Deep in the Meadow

|16| Nurser

I jolt awake, gasping for air. At first I can't see and I rub my eyes to clear them, but after a few seconds I can make out the bars of my cell and the table I lay on. The last thing I remember is being in the Hunger games and then falling dead. Or actually, unconscious.

Why am I in a cell. Have I been captured?

Then it comes flooding back to me. I gasp as the realization hits me. I wasn't in any hunger games yesterday. It was my illusion. Then I think of Peeta with the tracker-jacker illusion. And then Willow who was digging at her skin to keep bugs out.

Slowly I sit up and have to rest my hand on my forehead until the dizziness dies down. Then I decide to stand and look around. I find that Willow is awake, and that she is watching me with concern. Fear filled tears stain her cheeks, and dried blood is plastered on her shirt. More dried blood is scattered across her bare arms and legs. The only wound that looks like it has healed over the course of her sleep, are the scratches on her neck. They seem to be disappearing.

"Mommy?" She says.

"Yes? Yes my little duck. Are you ok? Are you feeling better?" I ask crouching at her level. The extra effort makes my head spin and I end up just sitting down instead of crouching. She joins me and sits in front of me, with just the bars separating us. I reach through the bars and tuck her hair behind her ear, as she wipes her hand across her face to swipe the tears away.

"I'm ok now. When I woke up, daddy woken up too. He told me that the bugs weren't real. And he said that when mommy wakes up I'm supposed to tell you that he loves you." She says. I smile.

"Thank you darling. Do your wounds hurt?" I ask taking note of the scratches and blood.

"No." She states.

"Ok. That's good. Has your little brother waken yet?" I ask peering over to his crib.

"Yes. A woman picked him up and changed his clothes. That's when daddy woken up." She says. With that I sit up straiter and look into Peeta's cell. She mentioned him twice already.
It isn't long before I realize Peeta isn't in his cell. That must be why he gave Willow the message to tell me. Where is he?!

"Willow, where did daddy go?" I ask getting nervous and trying to hide the worry in my voice.

"When he told me his message for you and I told him I would tell you, the mean man with the silver clothes, tooked him from his cell." She answers. I scoot closer and look her in the eyes.

"Did you see where the mean man brought him?" I ask leaning even closer.

"There." She points to the training room. The only reason I would think West would want Peeta alone, is probably for the question of the day thing. It must be a question that he only wants Peeta to know, and is making him tell him inside the training room because..... Because of the mutts. It will persuade Peeta to tell the truth I guess. But what question would West only want to ask Peeta and only give Peeta the chance to answer?

"Willow, when the man took daddy into the room, did you hear him say anything?" I ask.

"The only thing I heard was the man say the word question. I don't know what they did after they went to the room." She answers looking down. I reach over and stroke her delicate cheek.

"Is daddy in trouble mommy?" She asks tilting her head curiously.

"I don't know darling? I'm sure he's fine." I say, but I'm almost positive he's not fine.

•

For the next hour or so, I've had to explain to Willow as to why we are trapped in zoo cages. She seems to be content that we are not in cells like I keep trying to tell her as gently as I can, but rather we are trapped in zoo cages. Tiger enclosures is what she calls them. Finally I just agree with her, thinking that if that softens the thought of being kidnapped and here to be tortured and killed, it's fine. But if she ever really wants to know the truth, I can't hold it from her. She has the right to know as much as Peeta or I do.

Rye stirs and I see a few workers look his way. I catch a glimpse of the brown haired lady and the curly blonde haired man among them. The lady sighs.
Oddly I think that she likes Rye and enjoys calming him. But she has never gotten him to stop crying, he just quiets after a while and falls back to sleep. He isn't used to her arms and he will only stop if I or Peeta sing him "Deep in the Meadow" and cradle him.

"Katniss?" I hear a lullaby-like voice call. I sit up and look around, to find the nurser outside my cell. The brown haired lady. I'm taken aback. I didn't know that workers were allowed to talk to us.
"Katniss. I shouldn't be talking to you especially since I didn't ask Thaumaturge West if I could, but I just had to bring this to your attention." She says hurried and cautious, now against the bars. I stand to join her and meet her brown eyes that I've made contact with a few times.
"I am Rye's nurser, Selena." She tells me and looks at the training room to make sure West isn't coming.
"It's come to my attention that Rye isn't the most comfortable in my hands and doesn't accept me as his caretaker. It would only make sense for him to be in the arms of his mother, and I would be happy to let you visit him, but I'm afraid I would have to break the law of honor to do that. You see, West- thaumaturge West, doesn't want us socializing with you guys and defiantly wants us to follow orders, obey him, and doesn't want you and your family to be able to be together. If we don't do as he says we could be ultimately killed. You must understand the rules I am breaking right now to tell you this." She says. Why is she risking her life to do this? What could be so important that she would risk her life to tell me?
"So here is what I'm proposing." She leans closer, looking at the training room again for signs of West, them putting her hands around her mouth to whisper something to me.

"I want you and your family to be safe. We aren't ALL loyal to Thaumaturge West here, and some of us were even against the Capitol when the quarter Quell hit. I'm just here because I was forced to. The majority of us workers in white suits were forced to work here and we feel terrible having our mockingjay and her family imprisoned and tortured.
But I want you to be able to hold your son and comfort him, because that is what he needs. I'm willing to break the rules for you. Most of us workers are.

West will be with the wolf mutations all night tonight. When Rye wakes from his sleep, I can sneak the keys and let you out to hold him tonight." She whispers. My heart stops. Most of the workers are against West and on OUR side. This Selena lady was in the rebellion AGAINST the Capitol. She wants me to be able to hold my son. She's going to break the rules and risk everything to help me.

Before she leaves, she backs away and clears her throat.

Then slips a golden coin in my hand. A Mockingjay is printed on the surface, with the words...

Selena Kit
Capitol Alliance member 31
Katniss Everdeen "the mockingjay"

Then she leaves giving me a stray smile and I'm left with unexpected joy. I knew there was something up with these workers. They feel bad for us and were always on our side. West just forced most of the hundred workers from the Capitol to work here for him. Kind of like the thing he did to the mutts. He forced them to be here and serve him.

But what really has me dumbfounded and happy at the same time, is that she's going to let me comfort my son tonight.