Child Of The Mockingjay

Chapter One

CHAPTER ONE

            The eerie calm of night was broken once again. Screams echoed through the house. Nightmares, again and again. Always the same ones, the same people and moments, all closely connected through her time in the Games.

              Rue. Fox Face. Mutts.

            Her agony didn’t surprise me; each night drew closer to the impending date.  A gentle murmur of mourning had settled over the District as families envision the impending massacre, and those already lost. By evening, however, festivities would take over; feasts and celebrations for all but two grieving families.

            I landed heavily on the balls of my feet as I jumped down from my bed and onto the soft carpet. My feet had barely hit the floor before I ran to the other side of the Victors house, the soft thumps of my footsteps muted from the worn runner down the hallway. It was quite a distance, though I make it in under a minute.

            By the time I reached Ma, her shrieks had turned to cries, almost inaudible through the thick door. A soft voice carried. Throwing it open, I found a familiar, yet worrisome sight. Two figures were huddled on the bed, the blond caressing the brunette’s hair, singing the forgiving lullaby…

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, here it's warm

Here the daisies 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 moonbeam ray

Forget your woes and let your troubles lay

And when again it's morning, they'll wash away.

Here it's safe, here it's warm

Here the daisies guard you from every harm

Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true

Here is the place where I love you...

            I join in at the second verse, serenading the lullaby so well known to this household while I wrapped my arms around the brunette, my mother.

            "It is okay, Katniss. It was just a dream. Sienna is here, and so am I. It’s okay, it's okay. Rue's safe now, and so are you." Pa hushed her sobs. His tears had joined hers; they splashed onto her dark hair as he continuously wiped them away.

            Ma lifted her head from the wet shirt, clinging to my father’s chest. Ma wiped at her reddened eyes and rubbed the drops from her tearstained cheek. She stood up tentatively, slowly swaying as she tried to regain her balance.

Her lips were moving as she mouthed her mantra to herself. My name is Katniss Mellark. I am 36 years old…

            She planted a kiss on both mine and Pa's foreheads, brushing back the hair plastered to it. She crouched down to the floor and reached a hand under the bed, and before long, pulled out her bow. It was a graceful object; the long, sturdy bow was made of mahogany, one of her father’s works.