over in his laconic way, his own travelling pack on his shoulder, "Decided I'd go keep an eye on the children. Try and restrain the hot heads." He shudders delicately, "Don't know the moron was who decided having Katniss, Gale, Enobaria and the harpy all in the same command party, was a good idea."
"You're such a fraud," I inform him, rolling my eyes as we begin our own stroll down the corridor, "I know you actually like Deccia."
"She's evil."
I just give him a look.
"Okay," he grumbles, rolling his eyes, "She's alright I suppose. Fantastic legs."
"You're full of it," I inform him, rolling my eyes back at him, "Haymitch…"
"I know, I know…take care of them…" it's his turn to give me a look.
"No…well yes Haymitch but," I catch his arm and make him pause for a moment, turning back towards me, "Look after yourself too. Please..."
He gives me a small smile, and I give a weak one back. We haven't talked about what we went through, the Capitol, the torture, the whole terrible ordeal, and I don't think we ever will. Somehow it's enough just knowing that someone else out there understands. Knows.
It's a bond, very different to any other I have with anyone else. And one I hope never to have to replicate.
We look at each other for long moments, communicating solely by our eyebrows until we're interrupted by someone coughing.
Both of us turn to see Katniss and Gale standing there, and while Gale looks quizzical, Katniss looks like she's hiding a small smile.
And behind them are Peeta and Cato.
My eyes find Cato's almost immediately and for a moment everything else seems to fade away, our friends, our family, everything is distant. The only thing that seems real is the man standing just a few metres away.
My partner, my lover.
My husband.
"Uh…" Gale's voice breaks into our small bubble, his grey eyes flicking from me to Cato and back again, one eyebrow quizzically arched, "How about we meet you guys in the hanger?"
"That sounds like a great idea," Peeta enthuses, hurrying forward and leading them off down the hallway, "Come on Haymitch."
Katniss is the only one to hesitate, also glancing at Cato, and then at me. Slowly she walks away but pauses by my shoulder as she passes.
"When I come back," she murmurs, and I look up into her grey eyes, seeing an older, wiser woman there than the one I'd seen a few months ago, "When we come back," she nods towards Cato, "You and I…we need to have a chat."
I nod, because she's right, we do.
She looks at Cato again and I see the warning look on her face before she disappears off down the hallway, following the others.
Which leaves us, Cato and me, all alone. No buffers, no distractions. Just us.
And his imminent departure looming over our heads.
"Cato…" I begin and he holds up a hand, stopping me from continuing.
"No." his voice is soft but firm, "No let me. Sky…fuck I'm no good with words." He moves forwards and gently grips my shoulders, giving them a small shake, "Do you remember when you saved me after the tracker jackers? I woke up in that cave with no memory of how I got there, no idea where I was and evidence of another Tribute everywhere." He strokes his hands up to my cheeks, "When you came back and I attacked you, you said to me…you said, 'I'm not your enemy.'"
"'Everyone is the enemy'," I remember him spitting the words, his hand at my throat, blue eyes wild with the toxin and the confusion.
"And I was wrong," Cato looks down at me, gaze intense, "I thought I knew everything. Everything about the Hunger Games, about life…I thought I knew what was supposed to happen. I was wrong. You changed everything Sky, you changed the entire course of my life just by being…you."
Slowly he sinks down onto his knees, hands cradling my swollen belly, resting his forehead against the soft curve. Instinctively my hand drops, smoothing through the fair head resting against me.
"Cato," I whisper, "Love…you don't have to…"
"Yes I do," he looks up at me and there is a fierceness there, that fighting spirit that is so intrinsically Cato that I feel my breath catch, "Because I broke your trust, I hurt you….Even though I did it to protect you, to save you…I betrayed you…Odair…he helped me see that." He lowers his head and kisses my belly, "I love you so much, and I beg you…please…Sky…I'm not your enemy…I couldn't bear it if you…"
I can't take it anymore and I drop down with him, my lips finding his in a raw kiss that he instantly returns, pulling me close despite the pregnant swell of my body. His arms are strong, and I breathe him in, the feeling of safety, and home that I've always felt in his embrace washing over me like a cleansing river.
My husband doesn't fear bullets, or knives, tributes or mutts, but he fears losing me, losing Teesa, he fears losing the people he loves.
We've been crossing our wires for weeks, getting more and more tangled in them with every misunderstanding, every perceived rejection, every twisted memory.
Once again…it is Finnick who manages to untangle us, and help us come together.
"I love you," I breathe against his lips, and he groans, a deep loving groan of relief and residual hurt and sadness, "I love you so much Cato. It killed me to think I'd lost you…I love you, I couldn't do this without you, I am yours. I've always been yours."
And he kisses me again, a deep hungry, fierce kiss that leaves me breathless and lips swollen, but alive…so alive.
"Mine," he growls, and it's rough, his voice gruff and deep, "My Sky…"
We stay like that for long moments, so close that we can't tell where one of us ends and the other one begins. It takes a sharp kick from our daughter to remind us where we are, that even though we've just begun to heal, Cato has to go…he has to go to District 2.
He has to fight a war.
And I have to fight mine here.
We stand, but don't move away from one another, foreheads touching as one of his large, strong hands smooths over the curve of my stomach, stroking over where Teesa kicked.
"I have to go," he says softly, eyes lifting to meet mine, and I nod, because I have to. Because District 2 is his territory, his place of origin, his point of pride. Because until we win this war, none of us will be safe. Because until we win this war Teesa will always be in danger, we'll all always be in danger.
"I know."
He lifts my hand to his lips and presses a kiss to my palm.
And then, he's gone and I'm alone once more.
I watch the airship leave the hanger from the observation deck, my eyes not leaving the figures boarding and then the craft itself until they disappear, even when I feel someone come up behind me.
Finnick's hands are gentle as he wraps an arm about my shoulder and I lean into him.
Neither of us says a word.
We don't have to.
Time passes steadily in District 13.
It's so measured out, so careful, so exacting that there is almost no way to lose any time in your day, to get lost in your own head, to relax and read, unless it is the time apportioned for such an action. So I have to find my own ways of bonding with this new District.
I start with mealtimes.
We are assigned tables, and I begin on my actually assigned seat, sitting and listening to the people around the stainless steel tabletop talk.
At first they are wary, their conversation stilted and unsure of what to say, but as they get used to my presence, as they realise I'm genuinely interested in their lives, they relax. I sit with them for a few days, bond with them, and then I swap with Fells, doing the same with the people at his table. Then I swap with Enrid, with Cashmere, with Gloss, with Sefir and finally with Prim.
The young girl approaches me and takes me to her table herself, introducing me to the people who sit there, her soft, doe like eyes bright with intelligence. In that moment I can see she is truly Katniss' sister, softer, gentler, but she has the same sharp mind, although perhaps more strategic than her sisters.
Over the days I meet technicians, specialists, associates and engineers, all of whom are surprised by my interest in their lives. They in turn are curious about District 4 and I see their eyes linger on the ripe swell of my belly.
Prim explains this to me one day in the medical wing. Fells is giving me a check-up and Prim is keeping me distracted from the tests. It's a slow day in the wing, and so they can spare her.
"They had a terrible plague," she says softly, slender fingers brushing over my hand, "It wiped so many of them out, and it's made so many of them infertile. Your pregnancy, and Cashmere's…it's something so prized here."
It explains the rigidity, explains how they survived something so devastating, but…I still cannot imagine living in such a way.
"Do they hope we will stay?" I ask softly, "Us from District 4, and District 12? Those are some healthy genes coming in."
"I think they hope so…" Prim nods, reaching up to check a reading as Fells moves around my bed, "Wouldn't you?"
I would, I know I would, if I were them.
"Sky," A new voice, shy, cuts in and I look up to see the solemn little face of Leadan, Darrien's youngest brother, now 13 years old, and rapidly growing. Since the Reaping, his voice has broken and seeing him gives me a sick jolt in my stomach.
He's almost the spitting image of Darrien. With his soft blue eyes, thick dark slightly curling hair, he could just be my former District partner's younger self, rather than his brother. Seeing him makes my heart ache with remembered sorrow, but also fondness.
Leadan is not Darrien, just as Lyrra is not Teesa. And I do love him for him.
"Leadan," I smile at him, and give a little wave, "You've grown!"
That makes him grin, head ducking and hand rubbing through the shaggy black hair, "Mom says she's surprised she can't see it happening before her eyes."
"I can imagine," I shake my head, "You're going to be so tall!"
"Taller than Finnick?" he asks hopefully and I laugh. Leadan hero worships Finnick, whereas his elder brother Riam had taken to following Cato's movements with curious eyes back in District 4, before the Quell.
"Definitely taller than Finnick." I assure him, and glance to the side where Prim is studiously examining a chart, "Oh sorry, Prim..." I wave at Leadan, "Prim this is Leadan Macmurra, from District 4, Leadan this is Primrose Everdeen, from 12."
"Hi," Leadan says, suddenly shy, shuffling his feet slightly.
"Hi," Prim glances at him and then away, cheeks pinking slightly.
I roll my eyes, and look at Fells, who just looks amused at how adorably awkward things have just gotten.
No help there then. Asshole.
"Prim's studying to be a Doctor," I inform Leadan, nodding at Fells, "Fells is teaching her some hands on stuff."
"Being a healer is cool," Leadan says quietly, sneaking a glance at Prim, "I'm going to work on boats when we go back to District 4." He pauses and then shakes his head, "I mean, like…build them…my parents built boats."
"I've never seen a boat," Prim admits, "My sister told me about the sea though…it sounds amazing."
"You've never seen a boat?" Leadan looks shocked, "Or the sea? It's amazing. I'll have to show it to you."
And then he flushes.
"I'd like that," Prim says softly, smiling down at her chart, and missing the goofy grin on the boys face.
I thunk my head back against my pillow at the adorableness of the entire thing, and grin at Fells who is silently laughing.
"Shut up," I mouth at him and he just grins back.
I should have known things were going too smoothly.
District 13 had warmed to me, had embraced me, and also my friends, my Victors, and we'd been very successful in sharing with them what life was like, and what we hoped for with the end of the rebellion.
Finnick charmed them, Annie softened them, Fells warmed them, Cashmere awed them and I…I think I fascinated them.
They'd heard of, but not seen the Hunger Games, so for them…I was interesting, something unusual. All of us Victors were.
So they listened to our stories, and we listened to theirs.
It had been going so well.
Until I find myself in Lyrra's intelligence booth once more, bracing my hands against the table as Peeta's and Cato's voices come over the private comms that Lyrra had given them.
"They want to block off the exits," Cato's voice is gravelly, "Smoke the survivors out of the control centre."
"The death toll will be catastrophic," Peeta sounds distraught, "There are thousands of people in there! Katniss doesn't want to, but…"
"We don't have many options," my husband's voice is lower, but rougher, and I can only imagine what he must be feeling, "This will win the battle faster, and with fewer casualties on our side."
"It's not right," Finnick begins from beside me.
"I know that!" Cato snaps, "But I need a different plan to put up against Hawthorne's."
"This is Gale's plan?" I break in, voice sharp, and Lyrra looks at me, "He came up with this?"
"His philosophy is to win at any cost," Cato sighs, "It's practical but."
"There's no point in winning if we're no better than the Capitol we're beating." I say softly and all of them fall silent, "Lyrra?"
"Who's in Command there? In the mountain?" Lyrra asks.
"It used to be Brutus," I can hear my husband shift on the other side of the line, "But the Capitol took him away…Lyme told us."
Lyme is one of our Victors, a Commander in the Districts.
"It's now some Peacekeeper." Peeta informs us.
"Do Septim and Lucan have any ideas?" I ask, knowing both of Cato's brothers are in 2, "Or Deccia?"
"No," Cato's voice is heavy, "Apparently diplomacy failed before we got here. Lucan thinks Gale's plan is sound."
"He would," I mutter and look across at Finnick, "Any ideas. You always have a plan."
"Not this time," he says softly, and I close my eyes turning back to the comm.
"Peeta suggested giving them time to surrender," Cato relays, voice quiet, I think he knows we've got nothing.
"That's something," Lyrra says softly, but I shake my head.
"It's not enough…"
"We can't siege them out Sky," Cato's voice is rough, "We have to win District 2, we can't do anything about the Capitol until this clusterfuck is fixed!"
"I know," and I do know, and I lean forward, "I just…"
"Yeah, me too." He says, and then sighs, "Call us if you come up with anything before dawn. The final decision will be made then. Hawthorne sent to 13 for approval, Lyrra says that's the longest she can delay the transmission."
"We'll call." I say and then hesitate, "Cato."
"I'll save as many as I can Little Fish,"
I smile sadly and nod, "I know you will."
We stay up all night, but there is no better plan.
Dawn comes and District 13 send back an approval of Gale's plan.
Come evening and I am back in Lyrra's Intelligence booth, watching it unfold on the huge screen, the smoke, the fire, the destruction and the massacre unfolding at the single unblocked entrance.
I watch the whole disaster.
And I don't leave until it's done, and Cato's voice comes over the comm, sounding defeated.
"We estimate about 100 have surrendered."
"Out of how many," I ask, and he doesn't answer, "Dammit Cato! Out of how many!"
"Out of around a thousand."
I sink into my seat and rest my head against the table.
"Sky," his voice comes to me again, and it's soft, but firm, "Sky, listen to me." And my head lifts, seeing him on the screen, cheek bloodied and ash across his face, "Sky…we gave them the choice…before and after…they chose…they chose to fight."
"Cato," I say softly but he shakes his head.
"No. Sky…I wish…you know I wish this could have been different. But. They made their choice. Everything is a choice, everything we do. And they chose to fight and die for the Capitol. That…was their choice. Just as we chose to give them a chance to join us."
Slowly I nod, but the sickness still churns in my gut.
"Cato?" I say and I see him look up, see that despite his fighting words, that he is hurting too, "Cato…come home."
He smiles, and my heart lifts.
"Tell Odair to get his wedding suit ready. We're leaving right now."
The lady of the lake Chatzy is now live. The link is on my profile and on the tumblr!
NEXT CHAPTER: Finnick and Annie's Wedding! The Capitol Strikes back. And Sky finally gives birth!
I wanted the events of District 2 to unfold as they did in Mockingjay, simply because it was an interesting look at how war, despite wanting to save lives, can be brutal and hard choices have to be made. Sometimes there just isn't a way to save everyone...and for an idealist like Sky...it's a hard thing to take.
Some points, to answer some questions
- Sky is still struggling with the aftermath of the Quell, but she's decided, privately that it's not worth throwing away her relationships with Cato and the others over. They did what they had to, and she understands. After the war is over she'll take the time to heal properly. For now though she's determined not to waste any time with the ones she loves.
- After this story I am thinking of writing an AU with these characters so QUESTION!
Would you still be interested in reading a story of Cato and Sky in an AU with all of these characters just set to a different world?
