Interlude: Rebel in a Blue Dress
by FanficAllergy & RoseFyre

oOo

"Thank you for bringing this to my attention, Bambi. I'll notify the correct authorities."

I peek my head over the edge of the railing to see who's at the door. It's Mrs. Mellark. She seems upset, angry, rather than sad. But when isn't she angry? Still, I wonder what she needed to talk to my father about.

My father shuts the door and turns toward the stairs. That's my cue to hide. I duck into my mother's bedroom - he never looks in here, not since she died anyway - and listen for the sound of my father's footfalls.

He's heading towards his office.

I hear the door shut and I creep out of the room, careful to avoid the squeaky floorboard at the top of the stairs. I press my back against the wall next to the door to his office and listen.

"I need to order a hovercraft," my father says. There's a small pause. He must be on the phone, probably to the Capitol. "One of our kids has gone missing."

Kids? That must be why Mrs. Mellark was here. One of her sons must have gone missing. I wonder which one.

"No. I don't think he's a rebel." Pause. "No, he's only sixteen."

Peeta!

"Yes, I'll coordinate with the local Peacekeeper Head. Please be advised, we are experiencing heavy losses of life due to the flu. It's recommended that whatever team you send be aware of this."

It sounds like he's reaching the end of the conversation. I need to get away before I'm spotted.

I slip into my room and onto my bed, picking up a novel I've been reading. It's about a woman who has a child out of wedlock and refuses to name the father and thus is ritually shunned. The Capitol sees it as 'charmingly quaint' but I like Hester's spirit and her refusal to let her public shame beat her down. There's a lot of books like that which have slipped through the Capitol's censors, I plan on trying to track down each and every one.

My father knocks on the door. "Madge? Do you have a moment?"

"Yes, Daddy."

He opens the door and comes in. "Have you seen Peeta Mellark lately?"

"Not since before school closed," I answer, slipping my finger between the pages to hold my place.

"That's too bad. It sounds like he's gone missing."

"Oh no! Do you think he's okay?" I clutch the book to my chest. "I hope he's not dead! I've lost so many friends already. Delly, Maisie, Flora. I'd hate to lose another."

My father hastens to comfort me. "I'm sure he's fine. Probably just a misunderstanding. You stay here. I've got a few errands to run. I'll be back by dinner time."

"I should go too," I say, forcing regret into my tone. I slip a bookmark between the pages of my book and place it on my nightstand. "I need to run over to the butcher. I want to try to pick up something for dinner." Ever since our maid, Rachel, died, I've been taking care of the house and doing the cooking. We need to hire another maid. I wonder if Katniss's friend's mother, the one who does the washing, would be interested. Maybe I'll bring it up with my father later.

My father nods his head. "Just don't go wandering off."

"I shan't."

I slip on my coat and head out. My first stop is the butcher's. It wasn't a complete fiction to get out of the house, we really do need something for dinner, but it's also one of the best places to get town gossip. Everyone from town shops there and the butcher's friendly demeanor encourages them to stay and chat a while unlike at the Mellark Bakery. I know that I just need to make a small purchase and the butcher will tell me pretty much the whole day's gossip.

"So have you heard about that missing Mellark kid?" Rooba asks, wrapping a few sausages for me.

Smiling internally, I shake my head. "No. What happened?"

"I heard it from my girl that he's been missing for three days now." She leans forward, lowering her voice. "That bitch of a mother of his didn't even notice he was gone until today."

"No! Really?!"

"I heard it from the horse's mouth." She leans closer. "Farl tells me that they've been playing this game on her for months. They each take turns hiding out, getting a bit of a relief from Bambi and that temper of hers."

"Poor Peeta. I hope he's okay." I mean it. I really do hope he isn't in trouble or worse.

"You and me both." Rooba glances around to make sure no one is listening. "Between you and me, I think that kid's better off running. If I were him, I would've left home years ago."

I would have too and that reminds me that there are other Mellark brothers who are anxious to get away from their mother. "So when are Reenie and Farl getting married?" I ask. Peeta's oldest brother has been dating Rooba's daughter for years and they've been talking about getting married for a while now. With Peeta's father dead, I'm guessing that timetable has been moved up some.

"As soon as they can manage it," Rooba replies, confirming my suspicions. "Reenie's still got to make it through her last Reaping, but they're planning on early July."

"Are they going to live with you?"

The butcher snorts. "Course they are! Like I'd let my girl go to a hellhole like that! 'Sides I could use a good strong man to help me out around these parts, and Farl and I have been talking about doing some meat pies, getting some business away from the bakery. Won't that piss Bambi off?" She smiles smugly at me.

I laugh. "Ouch! Hitting her where it hurts: in the pocketbook."

Rooba spreads her hands wide. "A woman's gotta do what a woman's gotta do."

"Let me know how that goes."

"Will do."

I take my leave and make a beeline towards the Seam and Katniss's house. I know Peeta's had a crush on Katniss for years, and I think Katniss likes him too but is afraid to admit it. I wonder if she's heard anything. Knowing her she probably hasn't, but she's got connections at the Hob and because of who I am no one there will even talk to me.

When I get there, I notice that there are no lights on inside, which is a little strange but not totally unheard of, so I don't think too much of it. I knock on the door and wait.

Nothing.

I try knocking again.

Nothing.

I peer into one of the side windows. I don't see any movement. Maybe Katniss is napping? Or out. I slip around to the back door and try knocking there.

The door creaks open.

"Katniss?"

No answer.

"Mrs. Everdeen? Prim? Anyone?"

Nothing.

They must be out.

Maybe they're at the Hawthornes'. If I go over there, I can talk to Hazelle about becoming our maid. My father put me in charge of taking care of the household. If he doesn't like Hazelle, he can find someone else himself.

The Hawthornes' house is just as dark as the Everdeens'.

I try knocking.

Just like at the Everdeens', there's no answer.

I peek into the windows and see several things strewn about the floor. I frown. That's not right.

I try the door but it's locked. My frown deepens. Someone should be home, especially the youngest. This isn't right. This really is not right.

I walk around the exterior of the house, peeking into the windows, noticing that each room is in a bit of a state of disarray and that there's no one to be found. I worry at my lower lip with my teeth, I hope they're alright. I find the back door also locked, but its hinges are loose and I'm able to jimmy my way inside.

The house smells musty, like it's been empty for days. A feeling of dread settles in my stomach.

This is too coincidental. The Everdeens, the Hawthornes, and Peeta Mellark are all missing? That's too big for just happenstance.

I explore the house, picking it up as I go. One thing I notice almost immediately is that there's no food and nothing of personal importance anywhere. What few pictures they have are gone. There's an empty picture frame laying on one of the tables and another beside the bed. That, more than anything, spells out the truth: The Hawthornes are gone.

I return to the Everdeens' house and look at it with new eyes. It's not as messy as the Hawthornes', but clearly it hasn't been lived in in days and several personal effects are missing. It looks like they've made a run for it.

Good for them!

oOo

The search starts immediately. The Peacekeepers move house to house, searching for Peeta.

I'm grateful that I had the foresight to clean up after the Hawthornes, and that everything is so discombobulated from both the illness and the Seam's general unruliness that no one notices that Katniss and Gale's families are both gone.

The Peacekeepers find several dead bodies in various states of decay in houses all over District Twelve. None of them are Peeta's and none of them look to have died by foul play. They're likely more victims of the flu. But it's still gruesome and the search crews have been consuming a lot of Ripper's white liquor to get the smell and the sight of the bloated bodies out of their heads. I only heard about it when one of the men came to give my father a report and I had nightmares afterwards. I don't blame the search crews for emulating Haymitch Abernathy, I likely would do the same if I were in their shoes.

I'm in the sitting room, trying to distract myself from the most recent news, the body of a woman with two children which was found in one of the Seam houses, when my father ushers Cray in. "Have you heard anything about those bodies they found?" he asks the Peacekeeper.

"We've sent the samples to the Capitol for testing but they're backed up and the faces were too decomposed to make a visual identification. We likely won't get the results for a few months. Not like it matters much anyway, if they'd had any family left they'd have reported them dead already." Cray shrugs. "Still we gotta try to keep the records in order, but with a plague like this it's damned near impossible. In any case, we were given the okay to dispose of them to prevent any additional spread. They'll be burned tomorrow."

"Good. We don't need this to get worse."

Cray takes a seat across from me. My father sits down on the other side of the room. I know what this is. Anytime somebody disappears, their friends and family are interrogated, many times forcibly. I'm lucky my father is who he is, but I've still got to be careful, otherwise I could have a date with a torture chamber.

"So, how well do you know Peeta Mellark?" Cray starts, pulling out a notepad and pen.

He's going with the standard interrogation technique which is good for me. I know what to say and how to say it in order to keep myself safe, but not be caught in a lie. I shrug my shoulders. "We went to school together and we used to play together growing up, but I haven't seen him in a couple of months, not since this whole flu started. I heard his father died. I wish I'd been feeling better to see him since then, but I couldn't. I was sick you know."

"So your father tells me." Cray nods his head, like I've confirmed what he already knew. "I'm glad to see you've recovered. Sorry about your mother though. She was a lovely woman."

I nod solemnly, waiting for him to get to the point.

"Do you have any idea where Peeta Mellark might have gone?"

"Well no. Not really."

"No idea at all?" he presses, narrowing his eyes.

I need to be careful. I can't tell him anything that might imply I think Peeta is with the Hawthornes and Everdeens but I can't pretend I'm not friends with him either. I decide to go with what the whole town knows and build from there. I hope it's enough. "I've heard he's had some trouble at home. His mom beats on him, you know." Cray may or may not know, but it's an open secret in town and others can confirm my words. "After his dad died, I'm sure it's gotten worse. He used to come to school with bruises all the time. He always said he fell down the stairs or walked into a door, but no one ever believed him."

He makes a few notes. "So things are pretty bad?"

I nod. "Oh yeah."

"Do you think he'd run away?"

"Peeta? Maybe? I don't think so. I mean, he loved his brothers, and I'm sure he wouldn't leave without them." I'm implying that Mrs. Mellark might have done something to him and I deliberately use the past tense to do it.

Unfortunately, it doesn't seem that Cray gets that nuance because he follows up with, "Well, if he were to go someplace, do you have any idea where he might want to go?"

"Maybe someplace where it's warm and sunny? He loved sunsets. And he always hated winter." Actually, I have no idea where Peeta would go, but I'm assuming he's with Katniss and Gale, and they'd likely head north.

"So you think he might have gone south."

I shrug. "Probably? It makes as much sense as anything. I just can't see why he'd run!"

"Well you did say his home life was pretty bad."

"Yeah, but...it's been bad for years! Why now? And why didn't his mother notice he was missing? Why the town gossip is that he's been missing for three whole days! What kind of parent doesn't notice when their child doesn't come home for dinner?"

Cray shakes his head. "I don't know. I'll have to ask his mother that." He flips his notepad closed and stands up. "Thank you for your help, Miss Undersee. You let me know if you think of anything else."

"Absolutely! It was my pleasure. I hope you find him and that he's okay! You'll let me know if you find out anything?"

"Oh I'm sure we will," Cray says, taking his leave.

After he's gone, my father shoots me a look. "That was quite the performance you put on there, little girl. Anything you want to tell me?"

"Not really."

My father narrows his eyes and waits expectantly for me to elaborate.

I sigh. He's not going to let this go. "I didn't lie, if that's what you're asking. I just find Cray to be such an idiot!"

"It could be so much worse. I'll take this over some of previous Heads I've worked with."

I'm not sure I want to know what my father means.

oOo

I finish my book that afternoon. I'm looking for more books that have rebellion in them, but my father's library is sadly lacking. After reading Hester's tale, I'm hungry for more. It's really boring without school and I spend most of my time either watching old Capitol movies or raiding the school library for something interesting to read.

The sci-fi section yields some promising results. I'm especially hopeful about the one that takes place on the desert planet.

The next day, I'm not really up to reading, so I decide to sit down and watch TV. I've got a pad of paper in my hand. I'm always doodling or writing silly poems. My teachers hated the fact that my homework always had little hearts and stars and flowers and animals doodled in the margins. Peeta seemed to find it funny, but his homework was nearly as bad although most of his doodles were either of Katniss or sunsets.

I flip channels idly, looking for something interesting that isn't reruns of the Hunger Games or stupid Capitol soap operas. I don't have much luck. I finally settle on the Finnick Odair Film Festival.

They're just wrapping up the last movie of the Twilight series. Finnick is shirtless in a field of flowers, his arms wrapped around the Capitol starlet. She's staring soulfully into his eyes and I'm pretty sure she's not acting. I haven't read those books, but my mother did, and she told me all about them.

"Next up: Finnick Odair in Les Miz," Claudius Templesmith says. "And later, an interview with Finnick Odair, conducted by our very own Caesar Flickerman, to discuss the making of Les Miz."

I wish Peeta were here. He used to like to sit down with me and watch these Capitol movies with the Victors in them. One of the most painfully amusing was Star Wars starring Gloss and Cashmere Gaultier as Luke and Leia. The couple of scenes where they kissed were especially awkward and neither sibling could keep their revulsion totally off of their face.

The casting of Les Miz is a little hilarious. It's clearly a vanity project for the man playing Jean Valjean and his current lover is playing the role of Fantine. The woman can't sing, but she's still belting out the songs at the top of her lungs. I'm halfheartedly doodling a few birds and other things while I try to ignore the rail thin woman with the squeaky voice. I keep coming back to my Aunt Maysilee's pin and I sketch several variations of how the pin could be reimagined.

I look up and notice that Finnick Odair is now on screen, waving a large red flag, shirtless, with skintight pants and a tricolor belt around his waist. He's clearly been slathered in oil and he's yelling something about 'For France!'

It doesn't take long for his character to die. He's lying on the barricade, still shirtless. The camera lingers on his perfectly bloodless abs.

I look down at what I'm drawing and I look back up at the screen.

A little niggling of an idea starts to form in my head.

The next movie inspires me even more. It's Finnick Odair in Pleasantville. He's playing a Victor who finds love in the arms of a Capitol woman who teaches a naive boy all about sex. The sex scene is often cited as one of the hottest in movie history, but I'm more intrigued by what comes next. The scene that sticks with me the most is the one where the boy from the Capitol paints several inspiring scenes on the side of a building in a form of protest. I'm a little surprised that this passed the Capitol censors. I guess they were too busy being distracted by Finnick Odair's bare butt in the previous scene. I wonder if their screener tape broke from being rewound so much.

I glance down at my notepad, then back up at the screen, and then down to my notepad again. An idea, a horrible wonderful idea, comes to me.

I smile.

oOo

The Everdeens' house is still abandoned. Light streams through the windows and I can see the dust sparkling inside. This is perfect for what I want to do.

I find the wall exactly opposite the front door.

It's time to get to work.

I pull out a can of red paint and brushes and start my masterpiece.

I lean back an hour or so later to survey my work. It's definitely a mockingjay and it's slightly different than my family's pin. It's about three feet in diameter. I check to make sure there aren't any fingerprints or any other way to identify me and smile.

It's perfect.

And even better, no one will suspect it's me.

My next stop is the Hawthornes'. I paint a slightly different mockingjay for this one. It takes a couple of hours. That's a lot of time.

That's dangerous. I want to paint this outside, specifically on the Mellark Bakery, and I won't be able to do that unless I can find a way to paint faster. I'm sure to be caught if I'm there for more than a few minutes.

I clean up after myself thoroughly and head home. Looks like it's time for me to make a stencil. It won't be as intricate as the mockingjays I painted at the Everdeens' and Hawthornes' but it will be a lot faster and hopefully safer.

I make a few stencils of various sizes and carefully secrete them in the Everdeens' house along with the rest of my painting supplies. I can't be caught with these on me, but I can't seem to resist participating in my own little rebellion.

I think about the places that I want to hit. The school would be good. And of course the Mellark Bakery, but I'll have to watch my steps there. I would love to get the Justice Building, but that's way too dangerous. Where else can I paint these symbols? And is there anything else I can do?

I hit the school next. Soon each classroom has its own Madge Undersee original adorning its walls.

Late one night, approximately two weeks after Peeta was reported missing, I hit the Mellark Bakery.

I look at my work, satisfied. That's a mistake.

"What are you doing?"

I look over, stunned, to see Rye Mellark staring at me. "Um...uh...what does it look like I'm doing?"

"It looks like you're painting the side of my house with a rebellion symbol." He tilts his head to one side. "But surely the Mayor's daughter wouldn't do that."

"Um...no?"

He crosses his arms and stares at me.

"Please don't tell anyone?"

"What's in it for me?"

"Um...I'll let you stay at my house? I'll give you some place to get away from your mom? We could use someone to help around the house. I'm sure my dad would be fine and I know your mom wouldn't mind!" The words tumble out of my mouth in a rush.

He regards me thoughtfully. "You can get me out of here?"

I nod. "I'd have to ask my dad, but I don't think it would be a problem."

"I'm not sure my mom will be okay with that."

"Your brother's not moving out until July, right?"

His eyes narrow. "How do you know that?"

"I talked with Rooba. Your mom doesn't have to know you've moved out. It's not like she can force you to come back once you've gone."

Rye thinks this over. "It might be better if she does know. If I move out now, it won't arouse as much suspicion. She'll think she still has Farl. She doesn't know he's planning on moving in with Reenie."

"I know. Rooba told me."

His eyes narrow. "What else did Rooba tell you?"

"Not much, really."

"I'm gonna hold you to this, Undersee. You get me outta here and you get my silence."

oOo

Two days later, Rye moves in.

My father welcomes him and shows him to Rachel's old room. "And your mother is okay with this?" he asks.

"So long as she gets paid, she doesn't care what I do."

"Well, it's money well spent. I'm happy to have you here, son. You stay as long as you need. I just don't want to catch you up in Madge's room."

"Daddy!"

"What? I was his age once. I know what it's like to be around a pretty girl."

"I promise you won't catch me in her room, sir."

My father raises his eyebrows at Rye's wording. "I'd better not." He leaves.

"I've never seen my dad like this. He's usually so much more laid back!"

"It's all good," Rye says. "I kind of miss the fatherly lectures."

oOo

For three days, I refrain from sneaking out. Even though Rye's promised not to tell, I'm still nervous.

But the urge to indulge my own little rebellion is too strong to resist. Three days after Rye moves in, I can't help myself. They've been airing the Brutus MacArthur Memorial Marathon on TV. Apparently he was one of the flu's victims. The latest showing is Brutus MacArthur in Terminator. The line 'no fate but the one you make' rings in my ears.

I can't sit at home anymore.

I tiptoe towards the back door, trying to avoid notice. Unfortunately, Rye is in the kitchen, putting away some groceries.

"Where are you going?"

"Out?" I say eloquently.

"You wanna try that again? Five words or less."

"Out. For. A. Walk. Asshole."

"Such language." He puts the milk in the fridge. "What would your father say if he knew you were sneaking out?"

"I don't know because you're not gonna tell him. Remember our deal? Because I sure do. I've held up my end of the bargain, you need to hold up yours."

"If you think I'm gonna let you walk around out there and get caught, you've got another think coming."

"You'll just be in my way!"

"And you're not going to go anywhere without me. Deal with it."

I give up arguing. I don't have a lot of time and the longer we fight the less time I have to do my art. "Fine. Come on."

We walk to the Everdeens' house in strained silence. Once we're there, I get out my supplies.

"Whose house is this?" he asks.

"It's the Everdeens'."

Rye's eyes widen. "They're dead, aren't they? That's why this house is empty. Peeta would be devastated if he knew."

That's when I make up my mind. "I don't think they're dead. If they were dead, there'd still be food and personal items here."

"So? The house could've been looted. It's not like law and order's terribly on the ball around here."

I shake my head. "But Katniss was sick and got better already. You can't get the flu twice."

"So what do you think happened to them?"

"I think she and Gale Hawthorne ran away."

"You mean like lovers?"

"No, with their families. I discovered they were missing the day your mother reported Peeta was gone. When I came to tell them, their houses were abandoned and looked like they hadn't been lived in in days."

"So how long do you think they'd been gone?"

"Since about mid-April. I saw Katniss on the 14th and four days later, she was gone. They had to leave between the 14th and the 19th."

"That's when Peeta went missing."

I nod.

"Do you think he saw them leaving and they killed him?"

"No. The searchers would have found a body by now. I heard they even looked outside of the fence and didn't find anything. I think they took him with them."

"I was wondering why he hadn't asked me to go with him. Farl might not've, not with Reenie, but I would've gone."

"I don't think he planned on leaving," I say. "I think it was a spur of the moment thing."

"So why didn't you say anything?"

I tilt my chin up, defiantly. "I hope they get away with it. And do you remember the Monroes?"

"Vaguely. They had a daughter my age. Cora, I think. She was Reaped two years ago, right?"

"They tried to run before the Reaping but someone saw them and turned them in. The parents were Disappeared and Cora was selected as tribute that year. Katniss and Peeta are both my friends. I can't do that to them."

He holds my stencils up. "So what's with these mockingjays?"

"I don't know. I just wanted to do something. Have my own bit of rebellion."

"You need any help?"

"Are you offering?"

"Yeah. I'm in."

I hold out my hand. "Welcome to the rebellion, Rye."

oOo

AN:
Written: 2/15/15
Revised: 3/5/15
Revised 2: 3/17/15

The title of this fic is a play on the song "Devil in a Blue Dress." We couldn't resist.

You might have noticed that Madge is a bit inspired by pop culture. The first book she was reading was The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne and the second one was Dune by Frank Herbert. Neither are rebellious enough to get banned and since sci-fi has long made social commentary without being noticed a lot of sci-fi would likely get a pass.

Then we get to the Victors in various movies. We figured that the Victors are like the sports stars of today and would be forced into various productions to keep the populace happy. Think Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Sonja Henie, OJ Simpson, and even Arnold Schwarzenegger and the fact that all of them were famous athletes first. The Victors are the sports stars of the time and the popular ones would be tapped for various projects with the producers paying Snow for the privilege. And now you get to have the image of Sam Claflin as Edward Cullen in Twilight… You're welcome...

As you may have noticed, we did kill off Brutus from the flu. He is one of four major characters whose deaths by the flu were randomized. You'll find out who the other three are later.

So that's it! We hope you enjoyed!

Up next! Back to Katniss and Company in Brand New Breeze! Otherwise known as OMG! ALL THE ROMANCE!