A/N: Trigger warnings for violence and blood in this chapter.
Dearest Diary,
Yesterday, I believed that my life had reached its lowest point, but now, I yearn to return to it. These last few hours have shown me a greater depravity of the human spirit than I have ever witnessed, and at the risk of sounding melodramatic, yesterday now seems a warm, pleasant dream that I long to crawl back into.
Reading those last lines back again, I can too easily picture myself recording much the same sentiment tomorrow. Please God, Fate, or any other great ruling power of the universe, do not consider these words a challenge.
As predicted, it took ages for Peeta to reach the front door. Once he reached it, they faced another round of misty-eyed congratulations before Peeta was allowed to leave.
The onslaught started the instant the door shut behind him. "Katniss, couldn't you be a bit more excited? You're getting married."
"Thought it'd take him more than twenty minutes to convince you." Mother's voice held a conspiratorial note, and Katniss wondered just how much she had heard.
"He can be very, er, convincing," Katniss stammered. She pushed a rogue piece of hair behind her ear, hoping it would cover at least some of her blush. Judging by the way Mother's lips quirked up at the edges, the gesture was less than successful.
The entire exchange flew over Prim's head. "Isn't it funny, thinking about how you insisted for years that we were only going to come to London so I could have a season, and you would be more chaperone than debutante, and it's you who's getting married first? Not that I thought you couldn't find someone, of course. Anyone would be lucky to have you. But as much as you may try to deny it, the minute you met Mr. Mellark, I knew –"
Katniss faked a yawn. "Oh, I'm sorry. It's been a busy morning." Another yawn came out, this time unbidden. Goodness, it really had been a long day, and it hadn't reached noon yet. "I think I'm going to rest a bit. Lots to do these next few days, you know."
Prim looked miffed, but Mother murmured her agreement, and seconds later, Katniss was trudging upstairs. She could have sworn there were fewer stairs to the staircase this morning. When she finally reached the top, she wanted nothing more than to collapse face first into her mattress. Well, almost nothing, for she found herself walking over to the small window in the room she and Prim shared to see if she could catch a glimpse of Peeta as he walked away.
It took her a few seconds to pick him out, as the entire way Peeta held himself had changed. He walked with his shoulders squared, gaze straight ahead, and long, purposeful strides. Any half-wit could see he was a man with a mission. Strong, yes - she remembered the ease with which he had lifted her off of Daring's back – and his coat accentuated his broad shoulders, but even the strongest man was vulnerable when caught unaware. And as she hadn't seen him look over his shoulder once in the time she'd been watching him, Kantiss honestly couldn't fathom how Peeta could be aware of any threats around him. If she were a hired thug, she would jump him. In every sense of the word, the seditious little voice that inhabited the back corners of her mind whispered. Following her usual strategy with that voice, she dismissed the thought before she had to consider it any further.
In an instant, her mind was made up. Katniss rushed down the stairs two steps at a time. "I'm going for a walk!"
"That was a quick change of heart. If you'll wait just a moment, we'll come with you," Mother said.
"A solitary walk. I need some time to think." Katniss grinned over her shoulder as she put her hat on. "Don't worry, Mother. I'll be married before anyone has the chance to say anything."
"You won't be gone more than an hour." Judging by her tone of voice, Mother would be out combing the streets for her at sixty-one minutes.
"Goodbye!" She pulled the door shut behind her with more force than intended.
The hat she had grabbed did nothing to shield her from the bright late-morning sun. Katniss pulled the brim as far as she could over her eyes and hurried after Peeta. He had a head start on her, but after just a couple minutes, she was within a hundred yards of him, which she judged close enough to watch his back without making it too obvious she was trailing him. Not that Peeta would notice anyway, as the man still hadn't done so much as glance behind the entire time she'd been following him. It was a good thing he'd have her to watch his back from now on.
She scanned the houses and side streets for any hint of a threat. Even in this part of London, there were always a few questionable sorts about, but none seemed to take any particular interest in Peeta or herself. One would have to be fairly bold to try anything at this time of day, when anyone who happened to pass by the window could see them. Out of curiosity, she checked the windows. Katniss thought she saw shadows lurking in a few of them, but she couldn't be sure if the forms were people or furniture.
When her attention returned to the street, she didn't see Peeta. Her heart pounded as she raced forward. Where was he? He couldn't have gone far in the thirty seconds or so since she'd last seen him. Had he finally realized he'd been followed the whole time and slipped away? No, that didn't sound like Peeta.
Katniss whirled around. No one behind her. Her eyes flicked over the area. Nothing seemed out of place.
"Peeta?" she shouted.
"Kat – oof." Peeta's answer was cut off by a grunt.
Katniss dashed towards the source of the noise, a narrow alley so tightly nestled between the surrounding buildings that she had never before noticed it. She dug into her pocket for the knife as she ran.
When she saw the enormous man standing over Peeta, instinct took over. She screamed like a banshee as she sprinted towards him. Her knife was nowhere to be found, but that did not stop Katniss from launching herself at Peeta's assailant.
A seven-stone woman hardly seemed a threat to a giant; however, a seven-stone woman traveling as quickly as her legs and adrenaline could carry her was a projectile. She screamed again, and pain shot through her body as she collided with the man, who staggered back. Katniss hooked an arm around his neck to hold herself up and kicked with both legs. The man was pulling on her arm, trying to rip her away from him. She clawed at his face, and he screamed as her fingernail dug into something soft.
Katniss didn't realize she'd been dislodged until she hit the ground. Searing pain blazed in her elbow and tailbone. Dazed, she looked up at the sky and was almost surprised to realize that it was the same bright, clear day it had been a few moments prior.
Something hit her thigh, and unsure if it was Peeta or his attacker, she kicked blindly in that direction. A shadow fell over her, and she rolled away, struggling to climb back to her feet.
"Get the knife!" Peeta shouted.
What knife? She didn't see a knife.
"Katniss, get the knife!" Peeta strained against the other man, trying to wrestle him to the ground. Someone's blood stained his shirt.
Finally, she spotted the weapon, a long, nasty hooked blade, and scrambled for it.
The knife was heavy in her hand as she rushed back towards Peeta and the giant. Upper chest, right side, she thought. You have one chance at this.
She screamed as she struck, and even before the blade made contact, Katniss knew her aim had been wide. The knife met minimal resistance as it sliced through the flesh of the man's shoulder.
Still, it was enough to throw the man off balance. His knees gave out beneath him, and he and Peeta fell to the ground. A stomach-churning crack echoed in the alleyway as his skull hit the cobblestones.
Suddenly, the world was quiet again. Katniss' hands wouldn't stop shaking. She had to use her left hand to unwrap her fingers from the knife's handle. It clattered as it fell to the ground.
"Is he…?" She couldn't bear to finish the sentence.
"I'm not sure." Peeta kneeled next to the fallen man and hesitantly reached towards his face. He held his fingers over the man's mouth for several seconds. "He's not breathing."
Her stomach flipped, and Katniss' vision went black around the edges. She'd killed a man. In that moment, it didn't matter that he had been the aggressor, or that it could just as easily have been Peeta lying there, dead in an alleyway. Her breath came in gasps, and the buildings crowded in on her. She stepped backwards, but somehow the body was closer now, filling up her entire field of vision.
"Are you hurt?" With a gentle hand on her cheek, Peeta guided her eyes away from the corpse and toward his own face. Blood ran down from his nose and over the front of his shirt. "Katniss, are you all right?"
"You're hurt." A gash ran under his right eye. To her untrained eye, it did not seem deep. She was more worried about his nose. "We need to get you to my mother."
"But are you hurt?" he repeated. His steady blue eyes were filled with concern.
She offered a weak smile. "Asks the man whose face whose face has been sliced open."
"I know I'm still standing."
Katniss raised an eyebrow and glanced down at her own entirely-functioning legs, waiting for him to notice his mistake.
It took a moment. "Point taken."
"Come on." She took his hand in hers. "Mother hasn't had anyone to stitch up in ages. She won't even complain if you get blood on the carpet."
"Then she's a better person than I." Peeta's voice was strong, but she could sense a shakiness beneath.
Katniss wrapped his arm around her shoulders, allowing her to support some of his weight. "I don't believe there was any confusion on that point." The joke fell flat, even to her own ears, but right now, with the body of the man she and Peeta had killed only feet behind them, she needed to pretend everything was all right.
A/N: I'm sorry for the long hiatus. I like writing (well, most of the time) and am glad to be getting back to it. Thanks to everyone who reminded me to update – it was lovely to know that people were thinking about this story.