Real - An Everlark Fanfiction

- Chapter Twelve -

"Katniss come on"

I hear Madge banging on my door. I just play with my boot laces, trying to buy some time. Today has been a day I've been dreading for years. I hoped I'd never have to be doing this. But this has to happen eventually. I'm getting my wedding dress. I know I've done it before. But it's not the same. This is a real wedding. With real people. My real friends and family will see me getting
married. Not the plastic manikins from the capital. This dress has to be nice. And I just pray that Effie did a good job renovating it to my liking.

"Katniss!" I hear. But this is a different voice. Effie. And she seems annoyed. I open the door and give both of them a look. Madge doesn't seem to care. She just smiles at me and takes my wrist.

"Katniss, this should be one of the happiest days of your life! You're getting your wedding dress!" She says excitedly, practically dragging me down the stairs.

"Madge, relax," I say, noticing Peeta baking in the kitchen. He smiles when he sees me being pulled through the house.

"Hello my beautiful bride!" I scowl as he laughs at my discomfort. He quickly blows me a kiss and then I'm pulled out of his sight.

"Madge stop," I finally say when my wrist starts to hurt. She lets go and clearly doesn't care that I'm in pain.

"Sorry, Katniss." She says blankly, opening the door. "Let's go!"

Maybe it wasn't the best decision to bring Madge along to see me buy my dress. I thought she would act like she normally does. Calm and collected. I was wrong. She's got a lot going on in her life right now. With her father being ill. Effie seems to be acting herself, though. She deals with exciting stuff like this everyday. This is a first for Madge. I decide to block out her excitement and just worry about getting a nice dress for my big day.

Effie struts towards the door and takes my cold hand.

"I'm so proud of you" she breathes, and we walk together and try to catch up with Madge who is already halfway into town.

~•~

"Horatius!" Effie squeals, as we enter the store. We had to walk at least half an hour to get here. I've rarely been to this part of town. Only once - with Gale. We were hunting in the woods, as usual. We didn't do very well that day. A bluebird. A few small rodents. Immediately after we returned to town, a peacekeeper came up to us. He told us that he would give us four loaves of fresh bread in exchange for just one squirrel. Of course we took the offer and were told to meet him on this street. It took us a long time to get over here, and got lost a few times in the process. Gale figured it out though, and we took a seat in the bench that used to be outside this shop. The peacekeeper never showed up, and at the time this area was a little shady. We got out of here real quick. Now, though, this section of town has practically been dedicated to weddings and formal events.

I look across the street and notice a beautiful wooden store. I look at the sign and figure that it's the place where Peeta had my ring made. I frown at the dozens of diamond and emerald jewelry lined up along the window sill. I'm glad my ring looks like none of those. I'm glad my ring looks perfect.

"Effie!" A short shore clerk replies, walking out from behind the counter revealing his unique look. His skin is a pale pink color, and I immediately think of how intrigued Peeta would be at this. He loves color. And he tends to use an array of different shades of pink in his art. The man's ears look larger than normal, and I can't tell if they've been surgically modified. If he's from the Capitol like I think he is, they most likely are. His hair is a striking orange, and his arms and legs are stubby and little. As if he was squished to achieve the short height that he is.

Effie bends down to hug the man, which is a challenge considering how short he is. She almost trips wearing her heels. He doesn't seem to notice, though.

"We're here for the wedding dress that I requested to be modified," Effie says, sanding back up normally.

"Ah. The one for the girl on fire?" He asks, looking my way. I fake a smile, but can't resist rolling my eyes when he kisses my hand.

"Yes," I answer. "The dress Effie picked out before was way too-"

"Extravagant." Effie finishes, not letting me complete my though. It's a good thing she did, though, because the small man probably designed the  awful dress. "Far too fancy for a simple young woman like Katniss." She giggles and gives me a stare. She mouths the word, "manners" and turns back to the store clerk.

"We can most definitely get you the perfect dress, sweetheart!" He says, offering me his hand. I take it, but barely hold on. I hate it when anyone other than Peeta or Haymitch calls me sweetheart. I feel like it's an insult. Like I'm being ranked lower then them.

I remember Madge, and turn around. She's already taken a seat where I'm going to be modeling the dress. She gives me a small wave and I frown back. I notice her laugh as I'm lead into the dressing room. She's been a little too peppy for my liking lately, but she's still an amazing friend. My only female friend. In District 12 anyway. I always think about how much of an impact she's had on me. After all, she did give me my mockingjay pin. And that little accessory saved the entire country.

"Here is the dress, madame," the man says, handing me my new and improved wedding outfit. At first glance, it already looks ten times better than the original model, and I can't help but feel happy.

"Thank you," I say. And I take the dress. I walk towards the dressing room and I notice out of the corner of my eye that the man is following me.

"Effie can help me put it on," I blurt out, turning towards her. Horatius, as  Effie called him, has already kissed my hand today. That's about all of the skin I want him to see.

"Of course," Effie says, smiling at me, and she enters the room. I walk in, too, and close the curtain behind me.

Putting on the dress is not as hard as I thought it would be. Probably because I'm so small. Effie slipped it right over me and tied the large bow in the back. I step back and look at myself in the mirror. The material falls so perfectly on me. It fits like a glove. The ribbon is in exactly the right place and the skirt is a substantially smaller than it used to be in the picture. The lace that lines the top of the dress ties in together perfectly with my long brown hair.

"It's perfect," I say. And I spin around. It's surprisingly satisfying to see a flameless dress engulfing me for once. It reminds me that everyone is safe and everything is okay. There is no more girl on fire. This is merely a nickname. It does suit me though. And not just because of the games.

"Oh, Katniss," Effie says, gently placing her hand on my shoulder, looking at me in the mirror. "You're so beautiful."

I exit the dressing room and walk over to the small elevated platform where Madge is waiting. I'm used to huge stages and large crowds, so this is a cinch for me. I climb up the two steps and walk towards Madge. She's reading a magazine, and doesn't notice me until I'm right in front of her. When she sees me, she gasps and drops the papers on the floor.

"Katniss you look amazing!" She says, and a huge smile forms on her face. "Spin around!"

I don't argue. It's the perfect dress for twirling in. Madge, Effie, and Horatius all clap and cheer for me as I almost lose my balance on the small riser. I laugh and it feels exactly like when I was on the stage before the first games. When I was just the bubbly sixteen year old girl who didn't stand a chance. Who had the other tributes falling in love with her. Little did they know how much that "little girl" could accomplish.

"So do you like it?" Horatius asks, still clapping.

"I'll take it." I answer back.

I hope you enjoyed! Be sure to vote, comment, and follow me! Thank you!

-Melanie 🦁