The next day I spend most of the day just trying to not think about the wedding. I know that Kantiss must be beside herself with the arrival of these dresses. It is just another reminder that we are controlled President Snow and the future he has promised the people of Panem, mainly the people of the Capitol.
I hear the doorbell along with a loud knock on the door around midday. I am surprised, Haymitch should still be passed out, Katniss is probably sulking or at least taking food around to her old friends from Hob, my family, when they do visit, knock lightly and then walk right in. Who could it be? Before I can get to the door there is another loud, impatient rap. Defiantly bad news.
I open the door to a pair of Peacekeepers, one man, one woman. They are a pair I have never seen before. The woman looks at me and asks, "Mr. Mellark, have you seen Ms. Everdeen today?" They are looking for Katniss? I just shake my head. "Do you think you could escort us to find Mr. Abernathy and Ms. Everdeen?" she asks. I have a feeling I really do not have a choice in the matter. I nod.
"Just let me grab my shoes and jacket." I step into the boots I keep by the door and grab my jacket from the hook. They go down the steps and wait for me a few feet away. I close my door and make my way down the steps, they are still a little icy. "Are we going to Kantiss's house or Haymtich's first?" I ask.
"Mr. Abernathy," she answers. She is the mouth peace. He seems a bit skiddish, but determined. I nod and follow them down the short walk to Haymitch's house.
"I'm sure he is still asleep, but I will try my best to wake him," I say.
They let me ring the doorbell and Hazelle answers it. She smiles when she sees me, but her eyes grow hard when she sees the Peacekeepers.
"Peeta….." she begins.
"We are here to see Mr. Anbernathy," the woman cuts her off behind me.
"Of course," she says. "He is asleep at the kitchen table," Hazelle answers, stepping back to let us in.
"Thank you," I say, giving her a very small smile. We walk the short distance to the kitchen and I cannot help but notice how nice the house looks. Hazelle is amazing. Too bad I cannot be happy about much of anything at the moment. When we turn the corner I see the knife in Haymitch's hand, but luckily Hazelle seems to have already picked up the white liquor bottle I'm sure he had in his other hand and tucked it away some place safe. I kneel down and begin prying the knife out of his hand.
"What are you doing?" the woman asks me, impatiently. I look up at her and raise Haymitch's hand to give her the answer.
"If you want him to cut either of you with this knife when we try to wake him, I can leave it there, but I know I really do not feel like having a new cut right now," I explain, matching her impatient tone. She narrows her eyes, but says nothing as I finally get the knife out of this grip. I glance up at the man and he seems to be in awe, like he cannot believe his is where he is at the moment. Perhaps he is a Peacekeeper that comes from the Capitol itself, one of those few that cannot pay off their loans, so now he is serving as a Peacekeeper? I know they do that for some of their citizens, a great way to pay back debts. I shove Haymitch in the shoulder. He grunts. I shove a bit harder. A bit of mumbling.
"Haymitch," I say, loudly, shoving him almost off the chair. He jumps up, brandishing his hand that seconds earlier held the knife. He almost hits the woman with that hand and I give her a knowing look.
"What the….," Haymitch starts. He gains his ground and takes in his surroundings. He relaxes a bit when he looks at me, but narrows his eyes when he finally notices the Peacekeepers. "What do you want? Who let you in my house?" he barks at them. Clearly he is not liking them in his house without him saying so first. The man just stares at him, but the woman gives him a look of pure loathing.
"I did," I say quickly. "They are looking for Katniss." He looks into my eyes and we both are thinking along the same lines. She is in some serious trouble.
"Why would you be looking for her here? I haven't seen her in days, or maybe yesterday…..," Haymitch spits at them. "Who gives you he right to wake me up to ask me anything, anyway?"
The woman really does not like that, she straightens up and looks Haymitch in the eye. "Head Peacekeeper Thread. Mrs. Everdeen seems to think she is above the rules, as do you, Mr. Abernathy. We were sent to make sure she gets the message."
"Ok, then, Mrs. Peacekeeper. Let me spell it out for you. Why. Are. You. At. My. House. To. Find. Her?" he asks, like he is speaking to an extremely slow thinking person. I cannot believe he would openly go at her like this, but then, he really does not take to authority, at all. You can tell that the woman is trying very hard to keep her cool.
"Please, Mr. Abernathy, come with us while we pay a visit to Ms. Everdeen's house," she says, her voice full of authority. I can tell Haymitch has a few things he would love to tell her about coming with them to Katniss's house, but he just shakes his head and lets a smile spread across his face and says, "Well, I guess I can make time in my busy schedule to pay a visit to the Everdeens. Of course, I need a few minutes to get myself ready."
The two peacekeepers nod and Haymitch leaves the room and heads up the stairs. We hear him knocking things around, probably getting some white liquor in a flask so he can sneak his drinking during the day. I know it will be a long one if Katniss is not home. I wonder why they need Haymitch and I around when they speak to her. Are they finally going to arrest her? Do they think we will try stop them and that way they can finally arrest us all?
It takes Haymitch almost thirty minutes to get ready to go. I know from expierence that it never takes him that long, so he is defiantly messing with the Peacekeepers. He trudges down the stairs and tells Hezelle goodbye. I also wave at her. She looks worried as we all file out of the backdoor.
We walk the short walk to Katniss's house. Instead of heading for the backdoor like Haymitch and I normally do, we walk around to the front. I hesitate at the door, unsure if I should ring the bell. Haymitch just shoves past us all, muttering about being cold and impatiently rings the bell. It only takes a few moments for Mrs. Everdeen to answer the door. She takes in the people on the step quickly and invites us in. The fear is not hidden well in her eyes. She knows something is up.
She ignores Haymitch and I and asks the Peacekeepers, "How may I help you?" She is clearly hoping that they need her healing hands for something.
"Is Ms. Everdeen here?" the woman asks.
"Prim or Katniss?" she asks, knowing the answer.
"Katniss," she clarifies.
"No, she is out right now. She has been taking some food to a few families in the seam," she answers, but it is clear to me that she thinks Katniss is in the woods hunting.
"We have orders to wait until Ms. Everdeen comes back. We have a message for her," the woman says.
"I can pass one along," Mrs. Everdeen says.
"No, we have strict orders to give the message to her when she returns home today," the woman counters.
"Well, I guess you should come in out of the cold," she says, moving to the side.
"Why, exactly, do I have to be here? Or Peeta for that matter?" Haymitch snaps.
"Orders," the woman replies, going into the house. Haymitch and I sigh, almost in unison, and follow them inside. This is going to be a long day.
The Peacekeepers stay, standing in the doorway to the kitchen, that way when the door opens the first thing anyone sees are them. They do not take anything from Katniss's mother, not food, no drink, not even chairs to rest. Prim comes home after school and they ask her if they have seen Kantiss. She tells them no, but you can tell she wants to say yes. Haymitch and I begin a game of chess that takes hours because neither of us are really concentrating on the game. I am so worried about what could be so important that Thread is willing to make two Peacekeepers wait around in a house all day long. Isn't there lawbreakers that need to be punished or people to intimidate? What if she comes home with her usual haul of game? Will they really kill her with a firing squad? Did she give up and decide to run without telling us? Did she take Gale? How far could they have gotten in the hours she has been gone if they did run?
All these questions are running through my head when we finally hear the door open and a stiff, "Hello." Katniss is finally home.
"Here she is, just in time for dinner," Katniss's mother says, even though we normally eat dinner hours ago.
"Can I help you with something?" Katniss asks. Haymitch and I just stay where we are, acting like their presence is nothing to us.
"Head Peacekeeper Thread sent us with a message for you," the woman says.
"They've been waiting for hours."
"Must be an important message."
"May we ask you where you've been, Ms. Everdeen?" the woman asks, narrowing her eyes.
As Katniss walks into the kitchen she says, "Easier to ask where I haven't been." I notice a very small limp in her walk and know she is hiding pain. She tosses her hunting bag down on the table and turns and sees Haymitch, Prim and I by the fire.
"So where haven't you been?" Haymitch asks, his voice sounds bored and he takes this moment to capture one of my pawns.
"Well, I haven't been talking to the Goat Man about getting Prim's goat pregnant, because someone gave me completely inaccurate information as to where he lives," Katniss says, exasperated. She is looking at Prim.
"No, I didn't," Prim says, "I told you exactly."
"You said he lives beside the west entrance to the mine." Katniss is doing really well at acting like she has just had a regular day out.
"The east entrance," Prim says.
"You distinctly said the west, because then I said 'Next to the slag heap?' and you said, 'Yeah,'" Katniss argues.
"The slag heap next to the east entrance," Prim says, patiently shaking her head.
"No. When did you say that?" Katniss asks.
"Last night," Haymitch offers. I figure I should probably pitch in too.
"It was definitely the east," I says. I look at Haymitch and we laugh. I look at Katniss, who is glaring at me and say, "I'm sorry, but it's what I've been saying. You don't listen when people talk to you." I smile because Katniss hears everything she is told, she just doesn't always do what she is told.
"Bet people told you he didn't live there today and you didn't listen again," Haymitch says with another laugh.
"Shut up, Haymitch," Katniss says, playing along. Haymitch and I laugh. Prim allows herself a small smile, but you can tell she is still too worried.
"Fine. Somebody else can arrange to get the stupid goat knocked up," Katniss huffs. That just makes us laugh harder. She looks back at the Peacekeepers. I glance at them too and see the man is smiling at our banter, but the woman has not changed her look. Her eyes are still narrowed and you can tell she does not believe anything that has been said.
"What's in the bag?" she asks. Here we go. If there is anything that Kantiss obviously got from the woods there is going to be trouble. Game or plants that grow wild. My heart is beating so hard in my chest that I swear everyone could hear it. But Katniss is undisturbed and dumps the bag onto the table.
"See for yourself." I get up and come up behind her.
"Oh, good," her mother says, taking cloth into her hands, "We're running low on bandages." I open the candy bag and say, "Ooh, peppermints." I pop one in my mouth as Katniss tried to grab it from me. I toss it to Haymitch, who takes a handful and stuffs it into his mouth as he passes the bag to Prim, who is openly giggling.
"None of you deserve candy!" Kantiss says.
"What," I say, wrapping my arms around her, since to the new Peacekeepers we are still supposed to be deliriously in love. "Because we're right?" She softly gives a cry of pain as my arms reach her lower back. I thought she was hurt. Her foot and her back. She is able to turn the sound into a sound of annoyance. "Okay, Prim said west. I distinctly heard west. And we're all idiots. How's that?"
"Better," she says and I give her a small kiss. She looks back at the Peacekeepers and says, "You have a message for me?"
"From Head Peacekeeper Thread," the woman says. Finally we can find out what this all important message is. "He wanted you to know that the fence surrounding District 12 will now have electricity 24 hours a day." That's it? I want to laugh."
"Didn't it already?" Katniss asks. I want to laugh at her innocent face and voice. Everyone in this town knows we only get power for a few hours at night.
"He thought you might be interested in passing this information on to your cousin," she adds.
"Thank you," Katniss says. "I'll tell him. I'm sure we'll all sleep a little more soundly now that security has addressed that lapse." What? What is she doing? Does she want to get into trouble?
The woman look like she could spit nails, but she just gives Katniss a nod and quickly leaves, the man following silently behind. As soon as the door is locked Katniss slumps against the kitchen table.
"What is it?" I ask, worried about what she could have done to herself this time.
"Oh, I banged up my left foot. The heel. And my tailbone's had a bad day, too," she answers. I help her get over to the closest rocking chair and she sits down carefully. Her mother carefully takes off the boot. "What happened?" she asks.
"I slipped and fell," she says. We look at her, disbelieving. Katniss does not slip and fall. "On some ice," she adds. Of course, the house is probably bugged, so she cannot really tell us what happened here. Her mother takes off her sock and lightly pushes against her heel. Katniss tries to not make a sound, but the pain is clear on her face.
"There might be a break," her mother determines. Her other foot is fine, but her tailbone is bruised. Prim goes and gets her pajamas and robe and her mother goes to help her get dressed. While they are doing that Haymitch and I go outside to get some snow to put on her foot.
"What do you think?" I whisper.
"She was probably in the woods, but had to get crafty after she realized the fence was on," he whispers back. "Knowing her she probably dropped out of a tree, since she is hurt. That or rolled under it somehow." I roll my eyes, but he is probably right. We head back inside and see Katniss is back in her chair. I go sit next to her and watch as her mother prepares the snow pack and applies it to the injured heel. I want to ask her how she is feeling, what she was thinking, but I know I can't. Prim sits of Katniss's other side and we all suck on peppermints while Katniss plays with Prim's hair and they talk about school.
"Are you going to try on your wedding dresses?" Prim asks. You can tell she is excited to look at the pretty dresses, even though she must know this is against Katniss's real wishes.
"Not tonight. Tomorrow probably," Katniss says. Her voice does not have any malice to it, but no excitement either.
"Wait until I get home, okay?" Prim asks.
"Sure," Katniss answers. Her mother brings her a cup of tea that she dosed with sleep syrup. Katniss begins to show the effects to the syrup immediately. I cannot help but think of the time she tricked me into taking sleep syrup in the Games. I smile a bit at the memory. Her foot gets wrapped up and I offer to get her up to bed. She walks with me for a few moments, but I can tell the combination of the syrup and pain in her foot is taking the toll on her. I just pick her up and carry her up the stairs. She lays her head on my shoulder and I sigh. I love moments like this. I tuck her into bed.
"Goodnight Katniss," I say, turning to leave. She grabs my hand and pulls me back.
"Don't go yet. Not until I fall asleep," she says, groggy from the syrup. I resist the urge to climb into bed and let her rest her head on my shoulder, instead I just sit on the side of her bed, holding her hand in both of mine.
"Almost thought you'd changed your mind today," I say. "When you were late for dinner." She nods, knowing what I meant.
"No, I'd have told you," she says. I believe her, sleep syrup has a way of getting you to tell the truth. My mother used to come in after us getting a dose and ask us questions of missing bread, where our father got a certain item, how much he paid for it. It's amazing what you say about things when you cannot think clearly. She pulls my hand up to her face, resting her cheek on the back of my hand. I can see her getting pulled under. She seems like she wants to tell me something, but instead she says one more thing before closing her eyes, "Stay with me."
I lean down and whisper back, "Always."