Chapter 21:

When Prim lifts up the one side of her skirt (which I now know she wore specifically for this big reveal, because she never wears them otherwise) and shows us the remnants of her self-inflicted knife wound, we are all astonished. Not only has the bleeding stopped entirely, but the slice, which covered almost the entire length of her thigh, now appears to be only an eighth of an inch deep or so. Given the size of her wound, there is no possible way that the machete didn't slice her right to the bone. It instantly reminds me of Peeta and his leg after I had given him the intense Capitol medicine- and I am completely mystified as to how Prim could have concocted something so potent out of the plants that she was provided.

I look up at her, incredulous. You can still see where the tears fell on her face, but Prim manages to give me a little smile. "It was the hardest thing I've ever done, Katniss," she says. "But you told me to do something that they've never seen before. I tried my best. I told you that the plants were exceptionally strong."

Haymitch has yet to pick his jaw up off of the floor as well. "Did they dismiss you after you did that?"

Prim shakes her head. "No. They were in shock, I think. That was the last thing I did- I had already climbed some ropes for them. I waited for them to, but they never said anything. Eventually I just thanked them for their time and limped off."

"I'm still concerned. The Games start in a couple of days, Prim," I say. I look back at her leg. Miraculous, no question about that, but her leg is not 100%, and it needs to be when she gets into the arena. But regardless if her leg is fully recovered by the time the Games start, I would be willing to bet that the chances of Prim getting sponsorship just skyrocketed. All in all- the sacrifice of the health of her leg was worth it. I need to keep this in mind.

We retire to the sitting room to watch the tributes' scores flash up on TV. The Careers all achieve 9's or 10's; Annella pulls an 11. I think to myself how lucky Prim is to have her as part of the alliance. Districts 3, 5, and 6 all earn mediocre scores at best. Paul from District 7 earns an eight and Jack from District 8, a seven, but those seem to be the highest scores awarded outside of the Career districts- until they come to us. When Paavo's name and picture flash up on the screen, they are accompanied by the number nine. And when Prim's name finally appears, we see the number 10 beside it.

The highest score outside of the Careers! All for my sister, who despite her training still weighs less than ninety pounds. I feel a rush of pride. We all look at her, grinning. Paavo's score was expected, but this- no one can get over it. Prim grins back.

The second that the broadcast is finished, Haymitch leaps up with renewed energy- the night is young, he says, for boozing it up with the sponsors that Prim is sure to have now. Effie follows suit, saying that she has a lot of socializing to do, and Prim and Paavo retire to their bedrooms, weary after an exhausting day (though not before we command Prim to treat her wound again thoroughly before bed). Peeta and I are left in the sitting room, and for once I don't let myself feel the weight of Prim's life on my shoulders. The euphoria from Prim's unexpectedly high training score has produced such a sense of accomplishment that I feel justified in taking a mental respite, however temporary. I let out a long sigh of relief.

Peeta reaches over and grabs my hand. "So, that was pretty awesome," he says.

"Yeah," I echo, tension escaping slowly from my body. Peeta speeds the process along by taking his other hand and massaging the back of my neck.

"So, um, have you had a chance to think about what I said to you the other day on the roof?"

"No," I answer him honestly, "I haven't. But I suppose I could take a little while to think about it now."

Peeta nods, gently stroking my hand as we sit in silence. I allow myself to ruminate on his thoughts. After a while, something occurs to me.

"I think you're wrong," I say finally. "I have so much love in my heart already; all of this is for my sister, and the love that I feel for her. I'm not letting the Capitol take any of that away from me."

"It's not the same thing, Katniss," he whispers. "I'm talking about this." He leans in closer to me and kisses me on the lips.

It's the kind of kiss that gives me stirrings in my chest again; stirrings that spread through the rest of my body like wildfire. Astoundingly, my initial instinct to start throwing buckets of water, to find a way to put those feelings out, or at least contain them- doesn't kick in. We have all the time in the world- no one is here watching us. Prim is as safe as she will ever be- her leg will heal, and she isn't in the arena yet. And we have done as much as we possibly can to prepare her- given her the space to hone her own talents, the exposure to everything she will encounter, the courage to earn one of the top training scores on her own and the protection of an alliance that can take her to the very end. That 10 was confirmation that all that we tried to do for her has paid off, that we've done enough- at least for tonight. All thoughts of Prim leave my mind. And I kiss Peeta back, and relish his arms around me, keeping me safe and warm.

We kiss for hours, and I fall asleep in Peeta's arms, right there in the sitting room.

We wake up the next morning to the sounds and smells of breakfast. Somehow, we managed to sleep through Haymitch and Effie returning late into the night. The instant I awake I am back in the real world, thinking about Prim and Paavo's interviews, nervously awaiting tomorrow evening. Last night with Peeta was a mental vacation of sorts- but now it is time to get back to work.

Sure enough, while we're eating, Haymitch requests that Peeta and I participate in the interview preparation today. Since Prim and Paavo are going to be coached together, all six of us can just hang out on the floor. However, we do split up a bit anyway, as Effie's training for Prim and Paavo will vary- Prim needs to practice walking in heels and generally being feminine and naïve- not exactly the angle that Paavo is going for.

Prim fairs better with Effie than I ever did- being girly just comes a little more naturally to her, even though she is far younger. She walks around in her heels as if she had been born with them on, and becomes proficient at batting her eyelashes and holding her dress in just the right way. Haymitch, also, is impressed with her in terms of content- she's still painfully shy, but it can work to her advantage, he says, if she is just herself- everyone will see her innocence and naiveté. The trick, he says, is letting people see her strength as well- with her high training score no one is going to buy that she's a weakling. To me, whether or not her inner toughness will come out onstage depends entirely on what Caesar asks her.

The day passes quickly, but by the end, us mentors are mentor-ed out. Peeta leads me to the couch in the sitting room again- for I'm sure what he hopes to be a repeat performance of last night- but this time we have company, as Haymitch and Effie are too exhausted to go out schmoozing up sponsors. Instead, we watch the interviews from some previous Hunger Games, looking for some inspiration for last-minute advice for Prim and Paavo. When our interviews from last year come on, I can't get over my nervousness, Peeta's charm. I would never have believed it at the time, but now, almost a whole year removed from the situation, and after everything we've been through, it is clear that Peeta meant every word he said that night. I squeeze his hand and give him a smile. But when the viewings are over, and it's time to choose beds, I know that I need to be with my sister.

The next morning Cinna and Portia arrive early to assess what they need to do to ready the tributes for tonight. They quickly collect Prim and Paavo to hand them over to their prep teams.

Though Peeta and I have the day to ourselves again, any romantic notions that he may have had are immediately thwarted by the fact that I absolutely cannot relax- all of the work that we've put into training Prim is for naught if she bombs this interview. It's hard to imagine that she will- she's a lot better at pleasing people than I am- but too much hinges on this evening to be able to focus on anything else.

Because as the happy couple we will certainly be featured on a few cameras this evening as well, we are taken to the Remake Center for our prep later that afternoon. It is only after I am prepped by my team, after Prim is completely dressed, that I am finally able to see her in her interview outfit.

Prim's hair is pulled back in intricate braiding and her makeup looks phenomenal- dramatic yet natural. She is wearing another yellow dress- this time, there are no feathers, only feather-shaped sequins. It has a fitted bodice, but somehow puffs out structurally at the bottom in a way that for me completely captures a canary's plumage. This dress, however, has a large slit in the front that goes up mid-thigh. Under it, her legs, in sparkly orange-tinted tights, end in shiny orange heels with horizontal black stripes, Cinna's way of recreating bird's feet. But what I notice most is that Cinna and the prep team have completely finished curing Prim's leg- there is no longer even a faint trace of the awful self-inflicted wound she suffered just a couple of days ago.

I finally relax. Prim is ready.