A/N: So sorry this took me so long to get out, I told a few people who wanted a preview I would have this out by Friday- whoops. All I can say by way of apology is that I have three young children who don't know the meaning of quiet time. Thank you for being so patient with me.
This was actually supposed to be part of the last chapter, but as you can see that would have been ginormously long.
Please enjoy the next chapter.
...
Effie turns to the open train door and beckons us inside, telling us we must stay on schedule.
Peeta takes my hand again, but I pointedly look anywhere but at him. The main car we are in appears to be a dinning and sitting room. The table is a long, rich dark wood, with colorful flower center pieces. The carpet feels so soft beneath my feet, like I could get lost in it. There are fluffy looking chairs, with silky fabric the color of Prim's pink cheeks on a cold day. This car is beautiful, and entirely upsetting, perhaps the Capital wishes to make our last days more pleasant; highly doubtful.
Effie excitedly claps her hands, successfully bringing me out of my inquisitive glare around the room. "Come along, darlings! Let me show you to your rooms, I'm sure you'll want to freshen up for dinner." Effie comments, barely holding back her look of contempt at our clothes. I let the comment slide, I have more important things to be upset over, than Effie's ignorant opinions on how we should dress in District Twelve.
She takes us down a narrow hallway, by any means no less extravagant than the car we were just in. She stops at the first door on the right and pushes it open. "Here you are, Peeta dear. I'll collect you for dinner." She says smiling brightly. Peeta squeezes my hand and then disappears into the empty room.
"Right this way dear, your room is right next to mine. It'll be so nice to have girl talk, don't you think?" She asks with such a hopeful tone, I almost feel bad for thinking ill of her. Almost.
"Sounds wonderful Effie, perhaps we can braid each other's hair and gossip about the help."
"Oh that does sound nice!" Effie squeals. I try not to flinch at the high pitch tone of her voice. "Here we are, there is a marvelous bathroom to the right, if you feel like showering. There are clothes in the closet, and with your cute little body, I'm sure everything will fit perfectly." I have a snarky retort on the tip of my tongue, I'm not thin by choice, if I had the means I wouldn't mind stuffing my face all day. But I simply nod and enter the room.
The room is impressive, for this being a room on a train the size is unbelievable, it must be bigger than our kitchen at home! And the bed! My mother, Prim, myself and that mangy cat could all fit in this bed comfortably.
I decide to forgo the shower, and wait until morning. But as pretty as my mothers dress is, it's not the most comfortable thing I've worn. I open the closet and pull out the first shirt I find, it's a burnt orange- almost like the sunset, and Peeta's favorite color- flowy tank top; the pants are dark brown and fitted well in the legs. After dressing I decide it's time to talk to Peeta, not that there's anything I can do about it now, but I'm going to tell him just how stupid he is.
I walk quickly to his room and knock, I hear him shuffle around before he opens the door. He has changed too, his shirt is a more casual black t-shirt, and he has dark jeans. I try to glare at him as hard as I can. His eyes widen, and his Adam's apple bobs as he swallows. "Hey, K-Katniss."
I breeze passed him and sit on the edge of his bed. "We need to talk," I say shortly. I see Peeta nod and shuffle to the bed, he slowly lowers himself next to me.
"Alright," he says awkwardly.
"Just what the hell were you thinking today?!" I shout at him, standing up and beginning to pace the room.
"I was thinking I was saving that kid, and that I might be able to help my friend!" He says loudly from the bed.
"I didn't ask you to help me Peeta! You should have stayed home, your brothers need you."
Peeta stands and crosses over to me, putting his hand on my shoulder stilling my movement. "You know they don't Katniss, they never needed me; and once I'm of age, I have no place there." He says looking at me, with an unreadable expression.
"All the more reason to stay, you could court Delly, and take over her parents shop. You're throwing your life away, Peeta, don't you see that?" I argue once more.
"Again with the trying to marry me off? I'm beginning to think you don't like spending time with me." Peeta says with a goofy smile.
"Stop joking," I scold, trying to hold back my own smile. "You know we aren't going home right? Twelve never wins, and a multiple Victor crowing hasn't happened in forty years." I say seriously, it really was hard to argue with Peeta, in the same way it's hard to scold a puppy. It's just isn't done easily.
"Well, then I say it's time for a change."
"I wish I had your confidence," I say with a laugh.
"No reason why you can't, with your hunting skills, and my bread making skills, I'd says were a force to be reckoned with. If there's a bow and a kitchen, everyone better watch out." Damn him always being so funny.
"What the heck would I do without you?" I say smiling at him.
"Probably frown a lot more," he says thoughtfully.
"Knock, knock! Dinner is about to be served!" Effie's chipper voice trickled through the closed door.
We walk down the long hallway a few minutes later, Peeta a few paces behind me. Effie's hushed voice stops me, I peek around the corner; Effie sits at the table, a clear rectangular piece of plastic in her hands. There's a projected image of what looks like a talking bird coming from the rectangle. The person has flowing red feathered hair, the eyelashes impossibly long and full, they flutter with the slightest moment. Below the piercing green eyes lies a beak; it looks to have been surgically added to the face, I can see the persons real lips and nose inside when they open the beak. By the tone of voice I can assume it's a woman. "Oh my dear, you must tell me more!" The bird lady tweets, her voice is almost musical.
Effie giggles, "You know I can't tell you everything, Polly, you'll have to wait for the recap this evening. I will tell you that my Tributes will move you to tears." She says, her voice cracking just a bit, I almost believe she cares.
"Perhaps you'll have Victors this year?"
"Oh, I have almost absolutely no doubt about that. Just," she sighs dramatically, "watch the recap, they were splendid." She finishes clutching her chest.
I take Peeta's hand and enter the dinning cart, cutting off Polly's reply.
"I've got to go dear, my Tributes are here for dinner."
"Oh! Show them to me! Show them-"
"Good bye darling!" Effie says disconnecting the conversation. She puts the piece of plastic down and smiles at us. "Sorry about that dearies, Polly has always been one for gossip." I suppress the laugh that tries to bubble up with a cough; knowing that Effie agreed to gossip about the help not more than an hour ago. "Oh dear, are you alright?" Effie asks patting me on the back, I risk a glance at Peeta, he just looks confused. Which makes me cough harder. "Here, have some water." Effie says shoving a glass of water in my hand. I stifle my coughing and gulp the water down.
"Where's Haymitch?" Peeta asks taking Effie's attention off me.
"Probably getting drunk in his room." She says waving her hand in the general direction of his room.
"He does do that a lot," I say wit a frown.
"Never mind him, dear, look at this scrumptious food." She says pointing to the table. There is quite the feast laid out. I recognize the chicken, but there are meats I have never seen, something that looks like a turkey but has six large drumsticks, instead of two; a large platter of fruits of every color imaginable.
"You must taste this, it's divine." Effie says dreamily, scooping a spoonful of white foam onto my plate. I dip my spoon in and take a small bite, the second it touches my tongue it begins to cool and solidify, changing from a creamy flavor to a rich chocolate. My eyes widen in surprise. "It's a new ice cream, they just released it; we are some of the first to try it. Isn't it wonderful?" Effie asks excitedly.
I turn to Peeta and give him some, his reaction is comical. His eyes widen and then close to savor the flavor.
After that dinner is a blur of food, I can't seem to get enough into my belly fast enough. Peeta looks like he's having the same problem.
It was after my third helping of that strange ice cream that I realize I've made a mistake. I have never eaten so much before in my life, or such rich foods that I'm afraid it might make a reappearance. Peeta doesn't seem to be doing any better. His hands are on his belly and his face is pale with a light sheen of sweat.
"Well," Effie starts, she pauses to dab her mouth and then gently places the cloth napkin on her empty plate. "if you're through, let us retire to the sitting room and watch the recaps of the reapings."
Peeta and I slowly make our way behind Effie, carefully not to move to quickly, so as not to disturb our stomachs. Effie sits elegantly in a small puffy chair and gestures to a love seat for Peeta and I to sit on.
The television flickers on and I immediately zone out, I can only take so much of Effie droning on and on about the style and the poor people of the Districts who don't get the proper hair care.
The only two Tributes who stand out from the haze I've put myself in are the brute of a boy from District Two, he got into a scrap with a few other boys trying to make his way to the stage. So eager to win. So eager to kill.
A small little girl from District Eleven is called, I don't hear her name; I'm too lost in her small face, her dark eyes so much like Prim's, large and innocent. She keeps her chin up, unwavering in the midst of the chaos of the crowd. I know she must be very young, barely twelve I'd say. A smaller version of her tries to reach the stage but is roughly grabbed by a Peacekeer before the feed is cut.
Finally, District Twelve is shown. I can see Effie calling Prim, and the absolute terror on my face as I push her behind me and volunteer. Gale pulls her away and I'm proud of how quickly I school my features.
Next they show Peeta volunteering, the boy's mother thanking him. Peeta looks so strong and brave and completely extraordinary in comparison to myself, I see the brave face I've put on, but my eyes look like a wild animal in a cage. I'm counting on the other Tributes to not pick up on that.
"My, my, what a wonderful display." A female commentator starts, her purple sparkly skin glitters in the light. "Have you ever seen such a thing?" She asks turning to Claudius Templesmith.
"Indeed I have not, Farrah, in all my years of hosting the recaps have I ever seen such a heartfelt volunteering, at least not by those in the higher numbered Districts. Did you see the determination in her eyes, she will be a force to be reckoned with." He says with such awe it makes me want to vomit. I had only been thinking about keeping Prim safe.
"Oh and her District partner," She says with a swoonful sigh. I look at Peeta and snicker, his face is beet red. "the way he volunteered for that boy. And look how handsome he is!" She says with another sigh.
"Quite right, Farrah, let's see what the people have to say."
At this point the compartment door skids open and Haymitch steps through, he gives us a sloshed looking grin, grabs a bottle of clear liquid grins at us and leaves.
Effie makes an undignified noise in her throat, drawing our attention to her. "That man better shape up, your lives are in his hands." She says through clenched teeth, but her tone is still pleasant; this is a change of pace, I haven't seen her be anything less than overly happy; like a small dog dancing around our feet begging to be pet. She even ate a grape with a knife a fork! "Oh he just makes me so mad!" She takes a deep breath and looks at us, a large smile plastered on her reddening face. "I'm sorry children, that was improper of me. I will have a talk with your mentor in the morning. If you'll excuse me, I'm going to retire to my room. Good evening," she nods at both of us in turn, and leaves the sitting room.
"That was weird," I say to the quiet room.
Peeta nods, "Yeah," he agrees absently. "I didn't think she had an emotional range like that." He says cracking a smile.
I smile back and stand to my feet, unsure of what to do; I'm not really tired, but I don't think I can listen to one more word these Capital people have to say about me. "I think I'm going to head to bed," I say lamely, gesturing to where Haymitch and Effie made their exits.
"I'm going to stay up a bit, I'm too wound up."
"Ok, goodnight," I say, I squeeze his shoulder as I walk around the love seat.
I pass a young man resetting the table for breakfast, he nods in greeting to me before going back to his work. I make it to my room and slide into the bed, not bothering to remove any of my clothes.
I can feel the burning prickle behind my eyes, but I will the tears to stop. If I start now there's no telling when I may stop. I can't help but think back to my mother and Prim this afternoon. My mother looked so downtrodden when I snapped at her, she has been trying with me; and I do nothing but push her away, the only thing that eases the ache in my chest is knowing that I got I got to tell her I loved her.
And Prim, my sweet Prim. She has so much faith in me coming home. I can't help but feel as thought I lied to her when I said I would try and come home. I'll try, there's no doubt about that, but there's sure to be larger, stronger, more blood thirsty Tributes that I'll be stuck with; tributes who have no qualms about killing to get closer to home.
And Gale, his talk really helped. There are no rules saying we have to kill, the Gamemakers will give us plenty opportunities to die; I'll defend myself if needed, but I don't have to be a killer. His kissing my forehead brings me up short, he's dropped hints here and there of him having deeper feelings for me; I've never encouraged him, but I've never known how to tell him things aren't going to happen. He knows how I feel about marriage. And even though he never got to finish his sentence, I have a pretty good idea of what he was going to say.
I let out a huff of air and roll on my back, why did things have to be so complicated? We have a good thing going, I watch his back and he watches mine. His family is my family, and vice versa. I can't bare the thought of him expecting things from me if I were to return home. I could never be more than his friend.
...
Sleep must have claimed me at some point, the room is now bright and there are shadows moving on my wall from the passing trees. I get up and shed my clothes from last night and step into the shower. There are so many buttons, I push one and a gel that smells like lavender falls in my hands, I rub it in my hair and rinse it off. After testing a few more buttons I find a conditioner of the same scent and coat my hair with it. I rinse everything off and step out of the shower, wrapping myself in a large fluffy towel and wonder back to the room.
There's a silky forest green dress hanging up on my door that wasn't there when I woke up. I put on a matching pair of undergarments and slip the dress on and step in front of the mirror attached to the closet. Effie was right, it fits perfectly, the neckline is simple, a straight line held up by thick straps, the dress is loose but fitting on my waist and hips, the hem hits at my knees. There's a thin belt that is attached to the dress just under my chest, adding to the illusion of curves. I take the pin Madge gave me from my mothers dress that was crumpled on the floor and attach it to the dress, just under my collar bone. I don't bother doing anything to my hair and walk into the dinning car.
Effie spots me immediately and leaps gracefully to her feet. "Oh, no, no, no. You can't just leave your hair looking like limp noodles. I see have to show you how to care for your hair." She grabs my elbow. I shoot a panicked look to Peeta who seems to be obliviously dunking a roll in a dark liquid, Haymitch is too busy stirring his coffee to care.
Effie drags me back to my room and to the bathroom. She points to a small metal plate, "Put your hand on that dear." I obey and a small tingling climbs up my arm, all the way to my scalp. She removes my hand and pushes me to the mirror. My hair has been dried and is now straight, and free of knots. She steps behind me and weaves a single braid in my hair and let's it rest over my shoulder.
The only thing stranger than having Effie Trinket gently braiding my hair, is the fact that it's my usual hairstyle. I look at her in question in the mirror. She shrugs.
"I thought it would suit you,"
"Thank you," I say, my voice cracking. Effie has been confusing me since the moment I met her. I've seen her almost giddy over the prospect of children volunteering to face almost certain death, get excited over the idea of girl talk, bragging about us to that bird lady, get visibly angry over Haymitch's drinking, and now her braiding my hair; treating such a mundane task with such reverence... I don't even know what to make of this woman anymore.
"Come along dear, we don't want to miss breakfast. After all, we have a big, big day ahead of us!" She smiles kindly at me and slips out of the bathroom.
I trail behind her and sit next to Peeta, he smiles brightly and pushes over a mug of the same drink he had. "It's called hot chocolate. Try it, it's delicious!"
"Thank you," I reply and take a sip. It's unlike anything I've ever tasted;it's creamy, and deliciously chocolatey. I have tried coffee before, once before my father died. It was bitter and tasted burnt.
"Dunk this in it," Peeta says handing me a piece of buttered toast. I do as he suggests, and it's heavenly.
"Your babysitter informs me that I need to give you advice," Haymitch says, not taking his eyes off the flask of liquor he's adding to his coffee.
"What can you tell us?" Peeta asks sitting up straighter, looking like an eager child.
"Yeah," he starts, smirking at him, and winking at me. "Hide somewhere and just wait for everyone else to die!" He finishes, laughing maniacally.
Peeta regards him for a moment before he snatches the flask out of his hand and throws it behind him. Haymitch stares at him, before something flashes in his eyes and he hits Peeta in the face, sending him tumbling out of his chair. I don't know how it happened, but I suddenly have Haymitch pinned to the wall with my forearm against his neck.
"Katniss! That dress is silk! You'll wrinkle it before we get to the station!" Effie shrieks, I ignore her.
Haymitch looks very calm for having a crazy girl just attack him. His gaze turns calculating, and he puts his hands on my shoulders and firmly pushes me away, but not hard enough to knock me over.
"Well, well, do I actual have a pair fighters this year? You do look a bit scrappy," He remarks with a smirk. I look at him a second longer, and see his smirk widen; the stupid drunk provoked me on purpose. He winks and takes his seat again. I step back to Peeta and give him a hand up. "Take a seat Sweetheart," Haymitch orders.
I sit next to Peeta and take his hand under the table, Peeta doesn't know Haymitch did what he did on purpose. All Peeta has know is pain from adults; his mother laying hands on him and his father turning a blind eye, all of the gossip of the town and no one stepping in. I'll have to tell him that Haymitch didn't mean it.
"Well? What is it we can do? You've done this before." Peeta asks, almost pleadingly.
Haymitch puts up a finger to silence Peeta. "Listen, Wonderboy, we'll be arriving soon; we don't have time to talk. As soon as we get to the station the cameras are going to gobble you up. Look like you don't give a shit, you'll be given to your stylists. Let them do whatever they want," I open my mouth to argue. "Whatever they want, I don't care if they want to tar and feather you, keep your mouth shut. Got it? Good, another thing; if you leave me alone about my drinking, I'll keep a clear enough head to help you. Deal?" Peeta and I nod, not sure what else to say. Haymitch nods in acceptance. "We'll talk more after dinner." He says setting his napkin down and exiting the dinning car.
As soon as he leaves the car is engulfed in darkness, Peeta rushes to the window just as the sun blinds us.
I can see the skyline of the Capital from my seat at the table, tall oddly shaped buildings with bright colorful rooftops that look like candy, the whole city is shiny, almost blindingly so.
"I can see the station, oh man, that's a lot of people." Peeta says exhaling loudly. It feels like a second later the train is coming to a stop.
I can see flashes from cameras as Peeta smiles and waves from the window. "Come here, this is crazy!" Peeta says almost excitedly.
I walk over and stand by his side, the people are so done up they're frightening. Unnatural skin tones abound, more people resembling animals; one woman has a fishbowl on her head with live gold fish swimming inside. They come as close as they can to the train and frantically wave at us, some of them brandishing small cameras. Many of them had probably been waiting for hours to get a peek at the next Tributes. It's disgusting.
"C'mon, Katniss, smile and wave. Someone out there might have a lot of money." He says smiling innocently at me.
It's at that moment that I understand that Peeta might play a bigger role in our survival than I thought.
...
A/N: Anyone have any thoughts on my take on Effie? I love the original Effie, but I always felt she was too shallow, I want to balance her out just a bit; after all, she has to bring children to the Capital and parade them around and watch them die, I think she's more real this way. And I think under all of that pep any real and sane person would be sad or angry having to watch kids that they helped train die, so that's where I'm going with her.
I love how stupid Katniss is when it comes to Peeta, but at least she knows she's a sucker for his pouty blue eyes.
I'm woman enough to admit I giggled a bit too much when I named the bird lady Polly. Hehe there I go again. So mature.
I hope Peeta doesn't come off as a wuss- believe me, my Peeta is gonna be a badass.
I love Haymitch, I hope I can do his snarkiness justice. /div
Thanks for reading, shoot me a review, if you want a preview mention it in your review and I'll send you one before I post a new chapter./div