Note: This is Gale's side story which takes place in the same universe and runs concurrently to my story "Spectator." You will likely want to read that fic first since I will be making reference to the events that take place in it. This chapter takes place during the events of Chapters 32 through 34.
Forgotten
By Fanfic Allergy
oOo
Chapter Seven
"Gale?" Madge's voice is carefully modulated, but I can still hear the concern in it.
"I'm okay," I tell her even though I'm really not. "Let's finish up here and head back."
"I don't think we've milked Lady yet. Do you want to watch the recap at Katniss's house?" she asks me out loud, but it isn't what she's really asking. She's really asking if I'm going to be able to hold myself together while watching. It's a fair question. One I'm not sure I can answer.
"I think that might be a good idea," I reply.
She nods. She understands.
We finish at the Hob, trading with the few traders still there. Then we go to Rooba's. The butcher will pay better for the fish, and considering that people will be celebrating Prim and Peeta's win, she's likely to sell what I have.
The stocky woman is pleased and even takes the catfish, something she typically turns down, because she's already mostly sold out of her stocks. People are splurging in anticipation of the additional food and supplies. I can see several people erecting a bonfire and setting up chairs in the main square to watch the recap.
I can't begrudge their happiness but that doesn't mean I need to join in. I'm happy Prim will be coming home. I just don't like what Peeta's survival means for my chances with Katniss.
We stop at Madge's house to let her family know where we'll be. She's been out all day and they're probably worried. Her mother mentions dinner and Madge goes to the kitchen to pack up our meal.
I head upstairs to see the Mayor. I find Orville in his office on the phone. I don't want to disturb him but he waves me into the room when he sees me. He's talking to someone in the Capitol, arranging the first shipment of supplies for general distribution. From what I'm able to figure out, he's trying to get the first round of the winning Victor's district rewards sent now, rather than on the first of the month.
The district which supplied the winning Victor of that year's Games gets to share in its Victor's winnings for the next year. Each household, rather than each person, will be given provisions that ostensibly should feed a family of four for a month. It's more than what's given out in tesserae rations, which is just grain and oil. There's dried beans and canned meat and even candy! I foresee a lot more marriages and babies this year to take advantage of the Capitol's generosity.
When he gets off the phone, Orville looks over at me. "I've been trying to talk the distribution office into sending one third of the monthly provisions now and just sending only two thirds of the supplies next June."
"And?" I know why he's doing this. It's been a hard month in Twelve. June always is. The mines run on a skeleton crew and not everyone is working. That makes it harder for poorer families to make ends meet. And with it being so early in the year, most of the small gardens we have in the Seam haven't started producing much. The majority of families with reaping age children end up having to take out tesserae to make it through the month.
Orville sighs and scrubs at his face with both hands. "They wouldn't budge. The shipment will arrive on July 1, along with a new Head Peacekeeper to oversee the distribution."
A frisson of dread trickles down my spine. That can't be a coincidence. "Any idea of who the new Head'll be?" I ask.
The Mayor shakes his head. "No. I never do. For all I know, they haven't figured out who they're going to be sending yet."
I nod my head and change the subject, "I'm going to be borrowing your daughter for Mandatory Viewing tonight."
"Think you'll need someone to keep you in check?" Orville asks, amused.
"Maybe," I admit. "But I hope not. Still, it's better to be safe than sorry."
"That's a good point. Speaking of. I recommend you curtail your extracurricular activities once the new Head arrives. Cray may not care about such things, but a new Head will have new directives and is likely to be more stringent. I'd hate for something to happen to you." He fixes me with a very stern look. "Or to Madge."
I get it. Part of me bristles at the warning, but another part understands why Orville needed to give it. I don't have a lot of respect for the rules and tend to pick and choose which ones I want to follow. It hasn't been a problem in the past since Cray and his team of Peacekeepers haven't been terribly interested in enforcing the laws. But that's about to change. Madge is like me, a bit of a rebel, and I understand Orville wanting to keep his daughter safe. I'm the same way with Posy.
There's a knock on the door and I turn to see Madge standing in the doorway. "We've got about an hour before Mandatory Viewing starts. We should probably get going."
"Go on," Orville tells us. "Don't let me keep you. Enjoy the rest of your weekend. I'll see you Monday."
I nod. "Thanks. I'll try not to keep Madge out too late."
He waves me off. "She's a big girl and she knows what she's doing. I'd rather have her safe with you than wandering about after dark when there's going to be a lot of drunk people out."
There's something in the way he says it that makes me think that there's more to it than him being afraid of a few drunks. Most people in the Seam know better than to try anything with the Mayor's daughter or with any merchant. The Peacekeepers would flog first and ask questions later. That's when it hits me, the Peacekeepers. They're likely to be out in force tonight because of the chance of rowdiness and rioting. They'll likely have orders to keep the peace at all costs and they'll be enforcing curfew and Mandatory Viewing more rigorously than normal.
Curfew ostensibly starts at midnight and is in effect until six in the morning. It's also a bit of a joke in Twelve. No one bothers paying attention to it. The first shift in the mines starts at six-thirty in the morning. That means people are often up and about earlier than that to run errands before they start work since they'll be too tired and dirty afterward. The Peacekeepers in Twelve know this and so don't bother to enforce curfew so long as you aren't sneaking around getting into trouble.
"Any word on when the Mellarks and Everdeens will be coming home, Daddy?"
The Mayor makes a face. "Unfortunately, no. My contact was very tight lipped about the whole thing."
"Ah. That means they want it to be a surprise, doesn't it?"
"Probably. They also probably don't know what they're doing for the recap, yet, but I wouldn't expect to see Katniss any time soon."
I'd been expecting it, but my heart sinks a little at the confirmation. I'd hoped that once the Games were over that Katniss and the others would be sent home. Hearing the Mayor say it, dashes that little bit of hope I'd been holding on to.
"Come on, Gale, we need to go."
I nod. "I'll see you Monday," I tell Orville.
"Keep out of trouble."
"I'll try." I don't add that I'm not sure just how successful I'll be.
oOo
We stop at my house to drop off my purchases before heading to the Everdeens' house. My mother is pleased to see the large paper bag of salt and the smaller one of crushed herbs. The whole house smells of cooking meat and my mother is humming to herself as she moves around the kitchen. It's something I haven't seen her do in years. Not since my father died.
The bear along with the promised winner's district rations means that she doesn't need to worry about Rory taking out tesserae. That we're going to have enough food to feed our family for a whole year. I never realized just how much that preyed on my mother. I know it's been a huge concern of mine for years, but she's always seemed so put together that I've never noticed just how much she's been suffering. It's an eye opener.
Tomorrow, I'll need to take the bear's pelt, teeth, and some of the bones into town to try to sell. But for now, we're in the way. She's got the smoker going out back to preserve the majority of the meat and she's making soup stock from the scraps and a few of the bones. There's a slurry of the last of our tesserae grain mixed with salt, herbs, and the ground up remaining offal from the bear resting on the counter next to the stove.
Madge wrinkles her nose at the disgusting looking mixture. I don't blame her, if I didn't know what it was going into, I'd wrinkle my nose too.
"It's for sausages," I tell her. "She'll stuff the mixture into some cleaned intestines and put them in the smoker to cure. They'll be good for years that way and nothing will go to waste."
The Mayor's daughter nods. "I could have gone my whole life without knowing how sausage was made."
"It is pretty disgusting," I agree. "But it's good knowledge to have."
She nods. "I suppose."
My mother shoos Madge and me out of the house. She's got enough helpers. Posy is working on grinding the salt and herbs together into a fine dust while Rory and Vick take turns minding the stove. Our house is small, and with all of the activity it feels smaller.
When we get to the Everdeens' house, there's a surprise waiting for us on the doorstep. A dead mockingjay.
Madge kneels down and examines the dead bird. "Who could have done this?" she asks, stricken.
"Buttercup most likely," I tell her. "He's a bit of a hunter, or so Katniss tells me. Supposedly he leaves gifts like this all the time."
"That's horrible!"
"Why? He's a predator. He's just doing what he's supposed to do." I don't understand why Madge seems so upset over the death of a stupid bird.
"We should bury it," she says firmly.
"Why?" I ask again. "The thing's food for Buttercup and it means we don't have to feed the cat."
"You don't understand," she says sadly.
"So explain it to me."
"Mockingjays aren't supposed to exist, but they do. They're a symbol."
"A symbol for what?"
But Madge just shakes her head, unwilling to explain further.
I look at the dead bird and at the merchant girl mourning it and sigh. "Fine, we can bury the bird."
"Thank you," she says simply.
I grunt and go inside to find the small garden shovel I know the Everdeens have. The funeral for the bird, I can't call it anything else, doesn't take long. Madge places the body carefully in the paper bag that held our supper and puts it in the hole I've dug. The food itself is on the counter, waiting for us to eat it when we're finished. I almost expect her to say a few words over the bird, but she doesn't. She just helps me cover the paper wrapped body in silence.
We go back inside and wash our hands.
The silence is stifling. I don't know what to say and I've got the impression that I've disappointed her somehow.
"I'm sorry about the bird," I try.
"No, you're not," she counters. "But thanks for saying so. You don't understand and I can't explain it to you."
"Can't or won't?"
"Can't. It's something you either understand or you don't." She sighs. "You're very literal, Gale. You see things in black and white and the world really doesn't work like that."
"I'm learning," I protest.
"You are," she agrees. "Slowly. But you're learning."
The screen comes on, signaling the start of Mandatory Viewing. Madge gets up to heat our food in the oven while I watch the Games. I'm surprised to see just Caesar Flickerman on the screen without Claudius Templesmith. I wonder what happened to the orange haired man. Caesar does the best he can without his co-host but without Claudius to piddle in excitement he comes off as forced. He announces that since today was such a momentous day, Mandatory Viewing is going to be extended by an hour.
I can imagine so. When Madge and I set out this morning, there were six tributes left, and less than twelve hours later there were only two still standing, Prim and Peeta.
They start with the seemingly never ending parade of silver parachutes. I laugh at the broomsticks and Peeta's cleverness at figuring out what they were for. I wonder whose idea that was, I'd like to shake their hand - it was ingenious. Then they show District Eleven's tributes being pursued by the two cat-like muttations. I find myself rooting for the little girl and the larger man, even though I know that they're going to die. When they do, I'm angered. The girl, Rue, didn't even have a chance to recover. A knife in the back and she was out. The boy almost managed to take the brute from Two out before he was felled by another knife in the back. I find myself hating the girl from Two with a passion. I'd almost felt sorry for her, but after watching her coldly murder the two from Eleven all of my pity is gone.
Even when she's faced with Cato's incapacitation and imminent death I can't find it in my heart to forgive her. She deserves this.
Madge puts our food down in front of me and I look up at her in surprise. Her eyes are sad and she says, "Those two are just another pair of victims of the Games. Don't hate them for doing what the Capitol brainwashed them to do. Hate the institution that brainwashed them."
"Those are dangerous words," I say, softly.
"I know. But you needed to hear them. You're angry, I get that, but you need to be angry for the right reasons."
I turn back to the screen and with Madge's words in mind I'm able to see the destroyed seventeen year old girl who's just watched her dreams crumble around her. Yes, she's a killer. Yes, she's ruthless. But that's what she was trained to be. Underneath it all she's just another child who's been sacrificed for the Capitol's pleasure.
Seeing Clove break down and descend into madness is sobering. The Games broke her utterly. I realize I'm afraid that the Capitol will do the same to Katniss.
The final confrontation between Prim, Peeta and Clove is painful to watch. Prim's injury is horrendous and what's even worse is the fact that they play it over and over again in gruesome slow motion. I have to hand it to Peeta, I'd never given him much thought or credit before the Games, but watching him now I can see his determination and his resolve. He's going to make sure Prim comes home, no matter what. My thoughts are proven right when, after he finishes off Clove, he pulls out the berries that the red haired girl from Five gave him. Part of me wishes he'd gone through and actually swallowed the berries, but then I'm horrified at the thought. Peeta hasn't done anything wrong. I'm only angry because he's about to get the one person I've always wanted, Katniss.
They finally declare both Peeta and Prim the winners of the Seventy Fourth Hunger Games and I turn away from the television to find that my supper's gone cold. I take it over to the oven to reheat it again since biscuits and gravy are almost inedible cold, before turning to face Madge.
She's watching me carefully, waiting for me to make the first move.
"Tell me about Mellark."
Madge blinks in surprise. Clearly, my question was not what she was expecting. "What do you want to know?" she counters.
"Everything," I answer quickly. "All I know about him is that he's a merchant, like you. That he's good at wrestling. That he's an artist. And that he's got a crush on my best friend. None of that tells me very much about him."
"It actually tells you a lot about him," Madge says, tilting her head to the side.
"I'm just an idiot from the Seam. Explain it to me."
"You're not an idiot and just stop it with that damned Seam versus Merchant crap. I'm sick of it. Each person is an individual, stop trying to pigeonhole us just so you can feel superior. It's classist bullshit and you're playing right into the Capitol's hands. How much do you want to bet that every single district in Panem has some kind of class divide to keep people from realizing who the real enemy is, huh?"
That draws me up short. It's just like in the Games where it's the Careers versus the Non-Careers. We're so focused on one versus the other that we forget that the real people we should be mad at are the people who put them in the Arena in the first place.
"Sorry." And I am. I keep getting hung up on the things that have been a constant my whole life that I forget that the world isn't as simple as I thought it was.
"I don't want your apologies. I want you to wise up," she snaps.
"I'll try. I'm probably gonna backslide though, fair warning."
She huffs. "So you want to know about Peeta now, do you?"
"Yeah."
"He's got a good heart, a gentle one. Whenever a girl or a guy got dumped in our year Peeta would do something nice for them. Said he knew what it was like although most of us wondered who'd dumped him, since as far as most of us knew he'd never had a girlfriend or boyfriend."
"But you knew better." It's a statement.
"Yeah, I did. I've known his reason since we were little. He never wanted to play house with me, I finally got him to tell me why after months of pestering. He was there for me when my heart was broken and I was there for him when his was."
I'm confused. "But Katniss said she'd never talked to him. Not until the day of the Reaping."
"You don't need to interact with someone to have your heart broken by them. How do you think he felt when he found out Katniss was pregnant?" The question is pointed.
So I think about it, trying to put myself into his shoes. "I guess I'd think I'd lost my chance. That the girl I loved was in love with someone else."
"Give the man a prize! That's exactly what he thought. He gave her up when he found out, or at least that's what he told me. It's a little harder to make the heart understand."
"Who broke your heart?" I ask, my mind finally registering what she said earlier.
She wags her finger at me. "Ah-ah! You asked about Peeta. My secrets are my own."
I decide not to push. "So what else can you tell me about Peeta?"
"He takes after his father rather than his mother. He's smart, really smart. Probably the best in our grade if he worked on it or cared. He doesn't though. He prefers to draw or make up little fantasy worlds he can escape to. He's also good at reading people. And he's persuasive. He probably could have talked his way into the Career Pack if he wanted to."
"He sounds perfect," I say glumly.
"Hardly," Madge snorts. "He's stubborn. Probably as stubborn as Katniss is, but he's better at hiding it. He's also a really good liar. Like really good. He's talked his way out of so much trouble it's a wonder he hasn't been caught yet. He's also a little like you. He tends to see things as either right or wrong but he's less pig headed about it. He doesn't have to agree with you, but you're going to have a hell of a time changing his mind."
"You're not making me feel better."
"I'm not doing this to make you feel better. You wanted to know about Peeta. I'm telling you about Peeta."
"Will he be good to Katniss? To our baby?" I finally ask, getting to the core of what's really bugging me.
She sighs. "I wondered when you'd get around to actually asking that question."
"Well, I have. So answer."
"You're so sure the Capitol is going to force them to get married?"
"You're the one who tells me to think. The Capitol's gonna want to see the love story carried out. They're gonna feel that they're owed that. Never mind that it was just a sham for the cameras, they're gonna demand a payoff and nothing less than them getting married and living the fairy tale is gonna do. Tell me I'm wrong." I try to keep the pleading out of my voice and I mostly succeed but I'm sure Madge hears it anyway.
"I can't. Because you're right."
"So please tell me he'll be good to her. That he'll take care of Katniss and my daughter. That he won't hate my little girl because he's not her father."
"He's not going to hate your little girl and he loves Katniss. He'd do anything for her. And if that means being a good father to her daughter he'll do it without a second thought. He'll do his best to make them both happy, even if he's not sure how to go about it. He's a good guy, Gale. You should talk to him when he gets back."
"I might. But not right away. I'm not sure I'll be able to control myself around him."
"You're going to have to if you want to keep your family safe," she tells me bluntly.
"I know," I mutter, staring down at the worn wooden floors of the Everdeen house.
"You'd better get your food before it burns," she tells me after a few minutes.
I open the oven and see that the tops of my biscuits are starting to turn from brown to black. "Hey Madge," I say, with my back to her.
"Yeah?"
"You're a good friend."
oOo
Sunday is a lazy day.
I've spent so much time with Madge out in the woods frantically trying to lay in enough stores for Katniss's and my families for the winter that I've been neglecting what's important. Namely, Rory, Vick and Posy.
I should start teaching Rory and Vick about the woods, but I want them to stay children for a little while longer. Rory's only thirteen and Vick's even younger. I don't want them to be forced to grow up too soon like I was.
Madge shows up early as usual, carrying a bag of food - cheese sandwiches and some rubbery carrots that must be from last season's crop. I feel bad when I tell her that I don't want to go into the woods today. With all of the meat from the bear and the anticipated supplies from the Capitol I don't need to.
She just shrugs and asks, "So do you want me to go?"
"You don't have to."
"That isn't an answer."
I think about it. Do I want Madge to go home? A few days ago I would have said yes in a heartbeat but today I'm reluctant to. "Not really. I just want to enjoy the day off."
"Fair enough. What do you want to do?"
"Well, I need to trade what's left of the bear." I motion to the bear pelt, claws, teeth, and bones. "We didn't have time yesterday and it's going to go bad if we don't."
She nods and asks, "In town or at the Hob?"
"Both. The furrier will pay better for the hide but the Hob will pay better for the rest of it."
"We should go to the Hob first," Madge says. "Mr. Ruskin isn't a morning person, he takes after his sister in that respect."
"His sister?"
"Peeta's mom. The new furrier is her older brother, Uriah. He just took over from his father this month. Peeta told me that one of reasons his mom is so difficult is because she hates having to get up early in the morning to bake bread."
"Think he was telling the truth?"
She shrugs. "I don't know. Does it matter? Let's hit the Hob first then go to Mr. Ruskin's. After that, what we do is up to you."
The Hob is bustling even this early in the morning, people are moving from stall to stall buying, selling and trading. There's a feeling of euphoria that's permeating the coal dust filled building. Sae happily takes the bones including the bear's head, exchanging them for several small bags of herbs, a small ball of cheese, and a jug of vinegar. Another vendor who specializes in odd trinkets and collectables practically drools over the teeth and claws. I'm able to trade them for several nice buttons, a worn silk tie, and several lengths of wool cloth. Even if my mother can't turn the cloth into a suit for me, the fabric can be used to make clothes for Rory, Vick and Posy.
Sneaking the pelt into town is harder than I anticipated. With the Peacekeepers out in force, we can't just waltz through town with it in Madge's wagon. And the furrier is too much of a stuck up merchant to come out to the Seam. It's too big to fit into my hunting pack or any of the other bags I have around my house. We finally end up wrapping the thing up in some old rags and tossing it in one of my mother's laundry baskets. I'm going to need to wash the basket thoroughly when we get back, but for now it'll work.
Mr. Ruskin tries to hide the gleam of avarice that comes into his eye when I unroll the pelt in his shop. It's a good pelt with minimal hair loss. My mother made sure to scrape off all of the fat and blood vessels from the hide so it wouldn't start to rot. I know it's a good quality item and so does the furrier.
Naturally, he tries to cheat me. The pelt is worth at least thirty coin and I could get that in a heartbeat at the Hob and he offers me ten, citing the contraband nature of the item and the fact that it's been almost twenty four hours since I killed the bear.
"Mr. Ruskin, do you want the pelt or not? Because frankly, that's insulting and dishonest and I think I'm going to need to tell my father about your disreputable business practices." She walks around the room, taking note of the prices and the quality of the items. "I seem to see evidence of price gouging in here and misrepresentation of your products." She holds up a pair of fur trimmed gloves. "It says these are trimmed with fox fur. More likely fox squirrel fur. Did you really think someone wouldn't notice?" It's at times like this, that I'm glad Madge is my friend.
The furrier splutters at Madge, but the girl just regards him calmly. She knows she has him and he knows it too.
"I must have misspoke, Miss Undersee, I meant to say thirty-five coin?" he offers to see if she'll accept it.
She doesn't. The corners of her mouth dip downward and her eyes narrow.
He tries again. "No. No. That won't do. Will fifty work?"
"I think I'll have to go show these to my father," she says instead. "I'm sure Peacekeeper Cray will be interested too."
"Eighty! I meant eighty!" I struggle to keep my face under control. It's twice what I was hoping to get.
She regards the gloves in her hand and turns to face me. "Is that acceptable to you, Gale?" There's something in her voice that tells me that I should push the man a little farther.
I look around the store and spot two small stuffed bears made out of angora felt in grey and white. Posy would love the grey one and I can almost picture my future daughter sleeping with the white one. "Throw in the two bears over there and you've got a deal."
The man looks like he's about to protest, but Madge takes one step towards the door and he quickly changes his mind. "Done! Stay right here and I'll go get your money."
Madge stays in character as the haughty Mayor's daughter for the entire time that he's gone. When he returns, she makes a show of watching him count out the money and double checks his count right in front of him, noting that he'd shorted me by two coin.
The man visibly blanches and hurriedly puts two coin on the counter and waves to the gloves still held in Madge's hand. "Keep 'em. For your trouble, Miss Undersee."
Madge flashes the man a tight smile and pockets the squirrel fur trimmed gloves.
I scoop the money into my old coin purse and collect the two bears from their shelf.
When we get outside and out of sight of the furrier's shop, Madge's haughty facade cracks and she breaks down laughing. "What an ass! What an arrogant, stuck up, ass!"
I smile. "To be fair, he probably thought he was dealing with an uneducated boy from the Seam."
"The fact that I walked in with you should have clued him in that you were anything but. If he couldn't figure that out, he deserves to be cheated."
"He'll still be able to make a profit on the pelt," I say. "I'm pretty sure that the stiff from the Capitol that comes every month to oversee the coal shipments has a bit of a fur fetish."
"How do you know that?" she asks.
"One of the people I trade with in the Hob told me," I explain. "Mr. Ruskin always comes by and buys the man out right before the coal shipment is set to go out. I decided I should look into it because it might be easier to go to the source and cut out the middleman. This guy apparently can't get enough of real fur something about how the fake stuff doesn't feel the same."
"Weird. I would have thought the Capitol would have everything."
"I guess they don't."
"So now what?"
"Now we go back to my house and we surprise my mother and then go out to the Meadow and have a picnic."
"Sounds like a plan!"
oOo
The next day I get a big surprise. A train from the Capitol arrives and on it are Mr. and Mrs. Mellark along with their two sons, Bing and Farl.
The Mellarks are back in District Twelve. So where's Katniss?
oOo
AN:
Written: 11/7/14
Revised: 11/11/14
Beta Read by: RoseFyre
Happy Veteran's Day!
I know this didn't cover what a lot of you wanted to read about, but it's setting up things for both the rest of Forgotten and for Participant. I tend to favor slow builds so when I reach the crisis point you know where we came from and why people are reacting the way they are.
I have a bit of a meta up on my tumblr (fanficallergy) about Tesserae, Victor's Rations, and District Rations. I figured I didn't need to bog down my authors notes with my ramblings.
I hope you enjoyed! I should, barring catastrophe, have the next chapter out in a week.