Disclaimer: I do not own anything in the Hunger Games Trilogy. All right to the characters, names, and places from the books go to their respective owners.
Peeta and I spend the next two days in the comfort of our bedchamber. With the exception of a handful of excursions to the greenhouse and a few brief appearances at parties, we remain fairly unoccupied.
It bores me slightly, but Peeta seems to enjoy the lack of duties. I imagine he has a very hectic schedule on an everyday basis.
The morning of the third day Peeta wakes me up with a fast rattling shake.
"Wake up, Katniss. Wake up!" he says in a voice that sounds a little bit too much like an eight year old on the way to a carnival.
Without any words of what is going on, I am shuffled into my dressing chamber and a flurry of dress maids, not my usual people, hurriedly slip me into my clothing. The piece features a solid pink skirt with a cream bodice laced with gold. It is yet another simple piece, but it still demands attention in the way anything a Queen wears should.
Once again, I am lead through a series of passageways, this time with Duchess Effie as my guide.
"You will be sectioned off, of course. We aren't going to force you to mingle, so don't have any fears, dear," she says, rattling off about something I know nothing about. I have made quite a habit of tuning her out.
"Where exactly are we going, Duchess?" I ask her, making sure to emphasize her status.
She turns towards me, squinting her forehead and causing her massive purple headpiece to slide slightly to the left. "Well, my dear. We are going to the parade, of course. The King must have informed you?"
"Oh no, he didn't. At least, not to my knowledge," I say as we turn a corner.
"Perhaps he meant it for a surprise, no worries. Are you feeling faint, Your Majesty?"
I quickly cover up what must have been a lack of hearing, "I have been feeling a bit off recently, must be the environmental changes." As we pull in closer I start to hear the faint noise of clammering and musical instruments, an obvious sign that we are close to the parade.
"Ah," she says, unfolding her hands in a grand majestic revealing movement as we reach an ornate gold door, "You must be having issues with the lower ground, poor thing. Anyways, this is the private entrance to yours, no- our, very own private viewing station.
The guards behind us open the doors with a bow, allowing for the loud noises to flood into the hallway. The clamboring sound of instruments, the smell of candies and sweet breads, and the murmuring of voices fill my senses with a familiarity.
The Duchess ushers me into the door, pulling it closed behind her and pushing me into the space before me. It is a little private area, with a handful of velvet chairs scattered in the section, gold curtains and canopies draping over our heads, and a gate lined with three guards separating us from the crowd. It reminds me of the box seat my father had at a theatre, but ground level and obviously temporary.
There are four people in this room with me, save the guards and a footman standing with some drinks. The Duchess in her plum purple gown, of course, and a finely dressed couple that I do not recognize. The last person stands with his back facing us, pressed against the gate, peering into the crowds and taking the occasional sip from a gold chalice .
It isn't hard for me to recognize him, with the build I have come familiar with and the tell tale blond hair that makes his identity obvious.
I run up to him in an unladylike manner and wrap my arms around his waist, "Peeta!" I say with a squeeze.
He turns around and pulls me in for a brief kiss, handing me his chalice, "It's just wine," he says, returning to peer out at the crowd.
He was right in his previous assumption. The crowd is mostly filled with children of all ages, sitting criss crossed along the walls of the main hall. The adults line the very back of the walls, with the servants leaning up against the walls and the nobles scattered in chairs.
The classes of adults are obviously very separated, even the children. The girls in colorful silk dresses sit feet away from the huddles of young girls in black aprons, far too aware of the social divide that separates them.
The parade itself is quite a sight. Marching soldiers orderly chant in lines, jesters and entertainers perform tricks, little walking skits are played out by men of the theatre, candy is tossed to the children. It is all quite marvelous, nothing I would have expected to ever happen indoors.
Peeta and I sit next to the couple, who he introduces to me as Duke Finnick of the Odair family, and his wife, Duchess Anne. They are a handsome couple, the brunette Anne shines in her own way, but Finnick outdoes all of the gentlemen I have met so far with his perfect features and golden copper hair. Peeta even makes a joke about having a little competition. Everbody laughs, but I take the joke a bit more seriously, as if I would ever have the opportunity to commit adultery. Even if I wasn't accompanied by my husband's guards twenty four hours a day, I'm not stupid. I am rather fond of keeping my head on my shoulders.
Peeta find himself in pleasant conversation with the Odair nobles, but I stay silent, only speaking as I notice the parade slowing down and the crowd growing more rambunctious. With no parade to focus on, I notice that the people in the hall start to shift their gazes towards us.
"Is it over?" I ask Peeta, placing my hand on his arm.
"No, it is just an intermission, sweetheart." Peeta says, latching his hand with mine.
I remain quiet again as Duke Finnick starts a conversation on the silk trade. There are children in the crowd, peering out at me. Little servant girls dressed in muck brown dresses and white aprons about ten paces across from me. They stare a bit in my direction, whispering amongst themselves with the giggles and smiles that come from that age. I smile a bit in their direction, but they don't seem to catch that I am smiling at them.
It is this that spurs an urge in me, and without hesitation I just stand up, pulling Peeta with me and dragging him outside of the gates, moving too quick to allow the guards to stop me.
"Katniss," he hushes into my ear, "Whatever are you doing?"
"Just come," I say dragging him with me.
There is a girl sitting alone against a door nine paces to my right. She's not talking to anybody, just sitting there, knees against her chest and arms pulled tightly around her legs, her old worn boots and rags an obvious sign of her social status.
Adjusting my skirts and hoops, I plop right down next to her on the marble floors. Peeta follows suit and sits next to me.
The people notice immediately, wondering why on earth their leaders are with some random dirty street child. But I don't care what they think, I don't want this girl to sit alone.
The girl doesn't look up at me, but still tenses at my presence.
"So," I say, flattening out the pink silk of my skirt, "I'm Katniss, what is your name."
She looks up at me, the fear in her voice evident, "Anneliese, your lady-" she falters, "I mean, Your Majesty."
I smile at the younger girl, "You can just call me Katniss. No need for any of that fuss. How old are you, if you don't mind me asking?"
"I'm seven. I will be eight next fall," she says, removing her knees from her chest.
"I have a sister just a little older than you. She's Primrose, but she just goes by Prim,"
"Does she have a pony?" the girl asks, her eyes lighting up and her mouth breaking into a grin.
"A pony?" I ask.
"You know, like a cart and pony. The girl my mama used to work for does. Her name was Emma, and her father was just a viscount. I imagine a real life Princess would have a better one. Do you have a pony?"
I laugh, "Oh, yes. Prim and I did have a pony and cart when we were younger. But we have both outgrown that."
"Was it pink?"
"Pink? No, it was white and black, not fun at all. Is pink your favorite color, by any chance?"
She grins, "Pink is my favorite color. I wish I could wear pink all day, with dresses just like the one you are wearing, and gems like that necklace," Anneliese says, pointing her thumb towards the pink tourmaline gem that lies across my neck.
"You like the necklace? You can have it if you would like."
She wrinkles her nose, "I can have it? But why?"
"I really have no use for it," I say, pulling the cream silk ribbon off of my neck and pressing the gem in her palm. "Take it to your mother."
Anneliese looks back down into her lap and presses the gem against her chest, "My mama isn't around anymore."
At her words, I subconsciously slip my hand into a silent Peeta's.
"But you said she worked-"
"She did, before she got sick," her lip trembles and a tear drips against her cheek.
I sigh and pulls her body close to mine, scooping her frail frame into my lap. I don't care about the tears make marks against my shoulder or the dirt from her dress clinging to the clean cream of my bodice. I know what it is like to lose a mother, but at least I still had somebody who kept me well dressed and fed. Many in Seam didn't, and even with the prosperity here, this girl is obviously not being taken care of.
A previously silent Peeta speaks up to the girl, his voice tender as he addresses the child, "How about this. When all of this commotion is over, we will have somebody dress you up and give you pretty pink dresses. You can have one just like Katniss's if that is what you would like. I know of a friend who is looking for a girl to be a companion to his daughter, you would be just right for the job. They have been searching for ages for the right match, and it would be just wonderful if you could do them the honor. They even have a pony and cart, which you could use whenever you pleased. How does that sound, sweetheart?"
The girl rubs her sleeve against her eyes, "Do they really have a pony?"
"Yes, a little white thing by the name of Magenta. That's another word for pink, did you know that?"
"Really," she giggles, "they named their horse after a color?"
"Yes they did," he leans close to her as if he is telling her a secret, "Now, you must never tell them this, but I personally thought it was rather silly. Don't you agree?"
She gives a dutiful nod and makes a serious face, "It is pretty silly. I agree. Now if I had a pony, I would name her sugar."
"Ah," Peeta says, "Because horses love sugar. How witty! You know, my friend over there, Finnick? We all call him sugar in private because he has a slight obsession with the cubes they feed to horses?"
She giggles and looks up at me, her nose bumping my chin, "I like him. You should keep him."
I place a kiss on her forehead, "I plan on it."
A crowd of servant children forms around us, and as I bounce little Anneliese on my lap, I make small talk with some of the women and learn the children's names. Eventually they grow more comfortable with us, laughing at Peeta's self deprecating jabs and proudly informing me of where they are stationed in the palace.
We get quite a bit of stares from the surrounding nobles, but as the minutes of intermission pass by, a handful of the well dressed end up "lowering themselves" by sitting on the floor, surrounded by their lessers, for the opportunity to introduce themselves.
That night, when Peeta and I are lying in our bedchamber surrounded by the comfort of the darkness, I speak up.
"Do your friends really have a pony named Magenta?"
He pulls my body against his and presses a kiss to the top of my head, "They do now."
I don't respond, allowing him to speak a few last words before we are pulled into sleep, "You know, you were good with the people, Katniss. You will make an exceptional Queen, and the way you dealt with that child. I can't wait to see you as a mother."
Author's Note: Well, that was an interesting chapter to write. I'm not 100% sure if I portrayed the scene I had in my brain correctly, but I think it turned out pretty good. I was waiting to write this chapter:) Tell me in a review what you would like to see next. In the upcoming chapters we will be seeing a lot of characters from the books, so hopefully you are excited about that.
I would like to thank my wonderful beta prisspanem. If you like King Peeta, you should check out her story Tales of Panem.
Like always, you can follow me on tumblr and ask any questions at starveinsafety. Also, I'm thinking of putting a weheartit page or something where I could put all of my inspiration images up for my different stories so that you could see what different dresses, rooms, etc. look like. Thoughts?