The Lady of the Lake
So here we are, another chapter closer to the finale!
Quite a few of you will be aware that I haven't just been sitting on my hands the last few weeks. I've been adding drabbles/chapters to the Lady of the Lake : Behind the Scenes story which contain segments of other characters Point of Views from parts of the Lady of the Lake. So far we have Finnick when Sky brings Cato back to the cave, Darrien's death from his POV, Deccia and Haymitch at Cato and Sky's wedding, Katniss' thoughts on Sky and Cato before the final day of the games, Darrien and Marvel realising they love one another, Katniss realising Sky and Cato's alliance is based off love and Finnick sending the sponsor gifts at the end.
Requests for more of these scenes can be made at the tumblr which is at:
thgladyofthelake . tumblr . com
This chapter was daunting to write. I've been planning it for months, I knew exactly what would happen in it, and that kind of scared me. Still I hope you all enjoy it!
No review responses this time...sorry guys! But thank you so much for sending them!
Enjoy!
Chapter 46
The ash and rubble crunches under my feet as I pick my way through the ruins of District 12.
It's a wasteland, a desert of grey and dust and burnt shells and the stillness of it, the deadness of what was once a living breathing District unnerves me. But I was the one to insist that I come when Katniss suggested coming here.
Preparations for Annie and Finnick's wedding are in full swing, with the ceremony supposed to happen tomorrow. We are filming it and broadcasting it to the Districts and Capitol alike, showing that even in times of war, love and happiness still exist…even thrive.. Annie was the one to point out a problem with our preparations, her voice quiet as she tugged gently on my and Finnick's sleeves.
"No wedding dress," she pointed out, a small frown on her face.
This had set the former-Capitol rebels into a tizzy of anxiety, but was solved by Katniss suggesting that we use something from the large wardrobe, designed by her District stylist Cinna, in her Victor house back in District 12. The only part of the District, ironically enough, to survive.
And so here we are.
Annie is with Katniss in her house, choosing the dress, and soon enough I'll go join them, but right now I need…
I need to see.
Slowly I walk through the ruins of the District square, looking up at the blackened stone shell of the Justice Building, the only structure still even partially intact.
I've only been here twice in my life, at the beginning and the end of the Victory Tour, but my mind supplies a bustling place, the celebratory lights, the feast, the laughter and joy. But it's only a memory and the smell of decay and destruction brings me back to the present.
Picking my way through the square I move off down a side street and stop before the ruins of a building, crouching before a hunk of half burned wood and brushing the layer of ash off it. 'lark' 'kery' is all that is left of the place where Peeta grew up, where his family perished. They were some of the few not to make it out of the District, one of the first places hit by the Capitol's firebombs since it was so close to the town centre.
There's nothing left here now.
Both Katniss and Peeta returned to their District soon after the Quell, while I was…in the Capitol's care. He'd had no desire to return here again, and a part of me knows that Peeta's life here in 12 is over. The only thing that might have drawn him back to this place of shadows and ghosts is Katniss, and…well…
"Sky."
I freeze by the sign and then force my muscles to relax as I stand and turn to face the young man standing behind me.
Gale Hawthorne, dressed like a District 13 soldier, eyes me steadily, arms folded.
What does he see here, I wonder, brushing the ash from my hands, what does he feel about all this?
Anger, I answer myself, seeing it in those grey eyes, there is a lot of anger in him.
"Gale," I answer steadily, "Katniss send you to find me?"
"Katniss asked me to bring you." He replies firmly, and we eye each other for another beat before he speaks again, "You don't like me."
I blink at him surprised. I hadn't been expecting a confrontation about our cool working relationship, and it throws me a little bit.
"No," my voice is quiet, "No I don't like you. And you don't like me."
He nods, and I smile wryly. At least we're both being honest.
"Because of Peeta?" he asks, glancing at the ruins of the bakery, "I have nothing against him you know. He's a good guy."
"No not because of Peeta," I shake my head, "I mean it didn't exactly make me positively disposed towards you or anything, but…no…I was ambivalent about you as a person."
He looks surprised, "Why then? If you don't mind me asking?"
I find I don't mind, it's kind of refreshing, releasing, to be so open, so honest and blunt.
"When I woke up back in District 13, after the rescue, I heard from multiple sources about the discord between the Districts, between their leaders." Something like discomfort flickers across his face and I press on, "Cato and Katniss in particular. And all of those sources mentioned you either standing by or stirring it up. You put everyone in danger…the whole rebellion…I don't know why but you did. And then…this…"
"This?" he frowns slightly and I nod.
"District 2."
"It was the best option," he defends and I lift a hand, my face bleak.
"It was the quick option. The easy option. And one you put forward. A plan that resulted in approximately 900 people dying."
"We gave you the time to come up with another plan!" Gale bristles, taking a small, threatening step forward, "Your…Cato and Peeta insisted…and you had nothing." He glares and I frown back, "Don't blame me just because you couldn't come up with a solution that didn't use kisses and hugs to solve it."
"You're right," I reply, feeling cold, "I couldn't think of another solution, one that would be as efficient in terms of resources or time. Not one that 13 would accept as an alternative when presented with your…quick solution. But it doesn't change the fact that you were willing to kill as many people as it took, as long as you won in the end. That is why I don't like you."
"Easy for you to say," he growls, grey eyes snapping, "You who've never had to scrap for anything in your life. You live all fat and cushy in your District 4; you have no idea what it's like to eke out a living, day by day, starvation hanging over your head."
"You're right," I say again, and he hesitates, having obviously expected me to argue, "I've never been close to starving. But you're wrong if you think District 4 is without its harships. Do you know how many men and women die every year from fishing accidents? How many boats sink? How many lives we lose?" I swallow and I shake my head, "We do not starve, it's true…the sea is bountiful. But it takes away as well as gives. There's a reason we venerate it so…such a thing is worthy of fear, respect." I fix my eyes on his, "We lose young people in the Games too. Not as many, but that is simply because our skills, fishing, using spear and trident are more translatable. But for every person lost…we grieve…"
Silence falls and the two of us stare at one another.
I might has well have saved my breath, I think, seeing no change on his face at all.
"We're too different," I say finally and he nods.
"Yeah we are." He hesitates and then adds quietly, "Katniss respects you. And I trust her, so…"
"So we will be…less than friends…but more than allies." I say, mouth curling up. He barks a laugh and nods.
"Yeah that's a good way of putting it."
He heads off and I follow, pondering everything we'd spoken about.
"Gale?" I ask, as we reach the square, "Why don't you like me? You never said…"
He snorts softly and shakes his head, "Suppose I didn't. I don't like you because…because you're soft, and weak and just…you… I don't know how to describe it. You are warm, and you give people hope…but it's a false hope. You make people believe things are better than they are. You solve everything with hugs and kisses. This is a war. You moralise and…you've just…you've had it easy."
I bark a laugh, thinking of the Hunger Games, of Zara dying in my arms, of Darrien bleeding out on singed grass, of Marvel drowning in his own blood, of Clove, skull crushed, reaching for Cato, of Teesa wild and desperate. I think of the boy from 10, his eyes mad as he tried to drown me, the feeling of empty, screaming lungs. I think of seeing Cato fall from the Cornucopia, of the wolves shredding me like tissue paper and the agony of it. I think of the months of trying to forget, of hiding from my family, of feeling like I didn't belong in a place I'd only known as home. I think of the Quell and seeing everyone I love die around me, thinking I was alone, lost in a sea of grief. I think of the Capitol and Snow's torture, both of me…and the heard torture of Haymitch. I think of being rescued and feeling like a stranger in your own life…like those you love are slipping from you.
"Easy…" I say, and I shake my head, "You have no idea."
The wedding goes off without a hitch.
Annie looks radiant in the soft dark green dress that she, Katniss and I chose back in District 12, pearls in her hair, courtesy of my mother and a smile bright on her face. Her eyes never leave Finnick's, and he gazes at her like she's the moon and the stars.
I'm standing as Annie's maid of honour, because Finnick is unable to deny her anything. He'd wanted me to be his 'first mate on the ship of matrimonial love' (his words, not mine), but when Annie gave him doe eyes, he'd relented and turned his own, doleful sea green puppy eyes on Cato, Peeta and Johanna.
They'd all accepted without complaint. Even my prickly husband.
"Softy," I'd muttered at him, and got an affronted look back, "Knew you loved him really."
"Shut up."
Annie turns slightly, beaming at me, and I can't help but smile back at how she seems to shine with joy, and I know Katniss, standing behind me, is smiling too. Because Katniss, under all her responsibility and practicality has a softer side too. She's drawn to the underdogs, a champion of the small, and that side of her is drawn to Annie.
The glow about her is not just the glow of a young bride, of a woman marrying the man she loves however. The soft, floating fabric of the beautiful dress is hiding the faint swell of her belly, the first sign that in a few months' time, it will not just be her and Finnick . And it wouldn't just be Cashmere and I as young mothers.
"Who thought being pregnant in wartime was a good idea?" Johanna asks me quietly as the two twirl, cameras following their every move intently, "I mean really Sky. If you were going to be a trendsetter about anything, why was it about this hmm?"
I roll my eyes at her, and in turn she ignores Cato's growl.
He's been especially protective lately. I'm near the end of my pregnancy, my belly heavy and swollen with Teesa. Finnick once said I looked like a pimple about to pop and Sefir cuffed him over the back of the head. It's accurate though as I'm nine months in, with little Teesa being due any day now I look and feel like a beached whale.
"Don't you think both of them had waited long enough?" I reply instead, giving Cato a look to make him subside, "Finnick and Annie have been in love for almost six years…Cashmere and Fells even longer. That's hard."
"If I wanted kids, maybe I'd agree," Johanna shrugs easily, "I'm not exactly the motherly type."
"No kidding," Cato mutters under his breath and gets his arm punched for it, "Ow! Fuck you should have been from District 2."
She gives him a sweet, insincere smile and thumps him over the back of the head as she gets to her feet, heading across the floor to lounge against one of the walls with one of the guards from 13. Cato's turned away already, muttering an aside to Peeta who laughs at him, but my eyes stay on Johanna. On how comfortable she is leaning there against the man who I vaguely recognise as one of the higher tier soldiers. It makes me smile, and her eyes meet mine for a second, catching the smile. For a moment her lips curl up too and then I look away, giving her, her privacy.
Everyone seems relaxed, putting aside the cares of war for a day, to celebrate a marriage forbidden by the Capitol. It's this that we're fighting for, a future free of interference.
Cashmere and Fells are dancing together, and she is beautiful, glowing just like Annie, soft pale gold hair flowing down her back and eyes focused lovingly on the man in her arms. Fells too looks happy, his honey eyes watching her softly.
Nearby Haymitch is shooting glances at Deccia, who is sprawled in a chair, drink in hand, muttering asides to Enobaria. The District 2 Victor looks like she's trying to hold in laughter which fails when Enrid stops in front of her holding his hand out with a single raised eyebrow and shit-eating smirk firmly in place.
Katniss hovers by Haymitch, and the two of them lurk awkwardly, unsure how to relax entirely and have fun in this kind of situation without the aid of alcohol. Peeta has maintained Haymitch's ban, much to the Victor's annoyance.
"Want to dance?" Cato asks me, leaning over to brush a soft kiss against my jaw, which makes me smile, "It's a wedding after all."
Six months ago we were married I think, and it floors me for a moment. Six months…god it feels like years. So much has happened.
"Cato," I turn to him and I see his lips curl up, "I can't see my feet, and I lumber like a pregnant herdbeast. I think I'll save dancing for another day." I glance around and I see Lyrra, standing with Ria by the food tables, "Why don't you ask Lyrra?" I nudge him, seeing the anxious way the girl glances around her, unsure of her place here, "Involve her."
"Sky, I tolerate dancing only with you." My husband rolls his eyes and then jabs an elbow into Peeta's ribs, "Oi, loverboy. Ask Lyrra to dance, Sky wants you to."
"What?" Peeta looks confused as I roll my eyes, "Sky?"
"She's not sure if she belongs here," I tell him, ignoring Cato's smirk, "Look at her," We all three look at Lyrra, who sips at her drink as Ria is drawn off by, interestingly, Lucan. I glance at Cato and see he looks just as surprised by his brother approaching the lovely Victor as I am. It leaves Lyrra alone though, and she casts a nervous eye around the group before meeting my eyes. I smile at her, and she smiles back, hesitantly moving towards us.
"Sky," she greets as she joins us, looking surprised as Peeta stands, "Peeta."
"Lyrra," he glances at Cato who gives him a 'get on with it asshole' look, "Would…uh…would you like to dance? With me?"
She looks at me, and I give a small encouraging nod. "Sure," she says hesitantly, and Peeta takes her hand in his, "Can you dance?"
"He can," I say even as Cato says dryly, "That remains to be seen."
I elbow him as Peeta shoots him a glare.
"Slow things I can dance just fine," he tucks her hand into his elbow and leads her out onto the dancefloor. I hear him add just before they're out of earshot, "Ignore Cato, he's just…" but the rest is lost in the happy chatter of guests and the soft music from some of the District 4 residents now living here in 13.
Cato and I watch them go, and slowly I rest my head on his shoulder, smiling softly as I see Leadan and Prim standing together, his fingers slowly inching towards hers. I watch Haymitch finally lean towards Deccia and her smirk when he does, I see Lucan dip Ria, who laughs, I see Enobaria and Enrid snickering together and sticking their legs out trying to trip Haymitch when he and Deccia finally dance. I see Sefir offer his hand nonchalantly to Gloss, who rolls his eyes but accepts it. I see Cashmere with her head on Fells' shoulder, just swaying to the music. I smile as Lyrra and Peeta dance carefully together, red and gold heads gleaming in the soft light as they lean close , talking as they dance.
And I see Annie and Finnick, and how happy they both are.
I wish that Mags could have been here to see it, but I know she's somewhere, with Darrien, watching this moment and smiling.
Feeling my own lips curl upwards I tilt my head for Cato's kiss, and for the first time in a long while I let myself relax into him.
And be happy.
It barely lasts a few days.
"Sky," Lyrra's voice is urgent over the private comm, "Sky, I need you down here. Now."
I stand in Lyrra's booth and look up at the screen, which shows me, curled up on the pallet of the bed I'd slept in in my cell, back in the Capitol.
"How did you get this?" I ask, voice quiet as I stare at the seemingly innocuous footage, "Lyrra?"
"When Beetee was hacking the Capitol feeds to broadcast the wedding," Lyrra sighs softly, "I did some hacking of my own, under the cover of his…bigger sweeps. I downloaded three databases of Capitol information…one was interrogation footage. Yours was inside."
I glance behind me. Cato is standing there, his fingers digging whiteknuckled into his arms, fury plain on his handsome face. He's so tense he looks like he could shatter, like a single blow could break him like the marble and stone of his District's quarries. Beside him Peeta, and Finnick are watching me. Peeta is pale, blue eyes concerned, but Finnick just looks sad. And understanding.
And I know…Finnick does understand. He knows exactly what the Capitol is and what it does.
"What do you want to do with it?" I ask quietly and Cato lets out a hissing breath, "You want to use it I'm guessing?"
She nods, "I know…I know it's private and…god Sky I totally understand if you don't want to show this…but we could definitely use it. It's proof, terrible proof against the Capitol. It will turn the citizens against Snow…but it's your call."
"No." Cato's voice is cold and hard, "No. No fucking way."
"Cato," I say quietly but he interrupts me.
"You nearly died!" his voice breaks and I feel tears spring to my eyes, "My brother found you bleeding out on the floor, you were saturated with it when he brought you to me. He wouldn't tell me what happened to you, but I know…I know it was horrific. This isn't the Hunger Games Sky. We don't owe them ANYTHING."
"It's her choice Cato," Peeta's voice is soft, "Her choice."
Finnick nods and I look at him.
"What do you think?" I ask quietly, "I know it's my call," I add as Peeta opens his mouth, "But I just want your opinions."
Peeta shakes his head, "They hurt you…they shouldn't get away with it. But…that…once it's out there Sky…that's it. It's out there forever."
"He's right," Finnick nods, and then looks at me, "But if it were me sweetheart? I'd use it. I'd use it to show to them all what kind of monster their leader is. You have…nothing to be ashamed of."
I know he's right and his words are the ones I'd been thinking myself.
"We don't have to show it all do we," I say softly, "We can choose."
Lyrra nods, her lips curling upwards, "I wiped it from their database. Corrupted it. They don't have access to it anymore."
"Just the last bit," I say to her, and I feel Cato seething behind me, "I trust you Lyrra, just…some smaller instances and…the last day. Show that. Show everyone that, what he did."
Lyrra scrolls through the footage, her fingers deft until they find the last interrogation. Then they hesitate.
"I need to watch it," she says quietly, "I'm sorry."
"Don't be," I'm surprised by how calm I sound and Cato steps up behind me, his hands setting firmly on my hips, needing me close, "Cato…if you and Peeta and Finnick need to go…"
"No…" Cato's voice is firm, and both Finnick and Peeta make soft noises of agreement, "We're staying with you."
I smile gratefully and Lyrra, her fingers shaking presses play.
It's almost worse, watching the footage.
Cato shivers with rage behind me, his heartbeat thundering against my back. Peeta's breath hitches, faint noises of contained horror as Snow forces the poison down my throat. Finnick…stays perfectly silent. And that tells me more than anything just how angry he is.
Lyrra has to stop the video, long before it's done and closes the video footage, the image of me, bleeding and crying as my daughter is poisoned inside me, disappearing with a click of her fingers.
"No," she says, and her voice shakes. Peeta's hand gently rests on her shoulder, his thumb soft as he brushes it against her skin, "No. I was wrong. We can't use that."
"No." Cato's voice, and he sounds like waves are roiling inside him, waves of fury and anger, "Sky…do you still…"
"Yes…" I say quietly, "I want to use it. Use it with the footage of me giving birth, when Teesa comes. Show him…show him he didn't win."
"I'm going to kill him," Finnick gives a broken little laugh, "Fuck….Sky…"
"You and me both," Peeta's usually soft voice is hard, "He needs to pay…"
Cato turns me in his arms and I look up at him. He's angry, I can see it snapping in his eyes, but there is something else there. Pain yes, sadness absolutely…but there is also…pride.
"I love you," he says softly and a part of me heals at those words. Cato knows, he knows now…he and Peeta and Finnick and Lyrra. They know…and they…they're here.
"I love you too," I reply and place his hand firmly on the hard swell of my belly, "We're here. He didn't win. And I'm going to show everyone exactly what he is."
Still, despite my fighting words, a part of me quails at the thought of the world seeing me like that, so broken and beaten. But right now, with Cato holding me close and Finnick and Peeta's arms wrapping around us both I feel…I know…
This is war. And this is one battle I can win without a single loss of life.
And I'll do it.
We have to wait for me to give birth before the project can be finished, so we leave it at that for the day, Lyrra giving me a tight hug before I leave.
In the end though, it's the Capitol that strikes the next blow.
"They're broadcasting something," Finnick darts into the hospital level where I'm getting my thousandth check-up, "Quick, turn on the-"
Fells is way ahead of him though, and he flicks on the monitor by the bed. All of us crowd around, Cato who has barely left my side in days, Peeta, Finnick, Fells, Prim and Leadan who has been lurking about the medical wings a lot in recent weeks. All of us watch as the seal of the Capitol fades from the screen to show Snow standing at the great podium.
"Citizens of the Capitol. Citizens of the Districts. Malcontents. Rebels. Today we will witness what happens when you reject the loving hand of those who sought only to forgive your past transgressions. We the Capitol showed our love, our forgiveness and our enduring loyalty to the Districts by honouring the lone Victor of each year's Hunger Games. They were honoured, beloved, and given everything they could desire. And yet they betrayed us. And so today we show exactly what happens to those who break faith with the Capitol."
The camera cuts away down to the square of the Capitol, where the chariots gather each year for the President's speech. Only this time there is a huge pen there, a huge cage erected on small pylons. And underneath it is brush, kindling, the stuff used to light a fire.
Inside the pen are people.
Victors.
"No…" I gasp as Cato lets out a snarl of fury, as Prim sobs in horror, "No…he can't…"
But he does.
Peacekeepers, blank faced Peacekeepers thrust burning torches under the cage and slowly the fire starts to burn, flames licking up through the grate on the floor of the cage.
The doomed Victors within shrink back along the barred walls, and I see suddenly faces I recognise. I see Victors from 2, I see Brutus, the barbarian Brutus who was Cato's mentor, loyal to the Capitol .
And I see District 4 Victors…I see Kallian.
"Kallian…" Finnick groans and I close my eyes.
"Turn it off," Peeta says, his voice shaking as the fire grows louder, and I can imagine the flames licking up through the grate, higher and hotter as the screams start, "For the love of god turn it off!"
In a moment silence falls but I don't open my eyes. Instead I feel tears trickling down my cheeks, tears of sorrow, horror and pain.
Kallian, lackadaisical Kallian. With his propensity for tripping over everything, his chilled calm, his long ambling limbs. Kallian….Kallian…
I can't even…how could this… no…
Suddenly my comm buzzes at the same moment sirens begin to wail.
Instantly I flick it open and Lyrra's voice blares out, sharp, frightened.
"Sky. Capitol bombers have been spotted. They're attacking District 13. They'll be here in minutes…get down to the blast rooms now!"
Instantly everyone bursts into activity, Fells barking orders and Prim bolting for the door crying something about her cat. Leadan goes after her before I can say anything and the next moment I'm crying out myself as pain stabs through me.
"Sky," Cato's here and staring at me, fingers hovering over my arms, my belly, "Sky…what's happening!?"
"Shit!" Peeta swears as Fells starts wheeling me out the doors. I glance at him, but his eyes are fixed down low, on my belly, on my hospital gown.
"What is it?" I stare at them wildly, at Fells' grim face, at Cato's worried look, "What's wrong?"
"Your water just broke…" Fells says, and his pace speeds up, wheeling me down the hall, "Teesa's comng."
"What?" I look around wildly, trying to see if they're joking, but their faces are serious…deadly serious, "Now?"
"Now…"
NEXT CHAPTER: Teesa's birth, Sky bonds with District 13 and hears the story of why Deccia never became a Victor.
Also! Competition for anyone who can come up with a new and better story summary for this fic! One of my reviewers last chapter said it needed updating and it totally does.
So the winner of the best summary will win something fantastic! So please send me your summaries!
