A/N: Yay, finally a long chapter! :) I had a lot of fun writing this chapter because... Well, you'll have to read to find out. But it's a much cheerier one, so it's fun. :) Also, like I said yesterday, if you guys could check out the poll on my profile, that'd be awesome. I'm trying to decide whether or not to change the title of this story. Thanks! :)
When I wake up, the television is droning on about something. My head snaps up as I register the word 'Katniss'. I leap out of bed and hurry into the adjacent living room. My mother is slumped in front of the television, but her eyes are closed and her breathing is even. She must have been up late watching the replay of the opening ceremonies. But now the Hunger Games announcers are talking about Katniss and Peeta and the training session. I shake my mom's shoulder gently, and she raises her head.
"Mom, they're talking about Katniss in training." We both turn to the television and listen as the announcer says that they both seem to be average in everything, and that they're sticking with each other and never leaving the other's side. I don't know why that is...
"It's like when they held hands at the Opening Ceremonies," my mom says suddenly.
"What?" I ask, not seeing the connection.
"They're sticking together. Trying to make it look like they're a team, maybe they have even have agreed on an alliance in the arena," she explains.
"Oh," I say vaguely, understanding dawning. I guess it could work. Making it look like they're a team, presenting themselves as friends... No one has ever done that, and it will set them apart from the other tributes. And Katniss could definitely use an ally in the arena.
After my morning chores, I decide to visit Rory and try to forget my troubles for a bit. It would be wonderful to have a normal day. I wind my way through the Seam, expertly navigating through the labyrinth of houses. When I arrive at the Hawthorn's house, I knock on the door. Immediately, I hear a slight scuffling, and then Posy appears at the door, holding onto one of her feet and hopping on the other one.
"Prim! I stubbed my toe!" she says proudly. I can't help laughing at her excitement.
"Are you okay?" I ask, trying to disguise my laughter.
"Yep!" she says happily. I love how genuinely sweet and happy she is. I hope that she can keep her upbeat, optimistic nature, even when the Capital has taken people she loves from her, or done something else awful to her. I know that it will happen, because no one makes it far in Panem without becoming scarred. I wonder if I was like her, before I understood the Games. Before my dad had been killed in the mines. Before my sister had been sent into the Games.
I shake the dark thoughts off. I came here in the hopes of lightening my mood, and I plan to do just that. "Do you want to ask your mom if you can come out to the meadow with me? I was thinking that you and I could pick some flowers and maybe some dandelion leaves. Then when we got back our moms could make salad," I suggest. I had come to see Rory, because he's closer to my age, and a good friend of mine, but Posy is so sweet. I have a feeling she can really help me to feel better.
Posy's grin becomes a bit wider, somehow, and she runs off to ask her mother for permission. I hear her telling her mom, and then her mother tells her that she can go, if she promises that she'll listen to everything that I say and not whine at all. I smile.
Posy comes running back. "She said I can go!" she squeals.
"Oh good!" I say. She starts to race out the door, and I giggle. "Why don't you put some shoes on first?" I suggest. She races back into the house, and comes running back thirty seconds later with a small pair of lace-up sneakers.
"Can you help me?" she asks sweetly.
I sit down next to her on the ground, and watch her slip the shoe onto her foot. Then I take her hands in mine and show her how to tie a sturdy double bow. I have her redo them several times, until I'm sure that she knows how. I congratulate her, and then she ties the other shoe by herself.
As I lead Posy to the meadow, she chatters on about how excited she is to be going somewhere with me, and how happy she is that she got a new dress for the reaping a couple of days ago, and how amazing it is that I taught her to tie her shoes. She really is a bubbly little girl, and spending time with her makes me very happy. I'm grateful for her company. I smile, not saying anything because it's impossible to get a word in during her non-stop chatter.
"Thank you so much for taking me! Are we going to pick flowers and make crowns and bracelets and rings? Oh, please Prim, can we?" she begs.
"Absolutely! That's why I brought you with me, so that you can help! And once we're like princesses, we can pick some dandelion leaves. Wouldn't it be nice to have a salad for dinner?" I ask her.
"Yes!" she squeals happily. When the meadow is within sight, I let go of her hand and she goes bounding off into the tall grass. I jog after her, careful to never let her get out of my site. The grass is almost as tall as Posy is in some places, and it would make it difficult to find her again.
"Wait up, Posy!" I call to the four year old, laughing. Does her energy never run out? She's been talking nonstop since I saw her, and now she's running around like a lunatic, and I don't get the impression that she is going to stop any time soon. Oh, well. She must have a lot of pent up energy from staying in her house so much. I smile again, amazed that she can make me so much happier so easily. I didn't think it was possible.
I finally catch up with Posy, and then pull her into my lap, tickling her. She giggles happily, and then I start tickling her nose with a small dandelion that is just starting to turn white. Her face contorts for a second, and then she lets out an explosive sneeze. I giggle and dump her out of my lap.
"Want to start making crowns?" I suggest. She runs off again, picking all of the flowers within reach. I stand up and follow after her, picking the ones that she misses. When we have a large bouquet, we sit down and I show her how to make a hole in the stem of the dandelion and then thread another dandelion through it, doing it several times until she has a long string, and then I show her how to fasten the two ends together and make it into a crown.
"I dub thee Princess Posy, Queen of the Meadow of Dandelions," I say in my best noble voice, placing the crown on her head as I speak. She giggles happily, and then runs off again, obviously out of patience for sitting still. I start making myself a crown, looking up every five seconds or so to ensure that I can still see her. When she is about to go out of my sight, I call out.
"Posy! Come back! I need to you put a crown on my head so I can be a princess too!" she runs back, giggling madly. I hand her the now complete crown, and she looks at it skeptically. "It isn't round," she says, accusingly. I laugh at her tone.
"It's fine. See, I messed it up a little bit there, but it still works. Now dub me princess!" She does, placing the crown on my head.
"You're princess, king of dandelions," she says proudly. "I did it! Now you're a king!" I laugh, and then she seizes my hand and runs off, squealing about how she wants to show me something. I follow her dutifully, and she brings me to a small patch of flowers. They are small and yellow, but they aren't dandelions.
"What are they?" she demands. I smile.
"They're primroses. These are the flowers that I was named after." I pick one and decide to bring it home and put it in a vase in my bedroom. It will add a bit of liveliness to the dull room.
"Really?" She asks.
"Yep! Do you think that we can find any posies?" I ask. She nods excitedly, and we cover the entire meadow, looking for the flower that she was named after, but it doesn't turn up. She pouts unhappily.
"It's okay! I don't know if they grow this time of year. I can ask Katniss when she gets home." I try to think of a way to change the subject, not wanting to think of my sister, now far away in the Games. I don't want to worry about her. But I don't have time to think about Katniss for long. Posy is dragging my off towards another patch of dandelions before long.
I show Posy the large dandelion leaves, and explain that they make a wonderful salad. I show her how to suck the sweet milk from them, and how to stack them once they are picked so that she won't drop them. I love spending this time with her, it's like having a little sister. I've always wished for a little sister. Posy makes me feel so wonderful. She has always idolized me, and I have always tried to spend a little bit of extra time with her, whenever I go over to the Hawthorne's house to see Rory or Vick. I smile as Posy yanks on my arm again, dragging me over to another part of the meadow. She pulls me around for about an hour before she is finally tired out. We have probably been at the meadow for two hours or so.
Posy lays down, her head in my lap, and I make her another crown on dandelions, because she lost her first one. We have a sizable pile of dandelion leaves beside us, and soon Posy's breathing becomes slow and deep, and I know that she has fallen asleep. I smile to myself, and, leaving the pile of dandelions in the Meadow, pick her up and carry her back towards her house. I know that her mother with be delighted to have her asleep when she comes home, because it's usually a nightmare for someone trying to get her to sleep. I'm pleased that I have helped the Hawthornes, as a small beginning to repaying Gale for all of the meat that he has, and will, bring us.
When I arrive at the house, I knock on the door with my foot, because my arms are full. Gale comes to the door, ands when he sees Posy asleep he smiles, a small, sad smile. I don't quite know what is between Katniss and him, as I've never quite been able to decide if they are best friends, or if their relationship is more romantic. I shrug the thought off. It doesn't matter, Gale will be hurting without Katniss either way.
"Thanks for getting her to sleep. You work magic on Posy," Gale says gratefully.
I grin. "Really, it was great. It was nice being able to... keep my mind off of things for a few hours. She worked magic on me," I tell him honestly, passing the sleeping Posy into his arms. I swallow nervously before speaking again. "I really am sorry about spazzing out at the reaping. I know that I said that it was your fault that Katniss was going into the arena, and I'm really sorry. I know that the way I reacted to her volunteering wasn't great, and I feel really bad about hitting you."
"It's fine, Prim. But thanks for your concern," he brushes off my apology like it's nothing. I like Gale. He can be a little abrupt and short tempered when you first meet him, but he really is good at heart. And even if he wasn't nice to me, Katniss likes him. And that's good enough for me. I smile at him.
"Psoy and I picked some dandelion leaves. Do you want me to bring you some of them? Think of it as payback for bringing my mother and me meat," I add, when I see the doubt cross his face.
"Really, Prim, it's not a big deal. You keep them," he tells me. I'm about to accept his answer, knowing that he won't change his mind, but then I remember telling Posy that she could have salad for dinner earlier in the day.
"I promised Posy that she would be able to have some. Surely you can at least take a few?" I ask, knowing that he won't deny Posy a treat.
"Oh, all right. But only enough for one meal!" he says in an almost threatening, yet good natured, tone. I nod, and hurry off to the meadow to grab the dandelions that Posy and I harvested.
Once I have dropped off the dandelions at the Hawthorne's house and have given the ones that I kept to my mother, I go out of the house, and spend some time with Lady, not milking her, just siting next to her and absentmindedly stroking her cheek with a finger. She bites at my finger, and I yank it away. I know that she is a nice animal, but I also learned from experience that goats will eat anything, even if it is attached to their owner. Once, I had a nasty bite on my side that my mother almost had to stitch. Ever since then, I have been careful around the over affectionate goat.
After spending a bit of time with Lady, I go inside to see if I can find Buttercup. Sometimes he disappears from the house for hours on end, but I can frequently find him curled up in a ball in front of the only window in my house, soaking up the sunshine. Today is not an exception. I sit down beside him and stroke his fur, relishing the feel of the heated fuzz against my hand.
After I finish spending time with Buttercup, I watch an update on Katniss's training, and then eat a wonderful dinner of dandelion leaves and a squirrel that my mother prepared. Then I go to bed, feeling refreshed and happier than I have in a long time. Considering the circumstances, I have had a fantastic day.
A/N: I adore writing Posy. :) I hope that she seemed in character and like she really was four years old. Please review and let me know! :)
Also, I'd be awesome if you could check out a song that I kind of consider to be Prim's theme song. It's The Cave, by Mumford and Sons. :)