Katniss put on her mother's long sleeved white dress, with lace on the top that cinched at her waist and cut off right above her knees. She tucked the frontal strands of hair behind her with pins on either side. She let the rest of her hair flow long and curly, yet flipped it behind her shoulders.
I guess this is as nice as it's gonna get for a poor girl.
She left her house in the darkness of the early morning and walked over to the train station, waving goodbye to a worried Gale through his window as she hopped on with the rest of the coal bags. She wasn't allowed to sit in the train cars with the normal people anymore.
"We should be at the capitol in 4 hours," The automated train voice announced as the doors sealed shut. "Please, relax, and enjoy your ride!"
"Yeah, some ride I'll enjoy," Katniss muttered to herself, as she pushed the coal bags around and attempted to make a comfortable place for her to lie. Finally, after shoving around, she placed her hands behind her head and laid in the darkness.
I wonder what it will be like to see him.
I wonder if he looks the same.
I bet he looks better…
Before she knew it, Katniss had fallen into a deep sleep. Suddenly, the jerk stop of the train sent her flying into the coal bags, bruising her cheek. She rubbed it as the doors to the capitol servant entrance slid open.
Temporarily blinded by the sunlight, Katniss held up her hand to shadow her eyes before being pulled out by two capitol guards. "It's time to go Ms. Everdeen, The capitol citizens are cold and in need of a nice fire, if you know what I mean."
Katniss jerked her elbows free of the two men. "Don't touch me," She told them bravely before receiving a slap across the face.
"Don't ever speak that way to a capitol citizen, you piece of filth. You are not a victor anymore, you're a servant girl."
Rubbing the bad side of her face, Katniss cursed silently under her breath. Fuck, this is going to really be painful, already imagining the purple and red mark that must have taken over the left side of her face.
Katniss spent the day spilling coal and lighting fires for the people in the capitol. They laughed at her, struck at her, and humiliated her to a point where she felt so miserable she almost forgot about seeing Prim.
Finally, at the end of her day, Katniss dragged herself to the President's office. Battered and burned, she had black coal smudges on her face, while her white dress turned gray at certain spots where she let it touch the fire. Her hands and legs were shaking because she was so tired, but she didn't care. All she could think about was seeing Prim.
Katniss slowly knocked on the door, expecting a cameraman to be right in her face, watching her bend down and serve President Mellark while the audience of the capitol laughed at her. Remember, Katniss, he doesn't even remember you.
The door to his office slowly opened by another old tribute, Haymitch, who had also been forced to become a servant to the President. He winked at Katniss as she smiled at him, slowly walking through the door.
Lavishly decorated, the office was purple with a giant fireplace on the sidewall. His desk was made of the finest mahogany, with a blue transparent screen raised slightly above his desk with a glowing keyboard attached to it. The lighting was dim, with crystal chandeliers glowing above her as she slowly stepped forward in awe. She stared up at the light fixtures, and gasped as they threw rainbows against the walls.
"Pretty spectacular, I know," A familiar voice said. "The rainbows are from the light reflections. I'm sure you've never seen crystals before."
Katniss looked at the figure that spoke. His back was turned away from her, flipping through a file. His strong back… His blonde hair…
Suddenly, the figure turned around, being none other than Peeta. Catching gazes, his mouth gaped open for a split second before he shook his head so slightly. "It's freezing in here. Can I get a fire, please?" He asked her abruptly, gesturing towards the fireplace. "I'm only the damn President."
Katniss, not taking her eyes off of him, slowly walked towards the fireplace, a bag of coal in both her arms. His eyes stayed locked with hers, following her the entire way. Reluctantly forcing her eyes away, she knelt down and faced the fire, slowly putting coals inside the darkness. She could feel the heat of his gaze boring into her back. "I'm sorry, sir," She spoke.
Peeta, for a strange reason feeling guilty for being so demanding, closed his eyes. "I've never seen you here before, what district are you from?" She seems so familiar…
Katniss, keeping her eyes on the fire, silently felt her breath catch in her throat. Coughing ever so slightly, she continued to place one coal on top of another. "12, sir," she said quietly.
"I've never met anyone from district 12," Peeta mumbled. "Horrid place to live. It must be freezing there."
"Below freezing," Katniss muttered to herself.
"Sorry, what was that?" Peeta demanded sharply.
Katniss sighed, sitting up straight and turning her head around. Her angry eyes looked into his, seeing straight through him. "Below freezing, Sir," She said loudly and bitterly. Her defiance seemed to radiate from her angry stare, and Peeta confusedly looked at her. Realizing that she was not behaving as a servant should, she quickly turned around again and continued at her current task. Don't snap at him again, you moron. You can't jeopardize seeing Prim.
Silence filled the air as Peeta shrugged and continued reading his file. Moving over to his desk, he sat down at his desk, typing into his translucent computer. Continuing to glance over at her, Peeta struggled to remember why it seemed like déjà vu. Her spirited eyes… Who is she?
Katniss placed several logs into the fire before lighting it. Gasping in pain, she winced a hot coal burned through the skin on her hand. She looked away in pain, her burned hand throbbing.
"Are you alright?" Peeta asked from his desk, minding his own business and continuing to type.
Katniss winced in pain. "Fine, sir," She choked out, her burned hand trembling. Her eyes welled up with tears. She quickly sniffled and continued to place wood with her good hand.
Peeta, his head snapping up at her sniffle, looked over at her. He noticed her face was stained with fresh tears. "What's the matter?" He asked, nonchalantly. "Will you be able to continue your work? Haymitch," He snapped his fingers. "Go help her."
"Yes, sir," Haymitch replied, hustling over to Katniss. He knelt down beside her and started to throw wood on the fire. He looked down at her trembling hand. "Katniss these are third degree burns!" He whispered, looking at her face.
"I have to see Prim, Haymitch, you know that. He can't find out, he won't let me see her. Snow is watching my every move, he'll know if we talk," Katniss whispered back.
"Katniss this could leave permanent damage," Haymitch shook his head. "Keep going slow, I'll get a first aid kit. He won't even know."
Haymitch slowly stood up, silently removing the first aid kit from the closet against the wall.
"What do you need that for Haymitch…" Peeta trailed off as Katniss' face snapped over to look at him. Why is she crying?... Cool it Peeta, you're the president and she's a damn slave…
"I'm sorry sir, but…" Haymitch looked over at Katniss as she shook her head.
"Haymitch, it's fine, really," Katniss insisted quietly.
"What's fine, whats going on?" Peeta demanded ferociously. "I order you, tell me now."
"My friend has burned her hand. She didn't want to disturb you or else she would be punished," Haymitch explained. "please, ignore us, we beg your pardon."
Peeta sighed and stood up from the table. "Let me see your hand," he said, sitting on the couch and gesturing her over. "I have some medical training." Are you sure you have medical training? He thought to himself.
Katniss, angrily looking at Haymitch, slowly stood up and walked over to the couch, sitting down at a distance and stretching out her hand. "it's fine, honestly," She said, looking down at it and wiping old tears away with her free hand. "Happens all the time," she added, nonchalantly.
Peeta gasped. Blistered and bubbled, this girl was acting like there was nothing wrong in the world. Taking her bad hand between both of his, he closely examined it, scooting a bit closer to her. Katniss started to breathe heavily, her insides burning at his touch. As he lightly touched one of her blisters, she winced, reflexively jerking her hand away.
Peeta looked at her and smiled. "Its okay," he said quietly. "I'm not going to hurt you."
Before she could stop herself, images of them lying in the cave together quickly flashed through her mind. She shook her head, slightly smiling, and stretched her trembling hand back towards his.
"Haymitch, the first aid kit, please," Peeta called to him, not taking his eyes off of Katniss' hand.
Haymitch gaped as he brought the first aid kit over to the couch. Katniss looked at him, frightened. Haymitch shook his head at her. I don't know… Haymitch said through his eyes. He couldn't possibly remember…
Peeta rubbed ointment onto Katniss' hand, and wrapped it with gauze. Looking up at her, he felt warm when her eyes looked into his. Breaking her gaze, he looked around the room, smiling and shrugging. "You're uhh… you're all set!" He said. "You should be fine in a couple weeks," he said, placing his hand on her knee. He felt jolts of electricity when he touched her.
"Thank you, sir," Katniss said, as they both stood up. "I'll see myself out."
"Please, call me Mr. Mellark," Peeta introduced himself. "I've never liked being called Sir. For some reason it makes me feel uncomfortable," he explained, sitting back at his desk.
Katniss walked towards the door. "Of course, Mr. Mellark," She said, not turning back but a wide smile crossing her face. Haymitch noticed, and shook his head at her, mouthing the word "No". Katniss rolled her eyes at him, mouthing "I Know".
As Haymitch opened the door, Peeta stood up from behind his desk, jerkily. "So what should I call you?" He asked quickly, desperate to hear her voice one last time. You had to ask for a servant's name. C'mon Peeta, some president you are.
Katniss turned around and looked at him, slightly raising her eyebrows. "Katniss," She said, lowering her head. She winced a smile, curtsied and left the room.
Haymitch closed the door, leaving Peeta alone in his office.
"Katniss…" He said to himself, a smile coming across his face. Katniss… The beautiful servant from district 12.