Sorry for taking so long to update. I've been uber busy. Things are really going to start heating up real soon. :D This chapter is dedicated to GraceVictoria and Meeko the cat, for being the first people to review Chapter One. Thanks guys! And, to KateTheFanFictionist, for calling my chaps 'poetic and amazing.' THAT made my day. Now, without further ado, I present chapter 5 of stars.(- how I will refer to this story, cuz the name is long :/) Enjoy.

fallintofantasy

t h e r e a r e n o s t a r s i n t h e s k y

5. all the flowers in the world

I get on the train after Cinna and my prep team do, but instead of going to the main car, I turn left and head toward the back of the train. I only have to go through two cars before I reach the platform at the end, and I lean on the railing as the train starts to move forward, the wind blowing my hair to the side.

Prim is holding onto my mother, waving as the train speeds away. Her eyes catch me and a large smile breaks across her face, and her hand moves more frantically; she's hoping I see her.

How will I protect her from the upcoming Games? Being related to a victor doesn't protect you from the Reapings each year; if anything, it increases your chance of getting chosen. I can't volunteer for her again; victors must simply sit by and watch… and, she'll have to face whatever horrors the Capitol has invented for the Quell. I have to protect her, save her from the Capitol.

But that's really what it's come to now; a large game of strategy played by President Snow that I have to play in order to keep everyone I love alive.

I am the queen; the most deadly, the one who goes against him, that's unpredictable, and Peeta is my king, who holds fast in hard circumstances and has a way of weaving words together.

One big game of chess.

Before taking all of them out, and everyone else, he has to go through me.

But I won't let it happen; I'll protect them all.

I blow a kiss to Prim, and she catches it and hugs it close to her heart.

If only it were enough to protect it.

*V*

Rain patters the window next to my seat, the storm blowing all it has at us, this kind of weather always makes me think I'm in the arena again; that the Gamemakers are trying to kill us; that it's all fabricated. It's always been hard to believe that nature, which produces the soft rainy days and the blossoming spring mornings; could produce something this violent.

But, then again, maybe everything is fake. A large hoax. Maybe everything is staged; a large show; entertainment for the Capitol.

President Snow has the power to do that. He can make any kind of 'accident' for me, stage it like a seemingly unfortunate event.

My death could already be decided.

I could die now.

But that would be too sudden. The Districts are expecting their tour.

He could wait until I'm home; kill me in front of my family… Haymitch, Gale, Prim, my mother… Peeta…

The sound of something dropping breaks me out of my trance. I look down and see Cinna's book of sketches splayed across the floor, the dark blue cover blending in with the grey carpet. I stoop over and grab it, my thumb marking the place where I left off. Cinna told me to look through it and pick one that I liked, so I'd have at least a small opinion on what I had to wear.

So far I've only liked two: the first is a strapless midnight blue dress that ends just below the knees, and has small back slits in the sides, front, and back with scattered silver sparkles on them that are supposed to burst open when I twirl; so the blue, black and silver sparkles swirl together in harmony. It's a departure from all the red, yellow and orange I've been wearing as girl on fire, and it seems more subtle, like the shadows that cast over the trees in my forest.

In other words, it's more like me.

The second is a black skirt that spreads outward, so even though it's short it looks larger than it actually is. The bottom half under the waist is made of a series of ruffles and what looks like feathers. It looks beautiful; elegant.

All of Cinna's sketches and designs are amazing, but those two stood out to me. I think all the bright colors are finally getting to me.

I look up at Peeta sitting across the room, and I see him staring out the window, his glacier blue eyes focused on something in the distance. Hid face is calm, relaxed, his mouth in a straight line. He looks… sad. Troubled.

The blue notebook still in my hand, I stand up and walk over to the circular seat, and plop down next to him. Instantly his expression brightens. "Hey… you okay?" I ask.

"What do you mean?"

"You seemed… sad a second ago." He smiles. "I'm fine. Just wondering how I'm going to pull through my speeches." I've been wondering that myself. The first stop in the Tour is in District 11, wear Rue was from. I've considered simply not speaking at all, letting Peeta do all the talking. But how can I when he's having trouble with them himself?

I place Cinna's sketchbook on the table, loop my arm through his, and lean my head on his shoulder. He tenses for a second, and I steal a glance at his face. He seems a little surprised; he wasn't expecting it in the slightest. Maybe I'm wrong, but isn't that what friends do? Comfort each other when things go wrong? I'm not much of an expert on friends; I'm normally a quiet person. I try not to get into people's way.

"Thank you," I tell him.

He looks at me, confused. "What? Why?"

"For the bread."

"From when we were kids? I think we can let that one go."

"Without that, I would've given up. It literally saved my life."

"You've saved my life on more than one occasion, Katniss. I'm pretty sure we're even." I move so his arm is around me, and I hug him, hold him close.

After all these years, I've finally done it; I thanked him. But it wasn't just a thank you for the bread; I thanked him for the hope. The bread gave me hope; hope that we'd be alright, that nothing would go wrong.

But I still feel something nagging at me; still feel guilt. Because I know I'll never be able to thank Peeta Mellark. I'll never be able to repay him, no matter how many times I thank him.

I'll never stop owing the boy with the bread.

*V*

Any minute now the train will be stopping at the station in District 11. I sit at a window, next to the door, waiting for Haymitch and Peeta to finish getting ready. Outside, fields of sweeping green grass disappear into the distance, vibrantly colored flowers in clusters scattered everywhere. I see bright yellow flowers; primrose. The flower Prim was named after. And I know somewhere in there, there's rue, and katniss roots too.

Is that all we are now? Just flowers blowing in the wind?

Peeta arrives, and I grab his hand as Effie ushers us out, into the bright sunlight, and suddenly I'm surrounded by flowers, and all I can think of is how I have to protect my sister, and how I wouldn't trade my little primrose for all the flowers in the world.

Sorry if it seems a little sketchy. I started writing this on my ipod, then my dad took it away and gave it back like a week later, so I was a little out of rhythm on this chap. If you thought it was weird, just consider it a strange, out-of-place prelude for what's to come. You guys will be shocked. :D

fallintofantasy