Life After Rebellion

Chapter 1

I stood next to Peeta and Haymitch waiting for our interview. Paylor asked if all the surviving victors would be willing to do an interview to broadcast to all of Panem. We agreed but set the guidelines of what questions could be asked, what questions would be asked and to have a signal if we felt uncomfortable answering any questions. Peeta asked me a million times if I was sure if I wanted to do the live interview but I felt it was important for all of us to show the reality of what The Games did and how it still affected us even though it's over permanently. I glanced over at our kids Meadow and River, who were standing quietly next to Effie, who they adored. 

"Next up you know them as the star-crossed lovers from District 12 who won the 74th annual Hunger Games and escaped during the Quarter Quell before joining in the Rebellion which ended The Hunger Games indefinitely and brought unity and peace to all of Panem. Let's welcome Katniss and Peeta Mellark!"  Caesar Flickerman announced. 

I was slightly nervous but Peeta held my hand and kissed my cheek before we walked over to the stage and took our seats. It felt strange to be sitting across from Caesar without a live audience but in a way, it felt nice. We could be honest and real, not fake, and put on a show for everyone.  Ceaser exchanged the usual pleasantries with us before asking us the real hard questions. One question was about the impact of the Hunger Games and how it affected us.  

"What we feel a lot of people don't realize is the reality of surviving the Hunger Games. You don't go back to normal. We have nightmares and flashbacks. Katniss and I couldn't sleep without being in each other's arms. It was the only way we could be able to sleep peacefully." Peeta stated, squeezing my hand.

"On my worst days, I make a list in my head of all the good I've seen someone do. It helps me especially when I'm having trouble taking pleasure in anything out of fear it could be taken away. " I chimed in, not letting go of Peeta's hand before smiling at him.

"That must've been difficult, I don't think any of us knew the harsh reality of being in the games even after the rebellion and the abolishment of the games until now," Ceaser stated with a sympathetic look on his face. "is this something you've discussed with your kids?"

"Our kids are at that age where they understand our involvement with the Hunger Games and the rebellion but they don't know the full extent of it yet either than why we have nightmares," Peeta answered, glancing over at me for reassurance. "Katniss and I wanted to wait until they're a little older before we go into full details about the games and the rebellion."

I explained that we wanted to avoid our children having nightmares as much as possible. Ceaser went on to ask us if we planned on having kids or if it just happened. Peeta explained that it took him years to convince me to have kids as I never thought I would have them. I made it clear that I did not regret it one bit, and that our children brought me joy.

"Peeta is an amazing father, when he's not taking them to the meadow by our house to play he'll take them over to see Haymitch," I mentioned to lighten up the mood before diving into the heavier topics.

"Haymitch doesn't want to admit this but he's great with them," Peeta added, knowing Haymitch is probably blushing. 

We all gestured for Haymitch to come out and join us in the interview, laughing a little bit. We watched as Haymitch slowly makes his way to the stage to join us. We continued some playful banter before Ceasar asked Haymitch about how the games affected him and how he was doing now. I quickly turned my attention towards Haymitch to listen to every word he had to say. He won the second Quarter Quell which had twice the amount of tributes compared to all the other games, it was no reason he struggled with alcoholism.

"After I won my games, Snow had my whole family killed simply because I used the force field to my advantage. Now during my games, I had nobody to look out for me. The only victor of District 12 at the time was considered MIA and presumed dead. Nobody really knew what happened to her, so my three district partners and I had a random mentor appointed to us." Haymitch spoke before looking down for a brief second to collect his thoughts.