Chapter 31
(Gale POV)
I take the bracelet I made for her and wrap it in a square of fabric, tie it with a string and slip a single purple wildflower through the knot of the string. I wish I had better wrapping but I still think she's going to love the bracelet. She'll be at the viewing this afternoon and then I know she'll come meet me as soon as she can after dinner tonight. I can't wait to give it to her. It's actually the first time I've ever made a gift for a girl I liked. Of course I've never liked a girl this much so that's probably why.
I also can't wait to show the map I found to Madge. She's actually traveled all through the country so I'm hoping she may be able to tell if it's accurate or not. I'm not sure how old it is or if changes were ever made and I want to get any insight on it that I can before the fence is turned off and I can get out there and see what I can find. If 13 is out there and close enough to reach on foot, I'm going to find it.
At the viewing, Madge has on sunglasses and it seems odd. I've never seen her wear sunglasses before. Actually, I've only maybe seen anyone wear sunglasses once or twice and that was a Capitol visitor. I also notice her hair has pink streaks in it now. It's also odd but I know in the Capitol they often have crazy hair colors so it must be from something she did while she was there. I hope it goes back to her normal color though cause I really liked it as it was. Honestly though, I don't care what color her hair is, I'm just happy she's back.
I linger by the stage stairs after the viewing and wait for Madge to come down. When she does, she's chatting with a woman from the Capitol and so I know she can't stop to speak to me. I smile at her and walk on towards the Seam.
At home, I scarf down a bowl of soup and then go to my room to get the gift for Madge. Instead of finding it untouched, I walk in on my brother Rory holding it.
"What do you think you're doing?" I ask as I snatch it away from him.
"Is that for a girl? It looks like a gift for a girl." He says.
"None of your business. And don't mess with my stuff."
"You got a girlfriend or something?"
"What part of none of your business did you not understand?" I spout at him as I leave the room. I swear I hate how small this house is sometimes. I've got zero privacy.
I head out to wait by the tree. I know it'll be a little while before she gets there but I'm just too anxious not to be there already. God, I can't wait to kiss her. I hate when she's gone. I end up not having to wait very long because she shows up way earlier than expected.
She doesn't even say anything, just drops right into my lap and kisses me.
"I missed you!" She says, her lips against my ear as soon as the first kiss breaks.
"Same here pretty girl." I whisper and kiss her again. I swear, this girl drives me crazy in all the right ways.
She's already breathless when we pull apart. I smile at her and then squint to look more closely at her face. Something is off. I turn her face towards the moonlight and that's when I see it. Her eyes. They're almost glowing.
"It's called eye dye. They dyed my eyes neon pink." She tells me glumly, clearly knowing what I was looking at.
"What the hell? Why would they do that? Is it permanent?" I almost shout. How could they do this to her? Her eyes, her beautiful blue eyes!
She places a hand on my chest to calm me down. "It's temporary but will last a couple more days before it's gone. Apparently it's a new Capitol trend."
"And the pink hair? It goes away too?" I ask.
She nods. "It does. It's all hideous, I know. I am so embarrassed that I have to walk around like this."
"You're still beautiful. I just happen to like the original version of you best is all." I tell her, hoping my reaction to the pink stuff didn't come off as me thinking she was ugly now.
"Well you didn't see all the costume worthy outfits they put me in. If you saw that, you'd definetly change your mind about how pretty you think I am."
"No way. You're always pretty." I tell her, kissing her again.
"Hey, I brought something for you. Well, for your little sister really. It's a storybook about a princess. I thought she might like it. You'd have to read it to her of course but it was one of my favorites when I was little and I loved looking at the picture on the cover." She suddenly tells me as she pulls a small book from her dress pocket.
"You got Posey a gift?" I repeat, loving that she did that.
"Is that okay? You don't have to tell her it's from me, I just wanted her to have it." She asks, seeming a little unsure.
"Of course it's okay. It's incredibly nice of you and she's going to go nuts over it. Thank you for thinking of her." I steal another kiss and then pullout the gift I have for her. "I actually have a little something for you too." I tell her with a grin.
A huge smile spreads across her face. "These are my favorite flowers now thanks to you." She tells me as she pulls the wildflower from the wrapping.
I wait, watching as she unwraps the bracelet.
"Oh Gale, it's so pretty! Did you make this? Is this what you whittled?" She exclaims, holding it up and looking closely at the hearts.
"Yeah, I made it for you."
"I love it! Thank you so much!" She says as she slips it on her wrist then takes my face in her hands and kisses me for it.
I want nothing more than to get carried away kissing her right now but I still have the map to show her so I pull back. "That's not all. I have more. It's not a gift really, more just something of interest that I want you to see."
"Okay, I'm curious, show me."
I pull the map from my pocket and unfold it, holding it out for her to see.
"I thought they burned all the maps years ago, like before our parents were even born. Where'd you get this? " She asks, mouth open in awe.
"I kinda stole it from the Justice Building. I was doing a temp job moving some boxes to the attic and I knocked over some old boxes and this was in one of them. Do you think it's real? Like accurate, I mean?"
"Stealing from the Justice Building, huh ?" She teases with a raised brow. She studies the map, holding up to see it better in the moonlight. "I'm not sure. It has a lot of detail. I'd really need to see it in better light. But in general, it looks pretty accurate, at least the order things are set up in anyway."
"Can you look at it at your house without anyone seeing it? If so, take it home with you. I really want to know if it looks like the boundaries are the same as they are now. Because if they are, I'm gonna try to find 13." I tell her.
She puts the map down and stares at me. "You're going to look for District 13?" Her voice quiet and serious.
"I am if you think this map is still valid. Do you think that's a bad idea?" I ask.
"I think it's a bold idea. And a scary one. But I'd be lying if I said I wasn't dying to look with you."
"If I find it, I'm coming back to get you." I tell her and I'm dead serious. I know it may all be gone and nothing left but if the rumors are true, this map will take me to where we need to be. To where we can actually live life freely. If I find it, I am coming back for my family, for the Everdeens and for her.
"Gale, are you sure you want to do this? It's possible there's nothing there. And you could get caught and get into a lot of trouble. Serious trouble."
"It's worth the risk and I don't actually have much to lose. Eventually the Capitol is going to take away everyone I love, all of you, in one way or another. May as well try to find a way out of here, you know?"
She nods in understanding. She folds up the map and slips it into her pocket then changes the subject a bit. "Hey, speaking of getting into a lot of trouble, I took your advice and spoke to the Avox who assisted me on the train. At least when I was alone anyway. I thanked him and even told him my name. He seemed to really appreciate it."
"See, it's good to be kind." I tell her, glad to hear that she did that.
"But on the last leg of the trip, he told me something kind of concerning. I'm not sure what to make of it and it's all he would tell me."
"He told you something? I thought they couldn't talk?" I ask, suddenly confused.
She shakes her head. "I mean, he wrote something down and showed it to me. He said not to trust Drew. But that's all he would say. I'm not sure exactly what he means or why he told me that."
I feel it in my gut that this is not good. If an Avox is warning her to watch out for this guy, he must've done something really awful. "If he hadn't said that, would you have considered him trustworthy?" I ask.
"Yes, I would have. He seems to be very kind and his actions seem to have good intentions."
"Maybe this Avox guy knew Drew before, like when they were kids or something. Maybe he knows something bad that he did. Or maybe he heard something on the train. Those Avox probably overhear a lot of secrets. Could your guy have a secret?"
"Maybe. I have no idea what sort of secret it could be though. He's also a twin so maybe he has Drew and his brother mixed up? His brother is definetly someone I wouldn't trust. It didn't seem like a case of mistaken identity though. He seemed to know exactly who Drew was. Though Drew didn't seem to know him at all. The Avox boy served us dinner and Drew didn't so much as glance up at him. Surely if they knew one another he'd have given him at least a 2nd glance."
"Do you know the Avox's name? Maybe you could somehow find out what district he came from and if it's the same one as your guy, they probably did know one another, at least in some capacity."
She pauses, thinking for a moment. "I don't know his name but I could find out. Every train has a list of passengers and workers who were aboard when the train arrived in the district. I'd just have to figure out how to get my hands on that list."
"Looks like you've got yourself a good bit of homework between finding that list and checking that map out."
"And do you know what else? Haymitch Abernathy said something to me that was strange too. He said to be careful how much I let Drew change me otherwise I might never escape the Capitol's grip on me. This whole trip was so strange with all it's cryptic messages."
"Sounds like wise advice from someone who's drunk most of the day. Where'd you see him?" I tell her, agreeing that this boy is in fact seeming to want to change a lot about her. Fancier clothes, pink eyes, no talking to Avox. And I have a feeling he's just getting started.
"It was at a Capitol party. All the victors were there. I very briefly talked to him. He said Katniss is doing good and funds are still steadily coming in but that game makers weren't happy about the way she responded to Rue's death."
"Yeah, I figured that was a bad choice on her part to do all that. So far they haven't retaliated or anything. At least not in any obvious sort of way so maybe they'll get over it."
"I hope so. She's been doing so well and I want it to stay that way."
We sit and talk awhile longer before she has to head home. It feels so good to have her back in 12 with me. I really, really hope she stays for awhile and that this guy stays away too. I want her to have time to study the map and I want to be able to go over it with her after she does. And the warning from the Avox boy really has me wanting to keep Madge away from her guy. I hope she can figure out what he did that was so bad the Avox felt she needed to be warned not to trust him.