"This is all your fault!" A woman yelled at Katniss from across the table as they sat in a large meeting room. Everyone was changed out of their party clothes and were now in clothes that would very well have been used in war. It matched the scene really because everyone was hostile toward one person particularly. She was sinking slowly into her seat covering her face with her long sleeves that she wore to hide her marks of war from all that she met. She didn't regret the scars, but right now Katniss didn't feel like the strong girl who deserved the scars; she felt like the person who should have died from the wounds.
"You'll sit down, now!" Peeta snapped but the person didn't cower back. Everyone in the room was standing on even ground. They had all fought at one point or another. It was only a matter of time before they fought each other. Peeta and Katniss should have more power than all of them, shouldn't they? No, they were the enemy, and if anything rebels were not going to back down from their enemy. That was how they won the war.
Markkus walked in with a vicious smile that he wiped from his features before he spoke. "People, people, let's not kill each other over this one instance of the games. Katniss only voted for what she believed was right at the time."
"Which was twenty five years ago!" Peeta snapped. "Her sister had just died. We had all lost so much, and it wasn't just Katniss. There were others too." Peeta looked at everyone as if to dare them to speak out against him. Markkus set a hand on his shoulder like a good friend would to calm someone down who was about to get in a fight.
Katniss looked up at Markkus from where she sat like a beaten dog, but when Markkus met here eyes she could only see this laughter that he seemed too happy to care about really trying to hide. Her daughter was gone... Tomorrow Gavin would be sent back to District Twelve in a hovercraft by himself because Peeta and Katniss had to be mentors. This man had no bounds if he could he would openly bury her, and that's what he was doing. She was the Mockingjay; they would look to Katniss if anything happened slightly upsetting. If she was the upset all of her followers would turn against her. She was sitting alone now only to fend for herself. The people's rage was blinding them from the stupidity of her sacrificing her own daughter. President Markkus was going to take her followers and then her daughter. One by one she would be knocked down peg by peg.
Katniss stood suddenly and the whole room when silent with the abruptness of her action. President Markkus even looked a little shocked and awaited some sort of monologue she would give. Nothing could turn her around. "I was wrong to vote for one more Hunger Games. This is what happens to those of us that think we can take on the world." Katniss looked at Markkus frowning. "People will push us back down." I didn't even want to be this high. My job was to survive and then die, Katniss thought bitterly. "I accept the consequences, but you have to remember who fought with you the first time. Prepare your children for the Games as best you can, and like always we will accept this." Markkus started to wonder what she was trying to pull. There was no bright to this for her. Her daughter was going to be ignorant. Primrose Mellark would be the target every player went after. She would die, no doubt about it. "Like always, the only rules are to survive." She looked at Markkus daring him to blow up. That's what she wanted. Katniss wanted him to blow so that he would show everyone the malevolence of his actions. "If you'll excuse me. I have to start prepping Primrose on the Games," with that she left.
Peeta watched Katniss go out the door and he just smiled. She was up to something and he knew she would figure it out. President Markkus looked livid as he motioned to his guards around the room to watch all of them in the room as he stormed out. The slam of the wood of the door against the frame was a little too loud and for the first time Gale looked up. He looked at Peeta with this eternal sadness deep in his eyes. He had to be the mentor of his own son's fate since the victors of District 2 were long dead. When he spotted the look of hope in Peeta's eyes he gave Peeta a confused look. He nodded to the door and headed toward's it with Gale close in tow.
The two of them walked alone having left the guards behind in the conference room. They stopped in the hall that both of their families were staying in for a moment before looking behind them. One guard had followed them. Gale tensed up as if he were ready to jump the hefty man who had a gun holstered at his side. Peeta grabbed Gale by the shoulder of his shirt with a strong fist and tossed him into his room. Lucas was sitting on the bed with the neck of a beer bottle trapped in his hold. When he saw Peeta he set the bottle just behind the skirt of the bed and stood up as if he had had nothing at all.
"Don't be stupid," Peeta growled and for a moment Lucas thought he was talking to him, but realized it was his father being scolded. "We're not starting a full on war in the halls of the President's house."
"You're pretty damn tough for a guy with a prosthetic leg," Gale grumbled cracking his neck as if to make sure he still had full motion.
The two men glared at each other for a few moments until they heard the pops of beer bottle tops. They turned to look at Lucas who offered one to each of them. Gale took one immediately from his son and walked past him hitting Lucas on the back thankfully before sinking into a chair in front of the TV. Peeta took his offered a little more cautiously and sat on the edge of the bed Lucas had been sitting on earlier. Lucas would complain that he wasn't going to get his beer back, but Peeta would probably go all fatherly if he saw Gale's son drinking underage. So Lucas sat down quietly on the second bed.
"So what's up with Katniss?" Gale demanded nursing the beer for all it was worth.
Peeta didn't drink much ever since the whole Katniss/alcohol incident when they were younger. When he did drink it was only socially. Right now he just needed something to hold so he didn't beat Gale's annoying face in while Lucas was around. "I'm not sure exactly, but she's got something up her sleeve. We just need our tributes to follow her lead. We'll have to make sure they're allied. Which means you," he turned to Lucas, "you and Prim have to get over your differences."
"I'm sure we'll get along just fine," Lucas had a surprisingly husky voice, but as Peeta looked at him he realized Lucas was built to fight.
He had bulking muscles that were sculpted as if he had been... No, not even Gale Hawthorne would guess this would come. Then again, as Peeta thought about it, he realized that really Katniss and Peeta had done the same thing for their children. How many times had Katniss taken Prim out running in the woods and taught her to step quietly so as not to scare away the animals. She had even taken their daughter out and taught her how to use a bow claiming it was to keep her roots. Peeta had been way more subtle about his. He had taught her how to paint, gotten her into the arts hoping she would find a safer route to life. They had always painted the most realistic of scenes: camouflage.
"You've been training him," Peeta looked at Gale, and Gale just smirked. "What'd you tell him it was for?"
"I trained myself," Lucas said bitterly cracking his knuckles. "I was planning on becoming a Peace Keeper. That's what I told everyone at least. District Two is still the main producer of Peace Keepers because the Capitalist don't have the balls." Gale nodded in approval and looked to Peeta waiting for his reaction to see if he had anything bad to say about his son who was tougher than even Gale had been at his age.
"What are you good with?" Peeta asked but the door swung open to the room before anybody could answer.
"That doesn't matter right now Honey," it was Katniss, but she sounded tense. Peeta turned to look at her and saw the Peace Keepers flanking her. Peeta stood his wedding band pressing against the glass of the beer bottle and digging into his skin as he grip tightened on the bottle in his hand. "Their letting the parents mentor their own kids," Katniss explained with tears in her eyes. "So you and Gavin have to get on a train and go home..." Katniss looked down at her feet shaking her head slightly.
"This is bull crap! I'm a victor of District 12 which means I mentor in the Games!" Peeta threw his bottle to the ground sending a shower of beer and broken glass across the floor. Katniss hurried over to him as the wild look entered his eyes. She knew that look. She grabbed Peeta by the arms roughly and looked him straight in the eye. "They can't do this Katniss."
"They're doing this to me Peeta." His eyes drifted and she squeezed his arms. "Look at me." Peeta found her eyes again and realized she didn't look afraid. Katniss looked completely accepting of what was happening. "You can go home with Gavin so he doesn't have to stay with strangers. The parents chose this. They don't trust me. Prim and I, we'll be home soon. Okay?" The craze left his eyes and he only nodded. "I love you Peeta." Peeta lifted her chin with a gentle finger and kissed her gently. They pulled away just looking at each other for a few more moments. "The Peace Keepers are going to help you and Gavin pack and then they'll put you on a train. Okay?"
"You bring our daughter home. Good luck, Girl on Fire." Peeta pushed past the Peace Keepers and vanished from sight. Katniss sunk down onto the bed Peeta had been sitting on pushing around the broken pieces of glass with her feet. Gale sat down next to her and just watched her for a moment while Peeta packed his things in the other room.
Prim was pushing at one of the Peace Keepers trying to get them to leave. "Give us a minute," Peeta finally said as tears started to pour from Prim's eyes. The Peace Keepers nodded and back out of the room closing the door behind them. Peeta had a hold on Prim's arm to keep her from going after them. He pulled her closer to him, but she pulled away bight out of his grip.
"They took my dagger," Primrose growled going toward the door. "I want it back."
When she did get to the door Peeta grabbed her by the hood of her jacket. "You carry a dagger?" Peeta demanded and then let it go. "Nevermind. Prim, Gavin and I are leaving whether you like it or not, and your mom is going to be the one to help you in the games. You'll see us once you get home." Peeta smiled at her and she rushed to him hugging him tightly. Peeta wrapped his arms around his little girl closing his eyes. "You'll see us again," Peeta promised kissing the top of her head.
"Do you know what mom's planning she-" Peeta shushed her not wanting her to talk about it in the President's house.
They hugged for a few more moments before sending her to say goodbye to Gavin. Peeta packed the rest of his things, and luckily when he blew up at the Peace Keepers no one was around. They dragged him and his things all the way to the train where they locked him back in his cage. Gavin soon joined them and from the window of a car Prim and Katniss waved. Gale was sitting in the car with them with a hand on Katniss' shoulder. Peeta promised himself that if he found out that Gale even looked at her the wrong way he would teach him a lesson. If he touched her the wrong way he was dead man. Hopefully, Gale already understood that.
Katniss and Prim sat down in their room when they made it back to the President's mansion. They couldn't go to the Tribute building; it was impossible. They had torn down the Tribute building as soon as possible, all twelve floors completely gone. How the whole training thing would work escaped Katniss because there was no where to work. She was sure that Markkus would figure it out. He would drag out the process until every citizen of Panem hated her. She was, after all, the deciding factor. She always was, whether she liked it or not.
Gale and Lucas made it to the girl's room after curfew sitting down on the now empty bed. Prim had refused to sleep alone and had curled into Katniss' bed with her. Gale woke up Katniss first while Lucas slipped Prim's dagger back into its sheath on the bedside table. He had relieved a Peace Keeper of it when the man walked by him in the hall earlier finishing his beer. It was clear it was Prim's. She seemed exactly like the type that would keep one. Lucas wouldn't be surprised if Katniss had one too, under her pillow.
The two girl's were soon awake a groggy. "What are you doing in here?" Katniss snapped and Gale just smiled.
"Go ahead and tell her," Gale motioned to Prim and Katniss frowned. "Tell her Katniss why she doesn't hang out with her friends all the time and why you're always pushing her to do better when you're in the woods. You know it's not because you want her to be like you. You wish more than anything she didn't have to be like you."
Katniss looked at Prim who was looking at her with utter confusion in her eyes. Katniss knew she had been doing this for years. She had even started doing it to Gavin. No, she didn't want it to be like this, but she had expected it. She really had. "I've been training you for the Hunger Games since you were little, but you never realized it Prim. I never wanted to raise children in a world where this could happen, but once you got here I realized you'd have to be able to protect yourself because there would always be someone who didn't like what I did or who I am. I was just trying to protect you."
"And let's face it," Gale cut in, "every single one of these people has anticipated the same thing." He looked to Katniss who met his eyes with the most deadly fear set in both of their stares. "This is going to be a whole new level of the Hunger Games."