Book I: Port Capitol Heiress

By: Michelle Rose Landau

Synopsis: A chance encounter with the terminally ill matriarch of one of the world's most powerful families will pave the foundation Katniss Everdeen, the girl who will inherit the keys to a wealth unimaginable, and be set on the path to the love of her life...

Pairings: Peeta/Katniss, Gale/Johanna, Finnick/Annie, Thom/Delly, Clove/Cato, Cashmere/Seneca, Gloss (short for Glosslatis)/Glimmer, Haymitch/Effie

Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games series, nor any of its characters. They are the sole creative property of Suzanne Collins.


~two~

THE next morning, Katniss, bleary-eyed, and in no mood to get up for work, Katniss bathed quickly. She dressed more slowly than she did the day before, and her legs felt sore from running up and down the stairs all day yesterday. Rue saw right through her when she arrived at the bells.

"I told you it's going to take some getting used to," she chuckled. "Don't let Clove run you down, though."

It was quite and adjustment for Katniss, and Clove made sure that she did everything that she could to make her job as complicated and miserable as possible. Unreasonable and impossibly requests, like pressing all of her outfits in one day (her collection of outfits was massive), stripping the bed and changing the sheets on the bed everyday, going on the ferry on weekends to assist her in shopping and holding all of her spoils until her arms felt numb. It was nothing but demands, demands, demands. It was getting to be insufferable, but she powered through, because the last thing she wanted was for Mrs. Winchester to think that she couldn't handle the job, or that she was immature, or unwilling. She certainly was willing, but Clove was becoming too much to handle, even with Rue as a buffer, and even given the fact that Clove was around her same age.

The cold had taken up residence, and there was a thin layer of ice forming on the ground. The water continued to awash the shore, but it was cold and harsh. The ferry rides to the town were cold, dreary, and they seemed long, even though it was just a twenty minute jaunt into town. Port Capitol was two parts: inland and island. The island was mostly residential for the most wealthy, the only public spaces being the courthouse, post office, bank, a church, and a few little shops. It was merely a vein. Across Leeg Bay, the inland part of Port Capitol contained more of the commerce, and it was much more populated. It was upper middle class for the most part, though there were middle class, and poorer areas. It was a coastal town, and people enjoyed everything that it had to offer: seafood restaurants, diners, high-end shopping, sailing, and spending time on Woof Beach. During the winter months, many of the families traveled to warmer locales, and the population was dwindled down to people who actually live in Port Capitol on a long term basis.

She noticed the first time that many of the official buildings were named after a man named Coriolanus Snow: Snow First Bank, Snow Recreational Park, Snow Cove, Snow Library...there was even a statue of him in the middle of the town Square. Whoever Coriolanus Snow was, he certainly must have had a hand in making Port Capitol the wealthy's playground.

Whenever she had to accompany Clove, Mrs. Winchester, or both, across the bay, Katniss felt a little bit of excitement because she got a chance to be in the shops and boutiques. She got a glimpse of just how luxurious and expensive the Winchesters' tastes were. Of course, she could never see herself paying one hundred dollars for some fancy French face cream, but the fact that she was in such a place that sold such things made her smile.

Katniss liked the view of the island, and she could see Old Windy from the ferry as they drew closer. She couldn't wait for the warmer months so that she could have a chance to go to the beach. She'd never been to the beach before.

Being in Port Capitol itself made Clove's personality and demands a little more tolerable. Even Mrs. Winchester seemed to merely tolerate her own daughter. There was a coolness between the two that Katniss noticed right away, but tried her best to ignore. Clove spoke to her mother condescendingly, as if she weren't even her mother at all, and Katniss couldn't believe it sometimes; she wondered why Mrs. Winchester didn't stand up to her daughter.

"You never listen to what I want!" Clove argued as she tossed her clothes around the room.

Katniss was just outside of Clove's bedroom with new sheets, and she stopped just short.

"You're going to college and that's final," Mrs. Winchester said calmly. "You're not going to chase after some boy. You're going to get an education so that you can learn how to take care of the business."

"Oh, the business, the business!" Clove yelled. "That's all you care about, is the business! Well, I want more than that, mother. And Cato is not some boy, I love him!"

"You only think you love him..."

"But I do, mother," Clove argued. "But of course you wouldn't know what love is. Well, I'm not going to end up like you...in a loveless marriage. I don't want the business-"

"And yet you reap the benefits," Mrs. Winchester shot back. "You think nothing of spending money on these clothes, these shoes, and your creams and make up. You think nothing of it at all! If it weren't for your father's business, we wouldn't be here living in this house!"

"I'm only spending money that belongs to me!" Clove said. "Daddy said that everything he had was mine, and I'm damn sure going to take what's mine!"

"Not without working for it! Now, you're going to go to school in Paris, and you're going to marry John Marvel-"

"I will not!" Clove said stubbornly.

"You will, and if you don't," Mrs. Winchester threatened, "then you'll lose more than just the privilege of living in this house."

Katniss heard the door pull open more, and she turned quickly to head down the hallway.

"Katniss..."

She stopped, and turned slowly around.

"Yes, Mrs. Winchester?"

Azura stepped closer to Katniss, and she was terrified that she would be fired for listening to what was supposed to be a private conversation.

Instead, Azura didn't say a word, and she took the sheets from Katniss' hands and tossed them into Clove's room.

"Mother! Where is Katniss?!"

"Since you see fit to make your own decisions, you can certainly make your own bed."

In response, Clove slammed the door.

She went over to her bed, grabbed a pillow, and screamed into it, tears streaming down her face.

Outside in the hall, Azura looked at Katniss.

"Back to work, dear," she commanded gently.

"Yes ma'am."

Katniss headed downstairs.

She told Rue what she'd witnessed.

"She took the sheets from me and told Clove to make the bed herself," Katniss concluded. "Clove was so upset she slammed the door."

"That's not the first time they've argued like that," Rue said as she helped Katniss with the wash. "Mrs. Winchester wants what's best for her daughter. With no son, Clove gets to inherit every last penny. That worries Mrs. Winchester more than anything. Aunt Seeder's told me that apparently, Mrs. Winchester has been trying to arrange a marriage between Clove and John Marvel. The Marvel family has been established in New England for generations now."

"They're the makers of that cleaning powder, right?"

"The very same," Rue confirmed. "Their son, John, he's not the most attractive boy, but he's responsible, and he could handle the family finances. But Clove doesn't want anything to do with him or the business. She's been head over heels with that Cato Simmons, the son of the owner of the Simmons Auto Dealer and Repair."

"And I'm guessing that he's not the type of person Mrs. Winchester wants in her family's money..."

"Mmhm," Rue said as she folded up the towels. "'Round here, girl, you'll hear all kinds of things. The hard part is just keeping it to yourself. Trust is everything in the service."

"I wouldn't dare say a word to anyone else," Katniss promised. "But...all of this is a little hard to ignore."

"You can't," Rue shrugged. "But don't go spilling the beans everywhere. Mrs. Winchester relies on absolute discretion."

Katniss nodded.

"No gossiping girls," Sae said as she came in with more laundry. "It only leads to trouble. Keep your heads down and ears closed."

"Yes ma'am," the girls said in unison.

When Sae left, they both giggled.

It was the first day that Katniss had truly enjoyed her job.