Fire is Raging On (A Hunger Games Fanfic) [#Wattys 2016]

Chapter Six

Chapter Six

Peeta's POV

"Thank you for cooking dinner," Katniss says, helping me clean the table off.

Willow ran off to go back to playing with her toys. I stop and smile at my baby. She stacks the blocks up before excitedly knocking them over. She giggles and smile at Katniss and I before repeating the process.

I shake my head in wonder at her excitement. I love how excited she gets over such simple things. I wish she could stay little and keep her excitement forever. I know that can't really happen, but it's nice to wish. If I could keep her little forever I would be able to find the Games from her, hide the horrible past from her. I would be able to keep from knowing that horrible knowledge. I know Katniss and I will have to tell her at least some of what happened before she starts school so that she finds out from us and not from the teachers and other kids at school. She should hear what happened to her mother and I from us directly.

"It's no problem, you know that," I say, replying to Katniss breaking myself out of my thoughts.

"You seemed pretty deep in thoughts," Katniss observes, placing the dirty dishes on the counter beside the sink.

"I was just thinking about how Willow gets excited over such small things, and it's nice. She doesn't know any of what has happened to us. She hasn't experienced any of it; unless you count when you were pregnant with her or the trial. But she won't remember any of that. I know we'll have to tell her everything or at least something someday, and . . ."

"Peeta," she says, coming over to me and wrapping her arms around my face. I press my face into her hair. "We have time before we need to tell her anything about it. And when we do I just want to tell her the bare minimum until she's older and can handle knowing the full truth."

"I know." I take a deep breath, "It just scares me."

"What about it scares you?" Katniss asks.

"Knowing that someday we're going to burden our little girl with the horrible truth of what we've been through. I'm scared it will scare her, that it will happen to her. I know it won't happen to her, but I can't help think she might have nightmares of it happening to her. Or having nightmares of it happening to us. It terrifies me that she may, and probably will, see both of our Games. I don't want it to happen, as bad as it sounds I wish we could just keep her ignorant to all of it. I know I shouldn't want that. I know we should share with her because it's a part of who we are now, but I don't want to taint her mind."

"I know. I don't necessarily want to tell her either, but we'll have to. We can't keep her in the dark forever. It's a part of who we are. She'll probably ask how we met and fell in love sometime, and well, we'll have to tell her about the Games. I don't want to lie to her. She deserves to know the truth. I would rather she hears it from us rather than someone else who hasn't even experienced and doesn't really know what they're talking about."

"I know," I sigh. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it I guess."

"Yeah, I guess. I have a feeling we'll have to do it sooner than we are wanting and expecting to."

"What do you mean by that?" I ask.

"Just that I think that she'll catch us off guard sometime. We'll just be sitting there someday, and she'll come home from school or something because she heard someone at school say something about it."

"That's another thing to add to my list of fears," I whisper.

"Your list of fears?" Katniss questions.

"Yeah, just a few things that absolutely terrify me."

"Like what?"

"Telling Willow about what happened, having something happen to you, having something happen to Willow. Just tell like that really."

"Burning bread isn't on that list?" she attempts at a joke.

I can't help but smile at her. "Nope burning bread isn't on the list. That's happen to me enough for that not to be a fear."

I'm about to suggest we wash dishes when a loud beeping comes from the TV. Katniss and I turn to the TV.

Willow sitting with her toys nearby starts screaming "Ah! Ah!" She giggles before continuing to play with her toys.

Katniss and I move closer to the TV to find out what's going on. The Capitol seal appears on the screen.

"Was there a scheduled broadcast today?" I ask.

"I don't think so. It might be an emergency broadcast?" Katniss says questioningly.

We both watch as the seal disappears and is replaced by a broadcast from Paylor's office. A familiar looking girl sits behind Paylor's desk.

I hear Katniss gasp in shock before sinking to the floor. I take a closer look at the girl and realize why Katniss is reacting this way. It's the girl. The girl that tried to ruin our lives. Snow's granddaughter, Vada Snows shows on the screen.

"People of Panem," Vada begins, sitting behind a desk. "I am here to inform you that your dear President Paylor is in the custody of the Snow regime." A group of similar age people direct Paylor to stand behind the desk off to the side. Guns are trained on her visible in the edge of the camera range. "If anyone tries to stop us, I have to set to blow the entirety of the Presidential grounds up. If you try to stop me, the whole country will end up in anarchy. It is best that you follow me. I am your new President Vada Snow."

She motion for the group to move Paylor directly in front of the camera. They push her down into a kneeling position, and Vada steps forward and take a gun back from a man.

"This is your warning to you, if you try to cross me."

Vada presses the gun into the back of Paylor's head, and she smiles a twisted sadistic smile toward the camera before pulling the trigger. The screen goes black.

I sink to the floor beside Katniss. I put my arms around her, and she leans into me.

"I thought she was in prison," she whispers.

"So did I, so did I. She must have escaped." I say holding her tighter.

"Why didn't they say anything about her escaping then? Why wouldn't they inform us?" she cries.

I feel my own tears escaping my eyes. "I don't know," I choke out.

Willow as if sensing something is wrong starts whimpering and comes over to Katniss and I. Katniss pulls her into her lap and I wrap my arms around her too.

"What are we going to do, Peeta?"

"I don't know. I do know, though, that I will do anything I can to protect you two. You are my entire life, and I will never let anything happen to either of you two."

So I'm going out with friends tonight. That will be two weekends in a row, which I never do. Before last weekend, the last time I went out with friends for a night was Black Friday. So this weird for me. 

I'm also trying to get back into the actual writing thing as I haven't actually written a chapter for this since I started uploading chapters. I'm on chapter 14 now, but what happens in it is horrible and I guess I'm just trying to avoid it from happening. 

And for those of you who don't know, I've started editing The Hunger Games: Peeta's POV. So that means as I edit it there are new parts showing up that weren't there before. 

Anyway, until next week, keep the fire from raging on, and I'm going to go write now. ~Alexis