Peeta's POV

"Peeta!" The witch yells from down the hall. I hear her storming footsteps as she approaches my quarters. The doors are thrown open and I can see she is in quite a rage.

"You were supposed to be in the military meeting half an hour ago!" She slaps me upside the head, "No more dawdling! Get down there now!" She follows me out and once we reach the meeting room she and I take our seats around the table. Seneca Crane, head of the military stands from his seat and bows to my mother, the Queen, and myself.

"What news have you?" My mother asks him sternly.

"Two months ago Everdeen and his band of men struck again."

"Who fell victim to them this time?" She asks coldly.

"Ladies Glimmer and Clove, who were being escorted by Sir Plutarch and his personal soldiers. None of them were harmed, their horses were all killed but one. And only one soldier fell, merely out of coincidence as his horse landed on him. They took nearly everything, except that which they were wearing." A nervous pause is evident in his voice. "There is no sign of them, the items or where they might be. We have...umm…lost them…again."

My mother stands from her chair and begins yelling profanities and insults toward the 'useless' military that cannot seem to catch one single man and his group of followers. My mother is furious with Seneca and commands that he up the reward for whoever catches Everdeen. She demands that they find out something, anything that will lead them to him. Or even just to find out what he looks like. She demands some piece of useful information. She storms from the room and the meeting is adjourned. I make my apologies for my mother's behavior and everyone looks at me knowingly. Everyone knows that she is a horrid woman, and many of them still mourn the loss of my father, he was a good king. He tried and had so many plans to bring the kingdom wealth and prosperity, so that so many of our citizens would not have to die. I hope that when I become king I can continue his plans. His death is the only thing that halted his plans; my mother took over and changed everything. In her opinion our subjects must suffer, that is the only way they will learn to fear and respect us. Many suspect that my mother murdered my father to gain power; I'll admit I don't doubt it is a possibility. But there was no evidence. No way to know for sure.

I wander casually back to my chambers and back into my drawing room. Everywhere my dreams haunted me in these paintings and sketches. The same pair of eyes always staring back at me no matter whose face they were drawn on, sometimes all by themselves. Piercing silver grey eyes, that looked as harsh as a blade, but as beautiful and mysterious at the stars. Eyes which look right into my soul and back. Sometimes they accuse me of my shortcomings. For sitting by as the kingdom crumbled to ruin, for letting so many die when I could easily save them. Other times they look at me and stare deep into my soul. And other times they stare as if the owner of these eyes is watching me through my paintings. I do not know why I see these eyes, or whom they belong to. I only know, and how I know this I am not sure, that they belong to a woman. I have searched for this woman since the dreams began to plague my mind. I just know that she is a part of my destiny. But every woman I meet is not the owner of these eyes.

"Peeta?" A gentle knock comes to my door.

"Come in." I say without tearing my eyes from these paintings. Two pairs of heeled feet enter into my drawing room. One set heads toward the window and the other approaches directly behind me, I know these footsteps.

"Peeta." A soft female voice whispers as a delicate hand settles on my shoulder. "You can't keep staring at these paintings, you'll drive yourself insane." I turn to meet the green eyes of Annie Cresta a close friend of mine. I sigh and give her a half-hearted smile.

A voice calls across the room, "Your mother has sent us her to encourage you to find a wife." The sarcastic voice of Johanna Mason fills the room; I can practically see the hate seething from her voice.

I look to her and sigh, "Johanna, you know I can't." I turn back to the paintings.

Annie runs her through my hair, "Peeta you don't even know who these eyes belong to, or even if she exists." Her voice is soft and full of concern. "I'd hate to see you live out your life alone, searching for someone who isn't real."

"Annie, I can't explain it. But I just know, somehow I am connected to her. I see her eyes in my dreams. And sometimes I feel like I can see through them, as if I am seeing what she is seeing. She is my destiny. I don't know how, or what, or why but I do know that she is real and I have to find her."

Johanna rolls her eyes, "You know that makes you sound like a perfect lunatic."

"I think is it sweet!" Annie retorts, "It is so romantic!" She sighs and her hands clamp over her heart. But suddenly her attention is back on me, "What did you mean Peeta, when you said sometimes you see through her eyes?" I shake my head as I gather my thoughts, "I'm not sure, it's like in my dreams I see through her eyes. Mostly it is just a wooded forest that she walks through or a small cottage in the woods. I don't know what it means or what I am even seeing."

Johanna and Annie are my closest friends; male friends are hard to come by. All they think about is finding a wife, or fighting for our kingdom. At least that is all the men I know. I had one male friend once, Cato Carter; he was the nephew of Seneca Crane. But he disappeared many years ago. Still no one knows what happened to him. He has long been assumed dead. He was a good man, and an even better fighter. I find it hard to believe that anyone but Everdeen could have taken him down. Still in my gut I don't think that is what happened. Unlike my mother I do not believe that Everdeen is entirely bad, just a vigilante trying to do some good. He is the person I have the greatest respect for. He does what I cannot find the courage to do. He stands against my mother, and wins every time. How I wish I could meet him. Or even join him. But I know that it will never happen.

…:::…

I wake in a cold sweat; those eyes haunt my dreams again. Accusing me tonight for not standing up to my mother. I grab a cloak and head down to the training centers in the basement of the castle. I grab a sword and begin to release the tension built up in my body from the nightmare of last night. When it comes to weapons I am proficient in the ways of the sword. But other than that I am utterly hopeless. The sweat is rolling off my body but then tension is not yet gone. I make my way back to my chambers and wash my body of the layer of sweat. Morning will be here shortly so I find no reason to head back to my bed. Instead I dress for the day and head out to the balcony to enjoy the rare and beautiful sunrise. I lean on the railing and allow my eyes to float through the trees. A glint of silver catches my eyes, way up in the treetops. Had it not have been for first hints of sunlight I would have missed it. I look closer and my heart stops as I realize what I am looking at. A lone hooded figure is poised in the trees and beneath the hooded cloak are the eyes that have been haunting me. I blink and shake my head to make sure what I am seeing is real, but when I look back the trees are empty. A figment of my imagination. After all why would a woman be wearing a cloak and hiding in the trees. I sigh and sit down to watch the sunrise in all its breathtaking glory.

Katniss POV

It is a good thing the Prince wasn't looking very closely. A hooded figure in the treetops would certainly be a cause for alarm. But I had to do a quick stake out of the place. After all if this plan was to have any success I would need a flawless way out of the castle. After all who better to steal from than the Queen herself. Any piece of her jewels would feed the land for a few months. I could easily get a few pieces and feed them for a year. And that is what I will do. The Prince's ball is not a month away and I will attend as an anonymous guest, well rather as a noble woman from the Kingdom of Silex. A lucky coincidence that three invitations happened to have been misdirected, a low chuckle forms in my throat at the thought. The delivery boy never even realized what was picked from his bag. Since then I have obtained two outfits for my male counterparts, Gale and Finnick, who will accompany me as my escorts to the Prince's ball.

The week leading up to the ball we travel closer to the palace. Using what we have at our disposal we trim Gale and Finnick's hair and shave their faces clean. After all we can't very well have them looking like peasant ruffians. Rue obtains a few hairpins and a pearl hairpiece. The one thing we could not attain were shoes that I was able to move stealthily in. Thankfully the gown is enough to cover my usual boots. And so the day of our mission arrives. We take a much-needed bath in the river and are dressed in the finery we managed to get a hold of. Rue uses a combination of plant juices and the like to create a gel to slick back Gale and Finnick's hair. They look like true nobles. She fingers through my braid and combs out my hair. She parts it on the side and then swoops the larger section across my forehead, hiding the scar on my forehead; scars are something ladies do not have after all. She puts my hair in a few different braids and then pins them intricately on the back of my head. She finishes by placing the pearl headband on the center of my head. I look into the river and the woman staring back at me is a stranger. She is beautiful and noble. Nothing like me, but she will fool anyone who sees her.

We use some of our gold to buy three horses and saddles from a nearby village. And with that Gale, Finnick and myself ride towards the castle, the ball will be starting soon. Everyone else takes their place among the trees. Ready for our escape.

Author's Note: Hey everybody! Thank you for all who have reviewed and favorite/followed this story! I wrote this one about six months ago and finally decided to put it up. To be honest I have about 20 stories in the works on my computer and I just wish I could post them all but that would be far to crazy to keep up with. I hope you enjoy this one and check out my other stories!