Author's Note: I'm finally updating this story! I wrote this all in one night and it is in no way beta-ed, so bear with me!

"Gale was captured at Lion's Heart Hill, they're bringing him in now."

My heart seizes up at Peeta's words and in those first seconds I can only feel relief, the promise of relinquishment from the hold up of war. But then, when those brief moments fall apart I feel the guilt settle over me. Gale was my kin, my people, and I knew the fate that would befall him.

Gale was going to die. My Gale. I had grown up with him, probably spent more time with him than any other man on this earth...and soon enough, he'd just be gone. My husband would take his head.

But I don't tell Peeta of my conflicts, I only give him a weary smile, "That's good, I suppose."

"No supposing," he says. "I know he's family," Peeta lifts my chin towards him, "but he has been the captain of his own destruction. Everything's over, Katniss," his eyes brighten, "we can go home now, but perhaps more importantly, we can give our child a home."

Two Weeks Later

My eyes peer out into the courtyard as I watch the workmen scurry around. A group of six or so men are carrying a long piece of gilded wood and attaching it to the semi-finished platform, it's getting closer now, almost finished.

They're building a block. A block for Gale, something special to suit the ever looming date of his execution. I haven't seen Peeta much since we moved back into the Capitol, he's only shared my bed twice since we arrived and he hasn't been back since I asked him if I could visit Gale. I seem to be getting more visibly pregnant as the days go by and he didn't want me to 'upset the child' by seeing my cousin off.

Or at least, that's what he told me.

"Your Majesty," one of my personal guards calls out to me and I turn away from the ground floor window, "follow me, the steps are rickety though, so be careful."

I nod and clutch the basket of rolls in my hands as we descend into the dungeons. I had told my guards that I wished to deliver bread to the prisoners, they had shook their heads at me but in the end it was a decent enough lie to get me past the doors.

But it doesn't prepare me for what I see when I enter the main holding room. The stench itself is enough to knock a horse dead. It's a tear inducing mix of waste and despair, but what I can grasp with my eyes is far worse. There are people everywhere, mostly men, crammed into little hovels and chained against the walls. They're all covered in layers of grime, thin and bony—most hardly look human anymore. They notice me immediately, perhaps even recognize me, but nobody dares to look up. Their eyes turn away as I walk by, my half-hearted smiles and hastily doled out rolls hardly enough to make up for their condition. It's been awhile since I have seen this kind of despair, this kind of lack. Since coming to the Capitol I had mostly been sheltered from the horrors of the world and so it all comes as a smack in the face to me.

I've made it three quarters of the way through the prison rows when I see her. She's covered in at least three layers of dirt and her plain brown dress has seen better days, but I couldn't miss that face that reminded me so much of home.

"Leevy?" I turn toward her cell, raising an eyebrow in question.

"Katniss," she says with a snarl, spitting at the ground.

One of my guards grips his sword, but I wave him off. Leevy. Now there's a girl that was a long way from home, Leevy was a girl from town, one of Gale's female companions and a decent acquaintance of mine. What on earth was she doing here, locked up in a Capitol prison cell and looking like a common vagrant.

Leevy snorts at my guard, "Oh, don't let Princess here stop you. Come at me big boy. Kill me, see if I care."

I shift uncomfortably in my gown as I near closer to the grate. By now, every eye in the prison has turned to look at us and I can only see the contrasts between us. Two girls from the Seam, now many miles away from home.

We stand there for a moment, just looking at each other. My clean hands press against the metal grate as her filthy ones reach out to touch mine through the metal. There is so much contrast between us, and even my simple purple gown makes her's look like rags. My gown, my freedom...how had I ended up so much better off when Leevy was twice the woman I had ever been?

I turn toward the jailer that is accompanying my guards, "Sir, I need you to release this girl by the time the sun sets. Run a message to my ladies and have arrangements for her to be kept in one of my rooms."

The jailer looks at me funnily, "Your Majesty, are you sure? She's one of the King's prisoners and-"

"Yes," I say, "and I'm the King's wife."

An echo of laughter erupts throughout the dungeon, a few chuckles of 'atta girl' thrown in here and there.

The jailer looks around sheepishly and runs a finger through the few strands of hair left on his head, "Of course, whatever you wish. Do you have any other requests, Your Majesty?"

I nod, "I would like to visit Gale."

The man pales instantly and I see my guards tense up.

"I'm sorry," the jailer's voice lowers considerably, "I have orders to ensure that he is granted no visitors."

"I'm sure you do," I tell him, "and I bet you know the gravity of allowing me to visit him." I turn sharply towards my guards, "Perhaps my husband will kill you if you let me see him, but you will most definitely die if I do not. My husband listens to me, and maybe you acted inappropriately towards me, maybe you spoke ill of my late mother. What matters is that your best chance of survival is escorting me to see him."

The jailer practically shakes in his boots, and I almost feel bad for making him so terrified.

I look around the hallway, "Do we have an understanding?"

My guards nod one by one and then finally the jailer gives in. "Follow me this way," he sighs gruffly.

My men and I are lead through a series of chambers by the relenting guard. Gale is seemingly kept tucked away, probably for security reasons, in an endless maze with no predictable pattern of turns. It's after a solid five minutes of walking that I wish I had worn more practical shoes, but soon enough, we arrive at a break in the hallway.

It's tucked into a corner, four guards in bright livery standing twenty or so feet at the end of the hallway, blocking the only entrance, or perhaps in this case, exit. The men part as soon as they see me, wordlessly allowing me to follow down the pathway alone.

If I had any bit of confidence in me, it all falls away when I catch that first glimse of him. Gale. He looks awful, worse than Leevy. His cell is an upgrade from her's, with a wooden chair and a straw sack in it, but he is far My heart yearns for him, for those simpler days in the woods, for the companionship I thought I would always share with him. His simple brown suit has been torn in ten different places, his socks are disheveled...but that hardly rivals his body. Cuts and bruises all over his face, the tell-tale welts of lashes against his legs. God know's what they did to him.

It's when he looks up at me and says, "Hey Catnip, finally made it to my funeral?" that I resolve to save him.

"Hey," I say, slumping my body against the hallway.

"Katniss," he says, his eyes gravitating towards my stomach, "you're here.

"What," I raise an eyebrow, "thought I'd never come."

Gale scoots his chair closer to the bars, "Stranger things have happened. Look at you, you're pregnant," his voice drops, "Now that's something I thought I'd never see, Katniss Everdeen with another man's child. I swear, it's almost surreal."

"I thought I would never see you again," I tell him sharply, my tone bubbling with unspoken anger.

"Yeah," he gives me a sad smile, "but here you are."

"I disobeyed my husband's orders,"I tell him, "more than one person will probably end up dead over this visit, you know that?"

Gale only laughs, "Oh Katniss, I see you haven't changed. God know's how that husband of yours keeps up."

"You really screwed up Gale," I look at him and just try to make him understand what's going on, "you might die because of this!"

"I will die," he says, almost expectantly, "but it's alright. Freedom is a cause I believe in, even if you don't."

"I believe in Freedom," I snort at him, "I just don't believe in stupidity."

"I don't want to fight, Katniss." Gale gives me that look, the desperate one eyes that scream 'this might be our last chance to speak'.

"Neither do I," I look anxiously into the hallway where I can see the jailer fretting.

"Just take care of my family Katniss, make sure Rory doesn't end up dead."

"I will," I say, my hands reaching out and clasping his, probably for the last time. "I'll protect them, don't worry."

He gives me a nod of solidarity and turns in the opposite direction where a cluster of men have gathered, guards probably looking for me. "You should go."

The guards who were sent to find me refuse to answer any of my questions as they parade me into my chambers to be dressed for dinner. Even my prep team averts their eyes a little as they hurriedly shove me into a crimson red gown with dotted crystals along the sleeves and waist.

But Peeta is there at the doors to greet me, a hand opened for mine as he ushers me into the formal dining room, a smile forced unto his face as he takes a seat beside me. I know he knows, I can see it just by looking at the lines that crease in his forehead, the tight grip he takes on his fork as we start the first course. But he doesn't mention it, just sits in silence beside me as I focus too wholeheartedly on the peas before me.

After the main courses have been completed and the desserts have been put away, Peeta rises to announce a toast.

"In celebration of our first week back at court, I will be sharing some of my finest wine over tonight's dinner, in honor of our victory and the pregnancy of my wife Kat-"

"Traitor," hisses somebody from the table across from us. And I know it's meant for me, I can see it from the way they all go silent, the way every eye turns from Peeta. And in that moment, everything falls down on me. Gale, the pressure coming from the hundreds of nobles who probably want my blood. I can't handle it, I just need to get away.

And so I run, I run out of that ballroom faster than Peeta can shout out my name or the guards can start to chase after me. I run straight into one of the spare rooms down the hall, quickly bolting the lock behind me and screaming at the guards who try to shove at the door as I quickly hide in one of the storage closet.

I sit there for what feels like hours, just pondering my fate, before I hear the tell-tale breaking of the door and find myself shriveling up tighter into my little cocoon.

But it isn't a guard that comes to join me in my little oasis, it's my husband.

"Katniss," he calls out, peeking through the shuttered doors, "may I join you?"

"You can come in," I say, clenching my hands into my dress.

Peeta opens the closet door and slumps down beside me, "You went to see him," he says, ever so frankly, "You went to see him against my orders."

"You can't hurt him. That could just as easily be us, I can't let you kill him," my voice falters and I pull tighter against my dress.

"Oh Katniss," Peeta sighs, "what have you done?"

"What do you mean?" I ask him, turning my head towards his.

"Your cousin, you know what they're saying?"

I shake my head.

Peeta stares outward, "I know I have asked you this before, but look me in the eyes and tell me that you never loved him, that you don't wish you were wedded off to him."

My voice croaks, "I never loved him, but he's my cousin. My King."

"He's not your King," he says matter of factly, "I am."

"Seam will always be my homeland, and Gale will always be my family. He will be an uncle of sorts to your child," I remind him of the baby, a desperate plea for his mercy.

"I'm your husband," he reminds me, "Do you know how this looks, Katniss? You running off to see the man who were promised to? A man who defied my authority, who came after my crown?"

"Gale is my blood," I snap at him.

"Yeah?" he says, raising an eyebrow, "Well, I'm that baby's father. Or at least, I damn well hope I am."

"Oh, and what's that supposed to mean?"

Peeta shrugs, "You want to know what they're saying? That you and Gale spent an awful lot of time together during that visit of his. Fits the timeline, I suppose."

"How dare you! How can you even suggest that?" I raise my voice, my hands push against his chest and I shove him back into the wall.

Peeta gives me a gentle sigh, "Look Katniss, what people think matters. Do you know what this is like for me? To have everybody snicker behind my back, gossip about another man taking you to bed? You know that's not even the worst of it," He catches my wrist, slowly hoisting me up to face him. His arms pin me gently against the wall, one of his hands grasping my abdomen

I look up at him, "What's the worst of it then, Peeta?" I sneer at his name.

"You know those discrepancies I was telling you about, Katniss?" he meets my tone with equal vigor, "The information passed around to your little King? They think that was you."

"They think it's me?" I turn my eyes away from his, my voice lowering with the gravity of the situation.

He locks his gaze with mine, "Katniss, they're going to conduct a thorough investigation, they'll comb through the logs and they'll find who took that information..."

My heart catches in my throat and I think of my sister, sweet innocent Prim. She would die for this, if he knew.

"Peeta," I say, placing a shaky hand on his arm.

His eyes capture mine knowingly and the grip on my arm gets stronger, "Katniss, don't."

"It was me," I say, the words just barely audible.

My husband shakes his head.

I place my other hand on his, "I took some documents off of your desk and I-"

At that his eyes darken with realization, "And what, Katniss? You thought you would get away with it, that you could trade secrets with your lover or cousin or god know's what and I would just let you walk away from it? You thought you could use me, that you could the fact that I loved you?"

"Peeta, I-"

Peeta's body snaps towards me, his pupils flooding with darkness, "Get out!" he screams and I find myself backing against the closet walls, "Katniss, I swear before I do something I regret." His voice turns flatter and he calls out loudly, "Guards!"

"Get out, before I do something I am going to regret," and with that his hands wrap around my wrists, pulling them behind my back as he shoves me forward, "Guards!"

Almost immediately, his men burst into the room, their eyes widening at the situation unfolding before them. My face burns red as I struggle against Peeta's grip, "Let go of me," I growl.

But Peeta doesn't respond. Instead, he turns towards his guards and in the most leveled voice possible addresses them, "Have one of the boys alert my council, I'm calling an emergency meeting," he frees my wrists and pushes me towards one of the burly men, "Bring the Queen to the towers, lock her up."

Author's Note: I had this awesome angsty argument between them but I lost all of my memos on my phone and alas, with it went the original dialogue for a bunch of my stories. Nevertheless, I did finally write this up. It gets better guys, I promise. They WILL make it.