Peeta's POV
It has been a month since the Prince's ball and my mind has been occupied with nothing else but Lady Delly Cartwright. How beautiful she was in that red dress that hugged her curves in just the right way. The elegant way in which she held herself. How she smelt like the forest. But there was something off about her, not in a bad way, just mysterious. She disappeared for a while. Somewhere in the room I assume. I searched for her but did not see her. Then she was in a bit of a rush to leave. I guess she was needed at home rather quickly. But my mind could think of nothing else but her and her eyes that were so much more potent in reality.
That is what lead me to make the decision to, along with Annie and Johanna who were more than smitten with her escorts, travel to the kingdom of Silex to ask her for her hand in marriage. I had found the girl of my destiny and I was not going to let her disappear. We decided to take Annie's carriage, as it is less conspicuous than my own. Naturally an armed guard of ten accompanies us.
The horses begin to grow uneasy I notice. But Darius assures us there is nothing to fear. This is a safe part of the woods he tells us. We continue on a little further but then all hell breaks loose. Something lands in the side of the carriage with a thump and the front wheel jams and breaks loose. A few of the horses have been shot down and the others are running in panic. In the midst of the chaos I look out the window to see what knocked off the wheel. Arrows. My heart sinks…I know this sign.
"Everdeen." I whisper. I recognize those arrows, the same ones we find at every attack. Annie and Johanna are shaking in fear, Annie more than Johanna—she is a pretty tough girl.
"Do you think the rumors are true? That he rapes or kills those whom he steals from."
I shake my head. "No Annie all he does is steal. He's never hurt anyone in all the years we've been tracking him."
The chaos outside has subsided so I chance a look out the window, the side of my head is met with what I can only assume is a fist. I hear Annie scream before it all fades to black.
When I come to my head is pounding and I can feel my hands are bound and my body is bound to a tree. All of my possible weapons have been removed. I notice Annie and Johanna are tied to trees not far from me. They seem to be all right. Annie has tears on her face and Johanna looks determined. I look around the destruction and notice that many are wearing hooded cloaks. Except for a young dark skinned girl, a scruffy looking older man, a very dark skinned boy, and a man around his thirties with white blonde hair. Three figures are huddled near each other on the opposite end. They are arguing, two of them are very tall, but the third is actually very tiny. They disperse not long after and the smallest of the three bends to pick something off the ground, a bow. Then he walks to the carriage and pulls out the arrows. Realization sinks in…that's him! That is the legendary Everdeen.
Katniss POV
Crap! And various other phrases of frustration is all that runs through my head as I see who inhabits the carriage, the Prince and the ladies that had smitten Gale and Finnick. Gale and Finnick get the hint and cover their faces but for some reason Cato does too. I shoot him a questioning glance and he tells me that he and Peeta used to be friends. Oh this is just getting all kinds of complicated.
I notice that the girls have been tied to trees. I feel bad, for Annie looks terribly frightened. Peeta is still unconscious, and I know it is crazy but seeing his unconscious form hunched over against the tree makes me want to run over and protect him. I'm not sure what has come over me but I have a feeling it isn't good…
I motion for Gale and Finnick to join me.
"What are we supposed to do with them? The whole guard has run off and we can't leave them here!" Finnick states.
"Yea Finn but they'll recognize you two in a second and by association me! He is the Prince! I am number one on his list of people to get rid of."
Gale brings forth the only rational solution. "We'll just have to take them to the hideout till we can get it sorted."
Gale grabs Beetee and Haymitch and tells them to blindfold and deafen them somehow. As he walks away I bend down and grab my bow, then I walk to the carriage to retrieve my arrows. A familiar gaze is upon me and I turn my head slightly in my cloak to gaze back. What am I going to do?
…:::…
We leave them in the hut where Gale, Finnick, and Thresh usually sleep. Their ears are unplugged and their blindfolds removed. I'm standing outside the hut listening to them talking. Meaningless chatter, but I can tell he is trying to cheer them up. I signal for the rest of the band to come over. I had run over the questions I needed Haymitch to ask them. Everyone enters and I follow in last. I can see Peeta putting on a brave face from underneath my hood. I need to see his face, to interpret his answers. I've learned to read people really well. Haymitch stands directly in front of Peeta and he removes his hood. Now only Cato, Finnick, Gale, Thresh and myself have our hoods up. Haymitch kneels in front of him and Peeta looks up at him defiantly.
Surprisingly Peeta speaks up first, "Whatever you plan on doing, it won't work, and my mother won't pay you anything to get me back. She cares nothing for me."
"Now your highness…may I call you Peeta…after all who really needs all that fancy talk out here anyways. Capturing you was just happy coincidence."
"Then why?" Peeta asks, very confused.
"Simple Peeta, we take from rich cods like yourself and distribute the wealth to those who need it and deserve it. We do what you and your nobles are to selfish to do." Haymitch spits the last sentence at him. Peeta's face contorts with guilt and sorrow, the truth of Haymitch's statement affecting him greatly.
"Now Peeta you are going to tell us exactly where you were headed. Were you seeking out Everdeen? A scouting party? Is there someone tracking you?"
"I'm not going to tell you anything!" Peeta allows a hard scowl to cross his face, it appears wrong on his soft face. Steps approach me and Cato stands behind me, close enough to whisper in my ear.
"Let me try this one boss. He and I were close. He'll tell me anything." I nod. If he wishes to reveal his identity that's his choice. Cato strides forward and taps Haymitch on the shoulder. Haymitch moves aside for him.
"Peeta," Cato begins, "I'm going to need you to talk to me."
"What the hell makes you think I would talk to you?" Cato pulls back his hood and the three captives gasp. Annie stands to her feet and Finnick moves to intercept her if anything should happen. She walks slowly to him, tears flowing down her cheeks. Her fingers tremble as she reaches out to lightly touch his face.
"Cato," she gulps, "but I…you…everyone thinks you are dead." Cato takes the small frail woman in his arms and she leans into him.
"I know Annie, I'm sorry. But I had to go, I couldn't live that way anymore." He whispers into her hair. Johanna doesn't say a word, she just glares at him, but Peeta has a tear in the corner of his eyes. Cato releases Annie and goes to kneel down in front of Peeta and claps him on the back. Peeta gives him a heartbreaking smile.
"Peeta, man, I need to know if people are following you, if there is anyone tracking us. Please man, if any one finds us my uncle will kill me. And besides, I know how much you always respected Everdeen for doing what he does. If people catch us then there is no one who can help everyone. Please man."
He respects me? Confusion flows through me. Peeta glances around the room.
"Cato is he here?" He asks as he scans the hooded figures in front of him.
Cato hesitates, "I can't say."
"Why not?" He nearly whines.
"Come Peet. You know Everdeen is the most wanted criminal in Panem. He can't exactly let you know anything about him. You're the Prince for goodness sake!''
"I know man but I just want to say something to him."
"Ok man I'll let you know, Everdeen is here, but let's just pretend it is me, ok?"
"Ok I just wanted to say thank you for taking care of my subjects. For doing what I was to weak to do. For caring for my people in a way I only wish I could."
"Ok man, now can you please answer our questions." Peeta hesitates and chews on his bottom lip a little. For reasons unknown to me I find it oddly attractive. I shake my head to rid my mind of these thoughts. Now is not the time to let my hormones act up. My body is betraying me; I've never had this problem before. What is it about this guy…he's the freaking' prince! I push the thoughts far into the recesses of my mind.
"Ok, there is no one following us, or tracking us. We weren't coming here in search of Everdeen. Although someone will be soon. My mother was furious when she realized that Everdeen had gotten into the castle during the ball. She had every guard interrogated and the four guards were imprisoned and are probably about to be executed."
A lump forms in my throat, I was always very careful not to kill, I just wanted to help, but here I was responsible for four deaths. My fists clench in anger at that witch.
"Anyways when she found out the guards never saw or heard anything. The whole castle was searched; there was no sign of a break in anywhere. He was invisible. She raised the bounty on his head to double what it was before."
Shit.
"So you might want to be more careful." He once again glances around the room. No doubt trying to figure out who I am. Thankfully with all these burly guys I am the last one he'll suspect.
"Then Peet what are you doing all the way out here?"
"Well you must know then that mother has been pushing me to marry. Well I found her Cato. The girl I always dreamed of." He glances nervously around the room. "You know…that girl." He puts special emphasis on the word that.
Cato looks puzzled. Peeta's expression is one of pure discomfort. I wonder why.
Suddenly Cato's face lights in recognition and Peeta's changes to pleading.
But Cato doesn't seem to notice, "You mean the girl with the eyes that you are always painting! You mean she was actually real?" Peeta looks embarrassed.
Haymitch chooses now to speak up, "What on earth is this crazy-ass talking about?" Peeta's eyes seem to warn Cato to shut up. But Cato has never been one for hints.
"Yeah for years he's seen these eyes in his dreams, some girl's eyes. And he paints them all the time." Realization dawns on his face and he looks at Peeta in horror, but for some reason his eyes flicker to me.
"You found her?" Cato's voice is almost a squeak.
"Yea I was heading out to find her and ask her to be my wife."
"Who is she? Where did you meet her? Come on man I need to know! You've been looking for her for forever! Wait why are Annie and Jo with you?"
Annie suddenly giggles and says, "Oh Peeta can I tell it?" Her sudden out burst doesn't faze Peeta and Cato so I assume that it is natural for her. Cato smiles at her as she continues.
"It was at the Prince's ball. She was gorgeous! Her beauty was so exotic! Oh and her hair was like pure chocolate, and her skin was flawless. She was stunning. Oh how jealous I was when I first laid eyes upon her. Cato and her eyes were just like he painted them. She was so elegant, Cato, and so graceful. It was almost like she floated everywhere she went. Oh and her gown was beautiful. Anyways when she walked down the stairs Peeta couldn't take his eyes off of her! And when they danced it was so incredible, they looked so good together and everyone stopped to look. But they were so immersed in each other that neither of them noticed!" Is that true? I try to remember, but all I can think of was how nice it felt when I was dancing with him. Dammit.
"And she had the most gorgeous escorts! I mean wow! Even Jo was blushing! Can you believe it Cato?!" Jo scowls and rolls her eyes.
Cato takes this moment to allow his immature side out."Wow Jo! Someone managed to get your knickers in a twist huh?" She knees him in the leg. I imagine if her hands were free she would have punched him. He lets out a hearty chuckle.
"So Jo what did he look like?"
Annie takes over again. "Oh Cato he was really tall and handsome, dark hair and grey eyes, and very muscular. But Cato the other man, George I think he said his name was, he looked like a god! His skin so tanned and his hair was like copper, and his eyes, Cato they were the most amazing shade of green!" You'd think she'd forgotten we were even here as she gushed about to men that happened to be in the room. I just know Finnick's face is cracked into a ridiculous smile.
"Annie, I love you, but frankly I do not care what they looked like," Cato interrupts, "what else about this girl? What of her name?" His voice has a hint of panic. I know what's coming but still I don't expect it.
"Lady Delly Cartwright from Silex."
Shit!
Everyone looks my way. I must have said that out loud.
"Wait a second!" Marvel pipes up, "Delly Cartwright isn't a brunette! She's blonde haired and blue eyed like all the other nobles!"
Finnick punches him in the gut, Marvel may be a great fighter but he wasn't very bright.
"What?" Peeta growls, "But if that is true then who the hell did I meet?"
"I can't tell you that man." Cato says sternly.
"Please Cato I need to find her."
"Trust me on this man, she isn't someone you want to find."
"Why not?"
Cato looks to me, "She'll only break your heart man."
"You know who she is?" Peeta stands to his feet and gets right up in Cato's face.
"To be fair man I only recently figured it out."
"Cato you need to help me find her," he pleads.
"I'm sorry Peet I can't do that."
Peeta's hands suddenly come loose and he shoves Cato to the floor and lands a punch on his jaw. Gale runs to grab hold of him but Peeta shoves Gale off his back. Gale hits the ground and his hood falls to the floor. Johanna and Annie gasp in unison at the recognition of Gale.
The girls just stand with mouths open but Peeta's eyes are calculating. He is putting things together. This is not going to end well. But I can't interfere.
Peeta suddenly speaks up, "It was all a cover to make sure Everdeen could sneak in! She was a pawn in his cruel plan. I swear if he hurts her I'll kill him!"
"Peeta relax. She's fine. She had no idea what was going, and she was returned safely to her family. She did it just for the money." Cato is really grasping at straws here.
"I demand to speak with Everdeen!" Cato glances discreetly at me and I nod.
"He's not a talker. So don't expect him to say anything." And with that everyone leaves. I cross my arms and lean against the wall.
"You're Everdeen? I expected you to be...well taller, bigger."
I remain silent.
"He wasn't kidding, are you going to say anything?"
I shake my head slowly.
"Then I have something to say. I would like to join you."
What? He wants to do what?
"I know it makes no sense but my mother is cruel and horrible and her reign needs to end. I think you are the only one who can do it. I only told Cato part of the truth. I really was searching for you. I need your help to overthrow my mother and set Panem back on the right path. I beg for your help."
I stand in silence and after a while I leave the hut. I motion for Annie and Johanna to be brought back into the hut.
Everyone gathers in the common hut and I tell them what Peeta has proposed.
Author's Note: Hey all! Thanks for reading. Please review!