The Mockingjay's birthday has been declared a national holiday.
Happy birthday to the Girl on Fire!
"What?" I nearly shout, clutching the paper tightly in both hands.
From the table, Peeta looks up from a drawing he's been working on for the last hour. "Hmm?" he asks absentmindedly. I don't answer, still too absorbed in the letter to process a response. This, ironically, captures Peeta's full response as he forgets the drawing on the table. "Katniss, what is it?" he asks more urgently.
I didn't even know how to begin to respond. "They… they're turning my birthday into a national holiday. In honor of me." Finally, I manage to tear my eyes away to look at him.
Peeta's face is blank for a minute as he processes this. Then, over the course of several seconds, I see the sense of confusion, understanding, and then even anger settle in on his expression. "They're what?" he asks
"You heard me," I snap, and turn towards the counter, where I lay the letter out flat to examine it. I don't mean to take this out on Peeta, but I'm so upset over this news that it comes out that way whether I mean for it to or not.
He takes it in stride, though. After a few minutes of silence, he speaks again. "It's not surprising, I guess," he says quietly. "Did they say when it takes effect?"
I turn around, locking eyes with him. There's so much I want to say, so many feelings I want to put into words. But in the end, there's only one thing I'm able to get out. "This year," I say, my voice sounding as small as I feel.
Peeta's eyes widen. "Your birthday is only a few weeks away. And they're just now springing this on you?"
"Yeah," I nod, not even sure how to explain the rest to him.
"Well, that's nice of them to let you know," he says sarcastically. "Maybe you can catch the celebrations they throw for you on TV."
I swallow, trying to figure out how to put the next part of this into words. It's not that it's embarrassing, or something I think he would be upset over. Actually, if anything, once he gets past the initial irritation, he'll probably be thrilled for one big reason. But I'm having a hard time telling him… it feels too good to be true. It can't be right. "They… they say they'd like for me to be there," I say at last.
Peeta reacts exactly the way I predicted he would. "They what?" He barks, anger flashing across his eyes again. But a second later, the full implications sink in. His expression quickly changes from angry to excited to quizzical. "They're letting you leave 12?"
"I guess so." I try to keep my voice as even as possible, but even I can hear the way it wavers.
He leans back in his chair and studies me. "Well… what do you think?"
I shrug. "I don't know." That's not quite true, though. Several thoughts at once are running through my head. Why all of a sudden? Can this be real? Them honoring my birthday like this… but more importantly, them giving me freedom. Or are they? Is this really freedom, or is this a one-time clearance to go back to the Capitol for one of their ceremonies? It seems like something they would do.
"Do you want to go?" Peeta asks me.
Again, I give a shrug. "Do I really have a choice?"
"No," he admits with a frown. "Probably not."
Three weeks later, we stand waiting, hand in hand, at the district's landing pad while we wait for the hovercraft to whisk us off to the Capitol. We're not alone. Haymitch has been invited as well. He stands behind us, barely awake and grumbling under his breath about who knows what. Both Peeta and I ignore him.
"Well, it beats going by train, I guess," Peeta comments.
"Yeah," I agree. Before I can get another comment in, though, the hovercraft materializes above us, and touches down on the launchpad. My hand still grasped firmly in his, Peeta leads us onboard, Haymitch in tow. We take our seats, buckle in, and then the hovercraft is in the air again immediately.
From the window, I can see the trees and buildings grow smaller beneath us. Exactly like what a bird could see. For a minute, I'm brought back to the very first time I ever rode in one of these, when we were delivered to the arena before the Games. I remember thinking the same thing then, about the birds. Ironic, me being the Mockingjay and all. I wonder if this trip will really be much better than that one was. Sure, I won't be delivered to almost certain death. But maybe the real mockingjays will always have more freedom than I ever will.
I also catch sight of the train tracks as they weave in and out from beneath the trees. I wonder if we'll be following them the whole way to the Capitol. I glance over at Peeta, who looks at me with a reassuring smile. I don't think he's much more optimistic about this whole thing than I am, but he's trying to be strong for me. I rest my head on his shoulder, and he brings his arm up to wrap around me. Still thinking about those tracks underneath us, a thought occurs to me.
"This is the first time we've gone to the Capitol together since the Quell," I say, looking up at him.
He lifts his brow as he thinks about it. Maybe he's even searching his mind to determine if he can trust the memory or not. "You're right," he says at last. "It's always just been me."
Peeta has taken trips to back the Capitol by himself over the last few years, usually for check ups with Dr. Aurelius, who likes to look at him in person every so often. But I've never gone with him, thanks to the sentence confining me to District 12. This will be the first time I've been back since the war ended. Peeta looks at me now like he knows exactly what I'm thinking. But if he has any opinions of his own, he doesn't voice them. He just pulls me closer to him, and kisses me on the forehead.
The Capitol has changed since I've been here. Oh, the basic structure of the city is still the same, and I recognize a lot of the buildings. But there is something remarkably different, too. The first thing I notice is how everyone is dressed. Sure, they are still far more flamboyant here than we would ever be back home. But the fashions are quite a bit subdued compared to how they used to be. There are also a lot of people who are dressed normally. I wonder if these are people who used to live in the districts.
I'm both surprised and relieved when they building our car pulls up to isn't the old training center, where they used to keep us before the Games. The last time I was there was when I was in solitary confinement for months. I figured that would be where they would make us stay, since it's where we always stayed before. But I guess things are different now. One thing is the same, though. As the car comes to a stop, a familiar figure in a bright green wig stands to greet us. Effie. She greets us in her standard peppy vein, but I'm barely out of the car before she pulls me into her arms for a tight hug.
"You look wonderful, dear," she tells me, and am I imagining it? Or does she actually have tears in her eyes? She turns and pulls Peeta into a hug before I can really get a good look. She refrains from hugging Haymitch, but still gives him a nod and even a smile. Then she spins on her heel and leads us inside.
Only two rooms have been booked us. One for Haymitch, and one for Peeta and me. As an attendant drops our bags off for us, Peeta turns and gives me an amused smile. "What?" I ask.
"This," he says, motioning around us. "They put us in a room together."
I feel my cheeks grow warm. "So? The whole country still thinks we've been married since before the Quell, remember?"
"Yeah, but Effie doesn't," he says with a gleam in his eye. "I'm surprised this wasn't too scandalous for her."
Now I see what he's getting at. I remember the way she pulled me aside on the Victory Tour, and asked if Peeta and I could please be more "discreet" about our arrangement. As if we were doing anything besides sleeping at the time, anyway.
"Peeta, we've been living together for over two years. And we're adults now." Besides, given everything we've both been through, sex hardly seems like something to worry about anymore
"I know. You're right," Peeta says, but there's still a sparkle in his eye. He looks like he's about make Effie's concerns come true, when a knock on the door interrupts us.
We both look at each other. Then Peeta makes his way over to the door, and I hear it slowly creak open. "Oh! Hi!" I hear him say. Whoever is there has caught him completely off guard, but he doesn't sound terribly upset, either. "Katniss!"
Curious, I step in view of the door. Then my eyes widen. "Mom?"
She looks nervous, but healthy. When she sees me, she smiles, and steps into the room to pull me into a hug. I return it, but I can't help feeling confused. "I didn't know you would be here," I say. We just spoke on the phone yesterday, but she made no mention about being here.
"I wanted to surprise you," she says, looking a little sheepish. Well, I should say this is a surprise. This is the first time I've seen her, in flesh and bone, in person since the war.
There have been a lot of firsts on this trip.
The three of us end up going to dinner together, at one of those fancy places they call a restaurant here in the Capitol. The food is rich compared to what we're used to, even now, when food is more common than it used to be in the district. Then we return to our rooms and retire for the night. Tomorrow promises to be a big, big, big day.
The ceremony is a blur. I'm brought up center stage. Peeta, Haymitch, and my mother are brought up on stage, too, where they stand off to the side. Plutarch makes an appearance. But the best surprise, I think, is when I see Cressida and her team will be filming the whole thing. She gives me a huge hug as soon as she sees me.
Paylor, who, I guess, is now President Paylor, delivers a speech herself. Thanking me for my courage, for my sacrifice, and all that I've done to free Panem as a nation. And although, she mentions, I may have been unstable when I shot down the wrong president, it was inspiring to see how much I've recovered since then. It's with great honor that she declares my birthday to be a national holiday for all of Panem. Mockingjay Day. Then the broadcast is over, and I'm finally released to Peeta's waiting arms.
The celebration goes late into the night, and rivals the parties they used to throw for us before the war. I don't dare leave Peeta's side the entire time. After being by ourselves for so long, being around this many people is a little overwhelming. When they roll out a giant, elaborate cake, decorated by the best the Capitol has to offer, the only thing I can think about is how I wish it was whatever cake Peeta would have baked for me, instead.
"I want to go home," I mutter to him as we eat our cake next to a fountain in a courtyard.
"Me, too," he admits. "It's not so bad out here, though."
I glance around. There are a few others in the courtyard with us, but most everyone is inside. "At least it's quieter here."
He looks at me for a long time. Then he smiles.
"What?" I ask with a laugh.
"We used to pretend to sneak away together on the Victory Tour. Real or not real?"
"Real," I say, frowning. This question has caught me off guard. I don't like reminding him of times when he questioned my love for him.
"I thought so. It's ironic, isn't it? Us sneaking away together for real this time, and it's only to get a little peace and quiet."
I can't help laughing myself now, because he's right, that is ironic.
"Did you look inside yet?" He asks, nodding down at a large envelope I'd been awarded with earlier today.
"No." I look up at him. "Should I?"
"Why not?" He says.
I put my cake down carefully on the bench we're sitting on, then pick up the envelope, pulling carefully on the seal as I tear it open. Then I pull the contents out one by one, and look them over. My eyes widen, and I look back to Peeta.
"What?" He asks. He looks concerned.
"We were right," I breathe.
"About what?" he probes, watching me carefully as he tries to comprehend what I'm talking about.
"About the ban. They've... They've lifted it." I lock eyes with him, and a smile slowly spreads across my face. "Peeta… I can leave District 12."
His face lights up, and he pulls me to him in a hug. Then we hurry and finish our cake before going to find my mother.
The party has just started to die down when we slip out. Effie wasn't terribly thrilled with our decision, but in the end, we convinced her to help us anyway. Bags gathered, a car called, and a hovercraft booked, Effie will cover for us as we leave. And then she'll make the necessary arrangements to thank everyone for throwing us such a nice party. Haymitch decided just to return home after all this is over, so it's only the three of us in the car. Peeta and I will be flying back to visit my mother's home in 4.
As the lights from the party grow smaller behind us, Peeta wraps an arm around me. "Well, did you have a good birthday?" he asks.
I think I surprise him with my smile. "The best," I say. He raises an eyebrow, but doesn't push further. Maybe he understands already. Maybe a huge party, and a ceremony broadcast to the entire country isn't my style. But I finally got the one thing I'd wanted since the day I was born.
My freedom.