Flames to Embers

38- The Mockingjay

The midwife smiled at me as I straightened out my clothes.

"It all looks healthy, Miss Everdeen," she told me.

I swallowed as the pain struck me again. "...so this is all... normal?"

Her smile wavered for a second. I stared right back at her, an expectant brow raised. "This is normal as far as I can tell. Your body went through a lot of stress, Miss Everdeen. We're doing all we can."

I stood up off the bed. "That's not my name," I told her.

"With all due respect Miss... Katniss, District 13 had no records of your marriage. Victors have been known to make up all sorts of lies for the cameras. And..."

I glared at her, saying nothing immediately. She squirmed under my gaze for a moment before I excused myself from the District 13 hospital and stormed out into the hall. I ran smack into Prim on my way out, who caught my arm as I tried to pull out of her way. She must have been on her way to her shift.

"Katniss? Are you alright?" She asked me.

I shrugged.

"You're not," she stated, seeing the look on my face.

"I hate it here," I told her before pulling away and wandering aimlessly down the hall.

"Was it that midwife? She's the worst," Prim told me. I smiled despite myself. "What did she say to you?"

I made a face at the memory. "Apparently Coin isn't recognizing that I'm married, since the marriage records were burned in DIstrict 12."

Prim frowned. "Why hasn't she said that to any of the other District 12 refugees?"

I shrugged. "From what I hear, you can't trust Victors because we lie too much."

"That's awful," Prim sympathized. "You should bring it up in your meeting later."

"The midwife is also a complete idiot." I continued. "I've been dealing with liars since I was twelve and she's chief among them. She has no idea what's happening to me."

Prim raised her eyebrows. "Is there something wrong with the baby?"

"I don't know, Prim," I admitted. "Everything hurts. I don't know if that's right or not."

"Did she tell you it was fine?"

I nodded. "She kept saying that was perfectly normal, but she was all fidgety, and she wouldn't look me in the eye. Something's off, I know it."

Prim hugged me. "I wish I had more training. I don't know anything about pregnancies. I'm sorry."

I pulled back. "That's alright. Get to work, Little Duck. I'll see you tonight."

I found my way into a large room later that day. A table with a dozen chairs around it took up the majority of the room, even though only Coin and Plutarch were present.

"You want me to be your symbol?" I asked simply, ignoring Plutarch and making steady eye contact with Coin.

"I don't," she said simply. "Peeta would be better. The people love him and he's good with words. Even Finnick Odair would have been a better alternative."

"You know why that wouldn't work," Plutarch interrupted. "Peeta doesn't have the background that Katniss does. And Mr. Odair... Even if he was here with us, which he isn't, he's done nothing to openly defy the Capitol on camera. It has to be Ms. Everdeen."

"Well I uh..." I cleared my throat. "I'm not going to do it."

Coin looked pointedly at Plutarch.

"I'm begging you to reconsider," Plutarch said slowly, as if it were surprising that I might not want to be his little pawn anymore.

"Part of the reason the Capitol needs to be taken down is because President Snow manipulates teenagers, as pawns in his game. Even outside of the arena, I have spent the last ten years of my life being twisted and manipulated however he wants. I'm done doing that. I'm not just going to follow your orders blindly." I reached into my pocket and pulled out the scrap of paper, unfolding it. "Which is why I have a list of demands. I won't blindly follow your will, but if you let me in on some of it, I'll help."

Coin looked at me, a twisted smile on her face. I could tell she didn't like the way I saw through her game. All these dictators... they were all the same. It wasn't hard. "Well then let's hear them."

I glanced at the list, even though I didn't really need to. "Gale and I get to hunt on Sundays," I started.

Coin nodded slowly. "As long as the meat goes straight to the kitchen."

I nodded in agreement. That was fair. I had little use for it myself, it was just something comfortable and familiar to do. "Second, the Victors will be rescued from the Capitol as soon as possible. All of them will be granted full pardon for anything they did or said while in captivity."

"No," Coin said flatly. Plutarch frowned.

"Yes," I argued. "Full pardon for all of them. Johanna Mason, Britt Lee, Finnick Odair-" I stopped, shocked. It was the first time I had said his name in the weeks since I had been in District 13. I hadn't thought I was capable, but it came out so fast and with so much force I hardly had the chance to think about it. I cleared my throat. "They will all be returned safely to District 13 where they will be granted full immunity. That goes for any one of them that is still in the Capitol."

"We cannot simply grant them all immunity," Coin argued. "People are already angry, especially after his appearance on television a few days before. We cannot-"

"You will remove the Victors from the Capitol, and you will grant them immunity or you will find another Mockingjay," I demanded, speaking over her. I kept my voice level, knowing if I spoke above my current volume my voice would betray my fear.

Plutarch clapped his hands once. "And there she is. That's your Mockingjay, the one you said didn't exist anymore. Give her some smoke, some wind, and this revolution is all but handed in our direction."

Coin sighed and wrote down a quick note. "Fine."

"And you will announce it in front of the whole district. You will be held to your word," I told her.

"Yes, yes," She said impatiently.

This time I didn't consult my notes. It wasn't there. "District 13 citizens will formally recognize my status as married to Finnick Odair. In all formal documents as well as casual conversation, I should not be addressed as Katniss Everdeen. My name is Katniss Odair."

Coin nodded. "If that's what you insist upon. But as the Mockingjay and the symbol of the rebellion, you may be referred to as Everdeen. For simplicities' sake."

"Fine," I agreed.

"Anything else?" She asked me sarcastically.

I glanced down at my notes one last time. "My sister gets to keep the cat."

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Merry Kwanzaa, or whatever else you celebrate.

If you don't then... Happy New Year, I guess

Let's make this simple. Happy Holidays or lack thereof.