Welcome to the seventeenth chapter of the Untold Hunger Games.
It's finally time for Peeta's interview in my favourite addition to the story: The Sunrise Promise.
Now without further ado let's begin Chapter Seventeen of the Untold Hunger Games.
"Let's see if he wears flames as well, please welcome… Peeta Mellark!" Peeta smiled at me before stepping down the stairs to be greeted by the cheers of the crowd. He was soaking in the applause waving at the crowd with his most handsome smile.
"Peeta, welcome." Caesar said engulfing his hand for a delicate handshake, "How are you finding the Capitol?" Caesar asked, seating himself at the same time as Peeta. "And don't say with a map." I rolled my eyes at Caesar's lame joke, especially with the reaction of laughter from the Capitol. These people were blind to good jokes.
"It's… ah… it's different. It's quite different from back home." Peeta explained, rubbing the back of his neck at the question.
"Different? In what way?" Caesar asked, leaning a bit closer to Peeta's seat, "Give us an example."
"Okay." Peeta looked distant as he thought about the question, "Well the… windows are interesting." Peeta said and everyone in the audience laughed, even the tributes around him. Peeta was naturally that funny.
"The windows?" Caesar looked at him as if he was about to laugh himself.
"Yeah, I've never had a window that talks before." Peeta explained, "Also the fact that you can actually smell the outside air makes me a little uneasy."
"Are you afraid of our windows?" Caesar asked with a playful tone
"Wouldn't you be? I swear that bear in my window was about to attack." Peeta's facial expression had a serious look on it, but the audience was laughing away at his little joke.
"A bear, oh my." Caesar exclaimed in surprise, though it was obvious he was acting afraid, "What else is different?"
"The showers. I've never seen that many types of soap before." He leaned closer to Caesar, "Do… Do I smell like roses?"
"Roses" Caesar looked confused but leaned in and sniffed Peeta's shoulder. The audience was loving every minute of this, though I did think it was a bit much, but the Capitol did have a weird sense of humor. Caesar's look of surprise made the crowd laugh even more, "Do I…? Do I smell like… roses too?" Caesar asked, and Peeta bent down to take a sniff of Caesar. The crowd appeared to be dying of laughter.
"Mmm." Peeta took another sniff, "More like lilacs," Peeta mused and then chuckled, "You definitely smell better than I do."
The crowd was splitting at the seams with deafening laughter just as Caesar chuckled, "Well I've lived here longer."
"That makes sense." Peeta agreed, sitting back in his chair and folding his right leg over his left at the same as Caesar. It was as if they had planned it. Caesar and Peeta laughed, and then as if cued by someone, Peeta's hand drifted to his locket, and he began to fumble with it.
Caesar was about to ask another question but stopped when he noticed the locket dangling from Peeta's hands. "What's this?" I stiffened, oh no, this is not good. Caesar leaned in to look more closely at the locket. Peeta's hands froze as he dropped the locket back down on his skin. "I believe this must be Peeta's tribute token."
Peeta gulped, I could see his hand clench . "Yes, a very special person gave it to me."
"Your father? Or your mother perhaps?" Caesar asked, all his attention was on Peeta's locket.
"My father didn't and my mother? No, she can't stand me," The audience guffaws at this comment as if it's a joke, but I know that Peeta was being truthful about what he said. I can't count how many times Peeta had come to school with bruises on his face and arms. His mother was not a pleasant woman.
"So if it wasn't your mother and it wasn't your father, then this very special person must be a young lady," Caesar pressed, causing Peeta to look nervously at me in a way that didn't give anything away. I slumped my shoulders in defeat, Caesar wouldn't let this go until Peeta told him who had given him the locket. I made a gesture only he would notice, telling him that he couldn't get out of this. He sighed and answered again.
"Yes, we've been together for three years. She's the most beautiful, confident, amazing girl I've ever met, and honestly I'm kind of surprised she's mine." I wanted to tear up about what Peeta had said about me, but I knew I couldn't let anyone know in case we could still hide it.
"May I look inside?" No… that question sealed our fate. I sat tall waiting for the aftermath.
Peeta was reluctant but he eventually unclipped the chain and handed it to Caesar, "Here. You can't have it, but you can look at it."
Caesar took the locket gently in his hands. Soon he noticed the clip that opened it. "It's a locket, and I'll bet my suit the photo inside is of your girl?"
Peeta didn't answer him, instead he just remained silent. Caesar looked at Peeta curiously, and taking his silence as a go ahead, he opened the locket softly in his hands. Then . . . his eyes widened.
"Well. Well, well. I see why you love her so much." Caesar held up the locket carefully to show the cameras. Soon the picture of me lit up on the large screens around us. The gasps from the audience are so loud it's as if they're staged, "It's our very own, Katniss Everdeen!" Caesar shouted to the crowd.
Caesar turned to look at me, and I put on a genuine but slight sad smile. Everyone knows about our secret now. "Well, good luck to you both." Caesar laughed loudly over the ear-rending noises from the crowds as he ended Peeta's interview.
"Thank you." Peeta almost whispered as he returned to his seat, but not before kissing my hand gently, "I'm sorry, my love." He whispered so only I could hear. Everyone awes at the act; except the tributes. No surprises there.
"There you have it! The Tributes of the 99th Hunger Games!" Caesar shouted, giving us our cue to leave the stage. We all rise in unison and climb off stage. Once everyone was off, Peeta and I walked past the glares of our fellow tributes and into the elevator to return to the penthouse.
I wasn't able to sleep that night as our sudden unplanned announcement had shocked Effie Trinket so much that she couldn't speak for a whole five minutes, after that she began talking with Haymitch about how we could use this knowledge to gain even more sponsors, "Everyone loves a tragic love story." Was her explanation as to why sponsors would flock to them.
I sighed, getting out of bed and going to my sitting room, I tapped a few buttons on the side of my door, I had found this out yesterday when my prep team was hungry. A panel opened in the wall to display a menu of food and drinks. I tapped the display and the panel dinged to inform me that my snack of hot chocolate and a cheesecake topped with a chocolate strawberry as done.
I sank into the couch, touching my fireplace with a soothing warmth. It was nice to be pampered, even if I was just a girl who was being sent into an arena to slaughter or be slaughtered by others similar in age to me. The thought, strangely enough, didn't turn my stomach as it had only a few days ago. I guess I was getting used to the idea, despite not wanting to be here.
My ears perked up at the sound of a soft knock at my door, Who could that be? I got up and opened my door to my handsome Peeta's face, "Hello." I smiled.
His answering grin was heart catching, "Care to join me on the roof for what may be our last sunrise outside?"
"Of course, let me go get my robe." I said, hurrying to the bathroom, slipping on my robe and then following Peeta to the roof.
I sighed as I looked out at the still darkened sky, taking in the view. Peeta gently took my hand and led me to a group of steps that allowed one access to the roof of the greenhouse, "The perfect spot to watch our possible last sunrise." He said gently, sitting down on the reinforced glass roof.
"You know I've always wondered, why does no one scold us for being up here at this hour?"
"Why would they? There's no fear of someone jumping off. Neither off the roof, or off this." He threw a chipped piece of metal gently at the edge of the roof. It wasn't zapped like with the main roof; instead it hit something solid and fell back down. Peeta looked down below, "We have company."
I looked the way he had to see 24 bodies in the dim glow of the roof lights. The other tributes.
The tension in the air was incredible as Peeta and I climbed down the step to where they were all standing. Everyone seemed to be feeling… awkward. I stepped over to them, and simply stood there.
"Did you all come to watch the sunrise, too?" I asked them. Some of the tributes nodded their heads, but most turned away, wearing deep scowls on their faces. The Careers had their heads held high. I knew they believed us all to be inferior to them. Second-class, menial, and worthless.
"We didn't know you weaklings would be here too," Clove sneered, almost growling the words.
Fox looked irritably at Clove, "You're not the only ones who might die in the next few days." Her tone was filled with confidence and strength, making her resemble a fox even more.
Peeta suddenly got in between the two girls who appeared about ready to start a fight right here on the roof, "Enough," He said firmly, ignoring the glares, "We all came up here to watch what may be our last real sunrise. So why don't we all go on top of the greenhouse and watch it from there. It'll be starting soon." The commanding tone in his voice made me feel proud that I could call him my love. He looked at the Careers, "Call it a truce if you will."
Cato glared down at him, and soon huffed, "Fine Lover Boy, but the truce ends when we get into the arena." The rest of the tributes, taking their cues from Cato and Peeta, nodded and all began to make their way to the glass roof.
Peeta came alongside me and whispered in a soft voice, "Never thought that would work." I chuckle a little following the rest of the tributes.
The silence around us seemed to last for an eternity until the red-headed Tule broke it, whispering, "I miss home." her words weren't mocked by anyone, in fact many nodded their agreements to her words, "My dad would be up by now watering the fields. My mom will probably call him in around eight for breakfast, and then they'll watch me go into the arena… most likely to die." We all sit there in death-like silence, but it's as if we're listening to her like old friends. Not people who will cause her death.
The silence lasts for a bit longer until Jason spoke up, "My parents' are both mechanics. They taught me how to repair my old motorbike… they say if I die, they won't sell it, or even use it, but I know they can't keep that promise. They'd probably not go to work. They'd shut down the shop. Losing their only son will be hard on them," Jason muttered, as he stared at the now rising pink and orange sun. His tone is of a young man who knows he won't live to see another day.
"Ohh boo who. My mother won't close her shop if I die. She'll just gloat to her customers about how her oldest daughter made it into the Hunger Games." Glitter blurted out bitterly, "She wouldn't care about me if I died, she'll just encourage my sisters to be better than me. I won't even be remembered unless I win. That's the price of being a member of the Shine family." I looked at her, stunned. Why would a Career show weakness in front of their enemies? Maybe the Careers are just as human as the rest of us…
"My mom won't cry either. She'll just say that I was weak, and I'm not her son. My mom has trained me for the Games since I was five. I didn't have any choice." Cato explained to no one in particular. What was with these Careers?
"My mom started my training when I was four, the same age as my brothers. She was so proud when I volunteered for the Games. I don't plan to disappoint her." Marvel looked out past the city. Was he looking for home?
"Why do our parents want us to kill others or die?" Auricula whispered, looking as if tears might flow down her cheeks.
"I don't think they really want that." Rue said softly, bringing her knees to her chest.
"How would you know?" Wade snapped, he was the youngest of the Careers, only a year or two older than Rue, he didn't seem as strong as his score suggested.
"They want you to be able to win so you'll never have to worry about another reaping for the rest of your life." I answered Wade a bit more sharply then I had intended, "All a tribute's parents want is for their child to return home and never have to go through the ordeal again."
A few tributes nodded in agreement, while others just remained silent. I could tell by the looks on their faces that they agreed with me.
"It needs to change." Peeta said, the strong tone from before returning.
Clove gave Peeta an icy look, "And how would you go about changing it? There's nothing we can do." She hissed.
"But we can." Cato smirked, "The winner can change Panem. They can start a revolution. It will have to start small, but it will grow. After all, the victor is a survivor, a champion for the people, a person who endured the Capitol's torture on us, and the tributes before us." Cato's words took me by surprise, I never thought a Career would have negative thoughts about the Capitol.
"What if we started the revolution from within the arena? With some type of symbol or something," Sextus offered, looking very nervously at the Careers.
Clove smirked at the suggestion, "I have just the symbol." she drew out an image in the morning dew on the roof. It was of a simple circle with a tilted arrow piercing the sides of the shape.
"What does it mean?" Thea asked with the slight twang of her District in her voice.
"It's a sign that a citizen of District Two places on their arm when they don't want to be trained for the arena, it's a symbol of rebellion saying that I'm going to die my own way on my own terms. Would this work?" She asked a bit smugly to Sextus.
"Yeah. Plus, it's easy to remember." Sextus stated and then turned to look at the sky, "The sunrise is almost finished. We should head back to our floors soon."
Just before the tributes began to move toward the stairs, Glimmer stopped us, "Wait, we need a way to show off this symbol," She looked at all of us, "If one of us is killed by another tribute, than that tribute should draw the symbol on the fallen tribute's right shoulder. If they die of the elements or the cause is unknown, the symbol should be drawn on their left shoulder," Glimmer continued. "It also should be drawn with the marker's own blood."
No one disagreed with that. It was a perfect idea. If we drew the symbol with our blood it would show the Capitol that we were against this. By using our own source of life to draw a simple symbol on someone we barely knew, we would be weakening ourselves in order to fulfill a promise. That was the morning the Sunrise Promise was made. And none of us really knew the impact it would have on Panem.
After everyone returned to their floors Peeta stopped in front of my room, "That was the strangest experience I've had since coming here."
"That showed that even Careers can be human." I told him and in the spur of the moment I threw my arms around him and my lips met his. Soon we'd be facing our deaths inside the arena, and I wanted one last kiss before that happened.