Pregnant in the Games

Chapter 3: Uncovering Secrets

I walked back to where Katniss, Peeta and Talon were waiting for me, one hand on my stomach, my mind racing. 

"Well?" Talon asked, getting out of his seat. Even he had a look of concern on his face.

"I'm pregnant." I replied.

Katniss made a little choking noise in the back of her throat and put her hand to her mouth. Talon just looked at me, looking like he wanted to say something, but he didn't. Peeta sat down in his chair.

"That changes things." He said.

"This is a three year long Hunger Games. If I last that long, I could have my child in the arena." I replied. "If I do, what will the Capitol do?"

"There's no saying." Katniss said. "They could kill the baby. They wouldn't do it upfront, of course. They would make it some tragic accident. Or they wouldn't do anything."

"What would you do if you two are the last ones in the arena? There can only be one victor." Talon asked.

"Talon," Peeta said. "We need to make some decisions here. Are we going to tell Panem that you're pregnant?"

"Wouldn't the other tributes view me as weak?" I asked.

"Yes, the other tributes are there to kill you. But they're not there to kill a child." Katniss said. "Telling could be really beneficial. Sponsors will be all over you. Nobody wants to see the girl with the baby die. I've been the girl with the baby."

What Talon doesn't realize is that the baby never existed, but I shouldn't really bring that up.

"I want us to ally." Talon said to me, speaking up for the first time.

An awkward silence fell over the room. Nobody was expecting him to say anything. The bluntness of what he said seems to have all of us stunned.

"It's a three year Hunger Games. I know that alliances are strange sometimes because you're going to have to turn on one another at some point. But three years! If you're going to have a baby, I want to be around to protect you. Your life is vital." Talon said.

I walked over to Talon and sat next to him. "Do you really want to put your life in danger to save my baby?" 

"I've had fifteen years of life. I want your child to get the chance to live at least three."  He replied.

The mood in the room seemed to grow heavier. Between the news of my pregnancy and Talon saying that he will die for my child, everything seems a lot more doom and gloom than it already is.

A lot of time was spent in silence until Effie walked in, happily announcing that dinner was served. I had never seen so much food in my entire life. Different soups, breads, casseroles, desserts. It seemed like a dream.

I'm already noticing little pregnancy things. Like I have a sensitive sense of smell. Everything smells five times more extreme than it did just a few days ago. Some of the smells make me nauseous. Some of them make me want to eat nothing but that for the rest of my life. It really just depends.

Also, I think that I probably got up to go to the bathroom four times within the hour that we were sitting there. I have to go to the bathroom all the time. 

"So, what can you do, Talon?" Peeta asked, putting down his fork and sitting back in his chair.

Talon seemed to be frightened by the question. "Nothing."

"I'm sure there's something that you can do. What do your parents do? What's the business? How do you guys feed yourselves?" Katniss asked.

Talon looked down and stirred his food around with his fork, looking shy and uncomfortable. I stopped what I was doing to look at him. Why is he acting this way? We're just asking for his parents' profession. It's really not something to be ashamed about. Not in District 12.