Through Many Dangers, Toils, and Snares

Chapter One: Don't Panic

by: Mistress of the Strange

After Katniss and Peeta win the 73th Hunger Games, Katniss fears her best friend Gale is going to get reaped. But things take an unexpected turn when Peeta's best friend Delly Cartwright is also reaped.

I don't own the Hunger Games Series, or any of its characters.

Katniss

Peeta grabs my hand and leads me to the inside of the Justice Building, were Gale and Delly are waiting for their family members and friends to go and say goodbye. He must know how I feel; all of District Twelve should now, anyway.

I know I can't see Gale right now. I don't even ask for it. We'll have plenty of time in the train, and in the Capitol, and then… and then he will be sent to the arena.

I follow Peeta wordlessly, but I notice that he seems to be worried too.

Of course he's worried. I think He is worried about you. He wants to help you.

This are my thoughts, when a young boy about eight years old with blonde hair and crying blue eyes, who just came out of the room Delly is in, walks to us and takes Peeta's other hand; He instantly drops my hand and kneels to his level.

"Hey Lukas," He whispers softly.

The boy looks up at him, and says with a trembling voice. "I'm going to miss my sister"

His sister. Delly is his sister.

"Hey, don't worry, Delly is a strong girl? Isn't she?" Peeta tells the little boy, in his usual, calming way.

Lukas nods "You will try to bring her home right? Like really, really hard?"

This brings back Prim's words when I left for the arena "I just want you to come home. You will try, won't you? Really, really try?"

And Peeta's words echo mine own, when he looks at the boy with such a determination and says firmly "Really, really try. I swear it."

The boy hugs Peeta and runs after his sniffing mother.

When start walking again, he avoids my gaze, and he only takes my hand when we are about to go outside, where all the cameras are, to get into the train.

I want to ask him why he told that to the boy. Is not like I was going to forget about Delly, but if we were trying to get Gale to come out, we needed to focus, and making promises to a little boy wasn't helping at all.

Gale

My mother cries while I hug Posy; I don't think Posy understands what's going on, and that she's probably not going to see me ever again.

Vick and Rory look at me with fear all over their faces, and the five of us sit in silence as we wait.

Somehow, I knew this was going to happen. Katniss did warn me, after all. "President Snow personally threatened me to have you killed"

I was probably not going to see my family again; I could never watch Posy and Vick grow up, or find out if Rory succeeded at making a non-awkward with Prim. And I had left all the pressure on my fragile mother.

But one of the worse things of having to go to the Capitol was having to watch her and Mellark be a couple. Or act like a couple. Whatever.

My thoughts were interrupted by a Peacekeeper coming into the room, telling my family is time to get out.

My mother looks at my with a brave face as we share what will probably be our last hug; Vick and Rory hug me and they get out to, leaving little Posy alone with me for a moment.

She hugs me and says "I'll see you when you get back!" And with those words she's out.

Don't cry I tell myself as I watch her walk through the door.

My next visitor is quite unexpected.

It's Madge Undersee.

Madge and I don't have what you could call a friendship, the only times we have interacted, were when Katniss and I sold her strawberries.

And also… when Katniss was in the games, I sometimes watched it in the Square, and some of those times, she will be there too. We small talked, about random stuff, and I found out that I actually enjoyed Madge's company, but when Katniss and Peeta got back from the games, we stopped any kind on contact with each other.

So is a surprise to me when she walks the space the separates us and gives me a hug.

It's not the kind of hug you get from someone whom you've barely talk to. It's like if we've been friends forever and maybe even more. And I don't pull away, instead I return her hug.

"Try and come back Gale," She whispers in my ear after we've been hugging for too long. "I know you can"

I can only nod in response.

When the peacekeeper walks again to take her out she does another unexpected thing.

She stands on her tiptoes and kisses me quickly on the cheek.

Katniss

Peeta and I are already on the train waiting for Gale and Delly.

Peeta plays with his hands, and moves his prosthetic leg nervously while I look around trying to distract myself.

The doors suddenly crack open and a puffy and red eyed Delly enters, followed by the face I was waiting for. Gale.

I get up and run straight into his arms, trying to come up with something to say, but nothing comes out. What should I say, anyway? Sorry? Yeah right…

He embraces me and says nothing, but I can sense that he does know that all this was my fault.

"Hey Catnip" He finally says, "What a day, huh?"

I let out a sarcastic laugh, trying to hold back the tears; but it's useless, they come anyway, and he just stays there, trying to come up with something comforting to say.

I think of Peeta and Delly, and how awkward it must be for them to watch that, especially for Peeta.

I pull away from Gale's embrace, and turn away to where Peeta was to find a surprising sight.

In his arms Peeta holds a weeping Delly, while his own silent tears fall, and he whispers words of comfort to her.

"It's going to be all right, Dells, don't worry" He says but the girl just keeps crying, "Stop crying Delly, remember, it makes you look worse than that day where Ruth Thorn fell to the mud face-down."

This actually gets a laugh from Delly, who reaches up and smacks his head playfully.

One of them must have seen Gale's and I look of confusion, because they pull away and we share a very awkward glance.

Peeta clears his throat. "Katniss, you know Delly, right?" I just stare at him so he continues "Well, uhm, this is Delly… my best friend"

Of course.

"I have friends and family back in District Twelve, too Katniss, who will be just as dead as yours if we don't pull this out" While I was worried about my friends and family I never consider the fact that this could happen. I should have paid attention in the Victory Tour, when he said this to me. And maybe we wouldn't be in this whole mess.

I have no time to answer when Effie comes in and call us all for dinner.

I expect Peeta to sit next to Delly, or to ignore me, but he takes the chair next to mine and pulls it even closer; He takes my hand under the table, and strokes it reassuringly as if saying, "Don't worry, we'll find a way out".

Peeta's always been the optimistic one of the Starred Crossed lover duo.

The meal goes quietly with only some conversation attempts made by Effie and Peeta that die out quickly.

Peeta and I keep holding hands under the table trough the meal, and we only let go when it's necessary.

Delly has calmed down, but at some points of the meal, when it looks like if she's going to start crying again, Peeta starts making funny faces towards her direction, and gets her to smile again.

This gets me in the wrong way. I grab my fork with such a force I leave marks of the back in my skin, but then I feel Peeta's hand stroke mind and I calm down.

After dinner, we watch the recap of the reaping. Just like last year only a few stick in my mind.

There's the two Careers from Two that are both scary in their own way ―The boy is extremely tall and eighteen, and the girl, a sixteen year old, looks at everyone with a creepy and scary smile,― a twelve year old from Three, who looks scared and like he's about to faint, from district Seven there's sixteen year old muscular boy, and a fourteen year old girl, who looks pretty confident, then there's the tributes from eleven, both look to be seventeen.

Effie turns off the TV and turns to Gale and Delly "Now go to sleep you two. Tomorrow a big, big, big day" She says with her annoying accent.

Gale turns to with a mortified expression, as if saying, "How do you handle this?" and I just grin in response.

They follow Effie and I'm left alone with Peeta.

Hey!

By the way, those who are worried, there won't be G/K or P/D, but there will be jealous Katniss and Peeta.

Hey did some of you get the alert for an update like three times? I don't know what is going on… Does somebody?

Thank you so much for the feedback, and the advice, I really appreciate it. I made this chapter a little longer, as some people suggested and I tried a little of Gale's POV.

I hope you like this chapter and that you leave a review with your opinion and/or advice.

Love!

Dannie