Katniss was stressed out of her mind. Sure, she arranged a safety net for her friends and family for when she played all of her cards during the tour, but that still left herself, Haymitch, Cinna, even Effie to worry about. She took deep breaths, trying to calm herself down in front of the mirror when she heard a knock at the door.
She walked over to it and was greeted by none other than President Snow, again.
"Katniss," he greeted shortly, pushing his way in and seating himself on her nicest chair.
"Have you given any regard to my previous order?" he asked her.
She nodded. "Of course. I haven't been hunting since... well, I can't actually remember. It was right after your visit though, and I got enough pelts to satisfy everyone, and--"
"Yes. Okay," he interrupted. He leaned forward and looked intently into her eyes. "At the end of your Games, the barriers over the sky of the arena malfunctioned, frying the remaining mutts. Do you know anything about this? It is imperative that we find out if it was a technical mistake or an attempt at an attack."
She blinked. With her best poker face, she shook her head and feigned confusion.
"What? No, I thought you did that on purpose so you wouldn't have to collect them afterwards."
He sighed and sat back in her seat, rubbing at his temples. "Well, Seneca Crane has been fired. We have hired Plutarch Heavensbee in his place. You will meet him when you come to the Victor's Tour, during your final presentation at the Capitol itself. I might suggest that you get to know him, he might be important to you in the near future," he said, hinting at something painfully obviously. Honestly, it was past the point of ominous.
"I... will keep that in mind," Katniss said, forcing a waiver into her voice and acting terrified. Acting was difficult. If she only acted terrified, he would get suspicious, especially with her personality. He would expect her to try and mask her fear, but fail. The true challenge for Katniss was to pretend to be pretending to be brave. There were so many layers.
Percy had been amazing at it. Apparently, Katniss had picked up enough of his skill to fool Snow at least this once, as he nodded and left with a satisfied look on his face. She didn't feel particularly happy, though. It was hard to be happy about these little victories when you stood in the face of the hardest battle yet. If you're a doctor, you don't get to celebrate the perfection of a particular incision if the rest of the operation goes wrong.
She plastered a smile on her face as her prep team from the Hunger Games came in. Their fussing about her eyebrows, nails, and hair was enough to take her mind off of her impending doom and make her smile sincerely, even if it was just amusement at their silliness. With much cooing and suggestive phrases about Gale that made her face burn, they finally finished and left the room to let Cinna finish doing his job.
Directly after the Games, Cinna had dressed her up to look innocent and young, with bright, happy colors. Everything was a blur, but she thought she had played the part well. Now, though, he had a completely different approach. She didn't have any weapons or gear, yet he still managed to make her look battle-ready with fierce makeup, leathers, and dark clothes with violent red accents.
She had been hearing rumors of rebellion start to crop up, but most of it seemed to be hearsay. Whispers spoke of her being a centerpiece, a rallying point of the revolution, but she hadn't done anything big enough to cause that kind of commotion.
Yet.
She set her face into a grim line and squared her shoulders, then walked outside silently with Cinna. He was an incredibly perceptive person, and he hadn't spoken a word during the entire time he was styling her. He somehow communicated his support silently, giving her subtle feelings of safety and confidence.
She boarded the train with Haymitch and Effie, not making eye contact with either of them. She knew they might suffer the consequences of her actions, but for the good of everyone living in the Districts, she knew she would still follow through with her plan.
She was unusually quiet during the ride and meals, but her mentors just thought she was nervous. Well, she was nervous, just not for the reason they thought. She tried to think of a way to tell District 11, her first stop, to rise up without making the Capitol kill them, her, or stop the tour. She decided she would simply show that the Games hadn't affected her friendship with Rue, or her camaraderie with Thresh. The Capitol would simply think she was naive, since she really didn't have to kill anyone herself during the Games thanks to Percy, but she knew that the citizens of District 11 would understand her message.
Katniss took a deep breath and leaned back in her seat, massaging her temples. This earned her a few concerned looks, but she just stood up and walked back to her room for some privacy. Of course, she knew she was still being watched, but she would still feel more at peace without the physical presence of people.
She tried in vain to calm her erratic heartbeat as she made a plan for District 11.
* * *
She couldn't remember what she said. Some nonsense about how happy she was about winning, probably. Now, however, it was time. She paused to gather her courage.
"This song is dedicated to Rue, my beautiful mockingjay and one of my reasons for winning the Games. Some of you may remember when I talked about Prim during the Interviews, and how she was the reason I wanted to win. Rue reminded me of Prim with her soft-spoken and caring nature every day, and she gave me someone to protect and someone to be brave for."
Another breath, swallowing her tears and steadying her voice.
"Deep in the meadow
Under the willow
A bed of grass, a soft green pillow
Lay down your head and close your sleepy eyes
And when again they open the sun will rise
Here it's safe and here it's warm
Here the daisy's guard you from every harm
Here your dreams are sweet
And tomorrow brings them true
Here is the place where I love you
Deep in the meadow
Hidden far away
A cloak of leaves, a moon beam ray
Forget your woes and let your troubles lay
And when again it's morning they'll all wash away
Here it's safe and here it's warm
Here the daisy's guard you from every harm
Here your dreams are sweet
And tomorrow brings them true
Here is the place
Here is the place
Where I love you."
Somehow, she kept her voice steady through the tears, her voice ringing clear and true into the silent square.
The crowd stayed quiet while she gathered herself. "While we were allies, I got to learn a lot about Rue. She was protective of me, even though she didn't need to be, and she got that from being the oldest of her six siblings. That family just lost a key provider and a source of happiness."
Katniss looked directly at the family. She had never met them before, but she could tell from the way that they stood and the look in their eyes that they were related to Rue.
"I've never really met you before, but you are all just as beautiful as she is. I would like to offer a portion of my winnings every month to attempt to make up for the absence of Rue. I know that nothing could ever make up for or replace her, but this is the least I can do. Thank you."
She scanned the audience. An old woman made eye contact with her, and she could tell by the challenging glint in her eye that she was Thresh's mother.
"I never really got to know Thresh. We never had to face each other in the arena, and we didn't talk during training. However, I feel a connection with him through his protectiveness over Rue. We shared a mindset, and Percy trusted him. I never learned anything about him or his family, but I'd like to offer the same thing to his family as I offered to Rue's."
The guards were getting antsy by this time, and they started towards her as soon as her allotted time was up.
"It appears that I am out of time, but thank you for hosting me. Thank you for producing such wonderful people. Thank you for everything, District 11."
Sorry, short chapter! I know, even after all that time, but... Katniss isn't as interesting as Percy so it was hard to satisfy myself with this chapter. I didn't really do author's notes very much before, so... tell me if I should keep doing it or if nobody cares.
Things are getting SPICY, oooOOOooohhhh
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The Tribute Returns (Percy Jackson Hunger Games crossover)
Fanfiction- Book 2, read Percy Jackson the Tribute first - Katniss won. Katniss Everdeen from District 12 won the Hunger Games, but now she must decide -- was it worth it? She lost Percy and Rue, she even missed Glimmer. On the other hand, she was back with...
