"What's this? What's this?... I can't believe my eyes" by Danny Elfman

A double post? Yes, yes it is.

Please enjoy!

Love does not consist of gazing at each other, but in looking together in the same direction. ~Antoine de Saint-Exupery

(Redundant Disclaimer: If I owned Hunger Games, I would not be working where I now but instead open up a bakery stand at a farmer's market since I'd have no need for money and could simply bake my days away.)

The remaining few days before the wedding passed in a blur for Annie.

During the day, she attended the last of her classes and tried to pay attention to tutors frantically gesturing and shouting at her as though she were deaf too.

She and Finnick tried to see each other but his aunt kept him busier than ever with threats of a war and protocol and council meetings.

Heavensbee met with Finnick when he wasn't with the Queen, to talk about the moral ramifications of war and of marriage and of being a king...and anything else he could think of it seemed.

Ruby too had taken to tailing Annie around, though Annie wouldn't have known for sure had Katniss not noticed it and told her during one of her visits to the garden.

Rue and Prim did their best to help Annie avoid Ruby but Annie still felt uneasy about the girl's strange behavior.

She did take joy out of seeing Peeta befriend Prim with a lovely painting of primroses and recruit her to help him court Katniss.

Together, they made a strong team, for Katniss could deny Prim nothing and Prim insisted that Peeta come walking with them or eat with them or show them his painting or let them feed the horses.

Slowly but surely, Katniss's walls were lowering at the sight of Peeta being so kind to Prim.

Their shy interactions were so sweet and it made Annie so happy to see Peeta beaming and Katniss even smiled at him every now and then, especially when he had bribed the cook for some extra buns.

The night before her wedding, Annie had just finished the fifth shirt. She held it out with pride, happy to be so close to the end goal.

Her good feeling didn't last long however, when she realized, too late to do anything until after her wedding, that she didn't have enough nettles for the last shirt. She only had what she had pulled from the ground in the week prior to meeting Finnick in person. She was worried since she didn't know how easily she could sneak away to find more.

She had started the excruciatingly painful process of stomping on what nettles she did have to get the fibers.

She took a small break to look at the portrait of her brothers and sighed. It had been so long since their last meeting.

With renewed energy, Annie continued the process of extracting the nettle fibers for a couple more hours.

Just as Annie was about to turn in for the night, she heard the honking of swans.

She rushed outside with her bag as quickly as she dared and found six swans circling the courtyard.

She waved to them and they landed all around her.

Annie's eyes glistened with happy tears as they changed to their human form.

She held her arms open wide and Rory and Cinna and Boggs rushed to embrace her.

Then, after the initial bout of kissing and hugging and laughing with relief was over, Beetee came up to hug her in his calm, solid way.

Annie turned toward Gale and Haymitch, wondering why they hadn't made a move towards her.

Haymitch clapped his hands together and cleared his throat. "So, I hear congratulations are in order?...Marrying a prince tomorrow, aren't you sweetheart? I always doubted any prince would be good enough for you, especially this fool, but if he makes you happy...well who am I to say anything about it?"

Annie ran at him then and he hugged her tightly. He coughed again. "I just wish I could walk you down the aisle like I always promised I would. Just...be sure he's good to you, alright sweetheart?" Haymitch nudged her shoulder.

Annie smiled and nodded through her happy tears at Haymitch's awkward but endearing words.

She turned to Gale and her smile froze on her face at the look of anger and disdain in his eyes.

She lifted her forearms in a silent question.

Gale's scowled. "Why bother with the silent act, huh? It's not like breaking our curse matters to you anymore."
He turned away in anger.

Annie went to touch his shoulder and he shook her off.

Now, very confused, Annie ran around to the front and shook her hands and head no.

She lifted her skirts to show the dried blood from the areas the nettles pierced the skin and the overall redness and irritation covering her calves from stomping on nettles for hours.

As her brothers all looked down in embarrassment for Gale, Annie ran to her bag and pulled out the five finished shirts.

Gale looked slightly ashamed but still arrogant in his belief. "I...thank you for the hard work that you've done...but we still need one more! I doubt the King will let you spend your nights on it...especially this king with his appetite." He muttered the last part under his breath but Annie still heard him.

She raised her hand as if to slap Gale across the face but instead fell to the ground and burst into tears.

Boggs came up and hugged her while all the rest of them glared at Gale.

Rory piped up. "How dare you, Gale! After all the suffering Annie has done for us. She's the best sister anyone could ask for."

"I've no doubt in my mind that Annie will find a way to finish the last shirt." Cinna added passionately.

"We have no reason to doubt her." Beetee said in the calm way of his.

Annie slowly calmed down. She went up to Gale who now looked properly ashamed.

He held out a small pouch. "This contains wild carrot seeds, they help to prevent pregnancy."

Annie turned very red, though with anger or embarrassment, it was hard to say.

Haymitch cleared his throat. "Now, you don't have to take them, but we did think having a baby might make it harder for you to continue making the shirts. There is a three month supply in there, enough to last you through the...honeymoon phase of love."

Rory piped up. "But if you want babies, then you should have them."

Annie smiled at that but took the herbs. She knew as well as they did that having a baby would slow her down and she only one year left to finish the last shirt.

Gale jerked his head as his way of apology as Annie took the herbs.

She was still hurt but could think of no other way to convince Gale he was wrong than to save her brothers and let him meet Finnick for himself.

"We will return in one year, where we can finally be reunited again." Boggs said as the sun threatened to rise.

Annie nodded and put on a brave face. She missed her brothers, and in a way their visit almost made it worse because now she was picturing how they could fit into this new life and it was so wonderful that her heart ached for it.

"Be a good girl and stay alive." Haymitch said gruffly, worried about what he had heard about the Queen of this kingdom.

"I'm still betting on you." Cinna said after their embrace.

Annie watched sadly as they turned back into swans and waved when they flew off once more. They flew off over the graveyard and Annie saw the patches of nettles growing there. Perhaps she could extract enough nettles from there to make the last shirt.

Annie lost herself in a daydream about breaking the curse forever before she remember she needed to hide the shirts and then made her way back to the castle, to get ready for her wedding.