Katniss POV
It has a few weeks since Cato left and I miss him like crazy. I received a letter from him a few days back detailing what he has been doing. Mostly sitting around the house talking to Arlia (pronounced ar-lee-a), some days he went to exclusive events like Arlia's upcoming 18 birthday party. As well as letters, I've received a few packages from Cato entailing gifts from Arlia. From Arlia she sent me diamond heels and a black dress that flowed out towards the bottom. Prim came by the other day, saw the dress and immediately made me try it on. In the mirror it looked wonderful, but where would I wear it? The heels were gorgeous but uncomfortable. Ever since Cato left, Prim and mum have been coming over to visit me as well as Jane. She usually comes round every night for dinner. Sometimes she brings the dinner herself. Aside from having company, I been training hard with Prim who is getting a lot better at Archery now that she has practiced. We've been to other stations such as rope tying, nature skills, rock climbing etc. Right now I was teaching at school, I decided to get a job so that we wouldn't have to rely on Cato's 'payment' sent to us monthly. I taught Prim's grade but unfortunately not her class. It was nearing the end of the day, so I had everyone pack up their books. My thoughts wandered to Cato. What was he doing right now? Getting dressed for some fancy occasion maybe.
Cato' POV
Arlia and I were in the library talking over a game of pool. Yes they had a pool table in a library. I found it odd that they would put something noisy in a quiet place so I asked Arlia and she said that she didn't know either except that it was her late grandfather's idea. It was my shot and I had four balls left to sink. Arlia had five.
"So are you excited about you birthday party." I asked. I aimed my cue, hoping to knock the white ball into the small 7 and sink it. Which I do.
"Yeah, but it's more like an out coming party. Elena says that I'm of age now and should be getting married within the year." She aims and shoots but just misses the big 4 she was aiming at. I'm put off guard at what she says.
"You're seventeen turning eighteen and she wants you to get married by the end of the year. That's insane!" I hit the white ball shooting at the small 2 but end up sinking the white ball.
"Yeah well it's Capitol law. Isla (pronounced i-la. The s is silent) can't wait until she turns eighteen next year so she can marry Finn but I disagree. It's one thing to take someone out of the House which is a good thing but marrying the guy when he is in love with someone else who is waiting for him back home hoping." I knew the feeling. I knew that Finnick was in love with a girl from 4 called Annie Cresta. She had no idea that she was going to lose Finnick soon.
"Isla can be mean sometimes without intention but this, this is just plain cruel. I've talked to Finnick when he's been here with Isla. He told me about his love back in four. Annie Cresta, but the poor has gone mad from being in the Hunger Games. I would hate to be in it. I despise of the whole kill to the death thing, but the madness it brings to the Victor afterwards. It's horrible." I take out the white ball and line it up for her which she moves to a different position along the line.
"So you don't like the Hunger Games?" I ask.
"Yes, they are vile and cruel and horrible. Snow thinks that he can only control the districts with fear. Well they act…normally when the Hunger Games aren't on." She aims at the big 4 which hits the black ball and sinks it. Seeing as how there are still balls left, I win the game. She sinks all the balls into the holes and puts away her cue back on the rack.
"The only time I have to pretend to like the Hunger Games is when it is on. But the worst part is my grandmother making me place bets on the tributes. She betted on that girl from 1, which she regretted when Katniss killed her. I betted on the girl from 5 randomly. I never actually choose bets by strategy. Ready for lunch?" Her attitude changes immediately. She links her arm with mine and we head off to the dining room. When we sit down, a dozen waiters come and put a feast on the table. Ten minutes into our lunch, the doorman comes up to Arlia and whispers in her ear. Upon hearing his message she breaks out into a grin.
"Yes certainly send him in and bring him here. He can join us for lunch before business." The doorman turns away and is soon back with a boy about my height. When he comes closer I realise who it is. Someone who just can't stay out of my life.
"Carlos, this Peeta, the 74th Hunger Games Victor." She lowers her voice and mutters something only loud enough for me to hear. "He's here on business for Snow. The new Victors always come here after they win. I hate it." She raises her voice again to greet Peeta.
"Peeta, please join us for lunch." Arlia say politely as she can without hatred in her voice.
"Thank you for the invitation Miss Withers, but I already ate before coming here. President Snow sends his apologies for not coming today and sent me instead. He wanted me to talk to your Grandmother."
"That's fine. She is in the Gardens I think. Rolfus will guide you." Upon hearing his name, a man comes and escorts Peeta away." Once he is gone, Arlia lets out a heavy sigh.
"I'm sorry about that. I always act happy and polite whenever they come over so that no one suspects anything." We continue eating and conversing. At two, Elena is taking the two of them to the Capitol Markets. Arlia says that it's the one thing she and Elena have in common. Shopping.
Peeta's POV
"Snow, they have nuclear weapons." Elena said
"They are hidden to the world. Everyone thinks they're dead. They rebelled against us before and–"
"We have company." Snow looks up to see me and grins.
"Peeta, good to see you. How have you been? Do you like the Capitol? What of the ladies? Do any catch your eye?" Snow gave me a rough hug before saying all this. One thing about Snow is that he asks a lot of questions in one go.
"Very well thank you. My life in the Capitol is wonderful. As for the ladies, I haven't found anyone." Snow led me to the chair facing opposite him. "You asked me to come here so we could talk."
"Yes I did. We have an issue rising. We have reason to that District 13 is rebelling against us. Our spies in 13 tell us that Coin plans to take me out at the right time. Now what we want is for you to go undercover at Arlia's party and pretend to be one of the rebels in 13. Now they have codes to know if you are one of them. Once you convince them that you are, I want you to get as much information as to what the plan is. We have everything you need to get into the party; you just need to do your job. Save Panem from another war. If the rebels succeed, there would be a Panem left to save."
"Yes sir." Snow stands to leave and I do the same.
"Do your county proud Peeta." He shakes my hand and I head back to the mansion.
Katniss' POV
After hanging out with Prim at the Festival, I head over to Jane's house. She decided that she was going to cook for me one night; came over yesterday and said she would cook tomorrow night. Jane opened the door before I could knock.
"Katy, come in. We are having Chicken Mingon." She held the door open for me to come in. The delicious smell of dinner waivered from the kitchen to the front door. I sit at her kitchen bench and notice a bunch of letters stack against the wall. The front one is addressed to me.
"Jane, why do you have a letter for me?" She turns around and looks at it.
"Oh yeah, that came yesterday for you when you were out. I told the mailman to give it to me and that I would give it to you at dinner….Well are you going to open it. It has the Capitol seal on the back. I grab the letter and rip it open. I pull out an invitation to Arlia's Masquerade ball for her birthday in three days. Behind the invite is a letter.
Katy
I wish to invite you to my Masquerade ball for my birthday. I thought it would be nice surprise if Cato saw you there. He really loves you from what he tells me. I can't wait to meet you. The gifts I've sent you are for the ball. I sorry that you couldn't choose for yourself what to wear but the party has a dress code of black for the girls and white tuxes for the men. Your mask will arrive any day now. Use the invite to get into the party. There are instructions in this letter but I will a train with a friend of mine to collect you. I hope you have fun. And I am really sorry for stealing Carlos away from you but I have good news, my grandmother has allowed you to stay with us for the week. I'll see you at the party.
Arlia
I was going to see Cato again and for a week. I was over the moon.
"So what is it?"
"I've been invited to A Miss Arlia's 16th Birthday Ball." I said grinning like a Cheshire cat.
"Cool. So when do you leave?"
"In a day or two. A friend of hers will come to my house and take me to the Capitol. And I'm staying with her for a week."
"I'm going to be alone for a week?" Jane whined.
"You can always visit my mum and Rose."
"I guess. Ok Katy, dinner is served." It was surprisingly yummy. The chicken breast was wrapped in bacon and served with potato bake and mushrooms.
Arlia was right; the mask came in the next two days. To the side, it had a black rose and the mask had a black floral design. I pulled out the shoes and the dress and put the three of them together on the bed. The whole costume looked beautiful. I packed everything back into the travel bag I had for my trip to the Capitol. After I put the bag back into the wardrobe, someone knocked on the door. I walked over and opened it.
"Are you Katy Eveston?" The man asked. He was dressed in a blue suit.
"Yes"
"Arlia sent me to take you to her mansion in the Capitol. She asks that you take the gifts she sent with you. Do have everything packed to go."
"Yes, let me get my bag and we can go. But first I want to say goodbye to my family first."
"That is fine." I walked back into my room and grabbed the travel bag and walked back to the door.
"Would you like me to put this on the train while you say goodbye to your family?" The man asked
"Yes thank you. I'll only be a moment." I gave him the bag and he proceeded towards the train station. I ran over to mum's house and knocked on the door which Prim answered.
"Hey Katy." She opened the door wide and I walked in. Mum was ironing clothes by the kitchen.
"Hello Katniss. Would you like to say for early lunch?" She stood the iron upright and hugged me.
"Actually mum, I'm leaving for the Capitol for Arlia's birthday. The girl I told you invited me to her birthday. And I'll be staying for a week so I came to say good bye."
"Have a nice time dear." Mum tells me. I hug her again and then hug Prim.
"Bye Prim. I'll bring you something back from the Capitol." She hugs me back and I walk back out the door towards the station. Once I board, I meet with Arlia's friend in the lounge room.
"We'll be arriving in the Capitol in two and a half hours." The man said
"Thanks"
"By the way, my name is Ethan." I spent the train ride reading the book I brought with me. When we arrived at the station I saw a girl with short blonde curls waiting. This must be Arlia.
"Hey, are you Katy?" She asks me when I step off the train.
"Yes, are you Arlia?" I ask her
"No, Arlia is my younger sister. I am Carolina. Arlia asked me to take you to the Mansion. She told me you are here for her birthday party."
"Yes, I am."
"Well let's go then. We walked out of the station and she led us to a limo. Her house must have been far away because the trip did not take very long. The mansion was huge and white. Carolina knocked on the door which was opened by a doorman in a green uniform.
"Rolfus, please tell Arlia that I have arrived with her guest."
Cato's POV
Arlia and I were playing tennis outside on the courts. We had played two games and we had each won one game. About to serve the ball, I notice Rolfus coming towards us.
"Miss Arlia. Miss Carolina and your guest are here." She burst out into a grin.
"Rolfus, have them waiting in the dining room. We will meet them there." She was definitely happy about her sister being here along with a friend. She put her racket away and yanked the racket out of my hand.
"Come Carlos, let's go." She grabbed my arm and ran towards the mansion. She stopped outside the doors.
"Ready?" She asked me
"For what? To meet this people?" I replied
"For your surprise. Open the door." I did as she said and opened the door. Waiting on the lounge was Carolina, but there was a girl to the left looking at the painting on the wall. But it wasn't just any girl, it was Katniss!
"Katy!" Arlia called. Upon hearing her name, she turned around and saw me. Her face lit up and she was smiling as much as Arlia was. She ran over and gave a massive hugged. I missed her so much. I pulled back and kissed her deeply which she returned. We both pulled away breathing heavily.
"What are you doing here?" I asked surprised.
"I'm here for Arlia's ball. All the gifts that she sent me are for the ball. And I'm staying here for a week." She answered. Now it was my turn to smile widely. I got to see her for a week.
"Carolina, can you help me put Katy's bags in her room?" Arlia asked. She looked over and winked at me. She was giving me and Katniss some time alone together. Carolina looked at her sister and saw what she was trying to do so she left the room with Arlia. I sat down on the lounge that Carolina was sitting on with Katniss in my arms.
"So what has been happening in 2?" I asked her.
"Well not much. Prim has begun training at the Academy. She mainly practices with daggers because it is the smallest weapon but she is getting better with her Archery skills by practicing with me."
"She would learning from a master like you." I smile down at her
"Snow told me that Prim has been pulled out of future reapings for the Hunger Games because of your good work with the ladies apparently. He told me that he had been receiving very good feedback about the women's night with you. Cinna came over one night to give me a new pack of the Shampoo Dye set for my hair. And your mother invited to dinner a few nights ago when I was shopping. She is a really nice woman Cato. I'm sorry you had to give her up so we could come out alive. I feel bad that I can still see my family but you can't see yours."
"Katniss; don't apologise. It's fine. So what you too talk about?"
"She is still upset about losing you. You little brother Caleb really misses you and is angry that Peeta won and hates him with a passion." I laugh at this. Good on him. "But she has been dealing with along with Clove's mother. The two of them have bonded closer because they both lost their child. I was so sad, I just wanted to tell her that you were alive and living here in plain sight but I couldn't" We stayed like this until dinner, talking about what we had been up to while we were away from each other. Tomorrow I probably wouldn't get to see her much.
Katniss' POV
I woke up the next morning to a waiter coming in with breakfast on a tray. Arlia was behind him and plonked herself on the bed.
"Morning Katy"
"Good Morning Arlia. Happy Birthday."
"Thank you. You need to eat because we have plans today. We are going to spend the whole day making ourselves beautiful for the ball tonight. We're getting our hair done, Mani's and Pedi's, makeup, etc. And I have the perfect team. Alto, bring them in please. A short while later I heard several screams. There standing in the doorway were Venia, Flavious, Octavia and Cinna. Cinna scowled at them and they quietened down.
"Katy this is one of the Hunger Game prep teams. In fact, they were the prep team for District 12. Cinna here is a genius!"
"So Miss Arlia, shall we begin." Cinna asks. Ten hours later after being fully prepped and pampered we were ready for the ball. I was dressed in the gown Arlia sent me; she however was in a lovely navy blue gown with diamond heels as well. Her mask was black and lace like. It had black petals glued to the edges of the mask. Since I was ready, Arlia wanted me to go down to the ball where many of the guests were waiting. Arlia wouldn't make her special entrance until later. At the top of the stairs was the announcer who alerted every one of the person's presence.
"Presenting Miss Katy Eveston." I walked down and joined the crowed. There were many girls about my age or older dressed in black gowns and men in white tuxes. While waiting for Arlia to arrive, I mingled with a few other guests. Finally Arlia walked out and waited at the top of the stairs. A man, presumably Cato was linked to her arm.
"Presenting, Miss Arlia Emerald and her escort Mr Cato Stanton." Cato led her down the stairs and to the middle of the floor. Of course, he would have to dance with her first before he could dance with me. It isn't long before other couple begin joining in the dance. Soon I'm dancing as well as a man I don't know. Right now, I just want to be in Cato's arms. The dance ends and I curtsy to the man who bows back and turns away. An arm grabs my waist and spins me round. I realise that it is Cato. The music starts and we begin dancing. A happened that night that I don't remembered but I do remember the fire of a gun and the black out. Many women were screaming. The blackout lasted only for a minute, but in that time, something terrible happened but also something wonderful.
Peeta's POV
I was talking a man in his mid-thirties. The rebels plan was to black out the mansion and steal away with Isla. Snow's Granddaughter." On my way to report to Snow the news, it happened and I was too late. I failed to save the girl. I couldn't see where I was going in the darkness.